Disclaimer: Harry Potter is owned by J.K. Rowling. The characters in this story are being used for my amusement and not for money purposes.
Spoiler alert: the whole series. You've been warned.
Hours, Days, Months, Years… Hours
A oneshot by ShaggyDiz
"So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed only a few days to him because of his love for her." – Genesis 29:20
The noise around them rose, as the funeral of Albus Dumbledore had come to a close. People all around were getting up and moving about, talking to others and commenting on how great the late professor and headmaster had been. Harry Potter looked to his right, seeing Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger – his two best friends – taking comfort in each other, as both shed tears of sadness. Hermione was crying more, that he knew, but with her face pressed into Ron's shoulder, he couldn't tell how much. Harry turned his gaze away from them. He hoped that this long, trying year for the both of them would not carry on into next year. He selfishly thought that he was placed in the middle of them too much, with the insults and snide remarks reaching a new high. He shook his head though. They'll get over this bump eventually. He had his own problems to worry about.
Harry looked over to his left. Sitting next to him was Ginny Weasley. She had become his greatest source of comfort and strength in the past few weeks. He smiled wistfully at his girlfriend, knowing that those times were about to come to an end. Ginny turned and looked at him, catching the end of the smile, and knew exactly what it meant.
"Ginny," he started, "I can't see you any more."
She nodded. "I kinda figured." She turned and looked forward briefly, eyeing Dumbledore's casket. "It's something noble and adventurous, right? It's always like that with you."
Harry found he had no retort. He stared into Ginny's eyes. "You know I can't be with you with all of this happening. Voldemort could use you against me. I don't want to lose you like I lost Sirius."
"And I don't want to lose you either. You do realize my own feelings about this too, right?"
"I know."
She smiled and took his hand. "That's what I like about you Harry. You've always been selfless, saving others at your own risk, and ignoring the spotlight that's been on you since you've started school. That makes you noble and desirable Harry."
Harry nodded, finding again that he had nothing to say. He looked down at his hand, covered by Ginny's, and finding his resolve slipping. He needed to leave, to get away from this moment. His eyes were still fixed on hers, and finding that he couldn't turn away. He had to get up, which is what he did. He didn't expect Ginny to stand right up with him, with his hand still being held onto by hers.
"Promise me you'll come back. That's all I ask Harry."
He knew he couldn't promise. He'd either come back or die trying.
"Promise me…"
He looked into her eyes once more. He found the fire that carried her. It made her strong, and the more he realized it, the more he wanted to be close to it. Harry looked down at their hands and he took his own, covering hers with it.
He looked up, and Ginny understood his answer. She smiled slightly, one of hope and anticipation.
The sharp crack of Apparition resounded throughout the Burrow. At the edge of the field, three people stood, happy and anxious to finally be home.
Harry stood in front, enjoying the sight of the large house before him, and the sudden departure of the lawn gnomes as they saw who had arrived. He smiled happily: the Burrow was his home, at least for as long as he wanted it to be (Mrs. Weasley had generously offered him a bed to sleep on, and had no intentions of ever kicking him out). He had ideas as to what he wanted to do this coming summer, though he wanted to hold off on discussing them for a little while.
Behind him stood Ron and Hermione, hand in hand, both happy as well to finally be home. He noticed their hands locking as they Disparate from Hogwarts, this time in a union greater than friendship. He smiled at the better memories from the past year, when they were traveling across Britain together, but more specifically, during the final battle. All it took, Harry realized, was for Ron to finally acknowledge the house-elves and wanting to rescue them before things got out of hand. Since the fourth year, so much S.P.E.W. to handle… He thought gravely that not even Ron nearly being poisoned to death in their sixth year, or Hermione being tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange had brought them together, though he was sure the experiences brought them a little closer, and in both cases, ended feuds between them.
As he noticed their hands, it brought back other memories of the past ten months. Feelings of loneliness and abandonment had returned. He felt sad at times as he saw his two best friends getting closer together, while the only thing he could do was stare at a dot that represented Ginny on his Marauder's Map. It had been too long since he last saw her, and even when he did at Hogwarts during the final battle, he hadn't said much to her. His main desire was to keep her safe, even if it meant keeping her from the final fight. She ran off and fought, heroically he knew, and he could only feel a sense of pride from within at how well she had gotten with magic in the past couple of years. It hurt him deeply when she screamed out his name when he was carried back to Hogwarts by Hagrid, knowing that he couldn't just call out to her and tell her everything was fine, that his death was merely a ruse to confuse Voldemort and eventually defeat him.
Harry knew the time would come to talk to her.
"Shall we go in?" Ron asked them.
"Yeah, let's go in. They've been back for a while, and I'm sure they're expecting to see us," Harry said to them. Hermione murmured in agreement as well. They had been part of the few remaining people at Hogwarts, mostly because of the media that had gone there after the battle to speak with Harry. That group was unfortunately led by the reliable nosy Rita Skeeter. Ron and Hermione stayed behind and kept company, though eventually it got to a point where they just needed to get away. They remembered Professor McGonagall creating a distraction, and moments later, they escaped to the relative safety of Hogsmeade. They stayed there briefly, enjoying one final drink of firewhiskey before leaving, finding themselves where they were at now.
The rest of the Weasley's had left the day before, offering to help in getting Harry out of there. As the media turnout increased exponentially, and all attempts of escape proving futile, Ron told them to go, as he and Hermione would remain behind and get him out as soon as they could. He pointed to Fred, and told them that they would come home and help in burying him. A fresh wave of tears erupted from Mrs. Weasley at the loss of her son. Mr. Weasley comforted her, and led her away, along with the rest of the family. Harry caught Ginny and gave her one final look before she left, telling her with his eyes the unspoken promise they made a year ago was still there.
The three of them took a few steps forward towards the rear door when they heard it opening. Molly Weasley bounded out from it, coming to a halt a few feet from Harry. "You got out of there? Finally!" she shouted excitedly. She was smiling and laughing, hugging all three of them before turning back to the house. "They're home!"
"We know! We saw the clock!" a voice yelled from the house. It came from Arthur Weasley as he stepped out into the yard. Soon everyone else stepped out, though Harry only saw Ginny once she stepped out, happy once again to be seeing her. He lost focus on everyone else around him save for her, watching as she walked towards him.
"You're back," she said with a smile as she stopped in front of him.
"I am," Harry said, smiling back at her.
"You kept your promise."
"I did."
"All right everyone, let's head inside. Dinner is going to be ready shortly, and I know we're all hungry!" Mrs. Weasley said, leading both Ron and Hermione back into the house. She was speaking to the two about wanting to know every little detail about their relationship, albeit so loudly that it caused embarrassed looks to come on their faces. Harry laughed a little at their plight, though he hoped that Mrs. Weasley wouldn't turn her attentions to himself and her only daughter next.
He turned back to Ginny. "Let's find a place to talk."
She nodded, and turned back to the house, grabbing his hand and leading him inside. They easily slid their way through the cramped kitchen, dodging past Mrs. Weasley at the table, still questioning Ron and Hermione, who were trying to sneak away on their own. George, in an attempt to find humor in himself again, successfully thwarted their escape much to the chagrin of Ron (his face was becoming as red as his hair by this point). Arthur and Percy were by the stairs, finally taking some time to catch up on life, and to make up for past grievances. One of them had mentioned Bill and was wondering whether he and Fleur were going to make it for dinner ("I spoke to him by Patronus, and I think he'll get here in due time," Arthur had said), but both of them were engrossed in their conversation so much that they had failed to notice Ginny running past them up the stairs, still leading Harry by hand up them, and escaping into the safety of her room.
They closed the door and both pressed their backs against it, waiting in silence to see if anyone had followed them up. Several long moments passed by, and when they thought it was safe, they slowly stepped away from the door.
"I don't think anyone followed," Harry whispered, hoping to relieve himself and his company.
"I don't think so either," Ginny whispered back. She took her wand and pointed to the handle, and whispered a spell to lock it. Harry decided to cast an Imperturbable Charm on the room, allowing them to speak freely without fear of being overheard. He was beginning to wonder if it was a wise decision to do that, just in case Mrs. Weasley had suddenly decided to start dinner and come upstairs to find them kissing in her bed.
It caused a sudden alarm to go off within him, especially when he saw Ginny take a seat on her bed. She stared at him briefly before patting the mattress next to her, inviting him to sit with her. He had hoped merely to just talk with her, though he wouldn't have minded the kissing. It had been nearly eleven months ago, on his seventeenth birthday that they had kissed last. It was a memorable one, as it gave him something to look forward to when he returned. It was also one that slowly made him apprehensive of resuming their relationship back at that point, when he had broken it off with her during Dumbledore's funeral. He shook his head clear of these thoughts: he couldn't concern himself with the past, but only the future.
Harry took a few slow steps before sitting down next to Ginny. He set his eyes on her face, seeing her smile that strong, reassuring smile that gave him even greater strength. He watched as she slid closer to him, and hooking her arms around his. She slowly rubbed her hand up and down his arm, enjoying the feel of his arm. Harry liked it as well.
"Welcome home," she said softly after sitting silent for some unknown period of time.
"Thank you. I'm glad to be back. It's been too long, even if it felt like it was only yesterday that I was here." He honestly did think it had only been a day.
"It was a horribly long day," Ginny agreed.
"I heard some of the stories of your adventures. You didn't get injured at all, right?"
"Not at all. I've gotten quite good handling a wand, you know," she told him, a self satisfied grin forming on her face. Harry could only nod at her overflowing confidence.
"I'm sure you have, even if you couldn't successfully get Godric's Sword."
"I tried the Summoning Charm before getting in there," she started explaining, "but it didn't work."
"Dumbledore hid the real sword behind the fake one. That's the one you would have ended up stealing if you hadn't gotten caught."
"How'd you know?"
"Snape's memories," Harry told her. "I saw them before I left the castle."
"Before…"
"Yeah."
Ginny set her head down, merely muttering a soft "Oh" before becoming silent. It hurt Harry to see her like this. He scrambled his head for something to say, but before he could, Ginny started speaking again.
"That scared me, you know, seeing you in Hagrid's arms. I almost gave up then. With you dead, it seemed like all hope had suddenly gone away."
"I'm sorry," Harry said, but Ginny didn't seem to hear him, as she kept speaking.
"Ron said something and got us riled up, and then Neville actually tried to attack Voldemort. I never expected that from him, but then again, he's changed so much since Dumbledore's Army was formed." Harry nodded unseen by Ginny. He fought for something to say to her, wanting to speak and tell her that everything was okay. He was home. He was sitting right in front of her, with his arm being held onto like some sort of life preserver.
Then he felt something he never expected: wetness on his hand. Harry looked down, seeing the small drop of water glistening on the fine hairs on the top of his hand. He turned his gaze up to Ginny's still down turned head. He saw her crying, and another tear dripped unimpeded onto his hand. Fresh ones rolled down her nose and collected together at the tip of it, where it became too heavy to remain.
It occurred to him then that he never saw her cry before. Ever since he saw her the first time at King's Station with her family as they said goodbye to half their family did she not cry. She was shyer than anything else, keeping to a distance and pointing towards the Boy Who Lived. Nor did she cry in his second year when she was possessed by Tom Riddle's diary, and had to be saved by Harry. He saw her then as a courageous young girl, even if she was still shy. She was just as strong during his fifth year, when they worked together in Dumbledore's Army. She barely whimpered as she staggered around on her broken ankle, hoping to fight more against Voldemort's Death Eaters. It was all the more apparently in his sixth year, especially with Dumbledore's funeral.
Harry had to think hard, and he starting thinking that it was back on his birthday that he thought she was crying. It was both a nice memory and a harsh one, seeing Ron intrude on them without considering the situation. He wondered whether or not Ginny thought she'd be seeing him again.
He didn't see it, not until now. He watched her tears slide down her face more uncontrollably now, even if she didn't shudder. She kept on speaking and talking about everything involving Hogwarts, but it was becoming incomprehensible to him. He heard bits and pieces of names and events: fighting against Bellatrix, fighting with Tonks, seeing her die, seeing Remus dead, feeling sad for poor little Ted, still only a couple months old, losing Fred, crying about everyone else that had passed away in the horrific fight.
Harry suddenly saw her in a new light as she cried. The strength she exemplified through her spirit and her courage was even greater in her tears. It seemed like she was just as selfless as he was. She wanted to fight too, for Harry and for everyone else, and he realized how wrong it was to keep her away from the battle. It didn't matter if she wasn't of age to fight: she was prepared to die, much like he was. It would have killed him if she had died, but she would have died fighting for freedom against a tyrant who would have slaughtered them all. He didn't even consider the fact that she had nowhere to hide if she escaped. She stayed to fight, and was ready to die to save others.
Much like he did.
Seeing her in this way gave him other thoughts as well. He saw her vulnerable and open for the first time in spite of her overwhelming strength. This was no mask she wore, but rather another part that constituted her whole being. Harry appreciated it greatly seeing her like this. He found himself understanding her a little bit more now. These tears of courage were also tears of compassion. The emotion he felt nearly overtook him as well.
He reached over with his free hand, touching her chin and lifting her face up. Tears ran down her face unabashed. Her eyes were red as a result.
"I'm sorry you had to see me like this," she said to him.
"Don't be." He reached a thumb up and wiped away the wetness beneath one of her eyes. "I'm happy I got to see you like this."
"Really?"
Harry smiled brightly at her. "Yes, I am."
Ginny nodded slightly. She brought herself forward, releasing Harry's arm before enveloping him in a hug. Her face was buried in his shoulder, and more tears spilt from her eyes. Harry held her in return. Soon, he started rubbing her back, trying to relieve the stress and anxiety of everything that had occurred only a few short days ago.
They remained that way for quite some time, not really knowing how much had gone by, but not really caring either. Ginny continued sobbing quietly into him, until eventually she stopped, either from lack of tears or just finally relaxing after the explosion of emotion. Harry watched her carefully. He noted how exhausted she got, as her breathing was slowly becoming even. She jerked suddenly and slowly looked up to Harry's face.
"Did I fall asleep?" she asked.
"I don't know. Maybe," he whispered to her. "You can go back to sleep if you want."
"I'll think about it. It's been tiring these past few days." Ginny removed herself from Harry's embrace and got off the bed, stretching as she did. It seemed to Harry as if she had changed her mind. She walked over to the window and stared out into the yard. He couldn't tell what she was looking at, nor could he tell what she was doing. He saw a hand go up to her face, presumably to wipe her face of her tears, but he didn't want to assume. He was about to ask what she was looking at, but never got the chance. She turned right around and slowly walked back to the bed.
"Hey Harry."
"Yeah?" he asked her. She climbed back onto the bed again, sitting high up on it this time with her legs on top of the mattress. He thought she changed her mind again.
"What are you planning to do this summer?"
He smiled. He came back to the ideas that were floating in his head when he arrived at the Burrow. "I think I have a plan."
"What's that?" she asked, her curiosity peaked.
"There was something that Dumbledore wanted to do, but he never got the chance to. I think I want to do that."
"That is…?"
"See the world."
Ginny cracked a smile. "'See the world,' he says. Do you plan on going alone?" she asked.
Harry shook his head. "Dumbledore would have had Doge with him on the journey. Wizards never go alone, and I don't plan on it either."
"What about the scattered Death Eaters? I'm sure they'll be out there looking for you."
"I wouldn't count on that," he told her matter-of-factly.
"What makes you sound so sure of that? You make like they wouldn't bother."
"I believe they wouldn't be after me because they'll be more concerned with trying to save themselves by going into hiding," Harry explained. "They did so nearly eighteen years ago when Voldemort lost his body, and they'll be doing it again. They lost all of their leadership in Voldemort, and without his body or any of his Horcruxes, there is no chance of him ever coming back."
Ginny merely nodded. Harry was wondering if he was sounding a little too overconfident of those facts. He mentally shook his head. It was the truth. He didn't have any worries at all with the Death Eaters.
"Who do you plan on bringing with you?" she asked after a moment's silence, sounding almost hopeful.
"Maybe Ron and Hermione… well, Hermione has to find her parents, but probably after that, then she'd be able to go. We definitely need a vacation after all that running around we did the past year." Harry nodded, as if making up his mind.
"Oh… is that all?" Ginny distraughtly asked.
Harry smiled. "You too, you know." His grin grew wider as Ginny looked at him, beaming the happiest smile she could conjure. "You'll have to ask your mother, of course."
"Never you mind! I'll sneak out if I need to!"
"I don't want you to get into trouble," he said, shaking his head. "We'll ask your mom. I doubt she'll say no."
She made a face at him, looking as if he wouldn't be right. A small smile eventually came to her. "You're sure of that?"
"Positive," Harry answered with a smirk planted on his face. He stood up and stretched, and caught a movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned and looked at the door.
"What's wrong?" Ginny asked.
"We have company." Sure enough, there were shadows moving back and forth on the other side of the door, and deliberately at that. It seemed as if the person or persons gathered in the hallway were trying to learn what was being said inside the closed room. Ginny stood up and moved next to him, slipping her hand into his as she did.
"I think it might be mom," she whispered.
Harry nodded. "She must be done with Ron. We might be next."
"It could be dinner," she offered.
"True. And you can stop whispering. They won't hear us." He couldn't help but notice that he was talking in a low voice himself.
Ginny suddenly pointed to the door. "There's someone else out there. They're trying to get an Extendable Ear in here." Harry saw that she was right: there was someone who was (unsuccessfully) trying to cram an ear underneath the door. The Imperturbable Charm always worked.
"I guess we should get going. Dinner is probably ready. We've been up here for a good long time." Harry started towards the door, but found his movement impeded. He looked behind him. Ginny still held his hand, and she looked at him with a terribly fierce look.
"Promise me you won't leave like you did before. I couldn't stand being away from you like that, and I don't want it to happen again." She said this with an immense amount of force. Harry remembered this moment, exactly one year before. Last time, he knew he couldn't say it, simply because of the danger that was involved. He didn't want to break her heart completely. Their simple touch and the look in each other's eyes was promise enough of his return.
As he stood before her now though, Harry knew what his answer was going to be this time. He stepped up to her and pulled her into him. His hand went up to her hair, and he stroked it lightly. A moment later, Ginny returned the hug. He kissed the top of her head before lifting it up to look into her eyes.
"I promise. I won't ever leave you again."
They both smiled, staring longingly into the other's eyes. There would be a time for this, as well as everything else. That was the simple truth of the matter. For now, Harry was quite happy with how they were. There was no need to start over, but rather a time to relearn, to know what made Ginny who she was. They had both changed in the past ten months, and it was those changes that they needed to understand.
He kept those thoughts, and many others, in the back of his mind as they went downstairs to join the rest of Ginny's family for dinner. Everyone was seated and talking away, trying to keep the mood light and enjoyable. Harry saw deep down the somber mood that everyone was in though, and as he stared across into the seat that Fred would no longer occupy, he knew that there would always be an emptiness that could never be filled. His gaze stayed fixated on that spot, so focused that the conversation became a blur around him. He didn't notice anything different until there was a sudden silence from all around him.
Harry looked down the table. Molly had gotten everyone's attention and had asked for a moment of silence before starting dinner. He found himself looking down on the floor, his hands folded in front of him. His eyes flickered briefly towards Fred's empty chair again before glancing to his left. Ginny was sitting next to him. Her eyes were closed, and he couldn't begin to imagine what she was thinking. He didn't see any tears in her eyes. She had shed them all just a short time ago.
Slowly, Harry let his hand drift between them. He was tempted to reach out to hers and grab it, to give comfort and to receive it as well.
There was a sudden reaction, and he knew right away that she had grabbed his hand. Her eyes were still closed, but he knew she sensed his desire somehow. The contact made Harry happy and relieved.
The silence ended, and dinner was underway. Harry found that he couldn't stop staring into Ginny's eyes. A smile lighted them up.
"Eat Mr. Potter," she whispered. "You'll have plenty of time to stare into them later." She squeezed his hand and returned to her meal.
Deep in the back of his mind, Harry knew that she was right: they did have all the time in the world. There was no need to rush or hurry. Everything would be easily done one day at a time. Harry found himself realizing that, for the first time in his life, he would be able to do just that.
Fin.
Author's notes: sometimes, that little thing known as real life just creeps into something that you enjoy reading.
That was the feeling I got as I read Deathly Hallows, when Harry was out and about, and the only thing connecting him to Ginny was the Marauder's map. It mirrored in some aspects my own relationship with my girlfriend, who is six hours away. I find myself at times staring at a picture of her.
Real life also creeps up on occasion in one's writing. In this case, there were other instances of my relationship that have found their way into this story. You can say that, outside of this being another post Deathly Hallows story involving Harry and Ginny, this had a personal resonance for me, and I enjoyed every moment that I wrote this.
This story was finished back in early August, but I wanted my girlfriend to read this before I posted it. She enjoyed it, and now I have passed it onto you. Enjoy and review.
And yes, I know Ginny cried in Chamber of Secrets. Just let that slide. Thank you.