Harry and Ginny walked down to breakfast together the next morning holding hands and laughing quietly with one another. It had been a little awkward between Ron and Hermione since Harry and Ginny had caught them together, but they acted as if nothing really happened.
“I’m glad their back together,” Hermione said to Ron as they walked behind the happy couple.
“Me too,” Ron hesitated with his answer because he was thinking about asking Hermione out. He was extremely nervous and very preoccupied.
As Ginny and Harry entered the Great Hall, Professor Dumbledore noticed them and smiled. He was happy to see that Harry had his friends back because he knew how much Harry needed them. Last night, after Harry and Ginny had worked things out, Harry had worked everything out with Ron and Hermione as well. So, they were all back to being the best of friends.
Hogsmeade was this weekend and Harry, Ginny, Hermione, and Ron could not wait. Harry was looking forward to taking his mind off of school and Voldemort and relaxing for a day. Little did the four of them know that their trip to Hogsmeade was going to be a very hectic day.
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As Harry woke up on Saturday morning after a dreamless night, (he had by now mastered the art of keeping away nightmares), he got dressed with a wide smile on his face and woke up Ron. They were going into Hogsmeade today and Harry wanted to get there early to beat the crowd.
Ginny and Hermione had already been up for half an hour by the time Ron had managed to get out of bed. They had been doing their hair and getting ready for so long because they wanted to impress their male friends (or in Ginny’s case, her boyfriend). At nine they went down into the Common Room to meet Harry and Ron.
Harry and Ron were already sitting in the Common Room talking about the upcoming quidditch match when the two girls walked in. “Wow, Gin, you look great,” Harry said as he went over and planted a kiss on Ginny’s lips. Ron blushed and stared at Hermione, who had actually eliminated all the bushiness from her hair.
“You look…uhhh good, Hermione,” Ron stuttered. He didn’t want to go and kiss her like Harry had done to Ginny so he looked down at his feet and clicked his heels together. Hermione stared sweetly at him, hoping that maybe he would get up the courage to ask her out.
“Oh for goodness sake, Ron,” Ginny said as she looked over at him. She then made a move for him by grabbing his hand, walking over to Hermione, and placing their two hands together. She smiled sweetly at the two of them and said, “Well, I think we’re all ready to go now then!”
When they arrived in Hogsmeade, it was nearly deserted because it was so early in the morning. Harry and Ginny walked the streets hand in hand looking for a bench to sit down on and take in the morning air. Ron and Hermione were walking a little farther behind talking quietly about nothing in particular. Suddenly, Hermione thought she noticed something in a black robe move behind a building. I’m just imagining things, she thought to herself. Her eyes suddenly locked on Harry and she realized that she wasn’t imagining it, whoever, whatever that was, was there for Harry.
“HARRY! THERE ARE DEATH EATERS HERE! GET HELP!” Hermione bellowed at the top of her lungs.
Harry spun around to come face to face with three Death Eaters while another three grabbed Ginny and took her away. Harry tried to send stunning spells towards the death eaters but they were moving very quickly. One of the three that had grabbed Ginny began to shout at Harry, “You hurt any of us and we hurt the Weasley rat,”
“WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?” Harry yelled back. He suddenly wondered if there would be Aurors in the village somewhere…there must be someone looking out for him.
“Now Harry, there’s no need to shout. Just come with us calmly and we’ll let the girl go,” came from the drawling voice of Bellatrix Lestrange. Anger swelled up inside of Harry and he was suddenly reminded of Sirius. Without even thinking he sent a stunning spell towards Bellatrix and hit her square in the chest. She fell to the ground as another Death Eater grabbed hold of Ron and Hermione who had tried to drift away from the scene in search of help.
Within 30 seconds of Bellatrix’s fall, Aurors had popped up all over the place and had taken control of the fight. About 3 minutes later, all the Death Eaters except for Bellatrix had apparated and Ginny was left lying on the ground in pain.
Harry ran over to her and lifted her head off the ground and stared into her eyes. She saw the green eyes looking back at her and from that moment on she promised herself she would never forget them.
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Harry was sitting on a bed in the hospital wing next to Ginny, waiting for her to wake up. She had been sleeping for a while and all he wanted to do was talk to her and make sure she was okay. Professor Dumbledore walked in and looked down at the distressed Harry. Neither of them realized that Ginny was awake.
“Well, Harry, everyone will be okay,” He said slowly and calmly as he looked at Harry.
“Everything is not okay. I put Ginny, Hermione, and Ron in danger. I’m never going to go out again…” He had tears in his eyes at the thought of what could have happened to his three friends today. Harry kept his head facing the floor as Dumbledore continued to talk to him.
“Harry, this is not your fault. You can’t just lock yourself up for the next few years. You are going to have to live your life to the fullest whether you want to or not, Harry, because I am going to make sure of it. Don’t let Voldemort rule your life, that’s exactly what he wants to do.”
“But, Professor, Ginny could have been killed. I can’t have her associated with me because it puts her in danger. After today, I’m going to spend my time by myself. I wouldn’t be able to live if someone else close to me is killed because of my stupidity.”
Ginny rolled over in her bed at this, trying to get Harry to realize she was awake. But, of course, he didn’t notice.
“Harry, that is rather silly. I know that Miss Weasley is not going to let you break up with her. And I know that Mr. Weasley and Ms. Granger are going to continue being your friends if you want them to or not. And, now, about Bellatrix. We have captured her and as of right now she is being kept under maximum security at the Ministry. But, I am afraid that we just can’t kill her.”
Harry knew that he was going to never get Sirius back, but hearing Dumbledore’s voice become shaky as he said this, made it hit Harry very hard. Harry nodded his head and stood up from the bed he had been sitting on. He walked over to a window and looked down at the ground below. Ginny opened her eyes completely and stared at Harry as Dumbledore left the two of them alone.
Ginny noticed tears began to slide down Harry’s perfectly smooth cheek and she made another promise to herself at that moment”she would love Harry with all her heart and would make sure that he knew it.
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Ginny woke up for a day long nap, got out of bed and went to look out the window. She was suddenly shoved back into reality.
Ginny had been dreaming for 12 hours, but it wasn’t a fantasy dream. It had been a real dream. She had dreamed about how her and Harry had gotten together, about their first fight, and she had dreamed about that day when she was hurt by the Death Eaters in Hogsmeade. She had remembered the promise that she had made herself one year ago about loving Harry, and she had kept it til this day. As she looked out the window at the shadowy and dark ground, she remembered everything that she had wanted to forget.
It was her sixth year and Harry, Ron, and Hermione’s seventh. And as of right now, she didn’t know if she would ever see Harry or her brother again. The final battle was occurring somewhere in the world, and Harry was out there doing his best to try and save it. Her and Harry had been together for over a year now and they loved each other more than anyone. They were inseparable. But, because Harry wasn’t safe and she knew it, Ginny felt like half of her was missing. And it was a big half.
Ginny walked away from the window and into the Common Room which was basically deserted. Almost everyone had gone home or was helping in the fight, but Harry had refused to let her and Hermione contribute. “If there are two people I don’t want to get hurt, it’s you two. And I will protect you if it’s the last thing I do,” Harry had said. Oh how Ginny missed hearing his voice. They had all been gone for over a month now and she was beginning to get worried. What if he never comes back? What will I do? And for about the one thousandth time that month, she began to cry.
Hermione walked into the Common Room as she heard Ginny’s sobs. Hermione was missing Ron and Harry just as much as Ginny was, but Ginny was definitely less confident than Hermione. Hermione and Ron had been dating since the day after the Hogsmeade incident, which had been the first of many. “Oh, Gin, it’s okay…they’ll be home soon,” Hermione tried to comfort Ginny even though she knew it was a lost cause.
“What’s the point of us staying here, waiting for them, when we could be helping out? Waiting for Harry is going to kill me soon, Hermione. I don’t know how much longer I can wait.”
Hermione knew that Ginny was scared of losing Harry, and she tried to convince her that Harry would be fine. There was no way Voldemort could defeat Harry…right? As much as Hermione wanted to convince herself that everything was going to be alright, she had a feeling in the pit of her stomach that not everyone was going to come home alright.
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Before Ginny went to get into her bed that night, she walked over to close the drapes around the window. Although it had not been sunny outside for last 2 months, she still had hope that sometime soon the battle would be over.
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A/N: Woah. In case you didn't catch the last bit of this chapter--it was all a dream. The first seven chapters of this story was Ginny dreaming and reflecting back on Harry's sixth year. I'm not going to write a chapter that includes the final battle because I feel that that is JKR's job. I'm also not writing a final battle scene because, well, I think it would totally stink. But, I promise that you'll find out what happens in one of the upcoming chapters.
Please review if you want me to continue!