Chapter Twenty-Six
Deadly Desire

"GINNY!" Harry screamed as he tried to think of some way to put Ginny back to the way she was supposed to be. Harry's mind was racing, and the amount of blood he was losing was too much for him to keep standing. He collapsed to the ground next to Ginny…

"IVY! IVY! WHERE ARE YOU?" Ebony screamed from inside her little circular room. Fred and George heard her frightened call and let her out.

"Where's Ivy? We need to help Harry and Ginny! Voldemort is with them! And Snape too!" Ebony protested. The twins decided to send up green sparks to get Ivy's attention.

Ivy apparated to their side at the sight of the green sparks. Ebony told her that they needed to help Ginny and Harry, and Ivy agreed.

"They can handle whoever comes. Yeh got yer wand?" Ivy asked, and Ebony lifted her wand to show Ivy. In a loud CRACK, they were gone

"Oh no…Reversiflesh…and Harry's unconscious…Ivy help me!" Ebony directed as they landed at the Hollow, and she saw Ginny lying inside out on the ground. Snape and Voldemort weren't in sight.

"Oh, what the hell is the counter for Reversiflesh? I can't remember! Oh! I'll just use the cancellation charm!" Ebony thought quickly as she pointed her wand to Ginny.

"Nullifincantatem!" Ebony whispered, and Ginny moved in reverse, in slow motion, like a replay when using Omnioculars. Her skin turned back the right way, and her body was reassembled right in front of Ivy's and Ebony's eyes, each of them shuddering in disgust. Ebony then revived Harry, and they all just stood still for a few moments, glancing at each other.

"Where are Snape and Voldemort? Did they go inside the house?" Harry asked, finally breaking the piercing silence.

"Harry, I wish I could tell yeh no, and I wish I couldn't tell yeh yes, but I just don' know. When me and Ebony got here, yous was the on'y ones here, all battered and bloody. But we just don' know," Ivy explained quietly, careful not to raise her voice above a whisper, in fear of Snape and Voldemort hearing her. They all simultaneously peered over at the house through the mild darkness. The sun would be rising soon, they knew, which meant even less time for Harry to kill Voldemort.

Ebony and Ivy led Harry and Ginny around to the back of the Hollow, where they would break into the basement and sneak up to the attic where they would wait for Snape and Voldemort (if they didn't encounter them on the way up of course).

Ginny peered around her, squinting through the darkness. This place seemed quite familiar to her. Though she was sure she had never been here before. Just as Ginny was pondering her familiarity with the Hollow, Ivy yelled for them all to duck as about twenty Death Eaters came running at them.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Ginny yelled repeatedly at the numerous Death Eaters who were most likely trying to capture her, and kill her. But she had locked them all to themselves, and as Ivy, Harry, and Ebony rounded up their own victims, Ginny decided t go ahead and explore.

The leaves crunched beneath her feet as she walked slowly and silently through the early summer morning. The Hollow was beautiful, indeed, but her current situation made everything seem uglier than it would usually be.

"STUPEFY!" someone yelled at her, and she narrowly dodged the stunning curse and jumped into a shrub. Opening new cuts on her legs and arms, Ginny panted, waiting for her attacker to show himself. She heard their footsteps, but she didn't want to reveal herself to early in fear of being stunned and captured.

"I can hear you breathing in that shrub!" the person exclaimed as they neared even closer to Ginny. She decided that she had to protect herself…

"PROTEGO!"

Ginny jumped up and ran, realizing that it was Snape who had found her. She ran as fast as she could, but she wasn't fast enough…

"I've got you!" Snape grabbed a handful of Ginny's hair and pulled her to the ground. The sun had completely risen now, and the bright rays of morning sunlight shone on Snape and Ginny, both of them bleeding furiously.

"You're little boyfriend injured my side badly. But I know that once he is dead, the Dark Lord will reward me, and I will be fully healed. He used the Splintering Knives Curse, clever little-"

Ginny jumped to her feet and knocked Snape backward from the force of her recovery. She drew her wand, trying to think of a curse that would suffice in this situation. But she didn't have to think, because Ebony, Ivy and Harry burst in front of her and Snape, and began rapidly firing curses and hexes at him.

Ginny took this time to catch her breath, but she found it quite hard to breathe when someone covered her mouth from behind. Ginny was struggling to break free from this person, who now carried her towards the house. She kicked and bit and elbowed, but then realized the person must have used the Skin Toughening Charm on himself. Ginny's muffled screams were doing nothing except wasting her precious little breath and creating even more heat than what already filled the air.

Ginny was carried up the stairs, to the second floor, where she was taken into a dark, curtained bedroom and laid on the bed. The person sealed the door and windows, and disappeared into the floor. Ginny had no idea who it had been, and she wasn't going to strain herself to find out. She needed to get back to Harry and help him find Voldemort. All of the curses and spells she shot at the walls and floor and ceiling bounced off, and began breaking numerous objects in the room. Just as the mirror behind her shattered and, and shards of glass implanted themselves into her skin, someone entered the room quietly.

Ginny flattened herself onto the floor, blood trickling down her back from her neck, and waited for the person to come closer to her.

"Ginny! Ginny!" the person hissed, as if trying not to attract any attention.

"Harry? Is that you?"

"Yes! Come here! I've got an idea of where he is…"

Ginny hesitantly gathered herself up from the ground and took the outstretched hand in front of her. Harry's hands were so smooth and warm, that she crept up even closer to him, wanting to wrap her arms around his neck. But Ginny suddenly stopped as Harry turned to her and then collapsed onto the floor.

"It may not have killed him, but he'll be out of my way for a while," Voldemort's cold voice penetrated the room, but Ginny couldn't see him.

She glanced down to where Harry's possessed body collapsed. A snake was now slithering over Harry's back and coming closer to Ginny's legs. She backed up as far as she could, into the wall, but when she pressed her back flat against the door, the snake bit her in the ankle. Ginny's body turned warm, and a dazed sensation swept over her as she became light-headed and lethargic. She wanted to sleep…to die…