Heart of Ice, Soul of Fire

Summary: Ginny's PoV. Ginny is haunted by memories of people around her falling on the battlefield, Ginny contemplates the reasons of war. Major character death. The italicized text indicates a memory in the penseive.

"Ginny, find Ron and Hermione and run! Now!"

"What? Is there something wrong, Harry? Is your scar hurting again?"

"Ginny, you have to leave. Voldemort is attacking Hogwarts. Leave now!"

"We had this conversation, Harry. I am going to help in this war!"
"Y-you can. You have to help the students escape, Gin! Please, please listen to me. There isn't any time!"

"Harry James Potter! I am not leaving you here so that you can try to be the hero and get yourself killed!"
"GINNY! You have to go now! I can't lose you too! Not like Sirius and Cedric…"

"You won't lose me, Har."

That was the beginning of the worst night of my life.

The Healers say that I need to let these memories go. They say that it is detrimental to my health to keep wallowing in my despair. Percy gave me a pensieve. He says that if I put my memories in it and watch them, I can finally let go.

I don't want to let go. If I do, then it is like letting go of… Never mind.

I hate watching these memories in the pensieve. They plague my dreams every night already, but to see them in the pensieve is completely different. It is like reliving them. Every time I have a session with my mind Healer, I reopen those wounds.

Healer Branton, that's his name. He is nice enough, but he acts as though he understands. He could never understand! He has absolutely no idea what I've been through, what I've seen.

One session, I was so fed up with his sympathetic eyes. They burned me like touching a hot stove or falling into a fire. I went on a rampage, throwing thick tomes and glass at him, hoping to destroy those eyes; those gut bursting eyes. I didn't want his sympathy, his pity!

I don't know what I wanted then. I don't know what I want now.

"Tom, you have caused enough pain for many lifetimes! This ends now!"

Voldemort cackled, a high pitched, eerie sound that chilled me to the bone. "Oh, really, Potter, what do you plan on doing about it?" He sneered at Harry and casually cast the Cruciatus. Harry's screams echoed across the battlefield, what had once been Hogwart's front lawn.

I attempted to reach Harry, to help him, but Voldemort cast a shield around them. It was just he and Harry. I beat my fist against the rock hard shield to no avail. I was forced to avert my eyes as I heard a Death Eater come up behind me and for the next few minutes, we dueled. I finally was able to cast an effective stunner and turned back to the horrifying face-off between the Boy-Who-Lived and the Monster-That-Would-Not-Die.

Finally, Voldemort lifted the Unforgivable, and I could see Harry gasping in pain. Nonetheless, he stood up and faced his tormentor. His voice was raspy from screaming but it had a cold, almost metallic ring.

"You. Will. Die. Tonight." Voldemort just laughed and raised his wand.

As one, they shouted, "Avada—"

I pulled out of the pensieve before I could see the rest.

­­­­­­­­­­­­­I'm just not ready.

I try not to think of all the people who lost their lives during this war. All of these unnecessary deaths. How could anyone be so cruel? Why does power mean so much? I keep asking myself these questions.

I remember when it was all over. The war, I mean.

I woke up in the hospital wing, covered in bandages. There was no one at my side, sitting there waiting for me to wake up. Out of the nine people in my family, no one was waiting for me to wake up. I have never felt so alone.

I sat up and looked around me at the other beds. Red hair. I quickly stood and walked over to that mop of hair. It was like a beacon of fire. All my focus went into reaching that bed. After all I'd been through, it had felt like that was the only thing that mattered.

Percy.

My stuffy, pompous prat of a big brother.

I had never been so happy to see him. I stroked one of his fiery locks almost reverently and smiled when his eyes fluttered open. We stayed there, locked in time, and out of the silence, we formed a bond. The strongest sibling bond the world had ever seen. Because all we had left was each other. And the only reason we had even that was because he didn't participate in the battle.

During the next few days, Percy and I lead a team of students and the remaining Aurors to search the battlefield for the bodies of our loved ones. Most passed out the moment we entered the array of bodies. I wanted to snap at them, to scream and tell them that these people did not die for them to pass out! It felt like sacrilege, like a desecration of their memory.

Numb with shock, I searched for a sign of anyone living, anyone groping for life. I suppose I just hoped that one of my friends or a member of my family would somehow have lived. Yet, even as I hoped, I knew deep inside that it wasn't true.

I had fallen in the mass of mangled bodies, and began to sob. I felt my world falling apart.

Then, under some intuitive instinct, I looked up to scan the field and saw a tangle of bushy brown hair. Please be who I hope you are! I repeated this mantra in my head as I stumbled over to that mess of brown. I glimpsed a hint of red. What I saw next, I would never forget for the rest of my life.

My brother Ron and friend Hermione were lying peacefully in each others' arms, bodies entwined almost as one. They died together. Whenever I think of love, this will be the first image that comes to mind. Throughout this sea of despair, I have found comfort in recalling this beautiful scene.

"You. Will. Die. Tonight." Voldemort just laughed and raised his wand.

As one, they shouted, "Avada Kedavra!" Two green lights shot from each of their wands and connected with a burst of energy in an array of blinding white fire.

"This is for you, Ginny!" Harry's voice rang out across the battleground and a shield encompassed Ginny as the white fire was released, consuming Death Eaters and Order members alike. The fire reduced Voldemort and all Dark Wizards to ash while Light Wizards died peacefully and unscathed.

Ginny stood isolated in the shield watching as her life quickly fell apart.

Healer Branton is telling me something in relation to the latest memory. He keeps saying to let my body grieve and then let it all go. Let what all go? My grief? How can I?

Harry and I were going to get married. We were going to have kids and name Ron and Hermione as the godparents. Remus Lupin and Tonks were going to be the honorary uncle and aunt. Harry was going to teach our kids how to ride a broom while I would teach them all about charms.

My dreams, our dreams will never come true.

I don't want to give up my grief because then, I'd have to give up my dreams. Give up my Harry.

Ginny watched as the fire died down and the world was at peace.

Out of the rubble came a burst of red light and a familiar silhouette walked towards Ginny. "Har…You're alive! You defeated Voldemort! But, what about…everyone else?"

"Gin, just know I love you, and I will never truly leave you. I'll always be in your—"

"Yeah, I know, you'll always be in my heart. But I want you here! In the real world!"

"No, that is where you are wrong, my love. The heart can change; the heart is a muscle that can die and fail. My love, I am a part of you. I am a part of your essence because we have true love. We are soul mates. I will not always be in your heart, but I will always be in your soul. I love you."

Harry began to glow brighter. He took a step forward, stroked Ginny's cheek and merged his soul with hers. Ginny collapsed in a heap on the ground.

I can't let him go…He is a part of me.

I'm leaving the Healer's office. Healer Branton is trying to call me back, but I don't stop. I am walking, that much I know, but my legs are going somewhere of their own volition. Looking at my watch, I see that two hours have passed, but I have no sense of time. Time doesn't matter anymore.

I snap out of my daze and realize where I am. Before me is a slab of rock on which is an inscription.

Life from fire, Death from life

He rose out of the flames.

Joyful sorrow, Terrible bliss

Doomed to know both the warmth of life, and the blackness of Death

A vicious cycle

Nothing real, yet so true when Black and White combined

The earth rang with an ear-splitting cry, as he fell back into the ashes

A Phoenix in our midst

I wrote that. It was the last contribution to my Harry. His gravestone has been spelled to last forever so that Harry Potter will never be forgotten. Yet, I knew that he wouldn't want to be remembered only for his part in the war. Therefore at the bottom of his tombstone is another inscription.

Harry Potter was not the Boy-Who-Lived, not the Savior of the Wizarding world.

He was Harry, Just Harry…

Third Person PoV

On July 31, the Ministry held a memorial service for the Boy-Who-Lived. Thousands of wizards and witches were to attend the gravesite of Harry Potter to pay their respects and to wish his memory a Happy Birthday.

Percy Weasley, who hadn't heard from his sister in a week, went early to see if he could find and console her. When he arrived, he found her cold body draped over her soul mate's grave, a serene expression gracing her face for the first time in months. She was finally at peace.

A new tombstone graced the hillside above Godric's Hollow next to the grave of the Boy-Who-Lived. On it was carved an angel with wings of fire. Below was a short inscription found from the diary a girl with flaming red hair and a personality that lit up a room.

Our love is timeless, never ceasing

For our souls are entwined together

Our love is a flame

An everlasting blaze that never wavers or dies

For even when our hearts turn cold in Death

Our soul is ablaze for eternal Life

-Heart of Ice, Soul of Fire

Fin

Harry's inscription is based on the poem by jojochild. It has been edited and tweaked to fit my purposes. I hope you liked it. Review!