I've seen fake gods and bad gods and demigods and would-be gods; out of all that, out of that whole pantheon, if I believe in one thing... just one thing... I believe in her.

-"The Satan Pit" (Doctor Who)

At this point, he's seen so much that he just wants to stop.

Give up now. Just stop fighting altogether.

Because that was a kid. She was a kid. And she was dying. And she wasn't the first.

And Hermione—she had nearly died, too.

And Ron—

Everyone. Everyone was in danger.

It had all just been happening, and it just is happening now, and it's too much for him.

Tonks and Sirius and Lupin.

His parents.

Dead.

This has been his life. Seventeen years he's lived. And for sixteen of them, this is all there is. Death. Only ever death. It's been with him for that long. Sixteen long years.

But he can't give up-just for that reason. He can't stop fighting, because he can't let this continue.

Because there don't need to be any more like him. Teddy—his parents are dead now, and he could so easily—so, so easily—end up like him. Fighting in a war he was born into.

But he can't let him.

So he fights.

But he's seen so much—too much.

Torture. Murder.

And there's guilt—so much guilt.

Cedric and Dobby and so many more.

But he's still fighting.

Because he's been through it all, and he's seen it all, and he's lost almost everything.

But he believes in one thing, long after everyone else has been taken from him, after everything else is gone, destroyed.

He believes in her.

Her fiery hair and her blazing look. He believes in her.

Nothing else.

And so he thinks only of her—of her smirk, of the ever-present glint in her brown eyes-and tries to be brave.

(Because really, that's all he can do.)

AN: So if you hadn't gathered from the summary, I'll be taking quotes from various shows, books, etc. and twisting them to fit my writerly needs. So, like songfics, but not songs. Quotes. And here's the bit where I'm awkward: I hate asking for reviews, honestly. I mean, I just hate it. But I'd really appreciate it if you left one with a quote you like. Because this will sort of suck if I haven't got more quotes. Because all of mine are either from Doctor Who or Percy Jackson. And because one person chose them all, they aren't going to really have any variety. So I'd very much appreciate if you could help me. Thanks for reading.