Six months it took. Six arduous months of patience and careful work. This time Anakin and Albus both made sure Luna would not work herself into an early grave to separate the last remnant of Lord Voldemort's soul from the realm of the living.

There was no great celebration once it was done; just quiet relief to the few who were in the know. All those children had since grown up into capable young adults, most of them in the process of completing their education.

For Anakin himself, it was a relief. Now that he knew his great task was completed, he could consider what to do next. There was still a life to live, one he had been granted despite all the mistakes he made. A world to explore and students to teach, the latter of which he had found he enjoyed more than he ever thought he would. Even if it was in a power he could barely access, he felt he added a great deal to Hogwarts' students.

Even if his only real achievement was to find and train Luna Lovegood. He had yet to find another child with any notable strength in the Force, though he was not looking so far.

"What I never figured out," Albus told him over a glass of firewhiskey during their small, private celebration of the Dark Lord's demise, "is how, or why, you would wake up here on Earth after your death. And perfectly restored, at that."

They both knew Anakin retained some scars, but Albus' meaning was clear; the arm and legs he lost so long ago, the disfigurement from being burned alive, it was all gone the day he opened his eyes on this world. Instead of answering him properly however, the younger man merely huffed. "The Force works in mysterious ways, Albus."

Of course he knew, had long since determined what the Force desired of him. To pave a path to the future for these children he first assumed, but since figured out he was wrong.

And while he continued to hold his most enigmatic smile, Anakin pondered about the genius and foolishness of Tom Marvolo Riddle, or Lord Voldemort. Of a man so brilliant that only a handful of men could compare to him, yet so torn apart by desire for the impossible that he lost it all. Of a man who began to play with forces beyond his control, who attempted to tear apart fate at the seams because he so wanted.

As the Jedi and Sith had learned, the Force did not like being treated that way. And once again, Anakin Skywalker had been the answer it gave. So it brought him to grind the Dark Lord to dust, and good riddance.

In the same breath however, the Force had offered him something he never felt he deserved after how far he fell. A second chance, a chance he wished to use as best as he could.

Even though his deeds were unforgiveable, he had persevered and could live on like this. Never to forget the sins of the past, and to guide others into a brighter future.

In the end, despite everything, through victory his chains were broken. The Force had set him free.