Chapter Fifteen: Together
"Accio locket!" Harry cried. Ginny felt the fine gold chain rip from around her neck, and watched numbly as it flew through the air towards Harry's outstretched hand.
Voldemort dove for it as it sailed past him, but missed it by two feet. Harry caught it deftly and threw it to the ground.
"Finite incantatum!" Harry's wand was pointing at the locket laying in the dirt in front of him.
Ginny watched as it was encased in a bright white light and changed before her eyes. It was larger, and heavier. And the gold glimmered with the patina of age. She didn't have much time to study it as Harry again pointed his wand down and screamed the incantation to the spell that Bill and Hermione had developed.
"Perpetuo Destructo Totalis!"
"Clever, Potter," panted Voldemort as he straightened, glaring at the younger wizard. "Very clever."
"Did you think you'd get to it before I destroyed her, Tom? That was your plan, to make me believe that she carried a piece of your soul? That I would destroy her?"
"You're a fool, Potter!" Voldemort hissed.
"You have no idea of where real strength comes from, Tom. You never have. And the really sad part is, you could have had so much, so very much, if you'd only let others in."
Voldemort panted. Harry could tell that the destruction of the locket had affected him greatly.
"Love, Tom. It's what gives me power. You can't stop it, because it can't be dictated. You can't change it... you can't overpower it. Only by accepting it, and giving it freely, do you access the power it gives, because the power... the power means nothing without it."
"Fool!" Voldemort spat.
"Perhaps a fool..." Harry said. "But a fool with a full soul."
"You still don't know..." Voldemort panted, trying to stand straight, but unable to. "There are still two left!"
"One, actually," Harry said in a low, dangerous voice. "One. And you."
"You have no idea where... or what... that one is, though," Voldemort gave a short laugh. "You could never destroy it!"
"Are you certain, Tom?" Harry asked, drawing Ginny's attention with his tone. He sounded... resigned. "Are you sure?"
"You may think that you know what... where... it is, Potter... but even if you did, you couldn't destroy it. You never could. No one would!"
Harry nodded, smiling sadly. He turned and looked at Ginny, then pointed his wand at her.
"Finite Incantatum," he said, almost quietly. Ginny felt every muscle in her body relax as she fell towards the ground. But Harry was there, his arm around her, supporting her. His green eyes held her soft brown ones for a moment before he spoke.
"But I do know what the final horcrux is, Tom. I've always known... even if I didn't know what name to give it."
He looked deeply into Ginny's eyes, knowing she knew what he was trying to communicate to her the moment the understanding lit her eyes. Then, the pain... the horror of it...
And finally, the acceptance. She knew what he had to do. And she knew what would then fall to her, what duty she had.
Harry Potter himself was the final horcrux. She knew it as certainly as he did, and she knew that the moment he destroyed himself, it would fall to her to destroy Voldemort, while he was weakened, before he could regroup. Ginny knew that the power that would have to go into the spell would either leave her dead, or little more than a Squib. She was nowhere near as powerful as Harry, but it would finish here, now, no matter what.
It was barely a moment, but standing there, looking into each other's eyes, they felt the strength of their convictions wash over them. They felt bonded, closer than they had ever been. For the first time, Harry let go of the responsibility... the duty... that he had known would fall to him ever since he'd learned of the prophecy. He let it go, knowing that it was no longer up to him, and him alone. Ginny leaned forward, pulling Harry's face down for one last kiss, and then softly laid her lips on the long, thin, lightning bolt scar on his forehead.
And felt the lightning within her as the world exploded around them. Electricity arced between them. Ginny had never felt so weak, yet so powerful, in her entire life. It was like pure energy had snaked through her for a brief moment, in a screaming wave, and then was gone. The echo of the scream reverberated in her head, and then turned to a buzzing. The power of it overwhelmed her, the buzzing in her ears became unbearable, and heat washed over her as she fell to the ground, aware of nothing but blackness.
When she became aware of her surroundings, it was to screams of pain, and the desperate, angry screams of curses as they flew above her. She realized that she was lying on her back on the cold, damp ground, and she turned her head in the direction of the screams to see what was happening.
To see Harry Potter standing, panting, over what appeared to be a pile of rags. As she watched, he collapsed to his knees, his hands coming up to his face, his body wracked with sobs as he cried.
"H... Harry," Ginny's voice came out in a hoarse croak, her vocal cords felt raw. "Harry!"
He jerked, turning to her.
"Ginny?" He scrambled to her on his knees, touching her face almost desperately, his eyes searching hers wildly, "Dear Merlin, Ginny... you're alive!"
"Of course I am."
"I thought... the lightning... when... when it left me... you... I thought you were dead!"
"Take more than that to kill a Weasley," she said with a pained smiled. "You're okay?"
"I... yes... if you are.."
"I'm fine. Tom?"
"I..." Harry's already pale face went white.
"Harry?"
"I... I did it, Gin. I killed him. I ... when I saw you, lying there... I..." he whispered.
Ginny pulled him down to her, tears in her eyes. Harry should never have had to do this.
"Ssshhh," she touched his face lightly. "Shh, it's going to be okay. Everything is going to be fine, Harry."
"Harry! Harry! Ginny!" voices called out of the darkness.
"Ron..." Ginny called weakly as Harry sobbed against her. "Ron! Over here!"
"Merlin! Harry? Ginny?" Ron jogged up to them. "Ginny? Are you...?"
"I'm fine, Ron. Hermione...?"
"She's okay. The aurors are over there now. Merlin, what happened?"
"Ron..." Ginny's voice was weak. "Later... please... I think... I think we need a Healer."
Ron, suddenly realizing the situation, paled, and he began to yell for help. In minutes, they were surrounded by people, and Harry looked up to see a pale, weak, Remus Lupin leaning over him.
"Remus?"
"Harry, you're going to be okay."
"I thought you were dead," Harry whispered.
"No."
"But... Wormtail?"
"Definitely is," Remus said, with rather more relish than was really entirely appropriate.
"Damn," Harry muttered, lying back, his eyes closed.
"Damn?" Remus smiled. "Surely you're not feeling sympathy for the little rat?"
"No," Harry shook his head. "No, but I was rather looking forward to wringing his bloody neck myself."
"You've done enough neck-wringing for one day," Ginny said softly as the aurors levitated them in preparation to portkey to St Mungoes, their hands still clasped tightly.
"Remus?" Harry swallowed, feeling weakness wash over him. He knew he was about to pass out, he'd expended a lot of energy to destroy Tom Riddle, but he had to make sure...
"What, Harry?"
"I want to be with Ginny... please?"
"You're both being taken to St Mungoes, Harry."
"No," Harry shook his head. Remus didn't understand. "Same room."
"Harry..."
"Please, Remus. We're only safe when we're together," Harry whispered before finally losing consciousness.
There was brightness. Painful brightness drilling into his eyes even as he closed them tightly.
"Harry?"
The soft voice wasn't the one he wanted to hear. It wasn't Ginny's. It was pleasant, but it wasn't her. He wanted that voice to go away until it was her. He only wanted to hear her.
"Ginny..." he whispered. "Where is Ginny?"
"I'm right here, Harry," her voice, the voice that he had heard in his dreams for nearly two years, came from the other side, along with what sounded like a curtain being pulled away. He felt a hand take his. "I'm here."
Harry moved his head and, with effort, opened his eyes. Her blurred image was there.
"Glasses..."
He sighed as she moved, heard the sound of movement to his left, and then felt the glasses slide onto his face. Ginny came into focus. Her worried brown eyes were set in a face so pale her freckles stood out. As he watched, she tucked a lock of flame-colored hair behind her ear and leaned closer.
"You're okay?" he asked.
"I'm fine," she said softly, leaning down and kissing him softly. "We're all fine."
"I... Remus?"
"Remus is doing well. He had a slight case of silver poisoning. Wormtail got him around the throat with that bloody hand of his. And a cutting curse hit him on the side, but the aurors fixed him up from that even before we left... there."
"But he's okay now?"
"Yes."
"Ron... Hermione?"
"Ron's fine, Harry. I'm fine," the first voice spoke again. Harry turned to see Hermione standing to his right. She was fully dressed, unlike Ginny who wore a thin robe over what appeared to be a hospital-issue gown. Hermione's eyes showed her worry.
"And... the other?" Harry's eyes searched her face.
"The...?" Hermione looked confused.
"I felt it when I was in your mind, Hermione," Harry said, his eyes not leaving hers. "I could only think of one explanation."
"Oh," Hermione swallowed, glanced uncomfortably at Ginny, then back to Harry and nodded, her cheeks pink. "Everything is fine."
Harry nodded weakly before turning back to Ginny. "Where is everyone...?"
At that moment, the door opened and Harry's startled eyes flew to it. His right arm jerked, as though going for his wand, and he was only stopped from jumping up by Ginny's hand on his arm and his own weakness.
Molly Weasley entered the room, her eyes wild.
"Harry! Ginny... oh..." she rushed forward and pulled her daughter into her arms, then, without releasing her, leaned down and pulled Harry to her, as well. There was a chuckle from the doorway.
When Molly let them move again, Harry looked over. Arthur, Remus, Tonks and Bill stood there, the twins crowding in at the back.
"Where is Ron?" He said worriedly. Hermione had assured him Ron was fine, but...
"Right here, Harry. If these bloody gits will get out of my way," Ron's voice came from behind. Fred and George moved aside to let their younger, yet taller, brother through. "Always last in bloody line..."
"You were too busy looking at that mediwitch..." Fred began before catching Ron's eye, and his meaningful look at Hermione. George chortled.
"Everyone... Neville? The others?"
"Everyone is fine, Harry," Hermione repeated. "Really. Neville took advantage of the fact that you were sleeping and popped up to visit his parents. I think... I think he needed to be with him. After that."
"Harry," Remus came to stand next to Hermione. "Are you...?"
"I'm fine. I just want to know what happened."
"Well, so do we," Remus said calmly. "By the time we found you, Voldemort was a pile of ashes. What happened? How did you manage to kill him, when we haven't found the last...?"
Remus trailed off, a haunted look entering his eyes. "Unless... he is dead, isn't he?"
"Oh, he's dead," Harry said, his voice low. "It's over. At least, I hope it is."
"But how in bloody hell did you manage it if there's still one more...?" Ron began.
"There wasn't one more, Ron," Harry looked at his friend, squeezing Ginny's hand and pulling her next to him. She climbed up next to him on the bed, leaning on one elbow, and squeezed back. "We had the wrong locket. There were two more."
"What?" Remus looked startled. "After all that...?"
"The locket we thought was the horcrux, the one you and Dobby found in Grimmauld Place, wasn't it, either."
"Then, what?" Fred looked over them all, his voice oddly serious. "There are still two out there? He's not really gone?"
"Oh, he's gone," Ginny said softly, her eyes not leaving Harry's. "The locket... the locket was the one I was wearing. The one that we found in that wooden jewellery case."
"What?" Ron looked between them, amazed. "But..."
"It was, Ron. Someone, probably Sirius' brother, had transfigured it to hide it. Tom... Tom tried to make Harry think that it was actually me..."
Molly gasped, and Arthur put his arm around her, his face grey.
"But Harry knew," Ginny said softly.
"But I don't understand... you said you could feel them," Ron said. "You and Ginny have been joined at the... well... why couldn't you feel it?"
"I don't know," Harry admitted. "Maybe I would have, if it had been around anyone else's neck. Your sister can be rather distracting, Ron."
Ginny smiled at him. He almost felt like smiling himself. Almost.
"But that still leaves one," Remus said. "Is one enough to keep him alive?"
"No, Remus," Harry said, taking a deep breath. "There aren't any more. Not any longer."
"What? But Dumbledore said seven..."
"And there were. But it's gone now, as well."
"How?"
"Because..." Harry looked at Ginny. "Ginny destroyed it."
"Ginny?"
"It was different than the others," Harry said. "You remember that Dumbledore said that Voldemort couldn't stand it when I was happy?"
"Yes... but..."
"And you know that I've had a... connection... with him. For years. I could see what he could see? What Nagini could see?"
Remus' eyes clouded with understanding... with barely suppressed rage. "You mean...?"
"It was me. Or more accurately, something in me. Voldemort must have left part of himself in me when he killed my mother. Or perhaps it was when he tried to kill me. Either way, it was me. A part of his soul was left in me that night, and I've carried it all this time."
"But..." Molly swallowed. "How?"
"I don't know. All I know is that Ginny destroyed it."
"We destroyed it, together, Harry."
"How?" George looked at them suspiciously.
"Love," Harry said. "I think. When I understood... when I was standing there, and Ginny was there... and Tom, it was just... suddenly, it was all very clear. I knew that I was the final one, and I knew that I couldn't destroy myself before I destroyed him. I... Ginny... well, I knew that she would have to do it. She would have to kill him after I destroyed myself."
Hermione sobbed. Ron wrapped her in his arms and she buried her face in his broad chest.
"I think, when Ginny accepted that, when she took that duty from me, willingly... I think it did something."
"No," Ginny denied. "It was the kiss."
"The...?" Bill looked oddly at her. She turned to look up at him, and her brother looked back with surprise. Ginny had never seemed so... content.
"When I knew, well, I wanted Harry to understand that I knew what he needed me to do. That I would do it. I could hardly say it, with Tom standing right there... so I kissed his scar. After that..."
"It was like a lightning bolt," Harry said softly. "I thought she was dead. She just collapsed. It was like something... well, that's when I turned on Voldemort and... did what I had to do."
"But I wasn't dead," she whispered. "It was just the power. There was so much power there. When it left through me, I think it knocked me out."
"When I realized..." Harry flushed and looked around the room, suddenly very conscious of the fact that he was sharing things he would never had dreamed of sharing before. Uncomfortable, he became silent.
"I think we understand, Harry," Arthur said softly, patting Harry's hand where it held his daughter's tightly. "Thank you. Thank you for doing it... for..."
Arthur Weasley's eyes filled with tears and he swallowed, turning away.
"I think we'd best be leaving Harry and Ginny to rest now," Molly said. "Come on, you lot, you can come back later to see how they are."
Molly herded the others out before her, Tonks pausing to lean down and kiss Harry's forehead. She'd said nothing yet, but her eyes were suspiciously shiny as they studied him. She looked at him intensely for a full thirty seconds before speaking.
"Thank you," she whispered in his ear.
"We'll be back later, Harry. Is there anything you need?" Remus asked.
"No," Harry looked up at Ginny. "I think I've got pretty much everything I need for now, Remus."
Remus smiled, then followed his wife from the room, leaving Ginny and Harry with Ron and Hermione.
"Well done, Harry," Ron said, nodding. "I wish... but, well... well done."
"I couldn't have done it without you, Ron... or you, Hermione."
They both looked at him strangely, Hermione's eyes still showed how worried she was.
"Hermione?"
"Yes, Harry?"
"Go on, take him home. Make him happy."
Ron flushed, not understanding, but Hermione nodded, her cheeks pale as she turned to Ron. "Come on, Ron, we have to talk."
Ron suddenly looked very, very concerned. "Mione?"
"It's okay, Ron. But I need to tell you something."
Ron allowed her to lead him from the room, glancing back at Harry and Ginny as though he didn't want to leave.
When the door closed behind them, Ginny looked down at him. "What was that all about?"
"Hermione... well, there have been consequences."
"What?" Ginny looked at him, confused, until they heard a shout from beyond the closed door.
"You're what?" Ron's shout could probably be heard all over London.
Harry turned and buried his face in Ginny's hair, laughing. He couldn't help himself. He was happy.
I've just had a reader threaten me with reporting if I don't up the rating on this fic. The fiction rating suggestion on ff dot net says that fiction rating "T" is, and I quote, "Suitable for teens, 13 years and older, with some violence, minor coarse language, and minor suggestive adult themes". I rather thought I was well within that, but apparently not. It was never my intention to offend anyone. Rating has now been upped – I apologise to those of you who have been reading and may not be able to access it now – I promise there are no more "questionable" scenes. Okay, on to more pleasant topics -- so I've got readers in Aberdeen, Nova Scotia, Texas, New Brunswick, England, Ohio, Toronto, RhodeIsland, Hawaii, California, Illinois, Australia, Chicago, New York (State and City), Ontario, Tennessee, Delaware, Alaska, Louisiana, Alberta, New Jersey, Maryland, Indiana, Texas, Virginia, British Columbia, Las Vegas, Germany, and India... And, yes, the blonde in the cafe was my version of our illustrious goddess, JKR... just for fun! CQ
HarryGinnyluv4ever: I've been to NS many times. I have a friend in Dartmouth and a friend in Truro. Peggy's Cove is one of the most beautiful places on earth, IMHO. AB is great – and don't think that just because this is where the oil comes from that gas is any cheaper – I'm glad I drive an econo-box!
Jarno: Could be. Or it could be that Harry knows something we don't.
YelloWitchGrl: One more!
Arianna of Bellezza: But who said it was Ginny? LOL!
BlueClover13: I lived in T.O. For nine years. Rather different than here, that's for sure! I can live without the humidity, although living in Alberta this year and the amount of rain we've had, you'd think you were in Southern Ontario.
AlliBaby: I like working references to JKR into my fics – sort of a tribute to someone I admire greatly.
NutsaboutRemus: Now, would I do that?
SiriuslyAmused: Sorry about that. I want you to know that I considered emailing you this chapter last night. Briefly. LOL!
VT: I've been looking for a decent gumbo recipe... I don't suppose...?
Renzo7: THAT can't be the end... we haven't had the happy-happy after-the-fact stuff yet!
Danny: Canada? Exotic? LOL! Right, okay – personally, I think Colorado is probably way high on the "exotic" scale compared to Southern Alberta... but, hey, it's all perspective, right?
Oomahey: Of course I did – this IS me, after all!
FreedomStar: I try to put reference to her in my stories when I can... she's brilliant, and it's my little acknowledgement of the work she has done in bringing us this amazing world to play in.
LarnaMandrea: Yeah, yeah, yeah... I know. I think I'm going to have to start posting only every second day, and take a little more time between on the editing...
BeckiSoup: I think everything happened too fast for anyone to keep anyone from going.
All my lovely reviewers, thank you, thank you, thank you: Ilov3captainoats, Seall, Trixie7, Gerie, HarryPassionFan, Lacyl, ProfessorMoody, BrittSchrick, BeautyGirl, gryffindorgrl123, snuffles007, MarkMyWords, Allimba, Lea, whatdoIhavetodo, SpaceHog26, RyougaZell, harryginnyfan23, JainaSanri, Ilov3captainoats, Ronni, harry+ginnydestiny, Tnick, genuinescience, moodyboy66, LuthienGranger2004, meg, SabineStrohemMoss, Tomanak, KatietheGreat, dragonclawz54, WolfsScream, dweem angel, GiGiFanfic, LittleTom45, ameristrat, TDSM, Mike, BabyHuey, pcb, Caitlin, leleana, azntgr01, nandhp, TriaMarieVal, KaiserMonkey, HermioneJaneKoriand'rTarberllaRiewer, Ginny2026, L5894, charmingly-holly, PrincessSkywalkerOrgana, AnimeGurlzRule, Gilmore, Meighan, captainalexobvious, imissdumbledore, OldCrow, rgluvr13, MarinePotterFan, J62442, Skateforever, IndiaInk, TnaSeeIN, CrystalShine, Sillysac, HarryFoureyes, SilverWeasley, Honorable, TwilightStar, griffindorgirl12, Kat, Alex, luvguurl, mosleyn001, LunaMoon224, mono.tonie, justawritier, ThrallofOrcus, ChineseCinderella, Draghknar, RainbowFish