Hey guys! Sorry it took so long to update…hope you like this chapter!

I already have like the next three chapters ready, so the posting should be a lot faster.

Enjoy!

Chapter 7

Depression and Victory

Normally, they would all be excited for the new term. Ron and Hermione were in their seventh and final year, and Ginny was in her sixth year, a should-be-exciting one indeed.

However, this year was different. None of them felt like going to school; it had been a month since Harry had died, but they were still depressed. The Burrow no longer had the cheerful aura it usually did; rarely would anyone smile or tell a joke.

Ron and Hermione barely came out of their rooms, except when they had the chance to clean the house or do something that would distract their minds from Harry. Hermione burst into tears every night before she went to bed, and Ron would hurry to her room and embrace her in a hug, silently crying while doing so. It was similar to a daily routine; every day at night they would go upstairs and cry on each other's shoulders. They did not feel comfortable talking to anyone about their feelings, not even to each other. They didn't need to; the tears said everything on their own.

Ginny was a different story. She hadn't spoken a word to anyone ever since the night she found out about Harry's death. She had no one to comfort her; no one at all to tell her things would be ok, because she knew they wouldn't. Harry was the one who should kill Voldemort; he deserved to do it. But now Harry was gone, and she was afraid to think of what would become of the Wizarding World.

Ginny pushed her parents away when they tried to talk to her; she didn't want to be mean, but she couldn't talk about this, no one would understand her. Harry was her true love--her first and true love. And now he was gone, and she was left alone. She felt as if she could not love anyone else ever again. She came out of her room only when she absolutely needed to; the bathroom and meals were the main reasons. Other than those rare occasions, she would stay in her room, lie down on her bed, and bite her pillow to prevent herself from screaming in misery.

And now, they had to go to school. Though Ron and Hermione could stay home, since they were of age and could do what they wanted, they didn't think it would be a reasonable thing to do. At least school would distract them; if they stayed at the Burrow, they would have 365 days of nothing worthwhile to do, and eventually the depression they were trying to avoid would catch on to them.

Carrying their luggage and their pets, the three of them walked through the barrier that led to Platform 9 ¾. They bid goodbye to Ron's parents and got on the train.

Ron and Hermione had to fulfill their duties as the new Head Boy and Girl of Gryffindor, so Ginny went to search for an empty compartment; when she finally found one, she went inside and shut the door behind her. Now she could be alone, no one would bother her. Malfoy was gone, and Crabbe and Goyle wouldn't dare bother her without Malfoy with them. The other Slytherins were probably busy with their evil plans for the year, so she had the whole ride to Hogwarts to herself…or so she thought. The compartment door suddenly slid open and she was surprised to see none other than Remus Lupin standing in front of her.

"Mr. Lupin! What are you doing here?" inquired Ginny, suspicious of whether or not he is an imposter.

"Hello Ginny. Professor McGonagall hired me as the new professor for Defense Against the Dark Arts, so it's Professor Lupin from now on, young lady," Lupin said. "But when were alone you can call me Remus," he added, smiling warmly at the girl.

"How do I know it's really you?" she asked, still eyeing him as if he would turn into a Death Eater any second now.

"Does Moony ring a bell?" he smiled at her.

"Remus! I'm so glad you're teaching us again! We'll finally have a decent Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher! And face it; you're the only good teacher of DADA that has taught me in all my years in Hogwarts."

"Yes, I dare say that's true…one dead, though you didn't have him as a teacher, one lost his memory, one lost his soul, another chased off by a herd of centaurs, and a greasy git who betrayed us all…not the best selection, eh?" Lupin smiled weakly. The shock of Snape having killed Dumbledore was still present. 'And maybe, if Snape hadn't betrayed us, Dumbledore would still be alive, Harry wouldn't have set off on his own, and he would still be alive…this is all Snape's fault!' Lupin suddenly became depressed at this thought, and did not know that Ginny was watching him. He knew Snape wasn't personally responsible for Harry's death, but he had to blame it on someone. He then remembered that Harry used to blame things on Snape too, and smiled.

Ginny, however, seemed more depressed than she was when she got on the train.

"Are you all right?" Lupin asked worriedly.

Tears started to run down her face, and suddenly, she did something that very much surprised her.

"I can't handle it anymore, Remus. I can't go to school. I have too many memories with him here, I can't be here knowing that he isn't coming back." At this point Ginny could not speak any more. Her knees could not hold her weight anymore, and she fell down to the floor, sobbing. She didn't know what caused her to tell Remus this. She hadn't spoken to anyone about Harry, yet she just told Remus how she was feeling.

Remus knelt down, picked her up, and sat down with her, embracing her in a hug.

"Everything will be ok Ginny, I promise. I miss him too," he said quietly, holding back his tears. He could not cry in front of her; he needed to be strong, both for her and himself.

"How is it going to be ok? We have no chance now! Look at how much Harry has suffered: first, his parents were killed, then he had to live with those horrible muggles, he fought Voldemort and Death Eaters several times, not to mention being tortured, he constantly had awful nightmares because of Voldemort, then Sirius died, then Dumbledore died! Almost everyone in his life that he cared for died in his lifetime! And now, he's dead! We have no one else to help us, Remus. Harry was our last hope. He was my last hope. Maybe he wouldn't have succeeded in killing Voldemort. Maybe it would have been someone else, someone from the Order. But Harry was a part of this war, and now that he is gone, I don't think there is anyone else who could defeat Voldemort."

"I understand how you feel. I really do Ginny, but you need to be strong. I know it hurts. I know how depressed you're feeling. He was like a son to me: I lost a family member. My only one left, might I mention. But you have your friends; you have Hermione, and Luna, and Neville, and your brothers, your whole family; and, you have me. I will be there for you, and if you ever need to talk, you know where my classroom is. In fact, how about we meet every other night? It doesn't have to be for a long time, I know you are busy with Quidditch and your hectic schedule with N.E.W.T. classes. Just for a short time, we could have tea and talk."

Ginny nodded silently, tears still streaming down her face. She didn't know what it was, but Remus always seemed to know how to soothe her.

Ron and Hermione had the same reaction that Ginny had had when they found out Lupin was teaching again- shock. Nonetheless, the news made them feel better. They had plenty of Order members they could trust at the school. But now they had two they could really talk to—Lupin and McGonagall.

The train ride to Hogwarts went by a lot faster and much pleasanter than it would have been if Lupin weren't with them. He kept their minds away from thinking about Harry and Dumbledore by distracting them with information about the Order, after casting a few charms to make sure no one could eavesdrop or interrupt them. They finally arrived at the school, and went into one of the carriages. Lupin had come with them, and they all sat silently on their way to Hogwarts, each with their own thoughts.

When they entered the Great Hall, they promised Lupin they would stop by his classroom tomorrow, and went to sit at the Gryffindor table; Lupin sat down next to McGonagall. The table seemed especially quiet; everyone knew about Harry's death, and some were still mourning Dumbledore's death. McGonagall certainly did not seem happy, though she tried to hide it by smiling at the first years and welcoming them to the school. The first years might not have noticed, but Ginny, Ron, and Hermione all noticed that McGonagall wasn't the same.

Not surprisingly, the Great Hall was covered with black drapes.

"To our newcomers, welcome, and to our older students, welcome back," she smiled at them; at least she tried to.

"Students should know that the Forbidden Forest is strictly forbidden, hence the name, and no magic is allowed in the halls. See Mr. Filch if you have any questions, though I truly advise you not to."

Short laughs were heard amongst the students, but they quickly died away. It seemed like McGonagall was trying to bring back some of the spirit by speaking like Dumbledore…it was somewhat working.

"As many of you know, this is going to be a hard year. I am not talking about your schoolwork, but about the war. Vo…Vold…Voldemort has returned." Many people flinched when they heard his name, but McGonagall ignored them. Eventually, they would have to get used to it. "This should be obvious to you. Dumbledore, the greatest headmaster the school has ever seen, had died last year at the hands of one of our professors; as you might notice, Snape is no longer at the school with us." She did not bother to use the word Professor; she no longer had any respect for him.

"I would like to start the feast by bidding farewell to a true hero. Not only was he an excellent student and the greatest Seeker Hogwarts has seen in years; he was brave, courageous, and constantly risked his life to save others. He gave us all hope, though for a while many of you did not believe him. He stood up for what he believed in, and even after being tortured by that awful Umbridge person, he did not back away from his position. He kept his head up and did all he could to convince the world that his stories were true. And now, this person is gone. He was murdered by Death Eaters, and…I…" McGonagall started crying at these words. Lupin, who was sitting next to her, hugged her, tried to comfort her-but tears were seen on his face too. "To Harry Potter," he continued for her, and they all drank from their goblets. Ginny, Ron, and Hermione were all crying, but forced themselves to stop the second the feast had begun. They couldn't do this to Harry; they had to be strong…for Harry, and themselves.

The rest of the feast went by in a considerably happier mood…at least, for most people. The ones that knew Harry weren't as happy. A part of Gryffindor was missing; a part of them was missing; and they didn't know how to fix it.

Meanwhile, far, far away, Harry was on his way to Azkaban. Though Harry did not have his Apparating license, he decided to Apparate to Azkaban, since he did not know how to get there by flying, and he certainly did not fancy going to Hogsmeade to buy a map.

He concentrated hard on his destination, determination, and…he forgot the last D. 'Well, I have to get there either way, so I'm going to pretend like I've never heard of the three D's.' He concentrated hard on Azkaban; it only took him three seconds to get there. He was surprised he didn't land in Knockturn Alley or one of those Dark places, but he didn't complain.

Azkaban was not a pretty sight. It was freezing outside, the building looked like it hasn't been inhabited in thousands of years, and it was of course surrounded by water. Harry put on his invisibility cloak, letting Fawkes rest on his shoulder, and walked towards the prison.

He then went inside, and shuddered. It was cold in there too; even colder, if that was possible. He could feel the dementors; hear the rattling noise they made when they were searching for souls. He clutched his wand even tighter, and went upstairs. Where would Nagini be?

His answer to that question was on the topmost floor. There she was, surrounded by tens of dementors. Harry thought of the happiest memory he had-him and Ginny together-and bellowed, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" A silver stag burst out of his wand and attacked the dementors in front of him, whom were already making their way towards Harry. The stag chased them out of the building, allowing Harry to finally encounter Nagini.

Harry thought of everyone that had died because of Voldemort: his parents, Sirius, Dumbledore, Order members…and all of the innocent lives of his friends' parents Voldemort took, mercilessly. He then yelled "Avada Kedavra!" and killed the snake. Harry was relieved: he didn't know what to expect, and didn't expect it to be this easy.

Indeed, as though proving his thoughts, Voldemort's hologram appeared in the room, making it not so easy anymore. Harry started to panic, having no idea what to do next.

"So, I encounter you again, Harry Potter. You have been a pest ever since you were born. I will not fail this time. Avada Kedavra!" Voldemort's hologram bellowed, pointing its wand at Harry.

Harry did not know a hologram would be able to do this. He was not even sure this was a hologram. He did the only thing he could thing of: duck.

Harry cast a shield charm on himself and Fawkes, while trying to get Fawkes to move out of his way. Fawkes kept flying in front of Harry, trying to protect him from the spells that were cast at him. He then cast a special shield charm, which he learned about through his studying over the summer, and began dueling with Voldemort's "hologram". He ducked many curses, cast a few himself…and after a while, he was getting desperate. He concluded that there was one thing left to do. He was going to have to do this; it was the only way to kill this hologram--at least, the only way he could think of. Eventually, he would become a murderer. He could become the victim, but he preferred not to think of that option.

Harry concentrated on his anger towards the Dark Wizard standing in front of him; again, he thought about all the people that were killed because of Voldemort; he thought of Lestrange, Malfoy, Wormtail, and Snape…all of Voldemort's Death Eaters…and after he felt so angry he would explode soon…

"Avada Kedavra!" Harry screamed with all his might, not sure if his screaming was helping or not. Voldemort's hologram vanished into thin air, and all that was left was Nagini's skin. The remains of the snake turned glowing white, then black again, and then vanished. This part of his soul was destroyed; Voldemort's horcruxes were destroyed. And then, Harry saw something that very much surprised him; more like, someone. He was shocked, speechless, it couldn't be true. It was just a figment of his imagination, he was sure of it. It's probably because he missed him so much; he can't be standing there, he's dead. Harry saw him die! But, that person was there; and he was alive.