Well, I updated after only a day. I couldn't wait any longer! So here it is, the finale, the epilogue, and the END.
Epilogue
Draco Malfoy called himself foolish. He admitted it to Ginny, and apologized over and over after that one day. He even apologized to Harry too… the effects of the curse, after all, was what had driven him to wanting to kill Harry. But in the end, Draco was able to save himself. Had it not been for the Dark Lord's call, he might have gone crazy and finished Harry off. But he wasn't a murderer. In the end, it was not the pain of the Dark Mark that had saved him, but the greater pain that he felt inside after seeing that Ginny would rather have Harry than a servant of the Dark Lord. That's why he did it. That's why he reverted to the only known possible way of getting rid of the Dark Mark. Because Ginny meant so much more to him than that. So the question now is, who did Ginny end up with?
-
January 1st, five years later…"Are you sure you want to see him after all these years?"
"Yes," Ginny replied, holding her book tightly to her side. She gave her husband a quick hug before throwing the floo powder into the fireplace. She stepped into the green flames and said, very clearly, "St. Mungo's Hospital."
She stepped out of the fireplace at St. Mungo's and looked around once. Then she stepped up to the front desk. There sat the receptionist, a young witch with pretty blue eyes and a bright smile.
"Hello, Welcome to St. Mungo's, how may I help you?" she said.
"I heard that he was being treated here, after the fight. Do you think… Can I go to see him?" Ginny asked very calmly. The receptionist's smile faded a little, but she nodded and handed Ginny a visitor's pass.
"He's in room 303."
Ginny said 'thank you,' and headed towards the moving spiral staircase, much like the one leading to Dumbledore's office. She got off on the third floor and entered the hospital room, number 303.
There, in the hospital bed, was Harry Potter. Ginny knelt down beside him and he smiled at her.
"Hey, Ginny," he said.
"Harry… Happy New Year."
"Happy New Year," he said, beaming from where he lay.
"Oh, Harry! What happened to you?" Ginny asked, unable to contain herself.
"Well, everyone said I would kill Voldemort, and I did. But nobody expected the consequences it would come with. His death affected me… it affected my entire body, and now I'm completely paralyzed…"
"No!"
"Don't worry, they're doing all they can to get me back to normal. I'll be fine, Ginny," he said with a weak smile.
"Harry… I promised you once that I would protect you, and I never did. I'm so sorry!" She hugged his stiff body, sobbing. He looked down at her… she was more beautiful than ever, with her long red locks flowing gracefully from her head, and her body having filled out more since the last time he'd seen her…
She was just 17 years old, and it was after Hogwarts. She said goodbye to him for the last time, because she was going to stay with Draco Malfoy. Harry had let her go… she loved Draco more than him, in the end. The two lovers went into hiding as the war grew worse. Many died, including her brother, Ron. And then, just a few months ago, and five years after Hogwarts, Harry had come face to face with Voldemort himself. And he was able to defeat him, although it cost himcontrol over his entire body.
"You did protect me, Ginny. You protected me from having never loved anyone. Because you were the only one I ever loved," he said. This made Ginny cry. She hadn't returned that love. And Harry had needed her, after all, but he couldn't express it. She'd left him for Draco, and she'd broken his heart.
"I'm so sorry… I wish I could say that I loved you back, but I can't. I only loved you the way a sister loves her brother," Ginny said. Harry smiled.
"That's enough for me," he said. She lifted her head up and looked at him. Then she looked down at her book and smiled.
"I almost forgot. I'm going to read you a book, Harry," she said.
"A book? Sure," he said, grinning. Nobody had offered to do anything like that for him while he'd been in the hospital. Ginny opened the book and read the title page:
"The Phantom of the Opera, by Gaston Leroux." He'd never heard of the book before, but he listened intently as Ginny's soft voice began to read the contents of the story.
Before long, it was nighttime. Ginny was coming to the end of the book now, and Harry was very interested to see how it would end up. The story reminded him of something, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
After reading the last sentence, Ginny closed the book and stared at it for a while, lost in thought.
"Is that really how the ending goes?" Harry said, breaking her concentration. Ginny looked up at him and nodded.
"But I changed it," she said, "I changed the ending a long time ago…."
Harry smiled at her and she cupped his cheek in her hand, before leaning towards him and kissing him long and full on the lips.
"I love you, Harry." she said to him.
"I love you too," he said. "It's getting late… your husband will be waiting for you."
"Yes, of course. I almost forgot," Ginny said. She stood up wiped her tear-stained face, for she had cried a little during the book.
"Goodbye, Ginny," Harry said to her.
"Goodbye," she said to him, before turning on her heel and walking out of the room, and out of his life.
Harry knew he might not ever see her again, but there was nothing else he could do. He was the one who defeated Voldemort, and that was one of his purposes in life. The other purpose was to make sure Ginny was happy. He had fulfilled both of those purposes.
The end.
-
Did the last paragraphsound corny? What did you guys think of it as a whole? It was sort of a sad ending, wasn't it? I hope you liked it, though! I'm going to miss all of my reviewers! You guys seriously rock. Thanks so much for keeping this story alive. If you liked it that much, read some of my other stories, too!
Thanks again.
Love ya always,
FullMoon-Insanity