Chapter 6: Can You Feel It?
The secret passageway Harry had discovered in the Astronomy classroom still lingered in his mind, but he also couldn't stop thinking about how he had managed to perform Legilimency on the Death Eaters who had come to Privet Drive. Now that he had had time to ponder over it, he supposed that, logically, if the Dark Lord could do it, then he should be able to. If not that, then the fact that he had practiced Occlumency should have somehow facilitated his skill at Legilimency. It was all very confusing, so Harry figured that getting alone so he could think would be a good idea.
Early Saturday morning found Harry sneaking down to the empty common room. He coaxed up a fire from the glowing embers that were left in the fireplace. It was summer, but the air still had an early morning chill to it. Harry breathed a sigh of contentment as the flames roared to life and he felt the warmth bathe him. As Harry settled back into a particularly squashy armchair, though, his mind couldn't help but turn to Ginny. He had enjoyed spending time with her immensely. She was so lighthearted and full of life that he couldn't help but feel cheerful around her. It was strange, Harry mused, to become closer friends with someone who was not either Ron or Hermione. Strange, but welcome nevertheless.
Where would Ginny be now? Harry speculated. Probably still sleeping up in Gryffindor Tower. Harry wondered whether she and Hermione were sharing a room. Thinking about Ginny sleeping brought forth more questions as Harry recalled the disturbing nightmare he'd had a few nights ago. That time, he'd seen through Ginny's eyes. Did Ginny still have nightmares about her first year at Hogwarts? Could she still feel the icy chill of the Chamber's ground? Unbidden, images of the Chamber of Secrets coursed through Harry's mind's eye again. Suddenly, the images stopped, replaced abruptly with a field of velvet red. Harry grabbed at his chest as he struggled to breathe. What the hell?
A few moments passed before his vision cleared and he could see normally. His breathing became light and even once again. Confused, Harry struggled to place where he'd seen that velvet red before. The answer came to him like a bolt of lightning—it was the same thing he saw every time he woke up abruptly from a nightmare. The velvet red was the underside of the canopy on his four-poster bed.
Harry's thoughts were interrupted when he heard light footsteps on the stairs. He stiffened, internally groaning. Not now. Harry wasn't in the mood for company and meaningless conversation. He heard whoever it was settle into an armchair just outside his peripheral vision and let out a weary sigh.
"Hi," came a soft voice. Ginny. Harry turned to face her. Her red hair was tousled, and she was still wearing the clothes she'd slept in—an oversized grey sweater and dark red sweats. She looked pale, and she was trembling a bit. Ginny curled her legs underneath her and tried to warm her bare feet with her hands. "Good morning. What are you doing up so early? I didn't expect anyone to be down in the common room yet."
"Hey," he answered. Surprisingly, he found that he didn't mind Ginny's company all that much. "I don't know… I just wanted to be alone for a bit, I guess."
"Oh!" Ginny started. "I'm sorry. I can go back up to my room if you want. I just—"
"No, it's okay," Harry interrupted. He smiled gently at her. "I wouldn't mind some company."
Ginny smiled gratefully and sank back into her armchair. "Me neither." Her hands were still shaking a bit.
"You don't look too well," Harry observed.
"I'm fine," Ginny replied automatically. When Harry raised a suspicious eyebrow, she gave him a sheepish smile. "Bad dreams, I guess."
Bad dreams? The Chamber of Secrets? Why do we both keep dreaming about that horrible place? But this time, I wasn't asleep… Harry realized.
"Ginny," he said in a serious tone. "Did you dream about the Chamber of Secrets again?"
Ginny gave him an odd look. "Yes, but what do you mean, 'again'? How did you know I've had nightmares about it before?"
"I thought… a couple of days ago, the day we went to Hogsmeade—did you dream about it then?" Harry asked.
"Probably," Ginny said with a low laugh. "I dream about it every night."
Harry felt a pang in his chest. He knew what it was like to fight the night demons, to fear closing his eyes because of what madness and terror he might descend into. Ron and Hermione had both seen a lot, but they couldn't understand the horrifying nature of the nightmares that plagued him night after night. Except for the night in the cave. Harry corrected himself. The night I spent next to Ginny.
"I know how you feel," he said simply. Ginny gave him a grateful look.
"How do you deal with it?" she asked.
"You just think about all the good things you have in your life," Harry replied. "And you remember that as bad as it gets, you'll always wake up again and it won't be real anymore. It's over and in the past and you're alive and safe."
Ginny smiled. "That's a nice way to think about it."
"Ginny!" Harry exclaimed, as a sudden thought occurred to him. "Before I came to Hogwarts this summer, Death Eaters tried to attack me," he explained rapidly. "But—"
"Death Eaters?" Ginny interrupted, her eyes widening in shock.
"Yeah, but listen, I was able to stop them using… using Legilimency," Harry finally said.
"Legilimency…" Ginny trailed off. "What's that?"
"You can sort of… read minds? But not exactly. You'd have to be very good at it. When I did it, I only got a lot of images of stuff I'd never seen before. I suppose they were memories," Harry explained. "Voldemort uses it. He can tell when people are lying to him." Harry noticed that Ginny seemed to be coming to a realization.
"Harry… that happens to me sometimes," Ginny whispered. "Ever since I was possessed by—by Voldemort."
"What, lying?" Harry asked, knitting his brow.
"No, I mean being able to tell when people are telling me the truth or not," Ginny said hesitantly. "I can usually sense when people are lying to me. It's not always accurate, but I think I can get better at it. I thought that maybe I was just fairly perceptive, but maybe it's that. Legilimency. Maybe I… maybe I got it from him."
"That would make sense," Harry nodded thoughtfully. "There were a lot of times
I could feel what Voldemort was feeling, especially if his emotions were really extreme. And a couple of times I actually saw what he was seeing…" Is that what happened with you, Ginny? Do I see your dreams? Because that's when you're absolutely terrified? Harry kept his thoughts to himself. He wasn't sure how Ginny would respond.
"Hey, Harry," Ginny said suddenly. A broad grin stretched across her face. She was looking more cheerful. "Since Ron and Hermione are still asleep, we should plan something now." She laughed as Harry groaned. "You have to help me! I think I've thought of a way to get them together, but I'm going to need you. Tell me, how jealous do you think Ron gets?"
"Ron?" Harry hesitated. "Well, first I'd like to say that Ron is a terrific friend, and I would never want to say anything bad about him, and—"
"Harry!" Ginny exclaimed, giggling. "Relax! He's not here right now. Remember, this is all going towards a good cause. And I'm the absolute queen of making fun of Ron, so you don't need to be afraid to say anything to me."
"Okay. Okay," Harry repeated. "There was that whole Triwizard Tournament incident. And Viktor Krum…"
"Exactly!" Ginny agreed. "Viktor Krum. That's the key here."
"What?" Harry asked. He was pleasantly surprised when Ginny scooted her chair closer to him and leaned in to whisper in his ear. Her warm breath felt nice, Harry thought absentmindedly as he tried to stay focused on the plan Ginny was detailing.
A/N: What are those two planning, I wonder?
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