Mute


I wake up and get dressed, just like any other day. But it’s not like any other day. He’s not here. And I’ll never see him again. I lost my husband, my soul mate, that day, and Ron and Hermione lost their best friend.

The Horcruxes were destroyed, Voldemort was already dead, and we had won the war. Everyone thought we were safe.

Everyone was wrong.

Harry was just walking down the street, and a Killing Curse hit him from behind. He never saw it coming. One of the Death Eaters that he had killed had a son, who wanted revenge. Dirty, rotten coward, if you ask me. He was too scared to face Harry in a real duel, too fearful of suffering defeat.

“Ginny?” A voice and a knock on my door interrupt my musings.

I amble out into the hallway and see my mother standing outside my room. She moved into my house a week ago, just after Harry died. Just until you can take care of yourself, she said. I don’t know when that day will come.

“Breakfast is ready,” she informs me.

I nod and follow her down the stairs to the kitchen. Mum slides eggs onto a couple of red plates and puts one in front of me.

“You can talk to me, Ginny. It will help you feel better. You need to talk about it,” she tells me, even though I won’t and she knows it. I don’t look at her, but I nod anyway to make her leave me alone. I’ve been doing a lot of that lately since Harry...since he died. You see, I don’t speak anymore. I haven’t said a word from the time that I heard he was gone. It just doesn’t seem fair, that I still have the ability to do these things and to live life, but he doesn’t. It feels like I’m insulting his memory or something. And...

“Ginny?” Mum disrupts my thoughts again. “You can’t go on like this forever. He’d want you to be happy.”

I know this, of course. She’s only said it every day for the past week, but I don’t know how to move on. What do you do when you’ve lost the person you love more than anything else in the world? How does she expect me to just talk about it and be happy again? Like talking again will bring him back or make me feel any better.

“Ginny?” I wish she’d quit doing that. Can’t I have a minute to think? I gaze up at her.

“I just Flooed over to Ron and Hermione’s house. Hermione and Tonks are coming over,” she tells me.

How long was I zoned out? I didn’t even notice she was gone. I usually don’t notice anything anymore, though. Mostly I just dwell on that day.

The flames in the fireplace turn emerald green and my bushy-haired sister-in-law steps out, followed closely by another woman with spiky purple hair. They take seats at my square wooden table and Mum leaves to finish some Weasley sweaters.

“Hi,” they say in unison. I wave my hand a little in greeting. They exchange a solemn look.

“It must take a lot of effort, not talking,” Hermione states. Not really, I think.

“I...I might I know why you’re doing this,” she goes on slowly. Tonks glances at her. She’s impressed, I’m sure. Hermione’s always been able to decipher other people’s feelings, except Ron’s. “Well, you’re sad, obviously. This was extremely hard on you.” No kidding. I was only his wife, after all. I don’t know why I’m so annoyed at her all of a sudden. Maybe because I know what’s coming.

“Do you...blame yourself...for Harry dying?” Hermione asks hesitantly.

It’s amazing how much effect this sentence has on everyone. Without warning, I start sobbing uncontrollably. Hermione and Tonks knock down chairs as they jump up to comfort me, tears falling from their eyes as well. Mum hears and rushes into the kitchen. She surveys the scene for a second and immediately begins bustling around making tea.

“It’s okay, Ginny, it isn’t your fault,” Tonks tries to assure me, but it doesn’t work. It is my fault. I nod frantically, trying to convey to them that it is.

“No it’s not!” Hermione cries, but I can barely understand her anymore; she’s sobbing too hard. Mum shoves a mug of tea in front of each of us, but I can hardly breathe right now, let alone drink hot liquids. She drops heavily into the chair beside me and rubs my back until I calm down, while Tonks and Hermione quietly sip their tea. Hermione hiccups slightly.

“Why do you think it’s your fault, honey?” Mum asks me.

“It is,” I whisper, wiping tears from my eyes. “I could’ve prevented it. He would still be here.”

“That’s not true. There was nothing you could’ve done,” Tonks says.

“But I told Harry to go! He was doing it for me,” I cry.

“What was he doing?” Hermione inquires gently.

“I asked him to return a book I borrowed from a neighbor. I wasn’t feeling too well, but I should’ve gone myself!” I howl. “He would still be here!”

“Ginny, that doesn’t make it your fault. You had no way of knowing this would happen,” Mum says. I’ve tried to tell myself that, but I still felt responsible. But hearing it from someone else somehow makes me believe it.

“I’m sorry,” I tell them. “I know that now. Harry wouldn’t want us to be sad, and I’ll see him again later. It’s not goodbye. It’s just ‘I’ll see you soon.’”

Everyone starts crying again, but now they’re happy tears.


A/N: Everyone loves reviews! *hint, hint*