A/N: What if Ginny killed Voldemort instead

Harry walked towards the forest, towards his death perhaps. That's when he spotted her. Ginny was bent over a girl taking her last breath. He watched silently as Ginny closed the girl's eyes and marked her body for someone to come pick it up. Harry knew there was a chance this was a bad idea, he just had to talk to her.

As she stood up, he pulled off his invisibility cloak. Ginny's eyes fell on him. She had tear streaks on her face and she looked as though she might cry again now she had spotted him. He knew she understood what he was about to do.

"Harry-" she started but Harry interrupted her.

"I don't have much time. Listen-" Harry tried to organise his mind so he could tell her what she needed to know.

"I'm sure you've figured out by now we are hunting horcruxes." She nodded in confirmation.

"We're almost there. Nagini- she's the last one. The last horcrux. Kill her and he's done."

Ginny knew he was giving instructions because he thought he would not come back. She still had to ask. She walked up to him and took a deep breath.

"You're going in there," she pointed towards the Forbidden Forest, "to sacrifice yourself."

Her voice sounded clear and piercing. It hurt him to hear her say it.

"It's the only way. I don't expect you to understand," Harry glanced down, unable to look at her any longer.

"Unfortunately I do understand," she replied, as much as it pained her to say.

"Harry." She pushed his chin up so he had to look at her. She saw it pained him, too. She pulled him close and kissed him, trying to convey how much she loved her in the kiss and how much she wanted him to stay. Too soon his lips moved away and his hands dropped from her body. She kept her eyes closed.

"I love you," she could hear him say. When Ginny finally opened her eyes, Harry had disappeared under his invisibility cloak again and walked off. She was alone.

Ginny had hoped of course that Harry was about to walk back into the castle triumphantly. It did not happen. They already had lost Fred, she was not sure if she could take any more. Not Harry.

When she heard Voldemort's voice, her stomach dropped. She swallowed hard, trying not to fall apart. Everyone streamed outside to meet the Voldemort and the Death Eaters. Ginny was amongst the last of the crowd to get outside. People were screaming at what they were seeing. She pushed to the front, willing her tears back into her eyes. A silence was forced onto the group.

"Put him down on the ground where he belongs!" Voldemort ordered. Ginny's eyes flitted to Hagrid as he lowered Harry softly to the ground between the two groups and stepped back.

"Harry Potter is dead!" Voldemort sneered, his words cutting into the crowd. Ron spoke, breaking the silencing charm and the whole crowd screamed and yelled. They were silenced yet again with another bang.

"He was killed trying to sneak out of the castle grounds, killed while trying to save himself," Voldemort proudly announced. He seemed to enjoy the lie and many Death Eaters were grinning stupidly at it, knowing the truth.

Ginny turned in surprise as Neville ran past her, but he did not get far. Before Ginny could reach him, he was disarmed and fell to the ground. She stopped in her tracks. As Voldemort spoke to him, he scrambled back up. He was standing mere meters away from Harry's body. Ginny's heart was pounding so loudly that she could barely make out what was being said. She did not want to hear it. The Sorting Hat was put on Neville's head and flames engulfed it at once.

Ginny moved forward to help him when there was a sudden uproar from the distant boundary of the school grounds, Grawp rounded the corner and there was the thunderous noise of hooves.

Neville suddenly moved from under the burning sorting hat and pulled out the sword of Gryffindor. He turned around and threw it at Ginny.

She swept forwards at once and aimed at the snake. The sword went through the snake's neck with ease. Bravely she finally plucked up the courage to look at Harry's body on the ground when she realised he had disappeared.

In her fury she turned right at Voldemort, who looked in shock at his dead snake and surely he must've realised it was his last horcrux, gone. The last sliver of soul anchoring him to life. His eyes flitted up at her, this girl who was now aiming her wand at him, seemingly fearless.

"I have the Elder Wand," he threatened. It only angered her more. The arrogance to think he could possess more power just from a wand. The hooves came closer, the people running over the grounds towards them in support.

"Ginny, no!" she heard someone yell at the back and was sure it was one of her brothers. If she hesitated now, someone would stop her. She gripped her wand tighter and aimed at his heart.

"AVADA KEDAVRA," she yelled at the top of her lungs. The world seemed to have paused as the beam went towards Voldemort and hit him square in the chest. He fell backwards theatrically and then stilled, his eyes vacant.

Chaos broke out a moment later, people were fighting again, the centaurs had reached them and everyone had seemed to come in support of their side. The Death Eaters were scattering, only a few choosing to fight

Bellatrix was aiming at Ginny but before Ginny turned around, her mother took her out without hesitation. Ginny was still standing in the middle of the crowd but it seemed there were no more Death Eaters left. Could it be? Did they win?

"He's alive!" she heard Hagrid roar and for a second she thought Voldemort had come back to life. When she turned around it felt like someone had put her heart back into her body and her blood started flowing again. Harry had reappeared from under his invisibility cloak, alive and well. He had a look of surprise and awe on his face when their eyes met. Everyone was looking at them, but they were looking at each other.

This time it was Harry who came running to her, not caring how many people were watching. When Harry reached her, he swept her off her feet and swung her around. He kissed her. People were cheering them on. The crowd started closing in on them, wanting to celebrate with them, wanting to celebrate them. Ron and Hermione reached them first, hugging, crying, smiling, it was happening all at once. They kept a tight grip on each other's hand as more people came up to them, they were not letting go again.

When the crowd started thinning, Harry pulled her close again.

"Please don't ever do that again," Ginny begged him, but she was smiling. She was ecstatic. He was alive and right in front of her.

"I promise," he spoke without hesitation.

"Want to get out of here?" Ginny spoke, she did not feel like joining everyone in the Great Hall.

"Merlin, yes."

They would return in a bit, to eat, to talk, to sleep. But just for a little while, it could be just them two before they would return to the real world where everyone's eyes would be on them.