10A tall red-haired shadow skirted silently around the sleeping Death Eater who was supposed to be guarding the cell of a young girl of sixteen years. The shadow's sister.
"Alohomora Maxima," hissed the shadow, placing his wand on the heavy padlock on the great iron door of the jail cell. It opened slightly, its creaking magnified by the stone walls. The shadow winced and stayed absolutely still. The enemy guard grunted loudly but didn't wake. The redheaded shadow sighed in relief and crept forward, into the dungeon room.
When the imprisoned girl heard her cell door being opened, she stiffened. Were they coming to torture her again? Her wounds the Death Eaters had given her had stopped bleeding, but who knew how long that would last? That was until she heard his voice.
"Ginny," the shadow breathed.
The girl whirled around, hardly believing her ears.
"Ron!" whispered Ginny, her tortured eyes widening in her pale face.
Ron hugged his little sister fiercely, his relieved tears spilling on to the top of her head.
"Let's get out of here," he murmured once he had wiped the warm tears off his face. She nodded as he took her trembling hand and pulled her out of the cell and down the long hall, their feet making no sound as they raced to safety.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
FLASHBACK
Ginny scowled as she stomped back to the Gryffindor Common Room. How dare he! Now, thanks to her stupid brother Ron, there wasn't the slightest chance she would ever get a date for the Yule Ball!
Before she knew it, Ginny was standing in front of the Fat Lady's portrait – the door to Gryffindor Tower.
"Father Christmas," snarled Ginny. The Fat Lady raised an eyebrow but swung open. She tramped into the Common Room, glaring at anyone who looked up from his or her homework to see who had walked in. Girls just shrugged and got back to their work, while boys lowered their eyes quickly or sent frightened glances over to the fireplace where three seventh years were studying. She stalked over to them, clenching her fists as she went.
"Ron," she growled, her brown eyes flashing in anger.
Her brother looked up in surprise. Ron's face became pale under his many freckles and his ears turned scarlet.
"G-Ginny!" he stuttered. "What a surprise! How's my favorite –"
"RONALD BILIUS WEASLEY!" his sister screeched. The Common Room fell immediately silent as Ginny's voice echoed off the rough stone walls. Heads turned to watch the fight as a couple of first years in the corner held their hands to their ears to block out the furious flame-haired girl. "What did you think you were doing!" she continued. "Why in Merlin's name did you do it!"
"Do what?" Ron squeaked.
"'Do what?' 'Do what?' You know very well what you did, Ronald Bilius Weasley! You threatened all the boys so I wouldn't have a date for the Yule Ball! You told them that you would pound the living daylights out of them if they even asked me to dance! I probably won't have a boyfriend until I'm at least thirty-seven thanks to you! You scared all the boys away! I am going to KILL YOU!"
Ron tried to hide behind Harry. Harry ducked out of the way.
"Uh, sorry mate, I have to, err, go and . . . clean my broom! Yeah that's it! My Firebolt is still awfully muddy from the last Quidditch game, so I'd better go clean it. Goodbye!" And with that, the Boy Who Lived sprinted out of the room like there was no tomorrow.
"Wait for me, Harry! I'll come too!" Ron cried as he made for the door.
"No, no, no! I'm not finished with you yet," snapped Ginny with murder in her eyes. She reached over and snatched Harry's wand off the table in one fluid motion. "Petrificus Totalus!"
Ron fell flat on his face, unable to move and stiff as a board. Ginny waltzed over, malice glinting in her light brown eyes, and rolled him over with her foot.
"Hello, brother dear," she taunted. "I think you might have some explaining to do. Wingardium Leviosa!" Yes, Ickle Ronniekins certainly had some explaining to do.
END FLASHBACK
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo"Ron," Ginny gasped. "Ron, I'm really sorry about that fight in the Common Room a week ago. It was stupid of me." Tears started to spill from her haunted eyes.
"Shh," hushed Ron softly, giving her a one-armed hug as the continued on. "It's okay. I shouldn't have threatened those guys." He paused. "Never mind, threatening them was okay, I just should've told them that if they even considered hurting you, I'd pound them to a pulp." This startle a slight giggle out of her. "Now we have to be silent," he continued, "This place is swarming with Death Eaters."
Ginny nodded silently and the hurried on along the dark corridor lit only by the rare torch on the rough walls. Once in a while, a Death Eater would hurry by, their footsteps echoing loudly in the narrow hallway. When this happened, the two Weasley siblings would melt soundlessly into the shadows, waiting with dated and willing for the Death Eater to go away, until the Death Eater left.
"I thought you said that the place was 'swarming with Death Eaters,'" Ginny hissed after reappearing from the gloom for the fourth time.
"It was the last time I came through here," replied Ron with a shrug. "Maybe there's a meeting or something."
"Well, well, well," a familiar voice sneered suddenly behind them. "Three Weasleys in one day. The Dark Lord will be pleased."
Ron and Ginny spun around, Ron brandishing his wand, Ginny, her wand having been taken away from her, raising her fists. There in front of them stood a tall figure cloaked in black and wearing a ghoulish white mask. Cold grey eyes glinted from eye-slits in grim amusement and malice. Ginny and Ron knew these steely eyes well. They belonged to Lucius Malfoy.
"Shove off, Malfoy," Ginny growled, glaring at the Weasleys' long time enemy.
"Now, now, Weasley," purred Malfoy. Ginny could tell he was leering manically under his Death Eater's mask. "You really should be more polite to your captor, young Mudblood-lover." Ron growled doglike at the use of the filthy word for Muggleborn. "After all, your fates are in my hands until I hand you over to the Dark Lord, and if you don't mind your manners, I might forget to be nice."
Without warning Ginny struck out, kneeing Malfoy in a very private place between his legs. He buckled over in pain, momentarily forgetting his prey, allowing Ginny to grab her elder brother's arm and yank him down the corridor and to the right, through the first open door they came to (which happened to be the only open door they had come to).
It was dark, pitch black. The silence pressed down on them. Terror filled their stomachs. Ron gripped Ginny's hand tighter, looking for reassurance. A slow, evil snickering reached their ears. They had to get out of there. Ginny spun around, pulling her big brother with her, and felt for the door. There it was: closed. And locked.
"You see, my loyal Death Eaters, I told you all of the guests would arrive for the party. These two were just fashionably late," drawled a voice from the shadows behind them.
The two Weasley siblings turned around slowly. A bright light suddenly flickered on, blinding them. Ginny was the first to recover. What she saw made her gasp in horror.
Lord Voldemort sat before her on a raised throne of black marble, a menacing smirk on his thin white lips. She met his eyes defiantly. He was gazing at her intently, and she saw something glint in those hateful crimson eyes . . . loathing . . . fear . . . hunger. A flicker of motion turned Ginny's attention elsewhere. There, beside the Dark Lord's throne stood Harry Potter, struggling in the cold of arms of one of Voldemort's cloaked minions, the Death Eater's wand pointed at his head. Hermione Granger, Luna Lovegood, Neville Longbottom, and Charlie Weasley, Ginny's older sibling, stood beside him, all struggling in the arms of dark wizards.
Ginny suddenly realized that the large room they were in was filled with Death Eaters, all cloaked and masked, all looking expectantly at their master. One of them lashed out, grabbing Ron and placing a silencing charm on him before the youngest Weasley son could say a word. Then he and his captive went to join the line of prisoners at the Dark Lord's side. She uttered a strangled scream, but found her feet frozen to the hard stone floor.
"Ginevra Molly Weasley, I have a proposition for you," hissed Voldemort in his snakelike voice.
"How do you know my full name?" she snarled, outraged.
"I have my sources." He smiled liplessly. "Now, my dear. I am aware of your feelings as a third-rate human. As a Weasley." He spat out her surname like it was some disgusting swearword. "You have potential, you know you do. You have great power. More power than even the great Albus Dumbledore." Voldemort paused, his scarlet eyes flashing. "But you're being held back. Being pulled down. By your family. By them." He gestured at the row of his enemies. Ron and Charlie struggled all the more harder, Hermione and Neville's eyes were wild, and Harry was shaking his head at Ginny. Luna was staring at Voldemort, her mouth agape. "You can be great, Ginevra. Great, and powerful, and almighty. We'll rule the world together. And no one will dare pull you down. Join me, Ginevra. Rule by my side. We'll be invincible. Join me."
Ginny blinked. It was true: her family and friends were holding her back. Usually it was unconscious, but they still did it. And she was extremely powerful. She had proven that with skipping a year at Hogwarts.
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoFLASHBACK
They were at number 13, Grimmauld Place, the home of Harry's late godfather.
"Ginny!" her mother called. "Professor Dumbledore wants to speak with you! He's in the kitchen!"
Ginny skipped to the kitchen, wondering what her headmaster could possibly want to talk to her about. It was one of Fred and George's many tricks – the skipping, that is – and this one was particularly stupid. Stupid, but annoying.
"Yes, Professor?" she asked politely upon reaching the kitchen.
"Hello, Miss Weasley," Dumbledore greeted her. "Please, take a seat." As Ginny did so, he continued, "I understand that you've been having odd spurts of accidental magic."
Ginny nodded. It was getting harder and harder to control her magic. Usually, a wizard or witch's mind automatically kept his or her magic in check without thought. It came naturally, like blinking did. But she had to concentrate hard, especially when she was extremely angry, or happy, or scared. And sometimes she totally lost control. Things exploded, disappeared, or once, colorful streamers fell from the ceiling like rain. It was kind of like being little again, with all of this accidental magic happening. Except for the fact that little kids don't have to worry about reining in their magic.
"I have found a solution to this problem," said Dumbledore.
Ginny leaned forward eagerly. "How do I solve it?" she urged.
Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling merrily. "You can skip a year at Hogwarts and go into the NEWT year with your brother, Mr. Potter, and Miss Granger."
Ginny raised her eyebrows. "But no one has ever skipped a skipped a year before!" she argued. "It's never been done! Not even Hermione can do it!"
"No, no one has ever skipped a year at Hogwarts," he agreed. "But your case is much different than Miss Granger's and I believe that you can do it."
"How is my case different than Hermione's?" she returned.
"Well," he answered, "It is true that Miss Granger posses more knowledge than an average young witch, but her power level is that of an ordinary seventeen-year-old witch. You, however, both posses more knowledge and more power than is normal for a young girl of your age. You need to apply your power in more constructive and difficult means or you risk the safety of yourself and others around you."
"Whoa." That was all that Ginny could say. "Whoa."
"You, Miss Weasley, could very well become more powerful than I, maybe more powerful than Merlin himself," continued Dumbledore casually."
Ginny jerked in her seat. More powerful than both Merlin and Dumbledore? Was that even possible?
She thought it over. It would be pretty cool to be in the same year as Harry, Ron, and Hermione. And if she didn't skip her sixth year, she might accidentally hurt someone with all these power surges.
"I'll do it."
END FLASHBACK
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
Ginny smiled slowly. It was true, she very well could become great if she sided with Lord Voldemort. Great, and powerful, and almighty, just as he had said. Then she began to laugh.
Voldemort's horrible grin widened. He had just persuaded Potter's little friends to join forces with him; he was sure of it. And this particular friend offered a lot of magical power.
Out of the corner of her eye, Ginny saw Charlie and Ron stop struggling, Hermione and Neville drop their heads in defeat, and Luna stare at her in disbelief. Harry's eyes clouded over with grief, and he became almost limp in the Death Eater's clutches, as if Ginny's laughter had proclaimed the end of the world.
"Nice one, Voldie!" she laughed. The Dark Lord's crimson eyes shone in confusion. "Wow, I never would have put you down as a joker! Me? Join you? What a knee-slapper!"
Voldemort's eyes darkened. "What?" he hissed.
"Didn't you hear me, Tom? There's no chance in hell I'd join the likes of you. For one thing, there's no way I'd hurt my friends, not for you or anybody. Another thing, I don't side with cowards."
"Oh, I'm a coward, am I?" Voldemort's voice sounded pleasantly amused, but his eyes betrayed boiling rage.
"Yeah," she answered casually. "You're afraid of a bunch of teenagers! I mean, come on! We are a bunch of small, incompetent children: the shy bookworm, the forgetful klutz, the insane fantasist, the short dragon-boy, the goofy sidekick, and me, the annoying little sister. Merlin, the only one of us who has any real magical talent is Harry. Even Hermione is more theory than action, and I hardly know how to use any of my power. And you are still too scared to fight us. You. Are. A. Coward."
With a snarl the snake-like man leapt from his chair. As his feet touched the ground, Ginny collapsed, clutching her head in agony.
"No!" she whimpered, squeezing her eyes shut against the pain. "Get out of my head! I won't do it! You can't make me! Out! Get out! Please! No, no, nooooo!"
Then, with a last scream, the room fell into complete darkness.
"Lights!" someone called out. "Someone turn on the lights!" Shouts of Lumos were heard around the room.
"It's not working!" a feminine voice screeched.
Suddenly, grunts and screams filled the cold air.
"What's happening?" demanded the voice of Lord Voldemort.
"My Lord! The –" this voice was silenced and a yell of pain took its place.
Then, the light flicked back on. And the Dark Lord was horrified at the sight that met his reptilian eyes.
((A/N: Now, perhaps this is the ideal time to explain the events that led up to this period in time. After all, one cannot really know what is happening and why if one does not know the background information of the situation.))
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
FLASHBACK
"Good evening, my pretty. I trust you have some information for me?" hissed the acrid voice of Lord Voldemort.
"Of course my Lord, of course," answered another voice, this one decidedly female and familiar to Ginny's ears. "The Weasley girl, Ginevra, has had a fight with her older brother, the one who's friends with Potter. He told any eligible boyfriends that he would, and I quote:
"bust their brains out" if they asked his sister out. He also told them that if they went out with her in secret, then he would definitely find out and commit manslaughter. Now Weaselette was furious, naturally, and hexed him several times. Also, she has been disappearing a lot to the library a lot more than usual." The voice paused for a second, and then continued on, in a groveling tone. "I am so so sorry, my liege, I couldn't track her because I was stopped nearly every time by some fool who wanted to either help them on their stupid homework or chat about the project we're having in Care of Magical Creatures. Please forgive me, Master!"
"Hush, child!" silenced Voldemort. "The information you have brought me is most adequate. You will be awarded."
"Oh, thank you Master! Thank you!" The voice paused again. "Sire, I know that look, how may I be of use in your ingenious plans?"
"Of course, child, of course. Now here is what will happen . . ."
Ginny woke up screaming. She didn't know what was so terrifying about the dream, but she knew there was something horrifyingly unnatural about it.
And whom did that voice belong to? It was extremely familiar, and Ginny mentally kicked herself for not remembering it.
But the main thing was that Voldemort had a new plan. And Ginny knew that it was up to her to figure out what it was.
Rriiip.
"Merlin's beard!" Ginny swore, dropping onto her knees next to her fallen books. Her old bag had unexpectedly ripped, and if she didn't hurry, she'd be late for Transfiguration. Hermione knelt down beside her and started to help clear up the spare quills and bits of parchment that had tumbled to the floor.
"No, no, it's fine, 'Mione," Ginny said, shaking her head at her bushy-haired friend. "I'll clean it up. You go to Transfiguration."
"You sure, Gin?"
"Yeah. Can you please tell McGonagall what happened for me? Thanks!"
As Hermione walked away, Ginny studied the long rip in her bag. Instead of the ragged, jagged tear she had been expecting, the cut was straight and clean, as if it had been slashed with a knife . . . or with magic.
"Hey, Ginny!" someone said brightly from behind her.
"Jessie!" Ginny exclaimed when she saw who it was. "It's great to see you! How've you been?"
Jessica Andrews, a pretty, chocolate-eyed girl with short, straight brown hair had been her dorm-mate before Ginny had switched years. Now, the girl smiled down at her. Ginny noticed with confusion that the smile didn't reach her friend's eyes.
"Pretty good, but it's been boring in the sixth year dorm. It's been quiet without you."
That voice. It was so very familiar. It wasn't the voice of the smiling little kid that used to sleep in the next bed over. No, it had changed to fit its age. But it was so familiar that Ginny had a strong desire to hex herself for forgetfulness.
Now Jessie's smile changed, but Ginny didn't see it; she was too busy putting books, quills, ink, parchment, and who knows what else back into her newly repaired bag.
"Gin," Jessie started.
Ginny looked up. "Yeah?" she said.
"Can I talk to you for a moment? It's really important."
Ginny glanced at her watch. She was already ten minutes late for class. McGonagall was going to commit manslaughter if she didn't hurry.
"Please, Ginny?" pleaded Jessie. "It won't take long."
Well, what was a few minutes if she was going to be murdered by the hand of her Transfiguration professor anyway?
"Fine, Jess. I'll come."
And so Ginny hoisted her bag on her shoulder and followed Jessie down the corridor and into an empty classroom.
"Okay, Jessie," Ginny said. "What's up?"
"Hang on," returned Jessie, locking the door and soundproofing the room with a few choice spells. "No one can no about this."
After she was done, Jess turned to Ginny. "I know someone very, very powerful, someone who wants to help you to control your power. He wants you to join him in his quest for complete purity and an end to suffering and death. He'll help you, Gin, to control your magic, and to become even more powerful, more powerful than the great Merlin even." Her voice was gaining power and her chocolate eyes were shining with a brightness that only came with insanity. "Join us, Ginevra! Join us, and the ones you count as friends again will never pull you down again! After all, every one deserves a chance to fly!"
Only one statement rang true: "Every one deserves a chance to fly". It was true, but Ginny had never gotten that chance: protected and mollycoddled by her friends and family as the only daughter and the youngest in her family, she had never gotten a chance to make her own mistakes, to spread her wings and fly. If only this person Jess was talking about could help her, she could soar. But as Jessie gave her speech, Ginny instantly knew who she was talking about, and that there was no way that Ginny was going to let him help her, not if he was the last man on earth.
Jessie was talking about Lord Voldemort.
Suddenly, every thing made sense: the ripping of the bag that was too clean cut to be natural, Jessie strange smile that did not quite reach her eyes, the familiarity of Jess's aged voice.
Jessica Madeline Andrews was the female voice from Ginny's dream.
She was a Death Eater.
"Join us," the once-a-good-girl hissed. "Join us and your wildest dreams will come true."
"Never!" shouted Ginny Weasley, and began sprinting towards the door. She rattled the doorknob, but it wouldn't turn; it was locked with magic. Ginny pulled out her wand. "Aloha-"
Jessie chuckled evilly. "Not so fast, Weaselette."
She uttered a curse that Ginny had never heard before, in a language that had gone unspoken for generations. The fiery-haired girl collapsed on the floor and was lost to a land of darkness, only to wake up in a cold prison cell, only to be tortured until submission to the Dark Lord. Or only until death claimer her.
END FLASHBACK
OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo
"What in Merlin's name?" hissed Voldemort under his breath, scarlet eyes glinting maliciously at the scene before him.
Nearly all of his faithful Death Eaters were lying crumpled on the ground: petrified, stunned or both. His enemies had somehow escaped from their jailers and were now dueling his Death Eaters. Potter and Co. was outnumbered, but the Dark Lord's small army was fading fast.
Lord Voldemort let loose a wordless, feral howl.
"You!" he snarled, setting his eyes on the youngest Weasley. "You will pay for this, Ginevra!"
Ginny grinned wryly, her eyes sparkling madly. "You'd have more of a chance finding yourself wearing a tutu outside of Zonko's Joke Shop with a peace treaty and a strange desire to set all the animals free from the London Zoo."
With a roar Voldemort sprang forward. "Oppugnare J'aicoupé!" he growled.
Ginny shrieked in surprise and agony and crumpled to the floor, clutching her leg. A long cut appeared down her calf and shin, and blood was gushing out in red bursts.
"Ginny!" a voice cried out from behind her. She turned her head. Ron was hurrying over to her, hurtling over fallen dark wizards as he went. A black shadow rose up behind him, pointing its wand at her brother's head.
"Ron!" she screamed, trying to warn him.
"Occidere!" the shadow commanded. Ginny screamed again as the sinister black fires of the curse passed over her big brother with a muted hissss. Time seemed to slow down as he toppled over, an expression of outmost surprise on his freckled face, and lay spread-eagled on the floor, his mouth opened in a silent question, his unseeing eyes staring up at her.
A low, ominous chuckling was the only sound in the large stone room littered with bodies, like a cold wind winding through a deserted battlefield.
"No!" Ginny sobbed, and, ignoring the sharp pain in her leg, crawled towards the lifeless body of her brother. "Ron! No, please, please, no!"
She finally reached him, and cradled his head in her arms. "Oh, Ron," she cried, tears trailing down her freckled cheeks. "Why Ron? Why did you have to try to save me? Why? Why, oh why, oh why?"
Her head snapped around, eyes searching frantically for her other friends. Time seemed to have stopped for them, just as it had for her. They were staring at Ron in horrified disbelief, and all were standing motionless, ignorant of their defeated opponents that were lying where they had fallen, lying like Ron.
Ginny turned toward them, her eyes suddenly blazing with cold fury. "Get out of here."
Harry was the first to recover. "W-what?" he choked out.
"Get out of here," repeated Ginny. "Now. Take Ron."
Now it was Charlie who answered. "But…" His voice faded and his eyes grew moist, as shock became grief.
"Go!" she shouted, her eyes burning with such intensity that it was impossible for the five to resist.
As Charlie haltingly made his way over to his two siblings, and carefully picked up his younger brother, and as the man's tears blurred his vision and spilled down his face, he thought he heard Ginny whisper something.
"I have a score to settle."
And then there were only three people in the room: Ginny, Voldemort, and the Shadow. The Dark Lord had made no move to stop the broken group of Hogwartians from making their escape. He had just watched them with an amused eye and a triumphant expression. The Shadow, its face and frame still shrouded in darkness, was snickering evilly. Between the mightier-than-thou expression and the dark laugh, Ginny finally snapped.
She turned to them, her eyes no longer the soft brown that they had been, but glowing amber, transformed by the fire she held within her.
"You!" she snarled at the two figures. "You … you … I'm going to kill you!"
At that she sprang to her feet, the pain in her leg blocked by the agony in her heart.
The chuckling stopped. Both the Shadow and the Dark Lord froze. They had thought that Ron's death would surely have broken the fiery girl in front of them. She should have been a whimpering heap on the floor with a defeated spirit and her life in the hands of Lord Voldemort.
But this was not so.
Ginny grabbed Ron's fallen wand and pointed it at the Shadow's heart.
"Now, now, Gin, don't do anything rash," the Shadow said quickly.
That voice. It was so familiar. And it had called her Gin. This was no ordinary Death Eater. This was –
"Jessie?" Ginny asked cautiously, peering into the darkness that surrounded the figure in front of her.
"Yes, Ginny," the Shadow replied and pulled off its hood. "It's me." Ginny's amber eyes met Jessie's familiar chocolate eyes. Yes, this was Jessie, the same short brown hair, and the same toothy smile. But her eyes were different. Colder. Hateful. Heartless.
Heartless.
This was not the Jessie she knew.
This was the Jessie that had become a Death Eater, the Jessie that had spied on Ginny and her friends and family for the Dark Lord, the Jessie that had tricked her and brought her to this loathly place.
This was the Jessie that had murdered Ron.
With a wild yell, Ginny leapt for Jessie's throat. Jessie yelped and tried to block her attacker, but it didn't work. They fell in a heap on the ground, their wands lying forgotten a few feet away. Ginny punched the traitor in the stomach. Jessie answered with a sharp kick to the redhead's wounded shin.
"You monster!" roared Ginny. "You absolute monster! I trusted you! You were my friend! Why did you do it, Jessie? Why did you join him? Why did you kill my brother?"
Jessie bit Ginny's arm and Ginny raked her nails down Jessie's face and neck, both drawing blood. Jessie finally stepped back.
"You want to know why I did it?" she said through gritted teeth. "You want to know why? I joined him because I was mad. Mad at you. We were supposed to be best friends, Ginny. Best friends! Do you know what that means? It means friends forever, someone to lean, got each other's backs, don't leave the other one in the dust! Best friends." She paused, and turned away from Ginny. "But you left me in the dust. You didn't have my back anymore. You hardly spoke to me, and I hardly ever saw you. You had forgotten me.
"I wanted revenge. Sweet, sweet revenge for the pain you caused me, you who was supposed to be my best friend!" Jessie's words echoed through the room, filling every corner. "You're dead to me now, Weasley, dead to me just as your dear brother is!"
"Liar!" Ginny shouted. "We talked every day! We stayed up late after lights out in the Common Room and talked and laughed and hid from prefects who came down to see what the noise was! You are a complete and utter liar! Why did you do it?"
Jessie looked behind her shoulder at Ginny, a deranged smile on her face. "Ready to find out why I killed Ron? He got in the way. It was a lot of fun, too, watching him die and knowing that I was the one that had killed him. And I'd kill him again if I could." She cackled madly.
Ginny rose from the floor, her whole body shaking with rage. "You will pay for this, Andrews," she spat.
Jessie cackled again. Suddenly, she disappeared. Ginny looked around wildly. Where had that traitor gone?
"I sent her away," came the cold reply to her silent question. Ginny whirled around. Before her stood Lord Voldemort, blood-colored eyes glowing with power. Andrews and Ginny had completely forgotten about him in their brief fight on the dusty floor.
"Tom," Ginny growled.
Voldemort ignored her. "She is going back to her job as spy. You however," his lips pulled into a sneer as he said this, "you will not be returning. I will make sure of that. Avada Kedavra!"
Ginny rolled out of the way, and seized Ron's wand that had been discarded when she had tried to kill Andrews. The curse missed her by inches, creating a small crater in the ground beside her.
"Let's duel."
Voldemort smirked and fired another curse at her, this one being the Imperius. Ginny dodged again and shot a disarming charm at him, but the Dark Lord threw up a quick shield.
"You can't defeat me, Ginevra!" he laughed. "I am the Heir of Salazar Slytherin. I am the most powerful wizard, no, being in this world! I am invincible!"
Ginny dived behind a large pile of unconscious Death Eaters as Voldemort sent another lethal curse her way. Lucky for the Death Eaters, it missed its mark.
Voldemort let out an ear-shattering cackle, a cold, merciless laugh that sent shivers down her spine. "Oh you want to play hide-and-seek like a simple Muggle, do you?" he sniggered mockingly. "Well then, come out, come out, wherever you are!"
Ginny knew that she would probably die here. Well, she thought firmly, if I have to die tonight, I might as well go down fighting. And so she jumped out from the stack of dark wizards with a loud war cry, and launched as many curses, spells, and enchantments as she could think of.
"Avis! Engorgio! Rictusempra! Densaugeo!" she yelled. A thousand small birds flew at Voldemort, causing him to fall backwards in alarm while his pale ears blew up to twice their usual size, he started chuckling uncontrollably, and his teeth grew down to below his chin. But Ginny wasn't done yet.
"Scourgify!" The Dark Lord's started coughing up soap bubbles. "Orchideous!" A large bouquet of yellow daisies bloomed out of the end of her wand. "Oops…" she muttered.
Voldemort smirked through his over-long teeth, pink soap bubbles, and uncontrollable giggles. "Avada -" he began.
"Oh no you don't!" Ginny yelped. "Avis!" Another wave of birds made him topple over again, and he dropped his wand. "Accio Wand!" she shouted as he made a grab for it. The wand flew into her outstretched hand.
She stared at it with wide eyes. Here in her hand was the wand that had murdered and tortured so many, including Harry's parents. Here in her hand was the wand that had done so little good. Here in her hand was the wand of Lord Voldemort, the most evil man in the world.
That last thought brought her an idea. Voldie was the most evil man in the world. He was only human. And no human is invincible. Not even the Dark Lord.
Then she knew what she had to do. She wouldn't like it, and it was only temporary, but it would buy the wizarding world time, time to regroup and grow stronger so that they could fight another day. It would give the wizarding world time, but she knew that that was the one thing that she was out of: time.
She knew she wouldn't live to see another day.
But Ginny did it anyway. Pocketing Ron's wand, she raised Voldemort's and pointed it at its master. "Avada Kedavra!"
Lord Voldemort screamed and erupted in a shower of flames. And then he was gone.
Suddenly, the world began to fade before Ginny's eyes. Colors blurred and mixed together and then withered to shades of grey. Then everything went black.