A fic - TO BE OPENED IN THE EVENT OF MY DEATH

[fpb]

Dear, beloved Ginny,
If you ever read this letter, I shall be dead. If you are alive and free, I shall probably have succeeded in my duty, and the greatest evil of our time will have fallen with me.

If you love me half as much as I love you, dearest, dearest Ginny, I can imagine how much this will hurt you. You will know that it was necessary; but no amount of knowing will be able to silence the hurt and the loneliness. It is the same premonition I feel at the very thought that that monster could do anything to you again.

That is why I have to go and do it. I want you all to live free of threats and blackmail; of daily fear; of murder as part of the landscape. I care too much for you and all of yours to allow that monster to be part of it.

In my mind, Ginny, you and your fate are the image of all the world; all the people who would suffer, who already suffer, because of brute ambition and cruel vanity, of men who have power only because each of them satisfies and flatters the murderous evil of his accomplices. To say that I do not want it to happen to the world, and that I do not want it to happen to you, is one and the same thing; and it is the reason why I go to war.

You cannot imagine the difference that loving you has made to me. It is as though I had hardly lived at all until I awakened to you; as if the beauty of the earth and the sky, the nobility of history, the glory of magic, the splendour of mankind, the special value of every human being, had remained unrevealed, unnoticed. Loving you has changed me from top to bottom; I can hardly think I even lived before.

Remember that. When grief and loss tear at you, remember that you have made me happier than I have ever been, happier than I imagined a person could be, happier than, I suspect, many people will ever be. (For if they really understood what love was like, would anyone want to be Death Eaters?) The few weeks we have had together were different not just in quality but in kind from anything I ever experienced before. You made me whole; you made me a man. What I owe to you, merely for existing, merely for being you – that extraordinary single person, Ginny Weasley – is more than words can say.

And for that I am more willing, if not to die, then to risk my life, to stop this monster – this ghastly abortion – this repulsive image of corrupted intellect and evil will. He has already laid his hands on you once, Ginny. He shall not be permitted to do so again. If I have to die to keep you alive and free of his reeking claws, then so be it. I do not say so lightly; not when I have only just learned how good life can be. But under no condition will I allow him to threaten you or anyone else ever again.

I do not tell you not to grieve, Ginny. You have a right to your tears; and I shall be honoured, if the dead, as I believe, know anything, if someone of your worth grieves for me. But do not let it take over your life. You are young and beautiful, full of strength and grace. You were made to make someone happy. Live; open yourself to the world and to people; and if you meet someone else who can make you happy as you can make him, please, dear Ginny, do not let the memory of me get in your way. Do not forget me; but do not let me get in your way. If you live, and are free, and eventually happy, then I shall truly not have died in vain.

Yours, and nothing else,
Harry James Potter.

Comments

[dustthouart.livejournal.com]

I like this but it's far too erudite and well-written to be from Harry. ^_^ His would be more likely to be some scribbed notation "I love you and don't be sad too long ok and I'm doing this for you PS DON'T KISS DEAN". Kidding. ^_^

[fpb.livejournal.com]

I do not think anyone would "scribble" their probably last letter to the most important person in their world. This was inspired by the last letter of a British soldier who died in Afghanistan recently, which his fiancee read on the news. It was very carefully written - she showed the autograph copy - and evidently the result of a few drafts.

[un-crayon-rouge.livejournal.com]

I liked this a lot, and I agree, this would be a carefully drafted letter. A true and wonderful feeling shows through though.

What I miss is a little bit of personal details, maybe something he remembers doing with Ginny, a walk or the first time he kissed her or just eating a meal together, something that would seem unimportant to anyone else. After all, they only *did* have a couple of weeks together. Those details would roam large in his mind, it seems to me.

Or maybe I'd have liked more comment about *why* it is that he loves her this much. Just because she is what she is seems a little vague. This is probably the only thing she'll have to hold on to if he indeed does not come back. I personally would long for a little more specificity.

But, then it would be my fanfic and not yours... excellent, really.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

It's too sad almost to read. You have a way of really conveying deep, heart-rending love.

You mentioned in your comment to dustthouart that you were inspired by a letter by a British soldier to his fiancee--you described it being read on the news... I don't suppose you know of a place to see that letter, online? ..as a television news story, though, probably not, I'm guessing. But if there is, I'd like to read it.

[fpb.livejournal.com]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=463484&in_page_id=1770

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

Thank you. He was two years older than my oldest son.

[fpb.livejournal.com]

And what a handsome couple they made, too.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

It's true :-(

[elskuligr.livejournal.com]

I really liked the idea of the last letter and I think this fic is awfully sweet... but I also thought dustthouart's comment was oh so true! I'm sure your Harry took some potion to quicken his wit before he wrote that letter :o) ... or maybe he just became an adult, I don't know...

Anyway, I hope you don't mind, I kind of stole your idea and tried to write a last letter that would be a bit more awkward and hesitant, to reflect how Harry is not always very eloquent.
If you're curious about how I butchered your beautiful idea, you can have a look it's on my lifejournal.

[fpb.livejournal.com]

I read it, it's excellent, probably better than mine, and I recommend my friends to go and read it in turn.