Blood. There was blood everywhere. Ginny could smell it, feel it. She hadn't been supposed to come back. But then, neither had Colin – neither had Dennis, and they were both dead, lying behind her, ready to be carried in. She could feel her mother's protective arm around her, but it provided none of the warmth it usually did. She had passed several bodies already, Lavender, Ryan Vance, Romilda Vane, Remus and Tonks, Padma Patil. It must be so much harder to lose a twin, she thought absently. Lavender's head had been barely connected to her body, her throat ripped out, most likely by Greyback. Ryan and Romilda had been barely recognisable, turned inside out, they're pink fleshy heads hanging at odd angles. Their mouths had been torn at the edges, leaving them to hang open in twisted parodies of smiles. And Romilda's long, thick hair had hung out of her mutilated mouth, identifying her.
Remus and Tonks had been carefully placed beside each other, and Ginny could feel her eyes pricking with tears that wouldn't fall when she thought of little Edward, at home with his grandmother, innocently unaware that his parents had just been brutally murdered, and he was now an orphan of war, just like Harry.
"Mum," her voice was thin and scratchy. Molly tore her eyes from where she had been looking at Charlie Vane, fourth-year brother of Romilda who had sneaked back and was supporting a large hole in his chest where it looked like his heart had been ripped out by a vicious spell and turned them to Ginny.
"Mmmm?" Said Molly, as though it was the most casual thing in the world. She didn't trust her voice.
"Thanks," She had realised that she had never thanked her mother for all that she had done over the years. If she didn't say it now, she might never get to. She had only said one word, but her mother smiled a tight-lipped, understanding smile, tears filling her eyes and she nodded. Ginny waited a few moments before speaking again.
"Mum?" Molly answered in the same fashion as before. "I'm going to marry Harry someday. When Voldemort's gone. We'll have children. Maybe two or three. And we're going to grow old together, you know? We're going to watch our children and then our children' children, and maybe even their children grow up." She paused, stumbling over her words. "I love him, Mum, and he's going to do it. Harry's going to save us all. He's got to." The last part was whispered, and her eyes stung again, but there were no tears to cry. She turned to Molly, but the woman had stopped suddenly, her eyes bright and a hand clapped across her mouth.
"Mum?" Ginny asked, but Molly didn't answer, her eyes now glassy. "Mum?!" Still, nothing could coax the woman into moving. "Mum!" Slowly, Molly shook her head and a few tears fell, sprinkling down her cheeks. She began to run, run towards the back of the hall faster then Ginny had ever seen-
And there it was. In the back corner of the hall stood a group of unmistakable redheads. They were crowded around a tall body and as Ginny took a few fast steps forward she could see the body had her ginger hair. Crouched over him at the head was another body. Closer still, Ginny could see her mother approaching them. A few more steps. The two boys on the floor were identical-
"Fred!" The name tore from her throat before she could stop it. How she knew which twin was lying motionless on the floor she would never be able to say. A few people turned to look at her, throwing sympathetic looks her way, but Ginny barely noticed them. She broke into a sprint, tripping over herself as she went; hoping beyond hope that it was just a bad injury. She reached the small group, Bill sobbing into Fleur, who was missing three fingers and whose delicate hair was singed at the tips. Arthur was grasping at the wall for support, an open wound that would scab and scar clearly visible along the back of his head. Molly now lay across his chest, shaking. Ginny collapsed beside her and George, shaking, but not crying like her mother. She looked up to where George was sitting, Fed's head in his lap, stroking his dead brother's hair. George wasn't crying, but shaking his head slowly, denying the situation. Fred was smiling, like he had been paused, mid-laugh. As she threw an arm around her mother, Arthur stumbled over to them, kneeling behind Molly, stroking her hair, and Ginny could now see the tears that cascaded down his cheeks from behind his rusty, broken glasses. Percy, who had been standing behind Bill before, came and hugged her from behind, wetting her hair.
"G-George?" She choked, and when he looked up and she saw his wide, haunted eyes, the tears came. Slowly, at first, and then the sobs came, wracking her body from head to toe, and cracking her heart with each one. George shook his head at her, a few tears falling from his eyelashes and she reached for him.
The embrace lasted a long time. She hung there, shaking into the body of one half of her twins. George buried his head in her hair and cried. He didn't speak, only sobbed, his whole body quivering continuously. Ginny was hit with big sobs that shook her whole body, clawed at her soul, cracked her heart, dissipated her thinking and drained her energy. After several minutes they pulled away, the tears stopping, though the shivering continuing for George as he kissed Ginny gently on the cheek and lent back over Fred. Ginny stood up, giving a small smile to Bill and Fleur and backed away a little, so that she couldn't see Fred's smiling face.
Hermione and Ron joined them a moment later, Hermione drawing them into a hug. She didn't hug back, but Hermione seemed to understand. She held her there for a moment, not saying anything. She didn't give her meaningless pity, and Ginny was grateful for that. 'Sorry' couldn't bring Fred back. Ron hugged Percy, but stood back, a few silent tears spilling down his cheeks. Harry wasn't there.
McGonagall gave Ginny a sad smile and a small hug as she passed her, heading to the front of the castle. They had heard Voldemort's army approaching again, as was expected. Harry would never hand himself in. The remaining fighters were saying goodbye to their deceased loved ones and heading out again. Ginny, Ron, Hermione and George stayed behind with Fred. After a moment, she and Ron shared a look, and Hermione, Ron and her stood, turning and walking towards the doors of the Great Hall. To their surprise, George raised himself, laying Fred's head carefully on the stone floor, and followed them. They stayed silent.
"NO!" The terrible animal scream echoed through the Hall and the remaining survivors still in the hall looked to each other a moment before sprinting to the door in union. It was McGonagall's voice, and Ginny had never dreamed the woman was possible of making such a sound. Then,
"No!" Ron.
"No!" Hermione. Ginny looked up. Voldemort's army was gathering behind him and the villain was smiling as though he knew something they didn't, absently stroking his snake with a single pale finger. Hagrid was their prisoner, held by large ropes. The strange thing was, his hands weren't tied. Instead, he seemed to be carrying something... a body, perhaps, with a small frame and dark hair-
"Harry!" She cried, her heart torn in half for the second time that day. She had half expected him to hear her, to leap up; say he was okay, that it was just a joke, but he didn't move.
"HARRY!" She, Ron, Hermione and many others cried out - she couldn't be certain after her first cry if the rest was intelligible words. She could hear George, Percy, Bill, Fleur and Oliver Wood behind her, and the dull roar of anger from the crowd. Harry had carried Colin Creevey into the hall. He couldn't be dead. Their whole side was in an uproar, calling and screaming abuse at the Death Eaters.
There was a loud bang and a blinding flash as Voldemort called for silence, and Ginny found that she could no longer scream and holler. With dull realisation she noticed Bill and Fleur had their arms around her, holding her back. She must have tried to run for Harry at some point. Hagrid lay Harry down at Voldemort's feet, and Ginny cried out again, in silence. She didn't listen to Voldemort, rather screaming abuse at him that he couldn't hear. But she heard Ron's cry.
"He beat you!" And suddenly her voice was her own again, and the defenders broke out into an angry roar. BANG! Voice gone, Ginny shrank back into Bill and Fleur, who wrapped their arms around her comfortingly. What had happened? Why had he given himself up? Didn't he care for any of them? Didn't he care for her? What about their future? She had just decided her life, but now it made no difference. He wasn't there anymore. Ginny was shaken from her wild thoughts as she heard Neville's defiant cry.
"Dumbledore's Army!" She answered with many others. Her voice was cracked and her throat was dry, but the pain felt good. The cry sparked something inside her - fight, revenge, hope; she wasn't sure, but she grinned wildly as she saw Neville up the front, standing up to Voldemort himself, even though a flash of worry sped through her veins. And then her heart stopped for the third time that day. How many times could a heart be broken before it stopped working altogether? She couldn't lose any more people. Voldemort had cast a body bind on Neville and was forcing the sorting hat over his eyes. He smiled and said something that Ginny didn't hear, and flicked his wand. Neville was on fire.
Ginny screamed. It was silent, but she couldn't keep her mouth closed and watched with horror, unable to rush to her best friend's side. Hot tears slid down her cheeks unnoticed. Neville stood rigid, unable to move, the sorting hat atop his head aflame. Suddenly, everyone around her began to move, ready to fight, but she stood rooted to the spot, screaming, the sound no longer silenced. Neville was going to die. Percy gave her a sharp nudge as he passed by and she closed her mouth abruptly, and shook her head, sending a cascade of angry tears down her cheeks. She rushed forward to help him, but Neville suddenly broke free of his body bind and tore the hat from his head, reaching into it to pull a large sword from its midst. Lunging forward in a single, fluid motion, with a grace Ginny never expected to see from the boy, Neville sliced off Voldemort's snake's head, and it spun high up in the air, arching towards Voldemort. Voldemort's mouth opened in a scream of fury as the snake's head landed at his feet and the body at Neville's. Smiling somewhat manically, Ginny suddenly remembered why they had gathered and her smile froze and she turned to where Harry's body was lying on the grass. He wasn't there. She opened her mouth to say something, but Hagrid beat her to it.
"HARRY! HARRY – WHERE'S HARRY?" The quad broke out into chaos, people and animals were fighting and they were driven into the hall.
...
"Reducto!" Cast Ginny and a Death Eater on her left turned to dust. How there were any tears left, she couldn't say, but they flew off her cheeks as she ran. She cast the jelly legs at one who was about to curse Parvati, who then flicked her own wand and the Death Eater crumpled. Kingsley and McGonagall were fighting Voldemort, and Ginny watched while she ran as Slughorn came to their aid, still in his emerald green pyjamas. George and Lee tackled a Death Eater to her left and Ginny smiled in spite of herself. To her right; Hermione, Luna, Terry Boot and Michael Corner were battling Bellatrix. Spells flew, and lights flashed. She was winning.
Terry went down just as Ginny joined the fight with a powerful Reducto that she sent spiralling towards the crazy witch. Bellatrix's eyes flicked to Ginny with a snarl, she had blocked it, but only just. Taking down Michael, she directed more and more of her spells towards Ginny, and she was at least equally matched to the three of them. They were fighting a losing battle. Bellatrix sent a jet of green light towards her, and she dodged to the side but tripped over Michael's body. She felt the curse speed beside her, barely an inch from her face. Yelling something intelligible, she shot another curse at Bellatrix, but it was clumsy and blocked easily. And then-
"NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!" The three girls and Bellatrix turned to the figure hurtling across the hall towards them. Molly Weasley dropped her cloak to the floor as she ran, looking murderous.
"OUT OF MY WAY!" She called to the three of them and they were swished to the edge of the hall as she began to duel. It quickly became clear that Bellatrix was finally evenly matched, as a snarl of concentration had now slipped on to her wicked face. Ginny had never seen her mother duel, but she was glad she would never be on the opposite side. There was no doubt that they were fighting to kill. Ginny ran forward again, but, like many other helpers who tried to come to Molly's aid, was thrown back without a glance.
"No! Get back! Get back! She is mine!" All the other duels had stopped besides Voldemort's and the two women. People stood at the edges watching them with fascination. Bella taunted Molly, but it only seemed to further Molly's resolve, and she put more effort into her spells, making them harder, faster, more powerful.
"You – will – never – touch – our – children – again!" Screamed Molly, each word punctuated with a curse. Bellatrix laughed manically, seeming exhilarated by the fighting. Ginny retched, and she felt Luna's hand on her back. Ginny looked at the girl instead of the fight. Her dirty blonde hair far dirtier than it should have been. Ginny felt the sudden and overwhelming love for her friend, and she turned back to the fight, wiping the fresh tears away.
The smile still etched on her face, the Death Eater's eyes widened as a hex hit her directly over her heart and she froze for a moment. Then she crumpled to the ground, finally beaten. Molly had one. There were cheers, but they were drowned out by Voldemort's roar of fury. It was odd. A silent yell, and yet it seemed to drown out all other sounds in the room. Ginny's ears rang, and she fell into Luna, who stumbled at Ginny's weight but managed to hold her up.
It happened in an instant. Voldemort flicked his wand, sending his duelling partners flying, raised his wand towards Ginny's mother, and Ginny leapt forward. Luna, beside her, and Hermione too. Several others but Ginny hardly noticed. Her wand was out, but before she could even land, before Voldemort could cast the curse, there was a cry of Protego from across the room. Ginny landed and spun around to search for the source of the spell, and suddenly there was Harry, pulling off his invisibility cloak. Ginny felt Hermione grip her hand. She felt like laughing and had to stop herself from doing so. Instead, she cried out his name in immense relief, squeezed Hermione's hand tighter, reached to hold Luna's, and watched Harry's eyes flick to her briefly. He's alive. And that was all she needed.