Disclaimer:

Nothing is mine. Harry Potter (the Weasley family and so on) belongs to JKR and those who publish her books. Damien is Kurinoone's and Harry's background is kind of hers, too. I am doing this for fun (and to sleep peacefully) and I earn no money for this story. There are parts of this story that have been written by JKR and parts that have been written by Kurinoone.

Epilogue

The buzzing woke her. Her eyes fluttered open. Everything was white and clean and her mother's worried face swam into view.

"Thank Merlin," her mother whispered as she brushed some hair strands from her forehead and cupped her cheek.

"Mum," croaked Ginny, trying to sit up.

Her mother pushed her back, gently but firmly. "It's fine, Ginny. Bill is getting a Healer. Somebody will be here in a second."

Ginny nodded, her mouth was dry. She took a look around the room. She was in St. Mungo's. For a second she was confused but then everything snapped into focus and she remembered what had happened. She sat up quickly, her head aching. "Harry!" she gasped.

"He's down the hall, Ginny, everything's fine." her mother said, trying to push her back down. Ginny didn't let her.

"Dad?" She asked. "How's Damy? And the others? Fred, George, Percy? Ron, Hermione?"

"Everyone's fine, Ginny," there were tears in her mother's eyes but she was smiling. "Everyone's fine." She repeated. "It's over." She added, nothing more than a whisper.

Ginny nodded. "I remember." And she did. She remembered the battle, the fighting, the fear, the pain, oh Merlin the pain, the Killing Curse, Voldemort's body in flames. She remembered Harry. "Where's everybody?" She asked slowly.

Her mother tried to get her to lie down again. "Arthur is getting coffee. The boys are at home, as is Hermione. They only had mild injuries that could be treated quickly. Damien is in the room next door but he's still sleeping. He had several broken bones and is exhausted."

"Harry?" prompted Ginny.

"Sleeping," She paused. "Magical exhaustion probably."

"Probably?" asked Ginny, worry creeping up on her.

"The Healers aren't sure but they say everything's fine with him. All we can do is to wait for him to wake up." Her mother smiled. "You don't have to worry, darling."

"Can I see him?" She asked carefully.

Her mother watched her for a second before she nodded slowly. "When a Healer checked you up and says its okay for you to get up."

"I'm feeling fine-" protested Ginny.

"They have you on very strong Pain Killers." Her mother released a shaky breath. "Cruciatus Curse," She whispered. "Twice by him," Her mother's hands were shaking. "They were afraid, you know."

The door opened and her father entered, two mugs in his hands. As soon as he saw her sitting up in bed, he beamed. "Ginny!" He rushed over to them, setting down the mugs on a table, embracing her tightly. "Thank Merlin, you had us so worried." Ginny winced and he let go of her at once. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm-" She started but the door was opened again and Bill entered, followed closely by a Healer, his lime green robes with a sign of a bone and a wand crossed on it giving him away.

"Miss Weasley," he said. "It's good to see you're awake." He crossed the room over to her. Bill followed him, smiling at her, sitting down in a chair beside their mother. "I'm Daniel Wainscott, one of the Healers who have treated you since you arrived here yesterday." So only a day had passed. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, I think," Ginny began slowly. "But my head's hurting and when dad hugged me it hurt."

Healer Wainscott nodded. "Nothing unusual there, the Pain Killers have started to leave your body. We'll give you another dose after you had a check-up and something to eat. If we don't find anything, we'll probably want you to stay the night just to be sure but you'll be allowed to leave tomorrow morning then."

Ginny nodded and smiled. Her family did as well. Healer Wainscott undertook the check-up, scanning her with his wand for yet undetected injuries or ramifications they might have missed. He found nothing but confined her to bed anyway. "A good sleep and you'll be as good as new."

"But nothing speaks against checking on my friends who are here as well?" she asked.

"No, but don't overwork yourself, you really need the rest and your legs might still be a little wobbly." With that he left the room, assuring her that he'd come by later again.

When he had left the room, her mother turned to her. "I've brought you pyjamas and some other things of yours. I didn't know how long they'd keep you. Do you want to change into them?"

Ginny nodded and her mother pulled out her pink cupcakes and cookies pyjamas. Her mother smiled. "I know you like them best."

Ginny nodded. "I do but I'm not that keen to let everybody see me in them."

Her mother shrugged half apologetically. "I got you your toothbrush as well." She motioned towards a small washbasin in the corner of the room.

"We'll see when you're getting something to eat." said Bill and stood up. Her father nodded and together they left the room.

"Do you need help?" asked her mother.

Ginny shook her head. "I think I can do it myself, thanks." She got up, her legs really were wobbly but after a few steps it was better already. She washed her face and changed into her pyjamas. It didn't take long after that and her father brought her something to eat. She didn't realise how hungry she was until she smelled it but her mother ordered her to go slowly. She did, the food wasn't that delicious anyway. She couldn't wait to go home to eat something her mother had cooked again.

After that she managed to convince her mother to let her go see Harry. Bill suggested for their parents to go home to rest a bit, that he'd be there, taking care of her. Their parents were hesitant to agree but together Bill and Ginny convinced them.

Bill led her to Harry's room. When he opened the door, Sirius and Mr. Potter stepped outside. They both smiled at her.

"Cute jammies," commented Sirius.

"Thanks," Ginny said, grinning. She wasn't going to be embarrassed about them.

"Remus told us how much you kicked ass yesterday, I'm pretty sure you can pull of anything now." laughed Mr. Potter. He looked tired and a little worried but his eyes were shining brightly. "It's good to see you back on your feet."

Sirius nodded, Ginny thanked them both. "Mum said he's suffering from magical exhaustion?" She asked, nodding towards the room Harry was in. She itched to go in, to check him up herself but she didn't want to be rude.

"That's what they said," Mr. Potter said. "He wasn't awake yet but they think he only has to sleep it off." He motioned ahead. "But go check for yourself, we'll give you some privacy."

Sirius nodded. "We'll go check on Damien again."

"Thank you," Ginny said and opened the door slowly. Mr. Potter and Sirius left while Bill motioned for her to go ahead. He'd wait outside.

Harry was lying in bed, his chest raising and lowering peacefully. He was indeed fast asleep. She stepped over to him and sat on the edge of the bed carefully, her fingers ghosting over one of his hands. They were lying on either side of him over the blanket. Harry normally never slept like that. He really had to be dead asleep. A few of his hairs were falling into his eyes and she softly brushed them aside, unavoidable remembering the first time she had seen him asleep, lying in a bed in the Hospital Wing after he had saved them from the Daywalkers. But he didn't wake up now. She took his hand, brushing her thumb across it. She had never seen him sleep so heavily.

"Thank Merlin you are okay." She whispered. She leant over him, kissing him gently on the cheek. "And don't you dare to worry me like that again, you hear me?" He didn't react but she hadn't expected him to. She stroked his hair, glad to still have him. She had come so very close to losing him and she had no idea what she'd have done if she had. But she hadn't. And nothing else mattered.

xxx

Damien had woken the next morning, just before she was released. Harry had woken several days after him. Both were perfectly fine now – at least physical. Ginny had seen both several times already. Damien had gone back to his usual self, adamant to show everyone that nothing had changed: much laughter and even more pranks. Harry was different. He was even quieter, his eyes dull some days. It took more than ever before to get him to smile.

He was at the moment standing ahead of her, his back to her, his hands shoved deeply into his pockets, staring ahead. They were outside. Harry could barely sit still inside these days but when they were outside he barely moved. He was always lost in thoughts. Ginny crossed the space between them, coming up behind him.

"Hey," she greeted him softly.

He turned his head towards her, nodding at her.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked him again. She had done so since the first time she had seen him awake in the hospital. His answer was always the same. He shook his head. The first time she had elaborated: what it had been like rescuing Hermione and Nigel, what they had done to him, how it had been for him with Malfoy and Damien, the battle, Damy being hit, Voldemort dying. He had frowned more with every sentence until his eyes were filled with agony. She had stopped and not done it again. He needed time, she could understand that. It had been some very painful hours for him but she wanted to be there for him, wanted to show him that she cared, that he could tell her, that she'd listen and so she still asked him about it even if she went on after that, not mentioning it again.

Something was different today. He turned fully towards her, reaching forward, pulling her against him, hugging her with one arm. "I'm sorry but I can't speak about it."

Ginny pulled him closer, hugging him back. "Don't be, you don't need to." She whispered. "I just want you to know I'm here for you, okay?" She pulled back slightly and looked up at him, meeting his eyes. "I love you."

Harry smiled slightly, carefully. It nearly broke Ginny's heart but she smiled back. He pulled her back into the hug, this time into a real one, resting the top of his head on hers. "I love you too," he mumbled, so quietly she nearly didn't catch it. She tightened her grip on him and for a very long time they just stood there, embracing each other. Ginny was glad that he not only accepted her touches but sought them out. Damien had told her that more often than not he flinched away from their parents and recently he sometimes did it with Damien as well. So far he hadn't done that with Ginny but she had gotten more careful, trying not to startle him, leaving it to him to initiate the physical contact most times.

Harry finally pulled away and Ginny let go of him too. For a moment they just looked at each other before they broke eye contact. Harry turned and stared further ahead again.

"Did you hear about the memorial?" She asked, biting her lip. She wasn't sure if it was the wisest thing to bring up but she wanted him to know and wasn't sure if he did.

He shook his head.

"They erected it in honour for those who died. It's just a simple stone with the names of the people that died on it." She paused. "I saw it in the newspaper."

"I avoid those." He was quiet for a moment. "Where is it?"

"In Hogsmeade, on the other side of the street where-" She broke off.

Harry crossed his arms. She watched him carefully. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "Should we go?" He finally asked, still staring ahead.

"We don't need to. I just thought you might want to know."

Harry nodded. "It might be... helpful to see it again."

"I don't want to push you, Harry," she hurried to say. "We really don't need to go but- of course we can if you truly want to go."

Harry nodded and turned to face her, holding out his hand. "Side-Along Apparition," he teased and she rolled her eyes. He had started to 'warn' her even when it was most obvious; always hinting at the times he had caught her off guard with it. She grabbed his hand and together they disapparated.

They appeared just at the outskirts of Hogsmeade, Harry shoving his hands into his pockets once again. Together they started walking. There were people staring at them and whispering on their way but Ginny glared at all of them and they stopped, turning away.

They finally reached the street where it had happened and Harry stopped in his tracks. Ginny hadn't been here since that day either. It felt strange, seeing it in broad daylight, the sun shining like nothing had happened here. Most signs had been removed already but some burn marks still lingered and of course so did the black tomb. Ginny had read that it couldn't be removed whatever they had tried. She couldn't even imagine how Harry must feel about this place now. She felt really bad and she hadn't nearly died here. She hadn't lost what he had. She saw that Harry's eyes lingered on the tomb only very shortly before he turned. They faced away from it and walked into the opposite direction. Ginny could see the memorial already: it really looked like it had in the picture but it was far higher than she had imagined it. Harry slipped his hand into hers. She squeezed it and together they took the last steps towards it. They came to stand so near in front of it that Ginny could read the names. She did, her eyes rushing from one to the other. Those were the people who hadn't been lucky enough to see this day. Tears welt up in her eyes. Harry stepped away from her and walked around it once, staring at the names. To Ginny it seemed like he wanted to see every single one of it at least once. He finally came back to her side again. He took out his wand and knelt down.

"What are you doing?" She asked softly but he didn't answer.

She watched as slowly the name Tom M. Riddle appeared just at the bottom of it, barely visible if you didn't look for it. "He died too." He mumbled.

"I know," she said. "I know." She squeezed his shoulder gently.

He reached up to his face before he stood up, pocketing his wand. "We should go back or your mum will kill me."

"She wouldn't." Ginny said. "She's much better already."

Harry said nothing but grabbed her hand and apparated them away. They reappeared just outside of the new wards and together they made their way to the front door.

Harry let go of her hand. "I should go home." He said and shrugged.

"You can stay if you want to." she suggested.

He shook his head. "I should be going." He paused. "See you tomorrow?"

Ginny nodded. "Of course." Her parents no longer thought it was necessary to give their permission for every meeting. But they were stricter in other things. Especially Ron had to suffer from that. They asked more question, demanded to know not only the truth but everything there was of the story. Ginny knew that they sometimes crosschecked with the Potters, the Order or Hermione.

The door opened and her mother stepped outside. "They you are!" She glanced at them both. "Do you want to stay for tea?" She asked Harry.

Harry shook his head. "No, thanks, I was just about to leave."

Her mother nodded, smiling awkwardly. "Well, I- I wanted to say-" She broke off. "I'm sorry for-" She made a wide gesture. "Everything."

Harry smiled; Ginny could see it was forced but she had seen the way he looked when people congratulated him.

"Well, I'll just-" Her mother pointed inside, nodded at them both and stepped back in, closing the door.

"As I said, she's much better." Ginny smiled at him. He nodded but said nothing more about it. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow then." She said and he nodded again, stepping forward, kissing her very briefly.

He turned around but stopped, turning back to face her. "I-" He frowned. "The stupid celebration thing is soon and-" He broke off. Ginny nodded. The Ministry was going to throw a huge party in celebration of Voldemort's end. It was what nearly everyone talked about these days. The newspapers were full of it. "Mum and Dad say I have to go." He pulled a face but Ginny knew what it meant to him to still have parents forcing him there. "Are you coming?" He continued. "I mean, do you want to go? With me?"

Ginny smiled and nodded. "Sure. We can ridicule all the other guests together and try to smuggle alcohol into Ron's drink."

Harry smiled slightly. "I'll take the alcohol for myself."

"I'll help you smuggle alcohol into your drink then." She corrected.

He smiled, stepped over to her and kissed her again, a tiny bit longer than before. "Thank you," he whispered as he pulled away.

Ginny knew he wasn't talking about the party. "Always," she whispered back, leaning in for another quick kiss. He finally pulled away and stepped back, waving shortly at her before he walked off. She watched him till he had crossed the wards and disapparated. Only then did she turn around and entered the kitchen where her family was waiting for her.

Maybe not everything was well, that they'd need time, but Ginny thought that one day it really might be.

The End

AN: That's it. Does it feel strange? Yes. Did I cry a tear or two while writing the end? Yes.

Well, it had to end one day. I spent over 4 years writing this story, I've been through some rough times while working on it but I promised to finish it and I did.

Thank you so much for everything! For every word of appreciation or critic, for every minute you spent reading this story. It means so much to me, I can't even begin to tell you. So: Thank you! I wish you all the very best!

What's next?

Will I write a sequel to this? No, I won't. I haven't got enough ideas for it and no inspiration at all, so... no, sorry to disappoint you.

What I do have is inspiration for another story and it's placed in Kurinoone's universe as well (Kurinoone, did you plan to make it this addictive?) but it's going to be... different. I haven't talked about this with anyone yet but I thought you might want to know, so: it's only some rough ideas yet but it's going to play in the future, they're going to be 25 or something and it's only going to be based very loosely on Kurinoone's universe. It's going to be darker with much more politics and pure blood culture and Harry's going to be on Voldemort's side and... yes, at the moment I think there will be H/G (they're after all made for each other and Ginny's going to kick ass) but as I said it's going to be different. What do you think about that? Is that something that sounds interesting to you?

But what's most important: I want to finish the story before uploading it. I have like the worst writing habits and I hate those long breaks I always take (you most likely despise them) and I do plan to write my own stuff and I want this to be like some kind of preparation for that? I don't know, but I want to know what it feels like writing and finishing a story without getting reviews for every chapter along the way. And I don't know how much time I'm going to have to write in the near future and I don't want to keep you waiting for months... so, yeah. (But the story won't be as long as this one so you won't have to wait 4 years to read it... hopefully)

On another level: I was asked if I'm going to write oneshots and: yeah, sure, why not? When I'm inspired I will and if you've got requests: sure, go ahead, tell me about them. I can't promise to write them but I'll at least try to! They don't even have to be about the Dark Prince Universe, they can be about anything! Feel free to contact me about anything; I always love to have new people to talk to (especially about Harry Potter lol).