Chapter 8

He felt as though he was trapped inside a giant sponge. He could hear voices, muffled, so far away that they may have even been the first rumbles of thunder in a storm. He could feel warmth enveloping all of his limbs but he couldn't move an inch because the sponge held him still. He could breath, but the air seemed heavy to him. The rumbling thunder became louder though, the longer he focused on it, until it was suddenly a voice, and it was so very close.

"Ron…" he didn't feel like listening right now. He would come back later.

000

"Never knew watching somebody sleep could be so bloody draining." The voice sounded more tired then annoyed as it filtered into his mind. He knew that voice. That was George.

"Watching you do anything is this bloody draining." Another tired voice retorted, and he recognized that as Fred. What were they watching he wondered, but then a third voice entered the room, and it sounded like his Dad. Dad? Would you tell the twins to sod off before they wake me up properly! You'd think they'd be off running their shop instead of bothering him right now. But his dad didn't seem to mind that they were there.

"Any change?"

"He's still out. Hasn't even twitched in the last three hours." George was quiet, there was a tinge of worry in his voice, despite the fact that he tried to hide it. That wasn't like him, he and Fred hardly ever let anything bother them, let alone actually worry them.

"You look like you could use a nap."

"I feel like I've been leached of all energy." George stated, as though it were unusual.

"We all do after we watch him too long. The doctor says it's because of the stress of waiting."

"I've waited for people to wake up before-"

"-and it's never been this tiring." They stated. Ron frowned. If they were that tired, then they should leave and give him some peace and quiet then. They could watch whoever it was they wanted to later.

"I know." His dad sounded absolutely knackered, poor bloke. "You guys should go check your store. Mum'll be by and we'll stay with him for a while. Harry's up for company now, so stop and say hello on your way out."

"Right then. Come on Fred." There was some shuffling, something pressed against his forehead, and then blessed silence. Finally he could sleep again."

000

Something was holding his hand, and it was making it warm. He frowned as he tried to figure out what it was, but he wasn't getting any answers. He felt heavy blankets across his chest and legs, pinning him in place, and he was instantly annoyed. He never slept with the blankets tucked in! Then he realized he wasn't sure where he was, and the thing holding his hand was moving now, almost tickling him. Stop it, he ordered, but it kept tickling him. Fine, he'd have to order it to stop properly. He summoned his strength, feeling as though he hadn't had nearly enough sleep, and went to forcefully tell it to go away.

"Sopit." He mumbled, somewhat amused and embarrassed that his voice sounded so pathetic. But the movement suddenly froze, so he supposed it was enough.

"Ron?" Oh, it was Ginny, and she sounded so hopeful that he couldn't not agree with her.

"Tha's me." He said. His throat felt so dry, was that really his voice? Why couldn't he see her though? Was it night or something, and why was she holding his hand? That was a bit peculiar.

"Oh, Merlin! MOOOOM!" She suddenly hollered and he forced his eyes open in surprise, staring at her in shock.

"Shhh, 's not bloody murder." He tried to sound disapproving but noticed that his voice really wasn't cooperating with him all that much. Ah, there she was. Ginny was staring at him with tears in her wide blue eyes. That wasn't right though, because a girl as pretty as his sister should never cry. He squeezed her hand in reassurance, trying to get her to feel better and the tears just started to fall. Suddenly he was worried. "Sokay Gin, don't cry." He tried to comfort her and she threw herself into his arms, hugging his shoulders and sobbing away. He wanted to hug her back, but she had pinned his arms to his sides, so instead he looked around.

His vision was a bit fuzzy about the edges, but he could see his sister's bright red hair, and a window with a plant, and then under it was…a lot of plants. Odd, but he supposed they looked pretty. Then there were some chairs and another bed across the way where a wizard he didn't know sat, grinning at him inanely. He felt his eyebrows raise in response but before he could ask he heard a commotion off to the other side of the room and saw his mum burst in, closely followed by his dad. Oh good.

"Mum, get her off." He demanded and felt, rather then heard, Ginny laugh. However, upon entering the room and looking at him his mom had cried out happily and tears were suddenly falling down her cheeks as she rushed to his bed and joined in the suffocating hug. Red hair now completely blocked his vision. Fer cryin' out loud, he just didn't have the energy to make them stop.

"Molly, Ginny, give him room to breath you two!" Thank you Dad! He couldn't help grinning as they pulled away; they looked a right mess with tears running down their face and their hair all over the place. His dad suddenly leaned into the picture and gave him a big kiss on his forehead and now he was beginning to wonder what was going on, because the last time his dad had done that had been when he'd been knocked unconscious by a bludger, when he was seven years old. He was almost seventeen now!

"Ron," His dad's eye looked suspiciously bright, "how are you feeling?" Well, he hadn't really had time to assess that yet, so he just answered with the first thought that came to mind.

"Fine." He coughed and suddenly there was a straw sitting on his lips. He greedily sucked on it and relished the water that wet his throat. He was so thirsty, he realized, but didn't complain when the drink was taken away. His throat felt one hundred times

better now. He looked at his family and smiled, because they really looked like they could use it, and his mum started fussing over his bed sheets, tucking him in even more.

"What happened?" He asked, looking around. He figured he was in a hospital, and since it wasn't Hogwarts it was probably St. Mungo's. His dad suddenly looked worried.

"You don't remember?"

"Haven't tried to remember yet." He muttered and tried to think back. Exams, ughh, who wanted to remember those. Hogsmeade, the owlry, the sudden appearance of Death Eaters. His eyes went wide. How could he forget that Voldemort attacked!

"Voldemort! He! Harry! Where's Harry, and Hermione!" He remembered, Harry had been in so much pain and Ron had just been laying there stupidly. He looked at his Mum and Dad who were smiling at him happily.

"They're fine dear. Harry and Hermione are just fine! Harry's been on his feet for two days now! We've just been waiting for you to wake up." Tears sprung to his mum's eyes again and his father put a consoling arm around her shoulder.

"Ginny, why don't you go and tell Harry the good news, then get the doctor and let you're brothers and Hermione know that Ron's awake." She nodded and hurried out of the room and Ron frowned.

"How long have I been out of it?"

"Eight days."

"Eight bloody days!" He was feeling his energy come back to him the longer he was awake, and he was beginning to notice how sore his entire body was. All of his muscles felt like he had just wrestled Norbert and lost. "No wonder you all look so tired." He went to sit up and the bed moved with him magically, supporting his weight. And then it hit him, and he really heard what his mum had just told him. "Mum! Harry's fine!" She nodded, her grin broadening as he stared at her in astonishment. "Harry's fine! That means Voldemort is dead!" She nodded and his Dad was grinning stupidly beside her and that wizard he didn't know across the room was giving him the thumbs up sign and then Harry burst into the room at a full run and out of breath.

"RON!" He yelled.

"HARRY!" and his best friend was throwing his arms around him and Ron was holding on for all he was worth, dragging him bodily onto his bed and his parents were smiling and crying and everything was happening so fast! "Harry! He's dead! You did it!" Harry pulled back and his vividly green eyes sparkled with happiness.

"We did it Ron! We beat him! He's never coming back again!" Ron looked deep into his friend's eyes and then pulled him close for another hug, smelling the hospital shampoo in his hair and feeling his arms around him.

"Harry, you're free." He whispered and Harry hugged him tighter, hugged him for all he was worth, and then he pulled back and ruffled Ron's hair, and Ron looked at his forehead, reaching out and brushing the hair aside. The lightening bolt scar that had plagued Harry for his whole life was still there, but it had become a mere shadow of the one that stood out before. He pressed his fingers to the forehead in wonder, and then grinned in a way that he knew must have been stupid.

"I guess you can cut your hair now." He commented and his Dad laughed, reaching over and ruffling Harry's hair in response, but it wasn't him who spoke next.

"Harry without an unruly mane!"

"He wouldn't be Harry anymore!"

"It would be like taking his last name from him!"

"Or his magic!"

"It just wouldn't work,"

"So you can put those scissors away Mum." Fred and George suddenly pushed past his parents and squeezed around the bed, eyes suspiciously bright as they piled on and attacked Ron with hugs of their own, managing to maul a laughing Harry along the way. Ron couldn't remember the last time he felt this good, despite still feeling a little tired. Everyone was smiling and there was absolutely no fear, no worry, in any of their eyes. The war was over! It was finally over.

"I must have missed one hell of a party." Ron muttered.

"Nah, we decided to wait until you could join us." Hermione appeared by his head and squealed as she grabbed at him and pulled him into a hug. Fred looked like he was about to topple off the bed when Arthur pulled out his wand and waved an enlargement spell. Hermione and Ginny were climbing on top and bouncing in happiness and then suddenly Bill appeared, pony tail and all, and was on the bed as well, flattening his brothers to give Ron a solid hug and an affectionate pat to the head. Charlie was next, though he didn't quite jump onto the bed as his brothers had before him. He grinned at Ron as though it was Christmas again, reaching through everyone and grasping Ron's hands in an almost crushing grip (he would have liked to hug his little brother, but the throng of bodies between them made the task rather difficult).

"Glad you're okay little brother." He said and then they all quieted down suddenly. Ron looked to where his mum and dad were standing, to see Percy beside his bed now, looking at him with relief and nervousness and a whole slew of emotions that Ron didn't quite know how to understand.

"Ron. It's good to see that you're better." He held out his hand and Ron looked at it a moment in wonder, then looked up into Percy's eyes as the room seemed to hold his breath. He hadn't spoken to Percy in a long time, even though he knew his brother had begun talking to his parents again almost half a year ago. He had never seen Percy look quite so disheveled, he must have run the entire way from the hospitals floo station.

"Percy, brothers don't shake hands." He said as he reached out and grabbed his wrist. Percy looked startled. "Brothers gotta hug." He yanked his brother close and Percy wrapped his arms around him, trying to convey so many apologies in that one gesture. Ron soaked it up, because it was Percy, and he didn't know the next time he'd get a chance to hug him. Everyone started talking at once then as Ron let his brother go, and watched in amusement as he started to brush his robes out and struggled to regain his propriety.

"Oh Ron, we were so worried!"

"Good on you mate! We heard all about how you pegged that slimy Malfoy with a rock!"

"He's gonna have that bruise for the rest of his life!"

"Did you see Harry's Buffersuro!"

"Bloody Brilliant! It took five hours to wear off!"

"What about Hermione making those three dirt eaters dance uncontrollably!"

"Best routine Hogsmeade has seen in years!" The door suddenly flew open and the group looked over at the intruder as one. Cornelius Fudge beamed at them all, his cheeks rosy with self-importance as he began walking towards them.

"Ron! I heard you were awake and came over to personally thank you for your-"

"Ah, minister Fudge. I'm sorry, but this is a private family affair, and we're not allowing anyone but ourselves and Ron's doctor in at the moment." Percy moved forward flawlessly and blocked the minister's path to their family. Ron was suddenly torn between feeling furious that Fudge thought he could just storm in there like he was welcome, and feeling absolutely shocked as Percy, for the first time ever, shunted a superior. The way he turned his nose up at Fudge was absolutely hilarious.

"Well really Percy, I think I have-"

"I'm sorry Minister, but I have to ask you to leave. We'll contact you when Ron is feeling well enough to speak with the public. If you will." Percy gestured politely to the door even as he began force walking the minister backwards. Fudge glowered in indignation but turned around and stormed out nonetheless, not quite knowing how he could get around being told to leave so properly. Percy turned back to the group with his normal air of self-importance and a twinkle in his eye.

"That was bloody brilliant!" Ron gasped as he started laughing.

"Watch your language Ron." His mum barked but she was still grinning.

"But it was!"

"All right, all right! Calm down everyone." A new voice entered the mix and an older witch entered the room, wand in hand. Her face a mixture of good-humour and professionalism. "It's time I had a good look out our illustrious Ronald Weasley now that he has awakened." The mood shifted into a calmer manner but nobody moved from the bed. She stood there and looked at them expectantly. "The sooner we figure out he's back to full health, the sooner he can go home." They scrambled off the bed and Arthur began hustling everyone, despite their protests, out of the room. Once the door was closed only Ron's parents, his healer, and the unknown wizard were left. He felt the atmosphere shift to seriousness and he remembered why he was in there in the first place. The excitement of his family had left him reeling a bit.

"So, what happened?" He asked softly as he lay back and allowed her to run a diagnostic with her wand. His mum gripped his hand and he let her, knowing that she must have been beside herself these last eight days. Both his parents were pale and looked like they had lost a bit of weight.

"We don't know. After Harry began fighting You-know-who-"

"Voldemort, Dad." Ron shocked himself by saying the hated and feared wizards name so easily. But really, he was gone now; he was just a really long and bad memory.

"Right. After Harry began fighting him Dumbledore arrived with the entire Order, your mother and myself included. We were too late to do any real fighting, everything had happened so, so fast. The Dirt Eaters," Ron made no comment on their new name, "were easy to take care off. But you and Harry, we couldn't get anywhere near you to help…" He trailed off in memory, looking away a moment to hide the fear he must have felt. His mum was squeezing the feeling out of his hand, but again he didn't comment.

"You were both so pale. We thought…there had been an explosion when Harry finally defeated him, and it left a crater all around you. You two were just lying on top of this chunk of road that hadn't disappeared. We had to levitate to get to you…"

"We got you to St. Mungo's as fast as we could, because Harry was out cold and you…you were barely breathing and…" tears welled in her eyes again as the Doctor finished her diagnosis and decided to finish the story for his parents.

"We couldn't figure out what was wrong with you. Harry was in a minor coma from utter exhaustion, but you were in a coma and there was no reason we could think of. You both had the same symptoms, but yours were worse. You suffered from a severe lack of energy, it almost stopped your heart. You had a few broken ribs and a sprained ankle to boot. It must have been one hell of a fight." Ron couldn't stave off the shudder that ran through him as he remembered. He had been so certain that he wouldn't make it out of this one.

"It was." He agreed, feeling his energy suddenly draining away as the adrenalin boost wore off.

"Do you know why it happened?"

"S'pose Mortie got tired of waiting."

"I was referring to your state. You were in a coma for seven days and then slept almost solidly until now. What happened?" He looked into her warm eyes, they were brown, like Hermione's, but had more…oldness to them. He looked away and tried to remember back to that moment. He had been frozen, lying on the ground and Harry had needed help, he needed energy. Ron had given him that energy, as much as he could. Harry must have shifted away from his touch. If he hadn't Ron would have been dead, he would have given Harry everything he had in him. He shuddered.

"Ron?" He looked up sharply and met his father's worried eyes. He couldn't tell them that, he could never tell them that.

"There was a lot of…energy coming from Harry and Mortie. I remember feeling it hitting me in waves and then I must have blacked out, because the next thing I remember is being here." His healer nodded kindly, as though she had expected as much and he sighed in relief, relaxing back in his bed. It was true then, they had no way of knowing what he really was. He thought back to that afternoon, Voldemort staring at him as though he was fascinating. A Chaneller, that's what the snake had called him, and that is what Ron knew he was. He took a moment to thank whomever he needed to that only Mortie had known, and the creature was dead and Ron's secret was safe.

"We decided that the raw power you were exposed to must have been the cause. Nobody has been subjected to such energy and lived before. It's a miracle that you're still with us." She nodded and smiled down at him.

"He's a strong boy." Arthur agreed quietly.

"Well, he seems to be in good condition. There is no lingering trace of true exhaustion, though I suspect that you'll be tired a lot for the next few days." She smiled kindly at Ron. "For the sake of your family, who will hopefully get some sleep now that you're awake, I'm going to let you go home. If you feel any dizziness, over tiredness or abnormally queer in and fashion, you'll come straight back here." He nodded enthusiastically at her, grinning sunnily. Like hell I'm coming back here he thought, stilling smiling happily. She pulled a chocolate frog from her pocket and gave it to him as though he was a child, but he took it happily because, really, it was a free chocolate frog. "Well Ronald Weasley, I'll see you in two weeks for a check up, and then hopefully never again." And she swept out of the room.

"Right, let's go home then. You two look like you could use a good rest."

TBC

Right, well, there is still much more to come, all the good stuff ;)

Thank you so much for all of the fantastic reviews for the last chapter! It's very encouraging to know the story is still enjoyed even though the real book was captivating everyone. (Helene, it was bloody brilliant wasn't it! Rowling is absolutely terrific!)

I also really appreciate everyone who sends their comments regularly! You're all marvellous!