AN: This was actually a college project. I was tasked with writing an anonymous letter to someone suffering from a form of mental illness and I chose depression. I decided to put it into a story because... why not? lol. Fair warning, this was not beta'd so there might be grammatical errors. I hope the readers don't hold that against me.


Ginny slowly made her way to the park bench at Primrose Hill near where Harry had proposed to her before he had died. It had been almost a decade since he had gone and yet Ginny still felt the ache in her chest that she was now quite sure would never truly fade.

She would always come to this spot when she was thinking about Harry. She would go to his grave under normal circumstances, but she couldn't bring herself to do it except on his birthday. This time, it was to tell him about how the Harpies won the championship league match and that she had been chosen to be a chaser on the Quidditch World Cup Team. She would've come yesterday, but she had been celebrating with the team at some pub. Well, they had been celebrating. She had been drinking to ease the ache in her heart.

Ginny didn't celebrate, not anymore at least. What was the point when Harry wasn't here to celebrate with her.

Ginny sighed as she sat down on the bench. The sun was dipping low in the sky and the lamps throughout the park had just turned on.

How different would life be if Harry had survived? She'd be happy for one. She'd probably have a few kids. She'd have a home instead of some lonely flat. How often over the years had she thought about how easier it would be if she could just go and join Harry?

Ginny guessed the only thing stopping her from joining Harry was her family. She couldn't disappoint them like that. They already worried about her enough as it was. Harry would be disappointed in her as well.

No... she couldn't do that, no matter how appealing the idea might seem at times.

Thinking of her parents reminded her that right this second, they were preparing a feast to celebrate her big win and getting on the World Cup team. They invited her of course, but Ginny had no intention of going. She couldn't bear to endure the looks of pity and sympathy she was sure would come her way even now.

Maybe she would just go back to her flat and open that new bottle of Firewhisky she had in the cabinet.

Yes, that seemed like a good idea.

Ginny made to stand up, but out of the corner of her eye, she spied something white in the bushes near the bench and halted.

She slowly outstretched her hand and latched onto the object before pulling it towards her.

It was an envelope!

"Now what's this doing out here?" Ginny asked aloud to herself.

She stared at the unmarked envelope, trying to decide whether she should open it or not.

"Bugger it, then," Ginny said as she opened the envelope and pulled out the parchment inside.

Parchment... how strange. That means that whoever wrote this was a wizard.

Ginny saw the header and concluded that it was a letter meant for whoever happened to come across it. She breathed deeply before she started reading.

To whomever may find this letter

It's been hard for you, I know, and it makes me sad that you don't see yourself in the way that I see you. Sometimes, there are things in life that cause us to lose ourselves, and the way you have is so unimaginably painful. I miss your smile, the way your eyes light up the whole room just by the sound of your laughter. I miss the way you accepted the way you looked in the mirror without cursing yourself about how ugly you look. I miss the way you didn't think of yourself as a failure because everyone makes mistakes, we all have flaws, and no one is perfect.

It's painful to see that no one around you seems to see the pain hidden in your eyes, but stranger, I do. I see how heavy your heart is and how comforting for you the sadness must be, how afraid your heart is of happiness because it always disappears in the end, right? You don't know how much impact you have in this world and it's sad to see that your demons fight against you and want to take control of you because you do make change. It's something so simple and little that brightens up someone's whole world.

It can be a small smile from your lips, the way you look at things you are passionate about, the way you make yourself eat even though it has been hard for you lately, or the way you zoom out and go into your own little world just to hide yourself from the agony.

You brighten up my world just by reading this. It means a lot to me that you're here, existing, but I don't want you to just exist. You deserve to feel alive. You deserve to get up in the morning and feel good about yourself. You deserve to feel something- to feel like every damn second in this lifetime is a gift.

You deserve to feel alive.

It's heartbreaking to think that you're not worthy or capable of being loved, because you are. I love you through all of my words, and I hope you let it happen in your heart.

Love is scary, I know. Maybe your heart had been broken once and since then you'd rather feel numb than feel anything else ever again. Maybe the truth of your pain just weighs too greatly on you.

It hurts me how you punish yourself. Does your heart not deserve to feel love? Please forgive yourself. It's not your fault that the demons you hide are trying to darken your beautiful heart. You're not a bad person for distancing yourself from others, but you deserve someone to talk to.

You deserve someone who will listen.

Well, I'm listening, and you can always tell me what is wrong.

It's everything, isn't it? There's someone or something that's pulling your heartstrings to the ground and no one seems to understand. It's regrettable that I am in the background and can't comfort you in any way, so I decided to leave you this letter.

You matter, you are worthy, and you are loved.

You deserve good things. You deserve to have someone you can confide in with no judgement. You deserve to eat and drink, to feel alive, to smile. You deserve to be all the things you wanted to be because you deserve to have and feel good things happening to you, and to know what it's like to lead a fulfilled life. I know I might not know you personally, but I care about you so much.

I am writing this because I want you to stay here with me. I want you to hold on just a little bit longer because you matter to me; because I will not let you give up on yourself. I want you to see that you should not give up on yourself because love actually is all around you.

I want you to look back on the times when you were a kid. You didn't give up when you tried learning how to swim for the first time. You didn't give up when you tried to walk for the first time and fell. You never gave up on yourself. You always kept pushing forward no matter what obstacles were in your way.

So, why can't you now?

I know it is tiring, you're mentally and physically exhausted, but if your younger self deserved to know what happiness felt like, then why doesn't your older self deserve that as well?

Look back at the eyes you had that used to be so full of hope and life. Look back on all the dreams you used to have. Don't let yourself fall, because you deserve so much better than that.

I want you to fight. We will both fight, as I will always be fighting for you. I won't let your demons erase that spark of life that you've kept since you were a child. You can hold on to me, a stranger, knowing I will never let you down.

Whenever you feel lonely, look up at the sky. I always look at it and think of you, yes... you, because it makes me happy that someone is looking right back at me. Maybe we can't see each other, but I can feel your presence here and that is enough for me, because then I know that your heart is still beating and that you're still fighting.

You're so much stronger than you think. You didn't leave your spot on this earth even when you wanted to. You belong here even though it might not seem like it at times. When you feel like you don't belong, try to build your own home here. Put all your love, hopes, and dreams from when you were a kid in it. Maybe it can bring you some small comfort.

Think of yourself as a star when you feel alone. You shine because your heart is good, no matter what mistakes you may have made, or what kind of past you've had up until this point. You're one of the stars that shines brightly in the sky because your heart is beautiful; that's why your demons want to have it. As one of the stars, you'll see many other stars of people who've suffered as well. Maybe they've felt the same way as you do at some point in their life, but they brighten up the universe with each other's presence. You're a star for me. Maybe you don't see it yourself, but I can see it.

You make me happy by reading this. You make me feel something just by your presence alone, and when you can, hopefully you can make me feel the same way you've made me feel.

I hope you stay for yourself and not let your story be written by others. It's your story, not theirs.

As you can see, I say a lot of "I hope" because I have hope for you, even when you can't seem to find any for yourself. I see hope in you even though you might want to give up. That's why I hope you won't see the world in darkness but learn to see it in many colors again. I hope that I can give you even a shimmer of hope for yourself and make the world you see just a little bit brighter for today. My favorite color is yellow, and I hope that the next time you see the color yellow, you will think about my words.

If someone abandoned you, don't blame yourself. Don't think you weren't enough. Don't lower yourself for someone who couldn't see the brightness in you.

If you lost someone, I am so sorry for your loss. They would want you to be happy. I hope you don't feel regret and only remember good times you've shared with them. They are in a good and safe place now.

If someone broke your heart, then I am so sorry that they made you feel like you were not enough.

If you aren't accepted at home, or in general, then I'm sorry you must go through that. You should never feel ashamed to be yourself. I accept you and support you, and I always will.

Life is full of these moments that try to tear us down, but if these moments never existed, how could we ever learn to appreciate and value true happiness?

You're not useless, a burden, or a problem. You're human.

It hurts to see that you're in so much pain when you deserve so much more than that. Don't let your emotions control you. Don't let your demons get the best of you. I wish I could take your pain away, even if it were only for a little while. I guess that was what I was hoping to achieve by writing you this letter.

If no one told you today, I am so proud of you. You're reading this and that is enough to make me proud of you because that means you're still here and that's all that matters to me.

If it's night for you, go to sleep. I know it might be hard to fall asleep right now when your mind is at war with itself, but you deserve a good sleep. If it's morning for you, try thinking of something bright and happy. I know it's hard to have a good day with your mindset but start with baby steps. Start building little healthy habits.

If it's evening for you, you're probably overwhelmed and stressed, I mean, who wouldn't be? It's important to know that when you feel that way, you should do a little self-care. You deserve to feel at ease and relaxed.

If you're somewhere in between, I hope you know that you're strong for breathing despite the ache in your heart. I really mean all of my words even if there are a lot of unsaid things that I want to tell you. Maybe one day we'll meet, and I'll get that chance.

I hope one day your smile will become genuine and you no longer have to fake it.

You can let go for today; I got you. You can cry your heart out and scream into the void as much as you want, but don't let it tear you down completely. Just remember that crying is not weakness.

I hope this is enough to convince you to stay for today. Tomorrow will be a new day, a new start. Enough with beating yourself up for today, okay?

Live for those who couldn't, smile for those who forgot what it feels like to smile, hug like it might be your last, and love like there's no tomorrow.

If you managed to read all of my letter, until tomorrow, my friend.

Your friend,

The Stranger

Ginny slowly lowered the letter to her lap in shock. To be honest, she didn't know what to think about it. For some reason, the letter did fill her with a sense of warmness and comfort that she hadn't felt in a long time.

Maybe it was because this stranger, whoever he was, voiced all the feelings she had been suffering through these past few years. It was like they truly understood what she had been going through all this time.

As Ginny stood up, it felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders; a small weight perhaps, but a weight, nonetheless.

Maybe she would stop by her Mum's and join in the celebration for once.

As she Apparated to The Burrow, she didn't notice the figure with platinum blonde hair standing next to a tree smile as he put his hands in his pockets and walk off.