The End of the World
~*~
Full Summary: It's the end of the summer of 1998 and Voldemort has been back for two years now. After his last failed attempt to kill Harry in his sixth year at Hogwarts, he seems to have disappeared. . . and everything is too quiet. When Ginny goes for a walk around Ottery St Catchpole one day, she returns to find The Burrow demolished. . . and all her family gone. Alone and afraid, Ginny has to fight for her life as she travels across the battling country to save her family. On the way she meets new challenges. . . and falls in love with the most unexpected person. Deep in the heart of Azkaban, Hermione waits in the darkness for her fate to be decided. Surrounded by pain and death, Hermione finds the only thing that can give her strength during this darkest hour - love.
Voldemort is back, and this time no where is safe.
~*~
Disclaimer: Obviously I don't own any of the Harry Potter world, or Hermione and Ron would be together already, Ginny and Draco would be together and I'd be married to Snape, living at The Burrow and driving around in a turquoise Ford Anglia. Just be grateful I don't own them. . .
~*~
Chapter One.
Ginny's shoes crunched over the dusty gravel driveway of her home, The Burrow. There were no clouds in the sky and the sun was beaming down scorchingly on the parched village of Ottery St Catchpole. Two months ago, it would have been a gorgeous afternoon. Now, however, they had seen far too many gorgeous afternoons - there had been no sign of any rain in the small village for five weeks now, and it had been officially declared as a drought crises. There were water restrictions on every part of their lifestyle, and the dry heat was making everyone particularly crabby. Ron and Hermione's continuous arguing had finally driven Ginny out of the house - she couldn't wait for the day when those two finally realised their true feelings and got together. Although Ginny supposed that they would still be at each other's throats most of the time, but there would undoubtably be brief moments of peace if they were snogging.
A stray strand of sweaty hair fell out of her ponytail and dangled in her face and she brushed it behind her ear. She was wearing as little clothes as her parents considered decent - a short, green, strappy cotton sundress and sandals, and yet she was still hot. She longed for the days when she could run around naked under the sprinkler in the back yard. . . although even if she was still at an age where that was acceptable, there was a complete sprinkler ban anyway. The small creek running behind the back of their property had dried up last week, so they didn't even have that meagre comfort any more.
Ginny turned off the Burrow's driveway and onto the grassy strip on the side of the small country road. She kept close to the fence separating the public area from a large grassy paddock surrounded by tall sweeping willows, heading toward the heart of the tiny village. The leaves on the trees were losing their colour and falling off in dry, crispy showers every time a breeze meandered slowly though the sleepy village. The short piece of hair fell from behind her ear again and she puffed at it irritably. Just staring at the fiery redness of it made her feel even hotter - if that was possible. A solitary horse was standing in the shade of the willows near the wire fence. Ginny stopped walking and leaned against the fence.
"Hey, fella," she said softly. "Poor you, having to stand in the sun all day long. I bet you must be pretty hot, huh?" The horse came over to her and she rubbed it's sweaty nose. The horse belonged to the neighbours and Ginny had ridden him several times over the years, before Ginny's dad had had a big argument with the neighbours and they refused to talk to the Weasley's ever again. Mr Weasley never told his family what the argument was about, but they suspected it had something to do with him trying to 'fix' their television.
Ginny left the horse and continued walking aimlessly along the deserted road. She was so bored - there was absolutely nothing to do. And even if there was, it was far too hot to do it. She was definitely at the point of the Holidays when she was looking forward to going back to Hogwarts. At least they had the big lake to swim in there - Ginny felt she would even brave the giant squid just to feel the touch of cold water on her parched skin.
Ginny didn't think anything remotely adventurous or exciting couldn't possibly happen that day. It was far too hot to do anything - even the wind couldn't be bothered blowing very hard.
How wrong she was.
~*~
Ginny had been walking down the road for about half an hour before she decided she was ready to face the Burrow and all it's irritable inhabitants again - she could feel her pale skin getting sunburnt. It wouldn't be the first time that summer that her skin had turned lobster red, but that didn't mean that it was more fun the more times it happened. She decided to go back now, before it could get any worse. Besides, the sun was slowly sinking in the sky and dinner would probably be ready soon - she didn't want to be late. Mrs Weasley was in just a testy mood as the rest of the household, and Ginny didn't want to be on the receiving end of one of her rants.
She past the lone horse again, who was trying to eat the dry, brown grass in it's field and turned up the driveway to the Burrow. If the sun hadn't been glaring in her eyes then perhaps she would have seen the Darkmark in the sky earlier. . . or the rubble scattered all over the ground where her house used to be. She didn't notice anything out of the ordinary until she stumbled over a broken brick on the ground. Wondering where it had come from she raised her hand over her eyes to shield the sun, she stared up at the Burrow.
What she saw made her heart stop.
There was no Burrow. All that was left was a pile of broken bricks and smashed pieces of wood scattered all around the yard. She recognised all the books, clothes, old toys and furniture that were thrown all around amongst the rubble - all the things she had woken up to and seen every morning. All the things she had seen in her brother's bedrooms, her parent's bedroom, the lounge, the kitchen. It was all here, scattered, broken, ripped, dusty.
But worst of all was the silence.
"Mum? Dad?" she tried to call, but her voice caught in her throat. She stepped over the twisted face of her mothers clock - all the hands were missing apart from Charlie's, which was bent halfway in between 'school' and 'work'. To her left was the stuffed white rabbit her Dad had given her for her first birthday, it's fur matted with dust and one of it's eyes missing, the other scratched horribly. She picked it up and held the mangled fur close to her heaving chest. All of a sudden she was running through the rubble, tears streaming down her face. "MUM! DAD!" she cried, her feet sliding over the remains of her house. She tripped and landed heavily on her hands and knees in the rubble. Dust swirled up in dirty billows around her, sticking to the sweat on her arms, the blood on her hands and knees, and the tears on her face.
"Ron? Hermione! HARRY?!" she screeched into the still afternoon.
But there was no reply. Her body racked with sobs, Ginny threw her dusty hands over her face. Who could have done this? And where were her family? Her friends?
In her heart she knew the answer, even before she turned her tearstained face to the sky and saw, in horror, a giant green serpent protruding from an enormous green skull.
Voldemort had been here, and he had taken her family.
~*~
Full Summary: It's the end of the summer of 1998 and Voldemort has been back for two years now. After his last failed attempt to kill Harry in his sixth year at Hogwarts, he seems to have disappeared. . . and everything is too quiet. When Ginny goes for a walk around Ottery St Catchpole one day, she returns to find The Burrow demolished. . . and all her family gone. Alone and afraid, Ginny has to fight for her life as she travels across the battling country to save her family. On the way she meets new challenges. . . and falls in love with the most unexpected person. Deep in the heart of Azkaban, Hermione waits in the darkness for her fate to be decided. Surrounded by pain and death, Hermione finds the only thing that can give her strength during this darkest hour - love.
Voldemort is back, and this time no where is safe.
~*~
Disclaimer: Obviously I don't own any of the Harry Potter world, or Hermione and Ron would be together already, Ginny and Draco would be together and I'd be married to Snape, living at The Burrow and driving around in a turquoise Ford Anglia. Just be grateful I don't own them. . .
~*~
Chapter One.
Ginny's shoes crunched over the dusty gravel driveway of her home, The Burrow. There were no clouds in the sky and the sun was beaming down scorchingly on the parched village of Ottery St Catchpole. Two months ago, it would have been a gorgeous afternoon. Now, however, they had seen far too many gorgeous afternoons - there had been no sign of any rain in the small village for five weeks now, and it had been officially declared as a drought crises. There were water restrictions on every part of their lifestyle, and the dry heat was making everyone particularly crabby. Ron and Hermione's continuous arguing had finally driven Ginny out of the house - she couldn't wait for the day when those two finally realised their true feelings and got together. Although Ginny supposed that they would still be at each other's throats most of the time, but there would undoubtably be brief moments of peace if they were snogging.
A stray strand of sweaty hair fell out of her ponytail and dangled in her face and she brushed it behind her ear. She was wearing as little clothes as her parents considered decent - a short, green, strappy cotton sundress and sandals, and yet she was still hot. She longed for the days when she could run around naked under the sprinkler in the back yard. . . although even if she was still at an age where that was acceptable, there was a complete sprinkler ban anyway. The small creek running behind the back of their property had dried up last week, so they didn't even have that meagre comfort any more.
Ginny turned off the Burrow's driveway and onto the grassy strip on the side of the small country road. She kept close to the fence separating the public area from a large grassy paddock surrounded by tall sweeping willows, heading toward the heart of the tiny village. The leaves on the trees were losing their colour and falling off in dry, crispy showers every time a breeze meandered slowly though the sleepy village. The short piece of hair fell from behind her ear again and she puffed at it irritably. Just staring at the fiery redness of it made her feel even hotter - if that was possible. A solitary horse was standing in the shade of the willows near the wire fence. Ginny stopped walking and leaned against the fence.
"Hey, fella," she said softly. "Poor you, having to stand in the sun all day long. I bet you must be pretty hot, huh?" The horse came over to her and she rubbed it's sweaty nose. The horse belonged to the neighbours and Ginny had ridden him several times over the years, before Ginny's dad had had a big argument with the neighbours and they refused to talk to the Weasley's ever again. Mr Weasley never told his family what the argument was about, but they suspected it had something to do with him trying to 'fix' their television.
Ginny left the horse and continued walking aimlessly along the deserted road. She was so bored - there was absolutely nothing to do. And even if there was, it was far too hot to do it. She was definitely at the point of the Holidays when she was looking forward to going back to Hogwarts. At least they had the big lake to swim in there - Ginny felt she would even brave the giant squid just to feel the touch of cold water on her parched skin.
Ginny didn't think anything remotely adventurous or exciting couldn't possibly happen that day. It was far too hot to do anything - even the wind couldn't be bothered blowing very hard.
How wrong she was.
~*~
Ginny had been walking down the road for about half an hour before she decided she was ready to face the Burrow and all it's irritable inhabitants again - she could feel her pale skin getting sunburnt. It wouldn't be the first time that summer that her skin had turned lobster red, but that didn't mean that it was more fun the more times it happened. She decided to go back now, before it could get any worse. Besides, the sun was slowly sinking in the sky and dinner would probably be ready soon - she didn't want to be late. Mrs Weasley was in just a testy mood as the rest of the household, and Ginny didn't want to be on the receiving end of one of her rants.
She past the lone horse again, who was trying to eat the dry, brown grass in it's field and turned up the driveway to the Burrow. If the sun hadn't been glaring in her eyes then perhaps she would have seen the Darkmark in the sky earlier. . . or the rubble scattered all over the ground where her house used to be. She didn't notice anything out of the ordinary until she stumbled over a broken brick on the ground. Wondering where it had come from she raised her hand over her eyes to shield the sun, she stared up at the Burrow.
What she saw made her heart stop.
There was no Burrow. All that was left was a pile of broken bricks and smashed pieces of wood scattered all around the yard. She recognised all the books, clothes, old toys and furniture that were thrown all around amongst the rubble - all the things she had woken up to and seen every morning. All the things she had seen in her brother's bedrooms, her parent's bedroom, the lounge, the kitchen. It was all here, scattered, broken, ripped, dusty.
But worst of all was the silence.
"Mum? Dad?" she tried to call, but her voice caught in her throat. She stepped over the twisted face of her mothers clock - all the hands were missing apart from Charlie's, which was bent halfway in between 'school' and 'work'. To her left was the stuffed white rabbit her Dad had given her for her first birthday, it's fur matted with dust and one of it's eyes missing, the other scratched horribly. She picked it up and held the mangled fur close to her heaving chest. All of a sudden she was running through the rubble, tears streaming down her face. "MUM! DAD!" she cried, her feet sliding over the remains of her house. She tripped and landed heavily on her hands and knees in the rubble. Dust swirled up in dirty billows around her, sticking to the sweat on her arms, the blood on her hands and knees, and the tears on her face.
"Ron? Hermione! HARRY?!" she screeched into the still afternoon.
But there was no reply. Her body racked with sobs, Ginny threw her dusty hands over her face. Who could have done this? And where were her family? Her friends?
In her heart she knew the answer, even before she turned her tearstained face to the sky and saw, in horror, a giant green serpent protruding from an enormous green skull.
Voldemort had been here, and he had taken her family.