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Category: Alternate Universe Characters:Harry/Ginny Genres: Action/Adventure, Angst, Drama, Fluff, General, Romance Warnings: Extreme Language, Sexual Situations Story is Complete Rating: R Reviews: 725 Summary: Their nightmares and demons bound them together. Their love helped them to survive. Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley knew they needed each other; the trouble was in admitting it. Hitcount: Story Total: 277262; Chapter Total: 14431 Awards: View Trophy Room |
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Chapter 25 Harry rode the winding staircase to Dumbledore’s office. He was trembling with rage – his body, his mind and his heart were all warring as one, urging him to turn around, to GO FIND HER, to expend the energy he could feel simmering just beneath the surface in one violent, and hopefully bloody, strike that would end Voldemort once and for all. The only thing standing between Harry and a complete explosion of anger and rage was Professor Dumbledore’s firm grip on his forearm. Somehow the Professor could sense that if he let go, Harry would likely combust into such a rampage that it would take too many resources to reel him back. Harry was torn between anger at himself, anger at Voldemort and anger at Ginny for sacrificing herself. He decided to focus on the anger at Voldemort rather than dwell on the fact that Ginny was not here. Thinking about her made him aware of a vast, black hole in the middle of his chest that ached every time he pictured the look of resolve on her face as she had stepped away from him and towards Lucius Malfoy. Dumbledore’s grip tightened on his arm, as if he could tell Harry desperately wanted to slam both fists into the stone wall of the staircase. All Harry wanted to do was run after Ginny, but despite the swirling storm of rage in his head, even he could see the sense in regrouping before going after her. They needed a few minutes to get Snape to tell them where Voldemort was hiding and gather the Order members who’d answered the summons Dumbledore had sent before meeting Harry at the entrance to the castle. He was trying desperately not to think about how Tom and his Death Eaters would occupy Ginny for these precious moments. When they reached the top, Harry wrenched his arm away and slammed the door open. The occupants in the room jumped and many faces paled when they saw the furious look on his face. No one spoke as he stalked in, his hands clenched into fists to keep them from shaking. ”Ginny?” Mrs. Weasley whispered. Her eyes were anxious, worry clouded her features. Harry could see that she already knew the answer to the question; why else would Ron have sent his Patronus to the Burrow telling his parents to meet them at Dumbledore’s office? “Molly, Arthur…” Dumbledore began, but he couldn’t seem to finish the sentence. Harry bit the insides of his mouth to keep himself from screaming out his frustration. They were wasting time. Regroup – now. “I’m going after her,” Harry said in a low voice. He refused to look at anyone in the room; he couldn’t stand seeing everyone else’s pain when he was so busy wallowing in his own. There was an immediate outcry from the Weasleys, the Professors, Hermione and the Order members who had received Dumbledore’s message. Mrs. Weasley burst into tear, but the look on Ron, Fred and George’s faces said they would join him. “Harry, you can’t just go waltzing into Voldemort’s hideout, you don’t even know where it is!” Hermione said. Harry nodded his head, conceding her point. “You’re right,” he said. “I don’t know where it is.” He pulled out his wand and pointed it at Snape. “But you know, don’t you? And you’re going to tell me. Right. Now.” Snape stared in disdain at Harry’s wand, but did not move otherwise. Perhaps even he could sense how close Harry was to losing control. “Mr. Potter!” exclaimed Professor McGonagall. “You don’t pull your wand on a teacher!” “So kick me out,” Harry snapped. He took a step closer to Snape. “Tell me where he is.” “No.” Snape folded his arms over his chest, his hands disappearing up his sleeves, where, Harry presumed, he’d stashed his wand. “Harry, put your wand down,” Dumbledore said sharply. “This is no time to turn on each other. We need a plan.” “I don’t need a plan, and we don’t have time to discuss this,” Harry nearly shouted at his mentor. He stepped back from Snape, but kept his wand up. “Every second we spend here, Ginny could be -” he broke off, not wanting to say the words. “Why?” Mrs. Weasley gasped. She lifted her head from Arthur’s shoulder and looked at Dumbledore. “Why did he take her?” Hermione cleared her throat and looked at Dumbledore questioningly before saying, “I - I think they were there specifically for her. They didn’t seem to care about anyone else.” “But she didn’t have to go!” Mrs. Weasley protested. “Ron’s message said that she - she let herself be taken.” “She was sacrificing herself,” Harry said shortly. “She was protecting me.” He whirled on Dumbledore. “Professor, I’m going and there’s nothing you can do to stop me. Tell me where Voldemort is. It’s time to finish this!” “Harry, you cannot simply go charging into battle with Voldemort,” Dumbledore said soothingly. “Let me call the Order together, and we’ll decide what to do.” The tentative control Harry had on his temper snapped. At Dumbledore’s words, a burst of magical energy emanated throughout the room and red angry sparks shot from the tip of Harry’s wand. “There is no time,” Harry said between gritted teeth. “I know he’s setting a trap, but I don’t care. He’s got Ginny, and I have to get her back.” “I understand your feelings for Ginny are very deep -” Dumbledore said. “You understand nothing!” Harry shouted, interrupting him. He advanced on Dumbledore, his face thunderous, his hands shaking with rage and loss. “Now you listen to me -” “Harry!” Remus said sternly. “Back off. Get a hold of yourself. Fighting isn’t going to save Ginny.” “It may already be too late, Remus,” Harry seethed. “While we sit here and debate, Ginny is out there with Voldemort and a bunch of Death Eaters!” Dumbledore sat down wearily in the chair behind his desk. “Harry, there are preparations that have to be made. We need more people before we face them all.” Harry leaned over the Headmaster’s desk, his palms flat on either side of the blotter as he stared Dumbledore down. “This is really very simple,” he said in a deadly, quiet voice. “Either Snape tells me what I want to know or I start looking myself. Only when I find him, I won’t kill him. I’ll take Ginny and leave. The prophecy be damned!” He shouted the last word for emphasis and Hermione jumped. “If you want me to kill him, you help me find him right now.” “Blackmail, Harry?” Dumbledore lifted an eyebrow at him. “I will do anything to save her,” said Harry fiercely. “You can either come with me or not, but I’m going. I promised her.” “People are going to die,” Dumbledore said softly. “Even more so if we do not prepare.” “Then don’t come with me. I’ll go alone.” “Harry, you can’t take on Voldemort and all those Death Eaters by yourself!” Ron glanced at his brothers. “We’re coming with you. Ginny’s our sister.” “I’m coming too,” Hermione said boldly. “Ginny’s my best friend.” “Wonderful,” Snape sneered. “The Dark Lord is sure to be scared of a bunch of teenagers.” Harry spun around to point his wand at Snape again. “Ginny let Malfoy take her so the rest of us could escape,” he spat. “She saved our arses and now we save hers.” “If I take you there I will be exposed as a spy, and the Dark Lord will likely kill me,” Snape hissed. “I DON’T FUCKING CARE!” Harry bellowed. The contents of the room rattled ominously and Dumbledore stood up. Harry spun back around to face him. His face was red with suppressed rage and he was breathing in heavy pants through his nose. The two wizards stared at each other. Harry willed his professor to see that he meant every word he’d said; that he needed to find Ginny through any means necessary. That she was…everything; that without her, the wizarding world might as well surrender because Harry sure as hell wouldn’t be able to do a damn thing about Voldemort. If love was the key to defeating him, how did they expect Harry to do so when his love could be dead. No, he assured himself. She was alive. He would know if Ginny was dead. Wouldn’t he? Wouldn’t he be able to feel it? “Very well,” said Dumbledore finally. “If Harry will agree to wait one hour to allow me to arrange for as much assistance as possible, then perhaps Professor Snape will be good enough to reveal Voldemort’s location.” “It’s not that simple,” Snape said through gritted teeth. “The place is protected by many charms and wards, only certain people are allowed in. I don’t even know the name of the place myself. We are given Portkeys that allow us to travel to the Dark Lord when we wish.” “Then you will take Harry with your Portkey and the rest of us will follow somehow,” Dumbledore reasoned. He cocked an eye at Ginny’s brother Bill. “I do not think the wards surrounding the place will be a problem once Bill and I arrive. Do you, Bill?” Bill shook his head, a feral look on his face. “But how will you know where to go?” Snape asked. “I told you, the place is protected. I can’t even remember how to tell you where it is.” “A tracing charm,” Hermione said suddenly. “We can put a tracing charm on Harry.” Dumbledore looked at her mildly. “You don’t think Voldemort will expect such a thing?” “Does it matter if he does?” Hermione challenged. “He knows we’re coming. He wants us to come, otherwise he wouldn’t have taken Ginny.” Dumbledore nodded. “Perhaps you are right, Ms. Granger.” His gaze shifted to stare at Harry. “I have been trying to keep you from this, my boy; to prolong this confrontation. But even I must eventually face that destiny cannot be stopped. It IS time. I can feel that now.” He walked forward and placed his hands on Harry’s shoulders. “You are right to want to save her. She is extra-special. I have never been more proud of students in my life than I am of you and Ginny. You have faced dangers and turmoil head-on and have only become better and stronger because of them.” His bony fingers gripped Harry’s shoulders tighter. “You must save her, Harry. She is the key to everything.” Harry nodded solemnly. He ignored the sudden change in Dumbledore’s attitude and the confused look from Ginny’s family. He grasped Dumbledore’s forearms briefly before allowing the older wizard to step away. Dumbledore turned back to the fireplace to begin calling Order members to a rendezvous point, and Harry faced the Weasleys. “What did he mean, Harry,” Mrs. Weasley asked as if she was afraid of the answer. “What did he mean when he said Ginny is the ‘key to everything?’” “I have to kill him,” Harry swallowed nervously. “That’s what the prophecy said. It’s me or him, and neither one of us can survive while the other lives. It has to be me.” “But how does that make Ginny the key?” Bill asked in confusion. Harry smiled faintly at him. “Because I love her.” Hermione gasped slightly and covered her mouth. “The ‘power he knows not’; that’s it, isn’t it, Harry? Love.” Harry nodded while Ron and the rest of the Weasleys looked even more confused. ”Let me get this straight,” Bill said slowly. “You’re supposed to defeat Voldemort using the power of love?” He nodded again. ”Well, how in the bloody hell are you supposed to do that!” Ron exploded. Harry shrugged. “I’m not sure yet.” ”Not sure -” Ron stuttered. “Nothing matters except getting Ginny back at this moment,” Harry said fiercely. “If she’s not all right, neither am I. Don’t you get it? If something happens to her -” He broke off and turned around, not wanting Ginny’s parents and her brothers to see the tears in his eyes. He swallowed heavily for several moments until he felt a hand touch his shoulder. He looked back around to see Hermione, who had tears in her own eyes, smiling at him. “It’s going to be all right, Harry. She’s going to be fine. You’re going to get her back.” “Yeah, mate. And then you’re going to kill that sonofabitch -” “Ronald!” his mother shouted. “Watch your language!” ”If I can’t curse now, about this, when can I curse!” he hollered back. “Hell, mother, we’re all about to face a bunch of Death Eaters, and Harry’s going to get Voldemort! Even you should feel like letting loose a few obscenities at this point!” Mrs. Weasley studied her son for a moment and then nodded briskly. “Very well, I see your point, Ronald.” She adjusted her cloak around her and gripped her wand tighter. “But that bitch Bellatrix is mine.” ******* Ginny tried to control her terrified shaking as Lucius Malfoy led her down a darkened hallway and through what looked like it may have been a ballroom at some point. It was funny — when the choice had been between saving Harry and going with Malfoy she hadn’t been all that scared. But now, as her doom drew closer, she was suddenly terrified. She wasn’t ready to die, she realised. She wanted to live to marry Harry, make babies with him and grow old. It sounded ridiculously sappy and entirely optimistic considering the current situation. She suddenly regretted not accepting Harry’s proposal. If she died would he know that she DID want to marry him? That she’d secretly regretted saying ‘no’ ever since he’d asked her? Malfoy opened a door and held it open, motioning for her to step through. Ginny squared her shoulders and entered the room. Death Eaters in their black robes lined the walls of the room. Their faces were solemn as they watched her enter. Malfoy pushed her towards a tall shadowy figure in front of the fireplace. She willed her heartbeat to slow down knowing that he could probably sense it. Ginny heard a low hiss to her right and looked down to see the largest snake (besides that horrid Basilisk) that she’d ever seen slithering towards her. This must be Nagini, she realised. Nagini moved almost sensually around Ginny’s legs, squeezing gently as if in warning. “Release me,” Ginny commanded in Parseltongue. If a snake could sulk then Nagini’s face was almost funny looking as she backed off and slid back to curl up by her master’s side as he stepped into the light. Ginny heard a low chuckle and finally lifted her eyes to look at Tom Riddle for the first time in nearly five years. “Hello, Tom,” she said softly. Voldemort’s eyes flared red and he hissed at her. “Do not call me that.” Ginny snorted. “Well, I’m sure as hell not calling you ‘Lord Voldemort.’ That’s the silliest name I’ve ever heard.” Occupants of the room gasped and Bellatrix started forward angrily, but Voldemort held up a hand to halt her. Ginny examined his face critically. “You sure look different. Nothing at all like what you used to look like. It’s a shame really, you used to be rather handsome. Now…well, now you don’t even look human.” “Thank you,” Voldemort said triumphantly. “That’s a compliment.” He moved forward and Ginny was reminded again of a snake as he sort of glided towards her. “I know a secret about you,” he whispered, bending towards her. “It’s what kept me coming after you all this time. My loyal Death Eaters had many doubts about why I kept pursuing you, especially after you and Harry Potter injured me greatly at the Ministry. But I never told them why.” He reached out a long pale finger and ran it down her forehead, around her nose, and trailing over her cheek. “I made you,” he said softly. “It’s either the greatest thing I’ve ever done or the most the foolish, but you are who you are today because of me. I find the possibilities of that too attractive to resist.” Voldemort grinned at her and Ginny couldn’t stop herself from shuddering. “It’s almost like having a child. You teach them, you mould them and then,” he sighed dramatically, “you set them free to take their rightful place at your side.” He stepped back and gestured to his Death Eaters, his arms open in invitation. Ginny stared at him incredously. “I make my own choices about who I am,” she said through gritted teeth. “I am who I am because of me, not you.” Voldemort shook his head. “I don’t think so. Our shared experience shaped you in ways you cannot comprehend.” He titled his head. “Are you angry? Yes, I can see that you are. Well, that’s probably my influence. I get very angry quite often.” “I’m not your…your child!” Ginny spluttered. “No, not in the biological sense,” he conceded. “But then you are so much like me. Ever since you found my diary, you’ve taken on several of my traits.” It was Ginny’s greatest fear. She knew there was a darkness inside of her, she’d been fighting it since the Chamber, and now, with Tom Riddle so close, the darkness was swelling. She fought it back with light even while she stared at Voldemort. Images ran through her mind: the Burrow, her parents, her friends, Hogwarts, Harry…” Voldemort winced. “Please stop that. It’s bad enough that boy keeps interfering, but I don’t want to have to picture him naked as well.” Ginny focused even more on Harry and the Dark Lord stepped back, rubbing at a spot between his eyebrows. “Fine,” he spat. “I get it. You don’t want to be like me. But that’s because you don’t know everything. You don’t know the power —“ “I know enough,” Ginny said sharply, “to know that I would NEVER want to be like you. Okay, so maybe I AM different since that diary, but I haven’t forgotten how to love or to be loved. I haven’t forgotten what’s important in this life. I haven’t forgotten the good in the world.” “Love,” he scoffed. “I’ll tell you something I once told your precious Potter. There is no love or good in this world. There’s only power and those to weak to take it.” Ginny shrugged. “Then I’m weak. Because you can take your power and shove it up your scaly backside.” Voldemort’s Death Eaters were bristling with indignation, but he just smiled calmly and lifted his wand to point it at her. “So be it.” It was too much drama and theatrics for Ginny. She couldn’t help herself, and she laughed. It was a wild hysterical laugh that echoed in the room. “I’m sorry,” she gasped, wiping her eyes. “It’s just so ridiculous, the way you act. Like we’re in one of those Muggle films. I can’t believe I was ever scared of you.” “Then you are very foolish,” Voldemort said, his eyes glittering at her. “It’s always a good idea to be scared of me.” “Crucio!” The spell hit Ginny and she fell to the floor. Her mouth opened in a silent scream and she vaguely registered the satisfaction on Voldemort’s face as her body arched in pain. |
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