His Best Source of Comfort

Exhaustion overwhelmed Harry, Ron and Hermione as they left the Headmasters study. Silently, they climbed down the staircase, past the gargoyles and out into the corridor.

Harry turned round, "I don't know about you two, but what I said about sleep, I meant. I can't face any more conversations now. Everyone wants to talk to me and I just want some peace. Do you mind if I head up to Gryffindor Tower and see if Kreacher will get me some food?"

"Go for it mate. We'll tell everyone to leave you alone for a bit. Has anyone even checked the Tower is in a fit state for us to sleep there? I don't fancy sleeping in a pile of rubble. I'm sure Mum won't mind if we crash at home instead." said Ron wearily.

"I'm going up anyway. I'll come and find you if there's no roof or walls, but otherwise I'm going to sleep." Harry was desperate to see his own bed in his own dormitory after all this time. He wanted to close the curtains around his four-poster and shut the world out. There was a complex set of emotions building up – he didn't have the energy to analyse it all, but he could feel the knots in his chest. He thought vaguely that a bit of space and decent sleep might help. Seeing Ginny would help too – but he had no idea where she was and really didn't want to go back into the Great Hall to find her.

"Hadn't we better check on your Mum and George before we go up? They'll have wondering where we are." Hermione tugged at Ron's hand. "I don't think they'll go to the Burrow tonight – they won't want to leave Fred…." Her voice trailed off leaving a short silence. Ron said nothing and looked at the floor. Harry didn't think he could handle talking about Fred, Lupin and Tonks again until he had slept. He shrugged his shoulders.

"You two go. I'm going to see if the Fat Lady's at home. See you later."

"See you up there, mate."

Ron turned, put an arm around Hermione's shoulders and together they wandered off to the Great Hall. Harry watched them disappear round the corner, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, despite his tiredness. That moment in the Room of Requirement! Who'd have thought that House Elves would finally bring them together.

"Long may the harmony last.' he muttered and flinging his Cloak over his head to avoid any more conversations, he set off for the dormitory.

The repair work was already beginning all around him. Teams of House Elves were scurrying around fixing windows and walls as he quietly slipped unnoticed through the castle. The hard work was not continuing in the portraits though, where it became increasingly apparant that far too much wine was being consumed by the celebrating subjects. The Fat Lady was no exception. As Harry approached he slipped off his Cloak.

"HARRY POTTER. OOOOOH! I never thought I'd see you today! Welcome dear boy. We've all been having a small glass or two of something bubbly to celebrate your triumph!"

Harry winced. The Fat Lady's voice was very loud in her enthusiasm and he really didn't want anyone to spot him before he got through the portrait hole. "Thanks. I've got no idea of the password. Any chance you could let me in anyway?"

"Password? Nonsense – I'm not going to stop Harry Potter going to his own common room am I? And who knows what you'll find inside?" She winked at him and swung open to let him in.

He peered in nervously, unsure as to what he might find, but to his enormous relief the house elves had been hard at work here too and although there was some dust in the air, the room was fairly tidy and a fire glowed in the grate. The warmth flowed over him. Home at last. There really was nowhere else like it for Harry. He felt his whole body relax and the knot in his chest loosen ever so slightly. Was it really only two days since the comfort of Shell Cottage? He realised that even with Bill and Fleur looking after them, he had still not relaxed. There had been still too much for him to do, a massive hurdle to be overcome.

He turned towards the dormitory stairs but as he did so a glint of red caught his eye. Looking back Harry saw a sight that made his heart leap and his stomach do a back flip. There, curled up and fast asleep on the sofa in front of the fire was Ginny. Harry hesitated for a moment. Was now the time for a discussion or should he let her sleep? He only thought for a fraction of a second. Sleep was necessary but more than anything in the world he needed one of Ginny's hugs and he wanted to make sure of the one person who, more than any other, had got him through the last nine months. Instinct took over and he crept over to the sofa.

She was fast asleep so he allowed himself the luxury of taking a good look at her without any interruptions. To any other onlooker the truth would have been that Ginny looked battered and exhausted. With a pang of guilt Harry noticed the bruise on the side of her head, the swollen eyes from crying over Fred and some strange scars around her wrists, which he would have to ask her about sometime soon. He stroked her hair, sparkling in the firelight and realised that when she was so still he could count the freckles on her nose. He sat on the floor next to her and gently kissed her on the forehead.

"Ginny…" he whispered.

Her eyes opened and in an instant she was sitting up and flinging her arms around his neck. He buried his face in her hair and drank in the flowery scent that so reminded him of Ginny.

"Harry…"

"I've missed you." he mumbled into her hair.

"I've missed you more." Ginny laughed softly.

He pulled back and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "How come you're up here on your own?"

"I needed to get away from everyone else – you were the only person I wanted to see and I couldn't find you. So I came up here to wait. Are you OK?" Ginny continued, searching his face for the truth. "I've been so worried about you."

"I'll be OK. A bit sore in places and a few new scars to show you, but nothing that won't heal. I realised something though – I never thanked you for my birthday present. You have no idea how important it became to me."

Ginny's smile faded and he saw her brows contract as though she was struggling with tears.

"What is it Gin? Tell me." He said coaxingly and then it spilled out. "Harry…. I…I thought you were dead!' Ginny's voice trembled slightly, "When I saw you with Hagrid, I really thought you were dead, and at that moment the world just stopped. I thought you were dead."

"Shhh. It's ok. I'm really here and I promise you I'm not dead – although it's a miracle that I'm not and for a while I thought I was definitely never going to see any of you again." He wiped a tear from her cheek. "Oh Gin, there's so much to tell you, so much of the story you don't know. I promise that Ron, Hermione and I will fill you in on it all, but right now there are just two things I want to tell you. Is that alright?"

"OK"

"Just to prove how much I've missed you – you should know that I've been tailing you on the Marauders Map every day for six months while you were still at Hogwarts. I could recite to you your timetable and I know what time you went to bed. I could probably tell you how often you met with Neville and Luna. Watching your dot on the map made me feel really close to you. I missed you so much. And when you didn't go back to school after Easter I couldn't bear to get the map out any more."

"Oh Harry, that's sweet – but also a bit sappy" she added, teasingly.

"You wait - there's more. I need to tell you this. Last night I knew I had to go out to the forest to meet Voldemort. I learnt something from Snape which showed me very clearly that in order for Voldemort to die, I had to die as well. Ginny, that walk to the forest was the hardest thing I've ever done. I passed you on the way (I was under my Cloak) and I was so tempted to just run to you and kiss you one last time. But I knew if I stopped I might not get going again, so I kept walking. When I got out to the clearing in the forest, Voldemort raised his wand and I had to let him kill me…." Harry paused as the awfulness of that moment came flooding back into his mind. "Ginny, what I wanted you to know is that you were my last thought…before I died. Your birthday present was my last thought…" his voice broke and a stray tear slipped down his cheek. The knot unravelled further.

Ginny touched his face gently, "My Harry. I never stopped thinking and dreaming about you. It was so hard being at Auntie Muriel's and not being able to come and see you at Shell Cottage. But you don't have to protect me any more." With a small smile she added, " and you can have another birthday present any time you like, whatever Ron says!" And with that she leant forwards and kissed him gently and slowly.

A tidal wave of emotion swept up and over Harry. He could feel her strength and her love – he knew there would be no demanding explanations or any more crying from her tonight. His Ginny was his best source of comfort and at last he was back in her arms. He hadn't dared to let himself hope for this moment during the months he had been away with Ron and Hermione. His whole body shuddered as he finally allowed himself to give in to the feelings that had been smothering him since his victory in the Great Hall. Tears for Fred, for Lupin and Tonks, for Teddy, for Colin, for Hogwarts, for Snape. Tears for his ordeal at Voldemort's hands. Tears for Hagrid and the hardest of tasks he had been given. Tears of relief that at last it was all over.

Ginny said nothing but moved over on the sofa so that Harry could lie in front of her facing the fire. She wrapped her arms around him and stroked his head in a way that he found so comforting. He was home. At last his sobs died down and sleep claimed him. The last thing he knew for a while was Ginny breathing steadily beside him and firelight dancing in the grate.

The End (or is it the beginning?!)