The End of the World.
~*~
Chapter Seven: Ginny
The growing sense of apprehension that was gnawing away at Ginny's insides was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore as she travelled closer and closer to London. When travelling on horse, all her energy was put into directing Ebony on the correct path, and staying upright on the proud beast. Now that Ginny was on foot her mind suddenly started working overtime. As her pace took on a steady rhythm, the monotonous sound of her footsteps lulled Ginny into deep thought and more and more doubts crowded into her mind - what happened if Voldemort and his Death Eaters had reached London before her? Would she have travelled all this way only to find her oldest brother lying dead in his apartment? Or was he, too, taken hostage by the Dark Lord? And what then? How was she to save her family and friends if she had no help?
The sun began to set in the West and Ginny's shadow grew longer and longer on footpath. She had finally reached the outskirts of London, where all the houses were packed in close together, separated by roads and fences. The vast fields were gone and the only plants she could see were brown and dying shrubs in the small gardens of the houses.
She kept on walking, her ears alert for any sound that could indicate life around her, but there was nothing. Ginny had not heard the sound of any living person since she had left the Burrow yesterday afternoon. The eerie silence did nothing to help Ginny's anxiety.
The dark of night found Ginny still walking, each step taking her closer and closer to the heart of London and to Bill's home. Now that she was in the massive city, the lack of human noise was not just unusual, but down right disturbing. Out in the countryside, it was possible not to see or hear anyone for days on end, but she was in London now. Even in the dead of night there were always noises - rushing cars, music from houses, late night joggers. But now - nothing. Residential houses slowly gave way to towering offices and shopping centres. It was only around eight in the evening, but there were no lights in the windows of the offices. None of the displays in the shop windows were lit. There were no cars speeding down the roads, no late night shoppers. Faced with the absolute emptiness of the city, Ginny's worst fears seemed to be coming into realisation.
She was totally alone.
~*~
Ginny began to panic. If there was no one around, then Voldemorts Death Eaters must have already been here. If they had been here, then everyone was dead. . . and that included Bill. And where were the Death Eaters now? Had they finished their work here? Had they moved on to other areas?
Or were they still in the city, waiting around the next corner to kill Ginny when she walked unsuspectingly past?
Ginny suddenly felt exposed in the bright streetlights. There could be Death Eaters hiding anywhere - around the corner, behind the phone box, in one of the offices towering above her.
Blind with panic, Ginny broke into a run. Her tired feet slapped loudly on the pavement, the noise bouncing around the deserted road. Her thighs were screaming and her lungs were gasping for air and as sped further and further into the heart of the city. She had to get to Bill's. . . she had to make sure he wasn't there. He was her last hope, the only chance she had left. If he was dead, then her whole family might as well be dead. And without any hope of finding help, Ginny knew it would only be a matter of time before she would be dead too. She couldn't hide from the Death Eaters forever - they would soon catch her.
~*~
Ginny clutched at her ribs as the stitch in her side felt as though it was tearing a hole in her body. Her worn sandals thudded loudly on the pavement as she pushed her tired body onwards. Tears of exhaustion and fear began to slip from her eyes and mingled with the sweat running down her flushed face. Air ripped her throat as she gasped for breath. She was only a few blocks away from Bill's apartment. She was so close. . . so very close.
Then suddenly she heard noises - yelling, screaming. Loud voices were crying out in the still night. Ginny stopped abruptly, her chest heaving as she sucked in deep breaths of air.
She could hear people screaming - women and men's terror slicing through the night, assaulting her ears. There were other voices too - dark, terrifying voices. Cruel laughter, booming curses. Ginny's heart clamoured loudly in her throat as the full realisation of the danger she was in hit her.
The Death Eaters were in London. They were killing and torturing, both muggle and wizard. No one was spared from their wrath. . . and she was in the middle of it all.
The voices were coming nearer - as screams of pain were cut off in the throats of those who were killed, new screams began in the Death Eaters fresh victims. Ginny could now hear the sound of running feet mingling with the shouts of horror and fear. She looked behind her and could see explosions of green and red in the sky above the towering buildings as spells were misfired into the night. As she stood, staring in horror at the empty road behind her, a terrified muggle woman ran out of a side street and onto the main road. Clutching a small child to her chest, the woman turned frantically in circles, looking for a way to escape. The child was clinging to his mother's body, his high pitched screams piercing Ginny's ears. The woman turned away from Ginny and began to run again, her curly brown hair streaming behind her, and Ginny was strongly reminded of Hermione - that woman had parents and a family and friends, like Hermione. She was an innocent bystander in this war of good and evil. The child's screaming red face was still visible over the bushy-haired muggles shoulder when they were joined on the street by another person. Striding purposely into the centre of the road, the Death Eater's robes swirled around their tall, willowy body. A tall figure of menace, symbolising fear, hatred and death, the Death Eater stopped walking and raised their wand. The muggle woman looked behind her and screamed, her voice rising in an awful chorus with her child's.
They were both dead before they hit the ground.
Bile rising in her throat, Ginny found herself backing away in horror. She had just witnessed the murder of a young mother and her innocent child. She had never seen anyone die before. As she watched, the Death Eater's wand sent the leering green Dark Mark into the sky as if their actions were nothing out of the ordinary.
Ginny turned and fled.
~*~
There was a shout behind her as the masked Death Eater heard her loud footsteps. Adrenalin coursed through her body, pushing her to run faster than she had ever run. Panic stricken, Ginny turned right onto a narrow side street, as a beam of green light barely missed her and crashed into a clothing stop on the corner. Glass rained down as the windows smashed, but Ginny kept running, not even noticing the shards of glass cut into her flesh. She turned down another street, her backpack sliding around on her back. Thighs screaming in protest her legs kept pumping. Ginny turned left onto another street with her backpack sliding haphazardly on her shoulders. Her lungs screamed as her ragged breathing tried to supply her body with precious oxygen. Sweat poured down her face and body, making her flimsy cotton dress stick to her back and legs. Stumbling with exhaustion Ginny kept moving forwards. She could hear the Death Eater's footsteps gaining on her, she could hear their angry shouts. There would be other Death Eater's joining them, hunting her down like a pack of wolves.
Ginny turned onto a tiny unlit alleyway, used by trucks to deliver goods to a department store. Blindly running, she crashed heavily into a tall person standing in the shadow. She flew backwards onto the ground, the breath knocked out of her.
Struggling to draw breath, Ginny tried to scream, but her lungs would not work. This was it. This was her end. She was about to be cruelly slaughtered in a flash of green light, like so many millions who had already gone that way before her. Or maybe they would torture her first, making her twitch and writhe on the ground in pain. Bleeding from her cuts and scratches from the broken window, aching from her hours of riding, walking and running, and crying from utter exhaustion and despair, Ginny gazed up in dread at the person whose wand would be her downfall.
Her green eyes travelled up a black-robed figure. They passed over the wand pointed straight at her chest and stared in terror at the pale, unmasked face staring back at her. As their eyes locked, Ginny felt her heart stop in horror.
She was about to be killed by Draco Malfoy.
~*~
A/N *sings* cliiiiiiiffhanger! Next chapter up soon I hope, in which we may indeed find out more of what happened to Ron and Co when they were kidnapped, then chapter 9 after that in which we resolve this nasty nasty cliffhanger :D
~*~
Chapter Seven: Ginny
The growing sense of apprehension that was gnawing away at Ginny's insides was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore as she travelled closer and closer to London. When travelling on horse, all her energy was put into directing Ebony on the correct path, and staying upright on the proud beast. Now that Ginny was on foot her mind suddenly started working overtime. As her pace took on a steady rhythm, the monotonous sound of her footsteps lulled Ginny into deep thought and more and more doubts crowded into her mind - what happened if Voldemort and his Death Eaters had reached London before her? Would she have travelled all this way only to find her oldest brother lying dead in his apartment? Or was he, too, taken hostage by the Dark Lord? And what then? How was she to save her family and friends if she had no help?
The sun began to set in the West and Ginny's shadow grew longer and longer on footpath. She had finally reached the outskirts of London, where all the houses were packed in close together, separated by roads and fences. The vast fields were gone and the only plants she could see were brown and dying shrubs in the small gardens of the houses.
She kept on walking, her ears alert for any sound that could indicate life around her, but there was nothing. Ginny had not heard the sound of any living person since she had left the Burrow yesterday afternoon. The eerie silence did nothing to help Ginny's anxiety.
The dark of night found Ginny still walking, each step taking her closer and closer to the heart of London and to Bill's home. Now that she was in the massive city, the lack of human noise was not just unusual, but down right disturbing. Out in the countryside, it was possible not to see or hear anyone for days on end, but she was in London now. Even in the dead of night there were always noises - rushing cars, music from houses, late night joggers. But now - nothing. Residential houses slowly gave way to towering offices and shopping centres. It was only around eight in the evening, but there were no lights in the windows of the offices. None of the displays in the shop windows were lit. There were no cars speeding down the roads, no late night shoppers. Faced with the absolute emptiness of the city, Ginny's worst fears seemed to be coming into realisation.
She was totally alone.
~*~
Ginny began to panic. If there was no one around, then Voldemorts Death Eaters must have already been here. If they had been here, then everyone was dead. . . and that included Bill. And where were the Death Eaters now? Had they finished their work here? Had they moved on to other areas?
Or were they still in the city, waiting around the next corner to kill Ginny when she walked unsuspectingly past?
Ginny suddenly felt exposed in the bright streetlights. There could be Death Eaters hiding anywhere - around the corner, behind the phone box, in one of the offices towering above her.
Blind with panic, Ginny broke into a run. Her tired feet slapped loudly on the pavement, the noise bouncing around the deserted road. Her thighs were screaming and her lungs were gasping for air and as sped further and further into the heart of the city. She had to get to Bill's. . . she had to make sure he wasn't there. He was her last hope, the only chance she had left. If he was dead, then her whole family might as well be dead. And without any hope of finding help, Ginny knew it would only be a matter of time before she would be dead too. She couldn't hide from the Death Eaters forever - they would soon catch her.
~*~
Ginny clutched at her ribs as the stitch in her side felt as though it was tearing a hole in her body. Her worn sandals thudded loudly on the pavement as she pushed her tired body onwards. Tears of exhaustion and fear began to slip from her eyes and mingled with the sweat running down her flushed face. Air ripped her throat as she gasped for breath. She was only a few blocks away from Bill's apartment. She was so close. . . so very close.
Then suddenly she heard noises - yelling, screaming. Loud voices were crying out in the still night. Ginny stopped abruptly, her chest heaving as she sucked in deep breaths of air.
She could hear people screaming - women and men's terror slicing through the night, assaulting her ears. There were other voices too - dark, terrifying voices. Cruel laughter, booming curses. Ginny's heart clamoured loudly in her throat as the full realisation of the danger she was in hit her.
The Death Eaters were in London. They were killing and torturing, both muggle and wizard. No one was spared from their wrath. . . and she was in the middle of it all.
The voices were coming nearer - as screams of pain were cut off in the throats of those who were killed, new screams began in the Death Eaters fresh victims. Ginny could now hear the sound of running feet mingling with the shouts of horror and fear. She looked behind her and could see explosions of green and red in the sky above the towering buildings as spells were misfired into the night. As she stood, staring in horror at the empty road behind her, a terrified muggle woman ran out of a side street and onto the main road. Clutching a small child to her chest, the woman turned frantically in circles, looking for a way to escape. The child was clinging to his mother's body, his high pitched screams piercing Ginny's ears. The woman turned away from Ginny and began to run again, her curly brown hair streaming behind her, and Ginny was strongly reminded of Hermione - that woman had parents and a family and friends, like Hermione. She was an innocent bystander in this war of good and evil. The child's screaming red face was still visible over the bushy-haired muggles shoulder when they were joined on the street by another person. Striding purposely into the centre of the road, the Death Eater's robes swirled around their tall, willowy body. A tall figure of menace, symbolising fear, hatred and death, the Death Eater stopped walking and raised their wand. The muggle woman looked behind her and screamed, her voice rising in an awful chorus with her child's.
They were both dead before they hit the ground.
Bile rising in her throat, Ginny found herself backing away in horror. She had just witnessed the murder of a young mother and her innocent child. She had never seen anyone die before. As she watched, the Death Eater's wand sent the leering green Dark Mark into the sky as if their actions were nothing out of the ordinary.
Ginny turned and fled.
~*~
There was a shout behind her as the masked Death Eater heard her loud footsteps. Adrenalin coursed through her body, pushing her to run faster than she had ever run. Panic stricken, Ginny turned right onto a narrow side street, as a beam of green light barely missed her and crashed into a clothing stop on the corner. Glass rained down as the windows smashed, but Ginny kept running, not even noticing the shards of glass cut into her flesh. She turned down another street, her backpack sliding around on her back. Thighs screaming in protest her legs kept pumping. Ginny turned left onto another street with her backpack sliding haphazardly on her shoulders. Her lungs screamed as her ragged breathing tried to supply her body with precious oxygen. Sweat poured down her face and body, making her flimsy cotton dress stick to her back and legs. Stumbling with exhaustion Ginny kept moving forwards. She could hear the Death Eater's footsteps gaining on her, she could hear their angry shouts. There would be other Death Eater's joining them, hunting her down like a pack of wolves.
Ginny turned onto a tiny unlit alleyway, used by trucks to deliver goods to a department store. Blindly running, she crashed heavily into a tall person standing in the shadow. She flew backwards onto the ground, the breath knocked out of her.
Struggling to draw breath, Ginny tried to scream, but her lungs would not work. This was it. This was her end. She was about to be cruelly slaughtered in a flash of green light, like so many millions who had already gone that way before her. Or maybe they would torture her first, making her twitch and writhe on the ground in pain. Bleeding from her cuts and scratches from the broken window, aching from her hours of riding, walking and running, and crying from utter exhaustion and despair, Ginny gazed up in dread at the person whose wand would be her downfall.
Her green eyes travelled up a black-robed figure. They passed over the wand pointed straight at her chest and stared in terror at the pale, unmasked face staring back at her. As their eyes locked, Ginny felt her heart stop in horror.
She was about to be killed by Draco Malfoy.
~*~
A/N *sings* cliiiiiiiffhanger! Next chapter up soon I hope, in which we may indeed find out more of what happened to Ron and Co when they were kidnapped, then chapter 9 after that in which we resolve this nasty nasty cliffhanger :D