Keep Holding On

Author's Note: I do NOT own any rights to the song in this story...it belongs to Avril Lavigne and is titled "Keep Holding On".

Valentine's Day. This has got to be the absolute worst day of the year, Ginny thought, sitting on top of the Astronomy Tower with her arms wrapped around her knees. No one to talk to, no one to hold, no one to kiss... Not even a friend to be lonely with, since Luna went off with Neville for tonight. Ginny wrapped Harry's old cloak tighter around her, shivering from the slight breeze. It's not that I blame her... If I were her, I definitely wouldn't want to sit around with a bucket of tears all the time. I used to be strong... But after Harry died, all that just fell away. I guess this is the first time that I've truly been alone since Harry died. A solitary tear ran down Ginny's cheek, and she wiped it away with the back of her hand, trying to tell herself she was alright, but failing miserably. Alone's not so bad, I guess. Plenty of people are alone...  But even as she thought it, Ginny was furious at herself, knowing it was a lie, that alone was forever, and that nothing would change. She remembered the song she had written for Harry when she insisted on going with him to fight, and remembered the sound of Harry's voice singing it to her softly the night before he was killed.

"You're not alone, together we stand, I'll be by your side you know I'll take your hand," Ginny sang softly, remembering the promise Harry had made to her...

Harry kissed Ginny softly, wiping away her tears. "It's alright. It's okay. Ginny, I'll come back, I promise. I'll never leave you, never. I just have to do this one thing alone, and I'll be back , and then we can get married or whatever you want- just this one thing." Ginny shook her head furiously, and started to say something, but Harry put his finger to her lips. "Don't you remember the song you wrote me? You aren't alone, Ginny, I promise- I promise that if it's the last thing I do I'll see you again. I promise." Harry softly sang the song all the way through, his eyes never leaving Ginny's, then abruptly turned and walked away. "Ginny I love you." That was the last thing he ever said to her.

"When it gets cold, and it feels like the end, there's no place to go you know I won't give in," Ginny started crying silently, but kept singing, "Keep holding on, 'cause you know I'll make it through, I'll make it through. Just stay strong, 'cause you know I'm here for you, I'm here for you. There's nothing you can say- nothing you can do- there's no other way when it comes to the truth so-" Ginny broke off, thinking, There really is no other way, is there? He just had to die, just had to go off all by himself and leave everyone behind forever, had to leave everyone on the other side of the veil. She stood up abruptly and paced to the edge of the tower. We used to come up here all the time when he was still alive, because it was the one place no one would ever be. They all thought it was haunted or something... How stupid. We used to come up here for hours at a time- until he left and never came back. She remembered when she had gotten the note from the Ministry. It had said, "We regret to inform you that Mr. Harry James Potter has, unfortunately, gone beyond the veil. Immediately after he killed He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, he was killed with the Avada Kedavra curse by the Death Eater, Bellatrix Lestrange. The Ministry expresses its condolences for the loss of this fine young man. Sincerely, Rufus Scrimgeour and Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic and Assistant to the Minister of Magic." It had been so formal, so cold, so...not Harry. In a moment, her entire world had shattered into a thousand pieces, and no one knew what she was going through-- Harry would've understood, Harry would've comforted her, but he was dead, and she had no one.

"So far away, I wish you were here, before it's too late this could all disappear. Before the door's closed and it comes to an end, with you by my side I will fight and defend," Ginny sang through her tears. It's all fallen into place, hasn't it? It's all disappeared, the door's closed, it's at an end- and the only thing to fight is the truth, Ginny thought morosely.

"Hear me when I say, when I say I believe nothing's gonna change, nothing's gonna change destiny. Whatever's meant to be will work out perfectly..."

I guess I was right after all... no matter what I did, nothing changed, nothing worked out the way I thought it would, the way I wanted it to. Because, really I guess what this is all about is that things don't happen just because--they happen for a reason, and just because I'm not happy doesn't mean the world doesn't go on. Ginny sank to the floor, out of tears. Then she heard a noise behind her.She turned around, gripping her wand inside her robes, but relaxed when she saw who it was- Cho Chang.

"Wha- what are you doing here?" Ginny asked in wonderment. "You graduated."

Cho smiled sadly. "I came to visit a couple of my younger friends for Valentine's Day, and I couldn't sleep. I came up here because I thought it would be a good place to think about... stuff. I heard you singing."

"Oh- that was just rubbish, I'm a horrible singer," Ginny said automatically.

"No... it sounded beautiful. Did you write it?"

"Yeah. I wrote it for Harry when we--when he wanted to break up with me. To keep me safe." A tear rolled down Ginny's cheek. "I wanted--wanted to tell him that I wasn't just going to give up like that..."

Cho looked up at the full moon, and Ginny noticed that Cho was crying, too. "I know you think no one knows what you're going through, but there's one person who does. Me." Ginny suddenly remembered Cedric's death, and that Cho had been going out with him. "He was nothing compared to Harry, and I liked Harry too, but he was the one I was really... meant for, I guess. When he died... everything changed."

"I'm so sorry," Ginny said, "I thought I was alone."

Cho smiled sadly. "No, neither of us is alone anymore. We've got each other. But... I don't know if I should be asking this, but would you sing the whole song for me?"

Ginny took a deep breath, and tears ran down her cheeks as she sang,

"You're not alone..."

When the song was over, Ginny sighed and looked at Cho, waiting for her reaction.

Cho wiped away her tears and said, "You were right. We're here for each other." Ginny nodded, and the two girls walked back to their respective dormitories. When they parted, Ginny asked, "See you around?"

Cho smiled. "Yeah. And Ginny-"

Ginny glanced back at Cho. "Yeah?"

"Keep holding on."