She felt like she had stepped into the dream she had so many months ago. It was happening. She stood, watching the battle unfold, just like she had in her dream. She saw the same faces, the same families scurrying for safety, having no where to go in their panic. She saw the familiar fighters: the Order, the members of the DA, and soon Harry, Ron and Hermione would be pouring onto the street as well.
Ginny turned at the thought, and saw the three running towards her, in what seemed like slow motion. Ron and Hermione ran past her, wands waving. She heard bangs and shouts, but it was all muffled as she watched Harry pause in front of her, reaching out and touching her arm gently. It was time for the painful pleading to start. She knew it was coming…just as it had in her dream. But this was real. It was happening now…would she be able to turn from him? Walk away?
“Ginny,” his voice was so steady, so clear, so firm compared to what she felt inside, to what was happening around them. “Ginny, please…”
She couldn’t keep the gaze he was trying to hold with her, and when she turned away he tightened his grip on her arm and shook her gently. She turned back to him. His eyes, wide with fear, told her everything she needed to know. She knew he fully understood the severity of the situation. He knew in his heart that she was the last Horcrux and that she fully intended on sacrificing herself at this very battle. But, she also saw the desperation, the pure and utter panic. “I…I…” Her resolve was dissolving, and she closed her eyes, and instead of escaping the battle surrounding her, she saw the battle of her dreams.
The dream never went farther into what would happen. Maybe because she still had a choice…if it was a true prophetic dream, she would see herself handing herself over. But all she could remember was Harry’s pleading eyes. “Ginny, just…just…we have time…we…we can work something out…figure things out…”
A loud explosion rocked the very street. They both crouched down; Harry covered Ginny with his arms as rubble showered around them. When things stopped falling, they saw a mother grasping a bloody hand that was visible underneath a large piece of concrete. They watched as the mother stood, pointed her wand at the rubble and tried to move it from place. She had lost all magical power, and she collapsed next to the small hand. Hermione had rushed forward, placed her fingers on the child’s wrist and waited.
She looked up at the mother, “I’m so sorry…” she whispered. The mother howled.
Ginny turned back to Harry. “This battle has to end. They are here for me, Harry. Please, just let me go…”
“I can’t…I can’t…” Harry croaked.
“Harry…” Ginny’s voice cracked as she saw the tears rise in Harry’s eyes. “I don’t want to walk away from you right now…but I have to. You know I have to…so just…just…”
Harry shook his head, leaned forward and kissed Ginny. He cringed as the mother’s bereavement reached their ears at an unbearable decibel. “I’ll…I’ll figure something out.” Harry said, desperately, kissing her between words. She shook her head, not returning the kisses he placed on her lips.
“And until you can…I have to go. I love you. Please forgive me.” Ginny said. She was surprised as she felt Harry’s grip weaken as she pulled away.
“Don’t,” he said as her skin no longer touched his. She didn’t answer, but turned away from him. “Gin!” She had to look at him one more time; when she turned, she saw him running towards her, and saw his intention to stop her. She began running from him, heard him calling for her, telling her to stop. There was another way. But in her heart, below the pain, she knew that this was it. It had to be done.
There was another explosion to her right. Concrete showered down. She couldn’t hear him anymore. Dust was all around. She wanted to look for him, make sure he was okay. But this was her chance to stop the killing. She saw the white blonde hair peaking through the bottom of Lucius’ mask. She walked up the steps of Gringott’s, holding up her hands in surrender, her wand still gripped tightly.
“You’re here for me. Stop the fighting, and I’ll go without any trouble,” she said clearly. Lucius nodded, took his wand, lifted his sleeve and touched his tattoo. Ginny turned to see Death Eaters disappearing all along the alley. Dust was settling and people were peaking out of stores. Order and DA members were left, their wands still raised, stunned that everything ended so suddenly. Then Ginny heard him again. She breathed out in relief, but her heart constricted with the agony in his voice.
“Ginny!”
Lucius laughed, “Let’s go, darling.” He lunged forward, grabbed her around the waist and Disapparated.
“Damnit!” Harry swore again, kicking out at the fence outside the Burrow.
“Why the hell would Ginny do that!?” Fred shouted at Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Harry was pacing angrily, Ron ran his fingers through his hair, and Hermione looked away completely. “Guys!”
“We can’t talk about it, Fred,” Ron said quietly.
“Like bloody hell you can’t!” George piped in. “Our sister just walked right up to Lucius Malfoy! What the hell is going on!?”
“She’ll be okay, George,” Hermione murmured.
“Excuse me?” Arthur stepped forward. Hermione looked at the entire Weasley clan, minus Percy, then to Ron.
Harry stopped pacing, “Listen,” everyone turned to him, Hermione breathed in relief. “None of us wanted her to do that. But, Hermione’s right…they can’t do anything to her. They are just going to use her as bait, and she knew that.”
“Bait for you?” Bill asked. Harry was surprised when he spoke to him with concern, rather than anger. Harry just nodded.
“How can we help?” Charlie asked. Harry turned to him, equally shocked.
Molly sensed Harry’s unease and stepped forward, “Harry, Ginny has always been a head-strong, stick in the mud. If she thinks her way is right, she’ll listen to no one. No one blames you…we’re just worried about Ginny…worried about you…”
“The final battle is going to happen…and soon.” Harry said.
“You’re not ready,” Fred said bluntly.
Harry cracked a rare smile, “You’re right. I’m not ready…but Ginny seems to disagree.”
“What can we do?” George offered.
“Gather anyone you can. Any witch, wizard, creature, muggle you can that is willing to help. Can we use the Burrow as headquarters?” Harry asked.
Arthur nodded, “Of course.”
“Hermione, Ron and I have to discuss some things. Just…gather people. We’ll have a plan within the day.” Harry said, walking swiftly away from everyone. Ron and Hermione jogged behind him as everyone else dispersed to gather the troops.
“Within the day?!” Hermione breathed.
Harry looked at her, “They have Ginny, Hermione!”
“Harry, we still have to destroy Nagini…and you aren’t ready to fight Voldemort!” Ron said.
“I know!” Harry yelled. He took a breath to calm himself. “I know. We are going to just…follow Ginny’s plan. Let’s be honest…we’ve been following her plans the past months anyways. As much as we think we were making decisions, it has been all her.”
Hermione went to object, but thought better. The more she thought, the more she realized Harry was right. She’d been guiding them in the right direction the entire time. And here she was, leading the way to the final battle.
“Voldemort has been holding up at Hogwarts. Probably to get the tiara…but it’s advantageous there too. All the students can be held ransom. So that’s where it’s going to happen. We just have to figure out how to get Ginny.” Harry thought aloud.
“And how you’re going to beat Voldemort…” Hermione added.
“No, number two is how we’re going to kill Nagini.” Harry corrected.
“So number three is how you’re going to survive?” Hermione asked.
“That’s the least of my worries, honestly.” Harry said. Hermione rolled her eyes. Harry was about to explain, but his head collapsed in pain. The pressure was almost unbearable, but what was worse was hearing Ginny’s shouts of pain that enveloped his senses. Then there was the high pitched laughter…
Harry felt Hermione’s hands on his shoulders and heard Ron’s voice, “Harry? What is it?”
He squeezed his eyes tight, “She’s being tortured…” he was able to say from behind clenched teeth. He clawed at his head, as he heard Riddle’s voice.
“If you think I won’t kill her because she is my last Horcrux, you’re wrong. Even if you’ve destroyed all my Horcruxes, I can still destroy you. I will still be more powerful than any living wizard. You have one hour, Potter. One hour, to come and say goodbye to your precious love. I’ll kill her whether you’re here or not…in one hour.”
The pain was lifted, and Harry was left in emptiness, in a heap of weakness on the Burrow’s front lawn. “Harry?” Hermione whispered, clearly shaken.
He turned over on his side and was sick. “He’s going to kill her. It’s not how she planned. He said he isn’t afraid she’s the last Horcrux. He said he’ll still be able to destroy me and be more powerful than any other…”
“What?” Ron interrupted.
“He is going to kill her…” Harry repeated.
“But he said she’s the last?” Ron asked.
Harry thought a moment. “Yeah…”
“Dumbledore said there were seven Horcruxes?” Ron asked.
“Ron, we really don’t have time to ask stupid questions we know the answers to!” Hermione said harshly. Ron glared at her.
“We don’t have the Pensieve’s Harry…you need to remember…did Dumbledore ever say…seven Horcruxes?” Ron asked.
Harry shrugged, thinking hard, “I don’t know! We knew about the diary, the ring, the locket…and then he always said he believed Nagini was one, that Voldemort would probably want something from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw…so there you go…”
“That’s six,” Ron said.
“Ginny would make seven,” Hermione said, looking at Ron like he was crazy.
“Where does Voldemort count?” Ron asked.
Harry stared at Ron hard, “What?”
“Dumbledore gave you 6 suggestions. Ginny says she’s the seventh…but what if there was only ever meant to be 6?” They both stared blankly at Ron. “Dumbledore said Voldemort wanted to split his soul in seven parts…that would mean he’d have to make 6 Horcruxes…”
“Yeah…” Hermione said, finally realizing Ron might be on to something, but not quite sure on what.
“We’ve always been looking for the 6…and we’ve had no time to think about what Ginny said. She insists she’s the seventh…the seventh part of Voldemort’s whole. We’ve destroyed the diary, the ring, the locket, the statue, and the diadem. Are you following me yet?” Ron asked.
“Are you saying that we only have one more left to destroy? Not counting Voldemort?” Harry said. Ron nodded slowly.
“So…so it’s either Nagini or Ginny?” Hermione asked. Not quite understanding.
Harry shook his head. “No. It’s Ginny. Voldemort said…he doesn’t care she’s the last…he’ll kill her anyway.”
They all stood stunned. “So…so…we don’t have to worry about destroying Nagini…” Hermione stammered.
“No, just how to destroy the Horcrux in Ginny without killing her…” Ron said.
“And within an hour…” Harry added. He spun in a circle; he didn’t know what to do next. He couldn’t get his thoughts straight. All he could see was Ginny being tortured. “I…I don’t know what to do…” he admitted.
Hermione and Ron looked to one another, lost for ideas as well. They all jumped when Mrs. Weasley spoke. “I find, when I am out of ideas, to ask someone that may be able to provide a new prospective? Give fresh ideas?”
They all looked at Molly, who stood, patiently, lovingly. Why couldn’t they tell her everything? She was Ginny’s mother, trustworthy and loyal. Harry took a deep breath, and to the surprise of Ron and Hermione said, “Have you ever heard of a Horocrux?”
She gasped, “Is this what you’ve been after? Has you-know-who created a Horocrux?” They all nodded. “I don’t know much about the matter. Just that it is evil magic, and that the object holds half of a murderer’s soul.”
“Wait…Mrs. Weasley, you’ve made me realize something.” Hermione said quickly. “When we destroy a Horocrux we are destroying its soul…but they have all been objects, so once we kill the soul, they are essentially nothing else. But, Ginny has her own soul too…so…so there must be a way to destroy the part of Voldemort that is in her and not her own soul. Right?”
“Ginny is the Horcrux?” Molly gasped.
Ron rushed to his mother, who began to cry. Harry swallowed the knot in his throat, “She is one of 6. The last part of Voldemort’s separated souls.”
Molly quieted her tears as Ron tried to calm her. “Mum, please, we know it’s hard, but we don’t have time…”
“She’s my baby girl! Harry, you won’t let anything happen to her?” she pleaded with him. Harry felt like all the air had escaped his body. He stared into Molly’s eyes, and saw the same pain that was within him.
Harry nodded, “I would never forgive myself if anything happened to her, Mrs. Weasley.” It was as he said that the thought fleeted across his mind. Then he heard Ginny’s last words to him, ‘I love you. Please forgive me.’ It was like a snitch, flying around, just out of his grasp. He could see the answer, he could reach for it…but he couldn’t quite put his hand around it.
“Harry?” Hermione saw his eyes darting on the ground, as if he was looking for something. He held up his hand forcefully, it was enough to stop Mrs. Weasley’s tears all together. Silence. Everyone watched Harry with baited breath.
“Why are they called Unforgivable curses?” he whispered finally.
“What?” Ron breathed.
Hermione spoke up, “Because they are evil spells…and casting them on someone is unforgivable.”
“By whom?” Harry asked, excitement somehow crossing his eyes.
“By…by whom?” Hermione repeated the question, confused.
Ron shrugged, “I won’t be forgiving that Death Eater who hit me with Crucio anytime soon…”
“Exactly!” Harry shouted. “The person being hit by the curse…they won’t forgive the caster because who would forgive someone for torturing or killing them?”
“Harry…what are you getting at?” Hermione asked.
“What if one of the Unforgivable’s was used for good…not evil? It probably has never been done…right?” he asked Hermione.
She shook her head, “I…I guess not. From everything I’ve read…the caster has always been sent to Azkaban…they’ve always been bad wizards or witches…”
“What if…if the person hit with the curse was able to forgive the caster?” Harry trailed off.
Ron shook his head, “Are you trying to say, that if you killed Ginny because it was the right thing to do…and she was able to forgive you for it…she wouldn’t die?”
Harry nodded, and Hermione joined in shaking her head. “Harry…that…that is a stretch.”
“No! No, it’s not! Think about it!” he walked towards them, suddenly believing he had found the answer. He knew he had. “Okay…so I ‘kill’ Ginny. But, but I’m doing it because I love her, because I want her to live. Have any of the Unforgivable’s ever been cast with love at the basis?” No one answered, they weren’t supposed to. He continued, “And Ginny wants this to happen. She is sacrificing herself, willingly…so she will be able to forgive me for killing her. But…but the part of Voldemort’s soul, it won’t forgive me…it wants to live…”
Ron narrowed his eyes and began to nod his head. Hermione saw this and spoke up, “You think that by casting a ‘loving’ killing curse, Ginny’s soul will forgive you and Voldemort’s will not and therefore Voldemort’s soul will be destroyed and Ginny’s won’t?”
Harry thought for a moment, “Yeah…that about covers it.”
“It’s too risky. To do this on a hunch…” Hermione said.
“Listen,” Harry said angrily. “We don’t have time. In less than an hour, Voldemort is going to destroy Ginny. All parts of her, including his own soul, because he knows he is more powerful than me. He knows that one on one, he’ll beat me.”
Molly shook her head, “No, Harry…you can…”
“Not if Ginny is dead. You two said it yourself,” Harry turned to them. “I can’t do wandless nonverbal magic unless she is around. My only chance to beat Voldemort is with that power…and I only have that power if Ginny is around…and if Voldemort kills Ginny…”
Hermione nodded in understanding. Ron shifted his weight uncertainly. Molly’s eyes brimmed with tears. It was Arthur that rushed forward. “We have word from Hogwarts, Death Eaters have all the students held hostage in the Great Hall…including Ginny. They are saying there is an hourglass…its half empty…but no one knows what it is counting down to.”
“This is it. This is it.” Harry said.
“Harry. We have fighters. They’re all out front…what do you want us to do?”
“Hermione, do you have those DA coins?” When she nodded, Harry continued, “Give one to Arthur. We’re going to Hogwarts. Our troops will wait outside. Ron, Hermione and I will go in. Voldemort won’t attack us, he’ll want to fight me one on one. When Hermione sends you the signal through the coin…that is when we need reinforcements.”
Arthur nodded. “If that is what you think we should do, Harry. But…but don’t you think just walking in…just the three of you?”
Harry nodded. “It is better that we walk in as a non-threat. Come on, we have to go.”
A Second Prophecy by wilbur
Chapter Notes: review! sorry about the long wait!