AN: This story begins where DH ends. This is the first fanfic I wrote.

Edit : fixed a few spelling mistakes pointed out by potterfanchuck, thanks a lot by the way, I must have overlooked them while re-reading.

Going on

After he had discussed what he intended to do about the Hallows with Professor Dumbledore, Harry walked down the deserted hallways, passed the heavy entrance doors, one of which had been unhinged at one point during battle, and into the grounds. Ron and Hermione had gone back to the Great Hall, on his demand. He wanted - he needed - to do this by himself.

The evening was clear, and it was warm outside, even though he was only wearing a light shirt under his Invisibility Cloak. It seemed to him as if the whole world was at peace; there wasn't a sound, and he felt utterly relaxed for the first time in what seemed like years. Heck, it had probably been years since he had truly completely relaxed, except maybe for the few precious moments he had had alone with Ginny last year, during which everything else just seemed to fade away. Last year, he thought. It felt like so long ago, and yet so close. And all at once the peace was gone.

He felt a sudden pang of sadness as he thought of Ginny, followed quickly by pain and guilt as he pictured her, holding Mrs. Weasley next to Fred's body. Everything came back flowing into his mind. The shock of Lupin's and Tonks's deaths, the disappearance of his father's last living friend. Fred, Colin and all the others lying in the Great Hall, all those who gave their lives to put an end to Voldemort's - to Riddle's. There was no more Voldemort, Harry thought, and that comforted him, somehow. The fact that their sacrifice hadn't been in vain made it easier to bear.

And yet some part of him felt like he should be lying there, next to them. It just seemed so unnatural that he should be alive while others lay dead when he himself had thought he wouldn't come back from the forest.

That last thought brought him back to Ginny and, mixed with the pain and sadness, came great happiness. He realized how easily it could have been her lying there on the ground instead of Fred. Another wave of guilt washed over him. He was actually relieved it was Fred's body and not hers, and the thought disgusted him.

No one should have died tonight, he thought. Except for Riddle.

His friends' death hurt. A lot. It was the worst feeling he had ever known. But the pain he could cope with. As long as Ginny was there, he would always cope, eventually. And Ron. And Hermione. They both had been his first friends.

He knew that if it had been Ginny it would have destroyed him – the thought of it only twisted his stomach with fear. He had come back to life for her. He had won this war for her, for them. But there was no them anymore, he had made sure of that eight months ago. Harry needed to talk to her and vowed to do so after he finished what he had come to do.

He had been standing before the majestic white marble tomb for quite a while, thinking, when he snapped out of it. It was still cracked down the middle. Harry took off his Cloak, reached for the Elder Wand in his pocket, and put it to rest with its rightful owner.

Sadness overcame him once again standing there, as he thought back to the bitterness he had felt towards his former Headmaster on their adventure. He understood him better know, however, and felt childish for those feelings he had had.

"I'm sorry, Professor." He whispered.

"Don't be." Came the unexpected reply from behind him. He started and swiftly turned round, holding his wand aloft, only to spot Ginny, standing a few feet away from him. She seemed all right enough, and despite her reddened eyes and her grubby clothes from the battle, Harry thought she was beautiful. He instantly lowered his guard, somewhat relieved. He would have to work on not expecting everyone around to attack him.

"You don't know what I'm talking about." Harry chuckled. Seeing her heightened his spirits immediately, and he found he was smiling in spite of himself.

Before he could ask anything else, she threw herself in his arms, crying and hitting him with each sob. He didn't know what to do so he just let her calm down.

When she stopped pounding away, he took her shoulders and asked:

"Ginny… what's wrong?"

"I-I thought you were d-dead! I hate you! How could you pretend to be dead? Do you have any idea what went through my head?"

He had. He had had nightmares about it. He had just imagined it a few minutes earlier. He held her against him and wrapped his arms around her back, one hand stroking her head.

"I do. And I'm sorry. I had to do it. If I hadn't he just would have killed me again and-" Her head shot back up.

"What? What do you mean again?"

"I'll tell you everything, I promise, later. How did you know I was here? I had my cloak coming down."

"Did Hermione or Ron tell you?" He continued.

"No, they said they didn't know." A slight frown came across her face but quickly vanished.

"I had a hunch."

"Oh really?" He smiled. "Is that your girlfriend's sixth sense?" He stopped abruptly as Ginny gasped and let go of him. Damn! Think before you speak Potter! He cursed inwardly.

'I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to… I guess we have to talk about that. I know I hurt you and treated you like a little girl and I shouldn't have and I'm sorry." He blurted out.

"No, you shouldn't have!... A whole year! For a whole year I had no idea where you were or if you had been caught or I if you even were alive! I was worried sick, and that's without mentioning the hell it's been here with Snape and the Carrows!" Her eyes brimmed with unshed tears.

Harry just stood there, and took it. She was right, of course she was. But he did not regret leaving her at Hogwarts, at least not now that he knew Snape was really keeping an eye on them all.

"And I was stuck here doing nothing while you were away adventuring with my brother and Hermione, I bet you were too busy to even think of me! Who do you th–"

"Ginny!" She stopped. The look in his emerald eyes was one of pain, mainly, but behind the pain she could see regret, guilt, and love.

"I will explain everything. I already promised you that. And don't think I believe for a second life here was easy. I've been selfish. I wanted to know you were safe – well, not safe, more like not under an immediate death threat – here rather than risking your life out there. Same thing happened when I wanted you to stay out of the battle. I couldn't have been more wrong; I can see that know. Ginny, I'm so sorry."

"And there's something you should know about Snape. He was keeping a lookout for you, all of you. He wasn't Riddle's after all. Dumbledore had been right. He asked Snape to kill him; he didn't have much time left before his injury killed him anyway. He did it to protect Malfoy. Snape has always been on our side, ever since Riddle murdered my mom. He died today, killed by Riddle. He left me his memories, that's how I know. Dumbledore was right all along…" The thought saddened him, and she could tell. She took his hand.

"Harry, I…"

"You didn't know. I know, it's my entire fault. And, for the record, I have been thinking of you. Every evening on my shifts I would take out the Marauder's Map and stare at your dot in your dorm."

"Some good lookout you must have been." She joked, and they both smiled.

"Walk with me?" He asked, and she nodded.

"Aren't you going to fix that?" She asked as they began walking to the lake, tilting her head towards Albus Dumbledore's grave.

"Oh, right. I forgot about that." He blushed. "Reparo". The white marble repaired itself and the tomb was once again its splendid self.

They walked for a bit along the lake, still holding hands. Peace engulfed Harry once more, but he knew he owed it to her to tell her everything. She had been the one to keep him going, after all. So he started talking. He told her about Tottenham Court Road, about the forest where the Quidditch world cup had taken place, about Kreacher's tale and the Ministry, about Ron walking out on them and how he didn't blame him anymore, about Snape's Patronus, the Sword and the Horcruxes. He recounted their "trip" at Malfoy Manor and their stay at Bill's and Fleur's place, their raid into Gringotts. He even told her about the Tale of the Three Brothers and the Deathly Hallows and how his father's Cloak had been one of them all along. He told her about the Elder Wand. He told her about the Snitch and the Resurrection Stone, how his parents and Sirius and Lupin had been there with him as he walked towards his fate. All this time Ginny hadn't spoken a word, carefully listening, tightening her grip on his hand as he told his tale. After a moment of silence went by, she spoke.

"There's something you aren't telling me. You said if you hadn't faked death, he would have killed you again. What about that?" He heard her voice wavering and knew this was the part of the story she had been most anxious to hear. He took a deep breath and braced himself. I promised her the whole story. He told himself.

"I-I was a Horcrux. It happened when he tried to kill me when I was a baby." She gasped. "He hadn't intended to make me one. When I went into the forest, I thought I was walking to death. I had told Neville what to do, to finish the job. Kill Nagini, then Voldemort. When I arrived at their hideout, He killed me. I didn't try to fight, I knew I had to die in order for him to be mortal again."

He then began narrating his conversation with Dumbledore at King's Cross. Whether it had been real or not, he didn't know. It did not matter.

"I could have gone on, Dumbledore told me I had the choice, that I had suffered enough for one lifetime. It was tempting. I would have been able to see my father, and my mother, and Sirius, and Lupin and Tonks and Fred and… And everyone again." The sudden realization of how many people Harry had lost suddenly hit her. He had lost many friends, and his whole family. No, she thought resolutely, he still has a family. We are his family now, if he still wants us to be.

"But then I… I thought of you, and it all seemed worthwhile, going back, finishing the job, and suffering some more. It all wouldn't matter at the end of the day if you were there, and I decided to come back." He proceeded to tell her how he had been lying there, how Narcissa Malfoy had saved his life, how Hagrid carried him out, sobbing, and the rest she knew.

"Dumbledore was right." I seem to be saying that a lot lately, he joked to himself, and he regretted ever doubting him. "I did have a power the Dark Lord knew not. Love. My mother. You. I would have died when I was one year old if it hadn't been for my mom, and I probably wouldn't have come back if it hadn't been for you. Being able to picture a future with you is what convinced me of coming back. I'm so very sorry for all the mistakes I have made, I can't make them right, and all I can do is never make them again – if you'd still want to be… I mean –"

She cut him as her lips found his and her arms wrapped around him, one of her hands entangled in his messy hair. And he kissed her back, a hand in her flaring hair, the other wound around her waist. It was more than passion. They needed to feel the other was there; they needed to release the pressure that had built up during the past year. Bliss engulfed Harry. And it wasn't just because the girl of his dreams was right there in his arms, kissing him, it had really felt good to be able to talk to someone freely, without restraint. He knew it had probably been foolish, and he couldn't start imagining how Mad-Eye would have reacted if he knew Harry had confided the Wizarding World's best kept and most potentially dangerous secrets to a sixteen year-old girl.

But Harry didn't care. He was sure of this, of her. They stood there kissing and feeling for what seemed like days, and yet it still felt like too soon when she finally broke the kiss.

"Harry, we should really get back to the castle, before anyone notices we're not there anymore. They'd go crazy if their hero had disappeared." She teased. He grimaced.

"Don't call me that. I'm no more a hero than Ron, Hermione, Neville or you, or anyone who fought tonight."

"I'm sure everyone else would beg to disagree with you on that one. I disagree, my hero." Harry frowned again but let it go when he saw that spark in her eyes. It's a sight he hadn't seen often, only during the few carefree moments they'd had last year. It was a look of love, and happiness, and joy.

At that point, nothing mattered anymore, but Ginny and him, and as he kissed her again, he felt the single most amazing feeling he ever had felt so far. He couldn't describe it. It was utter happiness, carelessness, bliss and abandonment, and yet it was so much more than that. He thought his heart would explode.

At that point, Ginny thought she would just melt into him and could let the whole world go to hell if it had to. She wanted him. She needed him. And she could feel he wanted her, too. She slid her hands under his shirt and started exploring his chest and his back.

Harry wasn't sure what to do. He was torn between the burning desire to slide his own hands under her jumper and the fear of crossing a line he shouldn't cross. He had already made too many mistakes with Ginny, and didn't want to make another one. Soon he felt the frustration in her kiss so he chanced it and carefully placed one hand on her bare back, under her sweater and left it there, afraid to go too far.

Then, suddenly, Ginny arched her hips against his, sending a jolt of pleasure through his whole body. Taking that as a signal, as her permission, he slid his second hand under her top and started roaming over her skin.

Soon they were on the ground, Harry was bare-chested and Ginny was lying on top of him, kissing his collarbone while he caressed her back and hair. He turned them over and worked his way down from her forehead to her nose, lips and ears and he kissed her along her jaw line down to where her neck met her shoulder and lingered there, all the while unfastening the buttons of her blouse. Her pull over had been discarded along with his t-shirt a long time ago.

Not before long, Harry lay there on top of her, his weight balanced on his elbows and knees, looking down at her, in her bra and jeans. She was blushing, looking away self-consciously.

"I love it when you do that." He said, rather hoarsely.

"Do what?" She blushed an even deeper red.

"That." He smiled. "When you blush." He gently took her chin and turned her gaze to him. "Don't look away," He soothed, "you are beautiful."

He played with her belly button, tickling her. She squirmed under him, tears of laughter soon glistening in the corner of her eyes.

"Stop that!" She laughed, but she retaliated before too long, poking his sides until finally he was the one being pinned down, Ginny straddling him and tickling away.

"A-All right, all right, you win! Cut it out!" He wiped his own tears away as he recovered his breath. They stayed like that, staring at each other in silence, but it was comfortable.

"Harry –"

"Ginny –"

They both laughed.

"You go first." She said.

"Okay." He stared deeply in her eyes and spoke, almost inaudibly.

"I love you."

And then she was lying on top of him once more, kissing, and her hands were on his face and in his hair. Finally she broke the kiss and spoke.

"I love you Harry."

He sat up, Ginny still straddling him, this time he was kissing her. When they broke apart once again, it seemed like the world couldn't be a better place, but they knew they would soon enough have to return to the castle and face the sorrow and despair that the final battle had cast upon everyone.

"You've never actually told me that before." Ginny spoke. Her voice was full of emotion.

"I know. It just felt… right."

"I know." She chuckled blissfully.

"What were you going to say, by the way?" Harry asked, remembering what had happened before their lengthy snogging session.

She quickly and profusely blushed at his question.

"Erm… N-Nothing that can't wait" She answered, looking away, still blushing.

"Come on, what? No more secrets now we don't have any to keep." He was trying to lock her gaze with his.

"I – well I –" Harry had never seen her blush so hard. She was looking away, then at him and at her, into his eyes and then quickly away again. She exhaled and then locked her brown eyes with his green ones, looking much more resolute than before, still blushing madly though.

"Make love to me, Harry."

His throat felt dry and his breath caught. Did Ginny really ask what he thought she did? He wanted to. Heck, he'd thought about that on a regular basis for almost two years. He gazed into her chocolate pupils and, shoving all second thoughts in the back of his mind, he kissed her passionately.

For the second time that night they forgot about everyone and everything else, it was just the two of them. He laid her down under him and reached for her bra clasp, quickly becoming frustrated with the white piece of fabric, and he was on the verge of just tearing it apart when she reached for his hands, pushed them aside and undid the clasp herself.

He dispatched the bra aside and took her in for a moment, earning himself another one of those blushes he loved so much. He lowered his lips down to hers, moved to her cheek, then her ear and whispered.

"I love it when you blush. It turns me on, you know." She blushed an even deeper red at his statement, and he grinned.

What Ginny whispered in his ear however made him blush even redder than she did.

"Who's blushing now?" She grinned evilly. "And I was here thinking only Weasleys could turn that shade of red." She teased.

Harry moved down her jaw line and lingered on her neck, leaving a love bite there before he continued southwards, nibbling her breast all the while undoing the button of her jeans, earning himself a couple of gasps on his way.

She was in her underwear and busy undoing his zipper when they heard Hagrid bellowing from the castle.

"HARRY! GINNY!"

They started and looked up, noticing a dozen lit-up wand tips around the castle.

"Crap! What time is it?" Harry asked.

"I don't know. Get dressed!" She replied.

They'd barely finished dressing back up when Hagrid, Ron and Hermione arrived within eyesight. The collar of Ginny's blouse was messy under her sweater and her hair looked even more dishevelled than it had been after the fight. Harry didn't want to think what his hair looked like. He knew they weren't fooling anyone when he noticed Hagrid's and Hermione's rather amused faces, and Ron's unreadable one.

Apparently remembering why they were there, Hagrid became suddenly more serious.

"Wha' do yeh think yer doin', sneakin' out like tha' all by yerselves, an' not warnin' anyone? It's still dangerous ou' there yeh know! Some o' the Death Eaters got away! Fer all we know, they could still be here, in the woods! We searched the whole bloody castle fer yeh!"

"I – We're sorry, we hadn't really thought of that." He looked down, ashamed of himself. He knew Hagrid was right. He had let the euphoria of the moment get the better of him.

"Oh, please, the last place those Death Eaters want to be is here. Those who got away ran for it! They saw You-Know – Riddle die in front of them! We know who they are; their only chance is to go into hiding! And you can't tell me you expected us to pop in, telling you "see you later! We're just going out snogging for a bit", did you?"

Harry could tell she was upset at them for interrupting them, but he didn't know if he minded. It was probably for the best; he didn't want their first time to happen like that, on the border of a lake at night (actually, that part he liked) while everyone else was mourning their lost ones.

"Yeah. Right. You were just going out snogging for a bit, were you? I s'pose that's how your clothes look like they've been quickly put back on." Ron spat.

"Ron!" Came Hermione.

The bitterness and acidity in Ron's voice surprised Harry. He thought they'd gone over this last year. A frown crossed his face, as the surprise became annoyance and slight anger. This was none of his business, whether Ginny was his sister or not. He was about to say something, but Ginny beat him to it.

"What I do with Harry is none of your business, Ronald! Harid, I am sorry we worried you, but I don't regret sneaking out. I needed it. We both needed it." She turned back to Ron and spat out "You big ugly prat!" Then she swiftly walked back to the castle.

"What?" Ron looked stunned. He turned to Harry and spoke, "What did she mean, you needed it? What's it? Did you…" He was tomato-red and looked on the verge of exploding.

"Ron, you're my best mate, but there are limits. Butt out or I'll hex your bits into next week. If Ginny doesn't get to you first, that is." He ran after Ginny, trying to catch up with her.

"Oi! Potter! Come back here!" He shouted after him and made to follow him, but Hermione stopped him from doing so.

"Ron! Stop it! What is the matter with you? You were okay with them seeing each other last year!"

"Well, I-ah better be goin'. See yeh Hermione, Ron." Hagrid said as he walked away awkwardly. Ron and Hermione carried on as if he hadn't said a thing.

"What does he think he's doing? He thinks he can just pop back up and take back from where he stopped? He broke her heart, Hermione! And – And she's my sister in the name of Merlin!"

"Really Ronald! Don't you think Ginny knows all that? Don't you think she has given it some thought? And you know as well as I do he didn't have a choice but to leave Ginny behind. How would you have reacted if he'd told you Ginny was coming with us?"

"I – well – I'd've said no." He mumbled.

"Exactly. Ginny's old enough to be able to make her own decisions, and for God's sake, Ron, Harry's your best friend!"

"Yeah, but… Ginny's my sister, Hermione! I'm supposed to protect her from stuff like this!"

"Ginny is perfectly able to take care of herself, don't you think she has proven so by now?"

Ron remained silent so she went on.

"Believe me, Ron, all you are going to do is set them up against you, and you don't want that, do you? And I'm pretty sure Harry was serious about hexing your bits if you can't keep your nose out of their business… And I definitely wouldn't put it past Ginny to do so." She teased.

"You've got to trust them. They're family. If you can't trust them, who can you trust, Ron?" He seemed to have relaxed a bit, so she decided she could risk the tease.

"Plus, I wouldn't want Harry to hex your bits off, I still have plans for them." She grinned and Ron blushed that characteristic Weasley shade of red.

"Seriously, Hermione, can't you keep it in your pants?" He grinned back at her and she hit him playfully on the arm as they walked back, hand in hand, to the castle.

"Wait," He added as he saw Harry and Ginny in the distance, "let's take a detour."

"Honestly, Ron, you can't avoid them for the rest of your life."

"I know. I just want to let them speak, alone." A shadow of a smile crept up his face as he watched them in the distance. Hermione smiled as she saw him like that. He'll be okay with them, she thought, eventually.

"Sure, Ron." She answered.

"Ginny!"

Harry had finally caught up with her and grabbed her wrist to turn her towards him as she stormed to the oaken doors. She gave in to the hug he was offering and buried her head under his chin as he held her.

"I'm sorry I lost my temper back there, it's just… I knew Ron was going to be like that and I can't stand him while he's being such a prat about us!"

"You know he means well, but I can't blame you for losing control, you weren't the only one." He chuckled.

"What? You stood up ton Ron about me? You were always so afraid of what he thought about you dating me!" She seemed amused.

"Yeah, well… I kind of possibly might have threatened to hex his bits off if he kept sticking his nose into our business. Sort of." He blushed. She was laughing now.

"Harry James Potter! Don't you dare touch my brother's bits!" She scowled at him. "They're mine to hex off!" She had that evil grin on her face.

And they began kissing again, until Hagrid arrived and told them to get inside or he would go and get Professor McGonagall to reel them in. Not wanting that to happen, they reluctantly made their way to the Entrance Hall with him.

There, they suffered a painfully long lecture from Professor McGonagall before they were allowed to go and sleep. They slowly made their way up to the Gryffindor Common Room where they shared a last good night snog before being yet again interrupted by Ron and Hermione. Shooting daggers at Ron, Ginny went up the Girls' Dormitory stairs with Hermione while Harry and Ron went up to their own old dorm room. On their way up, Ron stopped Harry to talk.

"Listen, mate, I'm sorry about earlier, I kinda freaked out when I saw… You know…" His face was red.

"It's all right mate, I get it. You're going to have more trouble convincing Ginny though" He grinned wickedly at Ron's fearful expression. "Let's get to bed, I think it must almost be dawn."

"Yeah, it is, didn't you see the time pass by?"

"I never do, Ron, I never do" He smiled as his mind drifted back to Ginny as he sat down on his good old four-poster bed.

"Mate?"

"Hmm?"

"Stop thinking of my sister like that, I can tell from the look in your eyes, you know?"

"Accepting your apology doesn't mean I don't stand by what I said about your bits, you know that, right?"

"I know." He grumbled. "'Still doesn't mean I like it."

Before long, Harry heard Ron snoring in his bed. They'd have to deal with everything tomorrow, he thought, and he fell asleep, dreaming of the redheaded girl he loved so much. There's no way in Hell he'd ever tell Ron that.

Sure, things weren't going to be easy, but somehow he knew they would end up being okay, it would just take time to heal from their losses.

AN: Well, there you are, I hope you enjoyed it! I might end up carrying this one on, sometime. Right now, though, I'm pleased the way it is. Constructive criticism is always helpful. :)