Read: I do not support HG. In fact if I could, I would wage a vendetta against HG! But it so happens that I foolishly made a bet with hewhoistomriddle, lost the said bet, and as punishment she forced me to write an HG oneshot. I howled with rage but the punishment stands, thus this oneshot was born. This is the one and only HG I am ever going to write.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor do I own the song Miles Between Us by Stephen Speaks.
I highly recommend listening to the song while reading.
Miles Between Us
When I saw my reflection in her eyes
That's when I knew that it was time
I leaned over and kissed her cheek
And softly said goodbye
Harry cleared his throat, as if to say something. But there was nothing more to say, really. What other words could pass between them? So he stood before her in an uncomfortable silence as she stubbornly stared at the ground. The night was young and the moon was full, bathing the clearing with an effulgent glow. The leaves rustled as a breeze passed gently between them. From not far away, Snape and Tonks were conversing in low voices.
"Gin," Harry managed to whisper out softly.
The girl finally raised her head to look at him and once more, Harry was stunned to silence by those expressive hazel eyes. Eyes that could spark fire when angry, or glitter brilliantly when she was happy. Harry had always felt like he could lose himself in those eyes. Right now, the emotions he saw swimming in them wrenched at his heart.
Slowly, he raised his hand and wiped a tear that had wandered down her cheek.
"Harry?" Tonks and Snape were walking towards them. "Ginny and I have to go now."
Harry swallowed the lump at his throat as his hand fell limply down to his side. Wordlessly, he nodded and Ginny stepped over to Tonks who handed her the broom. She took the broom and turned away from him. It was all Harry could do to keep from breaking down then and there.
"Ginny," his voice broke.
She faced him and he closed the distance between them by pulling her into a kiss. A somewhat surprised Ginny returned it just as fiercely. But she was the first one to pull away. Tears were streaming down both her eyes now.
"Goodbye, Harry," she said, smiling through the tears.
Against the glass I heaved a sigh
Followed the fading of its lights
Watched the plane begin its flight
With my eyes into the night
A skein of wind played with Ginny's brilliant red hair as she mounted her broom. Harry and Snape stepped back. Ginny met Harry's eyes for one last time. The moon lent an unreal luminescence to her skin and Harry roved his eyes over her, memorizing the way she looked from the wayward hair to the muggle clothes in the hopes of immortalizing her in his mind forever.
Tonks gave them a bright smile. "Well, gotta go, Harry, Sev," she called out in a deceptively cheerful voice that echoed throughout the otherwise empty forest. "Don't worry. Molly and the rest of the gang will be waiting for us when we arrive."
"Be careful," Snape warned her. "You never know with the Death Eaters. They're everywhere."
Tonks winked at them. "Will do. I'll take care of Ginny, Harry."
Harry smiled woodenly. Goodbye.
Ginny turned away from Harry as she and Tonks kicked off from the ground, clutching their brooms with the cloaks they wore over their clothes flying behind them. A kind of heartache seized Harry and he wanted to run. Run after them and shout for them to stop, shout for Ginny to come back. But all that came out was a sigh.
He couldn't take his eyes as he watched the small figure off Ginny and Tonks ascending, as if they were somehow trying to rise towards the full moon.
And he felt desolate, empty and left behind.
And I know that I'm a coward
Who couldn't even tell her
As she begged me with those eyes
Give her a reason not to fly
"They'll be fine," Snape smoothly said. "Other members of the Order will be waiting for them there."
Harry nodded. He knew that of course. In fact, Ginny's leaving had been his idea in the first place.
"Damnit, Gin! Voldemort's coming! Everyone else is leaving, why in Merlin's name would you want to stay?" he had shouted at her.
"Ron and Hermione are staying here aren't they? You're staying here! Why I can't I stand and fight, too? I'm not a little girl anymore, Harry!"
"It's too dangerous for you here. I'm not having any of it!"
"You can't make me go into hiding!"
Ginny had tried everything. Arguing, crying, pleading but none of it would move Harry. He was relentless. She had to go with the other students of Hogwarts who were evacuating to the headquarters of the Order. Harry knew he could face many things in this world, but Ginny dying was just not one of them. In the end she had given in to what he wanted. She'd agreed to be evacuated
She and Tonks were the last to leave as they had helped others evacuate first.
Harry still felt his heart twisting as he remembered the look in her eyes. Sadness, confusion, pain and even a hint of anger. But he saw that she did not blame him for his decision. And he saw also the love that undeniably shone through. Shame welled up in Harry, shame at what he had done. But now that Ginny was on her way to safety, he tried to convince himself that he could fight Voldemort, at least, with the knowledge that she was alive.
And it haunts me on the highway
Headin' back to my place
Why oh why oh why oh why oh why…
"We have to go back," dimly, Harry heard Snape's voice saying that. But it was as though the Potions Master had said it from a distance. It barely registered with the boy whose mind was full of a certain redheaded girl.
"Potter!" Snape shook him and that took Harry out of his musings.
He nodded wearily. "I know."
Snape walked off and Harry followed him. Both of them quietly walked back to Hogwarts through the Forbidden Forest, not talking but knowing what the other was thinking about all the same.
Doubts invaded Harry's mind. Was sending Ginny off the right thing to do? Perhaps… perhaps he shouldn't have made her leave at all. But what's done was done, Harry thought. No matter how much he missed her, only the outcome of the war now could tell whether they would meet each other again. Harry clenched his fists. This war… He hadn't even asked to be in it. He'd never had a choice. But now, if he had to do this for somebody, he would do it for Ginny. Already, Harry felt the emptiness that the lack of her presence caused.
He paused in walking, causing Snape to turn around with a frown at him.
"Sometimes Potter, the hardest thing and the right thing are the same thing," Snape said softly. Harry stared at him.
With miles between us
How could love have seen us
And given us this chance?
"Now keep on walking. We can't linger here. You of all people know the dangers of the Forbidden Forest," Snape's voice reverted back to its usual harsh tones.
Harry continued walking. He and Snape hadn't gone far though when they heard what was the unmistakable sound of a woman's scream. Both heads rose up jerkily at the sound that had cut the silence of the forest. Harry's muscles tensed and before he knew it, his wand was out and held tight in his hand. Snape had his wand out, too, and his head swiveled back and forth, searching the shadows of the forest.
The scream rent the air again and it hit Harry with such a force and impact he was sent gasping. His eyes met Snape's and realization dawned on the Potions teacher, too. Faintly, they could hear another voice, a man's, and it seemed to utter out a spell. A spell that was heartbreakingly familiar to Harry.
Sure enough, when he and Snape angled their heads to look, the Dark Mark glittered against the night sky. All Harry's worst fears were confirmed.
He spun around and ran back. Snape was right at his heels. His shoes scuffed at the soil, he tripped over tree roots and pulled himself up, his robes were torn by the huge thorns of vines and still he kept running. A cold sweat broke out over his entire body. All that mattered now was that he ran and that he got there in time. Gritting his teeth, he forced his legs to go even faster.
And as he ran, only one thought repeated itself over and over in his mind. Please let them be all right. Please don't let me be too late…
It was like a mantra, a prayer that he held on to as he ran and another scream rang in his ears.
And I hear it whisper,
'Could you not have kissed her
And shown her you're a man
Who wants nothing more in life
Than for her to be your wife?'
He remembered so clearly the first time he'd seen her when he was in first year. She had been clinging on to Mrs. Weasley and when he'd asked for instructions and during that time, he'd only given those hazel eyes a passing glance. He still couldn't get over how he hadn't noticed her until she and Dean Thomas had gotten together.
He remembered clearly now. The nights when they'd sneak out of Gryffindor Tower to go to the Astronomy Tower and talk. Afternoons spent playing Quidditch, weekends at Hogsmeade, the Valentine's Day when he'd taken her on a picnic. The images seared themselves into his mind.
Harry screwed his eyes shut. He remembered the future they'd enthusiastically talked about. A Victorian house, with lots of children running about and a big, black dog named Sirius barking as he welcomed them to their home. He'd be an Auror and Ginny a Healer. There would be light conversations over the dinner table as everyone ate and shared stories about his day. It was the family Harry had never had. It was the family he wanted.
And it was the dream at stake in this war. The dream that he was fighting for. And the dream that he was now running to.
But sometimes dreams were like water. The tighter you held on to them, the faster they flowed away.
Should I laugh?
Should I cry?
Should I get back in my car and drive
Fifteen hours to make things right?
Harry skidded to a stop, Snape panting behind him as both of them witnessed the horror that unfolded in front of their eyes. Death Eaters, twelve of them maybe who flew in the air with Tonks and Ginny. Another one of them pointed his wand at Tonks and Harry saw the red gashes that covered her body. Another red gash, bright with blood, opened up near Tonks shoulder and Harry saw she could barely hold his wand. Ginny was not much better off.
It happened in slow motion like some kind of bad movie that you didn't want to see playing but that you had to anyway.
Two of the Death Eaters swooped in and Tonks, while another two took Ginny. Harry heard Ginny screaming Tonks' name as a third Death Eater pointed his wand and uttered the accursed words. A flash of green light later and Tonks' body spiraled to the ground, still holding on to her broomstick.
The thud was a sickening sound.
They turned the wand on Ginny. Harry's eyes grew wide and he ran over to them and pointed his wand at them to no avail. It was too late. The green light was destined to take away the people he loved.
And Ginny… funny, beautiful, amazing Ginny… was gone forever. Her body drops from the sky like an angel.
The Death Eaters see Harry, skimming over Snape who was standing in the shadows. One of them smirks.
"You're lucky tonight, Potter. The Master wants to be the one to kill you. But your time's coming soon. Don't worry. You'll join your precious Mudblood girlfriend in time."
And they flew away.
With miles between us
How could love have seen us
And given us this chance?
Harry gave out an anguished, inhuman cry and rushed to Ginny. It wasn't real. It couldn't be real. His heart was refusing to accept what his mind was presenting to him.
He stared at her body, lying on the ground, blank eyes raised to the heavens. Shuddering slightly, Harry extended a trembling arm towards her. Her skin was still warm to the touch. His breath came in short gasps and he sank to his knees in front of Ginny.
He barely noticed Snape, who approached Tonks, checked for a pulse, found none and focused his slightly saddened eyes towards Harry. Harry who was in a state of shock and stayed there kneeling in front of the girl he loved. A million things, a million words, a million moments, a million memories rushed to Harry's mind. All of them of Ginny.
A Victorian house, with lots of children running about and a big, black dog named Sirius barking as he welcomed them to their home. No sooner had the picture formed in Harry's mind than it shattered. His dream, like so many things, torn to pieces in one fell blow.
Then the tears came.
And I hear it whisper
Carefully, he took her body into his arms as though it were made of the most fragile china, his tears falling on the porcelain skin.
'Could you not have kissed her?
Ever so gently, Harry lowered his head and pressed his warm lips to Ginny's cold ones. For one last time.
And shown her you're a man
"If I could do it differently, Gin," his voice was harsh and heartbroken. "I swear I would."
Who wants nothing more in life
"All I ever wanted was a life with you, Ginny. I'm so sorry." Harry Potter, the Savior could never be just Harry Potter, the boy.
Than for her to be your wife'
"…I love you."
End
Finally. It's over. Ew. Seriously. I made an HG fic. I have been scarred for life.