Six weeks had passed since Hermione and Ron had entered the world of Gryffindor’s locket. Remus Lupin had estimated that it had only been about 21 hours for Hermione and Ron. This was just an estimate based on Ginny’s comment the fortnight before.
“We were only there for an hour or so!” Ginny had said when Hermione informed her that they had been asleep for nearly two days.
Ginny and Harry had left about two weeks after Hermione and Ron, therefore they’d probably been there for seven hours.
The four teens’ bodies started to turn very pale after Harry and Ginny had let their minds enter the locket’s world for about a week. The bodies of Harry, Ginny, and Ron were all strained. Harry’s fists had become so tightly clenched that Lupin couldn’t understand how his nails hadn’t drawn blood from his hand yet. Ron’s faced was screwed up, angry and scared, and his arms were tight to his body, completely stiff. Ginny’s hand was on her heart, her eyebrows crossed and her toes curled. Hermione’s body, however, was the same as Harry’s had been the first time. She wouldn’t stop sweating and trembling.
Lupin was beside himself. Hermione’s body could only take so much more. And the fact that Hermione was the only one seeming to be manipulated made him very uneasy. He didn’t dare leave the hospital wing until they were awake and fine. But for some reason he got the feeling that everything was not going to be fine.
Mrs. Weasley, like himself, wouldn’t leave the teens’ sides. She cared for them and talked to each of their bodies, and tried to hold their hands. She would wipe Hermione’s face with a washcloth to help with the sweat and fever. She insisted (much to Madam Pomfrey’s dismay) that she be the one who forced a potion down her throat every day that should’ve helped the twitching, but wasn’t doing much. She had tears on her cheeks at all times of every day, no doubt fighting with herself to give up hope.
They were only teenagers, and no one quite understood why they were thrown into such a war at such a young age. And Lupin would always blame Voldemort for it. He was the one who killed James and Lily, marking Harry as his equal in the process. Ron and Hermione were such loyal friends that they would never think to let Harry walk into danger alone. And little Ginny. She was in it for love, friendship, and family.
Lupin had only ever seen that kind of love once before in his life and was not entirely surprised that he’d seen it in Harry as well. James and Lily. Come to think of it, Harry and Ginny had a lot in common with James and Lily. Firstly they looked like each other; Harry, the spitting image of James and Ginny, just falling short of identical to Lily. Ginny’s stubbornness was so much like Lily’s that it made Lupin’s heart clench. He could just see the memories of James getting so frustrated at Lily for putting herself in danger. He saw that exact argument from Harry and Ginny. Harry and James hadn’t wanted each of their red-heads to stand by them in war, while Ginny and Lily didn’t care what their men wanted.
“Please!” Hermione screamed, interrupting Remus’ thoughts. “I need help!”
“’Mione!” Ron screamed.
Harry started to shake his head and Ginny’s face developed such an angry expression that Lupin expected she’d kill someone.
“Love is stronger than Voldemort! Love is what makes a true Friendship and a true Relationship. Love is stronger than Voldemort…” Harry chanted through gritted teeth over and over again.
“Remus,” Mrs. Weasley mumbled as she stared at Harry’s body from her seat next to Hermione’s. “Remus!”
“Molly, go get Madam Pomfrey and have her bring in Healer Miller,” Lupin told her calmly as he went to Harry’s side.
Healer Miller was from Saint Mungo’s and had been staying at Hogwarts to keep an eye on the teens since Ginny and Harry had gone in after Ron and Hermione.
“It’s not working!” Ginny screamed.
Harry started to chant louder and louder and then as suddenly as it had all started, it stopped. There was no movement or sound from any of the bodies.
“They are talking. They aren’t awake but more like talking in their-,” Lupin heard Mrs. Weasley telling the Healer and Madam Pomfrey as they entered the Hospital Wing.
She stopped dead in her tracks as she saw that the bodies were no longer doing anything.
The four of them stared at the teens in silence as if waiting for it all to start up again. When nothing happened they all took seats around the room.
For five more days Lupin, Mrs. Weasley, Madam Pomfrey, and Healer Miller didn’t leave the hospital wing. Each of them stationed at each of the teens, they sat and observed the bodies. They were occasionally visited by Mr. and Mrs. Granger, Mr. Weasley, Petunia Dursley, Hagrid, Professor McGonagall, or other members of the Weasley family. Professor McGonagall mostly brought each adult food at each meal time and would fill in for someone if they needed to use the toilet. Hagrid only visited once, having left in tears at the sight of the bodies.
Hermione’s body was no longer showing signs of manipulation, nor was it showing signs of anything else. Her body was extremely cold to the touch and the pallor in her face was whiter than any of the others’. She lay in her bed, next to Ron, without a trace of life in her small body. Madam Pomfrey kept insisting that it was a good sign because it meant that she was not being bothered nor manipulated, therefore there was nothing to worry about; however, that didn’t seem to convince Mrs. Weasley.
It was a joint decision of the group not to fully tell the Grangers or Petunia the extent of the situation, but to insist to them that it was part of their mission in the war.
A fortnight after the bodies had spoken, Ginny’s began to stir. Mrs. Weasley was stationed next to her and lifted her head from the edge of the bed, waking up. She seemed to think that her mind was playing tricks on her, so she watched Ginny for a few more seconds before laying her head back down next to Ginny’s hand and closing her eyes. A minute or two later when she felt Ginny’s hand leap up to her eyes and she breathed in a long breath of air, however, Mrs. Weasley realized it wasn’t her imagination.
“Remus!” she yelped, her hand over her mouth in fear and hope as she watched her daughter’s eyes begin to open.
“Ouch!” Ginny croaked as the light from the room hit her eyes.
“Ginny! Merlin’s beard I was so worried!” Mrs. Weasley cried kissing every part of Ginny’s face that was open. The tears from her face were leaking onto her daughter’s and she couldn’t help but pull away to let out a long needed sob.
“Mum, it’s alright. I’m fine, I promise,” Ginny reassured her as she took her mother’s hand.
Lupin stared across the bed, from Harry’s side, at Molly and Ginny, wondering why Ginny wasn’t yelling at everyone about Harry still being asleep. He wondered why she wasn’t draped on top of him trying to wake him up or asking anyone about him.
Ginny looked around the room to see her brother’s body lying next to her best friend’s. She looked next to her to find Lupin sitting next to Harry’s side. She watched Harry’s face and smiled. She leaned down and kissed his cheek lightly.
“He’s back. He’s just sleeping for real now,” Ginny explained to Lupin’s questioning look. “We came back together. He’s really exhausted. Both of us are, really, I just wanted to tell everyone that we were back before I went to sleep.”
Mrs. Weasley moved to the other side of the bed so that she was next to Lupin, and she started to kiss Harry, too. She hugged him and mumbled things to him about being worried and being glad he was alright. He opened his eyes a little and smiled weakly at her.
“Mum, he still can’t talk but he says that we’ll explain everything in the morning. We just want to sleep for a little while. We haven’t slept in ages,” Ginny explained.
Mrs. Weasley nodded, squeezing Harry’s hand and telling him to get back to sleep. She kissed Ginny’s forehead once more before telling her the same.
“Ginny?” Lupin called from Ron and Hermione’s bed.
“Yes?”
“Are they back?” he asked her.
Ginny’s eyes looked defeated. She bit her lip and then closed her eyes. Shaking her head she replied, “I’m not sure. We didn’t come back with them. There was so much going on and you can only return with your other half-“ here she pointed to Harry “- so I didn’t see if they came back.”
Lupin knew that she was leaving out something important, but he let it go and told himself to ask later after the teens had gotten their sleep.
The next morning seemed to come and pass with Harry and Ginny still deep asleep and nothing occurring from Ron and Hermione’s bed. By afternoon, almost everyone had been informed of their awakening and had come to visit, most all disappointed that they were still sleeping.
“I don’t understand why they need to sleep when they’ve been asleep for six weeks!” Fred complained to his mother when they showed up to visit.
“Their bodies were asleep, Fred, but their minds were not,” was all the explanation Mrs. Weasley was willing to give.
The couple finally awoke around quarter past four in the afternoon.
They awoke almost at the exact same time and the first thing they did was find each other’s faces and kiss. It was not deep, but just short and sweet, seeing as neither had any energy.
‘I love you so much, Ginny Weasley,’ Harry told Ginny through their thoughts.
Ginny smiled. “I love you more, Harry Potter,”
‘I’d like to talk more and kiss more and show you how much I love you, but at the moment I feel as if I could eat a whole table of food from Hogwarts at the opening feast,’
Ginny giggled. “Mum? I hate to bother, but can we get some food?”
Mrs. Weasley came bustling through a few minutes later with two plates of food and Kreacher trailing behind her with more. She handed each of them a plate and set the rest on the table next to the bed as she watched them each tuck into their meals. She wiped a tear off her cheek and smiled.
“What’s wrong, mum?” Ginny asked, momentarily deserting her food.
“Nothing, darling. I just honestly never thought I would ever see any of you lot alive again. I wasn’t ready to give up on your bodies, I just didn’t know when I was going to have no choice,” she explained.
“Mum, really! You think you could get rid of us that easily? You clearly don’t know Harry and Ginny!” Ron exclaimed, smiling at his mother, sister, and best friend. “Together, they’re more stubborn than all of the Weasley boys put together.”
“Ronald!” Mrs. Weasley squeaked before running at his bed and showering him with hugs, mumbles, kisses, and tears, as she’d done to Harry and Ginny the night before.
“Please, Ron,” Hermione’s voice was so soft that Ginny was surprised anyone had heard her. “Please,”
Her face was white as the sheet that covered her body, her eyelids half-shut. Her lips were dry and cracked and the sweat on her forehead started streaming down her face and neck. Her voice was quiet and scratchy and Ron could tell it was hurting her.
Ron sat up and quickly picked her up into his arms. Holding her, he whispered all sorts of things. He told her he loved her and that she would be ok. He assured her that she would get through everything and he would be by her side every step of the way. He took the water that Ginny had brought him from her tray of food and he tilted the glass up so that Hermione could drink some.
None of them had noticed that Mrs. Weasley had left to find the Healer and Madam Pomfrey until they showed up next to the bed, trying to get Ron to let Hermione go. The tears from Ron’s eyes were exploding and his grip was so tight that no one was going to take her from him.
Hermione had fallen back to sleep in Ron’s arms and wasn’t awoken by all the clutter that was going on around her.
“No! You will treat her right here in my arms! I won’t let her go! I promised!” Ron yelled at everyone in the room.
The Healer and Madam Pomfrey finally gave in and started to examine Hermione while she lay within Ron’s strong arms. She was helpless and could not move in any way, for she was much too weak.
“This is more than the power of manipulation alone,” Madam Pomfrey stated, shaking her head.
The Healer darted into a different room and ran out carrying two small vials of potion. He gave one to Madam Pomfrey and motioned for her to take it to Harry. She headed toward Harry and gave him the potion, watching to make sure he drank it all and then she took the empty vial and walked over to where the Healer was trying to wake Hermione up so she could drink it.
“Love, wake up. Just for a moment. Please! Hermione, love just please wake up,” Ron was begging and he didn’t care. He needed Hermione to wake up and he needed her to be ok. He didn’t care that he was so openly crying in front of a room full of people and he didn’t care that her hair was getting wet from his tears. He kissed her forehead and rocked her back and forth. “Please, they need to help you before you get worse,” he whispered.
As if that was the key to the box, Hermione opened her eyes and took as deep of a breath as she could get. She looked at Ron and tried her hardest to smile, but in her state, it didn’t end up working. Ron kissed her forehead, afraid to kiss her lips because he knew she needed all the breath she could get.
Healer Miller held a hand up to Hermione’s cheek to get a sense of what her temperature was. He held the potion up and told her that it tasted ghastly but it would help with her throat and strength. She attempted a nod and Ron took the potion from the Healer and tipped it so that Hermione could drink it all.
The Healer went back to St. Mungo’s to consult another Healer about what to do. No one had seen Hermione’s condition before.
No sooner had he gone, had Ginny and Harry gone to Ron and Hermione’s side. Ron had fixed Hermione so that he was leaning against the backboard of the bed while she sat against him, between his legs for support, with her back against his stomach. Her head rested on his chest and she could feel his heart beat. Every couple of minutes he would lean down and kiss the top of her head. He could tell she was gaining some of her strength back because she lifted her hand and put it on top of his which was resting on her stomach.
Harry and Ginny stood watching their friends, and in Ginny’s case brother. Harry stood behind Ginny with his arms wrapped around her and her arms linked themselves with his. Harry caught Ron’s eye and there was an understanding that Harry hadn’t yet really received. Ron was giving his complete consent. He was saying that he understood their love for each other and he was saying that he knew why Harry had tried to break it off with Ginny. It wasn’t to hurt her but to protect her from his love for her. In that moment, Ron said more to Harry than anyone could ever know, and Ginny smiled as Harry unknowingly thought to her that it was one of the best feelings in the world; unknowingly he told her that he finally had her and that he would never again give her up. And she, completely knowingly, held onto him tighter.
“Well once the whole lot comes in to visit us we’ll have to tell what happened. Something unpleasant tells me that we’ll have to repeat it several hundred times,” Ron broke the moment with a complaint.
Harry and Ginny grinned and Hermione shook her head the slightest bit.
“Don’t exaggerate, Ronald. It will only be a few hundred times,” Hermione retorted, still so softly that it made Ron’s stomach tighten.
They all knew that she was trying to make it seem like she wasn’t in too much pain. They all knew that it was more pain than anyone could imagine. Harry reached forward and grabbed her hand. He looked her in the eye and silently thanked her. He squeezed her hand, letting her know they would all be by her side no matter what.
“Harry wants you to know-” Ginny started but was interrupted by Harry.
“I want you to know how much I appreciate both of you. All of you really,” he told them.
Ginny looked up at Harry with wide eyes. She turned so that they were face to face and he put his hand on her cheek. She turned her head and kissed his palm before jumping on him, wrapping her legs around his waist, arms around his neck, face hidden in his shoulder.
Harry chuckled. “I’m glad I got my voice back, too,”
He held her tight and pulled his head away just the slightest to look her in the face. And then they kissed. Harry was reminded of the first time they’d ever kissed and he smiled. Ginny pulled away, staring at him.
“What’s funny?” she asked, referring to his smile in the middle of their kiss.
“This seems a bit familiar,” he told her.
She smiled and nodded. “This was before you became the bloke who tried to break my heart,”
It was just a statement. It was neither an accusation nor a hurtful memory. But Harry’s smile faded and he let her down, walking back to their bed to lie down. He scratched his chest subconsciously and stared at the empty beds to the right of theirs.
“Harry, it wasn’t…I mean I didn’t mean anything by it. I know that it was what you had to do. We weren’t even together and look what he did to me,” Ginny was fighting a losing battle as she walked over to the bed. She saw that Harry was crying but she couldn’t figure out what to do. So she did what her instincts told her to do and without thinking, she climbed into bed with him and curled up behind him hiding her face in his neck.
“I’m sorry, Ginny. If you’d never met me none of you would be in this mess. Look at the lot of you! Ginny you’ve been attacked, held hostage more than once, been possessed by Riddle, the list goes on. Ron, you sit there holding the only girl that you will ever love knowing that you were this close to losing her. Hermione is hanging onto sanity by its threads. Manipulation, damage of a Horcrux, fighting to stay alive. You’ve all sacrificed yourselves for me and what for? What have I done for you?”
The room was silent for a couple of minutes, each of them soaking in what Harry had said. Ginny felt tears threatening to fall, but she wouldn’t let them. It burned a hole in her heart to know that this was really how Harry felt. And then the silence was broken.
“You’ve been the best, most loyal friend any bloke could have,” Ron told Harry as if he should’ve always known this and he couldn’t believe he needed to tell the latter. “For some bloody reason, unknown to me, I’m the lucky bastard who you chose,”
As fast as the silence was broken, it returned again, blanketing over the room.
“If you never met Ron, I would’ve never been friends with him. It’s only because of you that we met, Harry and you know it. I would’ve never found my other half. And it’s all because of you that I have. So besides the fact that you are, actually, an utterly amazing friend, I owe you my life for giving me this lucky bastard you chose,” Hermione chimed in, her voice a little stronger than before.
Once again the silence fell upon them. It was Ginny’s turn.
“Please don’t, Harry. Don’t do this. I don’t even want to think about what would’ve happened if you hadn’t met Ron. I don’t want to think of a world where you weren’t next to me, with me, in my head, tattooed on my body. I don’t want to think of my life without you in my heart. I’ve given you everything and I only have because I love you so bloody much. And if every day of my damn life I have to remind you that you are so much more of a blessing than a burden, I will. I’ll take that challenge with my arms wide open. You mean more to me than anything I will ever know. You are my world, Harry Potter; my whole world. Without you, I’m nothing! I’m 17 years old and I know very bloody well that without you I am nothing,”
She was 17. Damn it, Harry, Ginny Weasley is 17 years old. Then that means-
“I’m 18?” Harry asked. “It’s been a year?”
“Yeah, crazy, isn’t it,” Ginny said.
“Well after Ginny being captured, hospitalized, then captured again, hospitalized with Harry, a month or so of rest before that fat Hipzabab lady’s house, the will, the journey, the Horcrux…We must’ve been in that world for weeks! It only felt like a day for me and Hermione, but time flies in there,” Ron explained.
“Mum says we were gone for almost seven weeks,” Ginny added.
“I can’t believe we missed our birthdays. It seems like it’s only been a couple of months!” Harry thought aloud.
“You lose track of time when you’re in war, Harry,” Hermione told him.
There was yet another minute of silence before it was interrupted by a swarm of visitors that Madam Pomfrey didn’t even limit.
Healer Miller fought through the crowd and went right to Hermione’s bed. “Miss Granger, I’m afraid that before I can treat you I need to know what happened in that world. None of my colleagues nor I have ever seen a case like your own and in order to fix everything, I need to hear the story from at least one of you as to what exactly happened,”
“I can explain,” Ron volunteered. “But before I do, I have to say something,” at this point, he leaned over to the side of his bed and grabbed something from his robe’s pocket. “Hermione Granger I had a list of things that I wanted to say to you. I had a beautiful plan for this. But things change and in this case, I can’t wait any longer. Earlier Ginny told Harry that he was her world. She told me that a couple years back. She told me that Harry was her whole world and that even if they didn’t work out, she would only have room for him in her heart. And the moment she said those words to me I knew that I felt the same. I knew what she was feeling because I was feeling it for you. I’ve loved you since our second year at Hogwarts and even then I knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. There is no better way of saying it other than that you are my world; my entire world. I am giving you my whole heart and I’m praying to God that you have the key. I am a lucky bastard, but without you, it means nothing,”
By now he had opened the little box in his hand and held out a ring to Hermione. She was sobbing and the room was silent as everyone waited for her to answer, shocked that those words actually came out of his mouth.
Hermione and Ron stared at each other as if they were the only two in the room. One of them hoping upon hope that the words wouldn’t be taken back while the other, blushing harder than he ever had in his whole life, held his breath praying upon any God that existed.
And then she smiled.
The breath Ron had been holding for what seemed like an eternity was let out as he shut his eyes tight in relief. “Please, dear Merlin, tell me that’s a yes,”
“What took you so long?” Hermione finally whispered, tugging at Ron to lean down to her and kissing him so deeply that she felt like she could pass her soul to him.
When they broke apart, Ron’s grin took over his face and the blush died down a little, though not completely, seeing that a room full of people were watching them. He pulled the ring out of the box and slipped it onto Hermione’s finger.
The room watched in happiness as the new fiancés embraced with a kiss yet again.
Never what it seems by Rons chick
Chapter Notes: Wow, guys, it’s been awhile since I wrote last. There’s been a lot going in my life. But I’m so happy to have finished this chapter and I promise that I will never take that long again! I hope you like it and please give some constructive criticism. Thank you so much,
Manda