The Pain To Be A Hero

Summary: A one-shot on how Harry tells Ginny about the prophecy. "Unlike the awkward comforting episode with Cho, Harry found it easy to wrap Ginny into his arms to soothe her, because there was a common darkness in their lives – Voldemort."

Rating: G

Categories: General/Romance

A/N: A big thank you to my beta, Jinny! Let me know you're reading my fic, leave review, thanks.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling. The prophecy is taken directly from OotP (UK version), page 741. No profit is intended for this fic.

"Harry. Harry, I know you're in there. Can you open the door?" asked Ginny as she rapped on the door to Buckbeak's room.

"What's the matter?" asked Harry Potter as he pulled open the door reluctantly, meeting the youngest Weasley's face.

Ginny walked into the room, rather uninvited in Harry's opinion, and bowed to the Hippogriff, which was suddenly aware of a new visitor before it returned the bow and gave its attention to the dead rats once again.

"Don't you 'what's the matter' me, Harry. I should be the one asking YOU what's the matter." Ginny turned and looked sharply into the emerald eyes. Harry, being caught off guard, turned his gaze to his toes, shifting his weight uncomfortably before recollecting himself.

"I don't get what you mean."

"You don't get me? Well, let me tell you then. You're keeping something from us, and it's slowly eating you from inside. And I know it isn't solely from grieving over Sirius, so don't give me that!" Ginny said, with her cheeks slowly turning a flaming red, matching the colour of her hair. For a moment, she looked uncannily like Ron, having the same red face before blowing up over something. 'Not a good sign,' Harry thought. He was tired and hungry without lunch and was not in the mood to argue with Ginny. Remembering her famous Bat Bogey Hex, he treaded carefully to keep his temper away.

"Since when was my business yours?" asked Harry wearily. Ginny would have bitten his head off with these words but she stopped when she saw his expression, one of tiredness and sadness. Her heart ached.

"Since I saw you at King Cross station all those years ago. Harry, you're my friend, I… We all care about you." Ginny moved forward and grabbed Harry's hand in hers, sincerity showing through her eyes. Harry wanted to pull away. He would have if he had not caught Ginny's eyes. For a moment, he did not feel pitied, like what many others have given him, pitiful looks over the loss of his parents, godfather and the terrible ordeals that he had gone through. The look in Ginny's eyes had gave him a warm feeling and he could feel the concern from her gaze. Words failing him, he pulled Ginny to sit down opposite him, hands still in hers.

"How… How did you know I was keeping something from all of you?" Harry said softly, eyes searching for an interesting spot on the stone floor, wondering if he did the right thing to confess. He felt odd with Ginny's hands wrapped over his but it brought a nice tingle to his skin and that comforted him.

"Er… I think I behaved like you in my first year… You know, trying to shun people as much as possible and keeping to myself instead." So saying, it was Ginny's turn to be uncomfortable.

"Oh." Harry did not know how to reply to this, Ginny's incident had slipped to the back of his mind with the numerous events in his life. He felt guilty all of a sudden, that his friends are concerned about him yet he did not return these affections, busying himself with grieve and fear instead.

"Don't you feel guilty, Harry! I know that you have more things at hand than to worry about your best mate's little sister."

"How… How did you know that I'm feeling guilty?" Harry looked up in shock. 'Did she study Legilimency or something?' thought Harry.

"Let's just say that I'm a rather observant person." With these words, a tinge of crimson can be seen creeping up Ginny's neck. Harry was strangely pleased to see her blushed. "So Harry, do you want to talk about it? Or would you rather talk to Ron and Hermione? You really need to let it out, you'll feel better without bottling everything inside you. Trust me, I know." Harry was once again deeply touched by the concern in Ginny's voice.

"No. You're right. I should talk about it. Don't get the two of them." Harry dreaded to see how Ron and Hermione would react upon knowing that their best friend must either be the murderer or the victim. "I… Ginny, are you sure you want to hear it? It's not a really pleasant piece of news. I… You'll be better off if you don't bother yourself with my troubles…" he muttered.

"Harry! For the last time, I'm already troubled as it is to see you like this. If talking can help you lighten your load, I want to help. Please Harry, talk to me." Ginny squeezed his hand to give him the encouragement to go on.

"Alright then…" Harry lowered his head, trying to get the words out of his mouth before he loses the courage, all the while drawing strength from Ginny's grip on his hands. "You know the prophecy that was smashed? Well, actually I know what's in it. Professor Trelawney made it to Dumbledore sixteen years ago and he told me about it."

"It's about you and him right?"

"Yes. But there's more to it…" Harry began to chant the words that had been haunting his dreams since he knew of the prophecy:

"'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives ...'"

"You have the power to vanquish him." It was more of a statement than a question that came out of Ginny's mouth.

"Yes, that's what the prophecy said."

"And you're sure it's you who have to defeat him, not anyone else."

"Yes, that's what Dumbledore analysed it to be."

"You have power… Power which he's not aware of. What's your power, Harry?"

"Dumbledore didn't really give me a clear answer on that. He said that at the Ministry of Magic, it was my heart that saved me. Voldemort detests this power, this force. My power also brought me to save Sirius…" Harry broke off at the name of his godfather. Comprehension dawned on Ginny's features.

"It's love, Harry. It's love. He… Tom told me before that he detested love. And yes, you possess love, he doesn't."

"Love?" Harry had never thought about it this way. Being an orphan and staying with the nastiest relatives that ever walked this Earth, he found it hard to believe that he is full of love. But then again, Dumbledore had said that his mother's love had given him the protection from Voldemort, so perhaps, love is indeed his power.

"And the last part of the prophecy…" At Ginny's words, Harry looked into her face. For a moment, he feared seeing pity on her face. But he was unable to see her expression as she pulled him into a fierce embrace, hugging him as if her life depended on it.

"You will NOT die, Harry. You will not. You will vanquish him, I know you will. It's so unfair, why must it be you? Why can't he let you off? Stupid Tom, why can't he leave us alone? Why?" Harry could feel Ginny's tears soaking into the cloth over his shoulders. At her words, he realised that he was not the only one traumatised over Voldemort's return. Voldemort had affected Ginny in ways which Harry had never thought of before. Unlike the awkward comforting episode with Cho, Harry found it easy to wrap Ginny into his arms to soothe her, because there was a common darkness in their lives – Voldemort. Someone understood what he was going through and he was not alone. After five minutes or so, Ginny reluctantly pulled herself away from Harry's embrace.

"I'm sorry, Harry. I should be the one… Well, you ended up trying to comfort me instead."

"Don't apologise, Gin. It's alright. Really. I'm glad I told you. It really helped lighten my burden. I feel much better now." For the first time in many days, Harry smiled.

"I'm glad. You really shouldn't bottle everything up to yourself. It's not healthy. I'm always here to listen, Harry. Always… Wait, what did you call me?"

"Er… Gin? I'm sorry. You know, we're calling Ron Ron instead of Ronald, so I thought… If you don't like it, I'll call you…"

"No, you can call me that. It's just that everyone calls me Ginny. But Gin sounds nice too." She was secretly happy that Harry had got a nickname for her. "Harry, listen to me. I… We will all help you to defeat him. You're not alone, do you understand? You're never alone, you're loved, you understand that?" Harry nodded mutely. The word love still sounded remote to him.

"Gin… Can you just keep this between us? I'm not ready to tell Ron and Hermione about the prophecy yet."

"I promised. Now, would you like to go downstairs for lunch or must I bring it up to you?" Feeling much better than he had in a long time, Harry got up to his feet and gave Ginny a hand, pulling her off the ground.

"Er Gin, are you with Dean?" He said. 'Where did that come from, Potter?' Harry could not believe that he was asking about Ginny's love life, when about half an hour ago, he was determined not to talk to anyone.

"Dean? You mean Dean Thomas? I was never with him. I said that to irk Ron." Ginny replied as she reached for Harry's hand again, leading him out of the room with a smile on her lips.

End.

A/N: Reviews are muses, they inspire and motivate me :)