Safe and Sound
This is for the Women's Football/Soccer in the Hogwarts Games on HPFC.
Set during and post DH.
The war outside our door keeps raging on
Hold onto this lullaby
Even when the music's gone – Safe and Sound, Taylor Swift ft. Civil Wars
She has never been a fan of worrying about something. She hated it and more so, if the thing she was worrying about was something she loved dearly.
Day and night, she worried if he was okay. If he was even alive.
She wondered whether he thought of her, or whether he still felt the way he had about her.
"Ginny? Are you alright?"
Neville's voice broke through her thoughts. She shook herself out of her reverie, and said, "Huh? Oh, yes. I'm fine." She realized that he had been saying something, and she hadn't listened to a word. "What were you saying?"
Neville hesitated. "Er- I was asking what was the safest way to Snape's office, but if you're not feeling well–" He didn't know how to continue. He looked over at Luna for help.
Luna, who had been staring at Ginny as if reading her thoughts, understood what Neville was asking. She gently put a hand on Ginny's shoulder. "He's alright, Ginny. You don't have to worry about him all the time. Harry is alive – "
"Of course he is!" Ginny snapped. Then, seeing the look of concern on Luna's face, she softened. "Look, can we just focus on getting the sword from Snape?"
Neville nodded, though he still looked worried. Luna gave her friend a pitying look, but deciding that pity was the last thing Ginny needed, she said no more.
She stared out the window of her room into the darkness, thinking of what they could be doing right now.
He was alive. He, Ron and Hermione had arrived in Shell Cottage very much alive and breathing. They weren't going to stay, she knew. Bill thought that they still hadn't completed their so called "mission" for Dumbledore, and that they were going to leave soon.
Even though she couldn't see them, she was glad to know that they were alright.
And especially that he was alright.
"Ginny, watch where you're going," said George annoyed.
She avoided tripping at the last moment and continued to walk anyway without saying anything.
The dark tunnel was getting steeper. She counted her steps, and only stared ahead for any light or sound that might indicate that they had reached Hogwarts.
The gold coin, where Neville's message that Harry, Ron and Hermione had arrived had flashed half an hour ago, was heavy in her pocket. They were there, probably preparing for the Battle now. He was there.
She was too nervous and excited at the same time. Her heart was jumping in her chest. Her brothers were also uncharacteristically quiet, which she guessed was because of their similar nervousness and excitement.
She was thankful that she could slip from the Room of Requirement with Tonks by her side. Everyone says she's underage, but that didn't make her any less competent than any of them.
Tonks was anxiously looking left and right. Her face was a white sheet, and Ginny knew she was still looking for Remus.
Ginny's heart ached for her. If anything happened to Remus, Tonks would be broken. In the same way that if anything happened to Harry, she would be broken.
No, I won't think about that now, she said firmly to herself. She would fight for her family, her friends; for all the people who had the courage to fight today.
And she would fight for him.
It seemed too cruel to her. For such a young person, she had already seen too much cruelty in this world. But this crossed some limits even for her.
Blood was everywhere; bodies, dead and injured alike, were everywhere; and everywhere she looked, she saw loved ones sobbing, unable to believe that the people they loved were no more. It was a pathetic sight.
The fighting continued, and now it was getting too ferocious on both sides. She saw that more of the Death Eaters were converging on their people. She didn't know how long they could hold up the defense.
But even then, she wondered, worried and was anxious to know that he was alright and alive.
"HARRY!"
She screamed his name over and over again, hoping that maybe he could hear the anguish in her voice and come back.
She had lost too many people. Her brother; Tonks; Lupin. Not him too, please, not him, she thought desperately.
Even with his limp and pale body in front of her, with his eyes shut tight, she couldn't believe he was dead.
But deep in her mind, she knew. He was gone.
Anger and hatred boiled inside her. He may be dead, but he had left something for them all to do. And today, she wasn't going to let him down.
She fought again. And this time, she fought with more vigour and ferocity.
She fought to respect his memory.
"Harry…" her voice trailed off, as he appeared all of a sudden alive in front of them.
He was alive. He was alive. She thought it over and over again. He was alive.
She didn't know how he managed to live. How he was still living after they had all seen his dead body with their own eyes.
But she didn't care.
The only thing that mattered was that he was alive.
Then again, her stomach dropped as she realized that she wasn't even sure for how long he would be alive.
She saw him standing beside her brother, in black dress robes. At the sight of him safe and sound even after everything that passed, all her emotions broke loose. She pushed through the crowd and threw her arms around him and kissed him.
She was feeling too many things at once to care that all her family and friends were there, probably staring at them now.
She didn't care even then. All she could think was that Fred, that brother who had made her laugh and smile even in her toughest times, was gone. She could only dwell on the similar sufferings of so many people whom she loved and everything that they had all gone through. She could only think about all she and him had to go through; to be separated from him and to have worried about him non-stop for so long.
For the first time in her life, Ginny Weasley felt as close to breaking down as someone like Ginny Weasley ever could.
She had been strong as always even after Fred died, for her mother's sake.
But here, in his arms, she knew she could be who she wanted to be.
It was all over. At last.
And now, maybe now, they could have their happy ending after all.
a/n - This is obviously a bit OOC for Ginny. But I tried my best. I'm not a big fan of writing this pairing and it would not be my first choice as an entry for a competition. I even had a hard time writing this down and making sure that it fit in with the storyline in DH. That's why I usually tend to avoid canon pairings like Harry/Ginny.
Despite everything, I love them both a lot.
Reviews and feedback do help a lot! If anyone would like to suggest an improvement or point out a mistake, feel free! :)