Disclaimer: Many of the characters, thoughts and ideas that are in this fan fiction are not of my own design. Though this story is from my imagination, I realize that this is the property of Warner Bros. and J.K. Rowling. This is not J. K. Rowling's work. I also read many FFs and if you see something similar to another work it is entirely unintentional. I have posted this on harrypotter.com as well….
Becky (rebcschult and PrincessOfCliffiesRCS)
P.S. Please read and review!
In general to all of my fans – Okay this is the second to last chapter and the last chapter is very short…. So this chapter is the climax!! I hope you like it!
Athenakitty – Thank you for all the questions… Most questions should be answered here!!! :-D
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CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE – DIAGON ALLEYRon lay in rags on the floor. He had still refused to give into what Voldemort had been trying to convince him of, but he was finding it harder and harder to distinguish reality for the fantastical lies that Voldemort was telling him. He had no idea how long he had been there, but he knew it was a long while, his hair had grown to the point where it nearly wrapped around his ears. He knew that the Order could not come after him, because none of them knew where he was, he didn't even know where he was.
He often used his ignorance to his advantage. He once almost got the location where he was out of one of the more idiotic Deatheaters, which Ron only assumed must have been somehow related to either Crabbe or Goyle, because they seemed to be the henchmen of Lucius Malfoy. Unfortunately, Malfoy had come at the precise moment that they were going to tell Ron and told them that they were not allowed to speak to Ron at all.
Most of the time now, with the aches and pains that were running through his body, he just lay there on the floor, too tired and hurt to move, which this too had it's advantages. He listened to conversations that went on just outside the room he was in, when the Deatheaters that roamed outside and guarded his room, thought he was asleep. He couldn't get much out of them that way, but he took whatever tidbits he could get. At that very moment there was a conversation going on about their upcoming plans to attack Diagon Alley.
"The Master wants to know if he will be ready in time to participate in the attack."
"He will if I have anything to say about it."
"But the attack is just three days away!"
"He'll be ready I tell you. Lucius has said that he was going to increase his dose tonight again, to see if that would work to break him further…"
"What is he trying to kill him? If he increases the dose of the potion much more, he'll kill him!"
"There's no big loss there…."
"No, I agree. But let's not have Potter rain his rage down on us before we are ready for him."
"Oh, we are ready…. There's another little thing that we know is his weakne…. Shh. Shh."
There was a quick paced walk coming down the hall the Ron had learned to dread. He knew exactly what he was about to endure. "So are you two boys ready to help break a spirit today?" seethed the harsh voice of Malfoy. The other two guffawed stupidly as they opened the lock to his cell.
He had gone over in his mind a thousand times what he would do. He had tried so many times to get away and each time he was caught and brought back to his cell. But this time was different he could feel it. He was going to get away this time.
He waited until he had heard the steps behind him stop. He heard the word, "Stupefy!" and he immediately threw up a weak shield and rolled out of the way. The spell was deflected onto one of Malfoy's cronies. Ron got up and took Malfoy's wand from him all at once, just as Professor Lockhart had done to him at the end of his second year. He ran toward the door throwing a couple of Stupefys over his shoulder without looking back.
Somehow he had managed to strike true with the spell, and despite the weakness of them, it was enough to knock the two remaining standing for a loop and to come crashing to the floor in a heap, unconscious for a short while. Ron couldn't believe his luck. He ran out of the still open cell and shut the door behind him. He ran around the halls for a while until he found the stairs that he had always seemed to get to, just before he got caught.
He looked behind him and seeing no one coming, he ran up the stairs to the door at the top. He opened the door cautiously. To his complete astonishment there was not a single Deatheater around. He was beginning to feel that this was far too easy. But he could see his freedom, just a few footsteps away. He decided to just be bold and walk straight through and out the door.
Just as he walked past the door on his right that was slightly ajar he hear a cold cruel voice reach his ears. "Leaving so soon, my son?"
"I am not your son, Voldemort."
"Oh, but you are, Ronald…"
"My father is Arthur Weasley."
"You were only raised with him as your father. I truly am your father. You see, I abducted your Mother and impregnated her with you, then I erased her memories of the whole thing, as well as your father's. They don't remember anything about what happened."
"You're lying," said Ron skeptically.
"Why would I have to lie when the truth in this case is far too delicious not to tell?"
Ron looked up into the face of his self-proclaimed father and saw something in the red snake like eyes that he recognized.
"You see now, don't you, that we were meant to rule the world together…."
Something snapped deep inside his potion-saturated mind that caused what Voldemort had just said to make some sort of sick sense to him. All of a sudden he realized how true it must be, knowing how alienated he had felt from his own family all of his life…. Always knowing that he deserved and wanted more. Knowing that the real reason that he had befriended his father's killer was to bring him down, not to care about him and to throw him off he would pretend to fall in love with a Muggle born witch. Perhaps Voldemort was right. Perhaps it was time to break free of his dull and dreary life and embrace his destiny with his real father….
Before Ron's appearance Voldemort had expected the young wizard to attempt an escape that day. His mind had wondered through why he was glad that Ron was his prisoner…. Arthur Weasley had foiled him a number of times, too many to count in fact. He had come up with his plan several nights before. He was almost startled out of his reverie by the appearance of the boy walking outside of the room he was sitting in. He called the boy back and started to carry out his plan.
Voldemort watched as the youngest son of one of his greatest enemies started considering everything he said, and just to push it all along, he projected thoughts into Ron's brain and made them feel like his own. He could feel Ron's mind beginning to crack. He added a little more and finally Ron's free will and internal beliefs were gone. So, he took the initiative and asked, "So, my son, what do you know about the secret Order that Potter is part of…?"
Ron got a very sly look in his eyes and grinned wickedly.
~~~~~~~~~
Harry woke up yelling, "Noooooooo!" He was again sitting at the table where he had fallen asleep studying. Hermione was shaking him.
"Harry, Harry wake up! What's wrong?"
Harry looked up into her eyes and she knew, Ron had at last given up the fight. Hermione and Harry embraced and both fought hard to keep back the tears.
"What is it?"
"What's going on?"
"Where's the trouble?"
"Who's yelling?"
Harry and Hermione looked over to the stairs and saw that they were packed with students with worried looks on their faces. Neville, the twins, and Ginny fought their way to the front of the lines. They took one look at Harry and Hermione and knew something was wrong.
"Okay, break it up! Go back to bed! There's nothing to see here!" They started pushing the other students back up the stairs and once everyone was safely in their rooms, they came back down. The sight they saw haunted them.
Hermione was sobbing uncontrollably in Harry's arms. Harry himself had a stone cold look on his face, with his jaw clenched. They came over and knew instantly what had happened. They could see the pain in his eyes.
"Did he betray you? Us?"
"I'm not sure…. All I know is that it will be a fight to get him back…"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Three days later they all sat in the Order boardroom and waited. It seemed that Snape was once again was not coming. Harry looked knowingly at Dumbledore, through tired eyes. He hadn't slept at all well in the anticipation of the attack that was about to happen, and with the intensity of the nightmares that he had been having. Harry shook his head to remove the memories of what he had seen, and then sighed.
"I believe we should not wait any longer, Albus."
"I tend to agree with you on that, Harry." He got up and everyone followed suit. "Just one moment, please." Everyone sat back down. He walked over to the wall and tapped four books in rapid succession. A piece of the wall slid back and to the side. As Dumbledore entered, the small room lit up as the torches exploded to life. Dumbledore stepped into the room and returned with 23 cloaks. He banished all but one to the table in front of them.
"These are the cloaks of the original members of the order, when it was first started by the Atlanteans, passes down from generation to generation. Though Godric added the Phoenix symbol.
"When you wear this you, above all, gain the knowledge and power of all those who wore it before you. They are made of a special fabric, very similar to your father's invisibility cloak, Harry. The Phoenix symbol of the cloak need only have the contact of an Order member to make that entire person invisible. It is far more powerful than a simple Invisibility cloak, as it will strengthen any charm that is cast by the wearer and will enhance any protection that the wearer erects. It also gives an effective disguise when the invisibility of the cloak is not activated."
Each one was made of heavy looking velvet and had gold braided ties for the hood, at the neck. There was a Phoenix embossed in red and golden thread on the left over the chest area. The cloaks all started out black in color. The moment they were touched by the person that would wear it, it shimmered and became clear and then changed to the color that best suited them.
They all put on their cloaks, which felt surprisingly light on their shoulders, and looked around the room. They were all surprised to note that none of the others looked familiar. A very young looking wizard that exhibited a very palpable aura said in a voice that Harry recognized, "Please take note of what your fellow members look like, as this is how we will appear to each other and to the others around us. But if you are uncertain if someone is an order member or not… you can always look into the eyes of the person, as the eyes are the windows to the soul." He lowered his head and looked at all of them, as if he were looking over the top of the glasses at them. He knew instantly it was Dumbledore, by looking into his eyes.
"Now then, if there are no objections I think we should possibly be on our way… as it was not specific when the attack would start," said Harry.
"I tend to agree with you…. Everyone join hands." Everyone gathered and held hands. "May we all be protected and watched over by the great wizards and witches of the past, as well as the Great Spirit that watches over us all. May we all have success today and come back safely." Dumbledore reached into his pocket and took out a Bubble Gum Bubble Bomb wrapper and they all touched it. Dumbledore activated it and they all felt a familiar pull behind the navel. They landed in the middle of the tiny courtyard behind The Leaky Cauldron and opened the gateway into the Alley. They all walked in and took their places watching and waiting for the attack to begin….
Harry had taken the spot closest to the gateway. He had wanted to be close to Knockturn Alley, where all of the shops were devoted to Dark Arts, because he figured that would be where the attack would begin. But Dumbledore had insisted on Harry being furthest from the most likely point of attack. "After all," he had said, "All the great Wizard Generals of history have been the furthest away from the battle origin. They needed to lead the wizard armies to victory…"
Harry knew Dumbledore was right, but he really wanted to be there to get Ron back. He could sense that Ron would be there, and he didn't know what state to expect him in, but he was ready for anything.
Harry was relieved to find that the Alley was nearly empty. He had hoped that meant that there would be few casualties, that had nothing to do with the attack. Dumbledore had asked that Arthur to discreetly find a way to get the community at large to not be present in the Alley that day. It seemed to have worked.
Harry started making his rounds between the shops near the gateway. When he saw something that horrified him. There was a flyer in the window of Flourish and Blotts that stated that there would be the first annual Ministry sponsored day in the Alley, where all those that needed scholarships for their children could get them. There would be contests and a free fair as well, this all to get support on a grand scale to help stop the evil of the wizarding world. The flyer stated that the fair would begin at 4pm, but the largest number of activities would begin at 5pm. Harry looked at his watch. 3:50pm. He did not have the chance to run to warn the others now… The gateway opened, suddenly allowing a steady stream of wizards and witches to pour into the Alley.
There were many witches and wizards wandering around. Harry wanted to tell them to get out, to run for their lives, that Voldemort was about to attack, but he wasn't sure if there were any spies in the midst of those wandering in.
Harry projected a message to Dumbledore who was the next set of shops away and they met at the shops in the middle.
"What is it, Harry?"
"Sir, I'm afraid that there are going to be many casualties here today. I've seen a flyer that said something about a fair…."
Dumbledore held his hand up. "Harry, I, too, have seen these flyers. I, in fact, inquired about them, because it was my understanding that there is no room in such a small place to have such a thing. The shopkeeper had been quite cross with me for asking, apparently I was about the thousandth person to inquire about it in the past week. He kindly answered my inquiry with and impatient explanation about a building that apparently allows access to the area that spans the entire area below the Alley. According to the shopkeeper it is not a well know place but has, in fact, been there for quite some time and was used as one of the shelters during the Goblin Wars.
"Oh."
"We cannot do much of anything to stop this now, Harry. You know as well as I that Fudge has been influenced to do this. It was all planned before we ever became involved."
"Yes, sir."
"We will do our best to make sure that the casualties remain minimal."
Harry nodded and returned to his rounds. He kept nervously looking at his watch and touching his pocket for the reassurance that his wand was still there. As he watched the time tick away he found that he was walking his rounds faster than he had been. He reached the entrance again in four minutes when it usually took six. He looked at his watch, five minutes until five. He looked nervously about the crowded street. He looked at his watch again, three minutes to five. He found that he could no longer stand still. He began his rounds again. Just as he rounded to go back to the entrance again, he glanced at his watch again, five o'clock and nothing had happened yet. He breathed a sigh of relief and took a step back toward the entrance, when….
BOOOOM!!!
Harry was blown off his feet. The whole street shook and the buildings almost seemed become unsettled, like they were about to fall over. All of the many people around him fell to the ground as well. Harry scrambled to his feet, as did the other Order members. Their heads were all popping up around the Alley. Suddenly a mass of hysteria and panic happened.
Many got to their feet and started running toward the entrances, only to find them blocked and unable to get out. There were some that were being trampled and Harry pulled a crying child, bawling for her Mummy, out of the way of the approaching crowd of hysterical people. The little girl clung to him and cried loudly in his ear. He looked about for the woman that belonged to the child. There was a woman seeming to call for someone at the front of the Apothecary. He found a way to get over to the woman without getting run down by the people running around trying to find a way out.
He approached her and the worry in her eyes turned to gratitude. "How can I ever thank you for finding my little Karen."
"You're smile is thanks enough." He tried to give her over to her mother, but she was so scared she just wouldn't let him go. When she finally realized why she was getting passed over she let go of the choke hold she had on him and turned to put the chokehold on her mother.
He turned around and came face to face with Ron.
"Oh. Excuse me," said Harry trying not to look directly into his eyes.
Ron looked him up and down skeptically and as if he had a bad taste in his mouth. "You should be, you squib."
Harry realized at that moment that Ron might have been lost to him forever. But even though he felt discouraged he refused to give up hope. Professor Fletcher had found what he felt was a possible cure to the potion that Lucius had been forcing on Ron. If nothing else he could force it down his throat. He watched Ron go, as he seemed to be looking for something. His capes billowing out behind him, much like Snape's often did.
Harry backed off and bumped into someone. He turned around quick and came face to face with the young man that he recognized as Sirius' disguise.
"Sirius, I…."
A new wave of people came running down the street toward the entrance that Harry had been walking rounds by, screaming. Harry stopped someone that was in the running horde and asked what was going on.
The man looked at Harry and grabbed at his cloak in sheer terror. "RUN FOR YOU LIFE!! IT'S YOU-KNOW-WHO!! HE'S ALIVE!!!" The man turned and ran off yelling at the top of his lungs.
Soon the crowd had moved in around Harry and Sirius. And they watched as a crowd of Deatheaters approached, in the middle of which was most definitely Voldemort.
The group stopped and Voldemort came to the front. "So you all thought I was gone. You all thought that a child could kill me. Well, news flash…. YOU WERE ALL WRONG! And just for not believing that I would survive, you will all be punished, until the one that I want appears before me."
"And who would that be?" asked a man in the crowd.
"Why, Harry Potter, of course."
"He's not here," yelled a woman opposite from where Harry was standing.
"Oh, but that is where you are wrong…. Avada Kedavra." He aimed the wand at the woman and she dropped to the ground with a thud. Harry fought the urge to run out there to reveal himself. He didn't want any more blood on his hands.
"He's at Hogwarts. They aren't out of school yet! Why would he be here! He's only a boy! Why try to hurt him?" yelled the first man that had spoken, before Harry could react.
Voldemort aimed his wand at the man. "Avada Kedavra," he said lazily. The man fell to the ground.
Harry bit his lip. He had hoped it wouldn't come to this, but he knew that this is exactly what Voldemort had intended. "I know you're here, Potter. I can feel you. You will come out now or I will kill one person, every 5 seconds until you do…"
He started aiming randomly at people and killing them. Harry felt a tightness in his chest as he fought the urge to run out there, hard. "Come on, Potter. Come out and fight me. Let everyone here see that you are not the wizard they think you are, as I kill you in front of them. I know that this is destroying you, to have so much death on your hands…. It is after all because of you that these people are dying." He turned and killed a few more people randomly from the crowd.
Harry couldn't take it any more. He yelled out, "Noooooooo!!" and ran forward untying his cloak and dropping it on the ground before Sirius could stop him.
Voldemort sneered slyly. "I knew you were here. Crucio."
Harry yelled out in agony and fell to his knees, for the small time that he was put under the curse. Voldemort stopped and said, "Get to your feet, Potter. I would like you to meet… my son." Harry could hear a commotion in the crowd behind Voldemort and watched as the woman that he recognized as Mrs. Weasley's disguise collapsed to the ground in a heap, sobbing.
Harry got to his feet and came face to face with Ron, once again. "He is not your son."
Voldemort leaned in to whisper in Harry's ear, "Yes, but he does not know that… anymore."
He moved back and put his arm around Ron's shoulder. "Now, my son… All you need to do to prove yourself to the world and me is to kill the man standing before you…. Kill your best friend."
"He's not my best friend anymore…. He killed the only woman that I ever loved, the only woman that loved me more than him…."
"But she's not dead, Ron. She's alive! I cured her with that potion that we learned about…." A Deatheater came up to Voldemort and whispered into his ear as Harry said this, and Voldemort nodded in response.
"Don't lie to me, Potter!!!!"
"Hold on, my son, let us bring up his one and only true love so that she can be murdered in front of him before he dies…. Bring her up."
"Lina…," Harry whispered. From behind Harry came a commotion. Harry turned to see that a woman was being brought up to where they were. She was giving such a fight that he couldn't see who she was.
"I'm sorry father I can't wait for him to endure such pain. I can't even stand to look at him any more… AVADA –"
Ron looked up just as he was about to throw the curse to see the woman he loved standing in front of him in a chokehold by one of the Deatheaters. He stopped. He looked next to her at his best friend being held in front of him, by another Deatheater. The one that he had been about to kill. The one who looked as if he were ready to die to save him. He looked back and forth several times. He slowly lowered his wand to his side. "Hermione?"
"Yes, Ron. It's me. Harry cured me."
Ron muttered under his breath, "Harry was right." He turned to Voldemort and something inside his head snapped again. The look upon Ron's face became one of pure venom. "YOU! YOU LIED TO ME! She's alive! That's her over there!!! And to think what I almost did!" Ron pointed the wand at Voldemort who grabbed the tip of it and they struggled for the wand. Sparks flew out of the end of the wand as they struggled to gain control over the wand.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Harry had shut his eyes. If he had to be killed by anyone that he would rather it be Ron, his best friend. Because through doing it he may jar out of his altered state of mind and then Ron would be saved. Harry was ready to face death if need be. He had had enough of this cursed life that he led, at least that is what he tried to convince himself of.
When no spell came to hit Harry opened his eyes again. He saw a struggle between Ron and Voldemort. Ron was trying to get his wand away from the man whom he had just been calling father. Harry wasn't sure what had just happened until he saw the girl standing next to him was Hermione, but just to be sure that he was right, he asked, "What's going on?"
Just at that moment Ron yelled, "YOU LIED TO ME! MY GIRLFIREND IS ALIVE! THAT'S NOT HARRY'S ONE TRUE LOVE, BUT MINE!!!!"
Suddenly a jet of magic came flying out of the wand at the crowd they all ducked and ran for cover. The Deatheaters, for the most part, ran to help their Master. More magic flew out of the wand as the struggle increased. Some of the spells hit the Deatheaters. Ron found that Voldemort was surprisingly strong, for the brittle looking man he had become.
"No, you fools! Don't come in close to me! It's a trap! The rest of the Order is here in disguise!" screamed Voldemort. The Deatheaters all stopped where they were and turned around to scan the crowd for the defiant people of the Order. But none of them were able to see though the disguises of the Order members.
Ron continued to fight with Voldemort for his wand. The Deatheaters had to duck out of the way from a few more escaping spells.
Harry managed to shrug out of the grasp of the astonished Deatheater, who was watching what was going on with Ron. Harry pulled out his wand and said, "Stupefy!" to the Deatheater and then he faced Voldemort. "Expelliarmus!"
Ron's wand flew to his hand. Ron came to Harry's side and Harry gave him his wand back. The three of them pointed their wands at Voldemort, who nodded his head. Three Deatheaters came up behind them and grabbed them before they could move.
"Did you really think you could defeat me so easily, foolish boy?"
He looked at Harry and despite the enhanced power of his pin, because he still maintained contact to the Order cloak with his foot, there was a burning pain steadily growing in his head behind his scar. Voldemort started laughing maniacally. "Poor little Potter has a cursed scar that hurts him by a mere look from me. My, my, my. Tut tut. Too bad you won't be able to save your friends…. Avada Kedavra." He pointed the wand at Ron.
Harry threw his arms out and knocked the Deatheater that was holding him to the ground and threw his hands out in front of him, at the precise moment that the spell should have been reaching Ron. Ron had shut his eyes and scrunched up his face, but when nothing hit him he opened his eyes and saw Harry struggling with all his might to keep a huge shield protecting the entire crowd, because he wrapped it around Voldemort and all of his supporters. The spell had actually bounced off the shield and hit one of the Deatheaters, killing him, and knocking down several others. Harry said through gritted teeth, "Go. Get out of here. And get all of the people out too! I-don't-know-how-much-longer-I-can-hold-this." Sweat beaded on Harry's brow and began dripping down his face.
Some of the Order members helped enhance the shield that surrounded all of the Deatheaters and Voldemort. The others were able to break the locking charms and get the people remaining living people out, before Harry collapsed, in exhaustion.
The other remaining Order members couldn't keep up the shield without Harry, for they were exhausting their own magic as well. Just a few moments longer and the shield collapsed. Voldemort advanced on the unconscious form of Harry. But was stopped by a simple leg-locking curse from Neville.
"I'm sorry, but I just simply cannot allow you to hurt my friend," said Neville. Voldemort brushed off the spell and threw one of his own at Neville. "Crucio."
Neville hit the ground in excruciating pain. Voldemort held the curse on him for some time as he walked slowly to him. He released the curse and looked at the writhing boy in front of him. He smiled a most devilish smile, "Ah! I had wondered when I would meet the son of the two people that I could never crack. Yes. It was quite satisfying to put them where they are. Mr. Weasley told me all about your attempts to bring them back, when he was under my control…. A pity that they died when you tried to bring them back."
Neville drew in a breath to protest, until he noticed Harry stirring on the ground. He decided to keep Voldemort distracted. "You killed them! I hate you!" He pointed his wand at Voldemort, who laughed his cold, high-pitched laugh.
"Do you honestly think that you could defeat me? You are nothing more than a mere squib! Avada Kedavra."
Neville erected the same sort of shield that Harry had and the spell was knocked away from him and into one of the Deatheaters. Voldemort grew very weary. "I tire of this game. Kill them all."
Harry heard this and stood up, aiming his wand at the back of Voldemort's head. "Don't even think about it, unless you want your Master to suffer the consequences."
All of the Deatheaters stopped and looked to their Master for advice on what to do. Voldemort simply disapperated, but dropping a bomb before he did. Harry saw this and told everyone to run. The Deatheaters all disapperated and most everyone was able to get out of the way before there was another enormous sound that rocked the entire street, once again….
It blew the remaining Order members off of their feet. Harry looked up and saw the whole street had been blown apart. He looked around and saw someone starting to get up. Just then the building beside them came tumbling down, burying them in the rubble. Harry got to his feet and somehow managed to blow the big chunks of the rubble out of the way with his hand. He found an Order cloak buried there. He started pulling the rest of the rocks off of the robe to see if it was on anyone, though he prayed there wouldn't be someone there.
The others came to help him. Ron, Hermione, Hagrid, and Dumbledore were all helping to move the rock now. Fred and George, Cho and Sirius, Remus and Nicholas all joined the strain to free the people that he had seen get trapped beneath the rubble. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Neville and his mother, Bill, and Charlie all joined in.
Harry was looking at who was helping clear away the rubble and getting nervous there were still a few of them missing. And he had no idea who had been killed by Voldemort as most of those bodies were buried by the rubble. He prayed above all that one was not Lina. But he hoped that none of the Order members got killed, though he knew that with the prediction there very well could be casualties.
Arabella came to the pile and started digging at a ferocious rate, which gave Harry a terrible feeling. He started digging faster as well. Harry found a hand coming out of the sleeve of the cloak he had found. It was most definitely the hand of a woman. "I've found some one!" Everyone crowded around the spot where Harry was and they began breaking up and magicking stones away for faster removal. They got the rest of rubble off the body and many among them gasped to see the mangled body of Ginny Weasley. The vast majority of the group began to cry and weep, as she was either their sister, their daughter, or girlfriend. Harry held her in his arms and tried with all his might to call on whatever was in him to revive her, but he did not have enough left.
Harry wept onto her body. She had always been like a sister to him and now she was gone. But he refused to give up. He kept trying to save her. He began babbling nonsense just to work through it. Finally, Dumbledore came over to him and put his hand on Harry's shoulder.
"It's all my fault! She was too young! I should never have asked her to join the Order! Why did I let her? Why didn't I protect her better? Her family will hate me now. I've lost the only family that I've ever know because I killed her…."
"Harry, you cannot blame yourself for this. You did not kill her. Ginny knew the risks, as did her family. Look around you, dear boy, they weep for her, but they weep for you, too. They do not blame you. They put the blame squarely on the shoulders where it belongs, Voldemort's. Please, let me take her from you." He conjured a stretcher and Harry placed her body on it as if he were trying to keep her from breaking any further.
Once Dumbledore walked away with her body the group of mourners surrounded Harry and embraced him. They gave him words of encouragement, letting him know that on no uncertain terms, did they blame him for what had happened.
From behind them Sirius's voice raised above their sorrows. "I've found another one!" Quickly they scrambled to their feet and came to rest next to Sirius helping him dig out and remove the rock from another victim. Professor Fletcher and Neville's father appeared and started helping remove the rubble with the rest of them. Harry was the first one to see her face. "Amelia, no," he whispered.
"What?" asked Sirius as he heard what Harry said. "No, please, Aunt Amelia. Not you! Oh. Merlin's beard! NO!" Sirius pulled her body from the rubble. He picked her up in his arms and started rocking with her in his lap. "Why? Why? Why?" he yelled to the world, as tears streamed down his face. Harry got up and ran down the rubble. He ran past Percy, who gave him a look of venom that followed him until Percy could no longer see him. He ran until he couldn't see. His anger at the world, at Voldemort, raised to a new height.
He knew that running away was not the answer that he need to face his fears and anger straight on. He ran back toward the pile of rubble and found everyone had gotten off the pile to bring back the body of Amelia and to find him. He heard a voice in his head, whether he imagined it or not, he could not tell, but it beckoned him back to the pile.
When he realized everyone was out of the way, he concentrated his anger completely onto that pile of rubble. The rocks began to pulverize and fly off the pile. Soon most of the rocks had been removed and disappeared. He stopped suddenly when he realized there was another visible Order robe. There was only one person left it could be. He ran to her and found her, amazingly still breathing. "Lina! Oh, Lina, thank Merlin!"
"Harry? Harry! Thank goodness you found me! I think this is the end for me…"
"Don't say that please! I've already lost two people I love today! I can't lose you too!"
"You don't really mean that… Your love for me is not real…."
"You're wrong! It is very real! I love you, Lina Clovis. You cannot leave me! I need you!" She slipped into unconsciousness, as tears rolled down Harry's cheeks. He didn't know how he did it, but somehow he managed to get to Dumbledore in time before he left with the two other bodies.
"She's alive, but just barely! Can we save her?" Harry looked into the Headmaster's eyes with desperation.
"I do not know, Harry."
He conjured up another stretcher. Harry put her down upon the stretcher. Dumbledore took a hold of Lina's hand and activated a portkey. Harry was holding her hand and found himself in the school Hospital wing. He refused to leave her side or let go of her hand, much to Madam Pomfrey's distress, but she allowed it because Dumbledore told her she should let Harry stay there.
Dumbledore made two more trips with all of the Order members and others, alive and deceased. After several more hours of the ordeal of trying to see if there were any other people buried under the rubble, they were all required to stay so that Madam Pomfrey could do a full check up on all of them, even the Headmaster. So, many of them had to double up on the beds they were in. Harry, himself, had slowly slipped into unconsciousness, having completely drained away whatever magical energy he had had in him that day.