Arrivederci
Dumbledore was subtle, well no not really but he tried to be. Strong arming Grindelwald's march, raids, deaths. With Albus at the helm, Harry found himself of no use, instead splitting his time between Luna, Azrael, Sanguini and his and Luna's plans for this world.
So far it seemed to be going okay despite Dumbledore's interference, Grindelwald balanced out Tom's young ideals and Tom did the same for Grindelwald but the Wizarding world nonetheless knew Grindelwald was inching closer to Britain. Sometimes an important figure or artifact would go missing and whispers of Arcane would pass around.
They had lasted some more years though, Tom was sixteen now and true to Luna's word he had not found the Chamber of Secrets and at the word of Grindelwald had been successfully warned away from horcruxes. There had been several small scale attacks on the ministry and Hogsmeade in recent years, warning or perhaps more accurately, threatening the wixen of Britain of the impending war, tossing the ministry and auror corps into a throng of training and battle simulations. Hogswarts classes into lessons of defense should one fall into battle without meaning.
They were both visiting in Hogsmeade, one of the weekends for Hogwarts students to catch up with Tom, avoiding Nurmengard as much as possible due to Dumbledore's presence and walking the group back up to Hogwarts, Harry and Luna glaring down at Tom, for a stupid comment.
A soft explosion had Harry shoving the students through the last step of the wards and Luna apparating straight back to Hogsmeade, students fleeing from the grounds.
"Tell the teachers, it begins now." Tom lagged.
"No, he would tell me, he wouldn't begin here." Harry rolled his eyes.
"Dumbledore wouldn't tell you shit and he runs the operation now doesn't he, probably hoped you'd get swept away and killed. Now get, before I blast you onto your arse myself." Tom looked suitably cowed, his ability to stand up to Harry and Luna long gone.
Luna appeared by his side, wounded students in arms, passing them off to students still fleeing into the castle.
"How many?"
"Few. If I know Albus and we do, its a distraction, he's beginning elsewhere."Just as a patronus cantered past.
"Attack at the ministry." A voice screeched and Harry made it vanish, like it would do any good spreading panic everywhere, before casting one of his own.
"Attacks in Hogsmeade and the ministry. Likely heading for Hogwarts. It is not a drill, Students to dormitories, teachers to the wards." They watched his own patronus head to Hogwarts, for Dippet and turned back to the gates. "Luna can you head back to Hogsmeade, help heard students I'll protect the gates until they sort themselves out."
"Of course." Luna smiled, kissing him on the cheek and disappearing with a pop. Harry chucked some magic at the wards in order to stop Dumbledore from interfering with them and watched as students raced up, some helping others who'd been wounded in some way or another. Harry sending another patronus to inform the medi-witch of her incoming patients. Students were soon followed by the chaperoning teachers, clusters of students amongst them.
Through the wards just as Grindelwald's, Dumbledore's, whoevers Reapers apparated into place their eyes landing on Harry, sending back a step.
"I don't suppose I can convince you to fuck off?"
"We're under orders, traitor."
"Not so much a traitor as a private contracter. I'm all the flipping off the Wizarding World, I am however not all for the final battle being on the grounds of a school full of children."
"Who says it's the final one?" Harry grinned.
"I do." A blast of magic tossed most of them backwards onto their backs, knocked out, a new wave advancing the third right behind. Gilly had many Reapers, the troops in Hogsmeade and the ministry were probably the smallest fraction of them whilst most of the force was sent to Hogwarts. He seemed to be proved right as the teachers activated the magic within the wards and Luna appeared once again beside him, looking slightly more worse for wear than before and multiple waves apparated in, advancing. Dumbledore appearing shortly behind them. He didn't particularly look like Dumbledore but the magic was unmistakable.
Chaos ensued and with Luna and Harry at the gates, they took most of the damage and most of the Reapers out few escaping between them. With likely 70% of the force on the ground a furious and rattled Grindelwald apparated into existence, rather near Dumbledore.
"What in Morgana's name, are you doing?"
"Your inaction was painful."
"War don't just begin Albus Percival." Harry and Luna shared a snicker, a second name the man was in trouble and if he was going to survive then he would be on the couch tonight.
"Of course it does, you just have to apparate." Some how Dumbledore was stupider with Grindelwald, more careless and stupider, as though being with the man meant he was untouchable. In fact the romantic duo of Albus and Gellert only brought out the worst in eachother in opposition to the more familial duo of Tom and Gellert which, perhaps while not bringing out the better of eachother, just more balanced eachother out.
Harry bled magic into the wards in order to kill the Reapers, coming in faster and slipping through as a result. Soon Dumbledores attention turned to Harry as Luna joined Clarissa and the both of them the teachers fighting the dwindling Reapers.
An engaged battle began, Grindelwald ultimately joining Dumbledore, without knowing what happened under the focus of a few dozen Reapers at his back and Grindeldore at his front Harry was on his arse, a curse hitting him head on, splitting open his chest. One last curse at Dumbledore had him enveloped in the colour of the killing curse, the ash of him a little blip in the bloody snow.
Grindelwald looked ridiculously conflicted for a dark lord, glancing between the ashes of his partner and the Master of Death bleeding put in the snow. Making off as Luna ran to him bleeding out.
"I can heal you." It would have been a question had she not already known the answer, Harry was dying, well, this body was dying and technically he could come back right after but they knew he wouldn't. "I'm staying." Luna smiled weakly as Harry grinned his eyes, nose and throat burning.
"I know."
"I know you do." Luna grabbed his hand, as teachers wandered near, Clarissa hovering behind. "I'm not apologising."
"I don't expect you to, you don't need to. You've stayed with me long enough." Harry's hand lifted to hold her face. They'd had plenty of see you laters but never had they had a goodbye, both hating them.
"I love you."
"I love you too." Harry's smiled didn't dim as he stepped out of his body, watching Luna get up staggering a little with tears clouding her vision and Clarissa wrapping her arms around her. As soon as he stepped through the veil Azrael caught him.
"She's happy." The God whispered as they went to the floor.
"I know." Harry voice cracked, the deity knew, Luna knew that Harry would be in pieces when they said goodbye finally, that Luna would be. Luna had Clarissa and Harry had Death.
"I'll watch over her."
"I know." Fuck he hadn't cried in centuries.
"This timeline is on a good path, she'll be happy for as long as they choose to live."
"I know, I'm happy for her." Harry pulled away from the deity as he cried, a small hysterical goggle leaving his lips. "I haven't felt this sort of hurt in a while." His words were jagged and wobbly as Azrael led him through their realm. Azrael opened the time line Luna and himself had talked about years before. Harry was going to mourn and pick up his soul and then Azrael would push him through the window.
They waited a little while, simply sitting.
Well to Death and his Master it was a little time.
To the rest of the universe it was equivalent to spending millennium's with a constant other by his side that wouldn't be there any longer.