Ron and Ginny
When Ron was only a year old, his mother took him in her arms and whispered in his small, precious ear something that marked the end of the age of suffering, of horror and began the time of peace, of calm. The time or raising little ones and crying over spilled bottles with warm milk had begun with the words she whispered into her little one's ear. She was pregnant with yet another child, but little Ron still managed to hold her heart in his dear, blue eyes.
"It's over, Little One. There's no more bad in the world. A new sun has risen on this forsaken world and it is the age of innocence once more." she whispered as tears of joy leaked out of her eyes.
A month after the fall of Voldemort, Dumbledore paid a visit to Honeyduke's, looking for lemon drops to fulfill his sweet tooth. Molly sat behind the counter, looking pregnant as she ever did, munching compulsively on Terry Torrel's Tickly Tart Taffy while flipping through a rather large book of Baby Names. Dumbledore smiled at his former student and remembered his old drawer with all of the smiling toddlers. He was expecting a new picture very soon, from the looks of it. He coughed politely and Molly looked up and warmth filled her face as she walked over to her old teacher and threw her arms around him. He embraced her back, laughing slightly. She drew back and held him at arm's length, studying him as she smiled.
"Look at you!" she said. "You look so old, professor! I can't believe it."
"From the looks of it, you seem to have gotten quite plump over the years." he said, grinning.
"What do you expect from seven pregnancies?" Molly laughed.
"It doesn't seem to help that you are sitting in this candy store eating every piece of candy that comes into your sight." he said, taking the Terry Torrel's Tickly Tart Taffy wrapper from her hand. "Taffy is bad for your teeth."
"Candy is good for the soul." she smiled, but then her smile became a serious look of concern. "Is it true?" she whispered. "Are the rumors true?"
"Yes, I'm afraid." Dumbledore nodded. "Lily and James Potter are dead and little Harry Potter is off to the care of his muggle relations."
"You can't do that, Professor!" Molly cried. "I'll take in Harry, believe me, another child won't make a difference. I'll treat him as if he were my son, I'll teach him well. Don't send him off into a world seperate from ours!"
"He's better off growing up away from all of this." Dumbledore sighed, and from the sound of it, it sounded like he had said it many times before.
"I owe Lily Evans so much, Professor. What would she say if I didn't take in her little boy?"
"She would say that she loved you just the same, Molly Weasley." Dumbledore said. "Meanwhile, you've your own flock of Weasley's to look after. You must promise, if any of your children ever become friends or come to know Harry, you must not say you knew his parents."
"But -- why?"
"There is danger still in this world. Peace is never permanent, Molly Weasley. There always seems to be some evil lurking around in this world. I'm afraid that Harry's future is filled with such danger. You should not burden him with the memory of his parents until it is all over." Dumbledore said quietly.
"But it is over!" Molly said. "There are parades in the streets, songs in the air! It is over, the killings, the massacres!"
"It is but the beginning of an era." said Dumbledore, pressing a golden galleon into her hand as he took a bag of Lemon Drops from the shelf beside him.
Molly closed her hand around the golden galleon as she watched Dumbledore walk out of the store. She sighed, ran her hand through her thick red hair. The manager was gone for the day and she decided to close early for the day. She absentmindedly flicked her wand and watched the candles burn out. Hogwart's students still roamed the streets, laughing and jeering, but her day, she decided was over. As she stood in the dark store, looking over at the Gully Goose's Glowing Gumballs, she let a single tear fall for her dead friend and little Harry Potter.
---
She got a letter from Bill the day that Ginny turned four. He told her that he was doing well, but never let on that he was being teased for his tattered books and patched robes. He said that he occupied his time with studies or watching Quidditch Practices. He planned to go out for the team next year, he said. He wanted to be the Keeper. Molly eagerly wrote Bill about the doings of his baby sister, Ginny and said to keep an eye on Charlie. Charlie, she had learned from Bill, was training in secret with current Seeker and was to try out for the team the next year. When Molly had told Arthur of his Quidditch Crazy boys, he had just grinned as little Ron started to sob in his lap.
"Like father, like son, what I always say." Arthur said. "They'll do fine, and as long as we keep our heads above water and debt, we'll have enough money to buy them almost brand new second hand broomsticks!"
"Oh ..." Molly sighed softly, started to walk up the stairs.
"Don't you pout, Dearest. We can't possibly afford brand new, shiny broomsticks and you know that. Charlie and Bill will be fine." he shouted up the stairs.
"Father, would you please tell Ronald to stop crying like that. I can't study." Percy said from the wooden seat in the corner.
Arthur sighed and walked over the room to Percy, who was surrounded by heavy, second hand books and sat the sobbing Ron into his lap. "You're a smart boy, Percy. Ron will listen to you. I've got to get to get to the Ministry."
"What for?" Percy said, putting his arms around his little brother.
"Pethy." Ron lisped, the gap between his two front teeth making it terribly hard for him to speak properly.
"I've got an exam to take. Hopefully, I'll get that perfect score and we can get you some brand new thick books for you to read." he said, smiling. "And maybe we can get those glasses of yours repaired."
"Pethy." Ron lisped again.
"There's nothing wrong with my second hand books or my glasses." Percy said, pushing them up on his nose, only to have them slip back down again. "Bill says we can't afford new things. I wouldn't like to be such a burden."
"Peth-y! Peth-y!" Ron grabbed his brother's shirt.
"You're not a burden." Arthur reassured him, grabbing his coat. "Keep an eye on your brothers and your sister. Mind your mother and put down those dusty books once in a while, Percy. There's only so much you can know at your age and Hogwart's doesn't expect you to be a scholar during your First Year."
Percy pushed his glasses up on his nose again as his father walked out of the door and his mother descended down the stairs. "Oh, he's gone already. I wanted to wish him good luck." she sighed. Fred came stumbling into the room on his short legs. He jumped up onto the bottom stair and threw a teddy bear at George, who had come stumbling in the room as well, a toy wand in his hand. Molly opened her mouth to yell, but heard Ginny up the stairs wailing. "Mummy! Mummy! Mummy!"
"Pethy!" Ron lisped.
"Oh, what is it? Can't you see I'm working?" Percy said, pushing Ron off of his lap and onto the floor where he landed with a thud.
"I want to pway Cheese!" he grinned.
"Cheese is a food item. You cannot play Cheese." Percy explained, pushing the glasses up on his nose. "However, if you mean chess, you have no idea how to play chess and I have no intention on teaching you, little brother."
Ron sighed and sulked away, hands stuffed in the oversized pockets of the pants he had inherited from Charlie. He walked into the kitchen where Fred and George sat on the kitchen table, Ron's teddy bear between them. Ron climbed up onto a chair and sat, looking up at his brothers. When he made a reach for his toy, Fred snatched it away and held it above his head. Ron stood up on the chair and reached up as far as his short arms could reach and found that he still could not reach it.
"Gimme! Gimme! Fwed!" he squealed.
"Oh, hush now, Ron." George said. "We'll give you back your ruddy bear. Just hold out your hand and be very quiet."
"Okay, George." Ron said, sticking out his small hand.
"What are you doing?" Ginny asked, coming into the room. Her index finger was slightly in her mouth, and her pajama shoulder sagged, revealing her pale skin underneath. "What are you doing?"
"Keep out of this Ginny. Boys only." Fred said, slowly lowering the bear into Ron's hand. Suddenly, he yelled to George. "Now, George! Do it now!"
With a powerful gesture, George muttered some funny words and brought the toy wand down on the teddy bear. Like lightning, the fuzzy shape morphed into a rather large, hairy tarantula. It was about as big as Ron's small hand and his blue eyes widened to the size of Percy's glasses when he saw what his beloved bear had become.
Ginny screamed from the other side of the room. "Percy! Percy! Percy! Percy! Percy! Help! Percy!" She ran into the other room, oversized pajamas flapping after her.
Ron, being only a child of five and only having seen the small spiders in the attic (and even then he was afraid) was completely horrified with the sight of this monstrous thing on his hand. Now, having a rather large spider on his hand, he was afraid that screaming would make it eat him or something of the sort, so he just stood still while his two brothers sat eyeballing him, waiting for a reaction. And then, the spider moved. It took its grossly hairy leg and put it right on Ron's wrist, intending to climb up it.
Well, what do you expect? The poor thing screamed bloody murder.
"What is all of this noise about?" Percy asked, carrying Ginny into the room. "Doesn't anyone care that I'm studying!"
"MUMMY!" Ron sobbed loudly. "MUMMY!"
The spider was casually crawling across the floor, towards Percy. Ginny screamed and hugged Percy's neck and Percy took Bill's snow shoe that was conveniently left behind the door and started to whack the eight legged villain into the floor. Now, it takes much more then an old shoe to kill a spider that large, so naturally it twitched and scampered more towards Percy again. Percy jumped back, almost yelling himself and frantically started to slam the shoe down on it. Percy, though to this day won't admit it, was and is afraid of spiders, so he turned his head away and blindly hit the spider until he dared look. The thing was gone, and replaced was Ron's teddy bear, all ripped and the cotton coming out of several different places.
"Curse these transfiguration spells." Percy muttered. "Be quiet, you two! Stop laughing, this is not laughing matter! When Mum gets through with you, we'll see if you ever want to laugh again!"
"Bad. Bad. Bad." Ginny said, pointing at Fred and George, who were attempting to calm themselves.. "Poor Big Brother. Poor Poor Big Brother."
When Molly did get down the stairs and "through" with Fred and George, they were sent to bed without any dinner and had to eat spinach with broccoli for the next week. Percy had suggested domestic violence as a more suitable punishment, but Molly had told him that she wouldn't hit her children just for discipline. Percy had shrugged and went back to his wooden chair and his thick books while Ginny fell asleep on the couch, having listened to Percy lecture of things she didn't care to be lectured on. And Ron. still sniffling, went up in the arms of Molly Weasley to her bedroom in the Burrow. She sat on the bed with him, still sobbing into her chest. She stroked his face and sighed.
"Shush now, Ron. The spider is gone. Fred and George are being punished. It is over, little one." she said, embracing him.
"I hate spiders." Ron sobbed.
"Well, to be honest, I'm not too fond of them myself." Molly agreed. "But, you are so much bigger then those tiny little spiders. You've no reason to be afraid of them."
"Yes I do." Ron sobbed.
"We're all afraid of something, my dear." Molly said. "Fred is afraid of girls, George is afraid of baths, Percy is afraid of failing Hogwart's, Ginny is afraid of well, everything. Charlie is afraid of Bill when he's angry and Bill is afraid of getting angry at Charlie."
"I hate spiders." Ron said. "I hate them."
Ginny, having woken up from her five-minute nap skipped happily into the room and jumped up onto the tall bed beside her mother and her brother. She smiled at Ron, who squirmed in his mother's arms. "I want to play, Ron." she said in her tiny voice. "Can we play?"
"Not tonight, Ginny. Tonight, it is time for bed. Now, go tell Percy to close his books and get into bed and tell Fred and George that I can hear them laughing all the way up here and that they'd better quit or else." Molly smiled.
"Okay." Ginny hopped off of the bed and ran out of the room.
Fred and George shared a room, being as inseparable as they were, it was downstairs. Arthur had supposed it was meant to be a guest bedroom or something, but it was the only other bedroom available in the house. Bill had his own room, after a very long battle between Molly and Arthur and Percy shared a room with Charlie. Beds were still expensive and on a candy cashier's budget, they could not afford to knock out walls and create new rooms, nor could they afford to buy seperate beds for Ron and Ginny. But, being the small children they were, they didn't mind sharing a bed. Ron thought it quite handy to share a bed with Ginny, that way, if he needed a glass of water or anything, he could wake her up to go get it and she would. If his parents caught him up, they would yell at him (A growing boy needs his rest! declared Arthur) , but if they caught Ginny, they'd let her have her way. Ginny always got her way, being the youngest and the only girl among them.
"Good night, Ron." she whispered when she got into the bed.
"Night, Ginny." he whispered, turning over on his side.
The dark room was quiet for a long time. "I'm scared of the dark, Ron."
"Go tell Mum." Ron muttered.
"Mummy is tired." Ginny whimpered. "I'm scared."
"You weren't scared before." Ron yawned.
"That's because I fell asleep before you turned off the lights." Ginny said, tugging at his arm. "I'm scared."
"I can't do anything, Ginny."
"Yes, you can." Ginny said, clutching his arm. "Catch me some."
"Catch you some what?" Ron said, turning over to face her.
"Fireflies." Ginny said. "Ple-ase?"
Ron decided that he apparently wouldn't be allowed sleep if he did not go and get Ginny's fireflies, so he rolled himself out of the bed and onto the cold floor. Since Percy was still awake (he was always awake) and Ron did not want to get into any more trouble, he crept over to the old window and with some difficulty pushed it open. Not knowing the dangers of sitting on a second story window in the middle of the night, he grabbed a jar of candy that had but a few Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans still in it and crept out into the night. He could hear Ginny sit up in bed as he sat, the wind rustling his red hair. He saw fireflies around him, and he held out the jar, thinking that fireflies were somehow fond of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans and would fly in to eat them. Crickets chirped on the ground and the stars held fast in the black sky. The moon was full and Ron thought back to all the tales of werewolves that his mother taught him.
He looked up at the bright stars and thought of something very smart Bill had said when he had stopped being angry. It was last summer, and Ron, being a small child, tried to remember things, but somehow seemed to slip out his other ear when he wasn't looking. But this, he knew, would stay in his mind (his very small mind, according to Percy) for a very very long time.
"The stars are all attached to this long, invisible ribbon, Ron." Bill said, pointing up to the sky. "It goes in and out of the sky, in and out, in and out. It's something that no one can control, something even Great Witches and Wizards can't control."
Ginny was now sitting at the window, her legs dangling on the roof. Ron sighed and reached out for her hand and pulled her next to him. She clung to his body, very afraid. She gazed down with huge eyes and she pulled her knees to her chest.. "Don't look down, Ginny." he said. "Up." Ginny had a hard time pulling her eyes away from the horrible ground, but somehow she did and looked up at the sky. The fireflies were still dancing, but they seemed unimportant now.
"I'm scared." Ginny whispered.
"It's not all dark anymore." Ron said.
"I'm scared of falling."
"It's better to be scared together, then brave alone." said Ron, holding his sister closer. "That's what Charlie said."
"Ron?" Ginny said, looking up at him.
"What?"
"I'm not scared anymore."
"That's good."
Ginny was asleep within a few minutes and just as Ron was about to push her back through the window and into their room, two fireflies flew into his jar and lit up the jellybeans. Ron smiled and thrust the jar and its contents as far as it would go. He didn't hear them land, but just as he pushed Ginny back into the room and she landed with a thud, he saw two fireflies shine their lights somewhere far away. He yawned and fell into the room as well. Finding it quite comfortable on the floor, he rested his head against Ginny and fell asleep, not really caring about anything more then losing his jellybeans.
---
The Hospital Wing of Hogwart's was empty, except for Ginny Weasley. She sat up in her bed, ointment smeared over her face and tears running over her face. It was her fault that Harry and Ron had nearly died trying to save her. She'd just felt so lonely, now that Ron had friends. He had two friends! One of them was the smartest witch in Hogwart's and the other was the infamous Harry Potter. She couldn't even begin to compete with them. She was jealous, very jealous of both of them. When she was younger, she and Ron had been inseparable, absolutely inseparable. They weren't as close as Fred and George who had been together since the time they were born. Ron and Ginny, it was always the way things were. Ron and Ginny were "Mummy's babies." Ron and Ginny were the youngest, the ones always creating mischief for their older siblings to be blamed for.
But now, it wasn't Ron and Ginny.
It was Harry, Ron and Hermione. Ginny felt sad sitting in her big brother's shadow, but when she met Tom Riddle through the diary, it felt so wonderful to have someone that would listen. Even if she knew it was wrong at the time, she wouldn't have stopped. Ginny and Tom was the way it was for a while. Ron was so preoccupied, he probably didn't care about her anymore. Which is why she was sitting here, because she was stupid and forgotten.
"Ginny." Ron said, appearing at the foot of the bed, a shiny cloak in his hand.
"What's that?" Ginny said, pointing.
"It's Harry's." Ron said, laying it down over her bed. He walked around to the chair next to her bed and sat next to her. "I just wanted to check up on you. It can get lonely in here. I imagine it can be scary too, with all these petrified people laying around." he shivered.
"Yeah." Ginny said, looking away.
"Hey, Ginny." Ron said. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Ron." she said, almost sadly. "You should get to bed."
"You had me worried, Ginny." Ron pressed. "Knowing that Tom Riddle had taken you into the Chamber. I was afraid I would never see you again. Everyone was worried about you. Percy wouldn't stop pacing and Fred and George wouldn't pull one prank."
"I know."
"I felt really bad." Ron said. "It's like I've let you down. I'm sorry, Ginny."
"You didn't let me down." Ginny said. "More like I've ruined it for myself. I've got a reputation now, you know. I am The Girl that was in love with You-Know-Who. I hate myself. How could I've been so stupid?"
"No." Ron said, smiling. "You're not stupid, Ginny. Everyone makes mistakes, some bigger then others. But, you know, if you ever feel bad about mistakes, you should talk to me. I make a load of them every day. You can even ask Hermione, if you want. She likes to point them out."
"Yeah." Ginny said softly.
"What's wrong?" Ron said, tugging at her red hair. "Come on, tell me."
"I'm scared." she said. "I'm terrified, actually."
"You-Know-Who is gone, Ginny. He'll never come back to hurt you ever again. You don't have to be scared of him. Dumbledore will protect us." Ron assured her.
"I'm not afraid of Tom." she said. "I'm afraid of being left behind."
"Left behind ... ?"
"You've got friends, Ron! You've got Harry and Hermione and Neville and Dean and Seamus. I've no one. I used to be your best friend, your only friend. And then, you went off to school and met all sorts of people. People that are smarter, better, richer then me. How can I compete with that?" Ginny said, tears coming into her eyes.
Ron looked shocked for a minute and then smiled. "You don't have to compete with my friends." he said. "You've already won, Ginny. Because, no matter how smart Hermione gets or how brave Harry becomes, they'll never be my little sister. They'll never be Ginny. I may be getting new friends, but Ginny, you'll always be my little sister. There's no Harry Potter or Hermione or Dean that's going to change that."
Ginny threw her arms around Ron's neck and sobbed into his shoulder as he held her back, smiling, almost laughing.
"I love you, Ron." she said through her tears.
"Love you too, Ginny." he said, pulling her away and smiling. "I think I've got to get back now, who knows when Filch will come roaming."
"Ron." she caught his hand. "Could you do one more thing for me?"
"What?"
"Would you sit with me, just until I fall asleep, and then you can go." she said, looking up to him.
Ron sighed and sank back into his chair. Ginny lay back down, feeling resolved. She closed her eyes and pretended to sleep, wanting Ron to go back soon, so he wouldn't get caught. But even after what seemed like hours, and when she was truly falling asleep, he stayed by her. He sat by the waning candle, munching on Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. And even when sleep truly did take her, she could still hear his loud crunching just as she drifted away. Maybe that was the wonder of her brother, the fact that at first, he came on as an insensitive, tall jerk, but in reality, he would do anything for anyone he cared for. She woke up around noon the next day, and Ron was gone, having gone off to class. When Harry and Ron came to visit her the next day, Ron's eyes were bloodshot from sleeplessness and he shared a kind look with her. Her brother was so strange in so many ways, but maybe that's what she loved about him.
---
"I just realized it, Harry." Hermione said quietly through her steady stream of tears. "I love him. But now, he's dead and there's nothing I can do. There's nothing."
Harry put his hand on hers and smiled. "Viktor was a good man, Hermione."
Ron, however, didn't feel a lot of sympathy for the dead Viktor Krum. Instead, he felt sort of happy the bloke was gone, dead, over with. But, hearing Hermione say that she actually, well, loved him, blew his mind. He sat, looking at her sob into a tattered tissue. She let out a large sob and Harry embraced her as she cried even harder. Harry gave him one of his looks, one of his looks that said Ron-Weasley-you'd-better-comfort-her-you-stupid-prat. But to tell the truth, the absolute honest to goodness truth, he didn't want to comfort her. Viktor never really loved Hermione, he only saw her as another groupie that wrote him idle fan mail. Hermione was the girl of his dreams, and to hear her spill her heart over this dead Bulgarian and be so crushed at his passing tore him up in side. Ron stood up and simply walked out of the Dormitory, out of the school and straight to the Quidditch Pitch.
"Crummy Viktor. I'm glad he's dead. He probably deserved to die." Ron mumbled to himself as he sat himself down in the empty bleachers. "Stupid Bulgarians. I hate them all. I hate Bulgarians. I hate their stupid accent and their Quidditch team and their disgusting Bulgarian food."
"So, what kind of food do they serve in Bulgaria?" Ginny asked, standing a few feet away from where Ron was sitting.
"Get away, Ginny!" Ron said, turning his head. "I don't want to talk to anyone right now. Go find Hermione and comfort her or something."
"From the look in your eyes, Big Brother, it looks like you'd be the one to need comforting." she said, walking over and sitting beside him. "Will you tell me what's wrong?"
"Everything's wrong." Ron muttered, still looking away from her.
"I don't suppose you could be a little more specific?" Ginny pressed. "Please?"
Ron didn't respond.
"Maybe Hermione is just acting out of greif. Viktor was her friend too, you know. A lot has been going on since we started Hogwart's, Ron. I think we've carried a large burden within all of ourselves for too long. We've all learned to value life, not just ours, but the lives of all of whom we come in contact with." she paused. "I know you don't mean you're glad that Viktor is dead. You're sad too, Ron. You practically worshipped him before he fell for Hermione. In a way, he was your friend too. He was a soldier, Ron. He was a man that fought for honor in this world with none. I suppose that's what we all are. I get so scared sometimes, with you always withdrawing, like Harry used to. I'm afraid I'll lose you."
"What if Hermione wasn't acting out of greif?" Ron said, his voice cracking. "What if she really did love him? God, I was going to propose to her tonight."
Ginny took her gloved hand and turned Ron's face towards her. She smiled tenderly when she saw the tears that ran down his face. "Then, Ron Weasley, she has missed out on the most incredible man I've ever known. And frankly, if she's stupid enough to take a great spirit like you for granted, then she's not the person I thought she was."
"I'm not as incredible as Harry Potter. I'm a sidekick, no one knows who I am. No one cares. I'm just the red headed nuisance to Harry Potter."
"You're right." Ginny said. "You're not Harry Potter. You never will be. Not many towns will rejoice at the sound of your name, they're more likely to laugh. But, I know who you are, Ron. I know exactly who you are. Mum, Dad, Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George and I, we all know who you are and I think we're all grateful that you are who you are. The world might renounce Harry Potter as their hero, but you're mine. You've always been since the day I was born."
Ron cracked a smile and swung his arm around his little sister. "Time goes by so fast. I don't remember you being so mature and wise."
"You should never underestimate a Weasley." she said, standing up and starting to walk away. "You, of all people should know that."
Long after Ginny had gone, Ron still sat in the stands, watching Hufflepuff practice for their next game against Ravenclaw. He really did love Hermione, with all of his heart. He would give her anything she wanted, if she'd just ask. He'd give his life for her happiness, and he was prepared to in the blink of an eye. But, talking with Ginny made him realize something. Hermione may not always be his to hold or care for or love, but Ginny would always be around. The same blood ran through their veins, but strangely enough, the same heart did not beat within their chests. Ginny had the heart of a dreamer, of a lover, of a hope stricken child. And he, he had the heart of a fighter, never good with emotions, but always willing to take a crack at it. He stood up and sighed, stuffing his hands in his pockets. There was a war that was on the brink of occurring, there were killings and evil fires that were rekindled. He would worry about his love life after the war, after everyone was safe.
After all, he had plenty of time to see the world and make his judgments.
---
The War went on for three years, people always dying, waking up on the battlefield, another man's dead body draped over your own. Hermione was scared out of her mind of pain and dying, always wringing her thin hands nervously right before a battle. Harry was scared beyond anyone's ability to understand of losing one of his friends. It was a very real fear that struck every one of them right in the heart. All of Ron's siblings had been separated from him, fighting off in far away lands since the Second Year of War. All of them, with the exception of Ginny. The wondered at night together, crying over their missing family. Their mother, despite her spunk was kept in a safe house by the demanding of Bill. He had caused quite an uproar as his hands bled. Ginny and Ron knew nothing of their brothers, whether or not they were okay, if they were even alive. They did not even know whose side they were on. Ron was afraid that out of all of the black hooded men he had killed, one of them might be Percy.
"Hurry! We've got to get out!" Harry yelled back to them.
They were in the very lair of Voldemort. It was a long battle between Harry and Voldemort, but in the end, Harry was victorious, leaving Tom Riddle's bleeding corpse among the rubble. Ron had covered his sister's young eyes and rushed her out. Neville had Hermione hoisted up onto his already injured shoulder. She had been knocked out early, and it would probably be quicker to leave her to die, but none of them would hear of it. Luna was limping along the walls, her leg dripping blood as Harry ran ahead of them all, refusing to look back. The castle crumbled around them, their beloved Hogwart's castle that had been captured.
"Come on!" Neville yelled to Ron and Ginny.
Just as he said those words, the castle gave a great quake and more of the old bricks fell into the corridor from the ceiling. Ron jerked the traumatized Ginny back with all his strength and watched the rock create an impossible wall between the rest of his friends. He got up from the flooding ground and helped Ginny up, her red hair wet and stringy.
"Ron! Are you alright?" he heard Harry yell.
"We're fine, just go! We'll find another way out!" Ron yelled back.
"There is no other way, Idiot!" Luna screamed. "We're all going to die!"
"Shut your mouth, stupid girl!" Ginny yelled. "We'll find a way, just go!"
"Are you sure?" Neville yelled.
"Go!" Ron yelled, turning down the next flooded corridor, dragging Ginny along.
They trudged along, shoes flooded with water and hearts heavy with despair of losing their friends. Luna was right, there was no other way out. They were in the dungeon, they were heading to their death by drowning. They had both known it when they told them to go. Both would rather die then see their friends die as well. But, for some reason, they still ran frantically, looking for somewhere to escape, an egress, a door, for God's sake! They turned a sharp corner and saw a dead end at the end of the short hall. Ginny gave a cry of despair as Ron dropped her hand. A man, as soaking wet as they were turned the corner with a look of menace in his eyes. He smiled the same smile his son would have if he hadn't died earlier in the war. The father of Draco seemed more menacing now, more then ever.
"You're going to die, you rats." he said as an iron gate descended from the ceiling between himself and the two Weasley's. "Your parents should have died a long time ago, now you must pay their debt."
"You bastard!" Ginny screamed. "You disgusting little snake! Let us out! Let us out!"
"Idiot girl." he said, his bloodshot eyes widening with a wild content. "You shouldn't plea for your life. It is worthless. You will die here. Your families are dead, and your friends. They all died. They suffered a long painful death and it is all your fault. It is only fit you should suffer their fate."
"That's not true!" Ron screamed. "They're alive!"
"The top of the castle is on fire, the Great Hall is in ashes. Everyone is dead." he spat. "Everyone is dead. It is all because of you."
"No!" Ginny shrieked, throwing herself against the gate. "Let us out!"
"Let them out." Draco said, stepping from the shadows." There is still way out of this place. Haven't enough died because of this war? Let them out, Father."
His father raised his eyebrows at his son and then smirked. "As you wish, Draco." He reached into his pocket and gave him the key and started to walk away, robe sloshing in the water.
"Why are you helping us?" Ginny demanded as he fumbled with the lock.
"Enough have died. It's too much for one to bear, even one as horrible as me." he said. "Your friends and families are --"
He stopped dead, his eyes widened with a crazy sort of surprise and pain and he gripped the keys in his hand so tightly his fingers turned white. Ron reached for his hand through the gate. "Malfoy? Malfoy, hurry up you ferret! What's the matter with you?" Malfoy opened his mouth and dark red blood dripped from it as his body went limp and he landed face first in the murky water. Ginny screamed clutched Ron, who just stared in disbelief at the handle of a dagger sticking out from the man's back. His father smiled at them.
"I'll just take this key." he said, taking it out of the lock and putting it into his pocket. "And I might need this later." he reached down to grab the handle of the dagger and yanked it out of his son. Seeing the blood, he gave a disgusted smirk and wiped the blade on the robes of his dead son.
"You bastard." Ron whispered.
"But a living bastard I remain." he said, turning and walking away.
"Oh, God." Ginny cried, sinking to her knees. "We're going to die, Ron! We're going to die!"
Ron did nothing to comfort his sister, just leaned his head on the iron gate. "Nonsense, Ginny. We're not going to die."
"Yes, we are!" she screamed.
"Perk up, Ginny.." Ron smiled. "The Aurors will be here soon. Harry and the others will come for us. All we have to do is not lose our heads, understand?"
Ginny nodded mutely, but rested her head on her knees and wept.
Hours passed and no one came to rescue them. Ron had his arms around Ginny as he sat in the foot deep water. He had her head turned away from Malfoy's dead body. No one was going to come for them. This was where they were going to die, here, in this dungeon with a corpse. He would never know if his family was okay, if Hermione had lived, if they had made it out in time. He closed his eyes and let the tears slip from his eyes. Tears of despair, tears of death, tears of hopelessness. There was so much he wanted to do in life, marry Hermione, have children, and grow old. He wanted to see his fiftieth birthday. He wanted to see Ginny fall in love with a wonderful man. But most of all, he just wanted to live. He clutched Ginny against his chest as she awoke. She didn't say anything, just lay there.
"I'm not going to lie to you, Ginny." Ron said. "I want to live. I want you to live. But, I don't think we're going to live, little sister. I'm sorry. I've let you down."
"No." she whispered. "You could never let me down, Ron."
The castle gave a great quake and Ginny lifted her head from Ron's chest. The rocks crumbled at the end of the hallway and were slowly coming towards them. Ginny screamed and started to get up, but Ron held her down. "No, Ginny. Let it come. Just let it come." Ginny clung to her brother and sobbed as the rocks crashed into the water and the castle shook. Ron spun around and pushed Ginny against the wall. He saw her fear and confusion as he threw his body over her, to protect her. Just before the rocks fell on them, Ron saw the look of pure gratitude on his sister's face and he felt that even if he were to die at that second, his life had had some purpose, some meaning, and some worth.
And that's all one can really ask for.
---
Everything hurt. From her eyelids right down to her toenails, everything felt bruised and horrible. She heard only silence and for a second, she thought she had died and she was wherever people go when they die. She forced her tired eyelids open and saw a balloon. "Get well soon, Ginny. We love you." she read softly. Slowly, she sat up in the empty hospital room and saw that she was in St. Mungo's. Relief flooded her that she was living and even her bruised fingertips tingled with excitement. She looked outside the window and saw that the sun was slowly setting. "I'm alive. I'm alive. I made it through the war. I am alive." she repeated to herself. She sighed and started to read a book that Hermione must had left on her bedside table.
"Hogwarts, a History." she said softly, turning to page one.
When she opened the cover, there was a photo taped into it. A photo of Dumbledore's Army, all of its proud members waved at her. Ginny smiled and ran her hand over it, watching Fred and George try several poses before she closed the book on them. Suddenly, she remembered Ron. Tears burst from her eyes when she remembered that he had thrown his body over hers to protect her from the falling rocks. She remembered how lucky she was to be alive, and by the looks of the room, had probably lived by pure luck. But, if she had just made it, barely slipped by, then Ron was surely --
"Nurse!" Ginny screamed. "Nurse!"
"What is it?" a young woman said, opening the door, looking flustered.
"My brother, Ron." Ginny cried desperately. "Where is he? Please, tell me he's alright."
"He is in the room across the hall." she said slowly. "Oh, Miss Weasley, they're not sure he will make it. He's lost so much blood."
"Take me to him." Ginny insisted, sitting up again, but this time feeling a sharp pain in her body.
"Take it easy, Miss Weasley." the Nurse said, rushing over to her. "You're very hurt as well. Let me help you into a wheel chair."
The Nurse wheeled Ginny across the hall. Ron's room had no lovely wallpaper, no balloons, no hope left in its walls. It only had Ron, laying in a square bed, looking dead and defeated. Ginny wheeled herself over to her brother's side and saw that a bandage had been strapped around his head and over his eyes. Ginny let out a sob. She had done this! He had sheltered her with his body! This was her fault! If her brother died, it was her fault. She would blame herself forever if he died. She wouldn't ever forgive herself, always walking with the burden of her brother's death. Ginny rested her hand on her brother's bed and sobbed quietly.
"I ask too much of you, big brother." she whispered, placing her hand on his. "But please, let me ask one more thing. Please, stay with me. Don't let go of your life, yet. You can't die. You can't leave me here alone. Harry and Hermione and our brothers are fine and all, but I love you the most, Ron. Don't leave me here alone. I'm not ready to let you go. I'm too young. You can't die, not now."
She listened, hoping that maybe he would respond.
"I love you, big brother." she whispered. "Do you remember what you told me? That you just wanted to live? I'd do anything if I could trade places with you, to be the one dying instead of the one that's bruised."
A nurse ran by the closed door, her shoes clicking on the floor.
"Do you remember when we were very small, Ron?" Ginny whispered. "It was dark in the room. I wanted fireflies to make it brighter. And you, you just climbed right up on the roof and you tried to catch some with jellybeans. Do you remember that?" she laughed slightly. "Mum was always blaming Fred or George or Percy for our little adventures. Whenever we did something bad, it always seemed like it was their fault. We were the dynamic duo. Ron and Ginny. We couldn't be separated, we even shared a bed until Bill moved away."
Silence filled her ears, along with the darkness of the set sun.
"It is nighttime, Ron. I don't suppose I am afraid of the dark anymore, like I was when I was a child. I'm scared to the core of losing you, though. I'm so terrified, Ron. Please, just don't die. Please. Please."
Ginny cried herself to sleep that night, clinging loosely to her brother's hand. But, just before the sun rose and Hermione and Harry came to visit Ron, Ron squeezed his sister's hand ever so slightly back.
He had been listening.
Throughout the day, the Healers ran several tests and gave him blood through a tube. The Nurse insisted they did not move Ginny. If her brother died that day, at least she would be by his side. But, they had to move her eventually to see if they could save her legs. She may not walk again, they said. She may never walk again. They didn't tell her this, for she was too shattered with greif at her dying brother. The nurse wheeled her out of the room and into the spell caster's room. For hours, they inflicted every charm, every potion, every procedure that might help her legs, help her walk again. When they were finished, they lay her on the table to sleep as the Healer went out to talk to Molly.
"Hermione." Molly cried when she walked out of the room. "How is she? Will she walk again?"
"Yes." Hermione smiled. "But, she will limp forever. As she gets older, her knees will give her some problem and she'll probably have to be put into a wheelchair. But, for now, she can walk."
"Oh, thank God!" Molly sobbed, embracing Hermione.
"It'll take some physical therapy and getting used to, but she will walk again, Mrs. Weasley. She will walk again." Hermione said softly.
"But what about Ron?" Bill demanded, standing up. "What about him?"
"They thought he'd die." Hermione said, pulling away from Molly. "They thought he'd die last night, actually. But, I don't know. Some miracle, some cause made him stay alive. He was so close to death, they almost rolled the white sheet over his head, but, somehow, he pulled through. But, he is blind. He will be blind for the rest of his life."
"So this is how it is." Arthur said, standing up. "My children, my two youngest children, one blind and one limping for the rest of her life."
"But they are all alive." Molly said, taking his hand. "And for that we should be thankful."
They kept Ron and Ginny in the same room. Ron took a lot of time to recover from his injuries, but always had the white bandage across his eyes. Ginny went through physical therapy with her Healer, Hermione Granger. She felt so weak, her legs so unstable. Every day, Hermione would assure her that she would walk one day if she tried. But, Ginny would not leave her wheelchair. "Not while my brother is limited to his box of a bed." she cried. "I will not walk until he can see again." Ginny would sit by the window most of the time, staring out at London, at the muggles who could not see her. They did not know her pain, her story. At times, she hated them more then anything. And then, there were times when she would have done anything to be them. Unaware of the dangers and wars and evils that had been done to her world.
Ginny leaned her head against the window and thought of all she had been through. A great war, a Dark Lord, the loss of her dignity. She heard Ron sit up in his bed. She heard him slide into the wheelchair that was beside his bed. The Nurse walked over and wheeled him over to the window, beside Ginny and together they sat. Ron reached over and took her hand. She sobbed and looked away from her brother.
"You should be walking around by now, Ginny." he said. "Why are you still in that damned wheelchair?"
"It's not right." Ginny whispered. "It's not right that I should be able to see the sunset and the clouds and family and friends when you cannot! It's not right that I can limp when you have to stay in a damned wheel chair!"
"I can walk when I am strong again, Ginny." Ron sighed. "And I think even now, with this stupid bandage over my eyes, I can see much better then you."
"Are you crazy, Ron?" Ginny said angrily. "You're blind."
"Take off my bandage, Ginny." Ron said. "Go on, take it off. Prove me wrong."
Ginny reached behind her brother's head and loosened the knot. Very slowly, she eased the bandage off of his eyes. She caught her breath when she saw his beautiful blue eyes staring at her. Placing the bandage on the windowsill, she turned from him. "Turn my head towards the window." he said.
Slowly, she tilted his head towards the window.
He grinned hugely, eyes darting around, as if taking in all.
"What do you see?" she asked.
"I see a world, a wonderful world." he said, tears coming down his eyes. "I see a world where there is no Voldemort. I see a world where people can raise children and tell stories of a Great War that happened. I see a world where leaves can fall and tears are nothing but rain. And do you know why I see it, Ginny? Do you know why?"
"Why?" Ginny asked, still looking down.
He took his hand and tilted her head upwards. "Because we've done it. We've created this world. We've fought for it and we've won. That's why I see it. I don't need my eyes to tell me that, Ginny Weasley. I can feel it in every bone in my body. It's a world where people fall in love."
"Who will love a cripple and a blind man?" Ginny sobbed.
"There are no cripples or blind men." Ron said. "Only people that lose hope. And that, Ginny Weasley, may be the worst disability of all."
When Ron was only a year old, his mother took him in her arms and whispered in his small, precious ear something that marked the end of the age of suffering, of horror and began the time of peace, of calm. The time or raising little ones and crying over spilled bottles with warm milk had begun with the words she whispered into her little one's ear. She was pregnant with yet another child, but little Ron still managed to hold her heart in his dear, blue eyes.
"It's over, Little One. There's no more bad in the world. A new sun has risen on this forsaken world and it is the age of innocence once more." she whispered as tears of joy leaked out of her eyes.
A month after the fall of Voldemort, Dumbledore paid a visit to Honeyduke's, looking for lemon drops to fulfill his sweet tooth. Molly sat behind the counter, looking pregnant as she ever did, munching compulsively on Terry Torrel's Tickly Tart Taffy while flipping through a rather large book of Baby Names. Dumbledore smiled at his former student and remembered his old drawer with all of the smiling toddlers. He was expecting a new picture very soon, from the looks of it. He coughed politely and Molly looked up and warmth filled her face as she walked over to her old teacher and threw her arms around him. He embraced her back, laughing slightly. She drew back and held him at arm's length, studying him as she smiled.
"Look at you!" she said. "You look so old, professor! I can't believe it."
"From the looks of it, you seem to have gotten quite plump over the years." he said, grinning.
"What do you expect from seven pregnancies?" Molly laughed.
"It doesn't seem to help that you are sitting in this candy store eating every piece of candy that comes into your sight." he said, taking the Terry Torrel's Tickly Tart Taffy wrapper from her hand. "Taffy is bad for your teeth."
"Candy is good for the soul." she smiled, but then her smile became a serious look of concern. "Is it true?" she whispered. "Are the rumors true?"
"Yes, I'm afraid." Dumbledore nodded. "Lily and James Potter are dead and little Harry Potter is off to the care of his muggle relations."
"You can't do that, Professor!" Molly cried. "I'll take in Harry, believe me, another child won't make a difference. I'll treat him as if he were my son, I'll teach him well. Don't send him off into a world seperate from ours!"
"He's better off growing up away from all of this." Dumbledore sighed, and from the sound of it, it sounded like he had said it many times before.
"I owe Lily Evans so much, Professor. What would she say if I didn't take in her little boy?"
"She would say that she loved you just the same, Molly Weasley." Dumbledore said. "Meanwhile, you've your own flock of Weasley's to look after. You must promise, if any of your children ever become friends or come to know Harry, you must not say you knew his parents."
"But -- why?"
"There is danger still in this world. Peace is never permanent, Molly Weasley. There always seems to be some evil lurking around in this world. I'm afraid that Harry's future is filled with such danger. You should not burden him with the memory of his parents until it is all over." Dumbledore said quietly.
"But it is over!" Molly said. "There are parades in the streets, songs in the air! It is over, the killings, the massacres!"
"It is but the beginning of an era." said Dumbledore, pressing a golden galleon into her hand as he took a bag of Lemon Drops from the shelf beside him.
Molly closed her hand around the golden galleon as she watched Dumbledore walk out of the store. She sighed, ran her hand through her thick red hair. The manager was gone for the day and she decided to close early for the day. She absentmindedly flicked her wand and watched the candles burn out. Hogwart's students still roamed the streets, laughing and jeering, but her day, she decided was over. As she stood in the dark store, looking over at the Gully Goose's Glowing Gumballs, she let a single tear fall for her dead friend and little Harry Potter.
---
She got a letter from Bill the day that Ginny turned four. He told her that he was doing well, but never let on that he was being teased for his tattered books and patched robes. He said that he occupied his time with studies or watching Quidditch Practices. He planned to go out for the team next year, he said. He wanted to be the Keeper. Molly eagerly wrote Bill about the doings of his baby sister, Ginny and said to keep an eye on Charlie. Charlie, she had learned from Bill, was training in secret with current Seeker and was to try out for the team the next year. When Molly had told Arthur of his Quidditch Crazy boys, he had just grinned as little Ron started to sob in his lap.
"Like father, like son, what I always say." Arthur said. "They'll do fine, and as long as we keep our heads above water and debt, we'll have enough money to buy them almost brand new second hand broomsticks!"
"Oh ..." Molly sighed softly, started to walk up the stairs.
"Don't you pout, Dearest. We can't possibly afford brand new, shiny broomsticks and you know that. Charlie and Bill will be fine." he shouted up the stairs.
"Father, would you please tell Ronald to stop crying like that. I can't study." Percy said from the wooden seat in the corner.
Arthur sighed and walked over the room to Percy, who was surrounded by heavy, second hand books and sat the sobbing Ron into his lap. "You're a smart boy, Percy. Ron will listen to you. I've got to get to get to the Ministry."
"What for?" Percy said, putting his arms around his little brother.
"Pethy." Ron lisped, the gap between his two front teeth making it terribly hard for him to speak properly.
"I've got an exam to take. Hopefully, I'll get that perfect score and we can get you some brand new thick books for you to read." he said, smiling. "And maybe we can get those glasses of yours repaired."
"Pethy." Ron lisped again.
"There's nothing wrong with my second hand books or my glasses." Percy said, pushing them up on his nose, only to have them slip back down again. "Bill says we can't afford new things. I wouldn't like to be such a burden."
"Peth-y! Peth-y!" Ron grabbed his brother's shirt.
"You're not a burden." Arthur reassured him, grabbing his coat. "Keep an eye on your brothers and your sister. Mind your mother and put down those dusty books once in a while, Percy. There's only so much you can know at your age and Hogwart's doesn't expect you to be a scholar during your First Year."
Percy pushed his glasses up on his nose again as his father walked out of the door and his mother descended down the stairs. "Oh, he's gone already. I wanted to wish him good luck." she sighed. Fred came stumbling into the room on his short legs. He jumped up onto the bottom stair and threw a teddy bear at George, who had come stumbling in the room as well, a toy wand in his hand. Molly opened her mouth to yell, but heard Ginny up the stairs wailing. "Mummy! Mummy! Mummy!"
"Pethy!" Ron lisped.
"Oh, what is it? Can't you see I'm working?" Percy said, pushing Ron off of his lap and onto the floor where he landed with a thud.
"I want to pway Cheese!" he grinned.
"Cheese is a food item. You cannot play Cheese." Percy explained, pushing the glasses up on his nose. "However, if you mean chess, you have no idea how to play chess and I have no intention on teaching you, little brother."
Ron sighed and sulked away, hands stuffed in the oversized pockets of the pants he had inherited from Charlie. He walked into the kitchen where Fred and George sat on the kitchen table, Ron's teddy bear between them. Ron climbed up onto a chair and sat, looking up at his brothers. When he made a reach for his toy, Fred snatched it away and held it above his head. Ron stood up on the chair and reached up as far as his short arms could reach and found that he still could not reach it.
"Gimme! Gimme! Fwed!" he squealed.
"Oh, hush now, Ron." George said. "We'll give you back your ruddy bear. Just hold out your hand and be very quiet."
"Okay, George." Ron said, sticking out his small hand.
"What are you doing?" Ginny asked, coming into the room. Her index finger was slightly in her mouth, and her pajama shoulder sagged, revealing her pale skin underneath. "What are you doing?"
"Keep out of this Ginny. Boys only." Fred said, slowly lowering the bear into Ron's hand. Suddenly, he yelled to George. "Now, George! Do it now!"
With a powerful gesture, George muttered some funny words and brought the toy wand down on the teddy bear. Like lightning, the fuzzy shape morphed into a rather large, hairy tarantula. It was about as big as Ron's small hand and his blue eyes widened to the size of Percy's glasses when he saw what his beloved bear had become.
Ginny screamed from the other side of the room. "Percy! Percy! Percy! Percy! Percy! Help! Percy!" She ran into the other room, oversized pajamas flapping after her.
Ron, being only a child of five and only having seen the small spiders in the attic (and even then he was afraid) was completely horrified with the sight of this monstrous thing on his hand. Now, having a rather large spider on his hand, he was afraid that screaming would make it eat him or something of the sort, so he just stood still while his two brothers sat eyeballing him, waiting for a reaction. And then, the spider moved. It took its grossly hairy leg and put it right on Ron's wrist, intending to climb up it.
Well, what do you expect? The poor thing screamed bloody murder.
"What is all of this noise about?" Percy asked, carrying Ginny into the room. "Doesn't anyone care that I'm studying!"
"MUMMY!" Ron sobbed loudly. "MUMMY!"
The spider was casually crawling across the floor, towards Percy. Ginny screamed and hugged Percy's neck and Percy took Bill's snow shoe that was conveniently left behind the door and started to whack the eight legged villain into the floor. Now, it takes much more then an old shoe to kill a spider that large, so naturally it twitched and scampered more towards Percy again. Percy jumped back, almost yelling himself and frantically started to slam the shoe down on it. Percy, though to this day won't admit it, was and is afraid of spiders, so he turned his head away and blindly hit the spider until he dared look. The thing was gone, and replaced was Ron's teddy bear, all ripped and the cotton coming out of several different places.
"Curse these transfiguration spells." Percy muttered. "Be quiet, you two! Stop laughing, this is not laughing matter! When Mum gets through with you, we'll see if you ever want to laugh again!"
"Bad. Bad. Bad." Ginny said, pointing at Fred and George, who were attempting to calm themselves.. "Poor Big Brother. Poor Poor Big Brother."
When Molly did get down the stairs and "through" with Fred and George, they were sent to bed without any dinner and had to eat spinach with broccoli for the next week. Percy had suggested domestic violence as a more suitable punishment, but Molly had told him that she wouldn't hit her children just for discipline. Percy had shrugged and went back to his wooden chair and his thick books while Ginny fell asleep on the couch, having listened to Percy lecture of things she didn't care to be lectured on. And Ron. still sniffling, went up in the arms of Molly Weasley to her bedroom in the Burrow. She sat on the bed with him, still sobbing into her chest. She stroked his face and sighed.
"Shush now, Ron. The spider is gone. Fred and George are being punished. It is over, little one." she said, embracing him.
"I hate spiders." Ron sobbed.
"Well, to be honest, I'm not too fond of them myself." Molly agreed. "But, you are so much bigger then those tiny little spiders. You've no reason to be afraid of them."
"Yes I do." Ron sobbed.
"We're all afraid of something, my dear." Molly said. "Fred is afraid of girls, George is afraid of baths, Percy is afraid of failing Hogwart's, Ginny is afraid of well, everything. Charlie is afraid of Bill when he's angry and Bill is afraid of getting angry at Charlie."
"I hate spiders." Ron said. "I hate them."
Ginny, having woken up from her five-minute nap skipped happily into the room and jumped up onto the tall bed beside her mother and her brother. She smiled at Ron, who squirmed in his mother's arms. "I want to play, Ron." she said in her tiny voice. "Can we play?"
"Not tonight, Ginny. Tonight, it is time for bed. Now, go tell Percy to close his books and get into bed and tell Fred and George that I can hear them laughing all the way up here and that they'd better quit or else." Molly smiled.
"Okay." Ginny hopped off of the bed and ran out of the room.
Fred and George shared a room, being as inseparable as they were, it was downstairs. Arthur had supposed it was meant to be a guest bedroom or something, but it was the only other bedroom available in the house. Bill had his own room, after a very long battle between Molly and Arthur and Percy shared a room with Charlie. Beds were still expensive and on a candy cashier's budget, they could not afford to knock out walls and create new rooms, nor could they afford to buy seperate beds for Ron and Ginny. But, being the small children they were, they didn't mind sharing a bed. Ron thought it quite handy to share a bed with Ginny, that way, if he needed a glass of water or anything, he could wake her up to go get it and she would. If his parents caught him up, they would yell at him (A growing boy needs his rest! declared Arthur) , but if they caught Ginny, they'd let her have her way. Ginny always got her way, being the youngest and the only girl among them.
"Good night, Ron." she whispered when she got into the bed.
"Night, Ginny." he whispered, turning over on his side.
The dark room was quiet for a long time. "I'm scared of the dark, Ron."
"Go tell Mum." Ron muttered.
"Mummy is tired." Ginny whimpered. "I'm scared."
"You weren't scared before." Ron yawned.
"That's because I fell asleep before you turned off the lights." Ginny said, tugging at his arm. "I'm scared."
"I can't do anything, Ginny."
"Yes, you can." Ginny said, clutching his arm. "Catch me some."
"Catch you some what?" Ron said, turning over to face her.
"Fireflies." Ginny said. "Ple-ase?"
Ron decided that he apparently wouldn't be allowed sleep if he did not go and get Ginny's fireflies, so he rolled himself out of the bed and onto the cold floor. Since Percy was still awake (he was always awake) and Ron did not want to get into any more trouble, he crept over to the old window and with some difficulty pushed it open. Not knowing the dangers of sitting on a second story window in the middle of the night, he grabbed a jar of candy that had but a few Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans still in it and crept out into the night. He could hear Ginny sit up in bed as he sat, the wind rustling his red hair. He saw fireflies around him, and he held out the jar, thinking that fireflies were somehow fond of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans and would fly in to eat them. Crickets chirped on the ground and the stars held fast in the black sky. The moon was full and Ron thought back to all the tales of werewolves that his mother taught him.
He looked up at the bright stars and thought of something very smart Bill had said when he had stopped being angry. It was last summer, and Ron, being a small child, tried to remember things, but somehow seemed to slip out his other ear when he wasn't looking. But this, he knew, would stay in his mind (his very small mind, according to Percy) for a very very long time.
"The stars are all attached to this long, invisible ribbon, Ron." Bill said, pointing up to the sky. "It goes in and out of the sky, in and out, in and out. It's something that no one can control, something even Great Witches and Wizards can't control."
Ginny was now sitting at the window, her legs dangling on the roof. Ron sighed and reached out for her hand and pulled her next to him. She clung to his body, very afraid. She gazed down with huge eyes and she pulled her knees to her chest.. "Don't look down, Ginny." he said. "Up." Ginny had a hard time pulling her eyes away from the horrible ground, but somehow she did and looked up at the sky. The fireflies were still dancing, but they seemed unimportant now.
"I'm scared." Ginny whispered.
"It's not all dark anymore." Ron said.
"I'm scared of falling."
"It's better to be scared together, then brave alone." said Ron, holding his sister closer. "That's what Charlie said."
"Ron?" Ginny said, looking up at him.
"What?"
"I'm not scared anymore."
"That's good."
Ginny was asleep within a few minutes and just as Ron was about to push her back through the window and into their room, two fireflies flew into his jar and lit up the jellybeans. Ron smiled and thrust the jar and its contents as far as it would go. He didn't hear them land, but just as he pushed Ginny back into the room and she landed with a thud, he saw two fireflies shine their lights somewhere far away. He yawned and fell into the room as well. Finding it quite comfortable on the floor, he rested his head against Ginny and fell asleep, not really caring about anything more then losing his jellybeans.
---
The Hospital Wing of Hogwart's was empty, except for Ginny Weasley. She sat up in her bed, ointment smeared over her face and tears running over her face. It was her fault that Harry and Ron had nearly died trying to save her. She'd just felt so lonely, now that Ron had friends. He had two friends! One of them was the smartest witch in Hogwart's and the other was the infamous Harry Potter. She couldn't even begin to compete with them. She was jealous, very jealous of both of them. When she was younger, she and Ron had been inseparable, absolutely inseparable. They weren't as close as Fred and George who had been together since the time they were born. Ron and Ginny, it was always the way things were. Ron and Ginny were "Mummy's babies." Ron and Ginny were the youngest, the ones always creating mischief for their older siblings to be blamed for.
But now, it wasn't Ron and Ginny.
It was Harry, Ron and Hermione. Ginny felt sad sitting in her big brother's shadow, but when she met Tom Riddle through the diary, it felt so wonderful to have someone that would listen. Even if she knew it was wrong at the time, she wouldn't have stopped. Ginny and Tom was the way it was for a while. Ron was so preoccupied, he probably didn't care about her anymore. Which is why she was sitting here, because she was stupid and forgotten.
"Ginny." Ron said, appearing at the foot of the bed, a shiny cloak in his hand.
"What's that?" Ginny said, pointing.
"It's Harry's." Ron said, laying it down over her bed. He walked around to the chair next to her bed and sat next to her. "I just wanted to check up on you. It can get lonely in here. I imagine it can be scary too, with all these petrified people laying around." he shivered.
"Yeah." Ginny said, looking away.
"Hey, Ginny." Ron said. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Ron." she said, almost sadly. "You should get to bed."
"You had me worried, Ginny." Ron pressed. "Knowing that Tom Riddle had taken you into the Chamber. I was afraid I would never see you again. Everyone was worried about you. Percy wouldn't stop pacing and Fred and George wouldn't pull one prank."
"I know."
"I felt really bad." Ron said. "It's like I've let you down. I'm sorry, Ginny."
"You didn't let me down." Ginny said. "More like I've ruined it for myself. I've got a reputation now, you know. I am The Girl that was in love with You-Know-Who. I hate myself. How could I've been so stupid?"
"No." Ron said, smiling. "You're not stupid, Ginny. Everyone makes mistakes, some bigger then others. But, you know, if you ever feel bad about mistakes, you should talk to me. I make a load of them every day. You can even ask Hermione, if you want. She likes to point them out."
"Yeah." Ginny said softly.
"What's wrong?" Ron said, tugging at her red hair. "Come on, tell me."
"I'm scared." she said. "I'm terrified, actually."
"You-Know-Who is gone, Ginny. He'll never come back to hurt you ever again. You don't have to be scared of him. Dumbledore will protect us." Ron assured her.
"I'm not afraid of Tom." she said. "I'm afraid of being left behind."
"Left behind ... ?"
"You've got friends, Ron! You've got Harry and Hermione and Neville and Dean and Seamus. I've no one. I used to be your best friend, your only friend. And then, you went off to school and met all sorts of people. People that are smarter, better, richer then me. How can I compete with that?" Ginny said, tears coming into her eyes.
Ron looked shocked for a minute and then smiled. "You don't have to compete with my friends." he said. "You've already won, Ginny. Because, no matter how smart Hermione gets or how brave Harry becomes, they'll never be my little sister. They'll never be Ginny. I may be getting new friends, but Ginny, you'll always be my little sister. There's no Harry Potter or Hermione or Dean that's going to change that."
Ginny threw her arms around Ron's neck and sobbed into his shoulder as he held her back, smiling, almost laughing.
"I love you, Ron." she said through her tears.
"Love you too, Ginny." he said, pulling her away and smiling. "I think I've got to get back now, who knows when Filch will come roaming."
"Ron." she caught his hand. "Could you do one more thing for me?"
"What?"
"Would you sit with me, just until I fall asleep, and then you can go." she said, looking up to him.
Ron sighed and sank back into his chair. Ginny lay back down, feeling resolved. She closed her eyes and pretended to sleep, wanting Ron to go back soon, so he wouldn't get caught. But even after what seemed like hours, and when she was truly falling asleep, he stayed by her. He sat by the waning candle, munching on Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. And even when sleep truly did take her, she could still hear his loud crunching just as she drifted away. Maybe that was the wonder of her brother, the fact that at first, he came on as an insensitive, tall jerk, but in reality, he would do anything for anyone he cared for. She woke up around noon the next day, and Ron was gone, having gone off to class. When Harry and Ron came to visit her the next day, Ron's eyes were bloodshot from sleeplessness and he shared a kind look with her. Her brother was so strange in so many ways, but maybe that's what she loved about him.
---
"I just realized it, Harry." Hermione said quietly through her steady stream of tears. "I love him. But now, he's dead and there's nothing I can do. There's nothing."
Harry put his hand on hers and smiled. "Viktor was a good man, Hermione."
Ron, however, didn't feel a lot of sympathy for the dead Viktor Krum. Instead, he felt sort of happy the bloke was gone, dead, over with. But, hearing Hermione say that she actually, well, loved him, blew his mind. He sat, looking at her sob into a tattered tissue. She let out a large sob and Harry embraced her as she cried even harder. Harry gave him one of his looks, one of his looks that said Ron-Weasley-you'd-better-comfort-her-you-stupid-prat. But to tell the truth, the absolute honest to goodness truth, he didn't want to comfort her. Viktor never really loved Hermione, he only saw her as another groupie that wrote him idle fan mail. Hermione was the girl of his dreams, and to hear her spill her heart over this dead Bulgarian and be so crushed at his passing tore him up in side. Ron stood up and simply walked out of the Dormitory, out of the school and straight to the Quidditch Pitch.
"Crummy Viktor. I'm glad he's dead. He probably deserved to die." Ron mumbled to himself as he sat himself down in the empty bleachers. "Stupid Bulgarians. I hate them all. I hate Bulgarians. I hate their stupid accent and their Quidditch team and their disgusting Bulgarian food."
"So, what kind of food do they serve in Bulgaria?" Ginny asked, standing a few feet away from where Ron was sitting.
"Get away, Ginny!" Ron said, turning his head. "I don't want to talk to anyone right now. Go find Hermione and comfort her or something."
"From the look in your eyes, Big Brother, it looks like you'd be the one to need comforting." she said, walking over and sitting beside him. "Will you tell me what's wrong?"
"Everything's wrong." Ron muttered, still looking away from her.
"I don't suppose you could be a little more specific?" Ginny pressed. "Please?"
Ron didn't respond.
"Maybe Hermione is just acting out of greif. Viktor was her friend too, you know. A lot has been going on since we started Hogwart's, Ron. I think we've carried a large burden within all of ourselves for too long. We've all learned to value life, not just ours, but the lives of all of whom we come in contact with." she paused. "I know you don't mean you're glad that Viktor is dead. You're sad too, Ron. You practically worshipped him before he fell for Hermione. In a way, he was your friend too. He was a soldier, Ron. He was a man that fought for honor in this world with none. I suppose that's what we all are. I get so scared sometimes, with you always withdrawing, like Harry used to. I'm afraid I'll lose you."
"What if Hermione wasn't acting out of greif?" Ron said, his voice cracking. "What if she really did love him? God, I was going to propose to her tonight."
Ginny took her gloved hand and turned Ron's face towards her. She smiled tenderly when she saw the tears that ran down his face. "Then, Ron Weasley, she has missed out on the most incredible man I've ever known. And frankly, if she's stupid enough to take a great spirit like you for granted, then she's not the person I thought she was."
"I'm not as incredible as Harry Potter. I'm a sidekick, no one knows who I am. No one cares. I'm just the red headed nuisance to Harry Potter."
"You're right." Ginny said. "You're not Harry Potter. You never will be. Not many towns will rejoice at the sound of your name, they're more likely to laugh. But, I know who you are, Ron. I know exactly who you are. Mum, Dad, Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George and I, we all know who you are and I think we're all grateful that you are who you are. The world might renounce Harry Potter as their hero, but you're mine. You've always been since the day I was born."
Ron cracked a smile and swung his arm around his little sister. "Time goes by so fast. I don't remember you being so mature and wise."
"You should never underestimate a Weasley." she said, standing up and starting to walk away. "You, of all people should know that."
Long after Ginny had gone, Ron still sat in the stands, watching Hufflepuff practice for their next game against Ravenclaw. He really did love Hermione, with all of his heart. He would give her anything she wanted, if she'd just ask. He'd give his life for her happiness, and he was prepared to in the blink of an eye. But, talking with Ginny made him realize something. Hermione may not always be his to hold or care for or love, but Ginny would always be around. The same blood ran through their veins, but strangely enough, the same heart did not beat within their chests. Ginny had the heart of a dreamer, of a lover, of a hope stricken child. And he, he had the heart of a fighter, never good with emotions, but always willing to take a crack at it. He stood up and sighed, stuffing his hands in his pockets. There was a war that was on the brink of occurring, there were killings and evil fires that were rekindled. He would worry about his love life after the war, after everyone was safe.
After all, he had plenty of time to see the world and make his judgments.
---
The War went on for three years, people always dying, waking up on the battlefield, another man's dead body draped over your own. Hermione was scared out of her mind of pain and dying, always wringing her thin hands nervously right before a battle. Harry was scared beyond anyone's ability to understand of losing one of his friends. It was a very real fear that struck every one of them right in the heart. All of Ron's siblings had been separated from him, fighting off in far away lands since the Second Year of War. All of them, with the exception of Ginny. The wondered at night together, crying over their missing family. Their mother, despite her spunk was kept in a safe house by the demanding of Bill. He had caused quite an uproar as his hands bled. Ginny and Ron knew nothing of their brothers, whether or not they were okay, if they were even alive. They did not even know whose side they were on. Ron was afraid that out of all of the black hooded men he had killed, one of them might be Percy.
"Hurry! We've got to get out!" Harry yelled back to them.
They were in the very lair of Voldemort. It was a long battle between Harry and Voldemort, but in the end, Harry was victorious, leaving Tom Riddle's bleeding corpse among the rubble. Ron had covered his sister's young eyes and rushed her out. Neville had Hermione hoisted up onto his already injured shoulder. She had been knocked out early, and it would probably be quicker to leave her to die, but none of them would hear of it. Luna was limping along the walls, her leg dripping blood as Harry ran ahead of them all, refusing to look back. The castle crumbled around them, their beloved Hogwart's castle that had been captured.
"Come on!" Neville yelled to Ron and Ginny.
Just as he said those words, the castle gave a great quake and more of the old bricks fell into the corridor from the ceiling. Ron jerked the traumatized Ginny back with all his strength and watched the rock create an impossible wall between the rest of his friends. He got up from the flooding ground and helped Ginny up, her red hair wet and stringy.
"Ron! Are you alright?" he heard Harry yell.
"We're fine, just go! We'll find another way out!" Ron yelled back.
"There is no other way, Idiot!" Luna screamed. "We're all going to die!"
"Shut your mouth, stupid girl!" Ginny yelled. "We'll find a way, just go!"
"Are you sure?" Neville yelled.
"Go!" Ron yelled, turning down the next flooded corridor, dragging Ginny along.
They trudged along, shoes flooded with water and hearts heavy with despair of losing their friends. Luna was right, there was no other way out. They were in the dungeon, they were heading to their death by drowning. They had both known it when they told them to go. Both would rather die then see their friends die as well. But, for some reason, they still ran frantically, looking for somewhere to escape, an egress, a door, for God's sake! They turned a sharp corner and saw a dead end at the end of the short hall. Ginny gave a cry of despair as Ron dropped her hand. A man, as soaking wet as they were turned the corner with a look of menace in his eyes. He smiled the same smile his son would have if he hadn't died earlier in the war. The father of Draco seemed more menacing now, more then ever.
"You're going to die, you rats." he said as an iron gate descended from the ceiling between himself and the two Weasley's. "Your parents should have died a long time ago, now you must pay their debt."
"You bastard!" Ginny screamed. "You disgusting little snake! Let us out! Let us out!"
"Idiot girl." he said, his bloodshot eyes widening with a wild content. "You shouldn't plea for your life. It is worthless. You will die here. Your families are dead, and your friends. They all died. They suffered a long painful death and it is all your fault. It is only fit you should suffer their fate."
"That's not true!" Ron screamed. "They're alive!"
"The top of the castle is on fire, the Great Hall is in ashes. Everyone is dead." he spat. "Everyone is dead. It is all because of you."
"No!" Ginny shrieked, throwing herself against the gate. "Let us out!"
"Let them out." Draco said, stepping from the shadows." There is still way out of this place. Haven't enough died because of this war? Let them out, Father."
His father raised his eyebrows at his son and then smirked. "As you wish, Draco." He reached into his pocket and gave him the key and started to walk away, robe sloshing in the water.
"Why are you helping us?" Ginny demanded as he fumbled with the lock.
"Enough have died. It's too much for one to bear, even one as horrible as me." he said. "Your friends and families are --"
He stopped dead, his eyes widened with a crazy sort of surprise and pain and he gripped the keys in his hand so tightly his fingers turned white. Ron reached for his hand through the gate. "Malfoy? Malfoy, hurry up you ferret! What's the matter with you?" Malfoy opened his mouth and dark red blood dripped from it as his body went limp and he landed face first in the murky water. Ginny screamed clutched Ron, who just stared in disbelief at the handle of a dagger sticking out from the man's back. His father smiled at them.
"I'll just take this key." he said, taking it out of the lock and putting it into his pocket. "And I might need this later." he reached down to grab the handle of the dagger and yanked it out of his son. Seeing the blood, he gave a disgusted smirk and wiped the blade on the robes of his dead son.
"You bastard." Ron whispered.
"But a living bastard I remain." he said, turning and walking away.
"Oh, God." Ginny cried, sinking to her knees. "We're going to die, Ron! We're going to die!"
Ron did nothing to comfort his sister, just leaned his head on the iron gate. "Nonsense, Ginny. We're not going to die."
"Yes, we are!" she screamed.
"Perk up, Ginny.." Ron smiled. "The Aurors will be here soon. Harry and the others will come for us. All we have to do is not lose our heads, understand?"
Ginny nodded mutely, but rested her head on her knees and wept.
Hours passed and no one came to rescue them. Ron had his arms around Ginny as he sat in the foot deep water. He had her head turned away from Malfoy's dead body. No one was going to come for them. This was where they were going to die, here, in this dungeon with a corpse. He would never know if his family was okay, if Hermione had lived, if they had made it out in time. He closed his eyes and let the tears slip from his eyes. Tears of despair, tears of death, tears of hopelessness. There was so much he wanted to do in life, marry Hermione, have children, and grow old. He wanted to see his fiftieth birthday. He wanted to see Ginny fall in love with a wonderful man. But most of all, he just wanted to live. He clutched Ginny against his chest as she awoke. She didn't say anything, just lay there.
"I'm not going to lie to you, Ginny." Ron said. "I want to live. I want you to live. But, I don't think we're going to live, little sister. I'm sorry. I've let you down."
"No." she whispered. "You could never let me down, Ron."
The castle gave a great quake and Ginny lifted her head from Ron's chest. The rocks crumbled at the end of the hallway and were slowly coming towards them. Ginny screamed and started to get up, but Ron held her down. "No, Ginny. Let it come. Just let it come." Ginny clung to her brother and sobbed as the rocks crashed into the water and the castle shook. Ron spun around and pushed Ginny against the wall. He saw her fear and confusion as he threw his body over her, to protect her. Just before the rocks fell on them, Ron saw the look of pure gratitude on his sister's face and he felt that even if he were to die at that second, his life had had some purpose, some meaning, and some worth.
And that's all one can really ask for.
---
Everything hurt. From her eyelids right down to her toenails, everything felt bruised and horrible. She heard only silence and for a second, she thought she had died and she was wherever people go when they die. She forced her tired eyelids open and saw a balloon. "Get well soon, Ginny. We love you." she read softly. Slowly, she sat up in the empty hospital room and saw that she was in St. Mungo's. Relief flooded her that she was living and even her bruised fingertips tingled with excitement. She looked outside the window and saw that the sun was slowly setting. "I'm alive. I'm alive. I made it through the war. I am alive." she repeated to herself. She sighed and started to read a book that Hermione must had left on her bedside table.
"Hogwarts, a History." she said softly, turning to page one.
When she opened the cover, there was a photo taped into it. A photo of Dumbledore's Army, all of its proud members waved at her. Ginny smiled and ran her hand over it, watching Fred and George try several poses before she closed the book on them. Suddenly, she remembered Ron. Tears burst from her eyes when she remembered that he had thrown his body over hers to protect her from the falling rocks. She remembered how lucky she was to be alive, and by the looks of the room, had probably lived by pure luck. But, if she had just made it, barely slipped by, then Ron was surely --
"Nurse!" Ginny screamed. "Nurse!"
"What is it?" a young woman said, opening the door, looking flustered.
"My brother, Ron." Ginny cried desperately. "Where is he? Please, tell me he's alright."
"He is in the room across the hall." she said slowly. "Oh, Miss Weasley, they're not sure he will make it. He's lost so much blood."
"Take me to him." Ginny insisted, sitting up again, but this time feeling a sharp pain in her body.
"Take it easy, Miss Weasley." the Nurse said, rushing over to her. "You're very hurt as well. Let me help you into a wheel chair."
The Nurse wheeled Ginny across the hall. Ron's room had no lovely wallpaper, no balloons, no hope left in its walls. It only had Ron, laying in a square bed, looking dead and defeated. Ginny wheeled herself over to her brother's side and saw that a bandage had been strapped around his head and over his eyes. Ginny let out a sob. She had done this! He had sheltered her with his body! This was her fault! If her brother died, it was her fault. She would blame herself forever if he died. She wouldn't ever forgive herself, always walking with the burden of her brother's death. Ginny rested her hand on her brother's bed and sobbed quietly.
"I ask too much of you, big brother." she whispered, placing her hand on his. "But please, let me ask one more thing. Please, stay with me. Don't let go of your life, yet. You can't die. You can't leave me here alone. Harry and Hermione and our brothers are fine and all, but I love you the most, Ron. Don't leave me here alone. I'm not ready to let you go. I'm too young. You can't die, not now."
She listened, hoping that maybe he would respond.
"I love you, big brother." she whispered. "Do you remember what you told me? That you just wanted to live? I'd do anything if I could trade places with you, to be the one dying instead of the one that's bruised."
A nurse ran by the closed door, her shoes clicking on the floor.
"Do you remember when we were very small, Ron?" Ginny whispered. "It was dark in the room. I wanted fireflies to make it brighter. And you, you just climbed right up on the roof and you tried to catch some with jellybeans. Do you remember that?" she laughed slightly. "Mum was always blaming Fred or George or Percy for our little adventures. Whenever we did something bad, it always seemed like it was their fault. We were the dynamic duo. Ron and Ginny. We couldn't be separated, we even shared a bed until Bill moved away."
Silence filled her ears, along with the darkness of the set sun.
"It is nighttime, Ron. I don't suppose I am afraid of the dark anymore, like I was when I was a child. I'm scared to the core of losing you, though. I'm so terrified, Ron. Please, just don't die. Please. Please."
Ginny cried herself to sleep that night, clinging loosely to her brother's hand. But, just before the sun rose and Hermione and Harry came to visit Ron, Ron squeezed his sister's hand ever so slightly back.
He had been listening.
Throughout the day, the Healers ran several tests and gave him blood through a tube. The Nurse insisted they did not move Ginny. If her brother died that day, at least she would be by his side. But, they had to move her eventually to see if they could save her legs. She may not walk again, they said. She may never walk again. They didn't tell her this, for she was too shattered with greif at her dying brother. The nurse wheeled her out of the room and into the spell caster's room. For hours, they inflicted every charm, every potion, every procedure that might help her legs, help her walk again. When they were finished, they lay her on the table to sleep as the Healer went out to talk to Molly.
"Hermione." Molly cried when she walked out of the room. "How is she? Will she walk again?"
"Yes." Hermione smiled. "But, she will limp forever. As she gets older, her knees will give her some problem and she'll probably have to be put into a wheelchair. But, for now, she can walk."
"Oh, thank God!" Molly sobbed, embracing Hermione.
"It'll take some physical therapy and getting used to, but she will walk again, Mrs. Weasley. She will walk again." Hermione said softly.
"But what about Ron?" Bill demanded, standing up. "What about him?"
"They thought he'd die." Hermione said, pulling away from Molly. "They thought he'd die last night, actually. But, I don't know. Some miracle, some cause made him stay alive. He was so close to death, they almost rolled the white sheet over his head, but, somehow, he pulled through. But, he is blind. He will be blind for the rest of his life."
"So this is how it is." Arthur said, standing up. "My children, my two youngest children, one blind and one limping for the rest of her life."
"But they are all alive." Molly said, taking his hand. "And for that we should be thankful."
They kept Ron and Ginny in the same room. Ron took a lot of time to recover from his injuries, but always had the white bandage across his eyes. Ginny went through physical therapy with her Healer, Hermione Granger. She felt so weak, her legs so unstable. Every day, Hermione would assure her that she would walk one day if she tried. But, Ginny would not leave her wheelchair. "Not while my brother is limited to his box of a bed." she cried. "I will not walk until he can see again." Ginny would sit by the window most of the time, staring out at London, at the muggles who could not see her. They did not know her pain, her story. At times, she hated them more then anything. And then, there were times when she would have done anything to be them. Unaware of the dangers and wars and evils that had been done to her world.
Ginny leaned her head against the window and thought of all she had been through. A great war, a Dark Lord, the loss of her dignity. She heard Ron sit up in his bed. She heard him slide into the wheelchair that was beside his bed. The Nurse walked over and wheeled him over to the window, beside Ginny and together they sat. Ron reached over and took her hand. She sobbed and looked away from her brother.
"You should be walking around by now, Ginny." he said. "Why are you still in that damned wheelchair?"
"It's not right." Ginny whispered. "It's not right that I should be able to see the sunset and the clouds and family and friends when you cannot! It's not right that I can limp when you have to stay in a damned wheel chair!"
"I can walk when I am strong again, Ginny." Ron sighed. "And I think even now, with this stupid bandage over my eyes, I can see much better then you."
"Are you crazy, Ron?" Ginny said angrily. "You're blind."
"Take off my bandage, Ginny." Ron said. "Go on, take it off. Prove me wrong."
Ginny reached behind her brother's head and loosened the knot. Very slowly, she eased the bandage off of his eyes. She caught her breath when she saw his beautiful blue eyes staring at her. Placing the bandage on the windowsill, she turned from him. "Turn my head towards the window." he said.
Slowly, she tilted his head towards the window.
He grinned hugely, eyes darting around, as if taking in all.
"What do you see?" she asked.
"I see a world, a wonderful world." he said, tears coming down his eyes. "I see a world where there is no Voldemort. I see a world where people can raise children and tell stories of a Great War that happened. I see a world where leaves can fall and tears are nothing but rain. And do you know why I see it, Ginny? Do you know why?"
"Why?" Ginny asked, still looking down.
He took his hand and tilted her head upwards. "Because we've done it. We've created this world. We've fought for it and we've won. That's why I see it. I don't need my eyes to tell me that, Ginny Weasley. I can feel it in every bone in my body. It's a world where people fall in love."
"Who will love a cripple and a blind man?" Ginny sobbed.
"There are no cripples or blind men." Ron said. "Only people that lose hope. And that, Ginny Weasley, may be the worst disability of all."