Harry descended the spiral staircase and began wandering aimlessly around the castle, allowing his grief to finally take hold. Unaware of where his legs where carrying him, Harry suddenly found himself in the corridor that Fred lost his life. Harry slid down the crumbling wall, remembering not only Fred but the rows of bodies lying in the Great Hall. With his head in his hands, his shoulders moving in time with his agonizing sobs, his salty tears stung the wounds on his sunken cheeks.

***

Hermione watched the door of the Headmaster's office close behind Harry's retreating back.

"Do you think we should go after him?" Hermione asked, "Ron?" she said turning to face the room.

Ron was sitting behind the desk looking resolutely ahead, tears streaming silently down his face. Under Hermione's gaze he shook his head in answer.

"Oh Ron", said Hermione as she strode around the desk to embrace him. She pulled away slightly saying in barely a whisper,

"About what happened in the Room of Requirement, I–". Ron kissed her mid sentence pulling away only to ask,

"Does that answer your question?"

"Uh...em...I", words utterly failing her for once she nodded. Ron pulled her on to his lap and held her close allowing her a shoulder to cry on as he let his tears fall in to her wild hair.

After a while Hermione stood taking Ron's hand in hers and led him from the room to Gryffindor Tower. Ron said nothing, too overcome with grief to protest that he felt he should be with his family, with Fred. She guided him into the seventh year boys' dormitory,

"You need to try to sleep" she said softly to him.

He sat on the edge of the bed and toed off his shoes, while Hermione removed a bottle of Dittany from her pocket.

"Here", she said soothingly as she tended to his wounds with a conjured washcloth.

She stood and made to leave, with her hand on the door handle she heard Ron speak,

"Stay" he said hoarsely.

She walked slowly back to his bed and perched uncertainly on the edge of it. Ron let his hand rest on hers and she sunk back into the pillows. Ron held her tightly and she rested her head on his chest. They lay there in complete silence, each other's embrace being enough for comfort. Hermione waited until she heard Ron's breathing change to that of a heavy sleep before surrendering to sleep herself.

***

Harry had no more tears to shed. He didn't know how long he had been sitting there, but it had gotten dark and had been for a while. He stood and turned his back on the wreckage and made his way down the ruined marble staircase intending to go and apologise to the Weasley's about not being able to save Fred. He stood in the door of the great hall and took in the sight before him. Mrs Weasley was still clinging to the front of Fred's jumper, her head resting on the 'F' in the middle of his chest as though straining to hear the faintest flicker of his heart, tears streaming from her hopeless eyes. George was kneeling with Fred's head resting on his knees whispering in his ear,

"Come on, Fred get up, please" he pleaded staring into Fred's glassy eyes, "Please, come on, enough...enough".

George lifted his hand and shut his brother's eyes and placed his forehead on Fred's and cried agonisingly. Charlie stood behind George tears falling silently as he embraced Percy, who was bawling into his shoulder. Bill was being supported by Fleur, both of whom were in tears. Mr Weasley knelt next to Mrs Weasley his hand soothingly rubbing her back and he too cried heart wrenchingly forgetting to wipe the tears from his cheeks. Ginny. Harry's heart clenched as he looked at her. She stood staring at Fred's body sorrow deep in her eyes as her tears too fell freely. Bile rose in Harry's throat and he raced to the front doors, vomiting at the bottom of the steps. He wiped his mouth on his sleeve and ran down the sloping lawn to Dumbledore's tomb. As he reached it he kicked it as hard as he could and began pummelling the marble taking no notice of the bruises he was creating on his knuckles.

"Why did you let this happen!" he bellowed. "You kept everything from me! If you'd told me I could have done all of this sooner! Or better! Fred wouldn't have had to die or Lupin or Tonks or anyone! I hate you!" he screamed in anguish. He continued to scream and assault the tomb until his energy burnt out. With his chest falling and rising rapidly he walked over to his favourite tree by the lake and threw himself under it. He looked skywards with tears in his eyes,

"It's all my fault" he breathed.

***

Ginny had been standing in the same position for the last three hours staring at Fred and joining her family's grief. She could feel someone looking at her and she raised her head to see Harry running from the door of the great hall. She moved away from her family none of them noticing her leave. She watched Harry bent double at the bottom of the stairs retching; she made no move to help him. The next thing she knew Harry was running flat out towards the edge of the forest; no towards Dumbledore's tomb. Ginny followed at a slower pace and watched the man that saved them all rage and yell in rage. She was completely torn. She ached still harder watching the man she loved have so much pain, but she couldn't help being implausibly angry. Harry had made her think he was dead. In that moment, the moment she had seen Hagrid carrying his body from the forest, she felt like part of her had died. Her heart ached so deeply in that second she felt like it could truly be enough to kill her and let her join him. Her emotions went into overdrive in that instant,

'First Fred and now my soul mate?' she thought. That's went she had been stupid enough to try and take on Bellatrix single handed, if Hermione and Luna hadn't joined her, followed by her mother she would have surely been dead.

'But isn't that what I wanted?' she thought watching Harry kick the tomb again before pulling back a fist and hammering the marble. In that moment she didn't want to live anymore. She had wanted to join Harry so that they could be together forever like she had fantasized of since she was a little girl dreaming of "The boy who lived". She watched Harry step back from the tomb and stride over to sit under a tree by the lake, 'Our tree'. That was the tree they had sat under while she studied for her O.. She stood for a moment contemplating whether or not she should go and talk to him, her legs began carrying her towards Harry regardless.

***

Harry's eyes burned with the threat of tears once more. He saw Ginny out of the corner of his eye. He stood to face her taking in her beauty,

'God she's breathtaking' Harry observed inwardly.

Ginny stood looking at Harry. He looked awful. His face was sunken visibly showing his cheek bones and his clothes hung off of his slight frame. He was covered in burns, scars and fresh cuts. She lifted her deep brown eyes to find that his were no longer the startling emerald she once remembered. They were bloodshot and ominous, a sadness she had seen before when Sirius had died and he had refused to surface from his dormitory. She was at a loss of what to do.

Harry looked into her miserable, but beautiful brown eyes. Her expression was incomprehensible. He had no idea what she was thinking and he usually always did. This unnerved him to some extent.

Ginny stepped forward her lip trembling. Harry gazed down at her, his guilt threatening to tear at his heart.

"Ginny I-"

SMACK. Ginny's tightly furled fist made contact with his cheek bone in a punch that reverberated across the surface of the lake.

Harry staggered backwards. He took it like his punishment. He made no move to defend himself when she continued to punch every inch of him she could; he felt like he deserved it, Fred's death was entirely his fault, as was everyone currently lying on the floor in the great hall.

"You made me think you were dead!" Ginny bawled, tears mingling with her anger.

Harry pulled her into a tight embrace refusing to let go as she soaked the front of his torn jumper her fist still pounding his chest.

"Shh...I'm sorry" he said consolingly.

"It doesn't mean I forgive you" she mumbled into the fabric.

"I know" he said gently rubbing her back his other hand running through her fiery hair.

Harry held Ginny until she abruptly pulled away wiping her face on her sleeves.

"Explain everything" she demanded turning away.

"I can do better...I'll show you."