A/N: The battle scene, and all dialogue you may recognize, belongs to J.K. Rowling, I don't own it. Those excerpts are from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Shattered
Ginny Weasley was running around the Great Hall, hurriedly moving between beds of the injured, covering up bodies of the dead, and not stopping to look at her brother's unmoving corpse. Ginny couldn't handle that yet. She hadn't even cried about it. She couldn't worry about Fred's cold body, not when there was a battle being fought.
She looked at her watch. It was 12:37, and they hadn't heard anything from Voldemort in over an hour. And it was safe to say, Ginny was terrified. Hadn't Voldemort said "midnight"? Ginny was sure he had. And if midnight had come and gone… and Voldemort hadn't attacked again… and no one had seen Harry in a while…
Ginny stopped moving. "No." she breathed out softly, fighting tears, and hardly believing what was running through her mind. Harry couldn't have given himself up, she refused to believe it. Surely someone had seen him since Voldemort set the ultimatum.
Ginny sprinted off to join her family gathered around her brother's body. But Ginny wasn't there to say goodbye to Fred. She needed answers.
"Ron, when was the last time you saw Harry?"
Ron blinked up at his sister, his eyes red and blood-shot. "I… I can't remember… we had just watched Snape get murdered, and Harry got some of his memories… and Hermione and I came in here, to talk to all of you…"
Ginny looked frantically at Hermione, pleading with her to discount Ron's statement. Hermione just nodded along.
"Ahhem." Someone cleared their voice nervously behind Ginny, and she whipped around.
"I saw him, Gin." Neville said, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "I was helping Oliver get bodies, to bring them in here, and Harry just pulled off his invisibility cloak to talk to me." Ginny froze. She could have sworn she felt someone or something out there, when she was holding that girls' hand… but no, it can't have been…
Neville kept talking. "He told me…" he took a deep, shaky breath, "he told me that if I got the chance, I needed to kill the snake, Voldemort's snake."
Ron shot up next to Ginny. "He said what?"
"He told me to kill the snake." Neville looked confusedly between the two youngest Weasley children. "Why, does that mean something?"
"No. No he can't have said that. Neville, are you telling me the truth?" Ron grabbed the front of Neville's robes and shook him.
"YES! Yes I'm telling the truth!"
Ron let go of the other boy, and slumped down, head in hands.
"Ron, what is it? What does that mean?" Ginny asked, kneeling down next to her brother. Panic was slowly rising up in her stomach, gripping at her heart. "Why would he tell Neville to kill a snake?"
Ron looked up, grief and anguish covering his face, and Ginny physically recoiled. Ron opened his mouth to answer her, but he never got the chance.
A cold, clear voice, magically magnified, flooded through the Great Hall, ringing in everybody's ears.
"Harry Potter is dead." Voldemort's voice said.
Ginny's heart stopped, and then shattered. She heard her blood pounding by her ears, wind whooshing past, and nothing else. Her breathing picked up, and deep, shallow breaths racked her body.
"He was killed as he ran away, trying to save himself while you lay down your lives for him."
No, no Harry would never do that! He wouldn't run away and leave us all to die! No, no he couldn't have done. He can't be dead!"
"We bring you his body as proof that your hero is gone."
Ginny stood up and tried to run for the door, to see, to make absolutely certain that Voldemort was lying, that Harry was not dead, lying on the ground. She needed to see, she needed to be certain. But she didn't make it more than three steps before Bill caught her around the waist and lifted her clean off the ground.
"NO! LET ME GO! LET ME SEE HIM! HARRY! HARRY!" Ginny screamed, kicking and thrashing against her eldest brother. She was vaguely aware of Voldemort talking in the background, but she was too busy fighting her brother to hear more than bits and pieces.
"…lost half of your fighters… the Boy Who Lived is finished. There must be no more war… man, women, or child, will be slaughtered… kneel before me, and you shall be spared… you will join me in the new world…"
And finally, finally Ginny broke out of Bill's crushing hold, and she could sprint out of the Great Hall and out of the castle. She wasn't the only one. The remaining fighters of Hogwarts all swarmed around her, trying to get out and see proof of what Voldemort was saying.
Ginny made it halfway across the lawn, and froze. There, at the top of the hill, was Voldemort, at the front of hundreds of Death Eaters. And prominent, right in front of him, was Harry's still, lifeless body.
"NO!" Ginny jumped at McGonagall's scream. It was all the more terrible because she had never expected the Professor to be able to make such a sound. And then Ron and Hermione called out their disbelief, and finally, Ginny found her voice again.
"Harry! HARRY!" She screamed for all she was worth, and once again tried to run to him, and once again her older brother caught her, and held on for dear life, whispering in her ear as the crowd around them yelled and screamed obscenities at Voldemort.
Ginny suddenly felt immensely tired. She looked up at the hill and stared at the boy she loved, and couldn't hold back tears anymore. She sobbed. Ginny cried and gasped for air, and slid to the ground, Bill's arms still around her. She could feel the top of her head get a little wet, and she knew that Bill was crying with her.
Voldemort was speaking again, taunting, but Ginny couldn't focus on his voice. Then, she heard her brother yell "He beat you!" and everyone began their verbal assault on Voldemort once again.
And then before Ginny knew it, Neville had made a run at Voldemort, and been blocked. Voldemort asked him to join their fight, and Neville refused, then shouted "Dumbledore's Army!" and more screaming ensued. And it seemed like before Ginny could even blink, Voldemort had summoned and shoved the Sorting Hat on Neville's head, and lit it on fire. And Ginny was sitting on the ground, too anguished to move, listening to his screams of pain.
And then several things happened in very quick succession.
Ginny heard commotion from the distant boundary of the grounds, and when she looked towards it, hundreds of people flooded down the hillside, all yelling war-cries. A huge giant came lumbering out of the forest, yelling for "HAGGER!", and started fighting with Voldemort's giants.
And then, Ginny's eyes were drawn to Neville, who, in one fluid motion, broke free from his curse, got the hat off of his head, and pulled the glittering Gryffindor's sword from its depths. And just as quickly, Neville brought it down on Voldemort's snake, and sent the head rolling, just like Harry had wanted him to do.
And though she couldn't hear it, Ginny saw Voldemort's mouth open and knew he must have screamed bloody murder.
And then, through all the din, Ginny heard Hagrid's yell come in, loudest of all, "HARRY! HARRY- WHERE'S HARRY?"
Ginny stood up, and sure enough, she couldn't see Harry's body anywhere. Ginny made to go towards where she had last seen the boy, but she was being pulled backwards by the crowd. The giants' feet were everywhere, the centaurs were scattering Death Eaters and soldiers alike with their arrows, thestrals were swooping up above, and it was all utter chaos.
Ginny couldn't fight against the crowd for very long.
She was pulled into the Great Hall, and she could see people fighting everywhere. The house-elves came bursting out of the kitchens, led by… Kreacher! Kreacher was leading the house-elves in a mad fight against the Death Eaters, fighting and slashing at their calves and ankles. And people were falling everywhere. It seemed like the fight was turning their direction.
George and Lee were bringing down Yaxley, Flitwick was crushing Dolohov, Hagrid was flinging people across the room like a madman, Ron and Neville were overtaking Greyback, Arthur and Percy slammed Thicknesse to the floor, and the Malfoys were running around, screaming for Draco, not even fighting.
She spotted Voldemort, across the room, fighting McGonagall, Slughorn, and Kingsley all at once.
Then Ginny saw Hermione and Luna run past her, headed for Bellatrix. Ginny couldn't just stand there watching anymore, she was going to fight and kill anyone that had aided in Harry's murder. She joined Hermione and Luna, all three of them fighting their hardest, ducking and dodging spells while firing back as many as they could think of.
A Killing Curse shot by her, and Ginny literally missed death by an inch…
And then Molly Weasley was running at Bellatrix, and she screamed, "NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!"
"OUT OF MY WAY!" Mrs. Weasley shouted to the three girls, beginning to fight in earnest. She whipped her wand around, slashing and cutting and furiously battling.
Ginny tried to step in to help her mother, but Mrs. Weasley yelled, "No! Get back! Get back! She is mine!" Ginny wasn't going to try and stop her mother, this was truly frightening.
The fire in Ginny's blood was slowly ebbing, but she didn't want it to. She didn't want to stop being angry, because if she wasn't angry, she would be sad. Ginny didn't want to be sad.
Then Bellatrix was falling, struck directly over the heart with a curse, and Ginny was thrilled for half a second, until Voldemort yelled his displeasure.
He turned his wand on Mrs. Weasley, and Ginny was terrified once again. She had just enough time to think, He's going to kill her, before someone yelled "Protego!"
Ginny whipped around, like everyone else, looking for who had cast the charm, and then… he was there.
Harry Potter was standing in the middle of the room, tall and proud, and very much alive. And Ginny couldn't breathe. Everyone else shouted his name, or "HE'S ALIVE!" but Ginny couldn't even speak. She tried to call out to him, but she couldn't make a word come out of her mouth. She couldn't move to him, not even as he began circling Voldemort and tell him of his mistakes.
When Voldemort asked, "Who are you going to use as a shield this time?" Ginny tried to yell out that he could use her, that she would gladly stand between this teenage boy and the most feared wizard alive. She tried as hard as she could to yell out, "ME!" but it came out as a little breath of air that barely anyone heard. Only Ron heard, and he reached over to grasp her hand, and shook his head infinitesimally. So Ginny didn't run out and take Voldemort's curse.
Instead, she held her breath with everyone else as they taunted each other, and Harry spoke about the Elder Wand. Ginny knew about it, because it was in stories that her mother used to tell them all. How could it be real?
But Ginny didn't have time to think about it, because then Voldemort was yelling, "Avada Kedavra!" at the same time that Harry screamed, "Expelliarmus!"
The curses bounced off of each other, and for one moment Ginny didn't know who had won. And then Voldemort fell, and Harry was left standing, in the early morning light, looking terrifyingly mighty. Ginny almost didn't recognize him.
Then everyone was running at him, grabbing his hand, hugging him, trying to touch him, and Ginny went with them, because she desperately needed to know that he was alive in front of her, that this wasn't all some terrible nightmare.
And he was. He was real, and Voldemort was really dead. The whole Hall cheered and celebrated. They rounded up the fleeing Death Eaters, and moved the dead off to one side, and then everyone sat down to feast.
Ginny still hadn't spoken to Harry. She was instead leaning against her mother's shoulder, trying to breathe and understand how all this had happened.
Harry was alive. He went out to the forest, and Ginny was sure he must have done something to make Voldemort believe he was dead. But how could he have tricked Voldemort into thinking he was dead? How did he stop his own heart?
Ginny shook her head, trying not to think of all the horrible things he must have gone through. She looked over to another table and saw Neville, trying to eat while surrounded by a group of admirers. She turned and looked across the Hall at Harry, two tables away, the one person she really wanted to talk to, but he was talking to Luna. Luna called something out, and everyone around them turned to look out a window, except for Ginny, who kept her eyes directly on Harry. He slipped his silvery invisibility cloak out from under his sweater, and started to pull it over his head.
As his face was disappearing underneath it, his eyes caught Ginny's, and he stopped moving for a fraction of a second, enough time for Ginny to read the desperation and longing on his face, before he disappeared from view.
Ginny sighed. He was going to get Ron and Hermione, and drag them off somewhere to explain whatever he had done. He was going to tell them everything, and she would have to sit here, pretending to eat with her family, and wait for him to come find her.
And suddenly Ginny found herself inexplicably angry. She slammed her fist down onto the table, startling her mother.
"Ginny, what…?" but Ginny didn't stay long enough to hear the rest of the question. She threw her leg over the bench, stood up, and stomped out of the Hall, angry, exhausted, and horribly sad.
She ran up the marble staircase, and kept going straight, hoping to climb into her warm four poster and sleep for days.
An arm reached out from behind a statue, and Ginny was yanked behind it.
She opened her mouth to scream, when suddenly lips were crashing to hers, devouring her, and she couldn't fight against it. They were familiar lips, they were Harry's, and she was so exhaustedly happy to see him.
She gripped him tightly, kissing him harder than she ever had, pouring all her anger, frustration, and sadness into the kiss. But then she remembered everything that had happened that day.
Ginny pulled away, and Harry blinked confusedly at her. Ginny pulled back her arm and slapped him hard across the face, forcing his head to whip around, and his jaw to drop.
And then Ginny pulled his face back to hers, and started kissing him fiercely again. Harry went along with it for a few seconds, before pulling back and asking her, "Why did you hit me?"
"Because you're a prat, and you let me think you were dead, and you didn't say goodbye." Ginny ran her fingers through his hair lovingly, looking at his dirt and blood-covered clothing, trying to assess how badly he was hurt.
She heard Harry make a choking sound above her, and she looked up in alarm to see Harry's eyes brimming with tears.
"Harry, what…?" but she never got the chance to finish, because Harry had collapsed against her, sobbing harder than she had ever seen. He was too heavy for her to hold up, so she sunk to the ground with him, both of them covered in dirt and blood, hiding out behind a statue in a deserted corridor. But Ginny didn't have the strength to move, or even to want to be any place else besides right here.
"I'm so, so sorry." He cried against her, arms wrapped tightly around her, as if he was trying to crush her into himself.
"It's alright Harry, really it is. You're here, and you're alive. I'm sorry I hit you."
He let out a watery laugh. "I deserved it. I'm… I'm s-sorry, Ginny."
She just shushed him, stroked his hair, and cried right along with him.
Harry kept crying for another 10 minutes, which might not seem like a long time, but if you're sitting in an empty, dust-filled, partially blown up corridor, hidden out behind a statue, 10 minutes can feel like an eternity.
It wasn't a bad wait for Ginny. She was too happy to have Harry back, she couldn't care less that her shirt was being soaked, the fact that her hair was caked with dirt and blood, or that every single muscle in her body was sore. Harry was here, and he was crying, and he was alive.
Finally, Harry managed to stop his tears. He wiped his eyes, and picked his head off of Ginny's shoulders, looking into her eyes, begging with her, pleading with her to forgive him.
"You never had to ask, Harry. I forgave you the moment you started kissing me."
He had never looked so relieved.
She kissed him softly again, and pulled back to rest her forehead against his. Harry reached up, and wiped a few remaining tears off of her cheeks.
"Goodness," Ginny laughed, a little choked, "I must look a fright."
And truly, she did look a little worse for the wear. Her hair was a mess, her clothes were torn, her face was blotchy, but Harry didn't see any of it. "You're beautiful, Gin."
She smiled down at him, not quite believing, but unwilling to correct him.
Harry stiffly detached himself from her, and stood up, cracking his knees as he did so.
He stuck out his hand, and Ginny took it gratefully, and was helped to her feet.
Harry didn't let go of Ginny's hand, he simply led them out from behind their statue, and up towards Gryffindor tower.
Their arms were swinging lightly by their sides, and Ginny brought their entwined hands up to her mouth to kiss Harry's knuckles, which she now noticed, were quite cut-up.
"What are you thinking about?" She said to him, in a slight whisper, because the whole school seemed deathly quiet, and Ginny was a little unnerved.
"I'm wondering whether or not Kreacher will bring me a sandwich." He said, completely truthfully.
And for some odd reason, Ginny found this extremely funny. She burst out laughing, almost doubled over in mirth. Her laughter was infectious. Pretty soon, Harry and Ginny were walking up to the Fat Lady's portrait, both laughing like maniacs, and walking as if they were drunk. But neither could stop, and neither wanted to.
They stood outside the portrait for a good 30 seconds, laughing too hard to say the password. And every time one of them would get a grip, the other would start laughing again, and the whole process was repeated.
Finally, out of sheer exasperation, the Fat Lady swung forward, too annoyed to wait for them to stop (and frankly, too thrilled about the end of the war to ask for the password. And besides, she knew who they were. The whole wizarding world knew who Harry Potter was).
Harry and Ginny stumbled through the open portrait hole, both fighting the hiccups that came as a result of their laughing.
Wordlessly, without even communicating, the two teens walked up the boy's dormitory stairs, and straight into the empty 7th year room.
Harry looked around the room, exceedingly familiar and yet completely unknown. Ginny stood next to him, holding his hand, and smiling softly at him.
Harry couldn't do more than just stand and look at the room he would have occupied if he had gone to Hogwarts this past year.
He led Ginny over to the bed that was usually his, and sat down on it, rubbing the sheets through his fingers.
Ginny stood in front of him, understanding that Harry needed some time to adjust.
He suddenly seemed to realize that she was in front of him, and he stood up quickly and embraced her.
Ginny hugged back, not sure of why he needed the physical contact, but happy to be there, none-the-less.
"Harry, we are… filthy." She laughed, after taking a whiff of Harry's hair.
He grinned back at her, and pulled away, looking down at his own clothes. "We really are, aren't we?"
"Come on." Ginny said, pulling Harry towards the bathroom that adjoined the dormitory.
"Where are we going?"
"We both need a shower, Harry. I'm guessing you haven't had a good one in months, and quite frankly, I am horribly sore and I need some hot water."
"Al-alright." He gulped, a huge flood of ideas washing over his mind as to what they could get up to in that bathroom. But it was too soon. Harry knew it was too soon.
Ginny reached into one stall and flipped the water on full blast. She then went into the adjacent stall and turned that shower on to the same setting.
"You spend a lot of time in here?" Harry joked at her from the doorway.
She gave him a saucy wink, and said, "Well wouldn't you like to know?
Harry froze, the smile slowly slipping off his face.
Ginny didn't notice, because she was facing the other direction, humming to herself.
All of a sudden, she was flipped around and pressed hard into the wall, Harry pushing himself roughly into her.
"Have you?" He asked, half desperate, half menacing.
"What?"
"Have you spent a lot of time in here?"
She scoffed. "Of course I haven't. I've never been in here before in my life."
Harry kissed her fiercely, angrily. "You can't joke about things like that, Ginny. It would kill me if you'd ever… you know…"
She kissed him. "It would kill me I you had, too."
He nodded, and then smiled. "So… shower?"
"I'd love one."
He grinned, and she couldn't help but grin back.
Ginny summoned two towels, hung one over her stall door, and the other over Harry's. "Is it warm yet?" she asked.
He stuck his hand inside, and moaned in response. "Oh yes. Merlin, it's been so long…"
"Well get in, stinky." Ginny shooed him, trying to get him into the stall fully dressed.
"OY! I'm not getting in there with my clothes on!"
She surveyed him up and down doubtfully. "Are you sure? I don't think they could really get any worse."
He looked down and had to laugh. She was completely right. His shirt was bloodstained and in tatters. His jeans were ripped up and down the sides, the bottoms completely singed off, and the back pocket torn and hanging by a thread. His trainers weren't even recognizable, and he could be bare foot and still be getting the same effect out of them.
"Alright, I promise, first thing after I get cleaned off, I'll burn these."
Ginny held her nose and pretended to smell something horrid. "You promise?"
Harry laughed again. "I promise."
"Well turn around then."
"Sorry?"
"I'm getting undressed Harry, turn around."
He blushed, before coughing. "Right! Right, turning." And he spun on the spot so quickly he nearly lost his balance.
"Am I that disgusting to look at?" Ginny teased, and Harry laughed nervously.
Truthfully, he couldn't trust himself. He could hear the fabric of her clothes slide against her skin and then fall softly to the ground, and he was fighting with everything he had to keep from turning around to watch. Ginny Weasley was naked behind him, and he was facing the other direction completely.
"Is it safe?" he called over his shoulder, purposely keeping his eyes trained on a spot of chipped paint directly in front of him.
"No."
"How about now?"
"No."
"Now?"
"No."
"Now?"
"No."
A few second's pause. "You're in the shower, aren't you?"
"Yup." Ginny giggled, as Harry whipped around to see her head poking out of the stall, and nothing else.
"Witch."
"Wizard." She countered, ducking her head back into the stall to give Harry some privacy.
He quickly stripped off his clothes and entered the shower adjacent to Ginny's, stepping into the hot stream and groaning in satisfaction. It was extremely hot, but not uncomfortably so, and Harry found his muscles relaxing and rejuvenating under the heat.
Ginny moaned from behind the wall to his right, and Harry smiled slightly at the noise. It was so very human, and it was a huge relief to hear. It was also slightly sexual, but Harry refused to think along those lines.
"Harry, look down."
"Huh?" He asked, looking down like she told him to.
"Do you see the water?"
Sure enough, the water running off of his body was brown, with a little bit of red mixed in here and there.
"Oh Merlin. Was I really that filthy? It looks like I haven't showered in weeks!"
"Tell me about it, and I showered this morning!"
Harry grabbed some of the soap that was in his stall, and started scrubbing up and down his body. He went over it at least 4 times, just to make sure his skin was the regular color.
"My hair is completely caked. It's going to need magic to get it untangled."
"Oh, I don't know about that. I'm sure you could get it out by yourself."
"Can you help me?"
Harry froze, his hand going numb and the soap bar dropping from it. "Wha-what?" He asked, his voice cracking in a way it hadn't done in years.
Ginny burst out laughing. "Oh I'm sorry Harry. I didn't mean to give you heart failure. I mean after we were done with our shower."
"Oh." Harry said sheepishly, very thankful that Ginny couldn't see the blush creeping up his face.
He heard the water shut off next door, and quickly followed suit, reaching up for the towel and beginning to dry himself off. When he was sufficiently dry, and his hair was sufficiently messy, he wrapped the towel around his waist and walked out of the stall to see Ginny, towel wrapped across her chest, and her hair hanging in glorious waves down her back.
She turned and smiled at him, only to grimace a second later.
"What is it?" He asked, looking down at himself, and wincing when he did.
There, right in the middle of his chest, was a huge, blossoming bruise, a horrible greenish-purple colour.
"Merlin." Ginny breathed, edging closer to Harry and running her fingertips over it lightly, not applying any pressure. "What happened, Harry?"
"It's a long story."
She put her hands on her hips, glared at him with an intensity that would make her mother proud. "We have all night."
He sighed. "I promise I'll tell you, I'll tell you everything. But I really need a new set of clothes. How about it?"
Ginny narrowed her eyes at him, assessing whether or not he was lying, and finally deciding that he had a valid point. "Alright, let's get clothes." She slapped her forehead. "I don't have any clothes."
"Nor do I. I wonder… Kreacher!" Harry summoned, and with a CRACK, Kreacher was standing in the bathroom with both of them.
"Yes Master?" He asked, taking a low sweeping bow, pointed nose brushing the floor.
"Kreacher, you don't need to bow when you see me."
"But Master Harry has saved the wizarding world! It is the least that Kreacher can do!"
"Alright, if that's what you really want. Can you bring Ginny and me some clean clothes to sleep in? Oh, and maybe a few sandwiches?"
"Of course Master Harry." Kreacher bowed again.
"Oh, and when that's done Kreacher, get some rest. You look like you need it, and you've done some incredible things tonight. And feel free to go home, if you want to."
Kreacher grinned hugely up at Harry. "Thank you, Master Harry." Kreacher snapped his fingers, and just like that, he was gone.
Ginny looked questioningly at Harry. "Since when have you been nice to him?"
"Since I understood why he was the way he is. Dumbledore and Hermione were right all along; all he needed was some love and kindness, and everything would have been just fine."
"Who are you and what have you done with Harry Potter?"
"I'm right here. I've just… grown more."
"That you have." Ginny walked over to him and kissed him sweetly on the lips.
"You know," He said, pulling away slightly, "I've never really had an ex-girlfriend, but I'm pretty sure you don't kiss them and shower with them."
"Harry, you're a daft git if you ever thought we were broken up. As far as I'm concerned, you were my boyfriend the whole time you were off on the run. Which reminds me, you still need to tell me what happened, and how you got this." She gestured to the bruise on his chest.
"As soon as we're changed, Gin. Have a little restraint."
She stuck her tongue out. "Don't patronize me, Potter. I've had a shitty couple of months."
"Haven't we all?" He grumbled under his breath, too softly for Ginny to hear. But she was right. He kissed her once in apology, before they were interrupted by a CRACK that signaled Kreacher's return.
In his little hands was a pile of clothing, as well as a tray with 4 sandwiches, 2 glasses of pumpkin juice, bread, and some treacle tart.
"Thanks Kreacher. You've really outdone yourself." Harry said as he took the tray from Kreacher, before setting it down on the ground and grabbing both sets of clothes.
"It was my pleasure Master Harry."
"Now go get some rest." Harry said kindly.
Kreacher gave one more swooping bow before disappearing with another CRACK!
Ginny smiled at Harry, before taking her clothes from him, and heading for the bathroom door. "I'll change out there, you stay in here. Come on out when you're done."
Harry nodded dumbly as he watched Ginny leave, clad only in a towel, her hips swinging alluringly.
He had to shake himself briefly before he could pull his clothes on. Harry dressed in record speed, relishing the feeling of the warm fleece pajama pants and loose cotton shirt. He toweled his hair once more, before shoving his glasses back on his face, picking up the tray, and leaving the room.
But he didn't make it more than three steps before he froze. There was Ginny, standing right in front of him, facing him, wearing a bra, pajama pants, and nothing else. She had her shirt gripped in her hand, and was merely standing there, smiling at Harry as he watched her from the open doorway.
Harry tried to speak, but his throat was unbelievably dry.
"You alright Harry?" She asked, pulling her shirt over her head.
Once again, Harry opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out, so all he could do was nod dumbly at her, and try to shake some thought back into his head.
Ginny pulled her hair up into a messy bun, before taking a seat on Harry's bed, and gesturing him over.
Harry shuffled his feet, still trying to find his voice.
"Merlin Harry, if I'd have known you were going to act like this when you saw me shirtless, I would have flashed you years ago!" Ginny joked, poking Harry in the side.
He laughed, recovering completely, and set the tray down on the bed between them.
Ginny swung her legs over the side so that she was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the bed, and Harry mirrored her.
They didn't speak for another few minutes as they both ate as if they hadn't seen food in weeks.
Finally, when the tray was empty, Harry moved it to the floor and rubbed his stomach appreciatively. He flopped down on the bed, digging his head into the pillow. Ginny flung herself down next to him, her head resting on his shoulder and snuggled into his side.
"Are you going to tell me now?"
"Of course. I promised, didn't I?" And so Harry told her everything that had happened to him. He started with learning about the Horcruxes, to the cave with Dumbledore, then Dumbledore's will, the Ministry of Magic, their time out in the tent, Ron leaving, Godric's Hallow, Ron coming back, Xenophillius Lovegood's house, learning about the Deathly Hallows, Malfoy Manor, Shell Cottage, Gringots, coming back to Hogwarts, seeing her again, the Room of Requirements, and finally going into the Forbidden Forest. Ginny didn't say anything, except to nod at certain parts. She cried silently when she heard about Malfoy Manor and Dobby, and looked absolutely furious when she heard about her brother's betrayal.
"I knew what I was getting into when I went out into the woods. I knew I was going to die, and I was ready for it. I was going to say goodbye Ginny, but I couldn't talk to you. If I stopped to talk to you, I wouldn't have been able to go into that forest." Then Harry explained about the Resurrection Stone hidden in the snitch, and seeing his parents. "And when I went to face Him, Gin, I couldn't even pull my wand out. I let him hit me with the Killing Curse." Ginny gasped. It was the first noise she had made in the whole of Harry's story.
He sat up and pulled her up with him, looking right into her eyes as he said the next bit of his story. "You were the last thing I thought of before I died. Your face, it was the last thing I saw. And I died thinking about you, Ginny. You mean that much to me."
Ginny had tears leaking out of her eyes, but she knew Harry's story wasn't done, and didn't dare ask any questions.
So Harry finished telling her. He told her about his meeting with Dumbledore, and what he was feeling when he awoke, and pretending to be dead, and fighting Voldemort once and for all.
"And there you have it. That's everything that's happened to me since I last saw you, or at least, as much of it as I can remember."
Ginny couldn't speak for a few minutes. Harry reached over and grabbed his glass of pumpkin juice from the tray, finishing it off. He had been talking for hours.
"You… you died."
He nodded, almost afraid to say anything.
"You were dead. Your heart stopped, and you went to an after-life place where you spoke to Dumbledore."
Again, Harry nodded.
And Ginny burst into tears. She considered herself a fairly strong person; she didn't cry about just anything. She cried for Dobby, and Fred, and Colin, and Ron and Hermione. She cried for Lupin, and Tonks, and poor Teddy, who would grow up without parents. She cried for her mother, who had one less child today then yesterday, and she cried for Harry, for all he had lost, all he could have lost, and all she could have lost.
Harry just held onto her tightly, muttering soothing words in her ear, their roles almost comically reversed from last time. He cried with her, and by the time they were both cried-out, it was very late in the night (or very early in the morning), and both were exhausted.
When Ginny could speak again, she whispered, "I don't want to go to sleep. I feel like if I do, then when I wake up tomorrow I'll still be at Auntie Muriel's, and you, Ron and Hermione will still be missing, and all of this will be some horrible nightmare."
Harry shook his head and kissed Ginny's hair. "Go to sleep Ginny. I'll be here when you wake up." And Harry promised himself, right then and there, that he would be there when she woke up, for the rest of their lives.