Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter and this wonderful world of imagination. It truly belongs to J.K. Rowling and I'm just having some fun with her characters.
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One Last Chance
Chapter Seven: The Last Few Adventures
Harry was grateful for her understanding, he had to be strong then, but now he was with Ginny and he could totally be himself, the scared teenaged man.
Ginny was gently messaging his shoulders to ease the tension in it and make him feel a little more relaxed.
"Ron," He cleared his throat and then continued. "Ron then disarmed Bellatrix and I wrestled to take Draco's wand. Then Dobby showed himself, I grabbed onto Griphooh and Dobby Disapparated us to Bill and Fleur house, Shell cottage. Dobby was struck by a knife, during the escape, by Bellatrix and it hat made its mark. He died and I watched him, He was trying to say something but all he could manage was my name."
"Voldemort was alerted about us, when we were there and he went to the Malfoy Manor immediately, but I was not there so he tortured all the death eaters there. He then left for Hogwatrs, to take the Elder Wand from Dumbledore's tomb, and I saw that through his eyes. He had figured out that Dumbledore had taken the Elder Wand from Grindelwald after their famous duel."
"In shell cottage, I had to make a decision Ginny," Harry continued. He was scared what her reaction would be if he told her that although he chose Horcruxes, and he had though about the Hallows as a mode for his survival. "And I thought very little about it then, but after I did it, Ron and Hermione argued about it like two parts of my mind."
"I had to make a choice between finding about Hallows or Horcruxes. I had to ask Griphook to help me break into Gringotts or find out about The Elder Wand. I knew Voldemort was going for the wand, he did kill Grindewal. I chose the horcruxes as I had a suspicion. The way Bellatrix got terrified about us having entered their vault, got me thinking, actually it convinced me that their was a Horcrux hidden in the Lestrange vault, but I was so angry with Dumbledore, he seemed to have know everything that would happen but he never had told me then what would happen to me."
"Was Hermione given the book to help her lead me to the Hallows, or for her to find out about it much later? Had I made the right choice? I was quite confused, but I stuck to the plan of finding the Horcruxes.
"Griphook agreed to help us break in but we would need to hand over the Gryffindor sword to him. We had no choice, but to agree to him. So we did, but we did not tell him that we would not give it as soon as we finish our break in. Then I decide to meet Ollivander."
"Ollivander confirmed the existence of the Elder Wand. He also said that a wand can transfer allegiance if its owner is defeated or disarmed. He also told us that, although the Elder Wand is unbeatable its master is not. So the master of the wand must always be on guard, against surprise attacks."
"It took a lot of careful planning for us to break into Gringotts. Griphook helped us a lot so that we could they penetrate through the defenses of Gringotts and retrieve Hufflepuff's Cup. At the end of it we lost the sword to Griphook, who just took it and ran away. We escaped Gringotts on the back of a dragon."
"Voldemort was by then informed of the theft of the cup, and you know what happened. All the Goblins are dead because of me. He went in there and killed them all."
"This alerted Voldemort to the fact that his horcruxes are in grave danger. He then unintentionally revealed the fact that the other Horcrux is hidden at Hogwarts. He thinks of all the locations he needs to check up on to confirm nothing has happened to his Horcruxes and Hogwarts was one of his locations."
"We came to Hogsmead, where Afeborth Dumbledore protected us from the Death Eaters occupying the village. He also helped us to get into Hogwarts."
"Then we saw Neville, he lead us to the Room of requirement and you know what happened. Luna told us about the lost diadem, and you got a little, mind you very little," He put great emphasis on little, and took hold of her hands in his very tightly, his voice taking on a note of amusement in it. "Jealous when I didn't mind going with Cho to their common room. I was only bothered about seeing how the lost diadem looks, you know." He ignored her glare and her fight to get free.
"Harry!" She shrieked, when Harry let go of her hand to tickle her.
"You looked so cute, when you got jealous," He informed her as he let her go. She immediately sprung up and away from him.
"I WAS NOT JEALOUS!" Ginny screamed, towering over Harry, as he lay on the ground laughing at her defensive mannerism.
Seeing him laugh, Ginny could not be angry at him, it was quite funny, although she would never mention it until her dying day.
"You prat, Harry," She said, punching him lightly on his chest, as she settled down leaning against the tree and pulled his head into her lap. "You need to be telling me something serious here, and you are pulling my leg."
He sobered up immediately.
"Well," his took on a serious note. "Luna and I headed out to their Common Room, where we ran into Alecto Carrow. She pressed her Dark Mark, which sent notice to Voldemort that I was at Hogwarts."
"Luna stunned her almost immediately, but the damage had been done, I felt it through my scar. Voldemort had been notified of my presence."
"Soon after that, both, Amycus Carrow and Professor McGonagall entered the Ravenclaw Tower. Amycus saw Alecto lying on the floor and mistakes her to be dead, but McGonagall told him she is only stunned. Then he blurted out the fact that Voldemort had instructed them that I might go into the Revenclaw tower and he decided to put the blame on the Revenclaw children. McGonagall got furious and told him outright he was being a coward and she won't let him do it. He just told her that for what she won't let him do, she will have to pay the price and then he spit into her face."
Harry's voice was layered with venom and he shut his eyes as he felt Ginny run her hand through his hair, he lost himself to her soothing touch for a minute. "I couldn't take it. I could not see McGonagall being disrespected so badly, by a deateater. I reveled my self and cast the Cruciatus Curse on him."
Harry shrived violently, while Ginny just held him tighter. "I enjoyed it Ginny, I did not want him to do that, McGonagall was telling me off, although she was shocked by my presence. "
"I told her that Voldemort was on his way, she told me to run, to go into hiding, but I had to find that Horcrux, first. I told her I need to find something in the castle, so she led me out of the Tower and we ran into Snape in a corridor. McGonagall engaged him in a duel so fierce, I have never seen her like that." There was admiration in Harry's voice, laced with respect for his ex-Head-of-the-House. Snape escaped by jumping out of a window and "flying" towards the perimeter wall."
"I recalled seeing the diadem in the Room of Requirement after I asked the Gray Lady the Ghost of Revenclaw. She was Revenclaw's daughter and she had stolen it, she then hid it in a Hollow tree in the forest of Alabina. She had also told about this to Riddle. I connected the part to having Riddle come to see Dumbledore for a job."
"I recollected seeing the diadem in the Room of Requirement when I hid my Potions book there in my sixth year after that Sectumsempra incident. I was wondering what you can come across walking up to Dumbledore's office. When I remembered the Room of Requirement, it would be so arrogant like Voldemort to think he was the only one to have treaded across the secret room."
"So is that way you kicked me out of the room?" Ginny asked, scowling down at him, you could have told me.
"There was no time, Ginny," Harry said, really irritated with her. "I could not have, even if I wanted to. The Castle was already on attack."
"I know, but…" Ginny said, grimacing.
"Anyway, Hermione had destroyed the Cup Horcrux with a basilisk fang that she and Ron retrieved from the Chamber of Secrets."
"How did they get in there, you had to--"
"Ron was there when I had spoken it to the locket, he tried it and got it right," Harry told her, he wanted to finish up with this as soon as he could, and by the looks of it, it would take him a life-time to convince her why he had done what he had done.
Thinking back to the sacrifices she had done, and how she had accepted his decisions of the break-up, Harry felt he did owe her a life time.
"When we were just outside the Room of Requirement, Ron mentions that the house elves are still in the kitchens and in danger, then Hermione jumped onto him and kissed him senseless."
"We were in the middle of a war and when I reminded them that, Ron told me that, that was the reason it had to be now or never! I really didn't know how to react to that."
"Oh you poor baby," Ginny teased. "You did not know how to tell your friends that the war was more important than them pulling out each other tonsils?"
She made gagging sounds, "How did you even stand there?"
"Anyway, we sent you and Tonks out and got in again," Harry ignored her question to continue. "I was about to pick up the Diadem, when we were attacked by Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle. Crabbe unleashed Fiendfyre,"
"What the hell are you talking about? YOU COULD HAVE DIED!" Ginny screamed out
"Killing himself and destroying the diadem, but we escaped unharmed," Harry continued as though Ginny had not screamed into his face or hit him really hard on his head.
"Ginny, we were at war, and now that was in the past," He told her patiently, rubbing the side of his head.
"You should have been more careful," She started, only to have Harry clam her mouth shut.
"I love you to death, but please," Harry pleaded. "Let me finish, then you have a life time to do as you wish to me.
She sighed, her shoulder sagging, but nodded for him to contimue.
"We came out of the Room of Requirement and I did not see you there. We ran into Percy and Fred dueling the Minister of Magic, himself, Thicknesse. Percy said that he will resigning from the Ministry, and Fred gleefully noted this, telling Percy that this was the best joke he had ever made. Then there was an explosion, the rocks in the corridor shattered. That is what killed Fred."
"It was awful and all I could think of how I had failed him," Harry said, shaking his head as Ginny had tensed up and relaxed when she remembered that he was still alive.
"Percy refused to leave the body until it was well hidden. Then we got back into the battle."
There was a comfortable silence that settled between them, Ginny was looking into his eyes, worry etched all over her face. Harry gave her a small smile, but that did not reassure her much.
Harry lifted his hand and brushed a few strands of her hair off her face, creased her back neck, slowly puling her face down. She did not refuse, she leaned down and brushed her lips softly against his. She sighed tiredly and pulled back.
"It's not bad," Harry told her softly. "It gets better and I would prefer you here it from me rather than some one else."
She gave him a soft smile and asked him to continue.
"I got another glimpse into Voldemort's mind," Harry sighed heavily. "And I saw him asking for Snape, in the Shrieking Shack. I headed over there. I saw Voldemort kill Snape, believing it will make him the Elder Wand's master. He told Snape he was sorry, but in reality he was not."
"I went up to Snape as he lay dying, he gave me his memories," Harry was once again confused as to how should treat that man. "The memories proved that Snape was indeed loyal to Dumbledore, as he had loved my mum all his life."
"The curse from the Gaunt's Ring Horcrux, made Dumbledore closer to his death. He had ordered Snape to kill him at a strategic time, sparing Draco from carrying out Voldemort's order to murder him." Harry was once again cursing himself for not having seen this.
"It was Snape who had sent the doe Patronus to the forest," Harry recalled, putting aside his miss judgment of Snape. "The memories also held the truth about the fact that I was a Horcrux and in order to destroy Voldemort I had to die."
"I felt betrayed by Dumbledore, he had know all along, I was angry at him," He swiped the angry tears that had rolled down his cheeks in frustration and irritation, had he not lived through that? Why am I crying now?
"I walked up to Voldemort's camp in the Forbidden Forest," Harry told her, his breath heaving. He felt like he was reliving that part of time all over again. "I passed Neviell and told him he'd have to kill the snake incase Ron and Hermione are unable to."
"I walked away from him, I saw you," He chocked, unable to continue.
"You were comforting some girl who wanted her mum," He added ignoring his voice and the tears. He was not ashamed to cry in front of her. "I though you looked at me, but I was not sure, I did not want to turn around."
"Along the way," he said, his voice trembling. "I realised what the inscription on the snitch Dumbledore gave him meant. I kept the snitch close to my mouth and told it that I am about to die."
"I found the Resurrection Stone in it," He voice steady. "I saw my parents, Sirius and Remus. They kept me company to go across the Dementors."
"Voldemort casts the Avada Kedavra on me and all I though about was the feel of your lips on mine," Harry smiled up at her, raising his hand to wipe the tears flowing freely down her cheeks.
"I don't know if I've ever told you Ginny, but I love you," He told her passionately.
Ginny chuckled, "That won't keep you away from me. I will kill you for getting yourself killed."
Ginny could feel what he felt and although she knew she imagined it, she was sure that was exactly how he had felt.
"What happened after that?" She asked hesitantly, she was curious but she did not want him to remember it if it bothered him.
"Well," Harry started, his eyes brightening and his voice taking a more chreeful note. "I got up in an ethereal place that looked like the King's Cross station. I was unsure whether I was alive or dead."
"Dumbledore appeared and explained that Voldemort's Horcrux within me has been destroyed. He also said that just as Voldemort cannot die while his soul fragments remain, Voldemort cannot kill ME because he used my blood in his resurrection."
"So, because he had your blood he could not kill you?" Ginny asked, her face screwed up in concentration trying to recollect what she had missed. "That's a little confusing, how?"
"Well, my blood, which carried the ancient magical protection my mother, gave me through her sacrifice years before." He explained and watched her face brighten.
"Voldemort's killing curse instead destroyed the only thing within me that did not carry my mum's protection," Harry continued. "The fragment of his own soul that was unknowingly passed to me the night my mum and dad sacrificed themselves to save me."
"In Kings Cross, I saw a representation of Voldemort's true self: a weeping, deformed child that Dumbledore described as 'beyond any of our help'," Harry said.
"He also gave me an explanation as to why my wand acted on its own accord against Voldemort," Harry told her, remembering bits of his conversation with Dumbledore. "He said my wand recognized Voldemort as my enemy and responded accordingly."
"But," Ginny was bubbling with questions. "He did not have his wand, did he? How did your wand recognised him?"
"Because it recognised him not his wand," Harry told her patiently. "Voldemort was using another wizard's wand as he had learnt of the twin core connection between his and my wand; that burrowed wand was not well equipped for the unexpected challenge."
"I then got up and was aware of my surroundings, so I feigned death with Narcissa Malfoy's help," Harry voice mirrored Ginny's shock. "Then he put the Curciatus Curse on me, to check if I was dead, but the Elder Wand did not work against it's true Master."
"He then Ordered Hagrid to carry me to the Edge of the Forest and well…" Harry trailed off.
Ginny nodded, shutting her eyes, "I know what happened after that." She spoke so quietly that Harry was not sure if that was all she spoke.
Harry was staring up into her face, scared of her reaction. She opened her beautiful brown eyes and looked deep into his Emerald Green eyes, "How can I stay mad at you after that?"
Harry shrugged and simply said "Your Ginny!"
She looked at him, blinked once, and then burst into laughter, Yes you stupid man, I am Ginny! Ginny Weasley and this Weasley will not let go off you ever again, no matter what valid reasons you have.
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By the time Harry and Ginny entered the Great Hall, Hogwarts had been cleared off all battle scars, the grass was a lush green again, and the Lake's surface was smooth, with out any disturbance. The Giant Squid was seen playing around happily, splashing water on the banks of the lake.
The Castle looked warm and welcoming once again. The Forbidden Forest, although still forbidden was a lot safer place than it was previously. The Magical creatures had come to an understanding that they would not harm any wizards or witches that crossed their paths.
Harry walked into the Great Hall with his arm round Ginny's waist. He spotted his parents, Sirius, Remus, Nymphdora and the Weasley brothers, all huddled together discussing something very serious.
Ron looked up and saw them approaching and muttered something, immediately all of them broke free from the huddle and started talking loudly about Qudditch. Harry narrowed his eyes on them, as her walked up to them.
"Discussing something important?" Harry asked off handedly.
"Qudditch,"
"Dragons,"
"Battle,"
"Hogwarts,"
"Malfoys,"
"Burrow,"
The stopped abruptly and looked at each other,
"Battle,"
"Quidditch,"
"ALL RIGHT, I GET IT!" Harry roared over their voices. "You are talking about me and don't want me to know, at least you could do a better job of not being guilty."
"Dragons?" He muttered under his breadth.
"FRED! GEORGE!" Ginny's sharp voice made him jump.
"Accio Extendable ears," She screamed pointing her wand at her twin brothers.
A dozen of them flew into her out stretched hand, not only from the twins but also from most people standing there, including her parents.
"Explain," She muttered calmly, looking at all her brothers and parents, who were looking down at their feet, shifting from one leg to another.
"Ginny," Bill started.
"Don't Bill," Ginny warned, her voice rising, her eyes flashing in danger. They had not only talked. After their talk, Harry and Ginny had spent quite some time making up for lost time, as Ginny had put it.
She had seen to it that they had taken out their frustrations of the past year. It had been difficult for both of them. It had not been their first choice to break up, in fact that was the reason Harry had broken up with her on the funeral day and not on the day Dumbledore had died. It had been on his mind even then.
"All right, we," Molly started, pointing at her husband and herself. "Were taking a walk around the Lake when we heard you, we hid in the bushes and listened to your talk."
"I just realised," Arthur continued for his wife. "That all of us had some how listened in. We left when we, um…," He turned a shade of red that Harry associated, Ron with embarrassment. "Uh…we left when we heard you guys kissing," He finished in one breadth very quickly.
"Oh," was all Harry could say. He looked down; he was not sure how he was supposed to react to that. He was not ashamed, but neither was he embarrassed by what he had done, but discussing it with the girl's father and her six-elder-overprotective-brothers, was not something he was comfortable with.
"Didn't you guys feel, that that conversation was meant only for me and a few others?" Ginny's voiced held disappointment that made all of them look down in shame.
"We are not sorry, Ginny," Fred said loudly, looking right into his sisters eyes. "We love Harry too, and we wanted to know what he had faced, we treat him as family and families have the right to know when one member was suffering."
The others nodded along after Fred's statement.
Harry was touched by this, "Let them be Ginny, I don't mind," He had not wanted anyone to know, but when Fred put it that way, something in him broke, the hard shield he had built around his heart from the years of abuse at the hands of his uncle.
He pulled Ginny closer to him, he had changed a lot. A near death experience changes people, but death changes them completely.
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"Please," Harry pleaded. He was standing with his mother and father.
"Oh, all right," James sighed. "We did promise him, Lily."
"I know," Lily said. "Well let me call Severus, you gather the others. The Weasleys are your, Harry." She walked up to her friend who was sitting alone, watching Remus, playing with his son, enviously.
Harry had cornered his parents in the Great Hall. He had not been able to put back the Elder Wand into Dumbledore's tomb. As his mother had promised, he wanted to put up some wards against Dumbledore's tomb. He did not want another Riddle breaking into Dumbledore's tomb and violating basic society ethics, just to get a wand that would be trouble for them.
James had been an Aurror when he had lived, and Lily was studying various departments in the Departments of Mysteries. She was also apprenticing with Slughorn, she had wanted to take up his job, after he had retired.
She was also extensively working along with the Department of Magical Creatures, against the prejudices of the wizarding worlds. She wanted to let Goblins have wands and the Centaurs let to be as they wanted to.
Harry sighed as he heard his mother tell him, he had to convince the Weasleys. He had avoided the Weasley brothers ever since he had realised they knew what he had been up to with their sister.
"Better start on it," Harry's father advised as he walked up to his best friend, Sirius.
Harry walked up to Bill who was talking with Charlie and Ron.
"Hey," Harry started nervously.
"Hey, Harry, where is Ginny and Hermione?" Ron asked, feeling Harry's nervousness.
"Oh, they wanted to have some Girl time, so they headed to the Dorm," Harry said, fidgeting with his fingers.
There was an uncomfortable silence, which Harry decided to break.
"Hey, guys, I needed some help, call it my last adventure if you want, but I need some enchantments and wards placed around Dumbledore's tomb."
"Whatever for?" Bill asked, it was his area of expertise and he wanted to know why?
"Well, I want to return the Elder Wand to the rightful owner. Although I'll be it's true master, I want it placed in Dumbledore's tomb. I do not want to reunite the three Hallows, and the wand is more trouble then it is worth."
This earned him Bill's respect, although Bill did not say it out loud. Ron and Charlie saw his expression.
"Sure, we will help," Bill told him, giving him a small smile. "We will also will gather the Weasley army. I'm sure the rest of us put together, can make it very good."
Harry smiled, as he relaxed on hearing Bill's words. It was already dark and Harry did not want to waste another moment. "Let me get Ginny and Hermione and I'll meet you near Dumbledore's tomb. Dad and mum are also gathering those who can make it stronger."
"The more the merrier," Charlie said, giving him a pat on his back. "I never really said it, but thanks for two things, one for protecting my sister, by breaking up with her and two, for dying for us."
With that the three of them walked off, to find Fred and George and Percy, leaving a gaping Harry staring after them. He shook himself from his state and smiled to himself. Tiny drops of water make a mighty ocean, I need to work on each and every brother, until then, I can't really gain their trust. I will do it.
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It was quite late at night when the group, which consisted of Lily, James, Sirius, Remus, Dora, Andromeda, Arthur, Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, Ron, Ginny, Hermione, McGonagall, Kingsley, Severus and Harry, were walking back to the castle, exhausted.
It had taken them three continuous hours of work, to seal Dumbledore's tomb. They were not sure, themselves how to break the enchantments and wards they had erected. Fred and George had also put up some untested products of their joke shop as part of the enchantments.
The best part of it was Snape's use of Leglimens embedded onto the tomb, with some help from Hogwarts magic. That layer would protect the tomb from unwanted people getting close to it. It worked as a Muggle Repelling Charm, only it kept away people with intentions of sabotaging the tomb in any form of way.
No matter how good the person was at Occlumency they would not be able come closer than 8 feet from the tomb. The sorting hat, Xavier, had told Snape how he worked and Snape had implemented the same method.
The tomb now looked untouched, but Harry could feel a light pulse when ever he went close to it.
The trek up the seven flights of stairs went by quite quickly, Harry only remembered his mother and father whishing him good night and kissing him on his forehead. He was so tired that he fell asleep as soon as his head hit his head.
He did not see or realise that Ginny had come into his Dorm and crawled into his bed, ignoring her brother's protests, who were bunking in the same Dorm.
A/N: Well what do you guys think? Come on I need some reviews... I'm done with the story and if there are no reviews I may not feel like putting a sequel that I've been considering for this. Let me know what you think. One request you guys...any idea how I can get more humour into this with the help of Fred and George, I'm not sure I've put enough and I'd like to put some up.
This is not edited so ignore the mistakes, my betas are great but real life keeps them busy, if you really are not able to read at all I'd suggest you shift to SIYE, it's edited and follows a different pattern, as the chapter lengths are different and some other grammar changes are there. This is just to let you know how the story progresses.
One more request, give me some ideas, so I know what you guys expect form further chapters of this story. I'm may not change it, but I might if the idea is really good.
Any good wedding songs for Harry Ginny's wedding that will be in the 27th chapter, if you are wondering.
The Authors note is too long... do leave a review please!