A/N: Sorry this took so long! I was on vacation!

Chapter Six

Finally Awake

"Thank you Mister Potter, I will be doing some tests on Miss Weasley, I will let you know how they go," the healer told Harry. Harry lay there and thought about his what he had realized. He knew always knew on some level that he loved Ginny and that he wanted to marry her, but he had never admitted it to himself. Now all he had to do was admit it to her. The only problem was he didn't know when, or even if, she would wake up and when they would be alone again. He sighed to himself and took off his glasses. Harry rubbed his eyes and his stomach growled. He just realized that he hadn't ate anything since the night before when they had dinner. Harry asked the healer if it was okay for him to eat something. The healer nodded and Luna volunteered to go to the kitchen to find something for Harry. She was back within minutes with food for Harry. He scarfed it down like a pack of hungry wild wolves because he was so hungry. When he was done Harry started a conversation with Hermione, Neville, and Luna to keep his mind off of Ginny. Pomphrey and McGonagall had long gone into Pomphrey's office so they wouldn't be too far away if anything changed.

"Yes this should do it," the healer suddenly said to himself but not quietly. All four young adults looked over. They sat there, watching the healer for a few minutes when a faint, "Harry?" was heard from a frail Ginny Weasley.

"I will go get Professor McGonagall and tell her that you are awake," the healer started. "While I'm gone, Mister Potter please no sudden movements and Miss Weasley do not do anything besides sit up, and do so slowly," the healer instructed as he left for the office. Harry slowly stood up and walked over to Ginny. When he reached her bed he gathered her in his arms.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she replied then asked, "what happened?"

Hermione stepped up to explain what the healer said to them and Harry before. She told Ginny about how they hadn't been able to wake them and how worried they were. Harry stepped in to tell her what the healer had told him about the dream she most likely had. Ginny nodded in understanding what he was saying. "What did you see?" She asked.

"You," Harry said blushing, "um, you had cuts and brides all over yourself and we were in the Forbidden Forest. You were telling me to kill you since I was a git and selfish that it was the least I could do for you. But Voldemort killed you, and then he killed me."

"Harry you know I would never say something like that," Ginny said quickly.

"I know, I'm okay," Harry replied before closing the gap between their mouths. It felt reassuring to Harry to have Ginny's lips against his; it was like they hadn't even been hit by an unknown curse. When they broke Harry wrapped his arms around Ginny again they were reassuring each other that they were alright.

Later that night, around eleven, they were cleared to sleep as long as they took a light-sleep potion first. Before they fell asleep however, Harry turned to Ginny, "Are you feeling okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine... well, kind of," Ginny replied. "My stomach feels like it's kind of doing flips, you know what I mean?"

"Yeah, my stomach feels like that too, mixed with a feeling of someone punching me in the gut."

"Yeah," Ginny agreed, "do you think we should tell healer Mandler?" Noah Mandler they learned was their healer's name after the initial rush of both of them waking up died down.

"Well, let's see what he found out in the tests first, and then we'll tell him if he doesn't already know."

"Agreed."

There was a brief silence before Harry spoke up again, "Hey, Gin?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

Ginny had been half asleep when Harry said that, her eyes shot open and a huge grin plastered on her face, "I love you too Potter."

(Hermione's PoV)

"Hermione?" Neville said as he approached her. Hermione was sitting on the couch in the Gryffindor common room with dozens of spell books cluttered around her, all of them were old. She looked up at Neville, temporarily putting her frantic search of trying to find out what spell Harry and Ginny had been hit with. "Hermione I promised Ginny that I would make sure you didn't stay up too late studying," Neville continued and Hermione sighed. Ever since term started Ginny would be constantly dragging Hermione up to her room so she could get some sleep and now that she wasn't there to do it she gave the job to Neville.

"Thanks Neville, but I'm trying to find out what spell Harry and Ginny were hit by. Besides, it's only ten thirty, at least give me thirty more minutes," Hermione pleaded like a little girl wanting candy.

"Fine, would you like some help?"

"Oh, yes, that'd be great, thanks! Here," she said handing Neville a very old looking book. "There's a summary of every spell in that book in the beginning."

Neville nodded and set off to work and Hermione continued looking through the summaries in the book she currently had. After about fifteen minutes of endless searching that came up with nothing, Hermione turned a page to come across a spell named Dolore Usque ad Mortem. She started to read the description of it and noticed it too was in Latin, why is all of this is in latin but none of the others are? Hermione asked herself before getting a pencil and circling the spell then she stuck the pencil in the book to keep the page marked before she closed it.

"Neville I think that's enough for tonight, will you help me clean these books up and bring them back tomorrow?"

"Sure and then after we stop at the library we can visit Harry and Ginny," Hermione nodded in agreement as she and Neville started stacking the books on the table.

"Well go between our first two classes, I'm pretty sure we both have a free period?"

"Yeah we do, I'll see you tomorrow, 'night Hermione."

"Goodnight Neville."

(Harry's PoV)

"Harry, are you awake?" Ginny asked a little after the clock in the Hospital Wing struck twelve.

"Yeah... Can't sleep, how about you?" Harry replied, he had only slept for a little over forty minutes before waking up again with stomach pains.

"Me neither," Ginny sighed. "It's going to be a long night I'm guessing."

"Yes it is," Harry agreed sighing, why do things like this always happen to me? He asked himself.

"You know, when I was five, the bed time story my parents told me was of The Boy Who Lived," Ginny said laughing. "And I remember when I was seven, Mum and Dad were busy putting my brothers to bed so I asked Bill to tell me your story. When he finished I told him that, someday, I was going to marry you," Ginny recalled.

"Do you still think that?" Harry asked with a smile.

"Of course, that is one of my dreams that hasn't changed. Though before I was in love with for your story and how you defeated Voldemort. But now I'm in love with you for you, Harry, your selflessness, amazing sense of humor, your strength, and you, you're just, Harry. Not The Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived, the chosen-one, not even because you're the one who defeated Voldemort, just, you. Just, Harry."

"Thanks Gin," Harry smiled and was grateful that he could have a girl as wonderful as Ginny.

Harry was about to add something when a sharp pain cut through his stomach, both Ginny and Harry groaned as they clutched their stomachs. Then it repeated, then again and again.

"I'll... send... for..." Harry gasped, not able to finish his sentence. He desperately groped for his wand that lay on his bedside table. When he found it, all his concentration went into ignoring the constant pain and focusing on the spell. All Harry and Ginny could do was watch as the silvery glowing stag ran off in the direction of Healer Mandler's temporary room. It didn't take long before both of them were desperately gasping for breath as a new sensation of someone squeezing their lungs came on. Before the Healer could get their, both of them had passed out from the pain that was too violent for them to handle. Mandler was busy at work by the time McGonagall got there, Pomphrey had informed her after Mandler had shouted for her to help. Pomphrey and Mandler were doing all they could to get the two breathing regularly and to wake them. With them unconscious, much was left unknown, and there was little the healers could do to help.

(Hermione's PoV)

Hermione and Neville were on their way to the library after they completed the first class they had on Monday's. With each of them carrying half of the books that Hermione had checked out, it made the load a lot lighter, yet still heavy. They were talking about their class they had already attended as they entered the library. All morning, they had both been oblivious to what had happened in the Hospital wing early that morning and how it was still unknown if Harry and Ginny would wake up. Hermione and Neville returned all the books except the one with the spell Hermione wanted to find out about.

"Before we go check on Harry and Ginny, we have to find an English-Latin dictionary... You see I found this spell and it was the only spell in the book that was in Latin. It's called Dolore Usque ad Mortem, and I want to find out more about it. Will you help me find a dictionary so I can translate it?" Hermione asked.

"Sure," Neville shrugged.

"Oh, thank you so much Neville," she squealed before they went to get a dictionary. After they found it they began to translate the name. Hermione flipped through the pages of the dictionary until she found the full meaning of the spell and a little description. "The name means, Pain even to the death. It says here that there are several different side-effects, each one progressively worse. They will continue until one of the side-effects has killed the person in question."

The two stared at each other, wide eyed. This revelation could drastically help Healer Mandler, "Neville, we have to show this to McGonagall and the healer," Hermione said as she shut the books so the dictionary was a book mark for the other book. They sprinted to the Hospital Wing. They were greeted with Madame Pomphrey saying "I can feel a steady pulse in Miss Weasley neck," when they opened the doors to the Hospital Wing.

"Same here with Potter," Mandler replied with a sigh of thankfulness. A silence settled over the room as Hermione and Neville approached the beds. "Here make Weasley drink this," Manlder handed Pomphrey a potion while he held a twin that he would force down Harry's throat. "It will help them wake up, that way they should be coming around in a few moments."

"What's going on?" Hermione jumped in, concerned. McGonagall looked over at Hermione from her place where she observed everything that was going on with the two still unconscious as Mandler and Pomphrey tipped the potions into the mouths of their patients.

"Early this morning, Potter and Weasley fell into a fit of pains with erratic breathing. By the time we arrived to help, they had both become unconscious. Since then, their breathing and heartbeats have stabilized, now we are just trying to get them to wake up," McGonagall summarized to ease the worried looks on Hermione and Neville's faces.

McGonagall conjured two chairs for Pomphrey and Mandler could sit now that they were done with their constant tries to wake and calm the patients bodies. Both healers slumped down in the chairs, exhausted. Not only were they exhausted from the work but also since they had they were woken up in the middle of the night, they didn't get a lot of sleep. Sitting in the chairs was refreshing for the two. In the silence that occurred after the two were seated, Hermione decided to step up and share what she found. "Um, I was doing a little research in some old books of spells, Neville helped me, and we found this," she held up the book. "Obviously it is all in Latin, so we went to the library to get a rough translation, I wrote it down here," Hermione pulled out her parchment that she had scribbled down on and read from it, "This spell can be as deadly as the Killing Curse. It has many stages after the subject is hit with the spell. The first, and least lethal, is a forced coma that will force the victim to see a memory of theirs mixed with their worst fear. The several different side-effects will each get progressively worse until one of the side-effects has killed the person in question."

Hermione stopped and looked up, silently asking if she should go on. Healer Mandler answered her question, "Well, now at least we know a little more about this curse but we need to know how to stop it. Does it say anything about how long there is between side-effects?"

"Yes, roughly... twelve hours, it's not always precise."

Mandler ran a hand across his face with a sigh, "At least that gives us time for them to wake up and for us to figure out how to cure it."

"It actually has a counter curse but it says it has to be preform after this potion is taken."

They all looked at the parchment that Hermione was holding. She had written down the ingredients and the steps. "I will contact Horace and have him make two potions for them," McGonagall volunteered.

"Yes, please do, however, we won't be able to administer the potion and counter curse until they wake up," Mandler added.

"May I?" McGonagall asked, pointing to the parchment with the potion on it, Hermione nodded, "I will contact Horace." She promptly left, intending to interrupt Slughorn's class as it was more important for him to make the potion. If not made quickly, their lives could be in danger.

About ten minutes after McGonagall left, Harry and Ginny started coughing and gasping for air again, they were coming back around. Mandler waited until they were breathing normal to do some tests on them. He checked their intestines and lungs, there was no apparent long term damage which was a good sign. Half an hour later, the potions were made and Mandler preformed the counter curse.