Chapter 8: Into the Mystic
Ireland, circa 1984:
"And where has that errant son of mine snuck off to now?"
His mother's voice rang through their small cottage, and Brogan put down the cup he'd been trying to transfigure into a rat (no luck yet, but he could swear the cup at least looked furry).
"Mum?"
Brogan entered the kitchen with excitement. Today was his 8th birthday, and they had a tradition, he and his mum – she always baked a chocolate cake for him. He'd caught the scent of it baking all afternoon, his mouth watering in anticipation. His mum's cake was the best in the world – so chocolatey, it melted in his mouth. Brogan knew he was an odd duck in that he never really cared for sweets – well, that is, anything that wasn't his mum's chocolate cake. He only cared about the cake on his birthday and the loaf of barmbrack Mrs McNamara would make at Halloween time. He'd just had some of that too – since they'd just got back from a visit with that family.
"There you are," his mother said as she was just sitting down at the table with a cup of tea. She looked tired, his mum, weary almost. Brogan was worried about her, but he didn't dare ask her what was wrong – he could already sense that she wouldn't tell him anyway.
"Well, did you manage a tail this time?" she asked, giving him a tired smile.
Brogan stopped on his way to the table, where he could just see a large slice of cake waiting for him. He shook his head and looked at his shoes.
"Any feet? A nice fur coat, perhaps?"
"Sorry, mum," Brogan said softly.
"Ah, well, keep practicing. You are a bit young, but concentrate, concentrate, and it will happen. You have the talent inside you son of mine, it just takes focus. Did you do your journal and the book I told you to read?"
Brogan happily nodded his head. Those assignments he had been able to complete, no problem. His mother grinned at him, looking more like herself.
"Well, I reckon you've earned your cake this birthday then. But first, you have to pay the toll. Come here, a stór."
Adaria Caley held open her arms, and Brogan went to her, climbing up into her lap. They both knew he would get the cake regardless of finishing the homework she had set for him, and it was just a little game they played. She wrapped her arms around him and held him close. And much longer than she ever had before. Brogan could then sense the flurry of her emotions – she hardly ever let herself be felt in such a way, and it frightened him a little bit. Her control was off.
After she pulled away and smiled down at him, Brogan linked his smaller hand with hers.
"Mum? What's wrong? You feel…all twisty inside. What's got you so upset?"
His mother blinked at him, and he felt her emotions fall away a bit – not entirely, but she soon felt more like herself – centered and calm. She brushed the fringe off his forehead.
"You're getting too good at sensing me, my son. I have to be on my guard now with you, don't I?"
"No, please don't hide," Brogan protested. "I'm sorry, just tell me? Please?"
"Not on your birthday, Brogan Daniel, it'll keep. Now, do I have to force-feed this cake to you?"
"No," Brogan said a bit grumpily. She shook her head and let him slide down to the floor so he could go sit in the other chair.
"You just know you'll lose again," his mother said, smiling. Brogan finally grinned back at her.
"Only because you cheat."
"I did not raise you to cast allegations at me," Adaria said, pulling another plate towards herself, her piece equally as big and chocolatey. She ran a finger along the dark frosting on top, and raised an eyebrow at him as though in a challenge.
Brogan's grin grew even wider as he did the same. They had another tradition on his birthday. A messy tradition, but a fun one. It involved lots of frosting and bits of cake being shoved at each other, and it was his favorite thing about birthdays, even more so than getting presents.
Afterward – after they both had more chocolate on them than on the cake, they would get two large glasses of milk and sit, side by side and eat one giant piece together. This time, Brogan had frosting down his shirt, and his mum had frosting in her hair, and it was absolutely fantastic.
"Promise me something, my son," Adaria said now, as she lifted the last bite of cake and offered it to him.
"Anything, mum," Brogan said without thinking. His mother smiled at him, her blue eyes full of love.
"Don't forget to have fun like this when you're older."
"You mean when I turn nine?"
"No, silly. When you're older. Grown-up."
"But I'm not growing up, mum. Not ever. I want to be young and be with you forever."
"Oh, Brogan, if only we had that gift. But no. Oh, one day and probably quite soon, you won't be able to wait until you're old enough for something. Just promise you'll always love with an open heart. You'll meet some girl-"
"Girls are yucky."
His mum laughed, the sound of it falling over him like a warm blanket. "You won't always think that, you know. Or, maybe you will." His mother fixed him with a sober look that made Brogan pause licking the rest of the frosting off of his shirt. He stared back at her, frowning and not understanding. She blinked and then smiled. "No, I think not, but…whomever you decide to give your heart to, just promise me you'll have fun and be in love with all your heart. It'll save you, one day, mark my words."
"Muuum," Brogan said, and he knew he was whinging, but what was she banging on about? He was turning 8, not 18. Brogan knew he had all that he needed right here – chocolate cake, his mum, and the warm fire crackling in the hearth. Girls and love were not even things he even thought about. Not much, anyway. That Kath McNamara sure got under his skin, though. Yeah, girls were yucky, even if they did have pretty red hair.
Adaria lifted his chin with her finger and started wiping at some of the chocolate on his face.
"Remember, Brogan. Love will come to you, and it will mean everything. You'll see. And you'll remember. That's all you have to do, my dear. Just…remember."
"Harry, did you see a blue bottle? Did I put it in that other box?"
Harry started rummaging around in the boxes he had in front of him. "Er, no. Why? Which potion is it?"
Ginny frowned. She could have sworn she'd packed it. Especially since she distinctly recalled almost not packing it, thinking they wouldn't need that particular potion.
"Oh, well, it's not important, I reckon."
"Ginny."
She glanced up and saw Harry's worried expression and composed herself. "It's nothing. It's just that silly Remembrance potion. We both remember him, so what's the point?"
Harry moved over to her and rested his hands on her shoulder. "Take a deep breath, and stay focused."
Ginny smirked at him but did as he asked. She'd told him before they got started that he would need to help keep her centered and calm. If she were too anxious or if her emotions were in flux, it could make her time in the e-space a bit bumpy.
When she opened her eyes again, Harry's green ones were shining back at her.
"Better?" he asked. Ginny nodded.
"Yes, thank you, love. Are you almost ready?"
Harry looked away and nodded. "I think so, but I don't know where I should put the music player."
They'd managed to get into the Well – with little to no effort, which had Ginny suspicious, but she thought maybe she was just paranoid. She had tried to call to Aine – to get a sense of the witch and had only felt the slight whisper of her. Still, the cave had let them enter, but only just. They could not progress any further than inside the entrance, so they'd decided to try it from there.
It was approaching mid-day, and Ginny wanted to be ready to go at the stroke of 12 – something the book had said about it being the perfect time for portal attempts. She glanced around and spotted an almost-shelf-like-looking set of rocks off to the side.
"Why don't we try over there, and we can adjust the sound," she suggested, and Harry quickly took care of it. She looked at the small collection of items she'd arranged in front of her. She grabbed the potion to help them stay alert and handed Harry his bottle, indicating he should drink it. She made a face as she sipped her own – it tasted like elderberries and mint – not exactly her two favorite things. The taste soon passed, though, and she handed Harry the vial that contained her blood while she kept his. They were supposed to release each other's to maintain the portal.
To open it, she would also use the large piece of Waystone. She indicated to Harry that he should put it in front of them. She started working on their circle of magic – a type of protection for Harry while she entered the portal.
Once they had everything she thought they would need, Ginny nodded at Harry to join her. There was a kiss of magic against their skin as the protection circle flared into life. Harry stood on her left side and entwined his hand with hers. He used the bracelet power to open their link, and she sighed, relishing the feeling of sensing Harry intimately once more, and…yes, she could feel Brogan too – although he felt very far away. But he was there at the end of the line, waiting. Or no, that wasn't exactly right. It wasn't really a line so much as a…Ginny frowned to herself as she tried to figure it out.
"He's inside the loop the bracelets connect us with," Harry said, his own eyes closed in concentration. "Sort of like he's circling through. He's at his furthest point, but he'll be closer soon."
Harry used his wandless magic to start the music player, and she squeezed his hand. He was wearing one of Brogan's shirts, and she had tied Brogan's handkerchief to the outside of her robe. The was a breeze in the cave now, her hair moving around her face. She had to trust in Harry to use the bracelet power to be able to tell when Brogan was closer to their point of time of existence. Ginny closed her eyes and took a deep breath, and then she felt it – Harry squeezed her hand in response, and she knew it was time to begin.
She cast a cutting spell with her wand at the Waystone, concentrating and aiming for precision. A seam soon appeared and worked its way down the middle of the large crag. She muttered the words the book had told her, and three small crystals, almost spherical in shape, seemed to form above the Waystone. They soon turned the dark red color she associated with her ring and necklace. Harry reached out and enclosed the crystals into a glass jar and then handed it to her. Ginny reached into her pocket and emptied her vial of Harry's blood into it, and then handed the container back for him to do the same.
They watched as the crystals and blood mixed in the jar – twirling together. Finally, the jar was coated a dark maroon color, and the crystals were seemingly gone. Harry set the container down on the ground in front of them, outside of the circle, and stepped back. According to the book, this was the most crucial part – they had to think of Brogan's essence in their minds and hearts and keep him there. Only the book hadn't really explained how to do that, exactly. What precisely was a person's essence? Ginny didn't feel like having a speculative discussion while standing in front of a portal, she did know that.
They had decided to just listen to him singing and let their memories guide them. As Ginny focused on the music now filling the cave, she conjured up one of her favorite memories of Brogan. Ironically enough, it was a memory from before they became lovers. She thought of that time the three of them had been in the library at Hogwarts researching, and Harry had suggested they go flying. They had laughed so loudly that Pince had given them all death glares as they'd left, and Brogan had (jokingly) been worried about getting permanently denied access.
She remembered how she and Harry had been teasing him about Kath and how he'd blushed when they'd later ran into her. Ginny couldn't help it, it was an affectionate memory and it made her smile. Next, she thought of their "first" time – just the two of them - at Dumbledore's Library. She'd been feeling so insecure about her role in their arrangement, and he'd proved the nature of his feelings for her quite adeptly. Ginny smiled, remembering him taking her on the kitchen counter. It had been so passionate! Next to her, Harry squeezed her hand, and she realized some of her more suggestive thoughts must have leaked through to him.
Various other memories started to occupy her head after that, and she marveled at them – they'd created so many good ones. She felt her heart fill with all the love she'd been allowed to experience. How safe and sound Brogan always made her feel – his lovely way of calming Harry, the way he made her feel so beloved with just the simplest touch, and the way his lips would twitch when he was amused with her. The gentle, melodic sound of his voice in her ear.
It was then that Ginny knew she was ready.
"Before you go, remember to use the bracelet power to guide you if you need it. I'm going to be channeling the bulk of it thru the link," Harry reminded her softly. "I love you, Gin. Now go get that daft sod and bring him home so we can create new memories."
She squeezed Harry's hand in response and then opened her eyes, looking around. The cave seemed brighter and airier to her, but she didn't think it was a concern. She used her wand to remove the lid off the glass jar and recited the words the book had told her – various old Latin expressions she wasn't even half knowledgeable about. As with any spell, she didn't need to know what the words meant, but she did have to believe in them. At first, nothing happened, so Ginny repeated the words again, putting more effort into it. The jar slowly drained in color, and Ginny frowned, worrying she'd done something wrong. But then, almost as though on cue, a small set of twirling lines appeared in the air in front of her, and she gasped as she recognized them. They started growing exponentially almost immediately.
Harry held onto her, his grip solid and secure. He kept his eyes closed – as she had instructed him. As the portal grew, he was her anchor – he would be what kept her from getting mesmerized by it.
When the lines were longer and twirling a bit faster, she stepped forward, with Harry's grip loosening and finally falling away. She felt him, though, through the link, and he wished her well. Ginny bit her lip and then moved forward – it was now or never.
As soon as she touched the portal, Ginny felt odd. Like she was in two places at once, and yet she knew she was still where she was — inside the Well of Aine. But a part of her felt elsewhere, and it was disorienting. The more she moved forward, the more disorienting it became, and she had to really focus on keeping herself from falling into the portal. The stones around them were making loud humming noises – an almost incessant buzzing that sounded like an attack of bees or wasps.
But all of that stopped as soon as she was entirely within the portal. She winced as the harsh, bright light of the e-space hit her. The book had warned her about it so she cast a spell at her eyes to protect them. The book had also warned her that magic could react differently in the e-space, so she should only do simple spells and only as needed.
"That's better," she murmured out loud, and her voice carried, echoing.
Ginny shivered, feeling utterly alone, and glanced around – there was nothing but empty space all around her, and it stretched as far out as she could see. There was the faint sound of wind traveling thru an open area, and she could smell nothing but sweet, fresh air. She reached inside her robe pocket and took the second potion, and hopefully, Harry was doing the same thing on the other side.
This potion was the one for summoning, and as it entered her system, she felt it keenly when it hit her magic. She was suddenly compelled to call out Brogan's name and did so.
Ginny was met with nothing but the lonely silence, but she had been expecting that. As Harry had suggested, she closed her eyes and tried to tap into the bracelet link again, reaching out for Brogan. She felt him closer now. It was weird how she knew that, but she wasn't going to wonder about it. The Quinn book had said that the e-space would take a representation from her mind as to what it would look like. She sensed the air shift around her, and when she next opened her eyes, she was in a long hallway with various doors. Ginny shook her head at herself- apparently, her imagination was very practical.
There were different sigils on each door, some she recognized from her reading; others she did not. Choosing the first door to her left, it had a strange-looking symbol carved into it. It was a half circle within a triangle, with a swirling sort of 's' shape snaking out of the top and bottom, and two large black dots at each end. Ginny frowned. It was a very similar shape to what she knew was the magic sign for determination. Well, since she was determined to find Brogan, and quickly at that, she may as well choose this one first.
As she tapped the door with her wand, it swung open, and it was as dark as night inside the "room." She could hear the light tinkling of bells or chimes in the distance, and she was almost compelled to start her search. But Ginny knew without even entering that Brogan was not in this room.
She closed the door and moved on, crossing the hallway to the other side. This door had a sigil she recognized. It was a heart shape with a scribble moving in and out of it, linking together around the heart. It was the sigil for togetherness and love. Ginny wondered if it would be as easy as that as she reached out to open the door. She hesitated, her arm outstretched, and then pulled away. No, she didn't think it would be. She could always come back to this door if she didn't have any luck further on. A part of her didn't trust herself not to get distracted by the rooms.
The next door had a symbol she didn't recognize, but it was calling to her for some reason. It reminded her of a musical note, and even as she thought it, she could have sworn she heard the recording of Brogan singing from wherever Harry was. Taking that as a good sign, she tapped the door with her wand and held her breath as it swung open.
There was so much music in the room – it was a cacophony! Ginny immediately cast a spell at herself to muffle the effect. It was as though someone had put all of the world's music in one place. As her spell-muffled ear gradually got used to it, she could make out different instruments, amazingly enough. She looked around and realized she was inside a giant theater or concert hall. There also seemed to be random lights going off from the bits of music, and they would rush the air around her, making her heart beat faster in response.
Ginny knew Brogan wasn't here, either.
She backed out of the room, canceling the spell she'd placed on her ears, and closed the door. Sighing, she moved to the next door, bypassing it and the next – she could recognize the sigil and knew they were not what she wanted. She eventually felt tired; it felt as though she had been walking for ages. Ginny wondered briefly how much time had passed actually. She reached into her pocket and took a swig of Kath's Pepper-Up, making a face as the steam blew out of her ears more steadily than usual. She blinked as her eyes watered; Kath's version of the potion seemed to be more potent than what she was used to. But, after a moment, the sensations passed, and Ginny did feel a bit more energized.
She noticed the further she walked, the older the doors started to look. Ginny took this as a good sign because Aine's cave had been around forever – it was logical to think the door that led to it would be as well. Ginny suddenly got reassurance from Harry through the link and continued on, not stopping until a door called to her. She passed many, but the spaces between each one had started growing.
Finally, after walking for what felt like miles, a roughly-shaped old stone door seemed to beckon to Ginny. She ran her hands over the faded sigil, trying to see if she could figure out what it was. It didn't look like anything she had seen before, and she had no reference point for it. But there was something familiar about it, just the same. Even as her fingers traced over the symbol, she could have sworn she heard the faint laughter of Aine around her. She remembered when she had first seen Aine – the strange symbols drawn on her skin and she recognized the one on the door. Ginny grinned and then tapped the door with her wand, feeling physically and mentally excited, anticipation breaking across her skin. She began to tap the stone door with her wand.
This was it.
Sean smirked to himself as Ginny Weasley moved into the portal she'd created. He'd almost had to do nothing at all to assist her and Potter. While they'd had their eyes closed, he'd added a bit of himself to the mixture of their blood and Waystone essence to help stabilize the portal, and off she had gone. He was actually quite impressed. Not just any witch or wizard, let alone one so young, could open a portal – it took a tremendous amount of magical focus, energy, and alacrity. Most magical folk had one trait, but not the other, and usually not all three together. Ginny apparently had them in spades.
He watched Potter for a bit. The young man was also impressive to Sean, if only because, just like his partner, he was focused and disciplined in such a natural way that he wondered briefly what Potter was like when he was actively trying to do something. Potter had wisely been chosen as the anchor for Weasley to keep her grounded in this time and place, and Sean could sense the power that Potter was siphoning to her through the bracelets.
He wondered briefly what Caley brought to their triumvirate (other than his Empath abilities) and how the three worked together. It would almost be worth it to find out, and he was sure it was something to marvel at in any regard. Perhaps, as it had been in his own trio, Caley acted as the touchstone that harnessed the other two together. He could imagine that when two beings as powerful as Potter and Weasley got together that they would need something between them to calm the nettles, as it were. He had seen it many times in his lifetimes, as though when two magical halves reunited and gave off sparks, there needed to be a third to act as a buffer for it all.
He knew then that the bracelets had chosen their three extremely well this time – it was believed in the lore surrounding their creation that the Master of the Bracelets chose the eye color. And it was true, but only to a certain extent. Sean knew the bracelets had also been forged to seek out the most compatible and most robust set of three souls they could find. Sometimes, it had been three souls not connected to each other, and sometimes it had even been family members, although that was rarer. Because Sean knew his bracelets liked to explore all things with their chosen three, not just power, and whenever a trio that was family used them, certain avenues of exploration could not be achieved. Which made him wonder if Michael had been right from the start – the three of them had already (impossibly) reached true grace, and the bracelets had staked their claim for this millennia.
Of course, none of this mattered – it just made things more tricky. Sean knew the bracelets could still be broken apart and made his again. He had been part of such a joining, himself. In the beginning, their triad had been thought to be wholly unbreakable, and look where that had got him. No, he would be able to get the bracelets back; he was sure of it. It was just a matter of time and power – both of which he had unequivocally.
He glanced at Potter as he moved around him – still invisible— and then entered the portal, taking in a deep breath. He removed the caul around him and then welcomed the bright light as it seemed to pierce him. Oh, but it was nice to be home.
Brogan tucked the shrunken bookshelf into the front pocket of his shirt, remembering Harry's joke about pulling a book out of his arse a little bit too clearly not to be paranoid. He was a bit proud of the transfiguration, he had to admit. The bookshelf was a perfect replica of itself, just 90% smaller. All jokes aside, a part of him did hope it survived the trip, Aine willing.
He looked around the small area that had been his home for the last…well, to him, it felt like almost a whole year. After hearing Aine's gentle voice in his head telling him exactly what to do, he'd harvested all of his fruit and vegetables from the garden. Brogan held back a little in case he got hungry while he waited and then placed the rest of it in front of an apple tree he'd found growing near the large basin of water. The food had magically sunk back down into the earth around the tree, and small flowers had appeared. As the time drew nearer, the rest of his shelter began to fade back into the stones until it was just him and his last cup of coffee, sitting at the small table.
His stomach was a flutter of nerves, but if he concentrated, he could sense Harry and Ginny – clearer now than he had since he'd fallen into the Well. It was marvelous. The idea that this whole thing might actually go off without a hitch was a foreign idea to his 'expect the worst' attitude, but Brogan couldn't help it. He felt nervous, yes, but he felt excited.
Brogan finished his coffee and frowned as it suddenly disappeared. Well, he supposed he wouldn't have another cup after all. He paused as he heard a soft knocking sound – just the faintest noise, calling to him. He stood up, and then the table disappeared, and he knew the time had come. He moved forward through the cave, trying to follow the knocking. He saw a light ahead of him as he moved into a section of the cave that he could have sworn he'd never noticed before. The noise was louder now, and he was drawn to it even as a part of him hesitated. Brogan's head felt odd. It was almost as though he had a headache without actually having one. He frowned. He had just felt fine a moment ago, but now it felt as though there was all this…pressure around him. He stumbled a bit as he moved forward, resting his hand against the wall of the cave. His wrist felt warm, and he looked down to see his bracelet tattoo glowing in response.
He could sense Ginny calling to him, and as he looked forward, he saw a door appear. A large, rough stone door with strange symbols burning through the rock. It was the weirdest thing Brogan had ever seen, and he felt dizzy just looking at it. More intense pressure in his head made him stumble, and he felt different the next time he looked at the door. Where was he? Why wasn't he at the Abbey? Shaking himself, he almost turned – to leave and get away from whatever had made those symbols appear. They were full of power – something ancient and unknown. But something wasn't right. He didn't want to leave. Did he? Why? He was safe where he was. With a sudden burst of clarity, Brogan realized he had absolutely no idea what was going on, and yet something still compelled him to go to the stone door. To open it, perhaps, or even just to touch it and see if it too, felt warm to the touch, like his wrist…
He paused in front of the door as another symbol appeared. This one was sharp and defined – two dark lines, set at an angle and a looping sort of curve moving through them. Brogan felt mesmerized by it and could have sworn he heard his mother's voice for the briefest moment, and then everything went blank as a force propelled him forward, and the door swung open just as he reached it. And all he could see was red – red-red-red -and all he could sense was warmth and relief, and as he took in a deep breath, he could smell the sweet scent of flowers. A scent that he thought he knew, but he couldn't place. His head gave another twinge, and then Brogan lost consciousness, falling down into the dark recesses of his own mind.
Ginny Weasley swore as he collapsed into her, and she barely kept them both upright, falling almost to the floor with his dead weight. She called his name, feeling joy burning through her like wildfire, but Brogan remained unconscious, and she knew she was going to have one hell of a time getting him back through the portal.
All Harry had to do was wait, which was easy enough. But he wasn't doing too good a job of it; he felt nervous and full of excess energy.
He couldn't even pace to walk some of the energy off. The circle Ginny had created around them didn't leave much room for movement. Harry tried to practice the meditation that Brogan had been telling him about on his visits, but he didn't think he was doing very well with that either. He tried to employ the same method he used for Occlumency to close his mind down, but for some reason, he just…couldn't. Perhaps there were some things you just couldn't push away.
Harry watched the portal twirling calmly in front of him, hoping Ginny was all right. His bracelet assured him that she was, but still…Harry worried. Not that he didn't think Ginny wasn't capable, far from it. But Harry knew better than anyone that even the best-laid plans tended to fall apart at the worst possible times. Having both of the people he loved lost inside other dimensions seemed to be one of those times that fate would be more than happy to screw up.
A fair bit of time had passed – but he knew it was probably an even longer amount for Ginny, wherever she was. So he tried to tell himself it was still too soon to start worrying. The portal itself was different than the one they'd seen with Voldemort. It was calmer for one and less frenzied. Smaller, too. It was actually a bit mesmerizing to look at, which Harry knew was one of the issues in creating one, and he realized the potion they'd taken to stay alert was kicking in. He was glad because he could see how someone could get lost in watching the twirling lines…
He flicked his wand at the music player, and Brogan's voice started singing again. Ginny had told him to stay focused on Brogan while she was in the portal. She'd confessed it wasn't because the books had said to do it; she was just going with a gut feeling she had about it. Because of the bracelets, she'd assumed the three of them concentrating on each other could only be a good thing, and Harry agreed.
The bracelet suddenly warmed against his skin – warmer than it had in a long time, and suddenly Harry knew something had happened. He closed his eyes and concentrated, picturing both Ginny and Brogan in his mind. He felt Ginny's emotions quite clearly and sucked in a deep breath. She felt anxious and…hurried. She felt far away still but closer than before, and he could tell they were both getting nearer by the minute. Brogan felt…Harry frowned in confusion. The bracelet was making him aware of the other man, but something felt off.
A low humming filled the cave, and Harry opened his eyes and stood back from the portal, his wand in his hand. A hearty wind swept through the small area outside of where Harry was standing, which made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. It was the oddest sensation to Harry as though a storm was raging around him, and he was in the center of it. Suddenly an almost too-bright burst of light was filling the space, and then Ginny was there, emerging from the portal. She looked wind-swept and a bit peaky – practically as white as a ghost on their Death Day. She opened her mouth and spoke, but Harry couldn't hear her as the humming around him intensified. Ginny held her hand out and appeared to be pulling something behind her. She had told Harry not to break the circle until she was through the portal, but he could tell she needed him.
Harry reached out and grabbed Ginny's hand with his and almost pulled it away just as quickly. The bracelets felt as though they were scorching hot between them. Ginny's eyes watered from the sensation as she clutched at Harry, and he got the sense the heat was somewhat more intense for her. He tugged to pull her forward, and she felt as though she was stuck, half in front of him and half within the portal. Grounding himself, Harry moved forward and left the protected space, determined to get Ginny on the right side of the portal.
The humming crescendoed to an almost riotous peak, and then with a full-body jerk, Harry pulled Ginny through. She collided into him with all of her weight, and Harry let out a soft 'oof' in surprise as he fell back. He suddenly realized why she had felt so heavy — she been half-pulling, half-floating Brogan behind her, who was apparently unconscious and unable to stand on his own.
"What's happened?" Harry asked as he and Ginny disentangled themselves. He took a deep breath, feeling shaky from the impact.
"He passed out right when the door opened! Magic works a bit differently in the portal, and I couldn't really get him to float right, so I was dragging him, and I almost led us to the wrong door and shite! I have to close this thing! The Waystone, Harry!"
He moved quickly out of instinct and held the large crag of Waystone for her. Ginny tapped her wand against it and then did a wand movement around them – speaking an incantation that sounded strange to Harry's ears. The portal shimmied in front of them, and he thought for a moment that she had failed, that it wasn't going to close properly. But then the humming noise ceased with a small pop of noise, and Harry watched as some sort of energy or essence flew out from the Waystone and then attached itself to the portal, like a smoky gauze over it. The portal closed as another exceedingly bright light flooded the area, and he had to close his eyes, seeing dark spots behind his lids as he did so.
He heard a whimper and opened his eyes to see Ginny collapsing next to him. Harry dropped the Waystone, which was now a dull grey color, and went to her.
"Gin? Ginny? What's wrong?"
"Just…so tired…Harry, just…let me…check Brogan for me," she mumbled, and then she was out cold.
Harry stared at her, anxiety coursing through him, but he noted she was breathing normally, and nothing appeared wrong – she was just knackered from closing the portal, apparently. She had warned him this might happen. He turned to Brogan to see what was wrong with him, wondering why he'd passed out before he'd even made it to their time.
Harry checked the other man's pulse, which was steady, thankfully, and he placed a hand on Brogan's forehead. He wasn't sure why – Harry felt utterly out of his depth here – but he was pleased to find that he didn't feel heated or feverish.
"Well, this is just brilliant," Harry mumbled and rechecked Ginny. He remembered the Pepper-Up potion she'd tucked into her robe pocket and searched for it. He hesitated a moment and then shrugged, not knowing what else he could do. He could attempt to Enervate both of them, of course, but spending time with Avery had taught him that if a person's magical reserves were low, that the spell could do more harm than good. Using his wand, he made Ginny take the potion while unconscious. He reckoned it would do some good at least, even if it didn't bring her 'round.
After a moment, Harry felt foolish – Ginny remained unconscious, but then suddenly she moaned, moving her head as steam began to bellow out of it. Harry helped her into a sitting position as she coughed and wiped at her eyes.
"How do you feel?"
"Like you just forced me to take Pepper-up," Ginny said, gasping. She blinked at him and then shook herself. "But thank you. I think it helped. Kath makes a potent brew. How is he?"
Harry turned to look at Brogan's prone form. "Still out, and I wasn't sure what to do for him."
Ginny struggled to stand up, and Harry had to help her. He frowned as she swayed on her feet for a moment.
"Are you sure you're all right?"
She met his eyes and nodded. "Yeah, just…you know when you fall off your broom and feel as though all the air and energy has been knocked out of you?"
Harry nodded. Unfortunately, he more than understood how that felt.
"It's like that except ten times stronger. But it's fading, I think." Ginny frowned and scratched at her wrist absentmindedly. Harry suddenly got an idea.
"Here, hold my hand for a moment." He held out his hand to her, and she took it. He concentrated on sending her a bit of magic through the link. After a little while, Ginny sighed and let go of his hand. Her eyes were bright, and she looked less wobbly as she moved around.
"Thanks, love. Now let's see if we can wake up sleeping beauty over here."
They approached Brogan and Ginny used her wand to transform one of the stones on the ground into a pillow for his head. Harry watched as she studied their lover, her brow furrowed. Ginny glanced up at him.
"I don't know why he's…out of it. None of the books mentioned anything about this. He should have been able to leave the portal of his own…will."
"Should we try waking him with a spell or…something else?"
Ginny sat back on her haunches and shrugged. "Honestly, I haven't a clue. Can you try waking him with the bracelet?"
Harry nodded and took hold of Brogan's hand. It felt warm to the touch, and Harry had to stop a moment to gather his thoughts. They had succeeded! Brogan was back! Whatever else happened this day, Harry knew nothing would be able to eclipse the joy that was within his heart at this moment. Ginny rested her hand on top of theirs and smiled at him as though she understood. Or perhaps she had just sensed it.
Harry closed his eyes and tried to get a sense of Brogan with the bracelet – it was immediate this time, but still, something felt off to Harry, and he had no idea what it was. He reached out with his magic, to perhaps nudge the other man awake that way when suddenly Brogan's hand twitched in his. Harry opened his eyes and looked down as Brogan made a painful sort of groan, slowly moving his head. Ginny squeezed his hand, her relief apparent on her face.
They watched as Brogan finally opened his eyes, blinking rapidly as though it was too bright in the cave. He coughed and then groaned again.
Ginny reached out and gently pushed his fringe off of his forehead, letting her hand linger. "Brogan, it's okay. We did it. You're home."
"Leave it to you to do the hard part lying down," Harry quipped affectionately.
Brogan stared at Harry and then Ginny, looking utterly lost. He finally brought his eyes back to Harry's and frowned down at his hand, which Harry belatedly realized he was still holding. Harry squeezed it in reassurance, which only caused Brogan's frown to deepen. He cleared his throat as he looked between them again.
"I'm sorry, but who exactly are the two of you? And where am I?"
o-o-o-o-o
