Betrayal ch. 12-The End of It All

Ginny watched Voldemort closely, trying to find any sort of way to overcome his invincibility.

"Harry, Harry! The sword!" Ginny furiously yelled at Harry, bringing him out of his semiconscious state. Surely she had a plan, surely she knew what she was doing.

Surely she didn't put away her only defense, her wand, for the sake of a guess.

Harry managed to feebly toss her the sword, wondering what in the world she could be planning to do with it.

Ginny gauged the distance from her to Voldemort, wondering if she could accurately make such a throw. It was risky at best, but she had to try.

She swung her arm back, and threw the sword point-first at Voldemort with all the strength she could muster. The sword found its mark gloriously, piercing the barrier that only guarded against magical ailments. Voldemort staggered backwards, unsure of himself after such a deadly blow.

"Ginny, don't touch it… it'll hurt you!! Don't touch the sword!" Harry called, remembering the explosion that resulted as soon as the sword made contact with Voldemort.

Ginny turned and looked at him, defiance written all over her face. "I can take it." She confidently sprinted towards Voldemort, taking advantage of his confusion. He wasn't launching spells at her anymore, only staring in wonder. She braced herself for the shock of pain that she knew was coming, and closed her hands over the sword, forcing it as far back as she could.

Harry could see no more, a shocking light enveloped the room much like it had when he had done the same thing. He heard Ginny cry out, an inadequate representation of the pain that he knew she was feeling.

Ginny bit back the pain, forcing Voldemort forward. As much pain as she was in, she did not release her grip on the sword. She pushed and pushed, forcing the confused villain back until he was trapped between the sword and a wall. She gave the sword one final shove, and felt it go through the wall on the other end. Gasping, she released her hands from the sword and fell back. Voldemort was essentially trapped, he could not move unless he pulled out the sword and experienced the very pain that had terrorized the two children.

The blinding light that had overcome the room slowly dimmed down, and Harry could survey the sight before him. Ginny lay sprawled in front of Voldemort, clutching her hands and fighting back the tears that threatened to spill over. Voldemort towered over her, and yet, there was something awkward about his posture, Harry noticed. Harry's gaze wandered to the silver hilt sticking out of Voldemort's stomach, pinning him to the wall, preventing him from moving.

"Ginny!! Ginny!" Harry frantically called as he crawled over to where she was. He was still experiencing a considerable measure of pain, but he knew it was nothing compared to what Ginny was feeling. She had handled the sword much longer than he had, clinging to it desperately even while it was tearing her apart. He had let go as soon as he felt the slightest measure of pain.

Ginny gazed up at him with ragged, torn eyes. Pain was coursing through her, but she fought it bravely. She cradled her hands only inches from her face, they burned a ferocious shade of red all the way to the elbows. She desperately looked at Voldemort, trying to gauge his reaction, knowing that she would be in considerable danger if she didn't move out of his direct line of fire.

Harry reached her side and took only a moment to examine her injuries before dragging her out of Voldemort's immediate area of access. Voldemort realized what they were doing, and shook off the pain that was crippling him from the inside out. He had to attack before the runts got away, before they got help.

Spells shot out at them with frantic urgency. Ginny shrieked, and Harry covered her with his own body as best as he could. She felt him flinch painfully once or twice, but soon they made it out of Voldemort's aiming range and behind a pillar. Spells continued firing against the pillar, and Harry had to wonder how long it would be until it gave out. They only had a small amount of time, and neither one of them were in the condition to fight back.

"You got hit." Ginny observed, more of a statement than a question.

Harry swallowed, trying futilely to down the pain. He examined his right ankle, which had taken a sectumsempra curse. His pain had doubled, but he fought it valiantly. He would go down with dignity.

"You should have stayed away. I can't… I can't protect you now. I'm sorry." Harry admitted, wishing that she had protected herself instead of engaging in a battle that was his.

"You have nothing to be sorry for." Ginny whispered. It was all that she could manage through the unearthly pain.

"But now, Voldemort… it's only a matter of time before… before the spells reach us." Harry said, gritting his teeth against the curse that was flowing through him.

"He's… immune to everything. There's really… no way out this time." Ginny said quietly, accepting her fate with grace. "Except… for the sacrifice."

Harry's head shot in her direction. "Ginny, no… no, you can't…"

Ginny looked at him, surprising him with the courage he saw there. "Harry, if I don't… we will both die."

Harry shook his head stiffly. "No, no, Ginny. Don't… don't talk like that."

Ginny smiled sadly. "You're always saving me, let me… do something for you, as a last favor. And, Harry… I always loved you."

Before Harry could reach out and stop her, she had darted with unusual speed for someone as hurt as she was. She was in front of the pillar, standing in direct line of the spells. Harry didn't realize that he was screaming until the commotion stopped, and silence reigned again, as if the world realized the importance of her actions.

"Why, little girl, I am impressed. Such bravery from such a small heart." Voldemort mocked. Despite the pain that was obviously overwhelming him, he still knew the words to torment them.

"Just get it over with." Ginny said, trying to maintain her faltering courage.

"Oh, my dear, it will not be 'over with' for a very, very long time. You will die emotionally, but physically you will forever live on. The torment never ends. Are you sure about this?" Voldemort asked.

Ginny swallowed back her fear and nodded, realizing that she couldn't manage a word if she tried.

Harry screamed, "Ginny! No, stop this!! We'll think of… something…" His voice faltered on the last few words, realizing that they weren't true.

Ginny looked back at him and smiled sadly. "Live long for me, Harry. I've made my choice."

Harry's heart wrenched itself in terrible positions at her words. No, no, no, it couldn't be true! She couldn't… she couldn't be serious. Not Ron's sister, not Hermione's friend, not his love, not Ginny. He desperately crawled towards her, willing her to stop, trying to get to her. He would force her away if he had to, he just knew that he had to save her somehow.

But, considering how many curses were circulating through Harry, he just couldn't make it in time.

Voldemort muttered some complex spell, and a green light rushed into Ginny, enveloping her from the inside out. She let out a piercing scream, a sound that would haunt Harry forever. She collapsed on the ground in a useless heap, landing with an ominous thud.

In Harry's desperate attempt to get to her, he didn't even realize the phoenix flying through the window, carrying the one person who might have been able to save them.

"Voldemort! What have you done?" Dumbledore accused, his voice ringing with finality and authority.

Voldemort snickered. "She is mine now, Albus. The curse that you yourself taught me has come back to haunt you. She will never again be the daughter of those accursed Weasleys, she will never be the innocent student at Hogwarts, she will never be the friend of Harry Potter. Her soul is mine, she belongs to me."

Harry had reached Ginny and was cradling her head in his lap, looking for any signs of life.

"She will not respond to you, boy. Only to me." Voldemort said.

Dumbledore silently recalled the moment Voldemort spoke of, the moment he had divulged information that never should have been revealed. It would be the one moment he regretted above all others in his expansive memory.

"Arise." Voldemort commanded. Ginny's eyes shot open, the iris turned a deadly shade of black. She broke through Harry's embrace with no feeling, rising to her feet to face her master.

"Ginny, Ginny! Listen to me! Come back to me!" Harry shouted to no avail. Ginny only had ears for her master now.

"Come to me, my child." Voldemort commanded in a freakish voice.

"Dumbledore, do something!" Harry shouted accusingly at the man who had managed to fix every problem before this.

Dumbledore looked at him sadly. "There is no fix for this, I fear. She is his, from now until her body fails her."

"No, I won't believe it! This isn't… this is not the end." Harry argued, trying to convince himself as much as he tried to convince Dumbledore.

Ginny had reached Voldemort, and was facing him, waiting for her next command.

"Tell me, my child, what is your wish?" Voldemort asked.

"I have no wishes." Ginny answered automatically.

"Where are your friends?" Voldemort asked again, loving the look of utter despair on Potter's face.

"I have no friends." Ginny answered again.

Harry had had enough of this. He knew that Ginny was still inside the empty shell, somewhere, just hidden beneath the surface. He stood up wearily and strode over to her, oblivious to the threat that Voldemort posed. He never backed down from a fight when a friend's life was in danger, no matter how hopeless a fight it was.

"Ginny…" Harry said. He gently turned her around by her shoulders. She looked at him blankly, no recognition was found in her features. She had no memories of his existence, no memories of their time together or her feelings for him. As far as she knew, those events had never happened.

"I do not know you." Ginny said simply as she turned back around to face her master who was now her world.

"Oh, but you do know Potter," Voldemort whispered soothingly in her ear. "You hate him. You have always hated him. You want to kill him. You need to see him dead before you can rest in peace."

"No…" Harry whispered as hopelessness overcame him. Anything but this, not this… he couldn't live with her against him.

Ginny turned, an expression of hatred now seen on her face. "Kill… hate… kill Potter… kill Potter…" The words sounded eerie, as if they didn't belong to her sweet, innocent mouth.

Ginny took out her wand, pointing it at Harry's chest. She was stepping towards him now, threateningly, dangerously ready to administer the killing curse for her new master's sake.

"Stupefy!" Dumbledore bellowed in an attempt to save Harry's life. Harry looked infuriated that the Headmaster would dare attack her, until he saw that Ginny was perfectly capable of defending herself. She blocked the attack without losing sight of her target.

"Harry!" Dumbledore shouted. "His guard, his invincibility… it is gone! Focus on Lord Voldemort, not on her!"

Harry snapped back into reality, trying to rid his mind of the haunting face of his warped love. He shoved past her, heading straight for Voldemort. He raised his wand, realizing that now, finally, now all could be put to rest. Now he could avenge her, he would kill the merciless beast that had turned her into this defective human being. He would kill the one who robbed her of her humanity.

Within a second, Ginny was in front of him again. "You will not hurt my master."

Harry's heart fell again, hitting the bottom and shattering into a thousand pieces.

He would have to fight her to get to Voldemort.

"Ginny!" A voice screamed. Harry immediately recognized it as Hermione's, but he did not risk looking at her. He could not take his eyes off of Ginny, one glance away could mean his death.

She raised her wand, indicating a duel. Harry shook his head, knowing full well that he would never be able to kill her.

But if he didn't kill her, who would? If no one could stand against her, would she move through them all, killing them one by one without a second thought as to what she was doing?

What sort of weapon had Voldemort created?

Silently they began to duel, spells flashing by Harry's head. He blocked, but he did not attack. He could not live with knowing that he was the one who brought her down if a spell found its mark.

Did he die for the one he loved, thereby unleashing Voldemort's weapon into the world? Or did he fight her, bring her down and live with a broken heart, but save his friends in the process? Better to live with years and years of pain and regret, or die knowing that he had remained loyal to her until the end?

He knew he would have to apologize to his friends later. He could not kill her, he would die before that happened.

"Quickly, attack Voldemort while his servant is preoccupied!" Dumbledore bellowed.

"Servant? What? Ginny's not Voldemort's-" Hermione's confused words were cut off by Draco's abrupt spell.

"Avada Kedavra!" He bellowed. The spell hit Voldemort square in the chest, in the wound that Harry had inflicted. It reached the bloodstream, flowing through his veins, consuming him.

And still, the killing curse was not enough to bring the demon down.

Draco's power was weak, he could only stand with the help of Hermione. Neville watched Ginny and Harry's exchange, wondering what could have caused such a change in her.

Dumbledore said hurriedly, "Ginny is not herself, she never will be again. Attack Voldemort while his defenses are down! Sectumsempra!" Dumbledore added the red-colored spell to Draco's green one, Voldemort cried out in pain. The room filled with a glorious array of deadly colors, drinking out Voldemort's twisted life as they flowed through him.

Finally, Ginny noticed what was happening to her master. She immediately turned her gaze from the duel with Harry to her master, nothing but pure devotion and concern showing in her eyes.

Harry's heart wrenched. She used to look at him that way.

"Master!" She screamed. She lunged for the path of spells, wanting nothing more than to protect her master.

Harry wrapped his arms around her, keeping her from the deadly trail of spells, saving her. She fought viciously against him, biting and kicking, but he held onto her despite the pain she was inflicting to him. He had to save her from the death that he knew awaited her with Voldemort, he would not fail to protect her again.

Hermione watched the array of spells coursing through Voldemort, and realized that it was not enough. She added her own to the mix, aiming straight for his head. "Crucio!" She cried. A jet of light green struck out, landing on its mark, mingling with the cornucopia of spells already inside of him.

Neville gritted his teeth, looking at the wreckage around him. Voldemort had ruined so much, taken so much of their lives away. He deserved to die a cruel death, one worse than the one he had administered to Ginny. He raised his wand and bellowed, "Avada Kedavra!" His own green spell entered Voldemort's body, mingling with Draco's, making it stronger.

It was a fantastic show of lights, each one coursing from one wand into the body of the target. Voldemort contorted in extreme pain, but still he did not die. Somehow, even without his defenses, their spells were not enough to bring him down.

"Keep firing," Draco said as he released his spell, stepping weakly towards Voldemort.

"Draco, you aren't strong enough!" Hermione said, although she kept her wand aimed at Voldemort's weakening body.

He heard her words, and acknowledged the truth of them, yet he had made his decision. Lord Voldemort was his to defeat, he had to be the one. It was his position to take, his authority to have. No one would stand in his way, and a simple wound was not going to stop him from achieving his goal.

Draco stepped forward, fighting the onslaught of spells that flew around him towards their target. It took him considerably longer than it should have to reach Voldemort, but he accomplished his goal. Voldemort was trapped by the sword, defenseless without his invincibility, and incapacitated by the spells. He was at Draco's mercy.

For the first time, Draco saw fear enter the eyes of the mighty Lord Voldemort.

Draco said quietly, loud enough only for Voldemort to hear, "I hereby take your title of Dark Lord, as your superior. Taken without consent, taken by force, I claim it as my own."

Draco gripped the sword, ripped it out of Voldemort, and held him at the point.

"This is for my brother."

In one deft movement, Draco swung the sword around, and brought its silver crashing down on the vulnerable flesh of his neck. Voldemort's decapitated head fell off, and his body hit the floor in a crumple. The spells stopped, and all was silent.

"…Ginny?" Harry was the first to speak. "Ginny? Where are you?"

Dumbledore said sadly, "She has gone to be with her master."

All the light left his eyes. He crumpled in a heap on the ground, the pain robbing him of all strength. He felt his heart shrivel up like a raisin left in the desert, feeling so alone. He glared at the one who had ended her life, the one who had torn her twisted existence from them.

"You!" Harry turned weakly, feeling as if he was going to fall any moment. "You are the one who killed her!"

Dumbledore said, "Harry, do not get so upset. It was her choice to go to him. The essence of the spell requires that the victim be willing, otherwise it could be used for terrible, terrible purposes. She went willingly. She went to protect you."

Harry hung his head. "She protected me because… because I couldn't protect her." He was so weak, so weak even after all he had been through. He was nothing.

"Ginny will be remembered forever for her sacrifices." Dumbledore said solemnly.

"She's not dead, Headmaster. I can't believe it, I won't believe it until I see it." Harry said defiantly.

Draco said, "Potter, life isn't like that. She made a choice, she followed through. She's gone. There are some people who no matter how much you love, they don't come back. That's the way it is, and it's hard and you'll hurt forever for her, but there's nothing you can do to change it."

Harry turned and faced him, defying him with his determined gaze. "I will never lose hope in her, no matter how cruel fate might be."

Draco shook his head, wondering how someone who had been through so much could still have such adamant hope in the cruel tyrant of life.

Hermione broke up the argument, a look of remorse for Ginny written all over her face. She couldn't stay any longer, she knew there was nothing left they could do. "Let's just get out of here. Draco needs medical attention, and I'm sure we could all use a good night's sleep."

Everyone agreed, leaving the scarred office and going their separate ways.

Harry strode determinedly through the halls, knowing that Hermione's words of getting a good night's sleep would never again apply to his life as long as Ginny's empty eyes haunted him.

Neville went back to the Great Hall to help dispose of the bodies of the dead. He would see the witch buried if it was the last thing he did, he knew he'd never rest if he didn't. He had to show himself that she was dead, once and for all.

Hermione accompanied Draco to the infirmary, Draco's wound bleeding once again, plagued with thoughts and questions of what had happened. She tried not to think of Draco's current position, tried not to think of how it would affect them.

Draco hobbled to the infirmary, wrapped in the arms of the girl he loved, wondering how much longer he would have such a luxury if he continued the lifestyle that he had.

Dumbledore stood in his own office, or what was left of it, and let his head drop into his hands. For once in his life, all of his years were clearly visible on his fatigued face.

Quietly, so that no one could see, he sobbed, mourning the loss that he was responsible for.

Mourning for the one who would live forever but never feel anything again.

A/N: Thanks again all readers!!! We are nearing the end of our glorious epic of a fanfiction… I am considering doing a sequel. Only considering, though. If I get enough reviews in favor of a sequel, perhaps I will. What do you, my loyal reader, think??? Thanks again to all the reviewers, especially xHarryxPotterx, Mhaj78, Aswen, and wildchild1017. Hope yall like the next chapter!! Thanks again for reading!!