Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, propaganda, etc.
A/N: That last chapter was driving me insane, so I lengthened a paragraph or two to make me feel better. Don't bother reading it over, just wanted to tell you. Why? Because I felt like it.
Night fell as they shivered in the cold as Ginny's last tear slid from under a closed eyelid as she pulled herself away from Harry. The trees were no longer swaying; in fact they were completely still, as if frozen in time, not a single leaf daring to flutter to the ground. It was almost eerie to look at, so she instead concentrated on listening, trying to match up the calling of birds to their calls. A new realization struck her; there were no birds, no sounds to identify. She shuddered and tried to regain her composure. She was acting like a silly little girl again, and right now she couldn't afford to.
"Harry, I'm going to go see if my stream is still here, I'm dying of thirst. I'll be back in a minute," she said softly.
"No, you don't need to go alone, I'll come with you," he answered protectively, pulling himself up.
"Don't be an idiot, you need to keep the fire from burning out. I'll be right back, I'm perfectly capable of walking fifteen feet on my own," she snapped in an irritated voice. Never mind that he could simply light another fire if that one went out, she had to prove that she didn't need protection all the time. Besides, she could think more clearly when Harry wasn't there to interfere with her emotions.
"I'm coming to get you if you're not back in ten minutes."
"Fine."
Ginny whispered 'Lumos' and her wand tip ignited, sending a dim line of light over Harry's worried features. She turned away in order to stop herself from breaking down and letting him come, and began walking hesitantly in the direction she thought the stream was in.
She began to quicken her pace, her heart beating an uneven rhythm as she wished she hadn't left the comfort of the fire and Harry. It seemed to be getting darker by the minute, and her wand wasn't nearly bright enough to puncture the icy chill that was suffocating her. She tried to ignore it, but it was too close, and the memories were blurring her vision. She stumbled over a rock and found her foot in icy water, but the fact that she had found the stream didn't register. She tripped blindly again; her robes were soaked through now. She had just pulled herself up, cold sweat breaking out on her brow and claustrophobia pressing against her when she felt something on her shoulder. A slimy, rotten hand that reeked of death and decay, it's jagged fingernails biting into her skin her numb skin.
Ginny screamed.
* * * Harry ran towards the sound, guilt and the frantic need to find Ginny plaguing him as he ran. Thorns pierced him through his already tattered robes, and Sirius flashed through his mind, his body falling in submission at Bellatrix Lestrange's curse. He kept running, he couldn't let the past ruin his future. Her voice was near now, her scream occupying every particle of his mind left empty of Sirius. His foot fell into water and he knew he was close, knew from the frigid cold and feeling of utter darkness. A few seconds later, he saw her. She was lying on her back, and a dementor was seconds away from claiming her soul.
"Expecto Patronum!" He yelled, thinking of earlier that day with all his might. The feeble patronus was enough to frighten the dementor away for a second, but Prongs vanished too quickly to rid them of the other three. Freed from its hold, Ginny dragged herself towards Harry, her wand forgotten on a patch of frozen grass. Harry pulled her up, and she clung to him for support since her legs seemed to have lost the will to hold her up.
"Come on, Harry, you can do it," she whispered. The four dementors were closing in on them in a tight circle, and it was becoming tighter every second they lost.
"I'm sorry, Ginny, I can't find anything happy enough, I know it's there, I just can't think of it," he said wretchedly, trying to remember something, anything that would save them.
"Harry, think of Ron and Hermione. Think of Mum and Dad, and Fred and George, and Charlie and Bill. Try to remember."
"I can't picture their faces, nothing's making sense. I can't think of anything besides what's happening right now."
"Than think of now," she said, and without thinking about it kissed him softly on the lips, laying her hand on his wand arm as she pulled away. Something surged through Harry's body, a feeling he couldn't place, removing the cold with deep warmth that seeped through his fingertips and into his wand.
"Expecto Patronum!" He yelled as a shape flew from his wand. Both Harry and Ginny covered their eyes with their hands as its brightness blinded them, and by the time they could open them they found no trace of the dementors, and the patronus was already galloping away. Harry shaded his eyes and tried to make out the shape. It looked like Prongs, but there was something different about it.
"What shape does your patronus take?" Harry asked, realizing what it was that was different.
"Eagle," Ginny breathed. They stood together, wand arms still entwined, as the patronus, half stag half eagle, rose gracefully into the suddenly warm night air.
A/N: Well, I'm finished! Again, I'm not sure if I like the ending but I'll tweak it a bit if I have to. And here's the moment we've all been waiting for; review notes! You'd think I was insane from how excited I get from 19 reviews or so, but if you heard me brag you'd know just how much every last one means to me, even if it just says "Good."
Anyhoo-
Ami-gryffindor89: Thanks so much! I read one of your reviews and it made me so happy I went straight into Microsoft word to write another chapter.
Sarahamanda: Yay! You've reviewed every single chapter so far! Makes me so excited to see those reviews...
Maria: Glad you wanted more, hope this is okay.
KrystynAngelofLight: Thank you! I keep forgetting to read your stories, but they look great,
Dementorchic: Thanks for reviewing!
Melindaleo: I started reading your story, I'm lovin' it! The kissing thing was partly my idea and partly your review, either way both of your reviews were a great help.
GinnyGirl24289: I know whatcha mean, Ginny's da bomb!
Mep: I love it when people write good reviews in caps!
A/N: That last chapter was driving me insane, so I lengthened a paragraph or two to make me feel better. Don't bother reading it over, just wanted to tell you. Why? Because I felt like it.
Night fell as they shivered in the cold as Ginny's last tear slid from under a closed eyelid as she pulled herself away from Harry. The trees were no longer swaying; in fact they were completely still, as if frozen in time, not a single leaf daring to flutter to the ground. It was almost eerie to look at, so she instead concentrated on listening, trying to match up the calling of birds to their calls. A new realization struck her; there were no birds, no sounds to identify. She shuddered and tried to regain her composure. She was acting like a silly little girl again, and right now she couldn't afford to.
"Harry, I'm going to go see if my stream is still here, I'm dying of thirst. I'll be back in a minute," she said softly.
"No, you don't need to go alone, I'll come with you," he answered protectively, pulling himself up.
"Don't be an idiot, you need to keep the fire from burning out. I'll be right back, I'm perfectly capable of walking fifteen feet on my own," she snapped in an irritated voice. Never mind that he could simply light another fire if that one went out, she had to prove that she didn't need protection all the time. Besides, she could think more clearly when Harry wasn't there to interfere with her emotions.
"I'm coming to get you if you're not back in ten minutes."
"Fine."
Ginny whispered 'Lumos' and her wand tip ignited, sending a dim line of light over Harry's worried features. She turned away in order to stop herself from breaking down and letting him come, and began walking hesitantly in the direction she thought the stream was in.
She began to quicken her pace, her heart beating an uneven rhythm as she wished she hadn't left the comfort of the fire and Harry. It seemed to be getting darker by the minute, and her wand wasn't nearly bright enough to puncture the icy chill that was suffocating her. She tried to ignore it, but it was too close, and the memories were blurring her vision. She stumbled over a rock and found her foot in icy water, but the fact that she had found the stream didn't register. She tripped blindly again; her robes were soaked through now. She had just pulled herself up, cold sweat breaking out on her brow and claustrophobia pressing against her when she felt something on her shoulder. A slimy, rotten hand that reeked of death and decay, it's jagged fingernails biting into her skin her numb skin.
Ginny screamed.
* * * Harry ran towards the sound, guilt and the frantic need to find Ginny plaguing him as he ran. Thorns pierced him through his already tattered robes, and Sirius flashed through his mind, his body falling in submission at Bellatrix Lestrange's curse. He kept running, he couldn't let the past ruin his future. Her voice was near now, her scream occupying every particle of his mind left empty of Sirius. His foot fell into water and he knew he was close, knew from the frigid cold and feeling of utter darkness. A few seconds later, he saw her. She was lying on her back, and a dementor was seconds away from claiming her soul.
"Expecto Patronum!" He yelled, thinking of earlier that day with all his might. The feeble patronus was enough to frighten the dementor away for a second, but Prongs vanished too quickly to rid them of the other three. Freed from its hold, Ginny dragged herself towards Harry, her wand forgotten on a patch of frozen grass. Harry pulled her up, and she clung to him for support since her legs seemed to have lost the will to hold her up.
"Come on, Harry, you can do it," she whispered. The four dementors were closing in on them in a tight circle, and it was becoming tighter every second they lost.
"I'm sorry, Ginny, I can't find anything happy enough, I know it's there, I just can't think of it," he said wretchedly, trying to remember something, anything that would save them.
"Harry, think of Ron and Hermione. Think of Mum and Dad, and Fred and George, and Charlie and Bill. Try to remember."
"I can't picture their faces, nothing's making sense. I can't think of anything besides what's happening right now."
"Than think of now," she said, and without thinking about it kissed him softly on the lips, laying her hand on his wand arm as she pulled away. Something surged through Harry's body, a feeling he couldn't place, removing the cold with deep warmth that seeped through his fingertips and into his wand.
"Expecto Patronum!" He yelled as a shape flew from his wand. Both Harry and Ginny covered their eyes with their hands as its brightness blinded them, and by the time they could open them they found no trace of the dementors, and the patronus was already galloping away. Harry shaded his eyes and tried to make out the shape. It looked like Prongs, but there was something different about it.
"What shape does your patronus take?" Harry asked, realizing what it was that was different.
"Eagle," Ginny breathed. They stood together, wand arms still entwined, as the patronus, half stag half eagle, rose gracefully into the suddenly warm night air.
A/N: Well, I'm finished! Again, I'm not sure if I like the ending but I'll tweak it a bit if I have to. And here's the moment we've all been waiting for; review notes! You'd think I was insane from how excited I get from 19 reviews or so, but if you heard me brag you'd know just how much every last one means to me, even if it just says "Good."
Anyhoo-
Ami-gryffindor89: Thanks so much! I read one of your reviews and it made me so happy I went straight into Microsoft word to write another chapter.
Sarahamanda: Yay! You've reviewed every single chapter so far! Makes me so excited to see those reviews...
Maria: Glad you wanted more, hope this is okay.
KrystynAngelofLight: Thank you! I keep forgetting to read your stories, but they look great,
Dementorchic: Thanks for reviewing!
Melindaleo: I started reading your story, I'm lovin' it! The kissing thing was partly my idea and partly your review, either way both of your reviews were a great help.
GinnyGirl24289: I know whatcha mean, Ginny's da bomb!
Mep: I love it when people write good reviews in caps!
