A/N: Sorry for the shorter chapter but there were some things I wanted to write and cover before we really dive into the events of the Deathly Hallows. Additionally, I wanted to change some things obviously. Hope you all enjoy and thanks for the amazing reviews and those who continue to stick with me!
"How is he doing?" Sirius whispered to Ginny as he took a seat next to her on one of the couches in the Gryffindor Common Room.
The Common Room was practically empty except for the exception of those that were closest to Harry. The castle had remained silent since the events of the last night when it saw the loss of its beloved Headmaster.
"The best Headmaster Hogwarts has ever seen," many of the moving portraits would comment to each other as students passed them throughout the day.
"He never came back out last night," Ginny said, her voice trembling as she mourned for the man she had come to love so much throughout the year. "Or this morning."
"Give him time," Sirius tried to comfort her. "He's been through a lot these past hours."
"He's been through a lot his whole life," Ginny scowled at the thought. "It's not fair. Why does it have to be him?"
"I don't know," Sirius mumbled. "Because of a stupid Prophecy that Voldemort decided to believe in? I don't buy it for a second. You're right, it isn't fair."
"For the longest time I always thought it would be Dumbledore facing him in the end," Ginny said. "But then the stupid Prophecy came out but I still didn't believe it, or at least tried to deny it. Now it seems Harry really does have to face him in the end."
"It does seem so," Sirius agreed but shuddered at the thought of it. "But that doesn't mean we can't be by his side the entire way. He'll need us."
"And I intend on being by his side the entire way," Ginny said determinedly. "I'm pretty sure he's not coming back to school next year."
"I figured as much," Sirius acknowledged. "I'm sure Ron and Hermione already plan on following him too. I would go but they'll need someone to stay behind to lead the Order now that Dumbledore is gone. That is where I believe I can make the most difference."
"And like hell, I'm not going with them too," Ginny growled. "I'm not leaving Harry, especially not now."
"You're going to have to fight your mum on that one," Sirius managed to chuckle. "She's going to throw a fit when she finds out that neither you nor Ron plans on going back to Hogwarts. And what about the Trace that will still be on you?"
"I'll find other ways I can help," Ginny replied sternly. "Just because I can't do magic doesn't mean I can't help."
Sirius smiled brightly at the women that reminded him so much, Lily. She, like Ginny, was always determined to find a solution to any problems, and nothing was going to stop her from being there to support her friends.
"What?" Ginny asked after noticing the curious way Sirius was looking at her.
"You just remind me so much of Lily," he smiled. "She would have liked you very much."
"Is that a good thing?" Ginny teased but took to heart Sirus's words.
He smirked back at her. "It's a very good thing."
Harry continued to lay in his bed in Gryffindor Tower; his eyes closed but sleep had never come to claim him the night before. The flash of green, Dumbledore falling from the tower, Snape fleeing with a group of Death Eaters; the images refused to leave Harry alone to his peace.
Dumbledore was really gone. How could this have happened? It all lead back to one name… Snape.
Just thinking about the name made Harry's insides boil in frustration. Dumbledore had trusted Snape with his life, and how did he repay him? He killed him. No flicker of emotion in his voice as he cast the Killing Curse at his friend.
Why couldn't it all just end? Everyone around him seemed to get hurt or killed in some way because of him. Ron during their first year trying to help him get the Sorcerer's Stone. Ginny's body being possessed and taken down to the Chamber of Secrets. Sirius being falsely accused and being tormented by Dementors for thirteen years. Cedric being killed by Wormtail during the last task of the Triwizard Tournament. Mr. Weasley being attacked by Nagini for protecting the Prophecy because it was about him. And now Dumbledore. Would it ever end?
Just thinking about it all again made tears swell up in Harry's eyes again, wishing that all the pain and suffering he felt at that moment would just go away.
Maybe Voldemort should have killed him all those years ago when he came to Godric's Hollow to act upon the piece of the Prophecy he had known. It would have saved everyone the pain and suffering from ever having to be associated with him.
"Harry?" a soft and gentle voice called out to him from the doorway, causing his thoughts to be brought back to the present.
Harry slowly turned his head to see Ginny standing in the doorway, her eyes glistening with water in resemblance to his own. He knew she had been mourning for him as she knew how much Dumbledore had meant to him. She had even gotten to know Dumbledore even more within the last year and had grown close to him as well.
"Hi, Ginny," Harry spoke, his voice was hoarse as those were the first words he had spoken since the events of last night.
She smiled faintly back down at him but the pain and grief she had still covered her face. "Is it okay if I stay here with you?"
Harry nodded, Ginny making her way over to his bedside and sliding underneath the covers behind him before wrapping her arms around him to hold him.
The gentle feel of her soft touch made Harry's eyes water once again. These were not tears of pain or suffering but tears of relief and joy. Being held in Ginny's arms made him feel safe, and for once in his life, he forgot all memories of a crazy dark wizard out there to kill him.
Harry found himself grateful having Ginny there by his side. What did he ever do to deserve her? She understood him more than even Ron and Hermione ever had it seemed. He continued to cry into her arms as she remained silent but rubbed a comforting arm along his side.
"I'm sorry," Harry muttered when he finally had been able to regather himself when the tears refused to come no more. "I didn't mean—"
"You have nothing to be ashamed of," she said firmly. "Everyone does it. I'm just happy you didn't hold it in and I was able to help you through it."
"Thank you," he turned to smile at her, her lips then gently pressing against his own.
"Of course," she smiled brightly back at him.
The two continued to lay in the comfort of each other's arms for the next hour before departing from the dorms and making their way to the Great Hall.
The sky was overcast and cloudy; a perfect setting that reflected everyone's current mood on this unfortunate day. The day Albus Dumbledore would be put to rest on the small island surrounded by the lake of Hogwarts school.
Harry had never seen so many people it one place. He knew that Dumbledore was popular and well acquainted with many different wizards, but this was nothing like Harry expected. Even the Minister of Magic and Percy Weasley had attended—and fortunately did not try to approach Harry to talk.
Several staff members and close friends took their chance to say a few words for everyone to hear; McGonagall, Harry thought, gave the most impressive and inspiring speech of them all.
Harry looked up to the sky during the middle of the ceremony to see a low glimmer of red flying hight above the island, letting out low cries for everyone to hear. Fawkes had always been loyal to Dumbledore and had now lost his oldest friend.
What would happen to Fawkes, Harry thought to himself when he saw the friendly phoenix. Where would he go?
Finally, it came time for Dumbledore's tomb to be sealed once and for all. It was a magnificent white marble design that suited the former headmaster perfectly. His wand was placed in his hands, and with a slight flick of their wands from all the staff members, the tomb was sealed.
Harry could feel the tears start rolling down the side of his face when he heard the subtle thud of the tomb being sealed. It made it just the more real to him. Dumbledore was gone and he wasn't coming back.
Harry looked over and saw that Ginny's face reflected much of his own at that same moment; tears running down her face causing her eyes to become a bright red. He reached out and took her hand in his own, glad that she was here by his side and hoped she would never leave.
However, at the same time, he couldn't help but feel he was putting her in danger and wanted to push her away for her own safety. Voldemort was always going to be after him and would hurt those close to him because of it. He couldn't be responsible for any more deaths. Never again.
"Ginny…" Harry leaned over and quietly mumbled over to her before finding himself cut off by her voice.
"No," she said sternly, refusing to meet his gaze.
"But…"
"No," she said, cutting him off once again. "I know exactly what you're going to say. The answer is still no."
Harry tried to open his mouth but found that any words refused to come forward.
"You are not breaking up with me," she continued calmly after noticing Harry's struggle to produce his own words.
"How…"
"I know you, Harry," Ginny spat. "And I won't allow it. I know you care about me but I care about you too. I won't have any of it."
"I'm not coming back," Harry said. "Not after everything that has happened. I have to go find the other Horcruxes. I have to end it once and for all."
"And I'm coming with you," Ginny finally turned to face him, taking his face into her hands.
"But the Trace," Harry tried to argue, but unsuccessfully.
"I'll find other ways to help," she faintly smiled at him. "I said I would be with you until the end. Let me keep that promise."
Ginny could see that Harry was contemplating and trying to organize his thoughts in his head, trying to find an argument so she wouldn't be in danger of being with him. Nothing came to fruition though.
"Your mother is going to kill me," Harry groaned in defeat.
"Not if I don't kill you first after trying to dump me," she smacked him across his arm. "Prat."
Harry smiled brightly back at her. "I love you."
"I love you too."
"Where is it?" Harry roared while he frantically searched around Dumbledore's office.
"Nothing over here," Ron yelled back from his corner of the office.
"It's got to be here!" Hermione snapped back at him. "Keep looking!"
"I know he was the one that had it last," Sirius said from his corner of the Headmaster's study. "I'm the one who gave it to him."
"It couldn't have just disappeared," Ginny said in frustration. "Could it?"
"Not bloody likely," Ron commented.
Harry, alongside his friends and Sirius, had been frantically searching around Dumbledore's office for the Horcrux he had been holding on to since Sirius had passed it along to him. Dumbledore had told him that fateful night that he had stored the Horcrux in his office and that he wanted Harry to go find it. He had to find it no matter the cost.
"I don't think it's here, Harry," Sirius finally conceded after searching around the office for another hour. "We've searched the entire area. It's not here."
Harry pounded his fist on Dumbledore's desk. "How?"
"I don't know," Sirius said, reach out his comforting hand and giving Harry's shoulder a slight squeeze. "But we'll find it. I know we will."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because I have hope," Sirius answered straightly. "And you have some very smart friends," he added, giving a slight grin towards Hermione specifically.
"I'll think of something, Harry," Hermione said. "I promise I won't let you down."
Harry could only smile brightly at his friend. "I know. You never have."
Harry snuck later that night under the cover of his Invisibility Cloak, finding himself in need of some fresh air and a walk around the castle's grounds. He allowed his body to take him without thinking and was not surprised at all when he found himself at the foot of Dumbledore's grave late into the night.
"I'm sorry sir," Harry found himself speaking into the darkness, placing a yearning hand on top of the marble tomb. "I just… wish we had more time."
"As did he," a deep voice startled Harry from behind.
Harry turned around to see the saddened, but hopeful, face of Abeforth Dumbledore.
"He cared very much for you, Harry," the old man continued before taking a knee next to Harry and his brother's grave. "There were many things that brought him happiness and joy to his life. You were one of them, Harry."
"Thank you," Harry smiled at the memory of his headmaster. "I just feel so lost without him."
"Albus always came to visit me down in Hogsmeade during the weekends," Aberforth said. "Even though my brother and I didn't always have the best relationship, I eventually came to realize he always meant well. He always cared deeply for the people he loved. He cared very much for you, and because of that, he will always be with you. The ones that we love never truly leave us, instead they become a part of us."
Harry subtly wiped away a tear that had escaped from his eyes. "I know. Just like my mum and dad. I think it was Dumbledore who told me something very similar one time."
"He was very wise," Aberforth smiled. "And I'm glad I was able to call him my brother."
Suddenly, a bright flash of red and a loud crack flashed before Harry and Aberforth's eyes at the foot of Dumbledore's grave; a red phoenix now standing on top of its former master's enclosure.
"Fawkes?" Harry said in shock after uncovering his eyes from his arm, revealing the phoenix that had come to him those many years ago in the Chamber of Secrets.
The bird cried lowly after hearing its name, brushing his head alongside Harry's own.
"Amazing," Harry heard Aberforth murmur under his breath. "Who would have known."
"What is?" Harry looked at him confused while he continued to stroke Fawke's feathers with his fingers.
"It seems that Fawkes has chosen a new master," the older man answered with a rather large grin.
"Me?"
"Yes," Aberforth smiled brightly. "You, Harry."
"No way, Harry!" Ron said excitedly when he awoke the next morning to see the Phoenix perched next to Harry's bed; Hedwig opposite from the new bird. "That's bloody awesome! Your very own Phoenix!"
"Quite a shock to myself too," Harry rubbed the back of his head nervously.
"Well, it all makes sense, doesn't it?" Ron interjected excitedly. "I mean… he came down to you in the Chamber all those years ago. It only makes sense he would come back to you now."
"I guess so," Harry smiled. "And I like it. It will be like I always have a part of Dumbledore with me."
Later that morning, Ginny and Hermione made their way up to the boys' dormitory and found themselves having a very similar reaction to Ron's own that morning when they found Fawkes next to Harry's bed.
The last couple of days had put everyone in a depressing mood understandably; especially Harry. Fawkes, however, seemed to have begun to lift everyone's spirit at his arrival, even Harry, and for that, Ginny found herself especially grateful to see her boyfriend smile once again.
Hedwig, on the other hand, did not seem to be as excited as everyone else at the arrival of the new bird, but knew how much this meant for Harry and stayed contempt around Fawkes.
"But no one can ever replace you, Hedwig," Harry saw the owl's reaction and reached out to stroke her. "She was my very first friend when I came into the wizarding world… well except Hagrid I guess. He's the one who bought her for me."
Harry and his friends eventually made their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast that morning to find Sirius, Remus, and Tonks already waiting for them at the Gryffindor table.
"I heard you got a visitor last night," Sirius smirked at Harry as he took his seat across from him.
"How did you find out so quickly?" Harry looked at him amused. "It only happened last night."
"Well, Aberforth of course," Sirius chuckled.
Harry turned to look towards the Hogwarts staff table at the front of the Great Hall. Two people were noticeably absent but the new face of Aberforth had taken the ex-potion's master seat. Aberforth noticed Harry looking up at him and smiled while Harry felt obliged to return the gesture.
"That really is a neat thing," Remus commented. "Fawkes coming to you and becoming your very own Phoenix."
"For sure!" Tonks agreed enthusiastically. "Phoenixes are extremely rare!"
"You know it was Fawkes that gave the Phoenix feather that is in my wand," Harry said after realizing he had never told anyone the story about how he and Voldemort's wands were connected.
"That's really fascinating, Harry," Hermione beamed.
"Yeah," Harry continued. "He gave only one other feather and that feather is in Voldemort's wand. Our wands are brothers."
Harry noticed how everyone's face immediately dropped around him once he finished his story.
"Well, that can't be a coincidence," Ginny said rather disapprovingly.
"Probably not," Harry agreed. "But it explains why our wands connected when we fought at the graveyard two years ago."
"He'll probably try to find another wand," Sirius added. "If his wand can't kill you he'll have to use a different one."
"But both our wands are so powerful," Harry took out his own and began examining it. "What wand could be more powerful than his own?"