Dedicated to DementorChic.

If You Still Believe

* * * * * * * * * * * *

I never thought
Thought that it would be our last goodbye
(Our last goodbye)
I can still dream
That one day love will fall out of the sky
Do you still remember all the time that has gone by?
(Do you believe?)
Do you still believe that love can fall out from the sky?
If from where you're standing, you can see the sky above
I'll be waiting for you, if you still believe in love
(Do you believe?) 

* * * * * * * * * * * *

If you still believe- Elsa Raven, from Legend of Dragoon.

The Deatheaters assembled in the large dining room of the house, seated around the fine oaken table. Draco Malfoy was absent. The rest sat quietly, discussing why a meeting could have been called.

The door swung open. The Deatheaters fell silent. Draco Malfoy entered and took his seat next to the head of the table. Lord Voldemort entered, his hand on the shoulder of a girl. Those who were able to recognise her stared. The others frowned, confused.

"My faithful Deatheaters. I present to you the weapon that will destroy Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore. I see some of you recognise her. This… is Virginia Weasley."

A gasp sounded, and muttering burst out over the table. Ginny stared at the opposite wall. Her blazing red eyes were expressionless. Her pure black hair fell over her face. She didn't hear Voldemort explaining about how she had become this way.

She only heard when Voldemort leant down and spoke to her.

"Virginia?" Her eyes slid to his.

"What must you do?" He asked her.

"Destroy him." She whispered.

"Why?"

"Because you commanded it."

"That's only part of the reason, Virginia. It's for you as well. Everything I do, it's for you and me. We're going to find him soon."

Voldemort straightened and looked around at his Deatheaters.

"We go to Hogwarts tonight. At 6, assemble outside the gates." 

* * * * * * * * * * *

Harry, Ron and Hermione were in Hogwarts that evening. Albus and Alastor were discussing plans in the Headmasters office. But the trio were sat in Hermione's office. It was covered in pictures of the Weasley's, the trio, their friends and many others. Harry had the seen the office in many different styles. But this was the one he liked best. It was very Hermione-ish. Stacks of books and neatly piled paper stood around the walls. But there were too many papers for it to be called tidy. It was… comfortable.

Hermione made them tea. Ron was looking at a picture if the four of them in their seventh year, Ginny's sixth. Standing in front of the lake, Ron holding Hermione in his arms as she shrieked with laughter, Harry and Ginny leant against each other, giggling insanely. Harry could remember that day. They'd been so happy. Colin Creevey had taken the picture. There hadn't been many happy times. This was on of the few, and as Colin had said in a rare moment of wisdom, you needed the best times, to get you through the worst ones. And that was definitely one of the best.

Harry looked at Ginny's laughing face as she looked up at him from the picture. They all waved at him. He turned away.

Hermione handed him tea.

"I do hope they won't be too long." She said, in an attempt to make a conversation. Ron nodded.

"Yeah… Mum and Dad have gone to see Tonks."

"It's not as if she'll be lonely. Remus had barely left her bedside." Hermione said, smiling slightly. Ron stared at her.

"You don't mean…"

"Oh, Ron! I love you, but you're so ignorant of people's feelings!" Hermione said exasperatedly.

"It's a wonder he even got around to proposing to you, Hermione." Harry said. Ron flushed red.

"Hey, it was good when I got around to it."

"You never told me how it happened." Harry pointed out. Hermione rolled her eyes as she sat down. Ron cleared his throat.

"I took her out for dinner… romantic walk along the beach… it was a great atmosphere."

"And then it went wrong." Hermione said. Ron ignored her.

"I had it all planned it all out. I was gonna get down on one knee and everything. And then…"

"We were on this little bridge, over a stream. It was gorgeous." Hermione intervened.

"And I was faced away from her. Preparing myself, you know. And I turned around a bit too quickly. I had my hand in my pocket trying to get the damn ring out…"

"He hit me in the face by accident, and I fell into the stream." Hermione told him. Harry's jaw dropped.

"Tell me you didn't."

"It was awful." Ron said. Hermione smiled.

"But then he jumped in and picked me up. It would have been pretty good to say, will you marry me. But Ron had his own style."

"OK, tell me what you did."

"Fell over. We both ended up sitting in the stream. So I just got fed up."

"He stood up, shook his fist at the sky, like Basil Fawlty, and shouted at me 'Just say yes, OK? It'll save us all a lot of trouble!'" Hermione laughed.

Ron beamed at them both.

"Worked didn't it?"

"Not quite. It started raining." Hermione said casually, shifting some papers. Harry grinned at Ron.

"Could have been worse I suppose."

"Yeah… she could have said no." Ron agreed.

The lifted atmosphere sank through the floor as Albus entered.

"Alastor and I have a plan. We know where they are. We leave immediately."

"Where are they?"

"Southern England. A deserted village. We can Apparate there now."

The team of Aurors apparated away at 5:30.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Hagrid stared down at the Giant Squid.

"I jus' don' understand it. I've given you every medicine I can think of. Why aren't you yer normal self, eh?" The giant squid moaned dolefully. Hagrid shook his head and looked across at Grawp.

"Grawpy? Want yer dinner now?"

"Yes, Hagger. Dinner."

"Come on then. Fish alright?"

"Hagger fish."

"OK then." The pair started their walk back to the cabin. Grawp didn't sleep there. He preferred the forest.

As they arrived at the cabin door Grawp stopped suddenly and turned around. Hagrid paused.

"Grawp? Everythin' OK?"

"Hear… coming…" Grawp grunted. His limited vocabulary was not needed, because a few seconds later Hagrid saw exactly what was coming, and what his little brother had heard.

"Ruddy Hell! Deatheaters!" He said. He turned to Grawp.

"Grawpy, go to the castle. Find Minerva McGonagall. Tell her Deatheaters are coming! Tell her I'll send a message to Dumbledore! "

"Castle… Not castle…" Grawpy said anxiously. Dumbledore had said that Grawp wasn't allowed into the castle, due to size, clumsiness and many antiques.

"This is special, alrigh'? Go to the castle! RUN!"

Grawp turned and ran towards the castle. The Deatheaters saw him, but ignored him. Hagrid ran into the forest and whistled. Within five seconds Fawkes the phoenix had appeared at his side with a bang.

"Find Dumbledore, Fawkes. Get him back here, no matter what it takes, OK?" Fawkes sang a note before disappearing. Hagrid stared back at the castles. There were so many Deatheaters. They needed help. They needed…

Hagrid groaned. It was the very last thing he wanted to do, but he had no choice. He turned and ran into the forest.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Grawp barged through the front doors, making several students jump. He whirled around.

"McGonagall!" He roared. A girl screamed. Grawp looked shocked.

"GRAWP!"  Minerva McGonagall's voice rang through the entrance hall.

"Grawp, you are forbidden from entering the castle, as well you know!" Minerva shrieked. Grawp struggled to explain.

"Eaters… eaters…"

"If you are hungry, Hagrid will feed you!" Minerva said crossly. Grawp shook his head desperately.

"No… no! Eaters…!" Oh, what was the word Hagrid had used? Grawp struggled to remember.

"Grawp, go back to Hagrid."

"De'eaters!" Grawp crowed triumphantly. He had remembered it! Hagrid would be pleased.

"What?" McGonagall snapped.

"De'eaters!"

"What are you…?" Her face suddenly drained of colour. She ran to the door and glanced through. Then she slammed the door shut, pale and shaking.

"Dear God! Students back to your houses immediately! DOBBY!" The house-elf appeared with a bang.

"Dobby at your service."

"Dobby, get the other house-elves and get all the students into Hogsmeade through any secret passages you know of. We must clear the castle!"

Dobby disappeared. As the students cleared several teachers, including Snape arrived in the Entrance Hall.

"Minerva, what is going on?"

"Deatheaters are coming!" She said quickly. Flitwick gasped.

"We must tell Dumbledore!"

"Hagger… Dumbledore messa." Grawp interrupted loudly. They stared at him.

"Hagger… Dumbledore… messa…"

"Message? Hagrid has sent Dumbledore a message?" Snape asked. Grawp nodded and his large ugly face burst into a grin. He'd remembered the whole message. This was good!

"We must get Dumbledore back as quickly as possible. This is it. This ends now. One way… or another." Minerva said seriously, looking around at her colleagues.  They all nodded.

* * * * * * * * * * *

"Where are they?" Harry shouted, as he threw open another door to reveal another empty room.

"They were here." Hermione confirmed. She held up a robe. "This is one of the robes Ginny designed for Malfoy. So they must have been here."

"But where are they now?" Ron asked angrily. Moody was about to reply when there was a loud bang and a fire-red phoenix appeared in the room. Dumbledore held out an arm and Fawkes flew to him.

"Fawkes, why are you here?" Dumbledore asked. The phoenix sang one pure, beautiful note. Dumbledore frowned at him. Then his eyes widened.

"Surely not…"

"What is it?"

"We must return to Hogwarts!"

"What about my sister?" Ron demanded. Dumbledore continued to walk.

"If what I think is going on is correct…she is already there."

* * * * * * * * * * *

"But you've gotta help!" Hagrid shouted. The ring of Centaurs shuffled their feet angrily. Bane glared at Hagrid.

"And why should we?"

"The Deatheaters are coming. They'll kill anyone they can get their hands on. An' they'll destroy the forest too! Either you help, or yer home gets destroyed! I've got to go an' help. I haven't got time to waste on dumb horses who aren't gonna bother protecting their 'ome!"

He turned and strode away, towards the castle.

* * * * * * * * * * *

The teachers and several members of the DA who had refused to leave stood in the entrance hall. Minerva McGonagall looked around at them.

"We don't want to fight them. Just protect ourselves. Try to stun them. Students, go up to the top of the castle with Professor Flitwick.  Protection charms all around. The rest of you… let's try to hold out until Albus returns."

* * * * * * * * * * *

The small group of teachers and students were nowhere near enough to hold off the army of Deatheaters though. The protection charms and binding spells could only go so far. When Harry's party arrived the Deatheaters were almost into the castle.

But they all stopped as Voldemort appeared from the throng of Deatheaters, a hooded figure at his side.

"Deatheaters, cease!" He called. They all stopped. Harry stepped forward.

"Where is Ginny?" He yelled. Voldemort smirked.

"Ginny doesn't exist anymore."

"What?" Harry said, heart sinking.

"Not the one you knew anyway. She has joined me."

"She would never do that!"

"Virginia…"

The next few seconds seemed the slowest in Harry's life. He heard Hermione gasp and Ron moan. Even Albus Dumbledore seemed shocked.

Ginny lowered the hood. Her dark hair whipped across her face, eyes staring at Harry.

"This is my Deatheater, Virginia. I have poured my essence into her. She is me, and I am her."

"Ginny?"

Ginny stepped forward. Voldemort smiled.

"Virginia. You know what you must do."

"No! Ginny, stop!" Ron bellowed. He charged forward, but before he came within five metres of Ginny, she waved a hand and he flew back, knocking several Aurors to the ground.

"Ginny…? It's me. It's Harry." Harry said, taking a step towards her.

"Ginny, don't do this. Don't let him control you."

"I am not controlled. I am free." Ginny said. She didn't say it loudly but all heard. Harry took another step towards her but light flew from her hand and hit him in the chest. He fell with a cry of pain.

But struggled up. Ginny watched as he stood.

"Ginny, why are you doing this? Why are you doing this for him?"

"I do it for myself."

"Why? We're your friends." Hermione cried. Ginny's eyes snapped to her.

"I do not require friends. All I need is power. And I have it."

Voldemort smiled and said,

"You see? This darkness was in Virginia all the time. I merely released it."

"LIAR!" Harry screamed. Another wave from Ginny's hand silenced him as slashes cut his face. Blood trickled down his skin.

"Ginny, stop! Don't do this. We love you Ginny…" Harry gulped, "Ginny… I love you."

Normally, in a story, when the hero tells the heroine that he loves her, everything is alright. Everything goes back to normal.

But Ginny just laughed cruelly.

"I love you Ginny!" Harry shouted again. Ginny smiled at him, in a terrifying way.

"Do you still believe in love? After all that has happened around us. After all you have seen, you still believe that love exists?"

"It does. And you know it." Dumbledore told her. Her head snapped to look at him.

"Silence, old man. Love doesn't exist. You can't change things. They are the way they are."

"You don't believe that Ginny."

"SILENCE!" Ginny shrieked. They all stopped. Her eyes blazed.

"If you still believe in love, you are a fool. All there is is pain. And I am the one to cause it." She told them.

"And now… it is the beginning of the end." Laughter bubbled from her throat.

"Prepare yourselves! The end has come… and I am the cause."

The Hogwarts staff and students, and the Order of the Phoenix all stared in horror as the sky fell dark, lightening flashed across the heavens and the sun disappeared.

The end had indeed come.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Oooooh! Exciting stuff, isn't it? Some people seemed confused over exactly what had happened to Ginny. Basically, when Voldemort possessed her in her first year, some of him remained in her. It grew inside her, and now he has let it out. This gives him the power to possess her.

Funky, huh?

This song is absolutely gorgeous! If you want to download it, e-mail me and I'll send you the website address.

Lotsa luv

Katie