Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Luna, and Neville reappeared a moment later at the edge of the Atrium of the Ministry of Magic, and were immediately greeted by a storm of spellfire from the opposite side of the room.
“Move!” Harry shouted, although it was hardly necessary. He sprinted to his right, where Hermione had already conjured a short brick wall to use for cover.
“Stupefy!” he shouted. A jet of red light shot from his wand, but was easily deflected by one of the hooded figures over near the security stand. Berating himself for forgetting to cast his spells silently, Harry tried again, while discreetly maintaining a Shield Charm with his left hand.
Stupefy! His jet of red light sailed over the head of his target as the cloaked figure ducked and moved aside. He needed to get closer to them if he was to have any chance of actually hitting anyone.
Reducto! Harry’s next spell collided squarely with the security stand, shattering it into thousands of sharp bits of wood. Stupefy! The surprised Death Eater whose cover had just been destroyed collapsed to the ground.
“Hermione, can you move this wall of yours closer to the Death Eaters?” Harry asked urgently as Ginny fired off another hex beside him.
“Closer?” Hermione shrieked. “Why would you want to get closer?”
“So they won’t have time to dodge,” Harry answered tersely. “Can you do it or not?”
Hermione nodded hesitantly before shifting to a kneeling position that kept her well-protected behind her wall, and then flicking her wand to make the wall start slowly moving forward.
Stupefy! Another of Harry’s Stunners was blocked by his target. Expelliarmus! Petrificus Totalus! Incarcerous!
To Harry’s intense frustration, he saw one of the Death Eaters revive another, who had just been Stunned by either Ron or Neville. He had to get close enough to be able to keep his opponents out of the fight, and he had to do it quickly.
Three loud popping sounds behind him caused Harry to spin around in alarm, but he was relieved to see that the sounds had signaled the arrival of Moody, Tonks, and Remus.
“What’s going on here, Potter?” Moody growled as he crouched behind the wall next to Harry. The little brick wall continued to do an admirable job of shielding them as it advanced slowly across the room, guided by Hermione.
“I’m on my way to kill Voldemort,” Harry answered simply as he fired off an Impediment Jinx.
“You’re not prepared for that!” Tonks shouted. “Incarcerous!”
“Look, it was either this or let him attack Platform Nine and Three-Quarters with all those people there!” Harry shouted back. Lowering his voice, he added, “Besides, I’d never be able to beat him there; at least here I have a chance.”
“Protego! What do you mean?” asked Remus.
“I’ll explain in the lift,” Harry replied before immersing himself in the battle. He ducked under a nasty-looking orange spell before popping up over the wall and firing a pair of Stunners at the nearest Death Eater, who was able to block the first one, but not the second. In less than two minutes after the adults’ arrival, all of the Death Eaters in the Atrium had been subdued.
“Let’s go!” Harry shouted as he sprinted toward the lifts. Glancing over his shoulder, he could see that Ginny was right there with him, and the others were close on her heels. He skidded to a halt outside the lifts and began impatiently pushing the call button over and over again.
“Calm down, Harry,” Remus said soothingly. “Now please, tell us what’s going on.”
Harry took a deep breath and blew it out slowly in an attempt to calm his nerves. “Voldemort talked to me with Legilimency just as I was getting off the train. He said he wanted to duel me once and for all, and that if I wouldn’t come meet him here he was going to attack the Platform. What he didn’t seem to realize was that it’s actually better for me to fight him here.”
The lift arrived, and they all hurried inside. Harry pressed the number nine, and then resumed his story. “Anyway, like I was saying, it’s really lucky that Voldemort wants to fight me in the Death Chamber.”
“Why?” Remus asked curiously. Everyone else was silent, waiting expectantly for the answer.
“Because Voldemort’s immortal,” Harry answered. “He can’t be killed - at least not in any normal way. If he could, then his backfiring Killing Curse would’ve killed him when I was a baby.”
“But if you can’t kill him, then what are we doing here?” Ron asked worriedly.
“Listen, when Voldemort was doing Legilimency on me, he wasn’t able to shield his own thoughts and I caught a glimpse of him using a combination of charms and potions to keep his soul on earth. He can’t die because his soul can’t cross over to the other side, even after leaving his body. But if I can push him through that archway in the Death Chamber, then his soul will already be on the other side when it leaves his body. It’s the only way I can think of to get rid of him for good, and I doubt I’ll ever have another chance to try.”
Further discussion was eliminated by the lift grinding to a halt.
“Get ready to move,” Harry whispered, the muscles in his legs tensing as he prepared to spring forward. The lift doors opened, and its occupants scattered amid a barrage of spellfire. Harry hit the ground a few feet in front of the lift, narrowly avoiding a jet of bright blue light as he rolled to his left and threw up a hasty Shield Charm. An instant later, he was granted a short respite when Hermione conjured another short brick wall to use for cover.
Stupefy! Harry’s spell hit a masked figure squarely in the chest, throwing the man backward against one of his companions. Harry grimaced when his target somehow managed to be revived before he even hit the floor.
Almost painfully slowly, Hermione directed her brick wall to slide forward along the hall, inching closer and closer to both the Death Eaters and the entrance to the Department of Mysteries.
Expelliarmus, Incarcerous, Accio! Harry cried out in his mind, desperate for some way of permanently removing his opponents from the battle. His plan worked flawlessly, as the Death Eater he had been aiming at was immediately disarmed and bound with magical ropes. Harry’s Summoning Charm sent him flying back toward the lifts, where his companions would have no chance of freeing him.
Soon the others were following Harry’s lead, and Ron, Ginny, Neville, Moody, and Tonks all managed to subdue at least one opponent each. Glancing over his shoulder, Harry saw quite a pile of bound or unconscious black-cloaked figures building up near the lifts. As he and his friends inched forward, the final three Death Eaters seemed to decide that it would be safer to fall back, and they retreated through the plain black door into the Department of Mysteries.
“Let’s go!” Harry shouted, immediately vaulting over Hermione’s conjured wall and sprinting toward the door at the end of the hall.
“Harry, wait!” Remus exclaimed. “There’s no reason to go rushing in there just yet.”
“Yeah, hang on a minute, mate,” Ron panted. Harry stopped and turned around to look at his friends. They were all breathing heavily, and he suddenly noticed that he was as well. Ron sported a purpling bruise on his left cheek, Remus and Hermione both had a few cuts on their faces, and Ginny seemed to be favoring her left arm a bit. A wave of guilt washed over him as he realized he hadn’t even bothered to make sure everyone was all right.
“Sorry,” Harry said in a sincere voice as he rushed back to join his friends. He waited patiently while the three adults quickly did their best to heal everyone’s injuries, and when he set off for the black door again, he didn’t go alone.
“What d’you reckon?” Ron asked nervously as Harry reached for the door handle.
“We flood the room with curses the second that door opens,” Moody growled. “Then we all rush inside together and subdue anyone who’s still upright.”
“Wait, can’t you see if there’s anybody inside?” Hermione asked curiously. Harry thought this was a good point, considering the fact that Moody’s magical eye was able to see through not only walls, but even Invisibility Cloaks.
Moody shook his head, causing a few strands of grizzled gray hair to swing down in front of his normal eye. Angrily brushing them away with a swipe of his hand, he answered, “Not here. Can’t see through anything in the Department of Mysteries.”
“All right; on the count of three,” said Harry. “One... two... three!” He wrenched the door open and immediately fired off several Stunners in rapid succession before launching himself forward with his companions right behind him.
“There’s nobody here,” Ron observed after looking around the circular room.
“They must’ve decided to hide in one of the rooms,” Neville suggested, gesturing to the dozen or so doors set into the wall.
“Right, then,” Tonks said brightly. “How ‘bout we mark this door as the way out and then start checking the other rooms?” Extending her wand, she wrote the word EXIT in shining, fiery letters on the open door.
“We’re looking for the room with the veil,” Harry reminded everyone. “I don’t expect any of you to come in there with me, though. Just do your best to round up all the Death Eaters.”
“Harry, we’re not leaving you!” Hermione insisted.
“Quit wasting time trying to get rid of us, Harry,” Ginny added. “Let’s do this.” She stepped away from the door, allowing it to close. The room was immediately plunged into semi-darkness, the only source of light the dim blue candles which lined the walls. Immediately, there was a low rumbling sound as the walls began to revolve faster and faster until there was no way to determine which door was which - except, of course, for the EXIT sign that Tonks had placed on the door through which they had entered.
After only a moment, the rumbling sound ceased and the walls began to slow, eventually settling back into place. As soon as the room stopped spinning, at least half of the doors sprang open simultaneously. Harry dove to his right, pulling Ginny with him as multicolored jets of light converged on their previous position.
“Run!” shouted Remus. Harry heard Moody growling something about an ambush, but he didn’t have time to think about it as he fired off a Body-Bind Curse at one of the two figures guarding the nearest door. Ginny Stunned the other one, and together they practically dove through the doorway, spinning around immediately to make sure they weren’t being followed. Luna tumbled through after them, and slammed the door shut behind her. The swinging door caught the middle of a pursuing Death Eater’s outstretched wand, snapping it in half and shutting its owner out of the room.
“Colloportus!” Harry shouted. The door made an odd squelching noise as it was sealed shut, but he knew from experience that even sealing the door wouldn’t buy them much time.
“I remember this place,” Luna observed as she looked around the room. “It’s really rather odd.” Harry allowed himself a moment to glance around as well, and found himself in a dark room with miniature planets sailing smoothly through the air.
“Come on,” he said after a moment. “We’d better keep moving.” Together, Harry, Ginny, and Luna began walking toward one of the many doors lining the right hand wall. They had only gone a few feet, however, when they suddenly weren’t walking anymore; they were floating in midair.
“What the-?” Harry exclaimed in surprise.
“I told you this room was odd,” Luna replied.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Harry,” Ginny said worriedly. “I’d completely forgotten, but Luna’s right; sometimes gravity just seems to disappear in this room.”
“Perfect,” Harry grumbled. No sooner had the word left his mouth than gravity was suddenly back, and all three teenagers tumbled to the floor.
“Hurry, get to one of those doors!” Ginny shouted. She, Harry, and Luna scrambled to their feet and sprinted for the right hand wall of the room. When they arrived, they all stared at the door for a moment before Harry wrenched it open and stepped through, his wand at the ready.
“There they are!” someone shouted. Harry spun to his left, casting a Shield Charm just in time to block the oncoming hex. Hoping that the girls were right behind him, he sprinted toward the center of the room, where there was a cluster of desks surrounding an enormous glass tank. Remembering that the tank contained brains, one of which had attacked Ron the last time they were here, Harry did his best to keep his distance as he crouched behind one of the desks and began trading spells with a group of four hooded figures near the end of the room.
“You all right?” Ginny asked as she slid to the floor next to him. Harry nodded and fired off another hex. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Luna hiding behind another desk a few yards away.
The hexes continued to fly back and forth for several minutes, neither side able to gain the upper hand over the other, until finally one of the Death Eaters managed to hit Luna’s desk with a Reductor Curse. She was thrown from her hiding place and out into the open, where she lay motionless. Before Harry could react to go shield her he heard running footsteps behind him. Fearing that they were about to be surrounded, he spun around just in time to see a jet of red light sailing over his head toward the Death Eaters.
As he realized that whoever had entered must be a friend, he turned back to Luna just in time to see her shake her head groggily and begin to sit up. Before she had a chance to regain her bearings, she was hit with a Disarming Charm, and her wand flew to the far end of the room. Just as another curse was fired her way, the newcomer leapt in front of her, shielding her with his body. Only then did Harry recognize his friend, Tyler. The curse’s impact was absorbed by the Muggle boy’s Shield Cloak as he dragged Luna back behind the cluster of desks.
“Tyler,” Luna breathed as her head began to clear.
“I’m here,” Tyler said softly as he gently brushed her hair out of her face. “I saw they got your wand. Use this one for now.” He pressed a wand into her hand. “It’s Malfoy’s, but I don’t think he needs it quite as much as you do.”
“Thanks,” Luna said with a slight smile as she got back into position to fight.
“How’d you get here, Tyler?” Harry asked as he sent yet another Stunner sailing toward their opponents.
“After I sent Moody, Remus, and Tonks after you, I got somebody to help me through the barrier,” Tyler explained. He paused to raise his Stunning Stick, and flicked his wrist, sending another jet of red light toward the Death Eaters. “Once I got outside, I hotwired a car and came straight here.” He flicked his Stunning Stick again, and this time the spell found its mark.
“Accio!” Harry shouted, pulling the newly-fallen Death Eater out of his comrades’ reach so that he couldn’t be revived.
“We’ve got to speed this up somehow,” Harry growled in frustration. It was now four against three in their favor, and yet they were still stuck in a stalemate.
“What if you, me, and Luna each focus on pinning one of them down, and then Tyler takes them out one by one while we’ve got them distracted?” Ginny suggested.
“That could work,” Luna agreed.
Harry nodded. “All right. Ginny, you’ve got the one on the left, I’ll take the center one, and Luna, you’ll take the one on the right. Tyler, as soon as you see an opening, hit them with Stunners.”
“Right,” Tyler replied, an excited grin lighting up his face.
Taking a deep breath, Harry readied himself for the offensive. “On three, everybody. One... two... three!”
As one, Harry, Ginny, and Luna popped up from where they were hiding behind the desks, firing curses as fast as they could. Harry extended his empty left hand along with his wand and began shooting Stunners from both hands. Within thirty seconds, all three remaining Death Eaters were down.
“Accio Luna’s wand,” called Ginny. Luna’s wand sailed across the room and into her hand. “Here you go,” she said, trying to keep her tone light as she handed it over to its owner.
“Thank you, Ginny,” Luna said sincerely, as she pocketed Malfoy’s wand.
“Where to now, Harry?” Tyler asked.
Harry nodded toward the doors on the wall opposite where they had entered. “If I’m not mistaken, then the Death Chamber’s right through there. That’s where Voldemort’s waiting.”
“Is he really in there?” Ginny asked worriedly. “I mean, if he is, shouldn’t your scar be killing you right now?”
Harry smiled grimly. “It is. I’ve just gotten good enough at Occlumency that I can ignore the pain enough to be able to function. Trust me, Voldemort’s close by.”
“Be careful, okay Harry?” she urged. He could see the tears beginning to gather in the corners of her eyes, but he knew that she would never allow herself to cry at a time like this.
“Ginny, I-” He paused to take a deep breath before trying again. “This isn’t really how I pictured this moment, but in case I never get another chance, I want to tell you what I’ve been saying in Parseltongue since Christmas.”
“No, Harry,” she insisted as she threw her arms around his neck and pulled him close. “Don’t talk like that; you’re going to be fine! You can tell me tonight at the Burrow after all of this is over.”
Harry shook his head stubbornly. “I can’t take that chance, Ginny. I’d never forgive myself if I lived my whole life without telling you how much I love you.” There. He had said it, at last.
“I love you, Ginny,” he repeated in a much more tender voice as she clung tightly to him.
“Thank you,” she whispered shakily back to him. A moment later, she pulled away, wiping the unshed tears from her eyes. Harry’s heart sank just a little. She hadn’t returned his sentiment. As she looked up at him, however, he could see in her eyes what she had been unwilling to say out loud, and he suddenly understood. She didn’t want to feel like she was saying goodbye. She was forcing herself to believe that she had all the time in the world to tell him how she felt, and he was not about to let her down.
“Everybody ready?” Harry asked in as normal a voice as he could muster. Ginny, Luna, and Tyler nodded. “All right, then; I’m going through this door. If any of you want to go back, I’ll understand completely.”
“We’re not leaving, Harry,” Tyler answered for the group.
Harry let out a small sigh. “I didn’t really expect you to; I just thought I’d better give you the option.” Without another word, he yanked the door open and stepped into the next room. He stood at the top of a large pit with stone benches running all around the sides. Multicolored light from multiple duels flashed through the dim light, and it took a moment for Harry to realize that Ron, Hermione, and Remus were all on the far side of the room, dueling for their lives. Without another thought, Harry rushed forward to help his friends, but he stopped short at the sound of a taunting voice coming from his left.
“Oh, is wee baby Potter here to search for his godfather?” Slowly, Harry turned to face Bellatrix Lestrange, Sirius’ killer.
“You,” he growled low in his throat.
“Me,” she agreed in the same condescending tone she always used with him.
Without warning, Tyler leapt forward, flicking his wrist twice in rapid succession and sending a pair of Stunners at Bellatrix. She blocked them easily and responded with a spell that hurled him across the room despite his Shield Cloak. He hit the far wall with a sickening crack, and lay still.
“No!” shouted Luna as she turned to face Bellatrix. “Reducto!”
Harry and Ginny fired off a few curses of their own, but all of them were blocked with relative ease.
“You may toy with the Weasley, Bella,” hissed a cold voice from the center of the room. Harry’s attention immediately shifted, and now that his eyes had adjusted to the dim light he was able to see Lord Voldemort standing on the edge of the stone dais that held the crumbling archway with its ancient veil. A flick of Voldemort’s wand sent a surprised Luna sailing through the air to land in an unconscious heap next to Tyler.
“Come, Harry,” Voldemort continued almost conversationally. “You have kept me waiting for quite some time.”
“Stupefy!” Ginny shouted, hoping to catch Bellatrix off guard. It nearly worked, but Voldemort managed to block the spell for her.
Fighting the urge to stay and try to protect Ginny, Harry began descending the stairs toward the center of the room. His heart pounded madly in his chest as he stepped closer and closer to the monster who had stolen his parents.
“Your welcoming committee didn’t seem to want me to make it to our appointment,” Harry said slowly as he fought to keep the pain in his scar at bay. Voldemort laughed that high, cold laugh that had always haunted Harry’s nightmares.
“And yet here you are,” he observed. “You impress me, Harry Potter. But you are no match for me.” Harry had reached the bottom of the stone pit, and stepped up on top of the bottom bench to put himself close to the same level as Voldemort, who still stood atop the dais.
“Do you plan to make this a proper duel, or just attack without warning like you did when I was a baby?” Harry asked, trying desperately to keep the panic out of his voice.
Voldemort glared at him with those terrifying, glowing red eyes. “Crucio!”
Harry leapt aside, thankful that he had been expecting just such an abrupt attack. Abigo! he thought, flicking his wand at his lifelong enemy. Voldemort deflected the Banishing Charm with practiced ease and laughed.
“Have you learned nothing?” he asked in mock-exasperation. “You must always go for the kill, Harry. Avada Kedavra!”
Harry jumped down from the bench, allowing the green light to sail over his head.
“Or at least try to inflict some pain. Crucio!”
Already off-balance, Harry had no choice but to dive to his left to avoid being hit by the Unforgivable. He rolled as he hit the ground, springing to his feet and scrambling backward up the stone steps.
“Is this the best the famed Chosen One can do?” Voldemort mocked as he casually followed Harry’s flight. Harry didn’t answer; he was too busy trying to think of a way to get Voldemort closer to the veil, rather than drawing him further away from it as he was currently doing.
Reducto! Stupefy! Diffindo! Incendio! One after another, Harry’s attacks were repelled by his opponent. As he rose higher, dodging Voldemort’s curses and firing off a few of his own, he could see the other duels that were going on around him. Ginny was, thankfully, holding her own against Bellatrix, although that probably had a lot to do with the fact that she was crouched behind one of the stone benches. To his right, Harry could just barely see Ron dueling with Lucius Malfoy, and not doing too bad a job of it. Across the room, Hermione was being driven back by her opponent, but she didn’t seem to be in nearly as much trouble as Harry was as he ducked another Killing Curse.
As he reached the top row of benches, Harry started working his way around the perimeter of the room, hoping to get Voldemort to follow him so that he could lead him back toward the veil. Turning the corner, he caught sight of the most surprising duel of all. Remus Lupin was locked in hand-to-hand combat with his opponent; both of their wands lay abandoned on the floor. The other man was large, and even at a distance Harry could see his extremely long fingernails digging into the flesh of Remus’ arm and face. The real surprise, however, was Remus himself. His face was contorted into an unrecognizable mask of rage, and his attacks were no less savage than the other man’s.
As Harry worked his way around the top rim of the Death Chamber, Ron was being driven toward the center of the room by Lucius Malfoy. Just as he dodged a Cruciatus Curse from Voldemort, Harry saw a jet of rich red light - too rich to be a Stunner - hit Ron in the chest. Instantly recognizing the False Death Curse after having studied it for an entire term, Harry took a chance and tried to revive his friend.
Alacrita! The bolt of blue light shot from Harry’s wand, but it missed Ron by mere inches as he fell, instead sailing ineffectually over his head and disappearing through the archway in the center of the room.
“Avada Kedavra!”
Harry threw himself down the stairs to avoid the rushing green light and tumbled painfully over and over. As he came to rest at the bottom, he looked up to see another flash of green heading for him and rolled to the side before getting painfully to his feet and pulling himself up onto the dais. Only then did he realize that he had dropped his wand.
“Missing something, Harry?” Voldemort asked mockingly as he tucked Harry’s wand inside his robes.
“Not at all,” Harry growled. It was time to unleash everything he possibly could in order to draw the monster forward. Stupefy! His silent Stunner caught Voldemort by surprise, but he was still able to recover and block it in time.
“What’s this?” Voldemort muttered, and Harry was certain that he hadn’t meant to say it out loud.
“Come and get me, Tom!” Harry shouted, trying desperately to draw his enemy closer as he backed up along the edge of the dais and moved around to the other side of the archway.
“You dare speak that name to me?” Voldemort hissed as he stepped up onto the dais. Harry had reached the other side, and was about to jump down when the sound of a girl screaming in agony distracted him. His head whipped around, and he felt his body temperature drop at the sight of Ginny writhing on the ground with Bellatrix Lestrange standing over her, laughing.
Pouring all of his fury into the spell, Harry threw out his hand and hit Bellatrix with a Blasting Curse. She was thrown hard against the wall, and Harry smiled grimly at the loud cracking sound that her head made as it impacted the stone. His celebration was short-lived, however, as he had to let himself fall over backwards to avoid being hit by a Cruciatus Curse from Voldemort. He hit the ground hard, and for a moment found himself unable to see as stars exploded behind his eyes. When his vision returned, it was just in time to see Remus and his opponent grappling a few feet away. The other man forced Remus back against the edge of the dais, and they both fell, still fighting desperately. Over and over they rolled, oblivious of their surroundings, until they disappeared through the archway. The veil fluttered violently for a moment, and then went back to its usual light fluttering.
Harry lay on the floor, bruised, broken, and in shock. Remus was gone, just like Sirius. He felt the old guilt and anger rising inside of him, but immediately squashed the emotions. He still had a job to do. Forcing his eyes to focus despite his physical and emotional pain, he looked up to find Voldemort standing in front of the veil with a puzzled expression on his face as he examined his wand, which was now inexplicably broken in half. Seeing his opportunity to end the conflict at last, Harry hurriedly pushed himself to his feet and lunged forward, his outstretched hands connecting violently with a surprised Voldemort’s stomach. Voldemort stumbled backward, his red eyes wide with shock as he realized too late what was happening. One of his flailing hands caught hold of Harry’s wrist as he fell. Harry fought to pry the long fingers loose, but Voldemort’s momentum was too much for him and they tumbled through the archway together. Harry’s last thought before disappearing through the veil was that he should have used a Banishing Charm.
Ginny Weasley, barely coming around after having been subjected to the Cruciatus Curse, watched in helpless horror as Voldemort’s hand caught Harry by the wrist and dragged him through the crumbling stone archway. The tattered black veil fluttered violently, and then returned to its light fluttering, as though nothing had happened.
“No!” she screamed, shooting to her feet. Her own physical pain was forgotten.
“Ah, ah, Miss Weasley,” said a cold voice to her left. “You mustn’t go running off when there’s still someone left to play with.” She turned to face Lucius Malfoy, cold fury burning in her eyes.
“Fine,” Ginny growled. “Impedimenta, Incendio, Diffindo, Reducto!” Malfoy was able to block the first pair of spells, but the Severing Charm and Reductor Curse made it through. “Expelliarmus,” she added as an afterthought as he lay bleeding on the ground. Several of his bones were broken, and he made no move to stand up.
“Expelliarmus!” Both Malfoy’s wand and her own flew out of Ginny’s grasp, and she whipped around to face her new attacker. It was the masked Death Eater that had been dueling with Hermione. Ginny was about to fling herself at him and fight him Muggle-style when the main door to the Death Chamber burst open and Dumbledore rushed inside, followed closely by both of her parents and her oldest brother, Bill. At the sight of the newcomers, especially Dumbledore, the Death Eater turned to flee, but two quick flicks of the Headmaster’s wand had him disarmed and bound.
“Ginny!” her mother shouted as she rushed over to gather her daughter into her arms. Ginny stood still as the shock of what she had witnessed began to set in. Her eyes glazed over, and in her mind she saw Harry being pulled through the crumbling stone archway over and over again.
“Harry,” she mumbled.
“Where is he?” Dumbledore asked her urgently. “We know that both Harry and Voldemort were here; did you see where they went?” Tears welled up in Ginny’s eyes as she pulled away from her mother’s embrace to face the ancient Headmaster. Looking into his wrinkled face, she felt her shock and grief being replaced by anger.
“Where were you?” she shouted at him. This was the man who was supposed to protect them; the only one Voldemort had ever feared. He was the reason Voldemort had never tried to attack Hogwarts in person. Harry would have been safe if Dumbledore had been there!
“I’m sorry, dear,” her mother said sadly. “I know I should have been at the station to meet you, but I’d just found out about the attack on the Ministry and-”
“Not you. Him.” She pointed a shaking finger at Dumbledore as her voice took on a quiet, threatening tone. “You were supposed to protect him. You were supposed to be there when he had to face Voldemort again. Where - were - you?”
Dumbledore sighed heavily. “I understand your distress, Miss Weasley, and I promise that we will discuss what happened today in detail, but right now the most important thing is that we find Harry as quickly as possible so that we can help him.”
Ginny laughed bitterly, her pain and anger pushing her dangerously close to hysteria. “You want to know where Harry and Voldemort went?” she asked lightly. After a short pause, the tears started flowing all over again and she screamed, “Do you want to know where Harry is? He’s right bloody there!” Her mother gasped and threw a hand over her mouth when Ginny pointed a wildly shaking finger at the crumbling stone archway with its innocent-looking veil.
“Let’s go right now, Professor!” she continued screaming. “We’ll go help him, shall we? How about if I throw you in there and you can see if there’s anything you can do to help?” She took a step toward Dumbledore, who looked as though he had just been hit in the stomach by a Bludger, but suddenly felt her strength give out and collapsed into her mother’s waiting arms as they sobbed into one another’s shoulders.
Ginny didn’t know how long she had been leaning against her mother when she heard her dad’s anguished cry. She looked up to see him bent over Ron’s prone body, sobbing incoherently. He was soon joined by Bill and Hermione, who Bill had just revived.
There was a short argument, which Ginny couldn’t quite make out until Hermione shouted, “He’s not dead!” and pointed her wand at Ron’s body. There was a flash of blue light, and Ron sat bolt upright, looking wildly around. More words were exchanged, and she saw Ron shake his head violently, as though refusing to believe something that was too unpleasant to even consider. She squeezed her eyes shut and buried her face in her mother’s shoulder once again. It was obvious what her brother was refusing to believe; she would have refused to believe it too, if she hadn’t seen it herself.
“Ginny?” Hermione’s voice was quiet and filled with compassion. Ginny raised her head and opened her eyes to find that Ron and Hermione had come over to join her and her mum while her dad and Bill tended to Luna and Tyler.
“Ginny, what happened?” Hermione asked anxiously. “Your dad said-” She stopped abruptly, afraid to say it out loud. Ginny didn’t blame her.
“I’m only saying this once,” Ginny whispered in an anguished voice. “Harry pushed Voldemort through the veil just like he said he would, but- but Voldemort caught hold of his wrist and- and- p-pulled him through too.” She collapsed back into her mother’s shoulder, sobbing quietly to herself, as her friends looked on in shock.
“Come along, dear,” her mum whispered after a long moment. “There’s no point staying around here anymore.” Ginny shook her head numbly, refusing to move.
“I have to do something for him,” she whispered after a long moment of silence. “Harry would want to know that we’re all okay.”
“I’m sure he already knows, dear,” her mother said soothingly.
“Please, Mum? Let me do this. Let me write him a note and send it through the archway. I have to say goodbye.”
Her mum patted her back reassuringly. “Of course, dear,” she said in a kind, quiet voice. “I understand.” She silently conjured a sheet of parchment, a quill, and some ink for her daughter, and turned her attention to Ron.
Ginny blew out a long, shaky breath as she dipped the quill in the small inkwell. She spent several minutes composing her short letter while silent tears streamed down her cheeks. When she had finished, she blew on the ink to make sure it was dry, and then folded the parchment into a neat little airplane, which she charmed to fly through the crumbling stone archway in the center of the room. As the airplane disappeared behind the black veil, the veil increased its fluttering a bit for just a moment, and then returned to normal. Ginny stared at it for a long moment, trying and failing to absorb the finality of it all, before she numbly allowed her mother to lead her from the room.