It was time to end it all, Harry decided as he woke up in the comfortable flat he'd inherited from his mother. As he got out of bed and slipped on his slippers, and headed for the kitchen, switching on the light, Harry poured some water into the kettle and dropped a tea bag into a mug and waited for the kettle to boil before he made himself a cup of tea. As the hot, rich liquid trickled down his throat, he felt his already awakening body come out of hypersleep, and he switched on the radio.

At once he was bombarded with bad news.

"Strange fogs are leaving people who are suddenly in a coma; is this some new pollutant, or some terrorist's latest weapon?"

Harry shook his head. He knew enough of the Dementor's kiss and the effects of their aura to know what had really happened.

"….disappearance in London, York, Glasgow…."

"….fireworks in the shape of a skull with a snake protruding from its mouth…."

"People dying; no marks on them!"

Harry moved forwards to shut off the radio, tired of the never-ending monologue of hellish events that he'd been ignoring for nearly 2 years now since he had walked away from Hogwarts, but before he could, he stopped when he heard something that caught his ear.

"….prominent businessmen are being revealed as being corrupt child abusers; the most recent one, Andrew Mercer, was found with his head torn off his burned corpse. His victims reported seeing a woman with long black hair under a hood, and with glowing emerald green eyes…"

Harry froze.

Emerald green eyes…

He closed his own eyes, and leaned over the countertop, while he made a mental note to keep listening out to reports like that, for he knew precisely who it sounded like. He had heard of stories like this before; of anyone who so much as abused a child, be they a slap, or something more serious. She would go after them all. And he didn't blame her.

His twin sister, Holly. Holly had always wanted to stop child abuse after suffering from it for a large chunk of her life, their lives. Harry sighed in regret and his head hung low; he had been planning to end the Blood War for a long time, waiting and watching. He had left the magical world after getting his OWLs and his NEWTs after deciding he'd had more than enough of the wizarding world so he could just travel the world, taking the knowledge he had of the power needed to end Voldemort with him.

Call him selfish, if you like, but Harry had just…had enough; after 4th year with his sister refusing to speak to him, although he had learnt later in their next year after they'd come back from their respective holidays, him narrowly missing being snogged by a pack of Dementors, who'd helped themselves to Dudley and his gang instead, once Holly had calmed down that she had spoken to Dumbledore once he'd gotten back from that fucking graveyard and he had unwittingly helped Voldemort's resurrection, and the old wizard had told her about how he'd seen their parents.

Holly had been so upset she had gone to the Malfoys for her summer holiday, terrifying Harry; Lucius Malfoy had been at the graveyard, and he had been one of the Death Eaters summoned to the graveyard. Harry had worried about what someone who laughed at a teenage boy's torture would do to his sister.

Harry sighed.

He and Holly had grown up together, living in a cramped cupboard under the stairs, forced to share chores heaped on their small, thin shoulders by the Dursleys; they had eaten the scraps left by their muggle pigs for relatives, and as a result of the beatings they'd received, both of them had not been the kids Dumbledore had hoped would attend his precious school. Both of them had been too cunning for their own good, and when they arrived in the wizarding world and got a better idea of the Hogwarts Houses and what they all represented, neither kid had any doubt in their heads that Gryffindor would be the House they went into.

The Potter twins didn't give a damn; as far as they were concerned, it was not up to an old fool like Albus Dumbledore to decide where they went. At the same time, they both knew even if they ended up in different Houses, they would still be twins; did the wizarding world really think, for one moment, the twins would stop being close because of some stupid prejudice, and if one of them ended up in Gryffindor, and the other in Slytherin, they would start thinking of each other with nothing but hatred?

Why would they do that?

The idea was stupid.

But at the same time, they learnt of the various methods of magical control, and so they took steps to prevent it from happening; they found a book on the mind arts, and crystals set into rings designed to detect potions and spells. And even if they both didn't get into the same House together, they would still be close.

And they were….only for Dumbledore to drop that bombshell onto Holly's head, and she refused to speak to him after being close to him for years and years before they even heard of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. At some point over the holidays, Holly had turned dark, Harry knew that after sensing the joy she'd had using the cruciatus curse on Peter Pettigrew; she had always been fascinated with the dark arts, just as he had; like him, she viewed the dark arts as a means to an end, and a way of being more forceful and direct against their enemies, and torturing the thing who had betrayed their family had been like a sugar rush to her.

Harry didn't give a damn about his sister's allegiance, given how they had never had a reason to be light in the first place. Dumbledore's biggest problem after what happened with Tom Marvolo Riddle, who transformed into Lord Voldemort, was he never stopped to consider once that leaving children in homes where he knew they would endure a life of hell wouldn't make them into willing tools. It was baffling to Harry, who'd gone into Ravenclaw while Holly went into Slytherin, that the fool still had that idea in mind.

They'd been so close together, and Harry still wondered why Holly had just stopped speaking to him until she confronted him about it, and she was so upset she had begun falling in with the wrong crowd at Hogwarts and reading dark arts books, but she had not become a Death Eater. The pair of them shared a strong bond, and he would know; from the way Harry knew it went, Holly had apparently watched as Voldemort tortured a few Death Eaters in Malfoy manor, for some kind of failure, and Holly had realised becoming a Death Eater could mean a death sentence although she'd never planned to do it.

Why would she?

The Death Eaters were led by the same psycho who'd murdered their parents, and she did not like the way the Death Eaters were forced to kneel and kiss the hem of Voldemort's robes; it reminded her too much of being a slave, which the Death Eaters were. In any case, Holly had only gone to Malfoy Manor to take a look at the library without being scrutinised.

On top of that, it became obvious to Holly that Voldemort genuinely did not care for her values, and he was not going to help her. She wasn't naive or gullible enough for that thanks to the way the Dursleys abused them both, for which he was grateful, so she kept her distance. She had decided to become a Dark witch all by herself, on her own with little or no connection to Voldemort. That way, she was left alone for the most part.

Harry had tried to contact her, many times over the last two years; just because he had left the magical world to its own devices, to get away from Dumbledore and his machinations once he realised he would still make them again and again until he'd decided to just walk away from the magical world, did not mean he could leave Holly; she was all he had left, and while Sirius could be cool, he was not sure he could trust the older wizard, but Holly was still his sister, and he couldn't blame her for everything she had done. Like him, Holly was a victim and he couldn't blame her for taking things this far. He was going to do the same thing.

Closing his eyes, Harry focused on his sibling bond.

I love you, Holly.

For a moment he felt nothing but Holly's surprise, and then; Harry? Harry, you're back?!

Yes, I'm back. I know what you did, how Voldemort coerced you into helping to kill Dumbledore, Harry sent.

He felt his twin sister's emotions over the bond; her shame for allowing herself to be manipulated, her terror as she recalled how she had only just managed to escape with her life when she categorically refused to even be marked, and her relief at escaping to one of their mother's properties and hiding for a long time before going after child abusers. I won't say I'm sorry, Harry; I hated Dumbledore just as much as I fear the Dark Lord. I had no problems with the assassination; I don't give a damn about the way I went about it.

What are you doing now?

Nothing much; laying in bed, enjoying a good book and a bit of TV when you called. I wasn't expecting you to call me. Are you okay?

Yes. Are we….are we okay? You were not talking to me at the school the last time we spoke.

I'm sorry, Harry, really I am. I was just…oh, fuck, I was just so tired of the way you got to speak to our parents. I'd had enough. I went to the Malfoys because I needed time to think, and at the same time I wanted to know what the Dark Lord was like; the Malfoys sent Draco a letter, saying to him the Dark Lord was laying low at Malfoy Manor. I needed to see him, to understand him.

Harry nodded in understanding. You wanted to know what he was like, but why?

Wouldn't you be interested in what one of the most powerful Dark Lords in history has to offer?

Harry nodded again in understanding, although he was not happy, and Holly could sense he wasn't happy but not for the reasons most people in the magical world would consider since he didn't have any allegiance to them either. And you found that being a Death Eater was not on the cards?

I had no intention of being a Death Eater, Harry, Holly corrected fiercely, and he sensed she was telling the truth; she might have admired Voldemort, and in some ways he did himself, but even Holly had limits as an opportunist.

Harry closed his eyes. He was beyond delighted to hear this news since his plan was focused on the Death Eaters and he couldn't let his sister get in the way of it, it would take time for him to get to her and put his plans back months. I'm glad, Holly; I'd hate to have to see you standing near that sick fuck. What've you been doing lately?

I've been going after muggle and wizard child abusers; you wouldn't believe how many there are.

Yeah, I think I've heard about what you've done; you've become famous, Holly. The muggles know what you're doing.

Good.

Yeah, exactly. I think everyone who'd gotten out of abusive homes is hoping you get nominated for sainthood.

Holly laughed. I never expected that. How have you been, Harry? What have you been doing for the last two years?

Harry had no intention of telling his twin sister what he'd been doing lately until he was finished with Voldemort for good; just because she was not a Death Eater, it didn't mean she couldn't go to them in a fit of pique. I've been travelling the world, sis. I wanted to get away from the fucking country after OWLs.

And you didn't want me to come? There was an accusing tone in her voice.

We weren't talking, Hols, Harry reminded her. But I hope to meet with you soon.

Holly sensed that he wanted to cut it short, and she accepted that it was mostly her own fault and that she had pushed her twin away. But there was time to change that, later. Okay, soon.

Xxxx

Harry looked down at the Death Eater he'd captured from a raid he had stopped only a few hours ago. With the Ministry in their hands and Hogwarts under their thumb, Dumbledore dead and the Order crippled, the Death Eaters had become more brazen. Harry didn't recognise the Death Eater, but he could see he was a few years older than himself, but ultimately it did not matter really.

Tearing off the sleeve over the arm where the Dark Mark was, Harry got to work. He had already studied the Dark Mark beforehand, studying the collection of spells and enchantments imbued into it. The Dark Mark was a combination of spells; one of its functions was to act as a communication relay for the Death Eaters to use; it was a modified protean charm, and a simple use of thaumaturgy which connected the Dark Marks to each other, and was what allowed Voldemort to recognise each Death Eater he'd marked. At the same time he could use the Marks to track down anyone brave enough to see what the Death Eaters and their master were doing was wrong; if they did desert then Voldemort would simply use the Dark Mark network to track them down and then kill them at their leisure, but they had other functions as well. They drew magic from the Death Eaters and fuelled Voldemort, which was one of the reasons why he was so magically powerful, but at the same time, the Dark Mark's second property was one of the reasons why Voldemort had survived, as a shade or as a homunculus.

In his fifth year when the visions were becoming unbearable and painful, he'd studied Voldemort's life. He had used the Room of Requirement to study the Dark Lord and he had learnt the Dark Wizard had considered using Horcruxes, pieces of his soul, for immortality but after making one after using the basilisk to kill Myrtle, the agony had taken time for him to recover from.

After that, he had learnt that Horcruxes did not work, and so he felt he needed to find a new form of immortality and he'd found it in siphoning off magic from his followers. It was a ghoulish form of immortality, one Voldemort did not like since it went against his desire for independence, but it worked and it would do for now until he found another form of immortality he could make use of.

Harry had learnt that Voldemort's body was a form of homunculus since it was magically constructed, but because of its magical construction being unstable, Voldemort needed raw magical energy from his followers to stop himself from falling apart. Again, it was not a method of immortality he liked or wanted, and it likely frustrated Voldemort even more because he needed more and more followers.

When Harry had discovered the magic imbued in the Dark Marks when he had come to appreciate their weakness, he had made it his life's mission to understand how thaumaturgy worked and he had become an expert in the subject, and he had made dozens of experiments under controlled conditions and he had met dozens of teachers around the world to boost his knowledge. Now he was ready.

Harry cut two of his fingers, and lightly traced the Dark Mark with his own blood - Voldemort was a true fool to choose him, he reflected, but the stupid fool had no idea that he would study thaumaturgy - since he had given him the means of accessing the Dark Mark network.

Harry closed his eyes, opening his new connection to the link. The agony he put the Death Eater in made him scream, but the Death Eater was bound and gagged so tightly that he could barely writhe around. The link to Voldemort was one way, he would never give his magic or his life to save the Death Eaters, but he would feel the end result. Once he was sure the connection was open, Harry took his wands out of his pocket. He had gotten two custom wands, with a manticore brainstem core infused with basilisk venom and fang for power augmentation.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" Harry shouted.

There was a flash of green light, and the killing curses, augmented and doubled by the wands, struck the Dark Mark at point-blank range. The Death Eater flashed green and died, and he knew the killing curses would have gone through the network. Granted he would need to find Voldemort's remains, and make sure he was truly dead now, but as far as he was concerned the war was over; it would take time for the rest of the wizarding world to realise it, but they would soon.

Xxxx

Notice-me-not charm in place, making her invisible to the naked eye, Holly Potter stood outside the house, looking at it with a critical eye. The house looked like any other muggle house, but if there was one thing she had learnt growing up it was that the walls and door could hide anything. But her investigations had told her there was a paedophile living in this area, and she wanted him to pay for what he was doing since he was grooming little kids.

As she stood outside, she also had time to think. The sudden end to the war and the death of the Dark Lord and the Death Eaters had taken the magical world by surprise. She had no idea how her brother had done it, but the fact it happened so quickly after their brief mental chat spoke volumes. Harry had obviously planned to kill the Dark Lord then. Right now the Ministry were retaking control, but if she knew Harry, he was letting them clean up the mess.

She was about to move forward when she felt someone standing next to her. "Hi, Holly," her twin's voice broke through her thoughts and she swung around. Harry was right there.

"Harry," she cheered and hugged him, but then she heard a little gurgle and jumped back. For the first time, she noticed that Harry was cradling a baby. "Who's that?" she asked, looking at the baby and smiling at how cute it was. Just because she was a dark witch, it didn't mean she wasn't fond of kids.

"Voldemort's daughter, Delphini. I found her when I went to inspect the homes of Voldemort's followers. She's Voldemort's and Bellatrix's."

Holly gazed at the girl with surprise. She hadn't realised those two psychos even had a child. "What are you going to do with her?"

"I want to adopt her, Holly. I don't want her to be victimised because of who her parents are, and I want to do something good. I'd like us both to raise her, and if we both get married then we can still be a part of her life. I don't want Delphini to go through the same shit we did," Harry said seriously.

"Language," Holly said seriously, making Harry wince.

"Sorry," he said contritely before he looked at the house. "Child abusers again?"

"No, a paedophile."

Harry's face became more ghoulish, even as looked down at the little girl, tightening his grip protectively. Holly smirked at his actions and she grinned wider when Harry took out his wand. "Let's get the bastard." He pecked his sister on the cheek, and she smiled and kissed him back. Harry chuckled, knowing that while Holly was sugar and spice and everything nice, she had a darker side.

That kiss hid a deadly girl.

A few minutes later, the street was woken up by the sounds of screaming as he was tortured by the two most powerful magical twins in the country.

Author's Note - I think this is a more realistic scenario for Harry's siblings if they wanted to go to the different side; why would they join the Death Eaters, the people who murdered their family? It makes more sense for one of the twins, perhaps both of them, to go dark and be unaligned with Voldemort. I can believe and accept that.