Measure Of A Man
They had been happy together, no one could have been more in love than the two of them and now as she sat looking between the redwood coffin she couldn't help but feel as if she had been robbed. She and her family had been horribly robbed. Ginny bit back tears trying desperately to make sense of everything. Harry had meant everything to her, she had believed that after the war they would be together forever, live and die together. But she was wrong, horribly horribly wrong.
After the war Harry never got into the fancy clothes and money. He chose to live his life with the one woman he loved and raise a family, but even still he never stopped saving people. He quickly rose to the top of the Auror Department, having the weight of the world not lifted off of him, but rather piled on ten times over and he accepted it, strangely enough.
'If one day you discover him
Broken down he's lost everything
No cars, no fancy clothes to make him who he's not
The woman at his side is all that he has got
Why do you ask him move heaven and earth
To prove his love has worth?'
Ginny sometimes wondered why he continued to do it, why he didn't just live the life he was never given, but each night when she asked Harry would smile and stroke her cheek, "I like the life I have." The war had changed him, truly. And though he had told her everything that had happened on the battle field, she could tell that there was still something he wasn't saying, something he wasn't admitting. And now she would never know.
With tears Ginny watched her daughter take the steps to the podium with slow dignified strength, strength that she gained from her father and sigh. She was trying her best to stay strong for everyone else, incredibly capable of hiding her emotions and Ginny couldn't help but tear up at how much she looked like her father. Same unruly hair and knobby knees, same bashful grin that Ginny had fallen in love with. This was their daughter. His and hers.
'Would he walk on water
Would he run through fire
Would he stand before you
When it's down to the wire
Would he give his life up
To be all he can
Is that, is that, is that how you measure a man?'
"Hello everyone." She said, "My name is Abbey Potter, and...Harry Potter was..." she stopped and bowed her head, "Is. My father." Abbey picked at the wood of the podium and gave a shuddered sigh, "To most of you Harry Potter could be known as the Boy-who-lived, the Chosen One, or even the Hero of the Wizarding world." She let out a chuckle, "But to me, he was dad. He was my best friend."
'If by chance all he had to give you
Was three words wrapped around your finger
Would that be deep enough at the end of every day
And how will you ever know
If a man is what he says?'
She glanced at the coffin and sniffed in sadness, "He would have been thirty-five this year and it's really unfair to think that so much of his life had to be given up just because of who he was known for." Abbey spat the words out, in disdain most likely and Ginny could feel deep down she was in agreement with her sixteen year old daughter.
'Why do you ask him to move heaven and earth
To prove his love has worth
Would he walk on water
Would he run through fire
Would he stand before you
When it's down to the wire
Would he give his life up to be all he can
Is that, is that, is that how you measure a man?'
"But," Abbey started again, "My dad told me that despite everything, like the fact that he was who everyone turned to to save the day. He knew that it was what he was supposed to do." She scoffed and shook her head, "Many would call that my dad's hero complex," This earned a few laughs, even one from Ginny who remembered thinking the same thing when she and Harry were Abbey's age. "I never understood why though. Why he would risk his life everyday when he didn't have to anymore. When there was no prophecy to bind him to the battle, but..." She sighed, "He said that even with the prophecy he didn't have to fulfill it. It was his choice. And the main reason was because of me and my mum."
'He never gives up
Lets go of his dream
His world goes around for his one true belief
Is that how you know
Is that what it means?'
Abbey found her mother's eyes and Ginny could see the silent tears yearning to come out, "He used to say to me, 'Abbey girl, every time I look at you and your mother, I see everything worth saving in this world. Everything worth risking my life to protect. I fight for you.'"
'Would he walk on water
Would he run through fire
Would he stand before you
Would he will be your anchor when the dark unfolds
Would he always love you the best that he knows?
Would he give his life up
To be all that he can
Is that, is that, is that how you measure a man?'
She furiously wiped away tears but they didn't stop falling, "I didn't understand how someone could make such a decision until now. How my dad could give risk giving up everything that he could have been for me." Her voice cracked and Ginny bit back a sob, "But now I do. Now I see that my dad gave his life to be all that he could be. A great role model, a wonderful father, husband, and best friend. The war had changed him, showed him how love could fuel his courage and strength making him gladly fight for me and my family, and how fighting for me and my family made him love us even more. I understand now."
'Would he walk on water
Would he run through fire
Would he stand before you
When it's down to the wire
Would he give his life up
To be all he can'
Is that, is that, is that, how you measure oh...
She sighed and turned to her father's coffin,
'Is that, is that, is that, how your measure a man?'
"I understand now dad. Thanks for the lesson."