Les Mis: Harry Potter

Part 16

Harry survived. It was almost two weeks later when the healers at Saint Mungo's decided he was well enough to go home. Ginny, Harry, James, and Sirius all ended up staying at James and Harry's place in Godric's Hollow.

Harry spent a lot of time alone in his room.

They were dead. His friends were dead. His friends were all dead. He was the only one who survived. Cho, Hermione, Luna, Ron, Neville—all of them were gone.

And for what? They hadn't won. They'd talked of revolution, but the revolution was over and they had lost.

With a pang, Harry recalled what Hermione had often said:

'There's a life about to start when tomorrow comes'.

But, of course, 'tomorrow' never came.

Finally, one day, Ginny entered Harry's room, looking very frustrated.

"Harry, you can't keep to yourself like this all the time! We can help you, but only if we see you!" Ginny cried, and then lowered her voice. "I know how you feel."

"No you don't!" Harry snarled. "My friends are dead, Ginny! You haven't got a single clue about how I feel!"

"They were my friends, too!" Ginny shouted back. "Hermione and Luna were my friends, too! You're not the only one who's hurting!"

Harry looked at her.

"Sorry," he said quietly, realizing she was right.

"It's alright," Ginny said. "I shouldn't have shouted."

"Harry, they wouldn't want you to be like this," Ginny continued, her tone gentle. "They'd want you to be happy. Hermione, Luna, and—and Cho would want you to be happy."

Ginny stuttered slightly on Cho's name since Cho was a sensitive topic with Harry.

Harry nodded, feeling another pang as he thought of the friend that died because of him.

"It's not your fault," Ginny told him. "So don't blame yourself. Cho wouldn't blame you, and she wouldn't want you to blame yourself. It's You-Know-Who's fault, and it's the Death Eaters' fault, but it isn't your fault."

Harry looked at her; she was right, but he couldn't help but feel guilty that he lived and his friends were gone.

"It'll be okay," Ginny said.

_________________________________________________________________________________

"Harry, each day you walk with a stronger step," Ginny said a week later, as they walked through the house.

Harry looked at her; it still hurt, but being with Ginny made it bearable.

"Ginny, I can't imagine life without you," Harry said. His nerves were all over the place; he needed to ask this now, before he lost his courage.

Ginny looked at him.

"That's true for me, too, Harry," she said. "Earlier, I was so scared you would—well you're here, and that's what matters."

"Ginny, will you marry me?" Harry asked. Ginny, who was not expecting this, was left breathless, her brown eyes looking into his green ones.

The moment she registered what Harry had just asked her, she pressed her lips to his.

"Yes!" Ginny cried when they broke apart. "Of course I will! There'll be a lot of preparations, though."

Harry beamed.

"My dad can find someone to do the ceremony," Harry said.

"You'll have to talk to my father," Ginny said. "It wouldn't be right if you didn't."

As if on cue, Sirius came down the stairs.

"Dad!" Ginny cried, running towards him. Harry followed, feeling very apprehensive.

"We have to tell you something," Ginny continued. She turned to Harry expectantly.

"I want to marry Ginny," Harry said, feeling more nervous than he could ever remember feeling.

Sirius looked at Harry, and then at Ginny.

"Dad, I love Harry, and I said yes," she said.

"If it will make you happy, then you have my blessing," Sirius said.

Ginny threw her arms around Sirius in a bone-crushing hug.

"Thank you so much, Dad," she said.

When Ginny went to go talk to James about the wedding, Sirius turned to Harry.

"I need to talk to you," Sirius told him.

"Uh—okay," Harry said, feeling highly anxious.

Harry and Sirius went up into Harry's room, and Harry closed the door.

"I can't thank you enough for letting me marry Ginny," Harry said. "You can come and visit us anytime, you're family now."

"Like I said before, if Ginny's happy, then I'm happy," Sirius said. "But there's something else I need to tell you and do."

"What?" Harry asked, curiosity piqued.

There was an awkward silence before Sirius began speaking.

"Once there was a man named Sirius Black who was framed for mass murder by another man named Peter Pettigrew. He was convicted and sent to Azkaban for twenty years before being granted parole. He broke his parole and spent the next several years, up until today avoiding Azkaban guards."

Harry realized what he was getting at.

"You're Sirius Black," he said. He couldn't help but feel sorry for him. He knew that Azkaban had framed prisoners; it had been one of the problems Hermione had wanted to fix.

"I need to leave," Sirius said. "Disappear."

"What?" Harry cried. "Why? I don't care—Azkaban has more framed prisoners that just you, it was one of the problems we wanted to fix—"

"If I'm caught, it'll ruin Ginny's life," Sirius interjected flatly. "And after lying to her for so long about who I am—it would break her heart. Me leaving will hurt her, but not as much as the truth would, and you'll make her happy."

Harry sighed, knowing he couldn't talk Sirius out of this.

"What am I supposed to tell Ginny?" he said. "She won't believe just anything."

"Tell her I'm going to America and didn't have it in me to say good-bye," Sirius said. "Going to America was something I had planned."

"Fine," Harry said, not liking it one bit. "I'll do it."

"Thank you," Sirius said, exiting the room.

Harry followed, watching as Sirius left the house a disapparated with a crack.