Chapter 20. World Without You…

I stumbled up the steps to the front of the castle. The tears were falling from my eyes fast. How could I just desert her like that? She sold her life to save mine and I couldn't even try to get her to come with me. I felt like a low-life. How could I lose her?

My sobbing must have awoken someone because soon the front doors of the castle opened up. Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall were standing there, looking down at me in calmness and terror respectively. McGonagall was at my side in a flash.

"Mr. Wood! What has happened?"

I pounded my fist on the stair. "She's gone. I lost her again. It's my fault." I shook my head in pain. "Marcus Flint is dead too. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named killed them both. With the help of someone called Wormtail." Then I passed out.

I woke up in the same hospital bed Ginger had been in the last time I was in the infirmary. It still smelled like her; her soft vanilla and shampoo smell. I sighed inwardly and fought the tears back. I wasn't going to cry anymore. I couldn't.

The door opened and Harry Potter walked in. He came up and sat down beside my bed. He patted my shoulder.

"How are you?" His face smiled in hello, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.

"Bloody great, Potter," I mumbled gruffly. "How're your little friends?"

"Oh, they're great. Ron got out a few days ago." Harry cleared his throat nervously. "There are rumors that Voldemort killed Ginger. Is that true?"

I nodded my head. The tears I'd been fighting streamed down my face. "She bargained for my life. Made him promise to let me go. I keep getting this image of her, scared and crying, getting murdered." I shuddered, looked up at the younger boy. "I just walked away, Harry. I claimed I loved her and I walked away when she needed me. I should have fought for her."

Harry sighed. "Oliver, you can't blame yourself. She asked you to leave. She wanted you to be safe, so she could do what she had to. He would have killed you after you watched her get murdered, anyway."

Oliver pulled away and crossed his arms angrily. "At least I'd be with her then. At least I wouldn't have to live with this guilt. And the unbearable pain of losing her…for good." I broke down. "Harry, I don't think I can do this without her."

Harry shifted uncomfortably beside my bed. "It'll be okay."

"Oh, you poor dear!" Hermoine Granger stood at the door to the infirmary, unshed tears in her eyes. She raced up to my bed and grasped me in a hug. "There, there. It's all right."

"How? How is it all right, Granger?" I wasn't used to comfort from strangers, but it was a relief to have someone holding me, being strong for me so I wouldn't have to be.

"Ginger wanted you to live so you could share the love you possess with someone else," Hermoine murmured softly. "She loved you very much and didn't want you to see her death. She wanted you to live…for both of you." Hermoine gently rubbed my back. "Shh, shh. It's all right. Just let it all out."

I cried for countless hours in Hermoine's arms. She was kind enough to not yell at me when I spoke nonsense. She just sat there, rubbing my back and rocking me back and forth. It was kind of relaxing. I fell asleep from emotional explanation immediately after I was done crying.

When I woke up, there was a gift for me on the night table. I took it and picked it up. A note from Cho was on top. I read it aloud. "Dear Oliver, I found this among Ginger's possessions. I thought you should have it. I'm so very sorry for you loss. Cho."

I fumbled with the parcel for several minutes. When I opened it, inside was a framed photograph of Bensington and I at our last Quidditch match together, like the one I'd had on the train at the beginning of the year. We were smiling, holding the Cup, arms wrapped around each other. "She'd kept it."

I fell back against the pillow and watched the two of us. She kept nudging me; I'd nudge back. Then the strangest thing happened. She whispered something in my ear in the photograph. I turned red and then kissed her cheek. I watched as my mouth in the photo said, "I love you, too."

I didn't bother fighting back the tears. That was the best gift anyone could have given me. I placed the picture on the table and rolled over to face it. I fell asleep looking at Ginger's smiling face. It'd take a while to heal, but the memory of her love and the person it made me would help me be strong.

A/N: It's Done! Yay! R/R…and don't be mad at me! Nellie