.

Harry Potter and Voldemort's Demise

by lookimacloud

Chapter

Defeated

Harry Potter was a defeated man. All of his efforts to protect the woman he loved, had failed him. Ginny was gone. What was worse, was that she had taken her ring off. The flood of his emotions came in a raw, depressing wave.

Ginny no longer loved him. Harry cradled his firewhisky in his palms and stared into the goblet. Losing his wits to drink was probably not the wisest thing at the moment. He still had evil to fight, horcruxes to find… Harry just wanted to drown out the pain for knowing that Ginny was lost to him forever.

What made everything worse, was the fact that he knew she was right. No longer under the influence of his ring's power, Harry reflected on his bout of insanity. For the first time, he realized just how much he betrayed Ginny's trust and stomped on her spirit.

Wherever she was, he knew she would never let him near her again. Grunting in drunken acknowledgment to failure, Harry shifted on the bar stool, and cursed Voldemort as he never had before. He cursed him for making the world an unsafe place, but most of all, Harry cursed him for hurting everyone he cared about.

Sighing in blatant frustration, Harry stood from the stool and exited the pub. He was knackered and wanted to go home. The thing was though, the Inn wasn't a home. Harry didn't have one of those anymore. His home had been with Ginny. He didn't have Ginny anymore.

Staggering on his feet, Harry roamed the streets, looking for a place to stay that wouldn't remind him of Ginny.

"Potter." A stranger yelled, running to catch up to him. Harry, stood still and waited.

While he was distracted, Harry didn't see the overgrown man step out of the shop he was standing beside. The man shoved him to the ground. It took Harry a minute to fully realize he was on the ground. He had only just noticed, when the chubby man standing above him swung his arm forward and a heavy fist connected with his face. The firewhisky slowing his function, Harry took the punch and felt his head slam into the concrete.

Harry forced his eyes to open and see three men circling around him, but they were all wearing black cloaks and gloves. Just as he thought he was able to make out a face, a leather clad hand slapped him hard, causing his sight to blur. A kick to the stomach, then to the shins, and finally the third guy came back to stomp on his hand and kick his flying fist.

Harry cried out in pain. His wrist snapped with the force of the kick, and he cradled it to his chest as another blow was dealt to his head.

Harry scrambled backward with all of his strength and grabbed one of the men by the throat, flinging him away, kicking out with his uninjured leg at another.

"You bastard. Boy-Who-Lived. You are not to tough now mudblood lover."

Harry wished he hadn't had so much firewhisky. He was vaguely aware of the pain in his stomach, and the dulling pain of his broken wrist.

The three men watched as he got to his feet. This was a game to them. Harry recognized this for what it was, young, new Death Eaters.

With his good wrist, Harry reached inside his robes and drew out his dagger. He would stab the next man who came near him.

Slowly, they circled.

"Oi, what's going on here?" a voice called from behind. Harry didn't spare a glance for the newcomer. Whether he was friend or foe, would become apparent soon enough.

The three Death Eaters turned at the sound of the footsteps. Then they ran down the nearest ally. Harry would normally have chased after them if he hadn't been so plastered. Turning himself to look at the man and his friends, Harry sank to the street, good hand still brandishing the dagger, wishing his wand arm wasn't injured.

"You alright mate?" one of the group asked.

Harry didn't have an answer.

…..

"She's been like this all night mum." George whispered. "She isn't under the potion's influence or the ring's anymore, but she hasn't moved since she finished crying last night. She just lays there. We didn't know what else to do."

"It's alright boys," Molly Weasley assured. "You saved your sister. I am very thankful and I know she will be too."

"What do we do mum? She won't even cry anymore. She won't eat anything we give her either. It's like she is not there." Fred ran his hand over Ginny's head, hoping for a response.

"Why don't you give us a few minutes. Go downstairs to your shop and open up for the day. I'm sure Ginny could use some alone time. I will be here for her if she needs something. We want everything as normal as possible."

Fred and George grumbled their acceptance, and left their mother to her nurturing.

"Oh Ginny," her mother whispered, "I am so sorry baby."

Molly sat on the edge of her son Fred's bed, and reached for her daughter's hand. "I know that you have been through a lot Ginny, but you really must snap out of it. There is no way I'm going to let my first grandchild starve."

Molly looked into her daughter's pale, drawn face, hoping for a reaction. Ginny only blinked. It was as though she had temporarily left her body behind. She was burring somewhere where nobody could hurt her. Molly felt anger towards Harry for devastating her little girl. She wished he were here so she could curse the boy herself.

There was one thing a mother knows however. If she didn't find some way to shock Ginny out of her catatonic state, then there would be many problems with her physical and mental health.

She decided to switch tactics, "This is just not acceptable. Genevra Molly Weasley you stop this, this instant." she shouted.

A jumbling sound, her two boys burst back into their loft. "Anything mum? Any response?"

Molly shook her head. "I am taking her home boys. Maybe if she is surrounded by her things and the Burrow, family and friends, she will come back to us. I will call a mediwitch to see to her health. We may have to force feed her. Tell me," their defeated mother sighed, "What was Harry doing to her? Had he hurt her? Tell me the truth."

"No mum. Ginny would have told us. Harry never hurt her physically. There were stuffed animals on the window seat," Fred assured.

"And there were school books on the table. Ginny was studying when we arrived. She was being taken care of. Harry was not neglecting her. There were even vitamins for the baby on the night stand." George added.

"They were the normal ones? My baby is not sick is she?"

"They were just vitamins."

"Good." Molly stood, "Help me get her up Fred. I will need help apparating her to the Burrow."

Fred moved to the bed and lifted his little sister into his arms. She hung like a limp rag.

"You two really need to leave this loft. You need something with a fire place."

"We know mum." the twins chanted.

"George you stay and watch over your business, Fred, let's get her home."

Fred nodded, and apparated to the Burrow. After giving her other some a quick hug, Molly Weasley followed.

She arrived to the most wonderful sight she could have imagined. Her husband and two of her other children were in the room Fred had apparated to. Ron was struggling, trying to hold Ginny still, and Ginny, her poor daughter, was not having any luck in fighting off his embrace.

Molly sighed in relief until she noticed the bleak faces of her husband and Charlie. When she looked closer, She saw that Ginny was struggling with Ron, but that she was not crying. She was not happy, not mad, she just did not want to be touched.

Molly rushed over to her children. "Shhh, Ginny. It's alright. We are at the Burrow. You are safe love." She gripped Ginny's flailing arm and held it still. Fred, was having a very hard time not dropping her.

"Come Fred, let her down on the sofa." Fred complied, carrying a struggling Ginny to the makeshift bed.

"What is wrong Ginny?" Arthur asked, easing in closer.

"Stay where you are Arthur. I think this calls for delicacy." Molly nodded to her two boys to leave her with their sister, and then tried to soothe her daughter into compliance. "Shhh," she cajoled. "You are safe Ginny. You are home. Your family loves you."

If anything, those words made her fight harder. Molly watched in confusion until Ginny finally let her tears fall. Progress.

Ginny threw her arms out in an attempt to ward her mother off. Molly allowed that inn the wake of the tears. But her daughter did not stop there. She looked terrified to be in the room. Easing herself into a standing position, Molly held her arms out and back to make sure her family stayed behind her. Ginny backed away, into the nearest corner. She didn't take her eyes off any of them until her back was pressed to the corner. She then sank down to the ground, and started chanting.

Molly reached for her husband. Arthur latched onto her hand and gave it a hard squeeze. He too, needed support and comfort in the wake of Ginny's distress.

"What is it dear? Why are you so upset?" Molly slowly eased forward. She didn't want to startle Ginny.

She opened her ears to try to hear what her baby was saying. She felt Arthur stiffen behind her and turned to study him. He looked just as stricken as Ginny. His face drained of color. His grip on her hand turned painful. It was then that she too heard what Ginny was repeating.

"I don't want to be here. I won't be here. He will find me, he'll hurt my baby. They will all hurt me. I don't want to be here. I won't be here. He will find me, he'll hurt my baby. They will all hurt me. I don't want to be here…"

"Ginny," Molly whispered in a hoarse voice, "Where do you want to go? Where will you feel safe?"

"I don't want to be here. I won't be here. He will find me, he'll hurt my baby. They will all hurt me. I don't want to be here…"

"I know love. I understand. Where will Harry not find you?"

At the sound of Harry's name, Ginny stopped chanting. She was lost to them again.

"What in the bloody hell happened to my little girl?" Arthur demanded. "I'll kill the boy myself if he lay one finger on her."

"Harry won't do anything anymore." Molly soothed. "We will all protect her Arthur. She took her ring off. She doesn't love him anymore. He has no control over her."

"No control? Look at her. Harry did this to our baby. He may not have any magical control, but he still broke her. She is terrified to be here. She is terrified of us. She can't stay here as long as she feels threatened."

"I could take her home with me." Charlie offered at a low growl. The look on his face said he would like to kill Harry too. At this rate, Molly mused, the Death Eaters were going to become the least of Harry's problems.

"No," Fred countered. "She might not heal in a place she doesn't know. She would never be around the Burrow or everyone here. She would never learn to trust us if she's not around us. I'll take her back to the loft. She was better there. She can stay as long at she needs to, and Harry wouldn't dream that she would be staying above our shop."

Molly and Arthur looked to each other with pride. "Fred, if you can get near her with out setting her off, you can apparate her to the loft, if you're sure there's room.

"There is always room for family."

Fred gripped Ron's shoulder in an attempt to reassure his younger brother that this trip was right. Ron moved aside. The family watched in fascination while Fred saddled up next to his sister and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Ginny didn't respond. "I'm going to put her to bed and try to get her to eat," he said to the rest of them. "You can come visit tomorrow."

Molly nodded, conceding, perhaps for the first time, that Fred was right. Then, she watched her children vanish.

…..

Fred and George settled Ginny back in the bed. She was very complacent. She seemed to be very willing to allow them both to take care of her. She still wouldn't eat, until George told her that she couldn't stay with them if she didn't. But even then, they had to spoon feed her. She wouldn't chew much, so George conjured a bowl of soup.

After around an hour or so of getting her settled in the bed, Ginny was more responsive. She would nod her head or shake it, if they asked her a question. She also showed signs of cold, and would snuggle under the covers, alternately pulling them over her shoulders, or under, according to room temperature. Whenever she looked like she were in that catatonic state again, one of the twins would silently charm the air flow to change the temperature.

Since Ginny was laying in Fred's bed, Fred took the sofa on the opposite wall. George of course, slept in his own bed next to Fred's.

Ginny slept well. The twins noted that she wasn't suffering from nightmares. They were both not sure if Ginny's dreamless state would last though. After the twins freshened up the next morning, they offered Ginny that opportunity too. Ginny ignored the offer of a shower, and Fred turned up the room temperature. She shivered and snuggled under the comforter, which was a good sign.

Fred and George spent the whole day checking up on her. They didn't want her to know that was what they were doing though. They figured, if they treated Ginny like they would normally treat her, she would give up the dream world in her mind and come back to them. Therefore, when they opened the shop for the day, one or the other of them would storm into the room upon occasion on the pretense of forgetting something, or getting something to eat.

On the third day, their careful planning and jubilant conversation, helped Ginny snap out of it.

ooooo

Harry,

I think I might know where we can find a you know what. You know, to save the world. If you're interested, owl me a time and place we can meet. NOT the Burrow.

PS: I don't forgive you for hurting Ginny

-Ron

Although the day would have it be bright and a bit windy, Harry only found solace in the beer he cradled. The seedy tavern he'd chosen to meet Ron in, catered to Harry's ever darkening mood.

He read and reread, the letter from Ron. Ron was late.

Harry crumbled the letter into a ball and downed the rest of his butterbeer. Maybe Ron had changed his mind. Maybe he decided that Harry wasn't worth his time anymore. Harry really wanted news of Ginny…and Hermione. Was Ginny okay? How was the baby? Was Hermione free of the spell now that Danes was dead? Where was Ron?

"Hey Harry."

Harry turned to find a much older looking, more world weary, Ron Weasley standing next to his stool. He started to stand, but Ron waved him to stay seated.

Ron's curious eyes and careful movement made Harry realize how far he'd fallen. Ron eased onto the cracked stool next to him, with a reserved grace he had never had before. The patrons at the pub seemed to whisper their words. The bar tender seemed to always have a replacement drink at the ready. That tension seemed to revolve around him. Harry couldn't remember the last time someone he didn't know even looked him in the eye. Had his reputation really gotten that bad?

Ron ran his hand through his hair and ordered a drink. A drink much stronger than butterbeer.

"I am sorry Ron," he began.

Ron said nothing. Didn't even look his way.

"I mean it. That spell on the rings changed me. I never meant to hurt anyone. I would never want to hurt the people I am closest to. You, Ginny, Hermione. You three are my family. You are my life." Still, Ron acted like he hadn't spoken. "Tomorrow I have an appointment with Moody to talk about the spell the ring put me under." At this, Ron jumped a little. Shocked, Harry might assume. He finally turned his full attention on Harry and Harry rushed on, hoping to keep that focus. "The Ministry is allowing me a day pass to get my body examined for any remnants of the spell. I really hope you can forgive me for that some day Ron."

"The Ministry," Ron ordered a shot of whiskey. "You are going there tomorrow?"

"Yes." Harry put his guard up. From the tone of his voice, whatever was on Ron's mind didn't seem innocent.

"I'm going with you."

ooooo

"I'm okay now Mum, I promise." Ginny repeated. That seemed to be the only thing that anyone in her family had to ask her. Was she okay? How was the baby? Did she need anything? It was driving Ginny insane.

Ginny thought taking a walk with her Mum and shopping for the baby would make her Mum feel more at ease. She was wrong. Ginny almost wanted to ask her Mum if she was okay herself.

"I want you to move out of your brothers' place and move in with us. It is too small there with the three of you and the baby."

"Mum, the baby isn't even here yet. I'm not planning on staying with them forever. I just want some peace. I can't have that at the Burrow."

"Of course you can!" Molly Weasley set down all of her packages and grasped her daughter by the shoulders. "I will make the Burrow the most peaceful, loving, home you have always known it to be. If you want, I can even go with you while you gather your things from the hotel room you shared with Harry. We can make an adjoining door between yours and Ron's rooms and turn Ron's room into a nursery. What do you say?"

Ginny's mind was frozen on 'hotel room you shared with Harry'. She shook her head at her mother. "I don't want anything from that place. Harry and I never had a real life together, and I don't want to go back there for any reason. I have been saving money since I was eleven. I have quite an amount saved up in my room at home. I will get a job and try to rent a place of my own."

"But Ginny-love, where are you going to work? Nobody will hire a mother-to-be."

"We'll see about that. But, I guess I will move back home for now. I do not want to be any trouble to Fred and George."

Molly Weasley hugged her youngest to her breast and never wanted to let her go. Somehow, she would take the pain from her daughter's eyes.

"At least you were never magically married to him." Molly sighed, not knowing how much those words hurt Ginny.

ooooo

Harry showed none of the shock he felt on his face. Nodding his head once, he took a sip from his new mug.

"I think that the You Know What is at the Ministry. I haven't figured out where yet, but I know it's the snake's locket." Ron looked around nervously, searching no doubt for anyone listening in on the conversation between the two former best friends.

Inside, Harry was crushed. Any happiness he might have felt that Ron could be forgiving him or even concerned for him, was gone. Still, he nodded his head again.

"It could be with one of four people. I won't tell you who now. Just in case…." Ron downed another shot. "But it should be on that person, or in their office. That is the most logical place they would hide it in plain sight. If we can find it, we are that much closer."

"How did you figure this out?" Harry asked, genuinely curious.

"When they were going through Dane's things to send to his relatives, I took some. I figured out it's the locket, and I have a lead on something else. But I am not going to tell you until I know for sure.'

Impressed, Harry smiled for the first time since entering the dreary establishment.

"How's Hermione?" he asked, hoping to ease into the 'How's Ginny?' topic slowly.

Ron visibly shook. "Fine. Broke up. Don't talk about much at all really. Look Harry, I gotta go. You know, research. I'll tell McGonagall that I'm leaving for the day tomorrow. Meet you here at what time?"

"Noon."

"Okay." Ron stood from his stool and started to walk away when he stopped, "You know, Hermione was under a spell and potion. Nobody is holding her responsible for Danes. You were under a spell. I may not like what you did to Ginny, but I do know that you couldn't control it for the most part. Give it time Harry." Ron walked out, leaving the door to close of it's own volition.

Harry watched the retreating form of his friend with the feeling of hope in his chest. Ron was right. He couldn't have controlled himself. It wasn't all his fault. Things could get better. Leaving a big tip on the bar, Harry rushed to grab the door before it closed off the rays of sunshine streaming in. Things were looking up.

ooooo

Ginny picked up the bags her Mum dropped and gave her Mum's hand a squeeze. They were just starting on their way when Ginny froze. She could have sworn she'd just seen her brother glide out of the pub across the way. It was a brief moment before the man disapparated, but she was sure there was Weasley hair there. She shook her head to clear her thoughts. She would have been able to let them go, had the next man leaving the pub not been Harry Potter.

Ginny went into protection mode. She whipped out her wand with one hand and pushed her mother behind her with the other.

"Well, Ginny Weasley, whatever are you doing?" her mother exclaimed.

Ignoring her, Ginny focused her attention on the man heading her way. He didn't appear to have seen her yet. Harry's head was bowed, staring at his feet while he walked, or his ever progressing shadow. When he was about three feet away, he seemed to have sensed her.

By now, Molly Weasley had realized what was going on, and stepped half in front of Ginny. Ginny didn't mind. If Harry tried anything, she still had her wand trained on him.

"Hello Mrs. Weasley. Hello Ginny." Harry's eyes seemed to float over her face, her stomach, her face again. He seemed to not get enough of her.

"Move along Harry. I do not want you near my daughter." Her mother's voice was stern, commanding, and very professor like. Harry gave Ginny another once over, and nodded.

"I'm sorry Ginny. I am so sorry for what that spell did to you, did to us. Ron and I are going to defeat Voldemort and then you and our child can live in a safe world. I love you."

Harry walked away. Ginny stared after him, wondering at the bruises he had all over his face… wondering at how much he seamed to care about her still, now that he wasn't compelled to. She shook herself and grabbed her mother's hand. No matter what, she was not falling for that line again. There was too much hurt there for her to handle.

Dinner that night was a depressing affair.

Author's Note: I apologize for the wait lovies. The mood comes and goes I suppose. At the moment, I am on an updating role. Go check out some of my other stories. I update the most popular stories first, so if you really like something, or not, please let me know so that I can update and improve as you wish.

Author's Note: Please let me know what you think, good or bad.