They watched the Lynx dissolve into wisps of silver. She was still holding Fred and George’s hands… they’d been dancing.
Screams erupted everywhere as realisation kicked in. Ginny’s eyes shot around the wedding’s dance floor as witches and wizards disapparated in fear. The protective spells around the Burrow had broken. They were no longer safe.
She felt George’s hand slip out of hers and she was pushed roughly into Fred as groups of people pushed through the crowd, horrified expressions daunting their faces. Fred wrapped an arm around her and held her close protectively.
Ginny wriggled free of his grasp and darted through the crowd, Fred’s panicked shouts echoing in her ears. Dark figures with cloaks and masks were apparating everywhere, but Ginny had no time for them.
‘Petrificus Totalus!’ She pointed her wand at the closest Death Eater and watched him fall to the ground, completely immobilized.
Ginny kicked off her shoes and ran on through the crowd. He was going to leave, and she may never see him again. Her red hair was lashing around her face, unruly.
“Ron! Ron!” Ginny heard Hermione’s voice, half sobbing, yell from her right. Harry stood beside her, gripping her arm, a set expression on his face. Of course, he was ‘Cousin Barney’ today, but he was still Harry underneath.
Ron shot out of nowhere at the same time a Death Eater aimed a curse in Ginny’s direction. She turned to watch Ron shout ‘Protego!’ deflecting the spell, and giving Ginny a firm look. She understood it to mean that he was leaving, indefinitely.
She felt her eyes brim with tears and one roll down her cheek. Ron squeezed her hand briefly before dashing towards Hermione and gripping her arm. Ginny watched the three turn on the spot, and then they were gone.
She felt, more than heard, a presence behind her and turned so quickly the Death Eater had no time to react. ‘Stupefy!’ The blonde woman fell, stunned. Ginny stared down at Narcissa Black and felt nothing but pity.
The battle was still raging around her; she looked up and saw the twins battling three Death Eaters. Another, that Ginny recognized as Nott was making his way silently behind George. He raised his wand, but Ginny had sent the Conjunctivis Curse at him. He staggered backwards, hands over his eyes, and tripped over a body, slamming his head on a rock on the ground. He was unconscious.
Briefly Ginny hoped the body didn’t belong to their side, and aimed another curse at one of the two Death Eaters fighting Bill and Fleur.
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"The others - everyone at the wedding-"
"We can't worry about that now," whispered Hermione. "It's you they're after, Harry, and we'll just put everyone in even more danger by going back."
"She's right," said Ron, who seemed to know that Harry was about to argue, even if he could not see his face. "Most of the Order was there, they'll look after everyone."
Harry nodded, then remembered that they could not see him, and said, "Yeah." But he thought of Ginny and fear bubbled like acid in his stomach.
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‘Diffindo!’
Ginny felt her dress rip open, and blood trickling down her back. She turned in fury. ‘Duro!’ she spat, and watched Rodolphus Lestrange turn to stone, shock still etched on his face. Ginny's back was warm with blood. The cut was deep, but she didn't care. She could feel a bruise forming on the side of her face where someone had elbowed her in the rush to leave the horrible wedding scene.
A shot of green light shot past Ginny’s left ear and she turned to stun the offender. Bellatrix Lestrange blocked it carelessly. “Little girl, why haven’t you run?” she taunted.
“Wouldn't want to miss the party, would I?” Ginny smirked, raising her wand.
Bellatrix narrowed her eyes and raised her wand. “Do you not fear death?” she asked the fiery redhead standing determinedly before her.
Ginny laughed, “I fear death as much as I fear you and Voldemort.” She smiled as Bellatrix gasped in fury at her mention of his name. “Which is not at all,” Ginny whispered.
‘Imperio!’ Bellatrix shrieked.
Ginny stood her ground, trying desperately to fight the Imperius Curse that had been placed upon her. She would not succumb to Bellatrix’ control.
“Bow to the Dark Lord’s power, little girl! We’ll see how brave you really are!” she laughed, a high-pitched, evil laugh.
Ginny felt herself begin to bend at the waist and then stopped. She thought of her family, fighting behind her. They would never submit themselves to Voldemort or his followers. George had lost and ear, and Mad-Eye was dead, but they’d fought bravely. Hedwig was dead too, she remembered. A careless death. A meaningless death. That was what the world was full of just now. Meaningless deaths.
She thought of Ron and Hermione. Her brother, and best friend, who had left, she knew, to help save the wizarding world. She thought of the DA, and the night in the Ministry in her fourth year. She remembered Sirius falling through the veil, and Ron being nearly strangled to death. She thought back to last year, Dumbledore’s death, and Fenrir Greyback’s attack on Bill. She thought of Lupin, bitten by Greyback as a child and forced into a werewolf’s life of exile as a result. She thought of Neville Longbottom’s parents, who’d been tortured into insanity by the very Death Eater that was now trying to control Ginny.
She thought of Harry. Of Harry and the Prophecy. He was the only one in the end who could stop it all. His bravery and strength was more than she herself could ever imagine. She recalled his story, parents murdered by Voldemort when he was only a year old… They’d been members of the Order of The Pheonix as well. Harry had gone through far more than anyone in the magical world could begin to imagine. Ginny loved him, as she had since before Hogwarts. Harry had set off on his final journey to hunt and kill Voldemort, knowing he might never return. Ginny blinked back tears.
All these people, her friends, her family… all victims of Dark Magic. All brave, all strong…she would not let them down.
‘PROTEGO!’ Ginny screamed through the magic that was binding her.
Bellatrix let out a yelp and dropped her wand, as if she’d been stung.
Ginny stole her chance. ‘Stupefy!’ She watched Bellatrix fall to the ground, fury etched in her once-pretty face. ‘Incarcerous!’ Ginny added, and ropes bound their way around the Death Eater’s body.
She stood silently, her shoulders shaking. Ginny was exhausted from fighting the Imperius Curse, but she told herself to be strong. Harry would be facing more than a simple unforgivable curse.
Suddenly, she received a hard blow to the back of the head. Knocked to the ground, she rolled over onto her back, and pointing her wand up at the offender with two hands, 'Incendio!' she bellowed.
The Death Eater, Avery, raised an arm to block the spell, consequently setting his cloak on fire. He yelped in agony, but managed "Aguamenti!' to put out the fire and counter Ginny's spell. He returned a menacing gaze to her flashing brown eyes.
'Cruc-'
'LANGLOCK!'
Avery's tongue rolled back in his mouth. He was unable to say the spell out loud, but Ginny knew that he would perform a curse non-verbally very soon. She stunned him before he had the chance.
Ginny became very aware of the grass and dirt that were now edging their way inside the gash on her back, and she rose to her feet, wincing slightly at the pain.
There were five death eaters closing in on Ginny's mother and father. "Mum..." Ginny whispered before summoning the last of her energy and screaming 'REDUCTO!'
She watched as the five Death Eaters were thrown backwards by the force of the spell. She'd nailed that one in the DA meetings, Ginny thought to herself.
She noted that another Death Eater was running towards her, wand raised at the ready, and that they didn't look happy. But Ginny's vision was blurring, and she raised her wand half heartedly, knowing she would have no aim.
'Obscuro!' Ginny heard Charlie's voice shout as he shot the blindfold spell at the Death Eater before Stunning him, and everything went black.
Wish You Were Here by Evans613
Chapter Notes: This chapter takes place in the midst of Bill & Fleur's wedding, immediately after Kingsley Shacklebot's Patronus has delivered his message:
The ministry has fallen. Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming.