Separated

The foursome stood around Lord Voldemort in a circle. One last spell was all they needed to defeat him. Harry raised his wand. Nobody knew that a simple disarming spell could cause so much damage. There was a blinding light, sending the four friends flying backwards in different directions.

"Ron, Ron! Are you alright? Can you hear me?" Charlie asked Ron, who was in the middle of a field.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ron mumbled. He looked around. About fifty feet away from him was a circle of scorched grass and ashes. "What happened? All I remember is a blinding light." Charlie helped his brother to his feet.

"Harry blew up Lord Voldemort," he explained. Ron saw Hermione and Ginny running towards him. Both girls threw their arms around his neck. Ron hugged them back, but couldn't help but noticing that someone was missing.

"Where's Harry?" he asked. Hermione and Ginny backed away.

"We don't know, Ron. Nobody's seen him since the explosion," Hermione replied softly.

"We'll find him, but right now you three need to go back to the Burrow," directed Charlie.

"No, I'm staying and helping," Ginny said firmly. "Besides, how do you know if it'll be safe back home?"

"I just checked it out myself, no go!" Ron grabbed Ginny's arm so they could Apparate back home.

"Let me go, Ron! I'm not going anywhere! I want to stay and help find Harry!"

"Dammit, Ginny! I really don't care what you want right now. I'm tired, in pain, and I know they'll find Harry! We're probably just getting in the way." Without another word, Ron firmly grabbed Ginny's arm, and they Disapparated with a pop.

Members of the Order of the Phoenix spent the rest of the day cleaning up, and looking for Harry. An hour after nightfall, they reluctantly gave up.

"What are we going to tell them back at the Burrow?" Tonks said quietly to no one in particular as she Disapparated. Ginny, Ron, and Hermione immediately stood up when the Order members appeared.

"Where's Harry?" Ginny asked, even though in her heart she knew the answer.

"We couldn't find him, Gin. You saw the explosion, it's a miracle you three survived," Charlie said to her. Ginny sank down onto the battered loveseat, her head in her hands. Ron wrapped his arms around Hermione, burying his face in her hair. Ginny began to sob uncontrollably. Charlie sat down next to her, and tried to giver her a comforting hug, but she pushed him away. She then curled up on the loveseat, and hid her face with her arms.

"Ginny," Tonks said calmly.

"Go away!" the heartbroken young woman demanded without looking up. "Leave me alone!" Not wishing to argue with the stubborn Ginny, the members of the Order left her alone; quietly closing the door behind them.

Darkness. Silence. Branches surrounded the man's face, scratching him; deepening the cuts on his face. Harry Potter slowly opened his eyes. He was curled up at the base of a tree covered by underbrush. Suddenly, everything came rushing back to him. There had been a massive explosion, throwing him back against a tree. He must have hit his head on the tree, and crumpled into the underbrush. Harry stood up, and rubbed the back of his head. He found that he was now sporting a lovely bump on his head. As if the heavens had opened up, rain came pouring down. Harry looked up towards the sky, and spread out his arms. After several minutes, he began to feel dizzy.

"I have to get the Weasely's. I have to let them know that I'm safe," he said to himself, he then Apparated on the outskirts of the Weasley property with a pop.

Charlie stood in the kitchen drinking a Butterbeer. He smiled weakly to himself, thinking about what his Mother would say about him drinking so late. The mood at the Burrow was solemn. Tomorrow, the whole world would know about Harry Potter's death. Every member of the Order of the Phoenix was upset about his death; even Bill and himself who had hardly known him.

"Merlin! Tonight's a horrible night!" Charlie said to himself. He had just carried Ginny upstairs, and was about to return to bed himself. It felt good to be home again, even under such dark circumstances, and for such a short amount of time. As he put the empty bottle in the sink, something outside caught his eye. A lone figure was stumbling across the yard towards the backdoor. One single thought came to Charlie's mind. Death Eaters. Charlie withdrew his wand, and silently slipped out the door into the torrential downpour.

Harry, meanwhile, saw someone coming towards him. He was soaked to the skin, and shivering uncontrollably. When the figure lit his wand, he saw a strong face, and vivid red hair.

"Charlie!" Harry whispered. "Charlie! Charlie!" he called out. His voice was hoarse, and his throat sore. He could tell that he was getting sick from being out in the rain, and that bump on the back of his head probably didn't help much.

Charlie heard a man's voice call out his name, but just barely. Something told him that the stranger posed no threat to him. Lightning lit up the sky, providing Charlie with enough light to see whom he was confronting. Harry Potter. He ran up to Harry, not knowing what to think.

"Harry! Harry, are you alright?" he called out when he got to the younger man.

"Charlie," Harry gasped. "Did I-" He collapsed into Charlie's arms without another word. Charlie picked Harry up, staggered for a second, and then walked towards the house.

Mrs. Weasley was making herself a strong cup of coffee when Charlie came bursting into the kitchen.

"Charlie! What in the world were you doing outside in this kind of weather in the middle of the night?" When Mrs. Weasley saw who her son was holding, she let out a gasp. "Harry? Oh, Merline, Harry!" she exclaimed. "Where did you find him? Is he alive?"

"I saw someone walking towards the house, so I went to see who it was. He muttered something, and then fell into my arms." Mrs. Weasley shooed Charlie out of the kitchen, and into the living room.

"Lay him on the couch. Gently, please be careful. I'll get a fire going while you go and wake everyone up. Tell them Harry's fine. Go, go!" Not wishing to get his Mother mad at him, Charlie bound upstairs to wake up the members of his family and the Order staying at the Burrow.

When Charlie got to Ron's room, he found Hermione curled up in bed next to his brother. This didn't seem to bother him that much. They were both upset, because they thought that their best friend was dead.

"Ron, Ron! Get up!" Charlie said, shaking his brother awake.

Ron rolled over in bed, muttering something that sounded like, "Sod off, and come back when it's light out." Hermione sat up, rubbing her eyes.

"Charlie? What's wrong?" she asked lazily.

"You two need to get downstairs right away."

"Why? Are we under attack? Are there Death Eaters here?"
"No, no. We're perfectly safe here. It's Harry. He's downstairs." Ron immediately sat up. "I knew you were awake!" exclaimed Charlie.

"Never mind that. You said Harry's downstairs. Is he alive?" Ron demanded.

"He passed out in my arms. Mum said to wake everyone up. Go get Dad, Tonks, and Remus, hurry before Mum gets mad at us!"

"Um…Charlie," Ron said as he pulled a blue sweater over his head. "You won't tell Mum about me and Hermione, will you?" Charlie shrugged.

"Why would I? Hermione was asleep in Harry's bed when I came in," he said with a wink before he slipped out the door. Ron's mouth was hanging open, and Hermione laughed.

"You're such a git, Ronald. Now, let's go!" she directed him, pulling him down the stairs.

Ginny was awake when Charlie got to her room. Her feet were drawn under her as she sat on the window seat staring out into the storm. Charlie was about to tell her about Harry, when suddenly he got a better idea. He rushed downstairs, and into the living room.

Everyone was crowded around Harry, who still hadn't woken up when Charlie came in.

"Where's Ginny?" Tonks asked.

"Upstairs. I got a better idea than just telling her about Harry," replied Charlie. Hermione was sitting on the edge of the couch, looking at Harry.

"Shall we wake him up?" Mrs. Weasely asked. "This potion should wake him up, and get rid of that fever." She handed Hermione a small vial filled with a deep blue liquid. Hermione carefully poured the mixture into his mouth. She then laid his head back down, and waited.

Harry coughed a little, and his eyes fluttered open. The first thing he saw was Hermione smiling down at him.

"Hermione?" he said in a hoarse voice. Hermione smiled, and threw her arms around his neck.

"We thought you were dead, Harry! Don't you dare do something like that again! You scared us all!" she ordered. Harry felt himself being squeezed by Mrs. Weasley the second Hermione let him go.

"I'm so glad you're alright! We thought you were dead!" she cried.

"I'm fine, really Mrs. Weasle. I'm fine." Harry looked around. Tonks, Lupin, Charlie, Ron, Hermione, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasely were there, but Ginny wasn't. for a split second Harry thought she was dead.

"Ginny's upstairs, Harry," Charlie said when he saw him looking around. "I thought that you should show that you're fine."

Harry stood up, and said, "Thanks, Charlie; for everything. I think I'll go talk to her right now." The group parted, allowing Harry to leave.

Ginny was sitting in the same position Charlie had left her in when Harry got to her room. She heard someone enter her room, but didn't feel like yelling at them to get out. She figured that it was just someone coming upstairs to comfort her. She felt a hand on her shoulder, but didn't move.

"Ginny," Harry said, but she didn't recognize it. "Everything will be alright." Harry had to use all his will power to not grab her and start kissing her.

"How can you say that? Harry, my only love, is dead!" she spat. Harry was taken aback by her words. She loved him just like he loved her.

"What if I told you that Harry's not dead?"

"Than I'd ask you how you know that."

"Well, if Harry really was dead, than I'd be a ghost, and I wouldn't be able to do this-" Harry grabbed Ginny, and crushed his lips against hers. "I love you too," he whispered.

Ginny looked at Harry, not knowing if she was really seeing him, or just a dream crashing with reality. Then, she buried her face in his chest, and began to sob again.

"Harry!" she repeated over and over again. Harry wrapped his arms around her, and began to stroke her wavy hair.

"It's okay, Ginny. I promise you, I'll never leave you again."

The End