The Ties That Bind
Chapter 28: Training Day
Harry and Ginny awoke Tuesday morning and smiled at one another, today would be the day they started training with the Founders.
They only had Double Transfiguration and Ancient Runes in the morning and then they would be training in the Room of Requirement starting at One in the afternoon.
Since Transfiguration didn't start till Nine they laid in bed for a while, just cuddling and talking about their coming day and whatever else came across their minds. Well saying they were talking would have been a bit misleading, they found that whenever they were alone they used their mind-speaking ability.
Ginny rose first and began to prepare for the day and once again Harry laid there watching her as she moved around the room gathering her clothes she was going to wear.
She felt Harry's eyes following her, taking in her nude body, loving the way she moved, catlike, totally at ease with showing off her body. In fact she was not only comfortable with it she relished having Harry watch her every movement.
She could actually feel his gaze as a loving caress, giving her goose-flesh as his eyes wandered from her face to her breasts and then on to her nether region or her bum (depending on the direction she was facing). He also spent a lot of time watching her hair as it floated about her, shimmering and sparkling in the morning sun.
She smiled at him once she had her things gathered, "Come on lazybones, you can watch me in the shower."
Harry got up and joined Ginny as she heading into the shower, running a hand up through her hair and giving her a soft tender kiss.
"Have I told you how beautiful you are lately?" he asked her.
"Not this morning," Ginny sent back as she returned his kiss.
Harry tenderly washed Ginny's hair, taking great delight at running his hands through it. He then washed the rest of her body with gently caresses causing her to moan softly at his loving ministrations. Ginny returned the favor and by the time she was done they ended up in a deep passionate kiss that held the promise of what they would share that night.
They then got dressed, each taking the time to watch the other, both enjoying the loving way they reacted to the other. When they finally entered their sitting area neither was surprised to find Donder and Dixie finishing setting the table with their breakfast.
"Someday we need to look into how they do that," Ginny sent with a grin.
"Yeah right after we finish training and all the other stuff we have to do," Harry replied with a chuckle.
"Whatever, we'll do it together," Ginny sent back as they sat down and began to feed one another.
All to soon it was time to leave for class and they headed out through the Common Room. They found it almost deserted, there were only a couple of First and Second years who must have been skiving off their morning class.
"Where we ever really that small?" Ginny asked softly.
"Only in size," Harry replied sadly. "We've both been through so much it doesn't seem that we were that young."
Ginny gave Harry a squeeze as they exited the portrait hole, both thinking back to their first and second years.
"Harry," Ginny sent hesitantly, "I want to go back down to the Chamber."
Harry felt Ginny's emotions and knew it was something she needed to do. "OK love, when do you want to go?"
"Soon," she replied, thinking about their schedule. "Maybe this weekend."
"Whenever your ready, I'll be there for you," Harry replied as he hugged her close.
"I know you will be, just like you are every day," Ginny sent back as she gave him a quick kiss.
They reached the Transfiguration Class Room and found Ron, Hermione and Neville already waiting along with a few Hufflepuff's that shared the class time with them.
Ron and Neville were discussing Gryffindor's upcoming Quidditch season that had Hermione rolling her eyes at them. She was muttering something about "Boys" and "Stupid Quidditch" among other things.
They all greeted Harry and Ginny warmly, "Where were you guys again this morning?" Hermione asked.
"Why go all the way down to the Great Hall and then come back up here for class?" Ginny said.
"You shouldn't take advantage of Donder that way," Hermione said with a huff.
"You just don't get it Hermione," Harry said. "The Elves want to wait on us, it's what they do."
But. . . " Hermione started.
"No buts Hermione. Would you take away that which makes them happy?" Ginny asked.
Hermione frowned but her shoulders slumped, "No. I guess not," she said slowly, trying to think of a way around that fact.
Dean and Seamus came running up just as Professor McGregor came and opened the door letting the students file in.
"Where were you two?" Ron asked.
"It was our turn to escort Millie to her class," Seamus answered with a smile.
"I'm glad that people are still watching out for her," Harry said, nodding at his house-mates.
Further discussion was prevented by the Professor calling the class to order.
Harry and Ginny sat up front again, with Hermione and Ron next to them, Hermione seemed quite happy with where they were sitting but Ron looked a bit disgruntled.
"Welcome back Mr. Potter," the Professor said to Harry. "And welcome to you too Miss Weasley," she said turning to Ginny.
Ginny smiled at the Professor, she liked the young teacher almost as much as she had like McGonagall. Professor McGregor looked like a younger version of their previous Professor.
"We'll be moving on to more complex transformations," the Professor said with a smile, causing most of the class to moan. Hermione was the only one who had an eager look in her eye.
"Harry and Ginny shared a small grin that went unnoticed because everyone was watching the Professor intently.
"What is the factor that makes the transfiguration more difficult?" she asked.
Immediately Hermione's hand shot into the air, causing the Professor to smile at her. "No one else," she asked. When no one volunteered she turned to Hermione. "Miss Granger?"
"The more complex or advanced the creature you are transforming something into the harder it is to make the transformation," she answered.
"Good and if that is true then what would be the most difficult thing to transform something into?" the Professor asked.
Of course Hermione's hand shot back up but to Harry's and Ginny's surprise so did Neville's.
"Mr. Longbottom?" Professor McGregor asked calling on the usually shy young Wizard, much to Hermione's disappointment.
"Any type of Magical creature," Neville answered.
"Correct!" The Professor said with a smile. "Five points to Gryffindor to you and Miss Granger for your answers.
Any other factors that can come into play?" she asked.
Everyone looked thoughtful, even Hermione looked deep in thought. "No one?" the Professor asked looking over the class.
Ginny raised her hand much to Hermione's surprise. "Yes Miss Weasley?"
"The closer the object is to the size of the animal that you are transforming the easier it is, for example it would be much easier to transform the desk into a large animal than say a thimble," Ginny said with a smile.
"Very good!" said the Professor, who then took her wand and transformed her desk into a cow who stood there staring at the class for a moment before she transformed it back into her desk. "Ten points to Gryffindor," she said nodding at Ginny.
She then handed out small wooden boxes to the class. "I want everyone to try and transform their box into the most complex animal that you can think of.
Several of the students were having limited success with their transfigurations, Ron managed to make his box transform partway into a small dog, except the body still retained the box shape.
Hermione eventually managed to transform her box into a house cat, earning her Ten points.
Harry and Ginny just watched for a while, chuckling at the various half animals that most of the class managed.
Professor McGregor noticed them finally and came up to them. "I know this is rather difficult and you haven't been in class but why don't you give it a try," she said rather sympathetically.
Ginny glanced at Harry and smiled slyly at him. She placed her box on the floor, garnering a questioning look form the Professor.
Ginny pulled her wand and muttered her spell and the class was amazed as a lioness appeared. It looked around at the nearby students who looked rather afraid but then it sat down and began to lick one of it's front paws.
"Well, very good Miss Weasley," the Professor said in shock.
Ginny then calmly re-transformed the lion back into a box and placed it back on the desk in front of her.
The Professor then turned to Harry, "Ah Mr. Potter?" she asked hesitantly.
Harry smiled at Ginny, not to be out done he placed his box on the floor also and brandished his wand. If Ginny's lioness had shocked the class, they were stunned by Harry's transfiguration. Standing where his box had been was a beautiful Griffin. It shook out it's wings and gave a mighty screech, as it looked on regally at the class.
"V-very g-good, Mr, Potter" the Professor stammered.
Harry then casually transformed it back into a box and picked it up.
"Just had to out do me, didn't you?" Ginny sent playfully.
"Sorry Love," Harry sent back. "You don't really mind, do you?"
"Of course not, I didn't want to chance it, not knowing f I could pull off a Magical Creature first time," Ginny replied.
"I'm sure you could have done it," Harry sent back to her.
By the end of class Neville and Dean along with a couple of the Hufflepuffs had managed to fully transform their boxes into a variety of animals. Most did cats but Neville did a magnificent Raven.
All those who managed the transformation earned Ten points but Ginny earned Twenty-five and Harry Fifty. Hermione was gobsmacked by the show of magic that Harry and Ginny had preformed, one more item she filed away on the list of their accomplishments.
As they filed out of class Hermione, Ron and Neville turned back toward the Gryffindor Common Room, having a free period. Harry and Ginny bid them farewell as they headed off towards their Seventh year Runes class. Hermione looked rather forlorn as she watched them go, still shocked that they had passed Sixth year and her by.
Harry and Ginny reached the Runes classroom and several of the Seventh year students were already there. They glanced at them, several having frowns and questioning looks on their faces.
"I guess they haven't been told we are joining them," Ginny sent with a grin.
"Obviously not," Harry sent back with a smile, his eyes twinkling.
"I guess we need to put them in their places and prove that we belong here," Ginny replied with a devious grin.
Just then Katie Bell and Angelina Johnson came up to them, the first other Gryffindors that were taking the class.
"Hey you two," Katie said with a smile. "What are you doing here?"
"We did so well on our OWLs that we were assigned to this class," Ginny replied with a smile.
"Wicked!" said their two upperclass house-mates said in unison.
"But Harry," Angie said. "I didn't think you were taking Runes before."
"I was allowed to take the OWL along with Ginny so that we could be in the same classes," Harry explained, ignoring her question about his previous experience.
Katie's and Angie's eyes went wide shock, they'd never heard of anyone doing that before.
"But how did you pass the OWL if you'd never taken Runes before?" Angie asked.
"Ginny helped and I did good enough to get into this class with her," Harry replied with a shrug.
Katie and Angie exchanged looks again and Ginny could see their minds working overtime.
"Looks like you've got them thinking," Ginny sent.
Before any more questions could be asked Professor Babbling arrived and opened the door ushering them all in. The Seventh year Runes class was very small, just the four Gryffindors and five Ravenclaws.
As they sat down the Professor smiled at Harry and Ginny. "We have two new students joining us today," she said to the class. "Miss Weasley and Mr. Potter will be with us for the remainder of the year."
Ginny noticed the Ravenclaws giving them appraising looks, wondering how two Sixth years could join the Seventh year class in midterm.
"We'll be having a little pop quiz today on what we covered last week and the assignment you were to do over the weekend," she said rather sweetly, causing the prerequisite groans from a couple of the students.
She then turned to Harry and Ginny, "Since you two weren't here, I'll excuse you from taking it today," she said kindly.
"That's OK," Ginny replied. "We'd like to take it anyway to see how well we do, if you don't mind."
The Professor looked at her in surprise. "Is that correct Mr. Potter?" she asked Harry.
"Yes Professor. It will give us an idea where we stand," Harry replied with a smile.
"Very well," she replied as she started to hand out the quiz.
Harry and Ginny took a look at the quiz and exchanged smiles, to them it was actually quite easy. They set right to work and completed it well before anyone else.
When the Professor noticed noticed that they had stopped writing she came over to them and said sympathetically, "I hope you won't get disappointed if it was to difficult for you."
"Oh no," Ginny said with a smile. "It was really quite straight forward and not that difficult at all."
Harry nodded in concurrence with Ginny as they handed over there papers to the Professor. When she glanced at them her eyebrows shot up into her hairline. Harry and Ginny had answered every question and once again done so in Runes. She glanced from the quizzes to Harry and Ginny and then back again.
"Is there something wrong?" Ginny asked innocently.
"Ah, no Miss Weasley," the Professor said hesitantly. "Though I had heard about your performance on your OWLs this is the first time I have experienced it myself."
Harry and Ginny could tell that the nearby students were trying to figure out what they had done.
The Professor gathered herself together and looking up said "One more minute," as she went back to her desk.
Harry saw her take out and open her Rune dictionary and glance at Ginny's quiz before going back to the dictionary, turning several pages and obviously look up a Rune.
Harry gave a chuckle through the Bond and sent "You made her look up something up."
Ginny smiled and sent back "I think we just raised the bar in this class."
"Time's up," Professor Babbling said, causing a couple of the students to groan. "Please pass your parchments forward and open your books to Chapter 16, read that and then we'll discuss it.
Harry and Ginny opened their books and began to read. They were about half way done when Harry gave a low chuckle.
"Is there something amusing?" the Professor asked frowning at him.
"Sorry Professor, but I believe there is a typo in the Rune example on page 175," Harry said with a smile.
The Professor grabbed her book and quickly turned to the page, scanned the paragraph the Harry had mentioned. While she was doing so they heard most of the other students following her example.
The Professor stifled a giggle, "It seems you are correct Mr. Potter." She took a small scrap of parchment and marked the page. "I'll have to notify the publisher and Twenty points to Gryffindor," she said with a smile.
The remainder of the class passed quickly. Harry and Ginny only raising their hands when none of the other students could come up with the correct answer, which seemed to happen frequently. The more correct answers they made the more the Professor smiled at them, though the Ravenclaws seemed to frown more and more.
By the time class had ended Harry and Ginny had garnered an additional Fifty points for Gryffindor and not made one incorrect answer.
As they were leaving class Professor Babbling stopped them for a moment, "Well I certainly am pleased with your knowledge along with your willingness to participate in class. Some thought that you might not be up to taking this level but I think you've dispelled that notion."
"Thank you Professor," Harry and Ginny replied before they continued on their way. Outside the door they found Katie and Angie waiting for them, both had smiles on their faces.
"Harry, how ever did you catch that typo?" Angie asked.
"Yeah, that textbook has been in use for Ten years straight and no one has ever caught it," Katie added.
Harry just shrugged, causing Ginny to giggle. "I don't know, I just saw it and knew it was wrong," Harry said lowly.
"I just usually skim the Rune examples," said Angie.
"Me too," said Katie.
"Guess that shows you that most people do," Ginny said smiling at Harry. "Harry found it and earned Twenty points for not skimming over it."
Harry shot Ginny a look of embarrassment as if to say "Stop it" but Ginny just laughed. "What, is my dear husband embarrassed to receive a compliment?" she sent to him.
"Maybe," Harry sent back.
They were all making their way down the hall and as they reached the stair case Katie and Angelina headed down to the Great Hall for lunch. They were a little surprised that Harry and Ginny didn't follow but thought nothing of it as they were headed towards Gryffindor Tower.
Harry and Ginny hurried the rest of the way back, they wanted to dump their books and have a bite to eat before heading off for their first training session with the Founders.
Donder had uncharacteristically prepared them a light lunch, almost as if he knew they were about to partake in some hefty exercise. When they looked at him questioningly he just smiled and said he would have a big dinner for them that evening. He then smiled as he bowed and disappeared with a crack.
As they finished lunch Godric's portrait called them over. "Do you two have any muggle workout clothing?" he asked.
"I do," answered Harry.
"I have some shorts and tee shirts, will that do?" Ginny asked.
"I'd rather you have something more," Godric said with a frown.
In the end Harry shrunk a pair of his to fit her so once they had changed they were wearing matching training outfits of Gryffindor red with gold piping and trim. Harry loved the way the light zip up jacket hugged Ginny's curves and couldn't help but smile appreciatively at his beautiful wife.
Ginny just smiled as she shook her head, sending him a humorous "Men!"
Harry just smiled back at her and sent "What's wrong with enjoying looking at my beautiful wife?"
Ginny actually blushed a little, something she had thought she was passed doing with how intimate they had been and always walking around nude in their bedroom.
Harry found it cute and he gave Ginny a tender kiss which she returned enthusiastically.
Godric cleared his throat to get their attention, causing them both to blush in embarrassment. "I'll see you two in the Room of Requirement," he said with a chuckle as his portrait became still.
Harry "Teleportused" them to the seventh floor to the tapestry of Barnabus the Barmy and then he walked back and forth the three times thinking "We're here to meet with the Founders, we're here to meet with the Founders."
A heavy iron studded oaken door appeared, it had heavy bands of iron that quartered the door, in each quarter was one of the Crests of the Houses. Gryffindor on the top left, Ravenclaw on the top right, Hufflepuff on the bottom left and Slytherin on the bottom right.
Harry and Ginny stepped forward and the door swung open for them.
Inside was a huge room with a small door off to the right, it was partially open and they could see it was a loo with a shower. Along the opposite wall the portraits of the Founders were aligned. Once inside, the door swung silently closed behind them.
"Good afternoon," Salazar said with a huge smile. "It's good to see you again."
"Good Afternoon to you too," Ginny said returning his smile.
"Well now that you're here, where should we begin," said Helga.
XX
Hermione sat in the library after lunch, supposedly working on her potions essay but in fact it lay before her barely begun. She was idly twirling her quill, her thoughts not on potions but on Harry and Ginny.
The ease at which they were handling their classes confounded her. Harry had never been one to apply himself in class before. She knew he was intelligent but he never had exhibited any drive or applied himself, she had always had to push or coerce him into getting it done on time.
Ginny was also a bit of a puzzle, while she was also quite intelligent and had been doing very well, she had often come to her for some help when she had needed it. Now suddenly Ginny had taken her OWLs early and the two of them seemed to have far outpaced her in almost single class. The only one's Hermione wasn't sure about were the ones they hadn't had yet and for some reason she knew they were going to excel in them too.
Hermione was also surprised in the strength of their magic. While she knew that Harry had always been very strong magically and Ginny too a slightly lesser extent, the display in Defence Against the Dark Arts class had been phenomenal.
While she sat musing Ron came up and slumped down in the chair next to her, his face the picture of concentration. "Hey Hermione," he said lowly.
Hermione could tell something was bothering him, "What's wrong?" she asked, hoping it wasn't something too great.
Ron sighed deeply, "There's something up with Ginny and Harry," he said lowly, as if he wasn't sure what he really wanted to say.
"What do you mean?" she asked, not wanting to influence his answer and hoping to learn what Ron had noticed.
"Well I ah, it's ah," Ron stammered. "When did they get so smart?" he blurted out finally. "I mean suddenly they seem to know every answer and then there's those shield charms they did in DADA class."
It was Hermione's turn to sigh. "I know what you mean," she said. "I know Harry mentioned something about gaining some knowledge when they bonded but I can't believe how much they seem to know now."
"How can their Bonding give them knowledge?" Ron asked perplexed.
"I don't really know. Harry tried to tell me a little about it but it doesn't really add up. Plus their Magic seems stronger too," Hermione replied, her shoulders slumping as if in defeat.
"Yeah, that shield Harry put up wasn't any basic shield charm," Ron said thoughtfully.
"What we need to do is keep a close eye on them and see how much we can find out," Hermione said determinedly.
"Sounds good to me," Ron said, totally in agreement with Hermione. "Should we see if Neville and Millie want to help out?" he added after a moments thought.
"I'm not sure, Neville would probably be OK with it but I'm not sure if Millie would. Harry and Ginny have adopted her as a little sister and she may not want to be involved if she thinks we're spying on them," Hermione said, her brow furrowed in thought.
"Maybe we can just ask them if they've noticed anything unusual," Ron said hopefully.
"That's brilliant!" Hermione said, beaming at Ron.
"It's been known to happen now and again," Ron said defensively.
Hermione just rolled her eyes at him as she shook her head, thinking she couldn't win no matter what she said to Ron.
XX
Draco lay on his bed staring at the ceiling, formulating his plan. If he was correct in what he had observed it might was just possible to get the revenge on that filthy Gryffindor whore who had the three Slytherins expelled and was the ultimate cause of Nott being striped of his magic.
It would take a little time to verify what he had noticed but it was one thing he had, it was time. Time and patience were what he needed now and he had learned patience under the tutelage of the Dark Lord. It hadn't taken long as the Dark Lord used the most brutal methods to teach.
There was also the matter of planting the false memories in Crabbe and Goyle so that they would be his alibis. Draco wished not for the first time that he had someone to test the spell on but the risk of being caught if something went wrong was to high. After all it was only Crabbe and Goyle, he really didn't think that they'd be able to be any more brain damaged than they already were.
Draco pulled out the instructions once more, making sure he remembered exactly the steps necessary correctly. The trip line wasn't anything complicated, care just had to be taken while stringing it. The chemicals were what needed delicate handling, one misstep and the results would be catastrophic.
He reread the instructions one last time before closing his eyes and went over them in his mind. He'd probably only get one chance and he didn't want to mess it up. The Dark Lord was notoriously unforgiving if you made a mistake.
The best thing about what he was doing was that he'd leave no Magical signature that could be traced back to him or his wand. It was perfect as far as he was concerned.
Now all that was needed was the opportunity and he'd have the revenge the Dark Lord wanted. Smiling, Draco folded the instructions back up and put them in the box under his bed.
Soon, very soon things would be different and he'd take his rightful place beside his father in the Dark Lord's inner circle.
XX
Hermione caught up with Neville in the Common Room, he was alone because Millie was still in class. He was sitting in one of the chairs before the fireplace, his nose buried in an ancient tome called Magical Water Plants of the Far East.It wasn't required reading for their Herbology class but Neville loved anything that had to do with the subject.
"Hey Neville," Hermione said airily as she sat down in the chair next to his. "Ron and I were wondering if you'd like to help us out with a little project we're working on?"
Neville carefully marked his place in the book he was reading and turned his attention to Hermione. "What project is that?" he asked, his voice full of curiosity.
"Ron and I have noticed Harry and Ginny acting, well a bit differently, I guess is the best way to put it. We were wondering if you have noticed anything, plus we want to try and figure out what's going on with them," Hermione said, trying to put things in a way that wouldn't upset Neville.
Neville frowned, "Like what?" he asked a little defensively. Harry had always been one of the few people who had never put him down or belittled him in any way. The fact was Harry had always urged him to try his hardest and do his best no matter what.
Hermione sensed Neville's reluctance and tried to defect his unease. "I don't mean like spying on him or anything. Just let us know if you notice anything unusual, that's all."
Neville looked thoughtful for a moment. "I guess there wouldn't be any harm in that," he said slowly, as if unsure.
Hermione decided to forgo asking for Millie's assistance for the moment. If Neville was being this cautious Millie would be doubly so.
Neville looked at Hermione thoughtfully. "I guess you're talking about things like them healing Millie's leg."
"Yeah, stuff like that," Hermione said in agreement.
"Anything else?" Neville asked in a more relaxed manner.
"How are you and Millie getting along?" Hermione said with a smile.
Neville blushed a little, "Very well," he replied sheepishly, grinning in spite of himself. "We, ah actually went and tried out a few of the places that Godric suggested."
Hermione smiled in spite of the lump that formed in her throat. "Good for you two," she said softly. "You two seemed made for each other," she said a bit wistfully, thinking about her lack of a significant other.
"It's amazing the change that she's gone through," Neville said sincerely. "She's nothing like she was before."
"I've noticed," Hermione replied with a smile. "She's a much nicer person now. A lot more fun too. I've even seen her helping some of the younger students with their homework. I'd never seen her do that before."
"She's learned how much it's helped her when somebody takes the time to be involved so she wants to pass that along," Neville said, returning Hermione's smile with one of his own.
As they were talking the portrait hole opened and Millie came in. She came directly over to Neville and sat down in his lap after moving his book. She planted a kiss on his lips, blushing a little afterwards, glancing at Hermione.
"I'm sorry, did I interrupt you two?" she asked shyly.
"No," Hermione said smiling at Millie. "I'll leave you two alone, I need to get my Runes book and head off to class anyway."
As she headed up to her dorm she looked back at the pair who were sharing a much more intense kiss than the one before. Sighing once more she headed to get her book.
XX
Harry stood there sweat pouring down his face and dripping into his eyes, the salt stinging him and making him squint. His glasses were partially fogged due to the heat his body was generating. Ginny wasn't faring much better, though she didn't have any glasses to hinder her vision.
Salazar had started them off by having them run laps to help build their endurance, after that they had concentrated on tumbling, learning to fall correctly and roll out of it.
It was a good thing that they had learned healing spells from Merlin because they had needed to heal each other several times to fix shoulders and wrists either broken, sprained or dislocated while learning the proper techniques.
"Godric Harry," Ginny moaned. "Who knew falling down could be such hard work."
"Yeah," agreed Harry. "I've been rolling so much that standing upright makes me dizzy."
Though both were very tired Godric had them take places in the centre of the room where he told them they were going to duel each other. Harry's eyes widened in surprise, though Ginny looked eager.
Harry shook his head, guessing that Ginny wasn't thinking it through and keeping his thoughts shielded he knew what he was going to do.
When Godric said "Begin!", Harry just stood there and let Ginny hit him with a fairly strong Stinging hex. Harry had steeled himself ,that along with years of not reacting to his relations made him prepared for what was to come, so he barely flinched while Ginny cried out in surprise. "Ow! That hurt!" she said while rubbing her leg in the same spot that she had hit Harry.
Harry laughed out loud at Ginny, while she just looked perplexed. "How can we do this?" she asked in exasperation.
'I don't know," replied Harry.
Helga looked just as confused as Ginny as was Salazar. Godric and Rowena had smiles on their faces, trying very hard not to laugh.
"Godric, how can we fight when we both feel the hits?" Ginny asked the Founder.
"What's going on?" interjected Salazar, who was confused by what was taking place.
Rowena smiled at the confused pair of Founders. "Right now they are both experiencing each others feelings completely. They need to learn to push those feelings into the background so even if they are aware of the other it doesn't debilitate them," she explained.
"You knew this was going to happen?" asked Helga.
"Yes," replied Rowena. "But we needed for them to experience it for themselves so that they can come to deal with it. In battle they will need to act independently so if one gets hurt the other can continue."
"But didn't Harry already do that?" asked Salazar.
"Yes he did but Ginny was only minorly injured. It was her pain that triggered Harry's anger. He needs to be able to keep a level head. Just think what would have happened if she was seriously hurt or had the Cruciatus Curse used on her," Rowena said.
I could see where that could cause a huge problem," Salazar replied, nodding his head in agreement.
Harry and Ginny were talking to Godric while the three other Founders had their discussion.
"How do we stop this from happening," Ginny asked, still occasionally rubbing her leg.
"You need to learn to set up barriers and check points in your mind," Godric explained. "In a sense it is a lot like Occlumency but you'll be using it to shield the other from your pain."
Harry and Ginny glanced at each other, locking eyes for a moment, each thinking about protecting the other from the pain that they would be experiencing.
"What you need to do is take some time and imagine building these barriers inside of your mind. It helps to envision them as physical structures. You will not be able to fully block your Bond-mate but you'll be able to keep others out," Godric explained.
Your Bond-mate will always be able to access your thoughts and feelings when they want to, though you'll be able to mute things if you try really hard to do so. It's really hard to explain it fully, it's like being able to concentrate on different conversations in a crowded room of people talking. You can force things to the background and concentrate on specific conversations when you want or need to."
Harry nodded, "I've notice that kind of happening already. Sometimes if I'm concentrating on something else I don't notice what Ginny is thinking."
"So have I," Ginny said in agreement with Harry.
'Excellent!" said Godric smiling widely. "And I take it you've had no problem reading each other when you wish to?" Godric asked, looking from one to the other.
"No," they both answered at the same time.
"OK, then lets try again," Godric said with a smile.
They spent the next fifteen minutes working on blocking the feelings of the other, taking turns sending a mild Stinging Hex back and forth. Harry was able to pick up on keeping Ginny's feelings in the background fairly quickly, but it took Ginny a bit longer before she could consistently keep from feeling Harry's pain fully.
Ginny had teased Harry about ignoring his wife causing them all to have a laugh over her comment. When they discussed it after stopping the drill Harry came to realize it was because of his childhood and the he was treated by the Dursleys. He had learned early on to push his emotions down to avoid more punishment.
He and Ginny had smiled ruefully at that realization, though painful, something beneficial had come out of his upbringing.
Rowena had to call a halt to their training, Harry and Ginny looked tired almost to the point of collapse.
"Not a bad first day," Salazar said with a grin.
Helga looked at the tired couple as they headed off to shower, "I think we pushed them too hard. It won't do to over do it, it could extend the time it will take to train them."
Salazar bristled at her comment but Rowena and Godric could see her point. Better to build up their physical training than injure them by pushing too hard to begin with.
"OK, OK I hear you," said Salazar solicitously.
Harry and Ginny stood under the hot water in the shower, letting it pour over them, easing their aching muscles. They slowly washed each other, trying to massage the other but having difficulty with their own aching muscles.
After their shower they were feeling a bit better and refreshed. When they re-entered the training room Godric called them over.
"While you two did very well today, we feel we may have pushed you a little too hard physically today," he said with a smile.
When Harry and Ginny began to protest Rowena intervened. "Please understand that we don't think you are not capable but it is best to work up to things, less chance of an injury that way."
Harry and Ginny nodded, seeing the Founder's point. A serious injury could set one or both back months. Even with healing spells, the body still needed time to recover.
It was decided that they would return for training over the weekend, Saturday being the preferred day by Harry and Ginny, it would give them some time to recover before returning to classes on Monday.
It was a weary but happy couple that made their way back to their rooms, both of their stomachs rumbling with their hunger. Donder had their dinner waiting along with a potion that he made them take which eased their aches considerably.
Immediately after dinner the tired couple went directly into their bedroom where they stripped quickly and tumbled into bed. Within minutes both were asleep, exhausted by their strenuous afternoon.
XX
A/N: Training has begun, and probably not what you expected. Don't worry things will be picking up.
Please keep the reviews coming, it keeps me motivated to update frequently.
