My Soul Belongs To You
Chapter Seven
Many Tears For Ginny
Ginny would be lying if she said that she didn't spend the rest of her day pondering over what Draco meant. What facts was Draco not aware of from nine or ten years ago? Could it have really changed anything for them? If she had the chance, would she change things? She thought about her children. No, she could never imagine a world without James, Albus, and Lily. And, based on what she saw today, she didn't think Draco would want a world without Scorpius. They were obviously very close. The boy looked every bit as much like Draco as Albus did Harry. Ginny was grateful that the children were at her mother’s this afternoon; she needed a day like this.
When Harry arrived home, Ginny was doing the dishes, and she knew she needed to tell him about the events of the day.
“Hey, Gin! Did the kids make it to your mother's today?” Harry asked as he kissed his wife on the temple.
Ginny closed her eyes, savoring the feeling of his touch.“Yes, we went there after I finished up in Diagon Alley,” Ginny said, gazing at him as she continued to mindlessly scrub the dishes clean.
Harry sat down at the table, sighing in relief as he did so. “I heard there was some excitement there today. Apparently Malfoy’s son got lost for awhile.”
After a minute in thought, Ginny said, slowly, “Yeah I know.” She wasn't sure what his reaction would be, so she put the last plate on the drying rack, dried her hands, and sat down opposite her husband. “I was the one who found him. He was in the Quidditch shop. It took a bit of time, but I convinced him to let me help him. Draco was-” Harry frowned slightly at the name, “very grateful for my help. He offered to take you and me out to dinner, but I felt that an ice cream was more appropriate.”
“Ginny, don't you think that I could spend an evening with him?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.
“I'm sure you could; you’re not the same person you were when you attended school with him. I simply didn't think that I could handle dinner with him.”
“I was hoping I would get home before you started dinner,” Harry said, changing the subject smoothly. “I want to take you out tonight; just the two of us. You could put on that little black number that you've been dying to wear since you bought it last month,” he said with a suggestive smile.
“You know about that?” Ginny said, exasperated.
“Ginny, my love, I know everything about you. You have no secrets from me.”
The years seemed to fly past and before Ginny knew it, Albus was getting his Hogwarts letter. However, this was not as happy a time as others would have believed. Harry had been ill lately and just found out he didn't have much time left. There was no known cure, magical or Muggle, for what he had. Ginny and Harry chose to keep this from the children for as long as possible. Harry didn't want them to act any differently around him. Ginny for her part wondered if this was the right thing to do, but soon realized that Harry had spent his whole life with people expecting him to be killed at any moment and knew he didn't want to see the same look in his children’s eyes.
The family spent the whole summer together, packing in every memory Harry felt he missed as a child.
On the morning of September 1, Ginny and Lily watched Albus - who was a ball of nerves thanks to James – board the train. Ginny remembered the day Ron first left for Hogwarts; she knew Lily was having feelings of abandonment. She also wondered how weird the next year would be without Harry's help; he wouldn't be here to see Lily off to Hogwarts.
Harry seemed to understand where Ginny's head was at. As they left the platform, he wrapped an arm around her, then whispered in her ear as if she was the only person alive, “Even if you can't see me, I will still be here with you.”
This caused Ginny to break down completely; her eyes watered as sobs began to escape. What she had held in since her husband's diagnosis was suddenly coming out in bursts.
Ron and Hermione, who were right behind Ginny and Harry and were the only other people who knew of Harry’s illness, took hold of Lily’s hand and steered her away from her parents.
“Lily, why don't you come with us? You can see your Uncle Ronald drive a car,” Hermione said with a smile that didn't give away the hurt in her eyes.
Harry nodded to them and smiled as he wrapped his arms around his crying wife. “You have done so good since we found out. Can you make it home?”
Ginny wiped her eyes and nodded.
“Will you be alright if I step into the loo?”
“I'll be fine,” she assured Harry.
“Okay, I’ll just be a minute.”
Once he disappeared, Ginny cursed herself for the breakdown; Harry didn't need to deal with her emotions right now. She was supposed to be there for him, not the other way around.
“Ginny, are you alright?” Draco's voice sounded from behind her, making her jump slightly.
She spun around to see him and tried to smile, but didn't succeed. “Yeah, I'm fine,” she lied, grimacing in an attempt to smile.
Even after nineteen years of being away from the woman who had his heart, he still knew her too well. “What's wrong?” he asked.
She closed her eyes and shook her head. “I can't,” she whispered. “Harry will be back in a second. Please, everything will work out. Just go!”
He flashed her a smile. “Ginny, if you need anything, please feel free to come to me.”
She nodded and then turned towards the loo that Harry had headed for, but she paused and turned back towards Draco. “Thanks,” she uttered, then touched the cross she had worn for the last eighteen years. He smiled back at her and she then turned back, slamming into Harry.
“You ready?” he asked.
The next day, Ginny and Harry received two owls; one from Neville and one from James. They opened Neville’s first:
Dear Ginny and Harry,
I just wanted to let you know that Albus was sorted into Slytherin. He looked very scared. I really felt for him, but I’m sure it will only make him stronger. I think it must be his need to prove himself. And from what I heard, he got quite an earful on the train about you, Harry, which most likely caused his need to prove himself even more. How do you feel about him rooming with Malfoy's son? I will keep an eye on him. However, I'm sure there is no way he could ever get into as much stuff as you did, Harry!
Neville.
“I'm sure James' letter is the same,” Harry commented.
Dad and Mum,
I told you he would be put into Slytherin! I hope you realize even as his brother, I can't do anything to help him now!
James.
P.S. Maybe when the Sorting Hat falls apart, I could get the job!
“I think James might be able to get a job as a comedian.”
“You’re calmer about this than I would have thought,” Ginny said.
“The Hat wanted to put me there, too. I couldn't be upset about him ending up there.”
“It thought about that for me, too. I used to put it down to the fact that I was already writing in Tom's diary, but now I don't know.”
“Well, my wife, you have always had an evil streak!”
A couple of weeks later, they could no longer hide the fact that Harry was sick. By the first of October, all the family was gathered at the hospital. Harry had already said good-bye to the boys, and was now saying his final good-bye to Lily. She was crying and Ginny was fighting hard to be strong. “Lily, remember: I will always love you. I need to talk to your mother now, okay?”
Lily nodded and turned towards Ginny. “Do you want me to take you out to Grandma?” Lily nodded again.
Once the door closed behind Lily, Ginny began to pace. Harry looked almost yellow and the weight loss he suffered was shocking, to say the least. He was also very weak and Ginny knew this was the end. Harry Potter would not cheat death this time. “Gin, please come sit here.”
Ginny made her way over to his bedside; she could feel the tears in her eyes.
“You know, my life started the first time I saw you. I mean, you stood out. All of your brothers, even Ron, blended together, but I saw you. I knew my life would never be the same again. For a long time, I thought it had to do with Hogwarts. Actually, it was you.”
“Harry, save your strength.” Ginny pleaded.
“No Ginny, I have to say this because we both know I won't get another chance. I need you to know that you and your whole family showed me what it was to be loved. Ron may be my best mate, but you are my wife, and my life. I know how lucky I have been to have you and your love, but Ginny, I need you to be happy. Promise me you'll do what I ask.”
“Of course Harry, whatever you want,” Ginny whispered.
“Ginny, I need you to tell Draco that he finally beat me. He won your heart.”
“No, Harry! I have always loved you! At first it was the idea of you, and then I slowly got to know you, and you were better than I ever dreamed.” It was not a lie; it just wasn't exactly the full truth.
“Ginny, I know you love me. I have known since the day he came to our house.”
“Harry, I love you!” Ginny protested.
“I know, I know you love me. And it was enough. I'm not mad; as I said you have made me happy, I don't know how or why, but I know you love him more and that he loves you. If you want to be with him, I'm okay with that.”
Ginny could not help herself. “How?”
Harry reached up, his hand shaking weakly as he touched her cross. “This. The only time you haven’t worn it has been our wedding day and when we made love. Anytime we run into him, he watches you till you touch it. I know you were never unfaithful to me. Thank you for what you gave me; your love, a family of my own. You gave me everything I used to dream of when I was locked in my cupboard under the stairs at the Dursley's. I love you.”
“Harry, I love you too!” The tears were pouring down her face.
“I know...” Harry Potter had passed away. Ginny threw herself onto his chest and sobbed. Magical charms let the healers know Harry had passed, but they gave Ginny over an hour alone with his body before George decided it was enough.
He walked into the room to find Ginny still holding on to her husband’s body as she cried. His heart broke for Ginny. “Ginny, come on. Staying in here isn't healthy. I'm sorry he’s gone, but you have your children to think about.”
“He's gone and I can't fix it!” she sobbed.
“Come on, baby sister. Let’s get you out of here.”
Harry had pre-planned his funeral, not wanting Ginny to have to worry about it. Percy read the press a statement announcing Harry’s passing. The family drew closer to each other. The funeral grew bigger than what Harry had wanted, but everyone expected that. The papers were filled with anything and everything about Harry Potter.
The day of the service, Molly and Arthur came to Ginny's place to help get the children ready. The whole family knew Ginny was not holding up well.
Draco felt it was right to go to Harry Potter’s funeral. Their sons had become close and Scorpius wanted to attend for Albus. Draco sat a respectable distance back and watched as the Weasley and Potter families entered, Ron walked next to Ginny with his arm wrapped tightly around her. James, Albus, and Lily followed behind and Hermione was next with her own children. During the whole service, Ron kept an arm around Ginny as she cried.
Neville Longbottom gave Harry's eulogy. “I’m here to tell you about a man, not about the person you read about in the paper. Harry hated the way he came off in the press. I first met Harry Potter on September first, 1991. The boy I met that day was like most first years; he was scared of how he would fit in. Harry's heart was always in the right place, even when he was wrong. Don't get me wrong; he wasn't perfect, and he would have been the first to tell you that. He would also be the first to tell everyone, even if we didn't want to hear it, how most of the things he did, he did with help one way or another. The Harry Potter I knew was a man who loved his wife, Ginny, and their children, James, Albus, and Lily. Harry would rather have spent a night at home with them than anything else. I remember his wedding day; Harry Potter, a man who survived all of the things he had done, was scared stiff that Ginny would change her mind at the last second and leave him at the altar.”
Draco had to admit he was impressed with how far Longbottom had come. Draco didn't realize he spent time looking back on Longbottom's changes until he heard.
“In closing, Harry would only want to be remembered as a loving husband and father.”
When the service came to an end, the family followed the casket out. However, the one time Ginny glanced up, her eyes, by chance, met Draco's. Then she fell apart again. It was in that second that Draco believed perhaps he was wrong all these years. Maybe she did love Harry more!
Chapter Seven
Many Tears For Ginny
Ginny would be lying if she said that she didn't spend the rest of her day pondering over what Draco meant. What facts was Draco not aware of from nine or ten years ago? Could it have really changed anything for them? If she had the chance, would she change things? She thought about her children. No, she could never imagine a world without James, Albus, and Lily. And, based on what she saw today, she didn't think Draco would want a world without Scorpius. They were obviously very close. The boy looked every bit as much like Draco as Albus did Harry. Ginny was grateful that the children were at her mother’s this afternoon; she needed a day like this.
When Harry arrived home, Ginny was doing the dishes, and she knew she needed to tell him about the events of the day.
“Hey, Gin! Did the kids make it to your mother's today?” Harry asked as he kissed his wife on the temple.
Ginny closed her eyes, savoring the feeling of his touch.“Yes, we went there after I finished up in Diagon Alley,” Ginny said, gazing at him as she continued to mindlessly scrub the dishes clean.
Harry sat down at the table, sighing in relief as he did so. “I heard there was some excitement there today. Apparently Malfoy’s son got lost for awhile.”
After a minute in thought, Ginny said, slowly, “Yeah I know.” She wasn't sure what his reaction would be, so she put the last plate on the drying rack, dried her hands, and sat down opposite her husband. “I was the one who found him. He was in the Quidditch shop. It took a bit of time, but I convinced him to let me help him. Draco was-” Harry frowned slightly at the name, “very grateful for my help. He offered to take you and me out to dinner, but I felt that an ice cream was more appropriate.”
“Ginny, don't you think that I could spend an evening with him?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.
“I'm sure you could; you’re not the same person you were when you attended school with him. I simply didn't think that I could handle dinner with him.”
“I was hoping I would get home before you started dinner,” Harry said, changing the subject smoothly. “I want to take you out tonight; just the two of us. You could put on that little black number that you've been dying to wear since you bought it last month,” he said with a suggestive smile.
“You know about that?” Ginny said, exasperated.
“Ginny, my love, I know everything about you. You have no secrets from me.”
The years seemed to fly past and before Ginny knew it, Albus was getting his Hogwarts letter. However, this was not as happy a time as others would have believed. Harry had been ill lately and just found out he didn't have much time left. There was no known cure, magical or Muggle, for what he had. Ginny and Harry chose to keep this from the children for as long as possible. Harry didn't want them to act any differently around him. Ginny for her part wondered if this was the right thing to do, but soon realized that Harry had spent his whole life with people expecting him to be killed at any moment and knew he didn't want to see the same look in his children’s eyes.
The family spent the whole summer together, packing in every memory Harry felt he missed as a child.
On the morning of September 1, Ginny and Lily watched Albus - who was a ball of nerves thanks to James – board the train. Ginny remembered the day Ron first left for Hogwarts; she knew Lily was having feelings of abandonment. She also wondered how weird the next year would be without Harry's help; he wouldn't be here to see Lily off to Hogwarts.
Harry seemed to understand where Ginny's head was at. As they left the platform, he wrapped an arm around her, then whispered in her ear as if she was the only person alive, “Even if you can't see me, I will still be here with you.”
This caused Ginny to break down completely; her eyes watered as sobs began to escape. What she had held in since her husband's diagnosis was suddenly coming out in bursts.
Ron and Hermione, who were right behind Ginny and Harry and were the only other people who knew of Harry’s illness, took hold of Lily’s hand and steered her away from her parents.
“Lily, why don't you come with us? You can see your Uncle Ronald drive a car,” Hermione said with a smile that didn't give away the hurt in her eyes.
Harry nodded to them and smiled as he wrapped his arms around his crying wife. “You have done so good since we found out. Can you make it home?”
Ginny wiped her eyes and nodded.
“Will you be alright if I step into the loo?”
“I'll be fine,” she assured Harry.
“Okay, I’ll just be a minute.”
Once he disappeared, Ginny cursed herself for the breakdown; Harry didn't need to deal with her emotions right now. She was supposed to be there for him, not the other way around.
“Ginny, are you alright?” Draco's voice sounded from behind her, making her jump slightly.
She spun around to see him and tried to smile, but didn't succeed. “Yeah, I'm fine,” she lied, grimacing in an attempt to smile.
Even after nineteen years of being away from the woman who had his heart, he still knew her too well. “What's wrong?” he asked.
She closed her eyes and shook her head. “I can't,” she whispered. “Harry will be back in a second. Please, everything will work out. Just go!”
He flashed her a smile. “Ginny, if you need anything, please feel free to come to me.”
She nodded and then turned towards the loo that Harry had headed for, but she paused and turned back towards Draco. “Thanks,” she uttered, then touched the cross she had worn for the last eighteen years. He smiled back at her and she then turned back, slamming into Harry.
“You ready?” he asked.
The next day, Ginny and Harry received two owls; one from Neville and one from James. They opened Neville’s first:
Dear Ginny and Harry,
I just wanted to let you know that Albus was sorted into Slytherin. He looked very scared. I really felt for him, but I’m sure it will only make him stronger. I think it must be his need to prove himself. And from what I heard, he got quite an earful on the train about you, Harry, which most likely caused his need to prove himself even more. How do you feel about him rooming with Malfoy's son? I will keep an eye on him. However, I'm sure there is no way he could ever get into as much stuff as you did, Harry!
Neville.
“I'm sure James' letter is the same,” Harry commented.
Dad and Mum,
I told you he would be put into Slytherin! I hope you realize even as his brother, I can't do anything to help him now!
James.
P.S. Maybe when the Sorting Hat falls apart, I could get the job!
“I think James might be able to get a job as a comedian.”
“You’re calmer about this than I would have thought,” Ginny said.
“The Hat wanted to put me there, too. I couldn't be upset about him ending up there.”
“It thought about that for me, too. I used to put it down to the fact that I was already writing in Tom's diary, but now I don't know.”
“Well, my wife, you have always had an evil streak!”
A couple of weeks later, they could no longer hide the fact that Harry was sick. By the first of October, all the family was gathered at the hospital. Harry had already said good-bye to the boys, and was now saying his final good-bye to Lily. She was crying and Ginny was fighting hard to be strong. “Lily, remember: I will always love you. I need to talk to your mother now, okay?”
Lily nodded and turned towards Ginny. “Do you want me to take you out to Grandma?” Lily nodded again.
Once the door closed behind Lily, Ginny began to pace. Harry looked almost yellow and the weight loss he suffered was shocking, to say the least. He was also very weak and Ginny knew this was the end. Harry Potter would not cheat death this time. “Gin, please come sit here.”
Ginny made her way over to his bedside; she could feel the tears in her eyes.
“You know, my life started the first time I saw you. I mean, you stood out. All of your brothers, even Ron, blended together, but I saw you. I knew my life would never be the same again. For a long time, I thought it had to do with Hogwarts. Actually, it was you.”
“Harry, save your strength.” Ginny pleaded.
“No Ginny, I have to say this because we both know I won't get another chance. I need you to know that you and your whole family showed me what it was to be loved. Ron may be my best mate, but you are my wife, and my life. I know how lucky I have been to have you and your love, but Ginny, I need you to be happy. Promise me you'll do what I ask.”
“Of course Harry, whatever you want,” Ginny whispered.
“Ginny, I need you to tell Draco that he finally beat me. He won your heart.”
“No, Harry! I have always loved you! At first it was the idea of you, and then I slowly got to know you, and you were better than I ever dreamed.” It was not a lie; it just wasn't exactly the full truth.
“Ginny, I know you love me. I have known since the day he came to our house.”
“Harry, I love you!” Ginny protested.
“I know, I know you love me. And it was enough. I'm not mad; as I said you have made me happy, I don't know how or why, but I know you love him more and that he loves you. If you want to be with him, I'm okay with that.”
Ginny could not help herself. “How?”
Harry reached up, his hand shaking weakly as he touched her cross. “This. The only time you haven’t worn it has been our wedding day and when we made love. Anytime we run into him, he watches you till you touch it. I know you were never unfaithful to me. Thank you for what you gave me; your love, a family of my own. You gave me everything I used to dream of when I was locked in my cupboard under the stairs at the Dursley's. I love you.”
“Harry, I love you too!” The tears were pouring down her face.
“I know...” Harry Potter had passed away. Ginny threw herself onto his chest and sobbed. Magical charms let the healers know Harry had passed, but they gave Ginny over an hour alone with his body before George decided it was enough.
He walked into the room to find Ginny still holding on to her husband’s body as she cried. His heart broke for Ginny. “Ginny, come on. Staying in here isn't healthy. I'm sorry he’s gone, but you have your children to think about.”
“He's gone and I can't fix it!” she sobbed.
“Come on, baby sister. Let’s get you out of here.”
Harry had pre-planned his funeral, not wanting Ginny to have to worry about it. Percy read the press a statement announcing Harry’s passing. The family drew closer to each other. The funeral grew bigger than what Harry had wanted, but everyone expected that. The papers were filled with anything and everything about Harry Potter.
The day of the service, Molly and Arthur came to Ginny's place to help get the children ready. The whole family knew Ginny was not holding up well.
Draco felt it was right to go to Harry Potter’s funeral. Their sons had become close and Scorpius wanted to attend for Albus. Draco sat a respectable distance back and watched as the Weasley and Potter families entered, Ron walked next to Ginny with his arm wrapped tightly around her. James, Albus, and Lily followed behind and Hermione was next with her own children. During the whole service, Ron kept an arm around Ginny as she cried.
Neville Longbottom gave Harry's eulogy. “I’m here to tell you about a man, not about the person you read about in the paper. Harry hated the way he came off in the press. I first met Harry Potter on September first, 1991. The boy I met that day was like most first years; he was scared of how he would fit in. Harry's heart was always in the right place, even when he was wrong. Don't get me wrong; he wasn't perfect, and he would have been the first to tell you that. He would also be the first to tell everyone, even if we didn't want to hear it, how most of the things he did, he did with help one way or another. The Harry Potter I knew was a man who loved his wife, Ginny, and their children, James, Albus, and Lily. Harry would rather have spent a night at home with them than anything else. I remember his wedding day; Harry Potter, a man who survived all of the things he had done, was scared stiff that Ginny would change her mind at the last second and leave him at the altar.”
Draco had to admit he was impressed with how far Longbottom had come. Draco didn't realize he spent time looking back on Longbottom's changes until he heard.
“In closing, Harry would only want to be remembered as a loving husband and father.”
When the service came to an end, the family followed the casket out. However, the one time Ginny glanced up, her eyes, by chance, met Draco's. Then she fell apart again. It was in that second that Draco believed perhaps he was wrong all these years. Maybe she did love Harry more!
Author notes: I want to thank my beta for her extra work on this chapter. I have to tell you all that I killed Harry Potter, for you, Ginny and Draco. I think it's not to much to ask for a review in return!
Leave a Review