Parallel

Chapter 21: Unexpected Encounter/Nagini is Destroyed

Thus began the most wonderful and unforgettable night of Ginevra Weasley-Potter's entire life. Once it sank in that Harry was serious, she mentally went through all the fancy dresses she owned and decided that the newest one she'd gotten some weeks back, but not had a chance to wear yet, would be perfect. It brought out the gold highlights in her hair, and what's more, it was short, glittery-gold, and strapless ... but most importantly, it would knock Harry's eyes out the moment he laid eyes on it! Since their reunion, virtually every clothing purchase she had made was done with Harry in mind, and this dress in particular.

She did not yet know how to conjure up clothing, so she'd had to do it the Muggle way, but she had learned how to conjure up hairstyles ... and tried out many different ones before deciding on one which left her almost waist-length hair down, but curled almost all the way up to her head, leaving her ears bare so she could use the earrings he had given her the one Christmas which had occurred during the time they had first been dating, the ones which looked like they were made of a million tiny stars. She had also found a jeweled choker which had both clear and golden gems in it, gems which had the power to hypnotise a person who looked at them long enough into doing the wearer's every bidding. Not that Harry particularly needed it; besides, she liked to think she could do that all by herself.

It was fortunate that there were two bathrooms in their hotel suite, so they could prepare themselves separately. She smiled as she passed the one bathroom on the way to the other, hearing the water going, well able to imagine Harry in all his glory standing beneath the steaming spray. She shook her head violently. She had to keep her mind on their upcoming evening instead of how much she wanted to be making mad, passionate love to Harry--beginning with snogging him senseless first, of course. That would surely come later tonight. Meanwhile, get your bloody bum moving, girl, she mentally ordered herself. You know you want to make a grand entrance in that absolutely divine dress and enjoy the way it makes Harry look ... like he wants to devour you on the spot, you look so delicious!

She smiled wickedly at that thought and entered the second bathroom.

* * * * *

Ginny would have been pleased if she had known what was running through Harry's mind at that particular moment ... virtually the same thing that was running through hers. So much so that he was seriously thinking of switching to cold water, if only briefly, so he could calm down sufficiently as he imagined Ginny in all her glory standing under steaming spray. Merlin, he had to stop this or else he'd never be ready in time!

He had no idea what dress she would choose, although he suspected it would be the newest one she had bought recently, the short, strapless, gold glittery one. He had never mentioned that he'd seen it almost as soon as she'd brought it home, and could just imagine how delicious she would look in it. He could only hope, however, that his imagination would have nothing on the reality. Meanwhile, he had to get his bum in gear, or else she'd never let him hear the end of it for keeping her waiting and preventing her from making her grand entrance.

* * * * *

Within the next half-hour, Harry was ready--or at least as ready as he would ever be. He had magically enlarged his original dress robes from school so that they would fit his now 21-year-old and considerably more filled-out (but still slender and well-built) body. The best he could do was dry his hair and comb it a bit; it just would not behave, no matter what he did. The most he could say for it was that it was clean and combed to the best of his ability. As a final touch, he put on a bit of what he knew to be Ginny's favourite aftershave, a Muggle fragrance called English Leather.

Ginny should be almost ready by now; he might as well go out and wait for her, not wanting to deprive her of the chance to make a grand entrance and thus (supposedly) surprise him with her divine new dress. He left the bathroom, where he had decided to dress, and stepped out, looking around for his wife, but didn't see her anywhere. She must not be ready yet. However, he hoped she would be out soon, since their reservations were for eight and it was already seven-thirty.

It was seven-forty-five before he heard the other door open and her soft voice call to him. "Harry? I'm ready. What do you think?"

He turned around--and was almost instantaneously transported to Heaven. Or at least it seemed that way, for the vision before him could not be real. She had to be an angel; she looked too lovely and perfect to be anything else. Ginny's red-gold hair was in curls all the way down to her waist, a white and gold choker around her long, slender neck--and the earrings which looked like a million tiny stars glittered in her ears.

Her eye makeup accented the dress and her jewelry to perfection, but what Harry couldn't tear his eyes off of was the dress itself, not to mention the lovely body inside it ... and the beautiful legs it showed off, encased in matching gold hose, and her feet in strappy gold dress sandals with one-inch heels. She had always looked delicious to him, but that feeling seemed to multiply a thousandfold as he saw her actually wearing the dress. He could scarcely keep himself from literally drooling; she looked simply ... scrumptious. Just wait until they got back home and he got her alone!

"Gin ... you look ..." He couldn't think of a word to describe how marvelous she looked for some time, but knew he had to say something--so he finally said, "Simply ... incredible!"

She smiled radiantly at him, her faux fur stole over one arm and glittery gold evening purse in her hand. "Thank you, luv. I'm ... glad you like it. We'd better go now, or we'll be late."

"Oh ... yeah ... right." It was intoxicating to him simply being near her, especially since she had put on her new perfume as well, roses mixed with something else. He couldn't have said what. All he knew was that it was every bit as lovely a smell as befitted the lady herself.

Apparition wasn't good for a pregnant woman, so they had to go via Muggle taxi. Fortunately, the restaurant wasn't far away, just about ten minutes' drive. To be on the safe side, both had brought along their wands, although each knew several ways to use magic without them by now.

Upon arrival, he helped her out of the taxi, and they headed for the ornate doors of the restaurant. Once inside, her stole was checked in, although Harry elected to keep the jacket of his dress robes on. But this restaurant was not a Muggle-type restaurant. All they needed to do after being seated at their reserved table by a solicitous waiter was place their order with the plates, as at the Hogwarts school, and it appeared.

Ginny had always loved seafood, particularly shrimp, so she ordered a large plate of shrimp scampi and a side salad with ranch dressing. Since this was a fancy meal, Harry had foregone their customary drinks and ordered some expensive champagne, the Muggle brand of Dom Perignon. Harry enjoyed seafood too, but not this time. He ordered a t-bone steak, medium-well done and seasoned as he liked it, and also a side salad but with Bleu Cheese dressing.

It was roughly an hour later before the band began to play, and as they played the current song, Harry knew that the next one would be the one he had requested: the Magic Waltz. He could hardly wait to surprise Ginny with his new-found ability to dance it with her.

"Oh, am I full!" she declared shortly after Harry had finished his own meal. "Can we dance now, luv? I need to work off some of this food."

"Of course." She looked at him, somewhat surprised that he would agree so easily, but didn't question him about it, simply took his arm when he offered it as he led her out onto the dance floor. Almost as soon as they reached it, the strains of the "Magic Waltz" began; Ginny seemed stunned speechless for a minute, then managed to say his name. "Harry ...?"

"Surprise," he returned softly with a tender smile. "May I have this dance, my lovely?"

"I would be honoured, sir." Ginny could hardly believe this was really happening; she was actually in Harry's arms, actually waltzing with him. Where had he learned to do it? As far as she knew, he didn't know the first thing about it! Had he done it simply to please her or what? But none of that mattered now; all that was important was that they were finally having their long-delayed dance.

After a time the pair became oblivious to everything but each other, certainly never noticing the fact that other couples had stopped to watch them. What really got to her big-time, though, was the fact that Harry began to sing softly to her under his breath. She caught the words, "... hold the one you love; you know you've waited long enough ... the answer's there ... just look in her eyes ... make your move ... don't be scared, she wants you to ... and don't believe that magic can die ... no, no, no, this magic can't die ..."

"And it never will," he softly declared as the melody lapsed into the instrumental version. "You are ... magic to me, Gin."

"As you are magic to me, my love. And thank you ever so much for the dance--but where on earth did you learn to do it?"

"Later," he whispered, breath feathering her nearest ear. "Don't spoil the moment."

So she didn't speak any more after that, simply savoured the feeling of Harry close to her, the gentle strength of his arms around her, the smell of his aftershave and his cheek resting on hers. Truly, Heaven had come to earth for her ... and she would never forget this night as long as she lived. They had finally had their long-awaited dance--and now that she knew he could do it, she would suggest at the first opportunity that they do this every year on their anniversary: renew their marriage vows in the morning, then go out for a romantic dinner and dance that evening. Unfortunately, an unexpected encounter was about to take place ...

* * * * *

They were brought back to reality the hard way, by an agitated voice. "All patrons, this is an emergency! Dark forces are in the area and an evacuation is underway! We regret the inconvenience, and will refund your money if you wish later, but you must leave immediately for your own safety!"

"Harry, did you hear that? Dark forces in the area. But how can that be?"

"I can only surmise that Nagini and her guardians must have been sighted," he returned ominously. "We'd better get ready ... Bugger! Why did this have to happen now, with just the two of us here?"

Obviously there was no way they were going to get a taxi now, so they'd likely have to walk back to the hotel. Because of the ensuing panic due to the dire announcement, the couple thought it best to flatten themselves against the nearest wall until the crowd thinned out. Ginny's heart pounded as Harry pulled hard on her hand, both of them breathing rapidly as they rested against the cold brick wall. She hadn't even had the chance to get her stole back ... and now this!

The screech of tyres racing away, the pops of Apparition and whooshing of brooms, all combined with the screams of panicked patrons to create a scene out of both Harry and Ginny's worst nightmares. Then, just as they didn't think matters could get any worse, they did. Two Death Eaters appeared on brooms, along with a large snake, which they never let out of their sight even as all three moved down the street, coming right toward them, as of yet unaware of the presence of the young witch and wizard ... but they soon would be ... just as Harry felt a searing pain shoot through the scar on his forehead.

Harry had wanted to confront Nagini eventually, of course, but not here and not like this. How could he and a six-months-pregnant Ginny ever manage to get out of this situation in one piece? There was no way for him to call for help, none at all. What were they going to do? Suddenly it came to him. The element of surprise was their only chance. He mentally told Ginny to grab her wand and be prepared to fight, but not to call out and alert their adversaries.

He pointed his wand at the Death Eater on his right and thought, Imperio! just as he sensed that Ginny was doing the same thing to the other one. As they had hoped, the element of surprise gave them the advantage ... but only for the moment. It was up to them to keep it, or Nagini would surely escape! They made the Death Eaters land and stand aside, simply holding their brooms, unable to do anything else but Harry and Ginny's bidding.

Nagini sensed that something had happened to her guardians and reared up, hissing ominously; Harry knew that she was aware they were close by and prepared to flee at the first sight of them. This was when he knew he had to soothe her, make her think it was all right, if only long enough to destroy her ... and this was where his mastery of Parseltongue came in. The problem was, he would have to risk relinquishing control of the Death Eater. That is, unless ...

Ginny! he called out mentally. Can you handle both Death Eaters? I need to go after Nagini!

I can try, she returned, only able to think of expanding the field around the Death Eater presently under her control to include the other one so Harry could concentrate on Nagini. Without looking to confirm that it was done--there was no time--he found himself reverting seemingly automatically to Parseltongue ... and what's more, using a crooning tone he usually used only with Ginny. Nagini may have been a snake, but she was still female, and he had to use that against her--if he could. Even if she was only momentarily bested, that would be all he would need to destroy her ... but only if he could lull her fears long enough.

//It's all right, Nagini my sweet. You're safe.//

//Master?// came her voice. //Is that you? I thought you were dead.//

//I'm here, my sweet. No one will harm you.// But even as Harry thought this, he pointed his wand at the large snake, knowing it was now or never. This might be his only chance, and he mustn't waste it. Nor was there any indecision about which curse to use. Even as he thought the Avada Kedavra, however, he felt Ginny add her love to his own, making it that much stronger.

He felt Nagini's surprise, then a horrible mental cry, a cross between a scream and a hiss ... and finally nothing. When he dared to look, he saw only a large, unmoving mass coiled on the ground. To be on the safe side, he waited a little longer to ensure that the snake was indeed dead, only then daring to sneak a glimpse in Ginny's direction to see how she was doing with the Death Eaters. He was gratified to see that they had not moved from their original spot, seeming to be in a hypnotic trance, totally unaware of the demise of their charge.

Ginny! He called out in triumph despite the risk of disrupting her concentration and thus her control of the two Death Eaters. I did it! Nagini is dead!

That's wonderful, my love. Now will you help me with these Death Eaters? I don't think I can hold the forcefield much longer.

Of course. Sorry, luv.

It's all right. Just take one of them.

Right away. He felt her mental sigh of relief, then her reinforcing of her concentration and thus increasing her control of the individual Death Eater before her.

Just when he least expected it, however, he heard the sound of pops which meant someone was Apparating ... several, in fact. A moment later he was stunned and surprised to hear the voice of Mad-Eye Moody.

"Potter, is that you? We just got word that Nagini was in the area! What happened?"

"She's dead. I killed her."

Moody seemed stunned himself to hear this. "What? Are you sure?"

"Yes. She's just down the street. That way." Harry pointed in the opposite direction, about one hundred feet away. Moody didn't move, and for a while, Harry was sure he didn't fully believe him. "I assure you, she's dead. I made certain of that. All the Horcruxes are gone now."

"You killed her? You and ... your wife, by yourselves?"

"Yes, sir. In fact we've got Nagini's two guardians under the ... Imperius Curse."

Moody looked around and saw the two Death Eaters, still under Ginny's control via the Imperius Curse, then motioned two other Aurors who had accompanied him to take control of them so she could be released from her duties.

Ginny jumped when she felt the hand on her shoulder, then relaxed when she heard a soothing male voice. "It's all right, Mrs. Potter. You may cease your control now. We'll handle it." Help had arrived, albeit a bit after the fact, but what mattered was that they were here. She lowered her wand and moved over to join Harry and Moody; Harry slid an arm around her when she was close enough, still holding his own wand.

Once she joined him, Moody looked them both over, still in evening clothes, widening upon seeing that Ginny was pregnant. "This happened while the two of you were ... out for the evening? And ... with you pregnant, Mrs. Potter?"

"Ginny," she corrected. "Yes. We had just had dinner and a dance ... then there was a call to evacuate the area because Dark forces had been sighted. Shortly after we came out of the restaurant, we saw the two Death Eaters and ... Nagini a short distance down the street. There was no way we could call for help, so we had to fend for ourselves. Harry told me to use the ... Imperius Curse on the Death Eaters, then once I had control of both of them, he ... went after Nagini and used Parseltongue just long enough so he was able to kill her."

"Then all the Horcruxes are gone, and thus the threat of Voldemort," Moody stated matter-of-factly. "I must report this to the Order ... the Aurors ... the Ministry ... but do not leave the area until after more of our people have arrived and it has been secured, Harry. Don't worry; they will see to the disposition of Nagini, and take the Death Eaters into custody."

"Thank you, sir." Harry knew that both he and Ginny's clothing, hair and exposed skin surfaces had become soiled, but fortunately that was all that had happened to them--mainly due to Harry's quick thinking. They had been extraordinarily fortunate. Just wait until they told Ron and Hermione about this! He was sure they would demand a first-hand account, even if they learned the basic facts via the Order or something.

And he could just imagine how the Weasleys would react ... particularly when they learned the circumstances under which it had happened, especially the fact that Ginny had held two Death Eaters under her control for an extended period of time, in spite of the fact that she was six months pregnant. Pregnant witches were not ordinarily in that type of situation, but Ginny was no ordinary witch, as she had so recently demonstrated.

How Harry wished he could have told Sirius and Dumbledore about this--not to mention his parents! He could only hope that they somehow knew, and were proud of him for his accomplishment. Dumbledore had been right. Love had been his ultimate weapon. By combining their individual feelings together, he and Ginny had conquered the forces of Darkness ... and by themselves! Light and love were things that Dark forces could not abide, and Harry had an abundance of both, especially since Ginny had come back into his life.

Harry barely heard the pops which indicated that more reinforcements had arrived, or the whooshing of brooms. Shortly after that, however, he heard Moody say, "The area has been secured. You and Ginny may leave now. We will be in touch with you in the near future. Congratulations ... and our compliments on a job well done."

"Again, thank you, sir." Harry smiled--one of the few real smiles he had managed to give lately--but what mattered to Ginny was that he could finally do it. He had finally triumphed once and for all over Voldemort and company ... no, they had. They had done it together--just the two of them!

A short time later, after Moody had Apparated away to give the news to the Order (among others), Harry turned in the direction of their hotel and began walking down the street, his arm still around Ginny. Now that it was all over, they realised how tired they really were. Sleep would be welcome ... but only after they'd cleaned up could they fall into bed. On the way, she put her head on his shoulder and he drew her closer even as she put an arm around him. Because of her bulk, they could not hold each other as they would have liked, but what mattered was the nearness of the other, so they could live with this minor inconvenience, at least for now.

The walk seemed endless, but at last they reached the hotel. By this time Harry sensed that Ginny was all but asleep--and he wasn't far behind. Perhaps a shower could wait until morning. As it turned out, it was all they could do to make it to their suite. Once there, they locked the door behind them, got out of their finery and literally fell into bed, deeply asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow.