Chasing Liberty

A/N: Hello! Thank you for clicking on this fic. I guess that you have decided to read it, so if that is the case, please leave a review too. It would be greatly appreciated. Virtual Cookies, anyone? ...and yes, this is another Marriage Law fic, albeit the first one I've written. Hope it's okay. – TRR

-:-

She had always been a survivor, and that was her one and only failing in this war. She had not wanted to survive, when so much had been taken from her. She had been left, a shell of her former self, afflicted with this so-called 'ability' to stay alive. Some would have called it luck. She called it irony. Pure, unadulterated, sadistic irony. Merlin, she sometimes thought, obviously had a wicked sense of humour. With her steely determination to strive, she had pulled through. Others had not been so lucky. Everybody who was anybody had perished and she had no-body left. In the flames, the fire, the heated madness and the destruction, everybody she had ever cared about had gone. They had all gone. Save one. Somehow, her brother Charlie had survived and in some ways, his presence made living even worse. Every day, they reminded each other of just what they had lost. Even with the small, hidden comfort of family tucked deep down inside, she now found that she had no more tears left to shed.

Before the light side had lost, in the few final days in which hope had shone weakly like a tiny ray of sunlight peeking through clouds of darkness, she had believed that they would make it. They would overcome the darkness – much like the wizarding tales she had been told as a child. If anything, wartime had been a better time, than the hell she was living in now. It had been a time when friends turned into enemies and families quickly became a party of one, if they were lucky. To be attached to someone was to have a death sentence over your head. Countless vows of marriage were proposed alongside countless burials, with the ever-constant threat of death and doom hanging over people's heads. Yet somehow, there was still hope. Amongst all of the death, betrayal and destruction Ginervra Weasley had hoped. Even when Hermione, Luna, Ron and eventually Harry had died, she had still held fast.

When Voldemort and Harry had fought – Ginny knew who would ultimately become the victor. Ever since the battle at Godric's Hollow in which they had lost several important members, Harry had slowly been running out of luck. One by one, his allies had slipped away from him like water running through his fingers until there was hardly anybody left. Only Ginny, Remus and Charlie had stayed true. The others had either crossed over or perished in the fighting. Neville had been one of the last and even now, if she closed her eyes, Ginny could still hear his screams.

Yet, even when it seemed that it would soon be over, the darkness grew and grew like a parasite. It fed off the light, weakening it at every turn. Remus, Ginny and Charlie were close to exhaustion when Harry decided to make one final stand. Remus went with him, naturally. They were the closest-like family members that each had and it was right for them to go together. Together, they fought and died on a cold hillside with nothing but hatred and hurt in their hearts. The war ended.

Now, in the cold and empty September air, cracks were slowly beginning to show. Beneath her polished veneer, the glue that had held her together had come unstuck and she was falling into the black abyss. She knew that by the time she reached the bottom, nobody would be there to catch her.

-:-

A flash of white light and a scream, echoed through Ginny's brain. She was in an unfamiliar room, bound crudely to a bedpost and looking through a broken down door. "Don't hurt her! Don't you dare hurt her!" yelled another voice as the picture before her became a blur. Hermione and Ron were fighting and then suddenly, they weren't. A huge ball of yellow and red flame tore through the building and Ginny was falling, falling, falling...

-:-

"Ginny, it's time to wake up."

Ignoring the voice, Ginny screwed up her eyes tighter and rolled over, trying to block the screams of last night's dream out of her head.

"Leave me alone!" she mumbled back, swatting the voice of her older brother away with a swipe of her hand.

Charlie sighed.

"Please Ginny. Don't make this any more difficult for me. The ceremony starts in less than an hour."

Her heart immediately sank, as she remembered. Today was the day that her brother, Charlie, was getting married. All those who had been left, who had 'pure' or even at a stretch, 'half' blood running through their veins, had been required to marry once they were over the legal age of seventeen. Seeing as her brother was clearly over the age limit, he had immediately been matched up a few mere weeks after the war had ended. All past alliances forgotten with no questions asked.

Sitting up immediately, Ginny rubbed her eyes and looked at the solemn face of her brother.

"I'm sorry." She said, hugging him yet taking care not to crumble the neat black robes that he wore. He smiled tightly against her cheek, shouldering the burden.

"It's okay." He said breaking the hug, and standing up. "Now hurry. We don't want to be late."

Nodding silently, Ginny quickly changed into the crumbled, yet clean set of emerald robes that lay slung over the side of her bed. They were uncomfortable and stuffy, yet ever since the light side had lost, all pieces Muggle clothing had been outlawed.

Everything that Ginny had grown to love about the world that she lived in, had been slowly stripped away, one by one. People had died, books had been burnt and propaganda posters littered the streets and lined the walls. Now she realised, that she hardly recognised this world at all. She had become a stranger to it.

Shaking her head to try to dispel the thoughts that clouded her brain, she ran a hand through her hair. Soon after the war and finished, it had lost its lustre and shine and already the odd grey hair could be seen amongst the auburn tresses atop her head.

Traipsing over toward the bathroom, Ginny carefully avoided the mirror before brushing her teeth. The white linoleum sink sparkled, the sheer cleanliness of it hurting her eyes slightly, as she spat the paste and water into the sink. Rubbing her eyes again, Ginny inspected the silver scars on her forearms. Marks of war, she thought to herself as she walked back into the bedroom and looked around the room.

On the floor lay a mattress, duvet and pillow and in the far corner was a bed. Next to it stood a small wardrobe and on the other side of it stood a chest of drawers in which Charlie Weasley now stood in front of.

Of course, this room wasn't her room. It was Charlie's. She had been separated into a different set of living quarters ever since the two of them had been captured near the Forest of Dean. Ironically, the living quarters were much alike to the houses of Hogwarts. Crudely named after famous objects or pureblood names, they stood as a symbol and as a reminder to the people as to who ruled over them.

Salazar, Erised, Peverell and Circe.

In each living quarter, the various witches and wizards were assigned a colour. Salazar wore green, Erised wore red, Peverell wore blue and Circe wore yellow or gold. These living quarters were also known as the 'breeding' quarters. Placed over Godric's Hollow, they were a painful reminder to those living there, about the battle that had been fought there only a few months before. Every so often, new witches and wizards would arrive, defiant or scared at first, but they soon complied. Everyone did.

"Ginny? Time to go..."

She snapped back to attention and looked up. Her brother now stood smartly in front of her and held out his hand. She took it, and stepping forward, led Charlie out of the door and toward the courts where the marriage was about to be held. It was to be a sordid affair. The bride, the groom, an official and two witnesses would only be present. There would be no celebration afterward and the marriage itself would be quick. The only thing that mattered was the consummation of it, and even that was not even held in very high regard.

Grimacing, Ginny let go of her brother's hand as they walked out of the red, brick like block into the street below. Stares filled with pity and sympathy followed them. Robes of green, blue, red and yellow all glanced at the black clad individual and inwardly sighed as they each thought the same thing. One more person to 'turn the colour' – one more partially free soul, readying for the slaughter.

Each colour signified the individual's status. If you wore green, you were yet to be married. Red meant that you were engaged. Blue, meant that you were married but had not yet had children and yellow meant that you had had children or were expecting.

Both brother and sister knew what the stares meant. Yet, they chose to ignore them. Charlie knew that this was an arrangement in which he had no chance from escaping and Ginny was powerless to overrule it. All she could do was watch as her brother lost the final shred of his freedom and dignity to the 'greater good'. Especially as his bride-to-be was a painful face from their past.

As they approached the court, an eerie hush descended. Neither spoke to one another. The door in front of them swiftly opened and they both stepped inside. Ginny gave Charlie's hand one final squeeze before taking to the witness stand. Standing behind the polished wooden stand, Ginny looked on as her brother walked up to where his bride-to-be and the official, stood. Her stomach twisted into a knot, and she clamped her mouth tightly shut.

"We are here today, to celebrate the binding matrimony of these two souls. Charlie Weasley and Fleur Delacour..."

Ginny felt a stab of pain in her heart, as she looked upon the couple in front of her. From the start, every word they said was a lie. They didn't love each other, and they weren't celebrating anything. Beside her, stood Fleur's younger sister Gabrielle. The younger girl's eyes were red and puffy, as though she had been crying only moments before. She too, was dressed in green.

As she looked on, a memory from the past came floating back to the surface.

"William Weasley, do you take Fleur Delacour to be your lawfully wedded wife? So that your souls may bind together and your magic may become one?"

Ginny watched her brother smile lovingly, as he replied.

"I do."

It was the right woman, but she was marrying the wrong brother. The essence and very being of her oldest brother Bill, was etched all over Charlie's face. He was a Weasley, but he was the wrong Weasley. The fact that he wasn't Bill was hurting Charlie as it haunted and hurt Fleur.

Bill had died four weeks after his wedding. Hunted down by Fenrir Greyback, who had sworn with vengeance to finish the eldest Weasley, he had fought against the werewolf bravely. Fought, yet lost. Fleur had miscarried two weeks after, and Bill had never even known that she was pregnant with his child. Losses like that were not ones that you could shake easily and not ones that you could bear alone. It tore and ate away at you inside until you broke out screaming, for the pain of it.

"I do"

"Do you, Charlie Weasley take Fleur Delacour to be your lawfully wedded wife? So that your pure blood may mix and your magic may become one?"

"I do."

Ginny flinched, as she heard the marriage vow. It had been crudely adapted for making a purely magical race. Nothing but wizarding blood from one pure parent or two, would do. As the ceremony ended and rings were exchanged, Ginny tried to swallow the rising nausea in her throat.

"Would the two witnesses now sign?"

That was her cue. Slowly, she walked from the witness stand and signed. The pen scratched against the parchment, as she wrote her name in shaky print. Ginervra Weasley. She realised with a shiver that the next time she would be signing this registrar would be at her own wedding. ...The nausea quickly resurfaced again, but she pursed her lips tightly.

Looking up from the now signed registrar, Ginny saw Charlie holding Fleur's hand delicately in his own. Biting her lip, she saw that both parties looked pained as if they had been carrying a great burden, and now it had just become a lot heavier. Ginny could feel the pain and sadness radiating off them as they turned, still hand in hand, back to their own quarters for the last time. She trailed behind them, eyeing them sadly but keeping her head down. Now was not the time... She knew that she had to let her brother deal with the change first.

As they walked, they were met with the same sympathetic stares. For a moment, a brief stab of anger flared up inside her, but it was quickly quelled. She didn't need their sympathy. Her brother and her now, sister-in-law, didn't need their sympathy either. Empathy, Ginny had found, eventually got people nowhere.

Soon, Charlie and Fleur separated. Fleur walked off to a separate room in the same, red brick like block, whilst Charlie trod slowly back to his own. The door opened with a click, breaking the dense silence that had settled over him since the wedding.

"Charlie?" Ginny called tentatively, as she stepped inside the room for the last time.

He didn't answer. Instead, he stood in the middle of the room, tidying his belongings away with a flick of his wand. Swallowing, Ginny took a hesitant step forward and rested a comforting hand on her brother's shoulder.

"I c-can't do it, Ginny." He suddenly burst out, shaking silently.

Turning to face him, she saw tears lining his face. "You have to Charlie. I don't want you ending up like Ernie..."

He shook his head from side to side, and let out a small chuckle. "You don't get it. Everything I do, reminds her of Bill. She was my brother's wife for Merlin's sake! S-she, she..."

"Bill is dead." Cut in Ginny, harshly. "Our brother is dead and now the rules have changed. You know that, Charlie. We all know that!"

Charlie straightened up and little and lowered his wand. "Since when have you wanted to conform, Ginny?"

She swallowed and raised her head defiantly. "Since my whole family and everybody I cared about, died. Since hope died..."

"Am I dead?" interrupted Charlie suddenly.

Ginny faltered. "N-no, but..."

He smiled wryly before pulling his sister into a hug. "Then keep fighting..."

-:-

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