Harry Potter lay in the bed he'd shared with his wife Ginny for the past eighty two years. Fluffy pillows were piled behind his head and a down comforter kept him warm. His house was silent except for the occasional rustling downstairs. It was the perfect Sunday morning.

A vague awareness of the sun shining through the curtains told Harry that it was time for him to make an effort to get up, but the truth was he was simply exhausted. He felt as if every single one of the one hundred and three years he'd been living was weighing him down. His bones ached with age and his muscles were weary. He just didn't have the energy to get up.

The truth was that it had been getting progressively harder and harder from him to get out of bed over the last few months. Although nothing in particular was wrong with him and the Healers had proclaimed him to be in perfect health for his age, Harry could feel death just around the corner. He didn't know how to explain it in a medical context, but he could feel bits and pieces of himself coming undone. Today he felt more than ever as if he had come apart so much so that there was nothing left holding him together.

Intellect told him that he was nearing death and at first Harry had tried to deny it. He had felt its icy presence in the peripherals of his life but took comfort in the fact that it was still a ways away. Now, however, it was clear that death was sitting next to him, ready to shepherd him into the great beyond.

Others might've felt nervous about dying, but Harry recalled death like an old friend. He'd faced him twice already and survived to tell, but this time he knew it was different. Something deep inside of him told him that it was time. Today would be his last day on earth.

"Ginny," Harry called with as much force as his old lungs could muster. He waited silently, listening to her feet pad carefully up the stairs.

A smile spread across his face as she poked her head in through the doorway. "Finally awake, are you? I thought you were planning to sleep all day."

Harry appreciated Ginny's ability to tease him, even when she knew things were dire. It was one of the things that he loved most about her.

"It's time," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

Ginny stepped forward into the room. She sat gingerly on the side of the bed next to him and placed her hand lightly on his chest. "If you're sure, I'll call the children, but I don't want to upset them needlessly if you aren't."

"I'm sure," he managed to creak out.

An hour later, Harry was surrounded by his children, grandchildren, and even a few great grandchildren. James had made his best attempt to keep the mood light with jokes and tales of the trouble he, Albus, and Lily had gotten into when they were younger, but a tinge of sadness permeated each of his words. He appreciated the effort none the less.

A great desire to make a poignant speech filled Harry. He wanted to offer his family some words of comfort, to encourage them not to waste time mourning because this wasn't really goodbye so much as a 'see you later'. He tried several times to speak, but his voice turned to dust in his throat.

With each breath, his lungs labored harder and harder. Soon he felt as if he wasn't getting quite as much oxygen as he needed and the room started to blur around the edges. He took one last look at the people who were so dear to him.

Mustering up all of the strength left in his ailing body, Harry murmured "I love you. All of you."

The last thing he saw before his vision went dark was a flash of his wife's once brilliant red hair.

Hi there!

This story was originally going to be a one-shot for the Dobby Challenge on HPFF, but as I started writing it, I realized that what I wanted to say wouldn't fit within the confines of a one-shot, so begrudgingly I've decided to make it into a novel. It will center mostly around Harry and Dobby, but there will be quite a few other familiar faces as well.

I do have about the first 10 chapters written and in the editing stages, so my goal is to keep this updated weekly. However, my life has been known to get in the way of that from time to time, so I can't promise to have a perfect updating record. Please, know that I never abandon any story though, so no fear if I miss an update.

Also, this is something relatively different from anything I've ever attempted before and possibly my most ambitious project, so if you have a chance to leave a review or a few words of encouragement, I'd really appreciate it!

Thank you as always for reading!

~Kaitlin/TreacleTart