Several days later, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast. Ron looked at Harry, amazement written all over his face. “You’re going to do what? Explain it again, because I know that I didn’t hear you right,” he said and took a big gulp of juice before slamming the glass back on the table. “Especially after all your grand words about not wanting to subject Ginny to You-Know-Who! Have you suddenly just changed your mind or have you gone mad?” Ron stuffed a whole piece of toast into his mouth while he waited for Harry to answer.
“You heard me right, Ron. I said I’m going to take Ginny with me. I have to, according to what Dumbledore told me before he died. She’s the key to my success and if she’s not with me, then how do I succeed? I have given this a great deal of thought, you know. It’s not like I decided on a whim. I have to teach her the binding spell and we’ll need to practice the spell that Dumbledore taught all of us, Propulso Corior.” Harry sat across the kitchen table at the Weasley’s house calmly talking to Ron and Hermione about what he wanted to do. “Since that lead I had about one of the Horcruxes wasn’t real, we’re back to square one.” The lead had turned out to be a bad one and had Harry chasing across the country into Scotland looking for Helga Hufflepuff’s cup.
Hermione picked at her scrambled eggs and bacon, took a bite of egg and swallowed before saying, “Harry, I understand why she needs to be there, but you still need to find the Horcruxes and destroy them before you can even think about going after Voldemort.” Her words caused Ron to give the usual grimace, but he was ignored. “Why don’t you let Ginny get started on her school term, find the ones you can and destroy them, then go to Hogwarts and get her?”
“That’s a good idea in theory, Hermione, but I’m going to need to go up to Hogwarts for the binding spell, among other things, anyway. I’m also hoping to talk to Dumbledore’s portrait, as well. The last time I was in there, he was sleeping. The sooner we continue on, the better off we’re going to be.”
“Harry, no one is denying that! We’re here to help you! It’s not just your fight and if you’d listen to anything, listen to that. You talk of succeeding against Voldemort “ get a grip Ron!” Hermione was exasperated and it showed. Frustration was written all over her face. “I think that when you get ready to work on the binding spell with Ginny, we all should go up to Hogwarts with you!”
Relief spread across Harry’s face. “I don’t want to do this alone,” he confessed abruptly. “I just don’t want to see anyone else that I care about die.” Harry picked up some bacon off his plate and fiddled with it. “It was hard enough knowing that my parents died because of that lunatic and I don’t even remember it! It will be far worse to watch one of you,” he finished and stood up. “I’m going up stairs for a while.”
While this conversation was going on downstairs, Ginny flopped on her bed in the middle of packing her trunk in preparation of going back to Hogwarts. Arnold, the purple Pygmy Puff, slept peacefully in a cage on top of the dresser and Ginny’s things were still strewn around the room. The sun shone brightly through the window and fell directly across her face, temporarily blinding her until she slapped a hand over her eyes. Since sitting up made it easier to see, Ginny quickly did that and surveyed her room. What a mess! she thought and frowned before getting back up to finish the packing. It was taking a lot longer than she had anticipated. Of course, procrastinating hadn’t helped the situation any. Hearing her mother climbing the stairs, Ginny bolted off the bed and started to throw her school things into the open trunk that sat by the door.
“Ginny, dear,” Molly said, knocking on the door and opened it. “How is the packing going? We need to be leaving very shortly.” Glancing around the room, Molly pulled out her wand to help her daughter finish packing.
Smiling up at her mother, Ginny said, “thanks, Mum. I was feeling overwhelmed!” Seeing the knowing look on her mother’s face, she continued on to say, “I know, I know! If I’d done it yesterday, then it wouldn’t be such a mess now. What time are we leaving?”
“Any minute now. Your father will be here momentarily and then we’ll be off,” Molly told her. “I’ll have your brother come up here and help you carry down your things when you’re ready,” she said to Ginny and left her daughter to finish up with the odds and ends of packing.
Several hours later, Ginny was ensconced on the Hogwarts Express after a tearful good-bye between her and her parents. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had passed on seeing her off in favor of searching through the Black family homestead, which had been left to Harry after Sirius’s death. She hoped and prayed that Harry would be successful and safe while he hunted down the Horcruxes and that he would come to his senses while he did it. After settling in to a compartment with Neville, Luna, Dean and Seamus, Ginny closed her eyes so that her friend’s wouldn’t see how she was feeling. Thoughts of the missing Horcruxes were never far from her mind; she just didn’t know where to start looking for them. Hermione had promised to keep Ginny informed with up to date information. It might help, as the only remaining Horcruxes they were aware of were the snake, the locket, the Hufflepuff cup and You-know-who. Ginny drifted off to sleep and only awoke once they were at the Hogsmeade station.
As the days and weeks passed, Ginny drifted through, dragging herself from class to class and forcing tasteless meals down her throat. Quidditch didn’t even hold an appeal for her. This year was very different from the ones she had experienced in the past. Hogwarts was different. None of her brothers were in school and her best friends weren’t coming back. Dumbledore was gone. Professor McGonagall had been installed as Headmistress during the summer and had the task of finding three new teachers. Professor Slughorn decided not to come back after Snape had killed Dumbledore and that left the Potions position open. The erstwhile professor felt that he’d be much safer in his own home and left for parts unknown. The Transfiguration position had opened when McGonagall became Headmistress. Ginny had loved McGonagall’s acerbic way of teaching and sorely missed her. Snape was a different story, however. No one, other than the Slytherin’s, would miss him. The school had been abuzz for weeks over what had happened at the end of last term and it was clear that even though McGonagall would be a good Headmistress, Dumbledore would always be missed.
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Ginny slipped the Potions homework she’d been working on into her bag and headed to bed. She’d been falling asleep in front of the fire with the unfinished assignment in front of her. Upon arriving in her dormitory room, she quickly changed clothes and climbed into the bed that had been warmed by one of the house elves. Slowly, Ginny drifted off to what she hoped would be a dreamless sleep...
The sun was shining brightly as Ginny walked down the lane to the burrow. Even from a distance, she could see Fleur and Bill sitting with Ron and Hermione outside, enjoying the beautiful day. Bees were buzzing to and fro from one flower to another. There was a wonderfully light breeze that lifted the tendrils of Ginny’s hair. Birds chirped merrily in the trees. Love was definitely in the air and what a picture it created. Without seeming to realize it, Ginny started to look for Harry. If Ron and Hermione were there, then Harry wouldn’t be that far away. Where was he? Why wasn’t he with the others? she thought to herself. The closer that she got, the more Ginny found that picture wasn’t what she thought.
“Where’s Harry? Why isn’t he here, Ron?” she asked, perplexed confusion written on her face. Ginny pulled up a chair and sat down at the table with the others.
“Harry? Who’s Harry? Do you know anyone named Harry, Bill?” Ron turned to his older brother.
Bill smiled up at Fleur who was sitting in his lap playing with the shark tooth earring that dangled from his ear and shook his head. “Never heard of him. Who is he, Ginny?”
Ginny gaped at them. “What do you mean you’ve never heard of him? We met him at Hogwarts. He’s the bloody Boy Who Lived! He’s completely famous and has been to this house a million times! Come on, Hermione! You have to be joking! He defeated Voldemort!” Jumping up, Ginny paced around the table in exasperation, her arms swinging wildly and fire in her eyes.
“He defeated who and we met him where?” a chorus of voices rang out.
“Volde “ what?”
“Hog “ what?”
Ginny glanced around the table, glaring at them before catching a movement out of the corner of her eye and blinked. Standing next to the broom shed was Harry and…Voldemort? How is that possible? she thought, blinking hard again. “Harry? Are you all right? What’s going on? Why don’t they know who you are?” Ginny kept her eyes on Harry and walked over to where he was standing. Reaching up to touch his face, desperate to make contact with him, she brushed the back of her fingers down Harry’s cheek. As soon as she touched him, Ginny felt the music begin to swell in her heart, making it grow.
Ignoring most of her questions, Harry reached up and swatted Ginny’s hand away from his face, effectively cutting off the music before pushing her away from him. “I’m fine. I’ve told you, I don’t need you and I don’t want you! Don’t touch me, don’t look at me, and don’t talk to me. I can do this all on my own! Actually, Riddle has offered me an opportunity that I can’t refuse.” Harry shouted at her while Voldemort pulled his wand out. “I can join his side and live forever! I will never die and I won’t have to worry about surviving some stupid war that I never wanted to be part of in the first place!”
Staring at him incredulously, Ginny sputtered, “Harry, what have you done?”
“I’ll show you what I’ve done, I’ve switched sides!” Harry pulled up the sleeve of his robe and showed Ginny the Dark Mark that had been tattooed to his arm. “Best thing I’ve ever done, too! The Dark Lord needed a new right hand man now, since I killed Lucius Malfoy and Snape! I’m just the man for the job, too. I’m the boy who lived! No one can kill me.” Harry sneered at her. “I put up with a baby relationship to put everyone off! I never wanted you. I definitely don’t want to marry you or have ugly redheaded children with you. I laughed later at that conversation. You bought everything I said hook line and sinker! You disgust me.”
Ginny looked at him, appalled. “You don’t mean that! You love me and told me so many times. Was it all just a lie? What purpose did it serve to tell me things like that?” Ginny was so involved in the conversation she was having with Harry, that she’d stopped paying attention to the most feared wizard in the magic world.
“Avada Kedavra!” The dark lord suddenly shouted and pointed his wand at Bill and Fleur, killing them at once. Voldemort then turned towards Ron and Hermione and before Ginny knew it, they were gone, too. “You were my seventh horcrux, you silly little girl. You didn’t know that, though, did you? I created it in you in the Chamber of Secrets by transferring it from Nagini to you! However, I’m more than willing to give up that portion of myself if it means killing you! I should have had Wormtail take care of you last summer! He had opportunity during that fight at Hogwarts with my Death Eaters!” Voldemort’s wand was pointed at Ginny and the dreaded curse was uttered again, once more causing a green light to shoot out of it.
Harry violently hit the back of Voldemort’s hand to keep the spell from hitting Ginny. “No, if anyone is going to do it, it’s me! I have the right to kill her. She has driven me mad and I hate her,” he shouted pulling out his own wand. Harry took aim and muttered the words that would end Ginny’s life, maniacal laughter spilling from his lips.
Ginny saw the green flash of light release itself from Harry’s wand and felt the blast hit her chest before slowly falling backwards to the uproarious laughter of Voldemort. The last thing she saw as her back hit the ground was Harry’s face and the evil smile that lurked there. Ginny closed her eyes and was gone...
Far away in London, Harry bolted up right from a dead sleep and at the same time Ginny did likewise at Hogwarts. Harry jumped out of bed and dressed before Disapparating to the city of Hogsmeade and Ginny rolled over, buried her face in the pillow trying to calm her wildly beating heart and keep the sobs at bay.