Chapter Twenty Eight: Song of the Phoenix
Ginny was horrorstruck when Luna fell dead next to her, but continued to fight desperately against the Death Eaters in front of her. Just when she was certain she was going to die, she felt herself whisked away by a powerful spell and was suddenly in the midst of the rest of her family. She looked around frantically for Harry, and found him in time to see him take the cutting curse to his side. She screamed his name, and watched in fear as he was left alone behind the enemy line.
Suddenly, the Death Eater ranks were thinning, and she knew that Harry was responsible. She threw herself back into the fight, and several of the Death Eaters fell before her wand.
Everything continued to go according to the plan, as Death Eaters fell to the Army and Ron and Hermione rushed out to find and destroy Nagini. It was a complete surprise when the old Potions Master appeared in the Manor window, the snake dangling dead from his hands. She had been absolutely convinced that he had been a Death Eater at heart, as had Harry, but Hermione had always quietly voiced suspicions that it might not be so, though she never said anything to Harry. And it turned out she was right after all. Whatever had passed between him and Dumbledore might never be known, but it was certain that he knew that he was destroying a Horcrux and was willing to give his life to do it.
Ginny staggered suddenly as the ground shifted beneath her. Two Death Eaters were slower in recovering from the sudden motion, and she used the opportunity to stun both of them before turning to see what was going on.
Harry and Voldemort were engaged in some kind of power struggle, both crackling with energy, though neither moved and their wands were lowered. Anyone near them was shying away, fearful of interfering in that momentous duel.
Ginny urged Harry on in her mind wildly, as she jubilantly attacked those around her with redoubled efforts. He’s mortal now, she thought exultantly, and when Harry ends it now, it will be over for good. As she watched, Harry began to smile in what seemed to be triumph. Ginny’s answering smile was cut off, however, as Voldemort raised his wand and shouted the killing curse.
“Avada Kadavra!” the words echoed over the grounds, and she wasn’t the only one who stopped fighting to see what would happen. Army members and Death Eaters alike turned to watch, open mouthed as the green light jetted towards Harry. Harry raised his own wand and cast his own curse, but Ginny knew that the killing curse was unstoppable, and Harry hadn’t yet made any effort to dodge. She found herself screaming, running towards them, desperate to do anything to save Harry, when the two curses collided. There was a flash of light, and a shockwave of incredible power spread out from the two combatants, and Ginny was thrown back into the ground, gasping for breath. When she rose, she saw that there was a cord of light connecting Harry and Voldemort, who stood standing behind a giant sphere of shimmering light.
Ginny remembered Harry telling her of the events after the Third Task during his fourth year, and was heartened again. It would be another struggle, but Harry had won that time as well, and she was sure he could do it again. She had to do her part now.
All around her, people were getting up from the ground, where they too had been thrown after the shockwave. She was heartened to see Ron and Hermione near her, already up and with wands drawn, using the distraction to advantage. Across from her, Tonks was laying on the ground clutching a wounded leg, while Remus stood in front of her, and Death Eaters fled from the wolf-like snarl on his face as much as the spells from his wand. Fred and George had Fenrir Greyback cornered between the two of them, and try as he could, his spells merely bounced off the shields from their hats, while they shouted ridiculously, waiving their rapier-wands, sending stinging spells at him in turn, until Bill finished him with a blasting curse that sent him sprawling. The twins didn’t seem to mind at all, and merely flourished their capes before running back into the battle. It was obvious they were taking things seriously whenever anyone was in danger around them, but they were fighting with a flare that gave the Army heart and frustrated the Death Eaters to no end.
Ginny threw herself back into the battle as well, and found herself fighting next to Neville. Blood streamed from a dozen wounds, but he seemed not to notice them, and by the look on his face, she knew he had finished what Lestrange had started. The Death Eaters were panicking now; Harry had told the Order about what had happened the last time his and Voldemort’s wand connected, but Voldemort had ordered his followers never to speak of it again, and out of fear they hadn’t. Now, the vast majority of the Death Eaters and the Army of the Phoenix didn’t know what was going on, but the Army took their cue from the Order and fought on. The Death Eaters only knew that Voldemort was no longer coming to their aid, and found themselves being overwhelmed.
Before long, many of them were throwing down their wands, surrendering, and minutes after that began, there were only a few die-hard fanatics still fighting. The combined strength of the Aurors and the Order ended that, and within a half hour of Harry and Voldemort’s wands connecting, the battle was over. Ginny ran towards Harry and Voldemort, but before she got within five feet of the shield, she was hurled back, the wind knocked out of her. Gasping, she found herself being helped to her feet by her mother, who checked to see that she was alright before looking worriedly towards Harry. The rest of the Order had gathered close by, though after seeing what had happened to Ginny they all remained a safe distance back.
In the shield, Harry and Voldemort stood, a rope of energy connecting their wands, exactly like what Harry had described. Unlike that instance, however, another cord of light was shooting from their eyes and connecting them that way as well, and Ginny knew that had never been described to her. Both seemed completely unaware of anything else going one around them, and beads of light moved down both cords, sometimes closer to one of them and sometimes closer to the other, waxing and waning in ways that made no sense to anyone present.
“What’s happening?” Ginny demanded, when she could breathe again. She was getting incredibly tired of being thrown to the ground. She heard her question being echoed all around her. Remus was growling at the shield angrily, while Ron held a comforting arm around Hermione. Her mother was nervously adjusting the ridiculous shield hat she had been given by her sons, and looking questioningly at McGonagall.
McGonagall seemed to hesitate before speaking, and finally asked a question, “Do you have any idea what is going on, Miss Granger?”
Hermione seemed taken aback to be asked what was happening by a teacher, but she shook her head. “I’ve never read about anything like this before.”
McGonagall’s mouth tightened, but she spoke as though it were of no immediate concern. “Very well. If things do not change soon, I will probably send you to do some research. The rest of us are needed to help see to the wounded and the prisoners. Help the Aurors in whatever ways you can. Remus, I want you and Kingsley and Tonks to stay here and make sure that Voldemort is taken care of if he comes out of that shield. I know the prophecies say that Harry is the one who can defeat him, but we have to be careful anyway. Do whatever you think necessary, and as soon as I can, I will send more Aurors to help guard them.”
With that, McGonagall strode away to begin supervising a dozen things at once, with Percy at her heals with a parchment and quill taking down anything that needed to be done. Mrs. Weasley strode off to find Arthur, who had been wounded but had already been stabilized. Fred and George were given Portkey duty along with several others, sending members of the Army who weren’t wounded back to Hogwarts, and those who were to the hospital wing and to St. Mungo’s.
The Aurors began dismantling the wards around the Manor immediately, and Madame Pomfrey and a team of Witches and Wizards from St. Mungo’s arrived and began tending to the wounded. The Aurors immediately began dismantling the wards protecting the Manor, and teams of Medi-Witches and Wizards began arriving to help tend to the wounded, along with Madame Pomfrey herself, who checked over all of the students that had come to the battle, weeping for those who were dead. Luckily there were very few dead on either side, considering the scope of the battle, and while there was mourning all around, there was a feeling of victory as well. Voldemort was not yet destroyed, but his followers were all dead or captured, and the best hope of the Wizarding world still fought the Dark Lord and they had every reason to suspect he would win as well.
Ginny refused to leave Harry, and found herself staying with Tonks, Remus, and Shacklebolt, and Ron, who didn’t know where else to go. Hermione had stayed long enough to heal Tonks, and then left to go put her skills in healing to good use.
After several hours, the battle field seemed practically empty. There were six more Aurors standing with them watching over Harry and Voldemort in wonder. Others had tried to relieve Remus and Tonks, but Remus had refused to leave Harry and Tonks refused to leave Remus. Ginny and Ron sat quietly together, watching Harry, and saying nothing. Several times the beads of light hat gotten extremely close to Voldemort or precariously close to Harry, but they had always evened out. Ginny sighed as she leaned her head on Ron’s shoulder.
“Will he ever come out of that,” she asked weakly. She knew it had not taken hours before he had bested Voldemort in the graveyard. She was starting to fear how long this was taking.
“Don’t worry,” Ron said with confidence that she could tell was false. “Harry will win this and be out any minute now.”
Ginny knew he was telling her what she wanted to hear, and she appreciated it. She gave her brother a tight hug in gratitude, just as Hermione walked up tiredly.
“Any change?” she asked hopefully, and seemed to slump when both Weasleys shook their heads. “Well, McGonagall is sending me off to Hogwarts to do research to see if there is anything we can do to help Harry, or at least to find out what is going on. Will you come with me?”
Ron got up immediately, but Ginny sat, torn between going to find out what was going on, and staying to be there when Harry came out. Finally, the latter won out.
“You two go ahead,” she murmured, turning back towards Harry. “I’ll stay here.”
The looked at each other and Hermione seemed on the point of arguing, but Ron pulled her away and spoke as they walked away, “We’ll be back as soon as we know anything.”
Ginny felt very grateful for her brother at that point, and then continued to watch Harry.
Another several hours later, with no change except the daylight fading, Ginny was getting close to despair. Remus was sleeping on the ground not far away, and Tonks had finally left to find a bed for the night.
Ginny was startled as she felt a blanket being wrapped around her shoulders, and turned to see her mother standing behind her with a plate of food and a warm smile, though her eyes were still tight with worry.
“Why don’t you come home and get some sleep, Ginny?” she asked tenderly. “With everything the way it is now, we can go back to the Burrow.”
Ginny really liked the thought of sleeping in her own bed for the first time in a long time, but she couldn’t leave.
“I have to stay here, Mum. What if he comes out soon?” she asked sleepily.
Molly Weasley nodded as if what she had expected had been confirmed. She waved her wand and a sleeping bag appeared. Ginny didn’t argue as her mother told her firmly to eat, and watched to be sure she did, but the food tasted like ashes in her mouth. What if he never comes out? she asked herself, over and over again. And what condition will he be in when he does? That wound in his side was still there, as far as she could see, though it appeared to have stopped bleeding. And who knew what was going on inside his head?
“Have Ron and Hermione found anything yet?” she asked her mother as she handed the plate back. She could feel Remus’ eyes on them, and knew he was awake and waiting for the answer as well.
“No, dear, but they’re still looking. The whole Wizarding world is going crazy right now, celebrating. Fred and George have a part in it, I’m certain,” she said with a rueful shake of her head. “Those fireworks of theirs have been going off all over the country. The Ministry has moved back into the regular Ministry building, and your father is being run ragged trying to get everything put back together again, and him just recovered from that awful curse to his intestines. The Wizengamot is meeting tomorrow to select the next Minister of Magic, though it’s almost certain they’ll ask Professor McGonagall. She still says she doesn’t want the job, but you know that no one else will do as good a job of it. Still, who will teach transfiguration if she leaves the school, and who will the Board of Governors make the next Headmaster…”
Ginny sighed, as content as she could be given the circumstances, as she listened to her mother go on and on about all the latest happenings and gossip in the Wizarding world. She knew her mother was trying to help her get her mind off of what was going on with Harry and she was grateful for it. Before she knew it, her eyes were growing heavy, and then she was asleep.
***
Hermione stretched, pushing a fist into her back and trying to force the kinks out. She had been sitting at her table in the library for seemingly endless hours, sending Ron for more books whenever she exhausted her supply. She had looked for anything to do with Prior Incantatem and wands that shared cores, but so far she had found nothing to help with what was happening with Harry. For once, Madame Pince was actually helping with the search, as ordered by McGonagall of course, and she had been assisting Ron as they looked for more books, both in the Restricted Section and without.
Just minutes ago, Ron had come back with a huge dusty volume bound in red leather and gold, inlaid with gems. It chronicled the formation of Hogwarts, and was written by Godric Gryffindor himself. She had asked Ron why he had pulled it from the vault where the most valuable books were kept, and he had informed her that according to Madame Pince, Godric Gryffindor’s wand had shared a core with Salazar Slytherin’s. She had begun reading eagerly, and before long had found herself immersed in the story of two of the greatest wizards of history. They had started out as friends, and had worked together with Rowena Ravenclaw and Helga Hufflepuff to build Hogwart’s Castle and begin the School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. As their differences of opinion began building a gap between them, things grew tense, and then openly hostile. When Gryffindor learned of the possibility of the Chamber of Secrets being real, he had confronted his old friend, and a battle of Legilimency commenced, as Gryffindor sought to force the information from Slytherin. They had then dueled, and their wands connected. Witnesses said they spend an over a day and a half inside the shield that had formed, and had both been intensely confused when they came out together, though they had looked at each other with nothing but hatred forever after. Slytherin never spoke of the instance again, and Gryffindor left only a very small explanation.
For a lifetime, though it is said for only a day, we were bound in the Mind’s Eye. What was real, I know not, and Salazar will not say if he experienced what I did. I doubt he will ever speak to me again..
Hermione had continued to look for anything talking their experience, or anything like it, but after several more hours she had found nothing. Still, they had every reason to believe that Harry would come out of it, as Gryffindor had, though the troublesome idea was that Slytherin had also come out, and Voldemort could too.
She closed the book she had been reading with a snap and set off to find Ron and return to Malfoy Manor.
***
Ginny awoke from nightmares of the battle to shouting voiced and flashes of light. Instantly, she was on her feet, wand raised and a stunner half cast when Remus grabbed her arm and pushed her wand down.
“That might be necessary in a bit, but we can’t stop them now, and this may even be amusing,” he told her, and she looked up in confusion. He looked older than ever, and more tired than she, but there was definitely a hint of amusement in his voice and a twinkle in his eye. Then she saw what was making the noise.
An army of reporters was marching up the grounds led by Percy who was answering questions. She knew she didn’t want pictures of this circulating in the papers, but she could already tell that Percy was putting things in a good light. The other Aurors on guard duty ignored the reporters completely, and made no effort to stop any of it.
Percy stopped a good ten feet away from the shield and continued answering whatever question he had been asked last. Several of the photographers kept moving to get closer pictures and Percy was interrupted as they were blasted through the air.
“Please stay at least this far back from the shield,” Percy said blandly, though Ginny was almost certain she saw a glimmer of laughter in his eye, and there was no doubt about the small smile he wore. It was odd really; she had been certain Percy had no sense of humor. Maybe his time with the twins was starting to do him good.
Remus and all of the Aurors had laughed openly at the photographers, but they all put on grim faces and remained silent when the reporters started asking them questions. And then they were on Ginny, a million questions being thrown at her at once while cameras flashed.
“Is it true your entire family took part in the battle?”
“How do you feel knowing your boyfriend might never come out of that shield?”
“How long have you been in a relationship with the Chosen One?”
“Do you believe Harry will win this confrontation with You-Know-Who?”
Ginny was having a hard time seeing, and she didn’t even want to think about some of their questions, much less answer them. Remus and Percy both came to her rescue; Remus came to stand in front of her with a scowl on his face that had many of the reporters drawing back in fear, and Percy by interrupting them and drawing their attention away.
“Now, now, everyone,” he said with a condescending smile, “Of course Harry will emerge victorious. We know for a fact that he was involved in a similar confrontation with Voldemort three years ago, and he won even then. Now, I believe you have had the time you were promised by the Minister, so if you will all follow me back to the Ministry, you can ask more questions there.”
As he turned to lead them away, Percy turned back to her and winked quickly, and she shook her head incredulously. Percy was changing, and for the better. Those recurring blows to the head from Fred and George had worked wonders none of them had expected.
She was still trying to recover when Ron and Hermione Apparated next to her and she jumped in surprise.
“Did you find anything?” she asked, recovering quickly.
“Just a single reference,” Hermione said sadly, dark circles under her eyes from her night without sleep, “about being trapped in the Mind’s Eye, whatever that means. The only other time we could find that something like this happened, though, it lasted a day and a half.”
Ginny sat back as Hermione told her all about the book she had read, and couldn’t hide her relief. Harry would come out. It might take a day or two, but he would come out.
Molly Weasley appeared suddenly, and she was brimming over with excitement.
“Have you heard?” she asked triumphantly.
“Heard what?” Ron responded with a yawn.
“McGonagall has been made the new Minister of Magic,” Mrs. Weasley said triumphantly, and Ron cut her off before she could continue.
“Big deal,” he scoffed. “We knew they were going to chose her before they voted. There isn’t anyone else.”
“And as I was going to say,” she said, giving Ron an angry glance that he didn’t notice, “was that she has made your father the new Head of Magical Law Enforcement!”
She was excited as she had been when she started by the end; not even Ron’s unintentional rudeness could undermine her happiness.
Ginny and Ron goggled openly, while Hermione began congratulating Mrs. Weasley. Ginny and Ron were quick to join in.
“Yes, well, of course he’s the best man for the job,” Mrs. Weasley said proudly, “though he’s being worked harder than ever. Still he was given quite a raise, you know, and he deserves it.”
Ginny was very proud of her father; he had always been there for her, even if he was a little odd at times with his obsession with Muggles, and she knew he would do an excellent job.
“And Percy is still the Junior Undersecretary to the Minister,” Molly went on happily. “McGonagall said she wouldn’t know what to do without him, though I think she had a long talk with him about lightening up. And that can only be good for him, you know.”
Ginny let her mother go on without listening turning back to Harry. The rest of the Wizarding world was already going about its business when they didn’t even know if the person who was supposed to save them was done saving them. People were excited about victory so much that they weren’t even willing to wait for it.
She sighed heavily. She knew Harry didn’t want recognition or fame for what he was doing, but he still deserved it. She was positive it would come, though, once he got out.
***
Two days later, on the morning of the third day that Harry had been in the shield found things little different. Harry and Voldemort were both looking gaunt and weak from being three days without food or drink, but they still stood unmoving and the light still connected them, beads of energy still moving in confusing patterns. Ginny was growing close to despair; she was certain that the shield would be gone eventually, but concern about Harry’s health kept her nervous. One newspaper had already claimed that Harry had learned that the Dark Lord could only be killed by being starved to death, and so Harry was keeping him bound until he died, sacrificing himself to do so. Too many people believed that one. Another had published an article say that both of them were trying to consume the other’s soul and powers, and that whichever came out alive would be twice as terrible a Dark Lord as Voldemort had been before. The Ministry had ordered the article retracted and an apology published, but too many believed that one as well.
Ginny had been at the Malfoy Manor grounds for the entire time, except for using the bathroom in the Manor and bathing at home once each day. She wanted to look good when Harry came out; Remus had spent the first two days without bathing or washing and had looked awful. Tonks had come back and forced him home, though he had come back soon thereafter, thankfully clean.
Ron and Hermione had spent the majority of their time with her, though Hermione had had what seemed to be over a hundred books brought to her to study while she was there. She had learned that the NEWTS would still be taking place that year, though any student who wanted to repeat the year instead was welcome to, since so much school had been cancelled. Ron had wanted to opt for the latter, but Hermione insisted that both of them could do it, and so she had been forcing Ron to study with her nonstop. He looked a little ill, but all in all, he seemed to be taking it better than he would have before.
“Hermione’s my best chance at getting a good score,” he had finally confided in her, “and if she’s gone next year, I won’t have a chance, so I might as well just do it now. Don’t tell her I said that, okay?”
Now, Ginny was flipping through the pages of a copy of the book by Gryffindor, more for something to do than to read; she had read it all thoroughly an had gleaned no more from it than Hermione. And then the commotion began.
The Aurors closest to the shield began shouting excitedly, waving for everyone else to come closer. The light within the shield had begun glowing brighter than it had ever been yet; something was happening.
Ginny raced to the spot, seven feet away from the shield, which was a close as she could come without being affected. Any closer and her hair would begin to stand on end, before she would be blasted back as before. Inside the shield, Harry had begun to glow with an aura of power. She knew, from him sharing the memory of his fight to save her in the fallen tower, that that meant he was using too much of his magical power at once. She screamed his name, and found Ron’s arm around her comfortingly, though he looked like he could use some comfort himself. His other arm was around Hermione, whose eyes were wide, and her hand was covering her open mouth. As the light became almost too bright to look at, the energy went streaming along the cords, the beads all being forced into Voldemort, and the Dark Lord’s head snapped back in perceivable agony, though the cords of power did not release him. One huge bead of light emerged from Harry’s eyes and flowed along the rope, slowly but inexorably toward the Dark Lord, and when it finally connected to Voldemort’s eyes, the hateful snake-like body began to come apart. White fire consumed him. Fawkes, who had been sitting in a nearby tree ever since the shield had formed, began to sing triumphantly as the wizard who had terrorized the world was destroyed, until not a particle of him remained.
It was anti-climactic, after Voldemort’s death, the way the shield dissolved. It gave a few fitful flickers of dissipating energy, and then it was gone. Harry remained standing briefly with his eyes closed; the cords of power were gone, but their after-images were burned into the eyes of everyone present. Then he fell to the ground, almost slowly, as if he weighed nothing. Ginny didn’t remember moving but she found herself next to him, her arms entwining around him. He wasn’t breathing, she noticed with horror, but the look on his face was more peaceful than she had ever seen it.
“Harry!” she yelled; she did not really know what was going on, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that he was leaving her. His eyes fluttered open, and she gasped. His eyes searched and found nothing, but they were filled with pain, and they looked old.
“Ginny?”
The question was a gasp, her named said with wonder and love and hope, and she knew it was the last breath in his lungs. His chest did not rise again, and she could feel no heartbeat in his body. The sightless eyes glazed over, to remain fixed at some point over her shoulder. She began screaming and sobbing at once, calling for those around her to do something, anything. No one moved. There was nothing to be done.
Then Fawkes began to sing again.
A/N: Okay, so I couldn't make everything better all at once. One last cliffhanger for old times sake, right? Two more chapters after this.