A/N: I don't own Harry Potter. Do you? Not unless your name is J.K. Rowling.
Chapter Four: Ginny's Goodbye
Hermione awoke early in the morning to find that Ron had fallen into one of his few cat-naps, and she took the opportunity to slip from the room unnoticed. After she had washed up, she padded down to the kitchen, not expecting to see anyone up for another few hours. She did find someone, however, clutching a tea mug and hunched over in the now all too familiar pose of sobbing.
Without a word, Hermione slipped down into the chair next to Ginny, putting a hand on the young woman's shoulder. Ginny's grip tightened momentarily on the mug, before she turned and gave Hermione a surprisingly fierce embrace, crying openly now. The memories that had flooded back to Ginny were too great to handle alone, and she was glad to have a friend there to cry with.
"Where's Ron, mum? Mum? Mum, are you alright?" Ginny asked, her voice raising an octave in panic. Her mother clutched the arm of the nearest chair, and was quickly supported by her husband and eldest son, Bill.
Her pale face contrasted horribly with her flaming red hair, and she looked as if she was in a state of complete and utter shock. "I… But it can't be… He was there, I saw him… He was confident… It was a sure thing… He was only a boy," Molly Weasley murmured, before staring around at her family, as if only noticing for the first time that they were there. When her eyes stopped on Ginny, they began to fill with tears, and she quickly looked down at her feet.
"Ginny… Ginny, I have to tell you something. Back at the battle, Harry… Well… Harry, he –," the confession was cut off by steadily increasing yelling, before a very disheveled and wild-eyed Remus Lupin came bursting through the door, pointing his wand at any doctor or nurse who happened to be in his way.
"I need a doctor! Somebody must know how to heal him! He's the bloody Boy Who Lived, there must be something someone can do! He already survived it onc—," he yelled to no one in general, looking absolutely mad.
"Remus! Remus, you have to stop," whimpered Tonks, catching up quickly to the crazed man. She grabbed the back of his neck, pulling him down so they were forehead to forehead. "Remus," she choked, a sob catching in her throat before she continued on. "He's gone, Remus. Nobody can bring him back. Nobody," she whispered this last word with the most conviction she could muster.
Remus finally understood that Harry Potter would never be coming back, and finally collapsed in a heap on the floor, overtaken by grief. His cries silenced the entire floor of the wizarding hospital, everyone slowly realizing what must have transpired at the battle.
Ginny, however, refused to believe. She turned to stare at her family, before whispering, "I'm leaving. I'm going to go and find him. He's not dead. He can't be dead."
"Ginny," a hoarse voice whispered from behind her. As she whirled around, she saw Ron standing in the middle of the hall, slowly approaching her. "Ginny, it's tru—," he began, but was cut off by a now-screaming Ginny.
Ginny advanced on her brother, screaming what came to mind first. "You! How could you let this happen! He was your best friend, and you just let him die! You're pathetic! I hate you! I hate you!" she cried, pounding her fists against Ron's chest. Ron stood there and took the beating, his body swaying slightly with every hard hit his sister landed on his chest, tears welling up in his shining blue eyes.
Ron turned and walked away from his sister's continual cries of hatred, shuffling into Hermione's room.
Ginny, however, grabbed her brother Bill's arm and snarled at him. "You apparate us back to that battleground and to Harry. I need to see him." The eldest Weasley child looked around for help from his family, only to meet averted gazes and shaking heads and tears. He slowly stood from his seat, getting a firmer hold on Ginny's arm before apparating back to the battle ground.
The smoke still lingered over battle ground, the haze distorting the figures of the Ministry Aurors that were picking through the remains. Ginny walked towards a large group of Aurors, pushing through them until she reached the middle of the silent circle. She would never forget the sight that met her eyes; Harry's body being slowly lifted onto a stretcher, his hand reaching towards the sky towards something he would never be able to truly grasp. With a sob, Ginny collapsed into her shocked brother's arms as Harry's body was apparated away.