After having spoken with Ginny for the last time, Harry quietly sat there for a few moments. No one disturbed him. The events of the past few hours felt so unreal to him. This whole situation felt like a dream. Somehow he found himself reasoning, This body must be an illusion... Yes, that’s it, the Death Eaters want me to believe she’s dead... But she’s not, she’s not... His eyes stared unseeingly at the burning house. He half expected to see Ginny walk out, alive and well, laughing at them all, her fiery red hair flying back in the wind.
But in his heart he knew the truth. He knew that the body in front of him was Ginny’s, that she was well and truly... Harry stood abruptly and looked away from the broken body, so different from the sweet, happy, energetic person he had known. Hermione also stood up and hesitantly placed her hand on his shoulder. “Harry...?”
Harry angrily shrugged her hand off. Hermione stepped back suddenly, as if Harry had bitten her. She looked at him sadly, then knelt back down beside the cold body on the ground.
Everyone stayed like this for what felt like hours.
Then, later, Harry stood to the side as Mr. and Mrs. Weasley Apparated there, loaded with bags of groceries and other supplies. At first they didn’t notice Ginny’s body, lying there on the lawn. They greeted Harry warmly, put out the fire, and proceeded scolding Fred and George for setting the house on fire. Apparently this sort of thing happened quite often with Fred and George around. The twins said nothing to contradict them.
Then they looked up and saw the Dark Mark floating above the smoldering ruins of their house. Mr. Weasley finally realized what had really happened, and asked if everyone was alright. It was then that the silent crowd around Ginny’s body parted. Both Mr. and Mrs. Weasley simultaneously dropped their bags in horror.
Harry didn’t think he could bear it, seeing yet more people cry over his love. So, as Ginny’s parents dropped to their knees by her body, he walked away. As far away as he could, so that he couldn’t hear Mrs. Weasley’s sobs of anguish. He arrived at a pond in the back of the smoldering Burrow. For a moment he just stood there, and seriously contemplated throwing himself into the water. Now that Ginny was gone, he had nothing left to live for, nothing to make him keep going every day. What was the point of living anymore?
But something held him back. He thought of Ron and Hermione, how they would feel if he threw away his life so drastically. He thought of everyone else who was still around, the Weasleys, Luna Lovegood, Neville... all the friends he had left. Then he thought about all there was left to do, about the task that Dumbledore had assigned to him to finish. Voldemort’s Horcruxes... Could he just leave the Wizarding world to its fate? To be destroyed by a creature whom only Harry could kill? In his heart he knew the answer to this question. Of course not.
But his heart, the part of him that mattered the most right now, was torn apart, and could never heal properly again. He fell to his knees, sobbing. He pulled at the grass, tearing huge clumps out, and threw it into the pond.
Finally, his anger spent, Harry collapsed and buried his face in his arms. He quietly cried there, and nobody bothered him. He was left alone with his misery. Ginny’s gone... This can’t be real... It just can’t...
At last he stood and roughly wiped his eyes. But he stayed by the water, unwilling to see Ginny’s body again.
It was growing dark. As night fell, Harry still stared out over the silent pond. His jaw was clenched, and his hands were balled up into fists at his side.
Hermione came up behind him. She had been comforting the Weasleys and hadn’t even realized that Harry was gone ” until now. She touched his shoulder lightly with her hand and whispered, “Harry... I’m so sorry... I know how you feel...”
“No! You don’t!” Harry burst in wildly. Tears began streaming down his face once again. “No one... nobody can ever understand how it feels... Losing everyone... My parents. Cedric. S-Sirius. Dumbledore. And now ” now Ginny... They’re all gone! And it’s all my fault, Hermione... It’s all my fault...”
Hermione fell silent for a moment. Then she said, “No, Harry. You’re right, I can’t possibly understand how you feel. Losing everyone close to you... But Harry...” She swung Harry around to face her. “It wasn’t your fault, Harry,” she said urgently. “It’s his, and only his. It all comes down to V-Voldemort, all these deaths... That’s why we have to get out there... To stop him...”
Harry started. “We?” He slowly shook his head, not meeting Hermione’s eyes. “No Hermione... You and Ron... You can’t come with me.”
She searched Harry’s face with disbelief. “What...?”
“You can’t ” you mustn’t come with me.” Harry took a deep breath. “You’re all I have left... I can’t lose you, too. You and Ron, you could be next ” you’ve got to stay here.” He automatically clutched at the small locket hanging around his neck. “I’ll look for Voldemort’s Horcruxes myself...”
“But Harry...”
“No Hermione,” Harry said with finality. “I have to do this... alone.”
He didn’t tell her about the thoughts running through his head, that by himself his mission would most likely fail. He didn’t tell her how much she and Ron really meant to him, how he’d feel if something were to happen to them.
But what Hermione didn’t tell him was that she had absolutely no intention of staying behind while Harry risked his neck by himself. She was sure that Ron would feel the same way too.
What they left unsaid hung like a thick cloud between them. They looked over the pond in silence, each thinking their secret thoughts. After a few minutes, Hermione turned back to Harry, tears in her eyes, and fiercely hugged him. Then she ran back to the Burrow to see how Ron and the other Weasleys were doing.
Harry stood there, staring after Hermione, a dark silhouette against the dimming sunlight. Finally, he walked back toward the Burrow, head bowed.
He had planned on leaving right away, but Hermione and the Weasleys probably wouldn’t let him go now. So he resignedly approached the front yard.
Ron was now sitting up, talking to Hermione. He looked as if he’d been crying a lot. Fleur and Bill were also slowly regaining consciousness. Harry averted his eyes from the spot where he knew Ginny was lying, refusing to see that horrible sight again. Instead of going to Ron and Hermione, he went over to Mr. Weasley, who was sitting close to Ginny’s body. Mrs. Weasley was still over by Ginny, and was completely unaware of all else.
“Um...” Harry muttered awkwardly. He’d been about to tell them that he was leaving, but now that it was finally happening, he had no idea what to say. His mouth was suddenly quite dry.
Mr. Weasley looked up and stood when he saw Harry. His normally cheerful face was now tired-looking and tearstained. “Hello, Harry,” he whispered. “Are you ” are you alright?”
Harry felt a bit guilty that he was being asked this question, when Mr. Weasley himself looked worse than he did. “Um... I suppose I’m... okay, I guess. How’re you feeling?” As soon as the words had popped out of his mouth, he felt ashamed. Of course he knew how he was feeling, miserable, obviously! Harry couldn’t believe he had asked such an insensitive thing.
Mr. Weasley didn’t seem to have heard the question, though. He stared ahead of himself. “I suppose you’ve come to say that you’re leaving us already... get away from all this.” He gestured around at the burnt house. The Dark Mark was still hanging above it.
“Can I ask you a favor before you do go, Harry?” he asked.
Mr. Weasley looked so mournful that Harry couldn’t have said yes even if he wanted to. “Sure, anything, Mr. Weasley,” he said. “What is it?” This conversation was turning into a very welcome detour for his mind away from the fact that Ginny wasn’t ” around anymore.
But the question he was asked was completely unexpected. “Could you just stay here until ” until after Ginny’s funeral?”
“Funeral?” Harry said, startled. A funeral... Of course. Thoughts of a funeral for Ginny had never even crossed his mind, though now that he thought about it, it was obvious that they would want to give Ginny a proper farewell. So much for a detour, he thought wryly, but he didn’t really mean it. He would never be able to stop thinking about Ginny... never...
“I know that Ginny would have...” Mt. Weasley suddenly broke off and wiped a tear from his eye. It was obvious that talking about his daughter hurt him as much as it did Harry. Harry waited sympathetically as Mr. Weasley sniffed and, clearing his throat, tried again, “I know that Ginny would’ve wanted you to be here for that, Harry. She ” She always did think the world of you...”
Harry suddenly couldn’t breathe. She always did think the world of you...
He felt Mr. Weasley’s concerned eyes on him and quietly answered, “Of course, Mr. Weasley. I just didn’t know... You know I’ll stay for something that important. Of course I’ll stay. For ” For Ginny. You’re right, she would want me there...”
“Thank you, Harry.” Mr. Weasley sounded strangely relieved, as if he’d expected Harry to say no. “Thank you very, very much. This will mean a lot to everyone... the whole family. Yes... We’ve planned to have the f-funeral tomorrow or the day after, at sunset. That was always her favorite part of the d-day...”
This was all too much for the poor man, who at this point broke down and wept. Tears streamed down his face as he clapped a hand on Harry’s shoulder. “I’m so... I’m so sorry, Harry...”
“It’s okay...” Harry whispered. In reality, he knew it was anything but okay, but it felt reassuring to say the phrase, as though it would somehow make everything alright.
Mr. Weasley gave Harry a very watery smile, then walked back to where Mrs. Weasley was sitting. He knelt down there beside her and Ginny.
Harry stayed in the same spot he had stood during his conversation with Mr. Weasley. He felt rooted to the ground, like he couldn’t move from that spot and would never move again. Two days... Two days, and he was out. He would leave the Burrow alone and continue Dumbledore’s quest to destroy the severed pieces of Voldemort’s soul.
Two days.
It’s okay...