A Bedtime Story
by TempusV
Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling owns all of the characters. Not me. Her. Seriously. Not me.
Summary: Harry manages to complete his only real aim in life; defeating Voldemort. But it cost him a high price. One that his family does not want him to pay. Oneshot, 1514 words.
Author Note: Another sad story. I don't know why I keep getting ideas for these; I don't even like reading them myself, to be quite honest. Ah well. Depression lies ahead, ye have been warned. Reviews are, as always, appreciated.
Harry shouted his final curse; the curse that would end this battle that had haunted him throughout his entire life. It would end. Everything would end. Permanently. "AVADA KEDAVRA!" He felt his power draining as the dark green curse shot towards Lord Voldemort – what only took a second felt like a year. He felt his magical core leaving him. And then it all stopped. It wasn't only Voldemort who fell. The screams started as Harry fell to the ground as well, his body limp and seemingly lifeless.
When Harry awoke it felt, to him, like a dream. In reality, it sort of was. It was a different Harry that awoke from his experience. His body was wasting away. As was his mind. Harry didn't recognise the room that he was lying in; even though he had been there so often in his life. He didn't know why he was hurting; although that didn't matter too much. He wasn't exactly a stranger to pain. The ceilings were plain white. He could only guess that he was in a hospital. He had been to one once; the white ceilings that he saw after waking up were something he definitely remembered. He tried his hardest to crane his head upwards and look around. He couldn't even do that. Harry's only thought was that his Uncle must have finally gone too far and really injured him. In a way he hoped he had; it offered him an escape from the only life he had ever known.
It turned out that at least one person had noticed his attempts to sit up. He heard a high-pitched squeal and then the sound of fast footsteps heading in his direction. Instinctively, he flinched away from the sound; he knew that the footsteps were those of an adult, and an adult rushing towards you could never be a good thing. Harry knew that much. In the side of his vision he could see a tall girl, a teenager with red hair, running towards him; arms outstretched. He vainly closed his eyes, trying to block out the pain that was sure to follow. It didn't.
Instead, he felt a sensation that was entirely new to him – but one that he had, for his whole life, wished to feel. She was hugging him. She was whispering in his ear. They weren't like the words that he had imagined hearing; the words that he had seen Aunt Petunia so often whisper comfortingly to Dudley – words of meaningless nonsense. The girl was repeating over and over, "You're alive..". Harry thought she was a bit wrong in the head; of course he was alive. And, as much as he reveled in the new feelings that being hugged brought him, he felt hugely uncomfortable. He didn't even know this girl, he had never seen her before in his life! Why on Earth would she be hugging him?
In a weak voice, he managed to stammer out, "Uhm.. I'm sorry, but who are you?"
The girl looked horrified, but not shocked. Apparently she was expecting the question. "Harry, I'm Ginny. Do you remember me? We go to Hogwarts together."
"Hogwarts?" Harry asked tentatively. Ginny's face fell. "You don't remember? What's the last thing that you remember, Harry?" she asked quietly. "Uhm, I.. I was in my cupboard after the last day of school." Ginny sighed, looking saddened.
"How old are you, Harry?" she asked. Harry looked incredibly confused at what – to him – was an obvious question. "I'm ten." Harry said, a curious expression on his face.
Ginny stared off into space, confusing Harry tremendously. She remained that way, with a solemn expression on her face for at least five minutes. When she finally looked down again at the bruised and scarred body of Harry, she began to cry. Seeing one of her closest friends reduced to.. well.. this, after all that he had done for the world was just wrong. So wrong.
An hour passed, an hour in which Harry grew ever closer to his death. An hour in which he learned why he was hurting. An hour in which he was entirely silent, listening to Ginny's words.. words laced with sadness and mourning. An hour in which he found out that he was going to die.
"Ginny?" Harry asked, his voice low and hollow; he wasn't ready to die, as much as he'd wanted to in the past... he just wasn't ready. Ginny looked up from the Harry's hand, which she was stroking comfortingly. "I.. uhm.. it doesn't matter." He stopped, feeling embarrassed.
"What is it Harry?" she asked quietly.
"I.. I was just.. just wondering if you would r-read me a story?" Harry asked. Ginny just looked a little confused. "It- it doesn't matter if you don't want to. It's just, well, whenever I'd read a book those kids always had a mummy or daddy who would read to them. And Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon always used to read to Dudley too. No one's ever read to me before, and.. well.. I've always wanted someone to read to me."
Ginny smiled slightly. "I'd love to Harry. I've got a story Iknow you'll like. The story of you. The story of Harry Potter." Harry smiled widely, listening attentively as Ginny began.
"Once upon a time there was a young boy. This boy was named Harry Potter. At the age of only one year old he did the most incredible thing; he killed a powerful dark wizard named Lord Voldemort. His parents were killed in the same attack though; and the new hero was forgotten by the magical world and sent to live with his aunt and uncle."
"But his aunt and uncle, they hated him. The child grew up in a dirty old cupboard in their house, and was treated as a slave by his evil relatives. One day when young Harry was ten years old, his prayers for rescue were answered in the form of a giant named Hagrid. The giant brought Harry back to the magical world – his world – and set the shy little boy on his harsh path in life."
"A giant? A real giant?" Harry asked incredulously, to the amusement of Ginny who burst out laughing at his expression. "Yes, a real giant. Shall I continue?" she asked. Harry nodded as vigorously as his injuries allowed.
"Harry spent the next seven years at a magical school, only returning to his horrible relatives each summer; to him it was a wonderful and amazing gift. But even here the boy could not call himself normal. His brave, heroic acts stunned and inspired all of those around him. Dangerous rescues, giant spiders, flying cares, fire-breathing dragons, violent trees and evil spirits were involved throughout his school career. And that was just his first four years!"
"Throughout all of this though, a girl watched and dreamed. She was one of the people who had been rescued by him. She was only eleven at the time. Her brave hero was involved in all of her thoughts; from dreams to nightmares. But he never noticed her."
"Who was that girl?" Harry asked Ginny, his face growing tired. Ginny knew he didn't have a lot of time left now, but she answered his question.
She sighed. "It was me."
"And then, his destiny arrived. Halfway through his seventh year of school he faced off against his worst enemy; and he won. But it was at a great cost. His magic was entirely stripped away from him; along with all of.. all of his memories since he started using his magic. With his triumph came his downfall; he would spend his last moments as himself.. himself before he even learned about being a wizard, himself before he knew any of the new friends he had made. The girl was there with him. She asked him if he regretted anything. All that the little boy wanted was to have a story read to him. So the girl read him that story, she read to him a story about himself. About the hero that was Harry Potter."
As Ginny said these final words she heard Harry's whispered, "Thank you." She watched as his eyes drooped closed, and heard as his breathing slowed.. and finally, stopped. She bent down and kissed him lightly on the forehead. "Goodbye, Harry." she said solemnly, tears streaming down her face. She left the Hospital Wing with only one thought on her mind.. he's gone.