~*~



Ginny Weasley looked resentfully at the ruined house around her. His life’s destiny had begun here, and had now ended here.



Ginny ran her hand over the doorframe of the Potter home in Godric’s Hollow. Harry Potter had died only a few days ago in St. Mungo’s after battling here and now she was back. Harry was to be buried with his parents. A plaque was to be put next to Dumbledore’s grave at Hogwarts.



Ginny looked at the people heading towards the cemetery. She didn’t want to go. Not yet. She couldn’t endure the stares, the numerous mumbles saying how sorry they were, how they understood. But how could they understand? Had they been there when Harry died? Had they been the reason he died? Had they been in love with them? No. No one knew how she felt, and those liars were no exception.



Ginny felt angry tears come to her eyes. Why? Why did he have to die? Why did he have to come after her when Voldemort kidnapped her? Why did he have to love her…



As she cried, a silent figure came up behind Ginny and laid a hand on her shoulder.



“Ginny,” Ron whispered. “It’s time to go. The ceremony’s going to start any moment.”



She sniffed and turned around, her black skirt making a whooshing sound. She assumed her eyes were red and puffy and that her hair was all over the place. But she didn’t care. Harry wouldn’t have. He would’ve been glad Ginny had shown up.



Ginny looked at her brother. He was so grown up. His hair wasn’t as long as it used to be. He had gotten a lot taller…or was it just how he was standing? Since Harry died, Ron had grown up. Ginny looked at Ron’s dignified black dress robes, and his red eyes. Had Ron been crying, too?



“C’mon, sis. We gotta go now…”



Without knowing why, Ginny threw her arms around her brother and hugged him fiercely. She clung to him like she had when she was a little girl.



Ron hugged her back, putting his chin on her head. “It’s ok, I miss him, too.”



Ginny sobbed into his chest, cried out al the tears she had held back, all the sadness and worry and pain pouring out of her. She wanted it all to go away. She wanted her life to be normal. She wanted to see Harry again, hold his hand again, hear his laugh again. She wanted, she wanted…It seemed like Ginny’s life as full of wants. Wants for money, for love, for friends, for perfection, and now she wanted time to reverse itself.



After a few moments, Ginny pulled away. She silently gestured to her brother and made her way towards the cemetery. A few times Ron seemed like he was about to say something, but nothing came. Ginny took Ron’s hand and looked up at him with understanding.



The siblings soon came upon the cemetery. Ginny gasped. The entire cemetery was filled with people sitting and standing, all there to pay their respects and say thank you. There were so many people that the unlucky ones who had gotten there late stood around the perimeter.



“Hermione’s saving seats,” Ron murmured.



Ginny nodded and gripped Ron’s hand tighter as they pushed through the crowd all the way to a small podium next to which Hermione was sitting. Ginny looked at the people who were allowed seats. There was the rest of her family, the Order, a lot of Harry’s dorm from school, some people from the Ministry, Hagrid, teachers from Hogwarts, Mrs. Figg, and even the Dursleys were there.



Hermione was waving them over to two empty seats next to her. Ginny and Ron pushed through the row of chairs and sat down.



A little man with a silver comb-over stepped up to the podium. “Sonorus,” he said. Then he said in a booming voice, “Thank you for coming. As you know, we are here to honor the spirit of one Harry James Potter.”



Ginny listened as he droned on about Harry’s ‘great accomplishments’ and his general respect for the rules. Ginny snorted. This man didn’t know anything about Harry! Harry had always been getting detentions from Snape, pissing off the Minister, wandering off to forbidden areas…



“Now I will welcome a dear friend of Harry Potter’s up to the podium,” the man said finally. He undid the Sonorus charm and stepped down, to be replaced by Remus Lupin.



Ginny sighed. Lupin looked bad. His hair had gotten grayer, his eyes had bags under them. He also looked like he hadn’t had a good meal in days. But Ginny couldn’t blame him. All his best mates were dead, and now the one son of his best mates was dead, too.



Lupin looked around, his blue eyes flashing. He raised his wand and cast Sonorus on himself. After a final deep breath, he looked out at the audience once more.



“Fortune favors the brave,” Lupin began. “Harry Potter was unfortunate enough to lose his parents as an infant, before he even had a chance to know them. He was taken to a Muggle household where he was looked down upon like an unworthy speck of dust.”



Ginny couldn’t help but notice how sheepish the Dursleys were looking.



“But Harry was brave and never stopped hoping that someone would come and save him, would present him an opportunity to do something great. And that happened. Rubeus Hagrid came and introduced Harry to the land of magic.”



Hagrid was smiling through tears.



“So young Harry went to Hogwarts. As many of us know, Harry faced many hardships with Lord Voldemort throughout the years. But every time Harry wanted to quit, he was stopped by his two best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.”



Ginny looked at her brother, his face screwed up at he held Hermione’s hand. Hermione was blinking fiercely.



“Even with his friends, Harry lost many people who he loved. Because of that, he believed love was denied to him, yet he found love in one person, the same person he rescued from the Chamber of Secrets six years ago. Of course we know her as Ginny Weasley.”



Ginny felt herself redden as people turned to look at her.



“I once asked Harry why he dumped Ginny after Albus Dumbledore’s funeral. Harry looked at me and answered, ‘I had to, Professor. I love her too much to leave her if we had stayed together.’ Harry loved Ginny more than he or she knew. Harry was fortunate to have her love in return.” Lupin was silent for a moment, staring at the wood of the podium. Ginny felt tears welling in her eyes.



“Harry was brave all his life and always looked out for other people, putting them before himself. He was brave enough to never look back. And I believe Harry had a happy life. Though you may say that I’m wrong, that he’s seen many misfortunes, Harry always knew that love conquers all, and he was fortunate enough to have even love in himself, and enough love in his friends, to vanquish all the evils. That’s why I truly say that fortune favors the brave. The brave at heart, the brave in soul. Fortune favored the brave Gryffindor called Harry Potter all throughout his life.” Lupin muttered the counter spell to Sonorus and walked back to his seat, everything silent.



Ginny was nearly sobbing as the little man went up to the podium again. “We remember young Harry Potter. We remember him as the brave individual who despite all he went through, continued to fight for love, and for all of us. I now ask for a moment of silence to honor Harry.” The little man bent his head.



Ginny pictured when Harry had first kissed her in Gryffindor Tower. How sweet it had been. First kisses with a new boy always were, especially if it was from a boy you loved.



Love…Ginny had never known what it truly meant until after Harry broke up with her. And now…she felt her love for Harry stronger than ever.



Ginny barely noticed as the people around her filtered out of the cemetery. She vaguely noticed when Ron told her they would meet her at home. She nodded to her brother and stayed in her chair, staring at the ground as she cried freely.



Finally Ginny snapped back to reality. She looked around the empty cemetery, only a few papers and wrappers blowing in the wind to keep her company. Ginny looked back to the freshly made grave. She stood and walked over, hoping her legs would support her.



POTTER the large headstones was marked. In large letters, the names Lily Evans-Potter and James Potter were engraved on two. In between there was one that read Harry Potter. Ginny bent down to read it.



Harry James Potter

July 31, 1980-October 31 1998

Fortune favors the brave



Ginny placed a hand on Harry’s grave. “Oh, Harry…why did you have to leave…We need you so much. I need you.”



Ginny pulled nervously at the grass around her. She had so much to say, but how to say it? Without noticing, Ginny pulled up a dandelion. Ginny looked at it, blinking her amber colored eyes.



“You know, Harry, I used to pick these things, these…wishing flowers, as I used to call them. I used to wish we were rich or had a bigger house and blow all the seeds away. I bet you think that’s silly. But I always believed my wish would eventually come true.” Ginny looked at the dandelion. She blew on the dandelion, wishing Harry would come back to life. “They never did…”



The seeds from the weed floated on the wind, out of the cemetery. Ginny blinked furiously. She actually thought for one feeble moment that it would work, that Harry would walk into the cemetery and everything would be alright.



“I just want to say thank you, Harry. Thank you for saving me in first year, for kissing me in fifth, and for loving me…I just want you to know I won’t be hung up on you. I know you would hate that…you would want me to get on with my life, and I will…before I try and move on, I have to say I love you. I love you, Harry. I’ve loved you for a while. And now I know you have too.” Ginny looked up at the clearing clouds. Could he hear her? “I need to get back, Harry. They’ll be expecting me…but I promise I won’t forget you.”



Ginny stood up and blew a kiss at the grave. She took a deep breath and strode out of the cemetery, the sun slowly peeking out. As she left, she could swear she hear the words “I love you, too” whispered in her ear.