A/N: Thanks for all your reviews on the last chapter everyone. All of them are appreciated! I'm sorry I can't write more but I'm quite sick at the moment and you can read at the bottom for more info.
Chapter 4: Getting it Together
"I shot that son of a bitch; I watched the fucking hole close back up!" Rim Tin shouted. "And then I GET STABBED!"
"I saw him too," Shaitan Shimmer replied. "Bastard winked at me before he jumped out of a four story window like he could fly."
"He winked at you?" Lucius asked as Shaitan nodded. "What else did you see?"
"So far I haven't seen anything, especially about what you're going to do about all this shit!" Rim Tin snapped.
"You haven't lost everything," Lucius came up on Rim Tin and glared at him.
"Yeah, maybe you're not such a big shot like you think you are either!" Rim Tin glared back as Shaitan clamped down on the back of his neck.
"Fair enough," Lucius backed away, and then took something off a table. "Catch!" he tossed the object towards Rim Tim who caught it.
"Ahh!" he threw the burnt eyeball to the floor as Bellatrix laughed from the other side of the room.
"Don't hurt my pretty eyes," she scooped the eyeball up and slipped it in her pocket.
"Say hello to the last Death Eater who wouldn't cooperate with me," Lucius drawled.
"You mean that's real?" Rim Tin paled visibly.
"All the power of the world resides in the eyes." Lucius replied, looking at Bellatrix. "Most of the time, they're more useful than the people who own them." He crossed the room and opened a wooden cabinet.
"You're out of your mind, you know that? Out of your fucking mind!" Rim Tin screamed.
"Yeah," Lucius grinned as he turned around, brandishing a long, polished sword. "Eyes see. It's one of the most important things Bellatrix here ever taught me." He stopped and gently curved his fingers under her chin. She sat on the table in front of Rim Tin and put her booted foot under his chin. "Now, let's take it from the top, with a lot of detail. What do you say?"
Rim Tin paled even more as Lucius held the sword up to his throat. "He… he had a bird with him… it nearly pecked me clean!" he gulped. "And he told me to tell you guys… that death was on its way… that it was coming tonight!"
"Did he?" Lucius didn't seem perturbed by that.
"Yeah," Rim Tin went on eagerly. "And uh… he said his name was Potter. Harry Potter!"
This time Lucius's eyes went dark. "Potter, you say?" he looked over at Bellatrix who was also wide eyed.
"Yeah, Potter," Rim Tin replied. "Think you can put that thing down now?" he nodded his head towards the sword.
"And Potter just happened to let you live," Lucius said slowly. "You're not making any of this up to save your own ass are you?" he asked dangerously.
"I'm not making anything up!" Rim Tin snarled. "I'm not twisted like you two fucks with those eyeballs!"
Bellatrix narrowed her eyes at him, but took her foot down from under his chin. Lucius looked at him a moment longer, and lowered the sword. "Potter… how touching," he grinned. Rim Tin began to laugh and Lucius turned around and shoved the sword into Rim Tin's throat.
He began to gag as blood spurted out of his mouth. He could see Lucius and Bellatrix move into the line of his darkening vision.
"For fuck's sake, die already!" Lucius motioned to Shaitan. A burst of green light emitted from the other man's wand and Rim Tin slumped, the sword still stuck through his throat.
"You know, Anton said he saw a big black bird too, right before he choked to death on his own blood." Shaitan said. "I'll have someone come to clean him up," he nodded towards Rim Tin's dead body.
"Save me the eyes first," Bellatrix replied, sliding her knife out of her garter.
*** *** ***
"Here you go," Ginny came into her tiny living room with two cups of tea. She handed one to Draco, who had made himself comfortable on her threadbare sofa.
"Thanks," Draco took a small sip. Ginny perched herself on the chair adjacent to the sofa and stared into her teacup. She didn't know what to say or do in Draco's presence, and was ashamed of her flat, although he seemed completely at ease.
After Harry and Hermione died, Ginny had had to leave their home and move into this rat hole. It was the only thing she could afford, and she had furnished and decorated it as nicely she could. At its best it could be described at drab, and it lacked the home like warmth that The Burrow and Harry and Hermione's house had.
"So…" Draco's voice cut through her thoughts and made Ginny jump.
"What?" she asked going immediately on the defence.
"I just was going to ask how you've really been doing." Draco held up his hands.
"Oh," Ginny was embarrassed. "I'm… all right."
"Just all right," Draco didn't seem convinced. "I'm worried about you Ginny."
"Well don't be!" She burst out. "I can take bloody care of myself Draco!"
"I know," Draco seemed thoughtful. "But I still worry about you." He leaned forward, so far forward that his face was almost in hers. "Look… I know I used to be a real bastard to you and the rest of the Gryffindors."
"That's hardly right," Ginny replied. "You were downright awful."
Draco sighed. "It wasn't until I saw what my life would be should I become one of Voldemort's followers, that I realised how wrong everything was." He sat back, taking another sip of tea. "The reason I decided to turn wasn't because of you or because of Potter… I just knew it was the right thing to do. And that's the first time in my life I did the right thing." He looked straight at Ginny. "And because of that, you and I are in the same boat. My mother is dead, and my father… he's not my father. Not anymore at least," The last sentence was said while he looked over at the wall.
Ginny sat, her teacup forgotten, her mouth agape. "God… Draco… I'm sorry," she looked close to tears again.
"It's okay," he answered. "I mean, I've dealt with it… it's just nice to have someone else around." Draco hinted.
"Yeah," Ginny set her teacup down. "You… you might be right."
Draco scooted forward so that their knees were touching. "Look… I hope you're not thinking I'm too presumptuous here…" he ran a hand through his hair. "I… I want…"
He sighed and Ginny looked at him quizzically. "What is it Draco?" she asked.
"Will you go out with me?" he asked. "Not as just friends, like we've been doing… but like a real date?" his normally pale cheeks were flushed.
Ginny tried to work her jaw but it seemed to be permanently hung open. "I uh… I suppose that would be all right," her heart beat faster as Draco grinned. It had been the first time she had ever seen him grin.
"Really?" His grey eyes grew bright. "Is… is tomorrow night too soon? Or do you want to wait for next week?"
"Tomorrow should be fine," Ginny murmured. "Is around seven all right?"
"Sure," Draco grinned again and Ginny couldn't help but smile back.
*** *** ***
The Raven flew smoothly through the cool night air, its subject following by foot on the street below. It could fly if it really wanted to, but it seemed to be happy running through the alleys.
Harry looked up as if to make sure the Raven was still with him. He was attached to the bird now, and knew it wouldn't leave. His pace slowing, Harry crept up to the side of one of the alleys that now populated Diagon and Knockturn Alley, and watched as two men approached.
"What if we run into that… that Potter…" one of them was saying nervously. Harry grinned as he recognized them.
Skank Whitmore and Shaitan Shimmer… the last of the group before he reached Lucius and Bellatrix… Harry slid further back into the shadows, waiting for the right moment.
"Then we'll take care of him," Shaitan snapped.
"But you saw what he did to Gavet- turned him into a fucking voodoo doll!" Skank whined.
"Gavet was a git," Shaitan grinned. The two of them came to a stop in front of a pub. "Get some Whisky," he commanded, going over to a junk pile and extracting a shining broomstick. He kept it there for the precise reason it would never be found unless someone knew right where it was.
Harry watched Skank disappear in the pub while Shaitan mounted his broom. As soon as he saw the other man start to ascend, he leapt out of the shadows and onto the end of the broom. "Fly," he snarled, pushing the end of Gavet's wand into his back.
Shaitan sat rigid for a moment before pulling up on the broom sharply. Across the alley, for a split second he saw the large shadow of the Raven against a building.
"Go up further," Harry held onto the stick with one hand and kept the wand in Shaitan's back with the other.
Shaitan gritted his teeth but pulled the broom up. They were quickly soaring at about 200 feet. "What do you want, Potter?" he asked.
"Revenge," Harry replied. "You killed me; I'm here to repay that favour."
"Not interested," Shaitan snapped.
"It's a shame that I don't care," Harry sneered. "I've already done off two of you… what makes you think you should be spared the same fate?"
Shaitan smirked, but didn't reply as he stared straight ahead. "For one thing, I'm smarter than all of those idiots put together,"
Harry snorted. "Right," he said. "That's why I was able to get you up here so easily."
Shaitan turned halfway, looking at the pale faced man behind him. "But it's also why I'm able to get rid of you," he said mockingly. Before Harry knew it, Shaitan had turned himself around so that they were now facing one another.
Raw hatred burned between them as they stared at each other for several long, tense moments. Shaitan wasn't sure who moved first, but he was holding Harry's wrist as he tried to aim his wand at him. His leg shot out and hit Harry's shin, and the other man stumbled, falling on his stomach.
Harry clutched onto the broom with one hand while he forcefully pulled his fist from Shaitan's grasp. The Death Eater hit the wand and it went flying into the wet air.
"Not so tough without a wand, are you?" Shaitan grinned wickedly.
"I have power in me that you could not even dream of touching," Harry said.
"I'm terrified," Shaitan sneered as Harry pulled himself back up. He swung his fist out and caught his enemy on the jaw. Shaitan slipped off the edge, grasping onto the broom almost a second too late.
Harry laughed manically, knowing he had the upper hand.
"How does it feel, knowing that my face is the last thing you'll look at before you die?" Shaitan was grinning into Harry's face as he struggled to get to Hermione.
"So how does it feel?" Harry leaned down, grasping the Death Eater's hands with his own and squeezing as tight as he could.
"Feels like this!" Shaitan kicked up and caught Harry off guard. He went tumbling off the back of the broom and down into the rainy night.
Harry flattened his body out and the Raven came alongside him, dropping Gavet's wand into his outstretched hand. Landing smoothly on his feet, he turned angry green eyes up at the stormy sky.
*** *** ***
Harry went back through the rain to the house. It was now early morning, the first rays of light were hidden by the clouds, but it was growing brighter each second. Standing in the ruined foyer for a moment, he looked at the stairs that would no longer take a person to the second level.
"Do you think Ginny will like the decorations?" Hermione finished stringing an evergreen garland along the banister. Harry grinned, looking around. It was the first (and was to be the only) Christmas they spent in this house.
"Of course she will," He wrapped his arms around her as she stepped down and kissed him. "That's not a very mistletoe kiss," Harry pouted, looking above them where Hermione had hung the little sprig.
She grinned then and pressed her lips against his again, this time opening her mouth and their tongues met. Harry moved his hands down her back and through her long, still bushy hair.
"Dammit woman…" he was breathless when they pulled apart. "I love you,"
Harry hit the railing with his fist and strode out of the hallway and into the living room. He stood there just looking around for a few minutes, and then went over to some shelves on the wall.
Most of their things had been ransacked, but Harry had a special shelf fit in back for things he didn't even want ruined. This place wasn't seen, and only if you knew it was there would you be able to find it.
Reaching back, his hands closed on a box of photos. Harry sat down in front of the fireplace, which was surprisingly still standing, and lit a fire. He opened the box and began to look through the stack.
A few of them were from their engagement party. They had just bought the house and decided to take advantage of the huge backyard and the lovely early summer weather. It had been right before the Weasleys' had died, right before they had taken Ginny to live with them.
"We all looked so happy," Harry said softly to himself. "We all were so happy…"
Ginny Weasley timidly opened the door to Harry and Hermione's house. The morning skies were still grey, but it had finally stopped raining for a few minutes. She wasn't exactly sure why she was there, but the thought that Harry had been in the alley with her the night before had kept Ginny awake almost the entire night.
So she was there, stepping inside the house, afraid of what she might find but more afraid of what she might not find. Stepping carefully over loose boards and avoiding nails that were jutting out of the floor, she went into the main room.
"Harry?" she called out softly. She heard some rustling in the corner and spun around but there was no one there. Turning back around, Ginny went further into the room and saw the photos scattered in the middle of the floor. She picked up the first one she saw, which was of herself and Ron during her 19th birthday party. He had snuck up from behind her and spun her high up in the air, and Harry had managed to catch the moment forever with Bill's camera.
Ginny looked quickly through the rest of the photos with shaking hands, knowing they weren't there before. "Harry?" she tried again. "Come on Harry… I know you're here!"
Still, no one answered. "I knew it was you in the alley last night…when you told me it can't rain all the time. You used to tell me and Hermione that when we were upset about something." Ginny sighed. "I miss you and Hermione. I miss you guys so much. It gets lonely…" she trailed off and looked around some more. When there was still no movement or sound, she sighed again. "Fine…" her tone was disappointed and bitter. "To hell with you! I thought you cared about me!" she turned to leave when someone blocked her path.
"I do care, Gin." Harry replied and with a strangled cry, Ginny leapt forward and hugged him as tight as she could.
"Oh God, Harry is it really you? Are you alive?" Ginny bawled. She could feel him sigh and pulled away.
"It's really me," He answered. "But…"
"You're not really alive." Ginny finished.
Harry shook his head slowly. "I'm sorry Ginny," he said moving past her and into the room.
"Why are you here?" she asked. "I mean… Harry I saw you last year…"
"I know," he motioned for her to sit down next to him on the floor. "I'm so sorry about all this. I told myself when the rest of your family died that I'd take care of you."
"You didn't know that was going to happen," Ginny argued.
"I'm just here to set things right," Harry said. "Once that's done… I have no idea what will happen to me." Ginny sniffed and he put his arm around her. "Tell me about what you've been doing."
Ginny didn't want to tell him what had become of her since his death, but found herself doing just that. "It's been really rough, but I've been able to make ends meet," she brushed her hair out of her eyes. "And Draco… you really wouldn't believe how much he's changed. He's been a very good friend to me."
"More than a friend?" Harry gave her a slight half smile.
"Maybe," Ginny was shy of talking about this. "He… he's asked me out and I said yes."
"That's good," Harry said. "I hate hearing that you're lonely." He got up abruptly and went over to the box, fishing around inside for something. "Here," he handed her a key.
"What is this?" she asked. Turning it around in her hand, she saw a number printed on the back of it. "Vault 687?"
"It's my Gringotts key," Harry answered. "I want you to have it. There's money inside… it's yours."
Ginny stared up at him, her jaw hanging slack. "Harry I can't take this!"
"Who else will?" Harry asked, sitting back down next to her. "Ginny, before Hermione and me… I had your name put on my Gringotts account. I never got to tell you before that night." Harry held up his hand. "Sirius already has everything he needs; otherwise you'd be sharing it with him."
Ginny leapt forward again and hugged him as tight as she could. "Thank you Harry," her voice was muffled because she had pressed her face into his shoulder. He held her and stroked her hair.
"I have to go," she murmured sometime later. "I have to work."
"All right," Harry replied.
"Will you come say goodbye?" Ginny asked.
"I don't know," Harry said. "I will if I can…" She hugged him again.
"I'm glad I got to see you," Ginny said. "Thank you for the key… I can't thank you enough for that key,"
Harry smiled at her, a real smile. "I'm glad Gin, I really am. I want you to be happy again."
Ginny thought of Draco, and grinned back. "I think I will be."
A/N: The next chapter will be the last… the big final confrontation between Harry and the remaining Death Eaters and what happens to him after it's all over.
I am not sure when it will be out- I've had a few job offers and I've come down with an upper respiratory infection so I'm just trying to get myself better. Hope you enjoy this and see you next time.