SnitchSeeker.com - Harry Potter: Because Of You

It had been four years since the day that everything changed. Halloween night during her seventh year, she lost everything. The memory haunted her like a restless ghost and she knew it would never cease. Now, she was twenty-one years old, a Ministry official, and still as beautiful as ever. She sat at the window seat in her old room after arriving for a visit a few hours earlier. She tried to avoid the Burrow as much as she could because it brought back too much, but she wanted to see her family.

The room looked exactly like she left it. It was still small, cozy, but dripping with reminders of the past. She almost could not bear to be here, but something kept her from leaving. Her brown eyes stared blankly at the rain which fell down onto the grounds and forest. She cocked her head and felt the cool window pane on her ivory cheek. She closed her eyes and a memory came to her:

"I love you, Ginny," he said in his thick British accent.
"I love you, too, Harry," she heard herself reply as he pulled her in to kiss her. Sudennly, the sky broke and a powerful rain cascaded upon them. The two ran inside and soon took refuge in front of the fireplace of the parlor.

As the sweet memory ended, she could not help but smile. However, her smile turned into a bitter tear that leaked slowly out of her eyes. It was as if the heavens were crying with her because as soon as she cried the rain intensified. She sobbed as she stood and walked over to her bed. After reaching underneath it, she found a small metal tin covered in dust bunnies. She opened it and removed a perfectly preserved red rose. Another memory began to play at that very moment:
"For you, my angel," he said affectionately handing her the rose. "A token of my love for you. I wish I could give you more."
She saw herself smile radiantly. She never smiled like that anymore. She placed a lock of her copper hair behind her ears and removed a golden locket with a diamond heart right in the center. It was the last gift he gave to her. She remembered this like it was yesterday:
the warm summer sun beat down on the two sitting on the porch swing right after Bill and Fleur's wedding:
"It was so beautiful," she remarked staring off into the distant forest on the horizon line.
"Like you?" he replied with a chuckle. "Here, I have something for you..."
The locket she clutched in her delicate hands was the unforgettable gift that he gave to her, which he spent his last Galleons on, and which was a promise to never leave. Although it was not his fault, that promise was never fulfilled. She saw it happen. It was in Godric's Hollow, ending right where it began. Ron, Hermione, the Weasleys, the Order members, and herself made it throught the Final Battle. She remembered crouching behind a small wall of rubble that used to be Lily and James's house:

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" shouted the cold, cruel voice at the same time as Harry's own. The emerald light of the deadly curse crossed each other in mid-air and they both hit their targets. It was over.

Seventeen years of him looking behind his back, battling Voldemort, searching for Horcruxes, making promises, being ridiculed and respected were over with those two dreaded words. Harry Potter finally defeated Voldemort and saved the wizarding world.

The memories were true, heartbreaking, terribe, but she knew she would not trade the memory of the messy jet-black hair and green eyes for anything. After all, she loved him.

"My hero," she said in a barely audible whisper, "Because of you, I'm not afraid anymore."
One-shot fic, hope you enjoyed it!
Lea