Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Authors Notes: So I realize that I lied, I said I would update like 2 weeks ago and I didn't. I am sorry, I am a horrible person that should be beaten with a broom. However, I think this is worth the wait (at least I hope it is 2 am and I am quite tired after being up for 48 hours so if it doesn't make sense REVIEW and I will fix it.) If you loved it REVIEW! If you hated it REVIEW! Please tell me what you think.

Buck: Yes your blackmail worked, yes I should have posted sooner,I am sorry.Anywho, loved the update on Dragonheart (everyone needs to read Dragonheart just look in my fav stories!), I just hope my writing is up to par with yours (though I doubt it). Ok I did what you said now you owe me:)

Chapter 7: You Finally Find That You and I Collide

Harry was still sitting next to Ron, talking to him and trying to get him to wake up. Harry knew Ron was alive (the breathing was a big clue) but was at a loss as to how to wake him up. He was reaching the end of his rope and was about to shake his red-headed friend, when Lupin and Mr. Weasley ran up, a hysterical Mrs. Weasley not far behind.

"Harry, thank Merlin you are alright," cried Lupin pulling Harry into a tight hug.

"RON!" screamed Mrs. Weasley running to her son and attempting to gather him in her arms, but was restrained by Mr. Weasley.

"Molly, we don't know how badly he is hurt, let's wait until someone looks at him," said Mr. Weasley restraining sobs of his own.

"Mrs. Weasley, he is alive; he just won't wake up," said Harry sadly. "He took the killing curse, but didn't die. I just don't know what to do or what happened. Maybe that spell protected him even when Dumbledore died. I just don't know."

"Do you know what spell Dumbledore used?" Lupin asked.

"Vita something or another. He did say it was an old spell that would give lasting protection as long as we were together or something."

"He used the vita eternus spell?" asked Lupin incredulously.

"He couldn't have, that spell hasn't been used since the days of the founders," said Mr. Weasley. "How did he manage it?"

"The vida eternus spell? What is that?" asked Harry.

"It's a spell that uses the love that one has for a person or group of people and transfers it into their souls, therefore protecting their souls from being taken in times of great danger," replied Mrs. Weasley in a soft, disbelieving voice. "A variation is what your mother did for you. No spell was cast, but the love your father and mother had for each other and for you saved and protected you from Voldemort."

"It was found to be too dangerous and banned by the Ministry over 300 years ago. How did Dumbledore find it?" asked Mr. Weasley.

"I found the spell two years ago," responded Hermione quietly as she and Ginny walked up to the group. "I thought we would be able to use it to protect Harry, so I showed it to Dumbledore. He said that his mother's protection was the same thing, but he would research it and see what could be done. He never mentioned it after that so I assumed it wouldn't work. I never dreamed he would use it on us or that it would work even if the caster died. How's Ron? Is he alive?"

"He's alive, but not responding to anything," said Mr. Weasley. "Remus and I are going to go try and find a healer. Harry, will you and Ginny please go with Molly and tell the news of Voldemort's defeat to the rest of the Order and make sure our side is accounted for?"

"I guess so. Hermione, you stay with Ron and keep talking to him. Hopefully, he wakes up soon," responded Harry, knowing, as did everyone else, that if anyone could wake up Ron, it would be Hermione.

Hermione sunk onto the ground next to Ron even as Harry was telling her to stay. At this point wild centaurs or the devil himself wouldn't move her until Ron woke up. So she sat next to him, caressing his hair, praying to whatever god was out there that he would wake up.

Ron, meanwhile, was still trying to wake up. He could still hear everything that was going on around him, though those voices were getting fainter and fainter, almost like he or they were fading away. Ron wasn't the smartest of blokes, but he knew that if they faded completely away he would be dead, so he struggled against the faintness and refused to give in. He was at the end of his rope and about to just give up and let go, when he heard quiet crying. Ron was shocked when he realized it was Hermione.

"Ron please, please wake up. You can't die; you promised me that you would always be with me. I just feel so lost and alone. Please, don't leave me. I have to tell you…I mean…That note you wrote and this afternoon in the forest…Bloody hell, this shouldn't be so hard. I told Ginny and she was awake, so just tell him," said Hermione quietly to herself.

Ron struggled to move, blink, anything at all that would be considered a response. He knew now that he had a reason to live, and live he would.

"Please Ron, just wake up or blink or something. I need to tell you something important. You know, when I read your note this morning, I felt like my heart was going to break. When I saw that you were in mortal peril, I just collapsed. It felt like my soul was ripped out of my body and I was just lost. I just sat on the floor in front of the clock, willing it to move, hoping to Merlin that you weren't dead. Even when everyone was planning and trying to figure out where you two were, I didn't move, I didn't think. All I knew is that I couldn't lose you. Then you sent the note and it was like I came alive again, because you were okay. I never wanted to feel like that again, but I am, Ron. I feel like I am dying inside, please can't you wake up," said Hermione, as she once again broke into tears.

Ron still struggled to move and finally felt his big toe move against his shoe. He was slowly breaking free from whatever held him.

"Ron, I'm sorry for not telling you sooner. I wish I had known what to say or the courage to say it. I wish I had not let my brain talk my heart out of what it wanted. I just…You know in that letter you wrote that you love me and when you kissed me this afternoon I felt it; that love you have for me. I didn't mean to pull away; I was just scared by what I felt for you, afraid that if we took our happiness others would suffer. But Ron, if you can hear me I just want you to know that I love you too. So can't you please wake up and call me barking mad when you see how much I have been crying. I just don't know how to live Ron, if you aren't there. Please wake up," said Hermione fading into quiet sobs on his chest.

Ron, shocked at her words, opened his eyes and looked down at the girl he knew he could never live without.

"Mione," said Ron quietly, slowly sitting up and moving his arms around her.

"RON!" cried Hermione throwing her arms around him and squeezing the life out of him.

"Barking, you are. Loosen up, even people that survive the killing curse need air," Ron said, chuckling.

"Ron, you heard me, didn't you?"

"Hear what? That you love me? I heard something to that effect. I also know that everything I wrote in that letter is true, and I meant it when I kissed you today. I do love you and I swear I will always be with you," whispered Ron as he leaned in to kiss her.

Hermione responded wholeheartedly, finally realizing that being with Ron was where she belonged.

Harry, Remus, and the rest of the Weasleys stood in the shadows smiling at the sight, feeling for the first time in over 30 years the overwhelming feeling of true happiness and love.

AN2: Should I attempt a sequel? Thoughts?