Bellatrix's insanity destroys most of her mental faculties, but her love for Voldemort is too strong for even her insanity to destroy.  Until now Voldemort has been incapable of love because he has never been loved: his father abandoned his mother before he was born and his mother died shortly thereafter, leaving him to be raised in a Muggle orphanage in which he received adequate physical care but no love.  But gradually he responds to Bellatrix's love and learns to love her in return.  And when Bellatrix expresses her regret that Lucius Malfoy's murder caused an estrangement between her and her sister Narcissa Malfoy, Voldemort feels something that he has never felt before: remorse.  His remorse extends from Lucius to his other supporters, then to other wizards, and finally to Muggles, including his first murder victim - his father.  He has always hated Muggles, especially his Muggle father, because he thought that his father had abandoned his mother when he discovered that she was a witch, but now he begins to question that assumption.  He sends you an owl, asking you to find out what really happened.  Retrieving some memories that you previously put into your Pensieve, you discover the truth, which you relay to him.  His mother used a love potion on his father, and when she stopped using it, he fell out of love with her and left her.  As much as his departure hurt her, she suffered far more from the constant abuse she received from her father Marvolo, a pure-blood wizard and direct descendent of Voldemort's idol, Salazar Slytherin.  He sends you another owl, thanking you and asking you to apologize on his behalf to all his surviving victims, which he is afraid to do himself in case they wreak revenge on him instead of forgiving him, and announcing his intention to spend the rest of his life in seclusion with Bellatrix.  His note is signed Tom Riddle and it comes with a photograph from which you learn that his remorse has restored his soul and his appearance.

  Life in the wizarding world returns to normal.  After graduation, Harry and Ginny become professional Quidditch players, Ron joins his brothers Fred and George as co-owner of their joke shop, and Hermione works for a while in the Ministry, where she sees to the improvement of the working conditions of House Elves.  When the Arithmancy Professor retires, Hermione, now satisfied that her work at the Ministry has achieved its objective, takes over the position, and upon your retirement, she takes over from you as Headmistress of Hogwarts.

  Her parents are so proud of her that they boast about her exploits to whoever will listen to them.  Their stories spread too fast to be stopped by memory charms.  Eventually they reach a certain Muggle writer, who recounts them in a novel entitled "Albus Dumbledore and the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry".  After many rejections, her novel is finally published.  With the proceeds from her novel, she is able to buy a house.

  If you are satisfied with this state of affairs, turn to Chapter 50.

  If you want to explore the consequences of a different set of choices, click on the back arrow of your browser until you get to a choice you want to change.