It was over. The war was won and now everyone could get on with their lives. It would be harder for those who lost someone in the battle, but eventually, they would move on too.
Harry Potter, the boy who lived, the boy who had just killed the Dark Lord, was thinking about it all, as he walked into the Great Hall, in search of his two best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. He was also looking for Ron's sister, Ginny. He was thinking about when and how he would move on, as he searched with his eyes for his friends. When he saw them, he walked in their direction. They were sitting with Ron's family, all of them silent, just enjoying being all together again. They were also all mourning the loss of Fred Weasley, Ron's older brother.
As he walked towards them, with his gaze on the stone floor beneath his feet, Harry shook all of the thoughts from his head. His gaze come up for a moment, to scan the group of red heads, looking for a certain red headed female, who he was longing to see.
Now, he wasn't thinking about talking to her, not just yet, but he wanted to see her with his own eyes, see that she was alright.
His eyes scanned over each Weasley member, but there was only one red headed female sitting in the group, and that was Mrs. Weasley.
Harry frowned as he reached the group, all of their eyes shifting over to look up at him.
Mr. Weasley stood up, crossing the short distance between Harry and himself. He held out his hand to Harry. Harry raised his arm up and gripped Mr. Weasley's hand, shaking it.
Mr. Weasley sniffed and let go of Harry's hand. "I just wanted to thank you, Harry, for defeating the Dark Lord. For other things too, but I won't get into those right now."
Harry ran a hand through his messy, jet black hair. "I'm just glad that it's all over now, Mr. Weasley."
Arthur nodded. He was about to saying something in response, but he was interrupted by his wife, Molly. She had stood up, rushed over to Harry and grabbed him, pulling him into one of the tightest hugs ever.
She tried to speak, but all that came out of her mouth were sobs. Even though she couldn't say what she was wanting to, Harry knew. He knew that she was thanking him too; for winning that battle, for saving them all from evil, for being alive, for keeping them all alive. Harry also knew that there was so much more to what she was thanking him for.
When Molly pulled away, Fleur was waiting to pull him into a hug of her own. She held onto him tightly, but not as tightly as Molly had. He patted her gently on the back, returning her hug.
Once Fleur had pulled back, he held up his hand, which stopped the remaining red headed males from getting up to shake his hand. "You don't have to thank me. I already know. But, I should apologize, for everything. I'm sorry that you had to meet me. I'm sorry that because you met me, I put you all in danger. I put Ron in loads of danger, from the day he met me up until this very minute. I endangered you all and I'm truly sorry for all of it. I'm sorry that Fred is gone, because of me."
George stood up abruptly. "What kind of bullocks is that? You weren't the reason for what happened to Fred. You didn't cast a curse that bounced around and blasted down the wall. It wasn't your fault, Harry. You must know that I don't blame you for this. I don't blame anyone except that damned Death Eater."
Harry's gaze dropped to the floor. George walked over to his and put his hand on Harry's shoulder. He gave it a squeeze and then went back and sat down, his hand finding its way into his messy orange hair.
There was a good bit of silence amongst the group for a good few minutes. Arthur and Molly had both sat back down, when Harry asked, "Has anyone seen Ginny?"
Charlie was just about to answer Harry's question, when a voice from behind him said, "I'm right here."
Harry turned around and looked straight into the red headed female's brown eyes.
It took him a second to realize that Neville and Luna were standing on either side of Ginny. Harry nodded a hello to each of them, before looking back at the girl he loved.
They stared at each other for a few moments, a smile creeping up on Ginny's lips. Harry was just about to go in for a hug, when all of a sudden Neville, Luna, and Ginny disappeared.
Gasps came from all of the Weasley's behind him. "Where'd they go?" Harry heard Ron ask from behind him.
Harry turned to look at him, a confused and concerned look on his face.
The trio landed on the floor, with a 'thump'.
Neville groaned, rubbing his head. "What just happened?" He asked, opening his eyes and looking around. He saw that Luna was already up and looking around too. "I don't really know, but I think we're in the Shrieking Shack." Luna said, her voice hitting Neville and Ginny's ears in a whisper.
Neville pushed himself off of the floor and dusted off his torn pant legs.
Ginny was still on the floor, on her knees, her gaze traveling all over the room, when the trio heard a psychotic laugh, bouncing off the walls of the shack. Ginny pushed herself up onto her feet, her fingers wrapping around her wand, which was resting in her jean's pocket. She noticed that Neville had his wand already drawn and searching for the person from whom the laugh had come.
Luna, like Ginny, had her hand on her wand, ready to draw it the second it was needed.
"Looks like our favorite students have just walked into a trap." A voice laughed, echoing off the walls. None of the three teenagers could tell where it was coming from.
"Carrow…" Ginny said, gritting her teeth and drawing out her wand, having it at the ready.
"Oh, Miss Weasley, it's such a pleasure to see you again and Mr. Longbottom and Miss Lovegood as well." That was the male Carrow. Ginny was slowly creeping towards the doorway, trying to peek out into the hallway, looking to see if either of the siblings were directly out there.
"Ginny!" Neville hissed, reaching to grab Ginny's arm and yank her back. She moved her arm out of his reach at the last second and kept going towards the doorway.
She was almost there, when the male Carrow appeared in the doorway. Luna gasped, as Ginny jumped, talking a step back, to get a bit more distance between herself and the Death Eater.
The male Carrow laughed and walked towards Ginny, causing her to step back with every step he took forward. He kept moving towards her until her back hit the wall.
A gasp escaped Ginny's lips when she felt the wall come in contact with her back. She glanced behind her, hoping that she wouldn't really see the wall there, but it was. Her panicked eyes shifted back to the male Carrow. She swallowed hard, as he stood right in front of her. Her eyes slide closed and she squeezed them shut as tightly as she could, when he grabbed a lock of her long, orange, matted hair.
"Don't touch her, you bastard!" Neville shouted, his wand aimed at the male Carrow's back. He was just about to cast a spell, when he felt something grab the back of his head and jerk him down.
"No you don't, Longbottom. We've got a job to do and you aren't going to ruin it, before it even gets started!" It was the female Carrow.
The male Carrow glanced over his shoulder, smiling a twisted smile at his sister, the lock of Ginny's hair still between his filthy fingers. His gaze shifted over to the blonde girl, who was knocked out, probably via his sister. He laughed, loving that they could cast nonverbal spells on the unexpected.
The male shifted his nasty eyes back to Ginny, who still had her eyes squeezed shut. He closed his and leaned in, sniffing her.
Ginny shuttered, hating that he had her in such a terrible spot.
His lips found their way up to her ear, and he smiled while he whispered, "Are you scared?"
Ginny's hand clenched into fists. "Why would I be scared of you? I believe that I've proven that I'm not scared of you multiple times over this past year."
He pulled back, that nasty smile still on his lips. "I don't think you're telling the truth, Weasley. You're about to know true fear though." He cackled, taking a few steps back. His sister laughed with him, pulling hard of Neville's hair. "Watch this, boy. You'll love what my darling brother is about to do to her."
Neville struggled against her, trying to break out of her grasp so that he could help Ginny. "Leave her alone! You touch her and I'll kill you!"
The siblings both laughed, their laughter bouncing around the room. "We'll see about that, tough guy." The female said.
The male Carrow raised his wand, drawing in a deep breath. He said nothing out loud, but green sparks flew out of his wand, hitting Ginny straight in the chest. She went down on the floor, a gasp lingering on her lips, eyes still squeezed shut. Once she hit the floor, he eyelids relaxed, her lips parted.
"No! NO! Ginny! Ginny, get up! Please, Ginny! GET UP!" Neville shouted, tears filling his eyes.
The siblings' twisted laughter filled his ears once again. "What are you going to do now?" The female asked, her laughter so loud that Neville thought his ears might bleed. Her laughed died abruptly though, and her grip on Neville released.
Neville stood up, and looked down at the now unconscious female Carrow. Her brother was staring at her, baffled. He dropped to the floor a moment later, his head hitting the flood with a sickening 'crack'.
Neville looked up and saw that Luna had regained consciousness and had her wand arm up in the air.
A split second later, Neville whipped around and rushed towards Ginny. She was lying on the hard floor, unmoving. His eyes were filling up with tears, as he rolled her onto her back. "Ginny… Please, you have to wake up. Please."
Luna was sitting next to Neville a moment later, a hand resting on his shoulder. She sniffled as she told him, "I've sent a message up to Hogwarts. They'll be coming soon."
Neville nodded, rubbing his left hand over his eyes, trying to brush the tears away. He had to be strong, he knew that.
Kingsley arrived with several Aurors following behind. When they stepped into the room that Neville, Luna, Ginny, and the Carrows were in, he froze. His eyes landed on the siblings, both knocked out thanks to Luna, then over to the trio of teenagers. He could only see Neville and Luna, their backs facing him. His brow furrowed when he didn't see Ginny.
Kingsley ordered the Aurors to take the two Carrows and head back to the Castle. He stood in the same spot until they were gone, then he walked over to the teens.
He crouched down and asked, in a whisper, "Neville, Luna, what happened?" He couldn't see what the two were bent over, but he was starting to get a pretty good idea.
Neville pulled back a little bit and looked at the new Minister of Magic, his eyes red and tears still filling his eyes. "He hit Ginny with the killing curse. He didn't say it verbally, but I know that's what it is. It can't be anything else. She's dead…"
Luna patted Neville on the back, tears spilling from her eyes as well. She looked up at Kingsley and said, "We should get her back to the Castle. They'll want to know."
Kingsley closed his eyes. He didn't like that he was about to tell Arthur that his youngest child and only daughter was dead. It wasn't something a friend should have to tell their friend, especially since he had already lost one child.
Kingsley stood up, saying, "Yes, we should be going back. I'm sure your families are worried about you."
Luna was the next to stand. She held out her hand to Neville, waiting to help him stand up.
Neville pushed her hand away though. He stood up, and then leaned down, picking Ginny up off the old, dusty floor. "I want to carry her, if that's alright?" He whispered, looking at Kingsley. When Kingsley nodded, Neville slowly walked towards the door.
He paused in the door way and glanced back at the Minister and his blonde haired friend, a confused looked on his face.
"What is it?" Luna asked, taking a few steps towards him, with Kingsley following.
Neville's lips moved, but the words didn't want to come out. He swallowed hard and took a deep breath, trying again. "Her heart is still beating… I can feel it."