Spoilers For Deathly Hallows!!!


Note from LbN: This has been a rather productive weekend for "Angels" hasn't it? Anyway, ummm, this chapter is my take on what Molly meant when she said "You will never touch our children again"- slightly before killing Bellatrix. Hope you like this slightly longer chapter!!!

AWF

GPOV

It's been about a month since I've been out of Hogwarts. Nym, Mum, and Dad have been working with the Order to make sure all of the kids who are still in the Room are ok. They haven't had to move anyone else, thank goodness. Neville keeps in contact. He says the younger students are doing really well, for not being in a real class. He's upset that they can't have Herbology, but he's helping Padma with Charms. They can't have Potions, either, but Michael and Parvati are teaching them the theory behind the ones they would be learning.

I'm at the house now, practicing. Fred and George have developed this new…thing. What it is, is four targets that move on a long piece of wood. They haven't colored the wood, and are using some of Dad's collected hubcaps for targets, so it looks pretty rough right now. It's supposed to be a machine for practicing spells; for Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers, or if parents want one for their kids to practice at home. Each target is enchanted with four spells and changes color when you're supposed to hit it with a certain spell. It's amazing fun; I'm getting pretty good at it.

It's about eight in the evening when I feel my coin burn in my pocket. I pull it out and read two words: We're Fighting.

Just as I start walking to the door, I hear a commotion in the living room. Running out of my room, I see Mum and Dad grabbing their wands.

"Neville just sent a message," I start.

"I know, McGonagall's sent one too," Mum said.

"I'll let Fred and George know where you've gone," I say, "Be careful."

My parents both hug me and leave the house. I go to the window and watch as they Apparate away. I knew better than to ask them to take me with them; but luckily I won't have to wait long to go, Fred and George are here. I run out to meet them.

"They're fighting!" I yell running to the twins, "At Hogwarts."

"What?" they both say.

"Neville's just sent a message. They're fighting You-Know-Who! Mum and Dad just left."

Fred and George look at each other. Then, without warning, George grabs my arm and I feel as if I'm being sucked through a straw. When we land, we're inside Ab's room at the Hogs Head.

"Your parents are going to kill you boys," he says, nodding pointedly at me.

"She's part of Dumbledore's Army," Fred says defensively.

"Suit yourselves," he says, helping me into the passageway.

We finally make it to the Room and everyone is there. Fred and George's old Quidditch team, Lupin, Kingsley, and Mum and Dad.

"What in the world?" Mum begins furiously.

Before she can yell at us however, Harry comes racing back into the Room.

"What's going on Harry?" Lupin asks.

"They're evacuating the younger students and we're organizing in the Great Hall. We're fighting," he says.

There's a yell of excitement at this, and people begin making their way towards the door. Just then someone grabs my arm…

"Go home Ginny," Mum says, "Boys, take her home."

"I won't!" I yell. I love my mum dearly, but she must be bat shit crazy if she thinks I'm leaving…

"You're underage!"

"I'm in Dumbledore's Army!"

"A teenagers' gang—"

"A teenagers' gang that's about to take him on!" Fred yells.

"She's sixteen! What you two were thinking by bringing her with you—"

"Mum's right Ginny," Bill says, "Everyone underage will have to go."

"Are you all insane?" I yell, "I can't go home, my whole family's fighting."

I look at Harry for support, but he looks away. Bastard…

I'm about to give in when the night takes a turn for the completely bizarre. Percy's just entered the room.

"Am I too late? Has it started? I only just found out so I—I—"

Lobsters may have been coming out of his ears, the way we were looking at him. After a few moments very awkward silence he bursts out,

"I was a fool!" he yells, "I was an idiot, I was a pompous prat, I was a—a—"

"A Ministry loving, family disowning, power hungry moron?" Fred supplies.

"Yes I was!"

"Well you can't say fairer than that," Fred holds out his hand to Percy.
I've finally got Mum off of me, seeing as she's squeezing the life out of her son right now. I take that moment of reconciliation to try and sneak out of the Room. It doesn't work…

"Ginny!" Mum barks.

"Molly, how about this," Lupin says, "What if Ginny stays here in the Room? That way she'll be here, but not in the fighting."

"Yes," Dad says, "Ginny you stay in this room, you hear me?"

I nod. It's the best I'm going to get, so I may as well take it.

"Where's Ron and Hermione?" Harry asks.

"They said something about a bathroom a little while ago," I tell him, "They left with the others."

"A bathroom?" he gives me a confused look as I nod.

When he's sure they're not in the Room, he leaves along with Lupin and my parents…

AWF

It's been about an hour now, and whatever's going on down there can't be more horrible than being up here listening to it. Once, I thought I heard the door opening, but no one came in. I'm shooting hexes at a practice target when two people come through the portrait hole, Neville's grandmother (I recognize the hat) and Nym. Before I can say anything, Harry rushes through the door.

"Ah, Mr. Potter," Neville's grandmother says, paying no attention to Nym and me, "You can tell me what's going on. Where is my grandson?"

"He's fighting," Harry says smiling.

"Naturally," she says with pride, "Excuse me, I must go assist him."

After she leaves, Harry turns to us,

"Ginny, Tonks, I need you to leave as well."

I'm elated, and it must be showing on my face, because he says,

"And then you come back!" but I'm already following Nym out the door, "Ginny! You have to come back!"

We reach a hallway that looks like it's been demolished. There's a mountain of debris in the middle of it.

"Ginny," Nym turns to me and whispers, "You have to hide ok?"

"What is it with everyone tonight?" I ask, severely annoyed at this point.

"Ginny, this isn't the Ministry; this isn't last year with just a few of them. There are all of Voldemort's Death Eaters in this castle. Along with, if I've heard right, huge spiders and giants. You have to stay safe."

"If I was seventeen you guys would let me fight! I don't think a few months are going to make a difference here!"

Just then we hear something just over the pile of rubble. She climbs over, wand at the ready, to investigate. I hesitate just long enough to see her go air born and fly into a class room. Then I hear a cackle. It's Bellatrix.

As quietly as possible, I climb slowly over the rubble. I don't look in for a moment, scared of what I'll see. When I do, I see Nym lying against a wall, and Bellatrix has her wand on her.

"Ex—" I say. That's as far as I get, because Bellatrix disarms me and pulls me toward her as if I were at the end of an invisible rope. I watch my wand soar across the room and land a little ways from Nym. I stop about five inches from her and she looks me over.

"So this," she says to Nym, "is your little pet?"

"Leave her alone, Bellatrix," Nym gasps, apparently in a lot of pain.

"Oh, but this is going to be so much fun!" she says, positively elated. She throws me against the wall next to Nym and turns toward the door. I hurriedly recover my wand and tuck it into my jeans so she can't see it. She's doing something with her wand. It's starting to get really cold all of a sudden.

A Dementor glides into the room. Tonks has gone deathly pale; her hair is almost transparent. It goes against what Harry taught us is the best way to fight off Dementors, but I know it will work. What I have isn't a memory, it's a thought:

I'm going to live to see Nym kill Bellatrix.

"Expecto Patronum!"

The snake that comes out of my wand looks like what a cloud would look like if it were made solid. Snapping once at Bellatrix, it chases the Dementor out of the room. Bellatrix just laughs and points her wand at me. I'm lifted off of the ground, and suddenly, it feels like I'm being squished between to reasonably sized boulders. I'm gasping for air when I look down at Nym. She's got hold of a chair and…what is she doing?

With a look like she's morphing, the chair becomes a sphere, which she throws at Bellatrix. The sphere knocks her aunt off her feet and I fall to the floor.

"Sectumsempra!" Bellatrix snarls and I hear Tonks gasp.

But that's drowned out by a booming voice:

"You have fought," said the voice, "valiantly. Lord Voldemort knows how to value bravery. Yet you have sustained heavy losses. If you continue to resist me, you will all die, on by one. I do not wish this to happen. Every drop of magical blood spilled is a loss and a waste. Lord Voldemort is merciful. I command my forces to retreat immediately."

Hate her though I do, I'm glad we're fighting Bellatrix. She's easily the most loyal of Voldemort's demented followers, so, without another glance at me or her rapidly expiring niece, she exits the room. Voldemort is saying something else, but a strange buzzing has filled my ears, and I only care about Nym right now. I crawl over to her and take a bottle from my pocket. I knew I wouldn't stay in the Room all night, so I came prepared.

As I empty the bottle of dittany onto her wounds, her breathing eases up a bit.

"Nym?" I ask, "Say something."

Her eyes are glossy and she's still breathing a bit more deeply than normal.

"Nymphadora Andromeda Tonks, if you don't say something right now—"

"Don't" she whispers, "call me Nymphadora…"

She faints. I hold her, sobbing for a long time. I feel us being pulled apart and I realize it's Dad.

"Not Tonks…" he says.

"She's alive," I choke, as he picks her up and George lifts me to my feet. My brother holds me to him for a long time after Dad's left with Tonks.
"George, what's wrong?" I ask, he's crying. "George?"

"Fred…"

He can't continue, but I don't need him to…

LbN: I hope you'll all take a moment with me to mourn the death of an awesome wizard, prankster, and twin...The end of the battle is near...