Travelin' Soldier
Author: Mrs. Ronald Weasley
Rating: PG
Pairing/s: Harry/Ginny
Category: Romance/Tragedy
Spoilers: Books 2, 4 & 5
Warnings: Well, if know the song, then you know it's gonna be sad.
Summary: Harry Potter is preparing for war, on the morning before he is to leave; he meets up with Ginny unexpectedly.
A/N: This song is by the Dixie Chicks. I suggest listening to it while reading; I think it makes it a lot more powerful. Anyway, if you're wondering why I'm posting this instead of the next chapter of Forever and for Always; it's because my friend played this song and sang it last night, and she was amazing! So, I just had to write about it. You can blame her, not me. I promise I will write the next chapter to Forever and for Always, and have it up later today or tomorrow. Anyway, please read and review!
Two days past eighteen,
He was waitin' for the bus in his army green
Sat down in a booth at a café there
Gave his order to a girl with a bow in her hair
He's a little shy,
So she gave him a smile
And he said, would you mind sittin' down for a while and talkin'
I'm feelin' a little low
She said, I'm off in an hour and I know where we can go
Harry Potter sat on the bench, just outside The Three Broomsticks; he was waiting for the Knight Bus to pick him and his two best friends up in about an hour and a half. Ron and Hermione weren't there yet. He assumed they were saying their goodbyes to their families. Harry had never really had a family to say goodbye to, and he was kind of glad that he didn't, because this time might the last time he got to see them. It still made him sad that it might be the last time he sees his friends too. It scared him that he might not make it through this war; he was only eighteen, he didn't want to die. Oh, how he wished that he could've told Ginny how he felt about her. He loved her as much as ever. But he had been too scared to see her before he left the Burrow this morning.
Thinking that a drink would clear his mind, Harry got up and walked into The Three Broomsticks. He took a seat in a booth near the back and waited for someone to come to take his order.
Ginny Weasley was working that morning in the bar. She saw the door swing open and a familiar figure walk towards the back. It was Harry; she knew it, without ever needing to see his face. She could feel his presence all around her. She had loved him, ever since that day that he had saved her in second year at Hogwarts.
She saw him sit down, and wait for someone to take his order. Ginny decided that since on one else in bar was doing so that she might as well go and do it.
Harry saw a waitress walking toward him. He lifted his head to get a better look at her, and realized that it was Ginny. He had no idea that she had gone to work today. He gave her a shy smile as she asked, "What can I get you, Harry?"
"Um, just a coffee," he said, looking down and blushing. She nodded and started to walk away. "Hey, Ginny," he called after her. She turned around, her long curly red hair bouncing up and down on her shoulders. "How would you mind sitting down for a while and talking to me? I've been a bit depressed lately." She looked at her watch.
"I'm off in about an hour," she told him. "I know a place where we can go." She disappeared into the kitchen, and returned a minute later with his coffee. She set it in front of him, and then went around the bar taking orders from other customers. He sat there waiting for her to return to his table, saying that they could go and talk.
Finally, after what seemed like perpetuity, she returned. "Come on," she told him. "The place's not far from here." The two exited The Three Broomsticks, and apparated.
So they went down and they sat on the pier
He said I bet you got a boyfriend, but I don't care.
I got no one, to send a letter to.
Would you mind if I send one back here to you?
They walked down pier at the lake just outside of Hogsmeade. Harry and Ginny stopped at the end and sat down.
The water was warm and they took their shoes and socks off to put their feet in the water. Silence stood in the sunny July afternoon atmosphere. Ginny was the one that broke it, "so you wanted to talk."
Harry sighed, "I've just been thinking lately about what's going to happen once this war starts." He paused, Ginny nodded. "I'm scared, Ginny. Really scared. I'm scared for myself, for Ron and Hermione, for your parents and other brothers. And for everyone else who will be fighting in this war. In my war; I never meant for anyone else to get involved. And now some of those people are going to pay the ultimate price for me. I don't know if I can let them do that." He stopped there and hung his head, staring at his reflection in the water.
"Oh, Harry, you can't just stop some one from going into the war, and besides, if no one chose to fight with you then you would surely loose," she said, "Voldemort has too many strong followers. Many of whom, would jump at the chance to kill you."
"But Ginny, I can't just let them die, for the sake of keeping me alive."
"Harry, listen to me. If you die, then there is no chance that we will ever be free from Voldemort and his Death Eaters." Harry nodded, finally accepting that he couldn't change the mind of those who chose to stand by his side until death.
"Ginny?"
"Yes?"
"Would you mind if I wrote to you?" he asked, "I mean, you probably have a boyfriend but I don't really have anyone to send a letter to; Ron and Hermione will be with me, so there's really no point in writing to them."
"Of course you can send one to me," she told him. "And no, I don't have a boyfriend."
"Great!" Harry said, suddenly happier than he had been in weeks. "Look, Ginny, I really should be going. The Knight Bus will be at Hogsmeade to pick Ron, Hermione, and me up, and they're probably already waiting for me."
"Ok, Harry. I'll see you then," she said, holding back tears. She truly didn't want him to go. He kissed her on the cheek, put his shoes and socks back on, and apparated away.
I cried
Never gonna hold the hand of another guy
Too young for him they told her
Waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier
Our love will never end
Waitin' for the soldier to come back again
Never more to be alone
When the letters say a soldier's comin' home
Ginny cried, she didn't know when or if she would ever see Harry alive again. She sat there, not noticing or caring if anyone saw her. She did hear a couple of girls say, "Did you see that guy, talking to the crying girl. He looks way too old for her." She looked up at them, her tear strained face was angry and her teeth clenched together.
"He is not too old for me!" she made a promise to herself, not to date another guy, until Harry came back to her. She hoped it would be soon.
So the letters came from an army camp
In California then Vietnam
And he told her all his heart
It might be love and all the things he was so scared of
He said when it's gettin' kinda rough over here
I think of that day, sittin' down at the pier and I close my eyes, feel your pretty smile
Don't worry, but I won't be able to write for a while
Every week, Ginny received a letter from Harry. He couldn't tell her specifically where he was, in case the letters were tampered with. But she suspected him to be somewhere in the far north, because he complained about the cold weather.
It had been about a year, since Ginny had last seen Harry that day at the pier. It was a Friday and she was waiting for the post to arrive. It flew in and right away she spotted Hedwig. The owl dropped the letter in front of her and then flew off out of the window. She grabbed it and tore it open. She ran up to her room to read it, as she always did. Sitting on her bed, she began to read:
Dearest Ginny,
I hope everything is alright back home; things are starting to get rough around here. The attacks are getting worse by the day. The other night they came in the dark and tore through the entire camp, destroying almost everything.
When things like this start to happen, I just clear my mind and think of that day when we sat and talked at the pier. And when I close my eyes at night, I see your pretty smile, and feel your presence, like you're here with me. It comforts me.
I think I might be falling in love with you. I already loved you at one point, but I couldn't tell you. I don't know why. But please know that I do love you, with all my heart.
I must also tell you that because of the way things are going on here, I won't be able to write for a while. But don't worry, as soon as things start to get better, I will start again.
Love, Harry.
I cried
Never gonna hold the hand of another guy
Too young for him they told her
Waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier
Our love will never end
Waitin' for the soldier to come back again
Never more to be alone
When the letters say a soldier's comin' home
Ginny's hand went limp; tears that were already in eyes began to fall. "Oh Harry, Harry! I've loved ever since you saved from Voldemort, when I was twelve. I just thought that you never loved me back. I need you to come home safe, please I love you." She cried, and fell to her knees on the floor. "Every night, hope for this war to end. And every Friday I wait for the letter that says you're coming home, because I know now that I will never be alone once you do." She crawled back into her bed and fell asleep with tears still in her eyes.
One Friday night at a football game
The Lord's Prayer said, and the anthem sang
A man said, folks would you bow your heads for a list of local,
Vietnam dead
Cryin' all alone under the stands
Was a piccolo player in the marching band
And one name read, but nobody really cared
But a pretty little girl with a bow in her hair
Weeks went by; Ginny never received another letter from Harry. One Friday night, at a Quiditch game, she was sitting alone in the top box. After the anthem was sung, the crowd suddenly went silent.
A man's voice filled the stadium, "Ladies and Gentlemen, we have just gotten word that the war has ended." Cheers filled the air. Ginny, however was ecstatic, Harry was coming home! After the cheering died down, the man continued, "But as you know, a war isn't won with out sacrifices. Would you please bow your heads, for the reading of the Lord's Prayer and the names of those who graciously gave their lives for us." Ginny bowed her head, although not without a smile still on her face. The announcer got to the end of the list. "Finally, we thank Harry Potter, who gave his life to save the world."
Ginny's heart pounded in her chest. Could it be? Had she heard right? No. He couldn't be dead. He just couldn't!
I cried
Never gonna hold the hand of another guy
Too young for him they told her
Waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier
Our love will never end
Waitin' for the soldier to come back again
Never more to be alone
When the letters say a soldier's comin'
But yes, she had heard right. Her hero, her Harry Potter had died. She got up from her, seat and ran through the stands. Tears running down her face; no one really cared about her, they stared after her.
Ginny stopped once she got under the stands; she fell to her knees and wept. "Harry, how could you die?! I needed you to come home safe. So we could love each other, get married, have kids, and grow old together. I love you! I can't go on without you! Please Harry, come back to me." She sobbed until dusk set in and everyone had left.
Finally, she got up and went home. When opened the door, she saw a letter lying on the table. Her heart leapt. Could it be? Was the letter really from him? But her hopes were crushed when she saw that the handwriting was not Harry's. Still she decided to read it. This time she just read it from where she was.
Dear Ginny,
We do hope that this gets to you before the news does.
Harry died this morning after defeating Voldemort. He wanted us to tell you that he loves you and will forever.
Will be returning home tomorrow, with Harry's body, so we can give him a proper funeral and burial.
With all our love, Ron and Hermione.
I cried
Never gonna hold the hand of another guy
Too young for him they told her
Waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier
Our love will never end
Waitin' for the soldier to come back again
Never more to be alone
When the letters say a soldier's comin' home