GINNY
The day dawned hot and humid. It was overcast. There hadn't been sunny weather for three years, since the beginning of the war.
The war... I could feel that it was almost over.
Harry was currently asleep in the Gryffindor common room. I sat on a nearby couch, resting and watching him. I could just see his scar peeking out from under the fringe of his hair.
The stress had been wearing us down for a long time. Ron's came from being the head strategist, and making plans that – with one mistake – could leave our people dead. Hermione helped him, though she was also a healer and worked without sleep to save lives. I had to say they made a good couple.
Harry and I, we were fighters. After the war intensified in the beginning of Harry's seventh year, Hogwarts was converted to what it is today – a base for the Order. For two years, Harry and I had trained with tutors like Moody, Lupin, and Dumbledore, as well as several Aurors. We had learned ways of combat unconventional to wizards – physical fighting, using weapons from swords to guns to bow and arrows, wandless magic, and more. Alone, both of us were excellent. Together, we were a formidable team.
And so the four of us awaited the fulfillment of the prophecy.
But the truth was, we were far from confident of the outcome of the final battle. Back in school, we had always thought we'd have a perfect plan for defeating Voldemort when it was needed. But despite all of Hermione's genius, Ron's strategy, and the training Harry and I went through, we had no idea what Harry was going to do when he faced the Dark Lord. Hermione had upended the library and buried herself in books for months, and we had joined her, but our efforts had been fruitless.
Even as I dwelled on this fact, the alarms went off.
Harry woke immediately. We ran toward the portrait hole.
As we dashed through the hallways and down the marble staircase, the whole castle was coming alive. Everyone crowded into the Great Hall. Ron and Hermione were part of the upper ranks of the Order, and they stood at what had been the staff table with Moody and various other leaders. Ron had magically amplified his voice and was giving orders. A large, transparent magical map of the castle and the grounds floated behind them. Magical mirrors were showing various views of the grounds.
It was the usual routine we went through when Hogwarts experienced an assault. But somehow, even then, I knew this battle would be different. Judging by the expression on Harry's face, I knew he felt it too.
We walked out of the front doors. The dark forces were waiting for us by the Forbidden Forest.
We couldn't stay together on this one. I would just be a useless target that Harry would need to worry about. At least, when Tom became involved.
"I love you," he said. And I knew that he meant it.
"One last battle," I thought.
HARRY
One last battle.
Even as we advanced toward the Death Eaters, I took a split second to glance at Ginny. And despite the battles, the nightmares, the worry, the grief she went through every day, she was still beautiful. Not only physically, either. She had an inner flame that gave her strength and determination.
Ginny could take care of herself. "Good luck," I whispered. I turned away and took a deep breath.
I began to run toward the fray. My first stunners effortlessly blasted Death Eaters back twenty feet. I slipped into the fighting routine I was so used to.
I was waiting for Voldemort, though. I knew he would come.
Three hours later, I hadn't even broken a sweat. Moody's vigorous training had done me well. But I was growing restless. Voldemort was trying to tire me out. It wouldn't work.
It was true I had no idea what to do when he came. But by this point, I just wanted to get it over with.
I thought of all those that had left us already, and wondered how many more would be gone before the end of the day. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were gone, killed in an attack at Grimmauld Place. Hagrid and Madame Maxime had led a heroic charge with giants against an army of Death Eaters in France, and perished. Snape – well, he had been discovered and killed as a traitor to the Death Eaters. Percy, who had been spying in the Ministry for the Order, was killed when the Ministry was destroyed a year ago. Dumbledore and Lupin, my mentors, had been rushing to warn the Ministry against attack, and they didn't survive the explosion that took place in the Atrium.
I would avenge all of them.
Suddenly I heard screams. I turned around. A tall, thin figure, in a cloak blacker than midnight. Showers of green light. I could feel the darkness gathering around him. Slowly it became almost visible. He was absorbing the energy of the wizards and witches around him. And as every second passed, he was growing stronger.
Ginny and I shared a glance. He couldn't be allowed to continue. I conjured a dagger and aimed carefully.
Voldemort's shield was magical. The dagger was not. The Dark Lord looked with interest at the blossom of red on his shoulder. It disappeared with a wave of his hand, and the dagger fell to the ground. It had caught his attention.
He looked up and saw me.
GINNY
I knew Harry better than I knew myself at times. And now I knew he was afraid. But still he kept his head high and his back straight. We both knew that fear was one of Tom's greatest weapons. Harry was mastering the fear. And I was proud of him.
The battle grounds had suddenly grown quiet.
"Harry Potter," whispered Tom. "How nice it is to see you again."
"Voldemort," Harry replied evenly.
For a moment no one even breathed.
And then, in a blur of movement too fast for me to follow, they both whipped out their wands and cast a curse. The red and green beams of light connected and formed a solid line of gold. With phoenix song in my ears, I watched as arcs of light shot around them, forming a golden dome of radiance. It was both beautiful and terrible to behold. It hurt to look at it directly.
Priori Incantatem. I had heard of what had happened during the Triwizard Tournament, but I knew that this time, both wizards were much more powerful. Voldemort would be considerably weakened if he lost. Harry would die.
Minutes passed. No one could see or hear anything inside the golden sphere.
Then the light began to waver. One of them was losing.
And when the dome flickered again, I saw what I'd desperately hoped I wouldn't.
HARRY
"I can't lose now," I thought. "Everyone's depending on me." But that only made me feel more exhausted.
I was still holding my wand, but it scalded my fingers. It was getting heavier every moment. I was on my knees now.
I began to accept that Voldemort was going to win. And I told myself that if not him, someone else would come along later and start another war anyway. I felt pathetic and ashamed of myself. But I had been fighting for too long. I was so tired... and death was only a few steps away.
"Ron," I thought tiredly, "Hermione, Sirius, Dumbledore, everyone – I'm so sorry." I couldn't bear to even think of Ginny.
The world began to darken. From what seemed like very far away, Voldemort was laughing.
I slipped deeper into the comfort of oblivion.
Silence.
A bright light. I could see a heavenly light, and it was growing. It gave me feelings of warmth. If this was death, then dying wasn't so bad.
But the world was growing sharper instead of dimmer.
What...?
And then my vision focused and I realized what the light was.
A silver swan. One I had seen many times.
Ginny's Patronus. Sending me her love.
I remembered what Dumbledore had told me, so many years ago. Love was the weapon I had against Voldemort. It was a power he did not understand and therefore could not conquer.
And in my mind, I saw a red-haired girl of fifteen, wearing a simple yellow sundress. She was smiling at me. Behind her, the sun was shining in a vivid blue sky.
Strength flooded through me, along with the knowledge of what I had to do. I stood. With a burst of will, the beads of light shot away from my wand and toward Voldemort's. I saw his surprise and alarm, and there was a flash of golden light. Then I broke the connection. The dome shattered. Voldemort collapsed.
Ginny appeared by my side. "Use my wand this time," she whispered, pressing it into my hand. I nodded, understanding. There would be no Priori Incantatem with her wand.
On the battlefield, there were people from all kinds of different places, with vastly different backgrounds. Hundreds of wizards and witches, from as far away as Asia, to South Africa, to America. There was no fighting now, of course; my duel with Voldemort would determine the fate of the wizarding world. Both sides were watching, waiting, to see what would happen next.
Voldemort got up, but I could see that standing cost him effort. "I will not lose again. I've had it with you, Potter. This time it ends, once and for all."
I looked into the deep brown eyes of the girl by my side. Her gaze was steady and confident. We can do this.
And I knew that as long as I had her, anything was possible.
Together, Ginny and I lifted her wand, her hand over mine. I closed my eyes.
Voldemort thrust his wand in my direction. "Avada -"
The world blurred.
The next moment seemed to last for years. Memories I had with Ginny flashed through my mind. The day I asked her out. The day we had our first date. The day we fell in love. I knew she was seeing the same things.
And in the last microsecond, I seemed to be given a window into the future. I saw our wedding. I saw our house. And I saw a little girl with red hair and green eyes.
Words took shape and expressed themselves in me. I tightened my hold on her hand. "Expecto Amorvitas!"
The explosion of power that followed was overwhelming. We were engulfed in white light. The energy was not of magic as much as of raw emotion.
The two of us held on to each other, pouring out our dreams, our memories, and our hopes for the future into the spell. In those life-changing moments, we could see and feel each other's thoughts. I love you, she told me. And I knew that she meant it.
Slowly, I turned to face her. I could see the trust and passion in the eyes of my love and my best friend.
I kissed her.
With a final, powerful blast of light, the spell shot up to the sky and exploded like a rocket of fireworks. Glittering remnants of magic streamed down like shooting stars.
I looked towards where Voldemort had stood. There was nothing.
And with that, the last battle of the Second War was over.
I owed this all to Ginny.
Once again, I noted how beautiful she was. Her delicate face was softly illuminated by the glow of the magic that continued to rain down. I looked at her – flaming red hair, a black combat outfit, silver fighting gear, black dragon hide boots, and a fiery emotion in her dark brown eyes.
I smiled.
And in front of the entire wizarding world, I knelt.
"Ginevra Elizabeth Weasley, will you marry me?"
The smile that lit up her face, I would never forget.
"Yes."
The clouds parted, and the sun began to shine.
The day dawned hot and humid. It was overcast. There hadn't been sunny weather for three years, since the beginning of the war.
The war... I could feel that it was almost over.
Harry was currently asleep in the Gryffindor common room. I sat on a nearby couch, resting and watching him. I could just see his scar peeking out from under the fringe of his hair.
The stress had been wearing us down for a long time. Ron's came from being the head strategist, and making plans that – with one mistake – could leave our people dead. Hermione helped him, though she was also a healer and worked without sleep to save lives. I had to say they made a good couple.
Harry and I, we were fighters. After the war intensified in the beginning of Harry's seventh year, Hogwarts was converted to what it is today – a base for the Order. For two years, Harry and I had trained with tutors like Moody, Lupin, and Dumbledore, as well as several Aurors. We had learned ways of combat unconventional to wizards – physical fighting, using weapons from swords to guns to bow and arrows, wandless magic, and more. Alone, both of us were excellent. Together, we were a formidable team.
And so the four of us awaited the fulfillment of the prophecy.
But the truth was, we were far from confident of the outcome of the final battle. Back in school, we had always thought we'd have a perfect plan for defeating Voldemort when it was needed. But despite all of Hermione's genius, Ron's strategy, and the training Harry and I went through, we had no idea what Harry was going to do when he faced the Dark Lord. Hermione had upended the library and buried herself in books for months, and we had joined her, but our efforts had been fruitless.
Even as I dwelled on this fact, the alarms went off.
Harry woke immediately. We ran toward the portrait hole.
As we dashed through the hallways and down the marble staircase, the whole castle was coming alive. Everyone crowded into the Great Hall. Ron and Hermione were part of the upper ranks of the Order, and they stood at what had been the staff table with Moody and various other leaders. Ron had magically amplified his voice and was giving orders. A large, transparent magical map of the castle and the grounds floated behind them. Magical mirrors were showing various views of the grounds.
It was the usual routine we went through when Hogwarts experienced an assault. But somehow, even then, I knew this battle would be different. Judging by the expression on Harry's face, I knew he felt it too.
We walked out of the front doors. The dark forces were waiting for us by the Forbidden Forest.
We couldn't stay together on this one. I would just be a useless target that Harry would need to worry about. At least, when Tom became involved.
"I love you," he said. And I knew that he meant it.
"One last battle," I thought.
HARRY
One last battle.
Even as we advanced toward the Death Eaters, I took a split second to glance at Ginny. And despite the battles, the nightmares, the worry, the grief she went through every day, she was still beautiful. Not only physically, either. She had an inner flame that gave her strength and determination.
Ginny could take care of herself. "Good luck," I whispered. I turned away and took a deep breath.
I began to run toward the fray. My first stunners effortlessly blasted Death Eaters back twenty feet. I slipped into the fighting routine I was so used to.
I was waiting for Voldemort, though. I knew he would come.
Three hours later, I hadn't even broken a sweat. Moody's vigorous training had done me well. But I was growing restless. Voldemort was trying to tire me out. It wouldn't work.
It was true I had no idea what to do when he came. But by this point, I just wanted to get it over with.
I thought of all those that had left us already, and wondered how many more would be gone before the end of the day. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were gone, killed in an attack at Grimmauld Place. Hagrid and Madame Maxime had led a heroic charge with giants against an army of Death Eaters in France, and perished. Snape – well, he had been discovered and killed as a traitor to the Death Eaters. Percy, who had been spying in the Ministry for the Order, was killed when the Ministry was destroyed a year ago. Dumbledore and Lupin, my mentors, had been rushing to warn the Ministry against attack, and they didn't survive the explosion that took place in the Atrium.
I would avenge all of them.
Suddenly I heard screams. I turned around. A tall, thin figure, in a cloak blacker than midnight. Showers of green light. I could feel the darkness gathering around him. Slowly it became almost visible. He was absorbing the energy of the wizards and witches around him. And as every second passed, he was growing stronger.
Ginny and I shared a glance. He couldn't be allowed to continue. I conjured a dagger and aimed carefully.
Voldemort's shield was magical. The dagger was not. The Dark Lord looked with interest at the blossom of red on his shoulder. It disappeared with a wave of his hand, and the dagger fell to the ground. It had caught his attention.
He looked up and saw me.
GINNY
I knew Harry better than I knew myself at times. And now I knew he was afraid. But still he kept his head high and his back straight. We both knew that fear was one of Tom's greatest weapons. Harry was mastering the fear. And I was proud of him.
The battle grounds had suddenly grown quiet.
"Harry Potter," whispered Tom. "How nice it is to see you again."
"Voldemort," Harry replied evenly.
For a moment no one even breathed.
And then, in a blur of movement too fast for me to follow, they both whipped out their wands and cast a curse. The red and green beams of light connected and formed a solid line of gold. With phoenix song in my ears, I watched as arcs of light shot around them, forming a golden dome of radiance. It was both beautiful and terrible to behold. It hurt to look at it directly.
Priori Incantatem. I had heard of what had happened during the Triwizard Tournament, but I knew that this time, both wizards were much more powerful. Voldemort would be considerably weakened if he lost. Harry would die.
Minutes passed. No one could see or hear anything inside the golden sphere.
Then the light began to waver. One of them was losing.
And when the dome flickered again, I saw what I'd desperately hoped I wouldn't.
HARRY
"I can't lose now," I thought. "Everyone's depending on me." But that only made me feel more exhausted.
I was still holding my wand, but it scalded my fingers. It was getting heavier every moment. I was on my knees now.
I began to accept that Voldemort was going to win. And I told myself that if not him, someone else would come along later and start another war anyway. I felt pathetic and ashamed of myself. But I had been fighting for too long. I was so tired... and death was only a few steps away.
"Ron," I thought tiredly, "Hermione, Sirius, Dumbledore, everyone – I'm so sorry." I couldn't bear to even think of Ginny.
The world began to darken. From what seemed like very far away, Voldemort was laughing.
I slipped deeper into the comfort of oblivion.
Silence.
A bright light. I could see a heavenly light, and it was growing. It gave me feelings of warmth. If this was death, then dying wasn't so bad.
But the world was growing sharper instead of dimmer.
What...?
And then my vision focused and I realized what the light was.
A silver swan. One I had seen many times.
Ginny's Patronus. Sending me her love.
I remembered what Dumbledore had told me, so many years ago. Love was the weapon I had against Voldemort. It was a power he did not understand and therefore could not conquer.
And in my mind, I saw a red-haired girl of fifteen, wearing a simple yellow sundress. She was smiling at me. Behind her, the sun was shining in a vivid blue sky.
Strength flooded through me, along with the knowledge of what I had to do. I stood. With a burst of will, the beads of light shot away from my wand and toward Voldemort's. I saw his surprise and alarm, and there was a flash of golden light. Then I broke the connection. The dome shattered. Voldemort collapsed.
Ginny appeared by my side. "Use my wand this time," she whispered, pressing it into my hand. I nodded, understanding. There would be no Priori Incantatem with her wand.
On the battlefield, there were people from all kinds of different places, with vastly different backgrounds. Hundreds of wizards and witches, from as far away as Asia, to South Africa, to America. There was no fighting now, of course; my duel with Voldemort would determine the fate of the wizarding world. Both sides were watching, waiting, to see what would happen next.
Voldemort got up, but I could see that standing cost him effort. "I will not lose again. I've had it with you, Potter. This time it ends, once and for all."
I looked into the deep brown eyes of the girl by my side. Her gaze was steady and confident. We can do this.
And I knew that as long as I had her, anything was possible.
Together, Ginny and I lifted her wand, her hand over mine. I closed my eyes.
Voldemort thrust his wand in my direction. "Avada -"
The world blurred.
The next moment seemed to last for years. Memories I had with Ginny flashed through my mind. The day I asked her out. The day we had our first date. The day we fell in love. I knew she was seeing the same things.
And in the last microsecond, I seemed to be given a window into the future. I saw our wedding. I saw our house. And I saw a little girl with red hair and green eyes.
Words took shape and expressed themselves in me. I tightened my hold on her hand. "Expecto Amorvitas!"
The explosion of power that followed was overwhelming. We were engulfed in white light. The energy was not of magic as much as of raw emotion.
The two of us held on to each other, pouring out our dreams, our memories, and our hopes for the future into the spell. In those life-changing moments, we could see and feel each other's thoughts. I love you, she told me. And I knew that she meant it.
Slowly, I turned to face her. I could see the trust and passion in the eyes of my love and my best friend.
I kissed her.
With a final, powerful blast of light, the spell shot up to the sky and exploded like a rocket of fireworks. Glittering remnants of magic streamed down like shooting stars.
I looked towards where Voldemort had stood. There was nothing.
And with that, the last battle of the Second War was over.
I owed this all to Ginny.
Once again, I noted how beautiful she was. Her delicate face was softly illuminated by the glow of the magic that continued to rain down. I looked at her – flaming red hair, a black combat outfit, silver fighting gear, black dragon hide boots, and a fiery emotion in her dark brown eyes.
I smiled.
And in front of the entire wizarding world, I knelt.
"Ginevra Elizabeth Weasley, will you marry me?"
The smile that lit up her face, I would never forget.
"Yes."
The clouds parted, and the sun began to shine.