Keep Fighting
The sky over the grounds darkened forebodingly as the week went on, the black clouds looming down repressively so that the world seemed somehow smaller beneath them. Nature appeared to be sensing the moods of the people around it, and the gloomy weather was doing nothing to change those moods.
On the last day of exams, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Worry had been augmenting treacherously throughout the week as the promised war did not come, and Harry’s scar had been aching more than usual. He, Ron and Hermione dawdled back to Gryffindor Tower more slowly after their last exam, feeling more relaxed but trying to forget about what was coming.
“You know, we should be getting back as quickly as possible,” said Hermione as they wandered along.
“I think we’ll manage,” replied Ron wearily, and no one said any more of it.
They clambered through the portrait hole, and Harry spotted Ginny asleep on the sofa, looking completely drained. Ron and Hermione went and sat down next to her, and Harry walked over to the window and looked out.
“Shame the weather’s not getting any better,” he said. “I feel like going for a walk.”
He saw Hermione glance up at him condemningly from her armchair.
“Don’t worry,” he told her. “I won’t.”
He gazed out over the grounds, his eyes glazing over with thought, until he noticed something which caught his attention. A dark shape was emerging from beyond the forest, and Harry stared at it curiously. It looked like one of the storm clouds, although it was a lot lower, and it seemed to move as one, like a creature advancing soundlessly on its prey. As it got closer, Harry squinted, trying to make out what it was. Then, as it began to reach the edge of the trees, he recognised it and almost feinted with panic. What must have been over five hundred Dementors were drifting towards the castle, morbid black shapes against an ever-darkening backdrop of trees and sky, floating with that terrifying gracefulness which could not be explained.
A voice inside Harry’s mind was telling him to do something, but his eyes were fixed on the Dementors as though he could not believe that they were real. When he finally managed to snap out of it, he turned to Ron and Hermione.
“Get help,” he said, surprisingly calmly, as though someone else were speaking for him.
“Pardon, Harry?” asked Hermione, looking up at him.
Ginny woke with a jolt and sat bolt upright.
“What’s happened?” she asked immediately.
“Get help,” he repeated, more firmly this time. “Now.”
“Why?” asked Ginny. “Harry, what’s wrong?”
She looked concerned, as if she could sense his fear. Harry grabbed her by the arm and pulled her over to the window, forcing her to look out.
“What the “ ?“ she whispered. “Come on, we’ll go to Dumbledore. Ron, Hermione, there are Dementors attacking the school. You need to make sure that everyone knows and is safe. Let’s go.”
She dragged Harry out of the common room and they set off at a run towards Dumbledore’s office. Just as they reached the gargoyles, the moving staircase appeared and Dumbledore stepped out.
“Gather all the younger ones together,” he told them, as if he knew why they were there. “Sixth and seventh years who can conjure strong Patronuses will help to fight.”
Harry nodded.
“No, sir,” protested Ginny. “Many fourth and fifth years can also conjure Patronuses, thanks to the DA. I want to fight.”
Dumbledore looked at her, and Ginny stared into his eyes persuasively.
“Very well,” he said softly. “Younger students who are sure that they can face that many Dementors may also help. Everyone else must stay put in their common rooms; and hurry.”
They nodded and ran all the way back to Gryffindor Tower. On their way they heard Dumbledore’s voice, magically amplified, ringing instructions though the hallways. Harry and Ginny entered the common room to find chaos. Ron and Hermione were desperately trying to keep people sane for long enough to tell them what to do, while the younger ones ran around screaming and the older ones tried to get some order.
“Everyone SHUT UP!” yelled Ginny.
All the students stopped what they were doing and looked round at Ginny.
“Thank you,” she said, standing on a chair. “We’ve got to keep our minds straight. If we lose it now, we’ve got no chance, so will you please just do what Ron and Hermione tell you, and then maybe we can actually win this battle.”
There was a moment of silence as everyone stared at Ginny, shocked that someone had actually had enough sense to speak out.
“If everyone who can conjure a strong Patronus, and is absolutely sure that they can face this number of Dementors, can move to this side of the room,” said Hermione, gesturing to her right.
“And if you can’t, stand over there,” added Ron, gesturing towards the fireplace.
The Gryffindors moved obligingly.
“Remaining fifth years are in charge. Everyone must stay here,” said Hermione.
“And bloody well use your initiative,” added Ginny.
When they got to the Great Hall, they found a mass of worried-looking students and teachers gathered in the doorway. Harry also noticed several members of the Order in amongst the crowd: Tonks, Moody, Remus and Bill Weasley were huddled in a group, conversing in low voices. Professor Dumbledore came through the crowd into the Entrance Hall as the Gryffindors arrived, and addressed everyone there.
“Members of the Order will go first, and students will bring up the rear. Think happy things.”
He strode up to the castle doors and flung them open with a bang. There were now nearing a thousand Dementors crossing the sky above them, descending slowly but eagerly. Dumbledore marched down the steps, followed by the Order.
“Three, two, one…” he yelled, and silver-white animals shot up into the sky in all directions.
The students followed suit, taking aim at the Dementors.
“Expecto Patronum!” Harry cried, imagining a life free of Voldemort.
A dazzling stag erupted from the end of his wand.
“Go on, Prongs!” he said, urging it on.
Harry glanced around at Ginny to see how she was doing, and was astonished at what he saw. She was coaxing on her Patronus, which appeared to be some kind of crossed animal. It looked like a phoenix’s head and wings, with the hind legs of what must have been a white horse. Its powerful back legs drove it into the air with incredible momentum, as its vast fiery wings propelled it upwards, towards the impending sky. When it reached the battle field, Prongs charged with it, and together they banished twice the number of Dementors than before. Harry grinned at Ginny and she returned the favour, before her expression turned from happy to petrified, her eyes focused just behind Harry. He turned to see a swarm of Dementors creeping down on him, the people behind him too frightened to act.
“Oi!” yelled Ginny. “Down here!”
Her Patronus and Prongs cantered past Harry, and soon enough the threat had gone, although Harry had started to notice people everywhere who were losing their nerve, and he himself began to panic.
“COME ON!” he cried. “KEEP GOING!”
He tried to think the happiest things that he could “ of life after Voldemort, with his friends around him, and Ginny always by his side…
The gleaming stag galloped after three more Dementors with a new burst of energy, although this prolonged attack meant that many people were dropping onto the ground, too exhausted to carry on. The Order was still going strong, led by what must have been Dumbledore’s Patronus “ a beautiful, shining white phoenix, soaring above them all and banishing three times the amount of Dementors that any of the others were.
A fourth year to Harry’s left collapsed, and Ginny ran over to try and help her.
“Harry!” she shouted. “She’s shaking like nobody’s business! Help me!”
Harry didn’t want to stop fighting, as people were now falling to the ground all around him, and Prongs was one of the strongest defenders.
“You’ll have to leave her, Gin,” he replied. “We’ve got to keep fighting!”
Ginny looked at the girl for a moment, then got up and faced Harry.
“I’ll be glad when this is over,” she muttered.
The battle seemed to last for hours, and neither side appeared to be making much progress. Rain started to fall lazily on the grounds, turning them into a quagmire of mud, which was being churned up continuously by frantic feet.
“TAKE THE INJURED INSIDE!” called Bill Weasley to the remaining students.
“Ginny, help me with her,” said Harry, bending down to the girl on his left.
Ginny took her under the shoulder and Harry lifted her into his arms, where she lay limply across him, still quivering madly. When he got inside, Harry found Ron helping a younger boy, and Hermione supporting a shaken Hannah Abbot. They went into the Great Hall and sat them down at the Gryffindor table.
“What’s your name?” Harry asked the girl.
“A “ Adelaide,” she answered back, fiddling with her white-blonde hair nervously.
Harry noticed that Ginny was at his side, having just helped a fifth year boy into the hall.
“It’ll be ok, Adelaide,” said Ginny, putting her hand gently on her shoulder.
She nodded tentatively and the trembling lessened. Ginny turned to leave the hall.
“I’ll go and get any others,” she told Harry.
“Right, let’s get back out there,” said Ron, as Hermione conjured up some mugs of hot chocolate for the people staying inside.
“You should probably go back to your common rooms,” she told them. “It’s safer there.”
Just as she finished speaking, there was a piercing scream from the Entrance Hall and Harry froze. Ginny’s scream. The thud of hooves cantering across wet ground. Harry ran to the castle doors and looked out to see jet-black thestrals landing everywhere, each one carrying a hooded person “ Death Eaters. Ginny was standing, immobilised on the stone steps. Harry grabbed her and pulled her back inside.
“Get everyone out of here!” he yelled at Ron.
“What’s going on,” asked Hermione as she emerged from the hall.
“Death Eaters! Outside!” shouted Harry.
There was chaos. Harry seized Ginny once again and made for the marble staircase, which they ran up faster than ever before. The screams from below started to fade away, until BANG “ the bone-chilling sound of the castle doors being flung open once more.
“The others won’t be prepared, Harry!” screamed Ginny, trying to stop him and pull him back.
“We can’t go back now!” he yelled. “They’ll kill us!”
“They’ll kill them!” she screamed. “We’ve got to go and help them!”
Harry struggled for a moment, trying to decide what to do.
“Alright, but stay with me.”
They started to run back towards the Entrance Hall, but when they reached the top of the marble staircase, Harry realised that they just could not go down there. Members of the Order were duelling fiercely with the Death Eaters, and several students were lying motionless on the floor and up the stairs. Ginny gasped and swayed dangerously.
Harry saw Ron and Hermione shooting spells at a Death Eater from behind while Tonks attacked him from the front. He fell rigidly with a smack, and Tonks moved on to her next victim. Ron looked up and saw Harry and Ginny watching them, and started to make wild banishing gestures with his arms.
“Go!” he mouthed.
But Harry wasn’t going to run off again while his friends defended the school, so he started to descend the staircase.
“THERE HE IS!” shrieked the voice of Bellatrix Lestrange. “On the stairs!”
Harry started and looked down to see her gaunt face and dark eyes staring frantically up at him. Death Eaters who were not already duelling grouped around Bellatrix, and they started to advance towards Harry.
“STUPEFY!” yelled Ginny, and Harry remembered that she was still at his side.
The spell simply ricocheted off an invisible wall that seemed to have formed around the Death Eaters, and bounced back at Ginny. Harry pulled her to one side and held her close with his free arm. Bellatrix cackled wickedly.
“Potter’s ‘ickle girlfriend is trying to play with the grown ups!” she taunted. “You had better hold on to her, Harry. We wouldn’t want her to go missing again, would we?”
Harry reached around Ginny and found her left hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
“STUPEFY!” yelled Hermione from the bottom of the stairs.
Bellatrix glanced around to see who had cast the spell, and Harry realised that this was their chance. He tugged Ginny’s hand and they sprinted away from the staircase, pelting down corridors and up stairs as fast as they could. They turned all the corners that they happened upon, hoping to lose any Death Eaters who had followed them, but Harry had no idea where they were heading.
They burst through a door on their right and found themselves outside in the rain, at the top of a tall tower. Harry ran forwards and looked over the stone ledge. His stomach leapt. They were about a hundred feet above the ground, with no way out except the door they had just come through, which now opened to show no less than ten Death Eaters, all pointing their wands at Harry.
Harry gripped Ginny’s hand as tightly as he could, the Death Eaters getting closer by the second. They backed away, but Harry didn’t realise how close they were to the edge. One small step was too much “ Ginny’s foot slipped and she fell over the edge of the parapet, yanking Harry down with her. He managed to catch the edge of the stone with his spare hand, and he held on with all his might.
“Harry!” yelled Ginny.
He looked down at her, and saw that her eyes had ignited with a fear more terrible then he could ever have imagined.
“Ginny, don’t worry,” he called, their hands still firmly clasped together. “We’ll get out of this. It’s going to be alright.”
She started to cry, her words battling through the tears.
“No!” she cried. “Harry, you’ve got to let me go!”
“WHAT? ARE YOU CRAZY? I WOULD NEVER LET YOU GO!”
Ginny shook compulsively, as a fresh wave of despair ran through her.
“Harry, look!”
Following her gaze, he looked up and saw that over twenty hooded Death Eaters were now looming over them from the parapet, all with their wands out, pointing straight at Harry.
“LET GO, HARRY!” Ginny screamed, sounding absolutely terrified of the mere thought of it.
“NO!” he shouted down at her. “I WON’T LET GO, GINNY! I WILL NOT LET YOU GO!”
The wind raged and a huge gust of air swept around them, blowing Ginny’s flaming red hair about her face, and causing her to clutch tighter to Harry’s hand.
“It’s the only chance we’ve got!” she yelled. “Let go and you can finish the battle! We can win, Harry! You can win! I know you can!”
“NOT WITHOUT YOU! I CAN’T DO IT ALONE, GINNY! I CAN’T “ I can’t “ “
Harry’s voice seemed to give up on him, and he just stared down at her hopelessly.
“I’ll still be with you, Harry,” Ginny called above the weather, her voice more gentle than before. “I’ll never really leave you.”
As he gazed into her troubled eyes, they pleaded with him to understand. Harry’s heart pained so intensely that he felt as if he would pass out, but he had to hold on to Ginny, for Ginny…
“GIVE ME ONE GOOD REASON WHY I SHOULDN’T JUST KILL YOU NOW, POTTER!” came a terrible voice, cold as the wind around them, from above Harry.
Harry wrenched his eyes away from Ginny’s and looked up again. A thin, white face with cat-like eyes was sneering down at them from under a black hood. Lord Voldemort.
“BECAUSE IF YOU DO KILL ME NOW,” Harry yelled, “THEN YOU’LL BE CONFIRMING EVERYTHING I THOUGHT YOU WERE: LONELY, UNLOVED, AND WITHOUT HOPE.”
Voldemort laughed a bitter, mirthless laugh.
“DON’T YOU SEE, HARRY?” he taunted. “I’LL NEVER BE LONELY!”
He gestured at the Death Eaters surrounding him.
“THESE PEOPLE WOULD GLADLY DIE FOR ME!”
This time it was Harry’s turn to laugh.
“OUT OF LOVE?” he yelled at Voldemort. “OR OUT OF TERROR?”
Voldemort leaned in closer, so that he was only a few inches from Harry’s face.
“I don’t need love, Harry,” he hissed, “all I need is power. Now let go of that worthless girl and face me like a real wizard.”
Harry knew that if he didn’t let go of Ginny, they would probably both die, but he’d rather die with her, than let go and have her dead because of it. He felt a stabbing pain in his left hand, and saw that Voldemort was pointing his wand at it.
“Let go, or you go with her,” he breathed.
“I guess I’m going with her, then,” said Harry, as calmly as he could muster. “It’s just too bad you won’t get to kill me in a fair duel.”
Harry felt a surge of Voldemort’s anger course through his veins, and Ginny gripped his hand even tighter.
“Let go, Harry,” he heard her voice say in desperation, but when he looked down, her lips weren’t moving. “Let go and you can do away with him once and for all.”
A flash of light streaked past Harry’s cheek from above and hit his fingers, forcing them apart, and allowing Ginny to slip away from him. He watched helplessly as she fell in slow-motion, tumbling and somersaulting over and over through the incessant rain, her vivacious hair fluttering out around her face with ironic beauty. As she grew more and more distant, time appeared to slow to an almost complete halt, until, finally, she flumped lifelessly onto the mud.
Harry’s heart stopped. He couldn’t breathe. What was the point? In another world, he felt himself rise up, then fall unconscious…
*I can’t live if living is without you,
I can’t live,
I can’t give anymore.*
- I Can’t Live
Mariah Carey
A/N: please review with any thought/comments :-)