Hey everyone! This my first Harry Potter fanfic. I was a massive fan as a kid, and I've recently gotten back into it. It's been a while since I've been on here, so I'm a little rusty. This chapter is a little slow but the story will pick up as it goes along. I have a lot of exciting things planned :)
Anyway, please make sure to leave a review and let me know what you think (constructive criticism is always welcome as long as it's written nicely). I also used to accept storyline ideas from my readers way back when, and i want to continue doing that. So if there's anything you want to see, drop it in a review and it might make an appearance (with credit ofc!).
Ok, so without further ado... I hope you enjoy!
As the cloudy skies gave way to sunshine and the dust settled over the ruins of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, there was a new and welcome feeling of hope in the air. It was over. Even though he could feel the fresh sting of Voldemort's killing curse on his chest, Harry Potter suddenly felt like he could breathe a little easier. This was what he had been working towards for the last couple of years, and he honestly could not believe he was standing there, heart beating and feet sturdy on the ground. He had come to terms with the idea of death, and now he had to come to terms with the idea of living. Somehow, the idea of life scared him more than the idea of death had a few hours earlier.
Harry walked through the castle, but he had no idea where he was going. He was exhausted, but all his mind could do was repeat a single name over and over again. Ginny. He had seen her while on his way to meet Voldemort, but she hadn't seen him since he was under his invisibility cloak. He hated the way he had left her. She understood, of course, but that didn't mean either of them liked how their relationship had ended. Still, seeing that she was alive and safe made him feel like it was all worth it.
He stopped suddenly, realizing he had reached the entrance to the Great Hall. It was a sight he wanted to avoid, but he could not bring himself to ignore it. He stood at the entrance, unable to take another step. The Great Hall, which had always held cheerful memories of friends and feasts, was now covered with cots for those who were injured and those who hadn't made it through. He looked down as his head immediately spiraled to Remus Lupin. The closest thing to family he had left, now gone. Nymphadora Tonks was gone as well, leaving their month old son orphaned. Colin Creevey, the boy he had once found incredibly annoying, now lay there lifeless. Fred…
The thought of the mischievous redheaded twin made him look up, and his eyes immediately found the group of grieving Weasleys on the other end of the hall. They all stood around Fred's body, except for George who sat on the floor next to his beloved twin brother. Even from afar, he could see the pain and sorrow on their faces. Mr. Weasley seemed to be holding Mrs. Weasley up. Her body seemed limp against his. Bill, Charlie, and Fleur stood behind them, their faces red. Percy stood to the side. He held the same sorrowful expression as the rest of his family, but he also looked like guilt was eating him up. He watched as Ron joined the group with Hermione following close behind. He put his hand on his mother's shoulder and she embraced her youngest son while they both sobbed into each other.
Lastly, Ginny stood next to her parents. She wasn't crying, but her face was red, she had a small cut on her forehead, and her eyes were slightly swollen. Harry stood there staring at her. He didn't know what to do. He thought about joining them, but his feet didn't move from where he stood. He thought about walking away and leaving them be, but he couldn't stop staring at the beautiful girl he had left behind so many months ago.
Ginny's bright brown eyes met Harry's green ones, but neither of them moved. He thought about what he could say to her, but his mind remained blank. She thought about Harry's limp body in Hagrid's arms, not fully convinced that Harry being alive wasn't a fiction of her imagination. So, they just stared into each other's eyes. After a few seconds that felt like hours, Harry dropped his gaze and disappeared from the entryway. Ginny thought she didn't have any more tears in her, but as she saw Harry leave, she couldn't help but let out a quiet sob.
Hermione, who had been standing near Ginny, was the only one to notice the interaction. She quickly made her way out of the Great Hall in an attempt to stop Harry. She didn't know what was going through his mind, but she knew she had to get to him before he did something rash.
"Harry!" she called after her friend as he made his way up a moving staircase, "Harry! Wait a second. I need to talk to you." Harry stopped at one of the landings and waited for Hermione to catch up. "Are you ok?"
"Hermione…" was all he could get out before she interrupted.
"I know, I know. There's a lot going on" she gave him a weary attempt at a smile. "Look I just wanted to let you know that Madam Pomphrey has been looking for you. She wants to check you out"
"I'm sure she was loads of other people with actual injuries to take care of." He responded with a small nod. "I'm fine". He started to move, but Hermione caught his arm.
"Why do I feel like you're about to disappear?" she asked with a pleading look. He didn't answer. He definitely had not thought about leaving, but he hadn't thought about much since the battle had ended. He was exhausted, physically and mentally. He needed rest. They all did. "Please, promise me you won't just disappear" she added when he didn't respond.
"Look" he said after a deep sigh, "I'm just heading up to Gryffindor tower. McGonagall said the dorm rooms are open, and I just need some sleep." He tried reassuring her, but she didn't cave. He could tell she was worried. "Really, Hermione, I'm fine. Just tell Madam Pomfrey that, and if she still wants to check me out, I'll be in Gryffindor tower. Ok?"
Hermione took a deep breath. She didn't want to bother him, and she knew Harry well enough to know that he wanted to be alone. "Ok" she nodded in agreement and let go of his arm. "We'll be up in a little bit, if you need anything". Harry gave her a soft smile and continued on his way.
Ginny made her way through the empty Gryffindor common room. Her parents were still in the Great Hall with George. He hadn't spoken a word, but he still refused to leave Fred's side. And once Fred's body had been moved from the Great Hall, he refused to move at all. Ron and Hermione were the first ones to head out. The pair couldn't even recall how long they had been awake, and exhaustion was starting to take over. After them, the Weasley siblings had slowly made their way up to the dorms one by one. Ginny was the last one to leave. She would have stayed, but her mother insisted she get some rest. Ginny didn't feel tired, but she also wanted to give her parents some time alone with George.
She checked each room as we walked up the stairs. Her siblings had all found comfort in sharing one room. Bill and Fleur had pushed two beds together to make one big bed while Charlie and Percy had settled into their own beds on the other side of the room. Ron, however, was nowhere to be found, and neither were Harry or Hermione. She suspected she might find them in the boy's 6th year dormitory, and she was right. To her surprise, Ron and Hermione had squeezed into Ron's old bed together. It's about damn time, she thought with a small chuckle when she spotted the pair. She didn't pay much attention to them as her eyes drifted to Harry. He was lying on his stomach, his feet draping off the side of the bed with his shoes still on. He was covered in dirt and ash from the battle, and he had not bothered to take his glasses off. Ginny's heart ached as she noticed how he held his wand as he slept. She looked over at Ron and Hermione, who were also held onto their wands firmly. They were all prepared to attack, or more like block an attack. It made her wonder what the trio had gone through while they were on the run.
She moved closer and started to remove Harry's glasses. Her hands had barely touched the rim, when Harry's eyes flew open and, in one swift move, he pointed his wand directly at Ginny's throat. She raised her hand in front of her, reminding him that he wasn't under any threat. It had startled her for a second, but her face remained still. She wasn't afraid of him.
"Ginny" Harry whispered her name with a sigh and lowered his wand. "I'm sorry. I've been a bit jumpy lately. Haven't gotten a full night's sleep in almost a year". He ran his hand through his hair and looked down.
"It's ok" she said in a low voice, not wanting to trigger the same reaction from Ron and Hermione, "It's just... you were sleeping with your glasses on and I… I was just going to, um, take them off."
"Oh" was all Harry replied as he reached up to adjust his glasses. There was a long and painful moment of silence.
"I think..." Ginny broke the silence, "I think I'm just gonna… I'm just gonna go". She turned to leave with the intention to find a bed of her own, but Harry's soft voice stopped her. "Wait" he whispered as he looked down at his feet. Why did I stop her!? I don't know what to say, he thought in another moment of silence. "I don't think I can go back to sleep".
"Yeah" Ginny turned back towards him. "I don't think I'm going to get much sleep either" Ginny didn't know what to say, or how to feel. He had left her heartbroken, and as much as she wanted to be mad at him, she knew it wasn't his fault. Still, just being in the same room with him made her feel comfortable, even if he was just staring at his shoes. So, she let herself speak. "Do you want to join me?" she asked.
Harry took a deep breath and brought his face up to meet hers. "I'd like that," he said with a nod. She reached her hand out and he took it gratefully as she led him down to the common room.
They both took a seat on the big comfy couch in the common room. Despite everything that had happened, the fireplace was still burning steadily. Ginny felt as though they had been transported back to her 5th year at Hogwarts, to the short time they had been able to date and enjoy their lives as normal teenagers. Except it was nothing like that. So many things were different now. So many people were now gone.
"Do you want to talk about what you three have been up to this past year?" Ginny asked cautiously and Harry just shook his head. She wouldn't force him to talk if he didn't want to, but she was still a little disappointed.
"I'm sorry -" They both started at the same time, but it was followed by another moment of silence. "Sorry?" Harry asked, his brow furrowed, "What could you possibly be sorry about?"
"Just sorry" she shrugged, pulling one of the couch cushions so she had her arms wrapped around it. "Sorry you had to go through all that. Sorry about not being able to help out more. Sorry about Remus… I know he meant a lot to you" she took a quick breath as she remembered Remus, the professor who had helped her find a place at Hogwarts again after the whole Chamber of Secrets thing. "And I'm sorry for asking. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."
"Ginny…" Harry shook his head slightly, "None of those things were your fault. You have nothing to be sorry about. And from what I've heard, you were the one holding the things together here while we were gone. I mean who else would try to steal the bloody sword of Gryffindor..." She blushed a bit at that comment. How he found out about that, she could only guess. "I'm sorry Ginny'' his voice quickly turned from cheeky to serious, "I never wanted to leave you behind like that, but I could never live with myself if I knew you had been hurt because of me. I'm sorry for how I did it, but I'm not sorry for doing it". He stopped for a second and gulped before continuing, "and I'm sorry about Fred-"
"Harry don't," Ginny interrupted letting go of the pillow. She knew where he was taking this conversation. "Fred's dea-" she couldn't get the word out. Death. It still didn't make sense in her head. "What happened with Fred was not your fault. And knowing you, you are probably blaming yourself for everything that happened. But the only thing you are responsible for, Harry Potter, is defeating that snake-eye bastard." She stopped and stared at him for a second. He sat with his head down, one of his hands lay limp on the cushion, and Ginny instinctively placed her own hand on top of it. "I know that's not how you think, but you're the only one blaming yourself. Yes, some people didn't make it, but they knew what they were sacrificing when they chose to stand for what they believed."
She stared at him waiting for a response, and was starting to think she wasn't going to get one when Harry turned his head to look at her and simply said "Thank you Gin". His bottle green eyes peeked through the long disheveled hair covering his eyes, "and I will tell you what happened while we were gone. Just… not tonight".
Ginny simply nodded in understanding and reached up and ran a hand through the black mess on top of his head. Harry's hair had always been messy, but it was clear that he hadn't had a proper haircut in months. "You need a haircut" she grinned, lightening the mood in the room. "Yeah" Harry chuckled under his breath.
"Gin?" he asked looking at her. He hadn't forgotten how beautiful she was. But seeing her there, in person, safe and alive, made him realize that she was much more beautiful than he recalled. "Are we alright?"
She took a moment to think about her response. "No," she said bluntly. For a second, Harry felt all his hope slipping out of him, but then she shifted closer to him, wrapping her arms around his torso. "But we will be" she reassured him and she reassured herself, "We all will".
Harry wrapped an arm over her shoulder and pulled her closer. Ginny let out a breath and leaned her head into Harry's chest. Harry winced at her weight against his ribcage, and Ginny pulled back.
"Are you ok?" she questioned looking at him suspiciously. Harry wasn't one to usually show pain, which led her to believe whatever was hurting was really hurting.
"Yeah. I'm fine" he grinned, but she didn't seem convinced by his response. "I'm just a little achy from the battle."
"Have you gone to see Madam Pomfrey?" she raised an eyebrow. She had overheard Hermione telling Ron that Madam Pomfrey wanted to see all three of them, but Harry had already gone to bed by then.
"I promise I'm fine Ginny" he insisted, pulling her close again. She buried herself into his side body, and he didn't flinch. Although she wasn't completely convinced he was fine, she let it go for the night. She would try to convince him to take a trip to the hospital wing in the morning, but for now she would just enjoy feeling his heartbeat against her cheek. Proof that the Boy Who Lived was indeed alive.
Ginny felt her eyes getting heavy with sleep. She was dozing off when she heard Harry's soft voice whisper "I'm really happy to see you Gin". She smiled a real smile. She couldn't remember the last time she had smiled out of pure happiness. "I'm really happy to see you too" she managed to say drowsily before they both let themselves fall asleep in each other's arms.
And, for the first time in nearly a year, Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley slept without any nightmares. Maybe Ginny was right, they would be alright.
So... what'cha think? Let me know in a review!
Also, I found the image for the cover online. I couldn't find the original source, so if anyone knows who it's by please let me know! I would love to give credit where credit is due.
Thank you for reading! xx
