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A New Normal | ||||||
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Category: Post-DH/AB Characters:Harry/Ginny Genres: General, Romance Warnings: Mild Language, Mild Sexual Situations Story is Complete Rating: PG-13 Reviews: 129 Summary: Harry has spent much of his life being hunted by Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Now the Dark Lord is dead, it is time for Harry to live the life he has always wanted. It it time for Harry to create for himself a new normal. Hitcount: Story Total: 70899; Chapter Total: 5166 Author's Notes: I am really sorry this chapter is only now just being posted but unfortunately life got in the way for both me and my beta. But I will be posting at least another three chapters on top of this one in the next few weeks. Also thank you for the positive responses to the previous chapter! |
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Chapter 3: Saying Goodbye It had been a very long and emotional week for everyone. Harry had no idea how he would have survived the week if it had not been for Ginny’s constant love and support. At every funeral that they had attended, she had stood or sat next to him, holding his hand tightly, not letting go once. And as simple as the gesture was, it had been a great source of comfort and warmth for him. However, the week was far from over as there were still two more funerals to attend. The first one, Harry knew would be the most difficult for Ginny and he knew he would need to be strong for her and that he would need to keep his emotions in check, while providing her with the same comfort and warmth she had done all week. The second one would be the most difficult for Harry, the hardest of all the funerals that they had attended and he was not sure he had the strength to be able to handle it. Today, they would be attending funerals to say goodbye to Fred, Remus and Tonks. Both Harry and Ginny had been dreading this day since their return to The Burrow a couple of weeks earlier. They had become inseparable since they had reunited; rarely spending time apart if they could avoid it, finding that being with each other was a welcome distraction from the grief they both shared. They would spend time talking about their childhoods and their time at Hogwarts, flying together in the Orchard, sitting in silence while enjoying being in each other’s presence after being separated for so long or sometimes curling up together and taking naps after having a restless night’s sleep. They made no secret of their renewed relationship as it was something that they had both longed for over the past year. And despite the initial confusion from much of the family, nothing was said to them, but they were instead left alone to be in their own little world. This morning was Fred’s funeral; the one Ginny had been dreading attending most. The pain and grief she felt due to losing one of her brothers was worse than she had expected and imagined. But it was still nothing in comparison to the pain and heartbreak she had felt when she was led to believe that Harry was dead. She knew she had to face her grief now, after allowing herself to build a bubble around herself and Harry to escape it. She was so grateful to have Harry back in her life as she knew that together they would work through their grief. She also knew that he understood her pain better than anyone as he had already lost so many people he loved and cared for due to this war and due to Tom Riddle. If anyone was going to help her through this, she knew it would be Harry and she knew she would do the same for him. Harry knew this morning would be tough for Ginny, for all the Weasleys, but he also knew it would tough for himself as well. The only real family he had ever truly known had lost one of their own and he felt incredibly awkward, feeling as though he was intruding on their grief, even if they felt he was part of the family. And even though he knew he was not to blame for Fred’s death, he still had lingering feelings and doubts that made him feel at times that perhaps they did blame him. But Ginny never did, she always told him when she saw that look on his face when he was thinking about it. He loved and appreciated her trust and faith in him, but right now, it was time for him to be there for her. “Gin, it’s time,” he whispered into her ear. He pulled her in close to him, kissed the top of her head, before taking her hand and leading her to the graveside. As the funeral began, Harry could feel the tears begin to well up in his eyes. He forced them back. Not today, no tears today, he thought. He looked at the rest of the Weasley family, most were sobbing silently, Molly was crying loudly, more like wailing, and George, he was just staring distantly into space. Harry looked down at Ginny, his sweet beautiful Ginny, and he could see that she was numb from the fact that her brother was gone and being buried and yet he could see the tears streaming over her face. It was breaking his heart to see her like this. He wished that there was some way he could take away her pain. He did the only thing he could think of, he slipped his hand out of hers, moved his arm around her shoulders and pulled her in close to him, allowing her to cry on his shoulder instead. Harry’s thoughts wandered as the funeral continued. It amazed him that he did not feel awkward comforting Ginny in this way. He had never found it easy to comfort crying girls; it would just make him feel anxious. And yet with Ginny, it felt so easy, it came much more naturally. But then again, everything with her felt so much more easy, everything came so much more naturally. She was the only person in his life with whom he felt he could share everything, with whom he could be himself completely and with whom he was willing to show his vulnerable side. And he knew that for Ginny, she felt the same way he did. Knowing all this made it all the easier for him to continue to hold her, to comfort her and to support her throughout the funeral, allowing her to grieve in the way she needed to. Ginny hated that she was so overcome with emotion. She was unable to hold back her tears and it was not like her to be like this; she was not someone who would usually cry. She was, however, grateful that Harry was there by her side, supporting her and not judging her for being this way. She desperately wanted to pay attention to what was being said, but her tears were so overwhelming that it made it difficult for her to focus. She instead allowed herself to sink into Harry’s arms and shed the tears she knew she needed to shed. She was missing Fred so much and knew the world would be so different without him, even though the dark days were now gone. What saddened her most though, was that he was not here to see her with Harry, that he would not be there on the day that they got married. But she knew in her heart that he would approve of their relationship, but still, he was no longer here to see them together. Both Harry and Ginny were drawn from their thoughts as the funeral ended with fireworks lighting up the sky, bringing laughter and smiles to those in attendance. Once they had stopped and as people begun to leave, Harry led Ginny over to Fred’s grave and conjured a wreath of flowers, which Ginny laid down. “Goodbye Fred, I’ll miss you,” Ginny said sadly. She gave Harry a watery smile as the walked away. “Are you ready?” she asked Harry. “Not really. Promise me you will stay with me this afternoon. I’m not sure I will cope otherwise,” he replied nervously. “I’ll stay with you, no matter what,” Ginny said as they stopped. She stood up on her tip toes and kissed him lightly on the lips. The many funerals that they had attended had taken the toll on both of them, but even more so for Harry. Ginny had stayed strong for him, supported him and comforted him at each one, knowing that each loss of life had been hard for him. But she knew that the funeral they were about to attend would, for Harry, be the worst of them all. She knew that this funeral would be about saying goodbye to his last true connection to his parents. She hoped he would be able to stay strong, but she was expecting that this would be the funeral at which he would finally break down in tears. When they arrived at the next cemetery, they found many members of the DA and the Order of the Phoenix having already arrived ahead of them. Harry was glad to see so many people had come to say goodbye and pay their respects to Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks. He knew Lupin’s life had not been an easy one, having been a werewolf. Making friends had been tough, but seeing this many people here, Harry thought, showed just how many people had loved and respected him. From among the crowd, Harry saw a familiar face from the summer before approach him and Ginny, carrying an infant in her arms, “Hello Harry, Ginny,” said Andromeda. “Would you like to meet your godson Teddy?” Harry looked down at the precious bundle in Andromeda’s arms and smiled sadly. Here was the baby, who he could see so much of his friends in, and he was never going to have the chance to know his parents, Harry thought. Tears that he had been managing to keep at bay for the previous few days were now threatening to burst. “He’s an orphan, just like I am,” Harry said quietly. And with that, the tears came. His grief had finally hit the surface and brought with it and onslaught of tears he could no longer fight back. “Sorry Mrs Tonks. Perhaps me and Harry can come by and see Teddy another day?” Ginny intervened. Andromeda nodded and briefly touched Harry’s shoulder in sympathy and understanding before walking away. “Harry, if this is all too much for you, we can go home if you want,” whispered Ginny. Harry shook his head furiously in response, unable to get any words out of his mouth. “It’s ok. I love you. I am not going anywhere. I’ll be by your side the whole time,” she responded as she held him close to her. She was not surprised by Harry’s tears; she had been expecting this eventually. But she also knew that these tears were more than just saying goodbye to their friends. They were tears for every loss he had personally suffered, every person who had died due to the actions of Voldemort. Years of unresolved grief had finally been unleashed and it broke her heart to see him so consumed by his pain and his grief. But she was determined to be there for him, to help him through it and to share in his grief. The funeral passed in a blur for Harry. He was so consumed by his grief that he was unable to focus on any words said and to see anything that happened. All he could do was cry for every person he had ever lost while Ginny held and comforted him. His tears eased long enough for Ginny to help him over to their graves, so he could say goodbye, before she, along with her dad, helped him apparate back to The Burrow for the joint wake. Ashamed and embarrassed at having shed so many tears in front of so many people, Harry muttered his apologies and took himself straight upstairs to bed. “Don’t worry about the wake, sweetheart. We can make excuses for you and Harry if need be,” Mr Weasley said as he watched Harry disappear up the stairs. “He shouldn’t be alone right now. Go and be with him.” Ginny smiled and hugged her father and quickly headed up the stairs to find Harry. She knew him well enough to know what room he would have gone to and as she opened the door to her bedroom, as she had expected, he was there. She found Harry sat on her bed, with his head in his hands. She went and knelt down in front of him, taking his hands and holding them in hers. “Dad is going to make excuses for us if anyone wonders why we are not at the wake. We can stay in here for the rest of the day instead,” she told him as he looked up at her, his eyes red and puffy from the tears. She could see so much pain in his eyes, but she could also see his love for her in them too. “I love you so much, Gin. I don’t know what I would do without you,” he replied as fresh tears started to flow. “I love you too, Harry. I’ll stay with you, no matter what,” repeating her promise from earlier on the day as she pulled him into his arms, so she could comfort him. For the rest of the day, they stayed there in her room. After many more tears had been shed between them, tiredness began to set in. Lying on her bed, holding each other in one another’s arms, Harry spoke, “Thanks for being there for me today, Gin.” “I promised I would stay with you. We both need each other if we are going to heal.” “I know, which is why I was wondering if you would come with me to a few places this coming week?” “Of course I will. I am not spending a minute away from you if I can help it.” “I love you, Gin.” “I love you too, Harry.” Within minutes, both had fallen asleep; both feeling as though the heavy weight of their grief had finally begun to lift from their hearts. As they slept soundly, the door to Ginny’s room opened. Her parents stood in the doorway as they watched the young couple sleep in each other’s arms. They gazed at each other and smiled. No words were exchanged as they both knew what the other was thinking. The fact that these two people had found each other in a time of such darkness and were now helping each other to heal, brought joy to them. Leaving the couple in the peace, they quietly closed the door and headed to bed. |
| Reviews 129 |
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