Author's Notes: Hey, thanks to those that sent reviews on my story. I'm
glad that a few people like it as much as I do! I'm having so much fun
writing it! Hehehe.
That morning, Harry went to see Ginny, Ron beside of him in case he or Ginny needed any "emotional support". Hermione was down there as well, so Ron decided to start up a conversation with her while Harry sat and talked to Ginny. "Hullo Ginny," Harry said.
"Hi Harry," Ginny replied.
"I guess I haven't talked to you much the past few days, have I?" Harry asked.
"No, but it's fine with me. I know you have other friends, Harry," Ginny answered.
Harry took a deep breath and waited for the lump in his throat to go away before he went on. "Ginny, you see that I've been talking to Hermione a lot. And, well, I hope that you don't mind too bad…" he started.
"Of course not, Harry. What is it you're trying to tell me?" Ginny asked him.
Oh god, I just can't do this to her, she'll be so hurt, Harry told himself. "Well, do you ever get tired of me, Ginny?" he asked. Shaking Ginny off was what he was trying to do, but it wasn't working. I should just tell her, Harry thought.
Ginny looked at him curiously and shook her head. "Ginny," Harry repeated. "I've been talking to Hermione a lot, because, well, I'm in love with her." He bit his lip so hard he was sure that it had drawn blood, but it hadn't.
Ginny nodded solemnly. "I thought so. Last night she told me how…how she kissed you. And then you kissed her back." Ginny looked like she wanted to cry.
"Oh Ginny, you know how easy it is to fall out of love, don't you? I mean, I never intended to hurt you. I still love you, like…like you're my own sister. And, if you hate me, and you never want to speak to me again, I'll understand," Harry said.
"Of course I don't hate you, Harry! How could you say that? I've fallen in and out of love with you over the past few weeks, myself. I'm sorry," Ginny said.
"I'm such a rotten, filthy bastard," Harry commented.
"No you're not! I never want to hear you say that again. I love you Harry. Well…sorry, didn't mean to make you feel guilty," Ginny said.
"No, that's OK. I'm quite glad you still love me. I thought you'd hate me instead and never want to speak to me again." Harry looked up at Ginny.
Ginny sighed. "Well, that's one problem out of the way then."
"What do you mean, Ginny?" Harry asked her curiously.
Ginny suddenly started crying. "Oh Harry! It's just awful! The Death Eaters…"
Harry's eyes widened. "Um, what about the Death Eaters, Ginny?"
"They're coming here, now, here to Hogwarts," Ginny said. "I know. They've been, well, in my dreams."
"Dreams aren't real life, Ginny. I mean, they're just…dreams," Harry said.
"No Harry, they're real. I can sense it. All around me. If they weren't real, I wouldn't be able to remember them so clearly. In my dreams, they've been trying to get all sorts of information from me about you. They've tortured me, because I won't tell them anything," Ginny said.
"How did they torture you?" Harry asked.
Ginny pulled up her sleeves on her robes and showed her arms to Harry. They were terrible, all bruised up and scarred, all sorts of little cuts all over them. "They've beaten me, Harry. Night after night. That's part of how I know it's all real. They've threatened me, that when they arrive here, they'll kill me. The Death Eaters want revenge on you, Harry. I'm not joking, it's true. I've been debating on whether I should tell you or not for a long time. They said if I told you about them, my tortures would get worse than just bruises or scars." Ginny sighed.
Harry stared at her arms in a mixture of fright and amazement. "But Ginny, why are they choosing you? Why don't they threaten and torture me? They want revenge on me, not you."
"They figured that your powers were too strong for them. After all, I'm a year younger, and I'm not as strong as you are. They figured I'd be easier to get to, in dreams. And since I'm one of your closest friends…they figured that since I'm so weak, if they threatened me enough, then they could get all the information on you they wanted," Ginny told him.
Someone poked Harry in the back. "Harry, are you finished yet?" It was Ron.
"Oh, yeah, I'm done. She took it pretty well," Harry told him. Ron looked over and smiled at his sister.
"OK, well, I guess it's time to stop talking now anyways. Time for our Care of Magical Creatures Class," Ron said.
Harry looked over at Ginny and then turned his gaze back to Ron. "Ron, give me a minute, OK? I'll catch up with you and Hermione in just a second."
"All right then," Ron agreed. "See you then."
Harry turned back to Ginny once Ron was out of earshot. "We'll talk more about this at lunch, OK?"
"It might be too late by then," Ginny warned.
"What do you mean, too late?" Harry asked.
"The Death Eaters are pretty close now. I heard them clearer in my dreams last night than ever before. If anything happens, Harry, make sure that Dumbledore's around. Voldemort and his Death Eaters won't touch you as long as he's nearby," Ginny said.
Harry nodded. "Will you be OK?"
"Yes, I'll be OK as long as you are," Ginny replied.
Harry flashed her an encouraging smile, and told her he was sure he'd see her at lunch anyway. Then he ran off to catch up with Hermione and Ron.
He got down to Hagrid's hut where his next Care of Magical Creatures lesson was. He took his place beside of Hermione. Hermione looked over at Harry and grinned at him and whispered, "I knew everything would go all right with Ginny."
"Yeah, but why do I still feel so guilty?" Harry asked.
Maybe it was because of the dreams Ginny had been having, how the Death Eaters had been torturing her so badly, over Harry. Ginny had accepted the torture, and she hadn't given them anything about Harry. Just for me, she did that just for me, Harry told himself over and over again.
Now the thought of Ginny sitting there, getting beaten, even though she'd not done a thing in the world except keep Harry safe, really tormented Harry. It was now inside his very heart, making him feel a cold, and cruel feeling. Harry hated himself now.
The bitter guilt and images of Ginny getting beaten to death swam through Harry's mind as Hagrid carried on with the lesson. Lucky the lesson was only on flobberworms, and nothing complicated.
At the end of Hagrid's lesson, as Harry was walking up to the castle, his scar began burning very bad. It added more pain and misery and bitterness to his cold heart. Harry stopped a moment, and looked back towards the Dark Forest. He managed to sneak away from Hermione and Ron a moment and went back to look better. To his own shock, there was Ginny, being beaten and mocked by a big circle of Death Eaters.
"NO!" Harry shouted. The Death Eaters heard him, and Harry clapped a hand to his mouth. He took it away, and said to the Death Eaters, "Stop that, NOW!"
Harry felt pure anger and rage surge through every part of his body. The hair on his neck stood on end. One of the Death Eaters began laughing. It was Lucius Malfoy. "And what are you going to do about it, Potter?"
Harry stood a moment, still with the rage flowing through every part of him. He turned to Lucius Malfoy and said, "I'll kill you."
All the Death Eaters began hysterically laughing and mocking Harry. At that moment, Professor Dumbledore was suddenly beside of Harry. "I demand you leave at once," Dumbledore said to the Death Eaters. Dumbledore turned to Harry and whispered, "You'd better leave too, go to the castle, you're in danger here."
Lucius Malfoy began muttering foreign words under his breath that sounded much like a curse, and he pointed his wand at Ginny.
He's killing her, I can't leave, Harry told himself. Anger and rage flowed all over Harry's body, and before he knew what he was doing, he dived on Lucius Malfoy, and began frantically punching and kicking him.
"Harry, no!" Dumbledore shouted. Lucius Malfoy managed to shake the boy off, and was too weak to put a death curse on Harry, so instead, he pointed his wand at Harry and cast a spell to knock him out a few hours.
The last thing Harry remembered was the sky spinning and things growing dark, and then he fainted.
~
Harry woke up in the hospital wing. Dumbledore was by his bed. "Ah, good morning, Mr. Potter," said Dumbledore.
Harry suddenly remembered what had been happening just before he'd been knocked out. "Ginny! Is she all right?" he asked.
Dumbledore frowned. "No, I'm afraid she is in critical condition. She's not got long to live. But I got you out of the Death Eaters' circle just in time. I wasn't so lucky with Ginny. By the time I got her out, she'd already taken such a beating, that she was almost dead."
"But the Death Eaters…what happened to them?"
"Lucius Malfoy is dead, and so are the rest of them. I had no choice but to kill them. Voldemort never showed up, so he is unfortunately still around, gathering more followers out there somewhere," Dumbledore said. "But, I think you need your rest, I think we'll be able to let you out of here this afternoon if you'll take a nap, all right, Harry?" And with that, Dumbledore left his bedside.
Only after Dumbledore had left, only after he was sure nobody else was around, was when Harry allowed his tears to fall.
He wasn't sure how, or why, but he was able to fall asleep fast, and that afternoon, he was out of the hospital wing. But he wasn't about to leave yet. He went over by Ginny's bed, and looked at her. After a few seconds, Ginny's eyes flickered open, and she looked up and smiled at Harry.
It took all the strength Harry had to keep himself from crying. "Oh Ginny, I'm sorry, I wasn't there in time…I just…" he started.
"Shh, it's OK Harry. I understand. And I still love you. Nothing will ever change that. Never," Ginny said.
And with those final words, Harry wrapped his arms around her, and Ginny Weasley died in Harry's arms, with that beautiful smile on her face.
Harry felt more helpless than he'd ever felt in his life. He wanted to say "I love you too" to Ginny, but she wouldn't be there to hear. He'd wished he could've saved her before the Death Eaters had gotten to her. He wished so many things at once, and when he remembered that none of those things were possible now, he wanted to die too. Silent tears fell down his cheeks and into Ginny's beautiful red hair. The burning guilt remained in his heart and made everything bitter and ugly. I hate you, Harry Potter, he told himself over and over again. I hate you, I hate you, I hate you. The words rang throughout his mind over and over again. He kissed Ginny's cold forehead and left the hospital wing in silence.
~
The next week, at the Halloween Ball, he danced with Hermione. He felt really guilty about it, and he was sure he wasn't very fun to talk to, from Hermione's point of view. But Hermione understood what was going through Harry's heart and mind.
"I'm sorry Hermione, for wrecking this Ball for you," Harry apologized.
"It's all right. I understand how you feel," Hermione told him.
Harry wasn't sure anyone would ever understand how he felt, but he didn't try to argue with Hermione. The burning rage surged through his heart and the bitterness remained in his very soul.
At the end of the Ball, Hermione still tried to convince Harry she had a great time. "I love you, Harry."
Harry still loved Hermione too, he'd just forgotten to tell her somehow.
"Yes, Hermione, I know. And I love you too."
~~THE END~~
Author's Notes: Sorry 'bout the sad ending. I'll try to make some of my next fan fics much happier, I promise! So, anymore reviews?
That morning, Harry went to see Ginny, Ron beside of him in case he or Ginny needed any "emotional support". Hermione was down there as well, so Ron decided to start up a conversation with her while Harry sat and talked to Ginny. "Hullo Ginny," Harry said.
"Hi Harry," Ginny replied.
"I guess I haven't talked to you much the past few days, have I?" Harry asked.
"No, but it's fine with me. I know you have other friends, Harry," Ginny answered.
Harry took a deep breath and waited for the lump in his throat to go away before he went on. "Ginny, you see that I've been talking to Hermione a lot. And, well, I hope that you don't mind too bad…" he started.
"Of course not, Harry. What is it you're trying to tell me?" Ginny asked him.
Oh god, I just can't do this to her, she'll be so hurt, Harry told himself. "Well, do you ever get tired of me, Ginny?" he asked. Shaking Ginny off was what he was trying to do, but it wasn't working. I should just tell her, Harry thought.
Ginny looked at him curiously and shook her head. "Ginny," Harry repeated. "I've been talking to Hermione a lot, because, well, I'm in love with her." He bit his lip so hard he was sure that it had drawn blood, but it hadn't.
Ginny nodded solemnly. "I thought so. Last night she told me how…how she kissed you. And then you kissed her back." Ginny looked like she wanted to cry.
"Oh Ginny, you know how easy it is to fall out of love, don't you? I mean, I never intended to hurt you. I still love you, like…like you're my own sister. And, if you hate me, and you never want to speak to me again, I'll understand," Harry said.
"Of course I don't hate you, Harry! How could you say that? I've fallen in and out of love with you over the past few weeks, myself. I'm sorry," Ginny said.
"I'm such a rotten, filthy bastard," Harry commented.
"No you're not! I never want to hear you say that again. I love you Harry. Well…sorry, didn't mean to make you feel guilty," Ginny said.
"No, that's OK. I'm quite glad you still love me. I thought you'd hate me instead and never want to speak to me again." Harry looked up at Ginny.
Ginny sighed. "Well, that's one problem out of the way then."
"What do you mean, Ginny?" Harry asked her curiously.
Ginny suddenly started crying. "Oh Harry! It's just awful! The Death Eaters…"
Harry's eyes widened. "Um, what about the Death Eaters, Ginny?"
"They're coming here, now, here to Hogwarts," Ginny said. "I know. They've been, well, in my dreams."
"Dreams aren't real life, Ginny. I mean, they're just…dreams," Harry said.
"No Harry, they're real. I can sense it. All around me. If they weren't real, I wouldn't be able to remember them so clearly. In my dreams, they've been trying to get all sorts of information from me about you. They've tortured me, because I won't tell them anything," Ginny said.
"How did they torture you?" Harry asked.
Ginny pulled up her sleeves on her robes and showed her arms to Harry. They were terrible, all bruised up and scarred, all sorts of little cuts all over them. "They've beaten me, Harry. Night after night. That's part of how I know it's all real. They've threatened me, that when they arrive here, they'll kill me. The Death Eaters want revenge on you, Harry. I'm not joking, it's true. I've been debating on whether I should tell you or not for a long time. They said if I told you about them, my tortures would get worse than just bruises or scars." Ginny sighed.
Harry stared at her arms in a mixture of fright and amazement. "But Ginny, why are they choosing you? Why don't they threaten and torture me? They want revenge on me, not you."
"They figured that your powers were too strong for them. After all, I'm a year younger, and I'm not as strong as you are. They figured I'd be easier to get to, in dreams. And since I'm one of your closest friends…they figured that since I'm so weak, if they threatened me enough, then they could get all the information on you they wanted," Ginny told him.
Someone poked Harry in the back. "Harry, are you finished yet?" It was Ron.
"Oh, yeah, I'm done. She took it pretty well," Harry told him. Ron looked over and smiled at his sister.
"OK, well, I guess it's time to stop talking now anyways. Time for our Care of Magical Creatures Class," Ron said.
Harry looked over at Ginny and then turned his gaze back to Ron. "Ron, give me a minute, OK? I'll catch up with you and Hermione in just a second."
"All right then," Ron agreed. "See you then."
Harry turned back to Ginny once Ron was out of earshot. "We'll talk more about this at lunch, OK?"
"It might be too late by then," Ginny warned.
"What do you mean, too late?" Harry asked.
"The Death Eaters are pretty close now. I heard them clearer in my dreams last night than ever before. If anything happens, Harry, make sure that Dumbledore's around. Voldemort and his Death Eaters won't touch you as long as he's nearby," Ginny said.
Harry nodded. "Will you be OK?"
"Yes, I'll be OK as long as you are," Ginny replied.
Harry flashed her an encouraging smile, and told her he was sure he'd see her at lunch anyway. Then he ran off to catch up with Hermione and Ron.
He got down to Hagrid's hut where his next Care of Magical Creatures lesson was. He took his place beside of Hermione. Hermione looked over at Harry and grinned at him and whispered, "I knew everything would go all right with Ginny."
"Yeah, but why do I still feel so guilty?" Harry asked.
Maybe it was because of the dreams Ginny had been having, how the Death Eaters had been torturing her so badly, over Harry. Ginny had accepted the torture, and she hadn't given them anything about Harry. Just for me, she did that just for me, Harry told himself over and over again.
Now the thought of Ginny sitting there, getting beaten, even though she'd not done a thing in the world except keep Harry safe, really tormented Harry. It was now inside his very heart, making him feel a cold, and cruel feeling. Harry hated himself now.
The bitter guilt and images of Ginny getting beaten to death swam through Harry's mind as Hagrid carried on with the lesson. Lucky the lesson was only on flobberworms, and nothing complicated.
At the end of Hagrid's lesson, as Harry was walking up to the castle, his scar began burning very bad. It added more pain and misery and bitterness to his cold heart. Harry stopped a moment, and looked back towards the Dark Forest. He managed to sneak away from Hermione and Ron a moment and went back to look better. To his own shock, there was Ginny, being beaten and mocked by a big circle of Death Eaters.
"NO!" Harry shouted. The Death Eaters heard him, and Harry clapped a hand to his mouth. He took it away, and said to the Death Eaters, "Stop that, NOW!"
Harry felt pure anger and rage surge through every part of his body. The hair on his neck stood on end. One of the Death Eaters began laughing. It was Lucius Malfoy. "And what are you going to do about it, Potter?"
Harry stood a moment, still with the rage flowing through every part of him. He turned to Lucius Malfoy and said, "I'll kill you."
All the Death Eaters began hysterically laughing and mocking Harry. At that moment, Professor Dumbledore was suddenly beside of Harry. "I demand you leave at once," Dumbledore said to the Death Eaters. Dumbledore turned to Harry and whispered, "You'd better leave too, go to the castle, you're in danger here."
Lucius Malfoy began muttering foreign words under his breath that sounded much like a curse, and he pointed his wand at Ginny.
He's killing her, I can't leave, Harry told himself. Anger and rage flowed all over Harry's body, and before he knew what he was doing, he dived on Lucius Malfoy, and began frantically punching and kicking him.
"Harry, no!" Dumbledore shouted. Lucius Malfoy managed to shake the boy off, and was too weak to put a death curse on Harry, so instead, he pointed his wand at Harry and cast a spell to knock him out a few hours.
The last thing Harry remembered was the sky spinning and things growing dark, and then he fainted.
~
Harry woke up in the hospital wing. Dumbledore was by his bed. "Ah, good morning, Mr. Potter," said Dumbledore.
Harry suddenly remembered what had been happening just before he'd been knocked out. "Ginny! Is she all right?" he asked.
Dumbledore frowned. "No, I'm afraid she is in critical condition. She's not got long to live. But I got you out of the Death Eaters' circle just in time. I wasn't so lucky with Ginny. By the time I got her out, she'd already taken such a beating, that she was almost dead."
"But the Death Eaters…what happened to them?"
"Lucius Malfoy is dead, and so are the rest of them. I had no choice but to kill them. Voldemort never showed up, so he is unfortunately still around, gathering more followers out there somewhere," Dumbledore said. "But, I think you need your rest, I think we'll be able to let you out of here this afternoon if you'll take a nap, all right, Harry?" And with that, Dumbledore left his bedside.
Only after Dumbledore had left, only after he was sure nobody else was around, was when Harry allowed his tears to fall.
He wasn't sure how, or why, but he was able to fall asleep fast, and that afternoon, he was out of the hospital wing. But he wasn't about to leave yet. He went over by Ginny's bed, and looked at her. After a few seconds, Ginny's eyes flickered open, and she looked up and smiled at Harry.
It took all the strength Harry had to keep himself from crying. "Oh Ginny, I'm sorry, I wasn't there in time…I just…" he started.
"Shh, it's OK Harry. I understand. And I still love you. Nothing will ever change that. Never," Ginny said.
And with those final words, Harry wrapped his arms around her, and Ginny Weasley died in Harry's arms, with that beautiful smile on her face.
Harry felt more helpless than he'd ever felt in his life. He wanted to say "I love you too" to Ginny, but she wouldn't be there to hear. He'd wished he could've saved her before the Death Eaters had gotten to her. He wished so many things at once, and when he remembered that none of those things were possible now, he wanted to die too. Silent tears fell down his cheeks and into Ginny's beautiful red hair. The burning guilt remained in his heart and made everything bitter and ugly. I hate you, Harry Potter, he told himself over and over again. I hate you, I hate you, I hate you. The words rang throughout his mind over and over again. He kissed Ginny's cold forehead and left the hospital wing in silence.
~
The next week, at the Halloween Ball, he danced with Hermione. He felt really guilty about it, and he was sure he wasn't very fun to talk to, from Hermione's point of view. But Hermione understood what was going through Harry's heart and mind.
"I'm sorry Hermione, for wrecking this Ball for you," Harry apologized.
"It's all right. I understand how you feel," Hermione told him.
Harry wasn't sure anyone would ever understand how he felt, but he didn't try to argue with Hermione. The burning rage surged through his heart and the bitterness remained in his very soul.
At the end of the Ball, Hermione still tried to convince Harry she had a great time. "I love you, Harry."
Harry still loved Hermione too, he'd just forgotten to tell her somehow.
"Yes, Hermione, I know. And I love you too."
~~THE END~~
Author's Notes: Sorry 'bout the sad ending. I'll try to make some of my next fan fics much happier, I promise! So, anymore reviews?
