I See Dead People

I see dead people.
From the movie "The Sixth Sense"

It was the first week of June, and the school year was quickly winding down. The Fifth-Years had been panicking about their OWL exams for weeks while the rest of the students were getting excited about the upcoming final and deciding match for the Quidditch Cup between Gryffindor and Slytherin.

Hermione, Neville, Ron, and Harry were sitting around a replica of the Common Room provided by the Room of Requirement after a sparring session, when Luna and Ginny returned from their final OWL exam.

"I think both of us are going to break your record," Ginny said amusedly to Hermione. "I'm sure we'll get O's on all twelve of our exams, with special distinctions in Defence, Potions, Charms, Transfiguration and Astronomy.

"That's not fair," Hermione harrumphed, stomping her foot on the ground. "The Astronomy exam was interrupted last year, and the two of you didn't have to study anything. Your scores shouldn't count!" she finished with a whine.

There was stunned silence in the room, but then Hermione started laughing.

"Gotcha!"

"It really is unfair," Ginny said guiltily as she walked into Harry's extended arm, which settled around her waist.

"You should be remembered as the brightest witch of the Age," Luna said assertively. "We must talk to Dumbledore," she added turning to Ginny.

"Don't be ridiculous," Hermione interrupted with a sincere smile. "You're my coven sisters, and I'm proud of both of you."

Ron was looking at Hermione as if she had grown a second head.

"Are you sure?" he asked amazed.

"I can probably out study anyone on the face of the Earth, but it would be pretentious to think I'm any brighter than Ginny or Luna. They're the two brightest witches I know."

The two witches in question moved to embrace the older girl with shiny eyes.

"Well, now that's settled, can we go down for dinner?" Ron asked, breaking the tender moment.

"Hermione has changed, but you certainly haven't," Harry said jokingly despite the protests of the bushy haired witch.

The six friends made their way to the Great Hall, where dinner was in full swing. With only two more weeks of school left, the vast majority of the students were talking excitedly about their summer holiday plans or the upcoming Quidditch final.

The Six were warmly greeted by most on the Gryffindor table, except by the small conspiratorial group gathered around Romilda Vane.

"Hi, Romilda!" Ginny said with exaggerated friendliness.

She ignored the redhead girl.

"Hello, Harry," Vane said sultrily as she squared and pushed back her shoulders to highlight her chest. "Aren't you bored with the midget yet?"

Ginny laughed with true amusement.

"I'm going to miss our witty repartee during the summer, Romilda," she said giving the black-haired girl a sincere smile.

The fact that Ginny didn't seem to consider her any kind of threat for Harry's affections made Romilda furious. She put her arm around Lavender Brown, and both leaned forward to look at the group of six friends.

"Neville," Romilda said with a raised eyebrow. "I've heard rumours that you have the biggest cock in Gryffindor Tower. I've even heard that there's enough for two girls..."

Lavender played along when Romilda swayed her breasts a little. There were gasps of surprise and outrage on the suddenly silent table.

Neville choked on his food and started coughing. Luna slapped his back and merrily looked back at the two busty girls. She smiled dreamily and nodded her head affirmatively.

"He's huuuge," the blonde girl said looking oddly innocent and enthusiastic at the same time. She closed her eyes and bit her lower lip in a very sexy way. An involuntary low moan came from deep in the back of her throat.

The silence had extended to the Ravenclaw table, where most of the students suddenly seemed interested in the conversation at the adjoining table.

Neville was afraid that his brutally honest girlfriend might say more than she should, so he spoke quickly. "Luna is more than enough for me to handle, but thanks for the offer anyway," he squeaked.

Luna leaned her head against his shoulder and hooked her arm on his with a gratified smile.

"He's going to get some tonight," Ginny thought amusedly.

Before the frustrated Romilda could say anything else, everyone straightened out and pretended to be eating. Professor Snape was quickly approaching with the usual scowl on his face.

"Potter, come with me. Professor Dumbledore has an important message for you," he ordered.

Harry and Ginny got up simultaneously. Their minds had been synched by Ginny's mental message, and the redhead felt a slight blush of embarrassment rising when everyone looked at her curiously.

"I'm sorry. I can't help it sometimes," she apologized.

"Don't worry about it. According to our rules, one of you had to come with me anyway."

Snape gave them a disdainful sideways glance. His upper lip curled very slowly. "Are the two of you joined at the hip?"

The teens looked at each other and smiled. "Almost."

"Come along then."

They started walking at a fast pace towards Dumbledore's office.

"What's the matter?" Harry asked cautiously.

"Lucius Malfoy has requested an interview with the Minister for Magic and he has accepted. Your wolf friend wants to know if he should grant him temporary access. Scrimgeour also wants to chat with you. Dumbledore thinks you should grant it also."

"What do you think he wants?" Ginny asked with concern.

"No idea."

The young couple flooed from the chimney in Dumbledore's office, directly to number 12 Grimmauld Place where Remus was waiting.

"The Minister just got here," Remus told him. "He is talking to Malfoy in the library."

"Is there any way to listen to them?" Harry asked.

"The Blacks put very powerful privacy charms in the library. It would take too long to bring them down, and besides, the doors are being guarded."

"Too bad."

"The Minister's personal assistant wants to talk to you before your conversation with Scrimgeour. He said something about setting the agenda." Remus looked at Ginny cautiously. "It's Percy."

Harry took Ginny's hand to calm her down. The conflicted feelings of his girlfriend overwhelmed him. One part of her was ready to cause her brother great bodily harm, while the other just wanted to hug him. "It will be better if you stay behind."

"Someone has to keep an eye on Draco," Remus said looking at Ginny.

"I'll do it, or I might do something to Percy I might regret," Ginny hissed. "Keep our connection open, love. I want to listen."

Harry acknowledged her with a nod.

"He's in the kitchen," Remus told the redhead.

When Ginny walked into the kitchen, she was expecting some kind of stupid remark from Draco, but she was struck by how depressed and defeated he looked.

"Hi, Draco. How are the knees?" she asked without any malice.

The eyes of the Slytherin boy quickly rose to challenge hers, but he recognized the absence of malice in her voice and in her face. His eyes fell again in defeat.

"They still hurt sometimes. Madame Pomfrey said they will always hurt, especially in the winter," he said in a monotone voice.

Ginny concentrated for a moment on the conversation between Harry and Percy. As expected, the Ministry only wanted Harry as a poster boy and expected him to tow the Ministry's line. She didn't notice that Draco had been looking at her closely for almost a minute.

"You look really good," the Slytherin boy said almost involuntarily.

Ginny was startled by his compliment. "Thank you, Draco," she answered with a polite smile.

"You're not like your brother. You're nice."

"My brother is nice to people who are nice to him," she said defensively, "and so am I. You don't want to get on my bad side."

Draco chuckled. "I think I saw your bad side in the Hogwarts Express last year. For a moment I thought my bits would have to be reattached."

They laughed together, and Ginny thought this had to be one of the most surreal experiences ever. She was having a normal conversation with Draco Malfoy.

"I'm sorry I called you a whore..." the young Slytherin whispered. He shifted uncomfortably on his seat and his Adam's apple bobbed up and down. "I've always fancied you, ever since I met you at Flourish and Blotts for the first time. You were so cute..."

Ginny had been concentrating on Percy's latest proposal from the Ministry, but Draco's words startled her and brought her back to the kitchen. She looked at him with an expression of utter disbelief and surprise. She sensed that Harry's attention had completely shifted to her conversation with the Slytherin.

"Can you believe this?"

"No, and neither should you. I don't trust him.

"I don't fancy boys who call me a whore or threaten my friends." Ginny replied with a cold dangerous edge. After a long pause, she chuckled. "Are you sure you didn't suffer a head injury when we rescued you?"

Draco laughed heartily and Ginny joined him.

"I hadn't laughed in months," he said full of sadness. His eyes were fixed on Ginny's. "I had almost forgotten how that felt. Thank you," he added huskily.

"Merlin's beard! He really fancies me."

Harry couldn't respond. He had been called to meet with the Minister.

Ginny looked at Malfoy earnestly in the eye and she put her hand on top of his. "There's only one man in my heart, Draco, and that has always been Harry."

"I know," he said with a grimace. "That was always just another reason to hate him."

Ginny was taken aback by his words, and she narrowed her eyes. Anyone who hated Harry could never be a friend to her. She moved back her hand.

"My life has been wasted trying to live up to my father's expectations. But I'm finished with that now," he said looking at the spot where her hand had been.

The inner goodness, won over Ginny. It was that inner goodness that gave her the fresh face and the open smile that Draco found so appealing. Despite the fact that Lucius Malfoy had been responsible for the worst year of her life when he put Riddle's diary in her cauldron, Ginny felt sorry for his son.

"I'm not a resentful person, Draco. We can still be friends if you stop being an annoying prat."

Draco laughed again. "My father would be so disappointed if he found out you just considered me an annoying prat."

Ginny smiled brightly at him. "He really wanted you to be bad, didn't he?" she said mockingly as she put her hand back on top of his in a friendly manner. "Sorry, but you never made it past annoying prat and wannabe Death Eater."

Surprisingly, Draco took her words in stride. The sound of steps coming from the library stopped their conversation. Harry peered in curiously and Ginny laughed at his expression.

"I've just had a most surprising chat, Harry,"

"I bet."

"What did the Minister want?" Ginny hesitated when Harry looked directly and Malfoy. "If you can discuss it, of course."

"He wanted my cooperation and to offer his protection during the summer."

"And..."

"I declined both."

OoOoO

The young couple was making their way back to the Gryffindor common room, alert and ready for any eventuality. Harry took Ginny's hand in his and squeezed it.

"You're amazing, Ginny," he said with admiration. "I wish I could have the same faith you have in people."

She could sense the many conflicting feelings that Harry had about her conversation with Draco, but the most powerful of those feelings was his unshakable belief in her inner goodness.

"I'm not that good a person, Harry," she protested in a serious tone. "I would kill Malfoy in an instant if he tried to harm you." Ginny couldn't help thinking of all the people she had already killed. Only the love of her friends had prevented her from falling into despair over those deaths.

"But you truly believe that he can redeem himself, despite everything that has happened..."

"Maybe I'm just stupid."

"No, Ginny, you're a good person."

Just a few corridors away, a not so good rat was making its way back to Honeydukes.

OoOoO

Meanwhile, back at number 12 Grimmauld Place, Remus had retired to his room. Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape were having a conversation in the kitchen over some tea.

"Scrimgeour thinks the story of my defection should be made public and that I should grant an interview to The Daily Prophet," Lucius said meditatively. "If I show full my support for the Ministry and his administration, he will overlook my past indiscretions, as he called them. He's hoping I can serve as an example for other purebloods to change allegiances."

"He knows where the power lies," Snape agreed. "Despite the lip service paid to equality among wizardkind, it's the old pureblood families that remain the kingmakers at the Ministry. The interview is very important Lucius. The Daily Prophet would much rather have a pureblood hero, than a Muggle loving half-blood."

The older Malfoy laughed. "I'll regret the error of my ways; give that oaf, Scrimgeour some free publicity and rally the Wizarding world to a great victory. It's a good thing that Potter never understood the power of the press. He avoids them like the plague."

"How did Scrimgeour feel about involving the Muggle Prime Minister?"

"He was all for it. If the interview with the Prophet is to his satisfaction, he will make me his liaison with the Muggle Prime Minister. Scrimgeour does not trust Potter or his friends. He fears he is just another Dark Lord waiting to happen."

"Excellent. After Voldemort is dead, we'll make Potter and his friends into enemies of both the Wizarding and the Muggle world. We'll turn Potter and his whore into fugitives with the Muggles on some made up charge. That will make them much easier to locate and kill."

"There is still the matter of the Horcruxes," Lucius said cautiously.

"Dumbledore has located one, but as always, the old fool is pussyfooting around the issue."

"It would speed things up if we could give Potter more Horcruxes," Malfoy said hopefully. "I'm getting tired of being in hiding."

Snape nodded his head absently, deep in thought. "Have you ever felt anything strange about Nagini?"

"That bloody snake makes my blood turn cold," Lucius said with a shudder. "When I look into its eyes it's as if the Dark Lord himself is looking at me."

"I get that same feeling."

"Once we have a deal with the Muggle Prime Minister, everything will be in place, and we'll take over."

Just outside the kitchen, Draco Malfoy was secretly listening to the conversation. He wasn't sure what to do, but he intended to be on the side of the winners when all of this was over.

OoOoO

The whole week The Daily Prophet had been running front page articles about the heroic actions of Lucius Malfoy and his family. Their defiance of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was celebrated as an example for others, and there was even a push for a full pardon for all his previous crimes. After some appropriate fawning by Malfoy in the press to Minister Scrimgeour, the full pardon had been granted.

By the end of the week, the Prophet had seen fit to publish wild rumours about the dissolute life that Harry Potter was living with a gold-digging wench, right under the nose of former Dark Lord wannabe, Albus Dumbledore. All, of course, based on unnamed sources.

WHILE THE WIZARDING WORLD BURNS, POTTER ONLY HAS TIME FOR HIS GOLD-DIGGING WENCH.

Boy-Who-Lived refuses to talk to the Prophet.

That screaming headline was the only topic of conversation in the Great Hall the day before the Quidditch final. A murmur rose as the Six strode in for breakfast and took their usual places at the Gryffindor table.

Colin Creevey put a copy of the paper in front of Harry and Ginny. "The bastards are going after you two again," he spat.

Harry looked around the Great Hall, and except for the Slytherin table where there was open glee and derision, he found mostly sympathetic faces looking back at them.

"My poor mum," Ginny groaned. "She's going to have a fit."

At that moment Romilda Vane walked in and took her place not far from Ginny. The black-haired, loose-legged beauty began serving herself in silence.

"What? No witty remarks today, Romilda?" Ginny asked. She wanted to get the unpleasantness out of the way so she could eat in peace. "Aren't you going to bask in the glory of ruining my reputation?" She threw the paper in front of her.

Romilda looked back at her contrite. "I'm really sorry, Ginny. I never thought it would go this far. I know you're not a gold-digging whore. You're not even an amateur slag." Her eyes became watery. I admit I talked behind your back. I admit I was jealous you bagged The-Boy-Who-Lived. But you got to believe me. I never went to The Prophet."

Ginny knew the damage was done. She would have to do a lot of explaining to her mum and older brothers, but she didn't care what anybody else might or might not believe. She could afford to be generous to her.

"I believe you, Romilda. Don't worry about it," she said evenly.

Romilda looked surprised. She had expected to be on the receiving end of the infamous Bat-Bogey Hex. The last thing she expected was such generosity. "If there's ever anything I can do to make it up to you... just ask. I swear it on magic," she said solemnly.

"Thank you. I don't know what else to say," Ginny whispered.

The Six finished their meal and got up to leave. The murmur of dozens of conversations rose up all around the Great Hall. As they walked by the Slytherin table their six right arms and six middle fingers rose up with military precision in a one finger salute.

OoOoO

The finger display had only contributed to inflame the passions even more for the Gryffindor - Slytherin match the next morning. The betting and trash talking had reached a fevered pitch. Hogwarts alumni had showed up in droves for the match.

Harry stood in full Quidditch regalia in front of the team. He looked slowly from side to side making eye contact with each of the players.

"It's customary to make a long winded, rousing speech on this type of occasion," Harry said in a strong, clear voice. "But I'm not going to do that. You all know what to do. Any questions?

"NO, CAPTAIN!" the team answered in a single voice.

The cheers rose as the teams ran to the field. Professor Hooch brought the two captains to the centre of the field, and after a tense handshake with the Slytherin captain, Ryan Urquhart, the Snitch was released and the Quaffle put into play.

The match would go on to be remembered as one of the most violent in the history of Hogwarts. The attacks on Ginny, verbal and physical were unrelenting. They became more vicious the more she scored. The team rallied around their star Chaser to protect her, but their efforts weren't always successful.

Demelza Robins had to be substituted by Dean Thomas after a concussion and several broken ribs put her out of action. Ginny refused to be substituted after a blatantly illegal charge dislocated the shoulder of her non-throwing arm. She let Harry know in no uncertain terms that she wasn't going to give the snakes the satisfaction of seeing her being pulled off the field. She played with her arm tightly bound on a sling for the last thirty minutes of the game, reduced to simply running interference for the other Chasers.

After that dirty play, a furious Jimmy Peakes retaliated by smashing the knee of Gregory Goyle with his bat, and gladly served a ten-minute penalty. Almost every player on both sides had a broken nose, bloody eyebrows, bruised ribs or eyes swollen shut. The Slytherins didn't seem to care that they were down 270 - 60. They seemed intent on causing as much damage as possible.

The violence started to spread to the stands when several fights broke out between supporters of both teams after yet another cheap shot on Ginny. An incensed Harry flew after Urquhart and introduced his elbow to his face, repeatedly, turning it into a bloody pulp. Professor Hooch was seriously considering stopping the game, when mercifully the Snitch made an appearance.

Harry was far from unscathed. Bludgers had not only rained down on Ginny, but on him as well. His arms were full of bruises and his ribs were very sore. Harry knew he had to catch it because the team wasn't going to be able to hold on for much longer.

Blaise Zabini was flying a Firebolt, like Harry, but the performance of the Gryffindor Seeker's broom had been enhanced with the improved flying salve concocted by Neville. Zabini tried to push Harry into the stands, but with his superior speed he quickly gained the critical degree of separation.

The Snitch resisted mightily being caught, forcing Harry to put on a display of flying that had most of the students and teachers in the stands jumping with excitement, while others were hoping for a deadly crash. The speed, the sudden changes of direction, the death-defying dives were rewarded when his hand closed around the Snitch and the stadium exploded in cheers.

A few minutes later the members of the Gryffindor team triumphantly raised the Quidditch Cup one by one over their heads as best they could, to the tumultuous applause of the crowd. It was a complete victory, by the largest margin in memory, 520 - 90.

After Madame Pomfrey reluctantly released Ginny from the Hospital Wing, Hermione tended to Ginny's and Harry's bruises with their own special creams, pastes and salves. By the time they arrived at the Gryffindor common room the celebrations were in full swing. They were received like conquering heroes.

OoOoO

It was the last Wednesday night of the school year, and the Six were in Hermione's room stocking up on Bruise Removal Paste and Skin Restoring Cream. Their supply had been dangerously depleted after last weekend's Quidditch match.

"We have to make plans for keeping safe during the summer," Hermione said as she stirred one of the cauldrons. "The Burrow is well protected, but my guess is that Ginny will want to keep her current sleeping arrangements."

"My compulsion charms are excellent, I can easily Portkey to Harry's flat at night and Apparate to my room in the morning," Ginny summarized.

"Are you sure you have to spend so much time with your parents?" Ron asked with a sad expression. "You could spend the summer in the Burrow."

"My parents have made great sacrifices for me to live as a witch," Hermione said resolutely. "The least I can do is spend the summer with them. Besides, we'll be going to Greece. Our travel plans are secret, and Voldemort will have no idea where I am."

Ron's shoulders visibly sagged, prompting Hermione to laugh.

"Are you going to miss me?" she asked with a baby voice.

"Of course."

"I intend to Apparate to your room every night I have a chance," the bushy haired witch said saucily. "Don't wank yourself to exhaustion, love."

They all laughed, but Ron's laugh seemed to be one of relief.

"What about you two," Ginny asked Luna and Neville. "Longbottom Manor is a protected location. Isn't it?"

"Yes," Neville answered.

"We'll be in Iceland with my dad for a couple of weeks," Luna said excitedly. "Neville's grandmother gave him permission to go with us so he could study subarctic mosses. We'll be off the grid, so it'll be safe. After we return I can Apparate to his room every night."

The boys started playing a game of Exploding Snap while the girls talked and did their nails. The nails of their hands and feet were always impeccably painted. None of them wore much makeup, but they paid extra attention to the small details.

Two of the cauldrons finished brewing, and the three witches started filling up phials of potion and jars of paste and labeling them. Hermione put some in a cupboard where they had stockpiled an impressive number of supplies.

"Take inventory of your beaded bag and make sure you have enough supply of everything to last you all summer and beyond. Take anything you need from the cupboard," she advised them.

Ginny took out all phials and pastes out of her beaded bag and started counting her supplies. Hermione noticed that the jar with the anal lubricant had been used. The curious witch would have asked Ginny a dozen questions, but she was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Who could it be?" she asked to no one in particular.

"It's Professor Dumbledore," came the voice of the headmaster on the other side of the door.

Dumbledore went straight to the point after he walked in. "Harry, I need you to come with me. I've found a Horcrux."

All six teenagers stood up as one.

"No, absolutely not," Dumbledore insisted clearly frustrated at the show of unity. "All of you can't go with us!"

"In that case, I'll go, and the rest can stay!" Ginny said with finality.

"Ms Weasley, this will be extremely dangerous. I must insist you stay."

"Wherever Harry goes, I go, Professor. We are joined. Besides, if it's dangerous and extra wand could be helpful," Ginny said forcefully.

The old wizard had the feeling that the teenagers were playing him exactly as they wanted. He turned to Harry, who shrugged his shoulders and pretended to be innocent.

"She's very stubborn, Headmaster."

The old wizard had no choice but to cave in. "Miss Weasley can go then, but no one else!"

OoOoO

Ginny watched helplessly as Dumbledore and Harry pulled themselves across the inner lake of the cave towards the island on the far side. There simply was no room in the small boat for three people without endangering all of them. The cave had a powerful Anti-Apparition jinx that made that mode of travel impossible inside it. For the first time in their relationship, Harry had put his foot down and ordered her to stay behind.

Ginny didn't know how to feel about that. The redhead knew it was a reasonable order. She realized that Harry had made many compromises and gone against his most basic protective instincts to let her be part of his life, but it was hard to see him go into possible danger without her.

I the year since the battle at the Department of Mysteries, she had gone from being a child to being a woman, but despite being a battle-hardened witch, and living as man and wife with Harry, she suddenly realized she wasn't quite an adult yet. She hated that he had unintentionally made her feel like a stubborn child.

"Yes, I was behaving like one," she said before Harry had time to contradict her. "I'm sorry, but it's hard to be grown up if it involves letting go of you."

Even though he was a hundred metres away, she could feel his green eyes like beams of light converging on her. The warmth that filled her gave her solace. He had such a noble and loving soul.

"Be sure not to disturb or go into the water," he told her trying to hide his concern from her. "There is something in it."

"What is it?"

"I don't know. It looked like... dead people."

Ginny edged gingerly closer to the water and saw a ghostly shape under its dark surface. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end and she edged away from the shore tightening the grip on her wand.

She tried to sound calm but failed miserably. "Please hurry back, Harry."

"I'll go back for you..."

"No! That will just waste time. Just get the Horcrux."

If it only had been that easy.

Ginny wasn't sure how much time passed, but she had to recast the Lumos Maxima charm several times. She had an uneasy feeling that eyes were watching her, but even more horrifying was experiencing the anguish that Harry felt about giving the poisoned water to Dumbledore.

"Something's wrong," she said when Harry was finally able to grab the locket.

"What is it?" he asked concerned.

"That's not a Horcrux... it doesn't feel like one."

Harry doubted her only a moment before mentioning it to Dumbledore. The headmaster, though, was in the midst of wild hallucinations and was begging Harry for water. After realizing that there was an Aguamenti jinx on the only vessel available, Harry took some from the lake.

The water started stirring, and Ginny instinctively took a step back. At that point she felt a surge of fear from Harry that quickly changed to calm focus. The first spell flashes illuminated the dark cave.

"What is it?" she asked desperately.

"Get away from the water, Ginny!"

The redhead realized that the last thing Harry needed at that moment was having her distracting him, so she reduced their mental connection to the minimum. She scanned the water for any signs of trouble.

Her eyes bulged out when a skeletal and ghostly figure started to rise from the water. The horror momentarily overwhelmed her, but then she felt a calm determination descend upon her. Ginny delivered a flying roundhouse kick to the head of the approaching creature. She almost vomited when the head separated from the body and splashed into the lake. The headless body kept walking aimlessly until she obliterated it with a Reducto curse.

Across the lake the spell fire was coming fast and furious. It seemed that hundreds of forms were converging on the island. She had to figure out a way to help Harry, but just then a dozen figures emerged from the lake and moved toward her.

The beaded bag around her neck started shaking and she opened it. Tizona flew like a rope towards Harry, and she immediately summoned Colada. She took a deep breath and faced the approaching figures while simultaneously twirling her wand in her left hand and flourishing her sword on the right. It was a neat trick, even if she thought so herself.

"Let's play, motherfuckers," she growled before going into action.

Speed had always been Ginny's greatest strength. In a matter of seconds she had kicked, slashed, parried and cursed the twelve slow moving figures into oblivion, but before she could even catch her breath, more had emerged from the lake.

After several minutes, Ginny was surrounded by a growing mound of body parts. She had to move to another spot to avoid stumbling on the remains. Despite her excellent stamina, the effort was beginning to tell. She faced another wave of Inferi with diminishing bravado and was barely able to fight them off this time.

She was panting with exhaustion when several more dozens of Inferi emerged from the lake. The situation was going from bad to worse quickly and she no longer was sure they were going to make it. Ginny opened her connection to Harry to the maximum. If she was going to die, she wanted to die with him. She immediately sensed that Harry too, had accepted his possible fate as he fought on despite the exhaustion.

They both accioed some Invigoration Draught and drank it before the final onslaught.

"I do believe we might meet at the Elysian Fields tonight, my love," she said mentally, resolutely and without fear. "May angels carry you swiftly upon their wings."

"And may the Thrones welcome you as the favourite of the Goddess," he responded.

The spell fire was blinding, the carnage like a hecatomb, but the army of Inferi seemed to have no end. The Invigoration Draught was quickly depleting from her system by the sheer physical effort. The unholy creatures were surrounding and reaching for her with their bony hands...

"... but not tonight. FIRE, GINNY; USE FIRE!"

On the island she saw a sea of flames swirling around just as the Inferi started pulling at her and tearing pieces of her clothes. There was a low sound, like a bell being struck, and a shockwave of flames spread from her body in every direction. The fire was ferocious, and only stumps were left behind after the Inferi came in contact with it.

Ginny felt her body drawing power from the magic that surrounded them. Her hair was flying wildly about her, like a supernatural flame, when she stepped towards the lake.

"Summon the water out of the lake," she told Harry. "It's your element."

"What?" he asked incredulously.

"You can do it. Feel the power," she insisted.

Ginny was asking him to do something impossible, he thought. Even though the lake was just a few metres deep, it was still probably millions of tons of water she was asking him to move.

Instinctively he drew power from his surroundings like Ginny was doing. The water rose swirling from the lake, leaving the Inferi at the bottom of the basin and the rest falling down from the swirling mass of water. It was literally raining dead people.

Ginny sent a wave of flames into the dry lake basin. The cries, if they could be called that, of the Inferi were horrible as their bodies were consumed by the ferocious flames. Mercifully it was over very quickly.

The water settled back on the lake basin with amazing ease. Harry carried Dumbledore's body back to the boat, and it moved swiftly across the lake on top of a wave of water.

"I think he's poisoned," Harry told Ginny after a quick embrace and a kiss on the forehead.

The redhead reached inside the beaded bag. "I have a universal antidote."

"Don't waste your time," Dumbledore said weakly. "It's not a poison, but a curse. I'm afraid I'm finished," he said with a sad smile.

"We'll take you to St. Mungo's," Harry exclaimed urgently.

At that moment a silver mongoose Patronus burst through the cave walls and made a beeline toward Harry.

"Hogwarts is under attack," it announced calmly in Neville's voice before disappearing.

The old wizard seemed to get a second wind, and his sunken chest filled with air. He stood up and took a hold of the young wizard and witch. "We have to save the school," he said with a firm voice.

The elemental magic they had wielded had completely drained the magic of the cave, including the Anti-Apparition jinxes. Before the young couple could protest, they had Apparated away.

It was a dark night, and even from distant Hogsmeade, spell flashes could be seen coming from the Gryffindor Tower windows. Ginny pulled out their brooms from the beaded bag and handed one to Dumbledore.

"Can you fly?" she asked him.

"Like a bird," the old wizard said getting on the broom.

Ginny sat behind Harry, tightening her grip around his waist when they took off.

"Hojotoho, Hojotoho!" the redhead witch yelled fiercely. She took out Colada and flourished it before pointing it to Gryffindor Tower as she yelled the battle cry of the Valkyries once again. "Hojotoho, Heiaha!"

The flying cavalry was coming.

O-o-O-o-O

A/N:The reference to Valkyres is not random. The relationship between Valkyres and witches is drawn from the book "Witchcraft in the Middle Ages" by Jeffrey Burton Russell. It explains how Christianity mixed and absorbed Greco-Roman and Celtic-Teuton paganism with Judeo-Christian beliefs about witchcraft.