"Always," she said simply, unaware of what that simple statement of trust might reveal to her siblings and her parents. Her parents looked at each other with wide eyes and gulped, that declaration was not one that an average 14 year old made.
Fred and George looked at each other, then at Harry as they realized the enormity of that simple statement.
A slight smile appeared on Harry's face as he realized he would be able to help her.
"Take my hand," he requested softly, placing his own in the middle of the table.
Moving slowly, Ginny placed her hand in his and waited.
"Minha mente a sua mente" he whispered softly, repeating the phrase over and over again. The light seemed to fade around him as his voice turned eerily quiet. His eyes locked on to hers as he felt himself start to fall.
Harry blinked and looked around; he was in the Gryffindor common room, or a place that looked exactly like it.
It was eerily quiet, the fire was out and the place was empty.
"Ginny?" Harry called and then stopped; the sound of his voice echoing into infinity scared him.
'Ok, I'm in Ginny's mind, what now?' he asked himself silently. As no answer was forthcoming, he decided to try and find her. Leaving through the open secret door, Harry was struck with the thought that not even the ghosts were available.
Outside
They sat quietly for several minutes, watching the two teenagers as they remained, unnaturally still at the table.
"What was Harry chanting?" Ron asked Hermione, suddenly feeling the need to break the silence.
Hermione shook herself into motion and then looked around. "I don't know," she admitted. "I've never seen Harry act like this."
Ron nodded his head in agreement, falling into silence.
It was George who spoke next, voicing something that was severely bothering him.
"Did anyone else notice Harry didn't use his wand to cast the magic?"
The shocked silence that followed was his only response.
Inside
Having recognized his location, and with his knowledge that Voldemort was causing this, he didn't have to think that hard to realize where she would be.
It only took him ten minutes to travel silently through her mind, to the chamber of secrets, the place Voldemort had originally controlled her from.
Outside
"They've been like that for four hours now," a worried Molly explained to their newest visitor.
After several hours of watching her daughter and Harry sit motionless she had begged Arthur to inform the Hogwarts Head master of what had occurred.
Dumbledore had showed surprise and instantly vanished, appearing a second later in the kitchen. Shortly afterwards the animagus form of Sirius Black, a gigantic black dog, had appeared bounding through the door. He turned back into his human form mid leap and landed on a chair. Fred and George exchanged a wide eyed look. "Cool."
"Tell me what happened, from the start, Molly," Dumbledore demanded, the act of the gentle headmaster dropped as the most powerful wizard in the world took control of his persona.
Molly, with the help of the others explained. "It was only afterwards that George pointed out that Harry cast the spell without his wand."
"Wandless magic?" Dumbledore asked, his eyebrows rising slightly. "Ms. Granger, Young Mr. Weasley, would you please go and search Mr. Potters belongings? Look for a spell book that might help explain this."
Without a word, Ron and Hermione dashed upstairs.
"Ron, what's going on?" she asked, scared for the first time.
"I don't know. I've never seen Harry act like this."
"Me neither."
They fell silent as they searched through Harry's trunk, soon finding the book of dream spells.
They grabbed it and ran downstairs, handing it over to Dumbledore. He looked mildly surprised at the title and quickly skimmed through the book.
"Can any of you remember what spell he cast?" the professor asked.
"It was something like, 'Minha mente a sua mente'" Hermione said instantly, while Ron rolled his eyes at her.
"Brain-box," he whispered affectionately.
The professor nodded, finding the spell.
He looked up the anxious faces surrounding him and started to explain. "Mr. Potter is currently inside Ms. Weasley's mind. It is an extremely powerful spell that can only be cast when there is complete trust between the two individuals."
"So Harry has to trust Ginny as much as she trusts him?" Molly voiced the question on everyone's mind.
"I've only heard about this spell being performed once before, it's extremely dangerous. If something goes wrong and either of them dies inside Ginny's mind their body will die as well." The question on trust was ignored.
Pausing for Ron's groan, Dumbledore continued, "Harry knew what he was getting into, the spell is explained in great detail here, and from what I can tell, it was the only way to save Ginny.
"It looks like Voldemort did not leave Ginny's mind as completely as we had hoped, it seems that he has been regaining power. I fear that without Mr. Potter's intervention she would be dead within days."
For a second, Dumbledore looked his age. He looked at each of the members of the family solemnly, before finally deciding to continue, "I think you should prepare yourselves for an incredibly deep emotional attachment between the two of them if they survive. Mr. Potter and Ms. Weasley may find that the latent feelings between each other will spring to life."
"I knew Ginny had a crush on Harry," Hermione said softly, leaning against Ron for support, "but you're saying Harry had feelings for her as well?"
Dumbledore nodded slowly, "I suspect they were there, but not acted on. The fact that she is Ron's sister would have been one issue, and perhaps her being a little younger another."
"Did Harry know this?" Percy asked, breaking his silence for the first time.
Dumbledore shook his head slowly, "Mr. Potter is an intelligent young man, highly motivated and gaining in magical power every day. Unfortunately, I suspect he is also a little naive."
He held up the spell book, "Reading between the lines, it calls for a lot more than just trust between them. It calls for a deep level of love. It seems that acting rashly to save Ms Weasley may mean that the two youngsters end with a connection most people never see."
"What about HIM," Fred asked, his desire to protect his little sister coming to the fore. "He's after Harry; he'll put Ginny in danger."
It took Fred a few seconds of thought, and the confused look of his twin for him to catch up to what he had reflexively said. "Oh yeah, He's already after Ginny."
Desperately needing to change the subject, Molly asked "Why is it taking so long?"
"I suspect that time is moving differently for them, they may wake up in a second, or it maybe days, all we can do is sit and wait."
Ron stared at his friend, who still sat motionless in the kitchen. "Come on Harry, I know you can save her," he whispered under his breath, "You've done it before.
Inside
"Hi Ginny," Harry said softly, as he entered the large chamber. He was relieved to have found her, sat on the floor, as she stared at an altar.
Ginny didn't respond, so Harry carefully walked over to her. He moved in a circular path, trying to ensure he didn't scare her.
Finally, as the boy reached her, she moved her stare from the altar to him. "He's coming for me Harry, he wants me. I have to do what he tells me, people will die if I don't."
Harry felt his heart grow cold as the young girl turned her head back towards the altar.
"Ginny, I'm here to help you," the wizard said softly, unsure of what he was going to do now.
Once again, Ginny turned to him. "It's too late," was all she said.
"Mr. Potter," a voice hissed. Dark Red eyes pierced through the darkness behind the altar, "it's so good of you to come."
Harry gulped, suddenly feeling very scared. "Why are you still here, Tom?" he asked, using Voldemort's original name.
The figure walked into the light, a smile on his face. "Why should I leave?" the deeply mocking voice asked him. "Surely you don't think merely destroying my diary was going to stop me?"
"Well, yes, I did," Harry admitted, seeing no reason to lie.
"Do you have any idea how powerful I am?" the dark wizard asked rhetorically, a slight tinge of insanity in his voice. "I can not be stopped, not by you, not by anyone."
"I stopped you before," Harry replied, his innate bravery showing through, "and I'll stop you again."
"Oh, I don't think so, Mr. Potter," the voice taunted, "you appear to have forgotten something rather important. You're wand. But you're interfering Mr. Potter, Ms Weasley and I have an appointment at the altar, it's time for you to go."
The incarnation of Voldemort stepped forwards and pointed his wand at Harry, the curse he used was a favorite, it was almost elegant in its simplicity. "Crucio," an immensely painful curse, used to weaken its victim before the killing curse was used.
Harry collapsed to the floor almost immediately as the white hot pain turned his nerve endings to fire. He screamed, unable to stop himself, as he writhed on the pain in agony.
Outside
It was 3am in the morning. The different family members had agreed to watch over the two teenagers in a rota.
Molly Weasley was sat at the table, unable to take her eyes of her only daughter and the young man she loved like her own. Their unnatural stillness, especially in her normally vibrant child, scared her more than anything else. She thought that nothing else could top the fear she was currently feeling; she was wrong.
It was Harry's free hand that started to move first, before an expression of pure pain appeared on his face. He started to shake violently as his eyes opened wider. Agony radiated from him, but nothing else, no sign of life or intelligence, just his body experiencing agonizing pain.
"Arthur, Albus!" Molly's shout rang through the house, a second later her husband arrived, apparating into place, having been sleeping with his wand. Professor Dumbledore arrived a split second later, not needing his wand.
A pounding on the stairs announced the arriving of the others. They were all too young to have passed their apparition tests, except for Percy who was not confident enough on such a short trip.
They younger Weasley's and Hermione came to an abrupt stop as they took in the scene before them. A low keening sound was emanating from Harry; the sound ripped through everyone present, raising the hairs on the back of their neck.
"Can't you do anything?" Molly begged, unsure of who she was talking to.
It was Dumbledore who whispered softly, "Crucio."
Inside
Tom laughed and laughed, deliberately extending Harry torment, enjoying the suffering like no other. His concentration totally on the pain he was causing.
With his attention so diverted, a spark appeared in Ginny's eyes, a small part of her spirit returned as she was freed from the evil wizard's all-consuming power.
Her memories were unaffected by the mind control she had been under; she understood what was happening and where this was happening.
Harry's scream was affecting her deeper than anything else ever had. The boy she had had a crush on for so long was in agony, and she couldn't stand it. Looking down, she realized she had her wand in her hand. She pointed it at the back of the dark lord and yelled, "Stupefy", throwing everything she could into the word. Her wand bucked as her mind enlarged the spell, crashing into the unsuspecting back of Tom Riddle. He was thrown across the room, hard, crashing into a stone wall and collapsing on the floor.
She got to her feet, running to Harry, "We've got to get out here," she said desperately. She tried to lift him, straining as Harry's larger body weighed a lot more than she did. "Come on, Harry, help me," she begged, "Please."
Harry woozily followed her instructions, his conscious mind still retreated from the pain, his unconscious took over. Deciding that Ginny was its best bet for survival, it took the rare step of sending message directly to Harry's muscles.
Outside
The only sound that could be heard in the kitchen was the endless ticking of the clock. Everyone was silent, almost holding their breath as Harry's body stopped screaming. For a brief second, the same awful thought flickered through everyone's mind. Harry was dead. Wan smiles appeared as Harry's body took a deep breath, straightened itself and resumed looking into Ginny's eyes.
No one felt like going back to bed.
Inside
The curse word Harry used as his conscious mind returned was not one Ginny had heard before, the short epithet seemed to sum up the pain Harry was feeling extremely well. She made a mental note to ask him later what that word actually meant.
"Gin, slow down," Harry said, coming to a stop himself.
"Harry!" she gasped, panicked, "we've got to escape from Him, and we've got to keep going."
"This is your mind, we can't escape completely, but we can get out of here easily."
"What? How?" the brown eyed witch asked, a little confused.
"Think of the Burrow, imagine the garden outside, the bright sunlight, the gnomes in the garden digging and complaining." Harry's voice was almost hypnotic and Ginny found herself doing exactly what he said.
Bright sunshine appeared as Harry and Ginny stood in the middle of the garden.
"Good work," Harry praised.
Ginny flushed slightly, her heart leaping in her chest as she had more time to appreciate what was happening.
"Why are you here?" she asked softly, her wizard robes bellowed around her as she sat down in the long grass.
"I have to be," he replied, matching her tone. "I couldn't let you die."
"You're more important than I am, Harry, you need to get out of here, Tom can't be defeated, he's a part of me, he's a part of my mind. You can't die with me; you're needed in the outside world."
Harry's expression was part surprise, part admiration and a lot of stubbornness. "I'm not letting him kill anyone else I love," he declared grimly.
Before Ginny could digest Harry's words, the sky suddenly darkened and it started to rain heavily.
"He's here," Ginny whispered, stating the obvious.
"We've not got much time," Harry yelled. "He's to powerful here."
"What can we do?" Ginny screamed back, trying to make herself heard over the thunder and lightning that had joined the rain.
"Come to my mind, bring him with us."
"How?"
For a second, it was just the two of them, Harry's eyes twinkled merrily. "Do you trust me?"
"Of course," Ginny yelled in reply.
Harry grinned, and chanted, "Você é mente a minha mente."
