And We Go On

Harry Potter stood in sillhouette on the other side of the room, sitting in the simple, wooden chair with one foot planted on an old school trunk, his head in his hands. He swept his hands back so that his fingers ran through his hair and said, "You know it isn't as easy as all that, Ginny." His voice was far away, as though they were on opposite ends of the world, and he had not yet looked up to meet his wife's eyes. "I have to go, Gin, and you know that," he said. "This whole time, I've always had to go."

"Then I'll go with you," Ginny said, her voice seeming to bounce off of every object in their tiny bedroom. "You're not going to go out there without me, Harry, and you can't stop me going."

Harry finally looked up at her and his green eyes swept over her brown ones gently, lovingly. He didn't have the strong, courageous look that he normally carried when he spoke of fighting in the final battle. The light from a single lantern cast worried shadows in his eyes and he said, "I know I can't stop you, Ginny, but I wish you would consider staying here with Livvy, isntead."

"Mum can take care of Olivia for me," Ginny said softly, determined not to be talked out of coming. "The girl is nearly five years old, Harry, and she takes after her father," she added with a soft smile. "She can already take care of herself."

Harry made a small noise in the back of his throat, remembering how he'd had to care for himself those years that he was under the thumb of his aunt and uncle. Harry nodded slowly and finally conceded, "Fine, then. It's settled." He got up from the wooden seat and stepped wholly into the light of the fire.

Ginny's breath caught in her throat at the sight of her husband standing there and gathed close to her all the changes that had taken place since he'd left Hogwarts after Dumbledore had died. His hair had become more cooperative, but only because it had become limp and lank under stress. The lightning bolt scar that had made him famous was no long a small undersight. It had somehow grown more defined over the past few years, and darker, standing out dramatically against his still-pale skin. His eyes were as vibrantly green as ever, though the age lines that had prematurely touched the corners showed how much he had grown past his actual age. His wand never left his hand anymore, not even while he was sleeping. The time of the Death Eaters had fallen over the world and everyone had to be prepared for anything.

Harry touched Ginny's cheek softly, smiled, and kissed her gently on the forehead and said, "I'm going to have a bit of pumpkin juice in the kitchen, darling." He left the room and walked down the unlit hallway of the Order of the Phoenix Head Quarters to a smaller room where Olivia was. He stepped inside and walked to his daughter's bedside, pulling up a small stool to sit next to her. He touched her long, black hair and the girl stirred in her sleep. "'Sit mornin' yet?" she asked sleepily.

Harry smiled and said, "No, not yet, Livvy-love." Whispering now, he told her, "I've come to tell you a secret, my sweet. Can you keep a secret?" The small girl nodded and Harry leaned forward to whisper something in her ear that made her smile and said, "I love you, daddy."

"I love you, too, Livvy-love," Harry said and kissed her hair and quietly stepped out of her room once more. He closed his eyes and stood in the hallway, wand in hand and said to himself, "I have to do something." He took a deep breath, let it go in a rush, and pointed his wand at the door to Ginny's room, flicking it twice and thinking, Anti-Apparatum!

He walked to the door and tested it before he was satisfied that no one would be able to enter or leave the room unless Harry released the curse or... was killed. Harry closed his mind against such thoughts just as the door handle began to jiggle, slightly at first, and then violently as Ginny became aware what her husband had done. "Harry!" She shouted at the door. "Let me out at once!"

Harry placed the palm of his hand on the door, resting his forehead on the wood and said, "I'm sorry, Ginny, but I can't let Olivia to grow up without at least one of us. I..." he paused before deciding that he needed to leave or he'd change his mind. "I love you," he finished, and walked away.

With all of her might, Ginny beat her fists against the door of her room and screamed, "Harry! Harry, come back!" She stood back from the door and began firing every curse she knew at the door, but it absorbed it as though she were throwing nothing more than water on it. She fell to her knees helplessly and banged the palms of her hands on the door, breaking down into tears. "Harry..."

A pair of hands with long, bony fingers grabbed handfuls of Ginny's dressed gown and vilently began rocking her back and forth. The woman sprang awake and grabbed the wrists of those hand, ready to defend herself when a small voice said, "Mommy, you were screaming in your sleep again."

Ginny's eyes met Olivia's and she calmed down after a moment. It had been ten years since Harry left them and Olivia looked more like her father every day. Ginny slipped her fingers into Olivia's hair and said, "I didn't mean to frighten you, Livvy-love. Go back to sleep, okay?"

Olivia smiled sweetly at her mother and said, "All right." But, instead of going back to her own room, Olivia climbed into bed with her mother and snuggled close. Words weren't necessary anymore; there was only a mother and a daughter. Ginny wrapped and arm around her daughter's waist and placed her head back on the pillow, falling asleep once more.