A/N okay last time jump….at least for a few chapters…..A million thanks and cyber cookies to my awesome beta Augurey Song who keeps me from using words that don't exist…..animelluvr8 - this one is for you...and no I don't think I going to get this done but I hope you all continue to read it anyways because I have big plans!

Dearest Ginny-

Harry nibbled at the end of his quill as he tried to sort out everything that he wanted to say. He had already written six similar letters but this was by far the hardest. He looked up into the heavens, searching for inspiration.

A few hours ago, he had left the ruckus of the common room with its impromptu end of term party for the peace and solitude of the Astronomy Tower. He wasn't in the mood to party; he didn't really feel as if he had anything to celebrate. The end of the term just marked one more milestone before his last battle with Voldemort.

He knew that the inevitable was coming and he had one last task he wanted to get out of the way before he left Hogwarts for the year. He wanted to tell the people he cared about just how much they meant to him. He didn't really want to think about it this way, but he wanted to say goodbye, just in case…

He had written to Dumbledore and thanked him for being his mentor. He thanked him for trying so hard to protect him, even if he hadn't always appreciated it. He also wrote to Mrs. Weasley thanking her for unofficially adopting him into the family and being the closest thing to a mother he had ever known. He had written a joint letter to Lupin and Tonks thanking them for preparing him the best they could. He also told them that life was too short and they weren't fooling anyone, so they needed to get over their personal issues and just admit to everyone that they were a couple. He even wrote a note to Hagrid, thanking him for simply being a part of his life and being Hagrid. He wrote very lengthy letters to both Ron and Hermione, thanking them both for being his first and best friends over the past six years and always standing by him. He also said that if he didn't make it, that they should take comfort in each other.

Ginny was his last letter to write and he didn't know what to say. He finally decided to just tell her the truth and say exactly how he felt.

Dearest Ginny-

The realization that as you read this I might never see you again makes me recognize that I have to tell you the truth. I have to confess my true feelings for you…

Once he started writing, the words poured out of his heart and onto the page. Before he knew it, he was signing it--

Now and Forever,

Harry

Harry slipped the finished letter into his bag with the others and stood at the edge of the tower, taking in the view. He heard the door open and knew it was the very person that was occupying his thoughts.

"Hey Gin," he said without turning around.

"Hey there Harry," she replied, joining him at the edge of the tower. They stood together not saying anything for a moment.

"How did you know I was up here?" he asked finally.

"Well, I saw you leave the party and when you didn't come back after three hours, I started to worry, so I went and got the map out of your trunk."

"You went through my stuff without asking?"

"Yeah, but it's not like you ever care."

Harry shrugged, "That's true, it's not like you haven't gone through it a million times before, I've given up on finding it irritating."

"I guess since you're up here, you weren't really in the party mood?"

Harry just shrugged again.

"So, what are you doing up here in the cold."

"Well we all need to have special quiet places to think now and then," he said turning to look at her for the first time.

"And roofs are fantastic places to think," she said with a small smile as she recognized the words she had once said coming from Harry.

Harry gave her a small smile back before turning to look back out into the distance. "You never did take me up on the roof at Number 12 last summer."

"Well we can go up tomorrow after we get there. I can't believe this year is already over, it went by so fast. Between OWLS and helping you train and Dean, I don't know where all the time went," Ginny marveled. "Oh that reminds me, I wanted to warn you that I wont be seeing you on the train tomorrow because I promised Dean I would spend it with him. I think it's the least I could do since I have been such an awful girlfriend lately, ignoring him so much."

Harry nodded in acknowledgement, but didn't say anything.

"So," Ginny said trying to engage him in conversation, "this is the first time that you're not going back to the Dursleys'. Are you excited?"

Harry gave a half shrug half nod.

"Well, I for one am glad that you are coming home with us right from the beginning. I was talking to Lupin yesterday when he was here and we were thinking that we could convert a part of the basement into a training room so we could keep working over the summer…that is if you want to."

Harry turned and smiled, but the sadness that was so clear in his eyes was not lost on Ginny.

"Harry, you're making me work really hard to have a conversation with you tonight," she paused for a moment. "What did you come up here to think about tonight?" she asked, even though she was pretty sure she knew the answer.

Harry sighed, "The final battle."

"What about it? Unless you don't want to talk about it."

"Does it matter that I don't? Because we both know that I will end up telling you anyway. I can't help but to tell you, it's as if you put some strange spell on me." He considered this for a moment, "You didn't, did you?"

"No spell. What can I say? I just seem to have that effect on people," she said reaching out and giving his wrist a reassuring squeeze. "Now talk to me. What's going on in that messy haired head of yours?"

"I was just wondering how it was going to end…"

Ginny opened her mouth to say something, but Harry didn't give her a chance.

"I know I'm going to win, because I have to. I am not letting that crazy son of a bitch hurt anybody else that I love," he said looking at the redhead with such passion in his eyes that it startled her. "I'm going to win if it kills me."

Ginny could tell that there was no sarcasm in his last statement. He was absolutely altogether entirely serious. He looked back out into the horizon for a moment before speaking again.

"The prophecy says that one of us has to kill the other, but it doesn't say anything about what happens to the winner. It never says that if I win, that I will survive it," he stated simply, turning to look back at her.

If it hadn't been so dark, Harry might have seen Ginny pale at this revelation. She didn't know what to think; she had always known that Harry would beat Voldemort, and she had assumed that he would then get to live the rest of his life happily ever after. She had never considered the possibility that he might die in the process.

"I don't want to die," he said softly. "Last year at this time I might have welcomed it, but now, I have things…people…to live for," he said looking directly into Ginny's eyes. "But if I have to die to ensure that the people I love are safe, then that is what I will have to do."

She didn't know what to say, but she realized that it wasn't words that Harry needed at the moment. She closed the gap between them, wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him into a hug. He put his arms around her shoulders and pulled her even closer. She placed her head on his chest and he rested his head on hers.

As she listened to his heartbeat, she couldn't help but notice how well they fit together. i Almost like two puzzle pieces/i she thought. They stood there like that for a long while, both of them taking comfort in the arms of the other.

"You're trembling." Harry said, breaking the silence.

"I'm cold," Ginny lied.

"I'm sorry, we should get back inside."

"Alright," Ginny agreed reluctantly.

Harry was secretly sorry that she had agreed so easily, as he didn't want this moment to end.

When they reached the common room, Harry was happy to find it deserted, with only empty butterbeer bottles and Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes wrappers littering the common room as evidence of the celebration that had raged earlier that night.

"It's already after 2:30,"Ginny said, surprised it was so late. "We should probably get some sleep."

"I can't sleep yet," Harry said, sitting on the couch before the fire. "I think I'm going to stay down here for a little bit longer."

"Alright," Ginny said, moving towards the staircase that would lead her to her dorm.

"Ginny?" Harry called, causing the redhead to stop and turn around. "I know you're tired, but would you mind staying down here with me for a little while? I just don't want to be alone anymore tonight."

Ginny looked at him and was a little surprised by how young he suddenly looked. Well he is still only sixteen, even if he does have the world on his shoulders.

"Of course I will," she said sitting down next to him.

"Thanks Gin, you're the best friend someone could ask for. I want you to promise me that no matter what happens, that you will always remember how much you mean to me."

"Of course Harry."

"Promise me," he insisted.

"Okay, I promise."

They sat together in a comfortable silence watching the fire burn down. Soon Harry felt his eyelids beginning to feel very heavy and he thought that he would just rest them for a moment…. When he opened them again, the early morning sun was filtering through the window. He was disoriented for a moment as he tried to figure out where he was and what was on top of him.

Not what, who, he thought as his mind defogged. I wonder how this happened…. not that I'm protesting, but get up before anybody sees this.

He tucked an auburn lock behind one ear and lightly stroked her cheek with the back of his fingers. She snuggled up closer to him, mumbled something and gave him a little half smile in her sleep.

"Gin," he whispered. "Ginny," he said a little louder.

"Yes Harry…" she replied, still half asleep. Her eyes shot open in surprise, "Harry?"

"Shhh…we fell asleep down here last night, but I think that you should probably get off me so we can sneak back up to our dorms before anyone sees us."

Ginny felt a blush rising in her cheeks as she disentangled herself from Harry's limbs. "Yeah, you are probably right. We could also get a little more sleep since everyone else wont wake up for a few more hours." She laughed a little as they walked to the staircase, "Well, goodnight I guess."

"More like good morning," he too chuckled. "See you in a few hours."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Harry was looking out the window, deep in thought, a forgotten copy of the Quibbler that Luna had given him hanging loosely from his hand, until he heard the door of the compartment slide open and someone sat down next to him. He was surprised when he turned around to see a very cheerful Ginny.

"Hey Gin, I thought you were riding with Dean," Harry said.

"Dean, who's Dean?"

"Dean, your prat of a boyfriend Dean," Ron answered looking up from his Quidditch magazine.

"I don't have a boyfriend," Ginny replied in mock confusion.

Ron stood up, "Did someone hit you with a memory charm?"

"Merlin's monkey Ron, you really are thick sometimes. I was being sarcastic because Dean and I just broke up.

"Oh Ginny, I'm sorry," Hermione said sympathetically.

"Don't be, I'm not. I haven't felt this free in forever. We really should have broken up months ago because it just hasn't been working. I honestly don't know why he has put up with it, I've been an awful girlfriend, ignoring him all the time. I'm glad he finally ended it and put us both out of our misery," Ginny told her friends as if it were the final word on the subject.

"So why did you finally breakup?" Hermione asked.

"Apparently he doesn't like to go down to the common room in the middle of the night looking for something he misplaced and finding his girlfriend sleeping with another man on their one year anniversary," Ginny explained with a straight face.

All the color slowly drained from Ron's face, Hermione looked slightly scandalized and Harry tried not to laugh.

"What?" Ron managed to choke out.

"It's alright, it was only Harry."

Ron turned to his best mate. "What?" he asked on the verge of hysterics.

Harry laughed harder as he explained that they had been talking in the common room and had fallen asleep on the couch, so technically, they had slept together.

"Oh okay," Ron said relieved. He turned his attention back to his sister, "Then it didn't mean anything. So why didn't you tell him that is was harmless."

"I did, but how would you feel if you found Hermione asleep on the couch with Seamus in the middle of the night?"

"But that's different, everyone knows how close you and Harry are," Ron insisted.

"But does that make it better or worse?" Hermione interjected thoughtfully.

"He is still a git if that's why he broke up with you," Ron grumbled.

"Ron, you never liked us together so why are you so upset that we've broke up? And besides, who said that he broke up with me?"

Harry leaned towards her, "I think you did Gin."

"Oh, okay. But for the last time, I'm glad we broke up. I'm happy, thrilled, elated, excited and a whole bunch of other words that I would use if I had access to a thesaurus. Besides," she said with a shudder, "he had ugly feet."

Ron started laughing, but Harry and Hermione just looked confused, which only made Ron laugh harder.

"Don't tell me you guys have never heard about Ginny's foot obsession?

"I do not have a foot obsession!" she squealed, throwing Harry's Quibbler at Ron.

"Okay, you have an anti-foot obsession." Ron said laughing harder. "You should have seen it when we were younger, Fred and George used to pin her down and touch her with their feet and she would practically have a heart attack."

"I hate feet! They are ugly and gross and completely unnatural and I don't like them touching me thank you very much," Ginny explained indignantly, not seeing Ron quietly slipping off his shoes.

"Ginny," Ron said in a singsong voice.

"What do you wa-- Ahhh Ron! Get those things out of my face!" Ginny tried to jump out of his reach but she tripped over Harry's foot falling to the floor right where her brother wanted her.

"Should we stop them?" Hermione asked Harry as the siblings wrestled on the floor.

"No," Harry shrugged. "Ginny is more than capable of taking care of herself, but if I were Ron I would be getting up soon."

Just as Harry said this, Ginny 'accidentally' kneed Ron in the crotch causing him to fall into a heap in the corner.

"See what I mean?" Harry said to Hermione causally. "Although, it looks like you might not be able to have kids anymore."

Ginny carefully picked herself up, dusted herself off, glared at the heap on the floor and sat back down next to Harry. Ron just looked up at his girlfriend with watery eyes, looking for sympathy.

"Don't look at me," Hermione said looking stern, "you deserved that." However it only took a little whimper from Ron to make her sigh, roll her eyes and help him up anyway.

The next few hours were spent just how four teenagers, on their way home after a long school year, should spend a few free hours. They played games, talked, laughed, reminisced, joked and overall just had fun.

They had just finished reliving the time that Neville's cauldron had exploded in Potions and landed on Malfoy, causing his hair to turn bright pink, when they fell into a comfortable silence.

"Hey, guys…" Harry said suddenly breaking the silence.

They looked at him expectantly.

"I just wanted to tell you that you all have been the best friends someone could hope for, and it's been an honor to know you all."

"Harry why are you talking like this?"

"Please Hermione, let me finish. I want you to know that I consider you my family, the only family I have ever known, and I care about you more than I could ever express in words."

Ron, Hermione and Ginny sat in shocked silence as Harry pulled three letters out of his pocket.

"I wrote these for you, I wrote a few others as well, Hedwig is delivering them now. Ginny, I told Hedwig to go back to you, I was hoping that you would look after her."

Harry held out the letters. Ron and Hermione took theirs, but Ginny just stared at hers, refusing to take it.

"Harry, what is that? What is going on? Why is Hedwig coming back to me? Is this what last night was about?"

"Please just take the letter," Harry pleaded.

"No! I don't want it!"

"Please Gin, just take it and read it once I'm gone."

Ginny was going to protest again, but was interrupted by the slowing of the train.

"What's going on?" Hermione asked, "We're in the middle of nowhere. We won't be in London for another two hours."

"This is my stop," Harry whispered, his voice stained in sorrow. He turned and crossed to the door, but he hesitated when his hand reached the handle. Without turning around he said, "You're definitely broken up with Dean right?"

Ginny looked at him as if she had never seen him before, dazed by how quickly everything was happening and completely taken aback at the odd turn of events. "Yeah, but what does that have to do with--"

But before she could finish her thought, Harry had taken the two strides over to her, taken her in his arms and was kissing her. She gave a small muffled cry of surprise, but then began kissing him back. As the kiss deepened and grew more intense, he pulled her closer and arched her backwards so that he was completely supporting her. Before she knew what was happening he had righted her, slipped the letter into her hand, and swept out of the compartment.

Ron, Hermione and Ginny, unable to move, unable to comprehend what had just happened, stood there staring at each other, unsure of what to do. Ron, suddenly realizing that Harry was gone, tried to follow, but crashed into an invisible barrier that seemed to be holding them inside.

"What is he doing?" Hermione said spotting Harry through the window.

The two redheads quickly joined the brunette and watched helplessly as Harry walked into the middle of the empty meadow then stopped, seemingly waiting for something. All three of them to a sharp breath when they saw eleven Death Eaters emerge from the woods and walk out to meet him.

"Has he gone nutters? He doesn't even have his wand out, that's bloody suicide!" Ron muttered to no one in particular as they watched Harry and Voldemort's lackeys have some sort of discussion.

The trio watched in horror as all eleven Death Eaters pulled out their wands and shot Harry with stunners simultaneously just as the train began to move again. Hermione cried out and buried her face in Ron's chest, who was seething in silent fury. Ginny launched herself at the window and pounded on the glass.

"NO, NO, NOOOOO! HARRY! OH GODS HARRY, NO!"

A/N Dun dun dun…..So what did you guys think….Well I'm going to be gone all until Monday so I'm hoping this will tide you over until I get back…but if I have a lot of reviews waiting for me when I get home I might be convinced to work extra hard to get the next chapter finished.

B/N: And the plot thickens…the more you review, the faster we'll try to get the chappies up! We're trying to fight our summer lethargies to update, and reviews only speed up that process!