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SIYE Time:8:29 on 28th March 2024
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Demons by Firelight : re-write
By Spellcaster

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Category: Post-HBP
Characters:Other, Harry/Ginny
Genres: Angst
Warnings: None
Story is Complete
Rating: PG-13
Reviews: 14
Summary: We all have our own demons that haunt us, it's how we cope with them that lets us live.
Hitcount: Story Total: 3323







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This is a re-write of an earlier one-shot I had posted some time ago. I was never quite happy with the way it had turned out so I decided to re-visit it and breathe new life into an old friend. If you enjoyed the story the first time, thank you! I hope you will enjoy it even better this time around, I know I did.

As always these characters are not mine, only the tale they tell. Thank you JKR!



Demons by Firelight:

Harry sat gazing into the embers of the dwindling fire. It was late. All of the other occupants of the house were already in their beds sleeping soundly and had been for hours.

He had arrived at the Burrow nearly two weeks ago after a very brief and final stay at Privet Drive, and since his arrival every night had been the same. Putting on his best smile, Harry would wish everyone a goodnight’s rest and then follow Ron upstairs to the room they shared and feign falling asleep. Once he was quite sure Ron had fallen asleep and the rest of the house was quiet, he would get up and quietly steal back down stairs to sit in front of the fire. Not that Harry didn’t want to sleep; on the contrary, he wanted nothing more than to close his eyes and dream a thousand dreams of his heart’s desire. He longed to dream of a crisp autumn morning on the pitch or a sunny afternoon at the Burrow enjoying the company of his friends. But truth be told what his heart desired most of all was to dream of Ginny.

Unfortunately those were not the images that danced across Harry’s subconscious on the occasions he did allow himself to sleep. Dark memories of a haunted past continually played out their lives in his dreams. Cedric dying at his feet in that cold misty graveyard. Sirius falling through the veil as Bellatrix Lestrange cackled madly. Dumbledore begging for Harry to end his suffering as Harry forced him to drink Voldemort’s vile potion. Standing immobile unable to help as Snape took Dumbledore’s life. His mother defiantly standing between Voldemort and himself sacrificing her life to save his. Those were bad, he would usually wake shaking uncontrollably his tears fresh on his face, yet those visions were not the worst his subconscious had to offer.

On the worst of nights Harry would dream of the future; a future filled with despair and misery. A future filled with the deaths of loved ones whose lives he was unable to save and of a dark king sitting upon an unearthly throne. The ghostly voices of the dead haunted these visions.

“Why couldn’t you save us Harry?”

“We counted on you. You were the Chosen One.”

“How could you let him murder us?”

“Why didn’t you stop him like you said you would?”

“You promised me Harry. You promised you’d protect me!”


Always Ginny’s face accompanied these voices. He would see her there, lying in front of him amongst the dead and dying, pleading for Harry to save her as Voldemort tortured her. Harry would awake from these dreams screaming, a feeling of utter helplessness engulfing his very being.

Before arriving at the Burrow Harry had decided what needed to be done. He would not lead on about his night time visitors. Harry did not want to burden anyone with his problems it would only cause them to worry. So every day he would put on his best act and smile his brightest smile and hide the despair and fear he felt growing inside.

Harry would cast a silencing charm around himself, per chance he fell asleep, not wanting his screams to disturb the inhabitants of the house. He would settle in the chair in front of the fire drawing his knees tightly to his chest and then pull a blanket securely around himself in hopes to keep the demons at bay.

There he would sit, night after night, trying to cast his demons into the fire. To burn the past from his mind or destroy the future before it would happen always careful to return to his bed before morning so no one would catch on to his secret.

But what Harry didn’t know was he was not the only one awake at this hour.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She had heard him that first night. He may have been in this house many times but he was not yet accustomed to its many creaks and groans. Sleep had nearly taken over her when she heard the creaking of the stairs and got up to investigate. She had lived in this house her entire life and knew the ins and outs of every inch. Quietly she descended the stairs, careful to be sure and step where it would make no noise until she saw him sitting there.

Ginny didn’t know why she didn’t go any further that first night or why she hadn’t any night since. When she had seen him that first time something inside her cautioned her not to go any farther. The time wasn’t right yet. She didn’t know how she knew this, she just did. So Ginny would lie in her bed and wait to hear his foot falls in the hall. She would follow him down just so far and then sit and watch him from the stairs. Some nights he would doze off and cry in his sleep, his tears reflecting the firelight in front of him. Others Harry would wake screaming though he never made a sound. And yet other nights he would just sit and stare into the fire, cut off from the world around him, so alone and isolated from his own happiness.

Things had been different between the two of them since that day at Dumbledore’s funeral. He had said he couldn’t be with her anymore, that they couldn’t be together. She had tried to understand his reasons and told him she didn’t care if it put her life in danger. Harry had insisted it was for the best but she knew he felt differently, his eyes told her that he didn’t mean what he was saying. She could see the battle raging behind those emerald green windows to his soul, the fight between what he felt was best for her safety and what was best for his happiness. In the end her safety had won over his happiness and he had walked away.

Since Harry had arrived at the Burrow two weeks ago he had been doing his best to avoid being alone with her. When her Mum or Dad would ask how he was, he would smile, tell them he was doing fine and then hurry to change the subject. But again she knew differently, although the smile would light up his face it never made it to his eyes. But once in a while she would catch him looking at her with a tiny smile on his lips. He would look away quickly, but in those few fleeting moments when their eyes would meet she would see the happiness of another time reflected there.

So she would sit there watching him, wishing she could go to him and hold him until her heart told her differently.

As she rested there on this night, seventh stair up from the bottom, a feeling began to wash over her; a feeling full of both sorrow and hope.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry sat there on his nightly vigil staring into the embers of the dying flames, waves of fatigue threatening to overtake him. It had now been three weeks since Dumbledores funeral; three weeks since he had a real night’s sleep. Watching the flames flicker their dying dance, he could feel the demons slowly making their approach. His night time battles to stay awake were becoming increasingly more difficult and in the end, on this night, he lost. Tonight would be one of the worst. In the wake of exhaustion no silencing charm was cast this night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He was standing alone in the middle of a battle-savaged field; the stench and sounds of death surrounded him. He could hear the screams of the dying and the accusations of the dead; the bodies of his friends and the ones he loved strewn across the barren ground. He wanted to scream in agony, to run from the horrors surrounding him but was neither able to make a sound nor move. And then he heard it; the cold inhuman laughter that froze his soul and infested these nightmares. There was Voldemort sitting atop his unnatural throne wand raised high with Ginny lying bound at his feet.

“I told you that you could not stop the Dark Lord. You have been a fool Harry and now she will pay for your insolence.”

Harry wanted to run to her, to throw himself before her but was still unable to move. He could feel the hands of the dead clutching at his ankles, rooting him to the ground.

“She will suffer for the endless pain you have inflicted on me!”

He tried to scream; to call out to his beloved Ginny but his voice caught in his throat.

“CRUCIO…”

~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~

She smiled at the realization that he had fallen asleep and prayed that the horrors that plagued him in his dreams would stay away for at least tonight.

Resting her head against the hand-worn oak of the banister she envisioned a life as Mrs. Harry Potter, a life without concern or worry. She smiled as visions of a future full of hope and promises of happiness danced across her heart; a future where they would be together forever.

The sound of a soft cry pulled her from her fantasy. Something wasn’t right. Before she realized what she was doing she had already begun to descend the remaining stairs that separated her from Harry.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In his dream Harry fell to his knees pounding the barren ground with clenched fists. The vision of Ginny writhing in agony as Voldemort continued to laugh above her danced across his minds eye. He was crying; screaming her name through muted lips. Pleading for her release; it was he Voldemort wanted, not her. He had failed her. He had failed everyone!

“I’m right here you bastard!” He tried to scream “Take me… fight me… KILL ME!”

“Now Harry, she will die knowing you did nothing to save her.” Voldemort raised his wand a final time “Avada Kedavra!”

As the foul green light faded from his eyes he saw her laying there, her half-lidded vacant eyes staring into his.

“No not Ginny… Not Ginny! NOOOOOO!!!”

At that moment, in both the waking world and the world of dreams and shadows, Harry found his voice.

“GINNY!!!”

~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~

“GINNY!!!”

His cry pierced the silence of the room around him.

She was there in an instant, throwing her arms around him, pulling him to her, assuring him that he was safe and that everything was going to be all right.

Harry suddenly realized where he was; he was no longer in the middle of that field of death, he was in Ginny’s arms. She was holding him, soothing him, telling him that everything would be fine.

His hands searched for her face. He needed to touch her, to make sure she was real. He needed to tell her everything… to tell her he was sorry… to tell her he loved her.

“Oh Ginny, I’m so sorry, I’m so, so sorry!” The tears rolling freely down his cheeks

“I know, it’s OK.”

“I love you, Ginny!”

“I love you too, Harry.”

She pulled back his blanket and snuggled into him as close as she could, placing a gentle kiss on his forehead.

He wrapped his arms tightly around her and rested his head against her chest.

“Thank you.” he whispered to her.

“For what?”

“For knowing how badly I needed you.”

“Shhh… I’m here for you now.”

“I know.”

They sat there holding each other tight, safe in each others arms as sleep slowly overtook them both.

In Harry’s dream they were flying, side by side, hand in hand soaring high above the world around them. The world was theirs to enjoy forever.

The Demons were gone.



Reviews 14
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