He stood at the window, in an almost identical position to that in which he had stood the previous day prior to Bellatrix Lestrange’s attack. His posture was not as straight as it had been then. He seemed to be holding himself carefully, his arm resting protectively over his bandaged side. He was dressed and looked better than he ought to, for someone who had almost been killed less than 24 hours earlier.
Ginny stood watching Harry quietly. She took in his stance, no longer looking defeated but thoughtful and focused. She liked the way that his messy hair seemed at odds with his mental focus. She knew she would probably need to explain why she had not been to see him. She felt annoyed with herself that she had chosen the coward’s way out by avoiding coming to see Harry.
She felt slightly awed at the boy standing in front of her. He had fought to the death literally and now stood waiting to go back to Hogwarts, just like any other normal student. To an outsider, he merely looked like a teenager that had suffered some illness or accident and was preparing himself to leave hospital and return to his school, ready to tell his friends the tale of the misadventure that led to his stay in St. Mungo’s. To an outsider who didn’t understand and know of the history of Harry Potter, this would seem like a reasonable surmission. Only to an Outsider would a normal explanation of why Harry Potter found himself once again recovering from grievous injuries be acceptable.
Now that she was there, she wondered would he notice if she turned and tip toed from the room. Some small part of her mind liked to think that if she didn’t give him an opportunity to push her away, then everything would be okay.
Another part of her knew that she would eventually have to speak to Harry about what was going on between them. She now had an opportunity to do so in private, something that would be sorely lacking once they returned to Hogwarts.
She slowly moved towards Harry, snaking her arms around his waist and hugging him gently from behind. She felts his hands intertwine with hers, then he turned and pulled her into his arms, hugging her to him, allowing himself to feel her close to him for one last time. She knew the pain he was feeling, both physically and emotionally. Ginny had never planned on making it easy for him to push her away. But as she gently held him to her and breathed in the earthy smell that was so Harry, her resolve melted.
She slowly pulled away so that she could look into his eyes. “You already know, don’t you Gin?” he whispered. “You already know that I can’t be with you, that I can’t let this continue?”
His eyes bored into hers, it would have been easier to look away, it might even have made saying what he was saying an ounce less painful. But Harry didn’t take the easy way out. He looked deep into the eyes of the young girl before him and allowed himself to feel the pain that he was putting her through, mingling with his own grief at having to push away his one source of comfort.
Ginny looked at him, she knew that her eyes had begun to fill with tears as the heartache of hearing those inevitable words began to fill her soul. She nodded slowly, blinking another few large teardrops down her cheeks. She had not moved away from him but knew she would need to do so soon, if she were to stop herself from remonstrating with him, but not yet. She needed to be close to him just once more, to ingrain upon her memory the feeling of Harry’s arms around her, the feeling of his hair on her fingers.
She pulled him close, lowering his head so that his forehead rested against hers. “I know Harry,” she whispered, “just hold me once again, for the last time.” He acqueised without an argument, pulling her gently once more into his embrace, kissing her forehead before lowering his head and kissing her gently one last time. He had not realised he could feel such an acute sense of loss at the thought of releasing Ginny Weasley from his arms, and the feeling frightened him. He held her like that, feeling her fingers gently course through the hair at the nape of his neck. There was no need to talk.
Neither of them noticed Mrs.Weasley and Remus, slip quietly from the room. Slowly, Harry released Ginny, and moved back a little from her. He knew the pain he was causing to both of them and it took all his willpower not to change his mind. Ginny looked at him through tear leaden lashes. Leaning towards him she whispered in his ear, “Until the final battle is over.” Her final kiss lingered against Harry’s lips, when she parted she turned immediately and left the room, finding herself unable to look in those eyes, not until she had got control of her emotions.
Harry waited for the lump to recede in his throat. He waited for the tears to dry on his cheeks and waited for no more to leak from his eyes. He waited for the burning grief to settle into a more regular pattern in his soul. As he gradually reigned in his turmoil of emotions, he stood a little straighter, and raised his eyes from their perusal of the hospital carpet.
Then leaning down, he picked up the cage containing Hedgwig and muttered an incantation to levitate his trunk. Taking one last look around the room that had been both his refuge and his battlefield, Harry turned and walked away. Platform Nine and Three Quarters beckoned. It was time to begin another year.