Discalimer:: I don't own Harry Potter, that's JK.
A/N: This an AU story, written before Deathly Hallows. I just joined this site and because this was my first ever one shot, I decided it would be good to put up. It was written a while ago, and everything that is similar to DH is entirely coincidental.
This is also part one in a trilogy. Wait for the other two one shots coming out soon! And now, enjoy!
Warning:: May cause:: Wet eyes, crying, sniffiling, need for tissues, tears, or anything to that nature.
Goodbye Harry
Ginny stood in the back, away from everyone. She said she would come; even if it hurt. She'd come to say goodbye. As she looked at the hundreds of people attending the funeral, she saw several Ministry officials. They had been the one's who'd planned the extravagant funeral she was attending. She'd never supported the Ministry, and they hadn't truly known Harry. They had just pretended like they had, and that he had agreed with them. But he hadn't.
Her eyes scanned the crowd. They were all wearing black robes, Fred and George in their black, dragon skin jackets. She saw her parents, Bill, Fleur, Charlie, Fred, George, Ron, and Hermione. Hermione was sobbing into Ron's shoulder, and Ginny could see tears falling from Ron's miserable blue eyes.
The Minister was talking. "Harry Potter," he said, "was a hero. He didn't deserve to die, but he died a savior. He sacrificed himself for the peace of the Wizarding World. We honor him with Order of Merlin, First Class, and we dearly wish he were here to accept it. Mr. Potter always supported the Ministry. We are all devastated by his untimely death. He would've made a great Auror."
Ginny tuned out Scrimgeour's voice. He was lying. Harry had no longer wished to be an Auor. Harry had said that once this war was over, he'd stop fighting Dark Wizards. He would do something else with his life. He'd said he was done with Dark Wizards. And Scrimegeour hadn't even seen Harry die! But he was right on one count: Harry hadn't deserved to die. He was only seventeen. She could still remember when he had died.
Harry stood facing Voldemort. He was standing on the grass near the graves of his parents. He had come here with Ginny. They had gotten back together the summer before Harry's seventh year. Now Harry was back at Godric's Hollow to see his parent's graves one more time. Ron and Hermione had been with him the time before. This time he had just wanted Ginny to come.
"Voldemort," Harry said. "All but one of your Horcruxes are destroyed. Now I will make you pay for everything you did, all the innocent people you killed, including my parents. Wormtail killed Cedric, under your command. Bellatrix killed Sirius, and she was your Death Eater. Snape killed Dumbledore under your command. It all comes back to you."
It was true. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had yet to find the last Horcrux. Harry knew he couldn't kill Voldemort. How could he? He had said what he had said to convince himself. And it wasn't working.
"Do you really think you can kill me, Harry? You who couldn't even perform a simple Cruciatus Curse? You think you can kill me? I know for a fact that you haven't even found my last Horcrux."
"Killing you is worth a try," Harry said calmly.
Voldemort looked past Harry, towards Ginny. Catching Harry off guard, Voldemort sneered, "I see that you brought your little blood traitor girlfriend. The one who almost killed you by opening the Chamber of Secrets."
He then quickly shot the Cruciatus Curse off towards Ginny.
"Ginny!" Harry yelled as the young girl's screams filled the air. She was rolling around and twitching, her cries piercing the calm night. Voldemort laughed his cold, high laugh. It sent shivers down Harry's spine.
The curse abruptly stopped when Harry sent a disarming spell at Voldemort.
"Oh, Harry! You've been searching all along for the final Horcrux when you've had it the whole time. You are the final Horcrux."
Harry gasped. No! Not him. It couldn't be. How could he be the final Horcrux?
But he couldn't deny it. It made sense. Truthfully, Hermione had thought of it. It
was one of the conclusions she came to when they hadn't been able to find the last one. They had been searching for almost two months, but it was never found. When Hermione explained the theory, neither of them had wanted to believe it. Harry knew what he had to do.
Harry shot a Stunning spell at Voldemort. He easily dodged it.
After Ginny had picked herself off the ground and returned her eyes to the action, she quickly figured out what Harry was going to do. He was going to let Voldemort kill him!
"Harry, no!" she screamed, still panting from the pain of the Cruciatus Curse.
Harry took a deep breath; he focused on all his hate. Voldemort had killed his parents forcing him to be raised by the Dursley's who'd locked him in a cupboard and treated him worse than dirt. It was Voldemort's fault he went to the Dursley's. What about Cedric? He was only seventeen when he'd been murdered. He didn't deserve to die at such a young age. He was fair and honest and kind. And Sirius, Harry's godfather and the closest thing he'd ever had to a father was gone, and so was Dumbledore, Harry's greatest mentor. All of the deaths, they all were because of one person, the man who was now standing in front of him. Voldemort.
Harry's wand shook as he summoned his strength to perform the curse that would take not only Voldemort's life, but his own. "Avada Kedavra," he screamed.
Voldemort's eyes widened as he saw the beam of green light emit from Harry's wand. He panicked. In his daze of alarm, he did the thing that he had done so many times. The thing that had become second nature. He quickly produced the same curse, shouting, "Avada Kedavra!" But this time it was the most illogical thing he'd ever done. By producing that curse, he'd killed himself.
Just as Harry's Killing Curse hit Voldemort, Voldemort's hit Harry squarely in the chest. Ginny watched in horror as Harry's body immediately stiffened and fell to the ground. Voldemort's did the same.
"No!" she cried out. She ran to Harry and grabbed the front of his shirt, not stopping the tears spilling from her eyes. Not Harry; he was too young, only seventeen. Why did he have to die, too?
Time seemed to stop as she cried, hunched over Harry. She had lost him, and the grief was overtaking her. All that mattered was that Harry was dead. She cried, not able to stop the everlasting pain of her breaking heart. She sat and cried there for what was most likely hours. When she finally pulled her wet, tearstained face up, the stream of tears had stopped. She could no longer cry. Her pain and grief was beyond tears now.
She straightened up and wiped the remaining tears off her face. She had to let the Order know. Bending down, she gave Harry one final kiss on the cheek.
"Goodbye, Harry," she whispered, before walking away.
Ginny sniffed quietly as the gentle spring wind blew across her face. It was a beautiful day. The sun was half hidden behind a cloud, and the wind was light and gentle. It was warm, and the birds were singing. But why? Why on a day so sad, a day where she was grieving the loss of the man she loved, could the world still go on as always?
Ginny looked ahead to the crowd sitting in the rows of chairs in the Burrow's yard. Mr. Weasley had offered to do the funeral here; it was here that Harry had always called his home away from Hogwarts. She bent down and plucked a small flower from the grass. She tucked it behind her ear. Ginny was leaning against a large oak tree. The same tree where she and Harry had sat only weeks before.
Ginny smiled as she leaned against the big oak tree she and Harry were sitting by. The sun was shining brightly; it was a beautiful spring day.
"Ginny?" Harry asked.
"Hm?"
"Do you want to come to Godric's Hollow with me in a couple of days to see my parent's graves?" he asked.
"Yes, I'd love to," she replied, absently plucking a blade of grass out of the ground.
They were silent. Harry was looking at Ginny's red hair that was blowing slightly in the breeze. He studied the flowery scent coming from the shampoo she used, the freckles placed randomly on her face, her cheeks that were covered with a faint pink tinge, and her red lips that were thin, yet covered her straight white teeth.
She yawned loudly, breaking Harry from his spell, and she stretched out on the grass. As she reached her arms out, she accidentally hit Harry's head lightly, knocking his glasses askew.
"Sorry," she said with a giggle.
Harry merely grunted. She leaned over Harry's lap and straightened his glasses. Her face was close to Harry's.
Harry became lost, staring into her light brown eyes. Ginny's gaze stared into Harry's emerald orbs. Leaning in, she brushed her lips against his. He leaned into her, and she pulled away playfully, causing Harry to lose his balance. He toppled over, and Ginny laughed.
She stood up and reached down to help Harry up. He took her hand and yanked, causing Ginny to fall on top of Harry. Harry pushed her off, back onto the soft green grass, before standing up.
Ginny stood up and lunged after Harry, who backed away quickly, before turning and running.
"Harry, stop!" Ginny yelled, laughing.
He stopped in front of a small creek and turned around. Tilting his head, he yelled back, "Why?"
Ginny didn't answer; she simply ran up to him, gently pushing him playfully and causing him to stumble backwards into the little creek behind him.
Ginny stuck out her tongue, and Harry splashed her with water.
"Oh, that's it!" she said, laughing and putting her hand in the cool refreshing water. She splashed him back.
They continued this for quite a while, before deciding the water game was a tie. But they would definitely continue later. Soaked with water, they walked back to the Burrow.
Despite the funeral going on ahead of her, Ginny smiled sadly. She'd loved those moments with Harry. She'd never forget those moments. She sighed and, putting her hand into her pocket, she felt something round. Pulling it out, she looked at it. It was a gold ring with green emeralds and diamonds alternating on its band. It was an engagement ring. Harry had indeed proposed to her at this very spot. The spot where the large oak tree towered over them, casting shade from the blinding sunlight. This spot was where they had shared so many moments. He had proposed just two days before he died.
Ginny sat under the stars in the yard of the Burrow. She was leaning against the large oak tree. In front of her was a picnic basket. Harry was sitting next to her, looking anxious.
It was a beautiful night. There was no moon, just the stars to light the night sky. There was a gentle breeze, and the leaves of the giant oak rustled. When Harry spoke, his voice was nervous.
"Ginny," he started, "you know that I love you, right?"
Ginny nodded.
"And, well, I'm kind of nervous about saying this... So I guess I'll just come right out and say it. Ginny, I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you. I don't want the war to keep us from that."
He looked her directly in her eyes. Ginny had an idea of what he was about to say. "Ginny Weasley, will you marry me?" Harry asked, jamming his hand into his pocket to pull out a ring.
Ginny sat there in shock. She couldn't believe it. She had suspected it, but it was nothing like hearing the real thing, the actual words coming from his mouth. It was then that she realized that she was leaving Harry waiting for an answer.
Slowly, she nodded. "Yes, Harry. Yes, I'll marry you. Yes!"
"Yes!" Harry exclaimed in reply. He leaned in and gave her a passionate, lingering kiss. Then he slowly slid the ring onto her finger.
Ginny gaped at the sight of the ring. It was a gold ring with green emeralds and diamonds alternating on it. "Harry, this must have been really expensive. You shouldn't have," Ginny said.
Harry shook his head. "No, it wasn't. It was my parent's ring. It was the ring that my dad proposed to my mum with." Harry explained. "Lupin gave it to me. He said that it was of the one things that survived when my mum and dad's house was destroyed. He thought that I'd want to have it.
"Oh, Harry. Thank you so much. It means a lot," Ginny replied sincerely.
Harry smiled. "I thought you'd like it."
Ginny nodded. "I love it, Harry. I really do." She leaned in and gave him a sweet kiss.
I'm going to be Mrs. Harry Potter! she thought.
Ginny shook slightly as the tears swimming in her eyes overflowed. Harry was gone, and she couldn't bring him back. She would never see him again. Never hear his soft voice or feel his gentle touch. Never again experience his tender kisses. It was the indisputable truth; Harry Potter, the love of her life, was gone.
There was a massive hole in her heart, a gaping space. Would she ever love again? Probably not. How could she? No one could ever love her like he had. No one could ever fill that space. No one could ever lift her mood like him. No one could ever duplicate his love.
Her face streaked with tears, she looked up. The funeral was over. People were standing and walking away, their faces sorrowful. She walked away from the tree. The Ministry people would be Apparating to Godric's Hollow to bury Harry's coffin there. Next to his parents, where he belonged. Ginny's family would be heading back up to the house, looking for her.
Turning one last time, she looked at the towering oak. The place where she and Harry had sat and talked on a lazy day, where they had proclaimed their love. The place where she and Harry had goofed off and joked. The place where Harry had proposed.
She took the flower out from behind her ear. Placing it in her empty palm she held out her hand. The flower was lifted and was carried away gently in the soft breeze. "Goodbye, Harry," she whispered one last time, her voice blending with the wind. She turned and walked slowly back to the house.
Finite
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