Harry's Shadow

by Lilith4

Before Harry's 7th year, Dumbledore hires a professional bodyguard/assassin to protect him. She may be the only thing standing in the way of Harry's murder and the rise of the Dark Wizards...

Harry's Shadow

By Lilith

Disclaimer: Hmm, I do tend to forget these things. The disclaimers, I mean, I know I don't own Harry, Ron, Hermione, et. All, I mean, I'm not that much of a space cadet. At least I don't think so. Anyway, I don't own any of them except for Ruka, who really truly isn't your average Mary-Sue. In fact, she isn't a Mary-Sue at all. Well, not entirely sure about that, since I'm a little foggy on the exact definition of 'Mary-Sue', so if someone could review this just filling me in on that? Or e-mail me? LilithAD, and that's at AOL. Can't write out the address or my computer turns it into that blue linky thing, and I'm not sure if that will work on ff.net. Anyway... just to clear this up, Harry does NOT fall for Ruka. So it's not romancey like that.

A/N: Yes, I know I should be writing "Darkness Supreme", but I've gotten a terrible case of writer's block and can't write a single line that doesn't suck. So, for my sanity's sake, I have decided to go with an idea I have been harboring in my insane mind for a looooong time. Maybe this will help me shake off my case of writer's block. Argh.

"There's a reason why I have a banana in my ear. I'm trying to lure the monkey out of my head." –The Critic

~~~

[Notes on this story: If I was to write this whole thing, it would turn into a Book 7, which is definitely not something I am up to writing. Someday, when I have a more stable internet provider and a better computer that could actually hold all the files, maybe. Or not. But anyway, I'm just going to write the "important" scenes. Before every time jump, there will be a little note filling you in on what's happened in between scene thingies. This actually works out okay and is really not as stupid as is sounds. So if you're still with me, onward! (Wow, that was dumb. It really is too late to be writing...)]

[So here we are, summer in Harry's 7th year. He will be going into 7th year. Everything else will be explained. I think.]

"Harry! Harry, wake up!" Harry Potter opened his eyes slowly, blinking to clear the sleep from them. He was in bed at number 4, Privet Drive, in a house with his aunt, uncle and cousin. There was no reason he should have heard anyone calling his name, since the Harry's three relatives didn't generally speak to him during the day, much less at 3:00 in the morning.

"Harry, are you awake?" Harry sat up in bed and stared at the center of his room. He recognized the voice now that his mind wasn't quite so foggy. It belonged to his Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore... who was currently standing in the center of Harry's room, looking quite transparent, but nevertheless there.

"Professor Dumbledore?" Harry whispered, very confused. The old man nodded. "Are you... a ghost?" The professor laughed softly.

"Goodness no, Harry. I am projecting an image of myself to you from my home. Now, however, I think I will..." Dumbledore's image faded, then suddenly popped back. This time, the real man was standing in the center of Harry's room, and not an image. Harry clambered out of bed.

"Sir," he began, but Dumbledore raised a hand, motioning for silence.

"Harry, do you know what day it is?"

"August 21st," Harry replied promptly. "No, wait, it's after midnight, so its August 22nd."

"Correct. In about two weeks, you will be back at school. As you may know, your friend Ronald Weasley has been quite zealous in his attempts to get you to come and stay with him over the summer. I did not think that was a particularly good idea. However, I have reconsidered." Dumbledore motioned slightly with his hand, and something slid out of the shadows of Harry's room. "I have hired a bodyguard to protect you. She is a Shadow." At Harry's blank look, Dumbledore continued, saying, "She'll explain what that is. Tomorrow, Ron and his family will come pick you up. I have explained about her, and her role. You had best inform your family first thing tomorrow morning. I'm sorry, I have to go. Take care, Harry. Ruka, good luck." With that, Professor Dumbledore vanished, leaving Harry alone with the black-clad figure. It threw off its hood, and only then did Harry remember Dumbledore referring to the bodyguard as a she.

The Shadow was indeed a girl. She had short black hair, and her face was tough. A long scar ran from her temple to her jaw, passing close to her left ear. Another scar ran diagonally from the center of her lip to the corner of her chin. She was wearing sunglasses and black robes. Harry clicked on the lamp by his bed.

"My name is Ruka," she said. She was Welsh, judging by her accent.

"Oh," said Harry lamely. "I'm um... Harry."

"Yes. I know."

"Oh. Right." An awkward silence filled the room, until Harry cleared his throat. "So, um... what's a Shadow?" Ruka cracked a kind of half grin and gave a small laugh. "What's so funny?"

"Oh. Nothing, really, it's just that you've been guarded by Shadows ever since you set foot in Hogwarts." Harry blinked in surprise. "It's true. That Invisibility Cloak you have gave them terrible trouble, you know."

"Wha-" Harry was so shocked he couldn't finish his thought. "I mean... why? And... how? Why wasn't I told? And how come you're here, and Dumbledore's told me?"

"First, keep your voice lower," Ruka said. "And it's a bit obvious why, isn't it? You're Harry Potter. You defeated Lord Voldemort. You have to be protected." Ruka snorted. "Though I do say, your first year at Hogwarts was a bit of a disaster."

"Why?" Harry asked. "Because I almost got killed? Where was the Shadow while we were fighting Voldemort?" Ruka didn't flinch at the name, but her jaw stiffened when he said it.

"Well, you see, Professor Quirrell offed her," Ruka said flippantly. "She wasn't very good, I'm afraid. Barely passed her training, it was her first mission. Did rather badly, poor girl." Ruka shook her head.

"You mean there was some girl following me all around Hogwarts my first year, and she got murdered by Quirrell?" Harry asked. "Great, another person I've gotten killed."

"Oh, no, you didn't get her killed," Ruka said in a careless tone. "She was a bodyguard, and I have to say it was a bit stupid to give her an assignment like that as her first."

"How do you become a bodyguard?" Harry asked curiously.

"Well, I don't know about other sects, if there are any," Ruka said slowly. "To become a Shadow, you have to be a wizard. Pretty much we're all people who couldn't afford an education, so we get signed to the Shadow. We get free rooms, free food and free basic education. After that, we go into training to become bodyguards. To pay off our debt to the order, we have to use our first fifteen assignments however the order wants us to, for free." Ruka tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, and Harry saw in the light that her hair was not black, but a dark chestnut brown. She gave a little toss of her head, as though to crack her neck, and Harry saw that her hair wasn't short, as he'd thought, but was pulled back into a braid that hung all the way down her back. "Not a lot of people survive those fifteen assignments. She didn't. You were her first, out of the fifteen."

"What was her name?" Harry asked. It was a slightly morbid thing to ask, and he knew it. Harry didn't really want to know about her, or he'd feel guilty about her death. Fortunately, Ruka seemed to know that.

"I don't know. I didn't know her at all," Ruka said, although she did look a bit nervous, almost as though she was simply lying through her teeth. "I was briefed on the basic history of your protection by Dumbledore after I got hired."

"How did Dumbledore hire you?" Harry asked. Ruka grinned a little, and her pale cheeks turned slightly pink.

"Well, he... he wanted to hire someone good, you know, someone who had already passed their fifteen assignments." Ruka shrugged, slightly self-conscious. "And, well, I'd already passed my fifteen, as well as ten others." Harry's eyebrows went up, and he whistled. "That, ah, made me one of the more successful Shadows. Dumbledore wanted someone who could stand up to most of the things you get into trouble with." She let a slightly sardonic grin appear on her face for a moment, before her mouth relaxed into an indifferent line again. "You'd better get some sleep. We're going to the Weasley's tomorrow." With that, Ruka walked over to a small rickety chair in the corner of Harry's room and settled into it. Harry stared.

"D'you... want a blanket, or something?" he asked. Ruka looked up, startled.

"Oh... no, I'm fine. We're taught not to feel cold or heat," she replied, settling down once again. Harry assumed she had closed her eyes, because she hadn't taken her sunglasses off. He turned out his light and lay down awkwardly, and closed his eyes.

Harry was awakened by Vernon Dursley barging into his room at six o'clock the next morning. Harry sat up rather quickly, but not as quickly as Ruka. In a flash, she was awake, across the room and had a knife blade pressed against Harry's uncle's throat. The big man let out a high-pitched squeak.

"Ruka!" Harry said, horrified. She backed off quickly, the knife vanishing.

"Sorry," she said to Harry. "Didn't mean to scare him." Uncle Vernon was turning an unnatural shade of purple and was staring at Ruka with flames in his eyes. Harry coughed hesitantly.

"Ah, Uncle Vernon, my friend Ron's picking me up today, so I'll be away for the rest of the summer, so I guess you'll have to tell Aunt Marge that I'm at school, because I'm incurable, or something," Harry said, rushing through the words quickly. Uncle Vernon stared, obviously outraged at his nephew's insolence.

"YOU THINK YOU CAN TELL ME YOU'RE GOING AWAY AN HOUR BEFORE YOU LEAVE?" Uncle Vernon roared. "YOU'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE! YOU'RE STAYING UP HERE FOR THE REST OF THE SUMMER!"

"I'm afraid," said a silky voice delicately, "That's not possible." Both Harry and Vernon turned to stare at Ruka, who was standing like a soldier in the center of Harry's small room. If Uncle Vernon hadn't looked like he was about to strangle Harry, Ruka, or both of them with his bare hands, the situation might have been amusing. Ruka was shorter than Harry by quite a few inches, and was much smaller than Vernon Dursley. Harry watched, amazed, as she strode up to the huge man and looked up at him, looking him right in the eye. She didn't even come up to his shoulder.

"Who's this?" Uncle Vernon growled. "Filthy little girlfriend, Harry?"

"Oh, not at all," Ruka replied, her voice taking on a dangerous edge. "Are you aware, Mr. Dursley, that your nephew is quite famous in the wizarding world?" Uncle Vernon flinched at the word 'wizarding', but Ruka continued. "Well, he is, and because of this fame, it is necessary for him to be protected from attacks from Dark Wizards." Uncle Vernon flinched again. "I am Harry's bodyguard, Ruka," she said to him. "And I'm afraid that it is in yours and Harry's best interest if he goes away for these last nine days."

"You're a bodyguard," said Uncle Vernon flatly. He obviously did not believe her, despite the fact that five minutes ago she had been holding a knife to his throat. Ruka didn't answer him right away. She waited a moment, then suddenly raised her hand up very quickly. Harry saw that strapped to her wrist was a small crossbow, and the bolt was very sharp and was very much aimed at Uncle Vernon's face.

"I am Harry's bodyguard, the best in the business," she replied coolly. "Now, I suggest you go downstairs and inform your wife and son that Harry is leaving. I will help him pack, if that's alright with you." Uncle Vernon nodded once, and then bolted downstairs. Ruka grinned, and snapped the crossbow so the bow curved forwards, over her hand, and then twisted it back so the folded bow lay along the sides of her forearm. Harry stared at her, amazed, and then burst into laughter.

"Oh, why couldn't Professor Dumbledore have hired you six years ago?" Harry laughed as he sat down on his bed. Ruka's grin faded slightly, and she yanked Harry's trunk out from under his bed.

"Come on, pack up," she said, grabbing an armful of black robes from Harry's desk and dropping them into his trunk. Harry hunted down his dress robes, and between the two of them they managed to find all of his books, quills and parchment. After a bit, Harry's trunk was closed and ready to go.

"You get Hedwig," Ruka said. "I'll get the trunk."

"But—" Harry began. Before he could finish, Ruka picked the trunk up with one hand and steered it out the door. "Never mind," Harry muttered, grabbed Hedwig's cage and marched downstairs. As soon as he entered the hall, he heard a horn honk outside. Ruka opened the door, carrying Harry's trunk with slight difficulty under one arm.

The entire Weasley family was waving at them from a giant neon orange and pink American school bus. Harry's eyebrows shot up into his hair, and Ruka stifled laughter. She quickly put on her blank tough face, and marched towards the school bus. The doors opened with a hiss. Harry yelled goodbye to the Dursleys, and clambered into the bus. Ruka had dumped his trunk in the back and was sitting in a seat in the middle, her face looking straight ahead. The Weasleys were looking at her oddly. Harry cleared his throat, and Mrs. Weasley jumped up to give him a hug in the slightly cramped bus.

"So nice to see you, dear," she said, looking at him fondly. Harry ducked his head and grinned.

"Nice to see you too, Mrs. Weasley," he replied. Mr. Weasley gave him a fond pat on the pack from the driver's seat, and Harry headed into the back of the bus. Bill and Charlie grinned at him and shook his hand, each saying something along the lines of how good it was to see him again. Percy was not there. Fred and George grinned and each shook his hand formally, bowing over it and making a great fuss. Ron shoved them off and flashed Harry a huge grin. Hermione hugged Harry warmly, then sat down next to Ron on the bench. Harry sat down next to Ginny Weasley, who smiled at him. He smiled back.

"Um, I guess you all know about Ruka," he said. Ron stared blankly at him. "Her," Harry pointed. "My bodyguard." It felt weird to say it like that.

"Hi," said Ruka, looking at every one of them individually. Mr. Weasley started the bus, and they were off. Fred and George clambered into the seat in front of Ruka, and turned so they were sitting on their knees facing her. They clasped the back of the seat with their hands, looking excited. She raised an eyebrow at them.

"Hi," said Fred. "I'm Fred."

"And I'm George."

"How am I supposed to tell you two apart?" Ruka asked.

"You're not," replied Fred... or George.

"The only way I can think of is to either give one of you a haircut or a black eye," Ruka responded. Fred and George both covered their heads and whimpered pathetically. Ruka's eyebrow raised again.

"Can you do something cool?" asked Fred eagerly.

"Yeah, like make us invisible or something?" Ruka, without responding, simply moved her arms a bit. A second later, Fred and George noticed the small knives that were lodged in the spaces between their fingers, buried in the back of the seat.

"Wicked!" exclaimed George delightedly. The twins began to examine the small blades.

"Where do you keep them?" asked Fred reverently. Ruka rolled up the loose sleeves of her black robes. A pair of black leather forearm guards adorned her arms, with a twisting leather strap that ran around and up her arm. Small throwing blades were attached to it, and there were wrist daggers in the forearm guards. The small, foldable crossbow was still attached to one of the armguards, and it was folded up. She wore black dragonhide gloves. Fred and George stared at her as though they had just discovered God.

"We are not worthy," George said, and bowed. Fred imitated him. Ruka snorted.

"Harry," Ron asked quietly as the twins continued to ask Ruka questions, "This girl, she's going to follow you around all year? Protecting you?"

"I guess," Harry said uncertainly. "I'm not sure. Professor Dumbledore didn't exactly give me the outlines of what her job description was."

"What sect does she belong to?" asked Hermione. "I don't see a badge of affinity on her robes, is she freelance?"

"She's a Shadow," Harry said awkwardly. "I'm not sure if she's freelance or anything."

"A Shadow," Hermione breathed. "Wow... they're really good, Harry."

"Not just good. They're the best." Ron swallowed. "Harry, anyone who'd try to attack you while you've got a Shadow as a bodyguard is a bloody loony."

"Got that right. Uncle Vernon came into my room this morning and she nearly slit his throat," Harry said, running a hand through his hair. He was tired from talking to Ruka the night before, and he just wanted to get to the Burrow quickly. "I'm a little sleepy, d'you think I could just lie down on one of these?" asked Harry. Ron and Hermione surrendered their connecting benches so Harry could lie down, and were forced to sit rather close to each other for the rest of the ride. Harry noticed that this made them both insanely fidgety and nervous. He would have to remember to ask Ron about that.

"Harry. We're here." Ruka's voice awoke him, and Harry sat up, startled. Ruka was leaning over the back of his seat wearing an evil looking grin on her face. She wriggled her eyebrows and jerked her head slightly to the side. Harry looked in the direction she'd jerked her head, and had to clap a hand to his mouth to keep from snorting out his laughter. Hermione and Ron had fallen asleep. Hermione's head was resting on Ron's shoulder, and his head was resting on hers. It was a good thing Ron's other brothers were outside. He would never have lived that one down.

"I'll just wake them up, shall I," said Ruka, still grinning. She got up and walked in front of the bench that Ron and Hermione were sitting on, and delicately placed a combat boot up on the seat, in between the two of them. She then cleared her throat loudly and dropped her grin, making her face a blank mask. She still wore her sunglasses.

Ron woke up first, but only seconds before Hermione. He blinked groggily, and looked up to see Ruka's unamused face. He started, jerking up his head, and realized that it had been resting on Hermione's. Hermione looked up at Ron, her face going a brilliant shade of red that matched the tips of Ron's ears.

"Um," Ron said awkwardly. "I..." He didn't finish. Ruka simple arched one eyebrow, removed her boot from the seat, turned and walked out of the bus. Harry followed her with a shrug towards his two blushing friends. They both glanced at each other and practically ran out of the bus.

"Harry, dear! Let me take a good look at you!" Mrs. Weasley beamed at Harry once he got out of the bus. She studied him carefully, then gave him an enormous hug. Harry hugged her back, slightly awkwardly, but she didn't seem to notice. Ron smirked at him, and Ruka's face remained expressionless.

"We're glad to have you with us, dear," Mrs. Weasley said, smiling. Harry nodded with an embarrassed "Thanks". Mrs. Weasley turned to Ruka. "It's nice to meet you too, dear." Ruka stepped forwards and held out her hand. Mrs. Weasley took it, and they shook.

"Nice to meet you too," Ruka said flatly, her voice devoid of emotion. Harry looked at her and shivered a little, even though it was warm out. She was quite pretty, but she looked so cold. When she talked to him, her voice was warmer, and she usually made a little expression, but now her face was like blank stone. It reminded Harry of the giant chess set he'd had to face, in his first year. The Queen's face had been as blank as Ruka's.

"Come on, Ruka, we want to show you something," Fred or George grabbed Ruka's arm and pulled her towards the house. She let them drag her along, but cast a look over her shoulder at Harry. Ruka beckoned with her head for him to follow. Ron caught the look, and he hastily pulled Harry and Hermione towards the house.

"I'll come back to get my trunk in a moment," Harry called over his shoulder. He, Ron and Hermione entered the house. Ruka was waiting at the foot of the stairs, obviously refusing to go up until Harry got in the house. Once he was right behind her, Ruka allowed Fred and George to lead her up to their room.

Harry had never been in the twin's room before. It was, as he expected, a disaster area. Wrinkled copies of magazines covered the floor with titles like "Mischief Weekly". George's bed was over by the window, and had a huge 'G' on the covers. Fred's bed was on the other side of the room and had a large 'F' on the covers. Wrinkled robes littered the floor, as well as an occasional sock or shoe.

That was only part of the room, however. Over in the corner of the room, there was a small counter. It was made of wood and bore so many scorch marks that it was practically black. A black cloth covered many odd shaped lumps cluttered near the wall, and given Fred and George's reputation for making potentially dangerous joke toys, Harry decided he didn't want to know what was hidden under the cloth.

Fred pulled something out from under his bed. It was a medium sized box, navy blue, and decorated with orange swirly things. Fred opened it and dumped the contents out on the counter, quickly picking up the pieces of paper and stuffing them into the pocket of his robes. He picked up a small black pouch and grinned broadly.

"This," he said dramatically, "is an Invisible Pouch."

The announcement was not greeted with the enthusiasm he had been expecting.

"Really." Ron raised an eyebrow. "Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but it's not that invisible." George snorted and rolled his eyes. Fred clutched his heart dramatically.

"Oh, whatever shall we do?" he asked George woefully.

"I know not, dear brother," George answered. "Our brother has not a touch of our creative genius! Woe is us!" Ron rolled his eyes, mimicking Fred's earlier move.

"Shut up and just tell us about it," he said, annoyed. Fred and George stopped playacting.

"Right." Fred pressed a secret spot on the pouch's strap. It vanished. Harry blinked.

"Doing magic? Why aren't you getting arrested about now?" he asked the twins, who were grinning happily.

"Oh, we did the charms at school. That's just a trigger, it doesn't count as actually doing magic," George stated proudly. He pressed the spot on the strap, presumably, because it flickered back into sight. "It's also immune to... um... Summoning Charms, Burning Charms, Levitation Charms, hmm..."

"Pretty much every charm we've been taught, up 'till now," Fred finished, looking pleased. Ron looked impressed, and picked up the pouch.

"Can't wait to get on the Hogwarts Express and do magic again," he said to himself, examining the pouch. Hermione moved closer to him and ran her fingers along the edges, feeling the stitches. She and Ron bent their heads closer together, studying the thing intently. Harry did his best to hide a smile, and fortunately Ruka turned the twin's attention away from the two studying the pouch.

"What's this?" Ruka asked, pointing to a tank sitting on a table by George's bed. George hurried over to it and grinned.

"A Fire Salamander," he said proudly. "When you feed it Filibuster's Fireworks, it shoots around breathing fire!" He grinned broadly at her. Harry couldn't tell, because of her sunglasses, but he could have sworn Ruka rolled her eyes.

"Fascinating," was Ruka's only reply. Harry cast a sneaky glance over his shoulder towards Ron and Hermione, who were behaving in typical Ron and Hermione fashion: They had started bickering. He sighed.

"Let's go back downstairs," Harry said to Ron before they had a chance to really get going. "I need to get my trunk." Ron nodded at Harry and glared at Hermione.

"All I'm saying is that you can't write to Viktor using Pig!" Ron said hotly to Hermione as they walked downstairs, following Harry and Ruka.

"And why not?" Hermione snarled. "This isn't time for your stupid prejudice against him because he was Harry's rival-"

"That's not why," Ron hissed, obviously annoyed. "Pig isn't up to journeys to Bulgaria! He's too small!" Hermione was startled, and had the decency to blush under Ron's angry glare. Ruka, however, managed to settle their argument by turning her blank face towards them and fixing her gaze upon them. Although her eyes were hidden, it was still unnerving to feel her steely gaze on you.

"Oy, Harry!" Harry, Ruka, Ron and Hermione spilled out onto the lawn of the Weasley's house. Bill and Charlie were carrying his trunk between the two of them, and they both looked quite unhappy. After a moment, Harry could see why. Hedwig had been let out of her cage, and was attacking the two patches of red hair enthusiastically. The two older Weasleys were trying to hold up Harry's trunk and fend off the playful owl. Ruka hurried over to the two men and grabbed the trunk away from them, carrying it on her shoulder and arm. The two redheaded men stared at her, astonished. Their awe did not last long as Hedwig took advantage of Bill's distraction and bit his ear.

"Bloody owl!" Bill yelled, then looked sheepish. "Sorry, Harry..."

"No, that's alright," Harry said quickly. "Hedwig, stop that!" Hedwig hooted at him playfully and zoomed around Harry's head a few times. She then shot off towards the trees behind Ron's house.

"Your owl's happier to be here than you are, Harry," Charlie said, grinning and rubbing at a spot on his head where Hedwig had decided to land very suddenly. Harry smiled wryly.

"I sincerely doubt that," he remarked.

The nine days at Ron's house passed in a blur. It was great to spend time with his friends after his chaotic sixth year and his, if possible, worse summer. The Dursleys had stopped clothing him, so he'd spent the summer in Dudley's baggy pants, which did not fit him around the waist, and came up to just above his ankles. The Dursleys had also scowled at him every time he left his room, so Harry had just stayed there, doing his homework.

Before Harry had time to register how much time had gone by, Molly Weasley was preparing a goodbye dinner and Hermione was telling him he and Ron had better start packing. George and Fred were still fascinated by Ruka, Charlie and Bill had started using her as a Beater in their mock Quidditch games and Percy was sniffing in disapproval at her more than often.

The Weasley clan was gathered around the tables that had been set up in the lawn, plus Harry and Ruka. Ruka didn't sit too close, but she had a chair next to Harry. She ate very little, and didn't participate in the conversation at the table. Fred and George chatted excitedly to her, something that did not require her to actually speak. Charlie was involved in an intense conversation with Harry about Quidditch, Ron and Hermione were bickering about something, and Mr. Weasley was discussing something related to the Ministry with Percy. Mrs. Weasley was arguing with Bill about his dangerous line of work.

Once dinner was over and everyone had carried the dishes inside, Harry, Ron and Hermione headed up to Ron's room, closely followed by Ruka. She slipped into her cot in the corner of the room and sat, back to the wall, face blank. Harry and Hermione flopped onto Ron's bed, and Ron began shoving his robes into his trunk hurriedly.

"Don't suppose you'd wanna help?" he grunted, throwing a bunch of battered books into his trunk and running back to his desk to get his writing supplies. Hermione frowned at him disapprovingly.

"Ron, you've had days to pack, I don't understand why you had to leave it to the last minute..." she nevertheless got up and began folding Ron's socks and stuffing them into the trunk. Harry laughed and began rolling Ron's parchment. Ruka got up and began putting the rest of Ron's books in the trunk, nestled among the robes and socks. Ron grinned and shoved all his quills into his schoolbag.

After about half an hour everyone sat on the lid of Ron's trunk until it shut all the way, Ron snapped the locks into place, and padlocked it shut. He put the key on a chain and put the chain around his neck, ignoring the looks he was getting.

"Ron?" Harry asked, right eyebrow raised. Ron glared at him.

"Who do I have for brothers, Harry?" he asked. "I'll sleep better knowing Gred and Forge can't get into my trunk." Harry nodded. Hermione sighed.

"It's so hot in here, Ron," she said, pulling off her sweater. "D'you think we could get sleeping bags and sleep out on the lawn?" Ron looked at her, then looked away, his ears turning pink. He then grinned.

"We don't ha- need sleeping bags," he said. "We can just use some sheets, is that alright?" Harry and Hermione nodded, and Ruka didn't move. Ron looked at her. "Is that okay with you?" he asked hesitantly. Ruka looked surprised.

"It doesn't matter," she said, somewhat startled. "I can sleep anywhere." Ron shrugged, and began pulling the sheets of his bed. Hermione stopped him, horrified.

"Ron! Those are nice sheets!" she protested. "I'm sure your mum's got some dirty ones that we can use to sleep outside." Off Ron's skeptical look, she snapped, "Well, fine, d'you want your mum to kill you after you get grass stains on her good sheets?" Ron relented, and the two of them set off to find some other sheets. Harry turned to Ruka.

"You really don't mind sleeping outside?" he asked, searching her face for a clue that would betray her feelings. Ruka gave a wry smile.

"I've slept in more uncomfortable places, trust me," she said. "A night outdoors isn't going to bother me." Harry nodded, then gave into his curiosity.

"Like where?"

"Like hanging onto a rope, pressed against a damp wall." Harry's eyebrows went up.

"You slept like that?" Ruka nodded.

"I had to." Harry smiled and shook his head.

"I don't believe you."

"I never lie." Ruka gave him another of her wry smiles, when Hermione and Ron came bursting into the room. Ruka didn't move, but dropped the smile, making her face blank once again.

"Found sheets!" Hermione said briskly, which did nothing to disguise the fact that her face was flushed and that Ron's ears were an unnatural shade of pink. Harry got up, weakly disguising a grin, and Ruka raised her eyebrows at Harry behind Ron and Hermione's backs. Harry gave her a grateful smile. He'd never been able to laugh about Hermione and Ron's relationship, or lack of one, with anyone before, and it felt good to have Ruka around with her sarcastic comments... of course, she never said anything around the two of them. Harry had noticed that when Ruka was alone with him, she would talk freely and make expressions. When other people came around, the only facial expression she would make would be the raising of her eyebrows (mostly used with the twins).

"Harry, coming?" Ron asked. Harry nodded quickly and ducked out the door, Ruka following closely behind him. They all headed into the yard, which was dusted with a dark blue light caused by the setting sun. Everyone grabbed a sheet and ducked under the tall fir trees in case it rained. Everyone lay down, Ron and Hermione being careful to have at least on person in between them. Ruka slept next to Harry, on his left. Ron slept to Harry's right, and Hermione to Ruka's left.

Harry woke in the middle of the night, shivering. It was chilly out, but the others didn't seem to notice, being asleep. He curled himself into a ball and turned over, trying to get warm.

"Harry, are you cold?" It was Ruka. Harry rolled back, so that he was facing her. She was still wearing her sunglasses.

"N-no," he said, shivering. In the darkness, he could imagine her wry half-smile, and he heard her get up. He suddenly felt the sheet yanked off him.

"Stay still," she ordered. There was a rustling noise, and a few seconds later the sheet was cast back over his body. It was a lot thicker, and he realized she'd given him hers, and folded them in half.

"I can't," he said. "Take yours, you'll be cold."

"I don't get cold, remember? I'll be fine. You won't." He heard her lie down again. "Go back to sleep. You're going back to Hogwarts tomorrow." Harry nodded into the grass, and closed his eyes. He thought how nice it was to have someone who cared about him like that... like a mother...

"Harry. Wake up." Harry opened his eyes to Ruka's foggy face, and jammed his glasses on his nose. "It's time to go."

"Now? We're leaving?" he asked groggily.

"Yes. Do you have to go to the bathroom?" He nodded, and Ruka held out her hand to help him up. His hand touched the dragonhide gloves she was still wearing, and dimly wondered why she didn't take them off. "Go inside, grab some toast and get in the car. I'll be right there." Harry absently stumbled towards the house, went to the bathroom, and got some toast. He passed some of the Weasley family, who all looked as tired and groggy as he did. Mrs. Weasley handed him some toast, and he walked out to the bus with Ginny. Ruka was walking towards the house with the sheets bundled in her arms, walking quickly towards the house. A few moments after she entered, Mrs. Weasley exited, Fred, George and Ruka after her. Mrs. Weasley locked the house and tapped the box that would set the protection spells in place, then hurried out to the bus. Mr. Weasley was vaguely awake, the twins both flopped onto seats and began snoring again, Bill and Charlie were huddled in the back corners, sleeping, and Ginny was leaning on Hermione's shoulder, blue eyes staring blankly ahead. Ron was sitting behind Hermione, and Ruka was sitting in front of Bill. Harry took a bench behind Fred and leaned against the window. Mrs. Weasley got into the bus, Mr. Weasley closed the doors, and they were off. Harry stared at the passing countryside, his thoughts not really settling on anything. Ginny fell asleep on Hermione's shoulder, Ron passed out with his head leaning forwards, George rolled off his bench onto the floor... It was a fairly uneventful trip.

Once they reached King's Cross, everyone loaded their trunks onto trolleys and headed to Platform 9 ¾. Ron and Harry went through first, in case someone did anything to the barrier (this had been tradition since their second year), closely followed by Ruka and the Weasleys. Ruka stuck close by Harry, looking around constantly. She helped everyone get their trunks into the train, stood next to Harry as he was receiving his goodbye hugs, then practically marched him onto the train.

"Ruka, what's wrong?" Harry asked, as she practically shoved him into a compartment. "Is there someone dangerous out there?"

"Not that I know of," she said stiffly. "There are too many people. It's safer in here. No!" She practically yelled as Harry slid over in his seat, by the window. "You sit here, in the middle. If someone comes in through the window, they'll have you in a second."

"Ruka, no one's going to attack me on the train," Harry argued as Ron and Hermione entered the compartment. Ron snorted sardonically.

"Wouldn't bet on that, Harry," Ron said. "Draco Malfoy's out there, you know."

"It doesn't matter if you don't think anyone is going to attack you," Ruka said, carefully sitting down next to the window. She angled herself so that she could see out the window and still see the carriage door. "That's the kind of thinking that gets you killed."

"You sound like Professor Moody," Ron commented as he and Hermione flopped down carelessly, arms and legs sprawling, and began their argument where they'd left off before getting on the train. Harry looked at Ruka, who was sitting with her arms crossed and her sunglasses still perched on her nose. She hadn't taken them off for the entire time they'd been at the Weasleys.

"Hi, Harry! How was your summer? I hope your Muggle relatives were nicer this year, did you stay at Ron's? Ginny's looking for him – oh, Ron, your sister's looking for you – And this year, I got to go to Ireland and visit Seamus-" Neville Longbottom's rambling was cut short as he saw Ruka. "Sorry, I don't think I know you," he said, confused. Neville looked at Harry for clarification. At a school like Hogwarts, everyone knew everyone else in their year. "What year are you in?"

"I'm not in a year. I don't go to Hogwarts." Ruka did not offer any further information and Neville still looked confused.

"O-okay. I've got to go find Seamus, I think I left Trevor at his house over the summer..." Neville hurried out of the compartment and down the corridor, slightly frightened by the cold girl.

[The train ride was fairly uneventful. Draco Malfoy left them alone, probably because when he walked by their compartment Ruka flashed one of her many knives at him. He didn't seem to think that was very nice, so he and his bodyguards... I mean, "friends" stayed away from Harry's compartment. Everyone went into the Great Hall, the Sorting began, the Sorting ended, the Feast commenced, everyone stuffed themselves, then went to their Common Rooms and went to sleep.

[Overview of most of the year: Ruka follows Harry around all day, sleeps in a cot in the corner of the boy's dorm, and sits next to him in class. The students have accepted her as a kind of scenery: She is always around, but she doesn't talk. The only time she expresses emotion is when she'd surprised, which is not too often, and when she's alone with Harry. Ron and Hermione continue to bicker and flirt, and Ruka has yet to take off her sunglasses. This next part takes place at night, and is just to give you a feeling of the relationship between Harry and Ruka.]

"No... no... Mother... don't do it..." Harry thrashed in his sleep, fists flying and his sleepy groans getting louder. In a flash, Ruka was by his side.

"Harry," she hissed, grabbing his arms. "Harry, wake up." She shook him gently. "Harry. Wake up." The black haired boy's eyes snapped open and he sat up. Before he could say anything, Ruka clamped

a hand over his mouth, plucked him out of bed and guided him down to the common room.

"Bad dreams?" she asked quietly as they sat down on the couch by the fire. Harry nodded. "What is it this time?" Ruka asked, pushing her sunglasses farther up onto her nose.

"My mother. She was leaving to go fight." Harry didn't elaborate. Ruka knew by now how all his dreams ended... in that flash of green light and a cruel, high-pitched laugh.

"I'm sorry," she said softly, putting her strong arms around him. Harry leaned his head on her shoulder, and she ran her gloved fingers through his jet-black hair, making soothing noises.

"I... I don't know why these dreams are coming now," Harry said, his voice muffled. "I feel... like something's going to come soon, to settle everything." Harry pulled away from Ruka, his emerald eyes glistening. "I think He's going to come for me. Soon."

"Don't say that," Ruka said, her voice a low growl. "...But if he does," she continued, still growling, "There's no way you'll fight Him without me."

"Ruka," Harry protested, "I can't make you risk your life to protect me."

"You misunderstand me," Ruka said, her voice still low and angry. "I will fight Him for you. But mostly... I'll be fighting him for *me*." Her face twisted into a bitter parody of a smile.

"Why?" Harry asked. Ruka laughed hollowly.

"I... just don't like the idea of a person like Him being alive, when..." her voice cracked. "When so many... innocent lives have been taken. Like your parent's." Harry nodded, accepting this, but feeling as though there was more to the story than the avenging of innocent lives.

"It's late," Ruka said suddenly. "You'd better get back to bed." Harry nodded, and got up, Ruka silently following. As they made their way up the stairs, Harry turned and gently touched Ruka's black sunglasses.

"Why don't you ever take those off?" he whispered. Ruka shook her head.

"I'll tell you some other time," she whispered back. He grabbed her gloved hand.

"Why don't you take these off?" he asked. Ruka shook her head and shooed him up the stairs and back into bed. She ruffled his hair in a sisterly way as he got back under the covers, the cool dragonshide comforting his hot skin.

[It is currently the day after exams have finished.]

"Well I'm bloody glad that's over with," Ron said, loosening his tie and pulling it off from around his neck. Hermione swatted the back of his head, Ron flicked his tie in her general direction, and the two collapsed on the grass by the lake. Harry and Ruka shared an amused look and sat down beside the two.

"I thought my Stupidity Potion would never cool," Harry moaned. "It was purple at first!" Ron laughed... then suddenly stopped.

"Wait, wasn't it supposed to be purple? I'm joking- joking!" he said quickly, as Hermione turned on him with a wad of balled up grass. He put his hands up in front of his face.

What followed was a long grass fight, which ended in Harry, Ron and Hermione collapsing back on the lawn next to Ruka, who hadn't moved. She looked slightly worried, and kept glancing around.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked her quietly. Ron and Hermione were taking off their shoes by the edge of the lake, so they couldn't hear.

"Nothing's wrong," Ruka said quietly. "I just... have a bad feeling. The kind that comes before a storm."

"There's clouds in the sky," Harry suggested, knowing full well that wasn't what she meant.

"That's not what I meant," Ruka said. Harry sighed.

"I know. You don't think... Voldemort?"

"I'm not sure. It feels... tense. The whole world feels like it needs to release something."

"Oy! Harry!" Ron called, and Harry went over to go sit by his two friends after whispering a few reassuring words to Ruka.

Later, the four of them were curled up in the Common Room. Ruka was unable to hide her nervousness, and had been asked several times by Ron and Hermione if she was alright.

"Ruka," Harry said in a low voice, "Maybe we should go and see what's going on?" Ruka frowned behind her sunglasses.

"I don't like this," she replied quietly. "I can't leave you here alone, but I can't take you with me to see what's happening."

"Don't worry about me," Harry said. "I'll keep behind you, don't worry. I have to go with you." Ruka took a deep breath, then nodded. She began to stand up, then sat back down, hard. Harry had begun to glow. Ron and Hermione silenced each other as they stared at Harry, who had begun to life up off the couch. Ruka reached up and grabbed his ankle, but the magic was too strong. Harry kept rising, but Ruka clenched her gloved hand tighter around his ankle and was lifted up with him. Ron and Hermione, without a word, linked hands. Hermione threw an arm around Ruka's shoulders and Ron grabbed onto Harry's ankle. The four of them lifted up, then shot at the window. The tinkling glass behind them seemed light-years away as they dangled outside, hundreds of meters above the ground. However, they did not fall. Harry began to glow brighter, and the four of them shot off, flying without a broomstick, towards the Forbidden Forest.

They landed hard, sprawling on the ground. Ruka hit the ground on her hands, then performed a forward roll and landed on her feet. Harry landed on his feet, but Ron landed on his back and Hermione fell on top of him. They both froze for a moment, staring at each other like deer caught in headlights. Hermione scrambled off of Ron quickly, flushing, but grabbing her wand from inside her robes. Ron got up and pulled out his wand as well. Harry's wand was already out, and one hand was gingerly rubbing his scar. Ruka looked like a miniature arsenal of weapons. She held a curved knife in one hand, and her jet black wand in the other. Her crossbow was out on her wand hand and was loaded, and she'd taken off her robes to reveal the shuriken [A/N: Ninja throwing stars] strapped onto her belt. She'd also taken off one of her dragonhide gloves and replaced it with a leather glove with the fingers cut off. Her combat boots had knives strapped to the sides, and she had another curved knife on her belt. Her leather gauntlets hid her throwing knives.

"Whoa," Ron said, eyes going wide. Ruka turned to look at him.

"Alright. You two walk on either side of Harry. Does anyone know which way back to the castle? No? Alright. Stand still." Ruka titled her head up, and it took Harry a moment to realize she was looking at the stars. "This way," she said, pointing. "Let's go. You three walk in a line. I'll take rearguard." Without a word, Hermione began to walk in the direction Ruka had pointed, with Ron behind her and then Harry.

"Harry," Ruka asked quietly, "How's your scar?"

"It hurts," he whispered back. "It's like a dull throbbing under my skin." Ruka was silent for a moment.

"That means He's close," she stated, as much to herself as to him. Harry nodded, and tripped over Ron, who had tripped over Hermione.

"Oof! Ruka, can I light my wand?" Hermione asked, shoving Ron and Harry off her.

"No. But come here." Hermione obediently stepped over the two who were still sprawled on the path, and Ruka placed the tip of her wand in between Hermione's eyes. She murmured something under her breath, and Hermione gasped.

"What? What happened?" Ron asked, rolling quickly to his feet. Harry scrambled to his feet to see Hermione blinking in amazement and looking all around her.

"It's amazing! It looks like daylight! What spell is that? Is it very hard? I have to learn this!" Hermione began babbling loudly, to be silenced by Ron's hand over her mouth. Her cheeks flushed and his ears turned bright pink, and Ruka sighed.

"It's the Opticus Lux spell," she told Hermione quietly. "Opticus lux!" she said, pointing her wand at Ron. "I'm sorry I didn't think of it sooner."

"Opticus lux!" Hermione said, performing the spell on Harry. He blinked in amazement.

"Wicked!" Ron exclaimed in a low voice.

"Come on," Ruka said, impatient. "We've got to get going. I don't like the sounds that are coming from behind us, and we're not close enough to the school." Hermione headed off again, more sure of her footing, and Ron followed. Harry walked a little bit behind them with Ruka.

"Harry," Ruka said quietly again, "I have to tell you something. Do you remember when you asked me why I never took my sunglasses or my gloves off?" Harry nodded. "It... it has to do with why I hate Lord Voldemort so much," she said, anger apparent in her voice. "When I was young... about four or so... Lord Voldemort put my parents under the Imperius Curse. They... they did some terrible things. Things like... they were made to betray their friends. They were made to kill, to maim, to... I don't know. But what He did to me..." Ruka stiffened. "At least my parents were put out of their misery. They broke the Curse and killed themselves. When He learned what they had done... He turned on me." Ruka broke off. "Have to ever heard of La Touche de la Mort?"

"No," Harry admitted. "Hermione probably has-"

"I'm not telling this to Hermione. I'm telling you, because you're like the little brother I never had. Anyway, the roughly translated, it means, "Touch of Death". It's a curse. When it's placed upon someone, whomever they touch will suffer instant death. It has grievous effects on the person the curse is on, as well. The first time, the person will usually suffer a headache. The next time the headache is worse, and the next time its a migraine. After that, the person has about two more times to touch anyone if they want to live. Usually the curse isn't permanent, but when enough power is behind it... it stays forever." Ruka glanced down at her gloved hands, and at the fingers on her left hand that were exposed. "Voldemort put that curse on me. When I was four. The first person that was ever nice to me after my parents went away... I killed him. Simply because I took his hand when he held it out to me."

Harry very nearly stopped walking in shock. He blinked a few times to take in what she'd just said.

"You mean... you can't touch anyone... ever?"

"If I so much as brushed your cheek with my bare skin," she said quietly, "I'd kill us both. My body can't take it anymore. The next person I touch, I will die with them."

"Ruka, that's... that's awful!"

"It's why I became a Shadow. By becoming a bodyguard and assassin, I trained myself to be distanced from people and from the world." Ruka laughed quietly and bitterly. "But I always wanted revenge. He'd ruined so many lives... what I told you was true. I want to avenge the innocent lives that He's taken." Harry nodded.

"And your sunglasses?" Ruka touched his shoulder gently, and he turned around. Her sunglasses were off, but her eyes were closed. She opened them, and he gasped.

Ruka's eyes looked like black opals. There was no white- all black, faceted with streaks and spots of dark blues, purples, and even some magenta pinks.

"Why are your eyes like that?" he whispered, turning away from her and continuing to walk.

"It's the mark of one touched by death," she said quietly. "The stone for the god of Death, Pluto, is an opal. All who are touched by him bear eyes like mine."

They were silent for a few minutes.

"Ruka," Harry asked, "...we're heading away from Him, aren't we? We're going back to the school."

"Yes, we are," Ruka agreed. "But the Death Eaters have been on our trail since we began. They're not too far away now. I was hoping to get Ron and Hermione out of the woods before they attacked."

"Can the Death Eaters hear us talking?" Harry asked, his mind whirling.

"No," Ruka said confidently. "I can hear them, but they haven't lowered their voices yet. They think they're far away enough so they can talk normally. That means they can't hear us."

"If Ron and Hermione were to run back to the castle and try and get some staff out here, would they notice?" Ruka was silent for a moment.

"It'll be tricky. We can't afford to assume that they can't see us. What we'll have to do is cast an illusion over Ron and Hermione that looks just like them while they slip into the bushes and get back to the castle." Harry nodded. "Can you cast illusions?"

"Yes," Harry replied, "But they're very simple. All they'll be able to do is walk, run, and make boring conversation."

"Well, since we're really going to get out of Voldemort's clutches by delivering a lecture on atomic philosophy..." Ruka started sarcastically.

"Okay, okay. I'll pass the word up to Ron, okay?"

"You do that. I'll listen. Keep the pace up, don't talk too loudly."

Harry passed along the plan to Ron, who gulped but remained calm. He passed the plan to Hermione while pretending to flirt with her. Anyone watching would simply assume that they were walking with their arms around each other. In Ruka and Harry's opinion, both of them enjoyed pretending far too much.

Ruka and Harry cast the illusions, and Ron and Hermione ducked quickly into the bushes on the side of the path. Ruka winced as she heard leaves crunching under them as they hurried towards the castle, but since nobody had her hearing, she remained calm.

"They're getting closer," she whispered to Harry. "They've stopped talking." Harry nodded tensely, the hairs on the back of his neck beginning to stand up. He gripped his wand tightly, bringing to mind the most powerful spells, hexes, and curses he knew.

"There are ten of them. They can see us clearly now. Start walking more quickly, but drag your feet to look like you're tired." Ruka's calm whispered instructions helped Harry control his panicked breathing, and he began to walk a bit more quickly.

"Behind us," Ruka breathed quietly. Harry began to shake. He tried to take deep breaths and to calm himself when a masked figure jumped out from in front of them, wand aimed directly at him.

"Don't move!" the figure said. Harry's illusion-Ron vanished as he broke the spell. Ruka broke her spell and threw a handful of powder onto the ground. It exploded in a flash of blinding light that made Harry's eyes water, but before he knew what was happening Ruka had swept him up and tossed him over her shoulder, and she was running into the forest.

Harry's head bounced uncomfortably, and he heard the shouts and curses of Death Eaters behind him. He sent a Jelly Legs curse at one Death Eater that got too close to them, and managed to put a Confusion Curse on another.

Before Harry or Ruka noticed anything, a huge, bulky Death Eater tackled them. Harry's head hit the ground hard, but he tried to roll out of the way. His wrist was caught by a fleshy hand and forced up against something smooth and cold. Before he knew anything, he felt a familiar jerk at his navel, followed by a whooshing sensation, and then he landed on cold stone.

Harry rolled to his feet seconds after Ruka did. Goyle Sr. stood a foot away from him, a stupid grin on his face. Ruka stopped him from smiling by lodging a small throwing knife in his heart.

"Quite the violent girlfriend there, Harry," hissed a cold, patronizing voice from behind him. Harry spun around, only to be blasted against the wall by a blast of cold air that shot from Lord Voldemort's wand. Ruka had jumped aside and moved her arm in a wriggling manner, and a throwing knife suddenly appeared, lodged in Lord Voldemort's neck. He grinned, pulled it out, and snapped it in half. Black gunk oozed out of the wound where blood have been.

Harry was having trouble breathing. He fought against the freezing winds that wracked his body, but his internal heat was wearing out. He felt something strike his neck, hard enough to leave a bruise. He felt a bit of blood come trickling out.

Ruka had noticed a change in the Dark Lord's demeanor. He was getting weaker, and was shaking. She frowned, but took advantage of this momentary distraction. She cast a quick spell on the stones around his feet, then aimed her wand at him and screamed "Crucio!"

With anyone else, she would not have cast that curse. But she would make an exception for Him.

Harry felt a stab of pain, too great to be ignored. He cried out in agony, trying to clutch his hands to his chest, and failing because of the freezing wind. It was then that Ruka saw their fatal connection.

Ohmygod. Ruka stopped the curse on the Dark Lord, and instead concentrated on blasting the freezing wind away from Harry using a flame spell. Ohno. They're connected. Harry's got a bruise where He's got a cut, he was getting cold when Harry was freezing, Harry felt the Cruciatus Curse I put on Him... oh God. There's no way to kill Him without killing Harry! Fortunately for her... that was something that was not going to be a problem.

Lord Voldemort had not seen the connection.

"Avada Kedavra!" he screeched, in a high-pitched voice that made Ruka's hairs stand up. The moment she heard the beginning of the words, she aimed her wand at Harry and screamed "Wingardium Leviosa!"

The Killing Curse missed Harry's chest, but hit his feet. Ruka dropped him in shock, and the moment he hit the ground, Lord Voldemort did as well.

"What... have you done to me!?" he hissed, clutching his body.

"You two are connected," she snarled, kneeling over Harry, tears making her eyes blurry. She shook them away and felt for a pulse. There was a weak one, and it was getting weaker every second. Harry was dying.

Ruka felt rage tear at her heart. Her brother was dying, dying by the man who had cursed her to live her life in shadow. [A/N: No pun intended] And now, he was going to pay.

Ruka, her face twisted into a bestial snarl, threw her knife at Voldemort. He knocked it easily away. Obviously, what happened to one happened to the other in a lesser proportion. She grabbed Harry's wand and launched herself at him, an animal scream escaping her throat. Voldemort knocked her aside at the last moment, sending her flying into the wall. Her mind had stopped working, and her eyes were clouded with anger and hate. Ruka hit the wall hard, on her left side- which was the side that was holding Harry's wand. The wand stuck the wall and snapped.

Lord Voldemort's wand, even as he raised it to kill her, exploded into a million fragments.

Looks like the connection ran even deeper than I thought, Ruka thought grimly to herself. She drew a long hunting knife and kneeled by Harry's body, placing the knife to his throat.

"What are you doing!?" Lord Voldemort cried, desperate not to die. Ruka looked at him with loathing.

"I'm putting an end to you," she informed him. "Even if it means killing him, I will stop you. Even if I have to kill him myself... I will stop you."

Lord Voldemort lunged at her, and she snapped the blade up so that he landed on it, then rolled backwards so she used the momentum of his lunge to fling him into the wall behind her. The Dark Lord hit the wall head first.

"Fool," she said, getting up and taking off her gloves. She began to drop her weapons onto the floor. "Did you really think I would harm him directly? You are obviously not human anymore... if you ever were." Ruka's weapons lay in a circle around her on the stone floor, and she looked around curiously. "We're in the attic of Hogwarts," she observed. "Very sly. You'd send Dumbledore and the staff into the forest to fight a few Death Eaters, then kill Harry up here... then you could take over the castle. The one place you couldn't have during your dark reign." Ruka held a small, sharp knife in her hand. She used it to cut off the long braid that ran down her back. She dropped the braid onto the floor, then dropped the knife.

Ruka walked over to the Dark Lord, who was trying to summon up some hidden power within himself... but Ruka cast a spell over him. He stopped moving. She rubbed her eyes.

"I'm very tired," she said softly. "And I want you to remember a little girl from your past. You put a curse on this girl... a curse so that whenever she touched someone, she would kill them." Ruka saw his eyes widen. "That's right." She grinned... it was obvious to most that her sanity was not at its height here. She was mad with bloodlust. Ruka knelt down and picked up a knife. "If it wasn't for Harry," she whispered to Voldemort, carving a line down his greenish, reptilian cheek, "I would carve you up and serve you to your own filthy followers. As it is," she continued, carving another thick line down his other cheek, not seeing the thin bruises that appeared on the unconscious Harry's face. "As it is," she repeated, "I'm going to give you a taste of what you gave me." She carved a lightning bolt onto his forehead, then dropped the knife and released the spell holding him. He lunged at her, trapping her arms by her sides. They fell onto the stone floor, Ruka rolling in midair so that he took the brunt of the fall. She wrenched her arms free and jumped clear of him. He scrambled to his feet, fumbling for one of the weapons she'd dropped. Ruka kicked the knife out of his reach.

"Say goodbye," she hissed as she removed her sunglasses. She crushed them under the steel heel of her combat boot, and lunged at him.

Ruka's pale, unblemished hands latched onto Lord Voldemort's face. His eyes rolled up in his head, and his body began to twitch and shake in agony. Harry, lying on the floor, began to shake as well, though not as badly as the Dark Lord. Harry's eyes opened, and he managed to rasp in a useless voice:

"NO! RUKA!"

Ruka heard him, and the bloodlust cleared from her eyes. She was dying, and she knew it. There was nothing that would save her... or Harry. The Dark Lord lay, his limbs still twitching from the shock that had gone into them, even though Lord Voldemort was dead and would never rise again. Ruka released her hold on his face, and fell backwards. She crawled pitifully over to Harry, and he inched his way over to her.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. Harry nodded.

"I understand," he rasped back. Muffled shouts and bangings came from the floor below them. "They're coming," he said, voicing both their thoughts. She nodded.

"I'll be gone before they get here," she said quietly. "But Harry... Harry, he's gone. He's gone, and he's never going to come back. We did it." She smiled, sadly, then closed her death-touched eyes. Her head slumped against the floor, and a drop of blood fell emerged from the corner of her mouth. It curved down her lip, and then dripped onto the stone.

Harry felt tears in his eyes. He hadn't even known her for one year, and yet she was as close to him as his own sister would have been. It was different from Ron and Hermione... they were close to him in ways a sister could never be. Ruka had been... so much like him, he reflected as he faded. He only hoped that he could protect those he loved, even after his own death.

Ron and Hermione shoved open the wooden door and threw themselves down next to Harry.

"Harry!" They cried simultaneously. His green eyes opened, fluttering weakly.

"Ron... Hermione..." he whispered, his voice almost gone. "I... love you both... you're my best friends..." with that, his eyes seemed to fall on something over Ron's shoulder, and it took them both a moment to realize that Harry had breathed his last breath.

A moment later, before either of them had time to start crying, Ruka's body vanished, turning into smoke. At this, they both broke down, tears streaming down their faces. Ron and Hermione each closed one of Harry's bright green eyes at the same time, and they crawled over to one another, throwing their arms around the other, and lying down next to the body of their best friend.

When Dumbledore and the rest of the staff arrived, it was clear that they had known how the fight had ended. Dumbledore gently pulled Ron and Hermione into a sitting position, and it was only then did they catch sight of Lord Voldemort's dead body. Ron's eyes hardened in anger, and Hermione noticed the bloody lines on each cheek and the bloody lightning bolt on his forehead. Her eyes flickered to Harry's face, to search out his scar. She frowned when she saw the identical bruises down Harry's cheeks, but the real shock came when she brushed back his messy black hair.

"Ron! Professor!" she cried out. "Harry's scar is gone!"

Indeed it was. Harry's forehead was smooth, and bore no trace of a scar.

Epilogue

Harry sat in the middle of the room in which he had died, which had been cleaned. He had just finished explaining to Ron and Hermione how he had died, the connection between himself and Lord Voldemort, and how Ruka had killed the Dark Lord. Both of his friends were still teary-eyed.

"Look," he said, floating a few inches off the ground. "I'm not going anywhere. You can come visit me anytime you want."

"I know," Hermione replied, sniffling a little. "It's just... you're not alive anymore!"

"Yeah," Harry said dryly, "I'd noticed." Hermione cracked a smile and rolled her eyes.

"Harry?" Ron asked. It was the first time he'd spoken to the ghost of his best friend. "Why... why was your scar gone?" Harry shook his head.

"You're going to have to ask someone else about that," he replied. "I haven't the faintest clue." He pulled back his mop of messy black hair to show them his forehead. "Is it there?" Ron and Hermione nodded their heads.

"It's there," Hermione reported sadly, "but the one on your body wasn't."

"I'd ask Dumbledore," Harry told her. "I don't really know anything about what happened, except that little bit that Ruka explained to me after we died."

"Is Ruka a ghost too?" Ron asked curiously. Harry smiled sadly.

"No, she's not. She felt as though she'd protected enough people, and that she didn't have to go on protecting them after her death. She wasn't really a bodyguard at heart, you see." He didn't elaborate, and neither of his friends pressed him to. They were all silent a moment, thinking about her.

"Did you feel that you needed to protect people, Harry? Is that why you're a ghost?" Hermione asked, putting her palms down on the floor behind her and leaning back on her arms. Harry hesitated, then nodded.

"We still don't know if Voldemort's really gone," he said slowly. "I guess... I felt like I had to protect people from him, not matter what." He grinned wryly. "Even if I was dead." Ron leaned back on his arms, and Harry noticed with a faint smile that his hand was resting on top of Hermione's.

"Harry?" Ron asked slowly, "What's it like to die?"

Harry was silent.

"I... I don't really remember," he replied quietly. "It was... calm. I could feel pain... a lot of it... but it was like it wasn't happening to me. Like I wasn't really... all there." He stopped as the clock struck nine in the room below, and Ron and Hermione got up slowly. "Hermione? Can you wait outside for a moment? I want to talk to Ron alone, and then I want to talk to you." Hermione nodded and walked out of the room. Ron turned to Harry.

"Harry..." he began. Harry silenced him.

"It wasn't your fault," Harry said quickly. "Nothing was your fault. You and Hermione would have died too."

"I can't help but feel I should have. Died, I mean." Ron looked at the ground and scuffed at the stone with his sneaker. Harry shook his head.

"I don't think you should have. I don't blame you, so you shouldn't blame yourself. Ask Hermione, she'll tell you how silly you're being." Harry grinned a little. "Ron, speaking of Hermione..." Ron began to study the ceiling intently. "You know she likes you too, so stop playing this little game." Ron was quiet for a moment.

"I don't know, Harry... what if it ruins our friendship?"

"I don't think it will," Harry said, unable to tell them that ghosts had the privilege of seeing things a lot more clearly than humans. "I really think you're meant to be together." I know you're meant to be together, he thought to himself. Ron was quiet, then nodded. Harry approached him. "I wish I could give you a hug, or a handshake, or something," he said, grinning. Ron smiled a little, the edges of his mouth tugging upwards. "Come visit me sometime," Harry said, waving goodbye. Ron nodded at Harry, and walked out of the room.

Harry repeated this conversation with Hermione, and it took a little more convincing to get her to believe that a relationship with Ron wouldn't ruin anything.

"If you both act like you always did," he said, "it'll be just like being best friends, only you get to kiss them and hold hands." Hermione left, finally convinced.

Harry sat down in the center of the stone floor and heaved a tiny sigh. He would haunt Hogwarts, it seemed... if Voldemort ever did try to come back, this is where Harry would be needed. Being connected to Voldemort would give Harry an advantage over the Dark Lord, and he could tell Dumbledore everything he knew. Harry was content in the room- he felt no overwhelming need to *do* anything. For the first time in his life, Harry felt content, knowing that nothing could harm the ones he loved.

At that moment, Dumbledore was explaining to Ron and Hermione why Harry's scar had vanished.

"Ruka, in her bloodlust, remembered the damage done to Harry that hadn't been inflicted upon Lord Voldemort. She cut him to even the score, and when she did that, Harry's scar vanished on his physical body, if not his mental one-his spirit, which has become his ghost." Professor Dumbledore paused. "I take it that after talking with him, you two are ready to rejoin the world- to begin to live your lives once again?"

Ron glanced at Hermione from under his eyelids, and she lowered her eyelashes to look at him. Their hands found each other's under Dumbledore's desk, and they clasped their fingers together.

"Yes," Hermione said, answering the Headmaster's question for both of them. Dumbledore nodded, smiling. They got up, their hands dropping back to their sides, and shook hands with him. Hermione led the way out of the office. Once they were in the hallway, they both looked at each other wordlessly. Without a sound, Ron put his arm around Hermione's shoulders and she clasped his waist. They walked down the hallway, grief and happiness in their hearts, as they tried to become one person instead of two.

A/N: Well, I'm sure Lanz enjoyed that ending. Harry dead, Ron and Hermione together, what more could she want? Oh, yeah... *Brian May (the young one) pops up, looking confused* He's aaaallll yours, Lanz. Anyway, I hoped you liked this. It only took me three months to write. *Growls at her procrastinating self* Oh, well. My blankets smell like cake. Yummy.

--Lilith

"The great thing about humans is that most of them don't notice... all they see is another faceless corporate venture, not a plan for world conquest."

"Wait, is there really a difference?" –Invader Zim