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SIYE Time:16:47 on 28th March 2024
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2000 Miles
By Fire

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Category: Post-OotP
Characters:All
Genres: Action/Adventure, Angst, Fluff, Tragedy, Drama
Warnings: None
Story is Complete
Rating: R
Reviews: 453
Summary: When Harry realises his need for Ginny he eventually finds a way to tell her how he feels, but their fairytale romance is interrupted by a battle with the Dark Lord, and Ginny is determined that she won't lose Harry and is prepared to go to any lengths to prevent it. H/G, R/Hr.
Hitcount: Story Total: 163874; Chapter Total: 6780







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O that ‘twere possible,
After long grief and pain,
To find the arms of my true- love
Round me once again!…
A shadow flits before me-
Not thou, but like to thee.
Ah God! that it were possible
For one short hour to see
The souls we loved, that they might tell us
What and where they be.
~By Alfred, Lord Tennyson



Chapter XXIII: 2000 Miles


It was the twentieth of January, and for the last five days, Ginny had found no one. It was late at night and Ginny was lying on her bed, flicking through the notebook that contained the names of the two-hundred-and-eighty-six people she had freed. Many familiar names were among them: Tonks, her brother Charlie, Mundungus Fletcher, Dean Thomas, Professor Vector, Professor Trelawney, Parvati Patil, Michael Corner, Professor Snape, to name but a few. Ginny had worked hard, and she had walked a long way. Everyday she had written down the number of miles she walked and kept a running total all the time. She often wondered how long it would take her to find everyone. She had just one left now, and in a way she was glad. She wanted to go home and see her family. She’d run away just over six months ago, and she missed them terribly.

Ginny was finding it difficult to find the last hostage. Wherever he or she was, they were hidden very well. So, for many days Ginny walked many fruitless miles, finding absolutely nothing. In seemingly no time at all, the thirtieth of January arrived.

“Ginny,” said Marion, that evening. “It’s been two weeks since you found anyone. Perhaps the Prophet made a mistake, and you’ve found everyone.”

“No,” said Ginny. “There’s someone else out there and I’m not giving up until I find them.”

“I really admire you,” said Marion. “I don’t think there is anyone else in the world who would have done what you’ve done.”

“I’m just doing it in the slightest chance that I’ll find the man I love,” said Ginny, simply. “But, I don’t think that’s possible anymore.”

“Why not?” said Ginny. “Well, there were two-hundred-and-fourteen people from our side killed in the battle and two-hundred-and-eighty-seven kept as hostages. Now that number is down to one. It is far more likely now, that Harry was killed in battle, and I just can’t bring myself to believe that he is alive anymore.”

“You can’t give up hope,” said Marion.

“I already have,” said Ginny.


*+*+*+*


Ginny awoke on the morning of the thirty-first of January. She had worked out a couple of days previously that it would be her two-hundredth day of walking. She had looked at her mileage total and realised that on this day she would reach her two-thousandth mile, somewhere around the midpoint of her walk. She felt a funny flip in her stomach as she thought of two thousand miles. That was Harry’s promise to her.

”I would walk two thousand miles so that we could be together.”

Ginny sighed sadly, preparing herself for another day of disappointment.

She was heading for Gowbarrow fell. A wide, sprawling mass of open access land on the shores of Lake Ullswater. She wore her walking clothes as usual and after getting off the bus at the National Trust car park near Aira Force waterfalls, she set off up the hillside. She kept glancing at her map, watching closely as she walked mile after mile, slowly edging towards the two thousand mark. She wasn’t expecting to find anything, but she felt it would be an achievement to have walked so far.

She passed the summit of the fell. Whilst there she paused for a moment gazing at the view. She looked all around her and realised with a start that there were a group of men and women standing about further down the side. Ginny’s heart leapt briefly, hardly daring to believe it. She couldn’t be sure, but she believed she had found the final hostage.

Walking bravely towards the group she took out her wand and casually hexed and stunned them. Sprinting across to where they lay, she found the tell tale rabbit like hole beside a rock. Ginny took a deep breath, preparing herself to find the person who would break her heart in two, the person who would finally prove to her that Harry was dead, gone forever. She pointed her wand at the hole with a shaking hand and brought the ground back so the hole was large enough to fit through. She dropped down and looked around. Ginny spotted a person slumped on the ground, facing the far wall. The person appeared to be male, and was dressed in very grubby looking wizard’s robes. He had long black hair that was grimy, matted and dull. He was very thin and Ginny wasn’t sure if he was even alive.

“What is your name?” she asked shakily, her voice sounding quite strange, almost strangled.

“Why should I tell you?” a hoarse, croaky voice replied.

“Because I won’t be able to let you go until I have your name,” Ginny said, her voice still sounding odd. “And I’m sure that you have many people who are anxious to see you. Family, friends, a special young lady perhaps.”

“Ginny,” the man breathed.

Ginny froze. Her insides felt as though icy water was pouring through them.

“Who?” she asked, sounding even more choked than before.

“Ginny Weasley,” he said. “My girlfriend, fiancée even. I should never have left her.”

The man remained facing the wall.

“I’m sure she understands,” whispered Ginny. “You did what you had too.”

“She’s sick,” said the man. “Nobody knows how long she has left to live, and yet I left her, all because of my stupid destiny. She’s more important to me than anything. Anything!”

The man coughed.

“I just hope she has waited for me,” said the man. “Wait, that’s stupid. I know that she’ll have waited for me. But maybe she doesn’t know I’m alive. Nobody knows I’m alive, well those who do are happy to leave me here to rot. She might have moved on. Forgotten about me. No. If she loves me just half as much as I love her then she won’t have forgotten. I just want to be with her again, and have her tell me that she loves me and still wants to marry me.”

Ginny looked at the man’s head, tears building in her eyes.

“Ginny knows you’re alive, Harry,” she said, her voice slightly more normal than before.

The man jerked slightly, as though surprised that she knew who he was.

“Ginny still loves you and she still wants to marry you. In fact, Ginny is not as far away as you might think. She is out here, searching for you Harry. An act of selfless love cured her illness, and act of love for you. She has freed two-hundred-and-eighty-six hostages. She has been out here for six months and sixteen days, which adds up to two hundred days, and each of those two hundred days she’s walked ten miles. Today is the two hundredth day, and today, just before she spotted the Death Eaters guarding your prison, she completed her two-thousandth mile. Ginny never gave up on you Harry.”

The man sat up slowly, and with great exertion he managed to stand. He was very weak, Ginny realised. He was in a lot worse state then anyone else. Very slowly he turned. And as their eyes met his mouth opened in shock, as though he almost hadn’t dared believe it.

“Ginny?” he whispered.

Ginny nodded, unable to speak. She bounded across the cavern and threw herself into his arms, weeping uncontrollably. He held her tightly for what seemed like hours, never to let her go again.

“They told me you were dead,” said Ginny, looking up at him.

His face looked different. He was thin and half his face was covered with a shaggy beard, but his eyes, his eyes had not changed.

“I didn’t want to believe it,” Ginny continued. “So I came to find you.”

Harry kissed the top of her head.

“I love you, so much,” he said.

Ginny reached up and pressed her lips to his.

“I love you, too,” she whispered.

She pulled away from his embrace and prepared to climb out, when Harry fell to the floor with a thump.

“Harry!” she cried.

She dropped to her knees and gazed at him. She stroked his cheek gently.

“Harry, honey," she whispered to him.

He could barely open his eyes.

“I’m going to get you out of here, okay,” she said. “But you’re going to have to help me.”

Harry nodded feebly. She pointed her wand at him and levitated him out of the cave, then climbed out herself. She bound the Death Eaters and took their ropes in her hand. She took the wands and found Harry’s wand on one of their belts. There were six in all. Ginny lifted Harry up and supported him with her right arm, holding the Death Eaters with her left. She revived them and they followed in silence knowing that they were finally defeated.

The party walked off down the hill, Ginny struggling greatly under Harry’s weight. Eventually they made it to the road and Ginny sent up the red sparks. The ministry official arrived and Ginny handed them over. He took custody of the criminals without question. Ginny kissed Harry’s cheek gently.

“It’s time to get you to bed,” she whispered to him.

*+*+*+*


It was over two hours later when Ginny and Harry arrived at Andy and Marion’s. Ginny was still supporting Harry on her arm and she struggled to get into the house.

“Marion!” she shouted urgently.

The woman hurried through from the kitchen.

“I need you to make Harry something to eat,” said Ginny. “Something like soup, though. He looks like he’s not eaten in weeks and I doubt if his stomach will handle solid foods.”

“Did you say Harry?” asked Marion.

“Yes,” said Ginny. “I’ll explain everything later. I’m going to take him to the bathroom and get him cleaned up.”

“Don’t you want Andy to do that?” asked Marion.

“No,” said Ginny. “I’ll be fine. Believe me, it’s nothing I haven’t seen before.”

Marion raised an eyebrow.

“I grew up with six brothers,” said Ginny.

“Oh, of course,” said Marion. “I’ll get you some of Andy’s old pyjamas out of the cupboard.”

“Thanks,” said Ginny. “I’ll let Harry have the guest room bed. I’ll sleep on the floor. I still have the sleeping bag from when I went on the two day walks.”

“You sure you’ll be alright?” asked Marion. “You can have Joanne’s bed for tonight.”

“I’d rather stay in the guest room,” said Ginny. “To keep an eye on Harry. You know, make sure he’s alright.”

She helped Harry to the bathroom. She ran a hot bath and poured in lots of soapy bubbles. Ginny helped Harry out of his filthy robes.

“You know Ginny,” said Harry. “I don’t think I’m up to having sex right now.”

“Oh shut up, you git,” said Ginny with a smile. “And get in the bath. Marion’s making you something to eat, so you’d better be quick.”

Harry grinned at her. She took her sponge out of the cupboard and soaked it with water. She ran it gently across his face, wiping away months of soil and mud. Ginny handed the sponge to Harry.

“There’d better not be a fleck of dirt on you when you’re finished,” she said.

“Yes mum,” said Harry.

Ginny smacked him lightly on the head.

“Uncalled for!” exclaimed Harry then he grinned. “You’ve got to admit it. You do sound a lot like your mum.”

“Maybe I do,” Ginny said. “She’s bound to have rubbed off onto me in some way.”

She took out her wand and used a charm to get rid of Harry’s beard.

“Much better,” she said.

Once Harry was out of the bath and wearing some pyjama bottoms (he refused to wear the top), Ginny attacked his hair with a pair of scissors, returning it to the length she was used to. She repaired his glasses with a spell that Hermione taught her and handed them back to him.

“Now you look like Harry again,” she said.

He smiled at her. Ginny helped him into the guest bed and sat down in a chair that she’d put beside it. Harry looked around the room. He noticed the large picture on the bedside table and picked it up.

“It’s the picture from the Gryffindor common room,” explained Ginny. “Joanne asked Colin for all the copies.”

“Who’s Joanne?” asked Harry.

“She’s a first year,” said Ginny. “This is her house. I’ll introduce you to everyone tomorrow, okay? I’ve been staying here ever since I ran away from Hogwarts. They’ve been really good to me. I expect you’ll want to ask Andy a lot of questions.”

“Why?” asked Harry.

“He knew your parents,” said Ginny. “He was a year below them at school, but he was a Gryffindor, so he knew them quite well.”

Harry was silent and there was a pregnant pause.

“Do you have all the other pictures?” he asked.

Ginny nodded and opened a drawer behind her. She took out a small, leather-bound photograph album. Harry took it from her and the two of them flicked through the pages, looking at all their old friends.

“I’ve missed everyone so much,” said Harry.

“So have I,” said Ginny. “We’re in the same boat you know. Everyone thinks you’re dead, and everyone thinks I’m dead, and I didn’t even go to fight. The only people who know that I am alive are the people who I freed and the family that I’ve stayed with.”

“Who’ve you freed?” asked Harry.

"A lot of people who I’d never met before,” said Ginny. “But I found Charlie, Tonks, Dung, Kingsley, Dean, Parvati, Snape. From what Joanne told me, I don’t think many people at Hogwarts were too thrilled about that.”

Harry chuckled. Marion entered the room at that moment with a tray and a bowl of soup.

“Here you go,” she said, putting the tray down on Harry’s lap.

He sat up slightly so he could eat properly.

“Harry,” said Ginny. “This is Marion Williams, and Marion this is Harry Potter.”

Marion smiled.

“Nice to meet you, Harry,” said Marion. “The girls will be most excited when they find out that you stayed here.”

“Girls?” asked Harry.

“Marion has three girls,” explained Ginny. “Joanne, Amanda and Louise. Joanne is the eldest. You can meet them tomorrow.”

“How are you feeling, Harry?” asked Marion.

“Much better now,” said Harry.

“That’s could,” said Marion. “I see that Ginny’s cleaned you up properly.”

“Yeah,” said Harry.

He stroked her cheek lovingly.

“Will you be down for tea later, Ginny?” asked Marion.

“Yes,” said Ginny. “What are we having?”

“Roast chicken,” said Marion.

“Great,” said Ginny.

Marion smiled at her and turned to leave.

“She seems nice,” said Harry once the door was shut.

“She’s been like my mum for the past six months,” said Ginny.

“When are we going to go home?” asked Harry.

“Well, I want to stay here until you’ve got some of your strength back,” said Ginny. “So we’ll probably leave in about a week. Besides, there’s a few hills I want to climb again, just to make sure.”

“What I am I supposed to do while you’re not here?” asked Harry, pouting.

“I’ll ask Marion to take you out clothes shopping,” said Ginny. “Keswick’s beautiful. Don’t worry about exchanging wizard money. Marion will show you where you do it. Which reminds me. I took about a thousand galleons from your vault to bring with me. I needed the money so I could come here and I couldn’t take it from the Weasley vault because my mum would notice.”

“It’s alright, Ginny,” said Harry. “I have more than enough and anyway, when we get married it’ll be your money too, so it doesn’t matter.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes,” said Harry, firmly.

Ginny grinned and kissed him.

“Now, eat your soup before it goes cold,” she ordered. “I’m going to go and pinch Amanda’s TV, so you have something to do.”

Harry grinned after her as she disappeared from sight. He couldn’t help but marvel at how different things were today than twenty-four hours earlier. Ginny had saved him. Ginny had risked everything to save him, and he couldn’t have felt more proud of her. He loved her so much, and now he was sure that she loved him equally. He stared at the picture of them. It seemed as though it was taken a lifetime ago. He smiled as picture Harry kissed picture Ginny and he knew that everything would now be all right. He heard footsteps near the door, and hastily began to eat his soup, not wanting to get on the wrong side of the Weasley temper.
















A/N I told you I’d keep my promise. I can’t believe I’ve finally written that chapter! I’ve been playing it over and over in my head since before I began this story. Each time it got better and better. It seemed better in my head than written down, but then again, it’s still one of my best chapters, I think. I’m not sure how long I’ll carry on with the story now. I’m definitely going to carry on to the end of the school year, but after that I’m not sure. I might just do an epilogue from sometime in the future. I am amazed that nobody figured this out. I thought it was really obvious that Ginny would walk 2000 miles before she found Harry, and obviously that would take her just less than seven months. I thought that you’d all guess it straight away, but there you go. I really hope you liked this chapter, because I thought of this before anything else in the story. It’s been slow going I know, but I DIDN’T KILL HARRY! Aren’t you proud of me? Please please please review!









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