Forsaking Fate

Six Feet Under

Chapter 13

Breathing raggedly, Destiny fought back tears. 'I'm going to die,' she thought, before kicking the lid weakly. Giving in to despair, she began to sob.

"Mommy," she cried desperately, "Daddy!"

Glancing over at the skeleton that lay beside her, she began to sob harder. Pulling her sleeves down over her hands, she pushed the bones down to the foot of the coffin and curled into a ball.

It wasn't supposed to have ended this way. She was supposed to have helped the Dark Creatures become free; she was supposed to have helped Voldemort's victims move on. There was still so much she wanted to do.

'I've never even had a boyfriend,' she realized in disgust.

How was it that she had managed to control an entire race of people yet hadn't ever managed to do what all other girls her age had already done.

'Have I ever worn makeup?' She tried to remember yet couldn't. 'I just want to go home. Please,' she prayed desperately to any deity that was listening, 'If I get out of here, I swear that I'll go home and try to make amends. No more, I swear.'

"Please," she whispered.

Drawing in a shaky breath, she attempted to calm herself down enough to come up with an escape plan. Concentrating, she attempted to open a hole in the fabric of the world so she could escape into the land of the dead. Blinking at the strange sensation of using her powers, she tried again. It felt as if they were attempting to move through a very stinky substance and within a few seconds, she was completely worn out. Not having the strength to open the portal. Having failed in her first attempt, she tried to come up with another plan.

'If a ghost would just come to me, I know I could make them solid long enough for them to go get some help.' Frustrated, she moved on to the next plan.

Time continued to pass and as it did, Destiny continued to try and free herself. Using a rock that had been stuck in the mud on her shoe, she scratched diligently away at the wood overhead.

"Having problems?" a voice laughed at her feet.

Shrieking, Destiny yanked her feet away from the talking skeleton. Laughing, Ginny came closer to her face.

"Did I scare you?"

Trying to glare at the redhead through the unending darkness, she swallowed thickly. Feeling her throat tighten uncomfortably, she felt tears filling her eyes again. Giving up her tough appearance, she whispered, "Ginny, oh Merlin, I'm so glad you're here. Please, oh please, help me!"

"What happened?" she asked. "Why are you in here?"

"Rosaline decided that she was going to take my spot as Voldemort's second. Naturally, I wasn't needed any more."

"Wow, sucks to be you."

"Ginny!" she shrieked before dissolving into tears. "Please, I don't want to die. Not like this!"

"What do you want me to do?" Ginny whispered, pity lacing her voice. Drawing in a shaky breath, Destiny asked where she was. "Albania, near Riddle House."

"How long will it take you to get to Hogwarts?"

"Hogwarts is where I died. I can be there instantly."

Nodding, Destiny said, "Find Harry, tell him what's happened. Ask him to get help. I'll give you ten minutes or so to tell them. And Ginny?" Reaching out, she grasped her hand. "Thank you."

Pulling her hand away, Ginny replied, "I'm not doing this for you. This is for Harry. He has enough to deal with without your death to add to it."

With that, Ginny vanished. Waiting a minute, Destiny sent out her power and made the girl visible though not solid.

"Hurry up girl," Destiny mumbled, "I'm running out of air."

*****

Flying swiftly through the school, Ginny couldn't help but smile at the screams when she became visible. Stopping in front of Professor McGonagall, she smiled.

"Where's Harry?"

"Merlin," the woman yelped, stepping back and knocking over a student. "Miss Weasley?"

"Yeah, hi Professor. Where's Harry?"

"He's with Dumbledore," she replied. "But--"

"Thanks!" Taking off, she ignored McGonagall's call to wait. Flying through the floor, she came to a stop in the corner of the office by a bookshelf. Most of the order was now in the room, bandaging and forcing vials of potions down the injured ones throats. Spotting Harry, she floated over to him.

"Harry."

Glancing up from where he was smoothing a blue slimy potion into Sirius Black's leg, he screamed.

Blinking in surprise, Ginny giggled. "Wow that was really high pitched. You sounded like a girl."

"Ginny? How?"

"Not important," she replied, aware of how little time she had.

"Oh, Ginny, my little girl," Mrs. Weasley cried, forcing her way through the crowd. The noise level instantly surged as the occupants of the room realized what was going on.

"Shut-up!" Ginny shrieked into the rising pandemonium. Gratified to hear the instant silence, she continued. "Destiny Black-" Stopping, she looked around at the instant look of hate on people's faces. Starting over, she decided to play on their hearts. "Destiny is a little girl not even sixteen. She did what she thought was best and has hated herself ever since, wanting nothing more than to go home to her parents. Harry." Turning back to the boy, she lied. "Destiny tried to escape from Voldemort and was caught." Turning back to the Order, she begged, "Help her! Even if she is a Death Eater, she is still just a child!"

"Where is she?" Dumbledore asked.

Smiling at him, Ginny stated, "She has been buried alive. She's in the graveyard by Riddle House. Do you know where that is?"

Nodding, Dumbledore replied, "We will send someone for her immediately."

"Hurry, her air is running out and-" Vanishing from sight, she swore.

*****

"Who will go to retrieve her?" Dumbledore asked.

Not receiving a reply, Sirius raised a shaky hand. "I'll go."

"You can barely stay sitting up!" James exclaimed.

"She's my daughter!"

"She's a Death Eater!"

"I don't care!" Dropping his voice, Sirius continued, "Like Ginny said, she's just a kid who was given too much responsibility. She did the best she could and we let her down when we should have helped her. It's our own fault that she even went over to him." Rising shakily to his feet, he whispered, "I'm not going to fail her anymore. I'll go alone if I have to."

"I'm going with you," James said stubbornly.

"Sirius, drink this healing potion and the two of you can be off," Dumbledore said. "And good luck."

Nodding to him, Sirius took the potion and left.

*****

Feeling her eyes growing heavy, Destiny realized that she was suffocating.

'I tried,' she thought, 'At least I tried.'

Giving up the struggle she closed her eyes and allowed herself to fall asleep.

*****

"Is this it?" James asked.

Nodding, Sirius climbed over the low fence and crept quietly between the headstones. Spotting the freshly dug grave, he hurried over. Using their wands, they banished the dirt from the grave. Levitating the coffin from the ground, he swallowed heavily at the sight of where someone had obviously been attempting to claw their way out.

"My God," James whispered.

Hurrying to unlock the coffin, he opened it. Seeing his Goddaughter lying so still, James lunged toward Sirius to hold him back.

"Sirius, come on, go back to headquarters. I'll bring her back."

"What?" he cried, fighting to get past his friend, "What's wrong? Is she hurt?"

"Sirius. . . We were too late. She's gone."

Wrenching away, Sirius stumbled. "No. . ." Shoving past James, he kneeled beside the coffin and stared down at his eldest child's peaceful face. "No, she can't be," he mumbled, touching her cheek. "She's only fifteen." Looking up at his friend, he desperately asked, "How can she be dead? She never got to get married, or have kids, or get a job, or . . . anything. . ." With tears running down his face, he gently lifted her out of the casket.

Stepping closer to the pair, James gently pushed a black curl out of her face. Freezing with his hand still on her cheek, he stared down at her.

"She's still warm."

"What?" Sirius asked, confused.

"She's still warm! Sirius put her down. We may be able to save her!"

Quickly, he laid her on the ground. Pulling out his wand, James sent a bolt of magic through her chest and into her heart. Feeling for a beat, he smiled at the girl's father.

"It's beating."

"She's not breathing." Casting a respiration spell on her, Sirius continued, "We need to get her to a medi-witch. I'm not sure how long this spell will last."

Nodding, James helped Sirius lift his daughter before they apperated away.

Appearing in Hogsmeade, they entered Honeydukes. While James distracted its owners, Sirius snuck down into the basement. Five minutes later, James caught up with him in the tunnel that led back to Hogwarts.

Climbing out of the witches hump was awkward with his daughter in his arms. When all three were safely out, James ran to Dumbledore's office while Sirius headed for the hospital wing. Entering, he yelled for Madame Pomfrey.

"Good Lord, what happened to her?"

"She suffocated. Help her!"

Nodding, the nurse had him lay his daughter on the bed. Pulling out her wand, she cast a more permanent respiratory spell and several others before stepping back, looking worried.

"What is it?"

Biting her lip, she responded, "Her powers are bound. What little power she had to sustain her looks as if it has been drained."

"She used it to get help," Sirius supplied. "Can you remove whatever spell is binding her?"

Leaning forward, the nurse studied the girl for several long moments before pulling up both sleeves and the pant legs. There encircling her ankle was a silver bracelet that was glowing faintly.

"I cannot remove that," she replied. "It's covered in dark magic."

"I'll go get someone else to do it then."

"Mr. Black," Madame Pomfrey called after him. "Even if it is removed, there is no guarantee that she will ever wake up. Not even magic can replace brain cells that have died and she was sure to have lacked oxygen for a significant amount of time."

"We have to try. If there is even the slightest chance that she could wake up, she deserves the chance to. If that thing remains there, she doesn't stand a chance."

Nodding, the nurse gestured for him to go. "I'll watch her until you return."

*****

In the Headmasters office, Harry paced back and forth, nervously waiting for his father and Godfather to return.

"Sit down Harry," Lily commanded from where she was tending to the wounded Julia Black.

"Do you think she'll be okay? You don't think Dad and Sirius are going to get hurt, do you?"

Tiredly, Lily sighed, "There's no way to know until they return. Now, sit down."

Ignoring her, Harry continued to pace. Minutes later, James came bursting in through the door causing Lily to sigh with relief.

"Is everything alright?" Lily asked.

"No," came James' short reply. "Albus, Destiny wasn't breathing when we found her. We restarted her heart but she's not breathing on her own. If we send her to Azkaban now, she'll die for sure."

Nodding, Dumbledore replied, "We will wait until she has recovered before she stands trial. Death Eater or not, she deserves the chance to defend herself."

"Azkaban?" Harry spoke up, surprised, "Why would she be sent there? She was trying to escape from You-Know-Who; she wanted to come back to our side." Seeing his father was about to speak, he hurried on. "You didn't send Snape to Azkaban when he decided to switch to our side!"

"Harry," Lily said gently, "This is different."

"How?" he exclaimed. "How is this different?"

"It's different because Snape wasn't leading the attacks like the girl was,"
Alastor Moody growled. Staring at them in disbelief, Harry turned on his heels and stormed out of the room.

"He'll understand eventually," Dumbledore said, unconcerned.