The war was over.


The Boy-Who-Lived, Harry Potter, was critically wounded and in a coma. Many wizards, muggles, and other non-magical creatures were also either dead or wounded. All giants, from every corner of the Earth, were killed by a simple spell. But Voldemort was finally gone.


Ginny Weasley sat by Harry's bed everyday. While he laid in the coma, she confessed to him how much she cared for him,and how it killed her inside when he broke up with her at Dumbledore’s funeral.


When he came out of the coma, she shared his pain and laughter. Ginny waited for the day when he would get better, take her into his arms and never leave her again. At least that's how it happened in her dreams. And dreams can come true...right?


She waited nearly four and a half months. It was a long time to her. The Healers finally let Harry go home, to the Burrow, as long as he didn't over-exert himself.


When he got there, he found that Mrs. Weasley had set up a “welcome home” party.


But something was awfully wrong.


Ginny was beside him, and she steered him over to greet her parents and Hermione. While Hermione was answering his questionof how she was doing, he looked behind her and saw Fred and George talking to Lee Jordan. He caught their eyes, and they winked at him. They nodded their heads toward the corner and Harry looked over to see Cho Chang in the corner chatting happily with Susan Bones and Hannah Abbott. He saw to their right Ernie Macmillan and Justin Finch-Fletchey shaking hands.


“Are you even listening to me?” Hermione asked impatiently.


“Uh, yeah, they treated me fine in the hospital, thanks for asking. I'm going to say hello to everyone else, I'll catch you later,” Harry said mindlessly. He walked off, hearing Hermione mumble something that sounded strangely like “boys”.


He made a beeline for his father's old friend, Remus Lupin, and on the way saw Bill, Fleur, Charlie, Luna and Neville. Luna looked at him through slightly dazed eyes and asked him, “Do you like the decorations? I did them myself. Well, with the help of Fleur. She is a very kind person, though slightly bossy. She got upset when I told her we were putting them inside, not out.”


Harry looked around the room. A flickering light was coming from the ceiling. Looking around, he discovered what the source was. A hundred or so fairies were floating around the room, creating a light that was slightly blue. “Yes, Luna,” Harry said, turning his gaze back upon Luna. “I do like it. Great job. Now, if you'll please excuse me, I should go see everyone else.”


He finally reached Remus, who was talking with Professor McGonagall and Tonks. Tonks, as usual, had violently violet hair.


While Harry was talking to Remus, he saw Mad-Eye Moody limping towards him with Professor Sprout who didn't have any patches in her wizarding hat, by his side. Harry secretly wondered whether or not they were here together.


“Hello, boy.” growled Moody. “How are you feeling?”


“I'm fine, thanks. Just a little tired. I haven't had this much excitement since, well, you know.”


“You bet I do. Now go see everyone else.”


Taking Moody's advice, Harry caught up with the Patil sisters who were talking to Lavender Brown. He also found Alicia Spinnet, Angelina Johnson, and Gabrielle Delacour, who were talking in another corner.


Walking around the room were Seamus Finnigan and Colin Creevey who was taking pictures. About every three seconds Harry saw a bright flash go off and it was starting to get on his nerves. Harry heard screaming and he looked over his shoulder to see twin girls being chased by two boys.


Harry noticed that no one wouldlook him directly in the eyes. They seemed to have forced smiles on their faces and they had a limit to their happiness.


It was a big party, but Harry just knew that someone was missing.


Then, it hit him like someone had just punched him in his gut. It was painful.


He couldn't believe he hadn't noticed it sooner. Something had happened to Ron. His breathing accelerated as he thought of the possibilities of what could have happened to him.


He quickly looked over to Ginny who was back at his side. She had a firm grasp on his arm even though they both knew that he wouldn't fall over.


“What happened to him?” Harry asked.


“To who?”


“Your brother, of course,” Harry said, his temper rising rapidly.


“Er, actually Harry, can we talk about this later, because I kind of wanted to tell you in private. Now it's noisy and isn't the best-,” Ginny was quickly cut off.


“I DON'T CARE WHAT TIME IT IS, HOW LOUD IT IS, OR IF YOU WERE GOING TO TELL ME LATER, I WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO RON, RIGHT THIS MINUTE!!” Harry bellowed.


The whole room went from laughing and chattering to complete silence.


“Harry, when I said I would tell you when it was quiet, I didn't mean that I wanted for you to scare everyone into shutting their mouths.”


“Ginny, please, now isn't the best time for you to be cracking jokes. Will you just tell me what has happened to my best mate?”


Ginny whispered a quick “sorry” and looked down at the floor.


Finally, Hermione looked up. She had glittering tears in her big brown eyes.


“He had an accident during the war,” she said shakily.


“Well, Hermione,” Harry said, at his breaking point again, “lots of people had an 'accident' during the war. Do you think you could be a little more specific?”


Harry waited for someone to continue about Ron.


“Well, is anyone going to tell me or is everyone going to leave me in the dark about the wellness of my best friend?”


Seamus then looked up. “Harry, Draco Malfoy shot a curse at you while you were battling Snape, and, well, Ron jumped in front of it so you wouldn't get hit.”


Harry started, “When I find Malfoy, I swear I'm going to-” he was cut off by Mrs. Weasley because she said quietly, “There is no need, dear, it's done. You're okay, Ron is injured, and Malfoy is dead.”


“Who killed Malfoy?”


“Neville finished him off.” Mrs. Weasley smiled proudly at Neville, who turned beet red and stated playing with his fingers.


“What did you do to him, Neville?” asked Harry.


“Well, I saw him shoot the curse at you and Ron jump in front of it. Then, Malfoy turned around and started running in the opposite direction. I remembered how he treated me back at Hogwarts. He acted like I was a slug who had no brains and didn't know one end of the wand from the other. I guess I kind of wanted to prove him wrong. I don't even know what curse I shot at him. It's probably not even a registered curse. I saw a blue light come out of the end of my wand and next thing I know, he's laying on the ground with a slug-like growth coming out of his face. I guess my wand could sense my anger and a strong feeling about slugs so it tried to turn him into one. I think my hatred might have been so strong it killed him. I turned around and ran because I didn't want to go to Azkaban for trying to turn someone into a slug, but killing them instead by accident. “


“No way. That's amazing Neville. I never knew you were capable of doing such a thing. Nice job. What curse did Malfoy shoot at Ron?”


“We don't know that either,” Luna said. “But whatever it was, it would have been really Dark Magic. We all know how he used to love to study it in school and after. We also all know that if it were possible, he would try it on one of us. It's just too bad that it had to happen to Ron. It has really made him different in way too many forms. He's in his room. He can't walk or talk, but his Head Healer comes and does house runs for us so he can check on him. The Healer thinks that he'll be able to do both in the near future. He's remaining very optimistic. Oh, yeah, we also think he might recognize who people are.”


“I'm going to see him,” he said so suddenly that everyone jumped in surprise at this quick decision.


When he got to the second step on the stairway he felt someone grab his arm. He turned around and saw Mrs. Weasley.



“Harry, I think it's best if you don't go up there.”


“And why is that?”


“Well, one reason is because I think that you have over-exerted yourself enough as it is, and another reason is because I don't want you to um...well, to be startled. Because he jumped in front of you, he isn't as handsome as he used to be.”


“Mrs. Weasley, you make it sound like it's my fault that he jumped in front of the curse. You're not blaming me for what happened to Ron, are you? Because if I had known that Malfoy was going to throw a Dark curse at me I would have made sure that Ron didn't jump in front of it. He is my best mate. If something was going to happen to him and I had known it I would have done anything in the world to stop it. And besides, I'm sure I've seen worse scars.”


“I don't think that you asked him to do that, darling. I would never accuse you of such a thing. Yes, I wish it would have never happened to him, but I can't really change anything that has been done. Besides, I want you to go see Ron. I don't care what he looks like anymore. I know you won't either. Go ahead. Check on your best friend.”


“Thanks, Mrs. Weasley.” He started to climb the steps again.


“Oh, Harry, another thing, he may be a little, er, surprised to see you.”


Harry didn't understand why she would say this, but turned back around and climbed the rest of the steps. Without having to think about it his legs carried him straight to Ron's room. He stopped when he came to the door. The paint on the door was still flaking off, and the letters on the door that used to say “RONALD'S ROOM” now said “RON D'S R M” where they had chipped off over the past couple of years.


Then his memories flooded him. He'd be at the Dursley's house for weeks and then come to the Burrow. He'd run from the front yard to Ron's room and burst through the door to see Ron, Hermione and Ginny sitting on Ron's bright orange bedspread on the bed waiting for him. He pushed down all the emotions and knocked on the door to let Ron know that someone was about to come in. He opened the door slowly, not knowing what to expect. The once brilliantly orange room was now painted a rainy-day gray.


And there, on the left side of the room in the corner, sat Ron's bed. Ron was in the bed with the covers up to the top of his head.


“Ron,” said Harry slowly, “it's me. I'm all better and I've finally come to see you. so you can get better.”


Harry silently went over to the bed and slowly pulled the covers down.


He almost shouted.

To put it loosely, Ron’s body didn’t look like any other human’s Harry had ever seen. Ron almost looked like a live corpse.

To Harry, one side of Ron’s body looked completely different from the other. Ron’s right arm looked like there was nothing wrong with it other than a few scabs here and there. However, Harry figured that it had been broken, because it looked a little pink and swollen.

His other arm, though, looked as if it was no longer of any use. It had a long scar going up it, reaching almost to his shoulder. Harry couldn’t imagine what had caused this.

He couldn’t see Ron’s legs, as he had only pulled the covers far back enough to see from his torso up. He didn’t want to pull the covers back anymore, because he could only imagine what they could look like after he saw the victim’s arms.

After looking at Ron’s arms, Harry took a look at his head. Ron’s head almost looked too small for his body. A small chunk of his left ear was missing off the top, and his nose had been crooked, as if it had been broken, too.

Ron opened his eyes and began to inspect Harry while Harry was inspecting him. While Harry couldn’t believe how dead Ron’s usually lively face looked, Ron was thinking the same thing about Harry’s. He noticed that Harry’s usually sparkling, joyful eyes were now filled with sorrow and emptiness, and they were shrunken back into his head. Harry’s face was also covered with burns. Neither boy knew what his own face looked like, or how the other felt about the ordeal, but both had a feeling that they would be scarred forever, both emotionally and physically.

Harry started to talk to Ron about how much he had missed him, and what he had been through while in the hospital.

“I would ask you how much you have been though, but you can’t speak. It came as quite a shock when I found out that you weren’t doing too well. I just wanted to come and say, you know, ‘thanks’, for risking your life for mine. I have no idea how I am ever going to repay you. I guess I am forever in you debt.”

“No, you’re not,” Ron said, almost knocking Harry out of his chair, “just keep on being my best mate, okay?”

“I thought you couldn’t talk, Ron! What happened?”

“That is a good question. I don’t know. It just came out, I guess. Don’t worry; I am just as freaked out as you are. I am the one who was told I couldn’t talk for another couple of weeks. And, here I am, talking as if there was never a problem with me.”

“You should look in the mirror, mate. You would think differently then,” said Harry.

“Oh, thanks a lot, you great prat. That makes me feel lovely about myself.”

“You’re welcome,” quipped Harry.

They both started laughing just as Hermione, Ginny, and Mrs. Weasley walked in. Mrs. Weasley had come up to give the boys each a piece of cake, but she dropped the plates onto the floor when she saw Ron’s lively face.

“What is going on here?” She asked, her hand on her chest and her breathing harder than normal. All three women were pale and looked as if they were going to faint.

“I don’t know, Mrs. Weasley. I was talking to Ron, and he responded. That’s all.”

“Mum, don’t worry, this isn’t a dream. I wasn’t even trying to talk. My thoughts just sort of came out. Cool, isn’t it?”

Mrs. Weasley looked as if she thought Ron was thick.

“Uh, Harry, can Hermione and I have a word with you in my room, please? Now?” Ginny asked.

“Sure,” Harry said, looking at Ron, “I’ll see you in a couple of minutes, mate.”

Harry followed Ginny and Hermione into the neighboring bedroom. “So, what did you want to say to me, guys?”

“Harry,” Hermione said slowly. “When we told you that Ron would be able to talk in a short period of time, we didn’t think it would be this quickly. You see, when the doctor came the day before last to do a check up on Ron, he said that it would most likely me a number of weeks. I do believe this could be in the category of “miracle”. You helped Ronald with his recovery process, even in the short amount of time you have been here. I’m sure that when I say this, I represent the whole family. Harry, thank you.”

At this, Hermione and Ginny both walked up and hugged Harry. When they backed away, he said, “Guys, I can’t believe that his happened either. I was having a conversation with a person who could be considered as a temporary mute, and then he just started talking back. What does this mean for his recovery process?”

Ginny jumped at the opportunity to answer this question. “The healer said that when he started talking again, everything from there can only go uphill! It also means that soon he will gain full control of his legs again, and after some slight therapy, he’ll be able to walk in no time! Wow, this is all so exciting!”

“But, guys, one other thing; why didn’t he talk while you were up with him before I got out of the hospital? This is the first time I have seen him in months, and he just miraculously starts talking again? How come it didn’t occur when you were with him? You saw him more.”

“Well, Harry, it’s because, well, we forgot to tell you one tiny detail,” Ginny said, almost as quiet as a mouse.

“Okay, I am tired of secrets. There are just too many. So, all right, what did you ‘forget’ to tell me?” Harry said sarcastically.

“The reason Ron wouldn’t talk to us, we believe, is because he was too depressed,” Hermione said, equally as quiet as Ginny.

“But, why would he be depressed? I mean, yeah, he wasn’t feeling at the top of his game, but that isn’t’ a very good reason.”

“Because we didn’t tell him you were all right,” Ginny said, almost too fast for anyone to understand a word of what she had spoken.

“YOU TOLD RON I WAS DEAD?!?”

“No, Harry, well, yeah, kind-of, but you understand why, right?”

“Uh, actually, I don’t,” Harry took a deep breath before continuing. “Someone please enlighten me with all the details. Didn’t anybody think it was wrong to do that?”

“I did,” Ginny said, on the verge of tears.

“Well, of course you did,” Harry said, not comprehending what the red head had said. “But that doesn’t- wait, you thought it was wrong?”

“Of course I did. I thought it was very wrong to tell him that, but they thought it was perfectly all right. They thought this because we had no idea how well you would recover from your own injuries. They didn’t want to give him what they called ‘false hope’. But I thought you were going to be just FINE!” At this, Ginny fled the room in a flash of red hair, trying to hold back her tears until she got into Fred and George’s bedroom.

“Well, that went well,” Hermione said sarcastically. Harry just gave her a look that said ‘not now’ and left the room to find Ginny.

He found her in the twin’s bedroom thrown across one of their beds. She had her face down on the bedcover, and her red hair looked like a fan around her head. He could hear her muffled sniffles just barely, and when she heard the door click shut she quickly sat up and wiped her eyes. Harry went over and sat on the bed beside her.

“Ginny,” Harry said, trying to put his sentence together as best as he could. The last things he wanted to do was upset her even more, “do you still have feelings for me?”

“Yes,” she said quietly, looking at everything in the room but him.

“Ginny, you didn’t even need to answer that. I remember the look on your face at Hogwarts when I broke up with you at Dumbledore’s funeral. You looked torn inside, even though you tried your hardest to not show any emotions. I was such an idiot then. Also, when I was in my coma, I heard you talking to me. I heard everyone talk to me. I might not have looked like I could hear every little noise that went on around me, but I heard it. I am surprised the Healer didn’t tell you all that. You could have talked to me all day, as long as you didn’t mind me not talking back.”

“You heard everything I said to you?”

“Well, yes. I heard you tell me how upset you were that I was in the hospital, in a coma. I heard you tell me how much you missed me responding to you. I also heard you say how you would not be able to live if I had died. Ginny, I feel the same way. I am really sorry for breaking off the great relationship we had together at Hogwarts.”

“Harry, I forgave you a long time ago. I understood why you broke up with me, even though it took a while. I was just waiting for you to come back for me.” Ginny said, tears rolling steadily down her soft cheeks.

“Well, I am back, and ready to start over with a clean slate. Ginevra Molly Weasley, will you give me another chance? Will you give us another chance?”

“Of course I will, Harry James Potter. Harry, you have no idea what this means to me. I have been waiting a really long time for you to ask me that question. What do you think I am, a blooming idiot?”

Harry stepped towards Ginny, wrapping his arms around her body. He looked down at her to see her tear-streaked face. Even though it was wet, it was still the most beautiful thing he had seen in his whole life. Ginny stood on her tippy-toes to meet Harry, who had moved his head downward. They kissed, and it felt like something they had never experienced before. The kiss was passionate and sweet, and both could not help but feel relief. Then, they both thought it at the same time. It was like coming home after a long, tiresome trip..

They broke apart, and Ginny asked softly, “Would you like to go downstairs and tell everyone the good news? They will all be so excited and surprised at our decision.”

“Of course I do,” Harry said, grinning from ear to ear. “What do you think I am, a ‘blooming idiot’?” He then said, mocking what Ginny had said moments before.

“Shut up!” And at this, she punched Harry in his arm playfully. She got a shocked expression back from Harry.

“If you’re not careful, you are going to jinx the relationship. We are only two minutes in, and you are already abusing me. That isn’t very good for my self-esteem, you know.”

”Come on, you silly thing,” said Ginny, reaching for Harry’s hand. “Let’s go now.”

They went downstairs, having no idea what surprises would await them.