Fankoo

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Chapter 29

“Not especially, no.”

My eyes widened in horror as I heard Harry’s tone. He was so… fearless. Brave. It couldn’t be a good thing for him.

“And friends?” Harry continued. I could just imagine the look he could have on his face. “Come on, we all know you’ve never had any friends. Those people down there, fighting? They’re your puppets. They don’t care about you. And you don’t care about them, either. All you care about is power. Yeah. Some friendships you got there.”

I was shaking; my whole body was shaking. What was Harry doing? What was Voldemort doing? I had to see. But I knew if I went in there, it wouldn’t turn out good. What could I do, what could I do?

“I can’t say I admire your attitude, Harry.” Voldemort drawled. “It disgusts me, really. You know I could kill you right now. But that wouldn’t be fun. No, I think I’ll tell you something. Want to hear a story?”

I didn’t know what to do. I could only imagine what story Voldemort wanted to tell Harry, and I knew it wouldn’t be pleasant.

“I don’t want to hear anything.” Harry spat.

“This is a really good story, Harry. It’s about your mother and father. I’m sure you’ve heard it before, everyone has. But you’ve never heard it from me. I’m a great story teller.”

“I don’t want to hear it.” Harry’s tone was now tight and deliberately controlled.

“It’s about the night I killed them, Harry. The night I almost killed you.”

“I’ve heard it.” Harry answered shortly.

“It was October thirty-first, I believe. You were just one year old. I killed your father easily. He was –“

“Don’t. Talk. About. My. Dad.”

Voldemort cackled. “Your mother, though, she was harder. A tough witch, she was. But again, she was no match for me. Her green eyes were-“

“Stop it. Now.” Harry’s voice was now openly enraged. I felt tears spring to my eyes as I heard the pain hidden deep in his tone.

“She died, Harry. I killed her. And now, I’ll finish the work I started sixteen years ago. Tonight, Harry, you are going to die.”

“I’m not planning on it.”

“Oh no, not yet. I want it to be public. I want everyone to see. For now, Crucio!”

I pressed my hands against my ears hard in an attempt to block out the sounds now coming from the Astonomy Tower. Tears were now flowing down my cheeks as I squeezed my eyes shut tightly, trying to disappear, or stop hearing, or something.

After what felt like forever, Harry stopped screaming. I pressed myself against the wall, scared that Voldemort would come out of the door I was by. I was silent, hardly breathing, for the next few minutes. I couldn’t hear anything coming from the Astronomy Tower. Tentatively, I stood up and opened the door.

Voldemort wasn’t there; big sigh of relief. I didn’t know where he went, or if he’d be back, but right then, I didn’t care, because I’d seen Harry. He was lying on the floor on his back, his eyes closed. I could see his body rising and falling with deep breaths. I choked back a sob as I rushed at him, falling to my knees next to him.

“Harry!” I said in a loud whisper, cradling his face in my hands. His eyes flickered open, unfocused. “Harry!” I said again, louder this time. His eyes wandered a bit before finally finding my face. “Harry, are you okay?”

He groaned, pulling himself into a sitting position. I held one arm behind his back, prepared to catch him if he collapsed. “Gin?” His voice came out hoarse.

“Yes, Harry. Are you okay?”

“I… Voldemort.” He moaned. I shook my head.

“He’s gone, Harry… for now. Come on, we have to get downstairs, quickly. Can you stand?”

It took a little time, but once again Harry was standing on his feet, looking fearless. I gripped his hand tightly in mine, and looked up at him. “I love you, Harry.” I told him, staring right into his emerald eyes. He stared right back, putting both of his hands on my waist as I my hands wound around his neck.

“I love you too, Ginny.” He told me sincerely, pulling me closer to him. “I always will, no matter what.”

I practically melted into his arms as he kissed me, pulling me up to him so that he wouldn’t have to bend down. I tangled my fingers in his hair, holding him to me as we continued the kiss. I felt one of his hands knot in my own hair, and I pulled away, taking a deep, slow breath as Harry planted kisses along my jaw line. I loosened my hold on him reluctantly.

“We have to go, Harry.” I reminded him in a whisper. He nodded somberly.

“Alright. Let’s go.”



We stopped outside of the doors to the Great Hall, preparing ourselves for the sight we knew we were going to see inside. The entrance hall was in ruins; banisters blasted, stairs crumbling, even the house points hour glasses were shattered; the gems inside them were scattered all over the floor. I took a deep breath, giving Harry’s hand a squeeze, and we walked into the room.

My breathing hitched in my throat when I saw the room. The house tables had disappeared completely. Some of the windows were shattered, and glass littered the floor. The staff table was in splinters, and there was a big hole in the roof. The charm on it was no longer working; I couldn’t see the night sky.

As I took in the rest of the room, I stopped breathing altogether for a moment. I pulled myself closer to Harry in an attempt to block out the images I now saw. There were small groups of people around the room, in huddles, shoulders shaking with sobs; both silent, and loud. I saw two platinum blondes not far away from where Harry and I stood, one in Death Eater robes, and the other on his knees, sobbing loudly. I then saw what he was sobbing over.

“Cissy.” I gasped, grasping Harry’s shirt as I swayed, feeling a sob in my own chest. Tears welled up in my eyes as I looked at the only friend I had had for the last few months, laying on the ground, her blonde hair in a pile around her. Harry put his arm around me, holding me close to him as I stared at the woman who somehow meant so much to me, who was now gone.

Harry slowly led me away from the grieving boy and his father. I noticed a group of redheads, and I ran to them, followed by Harry. I reached my dad first, throwing myself into his arms. He patted my back and smoothed my hair like he had when I was a little girl. Harry went over to Ron and Hermione, the latter of the two engulfing him in a hug, sobbing.

Slowly, I backed away from my dad, who I’d just realized was crying, to see what my family was gathered around. I noticed Fred and George, tears in their eyes, silent sobs wracking their shoulders. I saw my mother, crying soundlessly into a handkerchief. I saw Charlie and Percy, both looking shocked and grief-stricken. Then I saw Fleur. She was shrieking, tear-tracks staining her beautiful face. Then I looked down.

In that one second, my life fell apart. I dropped to my knees, unable to hold myself up, as I saw Bill. The tears that were already in my eyes overflowed as I leaned down to wrap my arms around him. I cried onto his chest as I hugged him. He couldn’t be gone! Bill, my Bill! He, at some points in my childhood, was the only brother I could really count on; the only one I would trust with my deepest secrets. He was the only one that would play with me, even though I was a little girl. He bought me my first teddy bear. He bought me my first broom.

“What about ze child!” Fleur cried.

Bill was going to give me my first niece, or my first nephew. He couldn’t be gone! I needed him in my life. He was supposed to be my first family dance at my wedding! He was supposed to be the Godfather of my children! He was supposed to be my brother, my favorite brother, all through my life. And now he was gone.

I don’t know how long I lay there, holding onto Bill, wishing he’d come back, wishing he’d jump up and yell “Gotcha!” so I could hit and tell him never to do that again. But that didn’t happen. It would never happen.

I slowly stood up. Harry was right there for me, holding onto my arms to keep me from falling on my weak knees. I leaned into him, squeezing my eyes shut tight as I buried my face in his shoulder. His arms wrapped around my back, and I stood up straighter, wiping my hand harshly across my eyes. Yes, my world was shattered. Torn to pieces. But I wasn’t the only one, and I needed to be strong – for Harry. He was about to face the biggest moment of his life.

“Let’s go outside.” I said quietly, extracting myself from Harry’s arms and starting for the doors.

The short walk to the double doors of the Great Hall was horrible. I saw more families, more tears, and more bodies. More tears hitched in my throat as I saw Dean Thomas, Professor Sprout, the Patil Twins… I turned away from the sight quickly, running into Harry. He stroked my hair gently, tears shining in his own eyes, and led me outside.

Once away from the castle, I dropped to the grass and pulled my knees up to my chest, hugging them. Harry sat down next to me, putting an arm around me and holding me close. Silent tears rolled down my cheeks as I leaned against him. We were both silent for a long space of time.

“What -?” Harry’s surprised tone had me looking up at him. He was staring toward the Forbidden Forest, his eyes wide. I followed his gaze, and my jaw dropped.

“What -?” I repeated, at a loss for words. We both stood up, and I automatically grabbed his hand. With one look at each other, we were both backing up quickly towards the castle. But at the same time, everyone was running out of the castle. With a resounding BOOM the great doors closed, and we were all locked out. I gulped, pulling Harry into the crowd of people now standing outside of the castle in one group.

“Are those spiders?!” someone yelled from the back of the group. There were a few screams, and I think I heard a cheer.

Yes, they were spiders. HUGE spiders, I might add. But they weren’t the only things. I saw more creatures coming from the forest - some things frightening, some things absolutely horrifying. Although, I did see a few centaurs in the midst of the other creatures, shooting arrows at the spiders.

A few of the people in our cluster had already gone for the creatures. I stayed back with Harry, holding tightly to his hand. Hermione and Ron came up beside us. I looked over to Ron, then jumped, surprised.

Dementors.

“R-R-Ron!” I exclaimed, backing up quickly and tripping over my own feet. Dementors were so not my thing. I felt a hand wrap around my arm and yank me to my feet – I didn’t look to see who it was. I was staring wide-eyed at the Dementors. My knees were shaking, and I was breathing hard.

“Remember Dumbledore’s Army?” Harry’s voice was a whisper, his breath hot on my ear. I nodded stiffly, but I didn’t realize Harry’s point. “Come on, Gin.” He continued, still whispering in my ear as a battle waged before us. “Think of a happy memory. You can do it! Expecto Patronum.”

I nodded again, finally getting my brain to work again. I could do this. “Help.” I managed to choke out. Suddenly, I felt Harry’s hand on my wrist, lifting my wand arm up.

“Together.” He said softly, looking me in the eyes. I gulped as two Dementors came at us.

“Ready?” Harry asked, his voice tight. I just nodded, searching my mind for a memory happy enough to get rid of these things. “One…” he counted. I gulped again. “Two…” Okay, I had a memory. “Three!”

I thought of that moment, less than an hour ago, in the Astronomy Tower. I thought about the kiss I’d just had with Harry; the feel of his hands in my hair and on the small of my back “EXPECTO PATRONUM!”

I watched in wonder as a stag burst out of Harry’s wand, and a horse burst out of mine. They ran right next to each other in the space between us and the Dementors, before splitting up and each attacking their own. Once those two had been taken care of, we sent our Patronuses toward the mass of Dementors, some of which were winning against their opponents. I saw Luna Lovegood’s rabbit, Hermione’s otter, Ron’s Jack Russell. I also saw Patronuses that I didn’t recognize; a bear, a tiger, a wolf and a monkey.

After a few torturous moments, the Dementors all retreated, leaving a crowd of tired, depressed students in their wake. Harry and I walked slowly over to the group. When I got there, I immediately flopped to the ground I was so tired…

Suddenly, there was a collective gasp from the Hogwarts-goers, and a few screams here and there.

“Voldemort.” Harry spat, pulling me back to my feet and stepping in front of me protectively.
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-Syd