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Inappropriate-name: I have some stories in the works, but I haven't shaped them yet. Though I have a promising Theodore and Ginny fic. No Tom, in that one.

Jay FicLover: Well, since you asked nicely, here is an update.

Maja: Thanks for your review, but what is the Andersen's Tale?

Dark Princess 66: You'll find out if you read this next chapter, also thanks for your review.

Sapphire-Serpent: What is your website?

Chapter 24: The Final Battle.

As they entered the house, Tom knew she was there, somewhere, he could feel her, smell her lovely scent, he could just taste the air, and it would be like licking her skin. It seemed to him that getting Ginny back was more important than killing Potter; though it would be a fine night if Potter was killed, and not quickly. He had just the thing to kill him with.

Of course, they were still under the invisibility charm, so when a short, blonde-haired man came down the stairs, he had no idea that they were there, and he was still probably clueless when he had his throat cut. A few minutes later, another unknown man came down the stairs, searching for his friend, and upon seeing his friends body, he, unfortunately, screamed and had his throat cut too.

And, so Tom waited for Potter and his little band of sidekicks to meet him.

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Ginny stiffened upon hearing a muffled scream downstairs…what was happening? After a minute or so, Hermione came rushing in.

"Ginny," she said hurriedly, "Harry's Sneakoscope is going off, and since Dumbledore gave it to him, we must trust it."

"I heard a scream downstairs-."

"Yes, I did too," Hermione replied hastily, looking over shoulder. "We have to go, Ginny, come on!"

"What?" Ginny almost felt like crying. "Is he here, Hermione?"

"I don't know, Harry and Ron have gone down the back stairs to check if anything is out of the ordinary," Hermione muttered. "Harry told me to get you and the baby out of here, just in case."

Ginny picked the baby up once more, wrapping his white blanket around him tightly, and grabbing her wand; she wasn't going to go down without a fight, that was a sure thing. Just then a loud whistling sound penetrated the air, and Hermione seemed to grow even more anxious.

"Come on, Gin, that was the signal," Hermione hurried Ginny out of the bedroom and down the end of the corridor, toward another set of stairs leading outside to the woods.

Ginny wondered if she was going to be running all her life, looking over shoulder, taking extra care about where she went with Leo, always on the lookout in case Tom took her by surprise. Once they had gotten down the stairs, and through the small hallway, Ginny could hear talking coming from the entrance hall. "Hermione, do you hear-?"

"Shh," Hermione shushed her, "come, we should get to the woods."

"Shouldn't we help?" Ginny said quietly.

"Ginny, how can you possibly help with the baby in your arms?" Hermione reasoned, becoming impatient with a resilient Ginny.

"I have one hand free," Ginny insisted, "and what about you? I can handle going to the woods by myself, Harry might need you."

"We don't even know how many people we are up against, Ginny," Hermione sighed tiredly. "I don't know how this is possible, because Dumbledore set up Wards around this place."

"Maybe something's happened to him…" Ginny said darkly.

Hermione looked her in the eyes. "Do you really believe that?" Hermione said, her voice wavering slightly, completely different from the strong and insisting tone she had just had.

"I don't know, Hermione," Ginny said softly. "I really don't know…."

>>>>>>>>

Tom had ordered everyone to take off their invisibility charms now that Potter, and Ginny's brother had decided to join them. He had them tied up, and their wands taken from them. Of course, they had shot a few Stupefies here and there, and Potter had even tried use Avada Kedavra.

"You know, Potter, that is very sweet," Tom drawled, with a sarcastic smirk on his face, "You still don't hate me enough to be able to use the Killing Curse. Didn't Dumbledore tell you a thing or two about that?"

Both Potter and the Weasley began to struggle against their bindings. Then Weasley began to shout. "I'll kill you, you fucking bastard!" Tom sensed that Ginny's brother could be a threat, he had a lot of anger, or so Ginny had told him back when they conversed through the diary.

"I'd like to see you try," he muttered. The Death Eaters surrounding him laughed low. "But, first, I am more concerned about my little Ginny. You know, I was very angry when I came home to find that my pregnant wife had been stolen from me, and then I resolved that it was necessary." Tom strode toward Potter, and smirked down at him. "It was necessary, because I knew I had to kill you even more."

"You're mad if you think Ginny really wanted you," Harry said quietly, but it was enough to make Tom's blood boil, "why would she ever love a murderer like you?"

Tom sneered as he kicked Harry down, and stood on his chest with one foot, and pressed into his ribcage. "I'll tell you why, Potter," he spat, "because I notice her, I understand her, and I own her!" he shouted. "Do you understand? She is mine!"

"Keep telling yourself that," Harry said hoarsely, "you might start believing it."

"I want to know where she is," Tom hissed, as he pressured the heel of his shoe even harder. "Tell me, and maybe I'll spare the Mudblood. I know she's here…" then Tom realised something, "she's helping Ginny, isn't she? Tell me!"

"I'll never tell you anything!" Potter choked out.

"Very well, then, you shall get your just rewards…" Tom turned around. "Nott, MacNair, find the girls, bring them back to me."

"Yes, my Lord," they muttered in unison, and they slouched off.

Tom stood still for a few minutes, and thought about what he should do next. "Draco," he said suddenly, "the knife, I think it's time for Potter to join his beloved Dumbledore."

"What?" the Weasley said loudly.

"Ah, how could you know?" Tom said in a sardonic voice. "Dumbledore, I am sorry to say, is dead, all alone in that run-down house. Very tragic end, but it was his own doing." Tom flicked the knife up, and caught the hilt handily. "And as Dumbledore had a tragic end, you shall have a messy end. Draco, hold his head up."

Draco Malfoy stood behind Harry and managed to connect his knee with Harry's head.

"Oi, you bastard!" Ron yelled, "What do you think you're doing?"

"Have you not been listening, Weasley?" Malfoy said in a snide voice, "Potter's going to die!" Malfoy gave an eerily cold laugh as Tom knelt down in front of Harry.

"Any last words, Potter?"

"Yeah, go to hell!" he hissed.

"You first," Tom sneered as he lifted the knife, and the last thing Harry heard was his best friend screaming his name….

>>>>>>>>>>

"Stupefy!" Hermione and Ginny cried together as two figures clad in black advanced on them; they were too quick for the burly-looking men. They fell to the floor with a dull thump, as they reached the edge of the woods, Hermione stopped Ginny.

"Listen, if we separate, don't use any spell to say where you are," she said quietly, "it might alert the Death Eaters."

"Hermione," Ginny whispered, "I know."

"Oh, right," Hermione said sheepishly. "I suppose I'm still an annoying know-it-all." She gave a small smile, and gestured to start walking into the woods again.

"STUPEFY!" A voice rang out through the night air, the red light chasing Hermione and Ginny, both wondering who would it hit. Another dull thud followed, and as she slowly opened her eyes, she found that it was Hermione lying awkwardly in the overgrown grass. Ginny began breathing heavily as she felt a presence behind her, then a hand on her shoulder. "Oh, Ginny, you're still so sweet-smelling."

"Leave…me alone," she breathed out, holding the baby tightly.

"I've done a lot to find you, Ginny," Tom whispered, "I missed you so. And I am disappointed that you are no longer pregnant, but we can work on that."

Ginny spun around her wand pointed at Tom's throat. "Don't touch me, or I swear I'll…-."

"What will you do, my love?" Tom said gently, the dawnings of a smirk beginning to preside over his face. "Kill me? I don't think so; you're too pure for things like that."

"Am I?" She hissed. "I'll do it, I swear!" she said as he was about to touch her cheek.

Tom simply laughed. "You would have done it by now…" he whispered. "My son, how could I forget? I heard you, Ginny, I heard the baby, when you gave birth. That's how I found you."

"I don't care! I'll-I'll… knock you out, and run away!"

"If you would look down, Ginevra, you would see that my wand is pointed directly toward your friend over there," Tom whispered in a deadly tone. "Now, I am capable of the Killing Curse, Ginny, and I'm not afraid to use it. What shall you do, Ginny?" Ginny stared into his eyes for a few seconds before slowly looking downwards; she never realised it when Tom snatched her wand away until she looked back up. "You have two choices, Ginny, run away and I'll kill your friend and your brother, stay with me and I'll spare her and your brother. What will it be?"

She had had heart set on running away, but Hermione and Ron were still alive, she could save their lives…. "How do I know you won't kill them later?"

"I'll let you visit them, once a month," Tom muttered, "of course, only if you remain complacent to me, Ginny."

Ginny looked down at the baby, who had been sleeping throughout all of the terrible happenings. What kind of life would he have when he became older? They would have to constantly move around, in fear of the Death Eaters… and she would have no one at all to help her. Everyone would be dead, and in the end, when all had died, he would find her anyway. She could save a lot of lives.

She sighed tiredly, resigned, and Tom seemed to understand that it was a sign of surrender. "I've wanted to touch you for so long…."

>>>>>>>>

When Tom had revived Nott and MacNair, he told former to take Ginny and the baby back to the manor, and the latter to take the Mudblood to the dungeons. Once that was done, he returned back to the entrance hall of the house, and had Ginny's brother taken to the dungeons by Draco Malfoy, who was very delighted at this; having a hand in Potter's murder, and taking his best friend to a place like hell.

"I want this place burned to the ground," Tom announced. "I don't want anything leftover from the remains, does everyone understand that?"

"Yes, my Lord," they answered in unison.

Tom left then, Apparating outside the gates of Malfoy Manor, to join Ginny once more….

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A/N: Well, there you have it, please, please review. I had some amount of writers block, but now I'm fine. Also, I need to know if everyone wants the Epilogue, I have written that, so tell me if you want it or not.