*~*~*~*~*

It took a moment before Harry realized he'd passed out. When he opened his eyes, all he saw was death and destruction around him. A heavy haze hung in the air, as fires caused by errant hexes burned themselves out. Harry lifted himself to his elbows and searched for signs of life.

An enormous figure towered above him. Adjusting his glasses, which had fallen askew during the battle, he discovered with some relief that it was Hagrid. Harry called out to him with a hoarse voice, and Hagrid immediately rushed to his aid.

"Dumbledore sen' me out lookin' fer yeh," Hagrid said, kneeling to the ground. "You all right, Harry?"

Feeling more confident with Hagrid by his side, Harry slowly lifted himself up. "Yeah, I think so. I don't think anything's broken, but I reckon I won't feel so well tomorrow morning."

Hagrid took Harry by the arm and led him through the minefield of dead Death Eaters and smoldering fires. "Ev'ryone's waitin' ter congratulate yeh. Tha' was really somethin' to see yer take down You-Know-Who. They're all gathered by the river now."

When they got to the river, a small crowd of Order of the Phoenix members was gathered around the hunched figure of Albus Dumbledore. He took a long drink of water from a flagon that somebody offered him. Harry noticed something was off, and it bothered him terribly until he realized that there wasn't a single Weasley in the crowd.

"Where are all the Weasleys?" Harry asked loudly. He worried when no one answered.

Finally, Dumbledore spoke. "We have not yet been able to locate your friend Ron. He was last seen in the thicket just to the west of Hogsmeade. Arthur and the other boys have gone to search for him."

"NO!" shouted Harry. Before anyone could try to dissuade him from leaving, he pulled out his wand and Apparated to the outskirts of Hogsmeade village.

Breathing was easier in these woods, which was fortunate for Harry as he ran into the trees. In the distance, he could hear voices calling "Ron!" but he couldn't distinguish one Weasley from another. He held his wand above his head and called "Lumos," casting a familiar blue light in front of him. The foliage was sparse, but he could not see much due to the shadows. Harry's best bet was to keep moving.

Don't panic. Don't panic. Harry repeated this as a mantra. Ron didn't need him wasting his energy worrying when there was saving to be done. The two of them had become separated nearly three hours ago, when Ron was forced to stay back with the other seventh years who had volunteered to defend the village while Harry had gone off with Dumbledore and the other Order members to face off against Voldemort. Harry remembered thinking that Ron would be safer there, and his last vision of Ron had been of him holding his fist in the air � a vote of confidence and encouragement.

Harry knew he wasn't making much progress. Muggles had workers whose job it was to search for people with trained dogs. What he wouldn't give for one of those rescue dogs right about now. He took a deep breath and moved further into the woods.

A branch crackled to his right, and Harry turned suddenly. He saw nothing at first, but then as his wand light moved across the trees, he caught the sight of something red out of the corner of his eye. Harry moved closer to inspect the stain on the tree; there was no doubt that it was fresh blood. Looking around, he could see that blood was everywhere. It was a horrid, gruesome sight. Don't let it be Ron, he thought.

He followed a trail of blood and found a piece of cloth snagged on a branch. It was black like a robe. Frantically spinning around, his panicked gaze landed on a body pushed up against a large tree. Three steps brought him close enough to see that it was Ron.

"Ron!" cried Harry as he knelt down, hovering over the bloody figure of his friend. His face was hardly recognizable, and his robes were in shreds and covered with blood. He turned ever so slightly at the sound of his name, but made no noise.

"Ron, can you speak?"

"Hurts�" Ron whispered. Harry reached for his hand, and Ron could barely grip his. "Harry, I�" His voice trailed off as his eyes closed.

Harry shot red sparks into the air and green sparks off in several different directions, hoping to summon someone who would actually be able to help Ron. Harry didn't know more than a few simple healing spells, and he certainly knew nothing of how to deal with a massive injury like this.

"Ron, they're gonna come and help you. Just stay calm." Harry wasn't certain whether he was telling this to Ron or himself. "Look, Ron, I did it � I killed Voldemort. He can't hurt me or anyone else ever again."

Ron opened his eyes again, and managed the faintest hint of a smile. "Brilliant. I knew you would," he croaked. He shuddered and gasped for breath. "I'd always hoped we'd be together afterwards." Ron closed his eyes again, the speech having taken nearly all of his energy.

Harry shot sparks from his wand several more times. Where the hell was everybody? Then Ron's words sank into his brain. Why was he speaking in the past tense, unless�

"No! Ron, you can't leave me." Harry leaned over Ron's supine figure and clutched him ferociously. "I did this all for you! I killed him so that we could be together! Don't die on me now, Ron. I love you!"

*~*~*~*~*

Ron could feel thrashing next to him in the bed. Bloody hell � Harry was having another nightmare. He pushed himself up on one elbow to get a better look. Yeah, still asleep. Ron lay back down waiting for the activity to subside. He'd never get back to sleep with Harry rolling around like that.

The next thing Ron knew, Harry was shouting, "No! Ron, you can't leave me." Harry had sat up and was now leaning over Ron, panting and clutching his arms like a madman. Ron was about to shake him awake when Harry wailed, "I did this all for you! I killed him so that we could be together! Don't die on me now, Ron. I love you!"

The words echoed through Ron's brain as if they'd been amplified fifty times. "I love you!" Harry and Ron had been lovers for well over a year, and best friends even longer, and in that time, Harry had never said those words. "I love you!"

It's not that Ron needed to hear them. Harry demonstrated his love for Ron nearly every day. Ron never doubted that he cared. But Ron had bitten back those words more times than he could count, not wanting to put Harry in the awkward position of feeling like he had to say them back. Gods, to hear them coming from Harry's mouth, even in the midst of a nightmare, brought indescribable joy to Ron's heart. "I love you!"

Ron slid his hand around to Harry's sweaty back and gently shook him awake. Harry awoke with a start, obviously disoriented. He loosened his grip on Ron's arms and rolled back onto his side of the bed with a thud.

"You okay, mate?" Ron asked, raising a hand to brush away the damp locks that were plastered to Harry's forehead.

"No," Harry said, still breathing hard. "I haven't had a nightmare that vivid since� since�well, for a really long time."

Ron's hand moved to lightly caress Harry's arm, which was still shaking. "You were talking. Was it Voldemort?"

Harry caught Ron's hand and brought Ron's fingers to his lips. He kissed them one by one. "Yeah, the battle. But that wasn't the scary part. I dreamt you went missing, and I had to find you and when I did� you were practically dead."

"I'm not dead, though. I'm right here," Ron replied comfortingly. "You said something else, right before you woke up."

Harry screwed his face up, trying to remember. "You were about to die, and I begged you not to. And�"

"And you said 'I love you.'"

There was just enough moonlight coming through the open window for Ron to be able to see Harry's eyes fly open. They searched Ron's expressionless face and locked on his own.

"Yeah," Harry said quietly, "I guess I did."

Ron's fingers ghosted over Harry's smooth skin, and he noticed that Harry's breathing had sped up. Harry continued to gaze at him, seeming as if he was trying to read Ron's mind. Ron hardly noticed that he was holding his breath.

After a long silence, Harry said, "I do, you know."

"Huh?"

"I do. Love you."

Ron's breath hitched, giving away how much he'd been longing to hear Harry say those words. "Oh. Yeah, I know."

Ron leaned over and found Harry's lips in the darkness. They were soft and pliant and so eager to meet Ron's. They sucked hungrily on Ron's tongue, and then moved on to worry his lower lip. Gods, Ron wanted to do this forever.

"Still, it's nice to hear," Ron said, breaking away. He gazed into Harry's eyes as he added, "I love you too, Harry."

For the first time in a long while, their emotions rather than their hormones drove their lovemaking. Each kiss was long and passionate, each caress tender, and each thrust intended to pleasure the other more than themselves. When Ron finally bought Harry to the edge, Harry came calling out his name, and Ron exploded seconds later.

With their hearts still beating rapidly, Ron whispered, "Love you."

Harry's earnest expression nearly made Ron laugh, but Ron was glad he'd refrained when Harry said, "I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you. Ron, that was the scariest dream I've ever had. I'd die without you."

Ron chuckled. "Harry Potter defeats Lord Voldemort and then dies of a broken heart. Heh - the Daily Prophet would have a field day with that one." He brushed Harry's lips with his. "Don't worry. I have no intention of going anywhere without you."

He shifted so that he could snuggle comfortably with Harry for the rest of the night. Before long, Ron could feel Harry's breathing slow, indicating he'd fallen back asleep. Who said nightmares were necessarily a bad thing?

finis

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