A.N.: I wrote this last december as a christmas present for a friend who is a great fan of Harry and Ginny. I had never meant to post this, but ... well, I'm a feedback addict and she never told me whether she liked this or not. Which probably means she hated it. LOL Still, when I started to read the new Harry Potter book (thanks to the wonderful xwacky who felt sorry for a poor soul who had planned to wait until christmas to read the new HP), I remembered this story and decided to post it afterall. Whether it's any good or not, I don't know. But I can promise you, this is my one and only HP story. ;) If you like it, I'd be happy about a small note. And if you hate it, well, be nice when you tell me, please :)

Disclaimer: The characters and situations of Harry Potter are the creations of Joanne K. Rowling and have been used without permission. No copyright infringement is intended by the author. The ideas expressed in this story are copyrighted by the author.

Home

by Silwyna

Harry was still under some kind of shock as he sat in the waiting area of the hospital for magical diseases and injuries. It was over. It was really over. Voldemort was dead. His greatest enemy, the murderer of his parents was finally dead. Harry had had his revenge.

But instead of feeling relieved or satisfied, he only felt empty. He didn't know what to do now. The last two years, ever since Dumbledore's death, he had spend his time planning how to defeat Voldemort. It had been the only force that had driven him, the only thing that had kept him going. And now that it was done, he didn't know what to do. The thought that he would survive this last battle had never even crossed his mind. He had expected to die today.

He had hoped, prayed even, that Hermione and Ron would get out of this alive. Despite his best efforts, they had never left his side. They had accompanied him until the end. And they had survived. All of them. He probably had to thank Ron for that mostly. He had nearly sacrificed himself to save Hermione and with this had given them the chance to win against Voldemort. Hermione had mumbled curses against him for being so stupid to risk his life for her the way he had, all the while holding his hand tightly and not letting go until they had reached the hospital.

She had notified the Weasleys, so they should arrive here any minute. Harry wasn't sure if he was ready to meet them so soon. The last time he had seen them had been at Dumbledore's funeral. He had said his good-byes then. He didn't want to put them in danger by visiting them. So many people had died only because they had been his friends, he didn't want to be responsible for any more deaths, especially when it came to the Weasleys. Only Ron had stayed at his side, persistent not to let Harry out of his eyes. And there had been the twins – they had offered their help repeatedly. They had developed not only an astounding ability in creating magical joke articles, but also started to invent creative weapons against the Dark Lord and his followers. They had been a big help ... Harry didn't think they would have been able to win this without them.

But he had refused to see Ron's parents. He knew it had broken Mrs. Weasley's heart that he had shut them out so completely, but it was the only way he could protect them. And Ron had told him all the important news. He had told him about the wedding between Bill and Fleur. She and Mrs. Weasley had become very close during the years and when Fleur had given birth to a beautiful little girl, Mrs. Weasley had completely accepted her as her daughter.

He had told him about Charlie's work with the Dragons ... he had been secretly training a few of them in case Harry ever needed them. He never had ... but the gesture had meant a lot to him.

And sometimes, when Ron was in a very good mood, he had even told him about Percy. He had actually met a woman he had fallen in love with and had married her. They had a daughter too ... but no one of the Weasley's had ever seen her. Percy still refused to have any contact with his family.

And then there was Ginny... he still remembered the sadness in her eyes when he had broken up with her. The memory still broke his heart every time he thought about it. It had been the hardest ... saying good bye to Ginny. But he couldn't have risked staying with her, he couldn't have risked losing her. Not her ... Would she come too? He suddenly felt the panic rise inside of him. He couldn't see them. Not after two years of refusing to have any contact with them. What if they hated him? What if Ginny hated him for what he had done to her? For leaving her the way he had?

Breathing heavily, Harry jumped up from his chair, ready to run out of the room, leave the hospital and hide some place where no one would ever find him ... and then he saw her.

Out of nowhere Ginny had appeared in the room. She stood only a few feet away from him, looking more beautiful than ever. Harry held his breath ... since the last time he had seen her she had turned into a grown woman. With a warm feeling in his heart he remembered seeing her for the first time. She had been nothing more than Ron's little sister for him at the time. But that had changed ... he couldn't say when exactly it had happened, but one day he had looked at Ginny and she hadn't been his best friend's little sister anymore. And somewhere along the line he had fallen in love with her and even more astounding she had returned the feeling. They hadn't been allowed to be happy for very long. Dumbledore's death had changed everything. But the little time they had had been the best time in his life.

And here she was again ... She looked at him with a small smile on her lips, her brown eyes looking at him hesitantly. And then the determination he had always so loved about her returned to her eyes and she walked a few steps towards him.

"Hi Harry." She smiled at him and in Harry's eyes it was the most beautiful smile he had ever seen. God, he had missed her.

"Hi." He pressed out in a hoarse voice. There were so many things he wanted to tell her ... but the words wouldn't leave his mouth.

They looked at each other for a long moment. Eventually Ginny walked the last few meters between them and slung her arms around him, pulling him into a warm embrace.

"I missed you." She whispered.

Harry felt the tears brimming in his eyes. This was the first time in two years that he had let anyone get so close to him ... he had missed it more than he had thought. He had missed her. He finally put his arms around her waist; he hesitated a moment before he pulled her a bit closer.

"I missed you too." He said, his voice almost inaudible. "I missed you too."

They held onto each other, neither of them willing to let go of the other. They stayed like this for a long time.

XXXXXXX

One year later

"Harry, get down here, they're all waiting." Mrs. Weasley's yelling was heard throughout the house.

"I'm coming." Harry called back. He threw one last glance in the mirror and took a deep breath. It was time.

With his heart thumping so loudly that he was sure everyone could hear it, Harry walked down the stairs and stepped into the living room. Immediately all faces turned to him. Everyone had come for this day.

In the last row, trying not to look too embarrassed, he saw his aunt Petunia and uncle Vernon. Dudley was sitting between them. It looked like they were trying to shield him from all the magic around them. Harry had to stifle a laugh at the sight of them.

In the rows before them all his former teachers from Hogwarts had assembled. Prof. McGonagall tried her best to hide the wide smile on her lips ... she wasn't very successful. Hagrid was looking at him, a warm look in his eyes, quickly wiping a few tears away with one hand, while with the other he tried to stop Fang from attacking the Dursleys. So far he had been successful, but the Dursleys still threw fearful glances in his direction every now and then.

All members of the Weasley family were here. He saw Charlie, looking at him encouragingly. Right next to him were Bill and Fleur with their little daughter. They looked like the happy family Harry had always wished to have.

In a corner of the room he saw Percy Weasley with his wife and daughter. A few months ago he had reconciled with his family. Their relationship was still a bit cold, but it was getting better with every meeting. Percy did his best to look like the most important person in the room.

Fred and George were grinning mischievously. Harry had to smile at the sight ... he was sure they had planned something special for later.

In the front row he saw Ron and Hermione, their hands tightly entwined, their wedding rings glistening on their fingers. They had gotten married shortly after Voldemort's death.

And there were Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, looking proudly at him as if he was their own son. And in a way he felt exactly like that.

Smiling nervously at everyone, Harry walked past them to the other end of the room to a small altar behind which a picture of Albus Dumbledore hung on the wall.

"It's about time, Harry. I don't have time all day." Dumbledore spoke to him from the picture. "And you are not supposed to let the bride wait."

At his words, a music started playing and Harry turned around. On the other end of the room, Ginny stepped into the room, dressed in a white dress. It was the most beautiful sight in Harry's life.

Smiling she walked towards him. As soon as she had reached him, their hands entwined and they turned to Albus Dumbledore who looked at them as proudly as a man could look.

And like this Harry was officially becoming a member of the Weasley family.

The end