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My One and Only | ||||
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Category: Post-OotP Characters:Harry/Ginny Genres: Angst Warnings: Death Story is Complete Rating: PG Reviews: 11 Summary: In this story Ginny explores the journey of the choice between becoming a ghost, or moving on... Hitcount: Story Total: 3644 |
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Slowly Ginny ascended the stairs. Step by step, an even, rhythmic pace. The butter mallow walls around her made her feel at ease. One hand was on her suitcase, the other lightly gliding along the oak banister. Her pace quickened and she began to gain upon the people in front of her who had stopped to look at the photos on the wall. Now an again she too paused to look at the aesthetically placed photos decorating the surrounding walls. Her first birthday, with her mother and father by her, her own face covered in chocolate cake, little Fred and George scheming in the background. There was her first day at Hogwarts, standing next to Ron, she looking so small in those great halls. Interspersed were pictures of friends here and there, mostly Ron, Hermione, and Harry. Graduation day, beaming as tears streamed down her face, she hugged those who she would so miss. Professor Dumbledore’s wide smile radiated out of one of the smaller pictures, his eyes had that Dumbledore sparkle that Ginny hadn’t seen in quite a while. As she continued on she noticed a picture of every teacher that had mattered to her. Hagrid was there joyfully peaking out from behind his beard. Professor McGonagall seemed to be actually smiling with a mischievous twinkle from behind her spectacles. Her breath caught in her chest as she came upon what she thought may have been her favorite picture. She closed her eyes as the memory of that night ensnared her senses. --Harry stood next to her, his hand in hers as they stood on a hilltop across from the lake. He was having a hard time organizing his words. “…er…well, you know I’m really not very good with words,” Harry fumbled, still seeming to have trouble articulating exactly what he wanted to express. He took a deep breath and looked out over the Great Lake. The final battle of the Second War had been fought on these very grounds but weeks before. They had been lucky. Few of those they had loved were actually lost. Both Tonks and Remus had been lost only days after their engagement. They had died fighting Pettigrew. No Marauders remained. Colin and Dennis Creevey had both jumped in front of Killing curses aimed at Harry and Ginny’s back. Other students had died, Cho Chang, Justin Finch-Fletchly, and Susan Bones. The teachers losses were the heaviest, they had lost Professor Dumbledore. All felt lost without him. It was something both of them were thinking about at most silent moments. For a moment he watched the giant squid splashing morosely about. He shook his head to clear it and returned his attention to Ginny. She too cleared her head and gave Harry all her attention. Harry, who was still here, thank Merlin. “Ginny…you know how much I care about you. I love you.” He seemed encouraged as she smiled, and went on, “You’ve always really been there for me when I needed you. You’ve been the only one who was ever truly honest with me. You never tiptoed around me like everyone else did at some point. I want to thank you for that. You’ve been what really pulled me through.” Ginny noticed that there was a kind of glint in his eye that she hadn’t noticed as brightly ever before. She gave him a slightly questioning glance. It was his turn to smile. Slowly he got down on one knee and Ginny realized what was going on. “Ginny,” he began, “you make me happier than I ever thought I could be. I’m so lucky to have fallen in love with my best friend. I can’t imagine spending the rest of my life without you. Will you marry me?’ Ginny got down on her knees so she was looking directly into his eyes. “Yes,” She said definitively. He threw his arms around her and pulled her to him.-- Back on the staircase Ginny opened her eyes. She brushed away the tears that were streaming down her face. Again she started her climb, more slowly this time, suspending her pace now and again to look at more of her life. Her hand softly stroked the frame of the biggest portrait she had seen yet. Her white satin dress robes shot out in stark contrast against the black of Harry’s. His arm was tucked around her waist and they were slowly swaying to the da-da-da-dum of the band she knew was playing. She found herself closing her eyes and swaying along with the picture. She was jostled out of her memory by the passing of a young man walking hurriedly up the stairs. She tightened her grip on her suitcase so not to drop it all the way back down. She knew if she went back for anything she would never make it back up again. Tucking a reddish-grey hair behind her ear she waited for several passers-by to head up. She watched the colors of the wall change with each passing person. Their portraits replaced hers until they were out of sight. Red-green-blue-black, she waited for those walls to turn that familiar butter mallow. There were pictures of Ron and Hermione’s wedding and their first children. All of her brothers had gotten married and had kids of their own, most with the Weasley red hair. The next picture that really caught Ginny’s attention was a picture of her and Harry in a hospital bed in St. Mungo’s, holding their first ebony haired, chocolate eyed baby boy, Sirius. There was a row of pictures of her, Harry, and her family playing with Sirius. Then a second picture appeared of Ginny and Harry sitting in that pristine hospital room with their first daughter. She was already a vivacious little girl with flaming Weasley hair and shining Potter eyes. They had named her Lily. A row of pictures of the happy family consequently trailed. Then there was the third and final picture of Ginny and Harry in the maternity ward. It was when they had their third child, a baby boy with raven hair and emerald eyes, James. Ginny continued scaling the stairs, smiling at the pictures of their children, gradually growing picture by picture. She was momentarily bumped by a few people glumly descending back down the stairs and she had to wait a moment for her pictures to return. Her eyes again welled up as she came to the picture of her first grandchild, a strawberry blond angel named Eleanore, or Ella. Many more grandchildren were to come, 9 to be exact and Ginny and Harry got to play the role of the spoiling grandparents. The final stretch of the stairs lay right in front of her, a bright light beaming from around the corner. She braced herself for whatever was coming and joined the throng of people waiting, upon the brink of decision. She rounded the corner and looked directly into the light. It didn’t look as threatening as she had though. It seemed warm and comforting, even inviting maybe. Some of those around her began to shirk away, blinded by its brightness. Shoulders slumped; they began to disappear back down the stairs. Ginny gingerly hung one foot over the doorway and stepped in. Deliberately looking around, she spotted Harry. A genuine smile, as smile she reserved only for him brightened her features. She began to sprint toward him. He was waiting with open arms. It had been so very long… |
| Reviews 11 |
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