Ginny
The only thought going through Harry Potter's head was that he needed to find Ginny. He ignored the pain in his arm and stomach, where he was bleeding from two deep cuts. He ignored the crushing exhaustion that threatened to overtake him. He ran at top speed through the corridors of the old stone castle that he knew so well. The blood pounding in his ears and the sound of his footsteps echoing off the walls did little to drown out the screaming and rapid spellfire that was taking place around him. He did not stop to join the fighting; he had done his part. Voldemort was gone. The Aurors and Order members were quickly gaining ground; Harry guessed that there were fewer than half a dozen Death Eaters left.
All Harry could think about was finding Ginny and his friends. They had gotten separated early in the battle, and Harry's heart constricted horribly when he thought of what could have happened to them while he was dealing with Voldemort. He hadn't seen them in hours.
He reached the entrance hall and had to jump over the body of a fallen Death Eater in order to get outside. When he reached the top of the steps that led down from the castle, he stopped to survey the grounds. He saw a bushy main of brown hair near the lake and took off at another run. As he got closer, he saw that Hermione was crying and trying to help Ron into a sitting position. His leg was clearly broken and he was bleeding in several spots. Hermione had a large cut on her arm and numerous scratches and bruises on her face and arms.
"Harry!" Hermione cried with a look of relief washing over her face as Harry drew level with them. She flung her arms around his neck and sobbed into his shoulder. He slumped slightly against her but fought with all his strength to remain standing. He had to find Ginny.
Ron looked up at Harry from his spot on the ground and asked the question to which he already knew the answer. "Is it over?" His voice sounded unusually gruff, and Harry could tell that his friend was in pain.
Harry simply nodded, and Ron let out a long sigh of relief. Releasing himself from Hermione's grasp, Harry picked up a nearby rock. He tapped it with his wand and muttered, "Portus," then handed the rock to Hermione and instructed her to take Ron to St. Mungo's.
"Aren't you coming?" Hermione questioned.
"I have to find Ginny," he replied while scanning the grounds again. "Have you seen her?"
"She was fighting Narcissa Malfoy, but that was hours ago. I don't know where she could be." Both Ron and Hermione were now looking worried.
"You two just go I'll find her." Harry offered his friends a reassuring smile, and they nodded.
"Be careful, mate," Ron said through gritted teeth as he reached for the Portkey.
Once his friends had disappeared, he turned on his heel and continued his search for Ginny. The fighting had stopped, and the remaining Order members were hurrying through the grounds, trying to help the injured. Harry saw a flash of red to his left and his heart leapt. He turned to see Ginny staggering towards him, clutching at her clearly dislocated right arm. She had a nasty cut on her head, and the moment Harry wrapped his arms around her, she blacked out from the pain.
Harry quickly scooped Ginny into his arms and Apparated them both to St. Mungo's. They landed very unsteadily in the emergency lobby of the hospital, and the last thing Harry saw before he too blacked out was an elderly man in healer's robes rushing towards them.
Harry woke with a start and began coughing up the potion that the healers had been trying to get down his throat. He looked around groggily and reached for his glasses on the bedside table. Once the room had come into focus he was able to see that there were two female healers in the room. The younger of the two was refilling the cup containing the potion he had just spat out, and the other was reviewing a chart at the foot of his bed looking at him appraisingly.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Potter," she began in a voice that reminded him of Mrs. Weasley. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine," Harry said dismissively. "How is Ginny?"
The healer bustled over and ran her wand over him, making several notes on her clipboard before answering him. "Miss Weasley is down the hall. She suffered extensive damage to her right shoulder and will require some physical therapy, but we see no reason why she won't make a full recovery in time."
Harry nodded. "I want to see her." It was not a question, and the witch seemed to understand.
"Drink this," she told him, handing him the refilled goblet, "and follow me."
Harry quickly swallowed the potion and got out of bed.
When he entered Ginny's room, she was talking quietly to her mother. Mrs. Weasley saw him first. "Harry dear!" she exclaimed as she rushed over and embraced him in a motherly hug. When she pulled away, she had tears in her eyes. "We have been so worried… it's all just so terrible…" she couldn't finish her sentences through her sobs. She looked at Harry's bandaged torso and then at her only daughter lying in a hospital bed before she walked swiftly from the room, mumbling something about checking on Ron through her heavy sobs.
Harry slowly crossed the room, sat gingerly on the edge of Ginny's bed, and softly kissed her lips. He could not believe that they were both alive and safe. He took her left hand in his and kissed it, noticing as he did that the engagement ring she wore now had a small chip in the diamond and was covered in dried blood. This sight sent a shiver down his spine.
"It's all right, love," Ginny consoled him softly. "I'm going to be fine, and Ron and Hermione are fine and Neville got out with barely a scratch."
Over the past couple of years, Neville and Luna had become as much a part of their group and family as Harry himself was. The two had been married for a little over a year and Luna was now four months pregnant, so she had not been present at the final battle.
Harry breathed a sigh of relief that his friends were okay. "What about everyone else? Your brothers and the Order?"
Ginny bowed her head, trying to hide her tears from view. "Remus…" she whispered. Harry's heart plunged into his stomach as he fought to keep his tears at bay. "He got hit by a curse that was meant for Charlie…" Ginny was forcing the words out now, but Harry didn't need to hear them. He wrapped his arms softly around his fiancée and rested his chin on top of her head.
"I love you," he whispered into her hair.
"I love you too."
Harry wasn't sure at what point they had drifted asleep but he woke several hours later with a crick in his neck. The hospital was dark and quiet, and he found that someone (probably Mrs. Weasley) had covered him with a blanket and removed his glasses. As he tried to shift into a more comfortable position, Ginny began to stir.
"What time is it?" she mumbled as she burrowed into Harry's chest. Harry squinted at the clock on the bedside table.
"2:15," he replied sleepily.
Ginny's eyes snapped open, and she looked up at him with a smile.
"Happy twenty-first birthday, Harry."
In the wake of the final battle Harry and his friends try to rebuild everything that they have lost. New jobs, weddings, babies, and surprises are in store as our heroes discover that their greatest adventure is still ahead of them: life after Voldemorte.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter…blah blah blah.
