"Harry Potter's bitch."
Ginny froze as she turned the corner of the Burrow and saw three masked Death Eaters. In her hands was a basket of brightly colored laundry. There was a moment as Ginny stared at the three masked individuals. She gulped and threw the basket in the air.
Curses sizzled the air around Ginny as she quickly cast a Disillusionment charm around her. Partially obscured by the exploding clothes around her, Ginny quickly retreated around the corner and sprinted towards the door leading to the kitchen. Adrenaline pumped through her veins and she barely registered the plaster being blown off a corner of the Burrow.
"NO EVIDENCE, YOU IDIOT!" one of the Death Eaters bellowed.
Ginny cursed her luck as she was the only person left behind at the Burrow that day. While everyone else had gone to the Ministry to continue their investigation on Harry's sudden disappearance, Ginny had elected to stay home and do laundry. Harry would eventually come back.
Ginny made it to the kitchen door and muttered a quick Colloportus. There was a squelch as the door wedged itself into the frame of the house. Ginny knew it would only be a minor distraction, but she needed every millisecond to escape her hunters.
Ginny hurdled the steps two at a time, her side already hurting from the sudden onset of physicality that the situation bore upon her. Quickly reaching her room, she muttered another Colloportus and levitated her clothing drawer against the door. Not particularly satisfied with her blockade, she could waste no more time as she quickly gathered the materials she had come to gather.
She wrenched open the dresser that was kept for Harry and retrieved his wand and Invisibility Cloak. Ginny wrapped the Cloak around her and waved her wand with a crossing motion above her headboard, creating a red X that embedded itself onto the wall above her bed. With a deep breath, Ginny attempted to Apparate with a twirl.
She had closed her eyes to prepare for the familiar squeezing sensation but instead found herself still in her bedroom and the footsteps quickly ascending the stairs.
"Oh bugger all," she muttered. Panic quickly crept up her neck as she fought to stay calm.
The Portkey!
Ginny quickly rummaged back through Harry's dresser. Although she thought him paranoid at the time, Harry had always kept an untraceable Portkey that led to the outskirts of Hogwarts, the safest place in the world.
"Where is it, where is it," she whispered desperately. There was a bang as the door almost blew off the hinge. Not even bothering to look up, Ginny clawed through Harry's items until she found the object of her desire. A Golden Snitch.
Pulling the wings of the Snitch, Ginny spared one glance as the door burst open and the three Death Eaters stood in the crowded doorway.
"No!" the short pudgy one screeched. The familiar twirling sensation that accompanied the journey of the Portkey was quickly enveloping Ginny, but she could only stare in horror as the short, pudgy Death Eater leapt as physically possible as the Death Eater could and latched onto her ankle.
"Got you whore."
The entirety of Ginny's attempted capture only took twenty-three seconds.
There was a thud as Ginny fell on soft grass, the Death Eater still holding onto her ankle. Without really thinking, Ginny acted on instinct and smashed her heel against the Death Eater's face.
The Death Eater let out a wail as it stopped to tear off its mask. Ginny, horrified, recognized the face of one Dolores Jane Umbridge. There was a moment as they stopped to look into each other's. Ginny gulped and Umbridge snarled as they cast simultaneous spells. Luckily for the redhead, her Protego shield was in such close proximity to Umbridge that Umbridge's spell ricocheted and blasted her in the face.
Already sporting a broken nose, Umbridge was actually lucky as the Reducto only took off her ear. Umbridge seemed to give up her hold for a moment as she tended to her already grotesque face. Not wasting a moment, Ginny scrambled to her feet and sprinted towards the Castle.
During the commotion, Ginny had failed to recognize that she had Portkeyed to the outer edge of the Forbidden Forest. Knowing there wasn't much time before Umbridge summoned her comrades, Ginny was in full sprint again as she headed towards the Castle.
Moments later, Ginny broke the tall double doors that lead to the Great Hall, only to be dismayed as there wasn't a single living soul that occupied the Hall.
"HELLO!" she yelled, not caring if the trailing Death Eaters somehow followed her.
There was a scuffling around the corner and Ginny raised Harry's wand in anticipation. She was never more relieved to see Argus Filch's ugly mug.
"Mr. Filch, I need your help!" Ginny yelled as she ran towards him.
"Mrs. Potter?" he asked slowly.
"Yes, yes, it's me! Quick, there's Death Eaters on the grounds, you must alert the Headmistress and…" Ginny didn't say another word for Filch had raised a wand to her.
"Mr. Filch?" she confusedly inquired as she took a step back.
"Stupefy," he whispered and Ginny's world went black.
_____-------------------------------__________
Ginny carefully opened one eye. She could feel the ropes binding her tightly. The slight gusts of wind chilled her ears as she recognized her surroundings. The Astronomy Tower.
She tried to keep silent, but she couldn't help the raspy cough that came out as a result of the accumulated dust in her throat. Filch snapped around at the sound.
"Ah, excellent, you're awake," he said.
"Sorry to disturb," Ginny muttered.
"Tsk, tsk, always the cheeky one," Filch smiled at her serenely.
"Always a real wizard were you?" Ginny hotly replied, glaring at her captor.
"Oh no, Mrs. Potter," he spat out her name in disgust, "Filch was very much a Squib."
Ginny's eyes barely widened as she registered what her captor had to say. She bit her tongue as her mind whirred into Hermione-like action, quickly trying to decipher the events that had somehow unfolded during the day.
Before she could ask another question, the lone door of the room opened and in stepped the fat, pudgy bitch herself. Briskly stepping towards Ginny, Umbridge stared her right in the eye. Just as Ginny was about to snort out a smart remark, Umbridge slapped her.
"You really are Potter's bitch," Umbridge snarled, barely able to contain herself.
"Sorry about that," Ginny nodded towards Umbridge's ear, "I was aiming for your nose but I can't really complain."
Umbridge's eyes widened as she drew her wand and stuck it against Ginny's neck. It looked as if she were about to curse her again but stopped at the last moment. A sickly smile adorned her face as she gazed upon Ginny's rebellious form.
"It's a pity we couldn't have a little…fun…before we killed you," Umbridge said with the same disgusting smile on her face.
Ginny could barely contain the bile rising in her throat as Umbridge leaned in towards her and licked her cheek. The purple tongue lingering far too long.
"Mmmm….delicious Pureblood," she whispered against Ginny's ear. Ginny shivered violently and closed her eyes, concentrating on Harry in her mind.
She could practically hear Harry's voice in her head, "Just concentrate, you don't need a wand for everything."
Meanwhile, Umbridge continued her monologue.
"Yes, it's such a pity for you to go to waste, if only - "
"La la la la la la. Spare me the terrible monologue. You'd think Voldemort would have taught his cronies a lesson in fine speeches, not that he was any good at it. The ruddy bastard," Ginny spit in Umbridge's face to punctuate her retort.
Umbridge calmly wiped the saliva off her face with the back of her hand and smiled back at Ginny.
"You have no idea how much I love feisty women," Umbridge's smile grew even larger if possible.
"Now, now ladies, there are more…pressing matters to attend to," Filch said.
"Concentrate," said Harry's imagined voice inside Ginny's head.
Despite Harry's soothing voice in her head, Ginny found it difficult to concentrate as she watched Filch transform. The silver hair sprouted from his otherwise greasy hair. The pale skin in direct contradiction to Filch's grotesque tanned form. There was no mistaking the identity of the person who posed as former Caretaker Argus Filch.
"Malfoy," Ginny said calmly.
"No ugly nicknames? No bitter spit of disgust?" Malfoy taunted, "I would expect a little more than that Weaslette."
Ginny didn't respond and only glared at him. Malfoy sighed in response to her glare.
"You know I liked old man Filch. He wasn't too bad to us Slytherins. Didn't take much convincing from Umbridge over here when she invited him to her house," Malfoy droned on.
Concentrate.
Ginny still didn't respond, resolutely glaring at her captors. Malfoy pouted at her lack of response.
"Potter must have really had you whipped. Shame he won't be around to see his wife die. He'll just have to hear all about it," Malfoy continued.
Concentrate.
Ginny's reaction was almost impossible to see if Malfoy hadn't been paying such close attention. She didn't say anything but he saw the clench of her jaw as he spoke.
"I hope you realize what happens now," Malfoy said in a voice barely above a whisper.
Concentrate.
"Why is it Dracoooo," Ginny drawled out his name, "that the bad guys always have to monologue before their plan blows up in their face?"
Draco's eyes narrowed at her statement but before he could react, a burst of raw energy exploded from Ginny, knocking him and Umbridge into the stone walls that surrounded the tower.
Ginny gasped as the ropes around her fell loose to the floor. It felt as if all of her magical reserves were drained. She couldn't stand up and her arms felt like lead. It took every ounce of energy that still resided within her body to drag herself to the lone table in the room. On the table, curiously enough, were a parchment, quill, Harry's wand, and his Invisibility Cloak.
Barely even able to breath, Ginny performed the last acts of her life as she scratched out a letter and hid Harry's remaining affects with a complicated spell. Gasping as the last of her energy was drained from her, Ginny lay limp on the cobblestone floor of the tallest tower of Hogwarts, unable to move. She was physically and mentally drained but felt a grim satisfaction as she accomplished her last deed.
Ginny blacked out again.
When she awoke for the last time of her life, Ginny felt the rush of wind grow stronger in her ears. With what little energy she had left, she grudgingly opened her eyes and was unsurprised to find herself peering over the balcony of the tower. She knew this time would eventually come.
"Everything else taken care of?" Umbridge spoke from behind her.
"Everything set. It'll look like a suicide," Malfoy responded.
Ginny fidgeted just slightly and no doubt gave away her awakening.
"I wanted you to be awake for this," she heard Malfoy's voice in her ear.
Without any other warning, Malfoy shoved her in the small of her back and Ginny fell from the tallest tower of Hogwarts. There was a sickening crunch as the force of gravity finally brought her to the ground, but she was not dead yet.
The whole encounter lasted six minutes.
As she felt the last of her life draining from her through her internal organs, Ginny had no power to speak. However, she did manage one last gasping thought.
I love you Harry, always have. I just wished you loved me back.
With that last thought, Ginevra Potter moved on from this life.
_____-------------________
The Trio emerged from the memory, speechless. Hermione fell the ground, her shoulders shaking from emotion. Ron leaned against the wall, disbelief etched into every fiber of his face.
Harry Potter stared onto the horizon as if a realization had finally dawned upon him. The sun was setting on the horizon, the blood red familiarly casting its shadow on the tall timbers of the Forbidden Forest. Even the sun was weeping for the youngest Weasley.
Harry could not cry, however, his tears already drained from him. He was tired of crying, tired of feeling useless, tired of regret.
Harry turned around to face his two shaken friends and leant a hand to both of them. Needless to say, they were both surprised by Harry's seemingly calm visage.
"We're going to have to move quickly if we have to kill Voldemort again."
-----_________________-----
So today is March 31st. With exams coming up, this probably won't be updated for another month or so (I know, I know, I'm already slow with updating). Hopefully though, I can redo the last couple chapters of this story and finally end it!
QuickQuill notes:
- Harry's lack of Invisibility Cloak from Ch.7: Dead or Alive is finally explained
- Harry's epiphany isn't completely unfounded.
- The other character with Umbridge form Ch.11: Off the Edge is indeed Draco Malfoy