Hello! I return! Yay. Yes, well, here's chapter 17 and I am pretty proud of this chapter, I think it turned out well. Anyways, thanks again to all my faithful reviewers, and, once again, reviews are always much appreciated!!!

Chapter 17-Return

Draco ran outside, frustrated that his already straining legs couldn't carry him any faster. The fact that his servant had ran off with Potter didn't register in his mind, his brain was consumed by only one thing. Nothing, not even Potter, could deter his one thought.

The Death Eaters had Hermione.

Draco looked up and saw a flock of Death Eaters flying through the sky, and heard a scream come from Hermione that pierced his heart. Suddenly rage was born within him, rage that he had never known before. He had to get her back, he had to save her!

"Accio broom!" He said, his right hand snapping up quickly to catch the soaring broom. With the grace that only a refined Quidditch player could display, he mounted the broom and took off after the Death Eaters.

XXXXXXXXX

Harry took Ginny to the Astronomy tower, a haunt that they had both frequented often. He knew that if anything were to jog her memory, it would be the feelings that they had both experienced there. Their memories weren't consumed with passion, no, they were the memories of best friends, something that was much stronger than any spark of romance.

The tower was the same as it was every other night. Moonlight was the only source of light, splashing in to illuminate the dark walls and ground. Windows stretched from the floor to the ceiling, providing the best view of the stars. Telescopes and various measuring devices could be seen scattered throughout the room, placed strategically close to windows. Harry couldn't remember how many times he and Ginny had come here together to do homework. It was strange being in a place that was so familiar to both of them while knowing that she didn't share the same memories as he.

Harry spread his arms out, indicating the vastness of the room, the memories lurking in every dark corner, the emotions begging to be released and brought into the light of recognition. "This is it, the astronomy tower. We used to come here together, we had a lot of good times here."

Ginny looked around, the expression on her face was so empty it could rival that of Luna Lovegood's. A clock ticked in the background, the only evidence in the surreal room that time was passing at all. Memories fought within her, trying to get past the restraints of time, trying to tell her what she already knew. She closed her eyes, trying to block out the rush and surge of indistinguishable memories that soared past her. She tried to catch each one, but every time, it would be ripped away from her outstretched fingers, taken back into the abyss of forgetfulness.

Harry saw the struggle within her eyes. "You still don't remember, do you?"

Ginny looked up at him. Any sort of recognition that she had had was eliminated, a hint of a smirk played across her face. Harry suddenly felt his heart skip a beat as he finally comprehended where he was.

He was in the tallest tower of Hogwarts with the Dark Lord's second-in-command.

Harry swallowed, backing a few steps away from her without telling himself to do so. He desperately hoped that Ginny truly was worried about her past and wanted to understand who she had once been. It could just be his naturally paranoid nature telling him that he was in a deadly trap.

Ginny cocked an eyebrow at him. "Oh, Harry, I remember many things." She said in a voice that was not her own.

Harry immediately began looking for escape routes. He had been in situations like this before, he had to keep his head despite the circumstances. There was only one door. His eyes flicked in that direction, trying to determine the best route.

Ginny saw that flicker, instantly identifying it for what it was. She cracked a smile. Harry Potter would not escape her clutches, not again.

Without even muttering a word or turning around, the door slammed from Ginny's mental command. Harry could hear several locks being drawn across the heavy wooden door. His heart sank, realizing that everything Ginny had done was a lie. She had not felt any sort of recognition for this place, she had not understood anything. It was just a story to get him into a situation just as this, something that fed on his wildest hopes so that he lost his usual sense of danger.

"Ginny… please…" Harry tried one last time to reach her, refusing to believe that what he had seen in her had been completely false.

"Harry… it's too late. I can't go back now." Ginny said, lowering her head.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, trying to hide his excitement at the fact that maybe not all hope was lost.

"Sometimes… I can remember my family. I can remember their smiling faces, their unconditional love. But I can't go back. I can't."

"Why not?" Harry argued, furious that she remembered everything but still wouldn't come back to him.

"Look at me, Harry!! What do you see?" Harry remained silent. He didn't know what kind of answer she was looking for. "I'm a Death Eater, Harry, and not just any Death Eater. I am the Dark Lord's number one servant, the one who will defend him until the end. I am a part of the most vicious, cruel group of individuals on the planet. What will they do to me if I try to leave? What will they do to my family?"

Harry looked at his feet, he couldn't handle seeing her tear filled eyes. "There has to be a way…" He offered weakly.

Ginny looked at him sadly. "There isn't. That is why I have to kill you."

Harry looked up at her in shock. "But, before you left me… you told me…"

Ginny sighed and shook her head, "Some things are more important than love."

"Ginny, it's not too late! You can get out!"

Ginny laughed mirthlessly. "You can't save everybody, Harry." She took out her wand and pointed it at him.

His reflexes responded before he could tell them not to. He had his own wand out and ready to use. She shot a spell at him but he deflected it expertly.

"Don't make this any harder than it already is, Harry!" She shouted.

"What, do you think I'm just going to lay down and die now that I know the truth?" Harry dodged a spell as his voice grew stronger. "Ginny, I can't believe that we can't be together! Even if you say that there's no way, even if you say that all hope is lost, I will never let go of what we have. I will fight for it until the end, even if I am the only one." He ducked, narrowly avoiding a blasting spell.

"Why are you doing this?" Ginny bellowed as she ran around the room, trying to keep herself across from her opponent at all times. "I have to follow him! You don't know what he does to traitors! You don't know how he treats them! Not everyone gets a happy ending, Harry." She mentally deflected another one of Harry's spells, astounding him with her newfound mental powers.

"Not everyone gets a happy ending because they're not willing to fight for it!" Harry jumped over another spell. "They think it'll just come to them because they deserve it, they don't think for a minute that they have to put effort into it. We can do it, Ginny, I know we can! Don't give up on me, please. I was the only one who didn't give up on you."

"Shut up, Harry! Just stop talking! This is the way it is. This is the way it has to be! Just shut up so I can finish the job that I was sent to do!" Ginny yelled angrily.

She shot another spell at him and he dodged out of the way, the spell crashing into the window instead, shattering it to tiny pieces. A gust of wind flew in from outside. Harry didn't take a moment to wonder about how high up they truly were, he was in the midst of a battle and couldn't afford to entertain any distractions.

Finally, Harry saw an opening. He charged towards Ginny, she saw him coming and shot spells at him like a cascade of rain, but he blocked every single one of them. He pushed through her torrent of magic until he finally reached her, and grabbed hold of her wand arm.

In that moment, everything stopped.

"One last chance, Ginny. It's never too late to change." Harry said, praying that his words would reach her.

Ginny looked up at him, an unreadable expression in her eyes. Finally her eyes narrowed into slits, and she glared at him. "Don't touch me!" She shouted as she unleashed a torrent of magic from her mind, sending him crashing into one of the few solid walls of the astronomy tower.

Ginny sent spells flying at him, but he deflected all of them from his position on the ground. She stepped towards his limp form, every step giving her more strength and confidence in the atrocious act that she was about to commit.

A few feet away from him, she stopped. "Why don't you fight back?"

Harry met her eyes bravely, searching for any memory there. "I cannot fight you."

Ginny sighed. "I expected better from you, Harry Potter, I really did. The downfall of so many foolish people before you will be your own downfall as well." Ginny launched another spell at him, sending him skidding across the floor to the other side of the room. Unfortunately for him, there was no window to stop him. He continued sliding and started to fall, grasping the edge of the floor just in time to save himself.

Ginny stepped towards the edge, looking down at the legendary, powerful wizard who would soon be begging for her mercy. She smiled. Oh, the Dark Lord was going to love this. How he would praise her, how he would reward her! The most powerful of light wizards brought so low by a blood traitor such as her. Finally she would prove herself. Finally she would gain their unconditional acceptance.

She stepped forward with every intention of ending his life.

But then her steps faltered, and her eyes darkened. What would her mother say? And her brothers? And her father, too? What would they say about how far she had fallen? They would shake their heads, all of them disappointed beyond words. They would scowl at her, and turn away, despite her pleas for love. They would walk away, leaving her, wouldn't they?

They couldn't possibly forgive her, not after all she had done.

"Ginny! Don't… don't do this!" Harry said, his hair blowing in the wild wind, trying desperately to hold onto the ledge. "There are people that can help you, we can get you out!"

Ginny shook her head. "I don't need help, Harry! I can do this on my own! I've done everything on my own, why should this be any different?"

"You didn't see them the day they thought you died, Ginny. You didn't see the way your mother cried at your funeral. You don't know how terribly it hurts when the eternal light in their eyes leaves forever. They changed after you died, Ginny. They almost forgot what it was like to be a family. They miss you, Ginny! They love you! They will always love you, no matter what you are!"

The wind whistled around them. Harry felt his fingers losing strength. The stone was cold underneath his nearly numb fingertips. He could feel it slipping away, slipping dangerously farther away from his grasp…

Just as he thought it was all over, he felt a small hand close around his wrist.

As he felt himself being pulled to safety, a strong hope was rekindled within him once again.

"Harry, Harry I don't think I can… you're too heavy…" Ginny grunted as she struggled to pull him up.

"You can do it, Ginny! Just use a spell or something."

Ginny's eyes opened with realization. Of course, a spell! She had been so stupid trying to pull him up physically, of course that would never work. She relaxed, a spell would be able to pull him up instantly.

However, she relaxed a little too soon. Harry fell, bringing her down with him.

Ginny let out an ear-splitting scream as the wind flew past her, as she and Harry free fell towards the distant earth. The scenery whisked past them in a blur of green and blue, obscured by the darkness of the night. Panic coursed through both of them, causing any ounce of rational thought to become another jumbled flash of memory.

Ginny clutched tightly onto Harry, clinging to him in what she thought was the final moment of her life. If she wasn't so terrified at their impending doom, she would have been quite content within his secure embrace. She had waited a long, long time for this, and although it might cause the end of her life, she was glad that she would die with a smile on her face.

Harry, on the other hand, was furious. He had gotten so far, gotten so close to Ginny once again, only to fall and have them both killed! He was not going to just give up, he could not accept this cruel turn of fate. He had accepted much turmoil in his life, assuming it was for the best in the long run anyway, but he could not accept this. Ginny was finally his, he refused to die now.

"Accio Firebolt!" He drew his wand and shouted. He didn't know how long it would take the broom to get there, the ground was close and was getting dangerously closer by the second.

"Harry, it's not going to make it!!" Ginny's voice pierced his thoughts.

"It will, it will! Don't worry, we'll be fine." Harry tried to hide the shaking that was in his voice. He had to believe that this would work. He had to.

"Harry, the ground, it's so close! It won't make it in time!"

"Yes it will! It… it has to…" Harry's words trailed off as he realized exactly how much time they had left. The ground was less than fifty feet below them, and was closing in fast.

Harry gulped. Maybe this time, luck wasn't on his side.

He held Ginny close to him, shielding her eyes from the ground that was coming ever closer. At least they would die instantly. And Ginny would die with her head in his chest, not having to face the moment of their doom.

Finally, the Firebolt flew out from the sky, like a savior falling from heaven. It soared towards them, cutting through the night air, whistling in its speed. Harry willed it to go just a little faster, he reached towards it, stretching, trying to encourage it… it was so close, so so agonizingly close. But the ground was so much closer, and was coming so fast.

No, no… it couldn't make it in time, it couldn't possibly… Harry still reached, trying desperately to touch it, wishing for nothing more than its salvation. They were both so close to death, so close to the end of it all… and still Harry reached for the broom. He would die reaching for that broom if he had to, believing until the last moment of his life in the power of hope.

Finally Harry felt the wood brush his fingers. He frantically clutched the broom, swung both him and Ginny upon it, and leveled out parallel to the ground. Ginny clung to him, shaking violently, still frantic from their deadly fall. They soared mere inches above the grassy hill, a testament to how close they truly came to death.

Harry slowed the broom down to a stop, and then he and Ginny fell to the earth, not even bothering in their distress to dismount gracefully. They heaved in great gulps of air, trying to pacify their beating heart. Harry felt the soft grass beneath his fingers, marveling at the fact that only moments ago it would have caused their deaths.

"Ginny… we did it." Harry choked out.

Ginny shook her head. "No, Harry… you did it. You saved us… you… you saved me."

Their eyes met. Ginny gave a small but brave smile, which Harry returned with much enthusiasm. Her hair was in a complete mess from the struggle, and her face was pale from the trauma she had just experienced. There was grass on her robes from where she had fallen off the broom to the soft, welcoming ground below. She was still breathless, inhaling huge amounts of air. But she was smiling at him. After all this time, Ginny Weasley, whose soul supposedly belonged to the Dark Lord, was smiling at Harry Potter.

Harry knew he had never been happier in his entire life.

Harry launched himself into her arms, giving her the biggest and most enthusiastic hug she had ever experienced, which was a lot considering her family's loving nature. She laughed, the sound like music in a silent wasteland. She wrapped her arms around him in return, holding him tightly, ecstatic to be in his arms once again. She had been so sure that she would never experience this feeling again, now she appreciated it with much more passion than she ever had before.