Chapter 1 – Even Through Death…

Harry Potter stared at the grave, and the headstone at the head of it. His green eyes were blank and devoid of any emotion. How could it have come to this? How could it, after everything that had happened, have come to this? He had hoped so much that this day would never come. He had hoped that after he defeated Voldemort that she'd be there, that they could just pick up where they left off, but no, here he was, at the end of it all, staring at a grave instead of a pretty face – a face which he saw now only his memories and what few pictures he had left of her. The pictures were better than his memories in some ways, but it still wasn't the same. He would never hold her, never see her… Never feel her sweet lips upon his skin, or the intoxicating smell of her hair as his face was buried in her neck.

Molly Weasley was not far behind him, but her husband Arthur was trying to lead her back into the house. Fleur had her arms around Bill and was leading him back as well. Ron was slowly making his way to the Burrow with Hermione, holding each other for comfort and Charlie was not far behind them. The second eldest of the Weasley's had come down for the funeral too. They had all been there for quite some time after the service had ended and it hadn't only been for one. It had been, unfortunately, a funeral for two and the two graves in front of him were not the only people who had died that day. No, Harry felt each loss keenly, but there was one that he felt deeper than any other, as he looked at the two graves in front of him:

Ginevra Molly Weasley
August 11, 1981 – May 20, 1998
"Our love for you will keep you alive in our hearts."
Lovely daughter, brave woman, and fierce lover.
You will be sorely missed.

Fred Gideon Weasley
April 1, 1977 – May 20, 1998
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good. Mischief never managed."
Wonderful son, great trickster, good man and brilliant twin.
You will be sorely missed.

A lone tear escaped from his eye, falling down Harry's cheek, and the man made no attempt to stop it. They were going to put the same "Our love for you…" quote on both graves, but George wouldn't have it and insisted that it be changed for Fred's. The living twin was currently still there, kneeling next to Harry in front of his dead twin's grave. Harry couldn't see him for he could not take his eyes off Ginny's, but he knew what George's face would look like – devoid of emotion, as if he was dead inside. The dark-haired man didn't know if George was crying or not, but that didn't matter. He could feel the sadness coming from him and didn't think that George would ever laugh again, at least not as freely as he once did. Yes, Harry had loved Ginny, he admitted that, but to lose a twin, and you rarely saw Fred without George… He did not envy him. He was sure that the redhead would never feel whole again.

He wasn't sure how long he and George stayed there, but he knew it was long after the sun had gone down. Two people came out and got them, leading them into the house and to their rooms. Harry's sleep was uneasy that night, plagued with dreams of Ginny, dreams that were not always pleasant. The young man lay awake, wondering how it was possible to live without her. When he had seen her struck down by Bellatrix Lestrange, it had taken every ounce of restraint in his body not to scream out and kill her, but Molly in her grief, had seen to do what he could not. She had furiously screamed, striking down the horrible woman that had killed her one and only daughter. For Harry, that had been it – the last straw. He and Ginny were supposed to survive this, so that Harry could tell her all the things he'd never got a chance to, but Bellatrix had seen to destroy that. She had not only taken away his godfather, but the girl he loved.

Defeating Voldemort had been a bittersweet victory for him. There was no joy in his heart. Yes, Voldemort was dead and would never cause death or destruction ever again, but he had caused enough in the time he had to last many lifetimes, whether directly or indirectly – his parents, Sirius, Dumbledore, Tonks, Fred, Ginny, not to mention countless others that he knew or had known, and others he didn't know. How many families had been torn apart by this war Voldemort had caused? How many parents mourned their children, like Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were now? How many siblings cried at the grave of the brother or sister they would never see again, like George and his brothers? How many lovers had to gaze at their lovers' grave, never again seeing the one they love, like Harry was now? How many children would grow up never knowing their parents, like Harry?

So much death, destruction, tragedy, and loss… Yes, it was over, but that didn't take away the terrible things that had already happened. As he lay there in bed, he only wanted it to be over. Ginny would want him to live though – and that thought hurt. She would want him to be happy, though how he was going to be happy he didn't know. She and Fred, too, would both want them all to have long, happy lives. They wouldn't want them mourning. Fred would probably prefer that his death be celebrated, but he knew not one person in the house could laugh right now.

The next day, Harry didn't move except to go down to eat. George was a zombie as well and no one could smile. Too much had happened. Now that Voldemort was dead, it left all of them plenty of time to think about what they'd lost and that wasn't pretty. However, later on that day, he heard some commotion going on downstairs. The dark-haired man made no attempt to move from his current position from the bed he shared in Ron's room. He heard different people going up and down the stairs, but he didn't want to be interrupted. Not too much later though, there was a knock on the door that interrupted him anyway. "Yeah," he said his voice devoid of emotion, letting whomever it was know that they could come in.

A bushy haired girl stuck her face inside the door. "Hey, Harry," she said, but to her credit, she didn't ask how he was. That would be a stupid question, and Hermione that was one thing she was not. "I just thought you'd like to know that Andromeda Tonks is here. She's brought Teddy with her, you know..." She paused for a moment. "If you want to come down, just for a little bit, I'm sure she'd appreciate it." Hermione stayed for a moment longer, but seeing that Harry wasn't going to move, just left and he heard her footsteps going back down the stairs.

After a moment, he decided that he would be polite and go down there, if only for a moment to make his presence known. When he got there, everyone was in the living room, save for George, who was probably still in his room, and Bill and Fleur, who had probably gone home. Teddy was sitting in Andromeda's lap, her arms around him. The moment Harry walked in, every eye turned towards him. The attention made him want to leave, and he was struck by how much Andromeda looked like her sister, Bellatrix. He didn't leave though, leaning up against the wall, content as he could be to stay there for a few minutes and then he would go. He did not feel like company right now.

"Good to see you, Harry," Andromeda told him. "I was hoping I could get to see you today." She bounced the little boy on her knees, keeping him content for the time being. "As I was telling everyone, I am going to take care of Teddy until Remus is better."

Remus had been injured badly in the last attack and was currently in a coma. They all knew he might not wake up, but none of them said it. Snape had also been injured but Harry didn't know the severity of his injuries and didn't really care. Andromeda's voice choked a bit as she spoke, but she regained her composure, though Harry was sure that everyone could see the tears that were coming to her eyes. She had lost her husband and her daughter in the past few months.

"I am his grandmother," she said, "but as I understand it, Dora and Remus made you his godfather, Harry. I would love it if you came by often to see him and watched him sometimes if I needed a break. Young children can wear you out, and I'm not as young as I used to be." She looked at him for a moment before continuing. "I would not burden a man of your age with a child and with everything you've gone through. I am his grandmother, and I don't mind taking care of him at all, but if you visited, I would appreciate it."

That's right; Harry was his godfather. His green eyes fixed on the boy, who would never know his mother and perhaps his father as well, like Harry. Unlike Harry, though, his godfather was around… The young man nodded. "No problem, Mrs. Tonks," he told her. "I'd love to."

A small smile flitted across her face, breaking through the sadness that he could see. "Wonderful," she said, turning back to Mrs. Weasley. "As I was saying, I've been trying to keep my spirits up, but it's so hard." A tear went down her face. "I've told myself everyday since Ted died and more so since Dora died, too, that life goes on." She held her head up high. "Ted lives on in me, as does Dora. They also both live on in little Teddy here, too." She paused. "Just like Ginny and Fred live on in every one of you in this room. You-Know-Who has caused a lot of death and destruction, but life still goes on." More tears were coming down her face as she said her speech.

Harry couldn't take it, so he excused himself and went up to his room, telling Andromeda he'd probably be by tomorrow, almost running into George, who had stopped there in the hallway. It seemed as if the redhead had been on his way to the kitchen. "Oh, sorry, Harry," he said, finishing his trek. It also seemed he had overheard what Andromeda had said, but like Harry, didn't want to hear it right now.

"'s alright, George," he told him, before making his way back up to the room he was staying in. Lying down, he let his thoughts wash over him. Maybe Andromeda was right… Life did go on. Yes, Voldemort had caused a lot of death and destruction, but she was right. At this moment, he was still sad with grief over Ginny's death and the deaths of everyone else, but life still went on. Teddy Lupin was a baby, and though he would grow up never knowing his mother, Harry would make sure that his head and heart were filled with his memories of her, as he was sure Andromeda would do too – and Remus, if he woke up. Harry remembered how being alone had felt and if Teddy had one person in the world who cared about him, then Harry would keep moving on, for him, as well as Fred and everyone else who lost their lives in one of the wars against Voldemort and his Death Eaters.

Most of all, he would go on for Ginny.