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Chapter Twenty Eight: Fading Reality

"There will come a time when reality fades into nothingness. And that will be the doom of the world."

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"Ginny. . . please don't leave me. . ." Ron pleaded, trying to hold her arm but failing miserably. Ginny was paling, not her skin, but whole of her. Her body was evaporating slowly but surely, reminding them of the grim fact of death.

"My j-job here is done, Ron. I don't have any other option. . ." she replied weakly before coughing. Tears streaked down her fading cheek but it was not hers; it was Harry's. Ron's eyes were watering as well but he was being more verbal than the former.

"Hold on, Ginny. . . I'm sure Death will let you stay if. . . if you think about your life here. . .! Please start longing for this mortal world! Please!" he prayed helplessly. She shook her head, giving no room for hope.

"I-it's done and o-over, Ron," she managed to say in between coughs. "You s-still have Her-Hermione, R-Rose and your baby b-boy."

"I still want you, Ginny-"

"Ron, it-it's okay. Leave it," Harry interrupted, his voice indicating no emotion; steady and expressionless.

"Wait, what?! I thought you would be lost without her!" Ron shouted back in anger.

"I will be, no doubt but. . ." He looked down at Ginny, fondness illuminating his eyes. "She will always be in my heart, as well as in yours." The simple response was never anticipated by Ron for such a complex situation. It left him wonderstruck and guilty for being selfish.

"He's ri-right," Ginny said, adoring Harry with doe eyes.

"If that's the right thing to do then, even if it feels wrong, good–goodbye. . ." It was a pained and forced response but at that point of time there was no hope left; no hope of hiraeth being the hero and saving Ginny's life.

Ginny's smile was the last thing Ron and Harry saw before she faded away. "I love you, Ron and, Harry; until the end. . ." Her voice said, dwindling with each echo before finally falling silent. An unsettling melancholy fell over the atmosphere, making their hearts heavy and eyes fill with tears of a sad farewell. The serene aftersounds of a disaster tried to calm their depressed minds, only failing by the lack of familial presence; it was the silence after the raging storm of sadness. This situation would persist, at least until Ginny was remembered as one of theirs, and Ron was sure he would always feel the absence.

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The Flying Ford Angelia had narrowly avoided hurting the kids inside when it had crashed into the ground. Ron had suspected the soul of the car itself to have taken all damage upon itself to protect the children. The damaged remnants of the once majestic car reminded him of Ginny's farewell. Her fading away from him was never anticipated and was now sorely welcomed.

A surprise which awaited him when he and Harry dug up the debris was the pink moving bundle. Wrapped in soft blankets was a baby girl with bright brown eyes and a patch of red hair. Everyone was taken aback by the sudden appearance of a baby in the car. When enquired, Teddy and James stated they knew nothing about it and that it just appeared out of thin air when they started to descend. Harry had assumed the baby to be his and Ginny's daughter, the naïve soul which had lost its life before it could even grow. Ron had double thoughts about this. Was it a gift by Death as a compensation for Ginny? Or was it Ginny's newfound power at the last moments of her life on earth? No one would have ever been able to answer that question.

Bill, Charlie and, Percy had taken it upon themselves to repair the house. Mr Weasley had offered to try and repair the Angelia but it was badly damaged. To cheer up the sombre atmosphere, Mrs Weasley had laid out a hastily yet nearly planned feast for the family. Ron was invited, of course, but he had long since lost his appetite. It seemed that the previous Ron was gone along with Ginny and the Angelia.

No one had any ideas as to how Isabelle had managed to curse the house whilst under the protection of the secret keeping charm. Hermione and Ron were with Harry the whole time and could not be suspected. Charlie was the only one out of the trio to have been let on the secret of the manor's location. Percy had suspected Isabelle to have been near the vicinity during the oath taking ceremony of the Fidelius charm or the lady to have placed the curse before she confronted Harry.

The identification of the curse was done by Bill who theorized it to be an automatic curse which, upon being triggered due to some action (in their case, the placement of the secret keeping charm), would prevent family members from being reunited or rescued. It was a complex charm and was done expertly, as if it had been planned for weeks together.

Ron was no happy hearing the information on the curse. He was further fuelled to arrest Isabelle, if possible, even kill her as a revenge. Ginny's letter to Harry flashed across his mind but anger burned all other emotions and memories down, like it usually does.

He was sitting on the lawn overlooking the orchard with blank mind. The spirit of vengeance was now recessive as memories of the past few months flashed in his mind. He vaguely felt someone sit beside him.

"W-when did she appear in the car. . .?" Ron did not have to turn to recognize the voice of his best mate. His tone was shaken but a feeling of genuine curiosity and perhaps, even ephemeral elation was present.

"When we were in Mexico. Right after the messenger told us to go home," he replied in a monotone.

"So, that's why you asked me if I could see her?" Harry inquired in a slow tone and Ron nodded in response. A small gurgling sound filled the silence, causing Ron to turn towards Harry. The baby girl was playing with a feeder in his arms. "She's such an angel, isn't she?"

"Yeah. . ."

"I meant Ginny. . . she left another Angel for me to take care of. . . one just like her." Harry's voice seemed dreamy, as if he had been mesmerized by the appearance of the baby. Ron felt a pang of jealousy. It had been him who had taken care of Ginny all these months but she had left him without any trace of the entity's existence and here was Harry, holding his prematurely passed daughter in a healthy form. "Do you want to hold her, Ron?" Harry's voice snapped him out of his musings.

"What?"

"Do you want to hold Lily?"

"Lily?"

"Yeah, my daughter, Lily Ginevra Potter," Harry beamed, offering the baby girl. Ron's heart felt guilty seeing his happy face. Just a moment ago, he was feeling selfish but seeing the genuine happiness of his best friend and the earning baby in his arms seemed just too innocent to be jealous of.

"O-okay," Ron stuttered, struggling with his emotions and words. Harry did not seem to mind. He simply placed the tiny baby in Ron's arms. Lily was looking at the redhead with great curiosity, her brown eyes were the same shade as Ginny's. Ron had just began to notice the freckles splattered across Lily's face. The baby was like a miniature of Ginny.

"Y'know Ron? Lily's presence does not lessen Ginny's absence. . . I don't know how Lily is here but. . . she is a miracle baby and I just know that she's mine and Ginny's," Harry flashed him a confident smile. "I don't care what the world thinks about it. I don't even care what your family might think about it, given the fact that they don't know about the 'Angelia' thingy," he air quoted. "But there is this. . . this elation in my heart. Even if my time with Ginny was ephemeral, it was wonderful and I can't help but feel jealous of you, really. You had spent several months with her and I, just a few moments of regular husband-wife banter in a life threatening situation." He laughed, genuinely rather than nervously.

Ron mimicked his laughter. Leave it to his sister and best friend to be the cool couple even in the face of death. He offered his hand to the the baby girl when her father took her away from him. In return, Lily's tiny fingers wrapped themselves around his index finger. He felt his heart melt. He should be ecstatic that he got to spend time with Ginny. Instead, he was brooding. "I get it mate. I'll avenge that Isabelle and after that I shall help you with Lily and the kids." Harry nodded his acceptance.

Feeling a deep sense of returning back to what he was, Ron stood up. The sun was slowly descending over the horizon but his determination was only beginning to rise. The resolution to rewrite his present self to match his past self burned like fire in his mind. Ginny's absence might affect him but he would not let it eat him away like a moth-eaten piece of fabric. After all, he had a family to take care of and a new niece to spoil. . .