Her father held her as she cried for Harry's loss. She usually wasn't a girl for tears unless she was angry or seriously hurt. Right now she was angry. Angry that Harry had to suffer so much. Angry that he hadn't ever done anything to deserve this. Angry because he was going to be heart-broken over this and he had just started forgiving himself over the Cedric incident. This was in no way fair, and Ginny couldn't fathom it-it was unfathomable. Hermione was rubbing her arm soothingly, tears echoed in her own eyes and the others were staring at each other in shock because they too, couldn't fathom.
Then a yell that came from Lupin bought her out of her angry misery. She turned to see him shouting, "Harry!" as Harry sped towards a door through which Bellatrix had disappeared. Ginny got up instantaneously and was about to follow suit. Her main instinct was to protect Harry. It had always been to protect Harry-ever since the chamber-even without her knowing it. But her father held her back and she struggled and screamed, "No dad! No I need to help him!" However, her father kept her hands firmly behind her back and said sternly, "No Ginny! We can't help him. We need to go and get Dumbledore." Ginny was only half paying attention. She struggled furiously with her dad and Tonks nodded, "Agreed. Dumbledore will know what to do!" Ginny gasped, "But you're the order! You can help him! That's your job!" She shouted. The adults stared at her and her dad said, "Remus, put a protective charm on the room so that they can't escape from here and no-one can come in. It will keep them safe while we rally order members. I'll try and get Fudge. Kingsley, report to Dumbledore." Kingsley nodded and her father turned to her and said sternly, "Ginny, don't argue with me for once in your life. I know you're stubborn, and you want to help Harry, but we're doing the best thing possible. The fact that Death Eater's are here mean's it's likely that You-Know-Who will pitch at any second now. Stay put, alright." Ginny nodded but had no intentions of listening to her father.
They cast the protective charm around the room and disapparated. When they left, Ginny turned to the others and said frankly, "How are we getting out of here? Hermione? Any bright ideas?" Hermione sighed and shook her head, "Sorry Gin. I don't know how to remove protective enchantments. That's pretty advanced stuff." Ginny groaned and paced around irritably as she said, "Well, we can't just sit here and do nothing now, can we?!"
There were loud noises now of shattering glass echoing throughout the ministry. Ginny turned to Hermione and pleaded, "Come on, Hermione! Surely you know of a spell that could help us get to him? Please? I'm begging you!" Suddenly Neville said, "I know of one!" He muttered something under his breath and Ginny ran towards the door Harry had exited through.
They followed the loud noised which were coming from the main lobby of the ministry. What they saw when they arrived made Ginny stand stock still. Voldemort was standing several feet away. Glass was shattered all across the floor and he lifted his wand up, sending an attack of glass shards at Dumbledore. Ginny had to call him Voldemort now. There was no resemblance of the boy who had so easily charmed her with his good looks and reassuring persona. This Riddle looked like a snake. That was the only way to describe his pale, taught, snake-like features.
Ginny watched as the glass that Voldemort sent flying at Dumbledore was disintegrated into sand. Voldemort sneered and the disapparated. Ginny was about to take a step forward, when Hermione held her back. She shook her head and pointed to the floor. Ginny noticed dust grains that were black and seemed to be moving towards Harry. She froze and stared at the specks as reached him.
Harry had been sitting up straight, but suddenly he collapsed onto the floor and Ginny gasped. Harry was writhing in pain on the floor and Dumbledore was leaning down beside it. It took Ginny a split second to figure out what was going on-Voldemort was penetrating Harry's body!
On instinct, Ginny pushed forwards, but Ron held her back and whispered urgently, "No Gin! You can't help him!" She tried to shrug him off and said furiously, "Of course I can, Ron! He needs me! He's suffering!" Ron grimaced, but then sighed and released her arm, "Alright. Just…don't get hurt." She nodded and hurried to Harry's side.
She didn't think he noticed her as he gasped for air and she timidly reached out her hand and clasped his in it. Dumbledore looked surprised but otherwise didn't comment. Harry arched his back in pain as he was being possessed. She squeezed his hand harder and whispered, "Harry…Harry I'm here for you. It's Ginny. I'm here." That's when Ginny heard Harry whisper in Voldemort's voice, "You…you've lost old man." She cringed at the how snake-like his voice even sounded. 'This isn't Harry. This isn't Harry,' she repeated in her mind like a mantra. Harry began gasping for air, as if he couldn't breathe.
That's when Ginny heard Dumbledore whisper, "Harry…it isn't how you are alike, it's how you are not." He began thrashing around and Ginny looked at Dumbledore, panic written across her face as she said, "Is there nothing you can do?" He shook his head and they both watched despairingly as Dumbledore replied, "There isn't something I can do. But maybe there is something you can do." Ginny bit her lip and thought about it. It could only mean one thing…
She got as close as she could to Harry, to look in his eyes. They were tightened in agony and he she could see the fear and pain in them. She lay down so that she was eye-level with him and she whispered, "Harry…Harry look at me." He did as he fought against Voldemort….fought for control. She stared into the green eyes that she loved so much and she whispered tightly, "Harry…Harry I love you."At that moment he screamed in pain and she felt shivers go down her back as she clasped his hand even more and then a second later Harry whispered in his own voice, "You're the week one, because you'll never know love, or friendship. And I feel sorry for you." Ginny raised her eyebrows. Was he talking to her? But then a second later she realized he was talking to Voldemort. He screamed again and she saw Voldemort pull himself out of Harry.
He stepped forward, in a long, black cloak and sneered at her for a second as he stared at her and spat, "Weasley girl," before turning to Harry and whispering, "You're a fool, Harry Potter, and you will lose. Everything." Again he looked at Ginny and she felt a chill go down her spine again before there were several popping noises behind them.
They all turned to see Fudge apparating into the lobby, his mouth slid to the floor before he hissed, "He's back!" Ginny turned to Harry, who had passed out on the floor beside her. She stroked his hair worriedly and checked his pulse. Dumbledore murmured, "Don't worry Miss Weasley, he just needs a good, long rest." Ginny nodded and she leant down to kiss him on the forehead.
Ginny lay awake that night, worry preventing her from sleep. She knew Harry was going to handle this badly. She had hardly seen him since the incident at the ministry earlier on. He'd fainted and then Dumbledore had had to speak to Fudge, who finally believed Harry was innocent after seeing Voldemort for himself.
The other thing that bothered Ginny was Voldemort. She realized that he was no longer Riddle. For some reason, Riddle had been different- not just in looks but there was something else that Ginny couldn't peg that was truly evil about Voldemort. But Ginny now realized that she had seen Riddle in his true form, and that was what was different. And it scared her. It scared her that she had cared for someone so truly evil and it made her wonder, 'Am I good enough for Harry when I liked someone like that?' It bothered her all night and she finally came to the conclusion that no, no she wasn't good enough for him. Because there must be something evil in her if she felt something for Voldemort.
She still hadn't told Harry about that particular affection and she wouldn't if her life depended on it. Another worry was that he would end it with if he remembered that she'd told him she loved him in front of Voldemort. He would see it as a risk, and that she was potentially in danger. It plagued her all through the night and eventually, at four in the morning, she went downstairs into the common room to sit in front of the fire.
She wasn't surprised when she saw a figure with jet black, messy hair sitting in front of the fire. He heard her footsteps on the staircase and he turned around sharply, but then relaxed when he saw it was her. He smiled grimly and rubbed his eyes before saying softly, "Hey." She nodded and murmured, "Hey," herself before she went and sat down next to him.
They sat in silence for several minutes before she asked tentatively, "How are you?" He looked at her then, with sorrowful eyes and she felt a tug at her heartstrings. He shrugged his shoulders and replied stiffly, "I've been better, and you?" She nodded and swallowed, "Same." Silence fell upon them again. She didn't know what to do so she twiddled with her fingers.
Then Harry spoke abruptly and said, "Ginny…I want to ask you something..." She tensed, feeling as if he was going to say they were over now. She looked at his tense eyes and he asked shakily, "Did you…did you tell me that…that you love me in the Ministry?" This was not at all what she had been suspecting. She had even wondered if he'd really heard that, or if he'd been too far gone to hear that at all! She floundered around for her words for a second before she replied, "I…Yes I did, Harry." He nodded and whispered, "And did you say that to help me pull through or did you really mean it?" His eyes were so tight that Ginny said firmly, "Listen here, Harry, I don't just go around telling people I love them for no reason! I can't believe you would even think that for one moment!"
Ginny folded her arms crossly and she knew she was acting like a kid, but her Weasley temper was getting the better of her. He had the nerve to suggest that she'd said it without meaning it! What kind of person did he think she was?! Suddenly, she felt Harry's hand touch her neck and turn her face towards him. He was smiling sweetly and he whispered, "I was only asking because…I love you too." Ginny felt her jaw slacken and she lost all sense of composure. She frowned and shook her head in denial, "No! But we've hardly been dating for long enough to…to love each other! This doesn't make sense!" She shook her head in determination and Harry raised an eyebrow, "Does love make sense though, Gin? Besides, I think I've know you long enough to know whether or not I love you." Hearing him say it again sounded like music in her ears.
Suddenly, a goofy grin spread across her face as she gazed into his beautiful, emerald eyes and sighed, "I love you too, Harry." He pulled her closer and she kissed him fiercely. She could tell he needed it because he kissed her firmer than usual. He pulled her so close that she ended up losing her balance and falling on top of him. This caused them both to laugh and Ginny whispered, "I can't believe you said that." Harry chuckled, "I love you," as he kissed her cheek. She grinned and shook her head, "Honestly, it's like a childhood dream of mine."
Ginny lay next to him on the couch and Harry chuckled, "I know." She blushed and hit him square in the chest and said irritably, "You better not be mocking me, Harry Potter!" He chuckled and shook his head, "Nope, I'm not. I'm just kidding. Ron told me long ago that you fancied me." She rolled her eyes and murmured, "Of course he did! And made you pretty big headed it seems." Harry smiled and shook his head, "Nah, I got big headed before that. After all, I'm The-Boy-Who-Lived." She rolled her eyes and giggled.
He kissed her forehead and murmured, "Night Gin. Let's try and get some sleep." She nodded and cuddled into his arm as she wrapped her other arm around his waist. She had never slept next to any guy before and the fact that it was Harry made it difficult to fall asleep at all.
Author's Note: So I've got another chapter up! Whoop whoop! Took quicker than expected but we are basically at the end of fourth year now! Hope you guys enjoy and thanks again to Anonymous, 123rachel123 and CastielLunaWinchester for the lovely reviews! Also, happy mother's day to everyone! Hope it was a wonderful day, although I missed my granny a lot! Enjoy the chapter and please review!