hinny
AU- Harry never went to Hogwarts- he was raised by Sirius and Remus- but because he didn’t have the Lily blood protection- Dumbledore insisted upon him not being endangered by having his face seen in the wizarding world. The Boy Who Lived is a mystery to everyone.
This is very much a ‘if the war went on for a long time, and things were crap/wizardapocalyptic for a few years. Harry’s in his early 20’s- and trying to hunt down horcruxes with his Godfather and Remus- the Order still exists, but Harry hasn’t much associated with them- the Weasleys are part of the Order.
He hates this war where he’s basically fighting for people he’s never known. Of course he’s going to do it- he needs to help people where he can- and Sirius and Remus instilled in him how important all this is. But it’s a bit off being the person who will supposedly be a 'savior’ when you don’t know that world hardly at all. He’s been so isolated and hunted that his humanity has been squeezed right out of him, it feels at times.
Harry’s grievously injured when they’re going for a horcrux- and is staying in a safe house with the Weasleys. They have a very pretty daughter who doesn’t much have patience for him. While many of the others are like 'it’s the boy who lived!’ she’s actually rather angry with him. He never showed up and never helped with anything the Order did before.
She’s yet to see what’s so great about him. She used to be fascinated w/ him when she was a kid- but that wore thing when he never came to Hogwarts, and was shrouded in mystery. They were all waiting for the 'chosen one’ to come and help- and he never showed up. She’s happy to tell him this too when he finally calls her out for how rude she keeps being w/ him.
There’s a lot of 'slowly getting to know one another and growing to respect and like each other’ as he slowly recovers.
He finds he finally knows what it is to believe in the cause in a more real way- and not just some abstraction. He gets to know so many of the people who have been scrabbling to survive- befriends them, starts to feel what it’s like in the magical community- what it’s like to BE in a community and be included. She and all the people he met make him feel like he has something tangible to fight for- and it’s startling, but also highly motivating.
There are battles, and him learning to trust people- he learns to live his life instead of just sort of being in this limbo state he’d inhabited for so long.
The tensions of a romance begin between them and it culminates after a battle where there were some very close calls and the two just have a night of passion. He has to go the next day- and is expecting her to hate him- but she doesn’t. He’s going for the cause- he’s going to fight and BE there for EVERYONE.
Eventually the war ends much the same as it did in the original series- Harry sacrifices himself for everyone- ginny the last person he thinks of before he’s hit with the killing curse- but he comes back and defeats Voldemort.
He and Ginny are reunited- in a world where they can actually thrive and have a normal life- they’d not had normal in so long it’s a bit scary- but as long as they can figure it out together, they’ll make it through.