Let Me Go

Inspired by the song "Let Me Go" by 3 Doors Down

A/N: I do not own the characters; J. K. Rowling does. I do not own the song; 3 Doors Down does. Again, I took some liberties with this one, but all spoken parts are in the book Half Blood Prince. Enjoy! Please R/R!!! Thanks!

Ever since Dumbledore died, he had been different. Something in him had changed, and it seemed like he wanted to tell me something, but could never bring himself to say it. I knew he had something on his mind; however, I wasn't going to push him, because I feared what it might be. So, it was with a heavy heart and mind that I made my way to Dumbledore's funeral with two of my best friends, Hermione and Ron, and my boyfriend Harry.

We followed Professor McGonagall out onto the grounds near the lake. It was a warm, sunny day; exactly the opposite of how I and everyone else felt. There were white chairs set up facing the lake. We had been sitting for a few minutes, Harry grasping my hand, as if he never wanted to let go. I knew this was very hard for him; Dumbledore had been his mentor, his idol, almost like a grandfather. Harry was looking around at the various people who had shown up for the funeral, but I was studying him. Whenever he would see someone he disdained, a cloud seemed to cover his handsome features. When he looked over to the members of the Order, or to Neville and Luna, a slight smile found its way to his lips. In a mater of moments, music filled the air. I quickly recognized it as merpeople. I had heard it quite a bit during the second Task of the Triwizard Tournament in Harry's fourth year. Harry, however, began looking around for the source. "In there," I whispered into his ear. He turned his head, and looked into the lake. Comprehension made its way onto his features, and I smiled. I loved the way Harry looked when he just realized something. It was completely adorable. I noticed that Hagrid was walking down the middle aisle with a bundle wrapped in dark purple velvet that was spotted with golden stars. Dumbledore's body must have been inside of the cloth. I knew that the funeral was beginning, and so I nudged Harry to get his attention.

The funeral was long, but in my opinion, not long enough considering who had passed. Dumbledore was a great man, and almost everyone loved him dearly; especially Harry. Suddenly, Harry's grip on my hand, and his grip on the golden locket of the fake horcrux in his other tightened. I could tell that he was crying. The realization of Dumbledore's passing must have just dawned upon him, as his funeral was now over. He never did want to show anyone when he was upset. He always shut himself up into his room or whatever. I hoped that I could help him open up about what he is feeling, instead of him bottling it all up.

When he turned back around, I could see pain in his eyes. "Ginny, listen…" I felt my heart catch in my throat. No good could come from this. I just gave his hand a reassuring squeeze, and let him continue. "I can't be involved with you anymore. We've got to stop seeing each other. We can't be together," Harry said. I knew that if he had listened closely enough, he could have heard my heart break. I didn't want him to see how upset this was making me, so I gave him the best smile I could muster, but I knew it looked twisted, like it pained me to smile at him. It did.

"It's for some stupid, noble reason, isn't it?" I asked, knowing that it had to be. There was no other reason that I could think of. He just looked at me with love in his eyes, but a sad expression on his face. "It's been like…like something out of someone else's life, these last few weeks with you," he said. His voice cracked. I could tell this was hard for him. "But I can't…we can't…I've got things to do alone now." I couldn't cry. I wanted to, but I had also felt like this was coming. He had been different since Dumbledore's death, and I knew he would be thinking along these lines.

"Voldemort uses people his enemies are close to. He's already used you as bait once, and that was just because you're my best friend's sister. Think how much danger you'll be in if we keep this up. He'll know, he'll find out. He'll try and get to me through you," Harry spoke as if every word caused him physical pain. I didn't want this, my time with him, to end. So I said, "What if I don't care?" "I care. How do you think I'd feel if this was your funeral…and it was my fault…" Harry responded. I couldn't look at him anymore, so I turned to the lake. My heart wasn't only broken. It was shattered. I knew he was only trying to protect me, but I loved him. I knew that if he could only see that, if he could only understand how much I cared for him, maybe he would take back everything he just said, and pull me into one of his warm, tender, comforting hugs. Maybe even a sweet kiss.

"I never really gave up on you. Not really. I always hoped….Hermione told me to get on with life, maybe go out with some other people, relax a bit around you, because I never used to be able to talk if you were in the room, remember?" I said in one big breath. I continued. "And she thought you might take a bit more notice if I were a bit more — myself." I turned to look at him. I could tell he was trying to smile. "Smart girl, that Hermione. I just wish I'd asked you sooner. We could have had ages…months…years maybe…" When he said this, I felt my heart skip a beat. "But you've been too busy saving the Wizarding world," I replied, half laughing. It was all I could say to keep from crying. "Well…I can't say I'm surprised. I knew this would happen in the end. I knew you wouldn't be happy unless you were fighting Voldemort. Maybe that's why I like you so much." I was lying through my teeth. I had no idea that this was coming. I didn't want it to. And to top it off, I had choked. I hadn't told him that I loved him. I looked over at the boy that made my life complete, and watched as he got up with a pained expression on his gorgeous face. He didn't say anything to me as he walked off. I wished that he had said something, anything, to let me know that he had understood what I had said. Anything to make it clear that he still wanted to be with me, but couldn't for fear of what Voldemort would do. I watched him make his way around the lake. I couldn't look at him anymore. I stood up, and made my way to the castle. There was a soft breeze wafting past me. As it lifted my hair around my face, I could feel it blowing the pieces of my crushed heart along with it. A single silver tear finally leaked from my eye, and I quickly wiped it away, knowing full well I would never feel the same way about anyone else, the way I felt about Harry Potter.