A/N: The chapter name was random. It's from a song by Paramore, because I couldn't think of what else to call it. If someone has an idea, please review me. And, be warned: the end author's note has an extreme overuse of the word 'evil' in it. Thank you to reviewers, I love you, you make me high enough to keep rambling on about a stupid AU carry-on of a genius' work. Love you all. xxx
Disclaimer: I am not lucky enough to be as smart enough as to invent these characters myself. They are not mine. Too bad. –pout-
The Stone Speaks
Chapter Forty-Nine: All We Know Is Falling, It Falls
GINNY
Trembling, Ginny sat up and looked around. It was indeed a pun – the dead centre of Hogsmeade… they were at the Hogsmeade graveyard. The falling rain that plastered Ginny's hair to her skin had turned the cemetery's hard ground and parched grass into a thick, slightly yellow sludge. She shook as she saw the numerous tombstones. One of those… one of those will soon be mine.
And then, terrible, and high-pitched, came a sound that all five teenagers knew too well. A scream of absolute terror:
"AVADA KEDAVRA!"
…
"What are you going to do?" whispered Ginny fearfully. "Please – please don't hurt me." She had always considered herself brave, but now that she was alone, face to face with the image of Death itself, she was terrified.
Death would hurt. And then she'd be gone. She'd never see her family, or her friends, or Draco – ever again. If only… if only I hadn't taken that stupid necklace. Why couldn't I just leave other people's property alone
No, another part of her argued. If you didn't get the necklace, then Draco wouldn't have come. You would have been forced to dance with Harry all day long at the Yule Ball. You would have trailed around after him on Valentine's Day. And… you wouldn't have known how it felt to really and truly be in love.
And so, she came to the conclusion, this… this is all worth it.
It was true. The pain and emptiness would be worth it. Worth it, to be able to dance in true and utter bliss, and not forced to make shallow, stupid conversation. Worth it, to be slammed up against a wall for a kiss, and be able to ignore the pain in her back because of how much better the kiss was. Worth it, to be able to truly laugh and enjoy herself in the prescence of a real best friend – and perhaps… more.
"I don't care," she told Lord Voldemort. "I don't give a damn. Kill me." She tilted her chin up defiantly. "So go on. Give me the best you've got – I. Do. Not. Give. A. Shit. Because dying may hurt, but I'll be able to get through it by knowing this…"
The Dark Lord looked as if he was torn between anger and intrigued curiosity.
"By knowing," she finished spitefully, "that you're so powerful. So powerful and strong – you can have anything and everything you ever wanted. But there's two things that you can never receive. One is friendship – and the other… love."
Lord Voldemort's eyes narrowed. "I have friends!" he spat.
"No you don't!" Ginny retorted. "You have followers. That's not the same thing, Riddle. You've always been a loner, and no-one's ever cared for you."
The Dark Lord's eyes flashed, and Ginny instantly knew that she had hit a very sore – and a very bad – spot. "How would you know?" he snarled, lowering his face close to hers. "You have no idea how it feels to be hated and despised by everyone who ever looked at you. YOU HAVE NO IDEA!"
"You're right," said Ginny soothingly. Why not? She thought. Anything's worth a shot right now. It's not like my situation could get any worse. "I don't know how it feels to lose everyone. But you don't have to do this, you know."
"Don't give me the therapy crap," sneered Lord Voldemort. "It's too late for me. I have my entire take-over-the-world plan all sketched out, and Step One is getting that Stone!"
Ginny's eyes widened. She saw the wand rising before it happened, and she saw the flash of green light before it even shot out of the tip of the wand. In an instant, she scrambled to her feet and threw herself sideways silently. She saw the green rush of death behind her, and then it smashed into a tombstone, sending sparks and chips of stone flying in all direction. One chip slashed down Ginny's arm, drawing blood and letting it pool in one of her footprints like something from a Muggle horror-movie.
Lord Voldemort swore darkly under his breath, and then Ginny heard him mutter, "Lumos."
A bright glow floodlit the graveyard, casting fearsome shadows to dance across the muddy grass. It reflected off a few tombstones, blinding Ginny until she turned her head away from it.
"Come out, come out, Weasley," hissed Lord Voldemort maliciously.
She was tempted to yell, nah, I like hide-and-seek, but she knew that it would not be a wise move, and instead she silently crawled forwards.
The water, mixed with filth and her own blood, was soaking through her jeans, and rocks scratched her knees through the material. Her hands gripped at partially-underwater weeds and scrubs of grass.
If I get through this, I'll probably have some weird fatal disease from getting mud in open wounds.
"I don't like this game," snarled Lord Voldemort. He was getting angrier.
Ginny slipped down in the mud, and she grabbed at anything nearby to hold herself up. Her fingers curled around the edge of a tombstone, and she dragged herself close to it. Pressing her back up against it, she peered through the gloom.
It was nearly impossible to see. Rain was now bucketing down, and the dark night, combined with the falling drops creating a thick curtain almost unfeasible to spy anything through. But… there. Yes. It was the church, tall and magnificent, though now it had a giant hole torn through the roof, and flames were licking feebly at the wood, being extinguished by the heavy downpour.
The stained-glass windows were still intact – they were the only thing that ever made Ginny enjoy going to church. She would sit there, zone out, and just admire the colours, shining down like a rainbow, on all the sitting people. Perhaps, in the church, Ginny could find safety.
She made up her mind in an instant, and she staggered to her feet. Then she ran. Feet pounding the semi-hard ground, sliding and sloshing through the mud. Hands grabbing at everything she passed, to shove her along.
Lord Voldemort spotted her. "STUPEFY!"
Ginny ducked her head down, holding the ends of her sodden red hair to remind herself to keep low. She scurried faster, and then slammed into the broken oak doors, banging her head on it. She rebounded off it, and nearly fell – but she regained her balance and pushed through the door, her fingers fumbling on the broad handle.
Then she was through.
With a gasp of relief, Ginny slammed the doors shut. It was the back door to the church: she was now in the room where the musical instruments were. The church itself was probably through one of the many doors that lined that other side of the room. She stumbled to a nearby chair. She didn't sit; if she did then she'd probably never get up again. Instead she leant on it, trying to get her breath back.
Her fringe stuck to her face in a sodden clump, turned brown by the rain it was saturated with. Rain still poured through the roof, but it wasn't as harsh as it was outside. Ginny pushed her hair back off her face, squeezing water out.
She took a deep breath and looked at the remaining stained-glass windows. A raindrop was streaking down a saint's face, giving the impression that the colourful glass martyr was crying. Just like me, Ginny thought glumly.
Suddenly there was a slam on the wide oak doors. Ginny intook a breath of fear sharply. She straightened up and backed away from the doors. As she retreated, her hands brushed over the back of each chair. When she touched nothing but air, she was at the front of the church – and then she could flee.
However, the doors were blasted open while the sixteen-year-old was still touching wood. And there, framed by darkness, clapping thunder, flashing lightning, and a torrid of rain, was the Dark Lord, his tattered cloak billowing around his bare, snow-white feet.
"Prayers won't save you now," hissed Lord Voldemort. "No-one can help you."
Ginny balled her hands into fists. "Come and get me," she snapped. As Lord Voldemort stepped forwards, she quickly loosened one fist and snatched Draco's wand from her pocket. She pointed it directly at the heart of the man in front of her – if, that was, he had a heart. Less than likely. So she shifted her aim to his face. "Back off," she spat. "I know Black magic, remember?"
Lord Voldemort looked indifferent, but alarm glittered in his crimson eyes.
"Er…" she muttered. Think of a distraction… then, her brain flashing into creative-mode, she waved her wand, and, looking severe, shouted, "BANTAS…LUBRIUM… HAT!"
Hat? Is that seriously the best that you could come up with?
Shut it.
Ginny flicked her wand forwards, as if casting a spell. Lord Voldemort knew that it was not a White magic spell, and he staggered backwards, rapidly casting wards and defences of Black magic. When he was finished, he grinned triumphantly up at the Weasley brat.
She was winding through the labyrinth of chairs, weaving past drum-kits and acoustic guitars. She was disappearing. Fast.
As she sprinted away, Ginny bit back mirth. He thought that was a real spell! God, he's stupider than I thought. However, she overestimated his stupidity, because he bellowed, "CRUCIO!" after her.
Ginny shrieked and flung herself under the grand piano. The jet of red light hit the leg, and the piano started to collapse… with the redhead underneath it. She gave a loud, "Wah!" of panic, and hastily slid out. It crashed down on her lower leg, but she yanked it out and ran on.
The pounding of her feet ringing in her ears, she thundered towards the other side of the music room, and she ducked through a side door. Ginny was now in the main church room. Here, the roof had fallen through and the timber, stone, and beams that used to hold it up were scattered across pews and through the aisle.
Before the door that she had just come through could even swing closed, Lord Voldemort was through it.
She spun to face him, and found herself staring at the tip of his aged wand. Her breath was coming fast and shallow; her hazel eyes did not leave the tip of the piece of wood directed towards her face. Already knowing that it was hopeless and that she was going to die, Ginny staggered backwards, tripping over pieces of wood.
"Goodbye, Weasley," said Lord Voldemort softly.
It was those two words that made Ginny realize the situation. She took a step backwards, shaking in fear; she then opened her mouth and let out a long scream into which she poured all of her fear. And she kept screaming until Lord Voldemort began to flourish his wand.
He cast it in a circle, jabbed forwards slightly; then, with an evil, ready-to-burst-into-cackles grin on his ghostly features, he roared, "AVARDA KEDARVA!"
Ginny's eyes widened in fear. She opened her mouth to scream. But before a second scream come out, the green engulfed her.
A/N: OOH! A good cliffie! Wow. That's probably the only good cliffie I've ever had. The cliffie is probably better than the rest of the chapter put together. The cliffie… okay, I think I took the admiring of the cliffie too far. Review if you liked it! Review if you didn't! Review if you don't actually give a damn! Review if you want… the newest… the best… the LORD VOLDIE COOKIE!
COOKIES: Angry Ron has bright red raspberries that match the colour of his face. Dreamy Luna has radishes and coins in her cookie. Soothing Hermione has bits of caramel. Awkward Harry has bits of awkwardly-placed chocolate. Lovestruck Ginny has heart-shaped chocolate drops. Determined Draco is plain, because he's too intent on rescuing his favourite redhead to care about what kind of cookie he has.
And, saving the best for last, is the Evil Lord Voldie cookie! He is shaped like something evil, and has evil-looking evil raisins (because everyone knows that raisins are EVIL!) and the main ingredient… evil! And the secret ingredient… is so evil that if I tried to tell you about how evil it was and what this so evil evil thing is, and how evil it tasted, that you'd die from an overload of EVIL! And then the Lord Voldie cookie's plan would have succeeded in his plot to kill you… Bwahahha…
Just for good measure… EVIL!