*shrug* I though that he would have to become a squib in the process of defeating Voldy.
That wouldn’t have been a bad answer either. Would have let him lead a nice life (even as a squib he still would have had access to the magic culture, and all that gold). Paying a price but not tragic. Of course instead JKR had him pay a price on a more esoteric level, he got to lead people into situations where they would probably die, and realized how much that sucks. That’s a big price to pay, especially for a teenager.