A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! I'm glad to see everyone is enjoying this!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When Ginny came to, she was very aware of her
surroundings. She could feel the
softness of the sofa underneath her, the warm velvet-like fabric against her
skin, and a pillow under her head.
Through the thick fog that had settled in her head, she could feel a
weight on her chest, and a warm liquid was splattering down, filling her with
warmth and strength. She attempted to
open her eyes, but couldn't quite manage it.
She could hear voices, and tried to focus her mind on what they were
saying.
"It's not here,
Harry! I don't see it anywhere!" This voice sounded panicked, and was farther
away and accompanied by sounds of shuffling noises, like someone was searching
for something.
"When Hermione gets back with Dumbledore, we can look for it
then." This was said in a very low
tone, right in Ginny's ear. She tried
desperately to open her eyes. "Ginny,
please wake up." Her eyelids fluttered
for a second, and finally they opened halfway, revealing beady eyes set into a
face covered with scarlet plumage. It
was Fawkes, and he was sitting on her chest.
Puzzled as to why this would be, Ginny watched fascinated as a pearly
drop formed at the corner of his eye, rolled down the glossy red feathers, and
splashed down onto her, the incandescent fluid mixing with dried blood. Her robes had been pulled apart at the top,
exposing the skin just above her breasts.
There appeared to be a faint mark above her heart, but the slight
scratch faded with another drop of the phoenix's tears. Ginny felt the fog leave her mind and she
blinked again, taking in the background beyond the great bird. She could see a bright shade of emerald,
encased by round glasses that reflected the candlelight from the torches behind
her. Ginny frowned, confused as to why
Fawkes was sitting on her, why Harry, who knelt beside her, looked so pale and
anxious, and why her brother was standing just behind him, wearing an identical
expression on his face, his own blue eyes bright with tears.
Before she could open her mouth to ask what had happened,
the memories hit her with the force of a lightning bolt. Visions of the day's events ran over her,
and Ginny gasped as she remembered seeing the dagger with the gemstone that was
as green as the eyes that had met hers across the common room. She remembered hearing her father's voice,
and Ron shaking her senseless as he ripped the dagger from her fingers.
"Ron, I'm—" Ginny's voice cracked as she began to cry. She needed to apologize for slapping him,
for some reason that stuck out as the worst event and it was very important
that she explain that she never meant it.
"Shhh, Ginny, it's all right," Ron said, seeming to know
exactly what she was going to say.
"Don't try to talk now, it's going to be fine. You're safe." He kissed
her forehead, and gave her a small smile.
"Hermione went to get Dumbledore," Harry said.
"She's in here, Professor."
As if on cue, the portrait hole opened, and entered Hermione gasping for
breath, followed closely by the Headmaster, his long white beard trailing
behind him. He stood and faced Ginny
head on, looking down upon her with concern etched into the wrinkled lines of
his face. Hermione stood next to him in
a stance that reminded Ginny of Professor McGonagall. With her hands on her hips and her hair back into a neat bun, all
Hermione needed was a pair of glasses to look like the strict head of
Gryffindor.
"What's happened?"
Dumbledore asked, taking in the sight of the overturned table and
chairs, Ginny stretched out on the sofa with Harry, Ron, and Fawkes over
her.
Ginny's throat tightened as she tried to think. How could she explain when she wasn't too sure
what had happened herself? Her eyes met
Ron's and Harry's, as if they held the answers. Harry, sensing her problem, calmly told all that had occurred
that evening.
"My scar was hurting Professor, and when I looked at
Ginny—it hurt more than ever—and I saw she had a dagger….and I knew what she
was going to do. Ron went to stop her
and he got the dagger from her. It
disappeared." Ginny glanced up at these
words, meeting the gaze of Dumbledore, his blue eyes glinting behind his
half-moon spectacles. Another tear fell
from Fawkes, and suddenly, she just had to confess everything, from the moment
the unicorn had tried to charge her until she fell in a crumpled feet at her
brother's feet. In a voice that
trembled with threatening tears, Ginny spoke about finding the dagger in the
cabinet in Dumbledore's office and her astonishment at later pulling it out of
her robes instead of her wand. The
blood drained from Ron's face when she spoke about hearing their father's voice
in her mind. Harry's hands were
clenched around one of hers, and his fingers went white at the knuckles when
she described the floating feeling and the pain of the knife piercing her
skin.
"Hmmm." Dumbledore
said when she had finished. "Hmmmm,
indeed."
"What's wrong with me Professor?" Ginny choked out, her eyes stinging with unshed tears. Fawkes rose from his perch on her chest, (he
was surprisingly light for such a massive creature), and landed on the spot
just above her, like a feathered gargoyle.
Dumbledore thought about this for a minute, his head cocked
to the side as he looked down at her.
"I have many theories, my dear girl, but before I tell you any of them,
I need you to tell me about the nightmares you've been having."
Ginny hesitated. She
really didn't want to think about those at the moment, the events of the day
were just too much to handle as it was.
Ginny told them about the dreams, how she was surrounded in darkness,
unable to move, hearing her name being screamed, and a flash of white light.
"I knew that this would eventually happen," the Headmaster
said quietly when she had finished.
"What? What would
happen?" Ron, who had remained silent
throughout most of this, finally found his voice.
"Do you know how Tom Riddle stole your soul, Ginny?" Dumbledore asked Ginny instead of answering
Ron.
Ginny flinched at
his name and nodded. "It's because I
wrote my thoughts into his diary."
"Partly, yes, that's true.
As Tom Riddle, Voldemort used you—used your soul—to strengthen his own
powers in order to get to Harry." At
those words, Harry bowed his head, resting it on Ginny's stomach. His hands squeezed hers so forcefully that
she winced in pain. Ginny ran the
fingers of her other hand through the black hair in comfort.
Dumbledore continued, "I knew he was biding his time over
the past few years, waiting for another perfect moment to strike again. I believe he found that moment when your
father died."
"Dad? What does Dad
have to do with this?" Ron asked.
"Your father's death gave Voldemort the perfect opportunity,
because Ginny's own emotions were so weak.
It enabled him to weaken her further, drain her of life, steal her
soul."
"That's why I've been so tired," said Ginny very
slowly. It was a wonder she didn't realize
it earlier. She had been feeling
exactly like the first time Voldemort had tried to take her over, during her
first year at Hogwarts. The feeling of
being trapped, of not knowing who to turn to, the constant ache, the endless
nightmares—why hadn't she known what was wrong?
Dumbledore's silver moustache quivered. "It was also why the unicorn tried to attack
you today. It could sense Voldemort
deep inside you."
"And my scar," said Harry in a dull voice. "I could sense him too."
Dumbledore nodded, his white beard moving back and forth
with the motion. Ginny looked at Harry
in amazement. She'd hurt him,
unknowingly yes, but waves of nausea washed over her at the thought of what
could have happened, if somehow Voldemort had made her hurt Harry, just like
he'd made her do all of those horrible things in her first year. She shivered, wishing another tear from
Fawkes would fall and warm her up.
Harry noticed the slight movement, got up to fetch a blanket from the
cabinet by the fire, and tucked it around her.
She mumbled a thank you, unable to meet his gaze.
"But Professor," Hermione interrupted, drawing Ginny's
thoughts away from Harry, "The last time he used a diary to get to
Ginny—something that was once his. How
could he have done that now?"
"He didn't need to, Hermione." Dumbledore told her.
"There's a sort of….bond between Ginny and Voldemort, made through their
first encounter. I would be very much
surprised if he hadn't been monitoring Ginny's emotions all these years,
waiting for the perfect time."
Ginny closed her eyes in anguish, hugging the blanket to her
as if it could protect her from the truth of those words. She wasn't so far gone that she couldn't
appreciate the irony of it all: how the one person who cared for Harry the most
was the key to his downfall. Unable to
stop herself, her gaze followed Harry to where he stood facing the fire, his
back to her. He stood very still,
ramrod straight, like he had been hit with the full body bind charm. The glow from the firelight cast highlights
onto his shiny black hair, casting a warm golden glow on the strands that
always stuck out in odd directions, making it seem as though he wore a halo.
"Why?" Ron asked, his voice rough. "Why have her try to kill
herself? What purpose would that serve? What happened to the dagger, why did it
disappear? What were you doing with it
in the first place? And the nightmares
she's been having, how do they fit into all this?" Ginny's brow furrowed.
Her brother was right, why have her kill herself? What effect could that possibly have?
"There wasn't a dagger in the cabinet when I last checked
it," Dumbledore said quietly, turning to face Ron. "I don't believe I've ever heard of a dagger fitting that
description. That is something we will
look into first thing tomorrow morning.
As for your sister's nightmares, I can't really say except that
Voldemort is behind them, that much is clear.
Perhaps Professor Trelawney could offer some more insight on the
subject." Dumbledore looked at Ginny
and said, "As for your first question, Ron, it's a bit complicated. You see, Voldemort has been feeding off
emotions, that's what's kept him strong all these years."
"You mean my feelings for Harry," Ginny murmured aloud,
feeling her cheeks warm despite the graveness of the situation. Unable to look at anyone, she kept her eyes
focused on the sofa pattern, her fingers absently tracing the Gryffindor lion.
"No, Ginny," Dumbledore said, shaking his head. "Voldemort was using Harry's own feelings
for you against him."
Those quietly spoken words echoed in the room. Ginny quickly looked over at Harry to watch
his back stiffen even straighter than before, if such a thing was
possible. He ran his fingers through
his hair, making it stick up wildly in all directions, and exhaled with a deep
sigh.
"How did he know?"
Harry asked in a tone so low that Ginny had to strain her ears to hear
him above the crackle of the fire.
Dumbledore moved over to Harry and leaned up against the
mantle piece. "He knew, Harry, because
of your own bond with him. The bond
created that night he was fully resurrected, when he took that single drop of
blood from you."
"I still don't get it," Ron said plainly. "How would killing Ginny—"
"Because," Harry interrupted, turning back around to face
Ginny, "if Ginny died, it would have destroyed me."
Everything froze. No
one spoke a word. Ginny was hypnotized
by a pair of green eyes that were filled with such intense emotion, such
feeling, that it was impossible for her to tear her gaze from him. All her dreams, all she had ever wanted out
of life was reflected from Harry's eyes. The realization set in. Harry loved
her. He didn't have to say it, the
truth of it was more powerful than mere words could offer. Harry had been carefully hiding his feelings
from her, just as she held her own from him all these years.
"Yes, Harry. It
seems that Voldemort is playing with both of your emotions, and using them to
his advantage."
"Is, um…is…Vol-Voldemort still inside me?" asked Ginny,
never once breaking the eye contact with Harry.
"Can you feel him inside you?" Dumbledore asked.
Ginny thought for a second.
No, she couldn't say that she did.
Right now she felt very odd, stunned in fact. It was the feeling of having your wildest dream come true and not
knowing what to do with it. It was a
strangely energizing feeling, as if one didn't know whether to run or
walk. Ginny shook her head.
"Then perhaps you have once again managed to fight him off,
Ginny. Or perhaps your spirit kept him
from fully taking you over as he had once before," Dumbledore said.
"What happens now, Professor Dumbledore?" Harry asked.
"I believe we all should probably be getting to bed,"
Dumbledore said at last. "It's been a
most interesting evening."
"Interesting" didn't even begin to describe the events of
this evening, Ginny thought. Fawkes
flew over to his owner, landing with a flurry of golden feathers on the
Headmaster's shoulder. "I had the Fat
Lady change the password, so there's most likely going to be a crowd waiting
outside," Dumbledore warned them.
Ginny watched him leave, then turned back to look at the
other three occupants. Ron was quietly
speaking to Harry, who nodded his head and looked back at her.
"Ginny, come on, go on up to bed. We'll clean up here."
Hermione came over and helped Ginny rise from the sofa. Ginny dazedly crept towards the stairs. She wanted to turn back, to say something to
Harry, but didn't know what to say. Ron
kissed her goodnight, and with Hermione's arm around her, she started up the
dormitory staircase.
"Ginny?"
She stopped, but couldn't turn around. "Yes, Harry?" Her voice sounded odd, like it came from
someone else.
"I'll see you tomorrow."
She swallowed, her mouth dry. "Ok."
Hermione led Ginny past her own dormitory and into the Head
Girl's room. "You can sleep in here
tonight, Ginny. So you won't be
disturbed." Ginny nodded her thanks and
Hermione summoned her nightdress and helped Ginny into it. Ginny stretched out on the soft bed, and
closed her eyes. She slept peacefully
for the first time in months.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: In a moment of
sheer insanity, Imogen and I started up a discussion list at
yahoogroups.com. I haven't figured out
all the kinks, but here's the link anyway:
Queens of H/G We'll be posting our stuff there, and maybe
some unpublished things as well. And of
course there will be the mandatory discussions on socks, sex, hot buttered
toast, bouncing quarters, and of course Harry and Ginny. : )
