A/N: I've had this storyline in mind for awhile, and I needed a break from Shadows so I started this. Wrote it all in one afternoon, and it's definitely darker than anything I've done.
Also, I know that Kai_Lun_Mau has a Crow fanfiction going… they're bound to be similar seeing as how they're following the same plot. But we've already chatted about this, and both of us are going to continue writing it our own way, so any and all similarities are coincidental.
Please read and then review when you're done!
This story is based on the wonderful movie The Crow.
I believe that sometimes, love is a more powerful thing than magic. I believe when two people love one another; it can stretch across boundaries, across time, across anything for those two people to be together.
My name is Ginny Weasley. I used to know two people who loved each other so much they couldn't bear to be parted for more than hours at a time.
This is their story, more than mine. I am still alive, and therefore someday may have a real story of my own to tell. Harry and Hermione were more than my friends, you see. After my family was killed, they took me in, cared for me, sheltered me, and gave me the love I so desperately craved. I was going to be Hermione's maid of honour at her wedding to Harry.
And then… it was all gone.
Chapter 1: The Raven
Sirius Black shielded himself from the sharp cold rain as he pushed his way into The Leaky Cauldron. The weather was chilly and the dark clouds blocked out any sort of sunlight.
It was never sunny anymore.
Sirius pulled back his hood and sat down at the bar. Old Tom, the bartender for so many years now, looked at him with sympathy.
"Your regular?" Tom asked and Sirius looked up with red, weary eyes.
"Sure," he answered as Tom set a glass down in front of him and next to it, a bottle of Ogden's Best FireWhisky. "Thanks," he slumped back on the stool and poured some of the alcohol.
Tom simply nodded, but didn't move from where he was standing in front of Sirius. "Been a year now hasn't it?"
"That's right," Sirius answered, brushing back his long, wet black hair.
"Damn shame what happened to them," Tom wiped another glass and set it on the bar. "He was a good kid. So was she."
"That they were," Sirius replied. "Had the whole world in their hands."
Tom opened his mouth to reply when the door opened again, and a slim figure with long red hair came rushing through.
Ginny Weasley struggled to shut the heavy door behind her, but she finally pushed hard enough and it latched. Breathing rapidly, she approached the bar and sat next to Sirius.
"Hi Tom, Sirius." She said, pulling off her cloak and setting it on the stool next to her.
"Hello Ginny," Tom replied as Sirius got up and gave her a hug.
"How are you?" Sirius asked as Tom went to attend to some other patrons.
"I'm all right," Ginny replied, shaking out her wet red locks. "I just…" she sighed. "I can't believe it's been a year already."
"Me either," Sirius said grimly. He pushed the bottle of whisky over to Ginny, who in turn took a long sip. "I think you miss them more than any of us did."
Ginny nodded, trying to keep her eyes from tearing over. "They were going to let me live with them, you know." She said. "Said I could stay as long as I wanted to, especially after the Death Eaters wiped out the rest of my family."
Sirius said nothing; just put his arm around the younger girl.
"Harry rescued me from my house when the Death Eaters came and ransacked it." Ginny couldn't help her tears now. "And then…"
"It's all right," Sirius said quietly. "I know."
It was October 14th, the year 2002. A year ago to the day, Harry Potter and his fiancée Hermione Granger were killed in a surprise Death Eater attack at their home.
It had been a quiet night. Ginny had been on her way home from work, Harry had run out to the store to get some butterbeer and Hermione was busy decorating the house for the holiday. They were celebrating the fact that the very next day, Hermione and Harry would be exchanging vows. They were celebrating the fact that Voldemort was gone forever, and none of them would have to live in fear from that day on.
Ginny always figured that Death Eaters had been waiting for a moment that was least expected. Ten minutes after Harry left, they swarmed the house, taking Hermione by complete surprise. They gagged her, did unspeakable things to her body, took away every last shred of innocence she had.
And then Harry came home. Ginny had arrived around the same time he had, and Harry pushed her to the side as he gripped his wand tightly and strode into the house, his green eyes flashing dangerously.
What happened next, Ginny was never positively sure of. All she heard was a loud scream, and then the whole house filled with a sickly green light and Harry was flying through the front window. Ginny jumped away in terror and then ran down the street to do what she should have done right away.
Running down the neighbourhood, Ginny screamed at the top of her lungs for anyone, anyone to help. Wizards and witches streamed out of their houses, going to help the famous Boy Who Lived, but it was too late. She could tell when she got back to the yard that Harry was already gone. Someone had alerted the Ministry already, and she could see Sirius Black, Harry's godfather and one of the top Aurors watching her from across the yard.
"Her…Hermione…" Ginny said, her voice cracking as she held Harry's head between her hands. "She's still inside…" Sirius stared at her for another moment before rushing into the vandalized house.
They brought Hermione out on a stretcher that lingered in midair. Ginny rushed over to her and was astonished to see that her friend was still alive.
"Hermione," Ginny grasped her hand.
"Gin!" Hermione seemed happy to see her, even though her beautiful face was bruised and her eyes almost swollen shut. "I'm so glad you're okay… I didn't know if they hurt you…"
"No, I'm all right, they didn't see me." Ginny replied. "They're going to take you to fix you up, okay?"
"Tell Harry I'll be back soon," Hermione was tired, she could tell. "Is he all right? He drove them away from here…"
Ginny couldn't speak past the lump that suddenly swelled in her throat. Sirius appeared at her side as Hermione was taken away to St. Mungo's. His large hand clamped down on her slim shoulder as they looked at one another.
"Harry's dead, isn't he?" Ginny asked, although she already knew. Sirius only looked down at her. "And Hermione's not going to make it either is she?"
"She'll be fine," Sirius said, but there was something odd about his voice.
Hermione died later that night at the hospital. She had fallen unconscious as they had brought her in and never woke back up.
Ginny felt raw inside at the new loss. After the deaths of her family members, Harry and Hermione had been there at the funerals, holding her up between them so she didn't fall to the ground in a faint. This time she had to stand by herself as she watched the last two people she loved be lowered into the earth.
Sirius stood somewhere behind her, exactly where she couldn't tell. Ginny knew he was there and she had always liked Sirius, but he wasn't family.
Since that time, however, he had become her friend, someone she could turn to when the days were almost too rough to handle. He had lost his family that night as well.
"Sorry," Ginny said, wiping away at her eyes.
Sirius looked misty eyed as well as he thought about his godson. "We'll get through it."
Ginny nodded and slid off the stool. "I just stopped in to say hi. I've got to get going."
"Where are you off to tonight?" Sirius asked.
"Nowhere special." Ginny said. "Back to my flat…"
"You know you can stay at my place should you need company, right?" Sirius asked gently.
"I know," Ginny nodded, blinking tears back furiously. "Thank you Sirius. I'll see you later." She pulled her cloak back around herself and left the comfort of the old tavern.
Sirius turned back to the bar where Tom was standing. "I don't like her out on those streets alone. Too many thugs and Death Eaters still wandering about."
Walking quickly down the street, she soon left Diagon Alley behind and was nearing the lane where Harry and Hermione's house once stood. The ceiling had caved in partway and some of the walls were starting to crumble, and most of the windows were broken and boarded up. It hurt Ginny deep inside to see the house like this, the house that all three of them had once cared for standing in ruins.
Tucking her head down against the wind, she went around the side of the house and towards the backyard, where two solitary gravestones loomed. They were protected by magic, and therefore were unscathed from any sort of vandalism. Ginny dropped down to her knees, not caring anymore if she was wet.
Reaching inside her cloak, Ginny pulled out two white roses that she had taken from a florist's cart earlier that day in Muggle London. Pressing each one briefly to her lips, she laid them carefully over the slight mound of earth in front of each stone.
"I miss you guys," she said. "I keep hoping that someday you two will come back to me but I know that will never happen." Ginny bowed her head. "I love you both." She trailed her fingers along the top of the gravestones then left, pulling her cloak back over her head as she left.
She had only been gone for a few minutes when a Raven flew down from a tree and perched on the top of Harry's headstone. Letting its cry echo into the night, it began to use its sharp beak to peck away at the smooth rock.
*** *** ***
A round of laughter rose from the men sitting at the table in the middle of the pub. It was late, nearly midnight, and the only people left skulking about Knockturn Alley were the toughest of the tough, namely the Death Eaters.
When Voldemort was killed by Harry Potter, they saw no reason to stop doing what they did. In fact, the Death Eaters grew even worse than they were before, now that they had no one to control them.
Lucius Malfoy raised his small glass and drained the Absinthe from it. "To us, one more year that we've been the leaders of this place." The other men sitting with him sneered and drank their alcohol as well.
It was still raining hours later when the group of them left the pub. Going past Harry Potter's house, they made it a ritual to damage anything that was left standing. Tonight it was one of the few upright walls, the wood and plaster was already so weakened it only took a few spells to topple the thing over. As it fell, the smashing of glass could be heard and Lucius turned to his group.
"Think there was something valuable on that wall?" he jeered. Bellatrix Lestrange sidled up to him and he gripped her leather clad body.
"Lucius, darling…" Bellatrix purred in his ear. "It turns me on when you do this…"
Lucius turned and grinned at her, moving his hand up over her breasts. "We're finished here," he bent down and let his lips move over her ear. Laughing, the Death Eaters turned and made their way off into the night.
Near the back of the property, the undisturbed earth of a year began to crack, mud and grass sliding as something underneath pushed up, wanting to breathe the fresh air and feel the rain.
An anguished cry broke through the wind as two pale hands broke free of the ground and began to pull. Harry Potter lifted himself up out of his own grave and collapsed upon the bothered earth, huddling into a fetus position while crying out as the lightning flashed into his eyes.
After a long time, Harry managed to lift himself up. Immediately the Raven was there, perched on his shoulder. He drew strength from the large black bird, and stumbled over to his house.
A cry ripped from his throat as he looked upon his once beautiful home. It had been reduced to ruins… the home that Hermione had so lovingly decorated, the home where they had made love twice a day sometimes…
Hermione…. A voice echoed through his head. Hermione….
"Hermione!" he screamed, falling to his knees. He felt as if his very soul was being pulled apart as he thought of her. Harry buried his face in his hands as his sobs forced him to double over.
The Raven stayed by him, its beady black eyes boring into his head. After awhile his sobs began to go away and a new emotion took its place.
Anger.
Raw, unadulterated anger began to pulse through his veins where blood once flowed.
Harry got up and went into the house, ignoring the rain falling through holes in the roof. Using the lightning as his guide, he made his way into what used to be their living room.
"Mudblood…" the sneering face of Lucius Malfoy spat at Hermione then threw her to the ground.
Harry saw them from the yard. He pushed Ginny aside, telling her to stay safe until he called her in.
"No…" Harry's face crumpled as he fell onto the floor, his stomach heaving.
"Potter, you thought you got rid of us didn't you..." Lucius had his wand at Harry's throat as Bellatrix Lestrange held him back.
Harry covered his eyes as the visions washed over him. The Raven sat up on a ledge, always patient as he recovered. He huddled on the floor as everything about that night a year ago came back to him.
And now Harry was hell bent on getting revenge.
With new strength in his body, Harry made his way into their old bedroom.
"Harry!" a laughing Hermione squealed as he chased her around the room. He caught her and spun her around in his arms, then playfully dropped her on the bed.
Harry spun around as old ghosts flitted around him.
Hermione pulled Harry against her; his head resting on her chest.
"I love you," she said, closing her eyes.
"Say it again," Harry said, looking up at smiling.
"I love you," Hermione repeated and Harry raised himself up and kissed her.
Harry collapsed on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. It wasn't wet in here so the room smelled musty, like it had been closed up.
"Probably has…" he said.
"Surprise," Harry came up behind Hermione, who was sitting at the dressing table. He reached around her with both arms and held in his hand a tiny box.
"Oh Harry!" Hermione turned and gave him a soft smile. "You've already given me a beautiful ring!' she held up her left hand where the engagement diamond sparkled.
"This goes with it." Harry replied. She took the box and he kissed the back of her neck as she opened it to find matching diamond earrings inside.
"They're gorgeous!" Hermione turned and threw her arms around him, kissing him repeatedly.
Harry sat up suddenly and leapt off the bed with shocking dexterity. Shedding his tuxedo (his wedding tuxedo that turned out to be his funeral wear) he ripped open the doors and tore through the few articles of clothing inside to find an old pair of black trousers. He pulled them on, and then found a skin tight shirt that Ginny and Hermione had bought him as a joke one year.
Standing in front of the mirror, he noticed his hair was longer, his face was gaunt, his lightning bolt scar was a slash of angry red across his forehead, yet his eyes, his mother's eyes, remained the same.
Harry left the bedroom and stood in front of the recently fallen wall. The Raven flew down to perch once again on his shoulder, its feet digging into his skin. Harry actually welcomed the pain.
The Death Eaters were all dead. They just didn't know it yet.