A/N: Yes, I know this breaks canon somewhat, but I love it and it seemed fitting to me to have this as an alternative to what happens in Deathly Hallows. I just love Harry and Ginny so much and wanted an excuse to showcase that, so here you go!

Title: Love You Forever

Team: Tutshill Tornados

Position: Chaser 1

Reserve: no

Optional Prompts: startled, helpless, this isn't what I wanted.

The following is an excerpt from Chapter 34 of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows:

Harry swung the Cloak back over himself and walked on. Someone else was moving not far away, stooping over another prone figure over the ground. He was feet away from her when he realized it was Ginny…[she] was kneeling beside the injured girl now, holding her hand. With a huge effort Harry forced himself on. He thought he saw Ginny look around as he passed, and wondered whether she had sensed someone walking nearby, but he did not speak, and he did not look back.

Harry tripped and fell. Every step he had taken had become so heavy, so lifeless that he almost didn't even register that he had fallen. It seemed so painless and unimportant compared to the death that awaited him in the Forest. He was merely half an hour away from his time to surrender to Voldemort, but then it happened.

"Harry?" said Ginny nervously, now examining the area where she heard the noise. "Harry, is that you?"

"Muffliato," muttered Harry with the wand from his pocket. It was too late. She had already caught him because his feet were now exposed from the Cloak. Thankfully, the conversation was muffled from more than 10 feet away due to the muffliato charm. Everyone else was back in the castle anyways.

"Harry?!" said Ginny, noticing the severed feet on the ground, which quickly revealed more of itself into the black-haired, green-eyed boy she'd come to love so much. "What's going on?! Where are you going?!"

Harry couldn't bring himself to tell Ginny the truth, that he was going to surrender himself to Voldemort, just as Dumbledore had wanted him to do from the Pensieve vision.

"I'm just—just—" stuttered Harry, but before he could finish, he was enveloped in an all-embracing hug from Ginny, who had a death grip on him. He relented and hugged her back. He didn't think he'd ever be able to let go. The misery of death killed him inside, and telling Ginny what he was doing seemed impossible.

"Harry, what are you doing?" Ginny whispered in Harry's ear very anxiously as they were still locked in an embrace.

"It's part of the plan," croaked Harry, who was beginning to feel nauseous and to sweat from nervousness. They finally let go from the hug. "I've—I've got to go, Gin. Listen—I told Neville about Nagini—"

"What plan?" said Ginny, ignoring his last sentence, her eyes wide with horror. She knew Harry was obfuscating.

"Ginny, just trust me," said Harry.

"What plan?!" said Ginny a little louder and more defiantly, her eyes still betraying nervousness herself. "WHAT PLAN, HARRY?"

Harry shook his head and shut his eyes tight. Nothing seemed real anymore. This all just seemed like a bad dream. All he wanted to do was wake up from this nightmare.

"Harry Potter, you tell me what's going on right now!" said Ginny, pulling her wand on him and pointing it at his neck.

Harry looked at her in shock. "I—I'm going to the Forest—"

"And?!" said Ginny shrilly.

"I'm going to face—him,"

"NO! NO YOU CAN'T!" shrieked Ginny, and crazy tears were leaking from her eyes now. "YOU CAN'T DO THIS, HARRY! YOU CAN'T! I WON'T LET YOU!"

"I have to, Ginny!" said Harry who was on the verge of tears himself, but the thought of death preoccupied him more than anything.

Ginny looked as though she would cast a spell on Harry to prevent him, but Harry stopped her by grabbing her arms and holding them down.

"I have to do this, Ginny," said Harry seriously. "There's no other way."

"Why?!" said Ginny, her reaction a little more sober, but her face now covered in tears and tear stains. "Why, Harry?! He'll—He'll—"

"I know what he'll do—" said Harry. "But—it's part of the prophecy. I have to go—"

Ginny looked positively startled. "But—the prophecy said one of you has to die, so—if you—if you—" she couldn't even get the words out. "I thought you weresupposed to be the one who killed him. Who's going to—finish this?"

"You'll be able to do it—You'll all be able to do it," said Harry, swallowing nervously and looking at her startled expression. "G-Ginny, you remember the whole diary incident, right?"

Ginny nodded and said nothing, as if this was a stupid question to ask. Still, she hung on to every word Harry spoke.

"Well—the part of You-Know-Who that was in the diary, I—sort of—have a piece of You-Know-Who inside of me too."

"What?" said Ginny, who was positively overwhelmed. "You mean—a piece of his soul? Why—why didn't you say anything?"

"I—didn't really know honestly—" said Harry. "I mean, I had some ideas, but I just figured it out—pretty recently." This was true of course.

"So he has to—kill you," said Ginny, shaking from nerves, "or else, he can't really die."

Harry nodded somberly. "It's just the snake. After me, it's just the snake and then him." Ginny shook her head fervently in disapproval and shut her eyes. Tears flowed again as she collapsed on Harry in another bear hug. Harry too, let out a few tears but wanted to be strong. It was hard to be strong though. It was hard to feel anything because the thought of death so permeated every ounce of his being.

There were no words in that moment. Harry knew he only had about 20 minutes before his time would end with Voldemort and he would unleash havoc on Hogwarts again. He had to meet up with him. But being locked in Ginny's embrace somehow made him feel like time stood still, like there were no two people on the planet except him and Ginny. Like nothing else mattered in the whole universe except the two of them and their lives together. But then, reality kicked back in.

"I'm going with you," said Ginny quietly. Harry's eyes went wide, the realization setting in.

"No! You can't!" said Harry worriedly, "Even in death, your mother would never forgive me if she knew you came with me into the Forest. You've got to be here to end him, Ginny!"

"I—I—I," stuttered Ginny. She had never felt so helpless in her life. She didn't want to go on living without Harry, but she didn't want to disappoint him either and not put an end to Voldemort. "I—I can't do this, Harry. I need you—so much."

Harry put his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes. "You're strong, Ginny," he said. Encouraging Ginny one last time helped Harry's feelings, but only just. "I know you are. You always have been. You-Know-Who is weaker now than he's ever been. When I—die—he'll be even weaker."

Ginny was staring hard into those bright green eyes. "I still want to come with you, Harry," she said resolutely.

"Ginny—please—I,"

"I know what you said, but hear me out," said Ginny, pulling her wand out. Harry did not stop her this time.

"I know a little more than you think I do, about your scar," said Ginny. "I actually heard about it—from Ron surprisingly enough. It was love that saved you that night, wasn't it? Your mother cast a magical protection over you using her love for you?"

"Yes," said Harry, trying to remember if he had ever told Ginny all this information before.

"I can't come with you into the Forest, because I need to finish the work that you started," continued Ginny in all seriousness. "But I can be with you in spirit."

"What?" said Harry confused.

"I learned a votive spell from an advanced charms book this year," said Ginny. "It's very complicated, but it's a vow you make with your true love. Sometimes witches and wizards do it at their wedding. If the love is strong enough, it can shield someone from certain dangers, sometimes including the killing curse. If not, however, both members of the vow will die when one is killed. That's why many people don't use it, because of how risky it is. But I learned how to use it this year, because—well—I sometimes wondered if this moment would come."

"You wondered if the moment would come when I would have to die?" asked Harry incredulously.

"Yes," said Ginny sadly. "I always knew, when you stuck to your determination to finish off You-Know-Who, something fatal could happen. I had mentally prepared myself, but—but—it's—still—pretty—difficult," she finished, fresh tears forming in her eyes, making it hard for her to speak.

"Come here, Ginny," said Harry who was wanting to do nothing more than embrace her, to run away with her and leave everything else behind. But the ache in his scar and the weight of the world on his shoulders convinced him to think more soberly than that.

"Harry," she said softly. "I love you."

"I love you too, Ginny," said Harry, but Ginny removed herself from his embrace.

"Do you?" she asked, her brown eyes making Harry's heart melt.

"Of course, I do," said Harry.

"No, I mean, do you, truly, deeply, with all of who you are as Harry Potter, love me, Ginny Weasley?"

Harry thought about this question. "Yes, Ginny. I love you with my whole being."

Ginny gazed at him with a serious expression, deep in thought. "Do you love me with all your heart, mind, soul, and body? And don't just say yes. Really, honestly think about it."

Harry thought about it for a solid minute. "Yes, I do," he finally said.

"Then take my arm with your arm," said Ginny. Harry hesitated, worried about the repercussions of the situation, but the look in Ginny's eyes gave him reassurance that she was just as committed to him as he was to her.

She took out her wand and made eye contact with Harry. Harry couldn't look away, even if he wanted to. Something kept his bright green eyes glued to her deep brown eyes.

She began muttering, and a swirl of orange light surrounded their arms that were grabbing each other.

"A new light is born, when two can become one flesh. Amortentia will fail, but love is as strong as death. Love is patient. Love is kind. Love does not seek its own, neither does it rejoice in evil. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it—"

As she spoke these words the orange lights glowed and radiated after every sentence. Harry could only see it out of his peripheral vision, however, because he and Ginny were deadlocked in a stare, almost in a trance. Their eyes were practically looking into each other's souls.

"Te amo usque in sempiternum, omni tempore, et semper," said Ginny as she kept her wand pointed at their arms. Harry, as if in a trance, yet fully conscious of what was happening, spoke the same words back to her, as if he automatically knew that this is what he must do.

"The last enemy that will be destroyed is death, and love must be the one to vanquish it," said Ginny and with those words, Harry could feel a powerful burning sensation in his skin where the orange light swirled around his arm. It was as if Umbridge's quill was edging something into his skin, but it seemed less painful and more "normal" somehow.

When it was all over, Harry and Ginny finally both snapped out of their stare and looked at each other like they normally did.

"Wow—" murmured Ginny. "I—I think I did it—I set my seal of love upon you."

Harry looked awestruck at Ginny but then felt the tingling sensation in his arm and noticed that words had been engraved on the bottom side of his forearm:

"Te amo usque in sempiternum," said Harry as he read it out loud.

"It means 'I will always love you,'" said Ginny, and she too showed her forearm which had the same writing etched in her skin.

Harry and Ginny both hugged again like bears and had trouble letting go.

"This isn't what I wanted," said Harry as he spoke to the top of Ginny's red head in a hug. "I didn't want it to end like this…I wanted us to be together—as adults."

Ginny said nothing but merely shut her eyes and squeezed him harder at these words, enjoying his precious embrace for what could be the last time.

"I've never loved anyone like I love you," said Harry.

"I've always loved you, and I always will," said Ginny. Then, they kissed. It wasn't an overly romantic kiss as much as it was the saddest, most heartfelt, most sincere kiss. It wasn't even that long of a kiss, but when they broke apart, they hugged one more time.

"Do it," said Ginny, her face still tear-stained. She rubbed the place where the vow had been made on Harry's arm with her thumb. "Go, and now, I'll be with you."

Harry finally broke free of her embrace and picked up his Cloak. "Always," he said, as he somberly began his journey into the Forbidden Forest.

"Always," said Ginny to herself.

Harry made his way into the Forest, still nervous, but under the Cloak he rubbed the place where he had made the vow with Ginny. He made his way into the camp of the Death Eaters, and all was deathly quiet when he arrived. Voldemort put his hand up to Bellatrix who was about to speak, but silenced herself. Everyone was gazing at Harry with vehement hatred, except for Voldemort, who merely stared at him with those piercing red eyes.

"Harry Potter," he said softly. "The Boy Who Lived. Come to die."

Harry closed his eyes. He wanted it to happen quickly. He thought of Ginny, of Ron and Hermione, of Hagrid, of Dumbledore who had already gone on, of his parents, of Sirius, of Lupin, of Fred, of lots of people all at once. His entire life flashed before his eyes as the man who had tortured his life for the last seven years bellowed "Avada Kedavra!" Then, all reality vanished.

Ginny had returned to her family with the Weasleys upon hearing of Fred's death. The Weasley clan was in the hospital wing along with hundreds of others and many healers from St. Mungo's had arrived on the scene to provide assistance to Madam Pomfrey. Ginny, however, was hovered over Fred's body with the rest of her brothers and her parents when suddenly she collapsed and fell onto the floor.

"Oh my gosh! Ginny!" said her father as he was the one standing closest to her. Everyone in the Weasley clan quickly gathered around her, terrified as to what else could possibly go wrong on this, the worst day of their lives.

Arthur felt her neck. "She's still got a pulse, but her skin is cold as ice." Everyone thought curiously about what could be going on. Then, somehow, miraculously, Ginny, in her comatose state, managed to eek out the tiniest smile, as if, subconsciously, she knew something incredible had happened, and the vow had worked. Miraculously, they were both still alive.