O that 'twere possible,
After long grief and pain,
To find the arms of my true- love
Round me once again!…
A shadow flits before me-
Not thou, but like to thee.
Ah God! that it were possible
For one short hour to see
The souls we loved, that they might tell us
What and where they be.
By Alfred, Lord Tennyson
Chapter XII: Becoming Rebels
Voldemort paced up and down in a small dark room. It was less than an hour before the time of his planned attack on Hogwarts. It had recently come to his attention that one of his inner circle was a spy for Dumbledore, he just didn't know who. Voldemort was sure that the old fool knew of his plans to attack Hogwarts, but the Dark Lord had an old trick up his sleeve that would be sure to turn things in his favour.
"Wormtail!" he shouted.
The little man entered the room and knelt at Voldemort's feet.
"Yes, my Lord?" he said, nervously.
"Your left arm, Wormtail," said Voldemort.
Wormtail pulled up his left sleeve to reveal the Dark Mark. Voldemort reached out and touched it with his forefinger. Almost instantly twelve Death Eaters apparated to his side.
"Welcome my friends," said Voldemort, standing at the centre of their circle. "It is less than an hour until the time of attack, but there is something I must tell you. The plan which we have mulled over, amended and foolproofed over the last few months will never be executed."
There was a slight murmur among the ranks.
"We are not going to attack Hogwarts, for that is what Dumbledore's Order and the Ministry will be expecting. Instead, we are going to the Ministry of Magic, to launch our take over bid," said Voldemort. "Each of you is the leader of a division or Death Eaters, Dark Creatures, Dementors, or Civilians under the Imperious Curse – or not in some cases. You will order your divisions to the Ministry of Magic where their security ranks will be seriously depleted. Severus, do you have any information on how many will be remaining at the Ministry today?"
Snape stepped forward.
"Very few, my Lord," he said. "Fudge and some of the higher members of his office will be there, also the heads of most of the major departments. All the aurors are at Hogwarts, as well as all members of the Magical Law Enforcement department, and all others who work at the Ministry."
"So if we do take over at the ministry, who will be the highest ranking official still alive?" said Voldemort.
"The Head of the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office, Arthur Weasley," said Snape.
Voldemort laughed.
"Excellent," he said. "And what of Potter?"
"At Hogwarts, my Lord," said Snape. "He has been continuing with Occlumency over recent months and is having less visions. He will have no idea of your new plan."
"Wonderful," said Voldemort. "Now, we depart for the Ministry in exactly thirty-seven minutes. Now go, and pass on my instructions to your divisions."
The Death Eaters disapparated, all except Peter Pettigrew. Voldemort looked at the animagus.
"You know what I expect of you, Wormtail," said Voldemort.
"Yes, my Lord," said Wormtail.
"You, and my newest recruits, fifty or so, will go to Hogwarts, just to distract the fools for long enough. They won't suspect right away that you are a decoy. If the chance so arises, take the Weasley girl, but do not go looking for her. Your main task is to distract Dumbledore, distract the aurors and distract Potter. Do you understand?"
"Yes, my Lord," whispered Wormtail.
He disapparated.
Harry awoke after an interrupted nights sleep, to find the face of Ron standing over his bed, glaring at him.
"You know, Harry," said Ron. "It makes me very uncomfortable to hear you murmuring in your sleep. Even more so when your words refer to my baby sister."
"What do you mean?" asked Harry, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"Oh God, Ginny, yes, oh God," said Ron. "And I won't repeat anymore. It's not the kind of thing that I like to hear."
"Sorry," blushed Harry.
Ron grinned, then chucked a pillow at Harry.
"What was that for?" exclaimed Harry.
"You're gonna miss breakfast if you don't hurry up, and then you will suffer the wrath of my sister," said Ron, with a smile. "And between you and me that's not a good thing."
Harry held his wand steady with his right hand, whilst he clutched Ginny's hand in his left. Most Ministry employees, aurors, members of the Order of the Phoenix, the DA and many other students awaited nervously, positioned all over the castle and its grounds. They watched, flinching at every sound, every breath of someone else. They were waiting for an army of Death Eaters.
"No matter what happens, Ginny," whispered Harry. "Remember that I love you."
"Do not say your goodbyes, Harry!" she said firmly, although her eyes filled with tears. "I won't let them take you away from me."
Harry pulled her into a tight hug and kissed the top of her head. Death Eaters appeared everywhere, flying in on brooms and bursting through doors. Harry and Ginny were with Dumbledore, Mundungus Fletcher and Lupin in the Great Hall. Very quickly they were surrounded.
Jets of green and red light were shooting from all directions. Harry kept tight hold of Ginny, he wasn't going to let anything happen to her.
"Stupefy!" he yelled and two Death Eaters hit the floor.
"Petrificus Totalus!"
"Stupefy!"
"Crucio!"
Students, Teachers and Death eaters alike were falling rapidly. Wormtail spotted Harry and Ginny fighting together. He pointed his wand at the red head.
"Accio," he whispered.
Ginny could feel herself being pulled by some invisible force.
"Harry!" she shouted as her hand started to slip from his.
Harry looked frantically around to see who had cast the spell. His green eyes searched whilst he tried desperately to keep hold of Ginny. Just as her hand slipped fully from his, he found the Death Eater.
"Stupefy!" he cried.
Wormtail keeled over. Harry pulled Ginny close.
"Thanks," she said.
Two hours later, Dumbeldore had tied up all the Death Eaters who had not escaped. Madam Pomfrey and some healers were tending to the injured. McGonagall and Hagrid were gently clearing the dead, although thankfully, there were not many. A young student sprinted through the doors and handed a note to Dumbledore, who after reading it dropped it on the floor.
"I have an announcement!" he shouted.
Every head turned to him in silence.
"The Ministry has been taken over. Everyone who remained there today was killed. The battle here was simply a diversion. Voldemort controls our Government. Those who fight against him are now considered to be rebels."
The colour drained from Ginny's face. She was sat on the floor with Harry, Ron and Hermione. She rested her head on Harry's shoulder.
"Percy," she whispered.
Ron's face was emotionless.
"I don't believe it," said Hermione. "How could he have managed it?"
"Almost everyone was here," said Harry. "The Ministry was unprotected and very few staff were there."
"V-Voldemort in control," said Hermione. "How will we cope?"
"Dumbledore will help us through," said Ron. "He'll find a way to defeat him. After all, if Dumbledore can't, who can?"
"Dumbledore will beat him," said Ginny. "He has too."
"Dumbeldore can't beat him," said Harry quietly.
"What?!" said Hermione. "Why?"
"There is only one person who can defeat him and neither can live while the other survives," continued Harry.
"What are you talking about, Harry?" said Ginny.
"The prophecy," said Harry quietly.
"But the prophecy was smashed," said Ron. "Neville told us."
"Dumbledore heard the prophecy. I heard what it said."
"What did it say, Harry?" asked Ginny, squeezing his hand.
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches… born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies… and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have a power the Dark Lord knows not… and ether must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives… the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…"
Later in the story:
"Chrissie," said Ginny quietly. "Get the box of candles and give everyone one."
The little girl nodded and grabbed a box. Soon everyone held a lit candle in their hands.
"All of us here has lost someone close to us in the war," began Ginny. "What we will do is each of us will say a few words about the person or people we have lost and then blow out the candle. So Jonathan, will you go first?"
A fourth year boy on Ginny's left started to speak.
"My Dad was a great person. He was always very much against the Dark Arts, he did everything he could to stop them. He was a great Dad, too. He always had time for me, no matter how busy he was. I'll miss him so much."
The boy blew out the candle. A girl next to Jonathan spoke next.
"My aunty was an auror. She caught many Death Eaters after the first war and made a lot of enemies. She never gave up on anything and always fought for what was right. She is my inspiration."
She blew out the candle. Chrissie began to speak in a shaky voice.
"My sister, Lucy, left Hogwarts a few years ago. She was a Ravenclaw, like me, and always hated the Slytherins, at least the ones who supported You-Know-Who. She was very clever and did so well. She worked in the Ministry, in the Department of Law Enforcement. She was killed in the battle just outside of Hogsmeade."
Chrissie blew out her candle. The boy on her left spoke up.
"My mum wasn't your ordinary mum. She was always out there, fighting against the Death Eaters and working for Dumbledore. She tried so hard to make the world a better place for all of us to grow up in. She died trying. At least it's over now and she didn't die in vain. I love you, mum."
He blew out the candle. Colin Creevey spoke next.
"Some of our own seventh years have been lost. One of them, a great friend of mine, Dean Thomas, was taken by the Death Eaters as a prisoner along with the many others. He will be sadly missed especially his sense of humour. Good luck, mate. I'll see you soon."
Colin blew out his candle. A boy on his left spoke.
"My cousin, Karl was training to be an auror. He wanted nothing more than to be part of the action. He was like a big brother to me. I'll miss him a lot."
He blew out his candle. A first year girl spoke next.
"My Uncle worked for the ministry. It was his duty to go out and fight. He was the bravest person I knew."
She blew out her candle. Ron took a deep breath.
"My brother, Charlie loved the outdoors and he loved dragons even more than Hagrid. He worked for Dumbledore in fighting You-Know-Who and was crucial in recruiting members for the Order. Charlie was a great friend to me and my family, as well as and awesome brother."
He blew out the candle. Hermione's eyes glistened slightly as she began to speak.
"I've known Tonks for almost three years now. She was such a lively person, so friendly and clumsy. She was a metamorphmagus and we always had hours of fun watching her change her nose every few minutes. Our lives will feel quite empty without her laughter."
She blew out the candle. Ginny's was now the only candle left burning.
"I lit my candle today for the most famous wizard in the world, and yet somehow the least known. Everybody knew 'the Boy-Who-Lived' but very few people knew Harry, and nobody knew him like I did. Harry was a person, a wonderful caring person, who had been deprived of love throughout his childhood, but yet somehow had the strength and courage to go out and carry the whole world on his shoulders. All Harry ever wanted was a loving family, and we were his family. Hogwarts was his home. Harry wanted children that he could love the way he was never loved, he wanted to take his sons up in the air on a broom and hear them laughing and having a great time. Harry never wanted fame. Would you want fame if it cost you your parents? Harry lost almost everyone he ever loved, yet he still carried on and did his best to save the world. He did it. He defeated Voldemort. I love you Harry. I always have and I always will. One day I'll see you again and it will be like nothing has changed. I love you. I love you so much, and thank you for saving our lives. Goodbye, Harry Potter."
Ginny blew out the candle. One tear slid gently down her cheek. Everyone in the room sat in silence.
A/N Have I confused you? If so then I have one small clue for you. Don't take it at face value. Try and read between the lines. Have I confused you more? Ah well, who cares. You'll just have to wait and see won't you.
So what, I can't write battles. That was a bad chapter, but hey, I finally finished it. Also, the story will be getting slightly better and faster after this. My main plot is building up now, but there's another year at Hogwarts to go first. I hope the preview made you want to read on, even if this chapter didn't.