A/N: Wow. It's been so long since I've updated, and I apologize. I have ZERO time. The story has been working itself out in my head for days, and I've frantically been trying to arrange time to get to the computer, but with work, school, and the basic drama that is the life of a high school junior, I was detained. So sorry! I hope you enjoy this chapter. It's been quite a while in the making.
"Ginny," Harry breathed as he saw the woman he loved perched on the edge of her bed, bent over as she stemmed tears with her hands.
"Oh, Harry, go away and leave me be," she said softly as though it was causing her pain to speak.
"I can't," Harry said as he moved towards her. He knelt in front of her and pulled her bodily into his arms. Her knees came to the ground, and she collapsed into sobs.
"Harry, I don't want you to see me like this. This isn't who I am. This is me taking the easy way out," she hiccoughed in between sobs, "I was going to pull myself together. I just need a moment."
"Ginny," Harry whispered as he caressed her hair. He hated tears. He didn't know what to do when girls cried. All he could think to do was hold her and ask, "What is it that's bothering you, Gin?"
"It's just…It's silly, really. Well, no, it's not. It's rather serious actually," Ginny wiped her hands and pulled back to sit with her back to the bed. She put her hands into Harry's as if needing the link, "Harry. Think about it. You've found two more Horcruxes. In one go! There's not much time left. You'll find the last two quickly enough and then…well, you know as well as I do what comes next."
"The Final Battle," Harry murmured, "I know, Ginny, but why are you crying over it? It's my battle."
"Why am I crying?" Ginny gave an exasperated laugh and tightened her grip on Harry's hands, "You are such a bloody fool! Harry, do you not realize what it means that you'll be fighting the most powerful wizard in our world? It means…Harry, it means that…you may not…I mean, there's the possibility that you won't…"
"That I won't make it," Harry stated bluntly.
Ginny simply nodded, fresh tears slipping down her cheeks, "How can you not know how deeply that affects me, Harry? I love you. I love you very much, and the thought of living without you is…well, look at me," she indicated the tears that she had been frantically attempting to wipe away.
Harry was touched. Truly touched…and worried. He pulled Ginny to her and smoothed her hair. It was important that he handle this well. It was not a moment for his usual nervousness to emerge. When a loud, jubilant cheer erupted from downstairs, Harry felt Ginny jerk in his arms.
"What was that? Should we go?" she asked.
The cheer had died, however, almost as quickly as it had begun and Harry wondered for a moment whether he and Ginny had imagined it.
"No, we need to talk this out," Harry said, and he held Ginny out at arms length so that he could look her in the eyes as he spoke, "Ginny, you mean more to me than I ever thought one person could. Know that, alright? Now, this is something I have to do."
"Harry, I know that! I didn't mean--"
Harry stopped Ginny's shocked exclamations with a gentle squeeze to her shoulders, "I know that, Ginny. I know you would never ask me not to do this. I can't just walk away from it, though looking at you right now, that's all I want. To forget Voldemort, to forget the mission, to forget the Order and just be with you. No worries, no cares. But I can't Gin, I just can't."
Ginny nodded and moved to lay her head on Harry's shoulder. The tears were drying now, but the remnants were dampening Harry's shirt. He laid his hand on her back and rubbed slowly up and down. Ginny fought the urge to arch her back and purr, but she let out a little moan that made Harry acutely aware of the urges he was always fighting around Ginny. But he did not stop rubbing her back as she lifted her head to look into the emerald eyes of the man holding her close. With the knowledge that this was no longer a young girl's crush on a boy, she kissed him. With everything she had, she kissed him. All of the fear and the love poured into the kiss and it was Harry's turn to groan.
"We have to stop, Ginny," Harry whispered utilizing every bit of self-control he possessed, "Someone could walk up here at any moment."
As if on cue, the door opened and Harry and Ginny sprang up as if they had been jolted from the floor with springs. Ginny plopped onto the bed while Harry moved to stand on the wall behind it. Through the door marched Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Hermione and Ron, Lupin and Tonks, and Bill. They all looked somber and pale.
"What is it?" Harry asked, "Where's everyone else?"
"We sent them home," Mr. Weasley said, "They couldn't hear this news."
"You see, Harry, the cheer you may—or may not—have heard before," Lupin gave a small smile at Ginny's flushed cheeks and Harry's downcast eyes, "was in celebration that soon turned to disappointment. You see, Severus came by."
"Don't tune him out, Harry, really. Until you hear this. It's really important," Hermione implored, her eyes wide with concern and that same fear that Harry seemed to find in everyone, including Ron, who held Hermione with an arm around her waist.
"Fine," Harry said, through gritted teeth, "What did Snape say?"
"He brought something, actually. Bill?" Lupin said, turning around searching for the eldest Weasley child standing in the rear of the group. Through the throng of Order members, Bill came, clutching a shield in front of him.
"A shield?" Harry asked, "Surely that's not for me to use against Voldemort. Does Excalibur come with it?"
"Don't make light of this, Harry," Hermione said crossly.
"Look closely at it, Harry and see what the crest on the front shows," Lupin said.
Harry moved away from the wall, Ginny right behind him, to peer at the shield.
Harry heard a sharp intake of breath from behind him as Ginny gasped, "Ravenclaw's crest!"
"So this is Ravenclaw's crest. It was her shield, then," Harry said, "What does that mean?"
"It means that this is the second to last Horcrux. Snape has already disenchanted it," Lupin said.
"Wow! Wait just a minute! There is no way that we could possibly find three Horcruxes in one day. Snape's lying. He's taking advantage of the fact that we're on a roll, and he thought we'd fall for this! It's a ridiculous idea! He found this shield, and he brought it here with the story that he'd disenchanted it so that I would go into the Final Battle without realizing that Voldemort still has one Horcrux left."
"I'm afraid not, Potter," McGonagall's brisk voice came through as her imposing form made its way into the room.
"But, Professor," Harry said, "How can you possibly know whether--"
His question was stopped before it could be completed by McGonagall, "Because I was there when Severus disenchanted it. And I just finished putting the Fidelius charm on the man."
"What!" Harry and Ginny said.
"Sit down, if you would. I'll tell you, if you'll stop glaring, Potter."
"Sorry," Harry muttered as he sat on the bed, Ginny beside him with her hand in his.
"Right then," McGonagall said, "Severus was discovered. There was no time for explanation, but the important thing is that Voldemort deliberately made a move. He found that we had been destroying Horcruxes, and he knew how many were left. So, he told Severus what the last two are--"
"But why--"
"Please, Potter, allow me to finish! As I was saying. He admitted to the locations of the last two Horcruxes. This is for one reason only. He tires of the wait. He finally realized that you would not face him, Harry, until all of the Horcruxes were found, and he is confident he can split his soul once more if he…well, if the battle is resolved in his favor."
"Again? It's already been split seven ways! Is there any soul left? And you said that he gave up the last two Horcruxes and I only see one. What's the other? And why didn't he kill Snape right off the handle. Why wait?"
"Potter, please! Voldemort believes that he could split his soul once more because he has no use for a soul save to stay alive as long a possible. Voldemort did reveal two Horcruxes to Severus, and I am getting to that. He did not kill Severus right away because then you would not be aware of the Horcruxes, and that was his ultimate goal. He was giving Severus time to tell us, and I think he knew very well that we would hide him. He thinks so little of Severus at this point that he did not bother to take immediate action. The point here, Potter is that this battle can no longer be detained. That's what he wants."
"It's his way of calling you out, mate," Ron said in a small voice.
Harry nodded, taking it all in.
"Professor," came Ginny's voice, surprisingly firm, "What is the other Horcrux?"
"It is as Albus predicted. Voldemort possesses a snake by the name, I believe of…"
"Nagini," Harry said, "The snake is Nagini. So, what? I have to get past the snake before I get to Voldemort? Great! Just brilliant! And I don't know the disenchantment. How will I get rid of the Horcrux?"
"No, Harry, there Voldemort has slipped," Lupin said, shaking his head, "You see, because he chose to enclose part of his own soul in a creature that already possesses a soul, if the creature dies, it takes Voldemort's soul with its own."
"All right, so I just have to kill the giant snake. Then I have to kill its master," Harry said.
"We'll all help you through this, Harry. We can fight by your side until…until Voldemort…" Lupin began.
"Until Voldemort takes center stage, yeah, I got that," Harry said, "He's for me to take on. No one else. IF you lot come with me, you know you can't interfere with our fight."
Harry was surprised to see nods all the way around the room, though Mrs. Weasley's and Hermione's were accompanied by tears. He didn't think they would heed his orders.
"We can't track him easily, Harry. But he left Severus with information that tells me where he'll most like be tomorrow."
"Tomorrow?" Harry asked hollowly, "Tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow," McGonagall said, "I know you're not prepared, Harry, but if we ignore this, he could come after you when you're not expecting him, and that could be worse. You'll come to Hogwarts in the morning so that I can give you a brief lesson. Help you prepare a bit more; harness the power you have. And then…you will face him."
Harry nodded and said, "I need to let this sink in."
"Harry, dear," Mrs. Weasley said, "Arthur and I have to go with Minerva now. We'll be gone for a while. Bill has to go home, and Remus and Tonks are coming with us. I don't want to leave you here. So you four will come with us…"
"Molly," Lupin interceded, "Nothing's going to happen tonight. He'll wait for tomorrow. Harry and the others need a chance to talk. Leave them here, Molly. They'll be fine, I promise. We'll put charms on the doors and protection around the house."
Mrs. Weasley nodded, and Harry stared blankly, unable to thank Lupin or acknowledge the tears that willed themselves to flow as Harry stood in Mrs. Weasley's tight hug. He just held on to the woman who had always treated him like a son. Slowly, the crowd moved out of Ginny's room, leaving Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione alone.
Harry didn't know what to say.
"Tomorrow," Ron's voice cracked, "Reckon we're up for it?"
"We don't have a choice, do we?" Harry said dryly.
"Oh, Harry!" Hermione squealed, "I can't believe this! I knew it was coming, it's just, well, I'm not ready! We're not ready. Well, you are. You always have been, but I just. I mean…I can't think!"
She threw herself on Harry in a hug then fled the room.
"I should go after her," Ron said, looking out the door.
"Yeah," Harry nodded to his best friend, "We have time to talk later. You should be with Hermione."
Ron left, feeling, as Harry did, that "later" was a relative term, and there wasn't really enough time for "later".
Ginny stood behind Harry, pressed against the side of the bed, arms crossed, staring at him.
"I don't want to start crying again," she said softly, "but it's hard not to, Harry. I could lose you tomorrow."
The tears began, and Harry thought that he would explode. This was one thing he couldn't handle. He moved to her, and held her in his arms, lifting her chin so that her mouth could be reached. He took her lips with his and felt every salty tear on his tongue. Slowly he took the kiss deeper, hoping to erase all thoughts from Ginny's head, but when she let out a small sigh into his mouth and pulled him closer with her hands at his hips, he began to forget.
"Ginny, you have to cut that out, or I'm not going to be able to stop," he managed to say.
"Who says I want you to?" she asked as she pressed her lips to a spot just behind Harry's ear that nearly brought his legs out from under him.
"Gin, are you sure about this?" Harry asked, "I'm asking now, because I won't be able to later."
Ginny didn't answer, but reached into Harry's pocket. Harry nearly fell over as she smiled devilishly and pulled out…his wand. With an unspoken charm, she locked the door. And that was all the reply Harry needed.
Ron reached his room, where Hermione had fled to. When he walked through the door, he shut the door behind him and saw that Hermione's eyes were red, but not tear-filled, and she was reading a book. He couldn't stop the laugh that escaped from his throat. He walked to his bed where she was stretched out, reading.
"I'd like to know, Ron Weasley, what could possibly be funny?" Hermione asked, peeved.
"You," Ron said, sitting beside her on the bed, and kissing her briefly, but thoroughly, on the lips, "I love you, Hermione. You know that, don't you?"
Hermione nodded, "I know, Ron, and I love you. But right now, we have to figure out a way to help Harry."
"Hermione, do you think that anything you can find in that book will help Harry against the greatest Dark wizard in the world?" Ron asked.
Hermione collapsed onto his chest and he was shocked to feel repressed sobs wracking her body.
"Hermione," he said, "What is it?"
"I need to help, Ron. I know this won't do it, but I need to feel like I'm doing something."
His heart melted as he held Hermione. Of course, she felt like this was the only way she could help. He had another idea, though. He picked her up with one arm tucked underneath her knees, and she wrapped her arms around his neck with a gasp.
"Ron, what?"
"I just needed to lock the door, and I didn't want to let go of you," he said.
"Why would you lock the door?" she asked suspiciously.
"So that no one walks in uninvited," he said as he placed her gently on the bed.
"What exactly is it that you plan on doing, Ron Weasley?"
"I'm going to finish the job I started the other day at Spinner's End," Ron said.
"Well, then," she gave a small smile, "I'm glad you locked the door."
Both she and Ron knew that this could be their last chance to be together. Tomorrow…everything could end.
A/N: Ok, so Chapter 30 is complete, and for anyone who wants the fun bits with the first times of our heroes, e-mail me and I'll send them to you. I didn't want it to get too explicit online. But I wrote the parts, so let me know if you want to read them. Anyway, I figured that the last Horcrux would be something of Ravenclaw's and I thought, "Hey if Slytherin can have a LOCKET, then Ravenclaw can surely have a shield." Letting you in on my thought process, but that's more than you really cared to know, I am sure. BUT PLEASE REVIEW! AND E-MAIL ME IF YOU WANT THE EXTRA BITS OF THIS CHAPTER.