I know I haven't been updating very much, so I thought I'd post something for some people to read in case you were bored. HP is fun to work with.
. . .
Ginny walked out onto the grounds of Hogwarts. She was looking for the Chosen One, the Boy Who Lived, and whatever else the world was calling him now. Most importantly, she was looking for her very best friend. In the common room, Hermione, Ron, Harry, and herself had been discussing the war and what the Order's next moves might be. The conversation hadn't been overly emotional, and hadn't been very personal. Most of it had been tactics. Yet, for some unknown reason, Harry had stood, excused himself, and left. After giving him time to himself, she went to find him.
And there he was, standing at the edge of the lake and throwing pieces of bread to the giant squid. He didn't look frustrated. On the contrary, he seemed quite collected.
"Hey," she said, walking up behind him.
He turned, and his eyes lit up a little when he saw her. "Hi."
"What are you doing?"
"Thinking."
She stopped when she was next to him. "What about?" she urged.
He sighed and stopped throwing bread. "I don't get it." he said, and it was then she realized his expression wasn't really collected, it was blank. Like he wasn't sure what to think, or like he was confused beyond belief and wouldn't show it. "I understand that Voldemort needs to be destroyed, but then I think about the people I would save, and... I just wonder why I should save the world when there are so many terrible people in it. I'm not saying I won't." he added quickly. "It's just that some people aren't exactly evil like Voldemort, but they're still manipulative. Like Borgin, from Borgin and Burke's. Or the Malfoy's. Or the Slytherins in general. Or what about all the people who work at the Ministry? Or-"
"Harry," Ginny interrupted, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I know that sounds like a lot of people, but sometimes the good naturally outweighs the bad." He looked at her, expression showing he wanted her to go on. "Listen to me. I'm not going to pretend to know everything that's going on right now. I do know that you might have all those reasons to just leave the world in chaos, but if you'd take a look," She turned his shoulder to look at the castle behind them. "You've got over six hundred reasons to save it."
He kept his eyes on Hogwarts, looking lost in thought. "I know it's easier to see all the bad stuff." she continued quietly. "But if you look around, there's a lot more good stuff."
Harry took a breath, then looked at her. "I only really need one reason." he said, a tiny smile pulling at the corner of his mouth. She smiled back, took his hand, and together they headed down to Hagrid's for a visit.
. . .
Just an idea I had in my head for a while. There are a lot of awesome books and shows out there, but if you take a minute to realize how many awful people there are that aren't the bad guy, it makes you wonder why the hero keeps pressing to save the world. I also wrote this while listening to Dare to Believe by Boyce Avenue, so that helped fuel the fire.