Ginny Weasley crept quietly up the stairs to the boy's dormitories. The sun streamed through the cracked glass of the windows. Below, she could make out the ruins of her precious castle. She shuddered at the previous night's events, and continued on her way.
It was a miracle that Gryffindor tower had survived the battle with nothing but a few cracks and breaks in the window treatments and some debris scattered in the common room downstairs. So much more was ruined though, and Ginny tried not to think about it.
Pushing the heavy wood door open, she scanned the dormitory for the one she was looking for. There he was, curled under the thick down blankets in the four -poster bed. The curtains hadn't even been pulled to block the sun out. The light streaked across his bruised, bloody and all around filthy face. His black hair fanned across the crisp white pillow in a tangled, sweaty and dirt mess. What surprised Ginny the most, was even though he looked like he had been through hell and back again, he still looked peaceful in sleep. His eyebrows had relaxed from the straight, angry line that they had been for hours and the rough contours of his face had smoothed. She almost didn't even had the heart to wake him, even though it had been about thirteen hours since he had disappeared from the commotion in the Great Hall.
"Harry," Ginny whispered delicately. "Wake up."
Harry turned away from her, mumbling something about it being too early. A small smile crept onto her face. For the time being, he seemed just like his old self. She bent her face closer to his, located the only spot on his cheek that wasn't dirt ridden and pressed her lips softly against him. She immediately felt him stir beneath her.
"Good morning, lazy." She grinned, pulling back as two green eyes flew open. Harry Potter looked at her and grinned before rolling over once more.
"Oh no you don't, you lazy sack of dung." Ginny laughed, grabbing a pillow from another bed, smacking him with hit. After about three smacks a hand closed around her wrist and pulled her onto the bed.
"Do that one more time and I will hex you, Ginny Weasley. I'm not afraid to do it." Harry mumbled into her hair.
"You're on Potter, I do believe I haven't bat-bogey hexed you yet." She retorted. Ginny pushed herself off of him and stood with her hands on her hips.
"I came up here for a reason. Mum's going mad trying to find you."
Harry said nothing in return. "I'm not ready to go down there yet." He said quietly. Ginny sighed. "Harry, you're going to have to go down there sometime. You can't hide in here forever. You have to face it."
Harry was quiet for a moment as he pondered this. "How are you handling everything?" He asked, looking up at her.
Ginny felt a sharp pain in her heart as memories of Fred, Tonks, Lupin and even at one point Harry, flashed through her mind. "I'm alright. It's over now, I shouldn't dwell on it." She knew he knew she was lying. But what could she do?
"I'm sorry if I scared you. I had to do it." He had sat up now, but was avoiding her eyes.
A wave of fury ripped through her. "You have no idea what everyone went through when we saw your body. All that fighting, all the lives sacrificed- it all seemed to be for nothing when he said you were dead." She was shaking from the anger.
Harry lifted his eyes to hers. He saw in place of the innocent, warm brown eyes he was used to, eyes that had been through a lot. There was pain and loss and sadness and anger wrapped up together.
"Ginny, I had to do it. That was going to be the only way to defeat him."
Ginny's face softened for a moment. Harry saw this as an opportunity to kiss her- as he hadn't been able to in quite some time. Just as he bent towards her, she all but jumped out of his arms.
"We can't do this right now Harry, you're head's not in the right place." She quietly whispered.
"My head is fine, thank you." Said Harry.
Ginny shook her head. "No, you need time. We all do," She stood to leave. "Come down, Mum will loose it if I return without you."
It had been two weeks since the battle. Everyone who had perished had been properly buried, but most seemed to still be grieving. Ginny sat in her desk chair and stared out the window, reminiscing the days when she and Fred and George would play Quidditch in the field. Sometimes, a lone tear would escape from the corner of her eye, but she would quickly wipe it away.
Her mum was a wreck. The simplest thing that might have even remotely related to Fred sent her off the edge. Ginny had begun to talk very little around her, afraid of setting her off. George was in a right state. He never left his room, not even to eat, and rarely allowed people to talk to him. When Ginny did see him, there was no expression on his face, and nothing in his eyes.
Harry was grieving too. The losses of Lupin, Tonks and Fred had made him so reclusive, he only talked to Ron and Hermione. Ginny had barely said a word to him since they had arrived back at the Burrow. Teddy, Lupin and Tonks's son, had come for a visit a few days ago. Harry nearly broke down when he changed his hair to the pink his mother so adored. Ginny wanted to talk to him, but was slightly afraid to.
"Can I come in?" A tentative voice came from the doorway. Ginny turned and saw Hermione standing awkwardly there, looking very unsure if she should've even asked.
"Of course. This is kind of your room too." Ginny answered, stretching her arms towards the ceiling.
Hermione sat down on the edge of her bed. "I just wanted to see how you were doing. We haven't talked much since.. you know." She fiddled with a loose thread on her shirt.
"I'm about as good as I can be, given the circumstances. What about you?"
Hermione hesitated. "Obviously I'm upset. I know Fred wasn't my brother but… I loved him like one." She glanced nervously up to assess Ginny's reaction.
"I understand. Fred loved you like another sister. You and Harry both, you're both part of this family." Ginny's eyes started to water again and she looked away. She couldn't let Hermione see she was about to cry.
Hermione stood and put an arm around her. "It's okay to cry you know. You don't always have to be so tough." She whispered, stroking Ginny's hair.
Ginny leaned her head against Hermione's shoulder and sobbed.
