Stone Angel

The stone angel glinted clean and white amongst all the tangled weeds and gnarled trees of this woodland grotto. Magic kept it unblemished and the plaque at its base still legible. The grave itself was empty. No one had been able to recover her body.

They all stood around the statue. Molly, Arthur, and four of the six Weasley boys. Harry and Hermione were there as well; she had practically been their sister. Sirius hung back from the grieving family. She had just been declared legally dead. Six years missing and now they were to legally except that she was gone. At first Sirius had felt awkward at the thought of coming to the small memorial. The more he had thought about it however, the more determined he was to go. She had been a good friend and he had a right to be there.

For some time they all just stood there, each thinking, sending their own private message to Ginny, wherever she was. Molly couldn't help it. She started to cry softly and clutched at Arthur for support. Tears leaked out of his eyes as he stroked her hair gently and let her away, back down the path to the Burrow.

Bill was still in Egypt, he couldn't get leave for a visit, but Charlie was there for him. He set an Egyptian Sand Rose in the soil at the base of the statue and pressed the dirt in over the roots. They wouldn't grow naturally around here, but Ginny had loved those during their trip to Egypt and with the right attention, one could grow here. Then, with tears in his eyes, Charlie kissed his fingertips and brushed them gently across the angel's check. Looking far older then he was, he followed his parents.

Percy, too, was absent, but he had come earlier in the week to pay his respects. Fred and George caught Sirius looking at them and rushed off before anyone else could see them crying. Hermione set an invitation to her and Ron's wedding at the statue's feet and Ron kissed Hermione softly. Harry just studied the angel for a moment, looked up at the sky, and murmured something to himself. He looked back at Sirius.

"Hey, d'you want to come with us? We're going to get a cup of tea... or a firewhiskey." He muttered the last bit so only Sirius, with his dog's ears, could hear.

Sirius smiled but shook his head. "You go on. I'm going to go home."

"Take care then."

Suddenly Ron hit himself in the head. "Oh! I nearly forgot. Here." He pulled another invitation out of his pocket.

"Thanks Ron."

"Wouldn't be right without you."

The three of them trooped off down through the undergrowth and Sirius watched them go, smiling. Four years and they seemed so grown up. Ron had finally gotten up the nerve to ask Hermione to marry him. Good. It seemed like just yesterday that they were bickering, but come to think of it, yesterday they probably were bickering. Harry was almost as tall as Sirius. He and Ron were working as aurors, while Hermione was already head of Muggle Relations.

He glanced up at the angel's face and sighed. Where would Ginny be now if she was still here? Voices stirred in his memory and he sank down on the ground, head on his knees. He could still see it behind his eyelids.

"Harry, no!"

Lucius laughed. Sirius watched, only half his mind on fighting Bellatrix. She shot a stunning spell at him. His shield spell shot it right back at her and she had to roll to the side, but she lost her footing and fell. Didn't matter. She hurled one nasty curse at him after another, keeping him just occupied enough to keep him from helping Harry. Various members of the Order were fighting around him, each locked in their own battles. Dumbledore was fighting Voldemort with such intense concentration you could feel the power make your hair stand on end from across the room.

Lucius had Harry in a corner. Figuratively of course- the room was round. Harry had lost his wand.

"Now boy, since I can't truly kill you- yes, I know about that- I have a better plan." He shouted something Sirius couldn't really hear and a furious black and red bolt shot from the end of his wand, straight to the wall behind Harry. A gaping, swirling black and red vortex opened from the tapestry hanging there and began to suck at the air. Harry's shoes skidded backwards. He was about a foot away when...

"Harry!" A voice shrieked. A pair of delicate hands shoved him aside. Ginny threw him away from the vortex so it couldn't take him.

Instead it took her.

She disappeared in an instant, the hole closing behind her.

"NO! Ginny!!!!" He could hear someone screaming. It took him a second to realize it was him. He screamed, ripping his throat raw, before he fell silent.

"Oh... poow thing," cackled Bellatrix in her horrible mock-babytalk, "Was she somebody special? Your new girlfriend? You always did like redheads. You and James. Lily and... what was her name? Anne?"

Sirius tightened his grip on his wand. Now he was angry. And no Deatheater would leave here alive if he had anything to do with it.

Of course they had turned to him when they were trying to find what happened to her. He had fallen trough the veil. He had been to another plane. He had come back. He had torn himself away from death and Lily and James and climbed back through the veil to life and love and blood. But he didn't know where she was. He'd even volunteered to go back through the veil, though he had known perfectly well that nobody would allow it.

He pounded a fist on the dirt, tears streaking unnoticed from his eyes. She was his friend dammit! She had been the one he talked to when they were both left out of missions. They weren't allowed to fight until her seventh year, when it all came to a head. Her razor wit and sense of humor a perfect match for his. They had intelligent discussions and learned how to cook together. They had battled his wretched house until they won. Her understanding had been his solace during the hard times. She had been his friend.

He stood, slowly, and pulled a worn velvet box out of his pocket. Sirius sighed slightly, rubbed his eyes with his left hand and spoke to the angel- to Ginny.

"Hey Gin. I was cleaning out my old school trunk and I found this. It used to belong to a... a good...um...friend of mine." He slid open the box and lifted out a silver locket. "I, well, I thought you'd like it. Here." Reaching up, he fastened it around the angel's slender stone neck.

The clearing was growing dark, except for the angel which glowed with a soft pearly light. Sirius sighed again and brushed his thick black hair out of his eyes. He should be going. It was a long way home and he was tired. Straddling his motorbike, he soared off into the night sky towards home.

The kettle was whistling. The house was rather nice now. The horrid elf heads and that picture of his mother were gone, giving way to some soft furniture and a blue-tiled kitchen he was fond of. Yeah, that's right. Sirius, fond of something domestic. Well who said he had to be a rebel all the time. He was fond of raspberry scones and tea, especially when he was tired.

He had just set out the plate and cup at the worn oak table when someone knocked at the door. It was timid and soft and at first he thought he'd imagined it, but it came again, louder, a moment later.

Sirius heaved himself up and slowly made his way to the door. It'd been a rough day. Why did people have to show up now? All he wanted to do was eat his scones and be alone with his memories. He swung the door open.

"Yeah, who is i..."

It was Ginny Weasley.