Harry And Ginny - Action, Betrayal, and Casualties

Harry woke up under a thick layer of dirt and dust. He leapt up and stared around the chamber. He couldn't see a thing. Lighting his wand, he saw that the locket stood in the middle of the floor, right where he last remembered it. He walked cautiously towards it, and picked it up. Nothing happened. Expelling a great breath, Harry felt relief making his legs shake slightly. He looked around. Where was Ginny? Had she awoken and left, thinking him dead? Was she here, dead herself?

The locket slid from Harry's fingers as he walked quickly towards the place where he had seen Ginny last. He knelt, and dug through the heavy pieces of fallen rock and soil. Where was she? Oh, Ginny. If she was dead, it would be his, Harry's fault. His hand found something soft, and his heart gave a jolt. Alive or dead? He carefully lifted the debris off her, pulling her free. Her face was scratched, the blood had dried, but her eyes were closed.

Ginny, Ginny please, please don't be dead, you can't be dead, you can't.

He gently wiped the dirt off her face, and called her name. Nothing happened. Her silky, flaming red hair spread all around her, like an angel's halo. He lifted her into a kind of sitting position, and got no resistance. Her head fell back, limp. She was pale as marble, and she wasn't breathing. He put his hand behind her head and tilted it back upward, so she didn't look so painfully... he didn't want to think the word. He called to her, trying to get a response.

Ginny? Ginny!

Nothing happened.

NO! Ginny! No... it can't be... Ginny... no...

He didn't want to believe it. Why was it him, why was it always him who suffered? No... Grief was consuming him, it couldn't be. The brief joy he had felt at the realization that the Horcrux was destroyed was completely extinguished. An ocean of tears made its way down his cheeks, falling onto Ginny's robes. He knew he shouldn't have let her come. He would never hear her laugh again, never see her eyes shining, never kiss her, never play Quidditch with her ever, ever again. He laid her gently down on the floor. Grief-stricken as he was, he was filled with a hate for Voldemort stronger than he had ever known before. It was because of him that Harry had lost his mother, his father, Sirius, Dumbledore, and now, Ginny. He stood up, screaming to the earthen walls until it felt like his throat was tearing. Suddenly, screaming wasn't enough, crying wasn't enough. He knelt back down next to Ginny, his head dropping. She looked like she was merely asleep, lying there as though there was nothing to worry about. Harry didn't have enough energy to do anything except stay here with her.

"Harry?" He heard a faint voice calling his name, like a very slight breeze.

"Harry?" The voice became very slightly stronger. Harry looked down at Ginny, and saw her chest rise, then fall.

"Ginny?" he whispered, unbelievingly. Her eyes opened slowly. She smiled faintly. "That's me," she said weakly.

Harry let out a cry of joy, and lifted her gently back into a sitting position. He put his head against her chest, sure he was dreaming, that grief had knocked him silly. He could hear the soft beating of her heart. It was the most beautiful sound in the world to him. He looked into her eyes, the eyes he had been so sure would never open again. She put her arms around his neck, and he helped her stand, then hugged her tightly, never wanting to let her go.

"I thought I'd lost you, Ginny. I thought you were..."

He felt her head on his shoulder. "Oh Harry..."

He lifted her chin and kissed her passionately. She rested her head on his chest, feeling his strong arms wrapped around her, hearing his joyful heartbeat. She let out a breath, and remembered the Horcrux.

"Harry, what...?" He picked the locket up from the floor, and showed it to her. It was nothing but a locket now. They noticed that the intricate S was not so elaborately decorated anymore. It looked as though it had been melted, and was just a bump on the locket's face. Ginny sighed contentedly. It was okay now. The Horcrux was destroyed, and she was with Harry.

"Are you okay?" he asked her. She nodded. Harry stowed the locket in his pocket and lifted her into his arms. He carried her back through the passageway, out into the surrounding room, down the staircase, and out the front door. She rested gratefully against him, closing her eyes. She was very weak. Harry kept glancing down at her, worried. She smiled at him, reassuring him she would be all right. He assisted her in Apparating, and they arrived in front of the Burrow.

He carried her inside and upstairs to her bedroom. He lay her down gently, and pulled the covers up to her chin. He kissed her tenderly, and she smiled. Harry quietly left the room, and looked back at Ginny one more time. She had fallen asleep. He smiled, and went to the room he shared with Ron. Seeing him asleep across the room, with his mouth wide open, his arm hanging off the bed, drooling slightly, Harry grinned again. He would tell him everything in the morning, but for now, climbed into his own bed. It was all right.