A/N: Godiva chocolate for Lisa. You might need it. And thanks for all of your help with this.
Ginny hardly knew what had just happened. For a split second, she almost expected Harry to come back. It was only a split second, though. She realized almost as quickly that waiting was futile. She made her way back to the Burrow, almost running by the time she burst into the living room. For the first time in days, she was feeling something other than the crushing grief that had painted her last hours.
She looked around desperately for Ron and Hermione and was relieved to spot them immediately. They were sitting with George and Percy, and they were obviously talking about something, but she hardly spared her other brothers a glance as she stared directly at Ron and said, "I need you."
Ron gazed at her blankly for a moment, but Hermione heard the urgency in Ginny's voice, and she jumped to her feet, pulling him with her. Without a backward glance, Ginny walked out of the house, and they followed. Once they were out of earshot, Ginny explained what had just happened. Her voice was flat, but both her brother and friend could hear the fear just beneath the surface.
For a moment, Ron and Hermione looked at each other, and then Hermione sighed and nodded slightly. Ron paled.
"You really think so?" he asked her, his voice low.
Hermione sighed. "Where else would he have gone?" she asked. Her hands were shaking, but her voice was steady. She reached over and grasped Ron's hand.
"We have to go get him," she said plainly, and it was clear that there was no room for argument. Ron merely nodded, and they had both started to move toward a disapparation point when Ginny's voice arrested them.
"Were you planning on telling me where you were going? Or am I not invited?"
Her voice was like ice, and Ron felt himself flushing with embarrassment as he turned to her quickly.
"I'm sorry," he said immediately. She was right; he knew it, and he didn't have the energy or the time to argue anyway. He held out his hand to her. "Come with us," he said softly. "Harry – Harry's going to need you, I think."
Ginny looked at him and swallowed hard before putting her hand in his.
"Ok," she whispered. "Let's go."
It wasn't until she was being side alonged that she realized she had no idea where she was going.
Harry knew where the headstones were. Of course he did. They were the reason why he came here, obviously. But he couldn't bring himself to go near them quite yet. Instead, he found himself sitting on the ground in front of a tree. He could just barely glimpse the shining marble from where he sat, but he was ok with that for now.
He was just so angry with himself. How could he have done that to Ginny? How could he have just left her there right when she needed him most? What was wrong with him?
He shook his head and closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, he got up. He had to take the few remaining steps.
The names… they never seemed real. How was it possible that these were the people who had sacrificed their lives so he could live, but he had no memories of them? He felt the familiar lump rising in his throat again and tried to breathe deeply. It wasn't working. His eyes blurred, and the tears he'd been holding back came at last. He let them fall. No one was there after all. No one was there…
"Arthur's gone." The words came out in a sob. He didn't even know why he was saying them. He wasn't the type to talk in graveyards, but he was alone, after all, and these were his parents.
He sniffled and drew his hand across his eyes. "You wouldn't think of him as gone. I guess, technically, he's actually with you. But – but I want all of you here. I mean… I never really had the chance to have you around, Dad. So Arthur – he did what you couldn't. He looked out for me, and he tried to steer me in the right direction. And – and I know you wouldn't have minded if I'd called him Dad after my wedding. But now I won't ever get to do that. And I really wanted to. I hope that wouldn't have hurt your feelings."
He let out a shuddering breath and wiped his eyes again. "I don't know how to do this," he said plaintively, and he found himself looking at his mother's name.
"I – I wish you were here. You'd know what I should do. You could tell me how I could help Ginny. Because I really don't know how I'm supposed to do that. It hurts so much, and I don't want to make her hurt even more. I want to help her, but I can hardly keep hold of myself. And there's no one who can help me."
The tears were flowing faster now, and his shoulders shook as he sank to his knees and covered his face with his hands. This was why he never wanted to come here. It hurt too much.
Ron, Hermione and Ginny looked at each other, and Hermione knew immediately that she would have to be the one to lead the way to where their friend was now huddled on the ground. She didn't even look behind her, just walked quietly to where she and Harry had once stood together on a cold winter night.
He didn't hear them at first. In fact, it wasn't until Hermione crouched down and put her hand on his shoulder that he had any idea that he wasn't alone. He raised his head slowly then, but he wouldn't look directly at her. He tried to take a deep breath, but it caught in his throat.
No one spoke until Ginny said quietly, "You do help."
Harry froze. Hermione still had her hand on his shoulder, and she felt him go rigid at the sound of his fiancée's voice. And that was when he looked up the rest of the way.
It was as if Hermione and Ron had ceased to exist. Harry looked at Ginny, and Ginny looked at Harry, and she said huskily, "Your tears – they help."
His lip trembled even as he nodded, but he couldn't speak. His voice was stuck in his throat.
Ron looked from his best mate to his sister, and then he leaned close to Hermione and whispered, "I think we should go."
Hermione looked at him in surprise, but he wasn't looking at her. She turned to look at what he was seeing, and then she knew he was right. Ginny and Harry were staring at each other as though mesmerized. It was time for them to go.
Ginny waited until she heard the cracks that meant they were alone. Harry was staring at her, but his lip was still trembling, and his eyes were red and watery. She could hardly remember the last time she'd seen him like this, and she did the only thing she could think of.
Scooting closer on the ground, she wrapped her arms around him. For a long moment, he held himself perfectly still, and she wondered if they were back to square one. But then he whispered, "I'm sorry I left. I just…"
He trailed off and bit down hard on his lip, but Ginny tightened her grip on him.
"I'm sorry too," she said, looking over his shoulder at the headstone she'd only seen once before. The name Potter gleamed at her, and she whispered, "I heard you, you know. What you said to them. To your parents. You really did – you loved him. You – you wanted to call him Dad."
She wasn't asking. She didn't need to. Because Harry's shoulders had started to shake again, and he nodded against her as he choked, "I did. He was. I mean I had my own parents – but they couldn't do the things your dad did. He's the one who tried to look out for me before we knew the truth about Sirius. He took me to my hearing at the ministry. He – he did what Dads do. No one ever did that for me like he did. No one."
Ginny wanted to thank him. She wanted to tell him how much she loved him for loving her dad so much. She opened her mouth, but her voice didn't come out at all. She made a sound that was something of a cross between a word and a sob, and the tears that had been stinging her eyes were suddenly rolling down her cheeks.
And then they were holding each other so tightly that neither thought the other would ever let go. Neither of them knew how long they were kneeling before James and Lily's graves until their tears finally spent themselves.
Once they were calmer, Ginny scrubbed at her eyes with the heels of her hands, while Harry took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose as he sighed.
They looked at each other then, and Harry said softly, "I'm – I'm sure Bill would."
Ginny stared at him quizzically, and Harry let out another deep breath.
"Walk you down the aisle," he said carefully, and now he saw the understanding in her eyes.
She nodded and swallowed.
"I guess," she whispered. "I just wanted…"
She trailed off. There was no use in saying it. She didn't need to anyway. Because Harry was looking at her, and one look into his eyes told her one thing: he understood.
She got to her feet, and Harry quickly joined her. For a moment, they gazed at the marble before them, and then Ginny said softly, "Thank you."
Harry's throat closed at her words. He swallowed hard, and then he took her hand and led her to the gates. With one last glance behind him, he turned on his heel. It was time to go back.
A/N: Harry needed his turn here, obviously, and I needed these couples to get along with each other. We're back to the rest of the family in the next chapters and how they're coping. Please read and REVIEW!
