Not goodbye, Forever...
By TheDarkAngelLilith
During the final battle against he who shall not be named Ginny is badly hurt and may not recover. Despite what others tell him Harry cannot bring himself to say goodbye.
He was an idiot, a complete fool for believing he'd come out of this without losing someone close to him. He knew that there would be casualties and that ate at his soul. Harry knew he was a terrible person for first of all letting anyone die at his expense and secondly for wishing what he had. Though he supposed it was only human nature to wish someone he didn't love to take Ginny's place in that hospital bed. He'd broken up with her for this precise reason but it didn't help. He couldn't protect her; the fact that he loved her alone was enough to doom her to a terrible fate. He couldn't stop loving her it just wasn't possible. If he had just stayed away from her this never would've happened to her. She would've been safe. If she died it would be entirely his fault. Maybe it would've been best if he had died that way he could no longer hurt her or anyone else.
Ginny lied on the bed before him battered and bruised. Her complexion had gone white as paper witch contrasted vastly with her vibrant hair. Parts of her hair were stained a new shade of red from her own blood. She had small cuts and scrapes all over her soft skin. She was completely flaccid, unconscious and lifeless. But she was alive she was clinging on, of course she was. This was Ginny she wasn't going to let this take her down without a fight. But he could tell she was struggling she couldn't wake up and her breathing was shallow.
During the final fight against the dark lord himself Harry went off to battle he who shall not be named. Ginny stayed helping the others fight off the army of death eaters. Not many people had seen what happened and to be honest Harry had been too panicked to pick up the details of the story. From what he gathered Ginny had been shot or possibly pushed. She'd fallen at least ten feet before hitting the stairs and tumbling down them. It didn't sound that serious when put this way but she had hit her head causing a fracture to her skull. She had fallen in to convulsions after the immediate trauma before falling unconscious. She hadn't woken up since. They were able to heal the wound almost immediately but the damage that lied beneath in her brain, magic couldn't heal that. He remembered what Madam Pomfrey had told him twenty four hours ago
"You may want to prepare yourself to say goodbye"
No, no he couldn't, he wouldn't. Ginny would push through this he knew she would. No one else said good bye. Though in hushed whispers gave her speeches witch sounded like things you would say to someone if you suspected to never see them again. Her family had come intermittently through the night but they all found it too painful to stay for long. Harry never left he couldn't bring himself to leave her like this. He'd barley eaten or slept. Hermione tried to convince him to get out and get some air just for a few minutes but he wouldn't. He had his mind set he would not leave until she woke up or… no, no absolutely not he wouldn't think like that.
As the hours ticked on he was losing hope. The doctors had stopped tending to her as if they were just waiting for her to die. In the muggle world if something like this happened it was deemed that the person was in a coma and they were put on life support. Nothing of the sort was done for Ginny it was completely up to her to fight this. He wondered if she'd fair better with modern medicine. He couldn't lose her he didn't know what he would do if she died. Harry stood helplessly in a world where everyone he dared to love seemed to die a gruesome death. Maybe it would be better for Ginny if he left and never came back. She had been safe before he returned. He just couldn't force himself to leave. He felt selfish wanting to love and be loved even though that simple human desire seemed to harm others.
Ginny's breathing faltered suddenly. It seemed too manual to be done subconscious. He felt the hope leave as quickly as it came, she wasn't waking up she was struggling harder. Harry took her hand grasping it tightly. Her fingers were cold to the touch just like they had been in the chamber of secrets years ago.
"Come on Gin you can fight this I know you can. I know it might feel easier to give up I've felt that before. I know that I have no right to plead with you to come back to me after everything I've put you through. But I'm going to be selfish because I don't know how to stop loving you and I don't know how to let you go. You can't leave me Ginny please. I've already lost so many people I love. I can't be noble anymore. Not loving you hurts too much and if you allow yourself to let go now I'll never get the chance. Please, just wake up, wake up," Harry pleaded with her.
He stared down at her pale hand with a somber expression. He wouldn't say good bye, no he would will her to live. He blinked back tears feeling empty and lost. He couldn't help her, he wanted to but there was just nothing he could do.
"Wow could you possibly be more melodramatic?" a weak voice laughed.
Harry looked up in shock. It sounded like her voice only weaker than usual. But Ginny's eyes were still closed.
"Ginny?" Harry gasped hoping for a response but instinctively doubting.
Her eyes opened slowly revealing a brilliant blue and she smiled weakly "You look like you're going to faint,"
Quite honestly he felt like he was going to faint. He didn't know what to do or say so he said the first thing that came to mind "How long have you been awake?"
"Just now, but it was so strange I could hear and feel everything but I couldn't move or say anything," Ginny replied.
"Are you alright? How do you feel?" Harry questioned still in a daze.
"Why don't you stop asking stupid questions and just kiss me?" Ginny sighed.
Harry smiled feeling more like crying now than he had before. She was definitely alright. He leaned over her and captured her lips gently in his. He felt her smiling against his lips and she moved a hand to cup the back of his neck. He pulled back slightly his face just an inch away from hers.
"I love you," Harry whispered breathlessly.
She stared up at him with hazy tired eyes and kissed him once more "I love you too,"
"This doesn't change anything," he sighed "This relationship is still putting you in danger, you know that right?"
"Oh shut the hell up Harry, I don't care," Ginny groaned "I thought not loving me hurt too much."
He didn't have time to respond when someone yelled Ginny's name. Molly came running quickly over to the hospital bed tears in her eyes. Harry stepped back to let her see her daughter though he really didn't want to.
"Ginny you gave me a bloody heart failure, don't you ever do that to me again!" Molly cried as she hugged her daughter tightly.
"Well I didn't exactly plan for this to happen," Ginny replied.
Molly pulled back looking her daughter over "How do you feel, are you in pain, can you see straight?"
"Mum I'm fine," Ginny sighed feeling over sheltered as per usual.
Ginny reached her hand out towards Harry she felt a little empty without his hand holding hers. He took his place in the chair beside her bed once again and took her hand. He never wanted to let go and she didn't want him too.
Ginny was happy to relax for the hours after, still recovering from the blunt trauma she'd received. Harry was relieved for this, she wasn't deathly ill anymore but she still needed to rest. He continued to stay with her refusing to leave even when she said it was alright. It seemed so strange and almost wrong of them but they were both happy for a time. There was death and destruction all around them but they had each other. They had overcome so many boundaries including death itself. Now they could finally be together. For this they were happy. They knew the rest of the world would soon catch up to them and they would have to deal with the emotions that came with it. For now they would allow themselves this day to concentrate only on one another.
As activity slowed down in the hospital wing they through modesty and rules away and curled up together underneath the sheets. They'd waited long enough to have this moment and after all that had happened who was anyone to stop them?
Harry fell asleep very soon after they'd settled. Ginny stayed awake she still felt weak but she wasn't tired. She stared up at him sleeping soundly with his glasses slightly lopsided. She'd never lost hope. She tried so hard maybe even too hard to attach strong feelings like the ones she had for Harry to someone else. It was pointless her heart belonged to him it always had. She tried not to show how badly it hurt her when he broke up with her. She understood his reasoning but it was inevitably one of the most painful times she'd ever experienced. She wished she'd fought him on the matter because she had missed him terribly. She supposed it didn't matter because they were together now. She would never allow him to take his stupid act of nobility on the road again. He was stuck with her now and always would be. Unless he truly stopped loving her and she saw no chance of that happening.
They would never say good bye again, no from now on they would say forever instead. They were in this together no matter what.