(A/N: And so the suspense ends. I think you'll all really like this chapter, it's one of my favorites.)
Disclaimer: This is getting old.
Chapter 22: A Ghost of A Chance
Harry felt himself wake up, but he didn't open his eyes. He was trying to remember what happened. Suddenly, it all came back to him. He had been dueling Drake. Ginny had come after him. He went to defend her. Both him and Drake fired a Killing Curse. And… and… Harry hadn't blocked it. Then it was over. He must be dead. He was with his parents now. As long as Ginny was safe, he didn't care. The only thing he regretted was that he wouldn't be able to see her beautiful face again.
Something wet fell on his face. Harry wiggled his nose, trying to get the drop of water off. Another drop of water fell on his face. He heard sobbing. Slowly Harry opened his eyes. The beautiful face of Ginny Potter came into focus. She was cradling his head and crying with her eyes closed.
"Ginny?" Harry said softly.
Ginny opened her eyes and looked into Harry's emerald green ones. Her sad face turned into one of inexpressible joy. She bent down and kissed him long and hard.
"Oh Harry! I thought you were dead!" she cried.
"I thought I was too." said Harry, sitting up. "What happened?"
"You and Drake used Avada Kedavra." explained Ginny. "I saw you weren't going to be able to save yourself, so I cast a Protego to protect you. I was afraid it wasn't going to work, or I was too late."
Harry leaned forward, kissed her, then pulled her into a hug. For once he was glad she wasn't very good at staying put. "It was close. But your love was more than strong enough to stop that dreaded curse. But I think you weren't fast enough and some of the curse did get through. Not enough to kill me, but enough to knock me out. You saved my life again, Gin."
Ginny laughed. "Harry I would die for you. And you saved my life more times than I can remember. I was so scared that I lost you."
"How long was I out?"
"About a minute. But even that was too long."
Suddenly Harry remembered something.
"Wait! Where's Drake?"
Ginny frowned and pointed across the room. Drake lay there dead. Harry got up and walked over to Drake's body. He looked into his lifeless face. There was no denying it. Drake was definitely dead.
Harry knelt down by Drake. Ginny came and knelt down next to him.
"I wanted to help him." Harry said. "I was holding back. I didn't want to hurt him. I thought that maybe I could bring him back to the light."
Ginny rested a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Harry, you couldn't help him. He was too far gone. I was his prisoner for four days. I know how twisted and evil he was. There was no help for him, nor was there any help he wanted. He past the point of no return. Voldemort took him in just like he did all his followers. It was too late."
"I know." said Harry. "I saw the truth when I looked into his eyes. I knew he was beyond saving. But somehow, I hoped there would be a way."
Ginny embraced him, and he melted into her hug. The two of them stayed like that until the door burst open. In an instant, Harry and Ginny were on their feet with their wands out. But they relaxed when they saw it was Ron and Hermione. Hermione was carrying Fawks, who looked much better.
"Harry, Ginny, thank Merlin." said Hermione.
"What the bloody hell happened?" asked Ron.
"It's ok." Harry assured them. "Drake's finished. What happened with the Death Eaters?"
"We got them." said Hermione. "All of them this time. All the missing Death Eaters. Nine are dead, and the rest were captured."
Harry breathed a sigh of relief. All the Death Eaters were taken care of.
"Then it's over." said Harry. "The last of Voldemort's supporters have been defeated. It's finally over."
"NO, POTTER!" cried an evil voice. "It's not!"
All four of them turned around. Voldemort was floating over to them. Harry felt irritated with himself. How could he forget Voldemort? The very person who started the war. Harry wanted to blast him, but knew it would be useless. He couldn't touch a ghost.
"It will never be over!" Voldemort declared. "So you defeated the last of my followers! So what! There will be others! There will always be those that I can bend to my will! Maybe not now, but there will be more! I may have to wait 100, or 1,000, maybe even 10,000 years, but I will find someone to complete my work! I won't stop until this world is mine!"
"THAT IS ENOUGH!" cried a voice.
Voldemort's face was suddenly filled with fear. Harry's was filled with amazement. And his friends were filled with confusion. Harry knew that voice. There was no mistaking it.
Voldemort turned around. It was impossible. Yet there he was. Standing behind them was Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, former headmaster of Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry, and the only one Voldemort ever feared.
"No." whispered Voldemort. "No! It's not possible! You're dead!"
"And so are you." said Dumbledore calmly. "Yet you're still here."
"But you're not a ghost, Albus." declared Voldemort.
And he was quite right. Dumbledore was not colorless or transparent. He had all his color and looked very much alive. In fact, he looked younger, healthier, and his hand wasn't all black and burned anymore.
Dumbledore smiled. "No Tom, I am not a ghost. Yet here I stand before you. And I am not the only one."
Harry saw that behind Dumbledore was the veil that Sirius had fell through. The curtains opened up and Sirius Black himself came through. But he wasn't the only one. Coming up behind them, to Harry's and everyone else's surprise, was James and Lily Potter. They all looked very much alive.
Voldemort looked fearfully at each of them. "No, impossible! You're dead! You're all dead!"
"Didn't think you'd see us again, did you Voldy?" said Sirius smiling.
"We can't let you hurt anyone else." said Lily.
"That's right, we've come to take you away." said James.
The four of them took no notice of Harry and the others. All their attention was on Voldemort.
"Take me away?" repeated Voldemort. "What do you mean, take me away?"
"Just that, Tom." said Dumbledore. "We're here to take you away so you can't cause anymore damage. You have no place in this world and do not belong here."
In an instant, Dumbledore was in front of Voldemort. He seized his arm. Sirius, James, and Lily charged forward too and grabbed hold of Voldemort.
Voldemort was shocked that they could touch him and tried to break free of their grip.
"No! Unhand me!" he shouted.
The four of them ignore him, and began dragging Voldemort towards the veil. The curtains opened up. There was a room on the other side. It was a bright, white room, that was covered in fog.
Voldemort's eyes widened in fear. "NO! YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME! I AM LORD VOLDEMORT! RELEASE ME!"
"Your time is up." said Dumbledore.
He, Sirius, James, and Lily threw Voldemort into the room beyond the veil. As Voldemort entered the next room, all the color came back to him and he was no longer transparent. He looked just as alive as Dumbledore and the others.
Voldemort cried out in rage as the curtains closed behind them. Then his screams were silenced. The veil opened again. Voldemort was gone.
Harry and the others stared in amazement at what had just happened. Each one of them was at a loss for words. Dumbledore and the others turned back to them and smiled.
"Good evening, Harry." he said. "It has been too long."
"P-Professor?" gasped Harry. "How… What… But… How did…"
Dumbledore smiled more broadly. "Calm down, Harry. I am sure you are confused about what has happened."
Harry nodded. "How are you here? What happened to Voldemort? What's going on?"
"Harry calm down!" said Dumbledore, raising his hand. "We don't have much time. So I must explain quickly. Yesterday Professor Binns passed through the veil. He gave up his immortal ghost life and crossed over. The veil is a gateway to the afterlife. All those that pass through it perish. It is used to execute those who receive the death sentence. Once you go through the veil, you die. Professor Binns came through to tell me what Voldemort has done, in hopes that I could stop him. Once you cross over, there is no going back."
"Then how are you here?" asked Harry.
"In some very rare cases, people may come back through the veil for a very short time." Dumbledore explained. "It takes an enormous effort and amount of magic to do so. But it only lasts a few short minutes. And we can only travel a short distance from the veil. The dead do not belong in the world of the living. We are already being drawn back into the afterlife."
Harry saw that they were indeed being drawn back. Very slowly they were drifting back towards the veil. An invisible force was slowly sucking them back and they didn't seem to be able to stop it.
"We came back to send Voldemort to the other side. He wouldn't cross over willingly, so we were forced to take him."
"What happened to him?" asked Hermione. "Where did he go?"
"To the place that all those like him go once they cross over." said Dumbledore. "And now, I give you my leave. It is time for me to return to the other side. I just want you to know that you've made me proud. And Harry, can you do me a favor?"
"Anything, sir." said Harry.
Dumbledore pulled a letter out of his robes and handed it to Harry.
"Give this to Minerva McGonagall."
Harry took the letter. "I will, sir. Thank you."
"No, thank you, Harry."
And with that, Dumbledore gave into the 'pull', and drifted back to the veil. Fawks gave a cry and flew after Dumbledore. Harry didn't bother stopping the phoenix. He truly did belong with Dumbledore. Harry got one last look at his mentor and his phoenix before they vanished behind the veil. Now it was just Harry, his friends, and…
"Harry, my son, look at you." said James. "You've grown up. You've become a powerful wizard and made us proud."
"Harry, we are sorry we haven't been there for you." said Lily. She was crying, and Harry found he was close to tears himself. "We wanted nothing more than to be one happy family with you, but our time unfortunately was cut short. We just want you to know that we love you and couldn't be more proud."
Now Harry was crying. But there was something he needed to know.
"Mum, Dad, I need to know-"
"No Harry, don't say it." said James interrupting him. "You have nothing to feel guilty about. We gave our lives for you because your life was worth more to us than your own."
"Yes." said Lily, nodding in agreement. "We would do it all over again. We love you and care for your safety and happiness. You have nothing to feel guilty about. We made the choice to give our lives for you. You did nothing wrong."
Harry felt sweet relief flow through him. True people had told him not to feel guilty about his parents, and it eased his guilt, but hearing it from his parents made all the difference. Harry felt free.
Or almost free. He turned to Sirius. But before he could even open his mouth, Sirius spoke.
"Don't you even think about feeling guilty, Harry. I don't blame you in the least. In fact, I'm honored that you would risk your life to save me. I would have done the same for you and your father."
That did it. Now Harry was completely free of all his suffering. Words couldn't describe the relief he felt. He reached out to touch them. Lily's hand reached out for Harry's. But just like a ghost, his hand went right through. The dead could not touch the living. But unlike a ghost, Lily wasn't cold and eerie. She felt warm and loving.
It was then that Harry realized that they were being 'pulled' back to the veil faster. He wanted more time with his loved ones, but knew he could not have it.
"Mum, Dad, Sirius, this is Ginny." he said. "My wife. We have two kids. Danny and Michelle."
"She's quite a looker." said James. "Good choice, son."
Harry and Ginny blushed and Lily elbowed James. Sirius winked at Harry and Ginny and said "I knew you two would end up together. I just knew it." He looked at Ron and Hermione. "And you two."
"Mum, Dad, this is Ron and Hermione Weasley." said Harry. "My brother and sister-in-law. They've been my best friends for years and have helped me through everything."
"Ah, the Weasleys." said James smiling. "That explains the red hair and freckles"
They were only about a foot away from the veil. It was time for good byes.
"It seems our time has run out." said Sirius sadly. "It was good to see you again."
"Yes." said Lily. "And Harry, my sister and I had a little talk, and she is sorry for the way she treated you. And she does not blame you for her death."
Harry didn't care about the Dursleys. All he cared about right now was his parents.
"We'll see each other again someday." said James. "But until then, remember that we love you, and couldn't be more proud of you."
"Good bye my son." said Lily. She blew a kiss to Harry. Then the three of them vanished behind the veil. They were gone again.
Harry was crying. He had finally been reunited with his parents and Sirius, only to have them taken away from him. Ginny put a comforting hand on his shoulder. Harry turned to her and hugged her. He knew everything would be all right now. One day he would be reunited with his family again, but right now, he had his family here that he wanted to be with.
(A/N: I gave myself the chills when I had everyone cross over from the other side. I couldn't think of a more perfect way to get rid of Voldemort for good. This idea originally came to me at the end of 'Order of the Phoenix' when Harry and Luna were talking and she told Harry that the dead were hiding out of sight just behind the Veil. I thought it was a good idea, what do you think. Anyway, just one chapter left. See ya next time.)