Poor Harry hadn’t even finished preparing himself before he was suddenly thrown backward through the air.

Everyone present looked at him with concern.

Everyone except Arthur.

In truth, Arthur’s spiritual sense had been fixed on Harry the entire time. He could clearly feel that Harry’s vital signs were stable. It looked more like he had stumbled than been struck by a Killing Curse.

To have resisted the Killing Curse twice in one lifetime and survived both times—

even in the wizarding world, Harry was utterly unique.

Harry pushed himself up from the ground, ignoring Snape’s less-than-gentle reaction, and hurriedly examined his own body.

After confirming that he was unharmed, he finally let out a long breath of relief.

Then he turned to Arthur.

"Arthur... can you check if Voldemort’s soul is still inside me?"

Arthur shook his head.

"No. It’s gone."

He had been watching closely the entire time.

The moment the Killing Curse struck Harry, the fragment of Voldemort’s soul within him had begun to dissipate. Now, not even a trace remained.

Harry exhaled again, the tension finally leaving his shoulders.

That meant Voldemort was left with only one Horcrux—and his main body.

The only problem was that no one knew where the final Horcrux was hidden.

Thinking of this, Harry asked, "Do you know where Voldemort’s last Horcrux is?"

Arthur rolled his eyes. "How would I know?"

The previous six Horcruxes had been found and destroyed easily because he already knew about them.

...Wait.

Arthur suddenly remembered something.

The remnants of Voldemort’s soul from several destroyed Horcruxes hadn’t actually been erased. He had merely stripped the soul fragments from their containers. Those remnants were still stored within his system space.

As for the final Horcrux—the one symbolizing gluttony—even Arthur had no idea where it was.

He wasn’t even certain whether Voldemort had successfully created it.

In the original timeline, that Horcrux had been Nagini. Voldemort had even ordered her to devour people, making the association with gluttony painfully fitting.

But Nagini had long since been taken away by Arthur. Whether Voldemort had found a replacement remained unknown.

Seeing that even Arthur had no answer, Harry frowned slightly.

"Voldemort won’t talk, and we don’t have any clues. How are we supposed to find the last Horcrux?"

Arthur waved a hand dismissively.

"It took tremendous effort just to revive a main soul. Reviving a Horcrux that only contains a fragment should be even harder."

"We’ve got plenty of time. No need to rush."

"If all else fails, we can just wait for Voldemort to come knocking after he revives again."

"Maybe by then you’ll be strong enough to defeat him on your own."

He gave Harry a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

After all, several of Voldemort’s soul fragments were still in his possession. If necessary, he could always craft a tracking tool based on the soul’s aura—something like a trace talisman from Eastern cultivation traditions.

All it required was a trace of the target’s essence.

The only limitation would be range and duration, though that could be improved later.

For now, however, there was something more important to deal with.

Voldemort himself.

The moon had already climbed high into the sky. It was time to send the Dark Lord on his way.

Arthur glanced at Harry.

"Alright. Let’s send Mr. Voldemort off."

Harry nodded and took his wand back from Voldemort’s hand.

He raised it, aiming the tip directly at Voldemort.

When Harry remained motionless for several seconds, Arthur spoke up.

"If you can’t do it, you can ask Snape to—"

"Avada Kedavra!"

Harry’s Killing Curse cut him off mid-sentence.

So that was why he’d been standing there so long.

He’d been gathering his killing intent.

Green light flashed through the air. Voldemort’s body was hurled backward, crashing lifelessly onto the ground.

Arthur turned to Dumbledore.

"Wasn’t this one of the black spells you said was strictly forbidden?"

Dumbledore nodded blankly, clearly stunned himself.

"...Why didn’t you stop him, then?" Arthur asked.

Dumbledore gave a helpless smile. "I didn’t expect him to use it either."

Hogwarts did teach offensive magic. Dumbledore had assumed Harry would use something else to finish Voldemort.

He never imagined Harry would go straight for Avada Kedavra.

It seemed Harry’s hatred for Voldemort ran deeper than anyone realized.

Among the three Unforgivable Curses, the Killing Curse required the least technical skill. As long as one knew the incantation and possessed genuine killing intent, it could be cast—provided there was sufficient magical power to support it.

An ordinary underage wizard might only cause injury or partial life loss.

But Harry was no ordinary wizard.

Though his own magic wasn’t particularly abundant, he could draw upon the magic left behind by Lily’s protection.

The magical power of a grown wizard was more than enough.

Voldemort was dead.

Completely dead.

His body was already beginning to grow cold.

Not even Arthur had expected things to end this way. He’d thought Harry might hesitate at the last moment.

Instead, Harry executed the spell cleanly.

At least he hadn’t blown Voldemort apart with something like a Blasting Curse.

Still, it was Harry’s first time casting the Killing Curse.

And now the backlash was setting in.

Harry stood there, breathing heavily, feeling as if all strength had drained from his body. Dizziness and ringing filled his ears.

Yet despite the exhaustion, his mood was strangely light.

He had finally killed the man who murdered his parents.

Arthur tossed him a potion.

"Calming Draught. Drink."

Harry caught it and swallowed the contents in one go, the violent surge of emotion gradually settling.

Once Harry had recovered somewhat, Arthur said casually,

"It’s late. Go get some rest."

With that, he turned and left for Hogwarts Castle with Hermione.

(Ranni: ...And me?

Arthur: I’ve got this under control. Be patient.)

Watching him leave so casually, Dumbledore called out helplessly.

"And what about the rest?"

He gestured toward the barely conscious Death Eaters scattered nearby.

Not to mention Voldemort’s body, whose disposal had yet to be discussed.

Arthur stopped, glanced back, and said,

"Do whatever you want. As for Peter Pettigrew, you could let Harry hand him over to Sirius."

"Didn’t he always want revenge? Let him handle it himself."

"My binding spell will last about a week. No need to worry about Pettigrew escaping."

"As for the other Death Eaters—kill them or hand them over to the Ministry. Your choice."

With that, he continued walking away.

Dumbledore shook his head with a wry smile. Arthur claimed to leave everything to them, yet had already arranged it all.

Then he remembered someone else still frozen nearby.

"And Minister Fudge?"

Arthur waved without turning around.

"The binding spell wears off tomorrow. Just let him go."

Dumbledore sighed and turned to Snape.

"Well, it seems the aftermath falls to us."

Snape said nothing, silently wondering whether it was still possible to leave at this point.

In the end, he stayed.

The professors who had been watching were dismissed, leaving only Dumbledore, Snape, and Harry behind.

There wasn’t much to clean up.

The Death Eaters were levitated by Professor Flitwick and temporarily imprisoned in the Hogwarts dungeons.

Peter Pettigrew, still in rat form, was taken back to the dormitory by Harry. He planned to deliver him to Sirius the next morning.

Just in time for Ron’s rat to have one final reunion.

Soon, only Voldemort’s corpse remained.

After some discussion, Dumbledore and Snape decided to burn the body and bury the ashes discreetly.

The Riddle family graveyard seemed appropriate.

They could also inform the Ministry staff still lingering nearby that everything was over and they could finally go home.

As for Fudge—

No one paid any attention to a Minister for Magic who was already destined to step down.

Meanwhile, Arthur returned to his dormitory.

He began writing letters to Lockhart and Rita.

He was a man of his word. If he said he would ruin Fudge’s reputation, then ruin it he would.

Ranni had already returned to the Zen Garden.

Hermione, however, remained at his side, leaning against his shoulder.

Without looking up from his writing, Arthur asked softly,

"You must be tired after today. Why not go get some rest?"

Hermione didn’t answer.

Instead, she asked,

"Cousin... did you forget something?"

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