Chapter 21

Author's Note: Okay everyone, this is mostly a transition chapter which is the reason for it to be relatively short. I promise that the big love confrontation will finally take place in the next chapter, but until then I hope that I haven't bored you too much. My faithful reviewers, I thank you for your feedback, and I ask for new feedback too! It's hard to continue writing this for maybe three or four people who read it. Please read and review! Thank you and enjoy…

Wytil- Eek! This isn't twelve hours, is it? Well, I was trying to decide how I wanted to write this, and it's being exceptionally difficult. That figures, doesn't it? Yes, many people live! You'll get a good picture of that in this chapter.

Sylvia- My dear friend, I have a proposition…I might write a sequel to this story if you could help me. You have such good ideas, and I'd love to write them into another story with Ron, Hermione, Draco, Harry, Ginny, and Genevieve…what do you think? I'd like to see their wedding. Thank you for your awesome review, gurl!

Lily Michelle- Yes! They're alright! Just read and find out. I hope you like this next chapter! Thank you for the review, and please continue to read!

Cariel- *blushes* That's one of the best reviews I've ever gotten. It makes me feel all good inside that I write fanfiction…*smiles* I hope you like this next chapter!

Leigh- woohoo! Really? I'm glad you like it! This is a rather boring chapter, I guess. Except for the Dumbledore answer of course…have fun reading and yes, 10 days, see you at Barnes and Noble. Who are you dressing as?

Love, Death, and Mystery

            The fighting stopped suddenly. The Death Eaters looked with terrified expressions upon the place where Voldemort now ceased to stand. The Weasley brothers woke from the curses that were placed on them: Percy freaked out, Charlie rubbed his head in confusion and astonishment, and Bill immediately got up to take care of the remaining Death Eaters. Genevieve ran forward with tears in her eyes to throw herself down next to Draco, she shook him anxiously and kept asking him if he was alright. 

            Dumbledore observed all of this action and turned to smile at Harry with a final sort of twinkle in his deep, ancient blue eyes…the twinkle that told him that it was truly over. He gave Harry a commanding raise of his eyebrows, and then turned away to go release the group of people who had been tied up earlier in the battle. A swift wave of his wand accomplished that.

            As all of this happened, Harry felt the burden he had been carrying all of his life leave him with a joyful flight. He could live his life in peace now. He felt free and content, justified in the right decision he made for the wizarding world, his parents, and himself. He took a long glance at the sword he held in his hands, the sword of Godric Gryffindor, a man whom he felt a strange connection with, one much stronger than just a common house bond. But this feeling couldn't hold back the rest he felt towards his friends, he looked to the ones who were standing, relieved or struck by what Harry had just done, and to the ones who were still lying on the ground; the friends who sacrificed themselves for him.

The Cruciatus curse was an incredibly powerful one, especially coming from the wand of Lord Voldemort himself; Harry could understand why Ginny wasn't moving, and why Hermione was just stirring. Draco forced himself up to aid the others with his wife there by his side. He seemed to have totally let his guard down- it was an odd occurrence indeed. Hermione was now trying to sit up, but she couldn't. After a small struggle, Harry watched her fall back to the ground in weariness. He held out his hand for her, and with a bit more help, she was sitting up and beaming brilliantly at Harry.

"You did it! You defeated Voldemort. I knew you could, Harry," she exclaimed, laughing wearily but happily.

"I think a better word would be 'We', Hermione. I didn't do this by myself. Who knows, I could still be stuck in my room if it weren't for you and Draco and Ron."

With Ron's name suddenly pounding in Hermione's head, she turned around to see where he had gone. "Oh," she gasped in fear as she saw him lying still, quiet and pale on the ground. She hurried over to him, half crawling from the remaining pain of the curse. She called to him, softly at first, but became afraid when he didn't react.

"Ron…Ron, wake up, it's over…Ron? Oh no," she wailed, a tear sliding down her cheek. He felt so cold to her touch. She brushed the ginger hair out of his shut eyes and rested her hand on his face.

Harry noticed what was going on, and seeing Dumbledore standing there with an unreadable expression, asked frantically, "He isn't dead, is he, Professor? I deflected most of the curse! He can't die, Dumbledore, sir, he just can't! What will we do?"

Hermione couldn't bear the pain she felt now. It was nothing like the Cruciatus curse, but it was worse. He was gone, gone forever. She leaned down and kissed his lips, they still had a touch of warmth in them, she felt. The tear on her face fell to where she had just kissed him. With a heave from lack of strength, she pulled Ron onto her lap and cried over him, looking on her best friend and the boy she had fallen in love with. That was all gone now. She looked at his face, his legs and arms…his hands? Ron's fingers were ever so slightly clawing at the ground. Hermione's eyes widened in amazement and she gasped. Her heart leapt with every good feeling she'd ever had, as though there was an anti-dementor around. She pushed his hair away from his face again to see his blue eyes flicker open and close. Then he smiled dimly; a look that was rejoicing inside, though it couldn't pass completely through his physical body. Finally he groaned, feeling the life rush back into him strangely enough through his back, through his chest, and even through one of his cheeks. Incidentally, this was where Hermione was holding him. He looked up at her in slight shock: her eyes were intensely focused on him with a jubilant expression.

"You're alive," she whispered to him, kissing him on the cheek. That burst of energy gave him power to talk.

"I was just testing you. Hmpf," he managed to say. It was a lame attempt at lightening the situation, but Hermione loved it anyway. Suddenly she felt very drained, but she continued to hold onto Ron. She would never let anything separate them again.

Harry watched in wonder as he watched Ron rise from being, well, virtually dead. He gave Dumbledore a look as if to say, 'did you know this would happen?'

"Remarkable," Dumbledore muttered under his breath, his eyes still on Ron and Hermione. "We should probably get these people to the Hospital Wing, shouldn't we?" he said much louder, looking around with that familiar twinkle in his eye once again.

*~~~~~~~~~*

Later that night, all those involved in the battle were camped about the dark Hospital Wing, causing Madam Pomfrey much stress and others a bit of a hindrance. Most people were talking quietly about what had happened, such as "Is it true, is he dead?" and "I saw it with me own eyes, I'll tell you," by the dim light of dozens of candles sitting on the nightstands. The Death Eaters were being tended to with equal care, as was Harold the Butler, who was talking to Dumbledore. Some people were asleep (with help from Madam Pomfrey's potions) and more were just silent, watching what was going on around them. This was the case with Ron and Hermione, Ron was too weak to talk again, but he felt a small amount of life leak into him all the time. He figured out that this was every time Hermione looked at him. She also was observing instead of speaking.

Ginny had finally come around with the help of Professor Snape and some of his experience regarding Voldemort's choice curses. He brewed a potion for her that caused her pain to go away somewhat, and she seemed to be much better. She was deep in conversation with Harry, wearing a genuine smile on her face, about what had happened and what had yet to take place. Hermione glanced over at Ron again, on the bed next to hers, just to make sure he was doing alright. She took his hand, and immediately he looked up right into her eyes. Ron felt a surge of strength as she touched him. He could talk again.

"Look at those two," he said, grinning at Ginny and Harry. "They're so mushy."

"I don't know," Hermione disagreed, "I think it's rather cute. Ginny's dream finally came true…and Harry is with the best person possible for him, I think. As well as Draco, I'm pleased that he and his wife are together again, they look so glad that this is finally over."

Ron smiled lopsidedly at Hermione's comments. That was the smile with which she fell in love.

"Where does that leave us?" he said boldly, holding onto Hermione's hand as tightly as he could.

"Leave us?" Hermione asked, pretending not to know what he was talking about.

"Mione, I'm cold," Ron said, changing the subject swiftly. He looked hopefully at her. Sighing in resignation, she got out of her bed as quietly as possible so as not to attract any attention to herself, and lied down next to Ron, pulling the covers up to her chin and giving him a warm hug.

"Thank you. Goodnight, Mione," he said, curling up in her arms and falling asleep like a little lost child.

"Goodnight, Ron," she said, placing a small kiss on his forehead and drifting off into pleasant dreams beside him.

Nearby, Draco took a small notebook out and chalked a mark on his side of the paper. He waved it tauntingly in Harry's direction, who shrugged with a half-smile and got up, excusing himself from Ginny's presence. He didn't approach Draco, however…he approached Dumbledore.

"Yes, Harry?" Dumbledore asked him as he saw the young man. He had stopped talking to Harold and was sitting in a chair near the fireplace in the Wing. Harry sat down across from him, feeling somehow as though he was in the Headmaster's office.

"I was wondering, sir, if I could ask you a question?"

"You have just done so, but go ahead," he responded calmly.

Harry fidgeted in his chair and then burst out, "when we were on the battlefield you looked at Ron and Hermione and said 'remarkable'. What were you talking about? Why didn't Ron die?"

Dumbledore put a hand in his pocket and pulled out a pair of candies wrapped in bright yellow foil. "Lemon drop?" he asked Harry. He accepted a lemon drop gratefully and listened as Dumbledore spoke:

 "Harry, I have lived for quite a long time on this earth, I must say, and though I have seen many things, and know many others, I can not completely answer your questions. All I can tell you is the truth, with the knowledge that you are capable to comprehend it…I misunderstood that in your first year at Hogwarts, but I don't any longer.

'The reason Ronald Weasley did not die is because you love him very much, and you deflected most of that curse with not only Godric's sword, but with that strong and loyal bond of friendship that you have with him. James displayed that same trait with Sirius Black, I remember. How I ever thought he was guilty of betraying your parents I will never know. But the reason Mr. Weasley lived is a completely different one, if I am right. He still experienced some of the impact of that curse, the death curse, but he lived. That is the reason I said 'remarkable.' For as soon as Miss Granger touched him, it was as if the light, life, and warmth rushed from her into him. Their bond was tried and tampered with earlier in life, but this journey, quest, or what you will call it, to find you, and to find Ginny; it completely changed them. It brought them back to their original friendship and built upon it in the most profound and peculiar way I have ever seen.

'The fact that they are in love with each other is natural, I saw that from their first year here. But the fact that their love is the strongest kind I have ever seen among anyone and that it conquered death above all things…that is a mystery. Some questions may never be answered, Harry. I think that the only way you will find the answer to this question is to continue to stay with Ron and Hermione for the rest of your life. Perhaps then you will find an answer, but I doubt you will ever be able to put it into the limited words of man. No, I think it will be a much deeper understanding than that.

 'Another lemon drop?" he offered, sitting back in his chair to think upon what he just said.

"No thank you, Professor," said Harry, getting up, "but thank you for trying to answer my question."

"You're welcome, but I would get some sleep now if I were you."

"Yes, sir."

Harry went to have a small conversation with Draco, who introduced him to Genevieve, and then found his way back through the many people in the Wing to find his own bed, where he thought upon mysteries until a peaceful sleep overtook him.

~Evyfleur