The Morning After

Harry sunk into his four poster bed as he had when he was a student at Hogwarts and the moment his head hit the pillow he fell into a deep trance like sleep despite all the thoughts rolling around in his head. Meanwhile the search for Draco by his mother had finally come to a close as she found him wandering a hallway, his clothes were singed and his face was dark with soot so much so that he was unrecognizable to everyone but his mother. Once he had been found they made time for a quick reunion before leaving the castle indefinitely.

Harry awoke the next morning when all of a sudden the memories of the past 48 hours came back to him, he could hardly believe that Voldemort was gone, had he not seen it with his own two eyes he might even have doubted it, but at last the prophecy had been fulfilled. This realization that he could at last live his life as a normal wizard made him feel as if the weight of the wizarding world had been lifted off his shoulders for the first time in his life. Now that it was all over he expected more time to enjoy the things that made him happy like his friends, quidditch, and most importantly Ginny. His thoughts drifted to all those wonderful days they had spent together at Hogwarts last year and even the kiss they shared on his birthday, he missed Ginny so much he could hardly contain himself.

Hurriedly, he dressed and flew down the boys dormitory staircase to find Ginny awaiting him in the common room they embraced until Ginny pulled back slapping Harry hard across the face. A shocked expression shot across Harry's face before he covered his reddening cheek with his hand. Barking at her he asked "What the bloody hell was that for?" tearfully she answered him sobbing in between words "never…sob… pretend…sniffle… your dead…sob… ever again, I thought I lost you" at this Harry pulled her tight into his arms and whispered into her ear "you won't ever lose me again I will always be here for you Ginny Weasly because I LOVE YOU" with this Ginny kissed him soundly until both of them ran out of air forcing them to pull back. They were rooted to the spot still holding each other as if they were afraid to let go.

Just then Ron unexpectedly came down the staircase making Harry and Ginny spring apart like two kids caught doing something naughty. Ron still in his P.J's flushed crimson knowing he had just interrupted the heartfelt reunion of his best mate and his younger sister after a year spent apart, again his bad timing had cost Harry precious moments with Ginny, shyly he mumbled something about hearing shouting before retreating upstairs to get dressed to meet Hermione in the dining hall.As Ron came back downstairs he warned the two lovebirds by making as much racket as possible. When he entered the room Harry and his sister were still holding hands but he could tolerate their public display of affection for now at least and allowed them to accompany him down to the great hall to meet Hermione.

The walk from Gryffendor tower to the great hall was one of the longest Harry had ever taken they passed corridor after corridor of paintings that had been smashed to smithereens with no hope of being restored. Ginny found a solitary shoe sitting amidst the pile of rubble the tears started to well up in her eyes trying with all her might to stop herself from bawling in front of the lot of them. Harry saw her internal struggle and asked Ron to go ahead without them. Ron gave Harry the look that said it all "I'm watching you pall so if you try any funny business with my sister I'll cut off your...(fill in body part here)." Harry got the message loud and clear but he had no intention of violating Ron's trust... for now at least. Ron left the two alone in the hall, once he was out of sight Harry repaired a nearby bench and beckoned her to join him with a slight tug of her arm. The newly reunited couple sat solemnly next to each other with their heads bowed, Harry was the first to look from the stone floor twisting his torso to face her. Harry lifted her chin so she was looking directly into his eyes,

"I know when everything isn't alright you know I can feel it." Harry said, followed by a long silence

"You don't have to tell me what's upset you I just thought we had a sort of open door policy..." Harry trailed off

Ginny began in a sort of matter of fact voice "That shoe I found just now I know who it belonged to... it was...C...Col...Collin's"

"You mean Collin Creevey's...Dead"? He felt the same shudder of sadness with just a twinge of guilt. Harry saw Ginny's eyes water a bit more but no tears had fallen yet in fact he had never seen her cry.

"Gin I want you to know that you can cry in front of me. I'm not going to hold it against you like your brothers I want you to express your emotions with me not bottle them up like your doing now after all we are supposed to do this together" Harry gave her a hug to assure her that he meant every single word. Hugging him back she released all of her pent up emotions and cried on his shoulder for all the friends lost in the battle, for all those that she almost lost, and most of all for her brother. After her tears had run dry she cleaned herself up with her wand and pecked Harry on the cheek before leading them to the dinning hall.

Upon arriving they were given an update on the casualties of war from the previous night as they expected Collin's name was amongst the dead. The return trip to the burrow was solemn and upon reaching their destination Harry felt compelled to keep Ginny close, he knew she was still dealing with the death of her elder brother Fred just as he was dealing with the death of the closest thing he had left to a father figure. He was on the verge of tears as he was reminded of the son Remus and Tonks had left behind without a family. Harry was determined however, not to let their child be raised as he had been, he vowed that he would do everything in his power to care for the little tike as his own to commemorate the courageous parents who put their life on the line to save his own.