Chapter 19: Ginny's Transformation
Harry's eyes snapped open, his body convulsing as it struggled with the power that still flowed through him. Finally, after long moments, the power dissipatedand he collapsed, exhausted to the ground, his energy spent.
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When he awoke again, he found himself in a bed within the hospital wing of the temple, where the priests healed serious injuries. Pulling himself slowly upwards into a sitting position, he saw Ginny asleep in a chair next to him.
He was just about to wake her when Feadir, who, as the High Priest, was in charge of the Healers, enter the room.
"Ahh." He said, as he caught sight of Harry sitting up, awake. "Good, you're awake. Let Virginia sleep, she's been here for a while. Refused to leave your side even."
"How long have I been here?" He asked softly.
"A day and a half. It's eleven o'clock in the morning, January second." Feadir replied, as he moved to check over Harry's energy levels.
"What? Why?" Harry asked in surprise.
"The ritual required a great deal of energy. It seems it drained a large portion of your own personal energy, in addition to that granted by the Light, and as such, left you heavily drained in the end. You've been recharging your energy levels steadily since then, and are now nearly restored." Feadir said, nodding to himself.
"Wait, if it's the second, doesn't that mean that Ginny's transformation..." He began.
"Aye. It's tomorrow. Her family arrived yesterday. They seemed quite worried to find you unresponsive." Feadir said, handing Harry a potion to speed the revitalisation process now that he was awake.
"Where are they?" Harry asked, after drinking the potion.
"Somewhere in the palace I presume. The twins seem to be much attached to Allia. I'm afraid she's giving them advise for new pranking products."
Harry smiled faintly at the thought.
"What about my parents? Sirius? Cedric?" He asked hopefully.
"They still haven't awoken. We have them in another room in the temple. They're energy levels were much lower than yours of course, and it will take them longer to recover. So far, everything looks to have succeeded, although it's still too early to tell."
Feadir moved towards the door.
"I informed your family and friends that I would advise them as soon as you awoke. I'll give you a few minutes though, I'm guessing you'll want to speak to Virginia in private first."
Harry nodded his thanks, and turned to Ginny, as Feadir left the room, closing the door behind him.
"Ginny?" He whispered softly, as he nudged her gently in the shoulder. He smiled faintly as she murmured in quietly in her sleep, nestling herself deeper into the chair. He nudged her harder, and was rewarded by her eyes slowly drifting open.
"Harry?" She whispered, still half asleep. Then her eyes widened, locking onto his. "Harry!"
He laughed lightly as she threw herself onto him, hugging him tightly.
"I was so scared! When we entered the temple and saw you laying there, motionless, I thought you'd died!" She cried into his shoulder. "Even when they said you were fine, that you were just drained, I was still frightened."
"Shhh, Gin. I'm fine." He whispered into her ear. "I'm more concerned about you."
"What?" She asked, as she pulled back, her tears stopping.
"You should be getting ready for your transformation, not sitting in here worrying about me." He said, trying to look stern. "After all, it's not like I was going anywhere."
A small smile spread across her face, and she kissed him soundly.
"How could I not be worried?" She asked, after reluctantly ending the kiss. "Anyway, Feadir said he was going to come get me when it was time anyway, so I wouldn't have missed it.
"Good. So you're parents are here?" He asked. "How'd they take the news?"
Her smile widened. "You should have seen them. When they saw the city...they were stunned, it was great. Of course, I haven't seen much of them, except when they first arrived- Allia brought them by the way -anyway, I haven't seen them much since I've been in here almost the entire time, and the priests wouldn't let anyone else in."
"Ms. Weasley! Are you telling me you neglected your family for me?" He asked, laughing.
"Of course Mr. Potter. I've had them my entire life! I've only had you for a few months." she replied, also laughing.
"Well, then." He said, as he rose from the bed. "I guess we'd better go see them then, eh?"
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When the two entered the palace, they were immediately pounced upon by Ron and Hermione, who had been talking to each other quietly near the door.
"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed, as she hugged him hard. "You're awake!"
"Good to have you back mate." Ron said, cuffing Harry lightly on the shoulder.
"Where is everybody?" He asked them.
"Well," Ron began, "Fred, George and Allia are somewhere in the city, they said something about looking for certain plants for a prank. We think Evelyn followed them off. She seems to idolize Allia. Charlie is off talking to some elf about dragons, seems some elves are nutters too. Mum, Dad and Bill are in the King and Queen's quarters, with everyone else, talking. Your uncle came in about ten minutes ago, he was heading in that direction."
"Then that's where we'll go." Harry said, leading them towards the Royal Families quarters.
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When they entered the room the others were gathered in, Feadir had apparently just finished updating them on the condition of Harry's parents, Sirius, and Cedric, and had not yet gotten to the fact that Harry had woken up, and as such, his entering the room caused a slight commotion.
"Harry!" Remus said, jumping up. "You're awake! Good!"
The others nodded in agreement of his words.
Harry nodded, "I'm fine, I was just a little tired I guess."
Feadir snorted. "Right, well anyway, as I was about to tell you, Emrys's awake. Which is good, because it means we won't have to fight to get Ms. Weasley to get ready for the ceremony. Emrys, as her life bonded mate, you will have an active role in the ceremony, unlike most."
"Okay. When do we have to be in the temple?" He asked.
"Well, the preparations take about 4 hours, so be there at about seven, and that should be fine."
"No problem. We'll be there."
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"Now," Feadir said to Harry, half an hour before midnight that night. "This will be somewhat different for her than it was for you. Normally, nothing is required to guide the Transformation, to direct it. However, when someone is life bonded, the one with whom they are bonded is responsible for the Transformation, to appeal to the Light to grant the power of the holy transformation, and to direct it."
"Why?" Harry asked.
"No idea. That's just the way it works." Feadir said, smiling wryly.
"What do I have to do?" Harry asked.
"You'll know. It will be instinctive."
"Alright then, let's do this."
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When midnight arrived, it found Ginny sitting cross-legged in front of the Altar to the Light, with Harry standing behind her, his hands resting upon her head, his eyes raised, locked on the symbol of Light that was engraved on the wall behind the altar.
When midnight arrived, Harry felt something enter him, compelling him to speak.
"In the name of the Light, I call upon the power. Grant unto this elf the ability to defend the Light in the name of all that is good. Grant her the Light's blessing, and gift her with the Light's guidance, and favour." He intoned, hardly aware of the words emerging from his mouth.
He felt a power enter him, searching. He felt himself guiding it, directing it, steering it downwards, until it flowed through his hands, and left him, entering Ginny.
Her head jerked back, her eyes wide and filled with a shining white light. Harry knew that changes similar to the ones he had experienced were almost certainly taking place, but for unknown reasons, he couldn't break his gaze from the symbol on the wall to look down upon her. He felt the energy in her, through their bond, and knew that the transformation was nearing completion.
Then, as had happened to him, she blacked out. He caught her before she could hit the ground, and sat, cradling her head in his lap, gently stroking her head, as he waiting for her to recover.
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That morning, when she had regained consciousness, he helped her to her feet, and paused as he studied the changes.
She had grown several inches, and now had the same tall, graceful look all elves did. Her hair had darkened, going from a bright red to a darker auburn, and had also lengthened, and now reached her mid-back.
Her body had also filled out, becoming more muscular, and capable of the agility that all elves had.
He whistled in appreciation of the changes, and she blushed prettily.
"Oh be quiet." She said, trying unsuccessfully to glare at him. "I can't believe I have pointy ears."
"Hey!" Harry exclaimed in mock outrage. "I happen to like your ears!"
She laughed, and arm-in-arm, they went to the palace, where her parents were waiting.
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That day was filled with celebrations, for the King and Queen had announced that not only had one of the Lost Line finally, after many hundreds of years, undergone a transformation, but that Feadir had informed them of the improvement in the condition of those that Harry had brought back, and they were expected to awaken the next day.
That evening, Ginny decided to take a walk, and she drifted slowly away from the celebrations, and headed towards the edge of the city. She didn't notice Harry watch her leave, or follow her quietly.
She didn't know why, but she was compelled to return to the ledge where she had first looked out on the city. When she reached it, she looked out again over the city, but something looked different about it. Something felt different.
"You see it now don't you?" Harry asked, stepping from the shadows, causing Ginny to turn in surprise. "You can feel it, can't you?"
She nodded. "Something's different about the city. The whole forest even. I can't tell what it is."
Harry looked at her with a sad look in his eyes.
"Its dying. The forest, the city. We're dying." He said quietly.
"What?" She asked in surprise.
He nodded to confirm what he had said.
"Its true. Our forests have shrunk. Our people have not been having the same number of children as they used to. Few elf children are being born these days. Vast sections of the city lay empty. This city used to house seventy-five thousand elves. Now barely twenty live here, and that number is shrinking with each passing generation. Only twenty thousand, and Falandais is the largest of the three Elven Kingdoms. Lathadrin has only fifteen thousand living in it, and Erylandros has only twelve thousand at most."
Ginny was shocked to hear this. Just this morning she had thought that the Elves were full off life, and in their prime, and now she found out they were dying?
"Why?" She asked in horror.
Harry sighed, looking out at the city.
"First you must know this. Our people are not what they once were. We have lost many skills and magics that once came easily to us. We are a broken people. The Elven Kingdoms are but the tattered remnants of a shattered empire. Even when they were fully populated, the Three Kingdoms were mere outpost towns of the Elven High Kingdom
"What happened?" She whispered.
He looked at her, a haunted, sorrowful look in his eyes.
"We lost something." He said, his voice barely audible.
"What?" She asked, almost afraid of what he would answer.
"Our homeland." He whispered, unshed tears welling up in his eyes.
