Epilogue

Entry 25: The Last Entry

"Right down the line it's been you and me

Loving a music man ain't always what it's supposed to be

Being apart ain't easy on this love affair

Two strangers learn to fall in love again

I get the joy of rediscovering you

Oh, you stand by me,

I'm forever yours,

Faithfully…"

-Faithfully, Journey

So now here I sit, 15 years from my first entry, in the finest white dress I have ever worn, my long red hair done up in a curled up-do, and make up decorating my face. I was just flipping through these entries that I've written in the last few months reminiscing; call it the nostalgic moments one gets before a major stage change in life. This diary has taken me a while to write, and now that I've finished I'm ready to pass it on. Who knows what will happen in the future, one without Voldemort? Who knows where Harry will be, where I will be? I'm the new chaser for the Holyhead Harpies, and Harry is reconstructing the Auror department, but where will we be tomorrow? Can anyone ever be sure? One thing is for sure, we can't live in the past. To move forward in life we have to accept and embrace our past and understand that without it there is no now. There is no future. My past experience with diaries would lead someone to run at the sight of one for the rest of his/her life, but I know that can't happen to me.

Writing in a journal has always been something that made me feel better; if I let some bad memory take that away I'd be running away like a coward, I might as well run away at the sight of George just because he reminds me of Fred. But I'm a true Gryffindor. You can't run away from your past, you have to face it head on, I've told this to Harry plenty of times.

And he's just about got the picture.

As my last entry, I'll leave you with one last thought, life is like a book, with each chapter that ends a new one begins, and each word leads to the present- to who you are now. In this moment. Stories twist and turn, plots dramatize, climaxes reach unbelieving heights; life is as unexpected as those pages. My diary and my memories, are real and going back I see them as a story to be told again and again. This is my story. My past, my present. And now my future awaits me. I close this book, and start a new life, and get a new name.

20 year old Ginevra Molly Weasley shut the old, worn out diary she had been writing furiously in just a moment before. With a satisfied sigh she put down her quill and moved to the small window of her childhood bedroom. Looking out into her yard she couldn't help but fight back tears of joy that threatened to fall. Snow was drizzling softly around the silver tables that were glistening in the morning sun. There was a golden carpet that led from the back side of the house through several rows of arranged seats that had captivating orchids magically wrapping themselves to the chairs. The gold stood out from the rest of the silver fixtures, and led to the scenic platform under a frosted arch. Everything glittered elegantly just the way she had always pictured the winter wedding to.

The window had been enchanted the night before, allowing her to look out but no one from below could see her beauty radiating from the upstairs room. The only part that bothered her was not being able to see the one other person whose life would change that day as well.

Ginny watched for a while, at the gamut of witches and wizards arriving drolly to the scene, friends and family- unfortunately most from the bride's side. She touched the white orchid that had been weaved into her hair and made sure the gown had yet to find any wrinkles.

She was restless. And when Ginny Weasley was restless….

"Wow," came a gasp from the door of the bedroom, she turned around swiftly feeling her dress flutter with her. She smiled at her eldest brother.

"What do you think?" she asked pivoting in order to show him every angle.

Bill Weasley put his finger to his chin and pursed his lips stepping closer to examine her fully, "Well," he mocked, "I say that if he doesn't already know how lucky he is, then he'll realize it the moment you step onto the gold strip."

Ginny couldn't help but blush, "Thanks."

"Well, some of us wanted to come up here and see how you were doing, knowing you, you're probably bored out of your mind."

"Of course I am, but maybe I wouldn't be if someone could take that bloody curse off the window so I can see a specific person out there." She smiled persuasively; it had always worked on her brothers before.

Bill laughed once, "Nice try Ginny, but you know it's bad luck."

"I think we've had enough bad luck in our lives already; it's all used up."

"Let's not risk it ok?"

She sighed again, "Fine."

They stayed silent for a moment before she realized something, "Some of us?" she asked, referring to his previous words.

Bill nodded, "All the Weasley men should be on their way up now. Mum is busy with the guests though."

She smiled and nodded picturing her mother; she must have been a bundle of different emotions just waiting to go off.

"Then, Bill, before they get up here, I wanted to thank you for reading me that bedtime story all those years ago, remember? You were afraid to at first cause you thought you might get in trouble?"

"How could I forget?" he rolled his eyes.

"Well, thanks all the same."

"My, my, my, dear sweet Merlin, little Ginnikins is all grown up." Charlie Weasley entered the room followed by the rest of her siblings, George, Percy, and Ron. Of course there was still one brother who was only there in spirit.

"When the bloody hell did that happen?" George asked.

"When you all weren't looking," Ginny shrugged looking up at each of them.

Percy stepped forward and hugged his sister, "You look beautiful."

"I've been told," she laughed.

"Yea and you'll be told about a million times for the rest of the day. I almost narrowly escaped a sneaky reporter that slipped through security; she started questioning me about what fabric your dress was made out of." Ron shuddered, "Why the hell would she want to know that? Who cares?"

Charlie clapped him on the back, "Trust Ginny Weasley to have the wedding of the century, people have been talking about this since she got that ring on her finger."

"You don't think the press will ruin any of it right?" Ginny asked worriedly.

Bill shook his head, "Nah, they've got a ton of Aurors out on the perimeter- no one's getting in that wasn't invited. I mean the last thing we need is more press, Dennis Creevey will take enough pictures thank you very much."

"So where have you all been this morning, not outside obviously, I would have seen you."

"Well," George started, "I hope you know that our allegiance isn't to you alone; we've been upstairs with the man of the hour."

Charlie nodded. "Yea, he's a wreck, he has some kind of idea that there is no way you're going to go through with this- you're going to take one step and realize he's not worth his weight in gold."

"He said it just like that too," laughed Percy, "George reminded Harry that he had enough gold for ten of himself…but Harry didn't find that comforting."

"Silly," she shook her head then asked, "What did you do?"

Charlie cocked his head to the side, "Before or after Ron slapped him across the face?"

"YOU WHAT!"

"Hey! He did it to me the day I married 'Mione, it works." Ron said defensively.

"Ginny, you may be our sister," George told her wrapping his arm around her shoulders, "But he's our best friend, we know how to handle him."

"Yeah, yeah as long as it didn't leave a mark."

They all began to laugh like they were little again, but they weren't with the men in their groomsmen robes, and the youngest in white. After all they had gone through, they came out on top, the fallen never forgotten, but with them still.

"So sis, what are you going to wish for Christmas this year?"

"Wish? No, it's not about wishing anymore Bill, it's about having the nerve to want something and not rest until you get it."

"Nicely put, but that doesn't answer my question."

She smiled, "All I want for Christmas is to get this wedding started."

Arthur Weasley walked into the room then, looking nervous, excited, sad and content all at once. "Well then dear, Merry Christmas, because it's time." He held out his arm to his only daughter and she step out of the circle of her five elder brothers.

"Well then that means I'm late!" Ron said, "The groom's probably wondering where his best man's gone off to." With one quick kiss on his sister's cheek he dashed from the rest of them.

"I just can't believe it." Bill said shaking his head.

"If this is really happening, then everyone needs to pay up right now," said Charlie, holding out his left hand expectantly.

Ginny raised an eye brow at the bunch of redheads who were either, groaning, searching their pockets or looking rather smug. "What are you lot talking about?"

"Ginny do you realize 15 years ago, in this very room, you told me you were going to marry Harry Potter, even though you had never met him, and didn't even know if you ever would?"

She smiled, "Of course."

"Well," said George, "since you went on and on about it all those years ago, we thought we'd do a bit of gambling."

"I thought it would be fun," added Charlie who was still waiting for their compensation.

"I thought it would be easy money," said Bill.

"I had nothing better to do," said George, "and Fred didn't want to be the only one not to bet."

"Someone had to organize it," Percy shrugged.

Ginny let out a laugh, "And Ron?"

"Ron didn't even know what marriage was."

"So who bet what?" Ginny asked.

All the boys looked away except for Charlie, "I had full faith in you sis."

"It was irrational! There was no way of predicting the turn of events!" Percy argued.

George responded for himself and his twin, "Boy, did we beg to change our bet when we met Harry that first year."

Bill looked at his glowing young sister, "I should have never doubted you; you were always one to get what she wanted."

"You were young, it happens," Ginny winked.

"Ok boys, pay up!" chirped Charlie.

George seemed reluctant to give his money away, "Hold on! We don't know what will happen in the next half hour, it's not over until they say 'I Do'."

All the others dug into their silver dress robes, "Well, sorry George, but Potter better say I DO or he'll be squashed into a bloody pulp by the rest of us."

Arthur dropped his daughter's arm to search his robes as well.

"Dad! You didn't!"

He smiled bashfully, "I did. But I only added my bet last, a few years after you had met Harry."

"Besides guys," Charlie returned back to Bill's statement. "The way these two have been snogging for the past four years, there's no way this wedding won't go as planned."

Ginny stuck her tongue out at Charlie, "It's called love you git."

"Plus, the way they are with Teddy makes them look like an old married couple already."

"He's our godson you prat!"

"Alright! No more name calling, it's supposed to be a special day and we need to get going." The father of the troop called for attention, "Now, I've gotten five redheaded wizards married without a hitch, now it's time to get the only redheaded witch I'm accountable for married so shall we?"

"Yes," Came the reply of six Weasleys together.

"Are you ready Ginny?"

Ginny took one last look at her brothers, her room, and the diary settled on her desk. The diary that would be given to Harry Potter as her wedding gift to him. "Yes," she said looking up brightly at her father, "I always have been."

"The plan was, which I really hope I fulfilled, is that the reader, like Harry, would gradually discover Ginny as pretty much the ideal girl for Harry. She's tough, not in an unpleasant way, but she's gutsy. He needs to be with someone who can stand the demands of being with Harry Potter, because he's a scary boyfriend in a lot of ways. He's a marked man. I think she's funny, and I think that she's very warm and compassionate. These are all things that Harry requires in his ideal woman. But, I felt — and I'm talking years ago when all this was planned — initially, she's terrified by his image. I mean, he's a bit of a rock god to her when she sees him first, at 10 or 11, and he's this famous boy. So Ginny had to go through a journey as well… I feel that Ginny and Harry, in this book, they are total equals. They are worthy of each other. They've both gone through a big emotional journey, and they've really got over a lot of delusions, to use your word, together. So, I enjoyed writing that. I really like Ginny as a character."

-JK Rowling-

It took me an incredible 22 months to write this novel, and I thank everyone who stuck with it until the end. But remember, Harry Potter will never truly end. Please read my other writings if you enjoyed this! And PLEASE review!

-Aliana Zamorano