***Disclaimer: I hate writing the end of book 7 for JKR. Oh, well. This is how we know it's going to end up, don't we? :)It's all hers, anyway.***
They laughed at me wanting you
Said I was reaching for the moon
But oh, you came through
Now they'll have to change their tune
The all said we'd never get together
They laughed at us, and how
But Ho! Ho! Ho!
Who's got the last laugh now?
–Ira Gershwin
Ginny Weasley woke with a crick in her neck. Disoriented, she began rubbing it as she sat up and looked around. She was in the Hospital Wing. Suddenly she realized what it was that had awoken her. Harry was stirring.
"Hey," she said softly, as she handed Harry his glasses. "Welcome back to the world."
"Ginny?" Harry put on his glasses and looked at her. "What are you doing here? For that matter, what am I doing here? Where are Ron and Hermione? Are they all right? What about Sirius and Remus? What happened? How long have I been here? Where—"
"Harry," Ginny interrupted, "if you don't stop asking me questions, I'm never going to be able to give you any answers." Harry gave a small smile and looked at her expectantly. She went on. "Now, I'm here because you're here. Ron and Hermione are just fine—they're back in Gryffindor Tower, resting. We've been taking turns sitting with you for the past five days so there would be someone here when you regained consciousness. For the first few days, we weren't sure you were going to—wake up." She gulped back a few tears and went on. "Sirius and Professor Lupin are fine, too—Sirius has been sleeping under your bed, in dog form, waiting and worrying. He would have been here, but my father and Dumbledore needed their help—with Fudge dead, they've put Dad in as temporary Minister of Magic." She couldn't help but smile as she thought of that—her dad, the Minister!
Harry didn't seem to notice. "But what about—Voldemort? Is he—"
"He's gone, Harry. Gone for good. You did it." Harry breathed a sigh of relief. It was finally over. Ginny went on. "It took everything you had—and I mean everything, Harry. Every shred of strength you had—physical, mental, spiritual—every ounce of your will went into defeating Voldemort. When he fell, so did you. Dumbledore thought it would be like that—expected it, actually. He made sure Snape was prepared with a potion that would help you. We rushed to you—me, Ron, and Hermione—and, Harry, we thought you were dead." The tears started to flow, but this time she didn't try to stop them. "Maybe you were. You didn't even have enough strength left in you to breathe—or to make your heart beat. Luckily, Hermione knew what Muggles call—"she struggled for a moment to remember— "CPR. Anyway, she told me what to do. I helped you breathe while she kept your heart beating, until Professor Snape arrived with the restorative potion—he had been delayed, fighting with Death Eaters. Anyway, it was the strongest he had, but it barely gave you enough strength to breathe on your own. Sirius picked you up and brought you up here, and you've been here ever since. I'm glad you're awake, Harry—but I'd better warn you that it'll be awhile before you get to leave. Madam Pomfrey says another week at least."
"Well, judging by how I feel right now, I don't think I'll want to even move for the next month or so." He chuckled, then looked at Ginny again. "So he's gone—and everything's okay. What about everyone else? I remember a lot of fighting with Death Eaters—"
Ginny looked a bit stricken. She took a deep breath and said— "There are a lot of people who didn't make it—some on our side, some on theirs. Lucius Malfoy is dead—Professor Lupin killed him to keep him from killing Sirius. Draco is in bad shape—after Ron stunned him, a deflected Gut-Wrencher curse hit him. Wormtail is dead, too, but I suppose you knew that, since he died trying to save you. Mad-Eye Moody is still unconscious—they took him to St. Mungo's. And Colin—" Ginny gulped again—"Colin's dead, Harry. Professor Sprout, and Professor Filtwick—they're both gone, too. Neville was hurt bad, but he's going to be okay now. Ron broke his arm, and Hermione and I both had a few cuts and bruises—Nothing Madam Pomfrey couldn't handle. Hagrid—" Here she broke off, unable to go on. Harry looked panicked.
"He's—he's not dead?"
"No, but we're not sure if he'll make it. He had a lot of internal injuries, and giant physiology is so different that the mediwizards at St. Mungo's aren't sure if they found all the problems. Professor Snape is working on a potion right now that he thinks will work, but only if he can find the correct combination of ingredients in time. There's still hope, Harry."
Harry nodded, trying to keep back the tears. It was all so overwhelming. Ginny saw this, and decided it was time for her to leave.
"I should go get Hermione and Ron, and Sirius and Professor Lupin—and I should send Solomon to my family, they've been worried sick—I'll go tell Madam Pomfrey you're awake, she can sit with you until I get back." She rose to leave, but Harry grabbed her arm.
"No, Ginny, wait. There's something I need to tell you." Surprised, Ginny sat back down
Harry took a deep breath. "You've meant a lot to me this past year or so, Ginny—ever since that conversation we had outside the Prefect's bathroom." Ginny nodded, unable to speak. "You've been a great friend—whenever I needed someone to talk to, you were there. For some reason, I always felt like I could tell you things—things I wouldn't even tell Ron and Hermione. Not that they were any less important to me; but you were more important than you had been before. I don't know how I would've got through these last few years if it hadn't been for you, Ginny." Again, Ginny nodded. To hear those words at last—she felt like if she opened her mouth she'd explode. She could only nod. Harry took another deep breath and went on.
"I knew that you were a great friend—I even threw that party for you, and gave you Solomon, to prove it to you—but I didn't realize how much you really meant to me until I saw Malfoy sneaking up behind you with his wand out. I knew then that if you died, there would be no point in my going on—that I might as well let Voldemort kill me, because I couldn't live without you. In that moment, I just knew—that we were supposed to be together. Luckily Ron saw Malfoy, too—he cursed him before Malfoy had a chance to curse you. Knowing Ron, he was probably mad enough to kill him—I'm glad he didn't. Ron shouldn't have to be a killer. Anyway, when I saw that Malfoy was down—that you were all right—I wanted to run over to you and—" He broke off, unable to say the words. Ginny was barely breathing—she was so afraid to break the spell—to shatter the dream—
"Well, at that moment, Voldemort arrived. I didn't know if I'd ever see you again, but I promised myself that if I did, I'd take the first opportunity I got to—to tell you—that I love you, Ginny." He took moment to recover from actually saying the words, but went on before Ginny could speak. "I know you probably don't feel the same way—I mean, you had the crush, but I'm sure you've grown out of it—you probably feel only friendship for me—it's been so long—and if that's the case, I hope this doesn't ruin our friendship—because I don't think I could live without it anymore. Oh, Ginny, say something—anything—"
It took a moment for Ginny to gather her thoughts. She pinched her thigh, just in case she was still asleep. It hurt. Gradually the meaning of Harry's words reached her scattered brain. He loved her—he was afraid she didn't feel the same way—she needed to say something, relieve his fears—
"Harry." She looked into his eyes—those eyes that had always held her, always compelled her—and said the words she'd wanted to tell him for so many years. "I love you, too. Of course I love you—I think I always have. And I know I always will."
The look on Harry's face was one that Ginny had never seen before—and one she would remember for the rest of her life. It was a look of joy—pure joy, with no hint of sorrow, fear, or bad memories behind it. The haunted look in his eyes was gone, replaced by a twinkle not unlike Dumbledore's—as if there was some deep supply of inner happiness. She knew the same look was on her face, for she could feel the joy diffusing into every cell of her body. For a while they both simply sat there, staring at each other, each with a slightly goofy smile upon their faces. There was still much to say—many things to talk about, to worry about—but they could wait. This moment was theirs; a single moment in time when they could both be perfectly happy.
Harry reached out his hand, and Ginny took it eagerly. There was no hesitation, as there had been in her dream of years ago—they had both been through too much to hesitate. Still holding Harry's hand, Ginny rose from her chair and sat on Harry's bed instead. Harry pulled her towards him; slowly, carefully, he brought his other hand to her chin. Gently, he raised her head, then placed his lips on hers. Nerves she never knew she had came to life at the feel of that kiss; fire seemed to be shooting through her body. She kissed him back, and her body flamed again. The kiss was not deep, but it was long and achingly sweet. When they finally broke apart, Ginny found she was trembling. Harry fell back against the bed, exhausted from even that little bit of exertion. But he still looked at Ginny, grinning foolishly.
"Took you long enough." Ginny jumped as she realized that those words had come from her own mouth. Harry grinned ever wider.
"Yes, I suppose it did. You've known this whole time, haven't you? All those years I ignored you—these last two years, pretending to feel only friendship for me–why did you do that, Ginny?"
"Because I knew that you didn't feel the same as I did—and even if you did, that you weren't ready for that kind of a relationship. I knew that if I showed I felt more than just friendship, you'd pull away—and then I'd lose the closeness I'd worked so hard to gain. Besides, it was enough—at that point, just knowing that you liked me as a friend, that you trusted me—it was enough."
"I can't believe I didn't realize it sooner. I must be really thick, huh? All those times I thought about how much you meant—how easy it was to talk to you—how close we were. And I never saw it. Even Malfoy noticed—all those times he insulted you, with that disgusting innuendo, and I was so quick to defend you—why didn't I realize it then?"
"You weren't thick, Harry. You were—preoccupied. Rightly so, as a matter of fact. Defeating Voldemort was much more important than me. That's another reason I held back. I knew that in order for you to do the things you had to do, we had to remain friends. It wouldn't have worked otherwise."
Harry thought this over. "Maybe. I still feel stupid, though."
"You've just been around Ron too much." She grinned, and Harry laughed. It was nice to hear him laugh again.
She leaned toward him, and they kissed briefly; then he wrapped his arms around her, and she leaned her head on his chest. The beating of his heart and the gentle rise and fall of his chest as he breathed reminded her of that horrible moment when she thought Harry was dead. "Oh, Harry, I'm so glad you're alive—I thought I had lost you forever. When Hermione suggested CPR, it gave me hope—even though I was scared to death to try it."
Harry jumped slightly as the full impact of what Ginny had told him earlier hit him. "Oh, my. . .Ginny, you helped me breathe? You—"
"I didn't even think about that until after—but Hermione said she needed to do the chest compressions, because they had to be done just right or I could break your rib and puncture your lung; and Ron was running for help, so that left me. I hope you don't mind."
"Mind? Mind what, you saving my life? No, I don't mind at all—but it must have been rather—awkward for you."
"Not at the time, no; but I did get quite embarrassed every time I had to tell someone about it. Not a new sensation, I might add." Ginny grinned as Harry gave her a squeeze. "Besides, you saved my life—the least I could do was try to save yours."
"Thank you," Harry whispered. "Thank you for trying—and for succeeding. I guess that means we're even, huh?"
"We're even." She sighed and snuggled closer. "I've dreamed about this, or something like this, so many times," she murmured. "I can't believe it's real."
"Dumbledore once told me that our dreams can be very important," Harry softly replied. "Maybe they were trying to tell you something—telling you to not give up hope."
"You might be right." Ginny sighed. "Remember when I blew out the candles at my birthday party?"
"Of course I do."
"This is what I wished for." Ginny turned her head so she could look up at Harry. "I was so careful not to tell anyone—so it had a chance of coming true." Harry leaned down and kissed her again; this time was even longer, and sweeter. Just as she thought she was going to melt, Harry pulled away. She snuggled close to him again. "So what happens now?"
Harry sighed. "I don't know. I've never been able to see this far ahead—I wasn't even sure I'd make it this far. There were so many times I was sure I was going to die—I thought I would be lucky if I even made it to seventeen. And now it's all over—Voldemort is gone, and I'm still here. It's unbelievable. So unbelievable, that I don't think it's really hit me yet. Ginny, I just killed someone. I've never done that before. It's—it's kind of hard to swallow. Then all this stuff with Wormtail being gone, and Snape saving my life, and Hagrid still in danger—and I'm sure that a lot more has happened in the last five days than just the stuff you've told me. I should be more worried about it—and I'm sure I will be, once it all sinks in. Knowing me, the weight of everything that has happened is going to be with me for a while. It don't know if I'll ever be the same person I was before I faced Voldemort. I really don't know who I am—so much of me was tied up in being ready for that event. I feel like I'm going to have to reach deep—maybe even back to the time before I knew I was a wizard, before I knew I had a mortal enemy. Who is Harry Potter when there's no Voldemort to play off him? I think I need to find out."
Ginny opened her mouth to say something, but Harry continued.
"I'll be leaving Hogwarts in a few weeks—but you still have a year left. I don't know how we're going to handle being apart—unless Dumbledore offers me the Defense Against the Dark Arts job. But then, I'd be your teacher, and I'm pretty sure teachers and students can't date each other, so that won't work. I can come visit on Hogsmeade weekends, though. And—"
"Harry," Ginny interrupted, sitting up and looking him in the eyes. "Stop it. The last thing you need right now is to be worrying. Now listen to me. You've been through a lot in the past few days, and you're right—some of the things that have happened are going to take a while to sort through. But you've been through tough things before, and you'll be fine. Now, you may not know who the real Harry Potter is, but I do. He's a young man who was treated like dirt for most of his childhood, and yet still managed to be the sweetest kid you'll ever meet, instead of being angry and resentful. He's kind, he's considerate, he's intelligent, he's brave, he's intensely loyal, and he's a darn good Quidditch player. He's met evil time after time, and has been able to conquer it. He's had every bad thing conceivable thrown at him at one time or another, and instead of letting them knock him down, they made him stronger. Oh, he has his faults—he tends to blame himself for everything, and worries too much; he tends to get into trouble and has a bit of a proud streak—but he's the man I love. Are there going to be problems? Of course there are. But there's one thing I'm absolutely sure of—my feelings for you will not change. I've had too many years of dreams to let me ever doubt it. If there's one thing my dreams have taught me, Harry, it's that I love you and always will."
This time Harry opened his mouth, and Ginny could tell by the look in his eyes that he was going to argue. She put her hand over his mouth and continued. "Let's not dwell on the problems. We'll deal with them when they get here. Right now, I just want to be with you—to just be us. So shut up and kiss me, you fool." She removed her hand and replaced it with her mouth. This kiss was different than the last; it was intense, demanding. All the pent-up emotions of the past six years were released in that kiss, and when they finally broke apart, Ginny was exhausted. She looked at Harry enquiringly, silently asking him if he accepted what she said. He responded with a smile.
"Us." A sense of wonder and immense satisfaction played across his face. "I like the sound of that."
Ginny smiled dreamily. "Me too." Harry took her hand in his, fingers intertwined.
"You're right, Ginny. As I realized at the end of fourth year, what's going to happen will happen, and we'll meet it when it comes. In the meantime, let's take this summer and just try to be happy."
"But first, you're going to have to get past my brothers." Ginny laughed, and so did Harry.
"Oh, come on! Your family loves me!"
"As Harry, yes; but I'm not so sure about how they'd feel about you—or anyone—being 'Ginny's boyfriend.' I'm not just the only girl, I'm also the youngest. Dad will probably grill you as he's polishing his wand." She laughed again, but Harry looked alarmed. "Don't worry, Harry. Mum'll be so delighted, she'll make them all shut up. Ron, too, after he gets over the initial shock."
Harry groaned. "I didn't even think about that. How are we going to tell Ron—and Hermione—and Sirius—"
"Well, you'd better think fast," Ginny interrupted. "Because I think I hear them coming down the hall."
Ginny leaned over and gave him a quick kiss, then got off the bed and sat back in her chair. Harry reached over and took her hand, and they waited for their friends—and their future—together.
A/N: First of all, I'd like to say thanks to my subconscious, which supplied me with the dream in part 1. A gigantic thanks goes to all those at the Super Secret HP Forum, who encouraged me to write more, and who gave me such good feedback. Special thanks go to Wolf550e for telling me that my original Part 5 was crap, for helping me write a better one, and for cleaning up my HTML; and to Teri Krenek and Melanie Seibert, who did lovely betas for me. Thanks also to Carleton97, my wonderful SQ beta, and to Anne, who betaed for me at GT.
The title of the story and of each section is also the title of a song;
credit for each section title has already been given, but not for the story.
Look to Your Dreams is a Carpenters song, lyrics written by John Bettis.
The lyrics themselves have almost nothing to do with this story, so I won't
quote them here, but if you'd like to read them, you can do a Google search.
They're everywhere.