Harry braced himself as the Cruciatus curse headed for him. He should have known Voldemort wouldn't kill him straight away; that he would want to have his fun. Still, this gave Sirius and Dumbledore time to find him in the Forbidden forest and help him.

The pain shot through him, and he buckled to his knees. He tried not to shout out, not wanting to give Voldemort and his Death Eaters the satisfisfaction. He could hear Bellatrix cackling away, obviously enjoying his pain.

"Aah, what have we here?" said Voldemort. He stopped the curse and Harry fell to the ground, gasping.

The Death Eaters whistled and laughed as Lucius Malfoy came forward. He had a young girl with him, struggling to free herself from his arms.

"Let me go, you Death Eater scum," she snarled, kicking out behind her. She smiled grimly when her foot connected with his calf and he groaned.

The Death Eaters around her laughed. Lucius, knowing they were laughing at him, angrily jerked her forward, and for the first time, Ginny Weasley was able to see what became of Tom Riddle.

"So this is the young witch who had my diary. Interesting. What is your name, girl?" he asked her.

Ginny spat on his robes.

The Death Eaters stilled. Lucius pulled her forcibly upright. Voldemort came closer, so she was sandwiched in between him and Lucius.

Harry wanted to go and help her, but he had no wand. He was too weak from all the curses they'd thrown at him. He didn't know who this girl was, but she was obviously very stupid or very brave.

"She's a Weasley," said Lucius.

"Aah. One of the Muggle lovers. Tell me, girl, how did it feel to have me in your mind? To feel the power, have the knowledge. I showed you things I could only dream of when I was eleven," said Voldemort, as if he had given her a great gift.

"I hated it. I felt dirty. The things you showed me, the things you made me do. You're sick. Look at you. Tom was handsome, and kind at first. That's who I wrote back to. Not you. You sicken me," cried Ginny, struggling to break free.

Lucius held her tight. Voldemort stared into her face. Ginny tried to stare back. His face was frightening up so close. His eyes were black and empty, like a shark's. He looked like a snake, with slits for a nose. His skin was pasty white.

Voldemort turned away from her and addressed his Death Eaters. "This Muggle lover was given my diary when she was only eleven. She fought my possession for nearly a year, and for that-" He turned back to her and bowed slightly; mockingly, "I admire her, for it shows the power she has. Seventh daughter, and the first in seven generations. Yes, it was a pity you couldn't be turned to the dark."

"Never," screamed Ginny. "I would never follow you, you bastard."

"Silence!" yelled Voldemort.

Lucius clamped a hand over her mouth.

Voldemort turned back to Harry. "Look who I'm fighting. Children. Where are my worthy opponents? Where is Dumbledore? Black? They send a boy to do a man's job, the fools. No matter what the prophecy says, I WILL see Dumbledore dead before I fulfill this ridiculous prophecy."

"When this is over, you will be mine, Ginevra," whispered Lucius, stroking a finger down her cheek, just as Voldemort cast another Cruciatus on Harry.

Ginny bit his finger, stomped on his foot and used her elbow to hit him in the face. He cried out in pain, and let her go, bringing his hands up to cup his nose.

Ginny rushed over to the young man laying on the ground. "Stop. Stop it now," she screamed. She threw herself over him, and got the force of the curse. She screamed.

Voldemort stopped the curse. He studied the two on the ground in front of him, twirling his wand. "What is it about you, Harry Potter, that makes people want to protect you. Your mother, Dumbledore, this young witch..."

Voldemort was rambling. Ginny turned to look at the young man. Their eyes connected. Ginny drew in a breath. This was Harry Potter, the wizard she'd been hearing about her whole life.

"Please, try and get away. Don't worry about me," he pleaded with her, placing his hands on hers.

Ginny felt a tingle. Harry must have felt it too, for he looked down. They looked back at each other.

"Harry,"whispered Ginny. He followed her eyes downward. Tucked in her boots was her wand. His eyes widened. Ginny nodded slightly. He eased it out of her boot and held it to him.

Ginny helped Harry to his feet. The Death Eathers laughed as he stumbled to stand up. Ginny steadied him. Voldemort looked amused.

They heard the sound of a dog barking. "It looks like your godfather will be here to witness your demise. Or maybe I'll kill him first, and let you watch him die," cackled Voldemort.

Harry felt the fury build up in him. He wouldn't let Voldemort take the last of his family. He felt stronger, powerful.

"Maybe I'll get one of your siblings or your parents here, show them how we deal with Muggle lovers," said Voldemort to Ginny, amused.

"No!" yelled Ginny. It was her worse fear.

"Or maybe I'll let them all watch as my Death Eaters have some fun with this Muggle lover. Lucius seems keen," drawled Voldemort.

"I'd rather die than have any of your scum touch me," said Ginny, viciously.

Voldemort sighed. "As you wish. Aveda Ke-"

Harry pointed Ginny's wand and shouted "Expelliarmus!"

Their wands locked. The curse connected and hovered, as Harry and Voldemort fought for domination.

Harry knew he couldn't hold the connection. He was weak from the Cruciatus. Already he could see the curse heading for him, slowly, slowly.

Voldemort grinned, knowing he was stronger.

Harry was straining to simply hold the wand. It wavered, until Ginny placed her hand over his. He looked into her eyes. "You can do this, Harry."

Together, they held the wand steady. The curse stopped moving, then turned and flew straight back into Voldemort.

He fell straight back. His empty eyes stared up into the night sky. Then his body began to disintegrate.

The astounded Death Eaters grabbed their arms, shouting out in pain. The dark mark on their body now fed poison into their systems. One by one they dropped dead.

Harry and Ginny collapsed on the ground, exhausted from both being exposed to the Cruciatus, and for the effort it took to hold the curse.

Sirius came bounding in as Padfoot. Harry kept Ginny close as he turned to see Dumbledore come into view.

"You did it. He's gone," said Sirius in amazement.

Hagrid broke through the trees and stared in amazement at all the dead Death Eaters. "You did it! You killed He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named!"

"I think it's safe to say his name now, Hagrid," said Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling as they met Harry's.

Harry turned his attention to Ginny. She was shaking. "Sir, she needs attention. She was hit by the Cruciatus."

"So were you, several times," said Ginny. She felt faint, and stumbled as she tried to stand. Harry steadied her, although he was unsteady himself.

"Here, take this. It's a portkey to the Infirmary at Hogwarts. You both need to be checked over. Ask for Madame Pomfrey."

Ginny and Harry nodded, and activated the Portkey. They went to take a step towards the door when Ginny's legs gave way.

"Hey, I've got you," said Harry, picking her up in his arms.

Despite hating showing her weakness, Ginny leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Thank you for helping me," he said softly, so only she could hear. "I wouldn't have survived without you, you brave foolish witch."

Ginny felt like she'd been run over by a truck, but she smiled anyway. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure you would have. Your godfather would have ran in to the rescue. He's cute, by the way. House trained?"

Harry chuckled. "Oh, he'll love you. You're a feisty one, aren't you? By the way, I'm Harry. Harry Potter."

Ginny smiled, even as she felt the darkness getting ready to overtake her. "I'm Ginny Weasley. Very happy to meet you, Harry."

And she passed out.

Harry quickly entered the Infirmary. "Hello? I'm looking for Madame Pomfrey. Can anybody help me?"

An older woman came over. "I'm Madame Pomfrey. Merlin, it's Miss Weasley. Here, lay her here. What happened to her?" she asked, as she ran her wand over Ginny's body.

"She was hit with the Cruciatus curse," said Harry.

The door to the Infirmary was flung open. "Madame Pomfrey, it's over. Voldemort has been killed. Please, have you – oh, Ginny! I was going to ask if you'd seen her. The family is going crazy."

"Oh my, that's wonderful news. Thank you, Miss Granger. Please go and tell the Weasleys that Ginny is here. She will be fine."

"Yes, Madame Pomfrey."

The young witch walked past Harry and looked at him curiously. "Are you-did you find Ginny?"

Harry nodded. She took his hand and shook it. "Thank you. Her family will be here soon, and they will want to thank you too."

Hermione left, smiling in relief. She couldn't wait to tell the Weasleys that she had found Ginny.

She wished she could ask her friend about the handsome man that had been with her, but that would have to wait till Ginny awoke.

Madame Pomfrey smiled as she got Ginny settled in the bed. "Just needs to sleep off the effects of the curse. She'll be fine. Now, I expect this room to be crowded any minute with red-heads, so I'll leave you to explain it all to her family. I'll pop back and check on her soon."

Harry watched her go, and stepped up to the bed. He lay his hand on hers, lying on the bed. Ginny stirred, but then settled.

"It sounds like you have a family who cares about you a lot. You're lucky," said Harry softly, squeezing her hand.

He wondered if he imagined that she had squeezed back.

"I probably should go and find Sirius. He's my godfather, and before you ask, he has never had fleas," chuckled Harry, unaware that Sirius had come into the room. Sirius smiled as he heard Harry tell Ginny that.

"I hope you go on and have a wonderful life, Ginny. I can't thank you enough for helping me. You are an amazing witch."

Harry could hear the sound of a lot of people coming. "Harry," warned Sirius.

Before he could help himself, Harry leaned down and kissed Ginny lightly on the lips. "I'll never forget you," he whispered.

He straightened and turned to Sirius. "Let's go," he said, authoratively. Sirius stared at him, surprised.

Before they could leave, the door flew open, and lots of people entered. "Oh Merlin, Ginny," cried an older woman, who Harry guessed was Ginny's mother.

More and more people kept coming in. Most were red-heads, but Harry saw a pretty blonde haired woman, and the bushy haired girl he'd spoken to earlier.

"What happened to her?"

"Will she be okay?"

"Why isn't she awake?"

"Do you think Voldemort got to her?"

The men all seemed to talk over each other. With a jerk of his head indicating the door, Harry and Sirius left the Infirmary.

"You didn't want to stay and talk to her family? I've heard of the Weasleys, they're good people, Harry."

"Good. Then she'll recover quicker with so many people to look after her," said Harry, decisively.

"We'll go see Dumbledore, see what needs to be done. Wait, did you get checked out by the nurse? How many times were you hit with the Cruciatus?" asked Sirius.

Harry shrugged. "I'm fine. Let's go see Dumbledore."

As he walked away from the Infirmary, Harry knew he was leaving a part of himself with her. The trade off was, he was taking a piece of her with him.