Crucio." Harry had uttered the curse that he knew in his heart of hearts would cause Bellatrix LeStrange the pain he now felt coursing through his veins.
None of it mattered any more, Sirius was dead, and his year from hell, a year far worse than any other before in his life had been the final straw.
The curse had ended and LeStrange looked merely winded from the experience as she said, "Never used an unforgivable curse before, have you, boy?" She was about to speak again when Harry roared in rage and charged at her, having walked slowly towards the downed witch while he held the curse.
LeStrange on the other hand was startled, true she was a murderous psychopath, but in duels a man had never dared attempt a physical attack, and due to her magical prowess she hadn't been bested yet.
As Harry tackled her back to the ground it became obvious that this wasn't going to end well for either of them when Harry balled a fist and punched Bellatrix right into her temple, dazing the witch and opening her up for the next attack.
Harry took both of his thumbs and gouged out Bellatrix's eyes, ignoring her shrieks of pain and protest before he punched her in the face again, and surprisingly her resistance was stilled again. Harry had never seen much positive come from physical attacks, but he was aware of their effectiveness due to his years with the Dursleys.
As the witch moaned and twitched beneath him, Harry knew he had to end this threat, this monster that had taken his last semblance of family away, and his hands went around her throat squeezing as tightly as he could, LeStrange made some sort of autonomous attempt at fighting back, but it wasn't a coordinated effort, merely her bodies last willful act to ensure survival.
As he squeezed he felt and heard something pop underneath his hands and looked down as he removed his hands, LeStrange's neck was already bruised from his ministrations and based upon the silent rictus her mouth was open in, it seemed he had killed her. Still hyperaware following his vengeance he heard a noise just in time to roll away from a green flash of light, looking up he saw the source of the magic, Lord Voldemort had finally arrived, just in time to see Harry finish off one of his inner circle.
Harry rose to his feet and trembled with excess adrenaline, he wanted to say something to show Voldemort he wasn't afraid but all he could think to say was, "She killed Sirius."
Voldemort was still to startled at the scene to cast another spell, in his moment of hesitation he lost his opportunity as Dumbledore stormed into the atrium, aghast at seeing Bellatrix's dead body, but ultimately he wasn't surprised to see Voldemort and Harry staring each other down.
Calmly he strode into the room pooling his magic in anticipation for the duel to come, he would be surprised again as Voldemort merely disappeared, surprised until he saw Harry fall as if he were a puppet with its strings cut out, and he understood, Tom was making his play at possession of the boy.
Harry's body suddenly began to thrash on the ground and in a voice that held infinite pain Harry ground out, "You think you've had a hard life Voldemort, you think you know anything about pain, well then take my pain and tell me you understand."
As Harry's back arched a scream tore free from Harry's throat, but it was clearly not Harry's voice, "How can you ssstand it?"
With that Harry collapsed and a green mist escaped from Harry's mouth coalescing into Voldemort's body once more before it disappeared. Dumbledore glanced over to see Fudge standing down the hall of the atrium, his mouth agape as he was dressed in his night clothing, as a group of aurors surrounded him in some parody of a bodyguard.
Harry's eyes opened and the boy rose slowly to his feet he glanced around the room, his body ached all over and yet surprisingly he felt no pain in one part of his body, the pain that had always centered on his scar was gone, and while he was sore he felt unexplainably light, light for someone who had just lost their last true family, and suddenly he knew, and he understood so many things.
In Voldemort's haste to escape his body he had left behind a piece of himself again, but this time it was nothing more than mere knowledge, and in exchange he had taken something else with him, a shard of soul that should have never been splintered away in the first place.
Harry expelled a deep breath and turned to Fudge, "As you can clearly see Fudge, Voldemort is indeed back, and as luck would have it I took care of one of your escaped Azkaban prisoners. I believe my bounty should be paid to the Potter family ancestral vault, and if I even sense a cover up, I will bring down the building upon your head."
Dumbledore glanced around and he understood that Harry must be in shock, trying to take control of the situation he soothed, "That won't be necessary Harry. I'm sure Cornelius will gladly announce Tom's return as soon as he can. Let's get you back to Hogwarts where Madam Pomfrey can get a look at you."
As he took a step towards Harry he blinked as the boy merely walked away.
Harry spoke as he walked towards the nearest Floo connection, "That won't be necessary Headmaster; I have some business to attend to at Gringott's. Why don't you conserve your energy for your other students for once?"
As Harry disappeared the Order ran into the room, half of the number was injured in some way and Dumbledore winced as Shacklebolt carried Ms. Granger in his arms like a ragdoll. Turning to Fudge he intoned, "I expect a report to my office later today and my positions returned Cornelius, for now I have other matters I must tend to and I dare say you have issues of your own to deal with."
As he reached the Order he merely began handing out Portkeys to the group and he said, "Let Poppy check you over and get medical attention for Ms. Granger immediately."
As the group disappeared Albus felt for the first time in a long time, that the control he so coveted and possessed for so long had been irrevocably been lost to him.
'''''''''''''''''
Harry looked down at the goblin in front of him and he felt disgust at what he was being told, not so much for the knowledge, but rather his own implicit acceptance of everything in the past. He had been so blindly trusting and naïve, and with his partial knowledge of the prophecy he knew one man had orchestrated much of his life.
Knowing what he did of the rest of the Magical world he did some quick work, both transferring his money out of the country to a neutral bank he would have access to, a bank not run by goblins, but some of their allies and he sold all of his ancestral homes and properties, surprisingly enough the goblins had already transferred the contents of Sirius' will into his possession.
As Harry sat in the meeting room deep in the depth of Gringott's he looked over the magical book of property listings abroad, strictly speaking in the country he would be moving to.
As he tapped his final selection with his wand he glanced over to his account holdings and the balance shifted to match his purchase. The Potter family had been a bedrock of the British Magical World for nearly a millennia, and due to the actions of a corrupt and apathetic populace that would no longer be the case. As he took the international portkey Harry finally relaxed, he was free to live his own life, and not the one everyone else wanted him to.
''''''''''''''''''
Dumbledore sat in his office contemplatively sucking on a lemon drop, the events at the ministry had led to many positive changes, but they had also led to the loss of the one true savior from Voldemort. Contrary to what Voldemort assumed, there was not a wizard alive who better understood the magic of the soul and its implication for immortality.
He knew full well what the green mist escaping from Harry meant, in essence Harry was no longer necessary to victory, and he had been released from that construct of prophecy when he unleashed true suffering upon Voldemort during the possession attempt. In essence 14 years of planning had just been rendered moot, and Dumbledore was still scrambling to understand the implications.
Of course, it didn't end there; the boy's friends save for the Weasleys received letters suggesting they leave magical Britain due to the continuing policies of discrimination against all but those of pureblood ancestry. All of his belongings had also disappeared along with the two strange free elves he had held under employ the last two years, so many little strands unraveling and he knew it wasn't over yet.
As his wards alerted him of Minerva's presence outside of the gargoyle he sighed and summoned her, "Come in Minerva." There were still fires to be put out, and while Harry's story was regrettable it wasn't one of the more pressing issues he had to deal with, which was in many ways a refreshing change all things considered.
''''''''''''''''''
Harry looked out into the Pacific Ocean from his home on the beach; he was currently a commuter student to a magical school in Southern Oregon. It had taken months of therapy but he had finally managed to get beyond Sirius' death, the Dursleys, and even the moment when the old Harry Potter had reached his breaking point when he killed Bellatrix LeStrange.
All of his feelings of inadequacy, rage, and helplessness had been dealt with, and instead of being repressed he now understood them and had made strides in moving beyond them. While he never intended on returning to Britain the letter he had just gotten magically notarized would make an impact all of its own.
He checked his watch again and noted he still had ten minutes before he had to activate his portkey to the school. He smiled in remembrance from the letter he had received from Hermione informing him that she and her parents had moved to Australia with his brainy friend enrolling in the magical school in Sydney. It seemed she had only remained at Hogwarts for as long as she had because she knew Harry needed her help.
He had already planned a trip to Australia around Christmas, and as he glanced down at his watch again he smiled as he activated the portkey.
''''''''''''''''''''
Potter Tells All: Corrupt Ministry, Pureblood Supremacy, and Half Blood Dark Lord all to blame for Boy-Who-Lived's Disappearance from Britain.
Albus Dumbledore sighed again, he had read the article once already, and while it only spoke the truth it still had managed to upset more of his formed plans. The muggleborns of Britain were leaving to other countries more welcoming to their talents, and while many purebloods viewed this as a good thing, Albus understood that the destruction for Magical Britain in its current incarnation was inevitable now.
Over the past several months he had managed to destroy the remainder of Voldemort's Horcruxes using a variety of methods. Dumbledore figured he had paid off the karmic debt he owed for ignoring Riddle's ascent into darkness all of those years before, after all the dark lord was now completely mortal and his magical construct of a body would collapse eventually without a mostly complete soul to sustain it.
He looked over to Fawkes who trilled at him sadly, he reached over and rubbed his friend's head, "You know what you must do now old friend. I shall warn the International confederation of Britain's current ascent into anarchy, and you must go to Harry now, he has more use of you now that I shall for my remaining years."
Fawkes trilled a few notes and Albus felt his spirits lift slightly, "I believe Aberforth and I shall finally make that tour of the world we had planned upon as youth. Maybe, we can even move past Arianna's death after all of these years."
Fawkes trilled once more before he vanished in a flash of fire, with a flick of his wand, several missives were sent to the owlery and with another flick of his wand all of his belongings began to pack themselves.
First, a trip to Nurmengard and then the main seat of the ICW, and then he would come back to retrieve Aberforth. The prophecy's fulfillment had lightened many things in Albus' eyes, and sending Fawkes to Harry was the only appropriate way to repay the young man, by providing whatever comfort his old friend could for the coming years.
'''''''''''''''''''''
Lord Voldemort, self proclaimed dark lord of Britain was worried, ever since he had attempted to possess the Potter brat he had felt it, he felt his power beginning to wane. It was terrifying because it could only mean one thing, his Horcruxes; his means of immortality were being destroyed.
For two main reasons he was helpless to do anything about it. First, so paranoid he was at the height of his own power he had obliviated the location of the soul containers from even his own memory. Second, part of his feared reputation was based upon his rise, when he had been hit by many curses that would have seemingly destroyed any other wizard. His followers, his deatheaters had flocked to his banner in awe of his great power, but even the greatest power need be tested once in awhile to remind those followers of why the couldn't try the crown on for themselves.
His most loyal follower Bellatrix was dead, strangled to death by Potter, before the half blood mongrel had disappeared beyond Britain's borders. With his only truly loyal follower and potential enforcer gone, it was only a matter of time before his power was challenged, and it would be found that he was now wanting of power. He seethed to himself at his own foolishness, he had immortality arranged and then that blasted prophecy had derailed his quest for the ultimate power.
With a malicious grin he reached out to the mark of Severus Snape and summoned the dour man, if he could not get to Potter, he would at least kill the man responsible for the beginning of the end.
''''''''''''''''
Harry's portkey returned him back to his front yard; it had been a long day of classes but with only a few weeks until his NEWT examinations he could see the light at the end of the tunnel. After exams he had a summer planned of hitting the beach and trolling amongst the local beach bunnies for some fun. His accent seemed to drive most of the girls in his classes at PMU up the wall in a good way, so it would be fun to see how far that would go.
He smirked to himself as he had also a half formed idea of surprising Hermione in Australia also, he had plenty of money now where he could put off his eventual plans of becoming a magical focus designer as an eventual career.
As he walked around his house out to the beach he stopped when he glanced out into the waves and sun, he never would have guessed that killing Bellatrix LeStrange could have led him to such a beautiful place. It made him sad in many ways, that the only way to free himself of the burdens placed upon him was another's death, but now he was free from his rage, and instead of worrying about his place in the world, now he could simply find his own way, damned the consequences.