Hindsight

Finale

Every pair of eyes snapped towards the newcomer. A second after Dumbledore's appearance, the Floo flared again, revealing Mad-Eye Moody. Moody followed Dumbledore out of the Floo grate, a confused look on his face and tripped on his own wooden leg.

Dumbledore saw at once the group gathered in the side corridor and made his way across the Atrium towards them, looking disapprovingly at the scene of carnage. Harry had half a mind to curse Dumbledore right there. To him, his disapproval of what had just happened here was akin to openly disrespecting the fallen.

'Amelia!' Dumbledore called. 'What has happened here?'

'Can you not tell by what you see?' Amelia answered curtly.

'I see hundreds of witches and wizards wearing Death Eater robes on the ground,' Dumbledore said. 'Are they all dead, Amelia?'

'Yes. They were killed as they attempted to take the Ministry.'

Dumbledore looked up, aghast. 'Amelia!' he gasped, 'Please do not tell me that you have just killed hundreds of people.'

'I did not kill them personally, Albus,' Amelia snapped. 'The brave Aurors, Hit-Wizards, and Unspeakables, along with many volunteers defending the Ministry, did. Do not insult them, Albus. They have fought bravely, and many gave their lives!'

Dumbledore frowned. 'I do not mean any offense, Amelia, but your witches and wizards have just murdered hundreds! What for?'

'They were Death Eaters, Albus,' Amelia spat. 'And what for? What do you think? They were attacking the Ministry, Albus, with Voldemort himself!'

'There could have been men and women among them that could have been Saved!' Dumbledore lamented. Harry wanted to slam his head into a wall upon hearing Dumbledore's usual delusional remarks. 'Yet your Aurors have ended their lives, taking away their chance to be made to see the Light!'

'They were attacking the Ministry with Voldemort himself,' Amelia repeated coldly. 'They came here with the sole intention to kill as many of us as possible and take the Ministry. Did you somehow think that we would not match their force with ours?'

'I expected better of you, Amelia,' Dumbledore said, refusing to back down. 'Mercy is the single most important thing you could give. But now, you have taken away even the possibility for mercy to be shown to these witches and wizards. And all for naught.'

'All for naught?' Amelia thundered. 'All for naught? Voldemort's entire army has been wiped out!'

'But Voldemort remains at large.'

'Harry Potter killed Voldemort not five minutes ago!' Amelia bellowed. 'The war is at an end! We have as much of a struggle ahead of us to rebuild without your interference!'

Dumbledore looked positively alarmed. 'That is not possible,' he said quietly. 'Voldemort cannot be killed…not yet…you don't know the way…'

'What were your intentions, Albus? Stun Voldemort and throw him in Azkaban?' Amelia mocked derisively.

'Voldemort has taken certain…safeguards against death,' Dumbledore said, refusing to acknowledge Amelia's point. 'It is impossible to kill him unless they are eliminated.'

Harry pushed his way forward to the front of the crowd. 'You mean his Horcruxes, Headmaster?' He relished at seeing Dumbledore's eyes widen. 'They're gone. The Diary, of course. Hufflepuff's Cup, Marvolo Gaunt's Ring, Ravenclaw's Diadem, Slytherin's Locket, and the snake. They're all gone. Voldemort is gone for good.'

'How did you find out, what they were, Harry?' Dumbledore asked, shocked. 'I did not think – '

'You mean you did not want others to know?' Harry corrected cuttingly. Dumbledore again ignored the slight. 'It was not difficult, Headmaster. The Diary exhibited a strange kind of magic. You said so yourself. From then, it was just a small matter of figuring out what it was,' Harry lied, giving Dumbledore the already-spun story. 'Sirius showed us Slytherin's Locket, which fit the description of a Horcrux. From that, we knew that Tom Riddle collected Founders' items. We got the Cup and the Diadem. Then, we found out about Riddle's connection to the Gaunts and tracked down their ancestral home – or shack – and found the Ring Horcrux there. As for the snake, I saw visions through the snake's eyes, so I guessed that the snake was a Horcrux. Looks like I was right, wasn't I, Headmaster?'