Disclaimer:Any characters and places you recognize are the work of JKR. This was written prior to Order of the Phoenix and all names, events, and perspective will stay the way I intended.
Hero by That Aerin
Summary: Voldemort is finally vanquished from the wizarding world, but vanishes along with Harry Potter. Two days later, Ginny Weasley disappears. Some say it was suicide, but many believe that she went in search for her true love, denying his death. Twelve years later, a green-eyed boy named David Rivers finds his place at Hogwarts, to face his unknown destiny.
"True, I talk of dreams;
Which are the children of an idle brain,
Begot of nothing but vain fantasy;
Which is as thin of substance as the air,
And more inconstant than the wind."
–Mercutio, Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet
Prologue: Winds of Change
"Don't do it," Ginny whispered to Harry.
"I have to," he whispered back, "It's the only way I can destroy Voldemort."
Ginny flinched at the name and Harry put his arms around her soothingly. "Promise me you'll come back," she said fiercely.
"I promise," Harry said sincerely, his green eyes glowing with affection.
Ginny leaned in closer, wondering if now was a good time. Better now than never, she thought. I might never see him again…she abruptly stopped this train of thought. He would come back.
"Harry, I'm pregnant," Ginny whispered. She watched as those green eyes she loved so much went round in shock, then back to the glowing love she had felt earlier. He hugged her tightly and kissed her gently on the lips. Ginny sighed with relief. "What do we do?" she wondered.
Harry looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean? You're going to have the baby, right?"
"Of course," said Ginny reassuringly. She could never give up a part of Harry willingly. "But…with the war and everything, we can't get married…"
"Ginny, I won't put you in danger by publicly announcing you as my wife. That would automatically make you a target—and the baby too."
Ginny sighed. This was what she had been afraid of. Tears began to well up in her eyes. "Is this it then? Am I just your little secret?"
"No," said Harry, taking her hands in his. "I love you, and eventually the whole wizarding world will know that. I'll come back and we'll get married when the war is over. I promise you that. You wear the engagement ring my dad gave my mum. As far as I know, we're already married. In our hearts."
He looked so sincere that Ginny couldn't help but believe him. "When you'll come back," she said, smiling through her tears, twisting the small golden band on her finger.
Harry smiled back and took the ring and slid it on her ring finger as Ginny watched, her mouth dropping open. "I promise," he said.
Ginny jolted awake, the hard metal chair jarring her shoulder uncomfortably. Tears filled her eyes as she held onto the dream, wishing Harry could hold her now. She was on a train headed for an unknown destination. She had no money and a son to take care of.
Ginny looked down in her arms and rocked the bundle gently. His son looked remarkably like Harry already, with a tuft of black hair and curious green eyes. Right now those eyes were closed, and he was fast asleep. "David Potter," she whispered his name to him softly. "You remember who you are, because nobody else will ever know." David woke up suddenly, and Harry's eyes greeted her. Ginny sighed. "I'm sorry, but you're too obvious," she said, bouncing him on her knee. He smiled a baby smile and put his fingers in his mouth. Ginny surreptitiously took out her wand and made sure none of the Muggles on the train were watching. Two of the occupants were asleep, and one was hidden behind a large newspaper. "Fulvis Lux," she whispered gently. David's eyes turned from green to a soft brown, not unlike Ginny's own eyes.
Ginny put her wand away and wiped away a stray tear. Harry's words from the dream echoed in her mind. He promised he would come back. He never did.
Ginny sank back into the uncomfortable chair, remembering the funeral that took place nearly a year ago. A year ago, when Harry promised her he would come back. But he didn't. He took on Voldemort the next day, using the ancient spell he had found.
Harry found him at Hogwarts, and arrived just in time to see Voldemort kill Dumbledore.
Ginny remembered the scene clearly as if was yesterday.
She worked at Hogwarts, an assistant to Madam Pompfrey. The Great Hall had withstood their duel that with every Avada Kedavra made Ginny's heart leap. And every time Harry avoided it, he met her eyes, as if to confirm that he wasn't going to die. The last moment their eyes had locked, Harry nodded. He was going to use the spell.
It was an ancient one he had found and was so sure it was going to work. Unlike the Killing Curse, it banished the person completely out of the world, never to return. A blast of grey smoke furled around them as the two held their wands to each other. The wands shot out light that sizzled and cracked the Great Hall.
When the smoke cleared, all that was left on the table were two wands.
One belonged to Voldemort.
The other belonged to Harry.
The world had rejoiced at Voldemort's downfall, and then mourned Harry's death. The two wands were sent back to Ollivanders. Ginny had slipped into Gringotts after the funeral, exchanging all of the money in her account for Muggle money. She knew that the Death Eaters were still active and looking for revenge for their master's defeat. And if anybody knew that the Potter line lived on…
"They won't," said Ginny firmly. Ginny Weasley is gone. My name is Margaret Rivers and this is my son, David Rivers. We are Muggles on a train going somewhere, just like all of the rest of these Muggles. I am going to get on with my life and raise my son as a Muggle. I will protect my son. Harry's son.
Good thing I took Muggle Studies.