Slip, Recover, Laugh, Let It Go

He tried to lift his frozen eyelids. Another step... come on. He seemed to have no legs. He had to go on, he had to. Everything depended on his returning safely. He tried to lift his feet, to keep walking. They were so heavy, he just wanted to lie down and sleep. The snow swirled around him, the wind biting at him, through him. He tried to grip the large, ornately carved locket in his robe pocket for reassurance, but he couldn't even feel it, as his fingers were numb to the bone with cold.

The sleet cut his face, the howling wind making him stumble. Suddenly a chunk of ice fell from the sky and hit him on the face. He could vaguely feel something wet and warmer than the ice trickling down his cheek. He put a hand to his face, and held it in front of his eyes. He could see blood on his finger, but merely wiped it on his robes and pressed on. He was determined to reach his destination. He thought longingly of Apparating, but the area was bewitched with an Anti-Apparition Jinx for miles. Glancing behind him, he saw an endless trail of footprints: his own. He knew he must he getting close to a point where he could Apparate. He hoped.

His foot caught on a particularly thick clump and he stumbled again. He grit his teeth and moved on. Suddenly he slipped, falling hard. Hard? He glanced around, and saw that he was in the middle of a frozen lake. The ice was thickly covered by snow, otherwise he would have seen it coming. He tried to stand, but couldn't. It felt so lovely to just lie here, on the snow that wasn't cold anymore. He heard a deep, resounding crack deep beneath him, and felt a vague tremor of concern, but then it was whisked away with the wind. Another loud crack. It sounded as though something was making the ice break.

He couldn't think anymore. Even if he could, he didn't care. He was so comfortable, he didn't even care when the position of the ice beneath his shifted, so that it was slanted with his head facing the solid gray sky. He gradually noticed, but didn't mind in the slightest, that his feet were becoming soaked. Everything was blacking out, he couldn't see, hear, or feel anything.

The last thing he was conscious of was sliding down, down, down.

*

He awoke to more cracking, but with this came warmth and comfort, not cold. He was lying on a soft pillow, and was covered with a beautifully embroidered blanket. His eyes snapped open. He was in a small, nondescript shack that reminded him forcibly of the Shrieking Shack in Hogsmeade. He recalled the time he first met Sirius, the supposed murderer, who turned out to be not a criminal, but a source of comfort, almost like a parent. Remembering his godfather, he swallowed hard. Now was not the time.

He opened his eyes and looked around. Someone who looked very relieved, with a lightly freckled face and long, fiery red hair looked back at him.

"Ginny? What... how...?"

"Shh!" She shushed him, looking as though all her dreams had come true at once. "Don't try to talk just yet."

She went to the other side of the room, returned with a hot cup of tea, and ordered him to drink it. He did so, staring into the fire absentmindedly. He suddenly looked up and smiled broadly. Ginny was here. It was all right. She knelt down by the bed he was resting on.

"I didn't know... if you... it was really close... you almost... I thought you were..."

He set his mug of tea down on a small table nearby, and took both her hands in his.

"I told you I'd never leave you. I told you I'd always come back to you. You didn't think I'd break my word, did you?"

"Oh, Harry... anything could have happened!"

"It's all right."

She kissed him gently. He knew he loved her deeply with every beat of his heart. Rising, she went over to add a log to the fire. On her way back to the bed she picked up a second pillow and blanket that had been lying on the floor. She had obviously been sleeping on the hearth rug, waiting for him to wake up. She put her pillow down next to his and draped the blanket over herself.

"Where are we? How did you get here? What happened? Why...?"

"Slow down there, Harry!" Ginny smiled. "I don't know the exact name of this place, but it was lucky I found it. I tested it with some spells after I brought you here, and nobody's lived here for hundreds of years. I don't know how the thing stayed so clean! As to how you got here, I found you. I was so worried about you, I decided to meet you as you were coming back, if you were coming back. When I saw you fall, I tried to catch you, but the ice was cracking. I saw you slide in and I was so scared for you! I had to get back to shore so I wouldn't fall in myself, then I magicked you out. I knew this place was here because it was calling to me. It seemed to know we were in danger. Nothing's broken, thank God. I got you out just in time. Did you get it?"

Harry started. He had completely forgotten about the locket, the Horcrux he had retrieved. He took it out of his pocket and showed it to Ginny. She traced her finger around the intricate S on the cover.

"Is it safe?" she asked. He grinned, and nodded.

Ginny's face lit up with happiness. "So it was worth it. It wasn't like with... you know..."

Harry's face fell slightly. He felt another pang at the loss of one of his dearest mentors. Ginny saw him.

"Dumbledore would have been proud."

He smiled again. He put the locket on the table next to his now-empty mug of tea, and lay down completely. Ginny followed suit, draping her blanket over him as well. He drew her close, their arms around each other, his lips against her hair, too tired to do anything else except hold her to him. His love for her was absolute, they both knew it. She lifted her chin, and kissed him gently again. They were asleep within minutes.

Outside, it watched them, snickering to itself at the thought of what the boy would do or think when his love was gone.