All characters are property of JK Rowling and I do not make a profit from this story.

Beta: Roman's Sundial

Chapter Twenty-One: Redemption

Ginny Weasley – Present Day

December 26, 1999

"Harry?" Ginny entered Sirius' old room slowly, where she saw Harry sitting on the edge of the bed with his head in his hands. She sat beside him and rubbed his back. "Are you okay?"

"No," he said into his hands.

"Harry, talk to me," she said.

He lifted his head and looked at her. "You're not supposed to be here, in the Order," he sighed.

"Harry, I was meant to be here, I can help. Look at what I was able to do! Imagine what else I can contribute if I actually know all of the facts!"

"Ginny, you don't need to convince me about your abilities. I know you're smart, probably smarter than me! I never said you weren't good enough to be in the Order."

"Then why are you treating me this way?" she finally yelled.

Harry sighed. "I have lost so many people that I love. It is something I need to come to terms with, but I don't know if I can. But you, Ginny, how could I allow you to be near any of this danger? You're the one person I love most in this world; I can't let you die because of me."

"Enough, Harry!" Ginny said, angrily. "Nobody has died for you! People have died because there was a war! If people die now, it's because of another war! None of it is because of you!"

"YES IT IS!" Harry retaliated. "Sirius is dead because he came to the Ministry to save me! Moody died trying to bring me to a safe place! Fred died fighting against Death Eaters because Voldemort wanted me! My parents-"

"Your parents died so that their son could live and stop the dark wizard who was killing all of their loved ones!" Ginny yelled, louder than Harry. "They died for everyone! Just like Fred, just like Sirius, just like Moody! They died for the cause, Harry, not for you. THIS IS NOT YOUR FAULT!"

"YES IT IS!"

"Oh, for the love of Merlin," Ginny grumbled, kneeling in front of Harry and grabbing his face. "I'm done with this, Harry, look at me! If I had died yesterday, it would have been because of Grindelwald and not you. When I do die, it will not be by your wand. Nobody in this world has died by your wand except for Voldemort, so if you wish to blame yourself for a death, blame yourself for his!"

"Ginny-"

"No, Harry, enough of this! You say you love me? Then let me stand beside you as an equal and let's fight this fight together! I did not go to Grindelwald for you; I went for Teddy, for Bill and Fleur's unborn baby, for our future children. Harry, people fight for the good of the world, for a better future!" She knew she was getting through to him as she watched the tears start to escape his eyes. "Your parents wanted you to succeed, Harry, Sirius wanted you to succeed." She watched him take in her words, tears falling faster down his face.

"Remus and Tonks…"

"They died so their son could have a good life, and they named you Godfather to help raise him in this new world."

"Ginny, I am so sorry about Fred…" Harry's words were coming out in a whisper.

"You did not kill my brother; you instead helped save my family." She let go of his face and in turn he grabbed her in to a tight embrace. She soon found herself kissing him hard; his sadness turned to a needed hunger, and the two of them were on the bed kissing in such a passionate way that they had never done before. She didn't know how she found herself under him, but the two started to rip off each other's clothing in a hurried manner. She knew she had her Harry back, and she knew things were going to be different. An hour later, the pair laid there naked and under the covers, after a very wonderful moment of passion. She never expected her first time to go like that, but she of course had no complaints.

"You okay?" Harry asked her, stroking her hair as he kissed her shoulder.

"Never better," she smiled. "Are you okay?"

"How could I not be? Look at the witch that I have at my side."

"That's one lucky witch!" Ginny laughed. Ginny pushed into him tighter, wanting to keep his body against her.

"Hey, Ginny?"

"Hm?"

"I really miss the red hair."

Hermione Granger – Present Day

December 29, 1999

"Hermione, I went through the list three times, what he wants is not on it!" Harry said, for probably the fifth time.

"Urgh!" Hermione said, frustrated. She was pacing back and forth in Harry's living room, trying to figure out what Grindelwald's letter could have said. Just as irritated was Harry, who was sitting on his couch with a newly red-headed Ginny curled up beside him. Ron was sitting on the other couch, eating a sandwich and reading the list that the Order had come up with.

"Well, I have to meet him in two days," Ginny said. "I trust you Harry, I know whatever you write will be the right thing."

"But that's just it, Ginny, I really don't know what to write! If there was a way I could show you guys…" Harry paused. "Wait a minute!" He ran upstairs and returned moments later with a book, which he handed to Hermione.

"The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore?" Hermione read.

"Read this chapter," he told her, turning to the chapter on Dumbledore's childhood with Grindelwald. "Trust me, then ask me yes or no questions; I'll either nod or shake my head."

"Alright," said Hermione, confused, but read the chapter aloud regardless so that Ron and Ginny could hear it too. "Okay," she said, after she finished reading. "So, Grindelwald mentioned Dumbledore in the letter?" she asked. Harry nodded.

"Does he need something from Dumbledore?" Ron asked.

Harry shrugged. "He doesn't know that what he wants is with Dumbledore's belongings," Harry answered.

"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed. "You spoke about the letter!"

"Hey, yeah I did! I guess if it's vague enough I can. Keep going!" he encouraged.

"The article mentioned the Deathly Hallows," Ginny started. Harry was nodding encouragingly. "He wanted your cloak when I was there and the cloak is a hallow… Harry, does he want you to bring him the three hallows?"

"Yes!" Harry yelled euphorically, incredibly happy that they figured it out.

"But, you can't give them to him," said Ron, frowning.

"I know, so what do I do? How do I keep Ginny safe?"

"I'll keep myself safe, Harry," she told him. "Let's just worry about what we are going to tell him."

"Can you ask to meet him yourself?" Hermione offered. "Obviously you won't go alone, but we will be able to apprehend him if we know where he is."

"It's not that easy," said Ginny, "he has wards up; only Thicknesse and myself can enter and he only lifted the wards for me when he saw me coming, but he's not going to lift them for anyone else."

"How did he see you coming if you were under the cloak?" Harry asked.

"The wind," Ginny smiled. "He must have seen my feet."

"Why does he call you Gloria?" Harry asked her.

"I don't know, but I suppose it's better than him knowing my name. He knows I'm a Weasley and he knows you have a girlfriend, Harry, but he doesn't know that it's me."

"Keep it that way," Ron said. "The less he knows, the better."

"We need to decide what to do with the hallows, and we need to decide it now," said Hermione.

"Well, he can't have them, no matter what," said Harry.

"Can you say that you don't have them?" Ron asked.

"He knows I do, thanks to Rita Skeeter," grumbled Harry.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" Ginny said. "He told me to ask you about Horcruxes; he wants to know how much of what Rita said was true."

"Pretty much all of it," admitted Harry, "but don't tell him that."

"Then what do I tell him?"

"Just say when you asked Harry about it, he told you Rita was a liar and nobody should believe a word she says," suggested Hermione."

"But you'll need to give him something, or he won't let you go," Harry said bitterly. "Tell him I told you that she was an animagus and that's how she used to get information. Tell him that I think she used to use her animagus form to spy on Voldemort himself. I think that's enough information to satisfy him."

"What is her animagus form?"

"A beetle."

"Seriously?" Ginny questioned. She laughed when Harry nodded.

"And the Hallows? What do we do about them?" Ron asked.

"I suppose I can just tell him-" but whatever Harry was thinking, he was not able to say it aloud.

"Don't get frustrated," Hermione comforted him.

"We trust you, Harry," piped in Ginny. "Do what you think is best; I know you'll keep me safe."

Neville Longbottom

December 29, 1999

Neville put his hand out to receive yet another candy wrapper from his mother. "Thanks, Mum," he grumbled, placing the wrapper into his pocket with the other few that were already in there. He sat there in silence for about an hour; he was feeling guilty about not visiting them on Christmas. He had been studying for his final NEWTs and had lost track of the time so before he knew it, it was time for the Order meeting and therefore could not make it to St. Mungo's.

"Ah, Mr. Longbottom, how are you?" came the voice of Healer Martus, as he entered his parents' room.

"I'm fine, thanks. What are you doing here? You don't normally tend to my parents."

Healer Martus raised an eyebrow at Neville's remark, but chose to answer him regardless. "I am in charge of everything that happens at St. Mungo's, that includes your parents." Seeing that Neville didn't look pleased with his response, he continued. "It just so happens that I have been doing some extensive research in the Cruciatus Curse

and needed to visit a few people who have felt its effects."

"Can you help them?" Neville asked, anticipation rising in his chest.

"I wish I could, Mr. Longbottom. However; one should never give up hope."

"Do you think they can hear me?"

"They most definitely can hear you, the question is if they understand you. They are still there, after all, walking, breathing, seeing… So it is safe to assume that they can hear, too. The Cruciatus Curse tormented their brain to the point that the brain went into shock and has now protected itself from anything. The only way to fix it, for lack of a better word, is to make the brain come out of this protective mode."

"You can do that?"

"It has never been done before, no. My hope is that it will happen one day, but if that would be in this era, I cannot say."

"Yeah, I know," Neville frowned. He hated to admit it to himself, but he had given up hope a long time ago.

"I need about a quarter of an hour with your parents to do some observation. Perhaps you can go get yourself a tea from the lounge?" Healer Martus asked him.

"Yeah, okay." Neville dragged his feet down the hallway towards the staircase. He hated that he had given up on his parents, but after all of these years, he was forced to accept that they would never get better. He kept his head down as he made his way up the stairs to the fifth floor tea room, and therefore didn't realize that someone was coming down. "Sorry," he mumbled. The person, however, froze.

"Nigel?"

Vincent Crabbe

May 2, 1998

Vincent hadn't expected his spell to back fire and come after him, Draco, and Gregory. The fiendfyre he had casted was supposed to take out Potter, the mudblood, and the blood-traitor, yet now he found himself running with his friends for their lives as well.

"Greg," Crabbe panted, as he ran after him and Draco. "What do we do?"

"Keep running," Draco yelled instead. "And find something tall to climb on top of."

"Over there!" yelled Gregory, pointing to a bunch of furniture stacked on top of each other.

"Move, Draco!" snarled Vincent, pushing past him to climb up first with Gregory.

"We are going to die if we don't help each other, Crabbe!" yelled Draco. "Contrary to what you've just said, me and my father are NOT finished, but you and your family will be if you don't help me!"

"Whatever," he replied, pulling up Gregory, then Draco.

"What has gotten into you?" Draco asked him, catching his breath as he sat atop of the piled furniture.

"The Dark Lord already casted your family, Malfoy, just watch and see what happens after the battle. I'm not going to go down with you, I have my own family name to hold up and in case you haven't noticed, we are in good standings with the Dark Lord."

"I've been with you since the beginning, Crabbe, haven't I at least earned your friendship?" When Vincent didn't reply, Draco continued. "We can deal with this later. Come on, we should climb higher." Draco started to climb and Gregory made to follow, but Vincent pulled him back.

"Wait! Listen, we might not survive this, that Fiendfyre is pretty powerful."

"Are you saying goodbye?" Gregory asked, sadly.

"No, I'm teaching you how to survive this. There is a spell that can mimic death, but doesn't kill you. As long as you're under, nothing can hurt you, not even this Fiendfyre."

"So, let's use it then!"

"Well, we can't from up here, the fall will kill us. The spell protects you against other spells, but not gravity. Listen, when Malfoy isn't looking, I'm going to fall, I need you to cast the spell on me but then cast a cushioning spell so I don't hit the ground, got it?" Gregory nodded, but Vincent grabbed him by the scruff of his neck, not trusting him. "I'm serious, my life is in your hands; do not screw up!"

"I won't, but who will cast it on me?" he asked.

"I've signalled my father already, he will come in and cast it on you before the Fiendfyre takes over this place. Afterward, my father will use the countercurse to wake us up," he told his friend, partially honestly. It was true that he did signal his father, but he had no intentions of saving Gregory. "The spell is Abracadabra, got it?"

"Are you guys coming?" Draco yelled, from the very top of the pile.

"Do it now, and don't tell Draco!" said Vincent, as he made to jump.

"Abracadabra!" came Gregory's voice, and Vincent's eyes had instantly closed.

Author's Notes: Hello! I am still in recovery but getting better, and it was killing me just leaving you all hanging so here is 21! I feel as though I should be 100 times better next week and I'll be back to regular postings - Promise!

So let's talk about this chapter! To answer the question, yes Ginny and Harry are okay! They have mended whatever issues they had and are working together as a team (at least for now...) I don't think Harry was a complete arse to her.. If we remember Harry in JK's books, he was all about protecting people. Let's think back to Deathly Hallows for a second; He was going to go hunt Horcruxes on his own without Ron and Hermione, remember? And Order of the Phoenix, he wanted to go to the Ministry alone, remember? That's just how Harry is. That is why he was doing that to Ginny - he wanted to protect her because he loved her.

Now, how are you liking the Grindelwald angle? Unfortunately, I cannot prevent death so sadly, we will see some of that, particularly with a war on our hands.

Side note: I'm sure a lot of you picked up what's going on with Neville, however, I will not say anything at this time just in case a few have not figured it out! More discussion on that in future chapters!

The next chapter is pretty straight forward - Ginny returns to Grindelwald with Harry's response. You'll also see a little Hermione/Krum/Draco scene, and a Neville flashback.. Enjoy!

Thanks as always, talk soon!