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Vita Post Mortem (Original One-Shot) | ||||
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Category: Post-OotP, Alternate Universe, Post-HBP Characters:Harry/Ginny Genres: Drama Warnings: Death, Violence Story is Complete Rating: PG-13 Reviews: 3 Summary: Harry end up alone in the graveyard and when he duel with Voldemort, their wands connect. However, Harry isn't strong enough and the connection break when it hit his wand. Harry fall on the ground, dead. Ginny has to deal with the death of her boyfriend and decide to train hard to avenge the Potters. ONE-SHOT H/G Hitcount: Story Total: 1535 Disclaimer: Harry Potter Publishing Rights © J.K.R. Note the opinions in this story are my own and in no way represent the owners of this site. This story subject to copyright law under transformative use. No compensation is made for this work. |
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Harry couldn’t believe his luck. He was stuck in an unknown graveyard with Lord Voldemort and two dozen of his Death Eaters. Harry had done beautifully during the Third Task and when he had found the Cup, he had believed that he had won and proved everyone else that he wasn’t just an attention seeking brat. He had been horrified when the Tri-Wizard Cup had taken him away from the Maze, revealing itself to be a portkey. Harry had crashed in a graveyard and quickly bound by Peter Pettigrew, his family’s former friend and traitorous Marauder. Pettigrew had then started a ritual which had ended with Lord Voldemort walking out of a big cauldron. Voldemort had proceeded to call his followers to him before punishing most of them for not seeking him out earlier. And then... the pain came in. “CRUCIO!” The pain was horrible. Harry felt as if his very bones were on fire. It was beyond what Harry had ever experienced before. Voldemort had held it for so long that Harry had nearly lost the will to resist it. Finally, the Dark Lord let the curse go. On Voldemort’s orders, Pettigrew untied Harry before giving him back his wand. Harry fell on the ground face first and groaned. He still felt some of the pain of the Cruciatus Curse. Harry grabbed his wand and slowly lifted himself back on his feet. “You have been taught how to duel, Harry Potter?” said Voldemort, his red eyes glinting through the darkness. These words made Harry remember the only time he had been part of a duel. Lockhart’s Duelling Club hadn’t taught Harry anything really. All he had learned was the Disarming Spell. Harry didn’t answer the murderer of his parents and simply started back at him, trying his hardest not to show the fear that was imbuing his whole body. “We bow to each other, Harry,” said Voldemort, bowing mockingly at Harry. “Come, the niceties must be observed... Dumbledore would like you to show manners... Bow to death, Harry...” When it was clear that Harry wasn’t going to obey him, Voldemort cursed Harry to force him to bow. “I said bow!” Harry felt his spine curve as if a big invisible hand was pushing him down. The Death Eaters laughed. “Very good. And now you face me, like a man... straight-backed and proud, the way your father died... And now, we duel... Crucio!” shouted the Dark Lord before Harry could even react. The horrible pain had come back and Harry was trashing on the ground once again. The pain was so intense that Harry forgot where he was for a few instants. Then, as quickly as it had come, the pain vanished. “A little break,” smirked Voldemort. “a little pause … That hurt, didn’t it, Harry? You don’t want me to do that again, do you?” Harry didn’t answer. He realised that he was going to die. He would never see Hermione again, the girl he saw as his sister. He would never see Ginny again, his girlfriend, the love of his life, the woman he had already dreamed of marrying. “I asked you whether you want me to do that again,” said Voldemort softly. “Answer me! Imperio!” Harry suddenly felt like he was dreaming. Or should he say, he didn’t feel anything. He knew however that he was under the Imperius Curse and that he had to fight it. ‘Just answer no... say no... just answer no...’ ‘I will not.’ said a stronger voice, in the back of his head. ‘I won’t answer...’ ‘Just answer no...’ ‘I won’t do it... I won’t say it...’ ‘Just answer no...’ “I WON’T!” shouted Harry. He felt the Imperius Curse break as if cold water had been thrown all over him. “You won’t?” said Voldemort quietly. He was surprised that the boy had resisted the Imperius, his Imperius. He had been told by his spy that Potter was capable of resisting it but he didn’t expect him to resist even his own Imperius. The boy was strong-minded, he had to admit that. Just another reason to dispose of him. “You won’t say no? Harry, obedience is a virtue I need to teach you before you die. … Perhaps another little dose of pain?” Voldemort raised his wand but Harry had been ready. He threw himself out of the trajectory of Voldemort’s Cruciatus and hid behind the marble headstone of Tom Riddle Sr. “We are not playing hide-and-seek, Harry!” laughed Voldemort along with his Death Eaters. “You cannot hide from me. Does this mean you are tired of our duel? Does this mean that you would prefer me to finish it now, Harry? Come out, Harry... come out and play, then... it will be quick... it might even be painless... I would not know... I have never died!” Harry had enough. If he was going to die then he would do so like his father before him. He would stand strong before Voldemort and battle him, even if he knew that the other wizard was a lot more powerful than him. Harry stood up and threw himself around the headstone, facing Voldemort. Voldemort was ready. At the same time as Harry shouted “Expelliarmus!”, Voldemort cried “Avada Kedavra!” A jet of green light shot out of Voldemort’s wand at the same time as a jet of red light shot out of Harry’s. The spell connected in the middle and both wands suddenly started vibrating. Harry brought his other hand on his wand, trying his hardest to stabilise it. When the lights connected, the spells were replaced by a narrow beam of light that was neither green nor red. It was gold. And then, Harry felt himself lift away from the ground. Both he and Voldemort were raised into the air, their wands still connected. A thousand more thin golden beams came out of the nod holding the golden thread together and formed some sort of magical cage around the two wizards. And then an unearthly and beautiful sound filled the air. The song of a Phoenix. To Harry’s ear, the divine music felt as if it was trying to give him a message. Don’t break the connection. Harry felt the connection becoming a lot harder to hold as the nod was slowly making its way toward Harry’s wand. Harry knew that he wouldn’t survive if the nod touched his wand. Harry concentrated every last particle of his mind upon forcing the nod back toward Voldemort’s wand. It was enough to slow it down but the nod was still coming closer to him! He was horrified to see that he was incapable of stopping it. That fear distracted him long enough for the nod to gain back speed and it touched Harry’s wand. The Holly and Phoenix wand shattered in his hand. Harry felt as if all the air was knocked out of his lungs. With one last look at Voldemort, Harry fell back to the ground and collapsed. Blackness overtook him for one last time. ________________ Harry was laying down on a soft surface. He felt more peaceful than he had ever felt in his life. It was like he was sleeping on the most comfortable bed in the world and wanted it to continue for as long as possible. “Harry...” said a soft feminine voice. Harry didn’t know where he was nor how he had ended up here but he didn’t want it to stop. He tried to ignore the voice but every time it said his name, it became louder, and louder. “Harry... wake up sweetie...” The boy finally relented and opened his eyes. He was almost immediately blinded by the environment. Everything around him was white! Everything but the person standing in front of him. A young, beautiful woman with auburn red hair and bright green eyes. His bright green eyes. Harry realised that his head was in her lap while she was sitting on the ground. For a few milliseconds, Harry was surprised to see tears leaking out of the woman’s eyes. Then, everything came flooding back. “M-Mum?” he asked emotionally. “It’s me, Harry,” answered Lily Potter with a sad smile. Harry raised just enough to take her in his arms and hug her as if his life depended on it. Lily wasn’t better and held him as if she feared that she would never see him again. “I’m dead, ain’t I?” he chocked, looking at the face of his mother. Lily nodded. Harry started crying, knowing he had failed, knowing that he would never see the people he loved again. “Shhhh,” whispered Lily in his ear, trying to comfort her son. “I’m here, everything will be fine.” “I-I failed you and dad! I died! I didn’t s-survive and l-lost! Voldemort is b-back and nobody k-know about it! I-I died and I w-won't see G-Ginny ever again!” “You didn’t fail us Harry!” cried Lily, still hugging her son. “E-Everyone else failed you and us! A-And you will be able to see G-Ginny when she comes here as w-well, just like I can see you now.” Lily continued to comfort Harry for a few minutes before he had finally calmed down enough to take a look around. He slightly surprised to see that he was naked although, somehow, he didn’t feel uncomfortable being naked in his mother’s arms. He still wished for clothes, however, and clothes appeared around him. He slowly raised on his feet, helped by his mother. “Where are we?” he asked. “In Between,” answered Lily simply, wiping down the remaining tears on their cheeks. “What happens now?” “You come with us.” “Where is dad?” asked Harry. “Only one of us could come here so James stayed in The Other World, where souls rest for eternity.” Harry sighed sadly, knowing that he couldn’t go anywhere else. “How do we go there?” Lily looked around. “It depends. Where would you say we are?” Harry took a look and was surprised by what he saw. “It looks like King’s Cross Station!” “King’s Cross Station? Then I guess we have to board a train,” she said, smiling. Mother and son climbed onboard the train, a train who slowly rolled away. ________________ Voldemort watched in glee as the Potter boy looked at the golden thread in fright. Voldemort had quickly understood what was happening and had forced all of his magic into his wand, pushing the thread and the nod toward the boy’s wand. The boy had been able to fight it to some extent but it hadn’t been enough and his wand shattered in his hand. Voldemort could see his Killing Curse take effect as the boy looked at him in shock before he fell back on the ground. Voldemort slowly floated down before he approached the boy. With his feet, he turned him around. His eyes were lifeless. To be sure, Voldemort casted a diagnostic spell. The spell came back negative. He had killed the boy. With an evil smile, Voldemort turned back to his followers and shouted “HARRY POTTER IS DEAD!”. His loyal Death Eaters laughed and cheered. Voldemort decided to play with the body of his nemesis and levitated it, making it trash all around the graveyard and even sending it flying in a tombstone at some point, breaking the spine. Death Eaters joined in the fun and desecrated the boy’s body. At the end, it was barely recognisable. It was covered in cuts and blood. Wanting the old fool Dumbledore to know exactly what had happened to his golden boy, Voldemort casted a special version of the Dark Mark on the body, one that was set on a timer and would launch into the sky when it was time to do so. “Mordsmorde Manere!” he yelled; his wand pointed at the body. To finish it off, he levitated the Tri-Wizard Cup and deposed it on the body before activating it. Harry Potter’s body disappeared and returned to Hogwarts. ________________ Ginny was worried. A lot. She had been sitting in the stands alongside Hermione and her family. Her boyfriend, the boy she loved, had disappeared. It was yet again another inexplicable thing that had happened this year. While waiting for traces of Harry, Ginny thought back to the beginning of the year. When Harry had been selected as the fourth participant of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, the school had quickly turned against him, Ginny's brother, Harry then best friend Ron Weasley. It had been obvious that Ron had been jealous of all the attention Harry was getting and Harry had finally gotten enough of this. When he had tried to apologize after the First Task, Harry had made himself clear that their friendship wouldn’t come back to what it once was. Ron would have to win his trust again. Ron hadn’t liked it when Harry had told him that. It became worse when Harry and Ginny had become closer and later started dating. Ginny had been the only one of two that had supported Harry since the beginning. She and Hermione had found Harry the next morning and told him that they believed him when he said that he hadn’t put his name in the Goblet of Fire. From then on, Ginny had replaced Ron in the trio and together, all three searched the library for spells and learned them as quickly as possible. When the Yule Ball had been announced, Harry hadn’t waited and asked Ginny if she wanted to accompany him. Ginny had been trilled and, together, they had attended the Ball and had a lot of fun. Harry had ended the night by kissing Ginny on the lips. The next morning, they had officially started dating, to Hermione’s delight and Ron’s horror. Harry and Ginny knew that they had found their other-half and barely left each other’s side in the following months. An hour before, Harry had kissed Ginny, whispered “Wish me luck.” and entered the Maze. Thirty minutes ago, Fleur Delacour and Viktor Krum had been levitated out of the Maze. Fifteen minutes ago, the Maze had disappeared, revealing all the obstacles and a very confused Cedric. The fact that the Maze had disappeared before Cedric had reached the centre revealed that he hadn’t been the one to win. It meant that Harry had won! Hogwarts celebrated but it had been short-lived. It took less than ten seconds to realise that Harry was missing. Immediately, the Headmasters, Ministry Officials and Professors ran toward the centre of the Maze but found nothing. That had been fifteen minutes ago and still no trace of her boyfriend. Ginny had run down toward the pitch, quickly followed by Hermione and her family. She couldn’t help but feel like something horrible had happened and she didn’t know why. Five minutes ago, Professor Snape had gasped while holding his left forearm. Dumbledore had noticed this and looked concerned. It only increased her worry. Then, something appeared right in front of her. The Tri-Wizard cup rolled away but Ginny hadn’t even noticed it. Her eyes were glued on the other thing. It didn’t even take a second for her to recognise it has her boyfriend’s body. He was bloody all around and his face looked more like ground meat than the face she had loved to kiss. His clothes were teared up. She also instantly knew that Harry was dead. She screamed. Ginny’s scream was so horrible, so bone-chilling that it would later hunt the nightmares of three-quarters of the school. Everyone turned around to see a very distressed Ginny Weasley standing in front of a bloodied dead body. “HARRY! NO!” she yelled painfully, throwing herself at his body. On the contact of her hand, a green jet of light shot toward the sky, a green skull with a long thick snake slithering out of the skull’s mouth. The Dark Mark. Many terrified people joined Ginny screaming but the girl hadn’t even noticed. Even if he was all bloody and dirty, Ginny had taken her boyfriend’s body and held him in her arms. “Please, please, please, NO! Harry, please don’t be dead!” she shrieked repeatedly. Hermione and her mother tried to drag her away from Harry’s body but Ginny fought them as hard as possible. “STOP!” she shouted to them. “STOP! I want to be with Harry so DROP ME!” “Ginny...” pleaded a crying Hermione. “You can’t help him... he’s gone...” “NO!” HE’S NOT GONE! PLEASE HARRY, I NEED YOU!” she cried, still holding his body. But deep down, she knew. Harry was dead. Ginny had to be stunned by Dumbledore for her to finally let go of Harry’s body. Her mother and brothers levitated her to the infirmary where she woke up a few hours later. Remembering immediately what had happened, she cried. Ginny continued to wake up and cry herself to sleep for the next few days. The usually lively and fiery red-head spent all her time either crying or sleeping in the Hospital Wing, barely eating anything. At Harry’s funeral, in Godric’s Hollow, Ginny swore that she would avenge Harry and finish the fight he and his family had died for. Harry was buried alongside James and Lily Potter. ________________ It had been three years since Harry had been murdered. Three years where the Wizarding World suffered from Voldemort’s regime once again. Three years since Ginny Weasley had decided to avenge the Potters. Immediately after Harry’s funeral, Ginny had thrown herself into intense combat training. Her family and friends had barely recognised the new Ginny. She had been immensely helped by Tom Riddle’s knowledge. She hadn’t told anyone but Ginny had kept most of the knowledge of Tom Riddle from her possession in First Year. The only one she had told so was Harry himself shortly after they had started dating. After Harry had saved her from the Chamber of Secrets, Ginny had felt like the possession had made her dirty, like she would never be clean again. Things had gotten better as things progressed but the feeling had always remained until it came flooding back when they had started dating. Ginny couldn’t help but feel like she was contaminating Harry. Harry had noticed something wrong going on with his new girlfriend and had asked her what it was. Ginny had confessed, expecting Harry to break things off but instead, Harry had kissed her. Harry proceeded to tell her that he had also been affected by Voldemort because of the rebounding Killing Curse and that if she was dirty, then so was he. His support had finally helped Ginny heal the wound. She didn’t feel horrible about keeping some of Tom Riddle’s knowledge anymore and Harry had helped her see that it wasn’t exactly a bad thing as it could become useful in the future. That future had been a lot sooner than she had expected and, thanks to the future Dark Lord’s knowledge, she had trained heavily and became a very competent fighter. From time to time, she would sneak off the Burrow or Hogwarts to find and fight Death Eaters. While she couldn’t bring herself to kill anyone, she left all the Death Eaters she fought without any limbs. Ginny had also allied herself with Hermione and Professor Dumbledore and, together, they had studied Tom Riddle’s past. She had admitted to them that she had kept some of Tom’s knowledge. When the topic of the Horcruxes came in, Ginny remembered that Tom had wanted to make six of them. Thus, the trio spent the next year and a half locating all Horcruxes. Dumbledore was cursed by Marvolo Gaunt’s ring and was killed by Snape at the end of Ginny’s fifth year. Ginny hadn’t worried however as the Headmaster had already told her and Hermione about his and Snape’s plan. She knew that Snape had killed Dumbledore on the man’s orders. Ginny and Hermione then spent the next year on the run, trying to locate all remaining Horcruxes. Slytherin’s Locket was found in Grimmauld Place while they were visiting Sirius and Sirius managed to take Hufflepuff’s Cup from Bellatrix Lestrange’s Vault as he was the Head of the House of Black. Nagini was killed in Godric’s Hollow by Ginny when the duo was visiting Harry’s grave. Ginny and Hermione then spent the next month arguing about whether or not Voldemort had hidden a Horcrux at Hogwarts. Ginny had believed that he had done so and had decided to sneak in the castle. Hermione had decided not to go, not believing that one would be found there. It would be the last time Hermione would see Ginny alive. Ginny sneaked in the castle. She realised that a proper place where to hide something important at Hogwarts would be the Room of Requirements. Tom had been fascinated by the Room and had believed that he was the first in centuries to find it. Once inside, she had tried summoning the Horcrux, not believing it would. To her surprise, the Lost Diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw flew toward her. Ginny barely had time to react before she withdrew the Sword of Gryffindor and slashed the Horcrux, destroying it. Voldemort had felt the loss of his last Horcrux and realised what had happened. He was mortal once again. Voldemort decided to go to Hogwarts and kill whoever had dared destroying his Horcruxes. Knowing what was waiting for her, Ginny calmly walked down the castle toward the courtyard. It was at this moment that she remembered about the Golden Snitch she had received from Dumbledore. It had been Harry’s first Golden Snitch, the one he had caught with his mouth. She realised at that moment that something could be hidden inside and decided to kiss it. She wasn’t surprised when the Snitch opened, revealing a small stone. Ginny caught her breath for a few seconds, realising what it was. Professor Dumbledore had mentioned the Deathly Hallows during their research of Voldemort’s past and she and Hermione had looked around for references on the subject. It all came down to The Tales of the Three Brothers. If it was indeed the Stone of the Second Brother, then she knew what she had to do. Taking it in her hand, she closed her eyes and turned it three times. When she opened it back, she found a smiling Harry Potter standing in front of her. He looked exactly like a ghost and still wearing his Tri-Wizard uniform. The only difference with a normal ghost was that he actually had colours and wasn’t just in shades of silver. “H-Harry?” she stuttered. “Hi, love.” smiled Harry. Ginny grinned and tried to hug him but her arms passed through him. Ginny teared up when she understood that she couldn’t touch him. Harry smiled sadly. “I’m so proud of you.” he said. “I’m sorry that I died and left you behind.” Ginny laughed. Even after death, Harry apologised for things that weren’t his fault, things that were out of his control. “It wasn’t your fault, it was Voldemort.” she said. Then she looked at him sadly. “Voldemort is coming. Hermione and I destroyed all of his horcruxes but I don’t know if I am strong enough to defeat him.” “You are.” said Harry confidently. “The Prophecy hasn’t been into play since my death. Anyone can kill him. He is mortal. You have his knowledge, use it well.” “Can you stay with me?” “I’ll always be with you...” he said, pointing at her heart. “Thank you... I love you...” “I love you too, Ginny...” “I wish we could still be together.” said Ginny softly. “We could have had a family together...” Harry smiled. “Who’s to say that it isn’t possible?” and left it at that before slowly disappearing. A few seconds later, a black cloud flew in Hogwarts and landed a few feet away from her. The cloud dissipated, revealing Lord Voldemort. His red eyes narrowed at the sight of Ginny. “You.” he said. “I should have known.” “Your Horcruxes are all destroyed, Tom.” she said confidently to the man who had caused her so much pain. “You are mortal once again.” “Avada Kedavra!” shouted the angry Dark Lord. Ginny ducked and sent a Stunning Spell back. Voldemort batted it away before transfiguring one of the pillars from the courtyard into a stone golem and sent it to Ginny. Ginny destroyed it with a Reductor Curse but the golem had done its job. The golem had distracted Ginny and gave an opportunity for the Dark Lord to send another Killing Curse. It felt as if time froze. She saw the curse flying toward her and knew that there was no chance of avoiding it. “You have his knowledge...” said Harry. “Use it well.” She remembered a spell that Tom had found in his fifth year that allowed one to copy the effect of a spell and turn it back toward its caster. You would still be affected by it but the caster would be as well. Making a split-second decision, she incantated “EXPONENTIA NOVIS”. Voldemort’s eyes grew wide, recognising the spell. The Killing Curse hit Ginny in the chest and flew back toward Voldemort at rapid pace. The Dark Lord was also hit by the curse. At the same time, both he and Ginny fell to the ground, dead. ________________ “Hey, Ginny, wake up...” said a soft masculine voice. Ginny could tell that she was familiar with the voice but didn’t recognise it immediately. She was so comfortable where she was that she didn’t want to move. “Ginny... love... please...” Ginny recognised that she was being held by someone and snuggled closer. The voice laughed. “Did it take me that long to wake up too? Ginny, wake up!” Ginny opened her eyes and flinched at the sight of the very white looking room. She was however distracted by the person holding her. A man of her age was holding her. The man had messy black hair and bright green eyes. A lightning bolt shaped scar was barely visible on his forehead. “HARRY!?” she shouted, raising up instantly. Her head hit Harry’s chin and Harry recoiled, making a weird face. “Sorry!” she said quickly. Harry laughed. “Don’t worry love.” he smiled before kissing her. Harry’s lips felt heavenly. Damn, she had missed that so much ever since he had died. Wait... Ginny suddenly drew back, realisation flooding over her. “I’m a dead?” Harry nodded sadly. “Yes honey. You died killing Voldemort.” “Voldemort is dead!?” Harry smiled. “Yes. And you killed him. I’m so proud of you!” “Thank Merlin!” said Ginny, letting a breath of air out while snuggling in Harry again. But then it hit her. “I’m dead!” “Yes.” said Harry. Ginny felt conflicted. She was reunited with Harry but had left her friends and family behind. “I felt the same way, when I arrived here.” said Harry, knowing what she was thinking about. “I was happy to have my parents back but sad that I had left others behind, like you and Hermione.” “Did it become easier?” she asked. “Oh yes.” said Harry. “You don’t exactly stay sad for too long in the afterlife. Anyway, there is too many things to do.” “What do you mean?” “It might be called afterlife, but it’s more like a new life.” grinned Harry. “Why don’t I show you instead? I know my parents would like to meet the girl that captured their son’s heart.” he said, making her smile. Harry helped Ginny back on her feet, making her realise that she was naked. While she wasn’t embarrassed to be naked in front of her boyfriend, she wished for clothes. The moment she did, clothes appeared on her body. A smirking Harry shook his head, as if disappointed of her decision. “Prat.” she said, grinning. “Well...” he started. “You truly are beautiful.” “Thanks.” she blushed. ... “There is something that you said...” said Ginny while the couple was walking toward the train. “When I mentioned that I would have loved to have a family with you, you said that it wouldn’t be impossible.” Still grinning, Harry said “I was wondering when you would mention that.” The couple entered the train. “Was it true?” The doors closed; the couple sat in the first compartment they found. “Of course, it was. Turns out that soulmates can have children in the afterlife.” “And are we soulmates?” Harry nodded happily. Ginny shrieked happily. “We can have our family.” grinned Harry. Ginny grinned as well. She might be dead but with Harry with her, she knew that all would be well... |
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