Chapter 15 The Final Battle
Another night again
Another journey without friends
Another fight to wish away the loneliness I live
Another circus show
Another face that I don't know
Another night of people asking what I have to give
I thought that I would drown
But it okay right now
No one knows the way I feel
The part of me I have to fight
Buried somewhere deep beneath my skin
The emptiness with me has faded
I can see my life has waited
Now I know I'm living for who I am
Who I Am—Smile Empty Soul
Once again, Harry let himself into the silent house of his late godfather. Skirting the troll leg umbrella stand, he made his way down to the basement kitchen expecting to see someone there. Much to his surprise, it was empty. Nothing there hinted that anyone was even in the house. Panicking slightly he raced back up the stairs, calling out names.
"PROFESSOR LUPIN! TONKS! DUMBLEDORE!"
He made such a racket running around the house that the portrait of Sirius' mom awoke.
"FILTH! BESMIRCHING MY HOUSE, TAINTING THE PURENESS OF—"
Harry stopped with his foot on the bottommost stair leading up to the bedrooms and drawing rooms upstairs. He whirled around and screamed as loudly as he could, "SHUT UP!"
The woman stopped screaming. Instead she asked in quite a lost voice, "Who's there?"
Harry didn't answer.
"I know you're there," she bellowed.
He walked to face her and felt his scar burn white-hot. A jolt of panic raced through him.
"Of course, it's that Potter boy they talk so much about. Well, you're out of luck, dear boy. There's no one here but me at the moment. They all took off about ten minutes ago."
"What? No one's here? Do you know where they went?" he asked hurriedly.
She looked at him as if he were a mere slug or some other bug that was causing her extreme annoyance. "I am not in charge of that, now am I? Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you. FILTH! BRINGING THE STENCH OF MUDBLOODS INTO MY BELOVED HOUSE!" she began shouting again.
Unwilling to listen to her a moment longer, Harry turned on his heel and marched out of the house, slamming the door hard behind him. He was about to Apparate to the Weasley's when he caught sight of Hedwig flying at top speed toward him.
He put out his arm and she landed hard, digging her talons in to him and squawking in an irritated way. She looked harried, some of her feathers sticking up in the wrong direction.
"Calm down," he told her forcefully. Hedwig became silent at once, but she stuck out her leg, showing Harry the letter he'd sent to Hermione. "Why didn't you deliver this?" he asked her suddenly.
"She's not there, is she?" To his surprise, Hedwig shook her snowy head at him. "No one's there?" he asked more to himself than here.
"Find Dumbledore and get him to come help!" he shouted. Hedwig hooted reassuringly and took off into the sunset at top speed again.
Without further ado, Harry Apparated to the Weasley's property.
The lights were on, but Harry noticed no shadows cast onto the lawn. He raced up the steps of their porch stopped at the door, which he noticed was already open.
"Not a good sign," he thought to himself as he stepped inside.
He raced through the living room, vaulting over the overturned couch. "Please…no…don't let it be true," he muttered to himself.
He skidded to a stop outside his room and threw open the door. The mattress had been ripped of the frame and all of the drawers of his old desk had been ripped out and thrown onto the floor. Slamming the door shut, he took off for Ginny's room. Hermione's shredded cloak and Ginny's bed sheets littered the floor. Something between a scream and a growl escaped from Harry's mouth as he raced up to his best friend's room.
As he stumbled onto the landing outside Ron's room, he caught sight of Bill, mouth slightly open, and a trickle of blood running down his cheek from a cut somewhere near his hairline.
An anger Harry had never felt before burst from inside him. With nothing to vent on, he kicked the wall with all his might. Just as quickly as the anger had come, a new emotion took over. Guilt. Harry hadn't been quick enough to leave, or get to Dumbledore and now he had no clue where anyone was. He knew he would stop at nothing to save his friends, but to do that he'd need to know how to find them. He slid down the same wall he'd kicked moments earlier and hid his face in his hands, blocking everything else out to think.
In the silence, Harry heard a slam downstairs, but it never registered with him. It wasn't till he heard a voice above him ask, "Are you done thinking, Potter, or are you just going to sit there?" that he looked up and realized it must have been the screen door he'd heard.
"Malfoy, what are you doing here?" he asked quickly.
"I came to get you," he said offering a hand out to Harry and pulling him to his feet.
"Was this Voldemort? Do you know where he's taken them? Is everyone ok?"
"Yes, yes, and yes. Enough with the questions. Be quiet so I can explain this to you. We've got to hurry."
Harry nodded wordlessly to show he understood.
"Alright. I'm not positive about all of this but I think I've got it all right." Malfoy started pacing, running a hand through his silver-blond hair. "Voldemort caused a distraction by attacking some Muggles in Little Whinging and then again in Little Hangleton. I was there when all the Order showed up. I had a suspicious feeling that he was finally going to try and lure you to him, because he'd long since given up torturing Muggles just for fun." He looked at Harry. "I knew this was where you were living in the summer so I came here to warn you. Judging by the state of all this, I think its safe to assume I'm a little late."
"Ok, so now I know why you're here, but where are my friends and how am I going to get them!" he shouted in impatience.
"Calm down. Look, I just need you to trust me, no matter what the Dark Lord says. If there's any hope for the Weasleys and Granger, you cannot let Voldemort plant any doubt in your mind about me. I am as loyal to Dumbledore as it is possible for anyone to be and no matter what anyone says, I am only a spy, not a true Death Eater. Will you trust me?" He looked directly into Harry's eyes.
Harry was convinced more by the fact that Malfoy had said Voldemort's name than anything else and he nodded slowly.
"Alright. We have to Apparate to Hogwarts and then…"
Harry wasn't listening. Somewhere in the back of his mind he heard Hermione's voice saying in exasperation, "…you can't Apparate or Dissapparate on the grounds…" He grabbed Malfoy's arm. "How do you plan on Apparating to Hogwarts? You can't do that."
"I had hoped you wouldn't know that," said Malfoy truthfully, biting his lip. "In that case, push everything you know about that from your mind, because it is possible, you just have to know how to do it. Tell yourself you can and you'll end up there. I'll meet you in the entrance hall." With a crack, Malfoy was gone.
Confused, yet determined, Harry looked over his shoulder at Bill. There was nothing to be done for him. Feeling a bit odd about leaving his friend lying unconscious on the floor, Harry prepared to Apparate to Hogwarts, something he'd always been told was impossible.
Harry reappeared moments later with a faint pop in the entrance hall of his old school, cringing. Any moment, he expected some curse to knock him back or some other horrible thing he didn't even want to imagine. When nothing happened, he opened his eyes slowly and opened his mouth in awe.
"I did it!" he whispered excitedly to Malfoy, who was standing next to the great oak door a smirk on his face.
"I see that. I told you you could. Don't try to Apparate to anywhere else though, because then it really won't work. Now follow me." With that, he sprinted through the front door, down the stone steps, and into a stone passageway that seemed vaguely familiar to Harry.
"What is this place?" he asked quietly. "Why do I feel like I've been here before?"
"This is where they take the first years every year." He paused a moment and looked at Harry apprehensively. "And this is where my father brought you last year," he muttered.
Harry squinted around him. With a shudder, he pushed away the memories of last summer.
"Come on, we're not there yet," Malfoy said, and he took off again.
"How do you know where all this is?" Harry gasped.
"My dad…was very close…to Voldemort…so I know…the places…where he takes every…one," Malfoy panted as he darted into yet another stone tunnel. Finally, at a fork in the tunnel, he slowed. Putting a finger to his lips, he crouched low and took the way on the left.
Harry expect Malfoy to lead him a long way from the split in the tunnel, but he was surprised when they'd traveled only a few feet in and they took another turn. This time, instead of taking them into a dark, dank, dripping tunnel, they entered a spacious, brightly lit room with many doors leading off of it.
"Why's he made it so easy to find?" Harry asked dubiously.
"Remember, he wants you to find him," answered Malfoy matter-of-factly. "I think it's this one," he continued, heading toward the seventh door from the right. "Let me go in first."
Slowly, Malfoy poked his head in. Then he entered in all the way and beckoned Harry after. As soon as he set foot in the room, Harry knew something was wrong. An odd prickling on the back of his neck gave him the feeling he was being watched and he couldn't see Malfoy anywhere.
With a snap, the door behind him slammed shut. A woman with heavily lidded eyes stepped from the shadows, laughing darkly. "It never fails!" she shrieked. "You Gryffindors—" she started.
"Where are they?" Harry interrupted, desperately aware of the way his voice shook.
"Don't worry. We wouldn't dream of touching them till you joined them." As she talked, Harry noticed more cloaked figures emerging from the corners of the room.
"You let them go!" Harry shouted, discretely reaching into the pocket of his jeans and closing his hand over the handle of his wand. "They've got nothing to do with this!"
She chuckled, a sound that made Harry shudder. "You know, you don't seem to be in the bargaining position." The others were pressing closer.
Thinking quickly, Harry racked his brain for a curse that could stop them all, but nothing came to mind. Well, he figured, taking out a few was better than going down without a fight. With a speed brought about only by being a Seeker, Harry whipped his wand out and pointed it straight at Bellatrix. "Petrificus Totalus!" he shouted.
A cruel satisfaction welled up in him as he watched her fall backwards onto the hard stone floor, unable to move. "Hey!" he heard behind him.
He whirled around to find a man bearing down on him, his lips forming the word "Stupify!"
So they weren't aiming to kill him. Unwilling to give up just yet, Harry shouted, "Protego!" before the man could finish his curse. He too fell backwards, a surprised look on his face.
"Enough of this! Stupify!" To his surprise, Harry felt everything going black, and he collapsed where he stood.
Harry woke what felt like hours later as he was dropped roughly onto a hard stone floof. He sat up, gasping for breath as though he'd just come up from spending too much time under water and a sharp pain raced up his arm. He looked around him, squinting in the low light as a doop snapped shut near him. Vaguely, he could make out three shapes in the corner. "Who's there?" he called out, rubbing his arm where it hurt. He felt his own warm, sticky blood ooze beneath his fingers.
"Harry?" he heard a quiet voice answer back. One of the figures started crawling toward him. The other two sat up a bit straighter.
"Ginny!"
"Are you all right?" asked Hermione, hurrying toward him too.
Harry nodded, though he knew they couldn't see him. "Just got a little cut."
"Do you know where we are?" she asked.
"I came in through a tunnel under the school, but I don't know where this is."
"How are we going to get out of here?" Ron asked from the depths of the shadows.
"I don't know," Harry said in defeat. "I was following Malfoy's lead, but I lost him."
Ron got to his feet and turned his back to the group. Harry could tell he struggling to keep his voice even when he finally spoke again. "Wonderful! How many times are you going to screw up this week, Harry, because you're on a roll right now?"
"What are you talking about?" Harry asked, trying to keep his voice from rising.
Ron whirled around to face him. "Trusting Malfoy? His dad was a Death Eater, and so is he! I can't believe you actually followed him here!"
Harry felt Hermione stand up beside him. "Ron, this is not Harry's fault. We all trusted Malfoy, even me!"
"Malfoy's not a Death Eater," Harry said. "Listen, you weren't there…he's different now—"
"Guys, stop!" shouted Ginny. "If we're going to get out, we can't keep fighting like this!"
Ron rounded on his sister. "I can't believe you're standing up for him! After what he said—"
Harry didn't hear the rest of the sentence. He let out a sharp gasp as a pain shot along his scar. At the same time, a totally unrelated feeling of excitement drowned his own sense of fear. He pulled Hermione down so he could whisper through clenched teeth, "He's here!" Ron and Ginny continued arguing.
Harry heard a high-pitched laugh near the outline of the door and the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. "Fighting amongst yourselves. That makes my job all the more easy!"
Getting to his feet and drawing himself up to his full height, Harry looked into the red eyes that stared hungrily back at him through the dim light. "Let them go!" he said forcefully. "You've got what you wanted."
Voldemort merely laughed. Then, snapping his fingers so that ropes appeared out of thin air and wrapped themselves tightly around Harry and his friends, he said, "Surely you know better by now! Why would I let them go when they would alert that meddling excuse for a wizard, Dumbledore?"
"Dumbledore's more of a wizard than you'll ever be!" Harry shouted back.
Voldemort chuckled again. "I suppose this is a small price to pay," he said quietly. Then more loudly he continued, "By now you must have noticed my latest discovery. Ingenious, no?"
Harry remained silent.
"No, I didn't really expect you to understand. Your arm?"
Again Harry held his tongue, despite the growing urge to scream.
Voldemort glared at for a moment, but when Harry didn't answer, a few sparks spouted from his wand making Harry flinch and he burst out, "Don't tempt me, boy!" Regaining his calm, he continued, "With a little experimenting, I've finally come up with a plan to rid myself of you once and for all. Your blood, mixed into a potion made especially for this occasion will give me your powers, in essence, all I need to finally gain immortality." He smiled cruelly back at them.
Harry heard Hermione gasp beside him and he felt the eyes of the others on him.
Voldemort laughed his evil laugh and went on. "I guess I should really thank you for getting away last year. If you hadn't, I never would have discovered this.
"In fact, its ironic that the last two times you've been lucky enough to join me, it's been thanks to one of the two Malfoy's in my service. Although, I don't understand how even you would believe that Draco hadn't aligned himself with me. Honestly, a spy for Dumbledore…" He laughed again. "Your dear Malfoy has always been loyal to me."
Harry couldn't stand it anymore. He couldn't keep looking into the red eyes before him. He stared at the floor, thinking of something to buy him more time. As he did so, something surfaced in the back of his mind. "Don't believe him, no matter what…" After all, Voldemort had been known to stray from the truth before.
"You liar," Harry finally hissed. Voldemort fixed his stare again on Harry.
"What?" Voldemort spat, pointing his wand at Harry's heart.
"LIAR!" Harry shouted defiantly. He noticed Voldemort step back a bit at the sound of his voice.
"CRUCIO!"
Harry's scar exploded with pain and every bit of his body felt like thousands of tiny needles were being stabbed into him, but he was determined to remain quiet. He closed his eyes and bit his tongue so hard he tasted blood. Soon the pain reached a pitch Harry had never felt before and it was all he could do to remain standing. A moment later it all vanished and his vision began to clear again.
"Nice people are so easy to manipulate," Voldemort mused. "No, Malfoy is not loyal to me, and I doubt he ever was, but did you think I was unaware of this? I was merely using it to my advantage." He fell silent. Harry found he liked the silence even less than all the talk.
Finally, Voldemort smirked. "I suppose it makes no difference. The potion will have killed you by sunrise anyway." He headed for the door and stopped before leaving. "Pleasant dreams," he said. With a snap, he shut the door behind him. They could hear him cackling for another minute before they were left in silence.
"Harry?" Ginny asked quietly. He didn't answer.
Hours passed, but Harry and his friends heard nothing. Eventually, they worked their way back to a corner and sat dejectedly in a group on the dirty stone.
"What's that?" Hermione asked as Harry's head snapped up. Apparently, she'd heard the footsteps too.
The door opened and a tall figure entered.
"Who's there?" Ron called out.
"Quiet! Do you want them to know I'm here?"
"Malfoy?" Hermione asked through the dark in a stage whisper. "What are you doing here?"
"Getting you out," he answered, untying Harry first and moving on to Ron.
"He knows," Harry stated as he fumbled with the knot binding Ginny's hands.
"I know. How are you feeling?" he asked, turning to Harry.
"Fine," he answered shortly. In truth he was feeling slightly shaky and sick, but he had more important things to worry about.
"I got the people guarding you all to go for a minute. I'll take you out the way we came in," said Malfoy, leading the way to the door.
Harry and Ron exchanged a look as they followed Draco out into the room with all the doors. Clearly Ron was still dubious about trusting Malfoy, even after he'd heard the truth about him.
Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione entered into the tunnel under Hogwarts. A minute later Malfoy caught up to them saying, "You need to get out. Head for the entrance hall and Apparate to Grimmauld Place."
"Why aren't you coming?" Hermione asked worriedly.
"I can't come with you! Voldemort knows about me, he'll find me…Listen, don't worry. Go, now, before he finds out you all are gone," said Malfoy, ushering them past the underground lake. "And, Harry, talk to Dumbledore before sunrise."
"Draco," said Ginny, brow furrowed, "come with us, we'll hide you…"
"Go!"
Harry turned away, grabbing Ginny and Hermione and pulling them with him. He had almost reached the exit when his scar seared again. He stumbled and fell to his knees, clutching his forehead in his hands.
After a moment, Harry looked up to find Voldemort standing over him. Bending down, Voldemort grabbed Harry's arm in a vice-like grip and yanked him from the ground.
"I'm tired of you and your little friends getting in the way," he hissed, shaking Harry so that his glasses nearly slipped off his nose. "Trust me, that won't happen again."
Voldemort pointed his wand directly at Malfoy who froze. "Avada Kedavra!"
Slowly, Malfoy fell backwards, eyes wide and staring. Ginny dropped to her knees beside him, shaking him as though she could wake him.
Wandless, Harry resorted to a sort of fighting that he decided he would have to thank Dudley for later. Drawing his fist back, he threw his whole weight into the punch, connecting with Voldemort's jaw. The force carried them, tumbling, down to the bank of the lake.
Harry watched as Voldemort's wand flew from his hand and Ron took off after it. Unfortunately, when they came to a stop, Harry was pinned beneath Voldemort who proceeded to wrap his long-fingered hands around Harry's neck.
"Hurry," he gasped at Ron who was now sliding down after them.
"Stupefy," Ron finally bellowed.
Voldemort simply raised a hand and the curse rebounded off him and knocked Ron to the ground, unconscious. This time, Hermione sprinted to the wand while Ginny ran to Harry's aid.Shenever made it to him.
Harry heard a shout, suddenly Voldemort was off him and he could breath again. As he scrambled away, he saw Dumbledore, wand raised, staring down his crooked nose at Voldemort.
"Ginny, Hermione, get out now," he said forcefully, his voice strong and steady. Harry knew that if he'd walked in on this sight, he wouldn't have been so calm.
"You can't kill me, Dumbledore!" shouted Voldemort, advancing.
"You're very right, Tom," said Dumbledore, heading for Harry. "Unfortunately, the pleasure does not lie with me.
Voldemort shot a glance at Harry who still sat on the ground, unable to stand because his legs shook too much. He hesitated a moment then took off for the room of doors, snatching up wand on the way.
"You let him go!" Harry cried from his knees.
Dumbledore shook his head and crouched beside Harry. "You know what you have to do, Harry," he said.
"No, I can't fight him! He's too strong," Harry argued, looking directly into Dumbledore's blue eyes, which were devoid of whatever twinkle they once held.
Resting a hand on Harry's shoulder, he said, "You must. I can't do this for you. Take my wand…" he said handing over his wand.
He then lifted Harry to his feet and whispered, "Go now, before he gets any further."
As soon as Dumbledore let go of him, Harry's knees buckled and he fell onto his old headmaster. "I can't fight him," Harry repeated.
"Harry, you can't be afraid—"
"No, look…" and Harry stuck out his arm to show the long gash. "He's made a potion. It's taking my powers and he said at sunrise I'll die," he blurted.
Dumbledore glanced outside. The sun must have been rising because the deep blue night sky was shot with gold. Snatching his wand from Harry's grasp, he dragged it across Harry's palm and then his own.
"Ow! Hey!" he cried as he watched his hand bleed. Dumbledore paid no attention to him except to grab Harry's bloody hand. He closed his eyes and muttered something under his breath.
Immediately, Harry felt his strength return. He looked up to smile at Dumbledore to find the old man lying down on the pebbles, a vague smile on his face.
His heart sinking, Harry asked, "What did you do?"
As calm as could be, Dumbledore answered, "I switched places with you. You can go now."
"No," Harry shouted, trying to pull his headmaster up. "Undo it."
Dumbledore opened one tired eye and said, "No, I rather like it this way. I've spent too much time here anyway. I daresay the world is tired of me by now." For a moment the familiar twinkle returned and a smile lit his wrinkled his features. "Remember, death is but the next great adventure, and I should very much like a new adventure. It's been a while since I've had a good one."
Harry felt hot tears sting the corners of his eyes and spill over onto his cheeks. "No," he whispered. "Get up…"
"Go, Harry, or I'm afraid I'll have to give you a detention," he joked.
Suddenly, a ray of golden light fell across Dumbledore's face. Harry looked at the sky and saw the sun rising over the horizon. When he turned his attention downward again, Dumbledore lay there, eyes closed, a benign smile on his face.
Seizing Dumbledore's wand, Harry took off after Voldemort, anger coursing through him. He stopped at the sound of Ginny's voice though.
"Harry, where are you going?"
Harry whirled around. Ginny and Hermione had returned and were now heading toward him. Before the reached him, Ron moaned and sat straight up.
"Ron!" cried Hermione, rushing to his side.
"Ginny, he's gone!" whispered Harry, when she finally walked to him.
"Who, Voldemort?"
"No, Dumble—"
"Finally, the meddlesome old fool's gone!" exulted Voldemort, striding toward them. He stopped, staring at Harry in disbelief.
"Why are you still here?"
Harry opened his mouth, but he couldn't think of anything to say, so he closed it again. Instead he raised Dumbledore's wand.
Voldemort laughed. "Never mind, it doesn't matter. Expelliarmus!"
"Protego!" Harry shouted. The wand flew to his fingertips, but he did not let go. Instead, Voldemort's wand flew from his hand and Harry snatched it out of the air. He felt very aware of his friends staring at him.
Voldemort's eyes widened in surprise, but other than that he seemed unfazed. Attempting a different track, he said, "I saw the scar, Harry. You tried to take the easy way out, didn't you?" He smirked as Harry yelled, "Shut up!" and Hermione asked what he was talking about.
"What's this?" Voldemort continued in mock surprise. "They don't know, do they? He turned to Hermione and Ron. "Your brave hero, your 'Boy Who Lived,' tried to kill himself. So much for saving everyone, huh!" He called to Harry.
Harry remained silent, ignoring Hermione's gasp and Ron's questions. Finally he shouted, "You're not controlling my life anymore!"
"You can't kill me," Voldemort said, though Harry distinctly saw fear in his eyes.
Taking a deep breath, Harry looked directly at Voldemort. "Avada Kedavra!" he screamed.
Voldemort's mouth dropped open as a jet of green light collided with him. Harry watched in slow motion as he fell over motionless.
He didn't move right away. In fact, he wasn't aware of anything until he felt Ginny tugging his arm. "Are you ok?" she asked quietly.
He just ran a hand through his hair and looked down at the black wand he'd caught from Voldemort. In a fit of rage, he brought it down hard over his knee so that it snapped in half and hurled it into the lake.
"Is he really gone?" asked Hermione quietly as she helped Ron up.
"Yeah," said Harry stunned.
"We need to get someone in here," said Ron, staring from Dumbledore to Voldemort.
Harry felt like he was in a dream. In fact, he was in such a surreal state that he would have sworn he saw Malfoy's body move as they dashed out.
"Wait!" called a voice from behind.
Harry whirled around, wand raised. Apparently, he hadn't been dreaming when he'd seen Malfoy move. He was actually pushing himself to his feet.
"But you were dead!" Ron shouted, pointing, while Harry rushed to help.
"I know that! But that doesn't tell me why I'm here!"
"Whoa," said Ginny quietly.
Harry and the others spent the day and night in the castle. Madam Pomfrey insisted on dishing out sleeping potions, but Harry didn't drink his. Instead, he lay in his bed near the window and stared at the moon.
The next morning, Harry rose before everyone else. Not wanting anyone to wake up and try to talk to him, he crept past them and was soon home. After all, he'd see everyone at the funeral tomorrow.
Harry arrived late and remained near the back of the large crowd of people. Mostly he watched the reactions of the people around him and the rain clouds moving in. Why did it always rain at funerals? When the ceremony finished, he was one of the first to leave, but instead of going straight home, he wandered the streets of Godric's Hollow.
When the rain finally started to pour down, he thought about heading to the Three Broomsticks for a drink, but he changed his mind quickly. Deciding in an instant, he made sure he couldn't be seen before Dissapparating with a pop.
Harry reappeared again outside the Weasley's house. Ginny sat alone on the front porch braiding her freshly washed hair and Ron, Hermione, and Bill were inside, their voices wafting through an open window.
Harry sat for another few minutes and only when Ginny started to head inside did he speak up.
"Ginny, wait."
She turned around as if she'd known he'd been there all along and crossed her arms, glaring at him. "What?" she asked crossly.
Harry shook his sodden bangs out of his eyes and said, "I need to explain something to you." He paused, unsure of how to begin. "I lied to you. I never really wanted to leave you, but I was worried."
She narrowed her eyes at him. "What did you have to be worried about? It's not like—"
Harry interrupted her. "You were right when you said that I was afraid Voldemort would come after you."
"You didn't have to worry about us. We can take care of ourselves."
"Can you blame me?"
Ginny cocked her head and frowned.
"But this isn't the point. What I really came to say is that I'm sorry." He laughed a tired laugh. "Even Voldemort saw it before I did," he muttered to himself.
"What'd he see?" Ginny asked.
Harry flushed. He hadn't meant to speak aloud. Thinking about whether he wanted to plunge ahead, he put a hand to his forehead. Throwing caution to the wind, he said, "I love you. Voldemort wouldn't have taken you if I didn't." He sighed, feeling a hundred pounds lighter. "There, I said it. You can laugh now."
But Ginny wasn't laughing. She just stood there, a hand over her mouth. To fill the awkward silence, Harry asked, "So, will you take me back?"
Instead of relieving the tension, the question only made the silence, if possible, louder.
"I'm going to need time to think about that, Harry," she said, lowering her hand.
"I thought so," Harry mumbled turning to leave. "Could you just tell Ron to write me then?"
"I'm done thinking," Ginny said, stepping off the porch into the rain.
Slowly, Harry turned back around. "And…?"
"Well, listen to this and tell me if it makes sense. You lied to me. You broke up with me, but you claim it was because you loved me. You then proceeded to drag me through the pits of Hell, and now you want me back. Am I right so far?"
"Well, when you put it like that…" He shook his head. "I'll just go."
"Harry James Potter, I am not finished."
He whirled around to face her. "What do you want!" he practically shouted.
"I want you to come inside and dry off. Then you'll have a cup of tea and some peanut butter and jelly with me while we talk about you moving back in."
"Is that a yes then?" Harry asked, unable to keep the hope out of his voice.
She folded her arms sternly. "It is if you promise not to lie to me again."
He dashed up the front steps and stood dripping on the porch. "You have no idea how boring it is to live by yourself," Harry said as he stepped inside, feeling slightly guilty about dripping on the Weasley's floor.
"It's been a lot quieter here, too."
"Hi, Harry!" exclaimed Hermione, entering the room from the kitchen. "Why are you all wet?"
He shrugged.
"Don't just stand there. Go dry off."
As Harry mounted the stairs, he heard Hermione distinctly ask, "So did you take him back?" He froze.
"Ginny laughed. "'Course. What can I say? I'm forgiving! Do we have any peanut butter and jelly?"
"Did he say the 'L' word?" Hermione pressed.
"I think I'll go make those sandwiches."
"That's a yes if I ever heard one!"
As Harry toweled off, Ginny came upstairs with a change of dry clothes. "'Mione went to your apartment to get them."
"How'd she find it?" Harry asked through the door.
"Lupin told her today at the funeral."
Suddenly, an indistinct shouting reached Harry's ears. "What'd they say?" he asked Ginny.
"'Mione says hurry up, someone's here for you."
He emerged a minute later, his hair still damp, and headed downstairs, Ginny close behind. As he entered into the living room he gasped and froze. Ginny leaned around to see, then clutched Harry's arm painfully hard.
There, sitting on the couch as calm as if this sort of thing happened everyday sat Ron and Hermione with two people Harry knew to be dead.
