I Will Always Cherish You

It had been seven years since the fall of Lord Voldemort, and Harry and his friends had graduated from school a year late. Things had been chaotic just after the death of the aforementioned dark wizard, and those who supported him had not fared well except for a few.

Harry had remembered the fall of his nemesis with clarity and then the aftermath of his destruction. He felt relief and a new found peace he couldn't name. In the first few years after, Ron and Hermione had married and had been blessed with a son and a daughter. Harry's relationship with Ginny had been rocky at first, but soon enough; they had reconciled their differences in matters that belonged to the past.

They had been married for five years now and also were blessed with two sons while Ginny was expecting their third child and first daughter. It was currently near Halloween and a time Harry used to loathe.

Now as he watched the boys become excited over going trick-or-treating as any other muggle child did; he smiled at their exuberance.

"Harry?" Ginny interrupted his thoughts

He turned to her and saw the concern for him deep in the azure eyes she held.

"Are you alright?"

Harry smiled, "I'm fine, just strolling down memory lane it seems."

Ginny smiled, "Not too far I hope?"

Harry shook his head, "No."

He embranced her and gave her a gentle hug. His arm wrapped comfortably around her waist as his hand gently rubbed the swollen belly of his wife.

"I just felt that I should be grateful for what I have now that the war is over." Harry told her, "I left you behind to fight my own battles. You resented me for it, and had every right to not wait for me to return. I wouldn't have blamed you if you had. I was dense and thought I wanted to protect everyone from harm; knowing inevitably it was impossible given the circumstances."

"But despite all the despair and hurt I brought you; you waited for me and then stood beside me as if I had never left you behind. You healed my guilt and comforted my worries without ever asking me to do the same right after the war. I should have, but mentally; I was in no condition to and still you waited."

"I love you Ginny, with all my being, and I will always cherish you. I know our road has been a hard one to reach, but from now one we are together and nothing changes this. We have our peace in the world and a family of our own, so nothing could make me wish to change it despite how I had to get here to have it." He told her sincerely

Ginny's eyes swelled with tears of happiness, "Harry, I resented you leaving me behind but I also know why you did it. To protect me and so you could concentrate on your tasks. If I had been there and gotten hurt, your first priority would be to help me at all costs instead of letting me go and doing what you needed to. I cannot say I was happy about it, but I do know that I cannot be angry over it now with all we have."

Harry smiled, "I suppose so."