A/N: Thank you so much to reviewers! I love you all. Early March. Omg, I'm getting so sad! This is nearly oveerrr! –sniff- Be warned, this chapter contains character death. And swearing. Have fun.
Disclaimer: I am not lucky enough to be as smart enough as to invent these characters myself. They are not mine. Too bad. –pout-
I RECOMMEND LISTENING TO STARLESS BY CROSSFADE WHILE READING THIS. IT MAKES IT BETTER.
The Stone Speaks
Chapter Forty-One: The Brave, The Loved and The Death Eaters
GINNY
"Go, Ginny," he urged as he staggered up the passageway with her. "Go through there – you'll come out of the Whomping Willow on the Hogwarts grounds. Get the teachers. Lord Voldemort's already raised his Death Eaters. They're going to attack. Meet them in Hogsmeade before they get to the castle, to cut off possible damage. Get everyone up – GO!"
Feeling as though he would either laugh, die or burst into tears, Draco turned back down the corridor to where he knew that Lord Voldemort was waiting.
It was time.
…
Ginny burst through the Entrance Hall doors, swinging them madly behind her. To her relief, all the Professors were gathered in the Hall, and staring at her shocking arrival – hair dishevelled, wood dust smeared on her face from the explosion, bruises on her wrist and elbow… not to mention the fact that she wasn't supposed to leave the common room aside from meals and classes.
"Miss Weasley, what the devil were you doing outside?" snapped Professor Snape, striding forwards.
"The Death Eaters are attacking!" Ginny cried. "We have to go and fight them – in Hogsmeade!" When the professors only stared, puzzled, at her, she shouted, "NOW!"
Professor McGonagall shared a glance with Professor Sinistra. "Miss Weasley, come on. You will have a detention for leaving your common room when strictly instructed not to," she said briskly, "and you will return to the common room with me."
Ginny gaped at them. "Did you not hear what I just said?? The Death Eaters are attacking!" she bellowed. Seeing their expressions, she continued, "Don't ask me how I know, don't ask me why I was outside, and don't ask me why I look like I just watched a bomb land. Just trust me! I was right about my dad being attacked, I was right about Percy, I was right about Draco being tortured – TRUST ME!"
"Where are they?" demanded Umbridge, looking terrified.
"I don't know," confessed Ginny. "But I know that they're coming to Hogwarts right now, and they're coming through Hogsmeade. We need to meet them in the village, or Hogwarts will be destroyed."
"Get the other teachers," commanded McGonagall to Flitwick; the midget Professor scurried away up the stairs.
"And the students, too," added Ginny. "We don't have enough Professors to match the Death Eaters. Every teacher, every student, every animal that Hagrid owns, every house-elf, every ghost – not a soul in Hogwarts is going to be left out of the fight. If we want to win, we need an team to beat theirs… we need an army."
McGonagall nodded, and said, "Sonorus…" then, she took a deep breath and said sharply, "ALL STUDENTS TO THE GREAT HALL! ALL STUDENTS TO THE GREAT HALL IMMEDIATELY! This is not a drill, I repeat, this is not a drill! Bring your wands! This is not a drill! ALL PROFESSORS, STUDENTS, GHOSTS," she glanced at Ginny, who mouthed, house-elves, "AND HOUSE-ELVES TO THE GREAT HALL!"
As the message boomed through the castle, Ginny was left standing silently. She realized that she did not have her wand – Draco had it. Trying to push back thoughts that threatened to tear her heart into pieces ("TELL ME!" and then he bent his head and kissed her, hard), she borrowed Professor Trelawney's wand, screwed up her face and muttered, "Accio Draco's wand," before handing the mystical Divination teacher's wand back.
As Draco's long, dark mahogany wand zoomed from the dungeons and landed in Ginny's hand, the Professors gathered in the Entrance Hall made their way to the dining room. With a sweep of their wands, the tables disappeared, and they marched up to the raised dais for the second time in two days.
Ginny made her way into the corner, but McGonagall looked her in the eye and she knew that she was being instructed to go and stand on the dais with them.
Hagrid lumbered in. "Yes, Headmistress Umbridge?" he asked hastily, bowing slightly, his shabby moleskin coat brushing the floor.
"Get the animals," cut in McGonagall. "Every one of them. Dangerous or not. Threstrals, knarls, the sphinx, acromantulas, crups, bowtruckles, nogtails, fire crabs, centaurs, chizpurfles, griffins, clabberts, winged horses, streelers, unicorns, red caps, dugbogs, salamanders, gnomes, hippogriffs, kneazle, pixies… get Fawkes, as well. If you can get your… little brother," McGonagall said pointedly, "then he would be of use, too. See if you can find that troll you set loose last year."
"Yes, McGonagall," said Hagrid loyally, and he thundered out of the Great Hall again, already crowing with many different animalistic cries.
Before he had even left the Entrance Hall, the late Professor Dumbledore's phoenix, Fawkes, swooped in, and landed on the podium, cooing softly to himself. Ginny moved towards him and gently scratched the top of his head. They seemed to fit together – fiery girl with fiery bird. Fawkes had been reborn in January, so he was strong and fit for battle today.
"Fawkes," Ginny said quietly as the first students began piling into the Hall, all voicing their surprise and wonderment as to why Ginny was on the dais, "you're going to be a healer for today. If you see or sense anyone injured, then you fly to them immediately and… well, just do your thing."
The beautiful bird turned his head slightly towards her and nodded his gleaming beak as if he understood. Then he cawed loudly, stretching his wings majestically and flapping them for a second before folding them back to his body again.
"Good boy," said Ginny, smiling fondly at the bird. She had always loved Fawkes – he had saved Harry's life when she was eleven.
Ginny's group of eight came into the Hall at that moment; Ron spluttered like a dying fire, Harry stared incredulously and Hermione frowned at the absurdity of having a student on the dais. Ginny nodded at them all, as well as Luna and Myrtle when they came in, but did not smile. Now was not a time for smiling.
When the last of the students piled through the doors, Professor Umbridge stood by the podium. She scowled at Fawkes and shooed her hands at him, who hooted indignantly and took off, landing on Professor Sinistra's tall hat.
"Students," she said. All of the breathiness and girly saccharine sweetness had disappeared from her voice in this danger. "The school is in immense danger -" gasps rose from the teenage audience "-and… well. I do not know much of what is actually happening… but I know someone who does."
Ginny felt colour rising to her face, and she determinedly looked at the wall at the back of the Hall, ignoring the thousands of stares that she was receiving.
"Please… Miss Ginevra Weasley," finished Umbridge, and she shuffled back into the crowd of staff.
With a glance at Fawkes to reassure her, she stepped up to the podium and looked at the students of Hogwarts… She realized that everyone was staring at her, and knew instantly what to say.
"Hogwarts. It's the most amazing place in the world. It's where I really feel at home. I love the castle… I love the grounds… and I love the people in it," she said clearly, projecting her voice across the large chamber. "Before me are the students that I love, even if they're spiteful Slytherins, or if they're annoying Gryffindors, or stupid Hufflepuffs, or obnoxious Ravenclaws. I love them all – and I never want to see them slaughtered like pigs on a pork farm."
Everyone was glaring at her at her descriptions of their houses, but she wasn't just insulting their houses… she was insulting her own. And she was saying that she loved them. And somehow the school was in danger. Every face spoke the same thing: WHAT?
Ginny took another deep breath, and continued. "However, if we sit around right now… we are going to be slaughtered like pigs on a pork farm. I'm not trying to scare you all when I say… Lord Voldemort is attacking," she said.
Every mouth fell open, and then every pair of eyes swivelled towards Harry, obviously thinking, wait, I thought it was Harry's job to be all 'oh no, quick everyone, the Dark Lord's attacking'. Then they all stared at Ginny again.
"He's got an army of Death Eaters, the raised Dead, the Inferi, and the Cursed," Ginny explained. "Please… don't ask me how I know all of this – I just do. The army is coming. Now. They're going to be travelling through Hogsmeade to get to the castle, and we're going to meet them there before they can even get to Hogwarts. Third-years and under will stay in the Hogwarts library with Madam Pince and one of the Professors. Everyone else… will fight."
There was a stunned silence. Then, as Hagrid opened the Entrance Hall doors and yelled inside, "I'VE GOT 'EM!", everyone burst into nervous, terrified chatter. Across the vast chamber, Harry and Ginny's eyes collided. She stared into the glowing emeralds before tearing her eyes away and yelling to the room, "GET MOVING EVERYONE!"
Madam Pince and Professor Trelawney ushered the younger adolescents up the stairs towards the library, and everyone else began to file out onto the grounds. They awkwardly moved towards Hogsmeade. A jittery feeling was passing through the air and was felt by all present.
Ginny gripped Draco's wand tighter. It felt strange and unfamiliar under her fingers; the fact that it was his didn't help… "TELL ME!" she shouted, and then he bent his head and kissed her, hard – she shook her head abruptly. No. Don't even think about that.
Holding her arm out for Fawkes to come and sit on, Ginny followed the hoard of students through the gardens, and she found herself looking up at the evening sky, locating the brightest star and wishing fervently that Draco would be okay.
She wasn't sure which side he was fighting for – theirs, or Lord Voldemort's. Her stomach lurched as she thought, what if I am faced against him? I would… I would have to kill him. As her wand-hand trembled, she stamped her foot and slapped herself, hard, to get the thoughts away (a few fourth-years looked at her nervously), before determinedly meeting Fawkes' gaze and storming ahead.
The animals could smell danger, and they were raring to go – literally. The younger students were all, quite coincidentally, as far away from the bucking, rearing, screaming, squawking beasts as possible.
They were nearing the gates to Hogsmeade. In the far distance, crossing the hills, Ginny saw a terrifying crowd of black. There was a tiny cry, and then the Dark Mark swirled into the sky. Sharply inhaled breaths, swoons and the odd shriek flew up from the people of Hogwarts, but Hagrid bellowed, "KEEP GOING!"
Through the gates… oh God oh God… down the path… no, no, please, I don't want to do this… and… halt.
Feeling like the cowardly soldier who was too young to be in the army, Ginny gripped her wand tightly. "Have your wands ready," she called. Her voice was quiet, but, in the utter silence that filled Hogsmeade, everyone heard. A few of the village people came out from their shuttered houses to join the 'Hogwarts Army', as it might be called – witches and wizards holding wands, Squibs and the occasional Muggle holding shotguns.
"Breathe, Ginny, breathe," she said to herself, feeling her windpipe constrict. Don't you dare start hyperventilating! This is important, damnit! She pursed her lips together, breathing slowly and deeply through her nose.
And then she, along with about seven hundred others, waited fearfully and apprehensively for the fight to begin.
The wind blew back their hair from their faces, billowing their cloaks behind them. It seemed as if time had stopped – but still the Death Eaters came. As Lord Voldemort's army drew closer, Ginny could make out the faces of those at the front. Rodolphus and Bellatrix Lestrange. Travers. Crabbe. Goyle. Nott. Jugson. Rabastan. Avery. Macnair. Antonin Dolohov. Mulciber. Pettigrew.
But where was Lord Voldemort?
He wasn't there, which Ginny deemed rather odd. Why have your men (and women) have the fun for you? It was all rather bizarre – but she knew that her brain was only spitting out these thoughts to try and block out what she had to do next… fight – attack – kill.
"You ready?" Ginny asked kindly to a shaking fourth-year Ravenclaw beside her. He stared at her, and then gave a short nod, looking forwards again to hide the sweat dripping from his brown hair, and to hide the fear in his eyes. Knowing the truth, Ginny murmured, more to herself than to the boy, "me neither."
For what seemed like hours, standing beneath the glow of the moon and the sparkle of the disgustingly cheerful stars, both sides waited impatiently. Then, as if someone had shouted to both armies "GO!" they exploded forwards.
The staff ran first – they were at the front. Then, with a thundering that could probably be heard from space, the animals were released. And then… the students.
By the time that it was Ginny's turn to race forwards, wand in hand, there was already blood and dead bodies littering the scene – there were few, and they were all Death Eaters… but it wasn't enough.
The hippogriffs and the griffins ripped at the other side with their claws, the trolls and Grawp, Hagrid's little half-brother, a young giant, crushing and crunching everything in their path. The centaurs were loosing arrows faster than anything Ginny had ever seen before, and the streelers, giant toxic snails, were eating Death Eaters whole.
Ginny ran, shooting spells in all directions. She was fighting the battle, as she kept reminding herself, but more than anything she was scanning the crowd for a glimpse of dishevelled platinum-blonde.
Then, there was a shout that Ginny had heard many times before.
Ron.
She wheeled around, wand held high, turning back the other way and running. There he was, lying in the dirt on his back, twisting in throes of agony as Dolohov stood over him, flashing out a Cruciatus curse. "Avada ked-"
"STUPEFY!" Ginny yelled.
Dolohov gave an odd sort of yelping noise, and then keeled over backwards, unconscious. Ron, panting and sweating, climbed to his feet and stumbled against Ginny, who still had her wand pointed at the passed out Death Eater.
"Incarcerous," she panted, and long black ropes shot from her wand, twining around Dolohov and wrapped tight around him – when he woke up, he would not be able to get away. "Come on, Ron," she soothed, dragging him to his feet. "It's okay."
Ron, still gasping for breath, bent over and leaning his hands on his knees, nodded. It was that one movement that caused emotion to rush into Ginny… Ron was a conceited, stupid, arrogant, nosy git – but he was also her brother. He was her conceited, stupid, arrogant, nosy git, and she would be devastated if he was hurt.
"Be careful," she said to him, not finding the words that she longed to really say, and, leaving her unsaid feelings hovering in the air, she ran back into the fight.
Ginny was getting gradually used to the feel of Draco's wand in the place of her own, and, sliding her fingers to hold it better, aimed at a floating Inferi, clinging to a fifth-year and pulling it into the air. "Impendetia!" she cried. The beam of white light punched a hole through the Inferi's stomach; it dropped the fifth-year painfully onto the ground, and then disappeared forever in a wisp of smoke.
"Are you okay?" Ginny asked concernedly, running to the girl who had been throttled by the departed soul. The fifth-year did not answer. She took one last, long, rattling breath and then her head lolled back. Feeling sick to her stomach, Ginny stood, turned on her heel and raised her wand to the sky.
"Shamira inderpal dilpmund," she muttered, drawing shapes in the sky. She called upon her Black magic, and pulled it out, sketching it out into the sky. To the naked eye, it would seem as though she was merely casting golden bubbles to the heavens, but, with the work of a trained Black magician's wand, one might see golden shields appearing and enclosing every member of Hogwarts.
To protect so many would mean that the wards would be thin, but they were still stronger than any White magic wards. Also, the wards would feed off of her physical strength, and she would be defenceless to attacks, apart from what she already had – next to nothing.
Ginny cut off the bubbles, having warded everyone she wanted to, and then ran forwards.
"Oh, hello, my pretty, long time no see!"
Ginny whirled around. There stood Bellatrix Lestrange, grinning maliciously in all of her evil glory, letting out a quiet, 'hehehe' of malevolent pleasure.
The sixteen-year-old whirled her wand quickly, and cried, "PROTEGO!" as she sensed what was coming. The curse that Bellatrix shot bounced off, though it made Ginny stumble backwards. "Stupefy!"
Bellatrix ducked, and the red light whizzed over her head, burning one long black curl. "Hey, I just got my hair cut!" Bellatrix snarled. "AVADA KEDAV-"
"Incarcerous!" Ginny shouted.
Again, black ropes caught Bellatrix, squeezing tight. The female Death Eater collapsed and writhed as the ropes slowly cracked her ribcage. "Diffindo," she spat, and her bindings cut. "How's your stomach healing, Weasley? – SECTUMSEMPRA!"
Ginny turned quickly. The seven purple slashes skimmed over her skin, not going deep – but enough to draw blood and send it gliding down her pale cheeks and her school uniform. She winced in pain, hastily wiping her face with her sleeve, and sending her strongest Bat-Bogey Hex flying at Bellatrix.
The Death Eater yelped, and Ginny turned away. She'd seen the effects enough times, and it wasn't particularly pleasant. She had more important things to deal with, anyway.
The movements of a thousand feet had turned the firm Hogsmeade ground into a thick, sloshy mud like that of the Goblin Wars battlefields, and Ginny had difficulty moving through. As she saved herself from falling flat on her face, a large, glowing phoenix landed on her arm.
"No, Fawkes, I'm fine. Go and heal people who need it more," she ordered, "I'm fine."
Fawkes clicked his beaks, but obediently swooped away, the edge of his left wing clipping Ginny's ear softly. She didn't watch him zoom away; she jogged forwards, shining her wand-light around in the night. Evening had long since passed, and the darkness was almost as terrifying as the battle around.
"TIAMAT!"
Ginny swirled around. Avery was staring her in the face, laughing as blood poured down from her back. "Smitius!" she bellowed. Avery was knocked backwards – that'd bruise in the morning.
If he made it to the morning.
The air grew hot and crackled with the exchanging of spells. Light sparked and embered brightly, leaving momentarily-lasting imparts on Ginny's eyes, as she sent jinx after jinx towards Avery. They weren't neat, and they weren't concentrated; she was just firing them hectically. She did not care if they hit his head or his stomach or his leg, just as long as it hit him.
"Duro!" Ginny shouted. An invisible wall appeared in front of Avery, and he slammed into it. There was a sickening crunch of bones, but, this matter aside, she dissolved the wall with a quick counter-jinx and bound him with the same curse as Dolohov.
Somehow, though, Avery managed to lift his wand through his broken bones, and gasp out, "CRUCIO!"
Ginny's head exploded. Everything was swirling, and she screamed, screamed, screamed – but, strangely enough, she couldn't even hear herself over the thundering and yelling and screeching of the battle. She fell to her knees, twisting frantically. MAKE THE PAIN STOP! MAKE THE PAIN STOP
She clawed at her own face, desperate for anything to hold onto, anything to stop the pain. It racked through her, pulling every muscle and ligament and bone, tugging them apart and letting them ping back together.
"Flagrate!"
A terrible, anguished scream rose from Ginny's area of the battlefield – but it wasn't Ginny. It was Avery. Dennis Creevey had leapt in front of her, defending her, and had stopped the Cruciatus charm by setting Avery on fire.
Melting skin is not a pretty sight.
Dennis ran to Ginny's side and crouched beside her. "Ginny, are you okay?" he said urgently.
Ginny, wheezing for air, allowed the younger boy to drag her into a standing position, and then, shaking her head to clear the after-effects of the Unforgivable Curse, looked in horror at Avery. "Good God, Dennis," she said, "and to remember that I thought you were an innocent little kid! Thanks."
"Anytime," replied Dennis, eyeing the slowly liquefying Death Eater with disdain. "Wow. That really is the grossest spell I've ever used."
"Come on, Den, let's go," Ginny said, sparing one last glance at Avery. I won't bind him – it's useless. He can't hurt anyone like that. However, she was terribly wrong.
As she and Dennis turned, there was a tortured scream of "AVADA KEDAVRA!", choked out in a sound only made by an agonized man with dissolving vocal chords.
Instinctively, Ginny turned, but before she could even finish spinning to protect her and Dennis, she saw the flash of green light, heard the rush of speeding death, saw the last smile ever to grace Avery's face… and then Dennis fell.
"NO!" cried Ginny, but it was too late. All that she could do was lunge out and catch the falling fourteen-year-old before he crashed into the mud. Dennis Creevey was still warm, not yet greying and turning stiff with lack of heartbeat pulsing through his small, skinny body; his chocolate-brown eyes wide and staring; his last words, his last expression still frozen on his face – forever.
Feeling tears sting, Ginny rested her hand over his large, long-lashed eyes, closing the eyes of the boy who would be forever fourteen when his two-year-old brother was eighty. Then, feelings her shoulders shake with despair and anger, she stood and walked away. She would tell Colin later.
Dennis Creevey was the first of the brave to die – the first of many more to come.
A/N: Sorry, but I was struck by an urge to kill Dennis. Sorry to Dennis fans. –dodges being pelted by rotten tomatoes- Don't worry, more will die. I have decided, so far, on two teachers, two important animals, and one person from each house. Well, that's, like, the important people. Then there's the unimportant fourth-years who no-one actually knows. Anyway… please review.