I figured that it wasn't fair to let my fans suffer because other people were being mean to me over the internet. First of all, I want to thank: Hermione's Harmony, susieQ41, 2Lazy2Login, RonaldWeasleyIsMyKing, harrylovesginny, Weak4Weasley, TisforTatty, AccentedSimplicity, heronlove, Anon, squigle.x, , Pebbles827 and Britts122.

All of those lovely people are the ones who reached out to me in my time of need. If I forgot to include anyone else that has reached out to me, I apologize, but I'm sure I listed down everyone. I also want to thank anyone else who felt my pain and all the others who have reviewed since chapter 1. All of you gave me a million reasons why I should continue and you guys didn't let me quit even though I was convinced I had to. Thank you for not giving up on me or my story.

This chapter is dedicated to you guys, you deserve it.

And for the people who have nothing nice to say, please do not say anything at all. If you don't like the chapter, just move onto the next story, there are thousands of other Ron/Hermione stories to choose from.

Enjoy :)

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Reconciled

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Hermione Granger felt herself falling deeper and deeper within the roaring waves of the ocean. Her lips were shut tightly, but her nostrils were engulfing the water quickly as her body sank. She tried to open her eyes, but the pressure of the water wasn't allowing her. The witch was a relatively good swimmer, but because of the impact of her fall, she was already in too deep.

Eventually, her lips were pried apart from the lack of air in her lungs. If only she had her wand... she would be able to do numerous spells and charms. A whole list of them appeared in her mind in an instant. She had been so stupid, so careless. The smart witch battled against infinite Death Eaters when she was a teenager, so why was it that she fought so poorly against Wilson? He had taken her wand from the beginning, and she acted as if she wasn't even a match for him. Hermione remembered that she was once the smartest girl of her time, the quickest one when it came to spells, and the strongest when it came to strategy.

As her body sank deeper into the curves of the ocean, bubbles began to form from her mouth and pass through her pale lips which were now losing color slowly. The water pressure was starting to weaken and the waves became calm enough to allow her to open her eyes. With all her energy, she tilted her head upwards, only to see the light of the moon dancing over the surface of the water.

Now that the intensity of her fall had weaken, she forced her body to wiggle up towards the shore. But it was no use, Hermione had fallen so deep that the surrounding water was too dark for her to determine where the shore was. The only thing she had to guide her was the abstract and almost incomprehensible image of the silver moon beaming down.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Yelling profanities of every kind, Ronald Weasley ran past the enemy and to the water's shore. Not even caring about finishing off Gary, he leaped into the icy sea without a second thought. The wizard didn't even have enough time to place a the bubble-head charm on himself, or set any other type of enchantment to protect him from drowning.

All he was concerned about was his girl.

Thrusting himself deeper and deeper into the sea, Ron's eyes were searching for nothing more than Hermione. His Hermione.

Minutes later, still searching the vast underwater world, he was losing is hope to carry on and the air within his lungs. Metaphorically and physically, they were both essential for surviving. He swore to himself that he wouldn't live, knowing that he was the reason and cause for Hermione's death. But then again, life wouldn't let him carry on if he continued to abuse his inner body due to the lack of air.

If tears were streaming down his face, and he was sure that they were, the salty water cloaked them entirely. Ron didn't care, either way, the last thing he feared was the thought of his emotions getting in the way. Soon, his mind began to feel dizzy and his head was feeling unpleasantly light. Searching desperately, the corner of his eye caught the sight of a small, shiny, spherical object in the depths below him. The surrounding waters were so dark, but he was sure that a bright object caught his eyes.

Ronald Weasley swam closer to the glistening target, unaware of how deep he was actually going. As he got closer, his eyes adjusted to the darkness around him, and he spotted an obscured figure in the near distance. "Hermione?" He mouthed, unable to speak clearly, and forced his body nearer to the humanly shaped object.

Her billowing, weightless hair is what caught his attention next. The long physique, that Ron was convinced was his girlfriend, was wrapped and surrounded by seaweed and other attributes from the ocean. She appeared to be in a tangled mess, unable to free herself from the tight grasp of the submerged plants. And when the blue eyed man got close enough, he made contact with the beautiful pale face that he recognized as Hermione's.

His heart soared.

With the last of his strength, Ronald grabbed the slender body and pushed himself forward with all his might. He kicked his feet, back and forth, propelling his body to the surface of the water. Facing upward, the redhead kept his gaze on the round silver silhouette that he knew was the moon. And the closer he got to the surface, the bigger the shape became, allowing him the feeling of greatness. He knewhe was almost there.

His heart soared once more as the top of his head broke through the water and into the cool nighttime air. He made it, he actually made it. His lungs gasped for life as the body he held onto so desperately stood silent. "Hermione," Ron panted, "Wake up, love, we're okay now. You're going to be okay now."

The strength that God lent to the Weasley was truly incredible. After the mission of searching through the depths of the sea to find his witch, he still had enough energy to get them both out of the water, and swim closer to the shore. His lungs collapsed from the action of inhaling and exhaling too fast before his body could get used to it.

Finally he reached the shore and pulled Hermione's soaking body onto the sand before pulling himself up. His red hair was plastered to the side of his face and his wet clothes clung uncomfortably tight to his body. "'Mione, love, please answer me," His hand found the side of her face. Her lips were as colorless as her face as if all the life was drained out of her. The desperate wizard continued to caress Hermione's face, as if she was a porcelain doll. She seemed peaceful with her eyes shut, and all so beautiful yet delicate...

Ron cried out.

He cursed himself mentally. Why didn't he know any healing spells? Why wasn't there a spell for times like this? And if there was, why didn't he know it? And as he continued to argue with himself, a horrible retching sound reached the young man's ears, his head shot up and looked towards the witch's pale face. Strokes of water escaped weakly through her lips as a motor began to ignite within her.

"Ron? Hermione?"

The Weasley's eyes left his princess' face and turned around to see Harry Potter trekking closer to him. The Boy Who Lived caught sight of Hermione's lifeless body and rushed to where she lay.

"She was just starting to breathe, I think," Ron explained, looking down in concern.

Remembering something from years ago, Harry pointed his wand at Hermione, "Anapneo!" Seconds later, the smart witch started coughing loudly and her breathing eventually became regular. As she tried to sit up, Ron supported her back with the palm of his hand.

"R-Ron?"

The redhead scooped his girl into a hug of relief, tears were now streaming down in his face rapidly. It was like nothing he ever felt before... the feeling of almost losing your loved one forever. He wouldn't wish that feeling on anyone, not even his worst enemies.

Speaking of enemies, "Harry, what happened to-"

"-It's okay Ron, I took care of it. He's on his way to Azkaban now," his glasses were cracked and his naturally unruly hair was messier than usual, "But you and Hermione did brilliantly. He was about to escape, but didn't know that I was in the house also, I guess you can say I cornered him."

Both a feeling of joy and disappointment filled Ron's chest. He was euphoric and ecstatic that Gary was on his way to Azkaban. He wouldn't have to worry about seeing his demonic face again and he wouldn't have to worry about Hermione's endangerment. On the other hand, he was disappointed in himself. Capturing Gary Lipins was his first task as an official Auror, and he failed. Once again, Harry Potter saved the day.

"Thanks, mate."

"What about Ginny? Is she okay?" Hermione's small voice was heard beneath Ron's body. He forgot that he was still gripping her into a hug. Letting go, both he and Harry could now see her face. It was no longer the sickeningly pale color from before, instead her natural rosy glow was returning to her skin.

"Ginny's fine, she finally wore off her Body Bind curse," he explained, "She's up at the house waiting for us, we should go inside before you guys get sick out here."

A gust of wind caught them all off guard as Ron stood up, and lent Hermione a hand so that she could get up also. Her body was regaining the lost strength and she was starting to feel like maybe she could walk on her own. But she liked the assistance and attention Ron was giving her, so she leaned on him anyway.

Harry walked up ahead, giving the two a moment alone.

"'Mione, I'm so sorry about what happened. Because of my bad aim, you were thrown into the ocean, and it's all my fault."

The girl smiled softly, "Are you kidding? You were my hero. I don't know how you did it but you figured out the mystery behind Wilson and his false identity. You came to my rescue when I needed you most," Hermione kissed the his cheek and Ron felt a blush creep up the side of his neck, "But after all of this, I still don't understand... How did you find me in the water? I remembering falling in so deep... I couldn't even see the surface anymore."

Ron yanked lightly on the silver chain around Hermione's neck, "Just like my grandfather did all those years ago, I spotted this pearl in the water..." He examined the spherical jewel on the ring, "...and it guided me to you. It led the way and helped me find you in the deepest part of the ocean."

Hermione looked down at the ring, feeling goosebumps on her wet skin, "Ron, they day you gave this ring to me, you said you wanted me to wear it around my neck as a sign of promise. You also said that one day I'll wear the ring on my finger when we're ready to get married," she paused, and looked up at her redheaded savior, "Ron, will you marry me?"

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Ginny Weasley pulled her sweatshirt tighter to her slender body as she sat at the front of the house. The cool ocean breeze blew through her unkempt fiery red locks as her bright blue eyes searched the darkness for a familiar face. She had stood back at the house, waiting for any news about Hermione and Ron.

She kept replaying the incident over and over in her mind, and couldn't believe how foolish she acted. Ginny always considered herself a quick-minded witch when it came to spells and attacking others, but somehow she was finished off with a Body Bind curse.

Finally, in the distance she noticed the outline of her former boyfriend's body coming nearer. She stood up from her seat quickly, wondering why her brother and roommate wasn't behind him. The younger girl wouldn't know what to do if anything happened to them...

"Harry," she called out once he got closer, "What happened to Ron and Hermione? Are they okay?"

Striding up the steps nonchalantly, he nodded, "They're fine."

Ginny let out a sigh of relief and sat back down on the steps, she was surprised when Harry did also. Although things were starting to get a little better between them, she didn't know where their relationship stood, and if they could even call it a relationship anymore.

The Weasley knew that she caused Harry a lot of pain because of the stupid mistakes in the past, but she was willing to do whatever it took to win his heart back. And ever since the weekend they spent in Romania, she was starting to feel a little bit of hope between them. First of all, Harry wasn't ignoring her anymore, which was a good sign. Second of all, he was using sentences with her that contained more than two words, which was actually a great improvement.

She cringed, thinking of the days when he flat out ignored her.

Taking a leap of faith, Ginny spoke aloud, "Harry?"

"Hm?" He was actually lost in his own thoughts, but turned to face her when she recited his name, "What's up?"

She gulped noisily, "I don't think I'm going to take the job in Romania."

"What?" He exclaimed, raising his voice. That was the last thing he was expecting to hear from her, "You've wanted this job for a long time and you trained so hard to get it. What could possibly make you want to throw it all away?"

"The first reason is because I'm scared to move somewhere new and to work in a place full of strangers. You saw what happened to Hermione! Her own co-worker turned out to be a psycho stalker that wanted to kidnap her or hurt her for his own sick reasons. I don't know if it's a smart idea to start my life in a foreign country just for a career," She ruffled her bright hair with her slim fingers and continued, "The second reason, is because I love you, and I never once stopped loving you. When I first heard about this job, I thought it would be a great opportunity to get awayfrom you. At the time, we were at a really bad place and barely speaking to each other, and I realized that I wanted the job for all the wrong reasons. But I should have fought stronger for your trust and for your love, because I can't be without you."

There was a moment of silence, when both of them didn't know what to say. Ginny didn't regret anything that came out of her mouth, because it was all true. Every word. And Harry couldn't tell if this was a joke or not, or if he was being put to some kind of test.

Eventually, he spoke up, "Gin," he used a pet name that she missed dearly, "I left you for two years to follow my dreams in becoming an Auror. You can't give up your career because of me, I won't allow. We both now that if you take this job, it can help launch your Quidditch career. You need this, and your love for me shouldn't be getting in the way."

Ginny looked down at her lap, "Are you saying that there's no hope for us?"

Lifting her chin up with his hand, Harry forced the girl into eye contact, "Ever since the day I fall in love with you, Ginny Weasley, I knew that there would be no other girl for me. And I am still very confident that there is no other girl in the world that I would rather be with," he smiled at her, "All I need is a little more time to heal and to be able to trust again, but you need to know that you're the only one for me. Whether it be in five months or five years, I promise you that one day our love will rekindle."

Ginny smiled back, with tears swimming in her bright blue eyes. There was hope after all.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Ron, will you marry me?"

After everything they had been through, Ronald Weasley could not believe the proposition that was being asked of him. Would he marry her?How could she ask such a question at a time like this? They both almost faced near death experiences and their bodies were still recuperating from collapsed lungs and loss of oxygen.

How dare she ask him if he would marry her?

And as their relationship flashed before his eyes, he realized that what they have been through for the past few hours was enough to convince him. It was enough to convince him that Hermione was the only person he would want to protect for the rest of his life. He mentally swore that he would keep her safe from any evils that they faced and any obstacles that might come their way.

Ron leaned down, and placed a warm kiss on Hermione's rosy pink lips, "Of course I will."

The End.