Those 19 Years
Chapter 1 - Reunited
A boy with raven black hair and glowing emerald green eyes slouched through the battle-worn hallways of his once magnificent home, hidden safely underneath the sanctuary of his invisibility cloak.
This boy (or man, as he has proven himself to be many time over) was Harry Potter. He was also known as the-boy-who-lived or the- chosen- one, and more recently, the- wizarding- world's -saviour. Mere hours ago, this 17-year-old defeated possibly the most evil wizard of all time, gaining him more than enough un-wanted attention.
As his slumped, un-fed and exhausted figure, made his way slowly towards his only possible source of privacy and comfort, he allowed his mind to wander to what had happened the last day;
Battle, Blood, Hurt, Pain, Victory, Relief, Celebration, Death - Death. There were lots of deaths throughout this battle.
His parents, Sirius, Lupin, Tonks, Colin, Mad-eye, countless members of the Order, Fred... Oh god, Fred.
The scarred man, who was rapidly losing his inner battle of emotional turmoil, slid his frail yet strong body, down the side of a crumbling wall. He brought his head to his hands as his mind swam with images of those he lost. His face scrunched up as his eyes welled with sadness. He let out a heart-wracking sob as the tears rolled over his cheeks. Through the sound of his torment, he heard footsteps coming closer to his prone invisible figure. Apart from the initial sob, he had be crying silently, so unless the person coming closer owned a certain half-mooned pair of spectacles or a magically spinning eye, he was pretty safe of remaining unhidden, as he wanted to be. But he forgot about the one person he wanted to see most of all - Ginny Weasley.
Standing at the end of the corridor, was Ginny Weasley. The youngest of seven, the only girl, the one seen as small, fragile and one in need of protection, was standing at the end of the battered corridor, looking as battle-scarred and emotionally drenched as himself. Her usual crimson hair was now stained with dirt and blood, her chocolate brown eyes were shimmering with tears, and her face was smudged with dirt and accompanied by a thin scar running across her cheek. At this moment, Harry thought she was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. Just as she was about to turn to give up her search as hopeless, he released a strangled whisper.
"Ginny,"
She turned with such vigorousness, she almost lost balance. She knew that voice. It was the voice of the man who she had desperately needed for the past year. It was the voice of the man she had wanted to see and who she had been searching for the last couple of hours. It was the voice of the man she loved. It was the voice of her Harry.
He stood and withdrew his cloak, effectively destroying his escape, and revealed himself to her. They stared at each other for literally seconds, before they began to advance towards each other at a rapid pace. When they reached each other, Ginny flung her arms around his neck and pulled herself towards him, burying her face into the side of his neck. He held her so tightly; her feet weren't touching the floor. He burrowed his face into her hair, comforted by the usual flowery smell buried beneath the dirt and muck. They found solace in each other's arms and clung to any relaxed or comforting feeling that they could at this time. After what seemed like hours, Harry released some tension from his hold and allowed Ginny's feet to touch the dented floor once again. Slowly she eased her grip around his neck so the two could see each other's faces once more. Almost as soon as they were apart, Ginny grabbed his face between her hands and kissed him, in a way reminiscent of their first kiss, but with the additional emotions of the year spent apart poured into the kiss as well. After minutes, or possibly months or years, they separated, and uttered the words both of them were desperate to hear,
"I love you,"
The words echoed through the empty halls, as the two lovers embraced once more, with grins of relief and love plastered on their faces. They remained in silence for a long time, savouring their alone time together. Unfortunately, the emotional silence had to be broken.
"We should probably go to the common room. You know, get some sleep. You certainly look like you need some," she spoke quietly, with a small sad smile on his face.
"I haven't slept for at least two days..." he said with a dry laugh, wondering if he really hadn't slept since before the disastrous episode at Gringotts.
They slowly pulled apart but remained contact by wrapping an arm around each other's waists. They departed and quickly made their way to Gryffindor Tower. It was a short journey, with only their footsteps and the muffled sounds of celebration sounding in the air. Once there, they were interrupted by a drunken Fat Lady.
"Oh my goodness! V, look who it is! It's the saviour of the wizarding world's itself!" she spoke loudly in a drunken slur.
"Sorry, we don't know the password..." Harry started, embarrassedly.
"Like you would need one! Go right on in!" She swung open, a little violently, probably due to her alcohol intake.
They stepped into the common room, relieved that they found it relatively untouched. Apart from a rip on one of the thoroughly worn sofas and a small window smashed, it appeared the same as Harry remembered since First Year. Sighing, he felt a tug on his hand. Ginny was walking towards the Boy's dormitory, and dragging Harry with her.
"Ginny? What are you doing?" he asked cautiously.
"Going to get some rest with you," she stated simply as they started up the stairs.
"Are you sure?"
Ginny stopped and turned towards him, a few steps higher than him, making them the same height.
"Harry, I need to sleep. So do you. And I know that unless I'm being held by your arms or at least near you I'm going to have nightmares – and I just can't deal with that... Not today..." she finished in almost a whisper.
Harry understood her reasoning and hated seeing her so helpless. He leaned forward and gave her a soft kiss and small smile in reassurance. She continued leading them up the stairs.
When they reached the dorm, Harry was welcomed by the warming sight of his traditional four-poster. He supposed it may look strange with all their possessions missing, but he was so tired he didn't notice. Before he collapsed in bed, he remembered that he hadn't got any other clothes and neither did Ginny.
"Kreacher!" Harry called.
With a loud pop, the wrinkling, old elf appeared in the room, and Ginny jumped beside him. Harry looked as the elf stared at him, eyes full of admiration.
"Master called for Kreacher. Kreacher is very proud of his Master and what he did. Kreacher is proud to be the great Harry Potter's house elf," he croaked, with his big tennis-ball eyes shining.
"Thank you for your help Kreacher. You and the other house elves did amazingly. I'll never be able to thank you fully," Harry replied, smiling at the small creature.
"You has done more than enough, Master. Is there anything Kreacher can do for his noble Master?"
"Could you grab me some clothes and pyjamas and some for Ginny too. Oh, and a sandwich or two wouldn't do any harm," he had barely finished talking before Kreacher popped out.
He turned to look at Ginny and smiled widely at the look on her face. She stood staring at the place Kreacher once stood with the pure picture of shock and confusion plastered on her face. Harry almost laughed. She turned to him.
"What? Since when was he so nice?" she asked, thoroughly confused.
"Part of our long story of last year – I'll promise I'll tell you, soon, but I can't right now, not today..."
"It is okay, Harry. Just make sure I hear it soon, alright?"
He pulled her towards him in an embrace, but as her head hit his chest, he felt a bruising pain and hissed. Ginny removed her head quickly at the sound looking at him. She pressed lightly on the spot her head had been, and he hissed again. She started to pull off his shirt. When Harry protested, Ginny gave him a stern look full of love and worry, and he stopped. Once she pulled of his shirt, she gasped. Upon his slim yet muscular figure, was a large purple bruise over his heart. Harry himself looked down and looked shocked also. Ginny peppered a few kisses on his bruise before kissing him. The moment was interrupted however, when Kreacher popped back into the room with a pile of clothes and a large plate of bacon sandwiches. He also revealed a pot of dittany. Kreacher looked at him concernedly.
"I is thinking you would be needing some Master,"
They nodded their thanks and he left. Before changing or eating, Ginny pushed Harry down on to the bed. She picked up the dittany and massaged some into his chest. Harry sighed as his discomfort was eased. After Ginny was sure all cuts and bruises on his chest were covered, she kissed him again before letting him get changed and going to change in a different bathroom herself.
Harry persuaded his tired body to get up from the comfort of his bed of six years. He shuffled his feet on the worn red carpet of the boy's dormitory and made his way to the shower. Walking past, he caught his reflection in the mirror. He hadn't looked at his reflection in at least a week – he had grown dark stubble, his face looked pale and he was sure Mrs Weasley was going to want to fatten him up soon enough. He wondered into the shower and sighed as the hot steaming water relaxed his muscles. He simply stood for a few minutes before grabbing an old bar of soap and washing his hair and peeling the grime of off his body. About 20 minutes later, he was dried and clothed, under the covers of his bed waiting for Ginny. Just as he was about to close his eyes, he saw a flash of red, and turned to see Ginny stepping through the door of the dormitory. She was wearing a familiar red quidditch shirt that was far too big for her and came down to just above the lower half of her thighs. She smiled at him softly, crawled under the covers and snuggled closer to his warmth. Harry's arms came around her as she laid her head on his chest, feeling and hearing his heart beat against her ear. He kissed the top of her head, breathing in her intoxicating scent, before sighing and closing his eyes.
"It's finally over, isn't it?" he breathed.
"No, Harry," she breathed, snuggling her head under his chin, "It's just the beginning."