'Almost there,' he could feel his scar burning in agony as he was walking down a tunnel to the cave where Voldemort was hiding near the orphanage, just waiting to battle Voldemort. He thought to himself, 'I could come out of this cave alive or dead.'
"Scared, Potter?"
Who was this person? What the heck are they doing, it definitely didn't sound like Voldemort...
"You know the Dark Lord is going to finish you off, just like he did to your pitiful parents." Just then Harry realized whom this incriminating voice belonged to.
"What do you want Malfoy?"
"Oh...little Potter seems scared, are you missing your dear girlfriend Ginny Weasley? I'd pay to see her face when she realizes that you're DEAD!"
"IMMOBULUS...nobody talks about my girlfriend like that, especially trash like you Draco."

"Where is Voldemort?" He's got to be around here somewhere...

"Looking for me?"

"Tom?"

"Don't use my filthy mudblood father's name!"

"You're going to pay for all those people's lives, every single one...including my parents."

"You think you can kill me?? HA! I'd like to see you try. Harry, Harry, Harry, tsk, tsk- you no longer have Dumbledore or your scum of a godfather to protect you Harry, it's just you and me now so come out and fight like a man."
Harry slowly came out of the shadows to fully see Voldemort...he knew what he had to do, he could feel himself stand up and face him, ready to duel...he had to do this for the sake of the muggle and wizarding world, but most of all Ginny. He had given her a promise ring, to remind her of him. Plus, he had asked her parents to marry her when he came back from the war...

"Dreaming of your red haired girlfriend, I highly doubt you'll ever see her again..."
Oh no, he'd done it, Voldemort now knew his weakness, what could he do?? THINK!!

"SECTUMSEMPERA!"

"Ron, what should we do, we can't just stand here." Hermione said with a hint of fear and uneasiness in her voice.

"Hermione, we can't go in there Harry has to do this alone, you know that." Ron replied with a very Hermione-ish tone.

"Well of course I do Ronald, but..."

"Don't think about it Hermione."

"Then what are we supposed to do sit here and be joyful and happy?"

"Well, you know there are other things we could think about?"

"Like what? Going to the Burrow and then realizing everyone's dead?"

"No we could think about our future." Ron said with nervousness in his voice.

"Ron, our future? This isn't a time for games, come on..." Hermione replied with a little awkwardness in her voice.

"No, I'm serious Hermione." Ron got down on one knee and said, "Hermione Granger, Will you marry me?"

"Ron, do you think I'm mad, of course I'll marry you!"

"Brilliant, because I asked your parents the night before our departure from the Burrow, and they said they'd be happy if I married you." Ron replied, before Hermione started to wrap him in a big kiss.

Yes he'd finally done it, he'd weakened Voldemort to a state where Harry didn't have to perform the Killing Curse, and he'd just die.

"IMMOBULUS!"

Now how the heck do I get out of here, I can't wait to see Ginny, Ron, Hermione, the

Order members…wait but what if they're dead. No, they can't be, I can't think like that, we would've gotten a letter or some signal, right?

After Harry was out of the tunnel he proceeded to find Ron and Hermione talking in really serious voices, "Great, perfect, what happened now...who got hurt, who died, who lived…" Harry thought automatically.

"HARRY!!! You're here, oh, I am so happy Ron and I were so worried." Hermione said between tears of happiness and relief.

"Hey mate, is he dead? Do we need to go in there and finish him off?"

"Yes, he's dead Ron and we don't need to go back in there...I never need to see that place again."

"Ok mate, are you ready to go back to the Burrow?"

"I guess its time."

And they apparated just like that.

Immediately upon the arrival at the Burrow Harry felt a strong longing for Ginny. He wasn't sure if he wanted go in there, to see who was dead, alive, or injured…he didn't think he was ready for this until he heard Hermione whisper in his ear, "She still cares for you, you know that right?" Harry responded with a short nod, and told himself, "The time has come to face your fears."

When Harry entered the Burrow it looked almost exactly how it had been all the summers he came to visit, the small wooden table bare, the chair that Mrs. Weasley usually sat in with her current knitting project; and Mrs. Weasley's famous clock with all the Weasley hands were pointing to home, well except for Percy's since it was 11:30 PM on a Wednesday night.

"Do you reckon we should wake them up Harry?" Ron asked with a bit of uneasiness in his voice.

"I don't know, it is your house." Harry replied feeling that for the first time in a long while, he could finally relax.

"Well, I'm sure that you're mother wouldn't mind us making something to eat, so lets start with that." Hermione replied in the voice of a housewife.

"Hey Hermione, need help in the kitchen?" Harry asked, despite the fact that he didn't really want to help.

"No, you boys sit and be the couch potatoes that you really are."

"If you say so." He replied thankfully. Once Hermione was safely out of earshot Harry turned to his best mate and asked, "So Ron, what happened between you and Hermione while I was in the cave?"

"Uh, well, um…I kind of proposed to her."

Harry looked at his friend incredulously. "You kind of proposed to her, what the does that mean?"

"Well, I didn't give her a ring, I just…well, popped the question." Ron said still uneasy with a little quaver in his voice, although Harry didn't know why.

"Congratulations mate! That will be good for both of you."

"Thanks, so what are you going to do about Ginny?" Ron said a little more relaxed now that he knew Harry was ok with him and Hermione.

"I have no idea, I mean, we need to talk…I gave her a promise ring before we left and I want to marry her but I just don't know what I should say." Harry said with hoping that he would see Ginny soon.

"Well, how about in a few days we go to Diagon Alley because I need a ring to give Hermione and you need something for Ginny, unless you already have the ring."

"Actually I want to give her my mother's ring but a one of the pearls that's holding the emerald in place is missing is gone…I think it disappeared the night she was murdered. But, I think I could get a replacement in Diagon Alley."

"Ok mate, how about we go on Wednesday…" Ron said before the sound of somebody coming down the stairs cut him off.

"Who's there? I'll hex you if you don't tell me?" Came a frightened voice.

"Ginny?" Harry said, as Ron slowly crept into the kitchen (since he would know that voice anywhere and wanted to give them some time alone) to see how the food was coming.

"Harry?" Then Ginny came running down the stairs, with her arms wide open and the tears already making their way down her pale face.

"Hey Gin." Harry said as he embraced her with the hug that he hadn't felt in a very long time.

"Harry, I'm so happy, I was so worried about you, Hermione, and Ron." Ginny said through her tears.

"Well we're all ok, and look at you, you're of age now and as beautiful as ever!" Harry told her with a look of longing in his green eyes that Ginny loved.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Because I haven't seen you in so long. I missed you."

"I missed you to Harry, I thought about you every day; hoping you'd come home."

"Well I'm here now, with you. You no longer have to worry about me."

"What if I'm worried about you having another woman in your life?"

"Well you shouldn't because I have the most attractive woman in my arms right now."

"Thanks," said Ginny, and then added, unable to hide the fear and keenness in her voice, "Harry, is he dead?"

"Yes Ginny, he's dead, there's nothing to worry about we are now safe." Harry replied as he saw the relief in Ginny's eyes.

"Well come on then, let's go into the kitchen. We can catch up after you get something to eat and sleep."

"So, are you taking care of me now?" Harry asked with curiosity in his voice.

"I guess I am." Ginny replied, and they wrapped each other in a passionate kiss that they both had missed for so long.