A/N: So this is the end. Thank you for all my readers. Hope you liked the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

Rain poured hard from the dark clouds above the cemetery destroying any evidence of the tears that ran down Sky's face. The Minister's words washed through him but he did not understand what was being said. The only thing he was aware of was Dora, who was holding his hand, her mere presence a great comfort to him.

They had attended dozens of funerals already but these were by far the worst.

The only thing Sky could think about was all the moments he spent together with him, his mentor. All the conversations and training sessions, even the long silences and it only made him hurt even more.

Osamu Akiyama had been his real name.

Sky had never known that or even thought to ask, but then again, the people in the DoM had their reasons for keeping their real names a secret.

To Sky, he had been Z.

Z, who had become his mentor and a good friend during the missions he went with the Team Five, even more so than the other members, and finally when they went undercover together. Z had helped him to create his persona and hone it to perfection, as well as to succeed in his missions. If it wasn't for Z he would likely be dead many times over.

"Sky." Dora said softly drawing him out of his thoughts. Sky looked up to see Marcus slowly make his way to the podium, a hand pressed to his stomach. Sky concentrated on his dad, looking for any signs of real pain, ready to reach him should his wounds reopen.

Sky had spent the whole morning arguing with Marcus of whether or not he should attend the funerals when his wounds hadn't healed yet but his dad had been insistent. Sky could understand the reasons he had for wanting to attend, as many of those that had died in the Battle had been his friends and comrades, but still, Sky couldn't shake the feeling of terror he felt three days ago when he saw Marcus fall his body covered in blood.

Flashback

"DAD!" Sky yelled as he saw his father fall, his hands clutching his stomach trying to stop the blood that kept coming out. Sky turned to Dumbledore, who still had his wand raised and cast the first spell that came to his mind:

"Fiendfyre!" He yelled aiming for the old man's wand hand and suddenly the Hall was filled with a blood-curdling scream. Sky didn't stay around to watch as his theory of Dumbledore's wand came true, but hurried to his dad and was already casting healing spells upon him by the time Madam Pomfrey reached them.

"Come now, Mr. Potter, you have done a fine job keeping him alive, but now I need you to let me do my job." Madam Pomfrey said gently but firmly, pouring blood-replenishing potions down Marcus' throat.

"Come on Sky." Dora said, suddenly by his side along with Emily and Sky backed off with them making sure that both girls were okay. Satisfied that Marcus was being taken care of and that Dora and Emily weren't hurt, Sky turned his attention to the room. Signs of destruction were everywhere and the floor was filled with dead bodies, most of them thankfully belonging to the Death Eaters. The students were tended by Aurors and teachers, who were handing out calming droughts to the understandably shocked students. The Unspeakables were tending to the wounded and gathering up corpses.

Finally, Sky turned his gaze to Dumbledore who was lying on the floor unconscious, tended by some Order members. His wand hand was missing, cut off by someone to keep the Fiendfyre Sky had cast from spreading, and what was left of the arm was being healed. Sky saw Panther and Tricia waiting next to them no doubt planning on taking Dumbledore into custody as soon as he was healed. They would have to make sure that no influence of the wand remained in the old man before deciding the next course of action regarding the faith of the old man.

Then, however, Sky could care less about what happened to Dumbledore. The only thing he wanted to do was to make sure that Marcus lived and thus he along with the two girls followed him into the hospital wing leaving others to take care of the aftermath of the battle. His time to debrief would come, but not until he knew his dad was going to be alright.

End of Flashback

Marcus had been unconscious for the next day even though Madam Pomfrey had gotten him stabilized within a few hours. It had been touch and go for a time because of the blood loss and Pomfrey told Sky that had he not acted when he did it was likely that Marcus wouldn't have survived.

Sky had spent the next 24-hours sitting by his father's side, sometimes fussed by Madam Pomfrey who insisted on healing his wounds – some of which he hadn't even noticed – he had gotten during his battle with Voldemort, and sometimes by Dora and Emily who insisted he ate, slept and showered. Sky appreciated their concern but knew he couldn't rest till he saw Marcus awake and wanted to be there when he did.

It hadn't yet really sunk in for him that the battle was over, that Voldemort, his parents' killer, was finally dead and that Dumbledore was in custody waiting for his sentence. He wasn't yet aware of the aftermath either – he didn't know how many they had lost and who of the people he personally knew had died. The only people he knew were alive with certainty were his sister, Dora, Marcus, Panther, Trisha as well as Sirius and Remus, who were in the hospital wing as well, Sirius in a bed a few bed away from Marcus because Bellatrix had hit him with a cutting curse just before Emily had taken her down.

And so it was that Sky didn't find out about Z until a day after the battle. He had been crushed when he heard the news but tried to comfort himself with the thought that Z was with his family now.

Marcus finished his speech and joined the two to listen to the final words of the Minister and then the funeral was over.

Sirius and Remus joined them as they made their way out of the cemetery.

"Are you sure you'll be alright?" Dora asked Sky pulling him to a stop. "I could stay with you tonight if…"

"No love." Sky smiled at her slightly. "Your parents need to see you alive and well, I'll be fine…"

"Actually son, I have invited Ted and Andromeda to join us tonight." Marcus interrupted.

"You have?" Sky asked. "Are you sure…"

Marcus held up a hand. "I promise the only thing I will do is lie on the couch and be pampered." He smiled.

"So long as we're not doing the pampering." Sirius grinned holding Remus hand.

"We have elves for that."

"It's settled then, I will come with you." Dora said taking Sky's hand and the group activated their portkeys to the Lux Manerium.

That evening was bittersweet. It was a celebration of the war won, but also a wake in honor of those they had lost. The Team Five was in attendance along with Dora's parents and a brief visit from Arthur Weasley and Emily. The group had dinner and exchanged stories of the people passed. Sky felt that it was healing for all of them. After such a long period of fear and tension, it was great to let loose. There were a lot of tears and laughter and by the end of the evening each and every one of them felt a lot lighter. Now it was time for rebuilding and new beginnings.

It was midnight by the time everyone had retired, only Marcus and Sky remaining up, watching the flames flicker in the fireplace.

"What are you going to do now?" Marcus asked breaking the silence.

"What do you mean?" Sky frowned.

"You are free now, son. Voldemort is gone, Dumbledore is gone, Mallorys are gone, Grindelwald died after the wand was destroyed. You finished what you set out to do. You avenged those you wanted to avenge. You could do anything you wanted. Take Dora and see the world."

Sky was silent for a moment.

"It was never about revenge. Not really." Sky said. "I mean, sure it was part of it, but when you offered me a position as an Unspeakable despite my young age, I accepted it because I wanted to get rid of the Evil. Sure I have dealt with a lot of Evil that was personal to me, but that does not mean I'm done. The world is still a Dark place."

Marcus was reminded of the words of the Phoenixes when he first took him there.

'He's the Keeper of Balance'

Marcus felt pride fill him as he looked at the young man that was his son, standing in front of him so resolute to do whatever it takes. It felt like just yesterday when he found the small, hurt, damaged boy and took him to the House of Phoenix. And here he was now, all healed, ready to take on the world.

"And Dora? This is something she wants as well?"

"Yes." Sky nodded. "We discussed it and she said she wants to help me. As will Emily, but she wishes to complete school first like a normal student."

'He has been touched by Balance and will become a Keeper of Balance, as will those who follow him.'

"Very well." Marcus said before smiling. "I'm proud of you, son."

Sky smiled his face clear of any discomfort or hesitation.

"I love you, dad."

"I love you too, son."

A/N: Thank you for reading. Please review and tell me what you think.

- Dalnim