The past three years were amazing. It was now September 2004.
So many things had happened.
Ethan and Kate had just gotten married in July.
Keira and Oliver got married in April 2002.
Charlie and Tonks got married in June.
Fred and Katie got married in August 2003.
And Blaise and Susan in October 2003.
Not to mention the children.
Juliet and Daisy were now five.
Belle gave birth to Andi Lupin, named after her aunt Andromeda, June 9th 2002, Luna was a happy sister, Remus a proud father.
Keira had Claire, Oliver was over the moon, she was born June 20th 2003.
Fleur had another child. Henri, born October 16th 2003.
And Melanie had her first child, Erin Malfoy, February 14th 2004.
Ron and Luna were engaged. As were George and Pippa.
There were more new people living with the Potter family. Christopher's friends, Caroline Samson, Lara Cox, Missy Diaz, Todd Dylas, Chase Simmons.
Caroline Was currently dating Michael O'Conner, Lara and Chase were also together.
Juliet was sitting in the living room of the Potter home, her bright blonde hair tied into a pony tail, Daisy with her, the two were watching some child's program as Melanie bottle fed Erin on the couch. Keira was beside her feeding two year old Claire.
"Well whoever expected any of this?" Melanie asked as she placed the bottle down and burped her eight month old girl.
"Molly was pretty happy with it all wasn't she though?" Keira said with a slight laugh as she put Claire down, who instantly went to Juliet and Daisy.
"Draco wants more, I mean a lot more," Melanie said with a slight smile. "Before I wouldn't have put him down as the family type, but now he just wants a family, one much like ours."
"Well if you two carry on the way you are, he'll get his wish," Keira said teasingly. There was a bang on the door which made the two women jump, and Erin cry, the little girl turned around looking expectant, Henri ran into the room, escaping the clutches of his uncle Fred.
"Whose that?" Daisy asked.
"I've got it!" Another voice called, Harry.
They heard the door open and hushed voices whispering frantically. After a pause Harry appeared looking grey.
"Voldemort is at Hogwarts. There are hundreds of them." He said, it took a second for the words to sink it, but the moment they did there was chaos.
Melanie got her wand out, and lay down her child, Keira did the same, everyone was called into the kitchen.
"OK guys it is simple. Voldemort is attacking, this is what we've waited for, you've gone through the Auror level training, and more. Kate as you're a muggle we can't risk you going, but we do need someone to look after the children," Sirius instructed, Kate nodded, understanding.
And so they left, all of them, the family, the friends... they were gone, leaving Kate to care of the children.
When they reached Hogwarts they were devastated by the scene, Deatheaters were casting every spell and curse they could think of to smash open the main doors, Children whimpered in the great hall as they waited to be sent home, and yet other students stood proudly brandishing their wands, ready to fight or die.
Dumbledore walked swiftly towards the rather large group.
"We're waiting for the ministry. I'm afraid however, that we are greatly outnumbered," Albus admitted, he never seemed so totaly resigned to his fate, and yet he was standing there proudly, knowing that they were about to do the right thing. A eerie silence fell, until Harry realised something near vital.
"I'll be right back!" Harry shouted as he ran to Dumbledore's office, when he returned all the students who weren't going to fight had left and the door looked like they were about to give. He shoved something into Ginny's hand. "When all else fails call on the key. Just ... you'll know what to do." Harry whispered into her ear before kissing her deeply, and taking his place beside his siblings.
"ALBUS OPEN THE DOOR!" Christopher yelled suddenly. Albus did as he was asked with flashing eyes. "CHARGE!" And everyone ran at the now open doors, towards the Deatheaters, a huge mass of bodies running, attacking, fighting for everything they held close.
It never seemed to end, the fighting, the bodies falling silently to the floor, blood dripped down the back of Ginny's head, but she continued fighting. Someone near by fell to the floor, never to rise, she didn't know who, she didn't want to.
Screaming at the top of her voice she sent a green curse. She knew this would tear her apart later, but she had to.
There were screams filling the air, sounds that almost stole the very breathe from your lungs.
And just as Ginny thought maybe they could be getting somewhere, Voldemort released his creatures. Trolls, Dementors, and even a few werewolves. The screams got louder as people were savaged. But don't think they were alone in their ideas to use other members of the community. The ghosts of Hogwarts erupted from the walls, bringing with near every ghost in England, the centaurs appeared lining the shadows of the forbidden forest, arrows flying through the air, Grawp appeared, carrying Hagrid on his shoulders, Fang tour through the Deatheaters, above them Ginny heard a screech and saw Buckbeak soaring through the air.
This was a war of their worlds, and they were fighting for everything.
Ginny saw to her left Remus disappear, then not seconds later reappear with a large group, the werewolves. They tore through the crowds, their extra strength, and yet it didn't seem enough.
Screams of pain still filled the air.
She blinked, and then screamed when Bellatrix appeared, the woman's wand inches from her face.
"WEASLEY!" Snarled the woman. A maniacal glint in her eye.
"Potter actually, AV-" Ginny started.
"CRUCIO!" Bellatrix screamed. Ginny fell to the floor gasping. It however fell soon when she looked up it was to find Charlie with his wand pointed at Bellatrix, her dead body at his feet.
Slowly Ginny got to her feet. She held back her hair as the wind picked up, only to regret it instantly as a deep purple curse hit her leg, she didn't register the pain though as she shot her own curse at her opponent spending him into the deepest of sleep. She looked up when she heard a scream only a little bit away, it was Melanie, that much she knew. There roughly fifty feet away were the Potter Siblings, screaming their curses and they battled with Voldemort.
Before their wands would connect, but it wasn't happening this time, why wasn't it happening, then with a small explosion and every colour curse flying into the sky like a fireworks show it happened. But no one was winning this time; the five siblings were equally matched.
'This is why he waited so long.'Ginny thought to herself with fear filling her suddenly.
Then suddenly she felt something wash over her, something else.
Hope.
Slowly she reached into her pocket and grasped the item within. She pulled it out and marvelled at it. The oddest thing it was, a solid made of red mist. Love, Harry had told her.
She held it in her palm; she didn't know how to use it.
"I-I ... We need your help," Ginny whispered to it. "Please if you really protect the key you'll help us... Your school is us, our children... He'll ruin everything you worked for..."
She took a deep breath, but nothing happened, there was another flash of light and Ginny watched Ethan struggled against the pain not to pull his wand away.
"HELP THEM!" Ginny suddenly screamed to the skies, a flash of lightning. "IF NOT FOR EVERYTHING YOU WORKED FOR! FOR YOUR FAMILY! Just help them..." Tear an down her face renewed as she saw them falter; she got her wand out and ran towards them. "If you won't help I will." She snarled. Another flash and she stopped dead.
Surrounding her were hundreds of... things.
"You just needed to show you loved them," Said a woman softly. Then suddenly more things appeared, all looking like Headless Nick. Ginny watched them silently as they crowded the siblings; Ginny was choked with sobs as she recognised some of the spirits. Lily, James, Sirius, Albus, Moody, Colin, Percy, Godric, Helga, Rowena, Arthur, Hagrid and so many more.
There was an explosion, shaking the earth beneath her feet, Voldemort screamed, everything was so fast, Ginny couldn't even register what was happening. The Spirits rushed at Voldemort, the siblings wands all connected at the tips, a green curse flew through the air.
There was another explosion, this one rattling the bones within her very body. Bodies were sent flying across the battle grounds, her own included. Then blackness engulfed her.
Ginny looked horrified at the scene before her, the ground was no longer visible beneath a sea of blood, bodies, and rubble. Everywhere the sound of death smothered you, choked you, made you feel the coldness, seeping up from your ankles, until it devoured you, taking over, stopping you, from thinking, from acting, from simply being. It froze every part of you. Terrifying, this was a battle that no matter how much you prepared, you never ever could be ready for it.
In the distance the form of Molly Weasley was screaming for her boys. Her voice was hoarse, Ginny knew even from here her mother was pouring her heart out. Trying and failing to hold back tears as she lost all the more hope with every passing second.
Severus screamed as he scourged the bloody ground for sign of his wife. He found her, only to wish he hadn't. Ginny saw him not three feet away, she was so badly hurt, her blood covered his clothes, drenching him, after mere seconds he looked like he had dipped himself into red paint.
Ginny looked down at her feet, instantly she felt a wave of sickness, by her feet was a body, her face was bloodied and bruised. Ginny imagined she was pretty, but unrecognisable at the moment, and then she saw something scary, a mass of brilliantly white blonde hair, her eyes were peeled open in terror, pale, silvery blue. She'd only seen eyes like that once before. Gabrielle Delacour. Ginny felt bile rise up in her throat. She clutched at her mouth, to stop herself, but she couldn't, spinning around she fell to her knees and bent over, throwing up everything that had been in her stomach, and stuff she didn't think she was meant to.
Her breaths were sharp and short, she tried to deepen her breathing, but she couldn't, her arms were going to give out, her knees were covered in blood, she'd cut them on something beneath her, mixing with the blood flooding the grounds she was on. Then suddenly she felt a pair of arms snake around her waist and pick her up, she turned to see Blaise Zabini. He lifted one of her arms around the back of his neck, across his shoulders, and slowly he started to walk her towards the ruins that were once a fantastic place of great beauty and history. Now it was nothing but a stack of broken bricks that were once the foundations and walls of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Still in a way it had a horrifying beauty about it, damaged, broken, and yet still standing. Determined not to let it be fully over just yet.
There was a silence between the two friends as they drew closer and closer to the ruins. They didn't want to know what the other had been through, what they had done, or seen, heard, felt, tasted. They just didn't want to know.
The bodies they passed were mainly unidentifiable; sometimes they passed an old friend, sometimes just another nameless face, sometimes a Deatheater.
The battle was over, it finished hours ago, and yet there seemed to be no winner, no one really knew who had won. That was like asking who had lost. Being so innocent in the ways of war Ginny was brought up with views in black and white and now everything merged and there was no black, there was no white, all there was were shades of grey. What once seemed so clear was now so clouded. Who hadn't lost? Who had won? No one. That was the most honest answer.
Eventually Blaise set Ginny down on a makeshift bed and allowed a healer to take over, the redhead hadn't even realised the damage she had sustained. There was a gash on the back of her head, her arms were cut, apparently her nerves had been severed in three of her fingers, her right ankle was bruised, her ribs were broken, she had a fat lip, and her left leg was burnt badly. But she felt nothing.
She remained silent for hours and hours before the shock of what she had seen and done passed. Slowly she turned to Blaise and looked at him terrified.
"Harry, where's Harry?" She asked in a scared whisper. For hours she had seen bodies be carried in, or simply laid on the floor, left to rest in silent death.
And yet she hadn't seen Harry, or Melanie, Ethan, Keira, Christopher, she hadn't seen her brothers, or Hermione, Draco, Pansy... No one, but Blaise. With a sudden wave of panic Ginny rolled onto her side and heaved up the small amount of food she had eaten only a while ago.
Blaise held back her ruby locks, as she collapsed back down onto the bed, panting as tears ran down pale, bloodstained cheeks.
"I don't know... none of them... I just don't know..." Blaise said sadly. He didn't look at her, unable to face the look of horror on her face, there was a shriek and Molly Weasley appeared, she was being dragged by two members of the Order, it looked like Kingsley, she couldn't tell, the cuts and burns made him unidentifiable. The other was Tonks; she was limping slightly, but seemed to be better then most.
Blaise stepped aside as Molly near strangled Ginny into a hug, but the smaller redhead didn't seem to mind much but rather returned it with tears of relief flooding from her brown eyes.
"My baby girl!" Molly sobbed. "My baby! Where's my grandchildren!" Molly demanded, tears still flowing freely down her cheeks.
"They're with Kate," Blaise answered for Ginny, it had all been arranged, and it was useful, after all Kate was a muggle. "She got Juliet, Claire, Henri and Em." Molly nodded, and then heaved a sigh, swiping at her eyes.
Then yet again a silence washed over them as Tonks was checked over, and Molly healed. Kingsley had been taken away a long time ago.
And the minutes passed as if they were days, and the darkening sky eventually turned jet black, there was not single star, and yet the moon shone as bright as always. Ginny lay and stare at it curiously, the ceiling was gone completely, from the shape of the room she guessed she was in what was the great hall. Some where to her right there was a gaping hole then went through to the dungeons, and half of the left wall was gone, and lay in a pile scattered across the floor.
And yet with the glow of the moon lighting everything, the castle had never looked so beautiful, it was ruined of course, by the bodies scattered, screaming for help, the desperate cries of desperate mothers, the cries of loss. Three Healers ran past her and helped someone lower a body onto a bed, the body was limp, and she didn't seem to be breathing, Ginny could tell it was a she by the shape and size of her, not to mention the long curly hair, the loose combats and fitted t-shirt. Then Ginny's mind reeled. Spun like mad, she was on a round-a-bout. Then stopped. She gasped; She struggled to her feet, and stumbled forwards.
There on the bed lay Hermione; her breathing was nearly non existent. After almost fifteen minutes of wand waving and being force fed many different potions Hermione opened her eyes, and stared up at the faces looming over her.
"Chris?" She croaked, her voice was scratchy, and talking seemed to cause her pain.
None of the Healers said anything, but Ginny took over.
"None of them have been found. They – they were right in the middle, the healers are still trying to find those nearby... it's difficult..." Ginny said, her eyes watering once more.
"But they aren't dead," Hermione said, her voice was quieter, failing her, but she carried on. "You'd feel it, in your heart, as would I. They are alive..." Her voice trailed, and then failed her completely.
But Ginny knew she was right. After all she was always right. But it was also something buried deep within you, when you found the one, you always knew, she'd heard her mother say it to Emma, she felt it when Percy died and when Arthur died, they were her life, her children and her husband.
But Ginny didn't feel that, she felt numb, but she knew if Harry had died she'd feel it... She'd know.
Half an hour later she left the site, Hermione smiled at her in understanding, Ginny needed to be with her nieces and nephews. The ones that would carry on this world, live a life that they deserved.
Ginny stumbled into the Potter home through the fireplace, the first thing she saw was Kate pacing back and forwards nervously biting her nails. She looked tired, scared, lonely, hungry... she was worn out. Her brown hair was tied messily into a bun; she wore no make up, and was dressed in what looked like one of Ethan's old t-shirts and a pair of boxer shorts.
"Kate," Ginny said softly. The older woman stopped and turned to Ginny, she eyes travelled over her appearance and she looked close to tears.
"Oh God!" Kate exclaimed, her face contorting with a mix of fear, anger and sadness. "Ginny, you can't see the kids like that. Just... You need a shower." Ginny nodded, and embraced the woman, she didn't say anything, just let go and walked to the main bathroom so she could wash the blood from her skin.
Fifteen minutes later Ginny stood holding Juliet, a three year old Andi watched the muggle TV in awe as four bright coloured cartoons danced around, two year old Claire and Henri sat together in the play pen pushing big wooden cars back and fourth with chubby hands, a one year old Emma lay on her back while Kate changed her nappy.
"When will mummy be back?" Juliet asked suddenly.
"I want Lu," Andi said, Ginny smiled sadly at the two eldest, Juliet looked so much like her mother, and Andi, well Luna looked like Belle to begin with, Andi looked like her mother, you wouldn't have honestly believed that Luna was adopted into the family if you didn't know them well. And that's when it really occurred to Ginny, it wasn't just Harry, her family, her friends. It was their parents... of course she had realised it... but she hadn't really realised it... As if it wasn't possible for them to loose their parents so young... But of course they could... Harry did.
"I don't know," Was all Ginny said.
More time passed and soon the sun had risen once again, Hermione hobbled in with Blaise... She had healed quickly.
"They searched through the night... they can't find any of them..." Ginny and Kate both knew who she was talking about... No one had found the Potter family.
Two days later Ginny was out on the grounds of Hogwarts helping with the search effort, it was agonizing work... she passed so many dead... so many that had just suffered... some begged her to kill them... some pleaded for her to save them... Others pleaded for her to help a loved one.
Her trainers squelched under the muddy grounds, rain poured harder then she had ever known it to... the darkening sky erupted with a flash of light and a rumble of thunder every so often... a soft mist lay, hiding the death from her eyes, but she could still feel it, hear it, taste it, smell it. All around her.
"Ginny!" Gasped a voice softly from below the mist, instantly Ginny was on her knees. She looked until she found the body of Charlie Weasley.
"Oh Merlin Charlie! Tonks! She's scared! She doesn't want to! Not without you!" Ginny cried as she started waving her wand, muttering healing spells. It was half an hour before she could get him to stand and struggle to get him towards the ruins.
"Tonks, she's safe?" Charlie gasped as he limped towards the ruins.
"Your wife is fine... we should really stop calling her Tonks, she's a Weasley now," Ginny said trying to distract her brother from the death around them.
"You try calling her Nymphadora... she'll hit the roof, she has cursed Moody before... she's cured me too. I can't call her Dora either, because she says that's what her mum gets called. Andi or Dora... she's relived that Aunt Belle named Andi that..." Charlie knew he was rambling, he couldn't stop himself though, he couldn't, if he stopped he might breakdown in front of his baby sister. Though she'd kill him if she still knew she was his baby sister to him. It was funny in a way...
All too soon Ginny found herself once more wading through the grime, she was near the middle of it all when she fell. She fell almost twenty foot down into a steep hole.
"HELP!" Ginny screamed as she scrambled to her feet. She knew where she was, she was in the explosion point, she had seen it happen. "HELP!" Ginny screamed again, her eyes watered. She clutched the object, once again in her pocket.
Then she looked around. Suddenly she wasn't so scared. The object in her hand started to get warm; she took it out of her hand and looked at it. Then thought back, to things she had dreamt, heard, or simply known all her life.
"Love will lead you," She whispered, doe brown eyes sparkled, as the key started to glow slightly. "Ok, love, lead the way." She walked around the large whole until the key glowed bright and got warmer, though never hurting her. She looked around the immediate area and listened. Then she saw them.
All five of them, lying there, she looked across to the other side of the hole, and surely enough lay the body of a man, not Voldemort, but rather the aged form of Tom Riddle. Ginny raised her wand and sent bright red sparks into the air.