The lights are dimming by the minute
Can someone call my other self?
Let them know I’ll be just fine
Cornered with my back against the wall
The lights are dimming by the minute
Can someone call my other self?
Let them know I’ll be just fine
Ron, Hermione and Harry ran through the deserted streets of Hogsmeade. Death Eaters had discovered what they were doing and were hot on their tails. The only things that now protected the trio were the shielding products that Fred and George sent to them and their advanced knowledge of the village. They hid in a dark alleyway, covered by the shadows.
“Do you have the Horcrux?” Harry asked, panting slightly.
Ron nodded, pulling out the dead body of the snake, Nagini, which Hermione shrunk to fit into his pocket for their escape.
“This is it," Harry said conclusively. "Go to Headquarters. Get the Order’s help."
The shouts and crashes of the Death Eaters were drawing closer.
“Harry, what are you saying?” Hermione asked, eyes wide.
“I’ll fight the Death Eaters and hold them off until the Order shows. Maybe I’ll even get the kill Voldemort now.”
“Harry, you can’t fight them alone-“
“Don’t be stupid-“
He interrupted their arguments by holding out a parchment envelope. “Give this to Ginny,” he said, not looking them in the eye. Before either one of them could protest again, he thrust a letter, along with a Portkey to Grimmauld Place, into their hands. They vanished, leaving Harry alone and ready.
We’ve made it this far no turning back now
Six days and all I can think about
Six days and all I can think about is you
Start back at start so I know where to go
We’ve made it this far no turning back now
Six days and all I can think about
Six days and all I can think about is you
Hermione and Ron landed in the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix with a loud thump.
Mrs Weasley screamed, setting some of the portraits off, but they were ignored as the Order ushered them urgently into the kitchen. The moment they were seated, they were bombarded by questions, before they could even ask for help.
“Why are you home so soon?” Moody prodded.
“What happened?” Molly cried.
“Where’s Harry?” Remus asked, his face pale.
Hermione promptly burst into tears, causing the entire room to go silent.
Moody, always assuming the worst, muttered, “He didn’t-“
“No,” Ron interrupted hastily. “He forced us here and stayed to fight-“ He choked on his words.
Hermione shoved the snake forward. “It’s the last Horcrux,” she whispered. “That’s why the Death Eaters were after us. They found out.”
There was a collective gasp. “Horcrux?” someone hissed incredulously.
“There’s no time to explain now!” Ron exclaimed frantically.
“Where were you?” Mr Weasley asked.
“Hogsmeade,” Hermione replied quickly.
Without another word, nearly everyone left the room to help Harry. The room was left empty, except for Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, who looked desperately miserable.
“Is he okay?” she asked in a hushed whisper.
“He’ll be fine. He always is,” Ron told her, wishing he was as confident as he sounded. He gave her the envelope that Harry had given them for her.
She opened it with a curious expression on her face. As she read, her eyes misted up. When she finished, she dropped the letter listlessly and Disapparated. Unable to stop herself, Hermione reached down and read the letter. She could feel Ron reading over her shoulder.
Ginny,
There’s something that I’ve tried to tell you for a long time. It may be that I’m a coward, but I haven’t told you because I didn’t want you to have to fight in the war. I didn’t want to have to lose you. I know that it was selfish. You’re probably thinking that as you read this because now there’s the chance that you’ll lose me. I only wrote this letter in case there was the possibility that you would, because I wouldn’t be able to stand the thought of not telling you. I love you, Ginny. I know that you’re strong enough to fight, but I'm scared to lose you. I just hope that I am strong enough, too, so that I can tell you to your face. I’ll forever keep my promise to you. I’ll be there for you, even if not physically.
I love you.
Harry
Hermione gasped. Ron gaped. Harry finally admitted his true feelings, in a letter no less. Ron gripped Hermione’s arm and said, “I’m going to Hogsmeade to fight. I’m going to help Harry and my sister be happy.”
Hermione nodded grimly in agreement. They both Disapparated to the village, where war was already raging.
Ginny was fighting nearby with a huge Death Eater. Ron joined in to help her. With his help, they overcame him by stunning and binding him up. Before any other Death Eaters came, Ginny looked around. Suddenly, she gasped and picked up a frayed and singed bracelet- the one that she gave to Harry just a week ago. It was dirty and falling apart.
Hermione stared in shock, fighting back tears as she recognized it. Since leaving the Burrow, Harry had refused to take it off; now it lay abandoned in the heat of a battle.
Before Hermione could stop her, Ginny took off into the battle in search of Harry.
From now on I can see
From a distance I can see the end
Can it be were on top of the world
The stranger feeling crawling up my arm
Into my heart
Meanwhile, Harry knew the time had come. He was fighting the Death Eater called Alecto, when pain shot through his scar and he knew that Voldemort had arrived. Alecto ceased his attack as the Dark Lord approached.
“He’s mine,” Voldemort hissed in his cold, high-pitched voice.
Harry’s scar throbbed painfully but did his best to ignore it as he prepared himself to end the War at long last. He would be with Ginny. He was going to win.
“Prepare to die, Potter,” Voldemort sneered, raising his wand. He wasn’t going to play around. He wanted to kill him. Harry raised his wand, hoping to create Priori Incantatem. It was his only hope at this point.
“AVADA KEDAVRA.”
Before Harry could utter his spell, a flash of red hair filled his eyes as the spell hit Ginny. She looked at him with tear-filled eyes. “I love you, too, Harry,” she whispered, before closing her eyes.
“NO,” Harry gasped in horror, clutching Ginny’s limp form. Her hands were growing steadily colder.
We’ve made it this far no turning back now
Six days and all I can think about
Six days and all I can think about is you
Start back at start so I know where to go
We’ve made it this far no turning back now
Six days and all I can think about
Six days and all I can think about is you
It seemed as though history was repeating itself. A beautiful red-haired woman sacrificing herself for Harry’s sake. But this time it was different. He was going to end it at long last. He was going to finish it.
Time seemed to slow itself as the truth sunk in.
“Ginny,” he whispered into her cold body, “I’m sorry. I should have protected you. I should have told you sooner.”
Voldemort was approaching, his face contorted with rage.
“I love you, Ginny. I hope you can hear me, because I made a promise. I’m going to be with you, no matter what it takes.”
He suddenly understood the power of sacrifice and of love. He felt strength surge through him. He was going to join Ginny. He could feel it within him, but he wasn’t sad about it. He was actually happy.
Voldemort’s face was twisted in anger and confusion as a brilliant light emanated from Harry, who was still clutching Ginny’s lifeless form. The force of the unspoken spell sent Voldemort crashing to his death, illuminating his body for all to see. A beautiful, clear song rang through the air- a phoenix song. It strengthened the Order, those pure of heart. Death Eaters froze at the sight of their master’s downfall. The Order rounded up the rest of the dark wizards, before turning to where Harry lay, arm-in-arm with Ginny. He had used the last of his magic to defeat Voldemort. He was dead.
Hermione broke down, burying her face in her hands. Mrs Weasley was kneeling next to Harry and Ginny, smoothing out their robes, sobbing loudly. Remus comforted Tonks, while fighting not to lose it as well.
“He wanted this,” Ron choked out, after a long silence. “He wanted to fight Voldemort and die if he had to. He wanted us to live normal lives.”
From my head down to my legs
From my head down to my
And now it’s over now
From my head down to my legs
And now it’s over now
From my head down to my legs
In the end, Harry got his wish. Hermione, who taught Ancient Runes at Hogwarts when it reopened, married Ron, an Auror-in-Training. Remus and Tonks also got married. They had lives. None of them had ever dreamed that one day they would be living the way they were, without the lingering fear of Voldemort, but also, without Harry and Ginny.
Every week, without fail, on-lookers could see the Weasley family, short of one red-haired girl, Hermione, Remus, and Tonks walk through the cemetery to a place where two headstones stood together.
Ginny Weasley (1981-1997)
"Love is like the wind. I can't see it, but I can feel it."
Harry Potter (1980-1997)
"For one human being to love another; that is perhaps the most difficult of all our tasks, the ultimate, the last test and proof. The work for which all other work is but preparation."
Both were covered in flowers and gifts from many different people. The group that was gathered around the two headstones would lay down their flowers and gifts, along with a letter talking to Harry and Ginny about their week and their lives. They didn’t know what happened, but every week the gifts and letters disappeared mysteriously. This angered them at first, thinking that someone came and robbed their momentos, but after setting up security spells all around the two headstones, they found that the letters just sort of vanished. They knew that, wherever they were, Harry and Ginny were watching over them.
The lights are dimming by the minute
Can someone call my other self?
Let them know I’ll be just fine
Cornered with my back against the wall
The lights are dimming by the minute
Can someone call my other self?
Let them know I’ll be just fine
Cornered with my back against the wall
The lights are dimming by the minute
Can someone call my other self?
Let them know I’ll be just fine
Harry smiled. He was reading the letters that the Weasley’s, Hermione, Remus, and Tonks left.
“So they’re all right?” Ginny asked, reading over his shoulder.
“Of course,” Harry replied. He looked up at her, his eyes shining. He swore that he would be with her, and now he had kept it. But he was not alone. When he opened his eyes, he found himself with Ginny in his arms, surrounded by his parents, Sirius, and Dumbledore- everyone he had ever lost. He was now the guardian angel to the people who had watched over him for so long. Things would be better, for everyone.
~QP