Colinny

by OrderOfThePhoenix117

With the loss of Harry Potter as her boyfriend, Ginerva Weasley is spending the summer with her family when an unexpected guest comes along...with unexpected results. WARNING: Lots of character death. My longest story yet!

A/N: This story will be in Harrys seventh year but it will not follow canon pretty much until the Battle of Hogwarts for several reasons, including the fact that I need Dumbledore in here.

Ginerva Weasley.

Colin Creevey.

Two people, seperated by words, by friends, schedules, and of course the Second Wizarding War. They are, however, united in one thing so rare and beautiful that it can truly bring tears to ones eye.

Love.

These two individuals are bound together in an everlasting exchange of affection from one to the other, quickly returned back and forth in an endless cycle.

Love, something few possess truly, and a feeling that even fewer do not take for granted. (This pair has never taken anything in their relationship for granted.)

Love, a true expression of ones soul.

Love, saviour and destroyer.

Love, the eternal bond shared between this pair that will never cease, never halt.

Love, the thing that brings us all together.

And with this, the truly magnificent story, the one that will continue with these two individuals until they breathe their last, begins.

However, it does not start in the way one might expect; not with an accidental meeting or some other unforseeable circumstance. Rather, it all began in the small town of Ottery St. Catchpole, on a fine summer afternoon.

The entire Weasley family was in town, all celebrating a promotion Arthur Weasley recieved at work. He was now the head of the steadily expanding Misuse Of Muggle Artifacts Department, which had, suspiciously enough, needed more members after a series of incidents at the newly expanded Borgin and Burkes dark objects shop in Knockturn Alley.

Ginny was holding a bottle of Butterbeer and laughing at a joke Fred (or George) had told when there was a knock at the door. A few of the Weasley clan drew their wands as Ginny walked towards the door and opened it carefully.

"Hello, Ginny!" exclaimed a short, rounded boy as he smiled.

"Hi Colin," she replied, unsure of exactly what to do.

"May I come in?" he asked. "Its mighty hot out here."

"Of course," Ginny nodded, opening the door wider and stepping aside so that her friend could enter.

"Hello, dear! I don't believe we've met..." Molly Weasley asked as Colin stepped inside, savouring the cooler air of the Burrow.

"I'm Colin Creevey," the boy announced as he stuck out his arm to shake hands with Ginnys mum.

"Oh, of course! Percy mentioned you once, dear, and Ginny speaks of you rather often!" Mrs. Weasley replied, smiling widely as her sole daughter blushed somewhat.

"I believe..." Fred began.

"she fancies you," George completed as he and his identical counterpart grinned mischeviously.

"Oh, sod off," Ginny muttered her discontent as her cheeks and hair seemed to fuse in color.

"Well, dear, you look rather hungry. Would you like something to eat? We were just about to begin lunch," Molly said as she looked at her new visitor while simultaneously trying to prevent World War Three from breaking out amongst her children.

"I suppose I could have a nibble." Colins rumbling stomach threw off his metaphorical cloak of innocence.

"Why might you be dropping by, Mr. Creevey?" Arthur asked as his wife walked back to the kitchen.

"I just wanted to visit you all," Colin replied. "I was actually dropping by the Lovegoods as well, and Mr. Lovegood told me of your promotion, sir. Congragulations."

"Thank you."

"So Colin, would you like to see my bedroom? It's got this great view and everything," Ginny interrupted.

Colin seemed slightly off when he heard these words, but he soon answered.

"I suppose."

Ginny, having set down her Butterbeer, turned on her heel (with such grace and speed that Colin was truly convinced that these traits were a good enough reason for the Gryffindor Quidditch Team to ask her to join) and began to ascend the stairs. Truthfully her companion had not expected such an invitation as this, and he tried contain himself as he continued onwards.

He was wearing a simple Muggle outfit to try and avoid undue attention; knee length shorts and a t-shirt. His friend, however, was dressed slightly more formally in a long, flowing skirt and simple "spaghetti-strap" tank top, both a shade of green that very well complimented her hair. Colin could not help but feel attracted to her as he saw her long, slender legs silhouetted against the fabric, her beautiful brown eyes, her casual smile.

These thoughts stopped as Ginny stopped at one of the many doors. She opened it and briefly looked over her shoulder, an action Colin found rather odd but didn't verbally object to. He couldn't have if he wanted to; the view out of Ginnys window was absolutely stunning. In the distance he could make out the outlines of the trees, closer by the seemingly endless marshes and reeds stretched out towards the horizon. The blue sky, devoid of anything, only brightened the image.

"Wow!" Colin said excitedly. "This is amazing!"

Ginny smiled as she smoothed out a wrinkle in her skirt. "I knew you'd like it."

She sat down upon her bed, crossing her knees. "Sit down."

"Alright," he replied, plopping down upon the sheets.

"So did you hear about Harry and Cho?" Colin asked, breaking a momentary silence.

"What about them?" Ginny hadn't heard anything about her secret crush or the girl he'd been dating since summer started (Ron was sworn to a vow of secrecy) and she was eager for news.

"Well, they're going strong and both say that marriage is a strong possibility," Colin was hesitant; he knew of Ginnys fancy of The Boy Who Lived. Before he could take it back, his friend responded.

"Oh," Ginny was now fighting back tears.

"No Ginny, don't cry, don't cry..." Colin wrapped his arm around her shoulders as she leaned on his side for support. (The movement was a little awkward due to height differences, but he tried his best.)

It was too late; Ginny was sobbing into his shoulder. He continued to comfort her with words of how it wasn't going to work out between Harry and Cho, and how Harry would come back to her, and Ginny and Harry would march off together into the sunset.

Colin, in his mind only, gaped a little; he'd heard she'd only wept when she realized that she was indirectly responsible for the opening of the Chamber of Secrets and the petrifications that followed. Perhaps this rumor was only partially true; Ginny only cried in front of others when she could not control her emotions, but alone (or with someone so trustworthy as Colin) there might be a different story.

Ginny finally regained the aforementioned control, and she sat up. The tears had cut watery tracks down her rosy cheeks, and she sniffeled a little before turning to Colin, who now deeply regretted bringing Harry up in this conversation.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"I'm so sorry," Colin said simply as he pulled his arm back. "I'm here for you, alright?"

"Okay," Ginny spoke softly.

"Are you okay now?" Colin continued.

"Yeah, I think so," she replied.

Colin reached over to his friends bedside table and snatched a tissue from the box. He then took it and carefully wiped away the tears from Ginnys face.

The red-headed girl smiled at him slightly. "Thank you Colin."

"Anytime," the boy next to her reasurred.

Ginny turned to Colin and wrapped him in a hug. Not expecting such a gesture, the latter felt his face flush slightly.

As Ginny pulled away, she grabbed Colins hand and squeezed it slightly.

"Thank you," she repeated.

Colin blushed again. "Well, of course... So, what do you think of the new almond-filled Chocolate Frogs?"

"I haven't had one yet," the redhead admitted.

"Oh, well it's a good thing I have a spare," Colin smiled at her as he removed a small, bright blue and gold cardboard box from one of the pockets that dotted his summer shorts.

He held it out to her, waiting expectantly. She took it and carefully peeled it open. A brown frog leapt out, but she quickly caught it and stuffed it into her mouth, chewing rapidly and loudly. Colin just stared.

"Well, I don't want him to suffer..." she told him. The pair stared at one another for a moment, Ginny continuing to chew and slightly wincing as her tooth scraped one of the almonds. Then they both burst into a fit of laughter, Ginny even falling back onto her bed. Colin soon followed, and there they were, laying side by side, the best of friends. Ginny swallowed the remains of the Chocolate Frog, then put her hands behind her head.

"Look, Ginny..." Colin began. "I didn't mean to talk about Harry, you know, like that..."

"I know Colin," Ginny looked up at the ceiling. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cry."

"That's okay. I would've cried too, if the person I liked was going to...marry someone else," the boy replied, speaking the last words with a cautious control.

Ginny paused. What in the name of Merlin was she supposed to say to that?

"Well, I understand that, but that's different depending on the person." She was internally shocked. What kind of a response was that?

"What do you mean?"

"If you break, per say, Harrys heart, he would be rather saddened by it, but would eventually move on, whereas if you broke up with me, I'd find it much harder to continue, not because I'm a girl, but because I'm much more sensitive," Ginny explained, turning her head so that she faced him.

"Ah," Colin said. "Personally I consider my heart to be very delicate."

"Have you ever had your heart broken, Colin?"

"Once or twice," the boy replied quickly.

"If you don't mind me asking, who did the breaking?"

A slight pause, a hesitant reaction, and a the fading of Colins characteristic smile were all it took for Ginny to regret her question. "I'm sorry, Colin, if it's something you'd rather not talk about..."

"Well, I'm hesitant to say something because I'm rather afraid of what you'll think of me when I say it..."

"Colin, it can't be that bad," Ginny smiled at him.

"When I heard...about you dating Michael Corner, I was sad, because truthfully I had a fancy to you at the time," the boy said as color filled his cheeks. He looked away from the object of previous and recently admitted affections.

"You...fancied me?" Ginny asked. She was blushing as well, and was in fact rather worried that another member of the vast Weasley family was going to storm in on this exchange.

"Yeah, I did," Colin admitted. "But I'm over it now, I suppose. I mean, when we became friends like this, I didn't want it to be awkward between us, so I kinda dropped it."

Ginny looked at him with a slightly shocked expression, and Colin (being one to notice details) saw this and spoke quietly.

"Well, Gin, I think it's time for me to be going..."

"No!" she said with such force that he paused, widening his eyes with shock at the girl who had just yelled for him to continue to be with her. She might as well have said that she had a blue tail.

"Well, you...have to stay for lunch..." Ginny blushed.

"Are you all right Ginny?" he asked, sitting up.

"Yeah," she replied, joining him.

"Anything you want to talk about? You seem rather...off..." Colin showed true concern for her well-being.

She nodded. "I fancied you, Colin. I still do."

The boys jaw dropped at this statement; never had the thought crossed his mind that she might actually like him back. He had always believed that this was one-sided.

"You...me...why? You can do so much better than me," Colin asked.

"Colin Creevey!" she seemed so offended at his words that her fiery red hair mixed with her look of sudden rage made her look like some demon from the deepest pits of the underworld. "Don't talk about yourself like that!"

Her voice dropped lower now. "You're perfect for me, I always thought so. You have the same sort of eternally-cheerful-yet-aware kind of living that I have been told I possess, but you mask it behind that camera."

The pair looked at one another, words unspoken passing between them in a torrent.

"You're the best thing that ever happened to me, Colin."

"I... I don't understand..." Colin stuttered. "I'm Colin Creevey, a camera-obsessed Harry Potter fan, and you're Ginny Weasley, beautiful and smart, able to get any boy to serve your whim with a wink of your eye!"

"I'm not as perfect as everyone makes me out to be," she replied, her fury gone.

"Well, Ginny Weasley, you're perfect to me," Colin grinned.

The redhead smiled. "Would you...like to go into town, maybe see a Muggle movie?"

"Yeah, Gin. I'd like that."

Sensing the time was right, Ginny stood up from her bed and gave Colin a peck on the cheek. His eyes widened as though someone had set off his own camera right in his face.

"Colin?" Ginny asked when she had returned to her original position, but her friend did not move.

He suddenly seemed to snap back into reality. "Whoah..."

Ginny chuckled. Colin blushed.

"Ginny, Colin! Lunch is ready!" a voice yelled from downstairs.

"We should go," the redhead suggested, never taking her eyes from his.

"Yeah," he said simply before standing up and offering his hand to Ginny, as much as a romantic plan as to assist her down the steep steps of the Burrow.

Ginny accepted graciously before accompanying Colin to the table. Mrs. Weasley had conjured another seat and placed it next to Ginnys.

A few wolf-whistles from the twins was all it took for Ginny to launch the proverbial nuclear missile upon them. They, despite their reputation as fearless yet comical, cowered a bit as their sister harshly informed them of several things, including her brand new relationship with Colin and exactly what she would do to them if she caught any more flak for it. By the time she was finished, all present save for Fred, George and Ginny were staring, jaws unhinged, at this rather colorful exchange of words. (Though the twins were shocked by it, they held themselves together. Barely.)

"Yes, well...Colin, have a seat," Ginnys voice returned to normal and she gestured towards the chair next to her.

"Alright," he said, momentarily and unconsciously reaching up and touching his cheek in the place where Ginnys soft lips had touched it.

As soon as everyone was seated, Mrs. Weasley entered with several dishes. She had made tea, sandwiches, and biscuits for them all, and watched happily as her sons, daughter, guest and husband all ate this assortment of foods.

"So I'm taking Colin into town to see a Muggle movie later, okay?" Ginny asked, finishing off both a cup of tea and the silence that had followed her fit of rage.

"Alright, dear, just be careful," Molly warned.

"And watch out..."

"for Death Eaters!"

"Boys!" Mrs. Weasley scorned her twin sons.

Ron just watched in a combination of awe and horror as his younger sister and her date quickly scarfed down lunch in the mutual agreement that they wanted to go as soon as possible. (Before it got dark.)

The Weasley family, after celebrating for most of the morning, was ready to go to bed, save for those who had to return to other places: Charlie to Romania and Percy to the Ministry for a quick visit to see what he'd missed.

Soon Ginny and Colin had completed their lunches and they were on their way to see a new Muggle film.

Of course, it wasn't free. Colin ('Such a gentleman!' Ginny thought) paid for all expenses with the Muggle money he'd been smart enough to bring with him. They also purchased a "sod-uh" and "popkorn" to eat during the movie.

The movie started almost as soon as the pair sat down. As the opening credits and title sequence began to roll, they snacked on their popkorn, which was surprisingly good for Muggle food. Their soduh was very cold and, not expecting a chunk of ice that travelled up the straw with her beverage, Ginny spewed a quarter of it into the (luckily vacant) seat in front of her. The pair chuckled to themselves quietly for a moment before returning to viewing the film.

As the protagonist (his name was Samuel Gerard or something) began to fight his final battle with the antagonist, Colin yawned and wrapped his arm carefully around Ginnys shoulders. She looked at him briefly, red in the face, before turning back to the screen. He didn't seem to notice.

As the final scene began, Ginny turned to Colin. He turned to her. They leaned in slightly, closing their eyes as their lips met. They kissed (snogged) deeply, intensley now. As they pulled back, never letting their eyes leave one anothers, they knew, unspoken, that they were indeed perfect for one another.

•Two weeks later•

"Well, Gin, everything is working out pretty well, don't you think?" Colin asked, smiling.

The pair sat at a small pond deep within the forests behind the Burrow. It was absolutely stunning: the crystal blue water reflecting the rays of a golden sun. Small fish swam through the pond, darting away as the humans sitting at the edge of their tiny home attempted to skip stones across its surface.

"I agree Colin," Ginny replied, smiling. Her brown eyes looked into those of her new boyfriend. He grinned back at her as a stone he had recently thrown skipped four times.

"Record!" he said triumphantly.

They both laughed at this, and even harder so moments later when Colin snatched his camera from beside him and snapped a picture of Ginny, who was forced to blink several times in order to regain full sight.

This camera was Polaroid, so before the black and white image spewed from the machine could fall to the green grass below, Colin grabbed it and shook it quickly. He looked at it a moment, eyes wide, before showing it to his girlfriend, who started crying tears of pure joy from laughing so much. Her face in the picture was of her brown eyes growing wide at the flash of the camera. Since it was a charmed camera, the picture acted out this motion every few moments in a hilarious cycle.

"You know, Ron always tells me that I should have seen my face when I saw Harry at the Burrow my first year. I think this is what he meant!" she continued laughing, clutching her sides with both hands. Her blue jeans had many grass stains and dirt on them, along with her t-shirt.

Colins face was twisted in laughter and covered in tears that flowed down his cheeks as he responded, "Yeah, I think so too!"

They continued for a minute more before resuming sitting by the pond and putting their hands together.

"You know, Colin, I never really realized that I liked you like this until the middle of last year," she told him once the pair had calmed down.

"Secretly, Gin, I always liked you. Your eyes, your hair, your...everything. You're perfect," he replied, smiling.

"Really?" they sat up at the same time and looked at each other for a moment.

"Absolutely!" Colin said, as though insulted that she would have to actually ASK him.

"I appreciate that, Colin."

"I'm sure you get many more comments from other boys who find you attractive," the boy replied, rather saddened by that factor in their relationship.

"Well, yes, but I'm going to stay true to you Colin."

"Who exactly would these other lovebirds be, the ones who keep complimenting you?" Colin said, only half-serious.

"Actually, most of them are from Potter trying to win me back. I told him that he had already sworn his existence to Chang, and that he should stay with her. He sent me a letter the other day confirming that the two are due to be married as soon as they are both of age."

"Well, he was too blind to see you, and now he's missed out," Colin grinned.

There was another round of laughter at this statement. They continued skipping stones, laughing, telling jokes and having a good time until it was near dark. At that point they thought it would be smart to return. Since neither of them had an Apparating license (or any experience with it for that matter) they hopped on the brooms they'd borrowed from the Weasley boys and flew back to the Burrow, skimming the tops of the trees.

Colin touched down in front of the tall home first and just enough time to turn his head and witness Ginny make a horrendous crash landing into the nearby reeds. He immediately dismounted the broom and ran to her side.

"Mrs. Weasley! Help! Ginnys crashed!" Colin bellowed as he administered Muggle CPR and checked her pulse.

The entire Weasley clan surrounded the two of them. Molly had her wand out in a flash, and waved it over her only daughter, muttering several incantations. A snapping sound emmanated from her left hand as the bone was put back into place. Bruises faded from view and a lump on her chest, the sole visible testament to a shattered rib, sunk back. Ginny coughed as her dad lifted her up and brought her to the house.

Setting her down carefully upon the couch, Arthur also performed healing charms continuously until his daughter looked as though nothing had happened save that she was soaked from landing in a puddle.

Colin stepped forward and cradled his girlfriends head in his arms. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked at him weakley before bringing her arm up to touch her hand to his tear-sodden cheek.

"Colin..." she said softly.

"Oh, thank Merlin. Do you feel alright?" Colin stammered. "Ron, could you get me a glass of water for her?"

The redheaded boy nodded before running off to the kichen as fast as he could.

"I'm okay," Ginny said before attempting to sit up.

"No, you're not. You're very lucky, though. You had cracked ribs, a dislocated finger, and you were more bruised than an apple hit with the Explosive Spell," Colin explained.

"He saved you," Molly interjected.

"You...did?" Ginny asked shakily.

"I...did. I suppose your father can vouch for me in that this use of underage magic was necessary," Colin grinned.

"Well, I suppose, being reminded of that, Ginny should know that Mum did all of the work and you just cried over her," Ron grimaced as he handed his sister the water.

"Bugger," Ginny muttered. "Thanks Colin, Mum."

"Yes, dear. Now you better get some rest," Molly stated firmly.

"Alright, Mum," Ginny half-jokingly rolled her eyes. "Good night Colin."

Colin leaned in and gave her a peck on the cheek before waving good-bye to the Weasley clan, another get well soon to Ginny, and Flooed to his home.

•The next day•

Waking up bright and early, Ginny smacked her lips to rid herself of the foul early morning taste that covered them. Recalling the previous evening, she felt her rib cage and was relieved to know she was fully recuperated.

The first person she thought of was Colin, the way he'd stood over her last night, looking horrified at her mangled body. She thought of the way a light above his head made him look like an angel. He was, in a way, an angel. He had come to her rescue almost immediately, standing over her, then checking her vital signs. She had faded in and out of consciousness at this point, but remembered brief flashes, images in time, of her fathers worried face over her own, her being set down on the couch, shivvering from the cold water, as healing spells were performed on her shattered bones.

She recalled telling Ron off when he'd tried to destroy her image of Colin as a knight in shining armor.

Her memory fed her quick glimpses of these last few minutes before she had drifted off to sleep. The last thing she remembered seeing was Colin taking a handful of Floo Powder and him throwing it into the fireplace as he shouted his address.

She sat up and looked out her window. Someone, her father she suspected, had carried her from the couch to her bed and tucked her in. As the sun showed brightly through the early morning mist, refracting off of dew still clinging to the plants below, a smell wafted from downstairs.

Mum had made breakfast.

Ginny grabbed her robe, threw it over the clothes she was wearing from yesterday, and hopped down the Burrows rickety steps.

"Ginny," a familiar voice called.

It was Harry.

"What do you want? Come to beg for me in person?" she demanded.

"Ouch, mate. Harry! You need..."

"some ice..."

"for that burn?" the twins laughed as they said the last line together. They were proud to use an insult from 'across the pond.'

"Cho's dying, Ginny," Harry said firmly, ignoring the twins comment. "She caught a disease that's going to shut her body down piece by piece until theirs nothing left."

"How long does she have?" Ginny was rather saddened; Cho and her had been accquaitances at least.

"According to St. Mungos, she has three weeks or so. This is the last thing they told me. That was a week ago. They moved on from her since that Death Eater attack in London," Harry was speaking nearly as grimly as the situation.

He said one other thing, something that forced Ginny to hold back her tears.

"She wants to see you, Gin. She asked for you," he told the stunned Weasleys.

"Take me to her," the redheaded girl said softly. She didn't care how she looked, how she was dressed. She slid on some slippers and Flooed to St. Mungos with Harry.

Several minutes later they were beside what was left of the once glorious and magnificent Cho Chang. She coughed, and feebly raised her hand to cover her chapped lips.

"Harry, love, she's here?" Cho asked.

"I'm right here Cho," Ginny said, stepping next to Harry.

Chang moved her body up slightly before taking a silver necklace from a table off to the side.

"I wanted to..." -cough- "...give it to you personally," Cho wheezed.

Ginny could not restrain herself, and tears started falling. She took the piece of jewelry from Chos weak hand and looked at the pendant for a moment. It was a heart, simply cut, very small, and it had a tiny space where a picture could be inserted.

"Harry. I love you," Cho whispered.

The Boy Who Lived shed a tear. "I love you too."

Cho looked at them both one more time, coughing again, before falling into a light sleep.

As soon as Ginny returned to the Burrow, she showed them all the necklace.

"Its so sad. She looks almost normal on the outside, but she's really pale and coughing a lot," Ginny said.

"And they said what she has is uncurable?" Ron asked.

"Yes. Within a week or so her heart will stop," Harry assured them of this devastating truth.

"I'm so sorry Harry," Ginny wrapped him in a quick and friendly embrace.

There was a sudden knock at the door.

"Excuse me. May I come in please?" a muffled male voice said from outside.

"Its Colin," Ginny told Harry as she walked towards the door and opened it.

"Good morning, Gin," Colin said as he walked in. "Hello, Harry."

"Colin, Cho Chang is dying. She has a horrible disease and she only has about a week to live," Ginny said before hostilities could open up.

"Harry, I'm sorry," Colin said. He internally debated whether or not to go over and hug his old friend.

"She...she lived a good life, that's what matters, I suppose," Harry replied.

"I just talked to her, and she gave me this," Ginny said, holding up the necklace.

Colin walked over slowly and examined it. "Its beautiful."

"She got it as a gift," Harry informed. "...from me."

"Here, if you want it-" Ginny began.

"No. She left it to you; I'm not going to interfere with that. I'm sorry, I have to get back to her."

"Of course. Go," Ginny said. "Give her my best."

"And mine," Colin added.

"Mine as well," Molly said.

"And ours," the twins voiced unanimously.

"Me too," Ron piped up.

"Mine too," Mr. Weasley said as he picked up a piece of toast.

"The best from the Weasleys and Colin, got it," Harry laughed half-heartedly before Flooing away back to Cho.

"So, Colin, come to check up on me?" Ginny smirked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Yep," he said. Ginny then noticed that he had his hands clamped behind his back and had angled himself so that no one could see them.

"What are you hiding there, Colin?" Ginny asked.

"Nothing," he said quickly, but the excess of color entering his face told a different story.

"Let me see it," she persisted, brushing a few stray hairs out of her face with one hand while holding out her other, palm open, silently begging Colin to hand over his hidden item.

"Oh all right," he said. "I was going to give it to you when no one was looking."

Everyone laughed. Using this as cover, Colin, still red in the cheeks, plopped his get-well-soon card down into his girlfriends hand.

It was a piece of parchment folded in half to look like a Muggle Christmas card or something. The front had a picture of Ginny and Colin together taped on it. The small figures waved back at the real Ginny as she smiled. She opened the 'card' to read the message inside. There was a brief poem, a line or two of other text and a large, loopy signature.

The poem:

Your hair is red
The sky is blue
Ginny, dear Ginny,
I think I love you.

The lines:

I'm serious, Ginny. I've been thinking a lot about you, and I'm pretty sure that I'm in love with you.

The signature:

Signed, Colin Creevey

"Oh my god, Colin!" Ginny said, elated.

"What? Did he propose?" Ron muttered.

Ginny, infuriated, spoke an unintelligable phrase, and, without warning, bats began flying from her brothers nose.

"The Bat-Bogey Hex," Ginny explained calmly to her astounded boyfriend as her mother attempted to perform a counter-curse against her struggling youngest son.

"Colin?"

"Yeah Gin?"

"You...really love me?"

"We haven't been together very long, dating I mean, and I thought it would be awkward to just blurt out 'I love you' before I went home one night, so when this opportunity turned up, I used it," Colin replied.

Ginny grabbed Colins hand in her own. Bats had finally stopped violently exiting her brothers nostrils.

"I love you too, Colin," Ginny looked at him with her brown eyes that, according to Colin, were currently searching his very soul for any hint of fault.

"Now what?" Colin asked, chuckling a little.

"I don't know. Honestly, when this happens in the Muggle movies I've seen, I'm too busy either crying or laughing to hear what they say," Ginny joined his laughter, her soft voice sounding more melodious than ever.

"Well, I hear they usually snog a little."

Ginny grinned. She kissed him first, lightly, bringing him close to her, locked in a loving embrace. Their lips broke apart for a moment to breathe, and they looked at each other caringly.

Colin placed his hand on her face, brushing her cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too."

•Three days after the confession of love•

Ginny woke up yet again, following summer morning procedures. She was going to go out to the forest for a walk with Colin. Of course, Ron disapproved, but even he knew he was being overprotective.

When Ginny arrived at the table to eat breakfast, Harry was waiting there again. She knew what had occurred the night before the moment she looked into his emerald green eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Harry," Ginny told him.

He sniffled slightly. "There's nothing for you to be sorry about, Ginny. She died in her sleep, peacefully, like we hoped."

Everyone present had evidence of tears on their faces. Colin soon arrived, and was informed before he could even say hello of the horrible event that had taken place the previous night.

"When is the funeral, Harry?" Colin asked.

"Tomorrow. We planned it all out right after you visited, Ginny. She said she wants to be buried next to where I will be."

"We'll all be there," Molly announced.

A solemn day followed.

•Chos Funeral•

"Cho Chang was a beautiful young woman whose life was snatched from us by the unpredictable. She was kind, intelligent and caring. Her heart was as big as her mind, and both were in the right place." - Albus Dumbledore

"Cho was the lover of The Boy Who Lived, Mister Harry Potter. He was by her side the night she passed away. Her last words were reportedly the following: 'Dearest Harry, please remember me.' After saying this, she retired for the night, and went into cardiac arrest at three fifteen the following morning. She passed away mere moments after her beloved arrived, who has some words he'd like to share with us."
- St. Mungos spokesperson

"Cho Chang was the best thing that has ever happened to me. As Professor Dumbledore said, she was very intelligent. She was, truly, my motivation for continuing my fight against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Her love was the thing that fueled me to go on, one more step...I'm sorry..."

Harry stepped down from the podium in tears. Four Aurors lifted Chos casket in an honorary manner and carried it to a Muggle vehicle. From there her remains were taken to a little known graveyard in the town of Godrics Hollow.

There, in the witness of many, she was buried one vacant space from a eerie tombstone of white marble with the following engraved upon its stone:

James Potter
BORN 27 MARCH 1960
DIED 31 OCTOBER 1981
Lily Potter
BORN 30 JANUARY 1960
DIED 31 OCTOBER 1981
The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

Ginny and Colin watched with the formers family as Cho Chang was inserted into the earth. The redheaded girl sobbed quietly into her boyfriends shoulder as he watched in silence, the sole evidence of any emotion being a single tear cutting a track down his cheek.

Harry stood by the grave, unspeaking and unmoving for several minutes. After the ceremony the Weasley family went to the poor boy.

"Harry? Mate, we have to go," Ron spoke first.

Hermione Granger, who had also attended the burial, chirped in. "Harry. Come on? Are you alright?"

Harry wavered slightly in the breeze for a moment, his black hair moving slightly with it, before blinking rapidly and shaking his head.

"Whoah, guys."

"What is it, Harry?" Hermione asked, concerned.

"You-Know-Who is on his way here, and he's bringing every Death Eater he has with him!"

Looks of horror covered the faces of all present as the news spread like wildfire. Hermione went off to tell the Aurors so that they could summon reinforcements. Ron told his family, who then assisted him in warning others. Residents and visitors of Chos funeral alike either fled or stood their ground.

The towns Muggles were told that there was a poisonous gas leak and that they needed to leave immediately. They were also informed that no one was to be made known of the leak or else legal action would be taken. The Obliviatior Squad would later relieve them of such a burden as being able to recall this event.

Oddly, You-Know-Who seemed to be taking his time with arriving at the former home of his nemesis. There were no complaints there, however, of this as Muggle families drove away in their automobiles and the weaker of the wizarding population, including old Bathilda Bagshot, Apparated away in secret. Barriers were erected quickly and people were readying themselves for what could be the last fight they ever have.

Thirty-seven minutes after Harry had warned everyone of this impending threat, long black trails that resembled some dark snake cut through the air. They hit the ground in explosions, and from each one stepped a masked Death Eater. The first spell fired was a Disarming Spell that impacted one of the new arrivals, sending his wand flying. The pureblood supremacist yelled in surprise at this.

A Killing Curse flew past Colin, illuminating him in an eerie green light. It had come from the wand of Bellatrix Lestrange, who continued firing spells into the opposing crowd.

Within moments a hundred different spells, hexes and curses were flying back and forth as witches and wizards sought cover. One of the many Aurors who had arrived upon the scene was hit with the Killing Curse, and fell to the grass.

Elsewhere half a dozen Death Eaters had formed a circle and were rotating constantly, firing curses with a frenzy. Colin aimed his wand at one and yelled.

"Petrificus Totalus!"

The cloaked figure seemed to turn to stone as he dropped.

Nearby, Harry was fighting another minion of Voldemort. A Stunning Spell made quick work of the man, and The Boy Who Lived scanned the field of battle for a moment before noticing Ginny in trouble and running to assist her.

The redheaded girl was pinned down behind a brick wall by two Death Eaters who dodged all efforts by their quarry to rid herself of them.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" Harry bellowed. One of his enemies was lifted into the air, limbs flailing, and with a flick of his wand Harry sent him flying into his compatriot. Both crumpled to the ground and remained still.

Colin was fighting one of the black-hooded goons when he saw an Auror running to his side. She soon arrived and shot a Stunning Spell downrange. It hit the Death Eater full in the face. The blast knocked him into one of the craters that dotted the landscape.

"Thanks," Colin said to the woman beside him.

"Welco-" she was cut off as a Killing Curse struck her and she pitched forward. Colin whirled around to see Bellatrix pointing her wand at him, laughing.

"Well, hello there," she said tauntingly. "What's your name?"

"Colin," he answered.

"Ah, such a darling name," her black hair swayed in the breeze. "A pity...Avada Kedavra!"

Colin sidestepped this curse and ran at the witch. She looked shocked as he leapt upon her, his left fist making contact with her jaw. She fell and he followed, not missing a beat as he threw punch after punch at her face. Her nose bled as her eyes focused on him. Noticing a swift movement of her arm, Colin jumped up and threw his foot down upon it with such force that a snapping sound could be heard at the point of impact.

Bellatrix roared in anger and surprise, and brought up her other arm, scratching Colins face with her unkempt nails. He nearly fell, but instead wiped away a drop of blood with the back of his hand.

"Enjoy that?" he asked.

Before a reply, most surely one very nasty, could leave the lips of the murderous woman, Colin stamped on her stomach with his foot, shattering ribs and breaking organs. Bellatrix coughed as blood bubbled from deep within.

"By the way, Bella, Neville Longbottom says hello," Colin mocked as he repeated the same action over and over upon her chest. She coughed and stuttered, trying to make a comment, but soon her eyes glazed, she stopped twitching, and soon after she moved no more.

A number of new Death Eaters, meanwhile, had apparated into the field. As Colin took Bellatrixs wand from her dead, smashed hand, he saw Harry and Voldemort facing each other. They were silhouetted by an explosion that shook the ground and threw a few other combatants off balance.

Colin took his fallen foes wand and put it in a hiding place before taking off to find Ginny.

His girlfriend was defending a wounded Auror from a Death Eater when he arrived. He performed a quick healing spell upon the fallen man before stepping to Ginnys side and casting a Full Body Bind Curse at the dark figure. As he collapsed, the redhead turned to him.

"You alright?" she asked, looking at the cut on his cheek.

"Yeah. Bellatrix Lestrange gave me this, so I gave her a few cracked ribs," he pointed over his shoulder at the remains of the once great witch.

"Ouch," Ginny smiled. "Have you seen Harry? He saved me and I feel like repaying the favor."

"He's fighting You-Know-Who. They move around a lot," Colin replied. "Come on, Gin, Lets help this guy."

The pair lifted the injured Auror, who had been trying to heal himself, to his feet and carried him to cover beyond a brick wall.

"Thank...you," the man sputtered. He was perhaps twenty, with soft brown eyes and dark, black hair. His paled skin matched his blue Auror robes perfectly. He smiled at them briefly before they tried to heal his broken left hand, fractured rib, and sprained ankle.

"I'm Roger. Roger Bensfield," he told them as soon as he was back to full strength.

"Ginny Weasley."

"Colin Creevey."

"Thank you for saving my life," he stated as he shook both their hands.

"We try," Colin laughed.

"Hands up! Stand up!" a menacing voice yelled. A Death Eater stood behind them, having Apparated there without notice. He pointed a brown, ugly wand at them.

Roger looked at Colin and Ginny then to the ground. They both realized he was holding a brick knocked from the wall used to support him.

The Death Eater watched as the two younger ones obeyed his command and stood. The Auror remained before yelling, "Duck!"

The lovers did as told, hitting the ground right as the brick went sailing. It hit the pureblood full in the chest, and he doubled over in pain, blood dousing his black robes.

Roger conjured some ropes and tied the fallen and now unconscious figure to a nearby tree. He took the mans wand for later identification of its owner.

"Follow me," Roger told the pair who had saved him as he began to leave the scene.

The trio went back to the main battle, which was still in full swing. Bodies of Aurors, magical civilians, and Death Eaters alike were strewn across the landscape. Many were dead, others unconscious.

Among them, in an isolated part of the devastated graveyard, Colin saw the dead body of Bellatrix and the Auror woman who she had killed.

The three of them ran from duel to duel, assisting their fellows. Many Death Eaters Apparated away from the scene. This cowardice was unknown to Voldemort, who still dueled Harry.

"Your mother had the same courage you now display, my boy. But she used it for the wrong purposes. Join me and we can stop this carnage."

"No," Harry said firmly. "I will not join you here, in the place where she lays, dead because of you. I will not join you in the place my future wife is now buried. I will not join you anywhere."

"A pity, then," Voldemort said before continuing the duel with renewed vigor.

The Killing Curse collided with the Disarming Spell in a spectacular and deadly lights show. Voldemort tried to push his advantage by summoning Bellatrix, but when she did not arrive, he knew what had occured.

He let out a yell of anguish at the loss of his last, best lieutenant. He was now alone. Malfoy, Snape, Yaxley, all had either perished or fled.

By now most of the personal duels had been completed, and a crowd of Aurors and others gathered behind Harry.

A sudden flash of bright light forced many onlookers to blink several times. It was Colin, snapping a photo. His camera had never left his neck.

"Colin," Ginny scorned.

"Sorry, Gin. Old habits," he said lamely.

The fight continued until Voldemort was on his knees.

"You have lost, Harry Potter. Winning this battle will lose you the war," the Dark Lord yelled.

He then stood, lowered his wand, and Apparated from sight.

The battle-weary victors cheered loudly for a moment before getting to the sad task of identifying their dead. Many, luckily, were unconscious.

Colin walked over to the bloody corpse of the late Bellatrix Lestrange. He closed her eyes and retrieved her wand, hidden, before going to the fallen Auror who had died by the hands of the horrible woman.

She looked to be about the same age as Roger. Her large blue eyes were frozen in place forever. As Colin closed them, he was joined by Benfield, who began to sob.

"Roger. Did you know her?" Colin asked.

"Her name was June. We were due to be married a week from now."

Roger cupped his fiancees head in his hands, her long, shining blonde hair cascading down. He held her body close for a moment, now crying silently.

"I'm sorry," Colin said. "She died...fighting with me."

"She went down in battle? She always said she would," Roger spoke softly, his voice cracking slightly.

"Yeah. The last thing she did was take down a Death Eater by hitting him in the face with a Stunning Spell."

"But Bellatrix Lestrange murdered June?"

"Yes, but I fought Lestrange and ended up killing her," Colin admitted.

"Thats excellent. One less scumbag to serve Voldemort," Roger spat.

"We have to go over there. They're calling for everyone to gather."

As soon as everyone was settled, Harry stood up in front of the crowd which seemed far smaller than that he had seen before the battle.

"The current figures are twenty-one dead on our side, sixteen on theirs. We have also captured seven of them," Harry announced.

After a moment of silence, he continued.

"Several high-ranking Death Eaters were killed today, including Bellatrix Lestrange and Lucius Malfoy. The first was defeated by Colin Creevey and June Benfsield, while Malfoy fell to Roger Bensfield."

There was some applause at this. Colin recieved several thank-yous from people who had lost friends and relatives to the evil witch that he had defeated. Roger also recieved some attention, but shrugged it off as he struggled to cope with his losses.

"Unfortunately, Mrs. Bensfield was killed by Lestrange. Can we please take a moment of silence for her and for all who died today fighting Voldemort?"

A Ministry official must have written that last part; it didn't sound like what Harry would say at all, Colin thought as he complied.

After the minute of respect was complete and the identification of bodies had begun, Ginny walked over to Colin.

She kissed him lightly on the lips before asking him. "You killed Lestrange?"

"I did, but if June Bensfield didn't come when she did, I would be dead instead," he replied grimly.

"Well, Lestrange would have died too, if that happened. There wouldn't be anything left by the time I got finished with her," Ginny winked.

"Do you want to go...have lunch or something?"

Remarkably, this question did not come from Colin or Ginny, but from Ron. He was speaking to Hermione, who he'd pulled aside.

"Ronald Weasley, what kept you?" Hermione smiled at the redhead.

They marched arm-in-arm off the battlefield and Apparated.

Ginny gaped. Colin stared. Harry watched. Fred and George chuckled.

"What is happening to this world?" one of the twins asked, throwing his arms to the heavens in fake hysterics.

"Indeed, George. Our brother on a date?"

"Who would have thought?"

"Who could have guessed?"

"Hermione and Ron?"

"I suppose it's for the best..."

The pair laughed aloud at their rhyming joke while their younger sister pretended to choke.

"So, Gin? You feeling alright? That was an intense fight..."

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm worried for Roger. He lost his wife."

"What can we do?" Colin asked.

"I don't know? Buy him lunch?"

"Nah...maybe we should ask him..."

"Yeah, Colin. That's a good idea..."

The pair walked up to Roger as he handed his fiancees body over to other Aurors for proper transport.

"Excuse me, Mr. Bensfield?" Ginny asked, her voice soft.

"Yes?"

"Well, we feel bad for you, sir. We were wondering if there's anything we could do..." Colin continued.

"No, that's alright, thank you," Roger finally turned to them. His face was stained with tears and if one were to read his eyes, they would see deep pain within the poor man.

Ginny could not restrain herself, and she enveloped Roger in a hug of sympathy. He awkwardly hugged her back as Colins cheek bore evidence to his own emotional trauma.

"Gin, we have to go," Colin said after a moment. "I'm so sorry for your loss, Mr. Bensfield."

"Thank you both," he replied, now watching the clean-up operations begin in earnest. "There's going to be a brief ceremony for her Thursday. Would you mind coming?"

"Of course, sir. It's the least we can do," Colin answered.

Roger did not respond. For a tense moment the three of them stood there, the two younger ones looking at Mr. Bensfield expectantly.

"We have to be going, Mr. Bensfield," Ginny spoke up.

"Ah, I'm sorry. I lost my train of thought," Roger admitted. "Good-bye."

"Good-bye, sir," the lovers said before walking off.

"What he said reminded me that we have to go back to Hogwarts next Monday," Colin stated.

"Awwww," Ginny moaned. "I won't get to see you as much!"

"Well, you know I'll stop and make time every day to see you. We can eat breakfast together and if we have classes together we'll sit by each other. We can sneak out together and go by the lake and go with one another on Hogsmeade trips and..." Colin began, but didn't finish.

Ginny planted her soft, red lips upon his own. "I'll love you always, Colin Creevey."

"The same to you, Ginerva Weasley. Do you know why?"

"Why is that? Why do you love me?"

A momentary pause for dramatic effect.

"Because you're perfect."

Harry stood at his fiancees grave for a moment, staring at it.

"Hello, Harry," a voice said.

The Boy Who Lived looked across the grass to a girl in rather odd pink robes, which had slight stains and dirt patterns on them. Her long blonde hair highlighted her pale skin and silver eyes. She looked at Harry with a curious expression of an emotion that no one could quite place.

"Hello, Luna."

She walked around to his side, took his hand in her own, and turned her head to face him.

"I'm sorry about Cho," she said consolingly.

"Thank you."

"If you need someone to talk to, I'm here Harry."

"Thanks. Could you excuse me? I need a few minutes alone please," he replied.

"Alright Harry. Watch out for Nargles."

Harry nodded and watched as Luna skipped away to talk about some fantastical creature and where to find it. He almost cracked a smile; he'd always liked Lunas bubbly personality.

Facing reality now, he looked at Chos grave, her tombstone, although peppered with shrapnel from one explosion or another, was still visible and readable:

Cho Chang
1979-1998
Lost and loved

These words, carved intricately into the stone, seemed to be the sole proof that the beautiful Ravenclaw ever walked the earth.

•The Funeral of June Bensfield•

"We met on a warm summers day, three years ago. Our families were both out getting ice cream at the local parlor. We sat next to each other because they only had one long table left and the both of us.

I noticed her almost immediately, her hair, her eyes. I was nervous, but I spoke the first words.

I don't remember much of our first meeting, but our date was that weekend, and we had one the weekend after that, and the one after that, and before I knew it I was on one knee giving her a ring.

That was eight months ago, and because of You-Know-Who, her and I will only be united in death."

This was the speech given by Roger Bensfield at the funeral of his fiancée. Colin and Ginny, true to their word, were in attendance. Dressed in black, they had the most solemn feeling of
deja vu as a quartet of Aurors hoisted a casket and deposited it into the earth.

When everyone had left the tombstone, Colin alone went to it. He placed his hand upon her name and spoke softly.

"Thank you, June Bensfield, for saving my life. It's unfair that you had to die. You were kind and brave. The world has lost one of it's best," Colin looked at the name, forever engraved in stone. He thought of their meaning, their sole purpose the memory of someone who had given her life to protect his own.

Her murderer, Colin thought grimly, had at least followed her victim in death.

Ginny walked up to him and held his hand. He wrapped his fingers around hers, entwined into a ball. They stood there for a moment, unspeaking, before releasing hands and turning away from the marble tombstone of June Bensfield.

•Monday•

The Hogwarts Express was due to depart today, and Ginny along with her brothers, were some of the last to arrive. Barely fitting into Mr. Weasleys Ford Anglia, only suited for ten people when magically extended, Colin tagged along with them at the happy consent of his father.

As everyone slipped onboard the train, squeezing in somewhat, they chose their cabins. Luna Lovegood and Neville Longbottom were sitting by each other, hand in hand. The formers dad, Xenophilius Lovegood, waved good-bye from the platform. Luna waved while her boyfriend (for that is most surely what he was) simply nodded. He had no parents to say farewell to, only his grandmother, who also nodded.

Ginny and Colin sat down quietly, the redheaded girl waving to her mum and dad on the platform.

"Oh, hello Ginny, Colin," Luna said once the train started up, moving away from the station.

"Hello Luna, Neville. How was your summer?"
Ginny asked in return.

"Oh, just grand. My daddy and I went Nargle-searching, and Neville came along. We're dating now," the blonde informed.

"Colin and I are seeing each other as well!" Ginny announced as her aforementioned boyfriend blushed.

"Well, that's nice," Neville chimed in. "Say, what do you think of the Three Broomsticks' Butterbeer? Any better than the normal stuff?"

"Eh, I'd say it's the same. Just a lot of hype," Colin answered.

A face appeared at the door. It was Harry. He peeked in, seemingly looking at Luna before noticing Neville. His hand moved towards the handle of the door, but then he noticed his Herbology-loving friend and backed away before walking the way from which he had arrived.

"That was odd," Ginny said quickly.

Everyone, even Luna, nodded in confirmation.

"The train will be pulling into Hogwarts soon. I'm going to go put on my robes," Luna said before taking her trunk and walking off.

"I think I'll join her...no, wait, I won't join her...I'm just..I...I'm going to go," Nevilles face looked as red as one of his girlfriends radish earrings before he grabbed his own trunk and hastily followed her retreating form down the hallway.

The remaining pair laughed quietly for a moment at the expense of their friend before continuing their conversation.

Draco Malfoy, walking by and still full of himself, happened to notice this odd pairing and popped his head in the compartment.

"Well well well, look at this. A Mudblood and a blood traitor. How disgustingly appropriate," he said, grinning evilly.

"Just because you can't get a girlfriend, Malfoy," Colin retorted.

"Ouch, Draco! You need an Aguamenti for that burn?" Ginny followed up.

Shaking his head, the blond boy stepped in. "Please. I have Parkinson and every other girl in Slytherin under my thumb."

"Right...," Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Like you could get anything besides Colin Creepy and that filthy Corner," Draco spat.

To show off, Ginny pressed her lips to Colins, and the pair were locked in an embrace. Draco rolled his eyes (perhaps even more dramatically than his redheaded victim) before continuing his trip to the lavatory.

"He's real scum, isn't he?" Ginny asked.

"For sure...you meant that kiss, right?" Colin laughed.

"Want me to prove it?" she replied, her lips curving upwards.

"By all means."

They continued snogging. Luna and Neville arrived, dressed in full Hogwarts robes, upon this scene. Colin and Ginny were oblivious to this fact, and continued on.

Neville cleared his throat. Loudly.

"Nyahh!" Colin yelled in surprise. "How long...when-"

"A minute ago," Neville laughed.

Luna looked at her redheaded friend. "Neville and I haven't kissed yet."

Neville blushed. "Why did you have to tell them?"

They all laughed a little (Neville rather nervously), before trying to continue where they had left off.

They talked about rumors, their summers, disgusting flavors of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, and the upcoming year.

"Anything from the trolley, dears?" a kindly old woman asked.

"Two Chocolate Frogs and a Gummy Wand," Colin said as he handed the lady a few coins. "Keep the change."

"Thank you, dear," the woman smiled at him before handing him what he had asked for.

"Thank you...oh wait, do you have the Daily Prophet?"

"Yes I do, dear. Your change covers it," she replied before handing the young student a large stack of paper.

"Do you have The Quibbler?" Luna asked dreamily. "A few Slytherin boys stole the copy my father gave me and flushed it down the loo."

"Yes, dear. I have a subscription myself! Please tell your father I enjoyed last months article about the Nargles," the trolley lady handed the blond girl a thin blue colored magazine. "By the way, I never visit those nasty Slytherins. They don't get any candy from my trolley."

"Thank you," Luna smiled. She handed the lady a coin. "May I also get a Chocolate Frog?"

"Of course," the old woman said before complying and smiling at the group of very nice students, then continuing on her way.

"Hey guys, listen to this: 'Former Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge was found dead today in his home. He is the latest victim in a series of murders of high-ranking retired or active Ministry officials. He was reportedly tortured before his demise, which is said to have been caused by the Dark Lord himself.'"

"Fudge is dead? That's terrible," Ginny said sadly.

There was silence for a moment before Colin slumped down into his seat with a defeated sigh. "The Death Eaters are killing hundreds and the Ministry is sitting on their hands hoping it's going to blow over soon!"

"It's not fair," Ginny agreed.

"Ginny," Luna said.

"Yeah?"

"Do you love Colin?"

Cue facial coloring. "Yes. We both are in love with one another."

"Oh. What do you think of Harry popping in here earlier?"

"I think he fancies you, Luna. Sorry Neville," Ginny added as the blinds boyfriend looked at her quizically.

"Oh."

Silence, nearly complete, filled the cabin. The rickety tracks created a rhythmical pattern as the four people gradually started to do something alone.

Colin went to the window and tried to take a picture of everything outside. He soon realized he could not do so because the flash of his camera reflected off of the glass.

Luna hummed a tune to herself as she read the Quibbler upside down.

Neville whipped out a book on Herbology, but Ginny caught him looking at Luna out of the corner of his eye more than once.

The above redhead had borrowed Colins copy of the Daily Prophet, and she continued to read the article on the death of Cornelius Fudge.

They stayed isolated from one another for about ten minutes. The scenery whizzed by outside as Hogwarts students prepared themselves for the new school year.

•At The Great Hall•

The candles hovered in the air, supported only by the charms cast upon them. Below, hundreds of students filed in, taking their seats at their respective tables.

Slytherin students were especially happy; there had been another massacre. The battle over the summer and this new mass murder was apparently enough to fill their needs. Thirty-seven Muggles had died.

"This year, we face new threats, new challenges, and most importantly, a new finish. It is not the end of it all, but nor is it the beginning. is, however, the end of the start."

"Over the summer, some present have lost loved ones, including Elizabeth Fudge, Marietta Edgecombe, Ralph Bailey, Mark Bensfield and Gregory Holdeworth. They are victims, indirectly, of a new terror campaign by Voldemort to undermine the Ministry and destroy it."

"Mark Bensfield? Do you suppose he is related to Roger and June?" Colin whispered to Ginny.

"I don't know. I'll try to find out which house he's in," she replied before turning to a few of her other friends and quickly checking with her web of contacts.

"He's in Gryffindor. That's him," Ginny said quietly after a moment.

She gestured to a boy that, now that Colin looked at him, was a nearly identical, younger version of Roger Bensfield. He had the same eyes, hair, and he paid attention to the Headmasters speech with undivided attention.

"I'm going to talk to him later," Colin said.

The Headmaster continued on, noticing that a few of his students were becoming distracted but knowing exactly why as he always did. He introduced a new professor (for Muggle Music) and gave all students warnings on where they were not permitted to go.

It was, all in all, a completely normal Welcoming Feast. A poor first year was hit in the face with magically levitated pudding. The new student, in return, opened fire with half a slab of roast beef. His attacker, Draco Malfoy, didn't see it coming until it slapped him across the face, sending him hurling back onto the cold stone floor.

Ginny patted the first year, a fellow Gryffindor, on the back and laughed.

"You're in this house for a reason, apparently," she said.

The young boy colored slightly and nodded, proud to be noticed by students much older than himself.

Colin alternated between snapping photos of people eating and doing so himself. He got a particularly good shot of Malfoy with the piece of roast beef pasted on his face. He also witnessed a Ravenclaw getting in a fight with Luna Lovegood over the pudding (Luna won) and a Hufflepuff second year hurling creamed corn downwind, which ended up hitting Professor Flitwick.

"Alright, so maybe it wasn't your average Welcoming Feast. It certainly got odder when Severus Snape and Pomona Sprout found a twenty-four pack of Butterbeer God-knows-where, and somehow ended up doing a very wrong interpretation of the tango on the Slytherin table..."

"They didn't do that!" Ginny laughed. She was reading a letter Colin was writing to his dad. It was the first day of school and already people were having summer nostalgia.

"Well, what do you want me to write? 'Our headmaster talked for twenty minutes, I ate pudding, and we sang a song with a magically enchanted hat?' Two professors getting drunk sounds much more fun!"

Ginny glared.

"Alright, I'll make it boring," Colin sighed jokingly.

"You better. And besides, it should be Snape and...McGonagall!"

The pair laughed for a moment before Colin whipped out a new sheet of parchment. This time he started to write a more appropriate letter.

Just at that moment, Dean Thomas walked up and informed them of something truly terrible.

Mark Bensfield was gone. He'd been taken by odd Ministry workers dressed in blue uniforms.

"We didn't get to talk to him," Colin muttered to his girlfriend as Dean left. "And now they've probably killed him."

Colin and Ginny were out on another date, visiting the stores of Hogsmeade, especially The Three Broomsticks. They sat down at a table together, Butterbeer in front of them.

"You're bloody jokin!" Colin exclaimed.

"No, I am dead serious. When I was in the second year, I snogged..." she trailed off, looking at a moving picture on the wall.

"Oi, who was it?"

"I snogged... Dean Thomas. It was the reason we started dating later on."

"Why'd you snog 'im?"

"I don't know, he was in the Common Room when I got back from the Hospital Wing and he said he understood what happened with me opening the Chamber of Secrets. I guess I was so thankful there wasn't an angry mob waiting for me that I snogged his cheek..."

They'd both had a few Butterbeers and were slighty intoxicated. For the past few minutes they'd been telling each other their deepest, darkest secrets.

A man entered the pub dressed in Auror robes. He surveyed all present for a moment before sighting who he needed to find and walking over. He arrived at Colin and Ginnys table. The pair seemed to become sober at the mere sight of Alastor Moody, apparently out of retirement, standing over them.

"The Ministry o' Magic has asked me to collec' you, Mr. Creevey, as they think you are in some kind o' danger," the one eyed man announced.

"They are also very, as am I, to inform you o' the death of your father at ta hands o' the Death Eaters."

Ginnys heart sank as Colin began to weep. His father, an innocent milkman of all things, murdered, gone. His father, the man who had bought him the camera that hung around his neck even now. His father, so enthusiastic to hear about Ginny...

"Your professors have been told and there are other Aurors waiting outside."

"Wait, sir. What did you transform Draco Malfoy into right before the Triwizard Tournament?" Ginny demanded as she silently comforted Colin.

"A ferret. Good idea, checkin' ta see if it's really ol' Mad-Eye. You ought ta do that with everyone," Moody smiled slightly. "Ms. Weasley, you are ta travel with Mr. Creevey. Thankfully nobody in your family was hur', but your parents insisted."

Ginny thought for a moment, then knew for sure that her parents were aware of her deep affections for Colin. She continued to support her crying boyfriend as the trio left. All other patrons were silent in respect, though near the end a few yelled that the Death Eater scum would soon get theirs.

The Aurors took Colin to the Ministry of Magic headquarters, where his tearful brother Dennis was waiting for him.

"Colin!" Dennis yelped as he ran towards the camera carrier.

"Dennis, we're going to be alright," Colin said as he hugged his sibling.

The cold air of the Ministry was harsh and seemingly unforgiving. Colin noticed that the group was being tailed by a few men in blue uniforms.

The Minister for Magic, Pius Thicknesse, met the boys in his grand office. Guarded by two Ministry soldiers, it was filled with artifacts that did not look very pleasant. Ginny was held outside.

"Your father was the unfortunate sole victim of a Death Eater attack. Sadly for you in turn, you are Muggle-born, and did not show up for your interrogation as demanded."

Dennis clung to his brother as the Ministry soldiers who had been outside previously walked in and held the two struggling boys as Thicknesse stood up.

"You stole magic from a witch or wizard, then somehow gain the nerve to not only defy the Dark Lord but murder one of the greatest witches of the past century?" he yelled.

"Bellatrix Lestrange was a lying, murderous sack of troll dung, and so are you!" Colin spat.

Pius pretended to look hurt. "Oh, did your filthy father never teach you manners, Mudblood?"

"He taught me respect, honor and dignity, things you have probably never heard of!"

"Respect? You never show me, a superior being, any respect!"

"Because pureblood supremacist buggers like yourself haven't earned any respect, just the hatred of the greater population of this country!"

"I think your girlfriend might show me some respect when I'm done with her."

"What have you done with her?" Colin bellowed.

"She's safely locked away with the other blood traitors wher

e she will never be a nuisance to the world again..."

"Just. Like. You," the Minister finished after drawing in a breath, emphasizing those last three words each with a jab of his finger into Colins stomach.

He looked to his minions and gestured to the door. "Take them away."

Colin realized that he still, after all this, had his wand safely tucked away in his robes. He looked at Dennis, who looked back. Over the summer, while the Weasley clan had been away, the Creevey brothers had developed a sort of code for a situation like this. Colin took a deep breath and blew it out, then looked to the tiled floor.

As he did this, he passed Mad-Eye Moody, who was being herded away by half a dozen identical guards. Apparently there was no purpose to having him around anymore.

Colin then nodded quickly, signaling to his brother that it was break-out time. At the same time that the pair of boys were about to be taken down a thin hallway, they threw their heads forward, then back, smashing the faces of their captors.

Yelling out in pain, they dropped their prisoners, who took their wands, delivered a few kicks for good measure, and took cover as Ministry troops approached.

Colin fired a Stunner downwind, and it hit a rather tall blue-dressed guard, who dropped immediately.

The Ministry men returned the favor, and two Stunning Spells impacted into the wall near Colins face.

A Killing Curse then flew by, and the boys knew their numerically superior foes meant business.

There were about a dozen Ministry soldiers fanning out now, and Colin managed to hit one with a Full Body Bind Curse as he ran for cover.

Then, recalling a spell Harry had used in his sixth year, Colin said a single phrase that sent his enemies running as soon as they saw its effects.

"Sectumscempra!"

The spell threw its target back against a wall, where he began to bleed horribly. The man yelled in pain as his uniform darkened and his colleagues tried to perform charms to heal him.

Colin and Dennis ran down the hallway that they were supposed to have been taken, startling a few Ministry workers along the way.

They arrived at the detention block and opened the door.

"Stupefy!" Dennis yelled, pointing his newly appropriated wand at the sole guard. The brothers then unlocked the doors and organized the two dozen or so witches and wizards that had been locked up.

"Thank you," a woman said, wringing Colins hand.

"Its no trouble," he replied jokingly.

"Attention everybody. We are getting you out of here. Please follow us and exact revenge on the Ministry scum if you feel like it," Colin proclaimed.

After signaling everyone to stay for a moment, Colin grabbed the guard by the collar and punched his face. "Where do you keep the confiscated wands?"

"Over there," the man pointed at a tall cabinet that brightened up the otherwise dreary and dark prison.

The once captured Muggle-borns and "blood traitors" retrieved their wands before following their new friends out the door.

Ginny Weasley was locked up still, in an empty interrogation room. She waited for someone to enter the grey walled holding cell. When the door opened she saw not some nameless Ministry scumbag, but her boyfriend.

"Colin?" she stammered.

"Who else? Come on, we're busting everyone out!" he reassured, beckoning her to hurry. She ran over quickly and followed him and an ever-increasing crowd of freed prisoners.

After getting Ginnys wand along with those of many other former inmates from a holding room at the end of the hall, Colin gathered all the escapees together. They'd Stunned, hexxed, or cursed about three dozen Ministry employees of various shapes and sizes.

"When we get out, I want you all to gather your families and flee the country. Get to the U.S if you can; they don't have this kind of problem," Colin yelled to his fellows as he let them to the exits.

The guards there were quickly overwhelmed and even as contingents of them poured in, one by one their prisoners slipped through their fingers and into the fireplaces. Due to a new restriction and many new spells, Apparating to or from the Ministry was stopped.

As soon as the last of his convicts was safely out, Colin grabbed Ginny and Dennis, dragging them quickly past the frozen bodies of a pair of Ministry guards.

"Where are we going?" Ginny asked as the trio weaved through shocked adversaries.

"Payback time," Colin said darkly.

He kicked in the Ministers door, startling Thicknesse.

"How did you escape? Those were pureblood guards I-"

The rants of Pius were ended by the steady connection of a fist to his jawbone.

"You know something, Minister? I did that to Bellatrix as well. Then I killed her of course," Colin whispered.

"Don't kill me!" Thicknesse began to weep.

"Would you have spared my father?"

Silence.

"Didn't think so. Now watch your back Minister, because someday I might just try the new Spine to Pudding Charm I learned last week. There's no countercurse."

It was a weak threat, and Colin knew it, but it paralyzed the puppet Minister with fear and shock long enough for the three young Hogwarts students to make their getaway in Pius' personsal Floo Fireplace.

"Love, that was brilliant!" Ginny wrapped her boyfriend in a hug.

"Its not going to bring my father back," he replied grimly.

"How can we be sure? That could have been a ruse by the Ministry!"

"No. Moody told us, and he was not Imperiused. You could tell if you looked at his eyes. He was telling the truth. My dad is gone."

Ginny attempted to make some further excuse, to say that Moody was wrong and that Mr. Creevey was indeed alive and well. She could not devise one, however.

"Gin, last year my mum and dad got a divorce. My mum said she never wanted to see me again. I'm going to go to her, but if it doesn't work...can I live with you over vacations?"

"Absolutely," she reassured.

•Colins Mothers House•

He knocked on the door lightly. A woman in her mid-thirties answered.

"Mum? It's me, Colin. Dads dead."

She embraced him and brought him inside without speaking a word. As she poured tea, Colin spun the tale of the past year, including his love for Ginny, the loss of his father and her ex-husband, and his valiant attempt to rescue dozens of Muggle-borns from the Ministry.

"Colin, you can live here, leave school if you need to, but be careful. This Dark Lord sounds like someone who should not be crossed," his mum said, sipping her tea.

"I know. I won't stay too long, and my girlfriend says it's alright with her family for me to stay with them as well. They're a wizarding family who hate the Dark Lord just as much as I do. Gin is the sole girl in the family besides her mum," Colin explained as he ate a biscuit.

"Well, son, I'm here to support you. If those Death Eaters come, I..."

"Take this Floo Powder, throw it into the fireplace, and yell 12 Grimmauld Place. It shouldn't work for Muggles like you, but I've charmed it so it will."

"Alright. And Colin?"

"Yeah Mum?"

"I'm very proud of you. Your father would be too," she said. "Go on now, defeat the evil of the world."

Colin laughed a little before hugging his mum good-bye with assurances that he would visit. He then Flooed to Grimmauld Place, the HQ of the Order of the Phoenix, and met Ginny.

"I'm staying with both her and you, Gin," he informed as he brushed soot off his Hogwarts uniform, which he'd been wearing the whole time. Ginny was still clad in hers as well.

"Come on, let's go back to school. Dennis!"

"Yeah Colin?" the little boy asked from a chair across the room.

"Stay with the Order. Someone from Hogwarts will come to pick you up," Colin informed.

"Why can't I go with you?"

"Because Flooing is dangerous for kids your age. You'll have to Side-Apparate with the Hogwarts person, alright?"

"Fine...," Dennis pouted.

One after the other, Ginny and Colin threw Floo Powder into the fireplace and yelled, "Dumbledores Office!"

They arrived and waited for a moment before Dumbledore returned from a Hogwarts staff meeting.

"Ah, Mr. Creevey and Ms. Weasley," Albus said as he walked in. "I have been expecting you."

"Sir, what's happening?"

"Voldemort has completely taken the Ministry. It took him mere hours to kill Rufus Scrimegeour and replace him with Pius Thicknesse. In this time he also collected all Muggle-borns within the Ministry itself. You set them free, I heard, Mr. Creevey. You have sent a critical blow at Voldemort, because now everyone knows of his coup. His soldiers within the Ministry, several of whom were wounded today, are undercover Death Eaters and Snatchers," Dumbledore explained.

"Those men in the blue?" Colin asked.

Dumbledore nodded. "They are spies, murdering all who dare oppose their leader."

"Were they the ones who killed my father?"

"No. Your fathers murderer was a prominent Death Eater named Antonin Dolohov. He attacked Harry at a diner over the summer, and managed to escape. Though tortured and scarred for his failure, he is content with continuing a merciless slaughter of Muggles in Voldemorts name."

"That monster will pay for what he did," Colin said, fists clenched.

"Watch out, Death Eaters! Prepare to face the wrath of...Colin Creevey!" Ginny bellowed in a loud, deep voice.

Even Dumbledore smiled a bit at this; he'd never had two students quite like the ones before him.

He sent the pair back to their dormitories, then sat back, eating a lemon drop, deep in thought. Something in his mind sparked, and he fetched a dusty vial from deep within his cabinet if memories.

(At the same time)
Malfoy Mansion, sprawled out across its decorated lands as though some gargantuan marble corpse, was home to the most sinister and evil wizard since Grindelwald.

Around the perimeter strolled dozens of patrolling Death Eaters, Snatchers, and other minions of the Dark Lord.

Inside the magnificent house was a small army of identically dressed men, unspeaking, deadly, faces hidden behind silver masks. They all followed the whim of one man, one hideously mutated man, who now sat at the head of a long table. Along its sides were perhaps eighteen of his closest associates, sitting in ornately carved chairs.

Since the last meeting, during which the murder of Charity Burbage had taken place, a hundred and nineteen people had joined the Death Eaters and other organizations allied with the Dark Lord. Their numbers swelling, the purebloods had been forced to move most of their forces to a secret base underneath the mansion itself. There, nearly a thousand men, women, and other assorted servants of Voldemort lived, slept, ate, and interacted.

Voldemort held his pale hand high, signaling that everyone needed to focus on him immediately. After a moment, he began.

"Harry Potter and his fellow Mudbloods and blood traitors have once again defeated us. This is most disappointing, only made worse by the unfortunate and tragic deaths of Lucius Malfoy, Bellatrix Lestrange, and fourteen others. Although twenty-one of their own number perished, it will not be enough to defeat them. "

"Yaxley, you are our sole true field commander. We require you in the conflict ahead," the Dark Lord said after a pause.

"Yes, My Lord. I stand ready," Yaxley replied, his voice deep.

"How many troops do we have? I require exact numbers."

"Two hundred thirty nine Death Eaters, sixty one werewolves, seventy trolls, thirty-six vampires, four hundred and ninety four Snatchers, and seventy six other loyal supporters," a logistics man spoke up from at the end of the table. "Adding up to a grand total of...nine hundred and seventy six men and women, not counting todays recruits, master."

"We also have nearly that same number in extra wands, brooms, along with nearly a full metric ton of Floo Powder, fourteen sets of Disapparating Cabinets spread throughout the nation, and enough food and water for everyone present to eat comfortably for six months."

"In addition, we have a hundred captive Muggles for torture and target practice."

"Excellent. Bring me one."

The Death Eater ran off to retrieve some unfortunate victim for the Dark Lord.

Within minutes he returned with an older man who had a look of shock and horror plastered on his face. This only increased when he saw Voldemort before him, Nagini around his shoulders.

"How much money do you want?" the man asked fearfully.

"We do not want your money," Voldemort spat. "Crucio!"

The man fell to the ground, writhing in pain, twitching violently. He curled into a fetal position, shaking madly.

"Crucio!" the Dark Lord repeated.

The Muggle clawed at the floor, yelling. His eyes were closed tightly.

"What is your name, filthy Muggle?"

"Jack," the man sputtered.

"Well then, Jack. Would you like this pain to end?"

"Please. I have a wife and children..."

"Avada Kedavra!"

Dumbledore removed himself from his Pensieve. He had seen all that he needed to see. Still in his blue robes and cap, he strode out of his office, the Elder Wand in hand.

He reached the Gryffindor Common Room entrance and muttered the password quickly. As he entered, he looked at the last embers of a dying flame.

Walking up to the dormitory the student he desired to speak to currently inhabited, he thought of his own instruction at Hogwarts. He recalled briefly an event involving James Potter and Severus Snape as well, and was quite sure that it had led to their distaste for each other.

These reflections upon earlier times soon ended as Albus opened the door of the dormitory. He walked over to Colin Creevey, fast asleep, and prodded the boy lightly with the Elder Wand. He gingerly opened his eyes and saw the Headmaster.

"Colin, you must come with me immediately."

Colin nodded.

"But first we must retrieve Ms. Weasley. Would you be so kind as to go and fetch her?"

"Sir, it's just...she's in the girls dorm, sir," Colin said, punctuating this statement with a long yawn.

"I understand that, Mr. Creevey. But it would be far worse if I were to enter their dormitory at this time of night," the old Headmaster explained.

"I suppose, sir," the small boy grimaced as he climbed out of his four poster bed, being careful not to wake his peers, before sliding down the stairs to Ginnys dorm.

He cracked the door open, peeking in. The situation was grim; he didn't even know which bed was hers. With the most delicate care he could manage, he went from bed to bed, checking the hair color of each girl until he found that distinctive fiery mane that he'd fallen for so long ago.

He poked her lightly. Her eyes shot open along with her mouth, but Colin held a finger to his lips.

"Dumbledore wants us in his office right now. We need to go," he whispered.

Ginny nodded silently before slipping out from underneath her sheets. Her flowing nightdress billowed behind her as the pair ran to the door of her dorm, then to the entrance to the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Ah, Ms. Weasley. I trust Mr. Creevey had no trouble finding you," Dumbledore said as soon as the students he had sought out regained their breath and composure.

"You might say it was a close call, sir," Ginny spoke up.

"Please, follow me," the Headmaster gestured towards the flight of stairs that led to his grand office.

Once the trio arrived, Dumbledore handed them both a lemon drop as he sat down.

"Recently I checked an old memory I had obtained from a friend of mine," Dumbledore began. "It is from the Battle of the Department of Mysteries. It belonged to Luna Lovegood."

The Headmaster took the Elder Wand and pointed at his Pensieve. He said a charm, most likely of his own design, and the enchanted stone device projected an image into the air.

It showed the arch that Sirius Black had fallen into, and Harry nearly handing over the infamous prophocy to the now dead Lucius Malfoy. At the moment Harrys godfather gave the blond Death Eater a punch to the face, a boy ran in front of the person who was seeing all this. Luna, the holder of this memory, watched the boy run around the circular room until he found an exit, which he promptly used.

Dumbledore waved his wand, and the cloudy memory began to play in reverse. When it reached the moment where the boy passed Luna, the Headmaster moved his wand again, and the image froze.

Clearly visible now was the face of a terrified young man, around nine years old.

"This is Mark Bensfield. He was with his father, who was working late at the Ministry, when he took off. He found his way to the battle, and heard the first few lines of the prophocy. This is why the Death Eaters kidnapped him," Dumbledore said.

Colin and Ginny were shocked.

"Currently, every Snatcher, Death Eater, and other follower of the Dark Lord is on his or her way here. They want this memory. Evacuations are underway."

"You two are to leave the castle at once with your classmates."

"With all due respect, Headmaster, I can fight as well as any 7th year," Ginny spoke firmly.

"I have no doubt that you can, but you must go, and take Colin with you. You will be first and second on Voldemorts list of people to kill."

"Alright, but if we hear the school is in trouble, we're coming back," Colin replied, grabbing Ginnys hand.

"I appreciate the noble gesture. Now, however, you must go."

The Headmaster ushere the pair to the Great Hall, where every student and staff member minus Severus Snape was assembled.

McGonagall was giving orders, of course.

"All students under seventeen must leave the castle via the Mass Floo Network. It can take ten people at a time, and will deposit you at a safe location."

Students, some crying fearfully, gathered themselves into groups of the number their professor had told them.

Without warning, a deep voice spoke, echoing throughout the corridors of Hogwarts.

"I am here to take the memory held by Albus Dumbledore. He will personally leave the gates of your school to deliver it to me; him and him alone. Do not resist. It is pointless. You have one half hour."

First years screamed and fainted while all others began to panic. Dumbledore went to the middle of the chaos, put his wand to his neck, and bellowed in a voice seemingly supernatural.

"Students, silence! Please follow the instructions of your Prefects, who will lead you to safety via the Mass Floo Network."

He then put his wand into his pocket and walked back over to Colin and Ginny.

"Even if I give them the memory, they will still slaughter all of us. We must fight," Dumbledore informed.

Neither of the Hogwarts students had heard their Headmaster talk in such a way, and they looked at one another questioningly as they heard these words.

As the last of the younger students left, Dumbledore wrapped up a thorough explanation of the plan for the defense of Hogwarts.

"Now, please, go," he said, gesturing to the large fireplace.

"Sir, we're going to fight with you," Ginny said defiantly. Colin nodded in agreement.

"You may stay, but you must be careful," he relented.

Colin stepped forward and hugged his old Headmaster. Ginny followed. They embraced each other for a moment, the three of them, nearly family.

The professors went to the battlements with groups of older students. They knew some, if not all of them, had a short time to live. They knew, deep in their hearts, that if they died, they would have given their lives for a noble, valiant cause.

As Dumbledore once again warned two of his best students to tread carefully, he shed a single tear. It cut down his red cheek and fell to the stone of the Great Hall.

He walked away, clutching the memory Voldemort so desperately desired.

He knew what must be done.

The Dark Lord was impacient. There were only moments left in the stalemate between his forces and the rabble within Hogwarts.

In anger, he killed an unfortunate Snatcher who was waiting by him for the battle to commence. As the mans corpse hit the grass and his compatriots ran in fear, Voldemort thought of times long past.

After giving the defenders an extra two minutes, the attack began with a casting of the Dark Mark. The grey snake slithered from the jaws of its cloudy counterpart, roaring an unhearable sound.

Killing Curses, nearly a thousand of them, instantly erupted from the forest in a great, bellowing call of "Avada Kedavra!"

Some ricocheted while others hit their targets. A student collapsed from the battlements and fell many feet, already dead.

At the roar of Voldemorts command, scores of Death Eaters and Snatchers flew like the wind from the trees. Black trails, numerous and incomprehensibly horrifying, cut through the dark skies, landing in courtyards, near students and staff, and wreaking havoc.

Flames already dashed across the roof of the Astronomy Tower.

"Ready for attack run, Gold Leader," Fred yelled.

"Copy that, Gold One. Begin strafing run!" George replied.

The twins were on their brooms, dropping some of their famous products on unsuspecting enemies. Now they drew their wands and pointed them towards the ground, which they then nose-dived towards with all the precision of a real fighter plane.

Diving, the two fired Stunners like machine guns, hitting a Snatcher in the face and a robed Death Eater in the back.

"Prepare to drop payload!" Fred said to his brother as they ascended, dodging a few curses along the way.

They dropped loads of fireworks down upon theirtargets, which exploded in a mad frenzy. One low-flying rocket sent a minion of the Dark Lord to the ground as it smacked the back of his head.

Fred and George cheered and laughed before repeating their strafing runs.

"Got two on our tail!" George informed as a Killing Curse narrowly missed him.

"You distract the buggers, I'll get 'em!"

George did a complete 180 degree turn so that he faced the twin black serpents that pursued him. Going backwards, he hurled insults at them.

"Silverface! You kiss your mummy with that hood? Or did you kill her cause she's a MUGGLE?"

"I told you already, I don't care if you spent all your money on the Dark Lords spa day, I'm not givin' you any more!"

"Awww, iz the big bad Death Eater maaad? Did big bad Georgy make wou mad?"

As the henchmen of Voldemort started to get pretty upset, they were both hit by Full Body Bind Curses and spiraled to the ground.

Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley were engaged in seperate duels when, at a crucial moment in their respective fights, they backed into each other.

Using this to their advantage, they spun around in a loose and dodgy circle, firing hexes at their foes.

Luna Lovegood, her long blonde hair flowing, stood over the unconscious Snatcher that she had just defeated.

Someone tapped her on the shoulder. She spun around on her heel to face the threat, only to find Neville Longbottom.

He leaned in, she leaned. She tilted her head, he tilted his. Their lips met gently, and they held each other in their arms.

"I love you, Neville."

"I love you, Luna."

Yaxley duelled Pomona Sprout while two masked Death Eaters were fighting McGonagall.

A Hogwarts student came to the aid of each of them, and to their respective shocks, they realized their new helpers to be underaged students Colin Creevey and Ginny Weasley.

Yaxley was hit several times, shattering his wand and several bones. A trail of blood leaked from the corner of his mouth before he toppled to the ground.

One of the Death Eaters fighting McGonagall and Ginny collapsed under the weight of a levitated stone slab. The other watched in horror as he was slowly transfigured into a rather large snail.

"Ginerva Weasley! Why are you still here?" McGonagall demanded as soon as the double-duel ended.

"The Headmaster said I could stay with Colin," the redhead said quickly, scanning the area for threats.

"Very well. Where is Mr. Creevey?"

"Fighting with Professor Sprout."

"You and your pathetic boyfriend have eluded me for long enough! Now suffer the consequences!" a high-pitched voice cut through the air like lightning.

A Killing Curse narrowly missed Ginny and instead struck the Transfiguration professor next to her. Minerva McGonagall toppled to the stones, the light in her eyes fading as quickly as her life.

"Prepare for a fate worse than death! Confringo!"

Ginny stood, seemingly petrified, as the spell launched from the Dark Lords menacing wand and towards her chest, Voldemort watched, smiling evilly.

Colin leapt from just out of Ginnys view, flying in front of her to shield her from the curse. It hit him square in the chest, throwing him back into Ginny.

Harry, Ron and Hermione appeared, along with many other defenders who had won out, and faced Voldemort. Sensing defeat, many Death Eaters and Snatchers fled, leavind their dead, their wounded.

Hermione cast anti-Apparation charms as Harry walked towards his greatest foe.

"So, boy, you dare face me as well? Little Harry Potter, all alone! What's the matter, Harry? Run out of friends to use as shields?"

"You send hundreds of your own friends to kill us, then accuse me of being a coward?"

"I am more than you ever will be!"

"You are nothing but a horrible madman, and we're here to stop you!"

A Disarming Spell and a Killing Curse collided over the bodies of fallen Hogwarts students and followers of the Dark Lord. Red and green flashes illuminated the darkening remains of the once great school that was now little more than rubble and corpses.

Finally, after several agonizing minutes, Voldemort lost his final battle. The spell Harry had kept going like a raging inferno hit his body and sent him spiralling into the wall. A sickening thud reverberated around the desolate hallways of Hogwarts.

Having lost his wand, Voldemort began to call for his loyal minions to back him. None arrived. He yelled in agony, his heart pounding as he watched Harry fire that final curse. With all his Horcruxes wiped from existence, the Dark Lirds soul was trapped in limbo for eternity.

Some cheered, but most were silent.

A few respectful Gryffindors began removing the remains of their former Head of House.

Ginny crouched down next to her boyfriend. She dared not look at his horribly wounded stomach.

Hit trying to defend her from the greatest evil the Wizarding World had ever known.

He would not survive. He was the last victim.

"Gin..." he sputtered.

"Colin," she replied softly.

"I...love you...I was going...to ask after the battle...but seeing the...circumstances...I should tell you..now."

"Ginerva Weasley...would you...marry me? Quickly?"

She laughed slightly at that last joke, but the tears betrayed her.

She turned to the crowd. "Can someone perform a wedding?"

"I can," Albus said, his robes dirty and bloody.

He walked to the pair. He grimaced at Colins wound; he knew the boy would not last long.

"Ginerva Weasley, do you take this young man to be your husband?"

"I...do..."

"Colin Creevey, do you take this young lady to be your wife?"

"I..do."

"Then I pronounce you man and wife," Dumbledore completed.

Colin coughed before kissing his wife quickly; he could not even support the weight of his head with his weakening arms.

He removed a small blue box from his pocket.

"I haven't gone...anywhere without it...in two weeks," he grinned one last time as he handed Ginny the box, slowly.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

A tear cut through the blood, the grime on Colins face.

"Good-bye, Ginerva Creeveyyyyy..."

A final cough, violent, before Colin passed from this life. His eyes were open, unblinking and blind. The faintest trace of his last grin was eternally planted on his face.

Ginny wept, still in her nightrobes. She closed his eyes and gave him a final kiss.

One Year Later...

Optimism is supposed to previal
But it is tragedy that stays with us.

This was engraved upon a memorial outside of Hogwarts. Too many people had died fighting the Dark Lord in the last battle.

Minerva McGonagall
Dean Thomas
Lavender Brown
Filius Flitwick
Fred Weasley
Horace Slughorn
Marcus Belbey
Draco Malfoy
Remus Lupin
Tonks
and over fifty others

Ginny traced her fingers across the name of her husband.

Colin Creevey, the final victim of a terrible war.

Colin Creevey, the only man ever truly loved by his wife.

And so this story has run full circle. It began with love, and so it ends with love.

Love for one another, love for all. An everlasting bond.

Ginerva Weasley.

Colin Creevey.

Two people, lovers in dark times, the stars of an epic tale cut short. Far too short.

The End