A/N: Hope you guys have enjoyed the fic so far, and sorry it took me a while to upload this chapter. This fic has been in the process for a while; I have the first four chapters written,but only the first two typed.Also, I shall be s.o.l for the next week or so, as I need to read Tale of Two Cities for school, which starts in a little over a week, and I would prefer to not start off the year on a bad note. All issues aside, we shall be moving along now. Enjoy!

Chapter 3: Love and Loss

In the crowd leaving the castle, Ginny found herself with her family, "or what remained of it" she thought bitterly, and Hermione, who grasped her hand as they headed down the once grand steps at the front of the castle. As Ginny turned to get a better look at Hermione, and was alarmed to see tears in her normally warm and clear brown eyes. She had always looked to Hermione as a source of strength and solace, and now, well, it was just disturbing to see Hermione broken up.

As Ginny looked toward the forest she saw a long line of Death Eaters, with there signature billowing black robes trailing behind them. In the lead was Voldemort, his red snake like slits of eyes were glowing with such intensity that they were visible from the castle steps. Following closely behind was a familiar large, shaggy figure who appeared to be shaking with sobs.

Ginny could do nothing but simply stared at this procession, her heart unwilling to put two and two together for the awful possibility that they actually did make four. To her left she could still hear the barely audible sound of Hermione's tears as they grew in intensity. But Hermione's tears were nothing compared the cry of anguish that erupted from the front of the crowd. Ginny was astounded and shaken to see Professor McGonagall sink to her knees sobbing and crying. Professor McGonagall, always stern and proper, was another one that Ginny had always turned to for strength and guidance. A prodding at side of her mind was telling her that whatever was happening was awful enough to tear apart two of the strongest women that she had ever known and admired.

As the procession came to a halt, Hagrid was fully exposed by the light spilling from the castle doors. As was the limp figure in his arms. Ginny felt her blood run cold, her heart skipped a beat, her breath caught in her throat, and her eyes slowly took in the sight. She quickly closed her eyes, not wanting to see any more, praying that it was only her imagination, that she would soon wake up and find that it was all a dream.

"No"

That one word, that one syllable spoken by her older brother Ron forced Ginny to open her eyes. She looked over at him, only to see his face stark white, his freckles and scars that he had acquired over the past year standing out starkly. His blue eyes were wide, focused on the figure in Hagrid's arms, as if hoping he could make it disappear if he stared at it long enough. He kept repeating that one syllable, his mouth opening and closing, yet with no sound coming out.

"No!"

This time the cry came from Hermione, who's tears turned to heaving sobs and she threw he self at Ron and sobbed copiously into his chest, as he absent mindedly stroked her hair consolingly. By now Ginny's brain had finally convinced her heart that what it had been denying since that icy voice wafted through the castle. The Chosen One had died. The Boy-Who-Lived was no longer alive. The only man she had ever loved was gone, and he had taken her heart with him. Harry Potter was dead.

"Harry! Harry!"

This time the anguished cry was her own, as were the hysterical sobs she broke down into. As Ginny sobbed, she was pulled into a comforting embrace, and looked up to see Charlie's own tear brimmed eyes as he looked down at her with a worried, yet understanding expression. As she sobbed into her older brother's shoulder, she was overcome with memories. From the time she had first meet Harry that morning in the kitchen of the Burrow during the summer before her first year of Hogwarts. When he had rescued her from the Chamber of Secrets, that god-awful valentine she had sent him. All of the times she had wanted to asked him out, but was not able to summon the courage. The time he asked her to the Yule Ball, but she was already going with Neville. That entire year he had dated Cho Chang, that year had been torture for her. When he kissed her in the common room in front of everyone, there hours spent by the lake during lunch, when he broke up with her after Dumbledore's funeral. Their last kiss…it was too painful to continue on.

She then turned toward her mother to see her dissolved in convulsing sobs that shook her entire body as she clutched her father, who had tears leaking out of the corners of his eyes. Of course her mother would be as upset as she was. She had always viewed Harry as her own son, her eighth child. She had lost two of her children tonight, during this cruel, cruel battle.

By and by, the crowd seemed to be coming out of their initial shock, and were all now shouting angry taunts and moaning and sobbing.

"Silence!" screamed Voldemort.

As the silencing charm ensued, Voldemort ordered Hagrid to lay Harry out at his feet, where "he rightfully belonged". Ginny clenched he fists in fury as Hagrid laid Harry's body at his feet, and then sank back into the night, though his sobs echoed throughout the grounds as a terrible reminder of the travesty that had occurred, of the great life that had been cut so short, of the great man that had been lost.

Then, Voldemort's voice rose gleefully over the crowd, "You see? Harry Potter is dead! Do you understand now deluded ones? He was nothing ever but a boy who relied upon others to sacrifice themselves for him!" Ginny felt anger swell up within her, consuming all other emotions, all other feelings. All she felt was a burning desire for revenge, a desire to retaliate for Harry. Before she could act, she heard Ron's voice, clear and strong, from her left. He rose up to his full height, his blue eyes full of tears unshed.

"He beat you!" he called to Voldemort, breaking through the silencing charm.

The defenders of Hogwarts responded with more cheers and taunts towards the Death Eaters, until another silencing charm was placed upon them.

"He was killed while trying to sneak out of the castle grounds, killed while trying to save himself…" But Ginny saw through the lies. She had known, no, she had loved Harry for six years now, and she knew that he would never run away from the battle, never, especially while those that he had loved and cared about were in danger. He had always done anything he could to protect others; their break-up last year is proof of that. He had always hated having to depend upon others for his safety before he came of age. It was all part of his noble heart, his painfully perfect Gryffindor personality. It had been the part of him that had always led him to danger. It had been what had led them to the ministry to save Sirius, what had led him to battle off a hundred dementors so Sirius would not receive the kiss, what had caused him to save Cedric from the maze, what had led him down to the chamber to save her. It was what set him apart from Voldemort. It was his greatest attribute, and his worst curse. It was the trait that she despised, as it always led to trouble, yet it was the trait that made her love him more than anything else.

She felt tears in her eyes again, though this time they were tears of anger. She wanted, for the first time in her life, to kill. No, not to kill, to torture. She wanted to make Voldemort suffer for every moment of Harry's life, for every instant since October 31, 1981, the day he made Harry's life a waking nightmare. Her mind set, she reached for her wand and started forward. Yet, before she could take more than two steps, a pair of strong arms reached out and held her back. She turned to face her offender, to hex them into oblivion if necessary. But she felt her anger ebb away and her grief wash over her with all of the force of a tsunami as she looked into Percy's tear-brimmed eyes.

"I can't lose you too." He said in a hoarse whisper, new tears beginning to fall. Ginny felt her tears returning as well, and hugged him back with all her might. It felt so good just to be held by him. She had nearly forgotten what her brother's embrace had felt like over the past two, nearly three years. She wanted to be held by him, for him to never let go. She wanted everything to be all right. But, in her heart, she knew it couldn't be so. Nothing would ever be all right again.

Suddenly, a bang erupted from the front. That one wonderful moment was shattered. Ginny and Percy broke apart and Ginny spun about to see what had occurred during her brief moment of bliss. She felt her breath catch in her throat as she recognized the body sprawled on the ground.

"No! No, not Neville too!"