A/N: Let me know how you liked this chapter. I didn't much care for it, but
it was a must, so PLEASE REVIEW!!! Thanks to those who already have!!
GodessAthena
Ginny had spent most of the night explaining to Hermione about her powers. She had shown her several things and Hermione was dumbstruck. It was around three a.m. before Ginny could get to sleep. Her thoughts had been filled with evil and uncertainty as she drifted off into sleep. Her only solace was Albus' promise to try and find whatever it was. She only hopped he could.
Ginny opened her eyes and found herself back in green rolling fields of Ireland. She looked around frantically for her former self, but only saw grass as far as the eye could see. Her shoulder slumped slightly. She had actually been looking forward to coming back here again. She wanted answers and she felt the only way to get them were through Danu.
She sighed, sat down and started picking at the grass near her knee. Her red flannel night gown was brilliantly bright in contrast with the lush, dark green fields. She heard the crunching of foliage behind her that caused her to jump up and spin around. Her heart was thumping. When she saw the white gauzy dress and bright flaming hair her heart began to slow and warm. It was like the feeling she got as a child when her mother would hold her tight in her arms after waking from a nightmare.
Danu's face beamed warmly at her. "Hello." Her voice danced in Ginny's ears. She was so happy to see this woman. She found that she missed her, deeply.
"Hi." Ginny responded. She couldn't keep the smile off her face.
"You have come back."
Ginny's smile faltered a bit. "Didn't you bring me here?"
The woman's musical laughter ran out through the fields. "I do not control you. Your presence here is totally of your own doing. You come to me for answers."
Ginny nodded. "But how did I bring myself here?"
"You have been searching yourself, and I am you. I am what you have been looking for." The woman walked past Ginny and continued down the hill.
Ginny turned to walk beside her. "Actually, I was wondering about what was coming."
Danu looked at her, but kept walking. "You need to know everything and the only way for that to happen is for you to find me within yourself."
Ginny looked out over the valley ahead. "But how? How do I find you?"
Danu stopped walking and Ginny turned around to face her. She reached out and put a light hand above Ginny's heart. Ginny's body filled with deeper warmth and her skin began to tingle. "I am here, within you. You must find a way to reach it. You must before it is too late." He voice became grave and earnest.
Ginny swallowed hard. "How long do I have? How long until it is here."
"You know the answer." Ginny looked down suddenly depressed and scared beyond belief.
"It's already here isn't it?"
Danu nodded. "It has been here."
"For how long? How long has it been? Why didn't I notice it before?"
"The monster has been at Hogwarts since before we last spoke."
Ginny became irate. 'Since before we last spoke?!?!' Ginny began to yell at her former self, "How could you! How could you lie to me?!!!? To yourself?!?!!!" She was up in the other woman's face, only centimeters away. She could feel her face and her eyes burning with intense anger.
The woman smiled in response to her outbreak. "It has been at Hogwarts, but it only had its foot in the door. Now it has totally gained control. It is here and must be destroyed or everyone you ever loved or will love will be destroyed. Death will reign upon the world like hellfire. The only person who can stop it is you and you alone."
Ginny's eyes were burning with fear and outrage at the cryptic woman before her. "This is it! No more cryptic messages from beyond! I need to know what is going on. What is this thing? What do you mean by 'foothold'?!"
The angel like woman sighed and turned to sit down. "As you wish."
"Thank the Gods!" Ginny muttered as she took a seat next to the woman.
"It calls itself Extirpar. It is powerful and filled with hate. It can control beings that have death in their hearts and in their minds. There is no way to block it, or even know it has power over you. Its destructive power has sunk whole continents and, as its name entails, has eradicated whole species." Ginny's fear was now hitting a fever pitch. "When I was a child its very name made people shudder or scream. The beings of earth, both good and bad, lived in fear everyday. I was different. For me it incited rage. I was angry at it for having so much control over people's lives, so I made it my life's work to seek out all the knowledge and power I could in order to stop it. When it came to Ireland, it meant to destroy my people and feed off our land until it too was destroyed. We battled for weeks, but I could not destroy it. I locked it away in an underwater cave. There it lay for centuries, but I knew its powers were too great to stay there forever, so I devised a way to bring myself back when the time came. I knew then, as I know now, that the only way to destroy it would be to double my strength to equal that of its own. So, I became another with a soul of her own, but identical to mine."
She paused and watched Ginny's reactions. Her face was pale. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She had always figured reincarnation was a sort of natural thing, not some spell. She marveled at the strength that something like that would take to pull off.
Her description of the Extirpar was bleak as hell and made Ginny want to shit her pants. If Danu couldn't destroy it then, how could she be so sure that she could destroy it now, even with double the strength?
Ginny's head was spinning with questions and fears, but she could only manage to sputter one question out. "What do I do?"
The older woman smiled and took Ginny's hands in her own. Ginny's fears and uncertainties instantly vanished as her heart once again filled with warmth and love. "I, you, together, as one it will be done. You must search for me Ginny. Find me. Find yourself. Only as one can it be destroyed."
She leaned over and kissed Ginny on the cheek. Ginny closed her eyes and felt like her soul was on fire. "You have a fortnight before the massacre begins."
Ginny jumped totally out of her bed. The sheets were on the floor and the sun was pouring into her room. She looked around frantically, but saw no one. The clock read eight thirty. She was thirty minutes late for potions, but Snape would have to deal. She HAD to go see Albus, and there was no time for changing.
Ginny had spent most of the night explaining to Hermione about her powers. She had shown her several things and Hermione was dumbstruck. It was around three a.m. before Ginny could get to sleep. Her thoughts had been filled with evil and uncertainty as she drifted off into sleep. Her only solace was Albus' promise to try and find whatever it was. She only hopped he could.
Ginny opened her eyes and found herself back in green rolling fields of Ireland. She looked around frantically for her former self, but only saw grass as far as the eye could see. Her shoulder slumped slightly. She had actually been looking forward to coming back here again. She wanted answers and she felt the only way to get them were through Danu.
She sighed, sat down and started picking at the grass near her knee. Her red flannel night gown was brilliantly bright in contrast with the lush, dark green fields. She heard the crunching of foliage behind her that caused her to jump up and spin around. Her heart was thumping. When she saw the white gauzy dress and bright flaming hair her heart began to slow and warm. It was like the feeling she got as a child when her mother would hold her tight in her arms after waking from a nightmare.
Danu's face beamed warmly at her. "Hello." Her voice danced in Ginny's ears. She was so happy to see this woman. She found that she missed her, deeply.
"Hi." Ginny responded. She couldn't keep the smile off her face.
"You have come back."
Ginny's smile faltered a bit. "Didn't you bring me here?"
The woman's musical laughter ran out through the fields. "I do not control you. Your presence here is totally of your own doing. You come to me for answers."
Ginny nodded. "But how did I bring myself here?"
"You have been searching yourself, and I am you. I am what you have been looking for." The woman walked past Ginny and continued down the hill.
Ginny turned to walk beside her. "Actually, I was wondering about what was coming."
Danu looked at her, but kept walking. "You need to know everything and the only way for that to happen is for you to find me within yourself."
Ginny looked out over the valley ahead. "But how? How do I find you?"
Danu stopped walking and Ginny turned around to face her. She reached out and put a light hand above Ginny's heart. Ginny's body filled with deeper warmth and her skin began to tingle. "I am here, within you. You must find a way to reach it. You must before it is too late." He voice became grave and earnest.
Ginny swallowed hard. "How long do I have? How long until it is here."
"You know the answer." Ginny looked down suddenly depressed and scared beyond belief.
"It's already here isn't it?"
Danu nodded. "It has been here."
"For how long? How long has it been? Why didn't I notice it before?"
"The monster has been at Hogwarts since before we last spoke."
Ginny became irate. 'Since before we last spoke?!?!' Ginny began to yell at her former self, "How could you! How could you lie to me?!!!? To yourself?!?!!!" She was up in the other woman's face, only centimeters away. She could feel her face and her eyes burning with intense anger.
The woman smiled in response to her outbreak. "It has been at Hogwarts, but it only had its foot in the door. Now it has totally gained control. It is here and must be destroyed or everyone you ever loved or will love will be destroyed. Death will reign upon the world like hellfire. The only person who can stop it is you and you alone."
Ginny's eyes were burning with fear and outrage at the cryptic woman before her. "This is it! No more cryptic messages from beyond! I need to know what is going on. What is this thing? What do you mean by 'foothold'?!"
The angel like woman sighed and turned to sit down. "As you wish."
"Thank the Gods!" Ginny muttered as she took a seat next to the woman.
"It calls itself Extirpar. It is powerful and filled with hate. It can control beings that have death in their hearts and in their minds. There is no way to block it, or even know it has power over you. Its destructive power has sunk whole continents and, as its name entails, has eradicated whole species." Ginny's fear was now hitting a fever pitch. "When I was a child its very name made people shudder or scream. The beings of earth, both good and bad, lived in fear everyday. I was different. For me it incited rage. I was angry at it for having so much control over people's lives, so I made it my life's work to seek out all the knowledge and power I could in order to stop it. When it came to Ireland, it meant to destroy my people and feed off our land until it too was destroyed. We battled for weeks, but I could not destroy it. I locked it away in an underwater cave. There it lay for centuries, but I knew its powers were too great to stay there forever, so I devised a way to bring myself back when the time came. I knew then, as I know now, that the only way to destroy it would be to double my strength to equal that of its own. So, I became another with a soul of her own, but identical to mine."
She paused and watched Ginny's reactions. Her face was pale. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She had always figured reincarnation was a sort of natural thing, not some spell. She marveled at the strength that something like that would take to pull off.
Her description of the Extirpar was bleak as hell and made Ginny want to shit her pants. If Danu couldn't destroy it then, how could she be so sure that she could destroy it now, even with double the strength?
Ginny's head was spinning with questions and fears, but she could only manage to sputter one question out. "What do I do?"
The older woman smiled and took Ginny's hands in her own. Ginny's fears and uncertainties instantly vanished as her heart once again filled with warmth and love. "I, you, together, as one it will be done. You must search for me Ginny. Find me. Find yourself. Only as one can it be destroyed."
She leaned over and kissed Ginny on the cheek. Ginny closed her eyes and felt like her soul was on fire. "You have a fortnight before the massacre begins."
Ginny jumped totally out of her bed. The sheets were on the floor and the sun was pouring into her room. She looked around frantically, but saw no one. The clock read eight thirty. She was thirty minutes late for potions, but Snape would have to deal. She HAD to go see Albus, and there was no time for changing.