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Vanquish Day
By Albus Potter

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Category: Post-DH/AB
Characters:Harry/Ginny
Genres: Angst, Drama, Fluff, General, Romance, Tragedy
Warnings: Death, Mild Language, Mild Sexual Situations, Sexual Situations
Story is Complete
Rating: R
Reviews: 12
Summary: One year on from the infamous "Vanquish Day" in which many lives were lost during the battle of Hogwarts, the wizarding world is still very much hurting. United to pay their respects to the fallen, those still remaining reflect on a life without conflict and struggle to move forwards without their loved ones who gave their lives to the cause.
Hitcount: Story Total: 6846



Disclaimer: Harry Potter Publishing Rights © J.K.R. Note the opinions in this story are my own and in no way represent the owners of this site. This story subject to copyright law under transformative use. No compensation is made for this work.



Author's Notes:
I first wrote this chapter after the release of DH but have since come back and re-written it (JULY 2011). I do plan to write more FF connecting to this short story and have more chapters expanding already written, but I need to find a beta before I consider publishing anything further!




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The wizarding world was a broken empire, but things were finally on the mend. After over two decades of living in constant fear, witches and wizards throughout Britain were finally able to talk freely and behave as they wished. A strange new era in the wizarding world, many struggled to let go of those that had given their lives at the battle of Hogwarts a year ago. The memories and images were still ripe in the minds of so many survivors, remembering friends and colleagues, teachers and students who had simply stood up against the most hideous evil ever known.

Those fighting for the greater good formed a loyal following, dedicating themselves to Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter, the only two truly believed to be powerful enough to end the wizarding war against Lord Voldermort. After Dumbledore’s untimely death the world turned its eyes solely to Harry. The ‘chosen one’. The ‘Boy who lived’. A symbol of great hope, many sacrificed their lives in order for Harry to carry out the task that was forced upon him — destroy the horcruxes and then a mortal Voldermort to end the pain and suffering once and for all. His followers in turn, were proved right by intrusting Harry with their faith. The killing curse that should have finished Harry once and for all was rebounded on the Dark Lord himself, putting an end to a bloody battle that had gone on for far too long. It can come to be known as ‘Vanquish day’.

Since that day Harry Potter had become an even bigger phenomenon. Not only was he a celebrity amongst British witches and wizards like no other, but throughout the globe his name was echoed in whispers recounting the tale of the boy wizard who cheated death twice and the two friends who accompanied him as they thwarted one of the most powerful dark wizards ever known. A shattered ministry, slowly putting back the pieces of a corrupt and broken place of law enforcement and order, Kingsley Shacklebolt now lead the wizarding world as they moved forward into a new era. Already offered a position within the ministry, Harry had politely declined, feeling that perhaps a year out of everything would be the most sensible choice.

The memorial service held in the grounds of Hogwarts had come to a finish some two hours since after a teary speech from Mcgonagal and a very motivational, inspiring few words from Kingsley. Wizards and witches had turned out in their thousands to honor the occasion and Harry who had received a special mention had awkwardly had to get up to say a few words himself. Now standing in front of a row of beautifully sculptured tomb stones, Harry examined the dozen or so graves of his fallen loved ones, members of the order, his family. A tear trickled down his left cheek as he remembered their personalities and grasped for his memories he shared with those now departed. A soft, silky hand suddenly slid into Harry’s left hand. Glancing to his left for a moment Harry looked into the deep brown eyes of his girlfriend Ginevra Weasley who’s own eyes seemed stung with tears, quivering although seemingly unwilling to cry herself. In that moment Harry was reminded how much he truly loved her and the brave young woman she had become. She gave Harry a tiny small smile and squeezed his hand tightly before letting go and pulling a wand out of her back pocket. With a wave of her wand, small candles began to appear beside every tombstone in front of them, illuminating their names in the cold morning air. Lupin, and Tonks shared a tomb besides Alastor Moody and several other members of the order.

Harry spent his time studying each of them, remembering the best of the people that were no longer with him before finally looking downwards at Ginny. She suddenly looked so small and fragile, sat on the floor hugging her knees with tears very obviously running down her face and into her fiery red hair. As Harry crouched down beside her he reached forward and wiped the small streaks from her pale, freckly face. It astounded him how beautiful she was, even when upset. Caught off guard Ginny quickly tried to rub her eyes clean as she looked at her brother Fred’s grave. She had been so strong about the whole thing, caring for her broken mother for the best part of a year and holding her family together like glue. But now it was apparent that Ginny was still struggling to let go just like the rest of them, as she sat beside her brother and slowly started to sob in Harry’s arms.

*****

After a while the two rose from their spot, a red-faced Ginny now much calmer than she had been several minutes ago.

"Do you remember Dumbledore's funeral here, when we saw Fawkes fly into the distance..? I think it was that moment when it all actually hit me. How real it all was, and how vulnerable we all were.." said Ginny after a small pause.

She was staring upwards at the cloudy sky, her eyes still shaky with tears reliving the ghosts of her past. Harry followed her eye line and felt himself thinking back to that day, almost two years ago when the great headmaster had died. He had felt more numb than he had perhaps ever felt before, losing not only a great mentor but a magical figure that Harry had grown up to idolize. In that moment he had the huge burden of the Horcrux's still upon him without a clue or where or what they were and for a short while the world had seemingly stopped, it had become pointless to continue.

"How can I forget.." muttered Harry, suddenly feeling a little misty eyed himself again. After a few more moments Ginny's head came down from the clouds to look at Harry once more. She turned and stroked Harry's face, kissing his cheek with a surprising warmth to her lips.

"You have to let go of the guilt at some point you know." she said truthfully. "He would never of stopped terrorizing people unless someone stopped him, and thankfully you did." Harry knew that what Ginny said was the truth. It wasn't fair that he had spent the best part of a year in an odd kind of trance, riddled with guilt and anger directed at himself. He looked down from the sky at his best friends Ron and Hermione who were holding hands at the other end of the memorial garden looking at a plaque.

“Thank you. My friends,” said Harry in a horse, croaky voice as he put an arm around Ginny and they turned away.

They walked slowly keeping warm together in the disappointingly cold summer morning air, exiting through the gates of the Hogwarts memorial garden placed on the outskirts of the grounds. Harry looked back for a moment to read the engraved writing on the entrance plaque.

“Death is but crossing the world, as friends do the seas; they live in one another still.”

Although he had read this quotation many times during his visits to see his friends, Harry still took a moment to consider it’s true meanings and found that it comforted him in an odd way. Through all his loses he truly did believe that those who had died never really left him, their memories lived on in the minds and hearts of those left behind. Just through the gates other members of the Order, greatly made up by the Weasley family now, were still visible paying their respects to friends and family. Ginny rubbed her head against Harry’s left arm, tightly snuggled under his wing in a protective embrace. She turned her head to give his chest a peck before speaking.

“Your place?”

Harry looked down with a smile, and with that they turned on the spot apparating into thin air with a small pop.

*****

Harry and Ginny suddenly appeared beside the Leaky Cauldron. Opening the door for Ginny, they entered the old wizarding pub with their heads down trying to avoid eye contact. They hadn’t moved more than a few feet when a small wizard with an oddly shaped green hat had tried to have his arm signed with a dirty quill from the murky depths of his robe pocket.

Harry realized that of all the days to not be in the mood for publicity, today wasn't one of them. He had helped vanquish one of the wizarding worlds greatest evils and those who suffered losses be it friend or family were merely trying to thank him in some shape or form. He knew he should of felt flattered at their adoration but he had after all grown up his whole life stuck in the limelight and today was as equally hard on him. Trying to act as politely as possible, Harry apologised to oncoming witches and wizards looking to initiate a conversation as he and Ginny pushed their way through the crowd of dithering fans, smiling for pictures and signing his name on pieces of parchment here and there. After about five minutes they finally made it 20ft from one side of the room to the other, and slipped out of the back door towards Diagon Alley.

Fumbling in his pocket for a set of keys as they approached Quality Quidditch Supplies, Harry shook his head, still dazed by the flashes of photography inside the pub.

“I really need to move,” he mumbled half-jokingly as he rattled around his pockets still looking for his keys. "I don't reckon I really thought these living arrangements through, did I?"

Ginny pulled a set of rusty old silver keys from her own, a small smug grin on her face, still swollen from crying.

“You dropped them at Hogwarts. And there’s nothing wrong this place, you just bought it! People are going to want to talk to you Harry, anywhere you go. It's lovely here.”

Harry let out a small laugh while snatching the keys from her hand, knowing she was right. “Where would I be without you,” he said truthfully, opening the side door to his flat above the shop.

“Probably bunked up with some rotten girl like Cho Cha-“

Ginny faltered as Harry looked round on the stairs to give her a very familiar ‘here we go again’ look with his eyes.

Laughing she pushed Harry through the door and onto the living room sofa, landing with a small thud. She pulled her coat off impatiently and climbed on top of her in a very bold and bossy manner. Her deep brown eyes stared into Harry’s piercing green eyes in contrast, their eyes not faltering for several very long, drawn out moments. Pulling his petite girlfriend downwards vertically onto him for a kiss, Harry clasped a handful of her bright red hair and for a moment found himself lost in the smell of her perfume as it consumed him.

After a while he pulled away from Ginny’s eager kisses and she reared her head back looking at him in disappointment and surprise, her blouse half unbuttoned.

“What’s the matter?” said she looking perplexed.

“Nothing,” replied Harry. “It’s just that.. well Vanquish day.. It just makes you feel so grateful for what you do have.. doesn’t it..”

Ginny’s mouth stretched out into a large smile, her face becoming instantly more beautiful.

“Yeah. It does,” she whispered, pulling Harry back into a slow, loving kiss.

Reviews 12
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