Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

(A/N): This story was rewritten and reposted on 10/6/13. Trust me, this version is better.

Power the Dark Lord Knows Not

Harry held the locket in his hand. Just looking at the thing made his scar tingle, but nothing could override the sense of triumph that filled him. After almost a year of searching, they had finally found the last of Voldemort's horcruxes.

It hadn't been the kindest year in Harry's life. Even though he had insisted that Ron and Hermione not accompany him, they had come along anyway. He was thankful that they had, as they had ended up saving his life a number of times, but in the end they had all come out more than a bit worse for wear. Ron now walked with a limp, and probably would for the rest of his life, thanks to a confrontation with Dolohov. Hermione had been lucky to escape with her life after taking the brunt end of one of Bellatrix Lestrange's curses. The curse, even partially shielded, had left her almost completely unable to breathe. It had only been some quick thinking on Ron's part that had saved her life, and even now she still wasn't fully recovered.

Harry had suffered perhaps the worst fate of the three. While he had managed to avoid any significant physical injury, he had damaged himself in another way. He could only take so much of seeing his friends suffer before it began to break him. After the first death eater had fallen to the green flash of light from his wand, it had become much easier for him to cast the killing curse again and again. It wasn't how Dumbledore would have wanted it. Harry knew the old headmaster believed that killing damaged the soul, and maybe he was right. Harry certainly felt... emptier than he had when the trio had first set out to destroy the Dark Lord. But in the end it would be worth it if he had saved even one innocent life.

"Go on mate, destroy it," Ron urged. He left the task up to Harry because Ron was still unable to summon the power necessary to destroy horcruxes in the easiest way. It wasn't a matter of magical prowess, but an emotional scar that Harry bore that the other two didn't, connecting him to Voldemort just like the lightning bolt on his head.

Harry carefully set the locket down on the dining table in front of him. Without hesitation he leveled his wand at the dark object and spoke clearly. "Avada Kedavra!"

A jet of emerald light exploded from the end of the holly wand, striking the snake that was emblazoned on the locket's exterior. The horcrux seemed to shudder slightly, and then settled itself. The tingling feeling in Harry's scar disappeared instantly, and he nodded to the other two to indicate that the horcrux was inert.

Hermione let out a sigh of relief, and let herself fall backward into one of the plush chairs that occupied the dining room in Grimmauld Place. It had been ironic that the last horcrux they found had been sitting under their noses the whole time. They had based their search efforts in Grimmauld Place, and it had only been by a happy chance that they found the locket. If Harry hadn't walked into Regulus's room that day, he felt that they might never have found the last fragment of Voldemort's soul.

Ron moved over to where Hermione sat and gave her a comforting squeeze on the shoulder. She looked up at him with a smile and took his hand in her own. Harry gave them a moment alone before he walked over to join them in celebration. Before he had made it halfway though, he doubled over as a searing pain shot through his scar. Harry squeezed his eyes shut as he hit the ground. From somewhere else he could hear Ron and Hermione's concerned voices, but they seemed far away now as he felt himself slipping from his own mind into the Dark Lord's...

"Crucio!" Voldemort said mercilessly. A figure at his feet began to scream in agony, and Harry cringed mentally as he heard a girl's high pitched voice crying out into the night. There was laughter in the air as well, and Voldemort gave his victim a small reprieve as he joined his followers. The Dark Lord's high pitched laughter echoed off the headstones surrounding him, and Harry suddenly realized why this vision had felt so familiar. Voldemort was in the graveyard where his father was buried, torturing some poor girl for the amusement of his followers. Harry wished he could recoil from the vision, not wanting to witness anything so heinous, but he was unable to withdraw his mind from Voldemort's.

"Crucio!" Voldemort said again. This time the girl screamed a word. Perhaps she was asking for mercy. "What was that?" Voldemort hissed, lifting the curse off the girl.

The girl choked out something between sobs that Harry couldn't understand. Whatever it was made Voldemort laugh, a sound that chilled Harry to the bone. "Do you truly think that anyone can save you now? No one is coming to save you, blood traitor," Voldemort spat. "Not even your precious Potter."

Harry felt his blood freeze as Voldemort put the girl under the curse once again. It couldn't be her. But as the girl's screams grew higher and higher, and her body convulsed, Harry was filled with dread as he realized how familiar that voice was. As though to confirm his worst fears, Voldemort ended the curse once more and the girl rolled onto her side, facing the Dark Lord...

Ginny.

Voldemort and the death eaters began to laugh once more, and as the vision faded, the last thing Harry heard was Ginny's screams as Voldemort began torturing her once again...

"Harry!" Hermione's voice called.

Harry's eyes snapped open to find Ron and Hermione standing over him, a concerned look shared on their faces. Hermione had her hands on his shoulders, and he suspected that she had been trying to shake him awake.

Ignoring his friends for a moment, Harry pushed himself up, and immediately fell back to the floor as a splitting headache hit him.

"Was it a vision? Just stay here, I've got a potion that might help," Hermione instructed.

"No, no, I'm fine," Harry said, waving her off. "Help me up," he told Ron. Ron seemed unsure about whether he should help, but quickly complied upon seeing the intense look Harry was wearing.

"You alright mate?" Ron asked.

No he wasn't alright. He'd just been forced to watch as the person he loved was tortured by his worst enemy. He wanted to tell them that. He wanted to scream it at them. But he couldn't, not unless he was sure. Voldemort had tricked him like this once before, and it had gotten the person he was trying to save killed. Harry had to be sure this time before he went running off. Ron was looking at him quizzically, so Harry replied with one word. The only word he could think of at the moment.

"Ginny."

Ron's eyes widened, but Hermione stayed focused and asked, "What about Ginny, Harry?"

Harry shook his head and quickly made his way into the sitting room where the closest fireplace was. His first few steps were unsteady, but he regained his footing quickly. When he got to the stone chimney, he carelessly grabbed a handful of floo powder and threw it into the fire. Without stopping to answer Hermione's continued questions, Harry stuck his head into the green flames and shouted, "The Burrow!"

His head whirled for a moment before he found himself looking into the living and kitchen area of the Burrow. Thankfully, Molly was in the kitchen when Harry called, and jumped at the sound of his arrival. Glancing over to see who had been permitted to floo through the wards, she gasped when she saw who it was.

"Harry! What's going on? Where have you been? Is Ron with-"

Before she could get any further, Harry interjected, putting as much steel into his voice as he could. "Where is Ginny?"

Molly paused, surprised at his tone. Harry fought his annoyance at her delay, and silently urged her to hurry up and answer. "Well... she said she was going to pop over and visit the Lovegoods for a minute. She's good friends with Luna and she hasn't been able to see anyone her age in such a long time. There haven't been any attacks around here lately, so I didn't think there'd be any harm in it. Is something wrong?" She asked, seeing Harry's expression.

Harry immediately pulled himself out of the fireplace. Before Ron and Hermione could pelt him with questions, he grabbed another handful of floo powder and threw it in the fireplace. Without even stopping to dust the ashes out of his hair, he stuck his head in again and said, "Lovegood residence!" As his head spun he prayed that Luna had had the foresight to make sure he could pass through whatever wards the Lovegoods had put around their house. As it turned out, she had, and Harry found himself staring at a room full of strange objects and drawings but no people. Not taking the time to observe what any of the objects did, Harry shouted until he heard someone coming. It turned out to be Luna herself.

"Hello Harry," she said in the dreamy sort of way that she spoke.

"Is Ginny there?" Harry asked.

"Oh, Ginevra? No, I haven't seen her for months. It's quite sad really."

Again, not wasting any time, Harry yanked his head out of the fireplace once more. This time his head didn't stop spinning as he stumbled backwards, eventually ending up in the arms of Ron and Hermione, who had been waiting for him to emerge.

"Harry, what's going on?" Hermione asked.

"What's it got to do with my sister?" Ron said.

As quickly as he could, Harry explained to them what he had seen. Hermione gasped at the news, and Ron swore loudly. "But are you sure?" Hermione asked.

"Of course I'm bloody sure! What do you think I've been doing sticking my head in the fireplace?" Harry said. "We've got to go and rescue her, now!"

"Harry! Think! Even if Voldemort actually does have Ginny, this is obviously a trap," Hermione said. "Do you think it's a coincidence that you had a vision of this after being able to block him out for months?"

Harry was about to shout at her, but Ron beat him to it. "So what? We should just leave my sister to die?!" he shouted.

Hermione cringed at him, but pressed on trying to be the voice of reason. "No, but we've got to plan something. Maybe we can get the Order involved and-"

Ron started shouting again and the two of them began arguing back and forth. Harry wasn't listening though. Hermione was right; this was definitely a trap planned by Voldemort. But that meant that he wanted Harry and Harry alone. If Harry could buy Ginny time she might be able to escape, and maybe he could take out a few Death Eaters before Voldemort killed him. Besides, Voldemort was vulnerable now. His horcruxes were gone, and it was possible that he didn't know it. Harry took a deep breath. He knew what he had to do.

"-never understand because you don't have a sibling!" Ron shouted.

Hermione's eyes were watery as she responded meekly, "Ron it's not like that, I-"

Crack

The two stopped and stared at the spot where Harry had been standing just seconds ago. In his place there was nothing but empty air.

Harry shivered at the chill that seemed to hang in the thick air of the graveyard. He felt suffocated by the sense of dread that emanated from its occupants like a fog. As soon as he apparated into the graveyard, he'd found himself surrounded by what looked to be almost all of Voldemort's remaining Death Eaters. Although the Order had dented Voldemort's forces somewhat over the past year, it always seemed like he recruited faster than they could capture or kill. For that reason, Harry suddenly found himself having more wands pointed at him than he ever had in his life. He wasn't even paying attention to them though. His focus was completely on Voldemort, who was baring a predatory grin at him. Behind him, Ginny lie sobbing on the ground.

"Ah, Harry," Voldemort said conversationally. "I was wondering how long you'd let me play with the filthy blood traitor." Harry seethed at him, but resisted the urge to try to curse him. He knew that even if he got a spell off, one of the Death Eaters would kill him before he could do anything else, and Ginny wouldn't be able to apparate unless he could get her a wand first.

"Oh don't worry Harry, my Death Eaters won't harm you." At Voldemort's words, the dark figures surrounding Harry lowered their wands. Harry raised an eyebrow. "You don't understand, but you will. You see Harry, you've angered me more than any other wizard I've faced, even that old fool Dumbledore. I admit that I want to see you dead, but that alone isn't enough to satisfy me." Voldemort's red eyes seemed to glow in the night as he spoke. "No, I want you to suffer first." Voldemort gestured to the graveyard around him. "You'll find that no one is blocking your escape. In fact, you're free to leave. But you will leave with the knowledge that you've condemned another to agony." Voldemort paused briefly, as though relishing the moment. "Dumbledore thought that I don't understand love, but he was wrong. I understand it perfectly. It is a weakness, and one I chose not to cultivate in myself." Voldemort hissed the words as though they were venom. A few Death Eaters laughed, and Harry heard Bellatrix Lestrange's distinctive cackle among them.

Harry felt the hatred within him growing beyond anything he had ever known. The murderer in front of him had taken nearly everything from him. His parents, his godfather, Dumbledore, everyone that Harry had ever cared for had suffered because of Voldemort, and Voldemort expected Harry to simply walk away and leave someone to suffer at his hands? No.

"Avada Kedavra!" Harry shouted, whipping his wand up to point at Voldemort. Despite clearly being caught off guard, Voldemort spun away from the curse and brought his own wand up to point at Harry.

"Crucio!" Voldemort screamed at him.

Harry blocked the curse, and followed up with three stunners in rapid succession. Voldemort conjured a shield that easily absorbed all three spells, and then almost lazily flicked his wand to send a powerful cutting curse at Harry. Harry tried to dive out of the way, but was too late, and took part of the curse to the left side of his ribcage. Cursing at the pain, Harry managed to roll to his feet and sent one of the headstones flying at Voldemort. Not waiting to see what happened, Harry quickly apparated behind Voldemort, trying to get to Ginny. Voldemort anticipated his move and redirected the tombstone to fly into Harry instead. Harry took the full impact to his chest, and was sent flying backwards. He hit the ground hard and came up feeling dazed.

Voldemort laughed and performed a spell to bind Harry's arms and legs. Harry managed to counter the spell and scrambled to his feet just in time to take a hex that hit him like a ton of brick and set him flying backwards again. The second impact left Harry's chest feeling like it was on fire. He coughed and tasted the metallic tinge of blood in his mouth.

Knowing that to stand still would mean death for both Ginny and himself. Harry threw a killing curse at Voldemort to buy himself some time and scrambled behind a particularly large headstone.

"Reducto!" Harry heard Voldemort's curse, and dove out of the way as the headstone he'd been taking refuge behind exploded, sending shrapnel everywhere. Harry felt stinging all up and down his back, and figured that some of the small fragments must have hit him. He scrambled behind another headstone and tried to gather his wits.

"Come out here Potter!" Voldemort demanded. "Face me before you die!"

Harry tried to think about his next move, but the pain coursing through his body was making that difficult. He didn't see any way he could defeat Voldemort in a duel, not with the way he'd been faring. He had to get Ginny a wand so she could apparate away. If she could get out it didn't matter what happened to him. But then Harry saw the flaw with that plan. What if Ginny didn't leave. Could he really expect her to leave him after he had come to rescue her? Voldemort's cruel tones brought Harry back to the moment.

"Hide all you want, Potter, but remember that every moment you do is a moment that you leave me to my fun. Crucio!" Ginny's screams filled the graveyard once again, causing Harry to bite down hard on his tongue to keep from crying out her name. He wasn't going to give Voldemort that kind of satisfaction.

Harry knew he had to keep Voldemort busy, but he didn't know what to do other than fight him. He remembered back to his fourth year, when he'd been in a similar situation. It had worked then, so why not now? Harry jumped out from behind the tombstone, his injuries complaining as he did so.

"Expelliarmus!" Harry shouted.

Voldemort seemed to have been expecting the attack. He batted the spell aside effortlessly and then pointed his wand at Harry and hissed, "Crucio!"

Harry felt the horrific sensation of agony as the torture curse hit him. He tried to focus on something, anything but the pain, but it was too much to ask. He heard himself screaming, but even seemed like a distant memory compared to the immediate and relentless pain that assaulted him from every angle. Harry didn't know how long Voldemort kept the curse on him, but it felt like an eternity before it finally ended, leaving his throat raw from screaming and his body shaking heavily.

"Get up," Voldemort commanded coldly.

Without knowing why, Harry complied. He slowly dragged himself to his knees, and with a great effort was able to steady himself enough to stand. He rose his wand and pointed it at Voldemort, his hand shaking uncontrollably.

"What do you think?" Voldemort asked, his voice almost a whisper. "Have you had enough? Are you ready to give up?" When Harry didn't respond immediately Voldemort shook his head and cast another Cruciatus at him. Harry managed to block it, but wasn't expecting Voldemort's follow up curse. It struck him in the left and Harry heard, and felt, the limb snap.

The pain nearly brought him to the ground again, but he managed to stop himself by falling to one knee. Harry looked up to see Voldemort's wand pointed at his face. The Dark Lord was sporting a twisted smile as he held Harry at his mercy, looking like a predatory that was deciding how best to toy with his prey. Harry braced for the Crucio he knew was coming, but was instead shocked when Voldemort lurched forward, crying out in pain. Harry's confusion turned to clarity when he saw Ginny on her knees desperately clutching around on the ground for something. She seemed to find what she was looking for, and grasped it tightly. Rearing her arm back, she threw the object directly at Voldemort, striking the Dark Lord a second time. It was a rock. Ginny had thrown a rock at the most dangerous dark wizard in the world to save his life.

That was when it hit Harry. Dumbledore had been right. Voldemort didn't understand love. That was why he'd been unable to kill Harry seventeen years earlier, and that was why he'd been expecting Harry to let Ginny die tonight. Someone who understood love wouldn't be capable of the things that Voldemort had done. A wild idea came to Harry then. He didn't even know if the spell would work this way, but he had to try. Knowing that it might be his last chance, Harry thrust his good arm out to point his wand at Voldemort and shouted his spell.

"Expecto Patronum!" This time, instead of focusing on happiness, Harry summoned another emotion to the surface of his mind. He'd been worried that it might be difficult after the hell he'd been through in the past year, but one look at Ginny made those doubts vanish. Love seemed to fill his core as he thought about his parents, Sirius, Ron, Hermione, and the rest of his friends. It seemed to wrap around his heart like a warm embrace. Harry took that feeling and focused on pushing down his arm, through the phoenix feather core and out his wand.

A stag erupted out of the end of Harry's wand, dashing straight at where Voldemort stood. The Dark Lord's eyes widened in surprise as the animal approached, and he tried to react but it was too late. The patronus dashed straight through Voldemort, who fell to his knees and exhaled like he'd been punched in the gut. The animal continued running, and came to a halt in front of Ginny, who reached out a hand to touch it as though in a daze. The stag lowered its head to accept her affection and then faded into nothingness.

Voldemort had fallen to his hands and knees now, and was breathing shallow rapid breaths. Harry started trying to walk over to where Ginny was still staring at the air where the patronus had just been, but fell after taking a step. He started crawling, clutching his left arm to his side as he slowly moved past Voldemort, who still seemed to be incapacitated by whatever the patronus had done.

The Death Eaters stirred, and began approaching their lord slowly, as though unsure what to do, and clearly afraid of being punished for a misstep. As Harry crawled past Voldemort, Bellatrix Lestrange cautiously approached the Dark Lord's side, kneeling next to him. "My lord?" she questioned, her voice a fearful whisper.

"Get away!" Voldemort shrieked at her. Bellatrix recoiled as though she'd be slapped, and looked around at the other Death Eaters, clearly at a loss. This was his chance. They weren't paying attention to him. If he could get to Ginny, he could apparate them both away to safety. Ginny seemed to know what he was thinking, as she finally snapped her gaze away from where the stag had been and shakily began crawling towards Harry. They had almost reached each other when another shriek reached Harry's ears. He looked back and his jaw nearly dropped at what he saw.

Voldemort had risen off his hands, and was looking at Bellatrix with a tortured expression on his face. Before Harry's eyes, the Dark Lord began to sob. It was the deeply desperate kind of sobbing that Harry had seen in those who had lost someone they cared for deeply. Voldemort howled and clutched at Bellatrix's robes. The witch backed away from him, looking as rattled as Harry had ever seen her.

Voldemort stopped weeping abruptly, and his gaze switched between Bellatrix and Harry with a strange sort of contemplative look. Suddenly, be it through his mental link with Voldemort or pure intuition, Harry felt sure that he knew what was going to happen next. Desperately he lunged for Ginny, and grasped her hand. Voldemort cast one more look at Harry before pointing his wand at the ground beneath him and softly speaking a single word.

"Expulso."

Harry apparated away as the world around him was filled with deadly blue light, dragging Ginny with him. The two landed with a thud in the siting room of Grimmauld Place, both letting out a cry of pain as they hit the ground. Harry faintly heard Hermione gasp and call for someone to help her as Harry's vision blurred. Someone started calling Harry's name, but the sitting room faded from sight before he could respond...

Harry heard the voices speaking before he was able to see anyone around him. He couldn't quite make out what they were saying, but whatever it was, it seemed to warrant quick speech in hushed tones. Harry tried to lift his head, and groaned at the effort that it took. The conversation stopped abruptly, and Harry heard someone with a deep voice say his name.

"Harry?"

Harry groaned again, unable to form a coherent response. There was an intake of breath followed by someone else saying something about a healer. Harry thought he heard someone leave the room and tried to open his eyes, but found that his eyelids seemed too heavy for him to make the effort.

"Harry?" the deep voice asked again, closer this time.

"Kingsley?" The name came out as a barely audible croak, and Harry was surprised at how weak his own voice sounded.

The man answered with a deep chuckle. "Yes, it's me. I have to say Harry, you've made quite a stir. It's not every day that someone defeats a Dark Lord, especially in such... dramatic fashion."

Harry finally forced his eyes open and saw the big auror standing at his bedside with a large smile on his face. It took a moment for Harry's mind to start working, but as soon as it did panic gripped him when he realized that Ginny was nowhere in sight.

"Where is she?" Harry asked, not bothering to clarify who he was talking about.

"Ginny is safe," Kingsley said gently. "Ron and Hermione brought you both here immediately after you got back. To be honest, your injuries were a lot worse than hers. Although I suspect that she was quite shaken mentally."

"Where is she?" Harry repeated since Kingsley hadn't actually answered his question.

"She's in another room. The healers wanted to keep her overnight as a precaution since the Cruciatus curse can be a little tricky. They should let her out soon though." Kingsley's smile got wider as he glanced at the door. "In the meantime, you've got plenty of visitors who have been waiting to see you, do you want me to send them in when the healers have finished with you?

Harry thought for a minute. He wasn't sure how up for company he was, but ultimately he thought that seeing friendly faces would be a welcome respite after what he'd been through in the past twenty-four hours. He nodded to Kingsley, but added, "Just a few at a time."

The auror nodded back and then excused himself as the healer assigned to Harry entered the room. The healer was a middle-aged woman that reminded Harry somewhat of Madam Pomfrey. She fussed over him for a moment before showing him the potions he'd need to take to heal his internal injuries properly. His broken arm and the gash in his side had been healed overnight, but he'd have to stay at least one more day to ensure that he was coming along properly. When Harry complained to her about the aching he felt throughout his body, she shrugged and said that he should try to avoid torture curses in the future before leaving him alone in the room.

Just seconds after the door closed behind her, it opened again and Ron and Hermione flew into the room. Hermione looked like she was on the verge of tears as she looked at Harry, and Ron just smiled weakly at him as they took places on either side of Harry's bed.

"Harry! We were so worried," Hermione told him. "When you got back with Ginny, neither of you were in good shape. We got you here as fast as we could, but the healers weren't sure if you were going to make it."

Harry raised an eyebrow at that. Neither Kingsley nor the healer had mentioned that his injuries had been that extensive. "What about Ginny?" he asked, wanting to know if Kingsley had neglected to mention anything about her as well.

"She made it out alright. We're lucky you got there when you did though. The healers reckon that if she'd been there much longer then she might've... you know," Ron said, clearly uncomfortable imagining what had nearly happened to his little sister.

Harry looked back at Hermione and saw that she had lost the battle she was fighting with her tears. They rolled down her cheeks unchecked as she spoke. "I'm so sorry Harry," she said meekly. "I'm so sorry that I tried to stop you. I could have gotten Ginny killed... or worse."

Harry lifted a hand to take her own, despite the surprising amount of effort that it took. Hermione clutched it like a lifeline, wordlessly looking at him for forgiveness. He squeezed her hand comfortingly. "It's okay Hermione. What happened to Ginny isn't your fault. You did what you thought was best. What if you had been right and I had died?" Despite nodding at his words, Hermione began to cry harder. Ron moved over to her side of the bed and wrapped her in an embrace, giving Harry a look that plainly said,"let me handle this." With a promise to return soon, Ron escorted Hermione out of the room, leaving Harry alone once again.

His solitude was short lived however, when Mr. and Mrs. Weasley entered the room. Mrs. Weasley immediately rushed to Harry and wrapped him in a hug so tight that he was slightly alarmed that she might reinjure his organs. Mr. Weasley hung back and gave him an encouraging smile, as Molly thanked Harry profusely over and over again. Harry waved her thanks away and turned to Arthur.

"How's the Ministry taking all of this?"

"Oh, it's a mess. Parades are going on everywhere. I was in the Ministry back when You-Know-Who fell the first time, and that had nothing on the kind of celebrations we've seen today. It's been keeping the Obliviation teams busy round the clock.

"Then there's the matter of that crater you blew in the graveyard outside that village. Ginny told us where to look and we sent a team out. Didn't find anything of You-Know-Who but ashes. We reckon he took out most of his Death Eaters too. It took forever to convince the locals that it was nothing but a gas explosion, but I think they bought it in the end."

No sooner had the Weasley parents left than they were followed by Fred and George, who bombarded Harry with jokes.

"You know, you've caused us quite a bit of grief, Harry," one of them said, shaking his head.

Harry narrowed his eyes in confusion.

"Oh yeah," the other twin continued. "Quite a bit."

"Thanks to you-"

"We've had to get rid of-"

"U-NO-POO!" they finished together.

"That was our best seller up until yesterday," one of them said as Harry laughed.

"Now we've got to get rid of all of it."

"Or maybe just rebrand it... what about-

"Nary Potty?

The two of them nodded solemnly as Harry continued laughing. He didn't even care that it made his sides hurt, it was good to let go of the burden he'd been carrying for the past year.

When the two of them left, they were followed by what seemed to be a nearly constant stream of visitors. Harry realized just how many friends he had as he was visited by Lupin, Tonks, Hagrid, and even Neville, who had made the trip from Hogwarts after he heard the news. Apparently the whole DA had wanted to join him, but Professor McGonagall wouldn't permit it. Finally, after what seemed like hours of entertaining visitors, the person he'd been waiting to see walked in.

Ginny slowly approached his bedside as Harry watched her. Her face was a bit puffy and discolored, and she had a cut on her lip that had probably been too minor for the healers to worry about, but she still looked as beautiful as ever in Harry's eyes. She stopped beside him, and unsteadily sat on the side of his bed, staring into her lap. Harry almost wished that she wouldn't speak, and that he could just enjoy her company for a while, and for a moment she was silent. Finally, she looked at Harry, who could see the tears forming in her chestnut eyes.

"Harry, I-" she stopped and swallowed before speaking again. "This is all my fault," she said simply.

Harry sat up a bit in the bed, ignoring the pain in his torso, and grabbed her hand in his own. "No," he replied.

Ginny squirmed uncomfortably and looked away from Harry as she responded. "If I hadn't been stupid enough to leave the Burrow... If I hadn't gotten caught..."

"Then Voldemort would still be at large," Harry finished for her.

Ginny looked at him again, the tears in her eyes replaced suddenly by a fire that Harry had come to know and love. Unfortunately in this case, the fire was directed at him. "Don't coddle me Harry! I know I screwed up," she said, dropping his hand. "Mom and Dad and everyone have been constantly telling me that it's not my fault, but it is! If I had never gotten caught then you wouldn't have come out of that graveyard with a broken arm or taken a curse that nearly killed you!"

Harry was taken aback for a moment, not sure what to say to calm Ginny down. He hadn't expected her to take the blame. Or to personally feel responsible for his injuries. He had gotten out alright after all. Everything had come out alright.

"Ginny," Harry said. She looked at him and some of the fire left her eyes. "I came out of the graveyard with something that you didn't mention."

She looked at him quizzically. "What?"

Harry looked at her, and felt the same warmth fill him as he had when he had cast his patronus at Voldemort. "You," he said simply. "I came back with you, and that's the only thing that matters." Harry cupped her face with his hand, gently pulling it closer to his own. "I love you," he said softly.

There was a pause as her eyes locked onto his and Harry thought he could almost see some of her guilt melting away. "I love you too," she whispered.

Harry gently closed the distance between them, and for once his body didn't complain as their lips met in a kiss. The warmth inside of Harry seemed to blaze into a fire as he wrapped his arms around Ginny, holding her tightly. She sank into him slightly, careful not to put too much weight on his aching body. In that moment Harry knew that whatever happened in the rest of his life, it would be okay as long as he had Ginny beside him when it was over, and maybe it was wishful thinking on his part, but he was pretty sure she felt that way too.

"Hey everybody! Harry and Ginny are snogging!" called a voice from the corridor.

Ginny recoiled from Harry in surprise, and they both turned to see Fred—or maybe George—standing I the doorway with a smirk on his face. Mrs. Weasley's voice came shouting from outside that it was none of his business and to leave them alone. With one last smirk, George—or maybe Fred—let the door shut as he faded back into the corridor.

Ginny began to giggle as she recovered from her initial shock. Her laughter became infectious, and Harry joined her. Soon they were both laughing, and Harry couldn't help but think that her laugh was possibly his favorite sound in the world. As he looked at her smiling face, Harry let himself sink back into the bed, and for the first time since his fourth year, he felt completely at peace.