Whatever May Come
Harry sat slumped against the wall on the Astronomy Tower, he held his head in his hands as he felt himself breaking inside.
Sirius was dead and it was all his fault. "Why did I have to insist on going to the Ministry?" he asked himself lowly. "I should have known better. I was such a fool!" he castigated himself.
The worst thing was the pain in his chest, centred where his heart was located. He felt that it would tear him apart it was so strong. He found it difficult to breathe and he felt like screaming because it hurt so bad.
Then he who hadn't cried since he was five years old, punished severely if he did by his aunt or uncle, broke down and began to sob.
Harry and Ginny
Albus Dumbledore, current Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry made his way into the hospital wing, his eyes scanning those who were there.
Several were laid up in bed, recovering from their wounds received while fighting the Death Eaters while accompanying the one he was looking for, to the Ministry of Magic.
Failing to spot him, he cleared his throat, drawing the attention of those still awake: Luna Lovegood, Ron and Ginevra Weasley.
The other two occupants were currently asleep, Hermione Granger and Neville Longbottom. They had been the most seriously injured though both would recover completely.
"Has anyone seen, Mr Potter?" he asked softly, his voice full of concern.
The three that were awake shared glances and with shrugs and frowns let each other know that they hadn't.
"Not since we were last together in the Chamber," Ginny replied for all of them, Luna and Ron nodding in agreement.
They noticed the small frown on their Headmaster's face and also that the twinkle that was normally present in his eyes was missing.
"Does anyone know where he might be?" he asked, though he didn't sound very hopeful.
Both Luna and Ron shook their heads, looking very worried.
Ginny sighed and looked at Dumbledore, her eyes unreadable to the venerable man.
"I know where he probably is," she said softly.
"If you would be so kind and go tell him I'm looking for him," Dumbledore said softly.
Ginny hesitated for a moment but then nodded her head and began to rise.
"Ginny! Tell me where he is and I'll go fetch him," Ron said with a scowl, as he started to get out of bed.
"Remain where you are, Mr. Weasley," the Headmaster said. Though he spoke lowly, there was a firmness to his tone that said he would be obeyed.
Ginny, who had turned to glare at her brother, looked at Dumbledore in surprise but hastened from the room as if she thought he might change his mind.
Ron watched her go, his eyes blazing with his displeasure.
"I think a gentler hand is needed," Dumbledore said softly, his blue eyes filled with sadness as he pierced Ron with a look.
As Dumbledore turned and left, Ron watched him go, trying to figure out what he had meant by his statement.
Harry and Ginny
Ginny slowly and silently climbed the stairs to the Astronomy Tower, knowing that was where Harry usually went when he wanted to be alone.
What she wasn't prepared for was the sight that met her eyes as she ascended to the top.
She saw Harry curled in upon himself, his shoulders shaking as he sobbed uncontrollably.
As her eyes misted up she took several deep breaths in an effort to calm herself.
For a moment she thought about leaving because she knew that Harry would be mortified if he knew that someone had seen him but there was something that grabbed her and compelled her forward.
Seeing someone she thought a great deal of, someone who was usually rather stoic when it came to displaying his emotions, well any other than his anger which he was know to display on numerous occasions, looking so broken, tugged at her heart deeply.
Deep inside she knew he needed someone right now and it looked like it was her, so she slowly walked over to him.
Even though she wasn't trying to be quiet, Harry didn't realize she was there until she was directly in front of him.
His head snapped up and Ginny truly expect for him to yell at her but instead his eyes, so full of tears, looked at her beseechingly, searching for something before he dropped his head and continued to cry unabated.
Ginny dropped down beside him and did the only thing that came to mind. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into her body, cradling his head with one hand while she caressed his back, offering what comfort she could.
The first thing her mind screamed was to tell him everything was okay, but she quickly squashed it because she knew for Harry it wasn't and in one sense, never would be again.
She began to whisper comforting words, most really nonsense but their tone was soft and warm, filled with sympathy for his situation.
She was surprised at the force he was holding her with, clinging to her like his life depended on it and then she realized that maybe it did, or at least his sanity just might.
She had no concept of how long she held him, not that it mattered to her in the slightest. She'd stay there for as long as it took to bring him back from the edge.
Slowly, eventually, his sobbing began to subside but his grip didn't loosen in the slightest.
Finally he was reduced to nothing but heaving, ragged breathing as he wound down.
She held him tenderly, softly kissing the top of his head as her mother used to do when she was a small child and needed reassuring, the whole time, keeping her hands in motion, touching and caressing him in his time of need.
He sniffled a couple of times before he gave her a tighter squeeze before he relaxed his grip, though he kept his arms loosely around her.
"Thank you, Ginny," he croaked hoarsely. His voice so low she was barely able to hear him, but hear him she did and it made her heart feel just a tad lighter, knowing that she had given him what he needed.
"I'm glad I could help," she tenderly whispered back.
She felt his breathing begin to ease even more as she continued to hold him as it seemed to be doing some good.
The she felt him jerk and she thought he was going to pull away, but he stopped and sagged into her further, letting his weight remain supported by her gentle grasp.
He shook his head slowly back and forth. "I can't do it," he said, beginning to cry once more.
Ginny hugged him tighter, her eyes beginning to leak too, hearing the anguish that came from deep in his soul.
'What can't you do?" she asked, wondering if she really wanted to hear what he had to say.
"I can't do this any more. I can't be what they want me to be, do what they expect of me. I just can't. I can't take it any more," he cried heartbreakingly.
"I don't understand," Ginny whispered in confusion, wishing she knew what was causing him such anguish.
"I can't kill Voldemort," he finally answered, his voice so low it was barely audible.
Ginny felt like she had been stabbed in the heart. Suddenly things crystallized in her mind. Though she didn't know what the Prophecy said, she knew what it contained.
"Oh, Harry," she cried, her heart breaking for him. Then her sadness exploded into anger. "How could they do this to him!" her mind cried. "Hasn't he given enough? His parents, his childhood and now his Godfather. Now on top of that they expect him to kill Voldemort!" she railed against the injustice of it all.
She thought frantically for something to say, to somehow take away the burden thrust on him but nothing came to her and she despaired at what he was being asked to do.
Then even as the thought began to form, she spoke, "I'll be there with you every step of the way," she said fervently.
She felt him jerk once again and slowly lean up till he was staring into her eyes.
"You will?" he asked in disbelief.
"Yes," she replied, her eyes filled with determination.
She saw the briefest of smiles flicker across his face but then he frowned and shook his head.
"I can't ask that of you," he said in denial.
"You didn't ask, I'm the one who decided," she said with quiet conviction.
His eyes snapped back up to hers, surprise written all over his face. He opened his mouth to speak but she silenced him with a finger.
"It's not up to you," she said softly but firmly.
She watched as acceptance grew in his eyes and he nodded slowly. He looked up locking his eyes on her and then scrunched them tight as he fought for control of his emotions.
For a moment she thought he had succeeded in reining them in but then tears started to trickle out of the corners and fall slowly down across his cheeks in long hot trails.
In a move that took her totally by surprise he leaned in, wrapping his arms around her as he tucked his face under her chin.
Then he began to talk lowly. "The only memory I have of my parents starts with my Dad's voice yelling 'It's him, Lily! Take Harry and run!' Then it jumps and I hear my Mum begging 'Not Harry! Take me instead.' That's followed by a flash of green light and the sound of maniacal laughter."
Ginny's eyes scrunched up even tighter than his had and she fought to keep quiet, not wanting to interrupt. She felt her tears falling unchecked as he poured out his life story, from growing up unloved and actually hated and despised by those who should have loved him.
He spoke of the loneliness that consumed him growing up, never being allowed to have any friends. The lies that his aunt and uncle spread through the neighbourhood so even the few children who had at first befriended him were snatched away by their parents so that they wouldn't be influenced by "That Potter Kid".
How he learned never to do better in school than his cousin because if he did he'd get punished severely and when it seemed taking the strap to him didn't work, to his being locked in the cupboard under the stairs for days at a time with little or no food and water.
Ginny couldn't believe what she was hearing, not that she thought he wasn't telling her the truth. No, it was because she couldn't conceive of someone actually treating a small child in such a horrendous fashion.
On and on it went with one indignity after the other being heaped on a small boy who only wanted someone to love him.
Her pain eased a little when he spoke of learning that he was a wizard and his coming to Hogwarts but that even though he wasn't as mistreated, people still didn't believe him when he needed them to.
How he had confronted Voldemort his first year while rescuing the Philosopher's Stone.
She smiled ruefully when he hesitated speaking about his second year, her disastrous first. Finally hearing his rendition of coming down into the Chamber of Secrets and saving her.
She was astounded hearing it because no one had ever told her what had truly happened. How he had fought the Basilisk, being bitten by the monster and only surviving due to the timely intervention of Dumbledore's Phoenix, Fawkes, after he had stabbed the Diary with the fang he had pulled from his own arm.
Then he did falter for a moment as he told about his third year, about being told another mad-man was after him, the momentary elation of learning who Sirius really was and the thought that he'd be able to live with someone who really cared for him, and then having that hope dashed when Pettigrew escaped and he had to return to his hateful relatives once more.
Next came his fourth year and his being entered into the Tri-Wizard Tournament against his will, with that year ending with the death of Cedric Diggory and Voldemort's return.
Though she knew a lot about what happened this past year, with his struggles with the bitch Umbridge, she learned of how abandoned he felt when Dumbledore ignored him. How even after saving her father at Christmas, he was forced to take lessons from the teacher who hated him from the day he stepped foot in the castle.
He slowed down as he got to the end and the disaster that led to Sirius' death.
Ginny didn't know how he had survived, sure if she'd had to endure half of what he had, it would have broken her.
Finally he fell silent and just lay spent in her embrace.
Ginny had no idea what she could possibly say that could make any difference. All she could do was hold him and let him know she cared.
Once again time was immaterial as she held him against her body, her heart breaking for him. He was so noble, so giving of himself and all it seemed to get him was more pain, more heartache, more loss.
She became aware that his breathing had evened out as he lay in her embrace. Finally he sat back up, at first unable to meet her eyes.
She gently reached out and took his hand and he slowly looked up into her eyes, appearing surprised when he didn't see any pity there, only love and compassion for all he had endured.
Then she saw something that totally amazed and surprised her. There was something different in the look he was giving her. There was a light that she'd never seen before, something that spoke of seeing her in a new light.
It was warm and welcoming and she felt her heart flutter as the realization grew of what she was seeing.
Her eyes widened as his hand rose and reached toward her slowly, until it came and caressed her cheek.
She gasped as she felt his gentle touch and she couldn't help but lean into it. She saw the small smile creep onto his face, though it was still laced with sadness.
"I've been a real prat, haven't I," he said softly, still caressing her cheek.
Ginny felt her voice catch in her throat but she forced her way through it. She returned his smile with a small one of her own. "Not a prat, but maybe something of a git," she said softly, teasing him slightly.
He snorted, not really a chuckle but his smile grew a little, though it was still tinged with sadness.
"I guess I can live with that," he replied, still staring into her eyes.
Ginny knew she was at a crossroads. The thing she had been hoping for for so long was within her grasp. All she had to do was reach out and grasp it, if he would truly let her in.
In the space of a heartbeat, she saw his smile falter a little and he began to withdraw his hand.
She quickly grasped it, holding it tight to her cheek, refusing to give up without a fight.
His head fell forward but tilted to one side and he stared at the space between them for several long moments. She could see his eyes moving, looking at things not there.
Though her heartbeat and breathing quickened in the fear he would pull away, she refused to let go.
Harry cocked his head, not really lifting it but it allowed his eyes to find hers.
Then Ginny felt her heart soar as he looked at her. Yes there was still a touch of melancholy there but not near as much as before.
"I know I don't deserve you, but I'm yours if you'll have me," he said softly.
Ginny rolled her eyes even though she fought not to. "Harry," she said lowly, her eyes flashing but without any rancour.
She saw his lips quiver as he fought a smile. "You're really something," he said, the light coming to his eyes.
She felt herself blushing as she returned his smile. "Of course I'll 'have you', you git," she whispered.
He chuckled lowly and began to lean toward her, she met him half way.
She moaned lowly as their lips came together and she marvelled at how warm and soft they were and best of all how well they fit hers as their kiss deepened.
Then she groaned out as she felt his lips leave hers and she saddened at their loss, but as she opened her eyes, she saw his looking into hers, the light now shining brightly, matching the smile on his lips.
"I think we'd better head back inside," he said with regret.
Though Ginny wanted to protest, she knew he was right. It would be too easy to get carried away with how emotionally charged each of them were at that moment.
She smiled as he rose and took her hand, helping her to her feet. She cuddled in close as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, holding her close as if he never wanted to let go.
Ginny sighed contentedly and though she knew there were many trials ahead, she knew that Harry accepted her by his side and would do so whatever may come.
Harry and Ginny
A/N: This started as a Bits and Bobs chapter but after I had the truly exceptional Stephanie O beta it and come up with the title. (I was at a loss as what to call it and sent it off to her for her to peruse and help, as I begged her to see if she could come up with a title). She gave me several possibilities and I chose this one as the best.
She also recommended posting it as a one shot, not wanting a story so emotionally charged to be lost among the multitude of chapters of Bits and Bobs.
So here it is
Please review.