Harry Potter was ready to die. He had been ready to die since the night of Cedric Diggory's death. The event of Sirius's death had only added to his resolve.

Now, after being attacked in his own bed, having had Snape pour Nerve- Repair Potion down his throat and Ginny Weasley break up with him, he was near to begging Madam Pomfrey to just end his life. He didn't have a heart to stop anymore; Ginny had ripped that out. He was halfway there; all he needed was another push.

It was near dawn in the Hospital Wing. Harry could see the pink tinges near the blue-black horizon from his bed. He hadn't slept a bit since being so rudely awakened by the Cruciatus Curse hours earlier. After Ron and Dean had dragged him to Madam Pomfrey, the matron had sent for a bleary-eyed Snape immediately, who had brought a vial of Nerve-Repair Potion and shoved it down his throat.

Harry had just lain on the bed, letting them all have their way with him. In reality, Harry hadn't cared about being attacked. He had been numb to just about everything since Ginny's abrupt ending of their relationship a week ago.

There was something wrong with how she had gone about breaking his heart, and he was keenly aware of it. From the looks he had garnered from Remus, he had the feeling he wasn't wrong. It was all too sudden, too painful; in all the time he had known Ginny, he hadn't thought her to be cruel.

Not that he was going to find out. Ginny had made every effort to avoid him, and he had complied, making the days a sort of backward chase whenever they were in the same room or corridor. Everyone in Gryffindor seemed to notice the sudden change in the relationship between the two of them; Ron was almost frantic with the thought of dissension on the Qudditch team. Hermione had been shooting him looks for days, but he never told them about what had happened between him and Ginny. He suspected Hermione knew; after all, she was the cleverest girl in school. But there was no need to aggravate Ron with the knowledge that Harry had been with his sister once. It was over now. And unlike the time in autumn, Harry had a sinking feeling this was the end of all things.

"Harry? Are you awake?"

Remus stood in the doorway to the Hospital Wing, Face painfully lined and filled with worry. Harry straightened up, pasting on a slight smile for the man. No sense in bothering Remus with Ginny; there wasn't any reason to now. "Yes, I'm awake. What's going on? Have they found out how the Death Eaters got in?" he asked as Remus came closer, sitting at the chair at the side of the bed.

The older man hesitated visibly, spiking Harry's curiosity. "Well, it seems that they had the passwords to Gryffindor Tower. The headmaster found a slip of paper with them in one of their pockets. Professor McGonagall is going insane, trying to find out who had leaked them," he said quietly, leaning over closer to Harry.

If he had been inclined to feeling, shock would have been his main emotion. "You must be joking. That's what happened in my third year when Sirius tried to get to Wormtail," he said, a pang hitting him as he thought of his godfather. Sirius had always liked Ginny.

A wry smile crossed Remus' face. "Well, I think we can be sure that Neville hasn't done it this time."

"Then who did? I bet Malfoy got them," Harry muttered, fists clenching on his blankets.

"And who in Gryffindor would give the passwords to Malfoy?" Remus asked, sighing heavily. "Harry, I think they might have used the Honeydukes passage to get in. That would explain why none of the wards went off. Did you tell anyone about it?"

Harry shook his head. "No one except for Ron and Hermione. Of course Fred and George know, but that's it." A shot of pain traveled up his arm, and he winced slightly.

Remus looked pale. "Are you hurting, Harry?" he asked.

A short, bitter laugh left Harry's lips. "Not where you think I am," he said, gaze drifting back to the growing light outside his window. It was starting to become reddish, like the highlights in Ginny's hair. Promptly, he killed that thought. No more about Ginny, he told himself sternly.

Remus wasn't smiling when he looked back at him. "Do you want to talk about Ginny?"

Harry's eyes widened slightly. "How did you know? I didn't tell you, did I?"

To Harry, Remus seemed to smack himself mentally before replying. "No, you didn't. She told me about a week ago. When did it happen?"

Harry grimaced; the last thing he wanted to do was relive that night. "On her birthday. I was going to take her to Hogsmeade for a chance for her to pick out her gift, and she told me she didn't want to be with me because I didn't love her." He let out a low, sour laugh. "I spent about an hour sitting in front of that damned statue trying to figure out what I had done wrong," he said bitterly.

Jaw slack, Remus stared at Harry. "She knew about the passage?" he asked, apprehension edging his tone.

Nodding, Harry shrugged. "Yes. I had to show her it to actually travel it, you know. And why was she telling you about her plans to ruin my life anyway?" he asked abruptly, indignation rising within him.

Remus stood from his chair and began to pace. "And she knew the passwords..." He trailed off, shock and horror filling his eyes.

Harry frowned, not enjoying the way Remus was talking. "What the hell are you talking about?" he said angrily.

"You don't understand, Harry," Remus replied distractedly.

"Then why don't you inform me?" Harry shot back testily, his temper getting the better of him. "I'm the one who was attacked by bloody Death Eaters, and you're here raving about my ex-girlfriend!"

Remus stared at Harry for a silent moment before sitting back down. "You want to be informed, do you? Well, you aren't going to enjoy this," he warned.

"I don't enjoy anything in my life; why should this be any different?" Harry replied tersely.

"Because you might want to kill someone when I'm done," Remus said wearily. "Sit back and listen, and don't try to kill me until I'm done speaking, all right?"

Feeling mutinous, Harry nodded curtly. Remus took a deep breath and shut his eyes. "Voldemort has the ability to enter Ginny's mind. She told me, the headmaster, and Minerva this about three weeks ago. Because of this, it is highly possible he would be able to obtain any information she knew of the Order, its plans, and you," he said slowly, looking right into Harry's face.

The numbness melted away as complete shock knocked Harry over. He stared mutely at Remus, mind not able to wrap itself around his words. "What?"

"Tom Riddle is still inside Ginny's soul, Harry. He could completely possess her at any time, or so Dumbledore supposes, Remus said softly, the exasperation at the young man next to him falling away to reveal exhaustion and pity.

Harry scrambled for words, pieces starting to click inside his mind as he processed Remus' words. "But, I destroyed the diary! I thought he was gone from her, even if she still had nightmares!" he exclaimed, fear for Ginny overwhelming him. Bloody hell, what was Voldemort doing to her?

Remus sighed. "So we all thought. Obviously he had a much stronger grasp on her than we assumed. So, since she knew of the passage," he added as Harry sat in mute shock, "and she knew the passwords, it is highly possible Voldemort might have used her to get his Death Eaters to you."

"No wonder she's looked so tired," Harry muttered, rubbing his scar with a hand. "Is that why she broke up with me? That's absurd! I am as much a danger to her as she could be to me!"

"It's not just you, Harry. The whole Order could be threatened by Ginny's involvement," Remus said cautiously.

Harry opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again. "Well, why can't she start Occlumancy lessons with Dumbledore? Then she'd be all right, wouldn't she?" he asked desperately, a sinking feeling of doubt filling him as he saw Remus slowly shake his head.

"Occlumancy deals with a foreign force in the mind. It can't help with the soul. The soul is intangible, Harry; there's no way to go into it, sieve out the foreignness and come out with perfection," Remus said quietly. "We already thought about it."

"Then what can we do for her? You can't just let Voldemort take over and destroy her!" Harry exclaimed fiercely, anger and hate fighting for first place inside him.

Remus looked at him, and suddenly Harry saw the hopelessness within his friend's eyes, threatening to take him over. "I don't know Harry. This may be a fight Ginny will have to win on her own."

Harry clenched his fists until his knuckles were as white as the sheets. He'd be damned if Ginny would have to fight Voldemort on her own. Even if she denied him over and over, he would not leave her to the mercy of Voldemort. He didn't abandon the people he cared for, no matter what the cost to himself.

~*~

Madam Pomfrey discharged Harry two days after his attack, sending him back into a myriad of curious and worried students. All but ignoring the sympathy coming from his fellow students, he went full-throttle into trying to get Ginny to talk to him again, much to the surprise of Ron and Hermione. His two friends kept asking why Ginny was now so important, but he kept his knowledge to himself.

Ginny avoided him just as before, struggling with the idea of going to Dumbledore with her guilty conscience. She knew it was her fault; everything told her so, from the way Tom taunted her to the way Draco Malfoy leered at her in the corridors. But how could she tell that to Dumbledore, who had trusted her? And what would happen to her after he knew? Would she be sent into seclusion or isolation, sentenced to insanity while Voldemort tortured her night after night?

Slowly, she began to pull away from the rest of her classmates, especially Colin, Neville, and Luna, who were her few true friends. It pained her every time she walked away from them in the corridors, but she knew what she had to do. She also enforced her plans upon Ron and Hermione, skipping meals to hide in the library and wait to eat practically alone. Never staying to speak to Professor Lupin anymore, she raced from class to class, concentrating solely on her studies and blocking everything else from her mind.

It seemed that her tactics were working to an extent; in her dreams, Tom was furious with her, always trying to grab any information from her.

'They can't have just put you in isolation, Virginia. Dumbledore would never do that to a student. What is going on? I know you want to tell me, your oldest friend...'

Sometimes, she would wake up with triumph flooding in her veins. 'You didn't count on my willingness to sacrifice myself, did you Tom?' she would think.

But the solitude was wearing on her, a girl who had always been surrounded by family. She had no one to speak to, no one to share with. The ache for Harry grew daily, poignant enough to actually drive her to spy on him while he was studying in the library on some days. She had always adored watching him read; the ways his eyes narrowed when he read a difficult passage and his hair fell into his gaze were things she had memorized long ago, even when she was going out with Michael. After all, there was a difference between giving up someone and getting over them.

Having no idea what he was researching, she was astonished when she saw the title of one of his books he had left on the table: Secrets of the Soul.

Did he know about her?

Ridiculous. He couldn't. Dumbledore wouldn't break her trust like that. It must be a project for Divination.

That thought steadied her until she remembered he and Ron had dropped Divination after O.W.L.S.

Oh Merlin, she was foiled. No wonder he had been trying in vain to talk to her for weeks.

After that day, she stopped watching him in the library and struggled with her loneliness on her own. From what she could tell, Ron was becoming frantic with worry for her, joining Hermione in writing a letter to Mrs. Weasley. A pleasant letter from her mother came soon after the middle of April with all sorts of information about the family, causing Ginny to burn it before she had finished the first paragraph. She couldn't risk anything anymore.

It was the Wednesday before Easter when Ginny came out of her Potions class to see Harry waiting for her, a cool expression on his face. Apprehension rose within her; she had been waiting for this.

"I need to talk to you," he said bluntly, the first time she had heard his voice clearly in almost three weeks.

Reveling in it in a secret part of herself, she schooled her features to indifference. "Sorry, I can't."

She tried to get past him, but he caught her arm with a strong grip, rendering her immobile. "You're going to. We need to talk."

He pulled her down to a shadowed part of the corridor, keeping a firm hold on her. His touch on her burned, even through her robes, and she had to push down her desire to pin him against the wall and kiss the breath from him; it was a shock to feel something like that for the first time in a very long time. She had become more unfeeling than she had thought.

"So," he began as he looked down on her. "Would you like to tell me exactly why you broke up with me?"

Not meeting his gaze, she bit her lip hard. "This is ridiculous, Harry. You're only making this more difficult on yourself," she said, heart pounding erratically. She hadn't been this close to him in ages, or so it seemed.

His grip tightened, fingers sinking into her skin. "That's bollocks, Ginny. Tell me the truth. I want to here it from you," he muttered darkly.

Breathing shallowly, she shook her head. "I told you why; if you can't remember, maybe you need a Pensive."

His other hand reached up and took her chin in its grasp, jerking her eyes to his abruptly. As she scanned his gaze, her blood froze. The pain and suffering she had inflicted upon him shone clearly in their green depths, clenching her heart with guilt. What had she done to him?

"I know your secret, Ginny. Why the hell didn't you just tell me Tom was still inside you?" he asked harshly, a note of pleading behind his tone.

Stomach knotting, she could only gape at him for a moment. "What?" she said faintly.

"I know he can see into your mind. I know he's still in your soul. Remus told me. Why didn't you tell me?" he said, relaxing his hold on her chin. His fingers still lingered on her skin, caressing gently.

After the shock of his queries faded, anger swelled up inside her. "What? Remus told you!" she exclaimed. How dare he? Who was he to control her life?

Harry's eyes narrowed. "Don't go off blaming him; I pressed him for it. But you should have been the one to tell me! I can help you, Ginny. I've been looking for ways-"

"Harry, don't be absurd. You can't do anything for an intrusion into the soul; don't you think I've checked? Dumbledore told me there was practically nothing to do for me. You have to let me go," she cut in, trying to pull away from him.

The hand on her chin moved to her other arm, pinning her in place. "I'm not going to let him destroy you, Ginny. I almost had to see that once in my life, and I won't see it again. Let me stay with you," he said, voice strong with resolution.

She shook her head, avoiding his eyes again. "You don't understand, Harry. I'm trying to save you and everyone else. It's better this way, don't you understand?" she asked, desperation entering her words. Why wouldn't he let her go?

Harry let out a low, ironic laugh. "You're a hypocrite. How can you say that to me? Not two months ago, you were lying in the Hospital Wing because of me, and when I tried to break this off you almost throttled me."

His words caught her off-guard. She had completely forgotten about their conversation the night after Pettigrew's attack.

"How can you ask me to just let you go? If our places were switched, you wouldn't dream of letting me go. Ginny," he said, cupping her cheek in one hand and bringing her eyes back to his. "I'm not letting go of you, no matter what you say. I'm going to help you," he finished fervently, eyes boring into her, challenging the demon in her soul.

Aching for his mouth on her skin, she almost began to cry. The need for him was so great, it almost overpowered every rational thought in her body. She leaned towards him slowly.

'So the boy is in love with you. That's interesting.'

Tom's interjection into her mind brought her back into the real world, where she was a weapon against Harry and there was no such thing as love. Pulling away, she escaped his grasp easily with his shock in place. "You can't help me, Harry. No one can," she said softly, tears thickening her voice.

Eyes wide, Harry reached for her. "Ginny, I won't let-"

"You don't have a choice, Harry. None of us do," she interrupted, blinking back the tears threatening to escape. With a sad, weak smile, she turned away and walked down the corridor.

He called after her, his stubbornness surprising her. "You do have a choice, Ginny! And you're letting him win!"

She didn't turn back.

*

On Easter morning, she woke up to find a chocolate egg decorated with stars and Quaffles on her pillow. Smiling, she sat up and reached over to open it, looking forward to see what candy filled the hollow space.

Inside was the wedding ring of Lily Potter, pillowed on Bernie Botts' Every- Flavor Beans, along with a note.

'I'm not letting go.'

With a choking breath, Ginny slipped the ring onto her finger, buried her face in her hands, and wept.

~*~

The Monday after Easter, Harry collapsed into a chair by Remus' desk, wiping beads of sweat from his brow. The slight pain he felt during his fighting lessons with Remus was nothing compared to the pain he had been experiencing for the last month. Still, Remus had a killer Stunning Spell.

"Ginny came to see me today after her class. She was furious with me. Did you tell her I told you about her?" Remus asked as he sat down next to Harry, Summoning two bottles of Butterbeer and a couple glasses of water from the other side of his office.

Harry nodded. "Yes. I tried to talk to her last week, but it didn't go too well. She's quite stubborn."

Remus smiled weakly. "I think she has a right to be stubborn, Harry. The most evil wizard in a very long time, your archenemy, is residing in a part of her soul."

"I'm not going to just watch as she's dragged down into hell, Remus. I couldn't do that," Harry replied as he gulped down his water. "Besides, what did you think I was going to do? Brood and sulk over why she broke up with me?"

Remus watched Harry for a moment, reverie in his eyes. "Sirius was right," he finally murmured. "You're less like your father than we thought."

Giving Remus a crooked grin, Harry ran a hand through his hair. "I don't think that's such a bad thing anymore."

"It's not. I can see much of Lily in you, Harry. You should be glad to be your own person," Remus said, taking a swallow of his Butterbeer.

Harry sighed heavily. "Did Ginny really come in here and yell at you today?" he asked.

With a wry smile, Remus nodded. "It was like seeing an angry Lily. I had to do a double take." He paused, smiled fading. "But she was wearing the ring on her finger, Harry."

Taking a breath, Harry grinned slightly. "Good."

She had put him through so much pain and anger for days, and yet as long as she was wearing his ring, he could forgive her. It meant she still cared for him, still wanted to care for him. He didn't feel so lost now; he didn't doubt what he needed to do.

He took a drink of his bottle to fortify himself. "I think I found a way to help her," he said slowly, causing Remus to straighten in his chair.

"Oh really? Please share," Remus said.

"I have to kill Voldemort."

Eyebrows shooting up into his hairline, Remus coughed. "Excuse me?"

"I have to kill Voldemort to end the power he has over Ginny," Harry repeated, the prophecy ringing in his head.

Neither shall live while the other survives...

Remus stared at Harry. "Is that the only option you found?"

Harry grimaced. "Well, I've got to become his murderer anyway! Why not have a personal purpose for it?" he said testily.

The older man's jaw went slack. Harry winced; Remus didn't know about the prophecy. "Trelawney made a prophecy right before I was born basically saying that whoever the Dark Lord marked as his equal was going to have to kill or be killed. Dumbledore told me," he explained. "You can ask him to hear the whole bit."

"Marked as an equal..." Remus trailed off, looking especially pale.

Harry pointed at his scar. "That's why I can speak Parseltounge, among other things. It was a transfer of power. So, I have to kill him or be killed. And I'd rather kill him."

Remus gaped at Harry. "How long have you known this?" he asked in bewilderment.

"Since June. Dumbledore told me after I came back from the Department of Mysteries," Harry said tiredly.

"Although I'm sure I should have told you earlier," came a voice from the doorway.

Harry and Remus looked to see the headmaster standing in the doorway, a small smile on his face. "May I join you, Remus? I do so have an affinity for Butterbeer," he said.

Remus nodded mutely. With a quick wave of his hand, Dumbledore closed the door and came to the desk, Summoning a chair and a Butterbeer from the other side of the room. "How is the training going? I'm sure Harry is catching on quickly," he added before taking the first sip from his bottle.

"He is, Albus. He's quite adept at dueling and swordplay," Remus replied.

Dumbledore sighed. "Good. Now, could one of you please inform me of Miss Weasley's situation? She has not been to see me in almost a month, and I am quite concerned."

"She's not speaking to anyone, Headmaster. I think she's trying to isolate herself because of... Well, you know," Harry stumbled over his words. What could he say to describe this? "I tried to talk to her, but she wouldn't listen to me."

"She is dealing with this in the way she thinks best, Harry. This must be very difficult for her, especially since there seems to be no way to help her," Dumbledore said gently.

Harry met the headmaster's gaze squarely. "If Voldemort was killed, she would be ok. I read it in books about this sort of thing," he said steadily.

"Harry, that's slightly extreme for right now, don't you think?" Remus said, a note of desperation in his voice.

Dumbledore looked at Harry gravely. "You don't know how to kill him yet."

With the same seriousness, Harry looked back at the dimmed blue eyes. There was no way he would let Voldemort have Ginny, even if he died in the effort. Because, as he had realized over the last few weeks, that's what it meant to love someone.

It meant being able to die for them.

"Then teach me."

~*~

"Draco, the Weasley girl has given me nothing. What is going on?"

"My lord, she has put herself in isolation. I do not know whether it was voluntary or not."

A pause, then a frustrated sigh. "Then she must be brought to me, face to face, so I can put her back to rights. She was most useful to me."

"The final Qudditch match is Gryffindor v. Hufflepuff, my lord. May I suggest an attack? She will be easy to get in the air."

"Get to the arrangements, Draco. Don't fail me. That Weasley girl will be your prize if you succeed."

"Consider it done, my lord."

~*~

A/N: Hmmm. Many thanks to Anne. Please read and review.