Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, it is the property of the brilliant J.K Rowling. This story is the product of her marvellous characters and world and my imagination.

Any constructive criticism or reviews are very welcome. Enjoy the chapter.

If you reach the part in this chapter where it is clear who will die and you don't like it then please don't despair. I will be posting an alternate ending at the end of the story which will be one chapter showing what it would be like if the side who lost in this main story actually won. There are more details at the end of the story.

The Final Battle at Hogwarts

The scene that the four of them apparated into was one they'd never forget, spells were flying everywhere, bodies on the ground and the centre of the darkened battlefield lit up by the amazing duel going on in the middle of the battle - Lord Voldemort versus Albus Dumbledore.

As soon as Harry had assessed the situation he pulled a silvery pile of material out of his pocket and shoved it at Ginny, "my invisibility cloak," he told her by way of explanation, "put it on and find a safe place to hide until the battle is over, we can't let Voldemort get to you again."

Ginny was about to protest, she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself and she wanted to help, but Harry was heading purposefully towards Tom, followed closely by Ron and Hermione. Ginny rolled her eyes, she loved him, but that boy had serious protectiveness issues.

She made her decision and followed a little distance behind the trio, wearing to cloak of course, it wouldn't do to be recaptured by Tom's people. She tried not to look at the still bodies on the floor, especially knowing that everyone of her family and friends were fighting. She cast a couple of stunning spells on death eaters fighting her friends, knowing the power behind the spells would keep them knocked out for a good few hours - hopefully the battle would be over by then.

When she finally made it to the middle of the battle, Harry and Tom were squaring up opposite each other. Dumbledore had been reprieved from the battle and was know breathing heavily on the sidelines, leaning a little on Severus for support - from the glares he was receiving from death eaters and Tom she guessed that his spy position had been revealed.

However, no one made a move to attack him, she guessed both sides had orders to wait until one of the two in the middle was dead before resuming attack. There was so much pushing around to watch that no one noticed the petite figure that shoved her way to the front, invisible to all eyes.

Then it began - a duel between two of the greatest wizards of all time - and what a duel it was. The two figures moved so fast it was almost impossible to tell where they were most of the time. Spells flew and near misses were aplenty - gasps from the crowd added to the atmosphere of fear, worry and tension and Ginny herself bit back cries of shock when she saw the telltale green light of the killing curse thrown from both sides at different times, neither hitting their target.

Things came to a head quickly and suddenly when a sneaky spell of Tom's managed to disarm Harry and knock him to the floor. Harry was defenceless without a wand and no one could help him - it still had to be him defeating Voldemort and without a wand that wasn't possible. The light could have tried to regain Harry's wand by battling Voldemort but they all knew the only one except Harry capable of that was Dumbledore - he was currently exhausted and in no state to duel.

Tom sneered at Harry, "so this is what it all comes down to Harry Potter, you are wandless and unable to defend yourself - what a pathetic end for 'the-boy-who-lived-to-be-killed'," he laughed harshly at his own little joke, while the death eaters tittered along with him nervously.

He raised his wand and Ginny knew what was meant to come, she couldn't let that happen - not to the boy she loved so much. She did the only thing she could and pulled the cloak off her, stepping forward into Tom's sightline and ignoring all the surprised stares and the look of sorrow on Harry's face, "stop."

Tom's face when he saw her was a montage of emotions; shock, surprise, anger and he spoke coldly, "I take it this is why Potter was late to the battle, you escaped," he pointed out unnecessarily. She nodded and his eyes flashed, she knew that if by some sick twist of fate Tom won that those death eaters who had been supposed to guard her wouldn't live long.

Tom seemed to notice her twirling her wand absent mindedly in her hand, for he scoffed a little, "you're not going to try and save your precious Potter are you Ginevra, you know the spells I placed on your wand, you can't harm a hair on my head."

Ginny smirked in such a slytherin like manner that even Tom looked a little concerned, "you obviously don't know Hermione Granger do you Tom," she said, grinning at the hisses of disapproval from the death eaters as she called Voldemort by his muggle name, "brightest witch of her age," she threw a smile over to Hermione, "and it didn't take her long to figure out your spells and reverse them."

Tom's eyes widened for just a moment before he was back to his smug self, "your wand may have power Ginevra, but our marriage bonds and my superior duelling skill mean the most you'll do is injure me a little so why don't you put the wand down and go back to the Manor to wait for my inevitable victory."

Ginny couldn't help the giggle that escaped her, increasing in volume at the incredulous looks she was receiving from both sides, "never underestimate me Tom, I may not look like much but I am intelligent and I am perfectly capable of bringing you down. While you thought I was sitting in my room, moping and reading, I was researching new spells, powerful, but still light spells and I was practicing my duelling skills. I may not be up to par with you but I am something to be reckoned with Tom Riddle."

Tom hissed, "do not speak that muggle name to me Ginevra, you may be skilled, it is why I chose you as a wife, but the marriage was bonded with blood and you are unable to harm me." His smirk was triumphant, but he did not count of Ginny having the final ace up her sleeve.

"You need to research better Tom," she told him, "that marriage is ancient magic, but unlike most of the old magic it is not at all sexist. The magic flows through both of us and it can sense when one partner is undeserving of the marriage, when it is obviously forced. This magic, in our case at least, also has a huge affect on the destinies of us all."

Everyone looked confused at this, but hope built in the light side's minds when they saw the spark of a smile in Dumbledore's face and a little twinkle in his crinkled blue eyes. Ginny smiled brightly, "don't you see Tom, the magic of the blood marriage YOU insisted on has become your downfall, it recognises me as a wronged party and that overrides any type of protection you may have had from me harming you."

He looked about to speak but she silenced him by continuing on, "don't even try and quote that prophesy bullshit to me Tom, when we were married it changed everything. The prophesy was designed in a world where you were not bonded to a staunch supporter of the light and in marrying me you changed everything. You, Tom Riddle, have just given me the power to save the whole of wizarding Britain from your twisted rule."

She lifted her wand and a single tear dripped down her cheek with the wonder of what could have been, had the teenage boy named Tom Riddle never turned to the dark, for the amazing man he could have been. Then, in front of hundreds of witnesses who were sure Harry Potter was the only one with the power to defeat Voldemort, she softly spoke only two words, "Avada Kedavra."

As Tom's body dropped to the floor, his features fixed in his final expression - shock - all hell broke loose on the battlefield. Every single death eater seemed to turn to Ginny, the one who had killed their master and the one they would take down, even if it cost them their life. She saw that Severus seemed to be a target too, for his 'traitorous' behaviour, she presumed.

Her parents, brothers, Harry, Hermione and Dumbledore all seemed to move towards her, she guessed they wanted to get her to safety before the death eaters ripped her to shreds - of course they hadn't seen her practice recently. She almost smiled as five of the remaining death eaters surrounded her, blood in their eyes and sank into her battle stance, red hair waving in the wind and a smirk on her face.

Her self-appointed 'rescuers' immediately backed off, seeming to sense that she actually needed no help. These assumptions were proven correct when Ginny began fighting. Her style was fluid and controlled, but at the same time her huge variety of spells and lack of pattern made her a formidable opponent.

Bellatrix Lestrange, Rabastan Lestrange, Avery, Antonin Dolohov and many other death eaters fell at her wand during the next intense twenty minute battle. Other dangerous death eaters such as Lucius Malfoy and Rodolphus Lestrange fell with the combined efforts of the rest of the Order, renewed by Ginny's energy and the death of Voldemort.

By the time they were done, 80% of the death eaters present were dead and the other 20% were unconscious and bound; no one escaped except for the few not present and they were all bound at Malfoy Manor. Ginny stood in the middle of it all, eyes blazing and wand finally relaxed at her side.

The Order seemed to congregate around her in awe, all with so many questions for her and some of them even a little afraid of her. She noticed some gaps in their ranks and each loss hit her, some more painfully than the others. She knew she would have to tell them all what had gone on, but she couldn't do it there on the battlefield.

With Harry's arm tentatively around her shoulders and the rest of the Order staring she gave them all a rueful smile, "I think it's time we all talked."

Just so you know, I am discounting all of the Harry Potter plot to do with 'Priori Incantatem' - where Harry and Voldemort's wands don't work against each other because they have the same core - just pretend that Voldemort got a new wand.

Ok, sorry to everyone who wanted Tom to win, but I'm the sort of person who can't normally bear for the light side to lose and that is why I chose for the light to triumph. Still, I do kind of like the character I created for Tom and I know some of you were desperate for him to win so there will be an alternate ending. After this chapter there will be one called 'The Aftermath' and then the 'Epilogue' which are in line with this chapter's ending. After that I will post one chapter, entitled 'Alternate Ending' which will detail a scenario in which Tom wins the war. All the remaining chapters should be up over the course of the next week or two so check back soon.