Chapter Nineteen
Midnight Meeting

The redhead named Ginny Weasley had finished thinking and stood up from the dusty step. She checked her watch; it was exactly midnight. She fixed her cloak and wiped her eyes, and then she put her hand on the door handle. Taking a deep breath, Ginny pulled the door open and entered the small wooden room.

"Ginny! I'm so glad you're here!" Harry exclaimed as he hurried towards Ginny and hugged her. But Ginny still looked somber and remained silent.

"What's the matter? Are you okay?"

Ginny was determined not to cry when she told Harry what happened. Half of her was furious with Harry for not being there, and the other half understood that Harry couldn't be there, and that joining the Order involved risks. But her eyes brimmed with tears as she opened her mouth to speak the horrible news…

Ebony was walking down Diagon Alley when Voldemort appeared with Ginny chained to him. Harry was lying on the ground, blood trickling from his scar. He was trying very hard to get up, but every time he did, Lucius or Draco Malfoy would hit him with another Cruciatus Curse. Voldemort pulled his wand out from beneath his flowing black cloak, and pointed it threateningly at Ginny. Ginny's face was pearly white with fear, and looked as if she were about to pass out any minute. On Snape's orders, a huge crowd of dementors swooped down on Ebony, and as she tried to fight them off, a high cold voice rang, followed by cruel laughter.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" came the voice through green flashes of light and delighted, cruel laughter from those watching.

Ebony was able to see through a small space between the cloaks of the dementors. Ginny was lying lifelessly on the floor where she had been standing seconds before. The chains that bound her to Voldemort clanged to the ground. A look of pure terror painted on Ginny's lightly freckled face was enough to make anyone lose their breath. Harry was still struggling against the Cruciatus Curse when Voldemort strode over to where she was standing…

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" yelled Ebony as she sat up in her bed in St. Mungo's. A cold sweat covered her body, and was panting heavily as an aftermath of her nightmare. Mrs. Weasley and Tonks were sitting at her bedside, and they called to the Healer in charge of Ebony.

"Where am I? What happened?" Ebony asked breathlessly. She felt the color come back to her cheeks, and she was able to catch her breath.

"Don't you remember? The Death Eaters in Diagon Alley attacked you and Moody, and you've been unconscious ever since. We, well, we didn't think you were going to make it," Tonks answered gravely as she reached over and patted Ebony's hand.

"What about Moody? Is he okay?" Ebony asked with an anxious look on her face.

"Yes, dear, he's fine. He lost his hand, but he's now got a magnificent replacement. It works well, he says, and it matches his leg. But someone," Mrs. Weasley felt tears forming in her eyes, "someone died."

"Harry, Dad died. Lucius Malfoy killed him right after right after Mom, Moody, and Ebony left. I saw the whole thing, and Dumbledore looked as if he was a mad man. He produced these gold ropes that he whipped at Malfoy until all the Death Eaters left. But there was no hope for Dad; he was hit by Avada Kedavra in the chest," Ginny paused and wiped her eyes. Harry's face was mixed with fear, shock, and hatred. Ginny continued coldly, "His funeral was yesterday. I tried to tell you about it, but I guess you thought it was Lupin on the mirror again?"

Harry looked extremely ashamed. Ginny wished she wouldn't have just said that, but before she could apologize, Harry did.

"I'm really sorry Ginny. I had no idea…I mean, I should've kept the mirror on. I just didn't want to be disturbed, but I could never have imagined that anything like this would happen. I'm really sorry. How's your mom and brothers holding up?"

Ginny accepted the apology, but in her heart she didn't feel it was enough. She missed her father so much, and she wished he 'd joined the Order. For the second time in five days, she wished she could just die and never have to feel pain and anxiety again.

After assuring Harry that he was forgiven and that her family was okay, she began to tell him what she really needed to for the past month.

"Harry, you need to listen to me. Please, don't interrupt me because I'm just as confused about it as you'll be. Just let me say it, and then I'll try and answer your questions when I'm done…"

In a country far away, Death Eaters were apparating to their master's side. Voldemort's reason's were yet unknown to them, but they had good news for him. He would be very pleased with them, they thought as they obediently knelt before their master. But they were wrong: very wrong…

Harry looked at Ginny incredulously. He had heard her clearly enough, but he couldn't comprehend what she had just told him.

"You can help me? How?"

"I don't know, Harry! I really don't know! I've been worried sick for the past month that we would both die because of me. Can't you see I'm not ready for this? But Dumbledore's positive it's me. No matter how many times I beg him to check if there's another girl fitting that description, he still shakes his head and sends me away. He's really nervous too. There's no sparkle left in his eyes. You don't know how we all feel, Harry. You just don't. I wished I would've been able to tell you sooner, but you wouldn't answer-"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN I DON'T KNOW HOW YOU FEEL? I HAVE TO EITHER KILL VOLDEMORT OR HE HAS TO KILL ME! YOU DON'T KNOW HOW I FEEL, GINNY! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT MEANS TO BE THE ONLY ONE ABLE TO DESTROY THE DARKEST WIZARD ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU HAVE THE NERVE TO SAY-"

"HARRY, I CAN SHOUT JUST AS LOUD AS YOU BUT IT WON'T SOLVE ANYTHING!" Ginny shouted back, her face reddening with anger to match Harry's. "Please calm down. I don't know what you're going through, you're right. But you can't possibly imagine how worried everyone is about you, how worried I am about you. And they're worried about me, too. Anyone who wants to kill me can kill me. I can tell you weren't expecting me to scream back at you?" Ginny giggled as she looked at Harry's face.

"Ginny, I'm sorry. It's just so frustrating for me; I have nothing! I know how to defeat Voldemort, but I don't know if I can do it. He could kill me at any second; I wish I had enough courage to just walk up and say, 'Avada Kedavra!' and it would be all over! But it isn't that simple. He may try to do that, but I am not him; that was made clear when I was sorted into Gryffindor. I am going to fight for all those who've died nobly at the hands of Voldemort and his Death Eaters. None of them deserved it, which is what makes it so unfair. I need to tell you something I've never told anyone before, Ginny. Can I trust you?" Harry reached over and squeezed her hand, looking deeply into her beautiful honey-brown eyes.

"Of course Harry, you can trust me with anything," Ginny answered, smiling slightly. She didn't want him to take his hand away, and he didn't.

"When I went to the Department of Mysteries last summer, I found out what the 'magic greater and more terrible than death' was. I'll explain that in a minute. But first, I want you to think back to your fourth year, and the battle at the Department of Mysteries," Harry paused and gulped, "when Sirius was killed. Bellatrix sent him through the veil that we heard voices behind. On the last night of term, Luna commented about the veil. She could hear them too. I hadn't yet realized what it was beyond that veil. But last summer, the first thing I did was go to that veil. I sat on the ground in front of it and waited for two hours to hear the voices again. I just sat there, calm and still, to hear the voices. And they spoke to me; they called my name, and they sounded so real. I answered them, and they told me to hold on a minute, that there were a few people who wanted to talk to me. I waited patiently, and about five minutes later I heard them. Ginny, I heard my parents and Sirius! They talked to me and told me they knew about the prophecy, and they were the ones who told me what the magic was, Ginny! It was them who told me; I didn't figure it out. I've never told anyone that, even Dumbledore. But I trust you, Gin, I really do…"

"P-p-please, Master, forgive us. W-w-w-we thought we were following orders when we killed Arthur-" Rookwood started as he was laying on the floor in front of the Dark Lord.

"THE DARK LORD DOES NOT FORGIVE, NOR DOES HE FORGET ROOKWOOD! I do not forgive any of you! You disobeyed my orders; you knew that, didn't you! I told you to kill that filthy Mud-blood and the Weasley girl, not her father! But they're both alive and well right now! Rookwood, you know what this means. That was your second chance, and you failed. Draco, kill him."

"I need to speak with Dumbledore! I need to talk to him!" protested Ebony after she had gotten dressed. Molly and Tonks were still there; assuring Ebony that Dumbledore would be there any minute.

"Ebony, I am here. Please calm down," Dumbledore said gravely as he entered Ebony's room. He sat down on a brown armchair near the window after asking Mrs. Weasley and Tonks to leave.

"Albus, I had a horrible nightmare! I saw Ginny die, and Harry was being tortured by Voldemort, and then he was going to kill me-"

"Ebony, you said it yourself: it was a nightmare, and nothing more. I've been having very similar dreams lately; it is not uncommon when you are worried about people. But I assure you that they are fine. They are presumably talking right now at the Shrieking Shack; it is currently half-past midnight. And don't blame yourself for Arthur's death. He died nobly, and he did it to save the rest of the Order. He will be remembered in history, Ebony. His death should be on no one's conscience except Lucius Malfoy's; that is, if Lucius had a conscience…But no matter. He knew what he was doing, and he will be honored. But you may leave and go back to Grimmauld Place if you like. I'm sure Molly will stay with you." Dumbledore's words comforted Ebony a little, but she didn't want to sit at Grimmauld Place while Harry and Ginny were out in the world, unprotected and vulnerable.