Carry This Picture

Carry This Picture

* * *

And meet me at quarter to seven

The sun will still shine then, at this time of year

We'll head to the inlet. And we'll share a bottle there.

* * *

Ginny parked her car, a silver Toyota Camry. It was nothing fancy, but it got her around. She got out of the car, her sandals sinking into the Florida sand.

Ah, Florida. After the war ended--nearly two years ago, Ginny sank into a deep depression. Harry Potter--the love of her life. He finally managed to defeat Voldemort, but he lost his life, too. She just couldn't shake it off. Every little thing around her only reminded her more of him, making it infinitely worse.

Upon Hermione's urging, she headed to Florida, a childhood dream of hers. Harry's will had left his money to the Weasleys and the Order, so she had enough to make the trip. She desperately needed a change of scene. After a year, the wondrous atmosphere of Florida and the healing magic of time helped pull her out of her depression, and allowed her to move on. After all, Harry would have wanted her to be happy.

She got a job in the American Muggles-Wizards Relations Department. Ginny was like her father in many ways. She kept in touch with her family through owls and visits. They knew that she couldn't come back for good--there were just too many painful memories. Besides, she wryly thought, I love the sun and the beach too much to leave. She smiled.

America was also nice because she didn't have people swooning all over her. People feeling sorry for her all the time, because she was a war hero and the late Harry Potter's girlfriend. I mean, people I barely knew were acting like we're best friends or something. It was crazy, she thought. It was a great relief from having to put up a false front to deal with it. Jake always liked the truth; he couldn't stand lies.

She'd met Jake through her job. They were involved in testing a special new program in hopes of repairing Magic/Muggle relations. It was called Culture Swap. A Muggle was paired up with a Wizard. The wizard introduced the Muggle to the Magical world, while the Muggle introduced the Wizard to their world. Only certain Muggles, selected as being open to magic, were allowed into the program. So far, it was proving to be a success. There were 50 pairs currently, with more Muggles being found daily.

Ginny had been partnered with Jake. She had great fun teaching him about the magical world. She loved his child-like wonder when she took him to the Burrow. Fred and George found their American partner at last. Ginny smiled at the memory. They made a great pair and soon fell in love.

They'd been dating for three months, and Jake asked Ginny to meet him at the beach that night. She hurried down the beach. She ran to him, and jumped up into his arms.

* * *

And down to the edge of the water,

Where we'll spill our guts,

And we'll name our fears. I'll give you this picture

Keep it and don't be scared.

* * *

"I love the beach, especially at sunset."

Ginny marvelled at the crimson colours splashed across the sky.

Jake smiled at her open awe.

"Yeah, it sure is nice, isn't it?" he replied.

They headed down to the water and walked along side it. Their feet sunk in the sand; their shoes lay scattered on the pier.

Ginny turned to him. His face was lit up in the fading light. His blue eyes bore into hers.

"Jake, I want to tell you something. I--This was in my past, and although I don't like talking about it, I--I want you to know," she said hesitantly.

"Okay," he said, placing his hands on her shoulders as if in hopes of stabilizing her emotionally.

"Well, you know I'm from England."

He nodded.

"Just over two years ago there was a huge fight in the Wizarding world in England. Oh, wait, I'm getting ahead of my self, I'll start at the beginning. About 20 years ago, a dark Wizard who called himself 'Lord Voldemort' tried to take over the Wizarding world--him and his band of loyal followers, they called themselves 'Death Eaters'."

"Pleasant name," he said sarcastically.

"Oh, very pleasant," she replied. "Anyway, they wanted to get rid of all non-pure blood wizards. That meant killing Muggles, too." She paused for a breath.

"Wow, that sounds kind of like Hitler," Jake commented.

"Yeah, sort of. Voldemort and his Death Eaters murdered many using 'Avada Kedavra'--the Killing Curse. It is one of the Unforgivable Curses, all of which are illegal. Only one person ever survived this curse--Harry Potter. He was only a baby, but the love of his parents, who died protecting him, saved his life. It defeated Voldemort. Well, not defeated him just weakened him so badly that it took him many years to recover."

"Wow," Jake said. It was hard for him to absorb this, hearing it all at once like this.

"You see Harry Potter was my boyfriend." She took a deep breath. "Shortly after we finished at Hogwarts, the war began. This was very serious, and was intended to be the last fight. It was a hard war, with many casualties on both sides. Harry killed Voldemort, but then the last remaining Death Eater killed Harry." She sobbed then continued.

"Lucius Malfoy was lying beside me on the floor. If I had raised my wand a just little faster..." she trailed off into sobs.

"Sssh, it's going to be all right. You did all you could. Harry sure was lucky to have someone like you, even if it was only for a little while," Jake tried to comfort the distraught Ginny.

She hadn't talked about it since it happened, and all the emotions were flooding back over her again.

"Oh, I really screwed things up!" she sobbed into his shoulder, as she misinterpreted his pause. "Now you're gonna think I'm still pining away for him, and I'm not... Oh, I just wanted to be honest with you."

He smiled, "Oh, Ginny, I wouldn't think that."

"Really?" She pulled her face out from his shoulder and looked up at him with a tear-streaked face.

"Of course," he replied.

"I am over him. That's why I came here. You see, after he died I was very depressed. Everything back home reminded me of him. People tried to tell me that they knew how I felt, but they couldn't. How could anybody possibly know how I feel? Well, I knew that I needed a change of scene if I was ever to get over him. So I came here. I'd always wanted to go to America." She smiled slightly. "Time helped, and I was able to move on, and fall in love with you," she continued.

Jake responded with a kiss.

After a few minutes, Ginny pulled back and said, "So, you're not mad?"

"Nah, why would I be mad? We can't change our past, all we can do is affect the present."

"That's absolutely lovely," she replied. "Did your friend Mike write that for you?" she added, with a mischievous smile.

"Well, he did. How did you possibly guess?" he replied, dumbstruck.

"It sounded too eloquent for you to have come up with all on your own," Ginny replied, which resulted in her being chased across the beach.

When Jake finally caught her, he reached inside his pocket and pulled out a silver heart locket suspended on a chain.

"Ginny, this is for you," he said

She gently opened the locket. Inside, she found a picture of Jake.

"This way, I'll always be with you, no matter where you are."

Ginny just didn't know how to respond to that, so she did the only thing she could. She kissed him. Now, she had two guys watching over her. She felt doubly blessed.

* * *

Carry this picture for luck. Kept in a locket,

Tucked in your collar, close to your chest.

Make it a secret, shown to the closest friends.

* * *

Harry looked down on them from up above and smiled. Ginny's finally happy, he thought. That's all I ever wanted for her. Ginny looked up at the sky and smiled.

"What is it?" Jake asked her.

"Oh, it's Harry. I can feel him watching us. He's happy." She sighed contentedly.

Jake didn't think she was crazy. He just held her in his arms. He too knew, what it was like to love and lose someone. As they strolled down the beach, he told her.

* * *

And colour the coast with your smile

It's the most genuine thing I've ever seen.

I was so lost, but now, I believe.

* * *