Ginny looked on in disbelief as she stared at Draco Malfoy. Malfoy was one of Hogwarts most notorious pupils. He was partly responsible for the death of the beloved headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, in Ginny’s fifth year. She knew that Malfoy had fled after the fall of Voldemort and that Harry had captured him. His eyes were grey and sunken, yet seemed to sparkle with an evil glint as he looked at Harry.
Harry and Malfoy both had their wands pointing at each other. They had been enemies ever since their first year at Hogwarts. The rivalry intensified until Harry finally captured Malfoy in Little Hangleton.
A sinister smile cracked Malfoy’s face as he looked from Harry to Ginny. She felt repulsed as his eyes landed on her. Ginny looked away from Draco to the silhouettes of two other figures approaching her and Harry. One was tall, with long blonde hair similar to Draco’s. The other was short, round and unkempt. She took a sharp intake of breath as she realised who they were.
“Lucius Malfoy,” Harry said coolly, “I can’t say it is a pleasure.” Harry moved his eyes from Lucius to the short figure standing next to him and cowering slightly.
“YOU!” he screamed as he laid his eyes onto Peter Pettigrew, and he turned his wand away from Draco and pointed it straight at Pettigrew’s heart; Ginny kept her wand firmly on the two Malfoys.
Lucius smiled. “Well, well, well. Potter and the Weasley child.”
“I’m no child!” argued Ginny hotly, raising her wand to Lucius.
Draco scoffed at her. “Put it away, Weasel. You’re not good enough.”
“I’m better than you think, Malfoy!” She went to flick her wand. Harry, however, held out his arm and stopped her.
“No.”
“Harry? What? Why?” Ginny spluttered incoherently. What was he doing? He knew she could handle herself.
Draco began to laugh. “Trouble in paradise eh, Potter?”
Harry turned his wand to Malfoy. “I’d keep quiet if I was you, Malfoy. You’ll be back in Azkaban soon enough.”
Draco looked at his father and they both started to laugh. Pettigrew however was staring at the wand in Harry’s hand.
Ginny thought she heard something from behind her. “Harry?” He cocked his head to listen to her. “I think there’s someone behind us.” Harry nodded.
“Keep your wand on them,” he murmured to her, and he quickly spun around. Seeing no-one there he turned back to the Malfoy’s and Pettigrew, when he heard another voice.
“What’s going on?”
Pettigrew whimpered at the sound of that voice. He knew, as Harry did, to whom the voice belonged.
The figure of Remus Lupin came striding towards them. He took one look at the situation in front of him and whipped out his wand, breaking into a sprint he came to a halt by Harry and Ginny.
Harry spoke again. “Remus, what are you doing out? It’s not safe. It’s nearly full moon.”
Lucius interjected, “Ah yes, the werewolf. Greyback should have finished you as a youth.”
Lupin looked at Lucius with a look of distain and turned back to Harry. “I often come out to the forest to transform. There’s more freedom.”
“Have you taken your potion tonight?” asked Harry, Ginny thought she heard a hint of panic in his voice, but just as she thought that, he flicked the faintest flicker of a smile at her.
“Of course.”
“Then you’ll be able to help us.”
“I shall.”
Pettigrew, who had remained silent since Lupin had arrived, suddenly let out a shriek of fright; the full moon had come out. Lupin howled in agony as his limbs contorted, his hands elongating to become paws, his nose and mouth fused into one and stretched out, becoming a short, stubby snout. H is back arched, forcing his down on all fours, his teeth were bared, and they were also getting much longer, and extremely sharp. The sight of this terrible transformation caused Pettigrew to shriek again, he turned his back on Harry, Ginny, Lupin and the Malfoys, and began to run. He transformed into a rat as he ran into the darkness of the forest.
“NO!” cried Harry as Pettigrew ran. He sent a stunning spell after Pettigrew.
Ginny eyes were on Lupin; he was fully transformed now. For a moment Ginny was worried about him attacking her or Harry. As she thought it though she saw Harry looked at Lupin and nodded his head. Without warning Lupin broke into a sprint and disappeared after Pettigrew into the forest.
Ginny watched him go and looked at Harry. He had turned back to the Malfoys, anger burning in his eyes. Ginny had never seen him so angry; it scared her to look at him. However, when she raised her wand arm, her wand was quite steady.
Harry was staring at the younger Malfoy; his eyes seemed to bore into him. “I’d have thought you’d have known better than this, Draco, don’t you remember what happened last time?”
What Harry had just said seemed to hit a nerve. “Shut it, Potter! You got lucky last time! I’m twice the wizard you are! You’re nothing to me! NOTHING!” Draco was absolutely seething. He seemed ready to lose control at any moment.
“Quiet, Draco, keep calm remember, you need to focus,” Lucius said, looking at his son.
Draco began to pace back and forth in an attempt to keep himself in check. Harry seemed amused by this. “I don’t think Azkaban agreed with you, Draco. You should have a lot of time to get used to it when you’re back there.”
“You’re never sending me back, Potter! You’re not going to have the chance!”
Ginny allowed herself a slight smile, Harry was winning this fight. Draco looked absolutely murderous. Ginny stopped smiling when she realised that a Malfoy looking murderous would more than likely result in an attempt on someone’s life “ especially given Draco’s unstable state of mind.
“So what do you want? You want to try and kill me? Again?” Harry asked, “I’ll be more than happy to take the both of you on right now,” he said, looking at Lucius.
“You’d fight two of the greatest Death Eaters ever known alone?” Lucius scorned.
Harry laughed. “You’re not great. You’re pathetic. You’re nothing more than a pair of incompetent murderers. You got foiled by a group of teenagers in the Department of Mysteries, you remember that, Lucius?”
Lucius flushed. “Certainly not one of my better moments, I agree. I’m more than willing to make up for that failing now. Once you are dead, each and every member of your little army that foiled me will be killed. I assure you.”
“You wouldn’t stand a chance, Lucius.”
“The fact remains that there are two of us and only one of you; unless you’re willing to risk the girl’s life?”
Harry looked at Ginny. He could not ask her to fight against the Malfoys. He had no doubt in her abilities “ he just could not risk losing her.
“Ginny.”
“Yes?”
“Leave. Now. You’re not ready for this.”
“What? No! Harry, I won’t leave you by yourself!” Ginny could not believe what he was telling her. If he thought she was going to leave him alone he had another thing coming.
“Yes, you will!”
“No, she won’t, Potter. I don’t ever recall saying we were here to kill you,” Draco interjected, his eyes narrowing maliciously, his insane smile returning to his face.
Harry was stunned. “What?”
“You heard me. I’d rather kill your little girlfriend than kill you.”
Harry moved and stood in front of Ginny.
“You’re not touching her.”
Lucius Malfoy flicked his wand at Harry and sent a jet of red light towards him as Harry was focused on Draco. Harry was ready however, and deflected it effortlessly.
“You’ll have to do better than that, Lucius.”
Using the distraction to his advantage, Draco Malfoy had managed to sneak to one side, out of Harry’s line out sight. He raised his wand at Harry and Ginny.
“Everte Statum! ”
An invisible force blasted Harry and Ginny apart. Both of them landed roughly. Harry felt a searing pain in his left arm; it was bloody and twisted, clearly broken. The spell had succeeded however, separating him from Ginny. As he struggled to his feet, Harry saw Lucius Malfoy running at him. Harry looked urgently for Ginny, willing her to be safe. He saw her some thirty feet away, defending herself from a barrage of spells from Draco’s wand.
Hold on, Ginny, I’ll be there soon
Harry was back to his feet and he raised his wand to deflect another of Lucius’ spells. The battle was on.
Ginny Weasley was fighting for her life; she’d never fought this intensely before, even in the Department of Mysteries. None of the Death Eaters had attacked her with the ferocity that Draco Malfoy was attacking her with now.
After deflecting a stunning spell from Draco and leaping out of the way of a blast of green light, Ginny decided that she had to do something. She could not hold out against his onslaught forever.
Seeing her opportunity Ginny cast a shield spell and sent a stunning spell back at Draco, he dived for cover and Ginny took the advantage, she sent a stunner of her own after him, he deflected it with ease. Slightly taken aback at how easily he was deflecting her spells, Ginny decided a different plan of attack and attempted the summon Draco’s wand to her.
“Accio wand!”
Draco was prepared for anything Ginny could throw and him though, and he dismissed her spell almost lazily. It was at that point that Ginny realised that he was more than a match for her. Harry had been right to tell her to leave.
Slowly but surely Draco began to regain the advantage. His spells were much more powerful than Ginny’s. He was toying with her. He knew he was safe as long Harry was busy with Lucius.
Then it happened. As Ginny deflected yet another curse of Malfoys it knocked her off balance, before she could regain her footing Malfoy had attacked again.
“SECTUMSEMPRA!” he bellowed, waving his wand in a very unusual zigzag movement.
Ginny staggered backwards, her wand falling to the floor as she lost her grip on it. She coughed, blood coming up out of her mouth. She looked down at her hands, they were covered in blood. The front of her robes were soaked and dark with her blood, and she felt the warm liquid trickling down her face. Her vision blurred as blood ran into her eyes she slumped to her knees; the strength rapidly leaving her body.
Draco Malfoy looked down at her in triumph as she crumpled to the floor. He cast a quick glance towards his father, who seemed to be holding his own against Harry.
Draco bent down and picked up Ginny’s wand, twirling it between his fingers, with a swift crack he snapped it in two. With a malevolent look in his cold grey eyes, Draco pointed his wand at Ginny once again.
“Crucio!”
Ginny screamed as pain coursed its way over her entire body; she felt her limbs contort with agony. She felt the deep cuts on her body open wider and deeper as the Cruciatus curse rippled over her. She screamed again, this time though she screamed for Harry.
Ginny’s scream cut like a knife through Harry, he had to help her; she would not last much longer. Harry decided it was time to finish this. He deflected another, and another of Lucius’ spells. Then with a roar of fury, he flew into a flurry of offensive spells unlike he had never done before. Lucius either deflected or dodged them, but far from easily. Eventually one of Harry’s spells blasted its way through his dogged defence. Harry’s jet of red light caught him right in the chest; he was blasted away from Harry, and landed on the floor, unconsciousness.
Before Lucius had hit the ground Harry had turned and began to run towards Ginny. Draco had lifted the Cruciatus curse from her, and he had his wand raised once more. He pointed it at Ginny.
“AVADA KED…”
A jet of red light shooting past him interrupted Draco. He took his eyes from Ginny and saw that Harry was running full pelt towards him, wand outstretched. Without pausing to think of what had happened to Lucius, Draco turned and ran towards the school gates; stunning spells illuminated the night sky with a bright red light as they crackled around him. Draco managed to reach the gates, and as soon as he had done, so he Disapparated immediately.
Harry did not even bother to give chase to Malfoy. As soon as he reached Ginny he fell to his knees by her side, she was lying curled up on the ground, covered in blood. Her scarlet hair was thick with the crimson liquid. Harry immediately took her hand in his and held on, willing her to be okay.
She was in a bad way. The cuts from Malfoys spell had gone deep; the bleeding could not be stopped. Ginny was looking at Harry, her brown eyes with wide with fear, blinking blood out of them. Ginny tried to speak, but did not have the strength.
Harry began to cry, his eyes filling with tears. This was not fair. He could not lose her. Her just could not. He had come to teach at Hogwarts just so he could be around her. He had left the Auror office in charge of the hunt for Malfoy. Being around Ginny again was intoxicating. Harry had found himself thinking of being with her, and now this. She was going to leave him.
Harry felt Ginny squeeze his hand. He looked down at her, wiping tears from his eyes as he did so. Her eyes were closing, her grip on his hand was loosening, her breathing started to slow.
“Ginny. No. Don’t. Please. Come back. I need you,” pleaded Harry.
Her hand slipped from his.
“No!” cried Harry, and he pointed his wand at her, attempting every healing spell that he knew. It was no good. She was too far gone for any of them to have any effect at all.
Closing his eyes and shutting off his mind from his grief Harry went inside of himself, searching for something, anything that might work. Then it hit him. The spell that he had written in the notebook, the spell he had never tried, the spell that might kill both of them. The spell that, until this moment, existed as pure theory, words on a piece of paper.
I’d rather be dead than live my life with Ginny gone, Harry thought.
He pointed his wand at her; a jet of white light emanated from its tip and encased Ginny’s still body, lifting it off of the ground. Another jet of white light surrounded his own body. Harry felt himself getting weaker, he fell to his knees, struggling to control his wand as the beam of light coming from it grew brighter and brighter. Finally the light began to fade, and Ginny’s body fell to the ground as Harry felt everything go dark.
A/N - Thank to my beta Orlaith. I hope you all enjoyed this, it was a hard one to write. Chapter 12 is ready to go.