Disclaimer: In the past 24 hours since I last posted a chapter, I have not acquired the rights to anything. I did however, buy a new purse. Don't sue me

Chapter Two: Fires

Stupid git! Why'd you have to touch her? Ron's fingers were still tingling as he thought this.

Maybe she didn't mind. After all, she did get awful mad at me about the Lavender incident.

But ... who wouldn't be? Hermione is probably one of those...felinists? That can't be the right word. Note to self: ask 'Mione. You treated Lavender like a bag of dung. Who would be happy about that?

Oh no. Realization washed over Ron. You probably ruined your chances with her. She won't want to be with someone who treats their girlfriend like that.

Wait a tick. WHAT CHANCES? You never had any chances! You're still Ron Weasley. Gangly, skinny, tall, awkward...poor...She deserves someone much better than YOU!

"...like? Ron? RON!" Harry's voice interrupted Ron's thoughts.

"Er...sorry mate...What?" Ron struggled to keep his voice nonchalant, like he hadn't been thinking about the girl he loved.

Loved? I don't love her!

Yes, you do.

How would YOU know?

Because I'm you, nitwit.

Oh. Right. Well then. You're still wrong.

No, I'm not. Think about it

Ron was deep in thought. He thought about Hermione...first year..second year...third...fourth...fifth...six.

OH MY GOD! I love Hermione...

I told you so!

A goofy grin spread across Ron's face. Harry, however, was not amused.

"RON!" Harry bellowed.

"Ouch, mate, no need to shout!"

"Apparantly, there is! While you've been there thinking about Hermione, I've asked you THREE TIMES what the wedding's going to be like. Now PLEASE! Give me SOME SORT OF ANSWER!"

"I have NOT been thinking about Hermione!" Ron said hastily, looking to make sure she wasn't hiding somewhere in Ron's bedroom.

His red face, however, could not have made it clearer that he had, indeed, been thinking about Hermione.

Harry watched his friend's slip into daydream-mode again and sighed.

"Sure, you haven't," Harry sighed. He would obviously never get an answer now.

"Git," Harry muttered under his breath as he left the room, leaving Ron alone with his thoughts.

After leaving Ron's bedroom, Harry found himself walking about outside. It was almost completely dark out, so Harry had his wand out, lighting the way. It was one of the nights Harry loved best. Quiet, so he could hear himself think, slightly chilly and with a feeling that a thunderstorm was on its way. After walking for a quarter of an hour, he felt himself get drowsy. He checked his watch. Nearly midnight! How was it so late already? Harry sat down on a tree stump for a bit of a rest.

He yawned. Just a bit of a rest...then he'd walk back to the Burrow...and sleep.

Sleep...it sounded so good right now...

Apparently too good to wait for. Harry dozed off.

Screaming. Uh-Oh. Not one of these dreams. Please, not one of these.

His dream-self looked around. There was a circle of cloaked and masked people around him. A particularly tall, skinny man was standing next to Harry in the middle of the circle. Harry's blood boiled as he realized this man was Voldemort.

"BASTARD!" Harry bellowed, infuriated that this man was standing there, laughing. No one looked around. Obviously he couldn't be heard or seen. Harry felt his frustration growing. All he wanted to do right now was run at this demon of a person, to kill him. He didn't have a wand. Who cared? He would rip his head off with his hands if it came to that. If only he could...

"Now!" Voldemort stopped chuckling, and his voice slithered out of his mouth, cold, high-pitched, and thin. Immediately the Death Eaters followed suit. It was now silent.

"We have a special guest tonight!"

Harry panicked. It was one thing to have infuriated thoughts about ripping this monster's head off, but now that he had his senses about him, the fact was that he was an unarmed 16-year-old surrounded by over 100 of the most evil wizards of his time.

"Thank you, darling, for joining us."

Darling? Why darling?

Harry saw the Death Eaters' heads facing him. They were staring at something behind him. Harry didn't turn around. He was afraid of what he might see.

"A close friend of Harry Potter's, she is. She was even involved romantically with him! Then Potter--heroic as he is--" The Death Eaters cackled, shrieked in glee.

"Chose to end things with her. Too late, I must say. Mister Malfoy over here had already been informing me of their budding relationship for the past year." Harry felt a surge of fury.

"All the pain he caused her--caused himself--was in vain. Trying to protect her from being a target? ALL BLOOD-TRAITORS ARE TARGETS!" Voldemort bellowed, his slit-like eyes bulging.

The Death Eaters cheered in approval. Harry felt sick. He slowly turned around.

Yes. There was Ginny, bound to a pole, unconscious, her red hair falling over her face.

"Now, Potter, if you're watching, as I'm sure, somehow, you are, I hope you enjoy this show." Voldemort was taking steps over to Ginny. He traced his wand over her jawbone, and she awoke. Harry saw the teriffied look in her eyes, and felt a surge of white-hot fury.

Ginny's hand balled into a fist. Harry felt a leap of hope. She would fight, be strong, get out of this. She had to.

"Avada Kedavra." Voldemort said lazily.

Ginny's head dropped and fingers went limp.

The crowd cheered and screamed, but Harry could no longer hear it. He was alone in his own little world, only hearing his own loss. People were lighting fires and running around, but Harry could no longer see it. All he could see was the tears in front of his eyes.

Harry woke up feeling groggy and naseaus. He also realized that he was laying facedown on the dirt. He stood up, and felt his wet face. He could fell the dirt clinging to the tear streaks on his face, and wiped them off.

He saw a fire in the distance.

Oh no. He thought.

As he stumbled closer, he saw that in actuality, it was a bonfire. There was one person there, the person he needed to see the most at the moment.

Ginny was sitting on a bench with her legs drawn up to her, and her chin resting on her knees. Her hair was in a long plait down her back, with wisps of hair falling down from it, framing her face. The fire she was staring into made her red hair shimmer, and look even redder.

This was the first time he had seen her (consciously) since Dumbledore's funeral. He was so happy to see she was safe, but his heart ached to see her. He could see the hurt and the sadness in her brown eyes. It caused a pang to realize he had caused her to look like that.

Harry closed the distance between himself and the bench she was sitting on, and sat down next to her.

"Hey," Ginny said conversationally. She leaned her head on his shoulder, and Harry wrapped his arm around her waist. She smells like vanilla. Harry thought randomly

He was quite glad that it wasn't awkward between them, that they could sit comfortably with each other in silence. It was silent for 10 minutes, just staring into the fire, but then Harry placed a finger under Ginny's chin and tipped it up to face him. He stared into her eyes, which now held confusion.

He was glad he was sitting, or else his knees would have given out. She is spectacularly beautiful. It was funny how just looking at her made him indescribably happy.

Their faces were an inch away from each other. Ginny's eyes fluttered shut, and both of their breathing became shallow. Harry placed one hand in her hair, near her neck. The other stayed wrapped around her waist. Harry hesitated

Am I doing this?

Is there something you'd rather be doing?

Good point.

Decisively, Harry lowered his face to hers and kissed her. He felt a soaring sensation in his stomach. He couldn't think of any feeling better than this, and couldn't for the life of him figure out why he had been denying himself of it. It started out slow and sweet, but then Ginny put her hands on his face and brought him closer to her, deepening it. Soon it turned very passionate, and Harry let out a soft, almost unhearable moan.

Either from the sound of it, or feeling it, it jolted Ginny. She pulled away from him and blinked.

Then she slapped him.

A/N: YAY! 4 reviews! Thats awesome guys! That's one more than I was hoping for at the max! 4 reviews in less than 24 hours...i love it. When I saw it, I actually ran around my computer room.

What's REALLY funny is that the song that this is named after was playing. I swear to God. It was pretty cool. (ps, the song is Transatlanticism by Death Cab for Cutie. Its a great song, one of my favorites, but its on the list of things i don't own.)

Someone asked why not many people reviewed, and my guess would be that i had just posted it about 5 hours before you reviewed. haha.

So anyway, please review, flames are welcome, and come back often, I'm going to update as much as I possibly can now that i know people are reading. And yes, the disclaimer is true, i bought a new purse. Its an XOXO handbags one, in pink, and i snagged it for 7 bucks instead of 52. just in case you cared. email me or post a review if you have questions, and feel free to offer ideas.

Love,

Final Lullaby.