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Epilogue

Grindelwald shuddered, as the final speaker drew to a close.

McGonagall had been good enough. She'd had a relationship with Albus for years, and she certainly knew him well. Her speech had reflected that.

She'd spoken well, McGonagall. She'd painted an accurate picture of Albus, of the Albus these mewling wretches knew. And she'd drawn the crowd's emotions.

If only the speeches had ended there.

Elphias Doge had been the next speaker. And if you had to hear only him, you would believe that Albus was a god in a human form. That he had no flaws, that he was an absolutely perfect human. And Elphias spoke badly, stuttering and letting his own tears overtake his words.

And yet, Elphias was better than the final speaker. Elphias, at least, had known Albus.

The final speaker, some ministry fool, had droned on and on, with his nonstop talk about things like 'nobility of spirit' and 'greatness of character'

No mention of having to be strong enough to make the decisions that others would not. No mention of standing up to his mistakes and facing them.

As if these people knew Albus.

The only way to make this farce worse would be if Aberforth had been invited to speak.

He was there, the scowling brute, but he didn't speak.

'And thank the heavens for small favors'

And now they were standing up, filing past Albus' gleaming marble tomb and paying their final respects.

He stood to the side, watching them. He would heed Albus' last message. He would fix the mess that Albus had created. That is how he would show his respects.

And these people, they would leave the Hogwarts grounds and go on with their miserable, petty lives.

He saw Aberforth breaking away from the line. Saw the man heading toward him with his piercing eyes locked.

For a moment, Gellert was seized by a compulsion to blast those eyes out of Aberforth's skull. To shout out to all that if Albus couldn't look at him, nobody else would use his eyes to do so.

He blocked the desire out, ignoring the Wand's humming.

Aberforth stopped, mere inches away from him, face stony.

'Does he think to fight me?'

Eventually, the last Dumbledore nodded.

"You'd best win this war and survive," he said, "because no-one but I is going to kill you"

Gellert quirked an eyebrow as Aberforth meandered away.

'Well. That was a let down'

He sighed and gave a curt gesture. A few of his warriors rippled into existence, their disillusionment charms vanishing.

"Come," he told them, thinking of Albus' words. "Let me teach you something"

They followed him to the edge of the wards and followed him as they apparated.

Harry and Daphne stand naked in the middle of the carved circle. Strange runes and odd shapes surround the outside of the circle. But they stand in the middle, their bodies festooned in a mixture of blood and woad, the blue and red swirling around each other and twisting into shapes that hurt the eye to look at.

Their lord stands outside the circle, his hands clasped behind his back. He continues to give them instructions, teaching them how to prepare their bodies for the splitting of their souls.

The Chinese ambassador grits his teeth, hating himself for what he is doing. For what he is forced to do.

'It is the will of the people, and the will of the government' he reminds himself, trying to stay strong.

If they fought, there was a great possibility that they would lose. Though muggle China had the largest population out of any single country, Magical China was relatively small.

'Too many were killed in the purges. Far, far too many'

And there was still an enormous amount of residual anger toward muggles in general, after the actions of the dictator, all those years ago.

The Japanese and Koreans smile at him as he signs the unconditional surrender on behalf of Magical China.

The Japanese ambassador smiles at him. "At last. All of Magical Asia is united, at last. Our Lord will be most pleased with your actions this day"

Hermione Granger wipes away a tear as she walks out of her parent's' bedroom, her backpack slung over her shoulder. Already, they were working out the details of their move to Botswana.

Remus Lupin meets with Kingsley Shacklebolt, Dedalus Diggle, and Hestia Jones. Though they are allied with Grindelwald and would obey his orders, the last members of the Order of the Phoenix meet and make their own plans.

Sobhuza Mbetwe guides the troops into position. Behind him, his son stands with a checklist, ensuring their supply needs are met.

Olrik, King of the Goblin Nation, sits on his throne. War Chief Rugbar stands before him, awaiting his orders.

"Do it. Attack from the South"

Rugbar bows deeply, before leaving his King's presence.

Rufus Scrimgeour sits with Robards, planning their attack. They need to make the Death Eaters bleed, and they need to do it now.

"The Goblins take the South, and we'll come in from the North. We'll bring the last contingent of Africans. But this is it. If we lose this battle, the ministry will fall. We simply won't have enough people to keep the fight going. Especially with the loss of morale"

Robards nods. It'd been a big hit, Potter's defection. Not to mention his murder of Dumbledore.

People had kept faith in the boy. Stupid as it was, he had represented victory over You-Know-Who. And Dumbledore has been Dumbledore. Now? People were floundering, suddenly starting to suspect that they wouldn't win this war.

"We fight," Robards says, his voice gravelly. "We fight, and if we lose, we go out in battle"

Nymphadora Tonks screams, begging for Bellatrix to have mercy and just kill her already.

Bellatrix strokes her face with a smile.

At Hogwarts, Dumbledore's funeral processions finish. Headmistress McGonagall, accompanied by Gellert Grindelwald and the Hogwarts professors, walks around the grounds, adding every possible ward that they could think of, preparing all the defenses.

And throughout this all, Voldemort smiles to himself. His plans are going well. His accidental Horcrux is his, and will never fall from the path. His plans are proceeding relatively smoothly, and soon, all will be his.

Soon, he will rule.

AS ALWAYS: REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW.

THE SIXTH AND FINAL BOOK IN THIS SERIES, ENTITLED HARRY POTTER AND THE END OF WAR, WILL BEGIN SOON. ILL PROBABLY FINISH OUTLINING THE YEAR'S PLOT IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS AND START POSTING IT AFTER THAT. IN THE MEANTIME, ILL BE POSTING A TONKS-CENTRIC ONE-SHOT, SET AFTER THE FIRST BATTLE OF HOGWARTS (CHAPTER 20 IN BOOK 5), ENTITLED: IN HER IMAGE.

I ALSO PLAN ON GOING BACK AND FIXING UP THE FIRST 2 BOOKS IN THIS SERIES-GRAMMAR AND PUNCTUATION. NONE OF THE PLOT WILL BE CHANGED, BUT A BIT OF THE PROSE MAY BE.

THANKS FOR READING. SEE YOU ALL SOON.

PEACE