Chapter Three
A/N: Well, here is Chapter Three, again thank you to everyone who has reviewed. It is very encouraging that you have enjoyed the story; I hope that you continue to enjoy it as much as I have enjoyed writing it.
Early the next morning, Professor Dumbledore contacted Arthur and Molly Weasley and requested they come to the school. Molly was in a panic the moment he had sent the message; she remembered it was the Yule Ball the previous evening and she just hoped that one of the twins had not done something stupid. As soon as they were able to, they both Flooed to Dumbledore's office to find out what was happening.
"Ah, good morning, Arthur and Molly. I am sorry to have to call you in at such an early hour, but I knew you would want to be advised of the situation," Dumbledore said after they arrived.
"Please tell me that the twins haven't done anything drastic?" Molly said with a slight fear in her voice.
"Oh no, it's nothing to do with them. No it involves Ginevra, and before you panic she is not in trouble. As you know last night was the Yule Ball, everyone had a wonderful evening. Young Ginevra appeared to have a wonderful time with her date, I even heard from Professor McGonagall that he had taken dance lessons," stated Dumbledore.
"She didn't even tell us that she was going," said Molly.
"Ah, yes, I can understand that; it was a complete secret. It appears that they wanted to make a statement. I have never seen anyone be so romantic; it was quite wonderful to witness it, and yes when they made their entrance last night the look on your son's faces, when they saw her, was priceless."
"Who was it?" asked Molly slightly worried that they would be so shocked.
"It was Harry Potter. He bought matching robes for them, and Professor McGonagall told me that he even researched proper etiquette for the dance. From all accounts he was the perfect gentleman. However, it is after the dance our story really gets interesting. It would appear that Harry and Ginny decided to go for a walk after the evening was drawing to a close. I don't know what happened after that, but I can tell you the results."
Dumbledore proceeded to tell them about the burst of love that had swept over the school, and about the birth of a new Phoenix. They were speechless when he finished. They didn't understand everything that Dumbledore had told them but knew it was very important.
"They are currently resting in the infirmary. Fawkes and Xavier are watching over them at the moment. Why don't we head down there now to see them, then we will need to meet back here to discuss some important matters regarding these events," Dumbledore suggested.
Down in the infirmary, the aura around Harry and Ginny had already started to fade; the bonding was not complete yet but very close. They were both still unconscious and no-one knew exactly when they would wake up.
'Harry, where are we?' Ginny asked after waking up, or at least thinking she had woken up.
'I don't know, Ginny, I don't remember much after we kissed last night. I don't even know what time it is!' Harry continued.
'This doesn't look like any part of the school I have ever seen, Harry; how did we get here; more importantly how do we get back? I am sure that everyone is worried about us now,' said Ginny.
'I don't recognize this room either. I wish we had the marauder's map, that would at least help us get back to the common room,' said Harry.
All of a sudden a blue and gold Phoenix flew into sight and landed on the bed in front of them. Harry and Ginny were expecting to hear music when the bird looked at them and were rather shocked to hear words.
'Good morning, Harry and Ginny, my name is Xavier' he said.
Before they could respond, he continued 'I know you have many questions. I will attempt to answer as many as I can; the rest we will have to discover together.'
'Good morning, Xavier. Why can we understand you?' Asked Harry.
'When a Phoenix is bonded to his Master, they can talk to each other. To everyone else, it will sound like music; but both of you will hear words.'
'I thought that Phoenixes only bonded to one Master, how can we both hear you?' asked Ginny.
'Because you are bonded to each other and also to me,' Xavier answered.
The shock was clear on their faces.
'W-w-what do you mean bonded to each other,' asked Ginny.
'The two of you are Soul Bonded. After you confessed your love for each other yesterday, the bond was created; at the same moment I was born and bonded to you both. I will remain bonded to you until you have both passed on,' explained Xavier. He then proceeded to explain to them exactly what had happened to them the night before.
'Where are we at the moment? We don't recognize this room.' Asked Harry.
'You are currently inside your own mind. To everyone else you are still asleep; it is part of the bonding process. You need time to adjust to all the changes that are happening to you. You can spend as long as you like here, once you are ready, you will start to wake up,' explained Xavier.
'Will we ever be able to come back to this place?' asked Ginny.
'Yes, whenever you are asleep you will come here. Most of the time you will also sleep here, but you don't have to. Your physical bodies will always need longer to rest than your minds. During those times you will be awake here. In here you will be able to train without interruption or worry that others will find out. I believe, Ginny, that this would be the perfect place for you to plan some pranks that I know you want to play on the twins,' said Xavier with a hint of a laugh in his voice.
'Wow, this is amazing, what do you think, Ginny?'
'Yes, it is amazing, a little scary but I like it, Harry,' responded Ginny.
'So, what does this mean for us?' Harry asked Xavier as they continued to talk.
'Well, it means a number of things. First, it means that you are bound to each other for life; effectively you are married.'
'Oh no, mum is going to flip when she finds out about that,' said Ginny in a worried voice.
'I know, but it wasnt like we really had much say so over the matter. We will just have to show them that we can be mature about this and earn their trust; that we are not going to do something silly.'
Xavier watched them as they continued to discuss what to do. In the end, they agreed that they would not consummate the marriage until Ginny was at least 16. They also decided to only tell her parents of this part; no-one else needed to know.
'Second, because the marriage is legally recognized by the Goblins, you are now classed as adults in the wizarding world and have all the rights; you no longer have the under-age magic trace on you.'
'Third, you will soon learn that you basically share everything: senses, emotions, pain, sight. You have the ability to talk to each other at anytime via your combined minds. You will also discover that you can learn faster, your individual magic strength has grown, you now have the ability to block anyone from accessing your minds and read other peoples minds. You will also find that if you are touching each other and cast the same spell they will combine to create a single very powerful spell.'
Both of them were stunned. It almost seemed like a dream, but neither of them thought that they could come up with this in their wildest imaginations, so it had to be true. They spent the next hour talking with Xavier and absorbing everything that he had told them.
Meanwhile, up in the Gryffindor common room, three very angry Weasley brothers were plotting what they were going to do to Harry bloody Potter when they found him. Hermione had just confirmed for them that Ginny was not in her dorm and it was clear that she had not returned from the previous night. Hermione told them they should try and find McGonagall and ask her before plotting Harrys death but they didn't care and told her to butt out of their family business. She retorted that they shouldn't have asked her to help if she didn't want her advice and stormed out of the tower.
"I am going to kill him; he is supposed to be my best friend. He didn't even tell me he was going to take Ginny to the ball; then he decides to take her somewhere for the night to do god knows what to her!" said Ron in a very angry voice.
The twins just looked on as Ron continued to rant; they were not a rash as he was. They were at least willing to give Harry a chance to explain what happened, if they didn't like what he told them, then they would deal with it. But, at the moment, they were not sure that Ron would even allow Harry to speak before attacking him.
Back in the infirmary, Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall, and Ginny's parents, were meeting with Madam Pomfrey to discuss Harry and Ginny's health. Molly looked over at her daughter, and her natural instinct was to separate them. She was too young to be embracing a boy in this way especially on a bed. However as soon as she tried to move them apart, Xavier flew down in front of her and stopped her. Dumbledore reminded her that she could not touch them whilst the aura was still present.
"They are both in perfect health, in fact I have never seen either of them in better health," she told them.
"Well, that is certainly good news. Do you have any idea when they will be awake?" asked Dumbledore.
"No, not at the moment, I don't think it will be long, but without much knowledge of this process it will be hard to say."
"Yes, that is a concern for everyone, very little is known about this process. From what we can determine, it hasn't happened for two thousand years so we have no real information to work on. Once they wake up, hopefully we can learn more about it and determine what has happened, and what to do about it. I also think that it is critical that we make sure no-one else find out about this at the moment. The last thing they need right now is to be interrogated by the rest of the family," said Dumbledore as they continued to speak.
As they spoke, the golden aura finally faded from around Ginny and Harry. Everyone seemed to relax a little more as Madam Pomfrey ran a few more tests, but they were identical to the last test.
"I guess we just have to wait for them to wake up," said Dumbledore as they watched.
Twenty minutes later they started to wake up; none of the adults were watching when it happened.
"Good Morning," said Harry and Ginny together.
The adults spun around to greet the two of them; Madam Pomfrey was soon busy checking them to make sure they were perfectly okay. She again confirmed that they were fine and no longer needed to remain in the infirmary. As soon as Madam Pomfrey had finished, Molly grabbed Ginny into a fierce hug and whispered that they would be discussing this later.
"Good Morning, Harry, Ginny, how are you both feeling," Dumbledore asked.
"We are both feeling very well, thank you; Xavier has explained to us what happened." said Harry.
"Would you mind telling us? It seems that something important happened. Xavier explained some of it via Fawkes but not the full details."
'What do you think, Harry, I don't want them to know all the details. This is something private between us.' Ginny said.
'Xavier, what do you think?' asked Harry.
'I would tell them that you are still learning about the bond and don't know much at the moment. Remember, do not mention anything about the marriage until you can speak to your parents alone,' replied Xavier.
"We don't have too much to offer at the moment, Professor. As I am sure you know, now we are able to talk with Xavier via our minds, and it appears that we can talk to each other too; other than that it is all very new to us. I am sure that as time goes on we will start to learn more about it," said Harry.
As he said this, he could feel Dumbledore attempt to access his mind to see if they knew more. The look of shock on his face told him that Dumbledore had not been able to access it; it also told him that he had done it before. Harry decided to share that piece of information so that Dumbledore knew that he had detected his attempt.
"Ah, yes, Professor, that is one ability that Xavier explained to use," Harry said.
"What is he talking about, Albus," asked McGonagall.
"Professor Dumbledore just attempted to access my mind; one of the benefits of the bond is that our minds are fully protected from any type of outside access. It also allows us to detect any type of attempt no matter now skilled the Legilimens is."
McGonagall looked around at Dumbledore with a very annoyed expression on her face; it clearly told him that they would be discussing this later.
"Also, Professor, by the look of shock on Professor Dumbledore's face, I believe that he had accessed my mind in the past, but I don't have any proof of that," stated Harry.
The lack of response from Dumbledore was all they needed to realize that it was perfectly true.
"I am sorry, Harry, it was wrong of me to try to access your mind without permission," Dumbledore said and left it at that. Everyone noticed that he neither confirmed nor denied the allegations.
"Well, it is almost time for breakfast, why don't you two return to your dorms and change," Madam Pomfrey told them as she dismissed them.
"Thank you, Madam Pomfrey, we are sorry to be so much trouble. At least we didn't stay as long as normal," Harry said as he smiled.
Ginny took Harry's hand and walked over to her parents.
"Mum, Dad, we have lots to tell you but not right now; can we wait until after breakfast to talk," she then leaned in very close to her mum before continuing. "There are some things about the bond that we don't want to tell anyone else except for you."
Molly looked at her and could see in her eyes that she was serious about the request. She looked over at Arthur and could see that he had heard and agreed. They arranged to meet in the entrance hall after breakfast. Her parents then left with Professor Dumbledore so they could have a private breakfast with him, and the kids headed back to their common room.
Harry and Ginny walked hand in hand back to the tower; there was no reason to hide their relationship, especially as everyone had seen them dancing all of the previous night. They mind spoke all the way back to the tower, not noticing anyone else around them. They didn't even notice when the fat lady simply opened the door for them without even asking for the password.
However they did notice when Ron's fist came crashing into Harry's face. They had barely walked into the room when he started attacking. He didn't even give them a chance to say anything and continued to hit Harry. Blow after blow rained down on Harry; when he collapsed on the floor, Ron started to use his feet as well. He was in such a rage that he didn't even realize that he had started hitting Ginny when she tried to protect him. It was only when a burst of light filled the room, and Xavier grabbed Ron, that the attacked finally stopped.
Unfortunately, the damage was done; Harry was seriously hurt, and if they didn't act quickly could die. Ginny wasn't as badly hurt but was currently unconscious.
A moment later, Hermione and the twins came back into the common room to see if there was any news about Harry and Ginny. The sight that greeted them was devastating. Hermione looked over at the Phoenix that was holding a very angry Ron, who was still trying to get away and finish what he had started. Xavier released Ron so that he could start healing Harry, but as soon as he did, Ron ran towards Harry and tried to kick him again. Hermione stunned him before he could do anything else.
"We need to get help fast," shouted Hermione to the twins.
"I will go get Professor McGonagall," said Fred as he ran out of the portrait hole. George went over to Ginny to check her; she was hurt but not as badly as Harry. They didn't want to risk moving her just in case they had missed something, so waited for help. Several minutes later, a very frustrated McGonagall appeared to find out what had happened. Upon seeing Harry and Ginny clearly badly hurt, she immediately sent a Patronus to Dumbledore advising him on the situation. Less than a minute later Fawkes appeared with Madam Pomfrey. She gasped when she saw Harry, then ran the tests on him and looked very concerned.
"Harry is badly hurt, Professor, we need to get him to the infirmary immediately," she said clearly worried. They discussed how they would transport Harry back to the infirmary when Xavier flew down and flashed him directly to a bed. Fawkes, meanwhile, grabbed Madam Pomfrey. Once Harry was being treated, Xavier returned for Ginny and flashed her to a second bed.
Professor McGonagall remained in the common room trying to find out what happened. It was clear immediately that Ron had attacked them, but as he was still out cold due to Hermione's stunner, they could not ask any questions. She thanked all three of them for acting so quickly and most likely saving Harry's life.
Fawkes had returned to the headmasters office and advised him of the situation. They immediately left the office and headed to the infirmary, clearly worried about what had happened and wanting some answers quickly.
Down in the infirmary, Madam Pomfrey and Xavier were working to heal Harry. It was a slow process, but at least it was progress. A moment later, Fawkes flashed back to the room and started helping. The addition of the second Phoenix definitely made a difference. Madam Pomfrey would later confess that if it hadn't been for them, Harry would have most likely died.
It was still going to be a long road for Harry; some of the damage that had been done couldn't be fixed quickly. She knew Harry hated staying here, but it appeared that, yet again, he had no choice in the matter.
Molly Weasley had almost fainted when she saw how badly injured Harry was. She asked Madam Pomfrey what had happened, but the mediwitch just told her that Harry and Ginny had been attacked, and that was all the information she had at the moment. She then explained the extent of Harry's injuries. Molly then asked about Ginny and was told that Ginny would be fine and just needed to rest; the swelling would soon go down and there would be no lasting evidence.
Molly and Arthur sat next to the two beds watching over the two of them, they didn't say anything. A while later, Hermione and the twins appeared to see how they were doing. Molly informed them of the injuries to each, and explained that they would need time to heal. Molly then asked what happened and none of them seemed like they wanted to explain. Before she could ask further she heard movement from Ginny's bed.
Ginny slowly started to wake up. She soon realized what Xavier had meant by sharing pain as she hurt all over, and in places that Ron had not even hit her. She looked around and noticed her mum was sitting next to the bed, clearly very upset, then she noticed Madam Pomfrey running checks on her. She told her that she was going to be fine but would need at least two days of bed rest. When Ginny asked about Harry she told her that he was past the worst but had a way to go before he was fully healed.
Molly soon came over and grabbed Ginny into a hug.
"Oh, Ginny, what happened to you?" asked Molly.
"Why don't you ask your youngest son," Ginny spat out in pure anger.
"What are you talking about, Ginny?"
"When Harry and I returned to the common room this morning, Ron attacked Harry, and then me when I tried to stop him; if it wasn't for Xavier, I am sure Harry would be dead now."
Molly was seething. They had never seen her this angry before. The thought that her own son and done this, had not gone across well. Arthur suddenly appeared next to Molly and started calming her down, saying things in her ear that no one could hear. Eventually it worked, and she slowly calmed down.
Whilst this was happening Ginny suddenly started to panic, she had just noticed that she couldn't feel Harry in the bond.
'Xavier, what's wrong with Harry? I cannot feel him,' said Ginny.
'Ginny, he was very badly injured, then when Ron attacked you, he was so angry that if he had not already been physically unconscious, he would have done anything to protect you. When he couldn't, his mind when into overload. He will be okay, you just need to re-assure him that you are okay,' explained Xavier. Ginny immediately retreated into their mind to try and find Harry and talk to him. It appeared to the others that she had fainted, they suspect it was the shock of seeing Harry in the other bed.
They continued to keep watch over both of them until lunch time. Professor Dumbledore had returned to his office as he had to deal with Ron. The twins and Hermione eventually left for lunch and to tell the rest of the house that Harry and Ginny were okay but in the infirmary. They didn't mention why.
Albus Dumbledore could not believe what was happening. Firstly, Harry Potter, the boy who all the hopes of the wizarding world rested, had bonded to Ginny Weasley less that 24 hours ago, and was now seriously injured after being attacked by his best friend. Dumbledore could only conclude that it was due to the fact that Harry and Ginny had not returned to the tower the previous night, and Ron being the red blooded boy he was, didn't even give them a chance to explain.
He wasn't sure if they could repair the damage to the friendship Ron's action may cause. Maybe if it had just been Harry that he had attacked it would have been okay, but when he completely lost it and attacked Ginny, that was something that he knew Harry would never accept.
As he was considering the implications of what had happened that morning, Arthur and Molly Weasley returned. They were not happy and when they saw Ron sitting in front of the desk Molly immediately stormed over to him.
"RONALD BILIUS WEASLEY, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING ATTACKING HARRY AND GINNY?" screamed Molly.
Ron looked very nervous all of a sudden when he saw the equally angry look on his fathers face.
"Harry was taking advantage of Ginny mum; they were out all night doing god knows what. I was just trying to protect her honor!" said Ron in a feeble voice.
"PROTECTING HER HONOR DOESN'T INVOLVE NEARLY KILLING HARRY OR HURTING HER, I AM DISGUSTED WITH YOU."
"But they were out all night sleeping together somewhere. Why are defending Harry?" said Ron.
Arthur had managed to calm Molly down a little, but she was still fuming, especially at what Ron had implied.
"Firstly, Ronald, I know exactly where they were last night. They spent the evening in the infirmary, and no before you start suggesting that Harry hurt Ginny, it was nothing like that. Something did happen between them, but it wasn't anything bad. We don't fully understand it all yet but your father and I have spoken to both of them and will be helping them to understand what has happened."
"Secondly, do you really think Harry would take advantage of Ginny, and that Ginny would allow Harry to so so?"
"Well, he could have been taking advantage of her!" said Ron.
"That still doesn't give you the right to nearly kill him, and it most certainly does not give you the right to attack your own sister," said Arthur in an equally angry voice.
"Ronald, did you even give them a chance to explain where they had been? No! You just assume the worse and attacked them without thinking," said Molly.
Molly immediately turned to Professor Dumbledore before saying the words that would haunt Ron for a long time.
"Albus, I believe in light of what has happened, and the fact that Ron still doesn't believe he has done anything wrong, he will be returning with us to the Burrow for at least the rest of the school year."
"Unfortunately, I believe that we have no other option, as the nature of the attack and injures that were sustained by both Harry and Ginny would have required me to expel him anyway. At least now, he has the opportunity to come back next year," replied Dumbledore.
With that Dumbledore summoned a house-elf to pack Ron's belongings and bring them to the office. As they waited, Molly, Arthur and Albus discussed the ball and the Triwizard Tournament. Dumbledore returned Ron's wand to Molly as they were leaving. He also told them that he would send news as soon as he had it, regarding Harry's health.
News soon spread that Ron had been expelled for the attack on Harry. Of course, Draco Malfoy tried to make it sound like he knew Ron would turn on Harry one day. He reminded those around him how he had offered a hand of friendship to Harry but he had stupidly chosen the blood traitor, and now look what that got him.
Ginny had been released from the infirmary two days after the attack, but had refused to leave Harrys side. She had been able to re-assure him that she was okay, and they were once again talking in their minds. They had already discussed what happened, and Ginny informed him that her mum and dad had removed Ron from the school. They decided that despite everything, there was no point holding it against Ron, he was obviously going to be punished enough.
A week after the attack Harry finally woke up; his injuries fully healed. Madam Pomfrey was amazed. It should have taken much longer for all of them to heal. She could only attribute it to Xavier, and the bond, but no-one was complaining. After a final checkup, Harry was allowed to return to the Gryffindor tower. Once he got there, everyone wanted to find out what had happened, but he just told them that he wasn't going to talk about it and left it at that. It was also common knowledge now, that a new Phoenix had been seen around the school. There was no point in denying it, so Harry introduced everyone to Xavier and explained that he had bonded with Harry the night of the ball.
As Harry and Ginny had not been able to celebrate Christmas, they decided to spend the day with each other. They found a quiet corner of the common room and opened their presents. Harry had bought a second charm for her bracelet that represented him. It was a small lighting bolt; she carefully added it to the bracelet, and it warmed her heart when she realized that Harry had already purchased it before they had bonded. She had made Harry a scarf in Gryffindor colors. She was worried that it wasn't much but he was very pleased to get it. He told her he didn't care if it cost 1 sickle or 1000 galleons; the fact that she gave it to him and made it herself was all that mattered. They spent the rest of the day relaxing in the corner of the common room. When they weren't kissing, they were playing chess, but gave up on that when they realized they could just see what the other was planning through the bond. Dobby had arrived with lunch for them. He made a special Christmas meal for them, as they had missed the real feast at the school; they were very pleased and surprised Dobby by inviting him to eat with them.
The next morning they returned to their lessons. They had only missed a couple of days as most of the time that Harry was in the infirmary was during the holidays. It didn't take them long to catch up on the missed lessons.
Due to everything that had happened to Harry and Ginny, they had not yet had the chance to tell Mr. and Mrs. Weasley of the marriage. They asked permission to visit the Burrow on Saturday so that they could inform them. Professor Dumbledore arranged everything so that they could travel to the house and be back in time for the evening meal. The only person who knew they would be out for the day was Hermione.