Disclaimer: me not own.
A/N: This is to make up for my last, to short chapter. I hope you all enjoy! Warning: Violent scenes ahead....sorta.
Piercing the Darkness
Chapter 15 Wands and Knives
******
"Read it!" Ron practically shouted as the four of them left the Great Hall full of curious on-lookers and headed towards Dumbledore's office.
Hermione opened the letter, which seemed to have been hastily written on a used sheet, and began reading.
To whoever may receive this letter:
My name is Ginny Weasley. I am not a muggle for those of you who will understand that. Hopefully this letter will reach the Burrow, or Hogwarts, but this owl seems to be wild, and I don't think it has ever delivered anything. There is always hope. Malfoy kidnapped me (it's a long story) and we are currently "hiding out" at a large cottage somewhere outside of London. The name of the street has "honey" in it (Malfoy let that slip.). So please come get me!
~Ginny
Hermione finished reading, and handed it to Professor Lupin.
"What do you make of this?" She asked him, as they reached the stone gargoyle, the entrance to Dumbledore's office.
"What do you mean?" Ron said before the professor had a chance to answer.
"Well," Hermione started, sounding a bit uneasy. "It could be a hoax, or...bait for all we know."
"What!" Ron shouted as Harry knocked on Dumbledore's door and it swung open. Ron strained his neck, and looked over Professor Lupin's shoulder to stare at the letter. "That is obviously Ginny's handwriting! This is finally our first indication that Ginny is still alive and well, and you're trying to tell me that it's all a hoax!?"
"What is it?" Dumbledore interrupted as they walked into his office.
"We've received a letter from Ginny Professor!" Harry answered.
"And now Hermione's trying to tell us that it's some kind of a joke!" Ron said angrily.
Hermione glared at Ron. "I'm just trying to think this over logically."
"You're right to be wary." Lupin said handing Dumbledore the letter. "What do you think Albus? Would you like me to go check it out?" Lupin asked as Dumbledore surveyed it through his half-moon spectacles.
"I think you should." He said firmly. "Go and tell the Weasley's. I'm sure Arthur will want to go with you."
Fifteen minutes later Remus, Arthur, Fred, and George were all preparing to leave for Diagon Alley, and out into London to search.
"Be careful." Mrs. Weasley said tearfully as she hugged her husband and boys good-bye.
"Don't worry mum." George said. "We'll bring Ginny back."
"Yeah her and that git Malfoy." Fred said. "Although his head may no longer be attached to his shoulders." He said grinning.
******
"Here's the Portkey." Lucius said, handing an old shoe to Draco. "It should be activated in a second or two. Wait for us, if you arrive ahead of us." He gave Draco a look that warned him not to get hasty. "First thing I'm going to teach you is how to apparate, so we won't have to deal with this Portkey rubbish." He muttered.
"You can't apparate into Hogwarts grounds." Draco pointed out. "How are you going to get there?"
"I know you can't apparate in there silly boy!" Lucius shouted. "We'll apparate outside of the grounds and then come in through the forest, were we'll meet you. The Portkey won't be able to take all of us. It's not powerful enough. So, just do as I say and wait for us!"
"Alright alright." Draco muttered.
Ginny pushed on the gag with her tongue; she wanted to be able to spit it out if she needed to shout for help.
Malfoy grabbed her hand, and held it firmly to the shoe with his own hand. He eyed Ginny in silence, tapped his foot impatiently, and ran his other hand through his unusually untidy hair. 'Being evil doesn't affect his gorgeous appearance at all.' Ginny thought morosely.
Suddenly she felt the pull of the Portkey, and shut her eyes as they seemed to travel through a dark abyss.
Malfoy landed upright, but Ginny landed hard on her back. The gag became dislodged because of this; she coughed, and it fell out of her mouth.
Ginny looked up at the stars from between the trees, and wondered if she'd ever get to look out at the night sky again. Then Malfoy moved beside her, blocking all the beautiful constellations she had wanted to stare at forever. Now she had no choice but to stare into his face.
He sighed as he noticed the gag on the ground.
"Did you seriously think that you could keep me quiet Malfoy?"
"It was a hopeless cause to begin with." He answered, leaning over to help her up.
"Don't touch me." Ginny pulled away from him, as she struggled to get up with both hands tied behind her back.
"Don't be absurd." He retorted. "You aren't going to be able to get up without some help." He pulled her up by the arms.
"Well how lovely. A death eater with manners." She said disdainfully as she tried to pull away from him.
His lips thinned and he didn't let go of her.
"Ginny, listen to me. You don't understand. I-"
"I don't understand what?" Ginny interrupted. "That you're a no good filthy wizard that pretended that he might have some feelings for me, but suddenly decides that I'm better off dead?!"
He seemed caught off his guard, and tried to continue but Ginny wouldn't allow it.
"Or maybe I don't understand how anyone could be so ruthless and insensitive! No Malfoy I understand it all perfectly! You caused me to fall in love, and then you did the worst possible thing to me."
She narrowed her eyes at him.
"You used me."
The desperation came back into his eyes.
"No Ginny. That's not it."
She turned her face away, refusing to look at him.
"I-I had to..."
"Draco!" A voice broke through the forest. "We're over here."
The desperateness became even more noticeable as Draco gripped Ginny's arms.
"You see, we would have died..."
"DRACO!" It sounded like Lucius.
"Now only one of us has to die. Right?" Ginny said apathetically.
Voldemort and his followers filed through the trees to where they were standing. Draco immediately pushed Ginny away, and brushed off his cloak as though her touch had dirtied it.
"Draco, don't delay us any longer." Lucius said. "Now bring the girl and let's go."
Draco gave Ginny one more pleading look before leading her behind Lucius.
******
Harry walked Hermione silently back to Gryffindor Tower. Ron was staying up with his mother, waiting for the others to return.
As they approached the Fat Lady, Harry pulled Hermione aside. He held her hand and stared into her eyes.
"I just want you to know how much I love you." He said.
She wrapped her arms around his in a great hug.
"I know." She whispered. "I love you too."
They walked hand in hand into the Common Room, and then silently split apart to go to their own dormitories.
******
Remus pushed open the door to the dark cottage on 12 Honeydew Lane. It had been unlocked.
"Lumos." The four of them muttered as they advanced silently into the house.
"I don't like this Remus." Arthur whispered. "What if we come upon some muggles asleep?"
"HELLO!?" Fred called out. "ANYONE HOME?"
"Shhhh!!" Arthur whispered harshly at Fred. "What are you trying to do?"
"He's trying to find out if anyone's at home." George answered cheerfully. "And apparently there isn't"
"I don't know if that's something to be thankful for or not." Remus stated. "Come on. Let's search the place."
The four of them wandered quietly through the house. That is until George went upstairs and found some young girls clothes in the closet.
"Oy!" he called to the others. "This looks like some of Ginny's stuff." He said pointing to the worn jeans that Ginny had on the day she went missing.
"And that's one of her sweaters." Fred pointed out. "But all this other stuff looks new and expensive."
"Maybe Malfoy bought them for her..didn't want her seen in the stuff she had been wearing when he took her." George established.
"Probably." Remus said. He went to the other rooms and found some of Draco's clothes. The four of them went downstairs.
"Something's not right here." Arthur said. "Who would have allowed two teenagers to stay in their cottage without becoming suspicious about them?"
Remus opened the cellar door as Arthur spoke, and directed his wand into the darkness."
The sight that met their eyes was not a pretty one.
"Oh my.." Arthur ran down the steps, and over to the bodies. Closely followed by Remus.
"Look." Lupin showed them where large chunks of hair had been taken from the elderly couple's body.
"Why would someone cut out their hair?" Fred asked.
Realization had finally dawned on Remus.
"It all makes since now." He said hastily. "Polyjuice potion. Whoever killed these people had been expecting Ginny and Draco." He looked up uneasily at Arthur. "They could have been Death Eaters."
"Wait a second." Fred cut in. "What if Draco Malfoy killed these people?"
"Tell me Fred," Remus questioned. "Would you be able to kill these people with the killing curse as they were obviously not killed any other way?"
Fred looked down at the lifeless bodies. A stench had begun to surround them.
"No. I don't have enough training and power to do that."
"Then I expect a sixth year like Malfoy would not have been able to." Remus said. "Now a Death Eater..he would."
"So where is Ginny!?" George asked.
"Dumbledore has had his theories about all of this." Remus responded. "He believes that Voldemort is using her to get to Harry."
"Well what are we waiting for!? We've got to get back to Hogwarts and warn Harry. And find Ginny." Fred said.
"I just hope we won't be to late." Arthur said dispiritedly.
*******
"Were do you want us to go?" Draco heard his father ask Voldemort.
"There's a cabin on the grounds isn't there?"
"Yes, where that half-giant lives. Rubeus Hagrid."
"That's were I want to be. Close enough to the castle so that Potter will be able to come quickly."
Lucius gave directions to the others, and Draco followed them. Ginny was looking terrified.
Soon they had reached the silent cabin. The other six or seven Death Eaters waited, positioned around the cabin, melting into the shadows. But Voldemort and Lucius, followed closely be Draco who was pulling a very upset Ginny along halted outside Hagrid's door.
"Kill him." Voldemort said to Lucius, as though he were telling him to squash a bug.
Draco felt Ginny squirm.
"NO!" she yelled as Lucius knocked on Hagrid's door, wand ready. "Don't open it Hagrid! It's-"
Draco clamped his hand down on Ginny's mouth.
"That was very stupid." He hissed into her ear.
"I thought you were going to keep her quiet!" Lucius rounded on Draco.
"I'm- I'm sorry." Draco replied tensely. "It won't happen again."
"It better not." Lucius muttered as he blasted Hagrid's door in.
Ginny let out a sigh of relief as she saw that Hagrid was not home.
"The oaf's probably at the pub, getting bloody drunk." Draco said disgustedly. He pulled Ginny into the cabin and threw her onto the floor.
Voldemort turned to Lucius.
"Stay out here. Don't let anyone but Potter through."
******
Harry grabbed his bedpost and gripped it until his knuckles turned white. His scar was burning like it never had before. He sunk to the ground and put his head into his lap.
"Potter." A voice in his head whispered.
Harry clamped his hands over his ears, and shut his eyes.
Voldemort's face appeared as clearly as it had in his dream. Now he wanted nothing more but to be able to open his eyes. But he could not.
"Potter.." Voldemort's expression twisted into a mad grin.
Suddenly Voldemort's face pulled away, and he showed someone lying on the floor in a heap. It was Ginny, Harry realized, and she was crying.
"Ginny!" Harry yelled.
"Yes." Voldemort came back into view. "We are waiting for you Potter."
Harry crawled on his hands and knees blindly toward the door. He could hear, as though far away in the distance, Seamus and Dean scrambling out of bed and asking what was wrong.
"NO!" Harry yelled back at Voldemort. "Let her go!"
"Come get her." Voldemort said calmly.
A sense of warning told Harry to go find Dumbledore, and get help. He could vaguely feel Dean shaking him hard. But Voldemort's voice lured him on.
"That's it Potter. Come get her. She's waiting for you."
Harry reached the door, and pulled himself up by the knob.
"What's wrong Harry!?" He heard one of the boy's shouts in the background.
"Just follow my voice Potter." Voldemort had him in a trance.
He felt Dean or Seamus brush past him, as he stumbled through the common room, and return a second later with Hermione in her nightclothes.
"Harry!" She shouted. His eyes were still shut tight, try as he might to open them, and Voldemort's voice was still booming in his head.
He felt Hermione grip him hard, and he cried out, clutching at his scar.
"Harry!" She screamed through sobs. "What is it Harry?!"
"It's him..." Harry gasped.
"Don't stop now Potter!! She's waiting for you. You don't want her to die!" Voldemort's voice seemed to fill the room.
Harry began to fight it...it was almost like the Imperius Curse.
"NO!" he shouted into the now filling common room. "YOU CAN'T HAVE GINNY!"
"Oh my god..." Hermione said as she figured out the connection. "It's Voldemort."
Harry nodded his head vigorously. "You know what to do Hermione." He said, before pushing the Fat Lady's portrait open and sprinting away...toward Hagrid's cabin.
*******
Hermione yelled at Seamus to go and get Ron, as she hurried to find Dumbledore. She felt like her legs couldn't move fast enough. Her tears blinded her as she ran, her heart aching for Ginny and Harry. Then she realized that she didn't even know where he had gone off too! She rounded a corner and ran right into Professor McGonagall. She was holding a lantern and looking annoyed.
"Mrs. Granger!" She said surprised. "What's going on? Why is Gryffindor Tower so noisy?"
"Oh Professor!" Hermione said through her tears. "It's Harry! He had this vision like thing, and was yelling at Voldemort in it! He yelled something about Ginny!"
"Where is Harry?" Professor McGonagall said at once.
"I don't know! He ran off!"
"Not again!" McGonagall turned around and headed straight for Dumbledore's quarters, which was next to his office.
"Minerva!" Dumbledore said as he opened his door, and threw on a cloak. He glanced at Hermione, and then came to his own conclusion.
"He's here isn't he? And Harry's gone off after him." It was a statement- not a question.
"Where is he?"
"We don't know." McGonagall answered.
Dumbledore silently walked the few paces into his office and returned a second later with the Marauder's Map. He scanned it.
"He's at Hagrid's. And so are many others."
*******
Ginny watched in horror as Voldemort seemed to summon Harry. Draco had his wand pointed at her head, and warned her not to make a sound.
Helplessness overwhelmed Ginny as she waited for her death..for Harry's death. She remembered him telling her the chilling tale of coming face to face with Voldemort in his fourth year. 'He got away then.' She recalled. And a brief glimmer of hope filled her as she saw the door burst open, and Harry standing there, his wand arm steady and sure.
Draco pulled Ginny up, pressing the tip of his wand against her head like a loaded gun.
"Welcome Potter." A sneering Draco said. Ginny noticed the nervousness in his voice.
Harry ignored Draco, and glanced at Ginny. She smiled bravely and mouthed, 'I'm sorry'.
"I knew you would come." Voldemort said. He was standing directly across from Harry. "Famous Harry Potter can't resist trying to rescue another poor innocent soul."
"I came because Ginny's my friend. And I don't like to see my friends being pushed around by scum like you and Malfoy."
Ginny felt Malfoy pull the wand away from her head. He acted like he was about to tell her something, but her attention was quickly led astray, because a new figure had entered the room.
"VOLDEMORT!" Dumbledore's voice thundered around the small cabin.
If Voldemort had been surprised, he hid it well.
"Isn't this just a wonderful little get-together?" he commented as Dumbledore stepped in front of Harry, his wand also poised.
Voldemort moved closer to Dumbledore. His wand was at his side, and he did not seem afraid.
"You are no threat to me anymore Albus."
They eyed each other for a moment, and as if they had read each others thoughts, and cried at the same time,
"AVADA KERDAVA!"
Harry pushed Dumbledore over as the spells rebounded, and they both fell to the floor. Harry jumped up, a vein in his neck throbbing. Ginny could see the hate surging through him as he pointed his wand at the dark lord.
"AVADA KERDAVA!" He cried, as Voldemort did a second later. They're wands connected in that strange way it had the night Cedric died in Harry's fourth year.
"NO!" Voldemort yelled, as he wrenched his wand away. The strand between the wands broke, and Harry leaned over to help Dumbledore up in the very few seconds he had to spare. But Voldemort was to quick; he aimed his wand at the headmaster, and yelled the killing curse. At that very instant Draco jumped in, his wand also directed at Dumbledore and yelled an incantation. Ginny thought it sounded like a patronus, and gasped in surprise as she saw a transparent fog-like substance surround the headmaster. As Voldemort's curse hit it, the green sparks seemed to stand in midair, before slowly starting it's journey through the patronus. Ginny hoped that it would be strong enough to block the curse, but that curse was so potent, and Voldemort was so powerful...
Every eye in the room was fixed on those sparks that were slowly pushing through the protective barrier around the headmaster. Harry stood next to him, not knowing what to do, and shaking madly.
Voldemort brought his eyes away from the sparks, and grinned uncannily at Harry.
"After it has killed him, you can watch as I kill the boy and girl...then it will be your turn."
"Don't be afraid Harry." Dumbledore said. His voice was muffled because of the patronus. His entire being seemed to glow, and he was completely ignoring the curse that was inching it's way towards his heart. "You have the bigger strength Harry, because those on your side love you..love is the most powerful weapon that you could ever need."
Ginny saw tears begin to well up in Harry's eyes.
"Thank you Draco," Dumbledore continued. "For your patronus. I always knew you were different."
Draco smiled weakly.
"Yada yada yada." Voldemort said cruelly, finally taking his eyes off his curse to glare at Harry. "We'll see how much all that love helps you..."
He aimed his wand at Harry, who jumped over a chair to where Ginny was standing. He stood directly in front of her.
"If you kill me, you will not be able to touch Ginny. I am protecting her with my life, just as my mother did for me."
Voldemort was about to respond when there was a blast, and Dumbledore fell silently to the floor. The curse had finally gotten through.
Ginny felt tears rolling down her cheeks as she beheld Professor Dumbledore, unmoving on the hard floor. She expected Harry to run over there, but he did not. He stood in front of her, using his own body to protect her, even as Voldemort coldly laughed.
"A lot of good love did him." He sneered nastily at Harry.
Ginny saw Draco move from of the corner of her eye. Voldemort turned on him as Draco hastily moved beside Harry.
Ginny noticed something glinting behind his back. He had a knife!
"Let's see if you can take on the two of us." Draco said, as Voldemort advanced like a snake.
"I guess you are a foolish boy after all. Your father was right." Voldemort said.
Ginny, from behind the boy's back, saw Draco nudge Harry and hand him the long, gleaming knife.
Draco kept talking, luring the unsuspecting Voldemort on, as Harry gripped the knife tightly.
"I have other places to be." The dark lord said, interrupting Draco. "You two can move out of the way so that I can get this over with."
"If you want me," Ginny cried as the boys stepped aside. "I'm right here!"
Voldemort lifted his wand, and was immediately tackled by both Draco and Harry.
It happened so quickly- Harry had the knife positioned as Draco held Voldemort down.
"This is for my parents!" Harry said, stabbing Voldemort unmercifully in the heart. "And this is for Ginny!" He said, drawing the bloody knife out, and plunging it in again. Voldemort's eyes were popping as he struggled underneath their weight. He opened his mouth, and choked as Harry pulled the knife out again. "And this-this is for Dumbledore!"
Voldemort finally went limp and his eyes rolled back after the third stab.
Harry and Draco both stood up, Harry's hands were bloody, and he dropped the knife with a clatter on the floor next to Voldemort's head.
"Who needs magic anyway?" He asked the dead figure with an ironic tone, before turning and running over to Dumbledore.
"He's still breathing!" Harry cried, as he laid a hand on Dumbledore's chest. "Your patronus must have been very powerful!" he said to Draco.
Draco immediately used a spell to release Ginny's sore arms, and they ran over to help Harry.
"Come on, we've got to get him to the hospital wing." Draco said gruffly.
But they hadn't had a chance to move, before the cabin door flew open once again. A very ruffled Professor McGonagall, Arthur Weasley, Remus Lupin, Fred, George, and Hermione all stood with open mouths at the scene before them. Their eyes roamed from Dumbledore to the bloody mess that was once the most powerful dark wizard on earth.
They all started speaking at once.
"Oh my goodness!"
"Harry!"
"Is Dumbledore okay!?"
"What happened?"
Ginny, Draco, and Harry tried to quiet them as McGonagall rushed over to Dumbledore.
"He's still alive." Harry called over the commotion. "But barely."
They all rushed him to the hospital wing. Ginny and Draco were the last left in Hagrid's cabin.
She tried to wipe away her tears as Draco looked at her uneasily. She stepped outside, and was met with another shock.
"So that's what took the other's so long." Draco said behind her.
Five black- robbed bodies were strewn across the grass. They were unmoving.
"Some of them got away." Ginny muttered as they walked through the bodies.
"Looks like my father was one of them, the bloody..." Ginny waited while Draco cursed his father with every possible word he could think of.
"Where do you think he went?" Ginny asked.
Draco turned away from the scene and headed towards the castle. Ginny followed beside him.
"Don't know...don't care either."
They walked in silence up to the hospital wing. 'Please let Professor Dumbledore be alright.' She pleaded inwardly.
A/N: Don't worry! I'm not going to leave the story without properly ending it. (Meaning there still has to be more d/g makeout scenes!) Omg, all of my reviewers are so awesome! I love you guys so much!! Thank you!!
A/N: This is to make up for my last, to short chapter. I hope you all enjoy! Warning: Violent scenes ahead....sorta.
Piercing the Darkness
Chapter 15 Wands and Knives
******
"Read it!" Ron practically shouted as the four of them left the Great Hall full of curious on-lookers and headed towards Dumbledore's office.
Hermione opened the letter, which seemed to have been hastily written on a used sheet, and began reading.
To whoever may receive this letter:
My name is Ginny Weasley. I am not a muggle for those of you who will understand that. Hopefully this letter will reach the Burrow, or Hogwarts, but this owl seems to be wild, and I don't think it has ever delivered anything. There is always hope. Malfoy kidnapped me (it's a long story) and we are currently "hiding out" at a large cottage somewhere outside of London. The name of the street has "honey" in it (Malfoy let that slip.). So please come get me!
~Ginny
Hermione finished reading, and handed it to Professor Lupin.
"What do you make of this?" She asked him, as they reached the stone gargoyle, the entrance to Dumbledore's office.
"What do you mean?" Ron said before the professor had a chance to answer.
"Well," Hermione started, sounding a bit uneasy. "It could be a hoax, or...bait for all we know."
"What!" Ron shouted as Harry knocked on Dumbledore's door and it swung open. Ron strained his neck, and looked over Professor Lupin's shoulder to stare at the letter. "That is obviously Ginny's handwriting! This is finally our first indication that Ginny is still alive and well, and you're trying to tell me that it's all a hoax!?"
"What is it?" Dumbledore interrupted as they walked into his office.
"We've received a letter from Ginny Professor!" Harry answered.
"And now Hermione's trying to tell us that it's some kind of a joke!" Ron said angrily.
Hermione glared at Ron. "I'm just trying to think this over logically."
"You're right to be wary." Lupin said handing Dumbledore the letter. "What do you think Albus? Would you like me to go check it out?" Lupin asked as Dumbledore surveyed it through his half-moon spectacles.
"I think you should." He said firmly. "Go and tell the Weasley's. I'm sure Arthur will want to go with you."
Fifteen minutes later Remus, Arthur, Fred, and George were all preparing to leave for Diagon Alley, and out into London to search.
"Be careful." Mrs. Weasley said tearfully as she hugged her husband and boys good-bye.
"Don't worry mum." George said. "We'll bring Ginny back."
"Yeah her and that git Malfoy." Fred said. "Although his head may no longer be attached to his shoulders." He said grinning.
******
"Here's the Portkey." Lucius said, handing an old shoe to Draco. "It should be activated in a second or two. Wait for us, if you arrive ahead of us." He gave Draco a look that warned him not to get hasty. "First thing I'm going to teach you is how to apparate, so we won't have to deal with this Portkey rubbish." He muttered.
"You can't apparate into Hogwarts grounds." Draco pointed out. "How are you going to get there?"
"I know you can't apparate in there silly boy!" Lucius shouted. "We'll apparate outside of the grounds and then come in through the forest, were we'll meet you. The Portkey won't be able to take all of us. It's not powerful enough. So, just do as I say and wait for us!"
"Alright alright." Draco muttered.
Ginny pushed on the gag with her tongue; she wanted to be able to spit it out if she needed to shout for help.
Malfoy grabbed her hand, and held it firmly to the shoe with his own hand. He eyed Ginny in silence, tapped his foot impatiently, and ran his other hand through his unusually untidy hair. 'Being evil doesn't affect his gorgeous appearance at all.' Ginny thought morosely.
Suddenly she felt the pull of the Portkey, and shut her eyes as they seemed to travel through a dark abyss.
Malfoy landed upright, but Ginny landed hard on her back. The gag became dislodged because of this; she coughed, and it fell out of her mouth.
Ginny looked up at the stars from between the trees, and wondered if she'd ever get to look out at the night sky again. Then Malfoy moved beside her, blocking all the beautiful constellations she had wanted to stare at forever. Now she had no choice but to stare into his face.
He sighed as he noticed the gag on the ground.
"Did you seriously think that you could keep me quiet Malfoy?"
"It was a hopeless cause to begin with." He answered, leaning over to help her up.
"Don't touch me." Ginny pulled away from him, as she struggled to get up with both hands tied behind her back.
"Don't be absurd." He retorted. "You aren't going to be able to get up without some help." He pulled her up by the arms.
"Well how lovely. A death eater with manners." She said disdainfully as she tried to pull away from him.
His lips thinned and he didn't let go of her.
"Ginny, listen to me. You don't understand. I-"
"I don't understand what?" Ginny interrupted. "That you're a no good filthy wizard that pretended that he might have some feelings for me, but suddenly decides that I'm better off dead?!"
He seemed caught off his guard, and tried to continue but Ginny wouldn't allow it.
"Or maybe I don't understand how anyone could be so ruthless and insensitive! No Malfoy I understand it all perfectly! You caused me to fall in love, and then you did the worst possible thing to me."
She narrowed her eyes at him.
"You used me."
The desperation came back into his eyes.
"No Ginny. That's not it."
She turned her face away, refusing to look at him.
"I-I had to..."
"Draco!" A voice broke through the forest. "We're over here."
The desperateness became even more noticeable as Draco gripped Ginny's arms.
"You see, we would have died..."
"DRACO!" It sounded like Lucius.
"Now only one of us has to die. Right?" Ginny said apathetically.
Voldemort and his followers filed through the trees to where they were standing. Draco immediately pushed Ginny away, and brushed off his cloak as though her touch had dirtied it.
"Draco, don't delay us any longer." Lucius said. "Now bring the girl and let's go."
Draco gave Ginny one more pleading look before leading her behind Lucius.
******
Harry walked Hermione silently back to Gryffindor Tower. Ron was staying up with his mother, waiting for the others to return.
As they approached the Fat Lady, Harry pulled Hermione aside. He held her hand and stared into her eyes.
"I just want you to know how much I love you." He said.
She wrapped her arms around his in a great hug.
"I know." She whispered. "I love you too."
They walked hand in hand into the Common Room, and then silently split apart to go to their own dormitories.
******
Remus pushed open the door to the dark cottage on 12 Honeydew Lane. It had been unlocked.
"Lumos." The four of them muttered as they advanced silently into the house.
"I don't like this Remus." Arthur whispered. "What if we come upon some muggles asleep?"
"HELLO!?" Fred called out. "ANYONE HOME?"
"Shhhh!!" Arthur whispered harshly at Fred. "What are you trying to do?"
"He's trying to find out if anyone's at home." George answered cheerfully. "And apparently there isn't"
"I don't know if that's something to be thankful for or not." Remus stated. "Come on. Let's search the place."
The four of them wandered quietly through the house. That is until George went upstairs and found some young girls clothes in the closet.
"Oy!" he called to the others. "This looks like some of Ginny's stuff." He said pointing to the worn jeans that Ginny had on the day she went missing.
"And that's one of her sweaters." Fred pointed out. "But all this other stuff looks new and expensive."
"Maybe Malfoy bought them for her..didn't want her seen in the stuff she had been wearing when he took her." George established.
"Probably." Remus said. He went to the other rooms and found some of Draco's clothes. The four of them went downstairs.
"Something's not right here." Arthur said. "Who would have allowed two teenagers to stay in their cottage without becoming suspicious about them?"
Remus opened the cellar door as Arthur spoke, and directed his wand into the darkness."
The sight that met their eyes was not a pretty one.
"Oh my.." Arthur ran down the steps, and over to the bodies. Closely followed by Remus.
"Look." Lupin showed them where large chunks of hair had been taken from the elderly couple's body.
"Why would someone cut out their hair?" Fred asked.
Realization had finally dawned on Remus.
"It all makes since now." He said hastily. "Polyjuice potion. Whoever killed these people had been expecting Ginny and Draco." He looked up uneasily at Arthur. "They could have been Death Eaters."
"Wait a second." Fred cut in. "What if Draco Malfoy killed these people?"
"Tell me Fred," Remus questioned. "Would you be able to kill these people with the killing curse as they were obviously not killed any other way?"
Fred looked down at the lifeless bodies. A stench had begun to surround them.
"No. I don't have enough training and power to do that."
"Then I expect a sixth year like Malfoy would not have been able to." Remus said. "Now a Death Eater..he would."
"So where is Ginny!?" George asked.
"Dumbledore has had his theories about all of this." Remus responded. "He believes that Voldemort is using her to get to Harry."
"Well what are we waiting for!? We've got to get back to Hogwarts and warn Harry. And find Ginny." Fred said.
"I just hope we won't be to late." Arthur said dispiritedly.
*******
"Were do you want us to go?" Draco heard his father ask Voldemort.
"There's a cabin on the grounds isn't there?"
"Yes, where that half-giant lives. Rubeus Hagrid."
"That's were I want to be. Close enough to the castle so that Potter will be able to come quickly."
Lucius gave directions to the others, and Draco followed them. Ginny was looking terrified.
Soon they had reached the silent cabin. The other six or seven Death Eaters waited, positioned around the cabin, melting into the shadows. But Voldemort and Lucius, followed closely be Draco who was pulling a very upset Ginny along halted outside Hagrid's door.
"Kill him." Voldemort said to Lucius, as though he were telling him to squash a bug.
Draco felt Ginny squirm.
"NO!" she yelled as Lucius knocked on Hagrid's door, wand ready. "Don't open it Hagrid! It's-"
Draco clamped his hand down on Ginny's mouth.
"That was very stupid." He hissed into her ear.
"I thought you were going to keep her quiet!" Lucius rounded on Draco.
"I'm- I'm sorry." Draco replied tensely. "It won't happen again."
"It better not." Lucius muttered as he blasted Hagrid's door in.
Ginny let out a sigh of relief as she saw that Hagrid was not home.
"The oaf's probably at the pub, getting bloody drunk." Draco said disgustedly. He pulled Ginny into the cabin and threw her onto the floor.
Voldemort turned to Lucius.
"Stay out here. Don't let anyone but Potter through."
******
Harry grabbed his bedpost and gripped it until his knuckles turned white. His scar was burning like it never had before. He sunk to the ground and put his head into his lap.
"Potter." A voice in his head whispered.
Harry clamped his hands over his ears, and shut his eyes.
Voldemort's face appeared as clearly as it had in his dream. Now he wanted nothing more but to be able to open his eyes. But he could not.
"Potter.." Voldemort's expression twisted into a mad grin.
Suddenly Voldemort's face pulled away, and he showed someone lying on the floor in a heap. It was Ginny, Harry realized, and she was crying.
"Ginny!" Harry yelled.
"Yes." Voldemort came back into view. "We are waiting for you Potter."
Harry crawled on his hands and knees blindly toward the door. He could hear, as though far away in the distance, Seamus and Dean scrambling out of bed and asking what was wrong.
"NO!" Harry yelled back at Voldemort. "Let her go!"
"Come get her." Voldemort said calmly.
A sense of warning told Harry to go find Dumbledore, and get help. He could vaguely feel Dean shaking him hard. But Voldemort's voice lured him on.
"That's it Potter. Come get her. She's waiting for you."
Harry reached the door, and pulled himself up by the knob.
"What's wrong Harry!?" He heard one of the boy's shouts in the background.
"Just follow my voice Potter." Voldemort had him in a trance.
He felt Dean or Seamus brush past him, as he stumbled through the common room, and return a second later with Hermione in her nightclothes.
"Harry!" She shouted. His eyes were still shut tight, try as he might to open them, and Voldemort's voice was still booming in his head.
He felt Hermione grip him hard, and he cried out, clutching at his scar.
"Harry!" She screamed through sobs. "What is it Harry?!"
"It's him..." Harry gasped.
"Don't stop now Potter!! She's waiting for you. You don't want her to die!" Voldemort's voice seemed to fill the room.
Harry began to fight it...it was almost like the Imperius Curse.
"NO!" he shouted into the now filling common room. "YOU CAN'T HAVE GINNY!"
"Oh my god..." Hermione said as she figured out the connection. "It's Voldemort."
Harry nodded his head vigorously. "You know what to do Hermione." He said, before pushing the Fat Lady's portrait open and sprinting away...toward Hagrid's cabin.
*******
Hermione yelled at Seamus to go and get Ron, as she hurried to find Dumbledore. She felt like her legs couldn't move fast enough. Her tears blinded her as she ran, her heart aching for Ginny and Harry. Then she realized that she didn't even know where he had gone off too! She rounded a corner and ran right into Professor McGonagall. She was holding a lantern and looking annoyed.
"Mrs. Granger!" She said surprised. "What's going on? Why is Gryffindor Tower so noisy?"
"Oh Professor!" Hermione said through her tears. "It's Harry! He had this vision like thing, and was yelling at Voldemort in it! He yelled something about Ginny!"
"Where is Harry?" Professor McGonagall said at once.
"I don't know! He ran off!"
"Not again!" McGonagall turned around and headed straight for Dumbledore's quarters, which was next to his office.
"Minerva!" Dumbledore said as he opened his door, and threw on a cloak. He glanced at Hermione, and then came to his own conclusion.
"He's here isn't he? And Harry's gone off after him." It was a statement- not a question.
"Where is he?"
"We don't know." McGonagall answered.
Dumbledore silently walked the few paces into his office and returned a second later with the Marauder's Map. He scanned it.
"He's at Hagrid's. And so are many others."
*******
Ginny watched in horror as Voldemort seemed to summon Harry. Draco had his wand pointed at her head, and warned her not to make a sound.
Helplessness overwhelmed Ginny as she waited for her death..for Harry's death. She remembered him telling her the chilling tale of coming face to face with Voldemort in his fourth year. 'He got away then.' She recalled. And a brief glimmer of hope filled her as she saw the door burst open, and Harry standing there, his wand arm steady and sure.
Draco pulled Ginny up, pressing the tip of his wand against her head like a loaded gun.
"Welcome Potter." A sneering Draco said. Ginny noticed the nervousness in his voice.
Harry ignored Draco, and glanced at Ginny. She smiled bravely and mouthed, 'I'm sorry'.
"I knew you would come." Voldemort said. He was standing directly across from Harry. "Famous Harry Potter can't resist trying to rescue another poor innocent soul."
"I came because Ginny's my friend. And I don't like to see my friends being pushed around by scum like you and Malfoy."
Ginny felt Malfoy pull the wand away from her head. He acted like he was about to tell her something, but her attention was quickly led astray, because a new figure had entered the room.
"VOLDEMORT!" Dumbledore's voice thundered around the small cabin.
If Voldemort had been surprised, he hid it well.
"Isn't this just a wonderful little get-together?" he commented as Dumbledore stepped in front of Harry, his wand also poised.
Voldemort moved closer to Dumbledore. His wand was at his side, and he did not seem afraid.
"You are no threat to me anymore Albus."
They eyed each other for a moment, and as if they had read each others thoughts, and cried at the same time,
"AVADA KERDAVA!"
Harry pushed Dumbledore over as the spells rebounded, and they both fell to the floor. Harry jumped up, a vein in his neck throbbing. Ginny could see the hate surging through him as he pointed his wand at the dark lord.
"AVADA KERDAVA!" He cried, as Voldemort did a second later. They're wands connected in that strange way it had the night Cedric died in Harry's fourth year.
"NO!" Voldemort yelled, as he wrenched his wand away. The strand between the wands broke, and Harry leaned over to help Dumbledore up in the very few seconds he had to spare. But Voldemort was to quick; he aimed his wand at the headmaster, and yelled the killing curse. At that very instant Draco jumped in, his wand also directed at Dumbledore and yelled an incantation. Ginny thought it sounded like a patronus, and gasped in surprise as she saw a transparent fog-like substance surround the headmaster. As Voldemort's curse hit it, the green sparks seemed to stand in midair, before slowly starting it's journey through the patronus. Ginny hoped that it would be strong enough to block the curse, but that curse was so potent, and Voldemort was so powerful...
Every eye in the room was fixed on those sparks that were slowly pushing through the protective barrier around the headmaster. Harry stood next to him, not knowing what to do, and shaking madly.
Voldemort brought his eyes away from the sparks, and grinned uncannily at Harry.
"After it has killed him, you can watch as I kill the boy and girl...then it will be your turn."
"Don't be afraid Harry." Dumbledore said. His voice was muffled because of the patronus. His entire being seemed to glow, and he was completely ignoring the curse that was inching it's way towards his heart. "You have the bigger strength Harry, because those on your side love you..love is the most powerful weapon that you could ever need."
Ginny saw tears begin to well up in Harry's eyes.
"Thank you Draco," Dumbledore continued. "For your patronus. I always knew you were different."
Draco smiled weakly.
"Yada yada yada." Voldemort said cruelly, finally taking his eyes off his curse to glare at Harry. "We'll see how much all that love helps you..."
He aimed his wand at Harry, who jumped over a chair to where Ginny was standing. He stood directly in front of her.
"If you kill me, you will not be able to touch Ginny. I am protecting her with my life, just as my mother did for me."
Voldemort was about to respond when there was a blast, and Dumbledore fell silently to the floor. The curse had finally gotten through.
Ginny felt tears rolling down her cheeks as she beheld Professor Dumbledore, unmoving on the hard floor. She expected Harry to run over there, but he did not. He stood in front of her, using his own body to protect her, even as Voldemort coldly laughed.
"A lot of good love did him." He sneered nastily at Harry.
Ginny saw Draco move from of the corner of her eye. Voldemort turned on him as Draco hastily moved beside Harry.
Ginny noticed something glinting behind his back. He had a knife!
"Let's see if you can take on the two of us." Draco said, as Voldemort advanced like a snake.
"I guess you are a foolish boy after all. Your father was right." Voldemort said.
Ginny, from behind the boy's back, saw Draco nudge Harry and hand him the long, gleaming knife.
Draco kept talking, luring the unsuspecting Voldemort on, as Harry gripped the knife tightly.
"I have other places to be." The dark lord said, interrupting Draco. "You two can move out of the way so that I can get this over with."
"If you want me," Ginny cried as the boys stepped aside. "I'm right here!"
Voldemort lifted his wand, and was immediately tackled by both Draco and Harry.
It happened so quickly- Harry had the knife positioned as Draco held Voldemort down.
"This is for my parents!" Harry said, stabbing Voldemort unmercifully in the heart. "And this is for Ginny!" He said, drawing the bloody knife out, and plunging it in again. Voldemort's eyes were popping as he struggled underneath their weight. He opened his mouth, and choked as Harry pulled the knife out again. "And this-this is for Dumbledore!"
Voldemort finally went limp and his eyes rolled back after the third stab.
Harry and Draco both stood up, Harry's hands were bloody, and he dropped the knife with a clatter on the floor next to Voldemort's head.
"Who needs magic anyway?" He asked the dead figure with an ironic tone, before turning and running over to Dumbledore.
"He's still breathing!" Harry cried, as he laid a hand on Dumbledore's chest. "Your patronus must have been very powerful!" he said to Draco.
Draco immediately used a spell to release Ginny's sore arms, and they ran over to help Harry.
"Come on, we've got to get him to the hospital wing." Draco said gruffly.
But they hadn't had a chance to move, before the cabin door flew open once again. A very ruffled Professor McGonagall, Arthur Weasley, Remus Lupin, Fred, George, and Hermione all stood with open mouths at the scene before them. Their eyes roamed from Dumbledore to the bloody mess that was once the most powerful dark wizard on earth.
They all started speaking at once.
"Oh my goodness!"
"Harry!"
"Is Dumbledore okay!?"
"What happened?"
Ginny, Draco, and Harry tried to quiet them as McGonagall rushed over to Dumbledore.
"He's still alive." Harry called over the commotion. "But barely."
They all rushed him to the hospital wing. Ginny and Draco were the last left in Hagrid's cabin.
She tried to wipe away her tears as Draco looked at her uneasily. She stepped outside, and was met with another shock.
"So that's what took the other's so long." Draco said behind her.
Five black- robbed bodies were strewn across the grass. They were unmoving.
"Some of them got away." Ginny muttered as they walked through the bodies.
"Looks like my father was one of them, the bloody..." Ginny waited while Draco cursed his father with every possible word he could think of.
"Where do you think he went?" Ginny asked.
Draco turned away from the scene and headed towards the castle. Ginny followed beside him.
"Don't know...don't care either."
They walked in silence up to the hospital wing. 'Please let Professor Dumbledore be alright.' She pleaded inwardly.
A/N: Don't worry! I'm not going to leave the story without properly ending it. (Meaning there still has to be more d/g makeout scenes!) Omg, all of my reviewers are so awesome! I love you guys so much!! Thank you!!