A.N: Hey there readers :D I hope you're having a nice summer! Here's Chapter Six, part two! I think after this I'll finish with 7 and 8, and then edit it. I can't believe I'm almost to the end! It's been so much fun, and thank y'all so much for reading this! Please review :) By the way, I won't be able to update next week, but I haven't abandoned you! Next chapter should be up the week after that.
harrypottercrookshanks: Thank you so much! You're always so encouraging! And I really like that idea. I think I'll write Chapter 8 from Luna's point of view, since it's the end and all. Some of this chapter is kinda from her point of view anyway. Thank you :D
Guest: aaahh you're too sweet! Your review makes me so happy. I totally agree with you- I always wondered why I liked sad things even though they make me sad? There's a nice quote from Doctor Who- "Sadness is happiness for deep people," which I like. Anyway, I'm glad you like my story! This chapter is sad, but I promise it has a happy ending!
MysteryRiddle: Uggh, I know right? Ginny can be very silly sometimes. I put it down to her being head-over-heels in love. Which I guess is my fault, since I'm the author XD But I promise, their "friendship" is gonna change very soon…XD thanks for reviewing btw! They always make my day and everyone is so nice! It's very sweet of you :D
Somehow, Ginny survived. She wasn't sure exactly how she did it- it being living with her aunt and various family members in one house and not being able to leave for many months- but she did. Maybe it was because compared to everybody else's problems (like staying alive or not getting arrested) were worse and made hers small by comparison. Maybe it was because she could pretend they were just staying over for the holidays, and they could leave soon. Sometimes, though, she would think about it too much and realize that really, there was no limit to how long they could stay. They might have to stay years. They might have to stay until Ginny was as old as Aunt Muriel, and wasn't that a scary thought?
Ginny decided that once she came of age she was leaving, to fight in the war and live a little.
That is, if the war was still going by August. She hoped it would be; it didn't seem like the Light could win without years of work, and the enemy winning was unimaginable.
Ginny spent about six months in hiding, but she didn't remember much of it. The few days afterward overshadowed it completely. Mostly she recalled being bored all the time, and having a constant knot in her belly.
Some days it was better, like when spring rolled around and Bill expanded the wards so they ate every meal outside for a week, until a Death Eater was spotted nearby, and they ate inside again.
Some days it was worse, like the day she learned Luna was captured. It occurred over the Easter holidays, but they didn't learn about it for two weeks.
Ginny herself felt numb. She didn't eat her dinner and left once the news came, upstairs to the bedroom she shared with her aunt.
She shut the door and sat on her makeshift bed. Her hands were shaking. She focused on breathing. Panicking wouldn't help anything, would it? She felt tears stinging her eyes, but Ginny didn't cry. Crying didn't help things, she had learned that five years ago. Life would go on, it always did.
Except.. Ginny didn't think she could live without Luna. Luna was why she was living- it wasn't a choice, Luna was just a part of her- her conscience, maybe, but more her sense of wonder, her quirkiness, her defiance- all that came from Luna.
Being separated from her for months had taken its toll. Ginny missed her terribly. There was nothing to do, nothing to distract her from the fact that she hadn't seen Luna in months. And now it was worse, a thousand times worse, because Luna could be hurt, or dying, or dead. Images flooded Ginny's mind and the tears spilled out against her will. She wiped them away angrily. Ginevra Weasley did not weep like some little kid, all that had disappeared years ago. She was tougher now, more grown-up. Ginevra Weasley took action.
She would not think about Luna right now. She couldn't. Not about her strange beauty, not about her laugh that Ginny hadn't heard in ages but remembered perfectly, not about her terrible singing voice, not about her quiet compassion. Not about how Luna was probably already dead, not about the fact that Ginny might never see her again, not about the fact that Luna might be hurt and scared and so alone.
She didn't have time. Not now. She needed to get Luna out first.
As it happened, at the time Ginny was thinking all this, Luna was thinking of Ginny. Luna was fairly sure that she was in grave danger, and was surprised to find that she was quite scared, too.
Funny how the human mind works. You can get used to constant threat of death pretty quickly, actually. Luna had become accustomed to it in a few days, but Luna was odd.
She found comfort in thinking of good memories. Remembering the good times made today a little more tolerable, and made her look forward to the future a little more. And Ginny was in an awful lot of her good memories.
Spending two weeks in Death Eater captivity changed her romantic life too. Luna decided that, if she ever got out of this, she would tell Ginny that she was in love with her, that had she had been as long as she could remember. Life was too short to do otherwise. It would probably be completely unrequited and Ginny might never speak to her again, but Luna was tired of waiting.
Ginny spent about a week planning a rescue attempt, which was a formidable feat, since she didn't know Luna's location, or any helpful information, actually. If she didn't find out soon, she'd probably just say to hell with it and storm some well-known Death Eater hold and rescue Luna. Singlehandedly.
Luckily, word came from Shell Cottage that Luna was there, and perfectly fine, and not to reply because there were spies everywhere. The rest of the message was sort of garbled- something about goblins and elves and Ginny's ex Dean Thomas- but Ginny didn't care. She was joyful, blissful, exuberant. It didn't matter that she was trapped in this house, that there was a war on, that she couldn't even talk to Luna, because Luna was alive and whole and alive. Why had she never appreciated that before?
Life was more tolerable for a time. There was a new baby, Teddy Lupin, and everything seemed much brighter suddenly. Ginny laughed aloud the day she came downstairs and Fred told her that somebody had broken into Gringotts and escaped on the back of a dragon.
That night, news came that there was a battle. Fred and George were about to go fight, when they made the mistake of telling Ginny she couldn't come.
It didn't take much more than a glare to set that rights, and Ginny found herself whisked off to fight in a war at sixteen, at Hogwarts of all places.
And then her heart stopped, because a beautiful girl with huge eyes and blonde hair was smiling and talking to someone.
"Luna?" she said. Then she was running, and it looked like Luna was running too, and then Ginny swept Luna into a hug, and for a moment all was right with the world.
Actually, Luna had intended to kiss Ginny, but Ginny had hugged her instead, and at that point it would have been awkward to change.
Luna pulled back and looked Ginny in the eyes. "Ginny," she said, "I've got to tell you something,"
"Yeah," said Ginny breathlessly, suddenly remembering that she had a confession to make. "Yeah, me too,"
"Um ladies," said Neville, "Now might not be the best time- due to the coming battle and all,"
Ginny didn't really have time to appreciate the fact that death was a very real threat before the battle began, and then she didn't think at all, only fought and bled and wept until it was over.
After, Luna wanted to kiss Ginny desperately, to wipe away her tears and tell her everything was going to be alright.
After, Ginny had forgotten the confession she meant to make. She had forgotten everything except her brother, lying dead upon the floor. Nothing else mattered anymore.
