Epilogue

The boat docked at the small island in the midst of the River Styx. Aboard it lay the body of Harry Potter, with Sebastian Michaelis as the oarsman. Tenderly, the demon lifted the young man from the boat and walked onto the atoll, striding with purpose through the broken pillars and shattered walls of an ancient temple. He bypassed the stone bench set in the middle of the decimated room, instead stepping beyond the temple's borders and into a lush garden paradise. It was here that he lay his precious cargo, stripping the clothing from the boy's body one last time, before shedding his own clothes. He stretched out over the brunet, gently kissing the teen awake, and smiled when emerald eyes looked up at him with unrestrained happiness.

"We're here?" Harry whispered reverently.

"Yes, young Master," Sebastian quietly intoned. He leaned down and captured Harry's lips in a blood-boiling kiss, sucking the boy's tongue and his breath from his mouth. Harry didn't fight for dominance; he understood from the beginning that Sebastian was the true master, in spite of the circumstances. Lips trailed to the teen's neck, and Harry rolled his head to the side, moaning heatedly as a tongue stroked over the contract mark there. Lips then danced down over pale flesh, a tongue playing briefly with each nipple before the mouth continued its downward journey. Sebastian felt a sense of urgency; he only had a small window of time to claim the soul before it was lost to him forever. Flicking his tongue into the boy's bellybutton and laughing lowly at the hissed response, Sebastian finally reached his prize, swallowing Harry's cock to the root. As the boy arched, screaming, into the demon's mouth, Sebastian spread Harry's thighs and ran his finger around the boy's tight pucker before plunging in.

Harry bellowed at the burn of the invasion, not at all sure he wanted to do this dry. However, a brush against his prostate had him bellowing for a completely different reason, all thoughts of pain vanishing in the haze of arousal. The demon rushed through the stretching, feeling time escaping him. He moved between Harry's legs, his copper eyes lit with apology at the rush. Harry nodded his understanding, smiling as Sebastian put his cock at Harry's entrance. With one hard thrust, he was completely engulfed, Harry's eyes screwed shut tight as tears leaked from their corners. Leaning down to kiss the tears away, Sebastian murmured soft words of love into Harry's ears until the boy was relaxed enough for the demon to move. Which he did with great abandon. Their coupling was wild and violent and what they both needed as they fought against time to experience this lovemaking one last time.

As Harry's impending orgasm began to breach, Sebastian leaned down until his lips were a breath away from the teen's, waiting for that final explosion. When Harry came explosively, he let out a soul-wrenching scream, muffled by Sebastian's lips as he took his payment for the contract. In the moment that Harry's soul entered the demon's body, Sebastian came with a force that left him nearly comatose. It was several minutes later when Sebastian came back to himself and looked into the dead eyes of his lover. Tears fell onto a pale face as the demon mourned the only love he'd ever known, before he pulled out and cleaned himself and Harry up. He dressed the brunet carefully, then lifted him and carried him to the water, where the Ferryman waited for his cargo. Harry was tenderly placed into the boat, and Sebastian stood on the bank of the river and watched until he could no longer see, tears falling unchecked down his face. When the boat was finally out of sight, the demon went into the temple and sat at the bench, his head in his hands, unsure how he would ever handle his duties again. It would be years before the demon was seen again, and he was never the same.

Hey big brother,

I'm sorry I couldn't tell you everything, but I had my reasons. If you're reading this, then my contract with Sebastian has been completed and I am gone.

You started out as a pawn to me; a way to get to the Dark Lord. Over time, you'd grown to be the closest thing to family that I've ever had, and I don't regret one minute of making you my brother. I am proud to call you a Potter. Always remember that I love you, brother.

Now, onto the big things. I, Harry James Potter, being of sound mind and body, do hereby bequeath the entirety of my estate to Draco Lucius Malfoy. This includes the titles of Lord Potter and Lord Black. I'm leaving you everything, Draco. All of it, from the Manors to the vaults to the vacation homes. You also have the invisibility cloak, the third Deathly Hallow. As you are now of Peverell blood, this means that you are now Master of Death. Congratulations.

This means that you are immortal, and that you can spend the rest of your eternity with Claude. Take good care of him; I don't think Sebastian will be in any shape to see to things for a long time to come. I see so many great things in you, Draco, and so many great things for you. Don't let your father's influence change who you are anymore. Be that proud, strong young man I met back before third year, when you'd realized just how deeply in the shit your father really was. Be what the wizarding world needs; what it deserves. Take your rightful place at the top of the mountain.

I love you.

Harry

VOLDEMORT IS DEAD!

Wizarding World Celebrates Its Freedom

Rita Skeeter, reporter

In a stunning turn of events, Lord Voldemort, aka Tom Marvolo Riddle, was killed at what appeared to be an engagement celebration last evening. The Dark Lord's appearance was a shock to many as, when he was removed from his manor, he'd aged drastically. The body was escorted by Draco Malfoy, Blaise Zabini, and Theodore Nott. When this reporter tried to ask questions, I was told to contact Draco Malfoy at Potter Manor later in the week. Of the Boy Who Lived, there was no sign.

Witnesses in the Manor could not tell me where the Savior had disappeared to, which I found highly suspicious. Perhaps he was killed by those who supported the Dark Lord. Perhaps he was spirited away to be groomed as the next Dark Lord. Perhaps he just simply went away. Whatever the case, we can all be grateful to Harry Potter for saving our way of life, and for preserving our world.

Obituaries

Harry James Potter

Harry James Potter was born 31 July 1980. When he was fifteen months old, the Dark Lord Voldemort broke through the wards and fidelius charms around his home in Godric's Hollow and murdered his parents and godparents in cold blood, before turning his wand to the child. Lily Potter, in her sacrifice to save her son, ensured that he would survive the killing curse, which rebounded and destroyed Godric's Hollow. The Dark Lord was able to make his escape before Order members arrived. Orphaned, Harry James Potter was then left with his mother's muggle sister, Petunia Dursley nee Evans and her husband, Vernon Dursley. Our Savior grew up living in a cupboard under the front stairs, and was treated as nothing more than a house elf and whipping post. Acting as muggles generally do, everything that went wrong in the muggle household was blamed on Harry Potter. Despite his upbringing, he still honored his parents and godparents by murdering the man who had taken them from him, and in the process saved our world. He died 4 August 1996

Harry James Potter was preceded in death by his parents, Lily Evans Potter and James Potter, and his godparents, Sirius Orion Black and Remus John Lupin. He is survived by his brother, Draco Lucius Malfoy.

Tom Marvolo Riddle

Tom Marvolo Riddle was born 31 December 1926 to Tom Riddle, a muggle landowner, and Merope Gaunt, daughter of Marvolo Gaunt and the last of the Slytherin line. He was born in Wool's Orphanage, after his mother was abandoned by her then-husband, Tom Riddle. It was later discovered that the senior Riddle had married Merope under questionable circumstances. Merope Gaunt died in childbirth, leaving young Tom Riddle, for all intents and purposes, an orphan. He grew up in these deplorable muggle conditions, and survived the abuse and mistreatment. However, because of his ill treatment by both the muggle orphans and the caretakers, he developed a deep-seeded hatred for all things muggle.

He attended Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry in 1938, when Armando Dippet was headmaster. Here, he flourished and excelled, becoming the brightest student to grace the hallowed halls of Hogwarts in centuries. He was sorted into Slytherin House, and, despite his halfblood status, was able to become 'King' of Slytherin House. It was here that he began to train his future Death Eaters, amongst them Avery, the elders Lestrange, Malfoy, Dolohov, Mulciber, Nott, and Rosier. After graduation in 1945, at the height of the muggle world war, he went on to expand his knowledge of Dark magic by traveling all over the world. His rise to power drew in others, and in the twilight hours of 31 October, 1981, he tried to further his goals by assassinating Harry James Potter, presumed to be the child of prophecy. His failure drove him underground, where he continued to wage his war against muggle and wizard alike in his efforts to control the world.

Through many raids he was able to decimate the Aurors, the Ministry, and took countless muggle lives. His end finally came on 4 August, 1996, when Harry Potter fulfilled his destiny and ended Voldemort's reign. Tom Riddle was preceded in death by his mother, Merope Gaunt, and his father, Tom Riddle.

Draco put the paper down and looked at the obituaries recorder. "These are just fine," he said softly, his eyes sad. He'd hated his duties to his brother; it meant that he'd never be able to see him again, and his heart was heavy with grief. Harry had only been gone a week, and already Draco was feeling the gaping hole left behind by the laughing brunet. Claude pressed his master's shoulder in comfort, reminding the blond that there was someone else who was grieving harder than he. "Thank you," he finished, tossing the galleons on the desk and rising to leave.

"Um…excuse me," the recorder said hesitantly, not wanting to offend the Lord but unable to keep her question to herself. Draco turned and looked at the woman, eyebrow quirked. "I understand the obituary for Harry Potter, but why the one for the Dark Lord? No one wants to remember him." The blond sighed softly in resignation. He'd come across this attitude too much lately, and he hated repeating himself. Perhaps I should contact Ms. Skeeter.

"Despite his crimes, Lord Riddle deserved to be memorialized the same as any other human being. His life left him few options; he took the ones of which he was most capable of using. He is not to be forgiven for his crimes, but he should be pitied for the circumstances that shaped him."

AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH LORD POTTER-BLACK

Draco Potter-Black Tells All

Rita Skeeter, Reporter

In a surprise move, Draco Malfoy, who had become Draco Potter-Black in a brother blood bond ritual, opened the doors of Potter Manor and allowed this reporter into his sanctuary. Below is the interview, verbatim.

RS: Thank you so much, Lord Malfoy, for welcoming us into your home.

DPB: My pleasure. Please call me Draco or Lord Potter-Black. My father is still alive and retains title of Lord Malfoy.

RS: Of course. The first thing our readers would like to know is how you became the brother of Harry Potter, our savior, and why?

DPB: Harry Potter had approached my father and I back before my third year, to get some information on the Dark Lord. My father, of necessity, had to maintain his assumed loyalty to Voldemort, and his apparent devotion offended me greatly. So I offered to be Harry's spy in the monster's den. When we returned to school, he requested a re-sort, and was sent to Slytherin House, where he and I became great friends and allies, striving for the same goals. With some of my other Slytherin friends and their families, we were able to gain him valuable information that helped to weaken Voldemort so that Harry could vanquish him.

It was during a conversation in our shared dorm room that he had approached me with the idea of becoming his brother. I had become incredibly fond of him, and I was glad that he felt the same. I jumped on the idea; it was one of the few things that I'd seen that had made him truly happy, so following the school term, we researched the strongest ritual and performed it, becoming brothers.

RS: Interesting. Why would you not want to follow in your father's footsteps, and become a Death Eater? (I had to apologize for my callous remark moments later when I noticed the Lord flinch painfully at my question)

DPB: I'd seen what devotion to that madman had done to my father, and I'd vowed that I would never bow and scrape at the foot of another as long as I lived. In his blindness, my father had very nearly destroyed the honor and respect of the Malfoy name. It is up to me to repair that when he passes, and to do that, I need to establish myself as a separate entity. An independent individual capable of making the right choices for my life.

RS: How is your father faring, after a lifetime of servitude to the Dark Lord? (Lord Potter-Black gave me a kind, lovely smile for my concerned question, and my heart fluttered a little)

DPB: It's an adjustment. My mother is overjoyed to have her husband back in her arms again, instead of groveling at that bastard's feet. With pensieve testimony provided by Harry Potter before his death, it was determined that my father was a spy, acting as a Death Eater in order to gain valuable information for my brother's quest. Lucius is trying to put his life back together; to readjust to a life without servitude.

RS: Now on to the tough question. I understand the obituary for Harry Potter. He was our savior, after all. But my readers and I would like to know why you paid for an obituary for the Dark Lord, as well, considering the hatred you still harbor for him.

DPB: I will answer this question, then I have a question for you. (I nodded my acquiescence, unaware that I would soon be placed over the coals myself) Tom Marvolo Riddle didn't start out a monster. He started out an orphaned baby, his mother dying in childbirth and his muggle father abandoning him. The orphanage he grew up in was squalid and cruel, and he'd had to learn to be cruel right back to survive the abusive environment. When he attended Hogwarts, he'd had his first taste of freedom, and food, and a lack of fear. However, the current Headmaster kept sending him back to the orphanage, where he continued to develop the hatred for muggles that had grown into the vicious obsession it had become.

Albus Dumbledore denied Voldemort the opportunity to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts, the only real job that the young Tom Riddle really wanted. And he would've been brilliant at it. Dumbledore was afraid that having Riddle in the school, teaching that class, would allow him to develop and train his own Dark army, as he'd begun to do with Slytherin House when he attended. Dumbledore failed to give the young Riddle any sort of benefit of the doubt, and sent him on the road to ruin. Add to that all of the other witches and wizards treating him poorly, and he'd developed a less than cheerful outlook on the wizarding world as it stood. Factor in the muggleborns and the issues become more convoluted.

RS: I don't mean to interrupt, but why did he hate the muggleborns so?

DPB: He saw the muggleborns as a threat to our safety and way of life. They have the choice of two worlds, one of which would exterminate us if they knew of us, and came to ours with their own preconceived notions of how it ought to be. Through the fairytales and legends spread about witches and wizards, the muggleborns come to us believing that we're backward, unintelligent, and easily manipulated. They believe us to be weak and uneducated, simply because we have no knowledge of their world or their politics or their history. Conversely, they do not feel ignorant for not knowing our world or our politics or our history. It is this arrogance that most chafes at many of us, and it most offended Tom Riddle. So, to answer your question, I had the obituary of Tom Riddle put into the paper because, in spite of what he'd done with his life, he was one of the most intelligent and capable wizards alive, and he deserved to be remembered as a human being.

Now, my question. Why did you make it your life's mission to humiliate my brother from the moment he re-entered the wizarding world? Don't lie; I'll be able to tell, and I will punish you for it. (I gulped in fear. His silver eyes were glowing with malice, and I knew that I was going to pay dearly for what I did to his brother. But then, who more than I deserves to be taken to task for my behavior?)

RS: It was never personal. It was a job. My shtick is to create the best, most scandalous gossip I can. When news would filter out from the school about Harry Potter, it was my job to twist it as much as I could, to get the juiciest story. My editor paid me handsomely for the besmirchment of Harry Potter's character. A great many of us were jealous of the fame and popularity the child had obtained when he returned to us, and it wasn't hard to take out that malice on the defenseless Savior. Those stories created a greater demand for more information and lies, and I supplied them in the form of books and tell-all magazine articles.

DPB: Did you never care for what you were doing to him? Did you never consider the amount of abuse and hatred that was spewed at him from perfect strangers, their opinions based solely on the articles you'd written?

RS: I'd never considered his feelings at all. I had forgotten that he was a mere child, and not a lofty god, high up on a pedestal and glaring arrogantly down at us mere mortals. The money made most of my reservations go away, as well.

DPB: Fortunately for you and the rest of us, your behavior, and their hatred never turned him into the next Dark Lord. He had me to help him understand the fickle public opinion, and I vowed to him that I would make you pay for your poisonous tongue one day.

Lord Potter-Black quickly ended the interview then, sending me brusquely on my way. I had considered spinning this interview into something less savory, but then I remembered the wide emerald eyes that would look at me with betrayal any time Harry Potter had caught sight of me, and I felt the heavy weight of shame on my shoulders. So, here it is, good readers. The interview I'd promised with the last Potter heir, and my public resignation. I no longer have the stomach for this line of work, and I doubt that the Daily Prophet will be left to stand as it is for much longer. Wherever you are, Harry Potter, I am truly sorry for all the anguish I've caused you, and all the pain and suffering you've endured at the point of my pen. Go in peace, good child.

A/N: Though this is the end, and I think it's a perfect end to a good story, I will post the link to a follow-up that Of Stories Told had written. She, as well as many of you, was unsatisfied with the ending, and wanted something happier. Again, I think this is the perfect ending to this story, but here is the link to the follow-up:

www. fanfiction s/ 9645154 /1/ Finding-My-Way-To-You

I hope you find the follow-up story as charming and sweet as I did, even though I still think my end was perfect. Just remove the spaces, as ffn doesn't even allow links to its own archives.