Meet Me There
Everyone had gone, leaving her all alone now. Her oldest son had tried to get her to come and stay with him, but she had refused. He had a family of his own now, and she needed to be at home. Home was where they had lived and raised their family. Home was the place where they would sit on the front porch swing, holding hands until the moon was directly overhead. Home was where he was, and right now, she needed to be near him.
Tired of sitting, she rose and walked to the swing. She ran her hands over his seat; she could almost feel the warmth of him sitting there. For sixty-nine years, he had been her husband, her love, her life. The trials and tribulations that they had been through before they were finally a couple had been almost unbearable at times, but in the end, it had all been worth it. The elderly woman breathed in deep and smelled him in the air. She could still feel him sneaking up behind her, placing his hands around her waist, and kissing the nape of her neck. She could still feel the strength that he had given her. As the tears began to fall, all she could do was lie on the swing. She had no strength left; he had been her strength for so many years, and now he was gone. Merlin, how she missed him, she would give anything to be with him now.
She woke up to the morning light shining into her eyes. Ginny stared directly into the sun, which was rising a wonderful fiery red. She felt the tears well up again. Everything reminded her of love. She couldn't count the number of times that he called her his sunshine. When the children would complain about the rain, he only had one response for them, "I don't worry about rain. I have all the sunshine I need right here." Ginny smiled slightly, remembering how the children would then groan and complain about Mummy and Daddy snogging again.
She sighed. She didn't know what she was going to do without him. As she walked into the kitchen, she half expected him to be there. He was always the first to rise. Most mornings he would lie in bed watching his wife as she slept. At first, it had unnerved her; she thought she had drool on her face or was snoring. He assured her that it wasn't the case; he just wanted to watch her sleep. Oh, how he had enjoyed the ordinary affairs in life. He loved cooking breakfast for the family, and loved playing with the children. He was the best husband anyone could wish for.
The emotions in the kitchen were too hard for her to bear, she exited the house; she knew where she needed to be. Crossing the lawn, she stopped to look around. When they were first married, they had decided to settle near their family and friends. She had never regretted living so close to her parents, nor had he. He loved it. It was as though they were his parents, also. She laughed as she remembered their return from their honeymoon. Her parents had insisted that he call them Mum and Dad, but he was too reserved. It had taken him a few years to get used to calling them that, but eventually he did and he never thought twice about it again.
She came to their tree. During the rough times in their relationship, this is where they would come to work through things. If they were having a disagreement, even though, neither would say anything about it, they would end up meeting here. Their initials were carved into the tree twice; once to reflect their dating, and again, to reflect their marriage.
She still remembered when he proposed to her. She had noticed his nervousness for days. The day he asked her, she still had no idea that he had been planning to ask for her hand in marriage. He had asked to speak with her father, alone. She wasn't sure what was wrong, she thought that it was just Ministry business, but he was sweating so profusely that she had thought him ill. When he finally exited the room, he was smiling a goofy grin that made him look as though he was going to be sick. All that he could say was, "Meet me there."
She followed him in a few minutes. She had always thought herself rather intelligent, but still to this day could not understand why she never figured out what he was planning. When she got to the tree, she could see him pacing back and forth. Amused, she stood to the side, letting him stew a few minutes. She heard him swear, and say, "Where is she?" As he said this, she stepped around the tree and came face to face with her. His beautiful eyes grew wide and she smiled at him. The look in his eyes said everything. She finally realized why he was so nervous.
She raised her eyebrows and tried to stop smiling, but the smile play so mischievously on the corners of her mouth that he grabbed her and kissed her passionately. They held onto each other for a long time, saying nothing. Finally he spoke, "How about it?" She simply nodded as he took a box out of his pocket and pulled out a beautiful ruby ring surrounded by emeralds.
"You're the center of my world. Everything about me revolves around you. Will you always meet me here?"
She had started crying when she saw the ring. He hadn't needed to explain; she knew what he was trying to say, but hearing the words come from him had made her melt. "I will if you will."
They sat by that tree for hours, him leaning against the tree and her against him. It was their favorite place to be—with each other.
Her thoughts presently turned to that last day. He had been growing weaker as the years had gone on. Still rather young, by wizard standards, all of the things he had been through in life were now being reflected in his current state of health. She had stayed by his side day and night. The children had wanted to relieve her, but she wouldn't hear of it. He wouldn't have left her side, and she wasn't going to leave his. She wasn't ready to lose him, not yet, but she would rather him go than suffer. As he grew near death, he had opened his eyes, and looked around at all his family and friends standing there. His best friends were crying; he smiled and told them he was going to be okay, and they still had each other. He said individual goodbyes to each of his children and grandchildren. Finally, after everyone had left the room, but the children and her, he turned to face the woman he loved so much. She kissed his lips. He grabbed her and spoke, "Meet me there."
Through tears, she said, "I will if you will." Then he was gone.
She looked toward his resting place and made her way in that direction.
Entering the graveyard, it all seemed surreal to her. All of the flowers were still on the grave. Walking up to the tombstone, she dropped to her knees and began sobbing and whispered, "My heart is gone." Laying her head on the top of the tombstone, Ginny Potter began to rub the letters lovingly, and as she swore her soft promises of meeting him there, she thought the words couldn't be any more appropriate: Harry James Potter—loving husband and father. He lived a simple life.