A pulsating green beam shot from Harry's wand and connected to Voldemort's body, remaining for several seconds. The shocked look faded from Voldemort's face as his body disintegrated into ashes. The members of the Order continued to fight the Death Eaters for a few seconds longer until someone screamed, "Who is that person? The one who has Harry!"
At that time, Lucius Malfoy happened to look down at his arm, still not having noticed that his Master was now a pile of ash. "The mark… my mark! It's gone!" he exclaimed, a collective gasp going up over the group. Several more Death Eaters pulled back their sleeves to check their own Dark Marks. The groups were frozen in the wet grass, too shocked to move.
"I never thought about what it would be like when it was over," Angelina whispered to Fleur as they both edged around the bush to come out into the open.
Ron hadn't forgotten that a strange, masked woman was holding on to Harry's arm, wands raised and still pointed at the spot where Voldemort had been standing. "Who are you? Show yourself!" he demanded, making his way over to the pair, taking care to give the pile of ashes a wide berth. The blonde seemed to have snapped out of a trance and looked over at Ron, lowering Harry's arm to the ground and whispering "Enervate" to save herself from having to explain the story twice.
The Order's members made their way over to the ash pile as the Death Eaters began to disapperate. Tonks and Remus were attempting to capture several of the Death Eaters, but they only managed to capture one, who surrendered willingly. Harry groaned and sat up, looking around at everyone who was now gathered in a circle around him. Ron, however, was not looking at him, so Harry followed Ron's eyes to the masked woman who was standing next to him, her wand at her side.
"Reveal yourself, or I will have to incarcerate you!" Ron said, pointing his wand at her. Harry quickly glanced over the person, his eyes stopping on her hands. He could tell it was a younger woman by her petite hands, but as he glanced up at her fingers, he noticed something and drew in a sharp breath. The masked woman looked down at him, her eyes meeting his behind the mask.
"What are you doing here?" he croaked, tears springing to his eyes.
"You know who she is?" Ron demanded, his eyes turning to Harry.
Harry's eyes never left the woman as she pulled off her hood, her long blonde hair cascading down her back. This, of course, confused everyone. They didn't know any blondes besides Fleur, and they all thought she was back at The Burrow, waiting for everyone to arrive home. But when the blonde slid off her mask, they all gasped.
"Ginny?" Hermione whispered, stepping forward just slightly. The blonde nodded and then touched her want to her head, a wave of Weasley red replacing the shocking blonde.
The group continued to stand silently as they tried to figure out what had just happened. "So… who killed You-Know-Who?" George finally said, frowning in thought.
"Harry did," Ginny said, looking back down at Harry, "I just said the incantation."
"'The power the Dark Lord knows not…'" Hermione whispered, quoting the prophecy and glancing smugly at Harry as if to say, "I told you so."
After a few more moments of silence, Ron helped Harry to his feet and said, "How did you know it was her?"
Harry smiled and reached out for Ginny's left hand. "Because she's wearing the engagement ring I gave to her last night… my mother's ring." The crowd talked happily after that, hugging Ginny and Harry, still careful not to walk near the ash pile.
Finally, Mr. Weasley looked over to the bushes, spotting the other two masked people. "Let me guess, they're with you?" he said, nudging Ginny.
Smiling, Ginny said, "Do you want to reveal yourselves, girls?" The other two pulled off their hoods and masks and were greeted with amused laughter and claps.
"This isn't the first night you've done this, is it?" Harry asked as the group began walking back to the woods to return to the portkey.
"If I say no, will you be mad?" Ginny asked, grinning widely. She hadn't stopped smiling since she had removed her mask, and now her cheeks were starting to ache. Harry simply laughed in response.
The group gathered at The Burrow for an impromptu celebration. As the world celebrated with them, Harry and Ginny clung to each other, Harry not taking his hands off Ginny, and her likewise. Giddiness filled the air in the kitchen as Molly cooked up scores of soups and breads and potatoes, all the while filling up everyone's glasses with large helpings of meade. The moment that made it all real for Molly was Mr. Weasley's presentation of the clock, all hands pointed to "Home."
The group sat around the table, discussing their plans now that they were free to do what they wished. "I think tomorrow, I'm going to go down to Diagon Alley and buy all the books I can find that have absolutely nothing to do with Defense Against the Dark Arts," Hermione said happily, leaning back in her chair.
"No you aren't," Harry said, the group turning to look at him, "You can do that the day after tomorrow, because tomorrow, you're going to be at a wedding."
Molly's eyes filled with happy tears as Ron said, "But who is getting married tomorrow?"
"We are," Harry said, his arm still protectively wrapped around Ginny's shoulders.
THE END!
I hope you all enjoyed that short story from me! You smart readers who guessed that Ginny was the blonde were correct!