[A/N: Ah, the last of the three couples...Ginny and James. This is my favourite out of the three chapters, so I hope you guys enjoy. Also, hopefully at the end of the chapter, anyone who didn't figure out the disappearing thing the first time has figured it out now. And sadly enough, this fic is drawing to a close. Only three or four more chapters and boom, I'll be done. So watch out for the next ones...they should be good (especially the last one, which I just finished writing)]
"What's the next ingredient?" asked Ginny as she peered nervously into the cauldron filled halfway with a thick, bubbling, pale-yellow concoction.
Once she had left the corridor, she'd bumped into James. The two of them had agreed that now that their time was limited, they should start working on the crystal immediately. Luckily, it could be brewed and created in one night.
James sat across from her now, holding the crumpled list of ingredients. "Two crushed mist lily petals," he read out loud.
Ginny rumaged around in the box that lay next to her, and extracted a beautiful, glowing flower. She plucked two of its snowy white petals off, and dropped them into the cauldron. The potion inside immediately turned dark grey, and thick clouds of smoke began billowing out of it.
"What's next?" called Ginny, coughing as the smoke engulfed her and James.
"One shard of the philosopher's stone," came the answering voice. Ginny, who couldn't see James at the moment, raised an eyebrow in surprise as she searched within the box for a thin sliver of the blood red crystal. She had heard tales of it from her brother about how he, Harry, and Hermione had found the stone and prevented Voldemort from getting it.
Ginny finally found the ingredient, and dropped it into the cauldron. Immediately the smoke cleared. The solution within the cauldron was now black, and its surface was deathly calm.
"And now?" she said, looking over at James.
He glanced down at the list, and his face lit up. "Last ingredient," he said happily. "One phoenix feather."
Withing having to look, Ginny pulled out a large, brightly coloured feather. Its hairs were soft to the touch, and she couldn't help but remember the white feather as she looked at it.
"Well," said Ginny, taking a deep breath, "this is it."
"Yep," James replied with a smile. "What are you waiting for? Drop it."
Ginny closed her eyes, and with a silent prayer that it would work, let go of the feather. She opened her eyes and looked down into the cauldron. At first, nothing happened; then, a small pop, and the solution disappeared, leaving a silver, penny-sized stone.
"Merlin," whispered James, his eyes wide in awe. "I can't believe we did it."
"Me neither," agreed Ginny. She tentatively reached an arm into the cauldron, and picked up the crystal. It immediately began to heat up on contact with her skin. Her trembling fingers closed in around it, and her eyelids fluttered closed as she allowed the warmth to spread throughout her body. "It feels incredible," she murmured, opening her eyes.
James smiled when he saw her reaction. He could tell that the magic of the crystal had a huge effect on Ginny; her skin seemed to shine with a new radiance, and her brown eyes sparkled with life. Even her waves of auburn hair glowed brighter.
"I...I can't believe it," she said. "I can't believe I can finally be normal again."
"You'll never be normal, Ginny. You're more than just normal; you're extraordinary."
"Oh James, thank you so much," exclaimed Ginny. She moved over to him and embraced him. "This is all your doing...I don't even know how I can repay you for this."
"Well you could just..." The sentence died on his lips as he leaned down to kiss Ginny. She kissed him back, then pulled back and smiled at him.
James held up a finger, and said, "One last thing we have to do."
Ginny looked at him with a confused expression on her face. "What's that?" she asked curiously.
"Give me the crystal."
She consented. Immediately, the warmth left her.
James pulled out his wand, murmured a few words, then tapped the crystal lightly. A fine, golden chain fell out of the tip of his wand. Picking it up, he attached the crystal to it with a simple spell. "For you, my dear," he said, handing the necklace over to Ginny.
Her smile grew. "It's beautiful," she said.
"But not as beautiful as you."
A blush crept up Ginny's cheeks. "Can you put it on for me?"
"But of course," James replied. He scooted over behind her, so that she was sitting cross-legged with her back facing him. He carefully placed the necklace on her neck, and attached the clasp. Leaning down, he whispered into her ear, "It looks amazing on you."
Ginny tilted her head back in response. Her lips met James's, and suddenly the warmth that had overtaken her was replaced by another, much stronger feeling - the feeling of absolute bliss. It was still so unfamiliar to her, yet it was about to be taken away the very next day.
They moved apart from each other, and Ginny rested her head on James' chest lightly. For the moment, she had forgotten about what was going to happen the next day; however, now that the crystal had been created, it all came crashing down on her again.
"I'm not ready to leave yet," she said, blinking back tears.
"And I'm not ready to let you go yet," he answered, gently stroking her cheek. There was a hint of sorrow as he said these words and it surprised Ginny; she was used to James always sounding so happy and carefree.
Then, she remembered something. "Did you ever let Lily go?"
There was silence, and then he responded in a forlorn voice, "No."
She sighed in sympathy, and said, "I'm sorry."
"It's okay," he replied, even though the grief beneath his light tone was evident. "I have you now."
"James...what's going to happen when I leave? You can't keep on holding onto me forever. It will never, ever work out." It pained Ginny to say these words, but she knew she had to make him face the truth. "Lily still loves you, you know," she added.
"No she doesn't," he replied bitterly.
"She does. Someday you and her will be together, James, and you'll be happier with her than you ever were with me. Someday you'll have an amazing son who will do things so great that the entire wizarding world will bow down to him. But these can only happen if you open your heart to her again."
"Ginny, this night is your last night here. Don't do this to me; I don't want to think about Lily, I want to think about you."
She bit her lip, and responded, "Just remember what I told you when I'm gone."
"Don't say that..."
Ginny began to weep as she replied, "It's going to happen, and we're better off acknowledging it than trying to push the fact away."
James shook his head, and wiped the tears away from her cheeks as he said gently, "I love you, Ginny, and no amount of love for Lily could ever match the love I have for you."
She started crying harder, and even though it tore her heart apart to say the next words, she whispered through her sobs, "I love you too, James."
November 12, 1997
Harry and Ron Weasley sat in the Gryffindor common room playing a very intense game of wizarding chess. Both their faces were scrunched up in concentration as they plotted ways to beat the other.
"Checkmate!" cried Ron gleefully a few minutes later. "Beaten once again, Potter."
"Oh shut up, Ron," replied Harry jokingly. "C'mon, lets clean up, it's almost time for dinner."
He reached out and began gathering the pieces when all of a sudden, the odd sensation of his heart stopping hit him once again. This time, it was far more painful than the other day; he felt as though his heart was twisting around, and for some reason, he felt as if he had been betrayed.
An image of Ron's younger sister, Ginny, kissing someone who looked shockingly like himself flashed into his mind for a brief moment. Suddenly, he heard the words, "I love you, Ginny," faintly echoing in his head in a voice that sounded like...no, it couldn't be. The voice sounded like...his own.
Then, it all stopped. Just like it had the day before while he had been on the stairs. Panting for breath, he looked at Ron. His friend was staring at him with his mouth opened in shock, looking as pale as a ghost.
"Bloody hell!" Ron exclaimed, his eyes fixed on Harry's waist.
Harry slowly followed Ron's gaze, almost afraid of what he was going to see. His mouth also dropped open when he saw the reason for his friend's shocked expression. His entire lower half, from feet to waist, had disappeared.
"Ron..." he said in a shaking voice. "Whats going on?" He looked down once again, and blinked in surprise - his legs were back.
Ron glanced up at his friend, shaking his head slowly in disbelief. "That was...not normal, Harry," he squeaked.
"I...I saw Ginny kissing someone who looked like...me."
Eyes widening, Ron muttered, "Why did Hermione have to choose now to go on a Muggle Studies field trip..."
November 12, 1971
Reaching up behind her, Ginny unclasped the necklace on which hung the crystal. "Keep this," she said, pressing it into James's hand. "Keep it for the night. You can give it back to me tomorrow when we leave."
"I can't take this..." he started to say.
"Please take it, and remember that while you have it, you also hold my life in your hand." She smiled sadly at him before kissing him on the cheek, standing up, and walking out of the room.
James now sat alone. He closed his eyes, wanting to preserve the feel of her lips on his in his mind forever. He knew that the feelings that controlled him could only mean one thing...the overwhelming pain, the will to sacrifice it all, the rush of emotions...once again, love had stripped him of everything except his heart, which he had now also lost in exchange for the tiny crystal that lay in his hand.