You Are My Everything
House: Gryffindor
Category: Themed
Theme: Love and/or Love Lost
Prompt: If Tomorrow Never Comes by Ronan Keating
Word count: 836
Disclaimer: I only own this angsty-ness that I APOLOGIZE FOR PROFUSELY! Sniff, sniff... Darn it, me...
I woke up, gasping for air and flailing like a madman. Breathing erratically, it took me several seconds to process that I was safe in bed, and not facing Voldemort in the graveyard.
Sighing, I picked my wand off the bedside table and muttered, "Lumos." I looked over at the beautiful woman lying beside me. Thankfully, she remained steadfastly in dreamland. I woke her up altogether too often with my nightmares, and felt horrible about it. She would always comfort me without complaint, calm me down, keep me firmly planted in reality...
What had I done to deserve her as my wife?
I stroked her red hair gently, cupping her face with my hand for a brief moment before releasing it.
"Nox," I murmured, replacing my wand in its position. The sweat coating me was prickling my skin in the night air filling the room. I kicked the covers off of me, irritated. Despite turning over multiple times, I just couldn't get comfortable. Finally, I flipped onto my back, afraid I'd wake Ginny if I kept moving around this way.
The darkness was smothering me. It clung to my very being, and it took every mite of self-control I had to not scream in frustration at the horrible feeling.
The dark is an amazing starting point for deep thoughts, as any insomniac will tell you. I laid awake for goodness knows how long, my mind wandering to the furthest depths of the universe and back. Eventually, I seemed to settle on one topic. One topic that just would not leave me alone, try as I might to banish it back to its point of origin.
What if... what if I didn't wake up tomorrow?
You will, so what's the point in wondering?
I could very well die in my sleep. That could happen. Then what?
Then you head over to Kings Cross, remember?
Not to me. To Ginny.
...
This thought was horribly troubling. What would happen? What would go through Ginny's mind if I suddenly passed?
Would she know how much I love her?
My own thoughts startled me, making me sit bolt upright in bed.
Would she?
I buried my head in my hands, burying shaky fingers in my perpetually messy hair, made even messier by the hands of sleep.
Merlin... she wouldn't. She'd be sitting there, wondering how much I loved her, because I've never really told her.
Who else?
Who else have I lost, who will never know?
One name came to mind immediately: Sirius.
I didn't get to say goodbye... he had no idea how much he meant to me.
Dumbledore.
Did he know how much I looked up to him, admired him?
Lupin. Tonks.
No... make it stop...
Dobby. Colin.
Stop, stop, stop...
Moody. Fred.
I... I can't...
Cedric.
"Make it stop," I whispered, clutching my head so tightly I'm sure my fingernails dug into my scalp, but I didn't know the difference at the time.
Then tell her. Tell her every day how much you love her. Show her every day how much you love her. Don't leave anything hanging in the balance, unanswered. Make sure she knows.
I didn't go back to sleep that night. I laid in bed until the sun shone through the window and Ginny stretched out in the cute way she always does when she first wakes up. She sat up and turned her sleepy head towards me, red locks sticking out at odd angles due to bedhead.
"Morning," she smiled.
"Morning," I whispered.
She blinked, frowning at me.
"Harry, did you sleep alright? You've got awful dark circles under your eyes."
I responded by kissing her, tender and soft and slow.
"I love you, Ginny Potter," I breathed, resting my forehead against hers. "I love you more than anything on this beautiful planet. I love you more than magic. I love you more than life itself. You are my everything."
Her big eyes stared at me, surprised by the early morning proclamation. A smile slowly spread across her face, a slight blush crawling up her cheeks.
"I love you, too, Harry Potter."
"How much... how much do you love me, Harry? Tell me... one last time," she coughed, lying so still on the bed.
My trembling hand brushed away her snow white hair from her eyes.
"I love you, Ginny Potter," I said through the tears pouring down my cheeks. "I love you more than anything on this beautiful planet."
Her frail body, weathered and worn by old age, shuddered slightly with every breath she took. The kids and grandkids were standing around the room, but I was busy at her side.
"I love you more than magic," I sobbed, bringing my face down to hers to kiss her cheek. "I love you... more than life itself."
She smiled up at me, and I struggled to smile back at my love.
"You... are my everything."
"I love you too... Harry..."
She breathed her last, and I may as well have died with her.