Entry Fic: Inside the Light
Pairing: Slight Hinny
Summary: What was Harry really thinking between the time he died and the time he met Dumbledore at "Kings' Cross"?
It was dark, and for a moment, Harry was sure that he had died. Actually, no, that was wrong. He had died. Lily's protection spell of love had broken three years ago, and Voldemort had made it very clear that he was killing Harry. Really, exaggerated arm movements and everything.
Then, there was light. It blinded Harry, and he had to shut his eyes to rid himself of the terrible white that had invaded his vision. If I wasn't dead before, he thought, I must be now. There's no way I could have survived all of this.
Oh, what panic there must be at Hogwarts! He could just imagine it: Voldemort screaming in victory, rallying his followers, blasting his mark into the sky. It would be a new age of dictatorship, full of pure-bloods and hatred (which was funny, since Voldemort was a half-blood). For a moment, Harry was almost glad to leave the world of a living, if only to escape the terror to come.
Then, reality struck. His death had caused pain for the millions of wizards, but it would especially hurt his Hogwarts family. The Dursleys might not show remorse, the great prunes, but his friends surely would. Ron would probably be trying to console his girlfriend Hermione, who would be very emotional, and not doing a good job at all. Hagrid would be flooding the castle with his tears. Others might stand in stunned silence, wondering why he just let the curse hit him. Ginny might pass out from shock.
Ginny…
He had been dating her for about a year, but he never realized how much she meant to him until now. She was like Cho, but with red hair, and nicer, and a better kisser, and less emotional…
Oh, what the heck. She was nothing like Cho.
Cho had been purely hormonal, her moods changing like the tide, but Ginny… was perfect to him. She was more of a friend than a lover, and that was just what he needed. Ginny was more subtle. His feelings for Cho had popped up out of nowhere and left just as quickly. Harry's feelings for Ginny, though, would be there forever.
He couldn't imagine leaving her and all his friends to suffer in a grey, meaningless world. They'd be the first to die; the Death Eaters would insure that. His death meant the start of a wizarding mass murder. Hogwarts would be burnt, and a green skull would blot out a starless sky. No one would be safe.
He wouldn't let that happen. Harry wasn't about to leave the world so quickly. Voldemort was going to die if he returned.
Neither can live while the other survives…
With those words echoing in his mind, Harry took a deep breath and stepped out of the light, entering Kings' Cross Station.