"Crucio," the voice said. I saw him twitch, and I couldn't bear to watch.

"Please," Harry begged. "Take her away."

"Now why would I do that, Harry," the cold voice purred. "I want her to see you suffer. I want her to live with a broken husband that she can't give up on."

"Let us switch places," I said, my words muffled by hate and fear. "Torture my mind."

"But I want Harry to lose his mind so much that no one else will kill me." Silently, Voldemort gave him another bout of the Torture Curse. Wormtail forced me to watch, but had trouble holding me with my jerks of pain that had nothing to do with curses.

"No," Harry screamed. "Don't let her watch, please. Please. If you say you are a merciful Lord, at least let me say goodbye."

"Very well," he sneered. "I wouldn't want her to live without any memories. Wormtail." I was released. I ran to hug Harry. I had hidden my wand somewhere on my person, and Harry had told me to do the same with his. As soon as I hit his chest, I Apparated out of the meadow. I heard Voldemort curse before appearing at the Burrow. I dragged Harry, who was fighting to stay conscious, into the house and let him collapse on the couch.

"Did they trace you?" Ron asked me, leaning next to Harry.

"They didn't, but I think they know where we are," I answered, wetting a cloth and putting it over his head. I waited dutifully next to Harry, waiting for him to wake up. My mother tried to feed me, but I wasn't hungry. When he finally woke up, I grasped his hand even harder and forced him to lie down.

"Ginny," Harry whispered. "We have to go somewhere else."

"Everybody is packing to move to Aunt Muriel's. We have to make it look like we didn't leave here," I said.

"Why are you crying? I thought you never cried," Harry mumbled.

"It's you; I don't want to see you suffer."

"That's why I didn't want you involved. Ginny, I told you to stay away. He knows about my weakness. Damn it, Ginny. You didn't listen to me."

Unusual tears halted my words as I said, "I told you I can't. I'd rather be safe with you than one of us in danger without the other knowing about it. Besides, he now knows about it, so we can't get separated. Look, you have to kill him, but everything else is safe. Wormtail is the only supporter he has left. Malfoy has backed out. He blackmailed himself to help the Ministry."

"Next time I want you to do something, I want you to listen to me when it's about your safety. I don't want to watch you suffer just because I'm the famous one that he's after. I love you too much for that to happen."

"That's why I had to stay, Harry. I couldn't let you go and live my life without you. Last year without you was torture. You are my future and my present. I chose death if you are dead. There's no other option."

"Ginny, stop it. You're wasting your breath on something that I already know. And you are right; we are each other's future."

He was dead. Harry had done what he was destined to do, and the world was free. War was written on his face, but not as clearly as the happiness he felt. I was the first person he ran to after his ordeal. All of the others wanted to congratulate him, but they had to maneuver their to him through a crowd thick with cheering people. Ron and Hermione had been the others closest to him, and Luna, Neville, Seamus, and Dean had surrounded us. We were trying to keep people from tiring Harry further, and we were managing quite successfully.

When people had drifted off to have breakfast (McGonagall forced them to have something to eat), Dean and Seamus congratulated him again and left as the last people to enter the Great Hall.
As for Neville and Luna, they decided some sleep was necessary and headed for their respective towers. The four of us had different plans. Our adrenaline still had an effect on us, allowing us to walk through the grounds and out of Hogwarts's grasp. We Apparated to the Burrow, leaving my parents back at Hogwarts. Ron and Hermione left for his attic room while I stayed in the living room with Harry.

"Are you hungry?" I asked, standing ready in the kitchen.

"No, thanks," Harry said sinking softly on the couch. I walked over to sit next to him with two mugs of hot tea anyway. He took it but set it on the coffee table.

"Harry, you can rest now," I said, more to myself than to him. "It's all over."

"I know," he said, staring off into the distance. "I know."