Disclaimer: Harry Potter, his world and the characters belong to J K Rowling, the story is mine.
CHAPTER ONE -AFTER THE WAR
Bright white light seeped into the hospital wing, where Harry Potter lay, exhausted from the battle that took place yesterday. He blinked a couple of times as he stirred from his sleep, fumbling for his glasses that were perched on the bedside cabinet. He sat upright as everything came flooding back to him, and he remembered that Voldemort was gone, forever. He would never terrorise anyone again. Head spinning, the next thing that came to him were images of the people he loved and cared about. Ginny. He had to see Ginny, had to know she was okay. But before he had a chance to move, horrible images flashed across his mind, the body of Fred, laughter still etched on his face, just peacefully lying on the cold stone floor of the Great Hall. Lupin and Tonks, holding hands, their love had not faded in death, but they had a son they had left behind. Teddy, was going to be without his parents just like Harry was. Harry vowed in that moment that Teddy would know his parents, and he would have Harry there to care for him, to teach him all the things Remus and Tonks couldn't, to provide a loving childhood. And in quick succession followed images of all the others who had been lost in the battle, Snape, the man he had despised for the past 8 years, had turned out to be protecting Harry for all that time, in the hope that one day, Voldemort would pay for his actions. Colin Creevey, the young boy who should have never been at the battle, the boy who idolised Harry, snatched too early. All the people that had striven to make the wizarding world a better place, losing their lives so as to help Harry defeat Voldemort. They would never experience a life without pain, without terror. Harry felt the hot, wet tears stinging his face, losing control the more he thought of everyone he had lost. He had a really bad habit of losing the people closest to him. His parents, Sirius, Dumbledore. But not anymore. The Weasley's and Hermione were his family, and there was no way he was going to roll over and let anyone else be taken from him.
Harry stood, glancing around the hospital wing, head throbbing at the quick movement. It had been magically expanded, to about three times its normal size, and his head was filled with the sounds of pain, crying and suffering, but at the same time, he could see their happiness that finally, it was over. So many people lay here, surrounded by healers that must have been called for from St Mungo's, and he saw Madam Pomfrey, milling around all her patients, looking like a headless chicken with no idea where to turn to next. He slipped the invisibility cloak over himself, and creeped towards the doorway.
"Not so fast, Potter." He heard a familiar, matronly voice as he was pulled into a close embrace with the older woman who was like a mother to him. "Well done, Harry. I've never been more proud of you. So brave, I'm so glad to say that you were in my house."
"Thanks professor," Harry returned as he looked down into the tear stricken face of Professor McGonagall. "Professor, I was wondering.."
"Oh what now Harry, every time I hear you say those words, it always leads to trouble!" She said as a wide smile spread across her face.
"No! I was just wondering if you knew where Ron and Hermione are!" He responded, laughing. "I need to talk to them about, er, something."
"Oh, well that's okay I guess, we've had enough trouble though Harry, so don't go causing more for yourself! I think the last time I heard, they were arguing with Molly about going away together in the great hall. God knows why they started Molly off somewhere so public.." McGonagall continued mumbling to herself about Molly Weasley and her booming voice.
"Thanks professor, I'm glad you're okay."
"Potter? Make sure you don't wonder off too far, I'm sure that everyone is dying to celebrate that Voldemort is really gone, and we can't start the festivities without you."
"Yes professor, see you later!" And with that, Harry slipped back under his cloak, determined to find Hermione and Ron so they could go with him for a walk around the lake.
Sure enough, it didn't take long to hear Mrs Weasley's voice, and chuckling, he walked towards the sound.
"HOW DARE YOU SPRING THIS ON YOUR FATHER AND I, THE DAY AFTER THIS HORRIBLE BATTLE! WE HAVEN'T HAD TIME TO ADJU..." And before she could finish her sentence, she burst into tears and ran out of the room, closely followed by Arthur, who said to Ron as he passed,
"Nice timing Ron, we've just lost our son. Didn't you think of that?"
"Oh bollocks!" Ron exclaimed, staring bewildered after his parents. "I get it wasn't the best time to mention it, but we couldn't exactly hide it could we!" Ron turned back to Hermione, who had tears rolling down her flushed cheeks, and Ron pulled her towards him and embraced her, stroking her wild bushy mane in an attempt to calm her down.
HPHP
Harry decided now wasn't a good time, and he headed back out of the Great Hall, and headed towards the main entrance, where the doors were swinging off their hinges. The sun shimmered so beautifully off of the lake, and it looked so inviting. Harry headed in that general direction, planning on visiting the man who had played such an important part in getting Harry to where he was today, Dumbledore.
"HARRY! HARRY WATCH OUT!" he heard Ron shouting with such urgency, that he had already whipped his wand out and had turned to face the direction he heard the shouting come from.
A shot of red light just missed him, he was momentarily shocked, until he saw the most beautiful girl running at him, long fiery curls swishing in the wind as she ran, a determination in her face that Harry had only seen twice before.
"Ginny!" He breathed happily, not quite taking in that she was casting spells at him.
"GINNY DON'T DO SOMETHING YOU'LL REGRET LATER! GINNY! STOP!" Now Harry could hear Hermione, and saw both Ron and Hermione, hurriedly running after Ginny, closely followed by what seemed like everyone who had survived the battle, longing to catch a glimpse of the Chosen One.
"PROTEGO!" Harry shouted as he realised what Ginny was doing. She was notorious for her bat-bogey hex, and Harry did not want to be on the receiving end. Another spell rebounded off his shield, and another.
Harry edged further and further away from her, confused as to why she was casting spells at him.
"Ginny, what are you doing!" He yelled as she continued her pursuit of him.
"HOW- DARE- YOU! " She responded between casts. "YOU- ARE- A - GIT-HARRY-POTTER!" Laughter came from the masses of people who had come to watch, as they saw Harry Potter, the boy who wasn't scared of Voldemort, the boy who had been fighting against the majority of the wizarding world for the last 7 years, running scared from Ginny Weasley.
"Gin-"
"DON'T TALK TO ME HARRY! YOU LET ME THINK YOU WERE DEAD! YOU LET US ALL THINK YOU WERE DEAD! AFTER ALL WE'D DONE, AND YOU DIDN'T THINK THAT LETTING US KNOW YOU WERE OKAY WAS IMPORTANT?! WONDERING OFF IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BATTLE, I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD!"
"Ginny, please!" the desperation for her to stop cursing at him trembled through his voice. "Oh for god's sake, IMMOBILUS!"
Ginny stopped in her tracks, frozen to the spot. There was a sharp intake of breath from the watching crowd,
"Will you lot just SHUT UP!" Harry had lost his rag now, he just wanted to talk to Ginny. "Ginny, will you let me explain? Please? I will let you go, if you promise to hear me out, and stop cursing at me, okay?" he took her face in his hands, unable to keep himself from noticing how beautiful she was when she was mad. He looked into those big brown eyes of hers, and the glint in them told him he could let her go. He lifted the spell, and she immediately burst into tears.
"I thought I'd lost you Harry." she whispered.
"Ginny, I'm sorry that you had to go through that. Really I am. But Voldemort had to believe I was dead. There was no way I could let you know without him finding out. And, your reaction, along with everyone else's reactions were necessary for Voldemort to believe it. I couldn't have defeated him if he thought I was still alive. I'm really, really sorry Gin." He glanced over at Ron, as if to check it was okay for him to hug her. The angry glare he got back off Ron told him it would not be okay. So Harry stayed where he was. "Ginny?"
"You meant to die. You told him, you meant to die. You were willing to die for all of us. That's what you told him."
"Yes, I did mean to. I had to Gin, it's too complicated to explain here, but I did mean to die, to protect you. To protect all of you." He said, turning back towards the audience, who were stunned silent.
"You didn't even say goodbye." Ginny was staring hard at the floor, tears falling rapidly from her face.
"I couldn't Ginny, if I had stopped to talk to you, I would never have gone through with it. How could I have left you, knowing it was the last time I'd ever get to see your beautiful face, hear your perfect voice? If I'd said goodbye, Ginny, I couldn't bring myself to ever let you go." now he felt his cheeks sting as he started to cry. He didn't care what Ron thought. He loved Ginny, it was the thought of her that had got him through the past year. "Gin, you were what I was thinking of. When I went into that forest, I was thinking that it was so I could keep you safe. So that you would be okay."
"But I wouldn't want to be okay without you."
Harry took hold of her hands and pushed her head up to look at him. He forgot that he had a thousand eyes, all focused on him and Ginny.
"Ginny Weasley, I want to tell you that I love you, with all my heart. I need you to know, that it is thanks to you that I am here today, it was you who pulled me through the tough times in the last year. I know that I broke up with you after Dumbledore, you know, died, but that was so I could protect you. You needed to be safe. If Voldemort knew how I felt for you, well, I would never have forgiven myself." he wiped away a tear as he thought of what could've happened to Ginny.
"Harry -"
"Please Ginny, let me finish. There is no danger anymore, Voldemort is gone. Please, please Gin, will you go out with me again? There is nothing I want more than to love you." He looked up at her, waiting for her response.
Ron was glaring at Harry, ready to pounce at him, Ginny's other brothers were all smiling, as were Mr and Mrs Weasley. Ginny saw their looks of approval, as if seeking reassurance. The crowd suddenly piped up,
"SAY YES!" "YESYESYESYES" "GO ON GINNY, HE LOVES YOU!" All of their inputs were merging together, and then once they had died down, a young woman piped up, "If you don't say yes, I will!" Ginny laughed, and saw that it was her best friend Astoria.
"Oh, I don't think so Tori!" And with that she flung herself into Harry's arms, and planted a kiss on his lips. He responded, forgetting once more that so many people were watching them. It was pure bliss. The scent of Ginny wafted to his nose, making him feel elated, her soft lips, gently brushing against his, perfection, running his hands through those fiery red curls, pushing them away from her face. He could feel himself smiling as she kissed him, and he knew that she was smiling too.
"OI OI, GET A ROOM!" The two broke apart finally, smiling at one another, Harry turned to the crowd, they cheered, and yelled their happiness and excitement, rushing the happy couple, each person excited to congratulate the pair.
HPHP
"I cannot. Believe. He's. Gone. After. My. Sister. Again." Ron was spitting feathers, subconsciously drawing his wand, red sparks coming out of it as he watched Harry take Ginny's hand, and watched them walking away from the crowds, desperate for some much needed alone time.
"Ronald, you are being ridiculous. Your sister is 17 in a couple of months, she's old enough to make her own decisions." Hermione stated, so matter of factly that the surrounding people laughed.
"But, she's my sister!"
"She's our sister too Ron, but you don't see us being all uptight about it. Harry is a lovely guy. You should be thankful that your sister is with your best friend. That way you know that he is good enough for her. She can't do much better than the Chosen One anyway!" Bill said, as he pulled Fleur closer to him.
"After all that boy has been through, are you really going to deny him one of the only things beside you and Hermione that make him happy?" His mother always knew how to make him feel bad.
"And what about how Harry would feel, when his two best friends just sit there snogging each others faces off all the time!" Ron was glad to see that George hadn't lost his sense of humour after losing his twin, but they could all tell that something was off about him.
"I know, but aren't you guys mad that she's not our innocent baby sister anymore?" Ron said with a hint of sadness in his voice.
"It could be worse Ron, she could still be going out with me!" Dean laughed as he saw Ron's relief as he realised it was true. "I never stood a chance against the boy who lived anyway. She's always loved him Ron, and he's always loved her -"
"Even if it did take him 5 years to notice..." interjected Hermione.
"Yeah... thanks Hermione.. what I was trying to say is that you should be happy that they've found solitude in each other. And that they're going to be as happy as you and Hermione are. And as happy as me and Parvati." Dean finished, taking in the gasps of his fellow classmates. "Yeah yeah, the battle made loads of people fall in love, come on, let's head back up to the castle. We should try repair it a little before the celebrations start."
"Does anybody in the wizarding world outside of here know he's gone?" Hermione asked quietly.
Arthur responded to her question. "Yes, Hermione. Most of the people in wizarding Britain came to help us fight as soon as word spread from the slytherin and younger children who left the school. But the plan is there will be an official declaration this evening, made by Harry himself. Then we'll start the party."
"What about the memorial services, for you know, all the people that didn't make it?" It was Ron who was being inquisitive now, but quietly, and unsure how to word his question in a way that would tell him when his brother's funeral would be.
"There will be time dear," His mother replied, albeit quietly and tearful. "We're to find out in the next few days the schedule, as many people will want to attend several memorial services."
"Mum..." Percy started as he saw his mother start to well up.
"Perce, please, I'm just happy to have you here, with us, the family back together again. We need to stick together. Now come on, I'm sure you're all starving!" Molly brushed her children all in front of her, and felt her husbands arm slip around her waist, supporting her as she let her head fall onto his shoulder as they headed back towards the destroyed ruins of the castle.
HPHP
Harry hadn't been this happy since before Dumbledore had passed, nearly two years ago. He looked down at Ginny as he wrapped his arms around her. He was propped up against a tree, with Ginny curled into a ball hugging into him. He kissed her on the top of head, failing to ignore the scent of coconut and vanilla in her luscious, bright red curls that reached the bottom of her back. Her hair had grown so much in the past year, and it had changed how she looked entirely. She looked older, more like a young woman than she had the last time they had sat under that tree. Her face, had the signs of someone that had experienced suffering and, as she looked up into his eyes, he couldn't not see the pain that lingered there. He pulled her tighter to him, letting her know that he wasn't going to let her go.
"Gin, you know I'm not going anywhere from now on, don't you?"
"I know you say that Harry, but I don't believe you at all. You won't be happy until you've caught all of the death eaters, and anyone that stood on Voldemort's side. You can say that the danger is gone, but we both know that you're their primary target, for taking away their leader." He heard her voice quiver as she finished her sentence, as if she were on the verge of tears.
"On the contrary Ginny, I don't think any of them are going to actively chase me down. They know, that we know who they are. They will want to lie low, and when they are caught, they'll likely use the excuse of the imperious curse. I'm not leaving you Ginny, not if I can help it. I want to protect you for the rest of our lives."
"Woah there cowboy... the rest of our lives? You're thinking that far ahead?"
"Well, yeah," Harry said blushing as the embarrassment of what he said sunk in. "Erm, I do want to spend the rest of my life with you. I don't want to be with anyone but you, and I don't ever want that to change." He could feel the heat spread through his face, looking up from the floor, making eye contact with this beautiful big brown eyes, flecked with gold.
"Good!" Ginny said, as she reached up and kissed him more passionately than she ever had. She knew that he meant every word of what he said, could feel it, in the way his lips pressed urgently against hers. A couple of minutes later, and Ginny pulled away from him.
"I missed you so much, Gin."
"Hopefully, you won't have to miss me ever again Harry." She smiled as she stood up, and reached out for his hand. "We should go up to the castle, I know they're planning on making an official announcement about the battle this evening."
As she bounded away, her red curls bouncing as she went, it was all Harry could do to stop staring at this beautiful woman that he could call his. Chasing after her, he knew that all his troubles were far from over, but at least he had Ginny to help him through.