Chapter Two: Potty and Bath Time

Madam Poppy Pomfrey stared at the two children with open consternation. "I understand they may have undergone a traumatic event, but this is unseemly," she told the headmaster. "I can't do a proper examination of either one of them until they are separated."

"You can try to separate them, Poppy," Dumbledore said with what, even to the mediwitch, seemed an odd twinkle in his eye. "However, I very much doubt you will have any more success that Miss Weasley's parents or myself."

Pomfrey stared. "You were unable to separate them? What happened when you tried?"

Nearby, Molly hugged herself. "They both started convulsing. She cried for Harry and then…"

"She appears to have apparated back to Mr. Potter," Albus said. "With accidental magic. The backlash was sufficient to toss this old man to the ground."

"Apparated? With accidental magic? Albus, do you know how preposterous that sounds?"

"Please just examine them, Poppy."

With a shake of her head, the mediwitch began whispering her diagnostic charms as she ran her wand over them. She shook her head and repeated the spell. With a glance up at the worried adults in the room, she leaned closer and ran her wand across Ginny's back, before stepping around the bed to do the same.

"Poppy, what is it?" Molly asked with terror in her voice.

The mediwitch merely shook her head and continued with her examination. Whatever she was looking for, the basic diagnostic charms did not work. She began chanting a more complex chain of words in Greek and ran over the two with her wand. A dome of scintillating colors formed over the children. The dome was a mix of warm reds and bright greens that seemed to swirl around each other.

Staring at the odd mix of colors, the experienced mediwitch visibly paled.

Finally, she made a point of looking across the room where Gilderoy Lockhart was happily shoveling pudding into his mouth while chatting away to Professor McGonagall about how pretty the windows were. McGonagall, however, was staring resolutely at the party examining her students.

"Albus, what happened down there?" Pomfrey finally asked.

"We're not entirely sure," the headmaster said. "Please, tell us what you have found?"

"Albus, I can't…" She paused and took a breath. "My charms are telling me there is only one child on that bed."

Molly paled the color of bone while her hand shot to her mouth. "My baby…" she whispered. "You mean she's…"

"What charm are you using, Poppy?"

"The Ti Esti charm," Poppy said.

"Try the Ousia charm."

"They're almost the same thing."

"Humor me," Albus said.

With a furrow of doubt on her brow, Pomfrey leaned back over the children. The dome appeared over them again, though this time the colors had more definition and a more identifiable pattern. It looked almost like an Asiatic yingyang symbol—the swirls of red and green merged into each other.

"Merlin's beard," the mediwitch said. "I've never seen the like. I've never even heard the like."

"Sadly, I have," Dumbledore said. "But not like this."

"I don't understand what is happening!" Molly announced. "Albus, please, tell me what is wrong with my little girl?"

"Somehow," Dumbledore said, "a portion of your daughter's soul has been severed."

Her eyes watered as she sagged into her husband. "Severed?"

"The Ousia charm is an ancient soul-illumination charm. You saw the results. The severed portion of Ginny's soul now resides in Harry Potter. Just as a portion of Harry's soul now resides in Miss Weasley."

Arthur, though, had latched onto something the headmaster said earlier. "You say you've seen something like this before?"

"Similar, but not like this. What I know of is based on the deepest, most horrific dark magic. But I sense no darkness here. I'm afraid until they wake, we will not know for sure exactly what happened. Or what the consequences will be."

/o\/o\/o\/o\

Two sets of eyes opened at the same time. Warm brown opened an inch from bright green. Two pairs of noses flared as they smelled the breath of the other. Otherwise, neither moved at all.

"I…" Ginny started. I feel different. She did not speak aloud, for fear of how it would sound.

I do too.

She froze, eyes wide. "That was you," she whispered.

Harry nodded. "I heard you," he whispered back.

You can hear me?

Yes.

I saw your relatives, she said. They are so mean to you.

I saw you too. You wanted your father to tell you stories about me.

Ginny's face flushed, and she watched silently as blood flooded Harry's cheeks as well.

"I thought it was nice," he whispered with a sad, shy smile. "At least someone was thinking about me."

She felt his sorrow like a stab through her heart. The sob erupted before she could even try to control herself. She pulled him closer, her cheek to his, and cried for the pain he felt, and the joy he never had.

/o\/o\/o\/o\

Molly was the first to hear quiet words exchanged from the bed. She was walking back from the faculty lounge with a cup of tea when she heard her daughter. She ran forward and ignored the sting of the hot tea sloshing on her hand.

She arrived to see her daughter—her eleven year old daughter—hugging Harry Potter with tears in her eyes. "Ginny!" Molly cried.

Ginny looked up from Harry. "Mum!" she cried.

She jumped from the bed to hug her mother, but then collapsed with a gasp of pain. Molly went down with her, calling for help.

Harry, on the bed, gasped as well and curled into a fetal position, as if struck in the stomach. "Ouch!" he cried.

Suddenly Pomfrey was there with Dumbledore a step behind. The mediwitch immediately started running her wand over the two students, but Ginny did not sit still. Staggering in pain, she pulled out of Molly's desperate embrace and reached back for the bed just as Harry reached for her. As soon as their fingers locked together, their faces relaxed as the pain instantly stopped.

Still breathing hard from the memory of the pain, the two students stared at each other before turning to the adults. "What's happening?" they asked at the same exact moment, in the same exact tone, like one person speaking through two mouths.

Molly looked up in alarm and watched as Dumbledore raised his wand, and with a few flicks of his wrist, created a muffling privacy spell. "Now, let's get comfortable, shall we?" the headmaster said. "I suspect this is going to be an interesting conversation."

"It's not Ginny's fault!" Harry said before Molly could even climb back to her feet.

Dumbledore blinked owlishly behind his spectacles before he smiled. "There is no fault here, Harry. I rather suspect there is much to credit, but nothing to fault. Please, can you tell us what happened?"

Molly summoned a chair from across the room and settled herself in to listen as Harry told them everything—from the voice he heard in the walls, to the note crumpled up in Hermione's petrified hand. Midway through the conversation, however, something odd happened.

Harry's point of view shifted.

"…so she stole the book back. She didn't have any control. It felt like she was stuck in her own head, having to watch all the things he made her do. And he wouldn't let her tell anyone. He made her go down into the chamber, and he started to drain her soul. He was going to come back to life using her soul."

"But then Harry came," Ginny suddenly took over as seamlessly as if they had rehearsed it. "He tried to wake me up, but he couldn't. Then the basilisk came, but Fawkes clawed its eyes out. Harry ran to try and lead it away from me, but when he came back Fawkes appeared with the sorting hat. He saw something in it, and when he reached in he found a sword. There was a sword in the sorting hat! He pulled it out and he fought the basilisk. It was brilliant and scary. But every time he got scared or wanted to run, he looked at me and knew he had to try. And he did…but the monster bit him in the arm when he killed it. We thought we were going to die…"

Molly sucked in a breath, but Ginny did not stop. Both of them sat on their bed, eyes glazed and looking into the distance of memory none of the adults could imagine.

"…but then Fawkes came one last time," Ginny said. "He cried on Harry's arm and the wound healed. That's when Harry grabbed the basilisk fang and stabbed the book."

Harry assumed the story seamlessly. "The book was dying and Voldemort's shade was going with it, but something changed in me. I could see all these…"

"…auras," Ginny said. "And he saw the book was pulling something out of me. We think it was…"

"…her soul," Harry continued. "It was pulling her soul. Voldemort was crying in pain, but he was staring at the book. And somehow I knew he was trying to eat her soul to be whole again, even with the book dying."

"Harry jumped on me," Ginny spoke softly now, her gaze growing more distant.

"Ginny was feeling so cold," Harry said, also soft. "She could feel her life being sucked out but she couldn't stop it."

"Harry tried to stop the book with his magic…"

"…but it wasn't enough. We reached…"

"…with something more…"

"…and it came back to us together," the finished in unison, barely audible to the adults around them.

When they finished speaking, Molly realized she wasn't breathing. She patted her own chest, forced a breath, and wished for the hundredth time that her husband did not have to go to work that day.

"Albus, what does this mean?" she finally asked.

The old wizard was staring intently at the two students on the bed, who sat staring into space while desperately holding hands. "It means, dear Molly, that Harry and Ginny are, for all intents and purposes, soul-bonded."

Harry continued to stare into space, though Ginny looked up in surprise. It seemed as if her attention was a pull on Harry, for after a moment he looked up too. "What's a soul bond?" Harry asked.

"A myth, supposedly," Dumbledore said. "But myth or not, the two of you now share a remarkable link."

"Why can't we let go of each other?" Ginny asked. She shuffled on the bed, and next to her Harry blushed.

"I imagine it is temporary," Dumbledore said. Ginny shifted again, looking uncomfortable. "The bonds are newly formed and until they heal, it will likely be…Miss Weasley, are you quite alright?"

"She needs to pee," Harry said with cheeks so red he looked as if his face were about to start bleeding.

"Harry!" Ginny hissed.

"Well you do!" Harry said. "You need to go so bad now I have to pee."

"Oh dear," Dumbledore said. "That does present an interesting problem."

"Come on, then," Pomfrey said. "We'll just put up a curtain."

"You mean I'm going to have to go in front of a boy!" Ginny whispered. She looked as if she would rather face the basilisk.

"We'll think of something," the mediwitch assured them. "Come on, both of you."

The two stood, still holding hands, and followed Pomfrey to the nearest bathroom. When they were gone, Molly slumped in her chair. "Merlin's beard, Albus, did you hear the way they were talking? I know about wedding bonds, but nothing like this. Not even the twins talk like that."

"I would hope not," Dumbledore said softly. "Their souls are so deeply entwined that they are in essence one soul sharing two bodies. There has never been an instance like this in the annals of magic. So naturally, it would have to happen to Harry Potter." The old wizard chuckled.

"This is no laughing matter!" Molly snapped as grief transformed to anger. "He can't be holding my daughter's hand all the time!"

"That is most likely a temporary effect," Albus tried to assure her. "We'll keep them here until it fades. I know this is difficult for you, Molly, and I certainly don't mean to make light of it. But I also wish you to consider what those two children have been through. I shudder to think of what could have happened, and I am so very proud of what did happen."

"What do you mean?" Molly said, growing angrier.

"Don't you see, Molly? Harry gave of his very soul to save your daughter. He showed courage beyond doubt in fighting the basilisk, intellect in destroying that cursed book, but he also showed utter, selfless love in giving of his own life, his own essence, to save a girl he hardly knew. I ask you, Molly, of all the people for this to happen to with your daughter, would you not rather it be Harry?"

Molly blinked and settled back, thinking.

"Of course, this does present some issues for thought regarding this summer," Dumbledore said. "I know you and your husband have met the Dursleys. I will be the first to admit they are not very good muggles, but the protections afforded by a blood relative are too great to do without. Because of who he is, there is still a danger."

A moment later two very red-faced children came marching back to their bed. They were still holding hands, but did not appear very happy to be doing so. They were arguing as they came. "…wash your hands."

"Hard to do when we can't let go!"

"I got mine washed."

"Well good on you! I did my best!"

Behind them, Pomfrey was shaking her head. "The soul bond has obviously not made them affectionate," she said when they arrived back in the circle of privacy.

Both students turned and stared at her, aghast. "Affectionate?" they said, again in unison.

"The closest we can compare what you have, Miss Weasley, Mr. Potter, would be to the marriage bond," Dumbledore explained. "That is the magical joining of two people in an effort to cement their love and physical affection for each other. Think of it as a type of empathy enhancing spell."

"Empathy?" Harry asked, confused.

"Love?" Ginny whispered, pale.

"Physical affection?" Harry whispered, even paler.

"Eeeewww!" they said together. They looked at each other, blushed violently, and then turned back to Dumbledore. "Isn't there something you can do to fix this?" Harry pleaded. "How can we take baths or get dressed if we can't let go of each other?"

Evidently they were having a series of mental images because both of them were blanching and flushing in strange patterns. Ginny even looked as if she were about to faint.

"As I have said," Dumbledore assured them, "the effect will wear off. But if you really want to achieve the desired effect, I suggest you start practicing now."

"Practicing?" Harry asked.

"He means letting go," Ginny said.

"Well, yeah…"

"Then why did you ask? I know you understood what he meant."

"Would you just get out of…"

"I wouldn't be there if you hadn't….yes I know!"

"….life or anything…."

"….scared and you're just…don't even think that….!"

The three adults stared as Harry and Ginny tore into each other in what was possibly the strangest argument anyone had ever heard. They stopped completing sentences. In fact, it eventually just came down to words shouted as expletives or for emphasis of whatever conversation was going on between them.

It ended with Ginny ripping her hand out of Harry's and both of them crying in pain.

"Perhaps a pain potion might be of some assistance," Dumbledore suggested.

Pomfrey nodded curtly, and a moment later returned with two vials of potion. She poured one vial down each throat. When they swallowed, the two kids shared a long look and the adults realized they were speaking again.

The two of them sat cross-legged on the bed across from each other, both hands clasped. Each took a long breath, and let go of their hands.

The pain potion helped in that both let out gasps of pain but did not convulse, but they brought their hands together as soon as they could. They waited a moment, holding hands tightly, before they did it again.

They seemed oblivious to the rest of the world. Dumbledore rose and motioned for Molly and Pomfrey to follow. "This is going to be a problem," he said as the three walked toward his office. The castle seemed quiet, though this had more to do with all the other students being in class that morning than anything else. "They will most likely be able to gain a certain amount of independence, but it would not surprise me if they also continue to require a certain amount of physical contact every day. This will appear strange to most of their classmates. Additionally, I'm not sure it would be wise for this to be widely known."

"It is embarrassing," Molly said.

"Dear lady, I think you misunderstand," Dumbledore said. "In just two years at this school, Harry has been threatened by Voldemort twice. I also know his servants were never all accounted for. There is a reason why I make Mr. Potter stay with the Dursleys even though he is unhappy there. Harry is a target, Molly. And if it becomes common knowledge that Miss Weasley is tied to him, I'm afraid she might become a target as well."

Molly blanched, and then took a long, shuddering breath. "Oh Albus, what are we going to do?"

"We are going to ponder our options at great length," the venerable old wizard said. "And then we will do what we must to protect the children. In the meantime, I have a meeting with a representative of the Board of Governors regarding a little black book."

/o\/o\/o\/o\

Hands hung an inch from each other while two young faces scrunched in pain. They held it and held it further, until at last they intertwined their fingers.

"I really hate this," Ginny muttered.

"Not too happy either," Harry said.

They gritted their teeth and pulled apart. They managed to last almost twenty seconds this time before they grabbed hands.

"Harry?" Ginny said. She stopped.

He looked at her a long moment, and smiled. "You're welcome."

She nodded, and smiled back. Then both gritted their teeth and pulled apart. They lasted 34 seconds.

/o\/o\/o\/o\

Arthur Weasley arrived at Hogwarts just after work and went straight to the hospital wing.

He noticed immediately that Lockhart was gone, having been transferred to St. Mungos. He also noticed that the bed where Ginny and Harry were recuperating was empty. The sheets were changed, but the bedding was turned down as if anticipating an occupant.

It was the sound of angry voices and running water that guided Arthur to the lavatory. There he found Harry Potter sitting on a chair with his eyes squeezed shut behind his glasses, while he stuck his hand through a white partition. Silhouetted against the partition was the shape of a bath tub with a head just visible, and the larger hunched form of a woman.

Harry looked up at Arthur, and from behind the curtain, though she could not possibly have seen him, Ginny cried out, "Dad!"

"Hello, Harry," Arthur said.

"Hi, Dad!" Ginny called over the curtain.

Harry paled. "Ginny, look up!" he said.

"Stop looking…."

"…it's not me…"

"…care who's…."

Arthur stood rooted to the ground as his daughter and the boy who saved her life launched into an argument of half-phrases and single words.

Finally, Harry looked as if he were on the verge of tears, and on the other side Arthur could tell by the occasional sounds that Ginny was crying. "This is really hard," Harry finally said. His voice shook.

Momentarily speechless, Arthur instead pulled up a chair and sat next to Harry. "I'm sorry this happened to you," he said. "But that said…" He took Harry's hand. "You saved my little girl, Harry. You saved my Pumpkin. No matter what happens from now on, you will always be loved by this family."

Harry's eyes glistened, and on the other side of the curtain, Ginny sobbed louder.

"Even if I can see your daughter in the bathtub?" Harry said. His cheeks were glowing.

"Harry!" Ginny said.

"You keep looking down at yourself!" Harry answered back over her shoulder. "If you don't want me to see, close your eyes!"

"I can't bathe myself with my eyes closed!"

Arthur's mouth opened, but no sound came out.

"You just wait 'till it's your turn," Ginny snapped back.

"I'm going to take my glasses off," Harry snapped back.

"You're eyesight isn't that bad close-up."

Harry sighed and looked back to Mr. Weasley. "I'm sorry," he said weakly.

Just then Molly stepped around the curtain, looking flustered. It was obvious to both parents that Harry was mortified by what was happening. In a way, it was a relief that he wasn't taking any perverse pleasure in it. But still…

"It's all right," Arthur said. "We're going to get through this. Together."

Harry stared at the Weasley patriarch with something approaching adoration. "Thank you, sir."

He stood abruptly, and only then did Arthur see the silhouette of his daughter standing from the bath. Molly stepped back around and helped her dry herself.

Then the two children let go. Harry's face immediately scrunched into an expression of pain, and he started counting. He was up to eighty when a robed Ginny ran around the corner with tears beading in her eyes and the two slammed into a desperate hug.

"That was better," Molly said with forced cheer. "Almost a minute and a half."

Arthur looked up in surprise.

"They're practicing not touching," his wife explained.

"Does come in handy for bath time, doesn't it?" Arthur noted.

"Not when we see through each others' eyes," Ginny muttered darkly.

"Alright, are we ready?" Molly asked Harry.

The boy paled. "I've been bathing myself since I was two," he said. "I'll manage one-handed."

"Since you were two?" Molly asked. "That's just…

"The Dursleys," Ginny finished. "His aunt didn't want to be bothered."

Harry calmly removed his glasses and handed them to Molly with a smile of thanks. Then, he and Ginny each took a deep breath before they let go and Harry ducked behind the partition while quickly stripping out of his dirty and tattered school robes.

A moment later, Ginny stuck her hand through the slit in the partition and they could see Harry take it; Ginny sighed in relief.

Arthur watched with interest as Ginny closed her eyes, but whatever effect she wanted was not what she achieved and she burned bright red. "Harry, look up please," she called.

"Sorry!"