Dedicated to aPPle-FrrEAk and Heather Riggs.

Chapter 12: At The Beginning

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We were strangers

Starting out on a journey

Never dreaming what we'd have to go through

Now here we are and I'm suddenly standing

At the beginning with you

No one told me I was going to find you

Unexpected what you did to my heart

When I lost hope you were there to remind me

This is the start

And life is a road and I wanna keep going

Love is a river I wanna keep flowing

Life is a road now and forever

Wonderful journey

I'll be there when the world stops turning

I'll be there when the storm is through

In the end I want to be standing

At the beginning with you

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At The Beginning - Donna Lewis and Richard Marx

The Order of the Phoenix quaked as they watched Ginny raised her face to the heavens, letting the rain lash her face. But she stared as there was a thundering of hoof beats.

The Centaurs had come.

Bane rode to Harry and said,

"We will assist you in your battle. Hagrid told us of your plight. We only help to save our home."

"Understood." Dumbledore said. But they stopped as Ginny laughed again.

"You really think that Centaurs can help you now? They are nothing but silly horses."

Several centaurs tightened their bow strings.

"No! Don't shoot her!" Ron said.

"Why not? I'm the enemy now. And I'm also bored." Ginny stepped forward. Harry gasped and several people screamed as he rose violently, several feet into the air and was dragged forward towards her.

"Come on Harry. Kill me. I'm the thing you fear most. I'm what you're scared of."

"You aren't."

"Well, let's put it this way. Either you kill me, or I kill you."

"What?" Harry said. He still couldn't believe what was happening. This was Ginny. Ginny…

"You heard what the prophecy said. You kill me or I kill you."

"No… that wasn't about you… that was about him..."

"I AM HIM!" Ginny shrieked.

A roll of thunder sounded. Harry fell to the muddy floor, dirt splashing his face.

"I can't kill you Ginny… I can't…"

Ginny stared at him. He got to his feet.

"I won't." He shouted. She pulled out a wand.

"Very well. It's my turn then."

She waved her wand and was about to speak the words of the Death Curse. But stopped with a shuddering gasp.

"Virginia, kill him!" Voldemort commanded. She shook herself and tried again. But an unbearable pain shot across her chest. She fell to her knees. Harry stared down at her.

"Get to your feet!" Voldemort shouted.

Ginny clambered to her feet, trembling.

"Kill him NOW!"

"I'm trying!" Ginny screamed.

Harry turned briefly to look at Dumbledore. The headmaster nodded. Harry turned to Ginny and smiled.

"Ginny, I can't kill you. But I CAN kill him."

And before anyone could move Harry had waved his wand at Voldemort and shouted,

"AVADA KEDAVRA."

The green light hit Voldemort and he fell to the ground. At the same moment, the centaurs charged, shooting arrows at the Deatheaters, while the Order and teachers stunned them.

But the thing that Dumbledore, Harry, Ron and Hermione took notice of was the fact that Ginny had also collapsed when Voldemort did. Harry fell to his knees and gathered Ginny up in his arms.

"Ginny? Ginny, can you hear me?" Her eyes were closed and her skin was pale. He smoothed the hair back from her face.

"Ginny please… talk to me…"

His voice broke. Hermione buried her head in Ron's shoulder. Dumbledore turned to find Madam Pomfrey.

All around them, the battle continued. The Deatheaters were struggling, but their numbers dwindled.

And in the midst of a war, Harry Potter knelt in the mud, with the girl he loved. The Boy-Who-Lived wept for the girl who lay motionless in his arms. He rocked back and forward, cradling her limp body in his arms, begging her to awaken. Tears fell from behind his glasses and splashed onto her white skin.

As the last of the Deatheaters were rounded up, and bound, more people gathered around the pair. Madam Pomfrey pushed through and knelt to feel Ginny's wrist.

"Take her to the hospital wing." She told Snape and McGonagall. They lifted Ginny up and away from Harry. He knelt in the mud, watching as they took her away.

"Will she be OK?" He asked Dumbledore, a hysterical edge to his voice.

"I don't know Harry."

"She HAS to be… you're the greatest wizard that ever existed, you have to do something!"

"Harry, it's not that simple…"

"WELL MAKE IT THAT SIMPLE!" Harry yelled. Everyone turned to stare at him.

"Please don't shout Harry." Hermione begged.

"We can't just let her die! We can't!"

"We WON'T!" Bill boomed at him, grabbing his shoulders and shaking him. Harry stared up at the tall man.

"Bill, look at her… She's so weak…" Ron said. Bill glared at him.

"Just shut up the lot of you! Harry, if you love her as much as you say you do, go to her now. Go and look after her."

"It won't make a difference." Said the cool voice of Draco Malfoy. They all turned and looked at where he stood, bound by a curse. He smirked at them.

"She'll die. And you know it. Why else would you be so afraid?"

Ron snapped. Within five seconds he had strode to Malfoy and punched him in the face. Malfoy's face exploded with blood as he fell to the floor and lay in the mud. No one bothered to pick him up.

But Harry was already inside the castle, walking up to the hospital wing.

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When Ginny woke up it was the middle of the night and she was alone. She lay, staring up at then ceiling in an effort to remember what had happened. But as the memories came flooding back to her she squeezed her eyes shut in an attempt to stop the tears.

She sat up and looked around. The hospital wing was full of figures sleeping in bed. She climbed out of bed and reached for the hand mirror on the dressing table. When she saw her pitch-black hair she gasped. Her eyes had returned to normal but her hair had remained black. She stood up and walked down the hospital wing. Most of the people in the beds, she knew. Her family, teachers, fellow members of the Order of the Phoenix. She walked straight out of the hospital wing.

Walking along the silent corridors of Hogwarts at night, Ginny made her way to the entrance hall. Pushing the front doors open, she walked slowly down the steps. Mud squished between her bare toes, along with blood.

She stood in the midst of what had been a battlefield and stared around. And when a voice spoke behind her she didn't jump.

"You should be resting."

"I can't… there are so many people up there… I can't face them." Harry stood beside her.

"You're cold."

"I'll survive. Harry, people died here today. It was my fault…"

"It was Voldemort."

"No, you heard him. The darkness is inside me, and it always has been. I can still feel it."

"Ginny, you're tired… you need to get some rest. This isn't the end. It's the beginning. We have the Deatheaters, we can start afresh. It's going to be OK."

Ginny pulled out her wand and cast a sleeping charm. Harry fell to the ground. Ginny covered him with her cloak.

"I'm sorry Harry. But until I can control the darkness, I can't stay here. I don't want to hurt you, or anyone else." She whispered in his ear before turning and walking down the driveway towards Hogsmeade.

And from his office, Albus Dumbledore watched her go.

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When Harry woke up he found Dumbledore sitting by his bed in the Hospital Wing.

"What… Ginny?"

"She's gone."

"We have to find her." Harry struggled to get up but Dumbledore pushed him back down. 

"She left because she chose to. And when she chooses to come back, she will."

"But…"

"Harry, do not look for her. She will come back when she is ready."

Harry fell back. Mrs Weasley came over.

"Hallo, Harry dear."

"Mrs Weasley…"

"Don't worry about Ginny. She can take care of herself."

Harry didn't reply. He was gazing at the folded cloak on the end of his bed.

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(4 Months Later)

Harry sat with Ron and Hermione in their new home. Ron and Hermione had married a few weeks previously. Harry had never seen two people more in love.

Fleur had had her baby. A boy. They called him Jack. Bill was extremely proud of his son, and showed off about him at every opportunity.

Other than that things were as they were. Apart from, the fact that all the Deatheaters were now in Azkaban serving out life sentences. The trials had lasted a while, but all had been found guilty.

And Ginny was still missing.

Harry had ignored Dumbledore's instructions.  He had Aurors searching for Ginny whenever any of them didn't have any pressing work. It had only been four months. It seemed like four years.

"Harry, are you listening?" Ron asked. Harry shook himself.

"Yeah… No."

"It's OK. Have you been sleeping properly?

"Not really. Work's been getting on top of me."

"Tell me about it. I've hardly been home at all this week." Ron grumbled. Hermione elbowed him.

"You love your work."

"Not as much as I love you." Ron smiled at her. Hermione rolled her eyes, but she was smiling anyway.

Harry watched them argue gently, neither meaning a word. That was what love was. It was passionate and teasing and it was the way they looked at each other. 

He wanted that. But there was only one person he could ever care for like that. And no one knew where she was. 

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When Harry arrived in his cubicle at the Auror Headquarters he found Tonks waiting for him.

"Found a lead on Ginny. A couple of weeks ago a woman fitting her description were seen in the mountains in South France. Any good?"

"That's great Tonks. How's Remus?"

"Fussing like there's bloody tomorrow."

"He does it because he cares."

"Whatever. Catch ya later."

Remus and Tonks. Now there was an unusual pair. Sensible, reliable, sturdy Remus and clumsy, common Tonks. But there it was again. The warmth of love.

Harry was almost depressed by this. Everyone seemed to be moving on except him.

But he had no time. He had to make a trip to the south of France.

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Not very much going on towards the end there. But next chapter we'll find out where Ginny's scampered off too.

But that doesn't mean Harry will too!

Hee hee.

Someone commented that I seemed to like torturing my characters. HELL YES! Characters are only good when they're experiencing emotion. And I do like to very that emotion.

A lot.

Hope you enjoyed it!

Lotsa luv 'n' huggles

Katie