Never Leave.
Ginny lay in Draco's arms as they huddled in the warm darkness of
another office with another dead body in. Smoke and steam poured up through
holes in the floor. Outside were the sounds of Dementors and explosions.
"Come on Draco! Dumbledore needs us!" gasped Ginny, coming to her
senses.
"Really? Where is he?"
"I left him in a storeroom nearby. He could help us get out!"
"Okay Ginny, I'll check
the corridor to see if it's safe."
Ginny looked at Draco as he crept to the door and peered around
outside. He had never appealed to Ginny before, but had taken in all this
danger admirably. He signalled her over and the pair crunched painfully along
the corridor.
Rexil and D-Mob kicked down the splintered remnants of the ancient
oak door and had regrouped. Two of the Dementors had been hurt by the glyphs
and were out of action, being cared for by a third. D-Mob was down to
two-thirds strength and Rexil wanted revenge. One of the Dementors clicked his
tongue and explained that the wizard was in the Chamber of Artefacts. Rexil
nodded and they bounded off to get them.
Ginny had gotten through this far and had resolved to survive. No
matter what horrors came, she would prevail. Or so she kept telling herself.
She cleared her throat and asked "Who were those people Draco?"
Draco had been expecting the question. "They were a faction of the
Death-Eaters called Subterranean Sun. My father knows them and I support them."
Draco turned to look into Ginny's horrified eyes before continuing "They are
not all bad Ginny. I do not like Voldemort or anything – in fact our group is
pacifist. I cannot understand what's happened here. Johann was telling me that
they were set up. Someone apparated the four of them into the Ministry after
trapping them two months ago. I believed him."
"So, if they did not do this, who did?"
"Oh come on Ginny - support for the muggle-loving Ministry has
been waning for years. This seems like a political set-up. Someone seems to be
rubbishing their opposition."
"My dad said a few Ministers had gone missing last week. I wonder
if they have anything to do with it."
The Black Wizard stood in the great Chamber of Artefacts. The
Chamber consisted of a north and south wall made up entirely of recently broken
windows and alcoves with great oak doors in the east and west walls. Although
the name implied that Artefacts were kept there, the main purpose of this
chamber was to discuss their lawfulness, and as such the room contained no
actual artefacts and was a mess of charred wood, splintered glass and broken
timber.
The Black Wizard pushed back his hood and he surveyed the world
outside the Ministry. He stood there
covered in blood and his eyes blazing fire. The hem of his robes was burning
with magical fire and gave him an unearthly feel.
"Soon muggles, you will know fear once more," he hissed.
"Lord Gordon," called out a voice behind him. He turned slowly.
A wizard dressed identically to Lord Gordon stood opposite framed
against the southern wall of windows. Between them a mere fifty feet, filled
only with broken furniture and a smashed great table. Lord Gordon recognised
him as Lord Ames and guessed exactly what had happened: Lord Ames had been
working for the Ministry all along and had now come to expose his treachery.
"Lord Gordon. You are under arrest," stated Lord Ames calmly. Lord
Gordon smiled at the predictable nature of his adversary.
"Oh, I don't know. It's so frustrating to think the Ministry will
actually look stronger after this attack!" grumbled Draco.
"When did you get into politics?" sneered Ginny.
"Ha! All my life!" Draco seemed to turn cold at this. "The
earliest picture of me has me waving on top of my father's shoulders at a
political rally. He was a lot more active years ago, but business seems to have
taken him over. Voldemort and his cronies always were the radicals. I would
love dearly to see the day when wizards and muggles could live together without
fear of recrimination. That is what the Subterranean Sun seek. Nothing more.
Voldemort is a bit mad to be honest."
"How would you know? Have you met him?"
"Met him? Oh dear no. My father has though." Draco went silent for
a moment. "My father does not fear anything, but he fears Voldemort."
"So, this pointless little war is all politics?" trembled Ginny,
half with rage, half with shock.
"Well, yes. Aren't all wars about politics?" smiled Draco. Ginny
seemed to shake as tears flooded her eyes.
"But all of these deaths? Why would the Ministry do such a thing!"
"Oh come on. It's not all of the Ministry is it?" Draco leant
closer and began to wipe the tears from Ginny's eyes with his tattered
handkerchief.
"But all those murders-"
"Will be levelled at the Subterranean Sun faction, whose members
will no doubt be immediately hunted down and exterminated."
Ginny went quiet. "They would not do that would they?"
Rexil and his pack of five Dementors crept along the west wing
towards the chamber. They were at the door now and could hear the two wizards
inside bickering.
"And you think muggles worthy of all this protection do you?"
"Lord Gordon, please surrender and come quietly."
"Ha!"
And then silence. Rexil agonised over what to do. It sounded as if
there could be a fellow Ministry agent inside, yet he was a soldier and had his
orders.
"Oh come on Ginny! You have been swallowing all those kind worlds
of good and evil from Dumbledore haven't you! The Ministry has risen to power
through eliminating its rivals over the last dozen decades or so. Ask yourself
this: why are wizards scared of muggles? Why is the Ministry in league with
Dementors? And why isn't the riots of the sixties and seventies featured in our
history lessons? It's all fake. We're all being brainwashed into believing that
what we're doing here has some purpose. Hogwarts has become nothing more that a
breeding ground for muggle-loving, surface-fearing idiots!"
Ginny thought for a bit. "Oh, and there was me thinking you were
so anti-muggle because you were a spoilt little brat from a rich family." She
smiled at Draco. He sighed and seemed to relax a bit.
"Sorry Ginny. I did not mean to do the whole political broadcast
bit. Sorry."
"My word, a Malfoy apologises to a Weasley? What would your father
say?" brightening up and feeling less soppy.
Draco winced. "You probably would not like it." Then he laughed
nervously. They walked in silence for a bit, passing under a sign indicating
that they were in the east wing and that the Chamber of Artefacts was up ahead.
"Are you sure this is the way?" asked Draco.
"Of course I am - I can read you know! We nip through this big
room ahead and Dumbledore's a-snoring on the other side." Ginny giggled at the
rhyme and Draco steadied her as the giggling became sobbing.
"Oh I hope he's alright Draco," she sniffed.
"Don't worry," he replied. Ginny realised that Draco had her in
his arms and she hugged him. She stared into his eyes, his lips close to hers.
"Come on," he said gruffly, as if embarrassed. Ginny remembered
herself and the pair turned the final corner to the Chamber of Artefacts.
Albus Dumbledore sat up and was feeling woozy yet restored. He
cast out his mind in search of Ginny and Draco and felt them nearby. And then
he realised that he could hear voices clicking and muttering nearby: Dementors!
Albus tried to stand up, but fell hard causing a pile of books to crash down
next to him.
Outside the Dementors became silent.
Lord Ames raised his hand. It was crackling with a deadly ball of
green light. "Lord Gordon, you leave me no alternative."
Lord Gordon was now entirely shrouded in flame. He too had his
hand raised and fire was dripping malevolently from his wand. "Come on then,
old friend!" he hissed.
"I never knew you had this more caring side Draco."
"Oh Ginny, please." The pair had been whispering to each other to
keep up their spirits.
"No I mean it. You've really impressed me," smiled Ginny. Draco
actually blushed and Ginny felt a thrill inside her chest.
"Well Weasley, I'd never had thought you were so passionate –
outside of Potter of course!" jeered Draco.
Ginny playfully hit him, despite the pang of pain the comment had
caused. "Okay. Just through here."
She pushed open the eastern door to the Chamber of Artefacts.
The Dementor at his side vaporised the western door as Rexil dived
through, followed by the remains of D-Mob. Each crackled with sky blue
electricity. The Dementor who destroyed the door turned to look behind her to
see what that noise had been. Dumbledore's shadow passed out of sight around
the corner.
Draco and Ginny stumbled onwards into the room as the two wizards,
four Dementors and their leader spread out through the room.
"Rexil! We need Lord Gordon alive!" cried Lord Gordon.
"I have my orders. No-one must survive this mess," said Rexil,
fixing Lord Ames with a stare.
"You see? Even your precious Ministry surrenders you to save
itself!" sneered Lord Gordon.
Two Dementors raised their hands to kill Lord Gordon, by Lord Ames
intervened and disintegrated the pair with a ball of black fire. Rexil turned
and unleashed lightning at Lord Ames, but Lord Ames was shielded somehow. Even
so, some of the electricity smashed through and Lord Ames was flipped onto his
back.
Lord Gordon laughed as he unleashed a dozen fiery bolts, each
fanning out and igniting the furniture all around. Another Dementor was
consumed by fire.
Draco pulled Ginny to one side as fire raged all around them. They
crouched by the main table and Draco held Ginny as she sobbed.
Rexil screamed and leapt onto Lord Gordon. Despite the flames
burning Rexil sorely, Lord Gordon was being beaten hard and collapsed under the
attack.
The last Dementor was rejoined by his partner from outside the
room. Lord Ames stood up and unleashed a tiny yet deadly ball of purple light
at Rexil's back. It struck and flung him out though the window screaming. The
male Dementor turned on Lord Ames and unleashed a powerful ball of crackling
white lightning.
Ginny screamed as the ball rocketed towards them, raising the
hairs on her neck and arms. She realised that Draco was too tall and would be
hit by the spell so she jumped up and pinned him to the floor, pushing him
clear in time.
Lord Ames and the furniture in the corner of the room disappeared
in an almighty explosion of electricity, masonry, glass and timber.
Draco lay stunned by the blast. He saw that the explosion had
created a hole in the wall which he was sure that he and Ginny could get to
unseen.
"Come on Ginny! This is our chance!" he cried.
But Ginny rolled off of him onto the floor, coughing blood from
her lips. Above her right breast a splinter of bloody wood stood proud, several
inches long.
Draco looked down at Ginny and panicked. He pulled the splinter
free. His hand tried to stem the blood, but it pumped through his fingers.
Ginny gargled and her eyes looked around wildly, blood bubbling at the corners
of her mouth.
"Don't die Ginny. Please!" wailed Draco, tears in his eyes.
Ginny heart pumped more of her blood from her body and now she lay
in a large puddle of blood. Draco was aware of screams and explosions, but he
simply did not care. He wanted Ginny to be okay.
"G-go," managed Ginny.
"Never. I'm not leaving you behind. Not now." Draco knelt down and
over Ginny. He brushed her hair from her eyes and caressed her face.
Ginny was feeling sleepy and in her dreamlike state could see the
Dementor standing behind Draco, hands blazing with electricity. She wanted to
tell Draco to get out but could not. Draco's face filled her vision.
The blood continued to pump through the fingers of Draco's right
hand. His other hand supported her head so that they might kiss. He realised
that someone was standing over them, but he did not care. He kissed her.
Her heart stopped pumping. Her eyes closed, shutting out the pain.
His eyes closed, shutting out reality.
Their world became a beautiful white light, locked in a kiss that
time had frozen.
THE END
[but expect an epilogue]
Why not try out *~*Ginny*~*'s
new website at http://blazingquills.tripod.com/ and read
exclusively my new story, Rainfall. Cheers.
Disclaimer:
The characters and setting are all thanks to J.
K. Rowling. I claim no ownership of these characters, though the events I put
them through are all mine. Mwah hah ha.