The Price of Victory, chapter 1

A/N: I was not going to start a new story, I swear! But this darned plot bunny would not leave me alone!!! It's not my fault, really…This fic has nothing to do with my other stories. Standard disclaimer applies: I don't own the characters or the setting; JKR owns all that. I'm not even sure I own the plot…Please review.

Ginny watched Harry as he slept, his head pillowed in her lap. She brushed his unruly hair back from his forehead, exposing his scar for the briefest of moments. A year ago she would never have thought she'd ever have the privilege of being with him like this. A year ago, he'd not yet begun to notice her.

And by tomorrow, it might all be over. He was going out to face Voldemort in the morning. He'd told her so earlier, and so they'd spent what might easily turn out to be their last evening together sitting up in the common room, loath to leave each other, until Harry's head had slumped over onto her shoulder. She had shifted until he'd come to rest in her lap, as he was now, his face calm in repose, completely belying the confrontation that would take place with the dawn.

Ginny did not feel tired yet. She was content to sit up and remember. Harry had finally taken notice of her last summer, when he'd come to the Burrow. It hadn't been much, but after years of burying her feelings, it had been enough to give her hope. She had caught him looking at her on more than one occasion. Simply looking. And then he had gone seemingly out of his way to include her. Granted, Ron had been doing more and more things with Hermione that did not include Harry: going for walks together, taking her on picnics… Ginny had come upon them snogging on more than one occasion, and she told herself that Harry was merely feeling left out and that was the reason he had sought her company.

As time passed, and they returned to Hogwarts for Harry's final year, Ginny had begun to suspect she'd been right and Harry had merely been passing the time with her. They'd fallen into a routine of classes and studying, as the seventh years prepared to take their NEWTs, which had greatly reduced the opportunities to socialise. And that didn't take into account any Death Eater threats, of which there had been an alarming amount. Ginny herself had had more than enough work to do to keep her occupied without having to worry about her lack of a love life. But on occasion, she'd still caught him staring, when he thought no one else was watching.

And then came the Christmas holiday. Ginny gave a sigh of contentment as she thought of it. Nothing out of the ordinary had happened until one particularly bright day between Christmas and New Year's. There was where it had begun: at that table over there. Ginny could just turn her head and see the table she'd been sitting at, trying to study…

~*~

Ginny slammed the book she was reading shut. She was trying to study but could not bring herself to concentrate; it was just too quiet. Most Gryffindor students, and indeed most of the school, had gone home for the holiday. In fact, she was the only sixth year girl to have stayed. Harry, had stayed of course, as he always did, and Ron and Hermione had stayed along with him, although they'd spent more time in each other's company than with Harry. The common room was deserted now, and the sunny day beckoned to her. It really was too nice a day to be indoors studying. Ginny took her books up to her dormitory and got her cloak out. The fresh air would do her good.

As she returned to the common room, she ran into Harry, who had obviously just come in from outside. His cheeks were red from the cold, and his cloak was covered in snow. He must have been throwing snowballs with Ron. But her brother was now nowhere to be seen.

"What have you been up to?" she asked with a smile.

"Snowball fight," was his reply, "but Ron decided he had better things to do." He sounded as if he'd rather still be out there.

"Did his idea of better things to do include a trip to the library?"

Harry laughed. "Yeah, it did. Honestly, there's still a good hour or two of daylight left, and he decides to spend the rest of the day in the library."

"And I don't suppose Hermione had anything to do with his sudden desire to study?"

"Got it in one."

"Well, I was about to go out for some air myself, if you're not ready to come in yet."

Ginny didn't expect him to take her up on her offer, but he did. He turned around without the slightest hesitation and climbed back out of the portrait hole. Ginny followed him without a word.

It was one of those perfect winter days, when the air is crisp and cold, and the sky the bluest it can be. The sun shone brightly but without warmth, causing the snowfields on the Hogwarts grounds to sparkle like diamonds in the light. As soon as they were away from the school, Ginny bent down and swiftly made a snowball, which she let fly. It missed Harry's face by the narrowest of margins. Harry soon retaliated, but it seemed to Ginny he wasn't really aiming to hit her. She, on the other hand, used to avenging herself on her older brothers, gave no quarter, and she got in quite a few good hits, before Harry began to fight back in earnest. He began a merciless barrage, advancing on her as he threw snow, and forcing her to duck so often, she could not defend herself. The next thing she knew, he was standing in front of her. She tried to back away, but somehow a tree had found its way into her path, and she was trapped.

"Do you surrender?" Harry had an evil-looking grin on his face and a handful of snow. She knew he would wash her face with it; she could tell from his demeanour that he would.

"Never!"

She watched, as almost in slow motion, his hand moved up to shove the snow into her face. Years of fighting with her older brothers had allowed her to anticipate his move, and she ducked under his arm at the last possible moment. He pitched face first into the snow, but stood up with a roar almost immediately. And then he was chasing her across the grounds, his long legs quickly closing the distance between them. She shrieked as he caught her around the waist and spun her around in a whirl of flying hair and billowing black cloaks.

"Now I have you!" he shouted in triumph. "You're my prisoner!"

She struggled half-heartedly in his grasp, giggling, not entirely sure she wanted to escape. Then their eyes met and their smiles faded from their faces in the same instant. They stared at each other, Harry's green eyes flashing good-naturedly at her, as the moment stretched out, and they caught their breaths. Then it seemed as if Harry suddenly realised he was holding her about the waist. Without a word, he let his arms drop. Ginny sighed resignedly and began to walk back towards the school.

Harry fell into step beside her. She noted that he was walking closer to her than was really necessary. Their hands brushed. Then it happened again, and Ginny got the distinct impression that it wasn't an accident. She decided to test him, and gave him a playful nudge to the side, pushing him off the path. She was quite happy with his reaction: he nudged back. The were soon involved in a friendly shoving match which lasted until a giggling Ginny landed on her rump in the snow. For an instant she seemed to step outside herself and looked down on the picture she made in the snow, her red hair and black cloak creating a contrast with the field of white. She saw Harry reach out a hand to help her up. With a mischievous grin, she took his hand and pulled him into the snow beside her.

Before she could stand up and run, Harry had her again, pinned down beneath him, his hands holding her forearms above her head.

"Now I have you right where I want you," he crowed. "Just try and escape this time!"

Ginny shivered, but it wasn't from the cold. There was something about seeing him loom over her like this that made her breath come in shallow gasps. She tried to move tentatively, but it was useless. He had managed to fairly immobilise her.

"It's no use. You've caught me fair and square. Do your worst." What had possessed her to say that? Harry's gaze on her was inscrutable. Then he seemed to come out of a dream and stood up, reaching out his hand to help her up. Ginny hesitated before taking it. After all, she'd just pulled him into the snow. If he were one of her brothers, he'd find a way to retaliate for that trick. But Harry was not one of her brothers, and he helped her up without a word.

When she was standing beside him, he did not release her hand immediately. She looked into his eyes and held his gaze. Something she saw there must have emboldened her, for she suddenly felt as if she needed to act, and now, or else this moment would be irrevocably gone as the last one was. She leaned towards him, intending to kiss the corner of his mouth, but at the last moment, he turned and kissed her full on the lips.

It was a fleeting kiss, begun and ended in less than a second, but Ginny did not mistake the electric current that flowed through her at the brief contact. Harry must have felt it as well, for his hands were at her waist again, drawing her closer. The second kiss lasted longer, and Ginny willingly parted her lips when she felt his mouth open under hers. The taste was sweeter than she'd imagined. For she'd hoped and prayed this day would come for years, and now that it had, she wanted to imprint the memory indelibly on her brain. She never wanted to forget this moment.

Harry pulled back from her. She could see his breath coming in shallow pants on the frosty air. "I'm sorry," he said at last. "I shouldn't have done that."

Ginny's jaw dropped in shock, as his words registered and all her fantasies came crashing down. Then she saw red. She gave his shoulder and angry shove, sending him sprawling to the ground once more. "How dare you? How dare you snog me senseless and apologise? What the hell have you got to apologise for?"

Harry remained where he was in the snow. He had the grace to look contrite. "I didn't mean to do that. I mean, I wanted to. I've wanted to since last summer, but you weren't supposed to know.

"What wasn't I supposed to know?"

Harry stared at the ground and muttered something inaudible.

"I didn't hear that."

Harry looked up at her and held her gaze. "I said, you weren't supposed to know I had feelings for you." His face was turning a dull red before her eyes.

"Why?" she asked simply.

"I didn't want to put you in danger." His eyes continued to hold hers. "If I let this be known, I'd put you at risk. They could use you to get to me. I won't let them do that." His voice was quiet but forceful.

"And what if I'm willing to take that risk, Harry?" Her voice was steady, and that surprised her. It was the closest she'd ever come to stating her feelings for him aloud.

"I didn't want to ask that of you, Ginny."

She swallowed and gathered her courage. "You haven't. I'm offering."

Harry stared at her for the longest time, then he got up. He stood before her and took her hands. "If anything happened to you, I couldn't live with myself. Something is going to happen this year, I can feel it. I have no right to ask this of you, but will you wait for me? I can't make you any promises, but I don't feel right about starting anything until the danger from Voldemort is past."

Ginny shuddered at the name. "But we don't know when that will be. And even if You-know-who were defeated tomorrow, who knows what the future will bring?"

"The future is never sure, but we can wait until it's surer. Six months. This will be resolved one way or another in the next six months."

Ginny chewed her lip. In a way she'd been waiting for him for years now. She'd become very good at it. And in all that time her feelings hadn't gone away. If she'd been able to magically turn them off, she would have long ago. But then suddenly, the answer seemed obvious to her. "No. I won't have you on those terms, because, quite honestly, they're bullocks, and you know it. Now that your feelings are out in the open, I won't accept any less from you. Either we have a relationship, or we don't. But I refuse to spend the next six months in limbo."

And she disentangled her hands and walked away from him, leaving him with a stunned expression on his face. She was surprised at herself, but something within her hadn't been able to accept what he was offering.

But she was even more surprised, when that evening after supper, Harry come over to her, as she was again trying to study in the common room. "We need to talk," he said, sitting down across from her.

Ginny closed the book she'd been pretending to read and put away her parchment. "I'm listening."

"Not here. Is there somewhere private we could go?"

Ginny looked around the common room. It wasn't entirely deserted, but her brother and Hermione were playing chess by the fire, and Ginny had a feeling she didn't want her brother interrupting whatever Harry had to say to her. "My dormitory is deserted, but I don't think…"

"Not there," Harry interrupted her. She had a feeling she knew what his objections would be. "And not my dormitory, either. I have an idea. Come on."

He held out a hand to her, and she took it without question and followed him through the portrait hole. He led her through the corridors to the Charms classroom. The room was quiet, and the only light came from the nearly full moon shining through the window. Harry lit his wand and proceeded to scatter on the floor a few of the cushions the fourth years used to practise Summoning and Banishing charms. He sat and Ginny sat beside him. She looked at him expectantly.

"I'm sorry about earlier," he began. Ginny opened her mouth to protest, but he placed a finger against her lips. A current passed through her at his touch. "Hear me out, Ginny. I'm not sorry I kissed you. I'm sorry about the way you had to find out about my feelings for you. You weren't supposed to find out about that, you see."

Ginny couldn't help but interrupt him at this point. "Just when were you planning on telling me then?"

"I wasn't. At least not until Voldemort was defeated." Ginny opened her mouth again, but Harry went on quickly. "Now wait. Don't get all bent out of shape. It wasn't easy to keep this to myself. I'm actually glad you know now. I was driving myself nuts trying to hide this from you."

"Then why did you?"

"I told you earlier. It was to keep you safe, so nothing would happen to you. I couldn't face that."

"And just how long were you planning on keeping this to yourself?"

"Until I wasn't a danger to you anymore."

"And what if I hadn't waited?"

He touched her cheek with the back of his hand. "That was my greatest fear besides someone using you to get to me. That you'd find someone else. But I was willing to risk it if it meant you'd be safe." He paused, and when he continued there was almost a note of panic in his voice. " Why? Is there something you want to tell me?"

Ginny shook her head slowly. "No, Harry, there's never been anyone else. Ever. But…" She looked at him gravely. "I won't sneak around, and I won't hide the fact that we're together. It's all or nothing. Either we're a couple, and everyone knows about us, or we're nothing. Your choice."

"Can't we…"

"No! I won't do this half way. All or nothing."

"But what if…"

"Nothing's going to happen to me just because I'm your girlfriend. I'll take my chances, but I won't hide."

She held his gaze and waited for his reply. A sickening fear began to creep towards her heart, a fear that she'd gone too far in giving him an ultimatum. But that couldn't be helped. She refused to compromise on this. Either she'd have everything she wanted or nothing at all, but she'd have nothing to regret.

At last Harry seemed to come to a decision. "All right then," he said. For a frightening moment, she thought he was going to get up and leave her, but he was merely shifting position, moving closer. Then he was cradling her face in his hands, kissing her long and deeply…

They stayed in the Charms classroom until Mrs. Norris poked her head around the door frame. Ginny somehow caught the movement out of the corner of her eye, although her mind was very much occupied elsewhere. She broke free of Harry's embrace and pointed out their imminent discovery. Scrambling to their feet, they hurried back to Gryffindor Tower hand in hand, escaping detention for once.

~*~

Ginny must have dozed off at some point, for she jerked awake suddenly to find herself still in the common room. A cold grey light was filtering in through the windows. It was nearly morning. Harry was still asleep with his head in her lap. She traced his features with a shaky finger. In a few hours he would go to face Voldemort, and she knew there was a real possibility she would never see him again. Still she would never regret the last six months.

They'd had, in reality, very little time alone in those six months. Beyond their school work, the castle had been literally under siege for most of the spring, and there had been no Hogsmeade weekends, no Quidditch, nor even any venturing outside. Harry had held the key to ending it from the beginning. He'd had only to deliver himself up to a duel with Voldemort. He'd been prevented from facing the enemy so far by Dumbledore, but the old headmaster had recently met his death in trying to push back the dark forces surrounding the castle. Now there was no one who could prevent Harry from facing Voldemort—not even Ron and Hermione, although they'd tried to talk him out of it. Ginny wouldn't have dreamed of even trying to stand in his way. She understood this was an all or nothing situation for him, and she respected that, even though she was secretly afraid for him. Harry was determined to have the showdown today: it was June 24th, three years to the day since the Dark Lord had been re-embodied. And the challenge had been accepted.

Harry's eyelids fluttered open as she watched. He looked very young without his glasses and his hair standing wildly on end. He sat up, and she handed him his glasses. His face was grim and set. Ginny hardly knew what to say to him. Part of her wanted to stop him, to keep him safe by her side. But she knew that it was his fate to go out alone and do what he must, and so she said nothing.

Instead, he turned to her and said quietly, "I want you to know, whatever happens today, I love you."

Silent tears slipped down her cheeks at his words; he'd never said them before. "I love you too, Harry, always." She could manage no more than a whisper. They held each other until they heard activity on the stairs and knew the others were coming down. Harry kissed her hard before anyone else appeared in the common room and left through the portrait hole.

Soon Ron and Hermione were standing in front of her, both of them looking very serious. "He's gone," she informed them needlessly. She was sure they could read the truth in her expression. Without another word, they sat down with her to wait.

The common room was crowded with Gryffindors before long. Everyone knew something was going to happen today, and the atmosphere was soon thick with anticipation. And yet there was nothing to do but wait. Exams were over for the year, and the thought of going to class crossed no one's mind; no one even considered breakfast on this momentous day. Time passed slowly. Half-hearted attempts at conversation were made all around Ginny, Ron and Hermione as they sat there, but the talk soon lapsed into silence. It was as if there was a magical shield around them that no one dared breach.

After a long time, a shout broke the unnatural silence that reigned over the common room. Some younger students were standing at a window which looked out over the grounds. Apparently they could see what was going on down there. Ginny felt her stomach clench. She was torn between wanting to know what was happening and not wanting to face her worst fears. Ron got up and went over to the window. The crowd of other students parted before him; no one dared deny him, as Harry's best friend, the right to watch.

At last Ginny could stand it no longer and went to stand with her brother. She could hear him muttering under his breath, "I should be down there." Ginny put an arm around him, as she felt Hermione come up behind her and place a comforting hand on both their shoulders. There was no point in wishing they were at Harry's side now. It was as he wanted it. He was facing the enemy alone.

Looking through the window, Ginny could see the two wizards facing each other far below. They were exchanging curses, the light from their respective spells flashing like lightning. So far Harry seemed to be unscathed. He was using his Quidditch reflexes to dodge everything Lord Voldemort launched at him. The Dark Lord had also managed to escape injury thus far. But something struck her as odd in all of this.

"How is it they can duel?" she asked. "I thought their wands wouldn't work against each other." The fact that Harry and Voldemort owned brother wands was common knowledge by now.

"You're right," replied Ron. "How's he doing it?" Ron winced as a curse narrowly missed Harry's face.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" put in Hermione. "He's not using his wand."

"But if he's using another wand, how can he hope to fight? Another wand wouldn't work as well…"

Ginny was cut off as the students crowded around the windows let out a collective gasp. Harry had somehow managed to acquire a second wand, which he was now holding in his left hand. He used the new wand, which immediately proved to be his own, to cast a spell at Voldemort, and everyone held their breath as they saw the two wands connect… Almost immediately, Harry used his first wand to cast some spell at the Dark Lord. There was a blinding flash of light, and then nothing.

Lord Voldemort had disappeared, but so had Harry.