Relief

Dumbledore POV

I saw Harry fall and could do nothing. Ron's case was much more urgent. I kept walking, caring Ron. I heard someone struggling with Harry as I left the Dining Hall. The professor and me entered the Informatory and Madam Pomfrey immediately set to work bandaging his wrists. Meanwhile Harry had been brought in and was laid down on a bed. The Weasely twins rushed in and stood between the two beds, one trying to wake up Ron, the other, Harry. Madame Pomfrey quickly put an end to this.

"What do you think you're doing!" she cried out "there is a reason we aren't waking them up."

"They aren't dead are they?" Fred cried.

The nurse automatically changed her tone. "No dear, Harry has just passed out. Ron though, he needs a blood replenishing potion. Please dears, don't try to wake them up. Just sit down. Harry will wake up in his own due time. Ron will be out for up to a week. Any longer than that and you will be allowed to revive him."

The boys crossed the room and sat down on a couch. The two brothers were side by side, they didn't talk or even look at each other. They just sat looking into space, each with their separate thoughts; thoughts I felt weren't so different after all.

Fred's POV

I sat and stared at Harry, my brother. A smile played it's way across my face; I was family with one of the most famous wizards in Europe. Maybe we weren't related by blood, but he was definitely my brother in my heart. This thought gave me some hope to the future. I wasn't going to lose any family, Harry Potter was my brother, well sort of, he still had to consent to it but… no matter what, he would always be a brother to me, even if he didn't want to! I had made up my mind, he didn't have to consent to being my brother, he didn't have a choice, just like Ron, Fred, Bill, Percy, and Charlie didn't have a choice. He was family; not even Harry could change that.

Dumbledore's POV

I saw Fred smile, seconds later George did the same. I knew they had thought of something that would keep them happy no matter what, presumably about Harry. Right then I saw Harry move. I strode to his bed, at the same time Fred and George darted off the couch, they were at his side in seconds, I reached the bedside just as Harry opened his eyes. I saw him register us in his mind as he tried to remember why we were there. I saw as the memories came back to him, he closed his eyes and tried to hold in his tears, I saw as he gave up the battle and the tears flowed out from under his eyes. It was then that I realized he didn't know about Ron's condition, I leaned over the bed, "Harry," I whispered "Ron will live, he's not dead, just unconscious." A look of relief came to Harry's face, but the tears didn't stop.

"I'll listen next time." He croaked "I should have obeyed, Ron wouldn't have tried to kill himself if I had, it's my fault."

"I won't deny that you could have saved him, but he is alive, don't blame yourself too much."

"We don't blame you." The twins piped in "it wasn't your fault, really. Don't worry."

The twins spent the remainder of the day with Harry, waiting tirelessly for Ron to wake up. They soon got the weights of death off their shoulders and played various games while talking about the joke shop the twins had started after they quit school.

It was three day's later when Ron woke up. We had taken him to St. Mungo's and it took Harry, Fred, and George to explain to him why he was alive and in the hospital. Harry apologized continuously for not talking to Ron and Ron did likewise but I felt Ron had not really forgiven Harry for his trespasses.

Dumbledore visited Ron as often as he was permitted, and the Weasly family, who had metaphorically adopted Harry into it, stayed the night at the hospital until Ron was released from their care.

Harry and Ron started speaking to each other again and soon they were going to Hogsmeade every weekend to explore the shops, examine the Quidditch accessories, and buy various wizard pranks. The pranks often led to memories of Hermione and though the memories were painful, the boys were found buying these pranks more often. It felt good to remember Hermione, sometimes they felt almost as if she was there with them in their third year sneaking into the Womping Willow or in first year fighting the troll, releasing them from Devil's Snare, and figuring out Snape's logic problem that allowed Harry to enter into the room with the Mirror of Erised.

It was comforting to remember that they weren't alone in their remorse over her passing away; they had a friend to get them through.

The two boys became closer friends than had been even in their school days. The one was not seen without the other, whether they were crying or laughing, talking or just sitting. They managed to get by on memories of the past and the never spoke of death unless they had no other option. To someone behind on the times they were simply speaking of a friend who had gone away that they dearly missed. If you walked in on them at night it would be a different matter, they could be found awake in their dormitories late at night weeping over their lost love.

Harry's POV

It had been six weeks since the attack on the school. Ron and I had gone to Hogsmeade again to buy more pranks from the joke shop. We went inside and saw many girls in there giggling. They were all the same age, I'd say 15, and some were very pretty. They watched us walk in and giggled harder. One girl looked at me hard and her eyes flickered to my scar.

"It's Harry Potter!" she exclaimed, "and his friend Ron, too." The girls broke into hushed whispers, no doubt about my Hermione's famous defeat of the dark wizard Voldemort and my encounters with him throughout my school years. Only one girl remained hushed, one of the pretty ones. She had red curly hair, blue eyes, and she had a feminine beauty about her that none of the other girls had. As she looked at Ron and me with pity as she saw our faces momentarily lose control and show our pain and sadness. She tried to usher the girls out but to no avail. So instead she came to us.

"Excuse my friends, the don't realize how rude they are."

"Oh, that's all right. We've been dealt worse things." Ron returned. We both saw the troubled look that momentarily passed over his face. The girl looked at him with something more than pity this time, a mix of sympathy, admiration, and confusedness.

She liked him. Apparently, Ron felt the same way but did a fairly good job of masking his feelings. He got something I didn't get first, and something I knew I would never have, the girl, and love.

She introduced herself to us saying "Hi, I'm Laurel, I take it you are Harry and Ron?" we told her yes. She suggested that we looked at the jokes with her and after that go a place to eat. We did so and when we ordered our food Ron ate nothing. Laurel gave him a worried glance and as I went to help her get the drinks she questioned if he was all right. I told her that he was always this way after being reminded of Hermione and he would be fine soon.

Sure enough when we returned he very quickly polished off his plate and had ordered seconds. When we were finished with our food we went to a Quidditch shop and found out that Laurel was actually a Quidditch player for the Gryffindor team at Hogwarts. Creating a common interest between us, and forming a bonding point.

Ron was very out of it that day; he mixed up his words and mumbled a lot. Laurel was very patient with him and very kind too. She asked us to come again he next day and we agreed.

When it was time to go again we bade each other goodnight and goodbye and that "we would meet again tomorrow as surely as the sun would rise," my quote. Our walk back to the castle was silent and I felt that Ron was mad at me. I questioned him about it and he replied, "Mad at you, why would I be mad at you?" in an altogether unconvincing tone. I told him I knew he was upset and finally I made him explain what it was all about. "Harry, first you steal Hermione, now you want to steal Laurel from me too."

"That isn't true Ron! The first time I saw her I knew she was for you, I wouldn't dream of stealing anything from you, why do you think I never asked Hermione out, or to marry me? Because I didn't want to steal her from you!"

"Really, you…"

"YES Ron! I LOVED HER. DON'T THINK THAT BECAUSE I DIDN'T SHOW IT I DIDN'T FEEL IT! I DIDN'T FOR YOU!!!"

With that I stormed off and left Ron to alone, so that I could cool down. I went into the dormitory were me and Ron now stayed and threw myself on my bed. I thought about Ron, I thought about Laurel, but mostly, I thought about Hermione. She and Laurel were so much alike. Their frizzy hair, their smart, kind attitude, Ron would get his Hermione too, even if it wasn't ours.

It was several hours until I fell asleep and I could hear Ron's snores by then. I felt hate towards him, for being so ungrateful for a sacrifice I had made for him and for not believing it when the truth came out. I fell asleep with that hate and dreamt Ron died. I woke up with only understanding for him.