A/N: What if Ginny died instead of Fred (This one really hurt to write, enjoy :') )

Fred, Percy and Ginny had backed into view, all three of them duelling hooded men. Hermione, Ron and Harry ran forward to help. One of the men's hoods fell off.

"Hello, Minister," bellowed Percy, sending a neat jinx straight at Thicknesse, who dropped his wand and clawed at the front of his robed, apparently in awful discomfort. "Did I mention I'm resigning?"

"You're joking, Perce!" shouted Fred, as the Death Eater he was battling collapsed under the weight of four separate Stunning Spells.

"Ginny, did you hear Percy joke? I didn't think we'd hear it again!" Fred turned around at Ginny, who smiled back at her brothers.

The air exploded. They had been grouped together. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, Percy and Ginny, the two Death Eaters at their feet, one Stunned, the other Transfigured. Harry felt himself flying through the air, and all he could do was hold as tightly as possible to that thin stick of wood that was his one and only weapon, and shield his head in his arms: he heard the screams and yells of his companions without a hope of knowing what had happened to them-

And then the world resolved itself into pain and semi-darkness: he was half-buried in the wreckage of a corridor that had been subjected to a terrible attack: cold air told him that the side of the castle had been blown away and hot stickiness on his cheek told him that he was bleeding copiously. Then he heard a terrible cry that pulled at his insides.

"No! No!" he heard Fred shout. Harry staggered through the wood with Hermione at his side. Ron and Fred were shaking Ginny's body, her eyes staring without seeing. Harry's knees gave out and he crawled the rest of the way to Ginny.

The world had ended so why was the battle still continuing? Percy held Ginny's head, crying. Curses were entering through the hole and more rubble was falling. Hermione had to duck to avoid getting hit by the curse. They had to go and quickly. Fred attempted to pull up Percy but he would not let go of Ginny. Ron turned to Harry and pulled on him sharply.

"We have to keep going, we have to," Ron told him firmly, he was crying too. Fred managed to pull Percy away just in time, a giant spider had crawled through the whole and Hermione screamed in terror.

Ron and Harry shouted together; their spells collided and the monster was blown backwards. Harry took a look down the edge of the castle.

"It brought friends," he called to the others. Harry fired stunning spells at the spiders as Fred and Ron moved Ginny's body out of the way, into a niche where a body of armour had stood. Harry tried not to look longer than he had to, it did not feel quite real yet and he had to keep it that way - or he would crumble.

Fred and Percy went to chase after Rockwood. Hermione pulled Harry and Ron behind a tapestry.

Both Harry and Ron made an attempt to run back out, get revenge, and kill those Death Eaters, Hermione stopped them.

"No! We are the only ones who can stop this, we have to get to the snake," she said, barely containing her sobs, "Find out where he is."

Harry gladly gave in and sunk into Voldemort's mind, if only to mute the pain in his chest that felt like it would tear him in half soon.

Harry walked out of the castle, knowing he must die. On the way he talked to Neville, to carry on for him, get the snake. He assured Neville he would be okay, what else could he say?

He entered the forest. Suddenly he remembered the Snitch. He fumbled to get it out.

I open at the close. He knew what it meant now. When the Snitch opened, the Ressurection stone appeared. They were here to come to fetch him. He turned the stone over in his hand, his eyes closed.

He heard movement around him and he knew it had worked. He looked at them, neither flesh nor ghost. They all were wearing loving smiles. James was there, looking very much like Harry. Sirius looked younger and he had his hands in his pockets and grinned at him. Remus looked younger and much less shabby. Lily smiled widest, her green eyes so like his feasted on his face as if she would never be able to look at him enough.

And there was Ginny, smiling encouragingly.

He spoke to all of them, he asked if dying hurt, a childish question, he apologised to Remus, who would never see his son grow up.

"Ginny, I-" he started, he had so much to say to her but she interrupted him.

"I know, Harry," she told him with a piercing look and he knew she understood him entirely, his regrets, his feelings, his choices…

He asked them to stay close and they assured them they would, until the very end.

"Harry Potter," Voldemort said softly. His voice might have been part of the spitting fire. "The Boy Who Lived."

None of the Death Eaters moved, everyone was waiting. Hagrid was struggling, Bellatrix was panting and Harry thought inexplicably of Ginny, and her blazing look and the feel of her lips, how he longed to be with her.

There was a flash of green and everything was gone.

He lay face down, listening to the silence. He was perfectly alone, no one was watching. Nobody else was there. He was not perfectly sure that he was there himself.

A long time later, or maybe no time at all, he realised he must exist, because he was definitely lying on some surface.

He opened his eyes finally. He lay in a bright mist that seemed to shape the surroundings around him. He seemed to be unscathed and he was no longer wearing glasses.

There was a noise that reached him through the unformed nothingness that surrounded him. A pitiful noise.

He stood up and looked around, the more he looked the more he saw. It seemed almost like a palace. There was no noise except the repeated pitiful thumping and whimpering.

Suddenly he recoiled, he had spotted the thing that was making the noises. It had the form of a small naked child, skin raw, left under a chair, unwanted, out of sight, struggling.

He was afraid of it and conflicted whether he should attempt to help it.

"You cannot help," He spun around and spotted Albus Dumbledore walking toward him.

"You wonderful boy, you brave brave man. Let us walk."

Harry followed, stunned.

"But you're dead."

"Oh yes"

"Then… I'm dead too."

Dumbledore started to explain. Better yet he let Harry figure it out himself. The horcrux inside of him had been destroyed. He was still tethered to life because Voldemort had used his blood and his mother's protection remained. They spoke of wands, the Hallows, Grindelwald… The puzzle pieces shifting together at last.

"I've got to go back, haven't I?" Harry asked.

"That is up to you."

"I've got a choice?"

"Oh, yes. We are in King's Cross, you say? I think that if you decided not to go back, you would be able to … let's say… board a train."

"Where would it take me?"

"On," said Dumbledore simply.

"There is only one horcrux left. My sacrifice- it would protect them, wouldn't it? All of them?"

"You have fought bravely, Harry. You have brought them this far. Your sacrifice would protect them indeed. I believe they have a good chance of winning, with or without you."

As soon as he made his choice the bright mist started descending, obscuring from view and the mist seemed to creep inside his brain.

He woke up to the sharp whistle of a train conductor. He opened his eyes and found out he was indeed on a train. Outside the sun was shining, the sun seemed to be setting on a summer's day. Harry was not sure how, but he was convinced this was his stop. He stood up and walked out of the compartment. He descended the stairs of the train and that is when he spotted them.

The red-headed woman and the black-haired men with the lopsided glasses were hugging a girl that had seemed to have gotten off the train minutes before him. Ginny. They were smiling and laughing. As he set his foot on the grass, the three of them looked at him in greeting. He ran towards them and they held out their arms to catch him. He was engulfed in the best hug he had ever experienced. Both his parents' arms were around him and Ginny was there with him.

He glanced over their shoulders and spotted Sirius and Remus, patiently waiting for the group to come to them, when they were ready.

"We are so proud," Lily told him as she let go of him to get a good look at him. Harry's tears were freely spilling from his eyes.

"You have fought so bravely," his father spoke now.

"You weren't supposed to be here so soon," Ginny told him, grasping his hand. He turned to look at her.

"Neither were you."