Harry Potter and the Dynasty of the Wand by Lady Snuffles
Chapter Notes: After having a bad dream Harry must tell Ginny the one thing he hoped he’d never have to say. How will Ginny take it? Is it possible for the morning to end well?
Disclaimer: All the good stuff belongs to Jo....damn it.
Harry and Ron were lying awake in their beds talking about the beautiful women they were less than a hundred feet away from.
“I love her,” Ron said, for what must have been the millionth time that night.
“I know Ron,” Harry reminded his best friend.
“She’s gorgeous.”
“You’ve told me.”
“And an amazing kisser.”
“That’s something I didn’t want to know.”
“I love her.”
“So I’ve heard.” Harry was starting to get annoyed. He just wanted to fall asleep and dream sweet dreams about Ginny.
“I want to marry her!”
“Ron. Shut up!”
“But I....”
“Not now!” with Harry’s last words Ron finally stopped talking about Hermione and tried interrogating Harry about Ginny.
“Why aren’t you talking about your girlfriend?” Ron asked sarcastically.
Harry simply answered, “I’d rather dream about her.” His short answer seemed to work. Ron grunted, rolled onto his other side, and in twelve seconds flat he was out cold.
For Harry it took a little longer to get to sleep. When eventually he did, it was a restless slumber. Instead of dreaming about a certain red-head in a nearby room, a horrible nightmare was quickly taking over Harry’s mind.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The room was dark except for a small fire in a tiny brick fireplace. Harry’s eyes adjusted to the light and he could see two vague figures moving about the room. “Where’s Potter?” Harry heard a familiar, drawling voice say. “His girlfriend here will die of loneliness before he arrives.”
“Calm down Lucius. The Dark Lord said he would come. He’ll come.”
“How can you have so much faith in him, Bella? How do we know if something went wrong in the plan? We could be down here waiting for Potter to show up and for all we know half of our team is dueling with Ministry officials. How do you know the Dark Lord wouldn’t leave us for Azkaban just so he can escape.”
“How can you even think such things? Of course the Dark Lord wouldn’t abandon us. Don’t lose your faith in our master so quickly, Lucius. He needs us to fulfil his plans after all.” A short while later, the handle of the door to jiggled loudly.“Aha! See what I told you? Here comes the boy now.”
Harry came rushing into the room in the blink of an eye. “WHERE IS SHE!?!” Harry bellowed. Wand at the ready, Harry dodged and blocked spells and hexes that came soaring his way. Unfortunately, there was a third Death Eater hidden in the room that Harry was unaware of and he was stunned from behind.
Harry couldn’t move or talk, but he could still see and hear everything going on in the room. “Congratulations Severus. You’ve caught him. Well done indeed.” Even in the dim glow of the room Harry could still see Malfoy’s sneer at the back of Snape’s head as Bellatrix gave her compliment.
Harry could see Ginny, laying on the cold stone floor. With her back to him, it was hard to tell if she was even alive. After a few moments, Harry finally saw what he’d hoped for. Ginny took a shallow, barely noticeable breath. Harry was relieved to know that he wasn’t too late. As Harry brought his eyes back to what was happening above him, he watched helplessly as Snape pointed his wand at his chest and bound him in ropes. This lifted the stunning spell put on Harry, enabling him to speak once more.
“Tell us where it is Potter,” said Snape’s cold, cruel voice. “Tell us now or your little girlfriend here will be in misery.”
“I don’t know what “it” is!” Harry roared loudly. “Just let Ginny go. She doesn’t deserve to be here.”
“Dumbledore must have mentioned it to you by now,” said Snape softly then raising his voice, bellowed at Harry, “WHERE POTTER?”
“I don’t know what you are talking about!” Harry returned the yell. Snape motioned for Malfoy to begin the Cruciatus curse on Ginny. Harry began to shout loudly, “No!”
Ginny screamed in agony. It was unbearable to watch her writhe around on the floor, screaming and crying. “STOP!” Harry yelled.
“Tell us where it is then,” Snape said shortly.
“What ever you want...just stop hurting her.” Snape called off the curse and began discussing with Harry how to get whatever “it” was.
“Talk Potter...for once I’m interested in what you have to say,” said Snape curtly.
Frantically Harry spoke, “Dumbledore has it.” It was the first thing that sprung into his mind.
“Where did Dumbledore find it?” Snape asked testing Harry. Snape had a very good feeling that Harry had no idea what “it” was, but he asked anyways, just to be sure.
“Let Ginny go and I will tell you. If you don’t release her, I swear I’ll kill myself here and now. Then you’ll never know what it is.” Harry was negotiating with his own life as though it were worth fifty cents.
“Lets try this again Potter....We are the ones with the power. We have the Weasley girl...and you.” Again Snape motioned for Malfoy to curse Ginny. She was breathing heavily and staggered now.
“Crucio!” Malfoy muttered. The curse hit her again and her screams of agony hit Harry full-on.
“Stop it!” he screamed. But no one was listening. “Stop it now! I’ll tell you! I’LL TELL YOU!”
“You don’t know what “it” is Potter; I can tell that much. This girl is no longer of any use.” Suddenly Ginny’s cries stopped altogether, even though Lucius was still casting the spell. He stopped, realizing there was no more damage to be done. Her body was no longer rigid but limp, still, and calm. Her chest stopped rising after a last fall and her final breath ran out. A long silence followed.
Finally Harry spoke. “You killed her. You killed her! How dare you kill her? I LOVED HER! You will pay for this!”
“No Harry,” said the cold voice of Bellatrix from behind him. “Lucius did not kill her.”
Harry felt his blood drain from his body. “Who did then?” he asked her, his voice full of emotion.
“I did.” Harry recognized the voice but could not see the face of the man...no, the monster, that it belonged to. “I did it. I would tell you to be more careful with people you love, Potter...but where’s the fun in that? Though it doesn’t matter now that I’m finally going to kill you.” The last thing Harry remembered seeing was a flash of green light and the livid, scarlet eyes of the man who cast the unforgivable curse on him for the second time in his life. This time...it worked.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Ginny!” It was the first thing Harry could think of when he woke from his nightmare. In the past, Harry’s dreams had been in the perspective of Voldemort or that snake of his. In this dream however, it was as if Harry was watching the scene from above until the “Dream Harry” entered the room. Then the rest of the dream unfolded looking through “Dream Harry’s” eyes. Though the dreams that usually came true were from Voldemort’s perspective, Harry just couldn’t shake the sickening feeling in his stomach. The feeling told him that something bad had happened to Ginny.
Harry shoved on his glasses and flung off his covers, getting out of bed.
“Whaz wrong?” said Ron’s sleepy voice. Leaving the room, Harry barely had time for an answer.
“Ginny,” was all he could manage. Ron got up after him and they raced down the steps flinging open Ginny and Hermione’s bedroom door.
Hermione sat straight up in bed, startled by the sudden slam of the door against the wall. Harry searched the room and all color drained from his face; Ginny’s bed was empty. “What’s happened?” Hermione asked with a disgruntled look on her face.
Harry turned around and headed downstairs to see if Ginny had got up early. It was quarter after five already. Again, all Harry could get out before leaving the room was “Ginny,” Hermione got up too, and followed Harry and Ron after noticing Ginny’s empty bed.
Downstairs in the kitchen Harry could hear a muffled voice coming from the living room.....one voice. Harry opened the door slowly to see who was there.
They found Ginny, but she was in anything but mortal peril. She was decorating the room for what looked like, a party. Ginny spotted them watching her and listening to her hum “Happy Birthday” to herself.
“Oh! You woke up earlier than I expected. Happy birthday Harry!” Ginny basically skipped to him to plant a kiss on his shocked face.
Harry held her close to him, just a second longer than a birthday hug would normally be. Ginny looked at him questioningly.
“...what’s wrong?” Ginny asked, almost as if she was disappointed. “Is it the decorations? They’re too much aren’t they? I can take them down....”
“No, don’t. Ginny, this is wonderful,” Harry said warmly. “Thank you so much. I can tell that this will be a very interesting birthday.” Ginny still looked doubtful about his original reaction..
“But Harry wha....?”
“We’ll talk later,” he whispered to her. He picked Ginny up and spun her in the air. “I just love you so much!” Harry lowered Ginny to him and their lips met. Her feet were lowered to the ground and they broke apart.
“Now you go and get dressed and come back down for your party, OK?” Ginny then shooed Harry, Ron and Hermione, through the kitchen and up the steps to their bedrooms.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
“Harry? What was that about?” Ron asked. “You looked so strange. Like when you have those dreams abou...” he paused and thought. “You didn’t have a dream about Ginny and You Know Who? Did you?”
Realizing lying would be the wrong thing to do in this situation Harry said, “Yeah, I did.” he looked at Ron for a response that didn’t come for a long time.
“What happened to Ginny in this dream with You Know Who?” Ron asked slowly.
Harry could feel tears welling up in his eyes as he said the next two words. “She died.” It was evident Ron was fighting the same inner battle as Harry; Harry’s cheeks slowly burned as a few stray tears broke free, rolling down his face. “Voldemort killed her to get to me...I wont let that happen Ron...I can’t!” he choked those last words down. “I need to let her go....I don’t want to hurt her, but it’s the only way I can know that she is safe. I love her too much to let her die for me.”
Ron was silent for a while. With his face now calmed, and fully dry, the words came steadily and slowly, like there was no denying what they meant. “The problem is Harry, Ginny loves you too. She won’t let you die for her.”
Harry could think of nothing better to say; “I know.”
Ginny woke and turned towards the clock. Four thirty-two, time to get up. Ginny got dressed silently so as not to wake Hermione. She put on a new outfit that her mother had bought for her recently. Ginny barely ever tried to impress Harry with her looks because she knew that it didn’t matter to him whether she was a super model or a mountain troll. Either way, she wanted to look nice for his special day.
She tip-toed downstairs and grabbed a handful of granola just to stop her stomach from rumbling until breakfast. She took out her secret box from the cupboard under the stairs...the one place she knew Harry wouldn’t look for anything.
Inside the box were many more smaller boxes filled with ribbons, tissue paper and birthday decorations. She began with the balloons. After filling six balloons that could challenge the size of Harry’s Aunt Marge, Ginny was quite dizzy and out of breath. Blowing up balloons without magic is harder than I thought. Ten minutes later there were sixteen balloons hanging from the ceiling, streamers tied between each one. In another five minutes there was a cake in the oven and a happy birthday sign hung above the mantle piece. Five o’clock. I probably have another half-hour before Mum wakes up and then another hour after that before Harry wakes up. I have plenty of time. Or so she thought.
Just fifteen minutes later Ginny was humming “Happy Birthday” to herself while hanging a rather ugly pinata, which looked almost identical to Dolores Umbridge, when she noticed Harry, Ron and Hermione all in their pajamas looking rather relieved at the sight of her.
Ginny was slightly disappointed to see Harry up so much earlier than she had expected, but was happy to see him none the less. “Oh! You woke up earlier than I expected! Happy birthday Harry!” Ginny moved towards him and kissed him on the lips and gave him a hug.
Was it just her or was that hug just a little to long to be a happy-mood hug? Ginny looked at him curiously.
“...what’s wrong?” she asked. “Is it the decorations? They’re too much aren’t they? I can take them down....”
“No, don’t. Ginny, this is wonderful,” Harry interrupted thoughtfully. “Thank you so much. I can tell that this will be a very interesting birthday.” Ginny had no idea what he was talking about.
She didn’t understand where this was coming from.“But Harry wha....?”
“We’ll talk later,” he whispered back, interrupting her again. He picked her up, spinning her and lifting her higher and higher until Harry’s arms could stretch no farther. Wow he’s strong. Just don’t drop me. Ginny laughed to herself, as she gripped Harry’s arms for protection. “I just love you so much!” Harry told her as he lowered her and she leaned into his kiss. Harry lowered Ginny all the way to the ground and they pulled apart.
Realizing that Harry was still in his boxers and t-shirt, Ginny said,“Now you go and get dressed and come back down for your party, OK?” She pushed the three of them out into the kitchen and up the stairs to their bedrooms.
Hermione was the first one into the living room. She looked slightly more concerned than when she had come down earlier. It only took her about five minutes to get ready. Ginny wondered why it would take Harry and Ron longer, but Hermione read her mind and answered Ginny’s thoughts, “I went up to the door to Ron and Harry’s room to see if they were ready to come down and I heard them talking in hushed voices. I would have knocked and asked what was going on, but it sounded like Harry was...crying. I don’t know what happened, but it’s just so hard to be around Harry when he’s like that; after Sirius died at the ministry last month he’s been so....”
“It’s okay Hermione, I understand....I’ll talk to him about it later, alright? You just worry about helping me with the rest of these decorations.” For the next fifteen minutes Hermione and Ginny finished setting up the living room and moved into the kitchen. The cake was ready and was being smothered in chocolate frosting by Mrs. Weasley when the girls came in. Hermione took over for her and Mrs. Weasley began to cook breakfast.
“Ginny? Why don’t you go and ask Harry if he would rather have waffles and sausage or pancakes and bacon?”
“Alright,” she said and ran up the steps to the highest room in the house apart from the attic. She knocked quietly and asked if she could come in.
“Yeah that’s fine,” said Harry’s voice from the other side of the door. He does sound upset, Ginny thought to herself. She opened the door to find Ron fully dressed and Harry still in his boxers with a towel in hand, wet hair hanging from his face. “Hey, Gin. What’s up?” Harry did look as though he’d been crying but seeing as he had showered she couldn’t be sure. He and Ron both looked upset however.
“Harry what’s wrong? Did you have another dream about Sirius?” Ginny asked. Her face was full of concern.
“Not exactly....it was about you.”
“Me?”
“Harry, I’m going to head downstairs, okay?” Ron told him. Harry waved him away and gestured for Ginny to take a seat on his bed.
“Are you going to tell me what happened?”
Harry recounted his dream once more, as best he could. Once or twice he had to pause to keep his tears from escaping the safe haven of his eyes. When he had finished, he wiped the single tear that had stained Ginny’s face with his thumb.
“So you know what I have to do now, right?” Harry asked her, continuing to caress her cheek. She shook her head in response. By the look on Harry’s face Ginny didn’t think she wanted the words to come. When they did she was sure of it. “I have to break up with you Gin.”
“No, Harry. I wont let you.”
“Ginny I’ve told you about the prophecy.... You know what’s he’ll do. Voldemort will use you to get to me. I can’t let that happen! I won’t Ginny!”
Ginny felt as though she was going to implode. “Harry, I would rather die for you than spend the rest of my life without you by my side.”
“Ginny I won’t watch you die. I can’t let you sacrifice yourself for me. I just won’t let you!”
They were silent for a time. After a while Ginny spoke, and when she did the words came as a shock to Harry. “Then you better kill him first. ‘Cause I’m not going to live without you. I love you Harry.”
Harry gave a half-hearted laugh at this. “Ron was right! He said you wouldn’t let me die for you either.” He looked at her and whispered, “I love you too, Ginny.” Before he could lean in all the way and kiss her, Ginny pulled away.
“My brother knows a lot more than you’d expect, huh?” she smiled and her lips met Harry’s once again in a long and passionate kiss.
Harry pulled away to look at her. “Why did you come up here in the first place? I’m sure it wasn’t for this conversation.”
“Oh yeah! Mum wanted me to ask you whether you wanted pancakes or waffles for breakfast.”
“You pick. I don’t mind.”
“Waffles it is. I’ll meet you downstairs...” Ginny got up to leave. As she got to the door she turned back and looked at Harry’s bare chest and boxers with a playful smile on her face, and added, “...with you clothes on.”
~AN: What do ya think? Please tell! R&R, I’ll love u for it! Quote from the next chapter: Shut up, Lupin and take it! -Sirius’s will.