Summary: Harry and Ginny are languishing in prison after the Department of Mysteries when they disappear to a new world
Pairings: HarryGinny
Stronger Than All
Prologue
"Harry, how many days left?"
Harry Potter stirred. It was a mistake, for his muscles started burning with intense pain. Stifling a scream, he touched the soft arm of the figure crumpled against him.
"It's only been a week or so. Plenty of time left," he said mournfully. "Go to sleep, Ginny." He sighed.
"I can't," the girl wailed. "He's there."
There was no need to mention names. There was only one person who could haunt the girl's dreams, turning them into a living nightmare. All Harry could do was gently stroke the girl's hair and back, affording what little comfort he could. In return, Ginny would look after him similarly when he woke up from a particularly bad night.
"He's gone, Gin," Harry said quietly. "I destroyed the diary, remember? And the Basilisk."
"Then why are we here?" the girl asked in a haunted voice.
Harry sighed. Even in the darkness, he could see the grief in Ginny. It wasn't the first time she had asked that question. He rubbed her shoulder, feeling much sorrow for the innocent girl who had suffered, first at the hand of Tom Riddle, and then from the Dementors of Azkaban.
Azkaban was a truly horrible place. And those who had been there for a continuously long period would be horrified to learn that a teenage wizard and witch were left there. But no one cared for these two particular youngsters anymore.
As tears threatened to spill from his eyes, he whispered, "You are here because you didn't betray me."
"Oh," Ginny said thoughtfully. "All right then." And snuggling closer to Harry's chest, she closed her eyes again.
He couldn't hold back the tears any longer. Ignoring the stench of sweat, blood and muck from their combined bodies, he rested his face on the girl's head and cried. He held her tight, willing to snatch away her nightmares, but he never was much good in Occlumency or Legilimency.
Azkaban was a place of terrible memories, and Harry had more bad memories than anyone deserved to. But Azkaban was no longer the screams of his parents. He had gotten used to that the very first day. In retrospect, he wondered why he hated that memory. After all, he got to hear his parents' voice, got to feel the love of his mother. Closing his eyes, memories swirled around and he plunged into his new most terrible memory.
He remembered facing Voldemort in the Department of Mysteries. He remembered seeing his godfather fall through the Veil. He remembered casting the Cruciatus Curse on Bellatrix Lestrange. He remembered being possessed by Voldemort. He remembered waking up to the sight of Albus Dumbledore's face, pale and disappointed. He remembered being informed that for casting an Unforgivable Curse and destroying Ministry of Magic property after an unlawful break-in, he would be sent to Akaban for five years. The sentence ought to have been for life but Dumbledore fought against it. He remembered Minister of Magic Fudge's offer to his 'friends', to speak against Harry in return for their own safety and recognition. He remembered being taken by Aurors. He remembered the screams and protests from Ginny Weasley. He remembered waking up with her next to him in a cell in Azkaban.
Above all, he remembered the conversation with Albus Dumbledore, in which the old wizard apologized for being unable to help Harry. He also apologized for the deception that was Harry Potter's life, but claiming it to be necessary for the greater good. Unfortunately, according to Dumbledore, Harry Potter might have walked down the same path as Tom Riddle, and though Dumbledore would have done his utmost to keep Harry away from Azkaban, he no longer held the soft spot for the boy who cast an Unforgiveable.
Silently, he rubbed Ginny's arms, watching her face contort painfully, no doubt fighting her own ghosts. Though saddened that she had to suffer merely for not speaking against him, he knew that she alone was the reason why his sanity had not snapped as yet. Rubbing her arms, he reached for her cheek and gently touched it. As he did, her face relaxed and she muttered, "Thanks."
Feeling her sleep peacefully in his arms, Harry couldn't help it. He smiled. Azkaban could destroy happy memories, but it could do little to repress the certainty of love that was growing between them. The betrayals of his friends, the screams of his parents, the fall of Sirius, none of them mattered anymore. The only sorrow he could feel anymore was that Ginny must suffer as well.
And as the certainty of his love for Ginny washed him, as it did the girl as well, a faint glow covered them both, unnoticed. The glow intensified until finally, with a flash, the two disappeared.