Promise Me...

Promise me...

It is weird how the world is, Ginny.

That our fates would rip us apart the same place as it put us together.

We have always known that we couldn't be together forever. We knew that but did we really believe it inside ourselves? Maybe we hoped that there was some way we could stay together, our children and us two.

I know I did.

But reality hit us.

I knew you were an Auror, and you knew I was a Death Eater. We both knew that one day we would meet each other in battle. But we hoped, didn't we? We hoped that something would happen and we could live happily ever after with our children.

But this isn't a fairytale, Ginny.

It happened that day The Battle of Hogwarts took place.

That day reality decided that it wanted to visit us.

Death was everywhere. Green flashes of light. Rain. Thunder. Tears. Blood. Scream. Falling bodies.

Morag was sitting, crying over the body of her husband, George, your brother, near me when I saw you. You were down on your knees a few meters away. Your wand was some meters away from you. Your hair stuck to your body and your face. I couldn't see the difference between your normal, wet, red hair and that part of your hair that was bloody. But I could see you were wounded. Your dark, brown coat and your face were full of blood. You clutched at your stomach. Protecting our unborn child even then, Ginny? And you were looking defiant at a figure in a black coat. The same as mine. Also his face was hidden behind exactly the same kind of mask as mine.

And in that moment I knew what Morag felt when she saw me kill George. Me, an old friend, killed her husband.

And in that moment I didn't care about the Dark Lord, purebloods and Muggleborns, old friends and the war going on around me. Only you and our unborn child mattered.

I yelled a spell and the Death Eater exploded into a thousand pieces, screaming in pain.

You were crying when I came over to you. I kissed the tears away while I held you.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. I was crying now, too. "I'm so sorry I did all this to you. I'm so sorry."

You looked at me with your big, brown eyes. There were red rings under your eyes from your tears. But you were still beautiful. You are always beautiful, Ginny.

You hugged me closer, held me while I cried. You kissed me. You whispered that it wasn't my fault. You whispered that it would have happen anyway.

I have never understood why you loved me. I was everything you should hate. But you didn't, Ginny, and I will always be grateful for that.

But I know why I love you, Ginny. It's because I'm a different person when I'm with you. I'm happy when I'm with you, Ginny. You let me love you. And you love me back. And you forgive me for everything I do to you.

Even this. Even getting you in this war.

You held me. And you told me that you loved me. And you kissed me.

I love you too, Ginny. I love you so very much.

As the night went on, nobody kept us apart. You held me, and we cried together. People around us fought and killed each other in hate. But not us. We held each other. In love. We remembered things from our past. The first kiss, when I asked you to marry me, our wedding, when we found out that you were pregnant with Zoe, when you gave birth to her, her first birthday, when we found out you were pregnant again. And all those days between. I remember everything so clearly. I was so happy those days. We both were. And nobody, nothing, could destroy our happiness. Not even the war or our families could destroy it. We lived in a happy little world, Zoe and us two. And we hoped, that one day, we would be four in our happy little world.

But then hell broke loose. Somehow your side knew about our attack at Hogwarts. I'm actually happy for that. It is hard enough to be one of them who had to destroy one of the places with your best memories but to do it while nobody tried to stop you... I don't know if I could do that.

You are an Auror, Ginny, and a really good one too. Many people from my side have fallen by your wand. But we have never met each other in a battle before. But we both knew that today it would happen. Last night we cried when we kissed and touched each other. Last night we made love like we never would do it again. Last night we held each other so close.

We spent the day together, neither one of us going early to work. We spent the day with Zoe, telling her that we just wanted to have a day with her. We said it was a long time since we had done that. And she laughed and giggled, and we held her together, trying to hide our tears.

Would this be last time we saw her? Would one of us die? Would we both die? What would happen?

You kissed me goodbye with tears in your eyes before you left for work, and I smiled and said that everything would be okay. And you nodded, trying to hide the fact that you didn't believe me. But do you know what? I didn't believe myself either.

Later, I tucked Zoe in bed. I said goodnight to her. And I told her that I love her. That I love you. And that I love our unborn child, her little sister or brother. She looked at me with the same beautiful, big, brown eyes as yours, and said that she knew that.

And I said that I just wanted to make sure that she knew it.

After that, I went to our bedroom, Ginny, and looked at old photos. We were so happy, Ginny. So happy. And I cried.

And then I took the black coat and the mask out.

I shouldn't have done that.

I'm so sorry I did that, Ginny. I'm so sorry.

We woke up as the first ray of sunlight came through the treetops. How can you sleep when a war is going on around you? Well, you can if the person you love is holding you. Like you did. You held me so tight, so warm, so protecting, so loving. And I held you too. We held each other, Ginny.

And you kissed me.

But then someone dragged you away from me. You screamed and tried to hit the person at the same time as you tried to keep holding onto me. You screamed that they couldn't take me. And I knew what was going on. My side had retreated, forgotten me. Maybe they had thought I was dead. Maybe they were sorry about it.

Maybe they weren't.

But it didn't matter. When I saw you, screaming, trying to get away from your brother and Potter, I knew that all that mattered was you.

And you screamed when they came to take me to Azkaban. You cried. And they looked horrified at you. They didn't understand you. They couldn't understand how you could love me. I don't understand it either, Ginny.

But I wanted to tell you that I loved you. I yelled. Screamed. And fought against them. And somehow I came free. I grasped your hand.

"I love you," I said. "Promise me..."

But they took me again, and this time I didn't fight against them. I just looked at you when they dragged me away. You had also stopped fighting. You stood there, wrapped in you dark, brown cloak, holding your pale hands in front of your breast, so proud and so strong. Your eyes were big and red rimmed. Tears were silently falling from them. But you had never looked more beautiful too me. Never, Ginny.

"Promise me..." I started yelling again, but one of the Aurors hit me in the stomach and I winced.

But I think you knew what I wanted you to promise me.

Promise me to live, Ginny. For my sake. For Zoe's sake. For our unborn child's sake. But most of all, Ginny, for your own sake.

Promise me that you will be happy, Ginny. Promise me that!

And then I heard your words. So low and still so strong. Like a whisper in my ear.

And my heart broke.

"I promise..."