Disclaimer: Although I would like to claim this whole master-minded fantasy menagerie, I am not able to, or I would not be here typing my thought-of-at-three-o'clock-in-the-morning-ideas for your pleasure. In simple text, I own nothing.
Here is my first try at a one-shot. Please be kind and considerate in your reviews.
Flashbacks will appear in italics.
The Heart Brings You Back
She needed him, now, more than anything. As Ginny Weasley sat by her window at the Burrow, looking down on the garden, she realized what he meant to her. He meant the world. And now, she had let him slip away, by not saying three tiny words.
Flashback:
"HARRY!" Ginny screamed. She looked around the school grounds, and could see nothing. Only dead and petrified bodies lying around at her feet, was seen through the cold, thick darkness.
It was the end of the war. The light had won, as the dark had been overthrown. Tom appeared at the stroke of midnight on the grounds, with some one hundred death eaters in tow. It was still in the middle of February, as students were getting ready for bed.
Albus Dumbledore stood outside of his office window, waiting, and only he and a certain Mr. Potter knew what. Harry, who was already yawning of exhaustion was sitting in a chair next to the headmaster's desk.
"Proffesor, will we be ready?" Harry spoke calmly and clearly, but fear was not present in his voice.
"I do believe so Harry. You just have to remember now that it will all come down to you and Tom. Remember, you posses something that Tom has never learned to accept."
"Love," Harry said, looking into his headmaster's old blue-gray eyes.
"Yes indeed. Now, we must be off. Here comes Faux, with the warning. You stay here for a moment, I have to make sure the order is ready."
Harry stood still not wanting this moment to end. For now, all of his loved ones were safe. Dumbledore was still in his office, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were in the common room, the rest of the Weasleys were at home, together. Lupin and Tonks were inside the castle somewhere already, and all of his teachers and fellow students were already in bed.
"I'm ready if you are Harry," Dumbledore said, with a weary smile.
"Ok, let's go," Harry responded, as fearless as he would ever be. He had the power to beat Voldemort. He had already done it four times. Now, at seventeen, Harry believed he could put a stop to all of his misery, and the rest of the wizarding world.
"Do Ron, Hermione, and Ginny know what we are doing?" Harry asked.
"I believe so, Harry," Dumbledore answered looking down the corridor.
There stood Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Lupin, Tonks, McGonagall, Flitwick, Sprout, Slughorn, and Snape, (A/N: Snape is not evil in this story) all ready to battle.
"Well then, I believe we shall go out to the grounds, and wait," Dumbledore said, putting a hand on Harry's shoulder.
When they stepped out, they had only waited a mere three minutes until full-blown battle had begun.
"Leave Bella to me, Harry. I have some unfinished business with her!" Tonks screamed across the lawn, as the death eaters started to advance.
Harry nodded, and took off after Ginny, who was unaware that Lucius Malfoy was advancing upon her. Ginny turned around just in time to duck from an Expelliarmus, but quick-witted Harry got to Lucius first and yelled "Petrificus Totalus!" Malfoy instantly fell to the ground, his wand landing by Ginny's feet. She picked it up, snapped it in half, and threw it to the ground.
"Thanks Harry." Ginny blew him a kiss and ran off once again to help Ron with Antonin Dolohov.
Hermione, on the other hand, was having a good time hitting numerous Death Eaters with stunning spells. As the line of present Death Eaters began to thin, Tom decided to appear with an elusive swirl of his black cloak.
"Ahh, Tom, so nice of you to join us," Dumbledore said, politely.
"The pleasure is all mine, Dumbledore." Voldemort smiled viciously.
Harry took a step sideways, ending up next to Dumbledore. "Now remember Harry, none of us, including me can kill Tom. The power lies in your hands, and your hands only. Now take it, and finish him off once and for all." Dumbledore smiled at Harry with upmost astonishment.
More Death Eaters started appearing, and those waking up from being knocked out started to stir. The Order members started taking on the newly joined Death Eaters, and Dumbledore stood back with Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. Harry closed his eyes for one moment to take in what was about to happen, just as all of the remaining Weasleys apparated to the grounds.
People started to form a circle around Harry and Voldemort, as both of them were sending nasty looks to one anther. The battle started with Voldemort trying once again to kill Harry on the spot.
"Avada Kedav!" Voldemort screamed.
"Expelliarmus!" Harry bellowed back, just saving his own life. The two wands linked together once again, forming a prematurely born Priori Incantatem. Dumbledore then placed a bubble around Voldemort and Harry, so not one of them would be thrown off by the others' dueling.
Since Harry had not killed anyone, Voldemort's wand began leaking images of the past.
The first to come out was Cho Chang.
"Harry, listen to me, you must rid the world of Voldemort. He has hurt the ones you love most, and I cannot bear to see you unhappy." Cho calmly said, smiled, and then started to glide around the bubble.
The next to come was Emmeline Vance, followed by Susan Bones' aunt, Amelia Bones. The latter spoke first.
"Harry, you must let love take it's course in this battle. Albus is right. You have to let the ones you love know that you love them before you kill Voldemort." Emmeline and Amelia started to follow Cho.
Cedric Diggory then climbed out, gliding over to Harry and whispering to him, "You are so strong. Do not get discouraged, as Voldemort can sense fear." That was all he said.
A few others that Harry only recognized by pictures in the Daily Prophet came out of the tip of Voldemort's wand, smiled, and resumed gliding around the perimeter of the circle.
Then, to Harry's surprise, Lily and James, his mum and dad, made their way out of the wand together.
"Harry, my son, as I said to myself sixteen years ago, love is the answer to everything. If you love, that is all you need to win, and set all of us free." Lily looked down on her son, from her beautiful glittering green eyes, blew him a kiss and stepped aside.
"You can do this, Harry. You are so brave, so compassionate, and so full of life. Don't let Voldemort get the best of you, or you will be doomed. Stay strong, and make your mother and I proud." James took Lily's hand and joined the other deceased ones around the bubble.
Harry knew what he had to do. He had to take advantage of Voldemort's weak spot, his heart and his ability to love. Harry jerked his wand aside, jumped to the left, to move out of Voldemort's Avada Kedavra, and took a deep breath.
"Scared of dying are you Potter? Because trust me, it's really not that bad. Your traitor father and mudblood mother have been through it, and look how they turned out! As spirits you can only see when you block me!" Voldemort cackled.
That was it, Harry thought. The last straw. Old Tom is going to get a little of his own medicine. Harry looked around and saw all of his family in front of him. His mum and dad, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, Lupin, Tonks, McGonagall, and Dumbledore around him.
He quickly conjured up his Stag Potronus and let it run out of the bubble. He sent his Stag to everyone, saying thank you and that he loved them. He watched as the Stag ran through Ginny, Ron, and Hermione, and smiled thinking of them.
Voldemort, encased in what the Stag was doing looked away quickly. But obviously, that wasn't quick enough.
"This is for everyone you have hurt, Tom. Especially to my mum and dad, Sirius, Lupin, Tonks, the Weasleys, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. You will pay." He whispered. Then closed his eyes quickly took a deep breath and screamed...
"AVADA KEDAVRA!"
Seconds later Voldemort's lifeless body crippled to the ground. Harry was so overwhelmed with what just had happened, he fell too, into the darkness, unconcious.
(A/N: dum, dum, dum!)
"HARRY!" Ginny screamed. She looked around the school grounds, and could see nothing. Only dead and petrified bodies lying around at her feet, was seen through the cold, thick darkness. She assumed that when Tom had died, the remaining Death Eaters still had unfinished business, so they crippled the grounds with fear once again.
She ran towards her one true love like a candle in the wind. "Harry, wake up. Harry, WAKE UP!" Ginny cried. Harry slowly opened his eyes.
"Ginny, I'm fine. What happened?" Harry said quietly.
"You did it! You killed him! Tom's gone!" Ginny said, tears streaming down her face from joy.
"I...I...I love you, Ginny." Harry croaked.
That was when it hit her. Harry Potter loved her. She couldn't believe it. She had just gotten everything in the world that she wanted, and now she couldn't think of anything to say. She looked over at her family, crying of joy, and tried to say it back. But nothing would come out of her mouth. Absolute silence reeked between the two.
"I...I'm sorry, Harry. I can't do this." Ginny started to cry harder, but this time from sadness, not joy.
"Wh..what?" Harry couldn't believe this.
"I'm sorry," was all she said. Then Ginny, tired and bloody, apparated back to the Burrow.
Ginny had been in her room for six and a half days. She only left her room to eat, and that was it. She was still even wearing her clothes that she wore the night of the final battle. Her hair was a mess, and blood covered her hands.
Right after she got home that night, she knew she loved Harry. That moment she stepped into her room. But she couldn't tell him now. It had been almost a week.
But now, she realized that she wanted him. She wanted to be with him. She had to find him. Tell him how she felt, and why she was being such a wuss and not telling him in the first place. Ginny washed her face, combed through her hair, and ran down to the kitchen, only to find Harry sitting at the table with Ron and Hermione. When she saw the three of them together, she ran straight back up to her room.
"She's been a wreck all week, mate." Ron supplied.
"I told her I loved her, but she didn't say it back." Harry looked over to Ron, who just raised his eyebrows.
"She loves you all right," Hermione said, smiling.
"WHAT?" Both men almost choked on their pumpkin pasties.
"She does. She only came down here to go and see you, Harry. When she saw you were already here, she got scared, and ran back up. She hasn't showered, changed clothes, or even brushed her teeth, I bet. She loves you."
"I will be right back." Harry excused himself, and ran up the stairs to Ginny's room.
He knocked, then let himself in. He walked over to the window, where Ginny had resumed her spot over by the window, and stayed silent.
"Ginny, I don't really know what to say." He offered.
"Harry, I am so stupid. I don't know what came over me. But I love you. I love you so much. You mean the world to me, and I don't know why I would ever say that I didn't love you."
Harry cut in. "Well that's good, cause I love you too, still." She smiled.
Ginny stood up and walked up to Harry. She rested her head in the crook of his neck and sighed. She then looked into his to-die-for green eyes and kissed him. Hard. She kissed him like she would never see him again, but she knew that wouldn't be true.
Harry knelt down on one knee, cleared his throat, and asked, "Ginevra Weasley, will you marry me?"
"Yes, Harry Potter, that I will do."
So, did it totally stink? I hope not.
Reviews would be appreciated, and maybe I will write I sequel story and or one-shot if that's possible.
Thanks for reading, and I hope it wasn't too short.
All for now!
PC