Star (Bryan Adams)

"What cha wanna be - when you grow up"
"What cha gonna do - when your time is up"
"What cha gonna say - when things go wrong"
"What cha wanna do - when you're on your own"

There's a road - long and winding
The lights are blinding - but it gets there
Don't give up - don't look back

There's a silver lining - it's out there somewhere
Everybody wants an answer - everybody needs a friend
We all need a shining star on which we can depend

So tonight we're gonna wish upon a star
We never wished upon before - (gotta find what you're looking for)

There'll be times - in your life
when you'll be dancing in stuff - but you ain't getting it
But don't get disillusioned - no, don't expect too much

’Cause if what you have is all you can get
Just keep on trying - it just ain't happened yet
Everybody wants to be winner - everybody has a dream
We all need a shining star when things ain't what they seem

N' so tonight we're gonna wish upon a star
We never wished upon before (gotta get where your heading for)

Everybody wants some kindness - everybody needs a break
We all need a shining star when things get hard to take
So tonight we're gonna wish upon a star
We never wished upon before

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"What cha wanna be - when you grow up"

Harry stared at the letter in front of him. It was time to make a decision. Taking a deep breath he took up his quill and admitted to himself that the decision was never his to make. He wouldn’t be able to accept the offer – his destiny was laid out before him – there would be no Quidditch - he was going into battle



"What cha gonna do - when your time is up"

Harry stared down the length of the wand pointed at his face, and realised he wasn’t afraid. This was what he had been trained to do (though he hadn’t always realised it) since he was eleven years old. He stared unblinkingly back into the red eyes of Tom Riddle – eyes which were no longer human. Harry knew what he had to do, he opened his mouth to speak the curse, the final syllable spilling forth from his bleeding lips. He registered the shock in his enemies eyes as he fell backwards, his life extinguished. Harry stood frozen, suddenly recognising that a part of himself had also been lost forever.



"What cha gonna say - when things go wrong"

If only he hadn’t stood there for quite so long. If only he had been quicker. If only…no matter how often he thought it, nothing would ever bring Remus back. Remus…his only connection to his parents, his only family.



"What cha wanna do - when you're on your own"

Harry sat numb, staring unseeing at the wall of the St. Mungo’s mortuary. He had no one now…His vision was blurred as he made out the figures of Ron and Hermione approach, their hands entwined. The three sat in silence, no words being adequate. The war was over.
Harry saw the comfort his friends took in one another. He had never begrudged them their happiness, never felt excluded until this moment. He closed his eyes. He was on his own. He loved Ron and Hermione as they loved him, but he lacked that bond they shared. He had no parents, no guardian, he was nineteen and alone in the world.



”There's a road - long and winding
The lights are blinding - but it gets there
Don't give up - don't look back
There's a silver lining - it's out there somewhere
Everybody wants an answer - everybody needs a friend
We all need a shining star on which we can depend
So tonight we're gonna wish upon a star
we never wished upon before”

The flashbulbs of the cameras had blinded Harry when he finally emerged from St. Mungo’s the next morning, he had gazed at the reporters sorrowfully as they beamed at him and celebrated the peace. They would never understand what the peace had brought him. He half expected Dumbledore to appear as he always used to after traumatic events in Harry’s life, to explain the events and to try and give him perspective.
He numbly answered the questions shouted at him, the weariness finally beginning to overcome his body. The reporters seemed to be crowding closer around him, and he couldn’t see a way out. A hand at his elbow startled at him. His head whipped around and met familiar shining eyes. Harry took the hand offered to him gratefully and though he heard her speak he didn’t know how she’d managed to get rid of all the reporters so quickly.
Harry didn’t remember closing his eyes, so it was a surprise to open them to find himself in unfamiliar surroundings. His body groaned and for one blissful moment he wondered why until the memories broke through the floodgates in his mind. He could see the battle, the fallen bodies, Voldemort was gone, but so was Remus, and so many others.

Harry stood and observed his surroundings, sinking to the floor as a photograph on the mantle caught his eye. Christmas at Number 12…everyone so happy and carefree…now the others, those who had survived would be carefree again. Harry felt his heart would never feel that joy again. He sat wide eyed in the centre of the floor, saying nothing, not moving, no tears would come to his eyes.

Ginny stood in the doorway for a moment watching him, her heart breaking at the desolation in his eyes. She moved and silently sat down next to him on the floor. He remained still even as she gently reached out and placed a hand over his own. Ginny didn’t know how long they had sat in the quiet before a tear slid down Harry’s cheek. He made no move to brush it away. Soon tears poured from his eyes, his body wracked with sobs. It broke her heart to do so but she waited until Harry invited her closer. He turned and she needed no more encouragement, she wrapped her arms around him as tight as she could, whispering against his hair as he clung to her, sobbing.
“I’m here Harry…I’m here.”

She held him close until he fell asleep. She looked at his pale face, troubled even as he slept and shed her first tears. It was over for everyone but Harry, for the saviour of the Wizarding world the journey was only now really beginning. It was going to be a long road, but she would be there for him.



”Everybody wants some kindness - everybody needs a break
We all need a shining star when things get hard to take
So tonight we're gonna wish upon a star
We never wished upon before”

Harry awoke, relishing that blissful liminal moment before the events of the past returned to his mind. His heart had broken again a little every morning since that fateful day, though it was beginning to get more bearable. The pain was no less, but the acceptance had come in the month since the final battle. Those first two days had been the worst of his life, his mind constantly replaying select memories of the past, his body at first numb with shock then overtaken with a roller coaster of emotions as he mourned not just Remus, but all those taken from him, Dumbledore, Sirius, his Mum and Dad…

He would still be lying in a heap on the wooden floor if it hadn’t been for Ginny. He was in her small apartment, she had sat with him, knowing he needed a comforting presence, not once pressuring him to talk or re-enter the Wizarding world, in fact he suspected she was keeping everyone away from him. Ron and Hermione had stopped by only twice and had left quickly after a warning look from Ginny.

Since he had fallen asleep in her arms Harry had not been able to sleep away from her. He had lain awake for hours, wandering aimlessly around the apartment until Ginny had awoken and led him back to his bed, crawling in next to him instinctively knowing he couldn’t be alone. Knowing she was near, Harry could rest with relative peace, every night plagued by fewer and fewer nightmares.

After three days he had spoken, his voice cracking as he did so and causing Ginny to jump, dropping the teacup she was holding. Harry smiled and Ginny smiled back at him, trying to cover her joy that he had spoken, even if only briefly. She had begun to talk more, just chattering away to him about all sorts of things, reading him excerpts of books she had in the apartment. They settled into a routine around the apartment, Harry staying close to her. She was his security blanket, his reassurance that not everything was gone. He wasn’t alone.

Harry gradually began joining the conversation, even beginning to read excerpts of books out loud to Ginny. She smiled as Harry sat at the kitchen counter and read to her as she cooked them dinner. She paused as Harry laughed. It had been too long since she had heard that laughter, a sound she had always loved. She looked at him and she saw it, the sparkle was back in his eyes, it was dim, but it was there – Harry was returning from wherever he’d been. She impulsively leant over the counter and interrupted him mid-sentence to kiss him soundly on the forehead. He looked up at her in amusement as she returned to cooking.
“What was that for?”
“I just missed you that was all.” She said with a smile.
“I haven’t been more that ten feet away from you in a month and you missed me?” Harry asked, and Ginny’s eyes widened. Harry was teasing her just as he used to before he focused himself on training, before he stopped enjoying his youth, before the final battles.
“I missed you and I’m glad you’re back.” She reiterated. Harry thought for a moment and smiled back at her seeming to understand, he returned to reading out loud.

Later that night as Harry lay his head on his pillow he turned on his side to study Ginny as she slept. He wondered if she would ever know what she done for him, bringing him back from wherever his mind had been, and making him see what he still had to be thankful for as she had gradually reintroduced him to his friends and honorary family through brief meetings and by telling him their news and reminiscing about happier times.
He reached out an placed a hand on her shoulder, her eyes fluttered open and she looked at him in concern, relaxing as she saw he hadn’t had a nightmare.
She waited for him to speak, sensing he was choosing his words.
“Thank you.” He whispered, reaching to take her hand in his and squeezing it. Ginny smiled at him.
“Anytime.”

Harry paused as if he had been planning on saying something else, but held back.
“What is it?” Ginny asked curiously.
Harry looked into her eyes as if searching for something. He smiled.
“I love you.” He whispered.
Ginny looked back at him in surprise.
“Really?”
Harry just smiled back at her and she blushed causing him to smile even more.
Ginny shifted in the bed, moving closer to Harry, brushing her lips gently across his.
“I love you too.” She whispered as she rested her head against his shoulder. Harry wrapped his arms around her, smiling as he remembered a veiled comment Sirius had once made that he’s never understood at the time. You were right Padfoot; she was there all along. Harry thought to himself as he drifted off to sleep. Harry had found his star.

Awwww that was gorgeous!!

WOW, it almost brought tears to my eyes, lol.


That was very sad, but great!

lol I'm going through and reading all your fics! This one was really great too, no matter how many I read, you will never cease to amaze. All your fics have a different qualilty about them, though most of htem are focused on the war and the aftermath. It was truly wonderful

WOW! That was so great! I LOVE IT! It was so sad, I was practicly crying! That was amazing tho, and so sweet.