==Racing Time==

(A/N)Well here it is. The second to last chapter of Racing Time. sigh time does fly by doesn't it. It seems only yesterday I had first posted the first chapter of Lean on Me. tear Oh well can't do nothing now but keep going. Well this is the chapter guys. You finally can see who the heroine is. Now don't you feel special? Lol. Well I'll stop yapping now and let you read. Go ahead I'm not stopping you. But just remember to review afterwards okay?

(Disclaimer) Nope, none for me.

Chapter 13: Trust Me

Harry and Ron's mouths fell open in identical silent screams. If the shock hadn't knocked all the breath from their chest, their shrieks would have been bouncing back at them off the walls. But as they weren't yelling out their lungs, instead they chose to stand there staring ahead of them dumbfounded with horror.

Voldemort stood beside the girl threw back his head causing his hood to fall onto his shoulder and laughed his horrible ear-splitting laugh that hung in the air even once he stopped.

Harry couldn't believe what he was seeing taking place before himself. It was too unreal for him to believe. How could she be the one to destroy him? How could she be the one who could defeat him? Unless…

"Yes, Potter. You've finally figured it out haven't you? Now you understand the ultimate power that I have lacked all this time. For it wasn't through power, mind control, torture, or even death that could actually make the ultimate weapon against you was it? No, it was something far more than that. It was love. Pure innocent love was the only thing I had lacked all these years. And now I have finally obtained this great power I had so long desired. I couldn't have done it without this one girl, through my partner, my ally, and my queen, the Heroine of Darkness…

…Ms. Virginia Weasley."

"Ginny," Harry could hear Ron whisper beside him as he looked at his only sister with awe and horror all at once. Harry could tell just by the strained expression Ron's face withheld that he felt he had failed her, that it was his fault when Harry knew for a fact that, that wasn't true at all. It had never been Ron's problem to begin with. It was his fault and no one else's. It was his, Harry's fault, not Ron's or anyone else's. It was he who hadn't listened, who never cared about what she wanted. It was his fault.

"NO! You're wrong! Ginny would never hurt ANYONE! She'd…she'd never hurt us, or hurt me! I love her and she…she loves me!" Harry called out growing more and more frantic by the second. Voldemort however seemed totally amused by the entire situation.

"You sound so sure of yourself, Potter. But that's not what you're really thinking is it? I've seen your thoughts, I've felt your dreams, and I know what you're really thinking at this moment. You're not sure at all anymore weither or not she still loves you and you get more and more scared by the day. You can no longer tell if she still thinks of you like you do her. You're not sure weither to believe your heart or not. Well today's the day she stopped loving you, Potter. She's finally given in to her dark side and stapled her heart down. Your worst dreams have finally become reality; Ms. Virginia Weasley no longer loves you."

"YOU'RE WRONG!" Harry shrieked trying to stand to his feet forgetting the robes still binding his legs and falling back down to the floor. The figures around him cackled in one huge wave of drowning laughter, and with a quick wave of Voldemort's hand, they fell silent once more.

"Well, if you're so sure of yourself, Mr. Potter, I'll give you a chance to prove yourself right." Voldemort smiled evilly, his red eyes dancing like flames. "Do you see this orb here in my hand." He held out the mysterious glowing ball of green light. "That my friend is the mystic Orb of Light. It was said in legend that the great sorcerer, Godric Gryffindor, created it long ago and it would be able to vanquish the Dark lord and all of his followers, in this case would be, well, me.

"In a few seconds, I will release you and hand to you the Orb and you will finally hold the only weapon strong enough to defeat me. But before you quickly throw it open, I want you to think for a moment. If Virginia has become the Heroine of Darkness and has become one of my followers, then she too will be destroyed. So, if you're SO sure she still loves you, prove me wrong. If you are right then I will gladly hand over your sweet loves freedom along with yours and Mr. Weasley here and I'll disappear forever along with my followers."

Harry nodded his head and Voldemort grinned another evil grin. Then Voldemort walked over beside Ginny, who was staring forward blankly, her usually beautiful brown eyes unfocused and at loss of their usual sparkle. Harry's face burned red with rage as he watched Voldemort push aside her long red hair and place hi lips next to her ear. Harry had to turn away when Voldemort began to whisper into her ear something that he could not hear. From where he sat. Instead, Harry chose to watch Ron as he had been this entire time, staring forward shaking his head in disbelief.

Voldemort turned back to Harry and placed the Orb into his hand smiling menacingly all the while and pointed his wand at his chest. He said a counter-curse and the ropes binding Harry and Ron slithered back into Voldemort's wand like twisting slithering serpents. Voldemort gave them a final wink and vanished before their eyes. All the hooded figures around them also started to disintegrate into the air and Harry and Ron were left alone in the quiet stone room with Ginny, who's hair were twisting around her body as if in a turbulent wind.

Harry stood to his feet quickly and took off towards Ginny in a frantic run.

"Ginny!" He called to the stationary girl. "We were all so worried. Are you-"

In one quick motion, Harry was silenced immediately when Ginny raised her hand forward. A large ball of blue fire flew from her fingertips and hit Harry square in the chest making him fly off the ground backwards and toppling over a small table. The table flipped with him and he landed sprawled on his back on the floor next to Ron who still hadn't moved from where he was to begin with.

Wheezing for breath to return to his chest, Harry grabbed for Ron's collar and drug him behind the overturned table, out of the aim of Ginny's fireballs. Just a second later, one of them hit the exact spot Ron was just sitting.

"Oh, Harry," Ginny called out in a horse cold whisper. "Won't you come out and play?" It wasn't the sweet voice Harry was used to hearing; it wasn't the same voice that would whisper, "I love you" in his ear every night before he went to sleep.

"Not the same girl you remember, Harry?" Voldemort's cruel voice whispered in his head. "Maybe now you've realised the true meaning of Power! Maybe now you've realised that I will never loose and there's nothing you can do to stop me!"

"NEVER!" Harry called out standing from behind the table. But as he did so, he turned to face the only girl he ever truly loved and felt his heart suddenly tear itself from his body and threw itself onto the floor. She no longer knew who he was. He turned to face her knowing she didn't know his name, where he came from, the wonderful times they had spent together. She couldn't see him, could hear him, couldn't even feel the love he had for her. She wasn't there anymore. Now he understood what Ron had meant the other night when he told him about Hermione and her memory loss. It was more terrible than anything in the world to love someone and know they don't even know who you are. He felt pity more than ever for that redheaded boy seated next to him.

As Ginny turned to face him as well, what Harry saw shattered his heart that was still laying on the floor into a million tiny little pieces. Even glue would never be able to put it back together again. The happy chocolate brown eyes harry loved to stare into so much had turned a smoky steel grey, fogged by the evil Voldemort had put into her. The very sight of these sad grey eyes made every good feeling from his body. He could have sworn then and there that a Dementor was somewhere near had he not known then reason for his sadness. The more he stared into them the harder it was becoming to think and soon it felt as if the smoke had somehow begun to cloud his own mind as well. Then he realised it was! Everywhere he looked smoke was beginning to surround him from every which directions, smothering him in the grief, taking over his body, making him drown in the dark grey oblivion.

Then came a light. A bright white light was shining through the murk and seemed to give him hope. It grew brighter and brighter making the smoke blow farther and farther away from him making it easier to breath. The happiness was coming back and then when the brightest shine came into his heart he felt the happiest feeling ever fill his entire body. Then in the midst of the beautiful golden light was a dazzling figure dressed in all white making its way towards him. Harry watched in awe as the beautiful figure glided over to him. It seemed to be an angel a gorgeous angel. But then what he saw… he must have been knocked out or something. He had to be dreaming. As she made her way over to him, Harry realised that it wasn't infact an angel but a beautiful girl. She looked about seventeen and had stunning brown eyes and long flowing red hair. It was Ginny.

She smiled and held out her arms to him. "Harry," she said in an almost silent whisper that sounded so close yet so far away. He recognised it at once without even having to think about it. It was truly Ginny. He smiled the first smile he had shown in two long weeks that seemed to have lasted an eternity.

"Ginny," Harry whispered in return and ran forward to her open arms. He scooped her up into a loving hug and squeezed her with all his might. He held her a minute then pulled back some when he realised she wasn't hugging him back.

"Ginny? Ginny, what's wrong?" What did he do to you? Are you alright? Where are we?"

Ginny smiled peacefully then took Harry's shaking hands into her own.

"I'm fine, Harry. But I brought you here because I needed to talk to you."

"Where's here?" Harry asked gazing around curiously.

"This is my mind, deep inside my mind where even Voldemort's evil could not penetrate. Only your love for me could have brought you here."

"So why am I here."

Ginny sighed and looked down at Harry's hands sadly.

"I need you to open the Orb."

"WHAT?" Harry yelled looking totally appalled.

"Harry I-"

"But-But it will kill you, you know that!"

"I know but I-"

"You really believe I'd do such a thing?"

"HARRY PLEASE? JUST LISTEN TO ME! JUST THIS ONCE!"

Harry fell silent and looked down at his feet guiltily. Where had he heard that before? From that very girl seated before him at this very moment. He hadn't listened to her before and now he was here.

"Harry, I love you with all my heart and I'd never want to loose you. If you die, Voldemort will live on and he'll kill everyone, my mum, my dad, Lupin, Tonks, Hermione, Ron, my brothers, Fleur. They'll all be gone because no one can kill him besides you. But if you open the Orb-"

"You will die! And Ginny I don't think I'd be able to live with myself if you were gone."

Ginny shook her head pityingly and sighed.

"I will, Harry. I will die, but it's the only way," she said slowly.

Harry stood up and began to pace back and forth as she looked up at him sadly. She stood up as well and kissed him softly on the lips.

"Harry, if you die so will I and everyone else, no matter what. But if you just do it all the evil will be over with and the world could go on again. Harry, I never want to leave you, but I have no choice. If you don't do this, the world as we know it will be gone forever.

Harry's eyes brimmed with tear and he hid them with his hands. " But I don't want to lose you, Ginny. I-I love you."

Ginny smiled at him heavenly and pulled his hands away from his eyes making him look at her deep within her own. "You're a wonderful person, Harry, and I love you so much. But could you please do this for me. Trust me this once and let me make this choice."

Harry sat on the ground again and ran his hands over his eyes drying away the escaped tears.

"I know you'll make the right choice," Ginny whispered looking down upon his sad stressed face. "I trust you know what you have to do and I'll have to leave you with that."

Harry jumped to his feet at once and wrapped his arms tenderly around her tiny waist. "No, Ginny! No, don't leave me! I can't let you go! Don't go, please!"

"I'll always be with you in your heart if you just trust me." She blew a kiss and waved goodbye as she steadily drifted back into the light. Harry ran after her calling out her name trying to reach her in the light that was continually drifting farther and farther away with every step he took. He gave one shattering cry as her last words lingered in his ears.

Trust me.

"Ginny!" he called out as they grey smoke started to smother him in its thick midst once more, choking him, gagging him from the only breath left in his chest. Then he was thrown forward from the smoke back into the reality in which he came.

A bright blue light hit him directly in his chest and he toppled over the table once more. The Orb flew from his hands and he rolled over next to Ron's side. Harry crawled quickly over trying to roll out of the aim of Ginny's fire.

Ron was staring forward towards his sister trying to accept what he was actually seeing. His baby sister, the only sister he ever had was trying to kill him and Harry at this very moment. Harry toppled overt the table locking him from Ginny's piercing stare and pulled himself up again to sit next to him. Just a few seconds earlier he had jumped up from behind the table and stood there entranced by Ginny's stare not moving or blinking or anything then Ginny threw another fireball at him and he was now back sitting by Ron's side.

Harry was gasping for air but Ron didn't have time to check and see if he was alright. All that mattered right now was that Ginny wasn't who she used to be any more. She was a monster and it was his fault. It was his responsibility for her wellbeing and he let her down. Harry began to shake his arm and he had no choice but to listen to him now.

"WHAT?" Ron growled with angry irritated looking eyes.

"I have to do it." Harry said still gasping for breath.

"Do what?"

"Open the Orb. I have to do it."

"WHAT ARE YOU INSANE!" Ron yelled furiously jumping to his feet. Never in a million years would he let Harry hurt Ginny much less him kill her.

Harry pulled Ron back down behind the table by his arm as another fireball whizzed past his head making his hair ruffle in the wind.

"Ginny spoke to me." Harry whispered.

What in the world was this boy talking about? Had he gone insane?

"What the bloody hell do you mean?" Ron shouted. He was seriously deciphering in his head weither or not to knock this boy aside the head. It might just knock some sense into him.

"I mean I had a kind of…vision."

"Oh a vision was it?" Ron said rolling his eyes sarcastically. "Now where have I heard that before?"

"Look, Ron, I'm serious!"

"Oh really. Well how do you know it wasn't just Voldemort trying to trick you into doing it?"

"Because…because…I just know okay?!"

"Oh well that just helps a whole lot now doesn't it?"

Ron could tell Harry was getting frustrated but really it didn't bother him as much as he knew he should. But it was getting out his anger.

"Do you know that feeling you feel when you're around Hermione? That one that makes you feel as if you know everything is going to be alright just because she's there with you?" Harry shouted his face red with determination. "Well that's how I felt with Ginny! Ginny's the one that asked me to open it and I just can't ignore her again! I didn't once before and it got us ended up here! I love Ginny with all my heart and soul and I just can't ignore her again! I hate it so much but it's what she wants. I can't tell her no again!"

Ron hung his head then looked up at Harry with a hard, determined face. He wouldn't hurt her, not now, not ever. He'd make sure if that. "I can't let him hurt her." Ron muttered under his breath.

"What?" he heard Harry whispered to himself before Ron flew out from behind the table and ran full force to the middle of the room.

"Let her go Voldemort!" Ron yelled looking around for some sort of sign of where he may have been. Had Voldemort actually had been there in physical form, Ron wasn't sure if he wouldn't try to attack him with his bare hands. "If you want to take someone take me instead! But leave my sister alone! She doesn't deserve this! Take me in her place, just don't hurt her!"

"Foolish boy!" Voldemort's evil voice shot through the air. Ron trembled all the way down to his feet. How did he get in the mess? Oh yeah just about the time when Ginny came home from the hospital and held his finger with her little hand. It was a bond from then on and he'd promised himself he'd be the best big brother ever. "You cannot take her place! Who are you to think you can take the place on the throne of evil! You are worth nothing!"
"You CAN'T take her! She's my only sister and I'd rather die than let you take her!" Ron shouted starting to feel frantic. What if Voldemort didn't let her go? What if Harry did open that orb and Ginny died. What would he do?

"Well if you won't move… KILL HIM!" Voldemort's voice rang through the semidarkness.

Ginny's cold grey eyes pointed themselves at Ron and she held out her hand towards him. Instead of blue, a ball of fire in her hand turned a brilliant shade of violet. Ron didn't have time to think. His brain went dead as the ball started to hurl itself towards him.

"NOOO!"

Both Ron and Harry turned to see Hermione running towards Ron full force her arms swinging at he side. Ginny took notice too and the ball stopped mid-air and flew back towards Ginny's and she aimed instead in Hermione's direction.

"Hermione, NO!" Ron shouted then lunged out at her just as the light flew past his head. Ron grabbed her arm and pulled her down behind a table and held her close to his chest.

"Why did you come after me?" Ron said through gasps of breath.

Hermione smiled also breathing heavily. "I couldn't let you kill yourself now could I?"

"Hermione?" Ron sighed smiling at her amazed. If he didn't know any better he could have sworn that she was in her right mind again. She nodded her head and he squeezed her tight. She was all right again. She was Hermione again.

It was time Harry knew it now more than ever. He had to do as Ginny wished, her last request. Tears were pouring down Harry's cheeks as he stood from behind his own overturned table. He could see Ron and Hermione who were sitting on the other side of the room watch him stand up open mouthed. They knew what was happening too. They understood what was going on.

"What are you doing?" Voldemort's cold voice screamed sounding quite shaky.

"I'm doing this for Ginny!" Harry cried out.

He grabbed the Orb from off the ground and held it ahead of himself. He closed his eyes tight and Ginny's smiling face flashed before his eyes right before he twisted it open.

Everything froze on the spot and there was no sound at all in the air. Harry watched in awe as the sphere of mysterious green light rose from his hand and began to pivot and twirl in mid-air. Then all at once it too froze and a large blinding flash of green filled the room. It hit Ginny square in the chest and she screamed in pain before collapsing on the floor. Voldemort's face loomed visible in the air for a couple of seconds screaming in rage ad pure agony. Then it shattered into thousands of shimmering stars followed by Hermione's piercing cry of fright.

Then all was silent.

Ron wouldn't let go of Hermione and wouldn't dare take his face from her shoulder. He was too terrified to look. A loud clunk was followed shortly by rapid footsteps and Hermione ran her hands through his hair.

"Ron?" she whispered into his ear and he looked up into her fallen face. He knew something was wrong. She bit her lip and he finally found the courage to stand up but dared not to let go of her again.

It was over…but…

"Ginny!" he called then turned around sharply looking desperately for a sin of her long red hair or her bright brown eyes. But he didn't. It was just as he feared to see her. There sat Harry on the floor in the middle of the room, Ginny's red hair falling out of his arm. He cradled her like a rag doll as she lay limp in his arms. Hermione ran over and slid by Ginny's side. Ron couldn't move his feet didn't seem to be able to understand anymore. His knees did though and he fell to the floor and started to cry.

Harry lay Ginny down and left her in Hermione's care and instead he decided to stand up and pace. It was his fault it was all his fault. Why had he listened to her? He should've just let himself die.

Hermione grabbed up Ginny's wrist and held it between her fingers.

"It's not there," she breathed dropping Ginny's wrist back to the ground and covering her mouth with her hands in shock.

Ron's mouth dropped and he turned deathly pale.

"Move over!" he shrieked and unintentionally pushed Hermione over to the side as he picked up Ginny's wrist in his own hands.

"There might still be time!" Ron shouted waving Hermione over to him. "Quick do that spell we learned last year; the one that jump started the unicorns heart after its stroke."

Hermione crawled over and pointed her wand at Ginny's chest. She started to mutter an incantation. Under her breath as a bright yellow light glowed at the end of her wand.

Inside his mind, Harry prayed with all his heart. The spell seemed to be taking longer than it should. Please work, Harry begged. Please, please work. If only there was some way she could come back. If only there were some way he could make it okay again. He had to be able to hold her, to kiss her, to have her love him again. He just had to. If only…

Hermione placed her wand on the ground and grabbed Ginny's wrist again. She held it for only a few seconds then jumped back in surprise.

"It's there!" she called out making everyone jump as well. "It's there! She's alive!"

(A/N) Well what you think? Good enough for you? Well I guess you know by now, but the next chapter is going to be the last. It's going to be sad in a way but also very happy. I bet you can't even guess huh? Well, duh! You should know! Lol. Anywho I want lots of reviews please. I'll be waiting patiently for them but they better get here soon. Wink wink Well until next time…

Love from Lizzie

(Thanks)

RussellGrl15- Yay! You're back! I'm so happy! I was just thinking about the Friends finale when I first read your review and I started crying too. Oh isn't that like the best show ever! I was so happy when Rachel went back to Ross. I had been wishing they'd get together for so long! Yay! Oh and I guess you can tell by now that Hermione has come to Harry and Ron's rescue (well actually more Ron's but you get my drift) So what you think about this chap? Good? Or not?

ashleigh- Well I told you who the Heroine is. Happy now? Lol. So had you guessed who it was?

Goldilocks31890- thanx lots. Did you like?