Crossroads 25: Cruel Trick
Through the smoldering parts of the building still standing and the smoking, broken chunks of concrete continuing to crumble, somehow Harry found Ginny. The bracelets were handy for this – although Harry would later think that not finding her had never been an option. There was a quick warmth that progressed from his bracelet through the rest of him, and Harry was drawn to where he soon found her. She'd been thrown clear, miraculously, from most of the destruction, but he could tell she'd been hurt because she was out cold. There were scratches on her face and bruises already appearing on her pale, freckled skin. The lift that'd she'd been in must have continued on a downwards trajectory. It lay beneath them, a tangled mess of bars and charred remains and it scared Harry down to his toes to think of her having been caught in that.
"Gin, Gin, Gin," he murmured kneeling down. Everything in his world came down to this – there were no other sounds, smells, or sights – indeed, he could have been in the middle of a rainstorm and not have noticed. As soon as he touched her, Ginny took in a deep breath and he felt shocked to realize she hadn't even been breathing. Closing his eyes and not knowing what he was doing, Harry tried to reach out and see what he could do to heal her. He let the bracelet power flow through him – both his own magical ability, with a bit of Brogan's, who responded immediately through the link. Harry tried to reassure the other man knowing that he had left him rather suddenly. Their link intensified as they both focused on Ginny. He saw her body in front of him, much like how he'd seen Hogwarts or the flat – she was not mapped out like a grid, of course, but he saw pinpoints light up along her central nervous system, indicating various parts of her inner anatomy.
There was something internally wrong with her, but since Harry lacked the knowledge, he couldn't tell what exactly. Her head and upper body appeared fine in his mind's eye, but along her back and down towards her right leg, there was a high concentration of pulsing redness – or at least, that was how it looked to him. He assumed that couldn't be a good thing and tried to see if he could figure out what to do. He found that by touching her, he could make the red areas start to fade a bit. A twisted sort of spiral curled around her bottom half, but at least it was less intense than before. Harry knew he needed a healer, but he also needed to make sure he could move her first.
Ginny coughed and then moaned, and Harry opened his eyes, happy she'd regained consciousness without magic. She blinked up at him, confused, and then her facial expression changed to pain as she groaned.
"Harry? Oh, fuck, oh my Gods, why do I hurt absolutely everywhere? What happened?" Ginny half-sobbed and Harry comforted her.
"Do you think you can move, Gin?" Harry asked.
She lifted her hand and tried to sit up and then collapsed back again, moaning in pain. Her eyes were filling with tears from the small effort.
"My back hurts," she said, wincing. "Actually, all of me hurts. I feel like I fell off my broom from a great distance. Like the moon."
"Well, close. You were in the lift when a bomb went off," Harry said, checking her over with his hands, to make sure she wasn't bleeding anywhere he hadn't seen. Other than the superficial cuts and scrapes, she seemed okay, from the outside. He was just going to have to use his magic to levitate her and hopefully, not make the damage any worse.
"What did you say? A bomb? Are you okay? How's Brogan? Where is Brogan?" Ginny asked, sounding panicked as she looked around.
Harry touched her, trying to calm her. He hoped Brogan's magical empathy would do its trick via the link.
"Brogan's fine. He got a nasty clunk on the head from being blown backward, but he was upright when I left him and I can sense him strongly through the link. I'm fine, nothing hit me. I'm going to try to lift you magically, okay?"
For the first time since finding Ginny, Harry looked around to get his bearings and the world came back to him at an alarming rate. They weren't exactly on the Ministry floor – but about halfway down. She'd landed on some sort of ledge built into the wall, perhaps a maintenance area for the lift. He could now hear sirens and noises and the muffled sounds of people shouting and crying. The walls around them were…crackling with the stress, that was the only way he could describe it. As with Hogwarts, Harry just sensed that the building was deeply damaged and was holding it together the best it could. But he knew he couldn't help with that or anything else until he took care of Ginny. His bracelet warmed against his skin, urging him to act quickly as though knowing something he didn't.
"Was anyone in the lift with you?"
Ginny shook her head. "No, thank Merlin."
"All right, brace yourself for moving," Harry said as he scooted back. Not trusting his wandless magic completely, he used his wand and slowly raised her. She cried as the pain hit her and it was the worst sound in the world to Harry – hearing Ginny cry in anguish. He immediately used the bracelet to cast a powerful numbing spell to ease a bit of the pain for her, wanting to spare her if he could. Her face was bright red with effort and he knew she was trying not to cry out again. Harry wanted to chastise her for trying to be so brave but bit his tongue. He could always yell at her later. She gave him a grateful look as the numbing spell took hold.
"Thanks, that's a lot better. Reckon this means I need Mungo's?" Ginny gave him a half-grimace, half-smile sort of look.
"I just want to get you out of here before anything collapses on us. That's my main plan."
Ginny nodded as he made her turn upright so he could hold her to Apparate them both away. As if proving Harry's point, the area they were standing in started to break up and a low rumble was building around them, within the walls. They looked at each other, thinking the same thing. They needed to move. Now.
"I approve of this plan," Ginny said, wrapping her hand around his neck as she settled in his arms. He didn't like her color – her face had just been red with exertion and now she was back to looking extremely pale again. Harry also didn't like the way she was breathing and he knew they needed a healer as soon as possible.
He thought of Avery and hoped she hadn't been alerted to the explosion yet and was still at Solace's. He tried to send his idea to Brogan through the link, hoping the other man understood and would meet them there.
Focusing on the door to the flat in his mind, Harry Apparated them away just as a piece of concrete above them fell right where they'd been standing. The rest of the area collapsed soon after, leaving the ledge where he'd found her buried under tons of cement and dirt. The building had held on as long as it could.
o-o-o-o-o
Brogan could sense that Harry had taken Ginny to his father's flat. Unfortunately, he did not think he should Apparate with the bump to his head. After one of the quick responding EMTs had stopped the bleeding and patched him up, Brogan started walking because he didn't have any Muggle money on him to either catch a bus, use the underground or take a cab. He toyed with going to The Leaky Cauldron and trying the floo, but no doubt the place would be full of people due to the explosion. Word was spreading that it had been the Muggle entrance that had suffered, and while he'd already spotted a few wizards and witches liaison-ing with the London police, he didn't want to get stopped and questioned at the moment. He couldn't think of anything else until he knew Ginny (and Harry) were all right. The link was telling him Harry was fine, but he knew he would worry until he could see them both with his own eyes.
Brogan knew he must look a bit dodgy because the further away from the explosion he ventured, the more odd looks he received. Stepping in between two buildings, he quickly cast a charm to hide his injuries from any passerby and quickly cleaned off the blood from his shirt and arms. Figures, the one day he hadn't worn his usual black tee-shirt and he'd managed to get blown up and bloodied. Brilliant.
He finally made it to the flat and he rested a moment. He felt a bit dizzy and figured the hit to his head was worse than he'd assumed and he was glad he hadn't opted to Apparate. Getting splinched on top of everything else would not help anything. He let himself into the foyer and tried to sense where Harry and Ginny were and then made for the first-floor bedroom.
Brogan found Avery casting quick diagnostic charms over Ginny on the bed, her wand moving almost faster than Brogan could follow. Harry was standing off to the side, looking a bit worse for wear. As soon as Brogan opened the door, the other man turned and came to him, relief flooding his features. Before he could even move, Harry was there, pulling him in for a firm hug.
"I am so sorry I left you, but the bracelets were telling me to get to her quickly."
Brogan nodded that he understood. He looked at the bed. "How is she?" he asked softly.
"I don't know. I…I didn't want to move her but where I found her wasn't safe. Merlin, I hope I didn't make things worse."
Harry had a haunted look to him, so Brogan figured things were serious. He reached down and held the other man's hand, squeezing it in comfort. Harry gave him a grateful look and squeezed back and they moved closer to the bed.
"Avery had to knock her out to do something to her back, to heal an internal injury…she's still asleep," Harry whispered. "Gods, I'm glad Avery was still here when I Apparated us in."
"So she did wake up, at least?" Brogan asked. That had to be a good sign, right? Harry nodded.
They waited silently together. Brogan tried to keep himself calm, for Harry's sake. But he had to admit, Ginny did not look good to his eyes. She was deathly pale and the main diagnostic charm Avery had cast had far too much red in it to be good. He honestly couldn't believe Ginny didn't look worse on the outside. He prayed – to Merlin? to God? – that she would be all right. He didn't want to think about his life without her in it.
Harry took a deep breath, his eyes never leaving the bed. Brogan knew the other man was torn up inside, even without his empathic connection. Admittedly, it was hard to reconcile the idea of Ginny being hurt – she was so strong – both in mind and spirit and to see her weakened, it struck and it hurt. It also threw off his equilibrium. Brogan suddenly remembered with sharp clarity how she had looked after her miscarriage, and felt as though someone had punched him in the stomach. He had not forgotten that the miscarriage had happened, but he had also not thought about it since he'd regained his memory. To protect himself from feeling overwhelmed, Brogan used his Occulmency to shelve the memory, not wanting to deal with it at just this moment.
A noise behind them had them turning, and Brogan's father entered the room. He had two glasses of whiskey with him. He nodded at Brogan and handed Harry the first glass.
"I brought this for me, but you look like you need it instead, son," Solace said, handing him the other drink. Solace's eyes traced over Brogan's face, frowning. Brogan realized he still had his charm in place to hide his injury. He pursed his lips at his father; somehow Solace had known. He used his wand on himself and braced himself for his father's attention.
Harry threw back the alcohol in his glass with an uncharacteristic speed and then shook his head, making a face. Brogan did much the same and released a low breath as the potent strength of the whiskey hit his system.
"You're hurt! How are you feeling?" Solace asked him, frowning. "You have Avery look at that injury next."
"It's fine. It doesn't even hurt anymore," Brogan said, lying. Solace didn't say anything. Harry glanced at Brogan's bandage, frowning. He then looked at Solace.
"He was bleeding pretty badly when I first found him, so this is an improvement," Harry offered. Brogan wanted to swear but bit his tongue.
"Brogan, sit down. Now," Solace ordered, pushing him towards the nearest chair.
"Da, I'm fine. An EMT looked at me. What are you going to do? Inspect their bandaging technique?"
Avery tsked at them from her place by the bed as she glanced at them. "If you two are going to fight, take it outside. I need to focus here."
There wasn't much more Avery could have said to shut both men up. Brogan bit his lip to keep from sighing as Solace firmly rested his hand on Brogan's shoulder. Harry looked mildly apologetic for contributing to Brogan's discomfort, but he turned back to watch Avery. Brogan did the same and soon he could tell she was finishing as her wand stopped moving at lightning speeds. She finally cast one final diagnostic spell at Ginny and Brogan was happy to see that most of the red areas had either disappeared or lessened in intensity. But he frowned when he realized her back was still a deep and angry-looking red.
"I need some potions to start her on," Avery said, turning to Harry. "I know Sol said he kept most of the ones Kath made before the end of the war." The healer reached into her robe and supplied a piece of parchment. She cast her wand at it as writing appeared and then handed it to Harry. "As many of these as you can get. We'll have to contact Mungo's for a few of the specialized ones."
His father moved towards Harry. "Come, Harry, I'll show where I've been keeping them. Avery, if you would? Turn that able wand of yours on this stubborn sod."
Brogan knew better than to say anything and merely watched Harry and his father leave. He turned toward Avery as she started looking at his bandage.
"How's Ginny?"
Avery paused and then sighed. "She's been better. I healed most of what I could. Thankfully, she's healthy and she's young. But the injury to her spinal cord…it's not good, Brogan. I can't lie to you, especially since you'd be able to sense if I was."
Brogan took in a deep breath. "What…what do you mean it's not good, is she…."
"Let's wait until Harry gets back," Avery said gently. She cast a charm at his head and tsked. "What is it with you and head injuries? I'm going to suggest you carry a helmet with you, wherever you go."
She cast something at him that made the pressure in his head go away and he smiled at her gratefully. She removed the bandage and then felt around the bump, watching him for signs of sensitivity. He didn't feel it too much and she nodded to herself. Avery cast another spell and Brogan could tell the bump was gone. He gingerly touched the side of his head and then relaxed as his touch confirmed it.
"Thanks," he said.
"Do you know if Ginny's parents are nearby? I think you and Harry are going to want to talk to them," Avery said, turning back to her other patient. "I should probably go to Mungo's as soon as we're done here. They probably need the help."
"I don't know how many other people were affected inside the Ministry," Brogan said. "Neither I nor Harry stuck around to check. We were both worried about Ginny."
"Well, it is good that he got her to me as soon as he did, I will say that. It probably saved her life."
Solace and Harry returned, carrying many different bottles. Avery had them put them on the table next to the bed. She didn't wake Ginny up to give her the first few and Harry glanced at him, looking worried. Avery finally turned to them, and after gazing at them for a moment, started moving them out of the room.
"Come on, boys, let's have a chat."
They made their way to the kitchen, where Solace poured them each a cup of coffee. Brogan immediately wrapped his hands around his cup out of habit, trying to fight the dread moving through him. He sat very close to Harry and then rested his hand on his leg, thinking they would need to both be strong for this one.
"I've healed most of the internal injuries," Avery said, sitting down across from them. "She had quite a few things going on, which is consistent with being thrown and hitting something hard. But with a few blood replenishing potions and lots of rest, she shouldn't suffer too much pain from it. That's the good news."
"What's the bad?" Harry asked, going very still next to him. Brogan grabbed his hand.
Avery gave them a frank look, which Brogan realized was not a good thing from a healer.
"Ginny suffered trauma to her back. Specifically her lower back. I'm sure you noticed when I cast the diagnostic charm. I've cast the best spells I know, but when I wake her, if…." Avery paused, and took a drink of her coffee, as though to fortify herself. Brogan realized her hand was shaking and felt his stomach do somersaults.
"Just tell us, Avery," Harry said, his voice remarkably firm, despite how nervous Brogan could tell he was. "Don't try to soften the blow."
Avery gazed at Harry and then seemed to come to some sort of decision.
"I don't know if she'll be able to walk," Avery said, her mouth turning down. His father put a hand on Avery's shoulder and she gave him a brief look of gratitude. When she didn't continue, Brogan frowned, not understanding.
"What? Like, for a little while, or…." Brogan finally asked as Harry looked away.
"She might be paralyzed for the rest of her life," Avery said, voice soft. "But there's no reason to think this will be the case. She's young, and her body is still…well, she's young enough where something like this doesn't have to be the end-all, be-all of diagnoses. There is still a healthy chance that this will be temporary. Her body could decide to heal itself, I've seen it happen more times than you'd think. I think it's because we're magical beings, to be honest. I've never seen a non-magical body do it."
Avery let her words sink in and then continued.
"Right now, it's almost as though she's resisting a few of the stronger spells I've cast. I don't know why, unless…." Avery gazed at Harry, thoughtful. "Tell me again what you did when you found her."
"I didn't try to wake her, she did that on her own, but when I realized I would have to move her because the walls were falling around us…I cast a numbing spell to help her or otherwise she wouldn't have been able to withstand it. She was in a great deal of pain." Harry frowned in remembering. He glanced up at Avery. "Was that the wrong thing to do?"
Avery looked pensive as she considered this information. "I don't know yet. It could be why my spells aren't working, or…the injury is just that bad. I want to let her rest a bit longer before I wake her and talk to her. The blood-replenishing potions will make her groggy, anyway. She's stable right now, and I don't think we should move her until we know more. I'm going to check in at Mungo's, but I will be back later. But don't wake her, let her sleep it off. She's had a lot of magic thrust at her system and right now her body needs to start its healing process. And I would contact her family in the next few hours. She's going to need their strength."
Avery gave them kind looks and then glanced at his father and nodded at him. The couple left the kitchen and Brogan felt as though every color in the world had just, somehow, been erased or removed. He felt a pit of despair growing in his stomach. It couldn't be. Ginny couldn't be…they were magical, damn it. They had magical healing spells, potions, everything in their world at their disposal. How could this even be happening?
Brogan was so lost in his own anguish and disbelief that he didn't notice until too late that Harry had removed his hand from his and had closed it into a fist on the table. A loud sort of drumming noise had begun and a rush of magic entered the kitchen and rattled everything, including their discarded coffee cups. Brogan touched Harry on the shoulder and the rattling stopped, but the room still felt electrified with unused power.
"No, don't. It won't help her if you lose it," he said, trying to soothe him. "Let it evaporate. Just let it go, Harry. Look at me."
Harry stubbornly shook his head and turned away as though ashamed, but the air in the kitchen seemed to eventually go back to normal. Brogan sighed as he squeezed Harry's shoulder. He pulled the other man into his embrace and swallowed roughly. He knew he would have to take his own advice and let his anxiety go or he would never be able to help Harry. Or Ginny. He eventually felt Harry's body relax and he was soon taking even breaths and he knew the other man was practicing some Occlumency as well. He gently rubbed Harry's back, wishing he had soothing words to say, but his mind was too numb to function. Brogan knew his touch alone would have to do the trick.
His father stuck his head in the kitchen door, a question on his face. Solace had probably guessed what had happened. Brogan just nodded at him to give them some time.
"Do you want me to contact the Weasleys for you?" Solace asked softly.
"No, I'll do it," Harry said, lifting his head from Brogan's shoulder. "It should be me."
"It should be the both of us," Brogan said, linking his hand with Harry's. Their Claddagh rings seemed to shine even brighter in his eyes. Harry met his look and nodded.
"Yes. You're right. Solace, can we use your floo?"
"Of course, Harry. Use the one in the study. I'll start making more tea and coffee. I'm sure this place will soon be filled with the ginger horde."
They got up and made their way to his father's study. Brogan didn't let go of Harry, wanting to keep him calm. He stopped them before they entered the room.
"You can have my strength, Harry," Brogan said softly. "If you start to feel…I don't know, upset, angry whatever, just squeeze my hand. I'll take as much as I can. Don't even worry about it."
Harry gave him an odd look, his eyes searching his. "You don't have to do that. You're allowed to feel too, Brogan. Don't take all of my feelings and forget about your own. We should be here for each other as well as Ginny. Yeah?"
Brogan knew he was right, but still…offering a calm spot in the middle of a storm was sort of his thing and he knew it was the best he could offer the other man. Maybe the only thing. As if sensing his thoughts, Harry frowned and then pulled Brogan closer, wrapping his arms around him.
"Don't do that brave face bollocks and try to keep yourself all calm and steady just for me. I'm here for you, too, you know. In front of Ginny, we have to be strong, but…." Harry pulled back and touched his face. "With each other, we should…be able to feel whatever the fuck we want. Good or bad."
Brogan couldn't help the smirk that broke out across his face at the sound in Harry's voice. He knew an order when he heard it. He nodded his head slowly. "Aye, Commander Potter, sir."
Harry kissed him, briefly, and sighed as they rested their heads together. "Ready?"
"Aye, let's get them all here as soon as we can. She'll need them. Merlin's pants, I'm glad she made up with her father before this."
Harry nodded but looked as if that had not crossed his mind. "Bloody hell, you're right. Oh, God, this is just another thing I've fucked up, isn't it? I promised to keep her safe."
"Stop it," Brogan said, resting his hand on Harry's arm. "Put that thought out of your mind. Someone else did this, not you. You told me to stop the brave face bollocks? Well, you stop the "I'm Harry Potter and responsible for every bad thing in the world" bollocks. Okay?"
Harry looked as though he wasn't listening, and Brogan was almost tempted to slap him to wake him out of his stupor. He could see the dark thoughts racing across his lover's face and he knew Harry was blaming himself in ways Brogan couldn't even comprehend. But Harry's eyes eventually focused on his again and he nodded.
"I refuse to take the blame for Snape," Harry said softly.
Brogan frowned. "Erm, sorry? What does Snape have to do with this?"
"You said I'm responsible for all the bad things in the world, which admittedly, I do often feel like that, but I draw the line at being responsible for the existence of Snape. That's his parents' fault."
Brogan chuckled and they broke apart, the tension easing a bit. He opened the door to the study. "Come on, you, let's get this over with. Mrs Weasley first?"
Harry nodded and he looked a bit cheered, to Brogan and he was glad. He had a feeling they were going to all need their humor in the days to come.
o-o-o-o-o
As Solace predicted, the flat was soon filled with Weasleys. It was amazing how quickly and efficiently Molly could work, Harry reflected. Ron and Hermione were the first to arrive, having already heard about the explosion because they'd been at home on a rare morning off for both of them. Next came Bill and Fleur, then Fred, who had closed the shop. Molly had even contacted George and Kath and the other couple was due to arrive later in the day. Ironically, it was Mr Weasley that was the hardest to find, in the end, since he'd been at the Ministry. It was chaos and bedlam there now and even though a part of Harry felt bad for not sticking around to help out, he knew that getting Ginny proper care had been the most important thing. Indeed to Harry, it had been the only thing, and a part of him reflected that perhaps he had finally let go of his 'saving people' issue, at least a little bit.
With Mr Weasley finally arriving (joined by Percy) everyone was finally all gathered together and Brogan and he began their story. When they reached the part about Harry finding her in the chamber for the lift, Molly had started weeping. Harry realized that all the Weasleys sort of had a glassy, shocked look to them and he stumbled over his words. Brogan, who was sitting next to him, reached out and squeezed his hand and Harry felt braver, suddenly. He gave the other man a thankful glance. Harry hadn't anticipated how hard it would be to tell his adopted family about how they'd all almost lost Ginny today.
"So Avery has looked at her and healed her, right?" Bill finally asked, looking around.
"Erm, well, there's more," Harry said, mouth going dry. He looked around and then down at his feet. He felt a gentle nudge from Brogan through the link and steeled himself. He lifted his head and met their eyes; they were all staring at him with various looks of concern.
"Avery…she healed her the best she could but…Ginny had a lot of internal injuries. And, er, I may have inadvertently done something that has slowed the process. Um, the healing process." Harry paused and took a deep breath. "When I realized I had to move her to get her out of there, I cast a numbing spell to help with the pain. I…I did it because she…her back really hurt and erm, anyway, Avery thinks it may have done something to…." Harry paused as his words left him. How could he tell them this? That their able-bodied, fierce, and strong daughter and sister might be paralyzed because he had simply tried to ease her agony?
"You did what any man in love would have done, Harry," Mr Weasley said quietly. "You helped her with the pain. And you saved her life."
Harry nodded and gazed at Mr Weasley, knowing that the patriarch understood. He saw the confusion on one or two faces and knew he had to continue.
"The damage to her back was quite severe and erm, Avery doesn't know…she doesn't know if Ginny is going to be able to walk again. She…she could be paralyzed. Permanently. We won't know until she wakes up and can tell us how she feels. Or even if she can feel anything."
The words felt like dry parchment in his mouth. He felt a burst of soothing emotions from Brogan, and while they helped, Harry wasn't sure anything could ever make this feeling go away. Not until they knew for sure.
Molly sniffed into her handkerchief and Mr Weasley put his arm around his wife. Hermione caught Harry's eye and gave him a look of support, which he was grateful for. Harry made himself look at each Weasley brother, trying not to flinch at what he perceived as blame in the eyes of some of them. The meeting eventually broke up, after Bill and Percy, surprisingly, asked a few more questions. Harry released a slow breath as everyone started for the kitchen to get tea and coffee, or maybe something even stronger from Solace's whiskey cabinet. Ron came to him and hugged him, which startled Harry at first, and he didn't know what to do but awkwardly hug him back. Ron gave him a sheepish look.
"You look like you needed one. You did what you had to do, Harry. She's alive, yeah? All that matters."
"Yes, Harry," Hermione said, joining them and throwing her arms around him. "I'm so proud of you."
"Why? I did nothing but make things worse," Harry muttered. He felt Brogan's hand on his back but resisted his calming touch. Hermione opened her mouth to argue with Harry, most likely, but Brogan must have shaken his head because in the end she simply gave him a watery smile and they left eventually, too. Harry wondered when Avery would make it back to the flat. He just wanted to see Ginny awake again and talking and…he hung his head and squeezed his eyes shut. Brogan cleared his throat and then Harry felt himself being hugged again. But this was a much more intimate touch, and Harry finally met his lover's eyes, seeing a mirror of his own frustration and despair.
"Let's go sit with her. I don't think anyone would have a problem with that. We'll wait for Avery to return," Brogan said gently.
Harry nodded and they made their way to Ginny's room. Brogan conjured up two comfortable chairs for them, moving them close to Ginny's bed. Harry watched her – the gentle intake of her breathing was almost mesmerizing to him. She looked less pale. At least, he thought she did, and that had to be good, right? He reached out and took her hand, squeezing it, but she remained asleep. Brogan sat next to him, silent yet strong, and neither of them spoke, which was good because Harry thought his time for words had come and gone. And their vigil began.
o-o-o-o-o
Avery finally made it back to the flat later that evening and Harry was eager for her to try and wake Ginny, but one look at the healer and he knew she needed to eat and rest first. No fatalities had occurred after the bomb went off, but there were plenty of people injured and Mungo's had been a bit hectic. Bill had joined Brogan and Harry in their bedside vigil, but he had finally had to return to finish up at work before the day was over. Fred and Ron had also kept them company but then had gone back to the shop – not to reopen, but to do inventory and Harry knew it was merely because both Weasley brothers needed something to do rather than sit and wait.
Remus and Tonks had also stopped by, but had been in between helping with the investigation, and had left after a short bite to eat and making sure that Harry and Brogan were 'holding up'. Harry made Remus promise not to tell Kingsley about Ginny's involvement yet, knowing that they didn't need Ministry officials asking questions to add to their worries. So far, the explosion had been just like the others and they hadn't found the Muggle device yet. Thankfully, the press conference had been held inside the Ministry proper and no one involved in it had been hurt.
Mrs Weasley, of course, was checking in on them and forcing cups of tea and coffee (and sometimes food) into their hands every hour on the hour. Harry didn't even notice it anymore and simply drank and ate what was handed to him. Solace was busy making sure everyone had a room to sleep in – he'd invited the entire family to stay, in case there was any change in Ginny's condition. About halfway through the evening, Harry had remembered Roisin and Hedwig and Hermione had offered to take care of the kitten and make sure his owl was okay. Not that Harry thought she wouldn't be, but he felt better knowing someone was at least getting the post and possibly giving Hedwig a few treats.
"How are you boys holding up?" Avery said as she entered the room. She locked the door behind her and smiled at them. "Thanks for letting me get some food into me, I've been running all day."
"Is it bad? At the hospital?" Brogan asked as he and Harry stood, pushing their chairs out of the way.
"It's under control. It was nothing like the one in Diagon Alley," Avery said. "Everyone is considering it to be a very lucky thing."
Harry swallowed roughly and didn't say anything. In his opinion, nothing since this morning had felt 'lucky' at all, but then he chastised himself for thinking so negatively. No one had lost their life and that was a good thing, regardless of anything else.
Avery turned to Harry, a speculative look on her face. "You know, Harry, I've been thinking about those bracelets of yours. I remembered how they helped you when Brogan was attacked. I was wondering how you felt about trying that again now?"
Harry frowned as he looked at his wrist. After his initial attempt to help Ginny, he hadn't thought of using them. He also knew that half of whatever they had done with Brogan had been because Ginny had been helping him that time – she'd instinctually known what to do. He gazed at Brogan.
"What do you think?"
Brogan looked at his wrist and seemed to consider it. "I say we should at least try. Do you remember what you did when you healed me?"
Harry shook his head. "Not really. Ginny and I sort of worked on gut-feeling that time."
"I can help with that," Avery said, smiling. "I know a bit about channeling magical power into another body. It's not a mainstream practice; we rely on spells, potions, and charms to heal mostly, but I've read a few fascinating stories from Eastern healers that take a more holistic approach. Now, you said earlier that you used the bracelet to help you cast the numbing spell on her?"
Harry nodded. "And the bracelet let me see where she was hurt the most, sort of like that charm you used. Her whole body lit up for me when I closed my eyes."
Avery looked pleased. "Interesting. But we'll talk about that later. Now, I want you to try to use the bracelet to pull some of that magic back to you. Not to cast, only to take away. Hold your hands out, like this, over her."
Avery showed him what to do and Harry stepped up to the bed. Ginny looked so peaceful sleeping that he almost didn't want to disturb her. A warming sensation along his arm made him realize Brogan had joined him. The other man nodded at him as he offered him his hand.
"Use my magic if you need to."
Harry held their hands over Ginny's form and closed his eyes. As before, he could see the outline of her body, with points of light at important areas throughout. Almost all of the pulsing red was gone – he could see Avery had done a very good job of healing her. The only scarlet point was her back and her right leg. But around the red areas, there was a bright, almost blazingly white outline. Harry assumed this was his numbing spell, still doing its trick. The red along Ginny's back was still a nasty sort of shade and it just looked painful. It felt odd to pull away from Ginny, instead of casting out, and at first, he just stood there, feeling stumped. But then almost as though it knew what needed to be done, the bracelet warmed against his skin and he felt…something come back to him. He frowned as he stared at the white outlines…were they less bright now?
"Well?" Avery asked, breaking his concentration. Harry opened his eyes and frowned. He felt utterly knackered suddenly. Whatever the bracelets had been doing, drained him more than he'd thought possible. But then he remembered that the bracelets were not meant to pull back but to push out – as the Master, he took power from Brogan and Ginny. They fortified him. It was not supposed to work the other way. Harry stumbled back and sat down, feeling done in.
Brogan kneeled and offered him his hand again, nodding at him. Harry allowed their link to reinforce him, but only just. He did not want to take too much from the other man. It wouldn't do for them both to be magically drained.
"Did you feel anything come back to you?" Avery asked.
"Yeah, but…it's extremely draining, whatever it was I was doing. The bracelets…they're not supposed to give power to the other two wearers. It's not a two-way street, unfortunately. I…." Harry paused and shook himself. "I think I might be able to pull the magic of the spell back to me, but not like this. I'm too…too exhausted. It's been a long day."
Avery nodded. "I had a feeling you might say that. I know I said I was going to wake her up tonight, but l think I'm going to let her sleep it off. She needs another blood-replenishing potion, most likely, and it'll just make her tired again. Why don't you get to bed early tonight and in the morning, eat a big breakfast, and then we'll attempt to wake her and try it again when you're both more rested."
Harry agreed and Avery started focusing on getting the potions into Ginny and they left the room. Brogan stopped him on the stair.
"Look, go up to our old bedroom and get comfortable. I'll tell everyone what's going on. You really do look exhausted, Harry. I'm afraid if you go down these steps you might not make it back up and just sleep where you fall."
Harry nodded, not even arguing, which he knew just worried Brogan all the more. But he headed upstairs to the third floor and somehow made it without collapsing. Solace had done away with the other beds that used to sit in the room and there was just one large one in the middle, filled with soft pillows. Harry got undressed, going through the motions without paying attention. He stripped down without thinking about it and got under the covers on the bed, staring at the canopy over his head. He tried to sense Ginny through the link and was surprised when he could feel her. She felt…well, she felt at peace. Resting. He frowned as he thought of his numbing spell being the problem. He didn't want to hope that was all it was, but every part of him prayed that she wouldn't be paralyzed or unable to walk.
He heard the door click open and saw Brogan enter through the half-light of the room. Brogan used his wand on the door, locking it. He sat on the edge of the bed and gently touched Harry.
"Mr and Mrs Weasley are going to sit up with Ginny. Mrs Weasley said she doesn't want to see you down there until dawn breaks, or she'll remind you of how fierce she can be with a wand," Brogan said with a half-smile.
Harry nodded, remaining silent. Brogan frowned but didn't say anything and he quickly got undressed, as well. He kept his pants on, though, and was soon settling in next to him. Harry didn't care about how unmanly it may make him, but he needed human contact and pulled Brogan to him, entangling their legs together. Brogan kissed his forehead and then made him turn around until he spooning against him. Harry sighed, the warmth of the other man's body heat was soothing. They didn't say anything and Harry, even though he was tired, could only keep thinking his thoughts – his worries and anxieties racing around in his head because they had no place to go.
"I never knew you liked being the little spoon so much," Brogan teased, breaking the silence and Harry snorted despite his mood.
"Top secret information there. I'm sure the Prophet would pay a pretty Knut for that tidbit."
"Hmm, well, I like it. Makes me feel oh so macho back here."
Harry chuckled and then sighed. "Brogan?"
"Yeah?"
"What if she…."
Brogan turned him over until he was on his back and touched his face. His blue eyes were bright and full of determination. "She's not going to be. And even if she is, then we approach it like we do all things, with my brain, your heart, and her relentless spirit. Something like not being able to walk is not going to stop Ginny Weasley and you know it. Hell, it probably won't even slow her down."
Harry swallowed roughly. He knew he was right. But their lives were going to change so much if the worst came to pass. He had been planning on having stairs in their new house. Now, what should he do? Design ramps? Learn how to make a lift? What did magical people do if they couldn't walk? He realized he'd only ever seen old people in chairs and never anyone young. There was Mad-Eye, of course, but he didn't think Ginny would fancy running around with a wooden leg. Besides which, she had a perfectly acceptable leg still attached! Harry shook his head at himself.
"Oh, dear," Brogan said, still watching him. "You are tense and you're not going to get a minute of sleep tonight, are you? Harry, you need to rest, you heard what Avery said."
"I just can't stop…thinking," Harry said, sighing. He lifted his hand to his forehead, already feeling a slight headache coming on.
Brogan lifted his hand away and gently kissed him. Harry resisted at first – they shouldn't, they really shouldn't - but then he responded, how could he not? The soft gentle pressure of Brogan's mouth always excited him and brought out his desires and needs. After snogging for what felt like an exceedingly well-used hour, Harry sighed happily as Brogan pulled away. He wrapped his hand around the other man's neck to pull him back down.
"Hey, I was just starting to finally relax," Harry said softly, and Brogan chuckled.
"Then you're really going to enjoy this next part."
The other man shifted and held Harry's arms together above his head and then started kissing his way down Harry's chest. Harry felt himself greedily go along with it, needing someone else to be in charge for once. Brogan's dark head moved steadily downwards, his grip on Harry's hands was firm. When he reached Harry's abdomen, Brogan glanced up at him, the blue of his eyes turning dark. Harry swallowed roughly and nodded his head slightly, permitting him to do whatever he wanted.
"Let me do this for you," Brogan whispered. "Just let go. Don't think, just feel."
He kissed the inside of Harry's thigh, his breath hot. Harry shivered in anticipation and parted his legs. Brogan buried his face into Harry's groin and took in a deep breath. It almost made Harry laugh, but Brogan's eyes were stormy skies of desire as he looked up at him and his chuckle died in his throat. Brogan's love for him was clear on his face and it said more than words could ever parlay. The naked desire of it shook Harry down to his toes. With deliberate, yet exquisite slowness, Brogan moved his mouth along Harry's shaft. When he reached the tip he twirled his tongue around the head and Harry knew he was just…done. As a huge weight seem to leave his shoulders, Harry just watched Brogan, not saying a word. He didn't want to break the moment between them. Every caress, every lick and every kiss Brogan gave him was love and it was hot and exciting, and Harry soon forgot himself – who he was and who they were and he let the feelings crash into him. As Brogan took him in deeper and deeper, Harry floated away into nothing until he was just release and climax, pleasure and love.
He wanted to think he lasted longer than a minute, at least, but he wasn't sure when he came back to earth and a part of him didn't care. As Brogan slid up his body, looking like the cat who had swallowed all the cream, he finally released Harry's arms and Harry embraced his lover, pulling him closer. He kissed him long and deep and rested his head against him.
"Thank you," Harry said simply.
"My pleasure," Brogan said, and Harry became aware that Brogan was indeed quite happy by their activities. Harry lowered his hand to cup him through his pants but the other man gently pushed his hand away. "It's okay, you don't have to repay the favor. Just sleep, Harry."
"But…" Harry frowned. "That's not…right."
"Be selfish for one night in your life, Harry Potter," Brogan said forcefully.
Harry could tell he would not be winning this argument and slowly nodded. Brogan looked a bit surprised by his quick acquiescence and as they curled around each other again he nuzzled Harry, his voice soft and low.
"Thought I'd have a bigger fight on my hands, I have to say. I like this new pliable you."
Harry smiled as he closed his eyes and brought Brogan's hand up to his mouth, kissing his fingers. "I'm so bloody tired. Too tired to be an ass. Lucky you."
Brogan chuckled and kissed his neck and then settled behind him. Harry sighed and felt sleep already calling his name. His last thought was inexplicably of Ginny, and he had an image of her running through a wildflower field, laughing and calling their names so that they could join her.
o-o-o-o-o
"Been quite a few explosions in the magical world," Michael said, pushing the paper across the dirty table. Sean grunted and didn't say anything. Michael sighed and stared out the window of the small shack that had been home for the last few months.
He'd thought that leaving Ireland behind them would put Sean in a better frame of mind – perhaps even make his boss forget about certain pieces of jewelry. But it hadn't. At least the other man had stopped talking about them. Now he just sat and brooded. Mostly. Sometimes he cursed things, which was why their shack was so ramshackle. Michael had made the mistake of booking them into nice hotels for the first half of their trip and had had to either magically fix things or pay for a lot of broken walls, beds, and the like.
Sean in a temper could be a very nerve-wracking thing.
And Michael had been nervous a lot this trip.
They'd traveled with other members at first – but the more withdrawn and sullen Sean became, the more Michael knew he needed to protect him. So now it was down just to the two of them, moving from old city to even older city. Sean was hell-bent on finding the answer to his questions regarding the bracelets and they had been over most of Europe. Michael feared their time on the continent was coming to an end; Sean had already asked about getting tickets or catching a Portkey to Alexandria. Since the bracelets had spent a good chunk of their time in Egypt, Michael figured the other man assumed it would be a good place to study them.
The problem was that Michael didn't know how to make Sean feel better… he didn't know how to appease him at all. Nothing Michael did seemed good enough, nor did it do anything to make the other man behave like his old self. And Michael had the sinking feeling that Sean was performing memory spells on him too, and quite frequently at that. He'd often wake up or come out of a fugue state of mind, with no memory of what he'd just been doing. It was starting to rattle him, but he hadn't broached the subject yet with Sean. He wasn't sure he ever would. At least, not with how things were currently.
So, he did what he could – he did what he was told. He kept them fed and in comfort, the best he could. True, their current dwelling left much desired in that regard, but Sean had been particularly depressed recently and Michael thought that if his temper did get the best of him, at least no one would miss the shack if it got blown to smithereens.
"I think it's time we leave," Sean said suddenly, his voice gruff from lack of use, no doubt. Michael narrowed his eyes as he turned his attention back to his boss.
"Where to?" Michael asked, wondering if it was too late to arrange a Portkey with the local magical authorities.
"London."
Michael stopped and stared across the table.
"London? London, England?"
A bitter and evil sort of smile graced Sean's features for a moment and then was gone. "Yes. In England. You've heard of it, I presume, Michael?"
"But I thought-"
"You're lucky I don't need you to think," Sean replied and quickly flicked his wand at him, and Michael's mind suddenly went blank. He waited for his next set of instructions, a peaceful calm filling him. He must do as Sean wanted. That was all that mattered. Sean's voice filled his head, and Michael paid attention to every detail.
They would be in England soon. Maybe they would even see if they could help whomever it was causing all this chaos with their explosions going off left and right. For surely, Harry Potter was mixed up in it. Perhaps, it would even help them get closer to Potter and his triumvirate, see them in action as it were. And of course, they would be closer to the bracelets.
o-o-o-o-o
The next morning, Harry did as Avery had suggested – he'd slept in and now he was eating a rather large breakfast, put in front of him from Mrs Weasley herself. All his favorites strangely enough, and Harry briefly wondered when the other woman would stop feeling guilty about missing his birthday. He'd left Brogan to sleep in the bed a bit longer. He'd been tempted to repay the generosity the other man had paid him last night, but Brogan had just looked so peaceful as he'd lain there, that Harry didn't have the heart to wake him.
When he was done eating, other people were just starting to come down, no doubt drawn by the potent smell of coffee, bacon, and the treacle tart Harry had watched Mrs Weasley start to make. He grabbed some plain toast and two cups of coffee and decided that Brogan had slept in long enough.
Indeed, the other man must have agreed with him because he was sitting up in bed when Harry entered, yawning and stretching. He perked up when he saw the coffee.
"Good morning," Brogan said as he reached for one of the floating cups. He sighed as he took a long sip and Harry smirked at him. He waited as Brogan woke up more and wondered if Avery was awake yet and when she would try to rouse Ginny. He hoped it was soon and that she didn't have any issues.
"My favorite breakfast, thank you," Brogan said, finally looking more alert. He took a bite of his toast as he thoughtfully gazed at Harry. "How are you feeling?"
"Better. Much better, actually. I, erm, I reckon I did need to relax last night. You were right."
"Well, you look better. Less haunted and less stressed." Brogan reached for him, smelling like butter and coffee and his own citrusy scent that Harry adored. "Are we ready to get our superior female half back today?"
Harry nodded. "Definitely."
Brogan gently kissed him and then sat back. "I've been thinking about what Avery wants you to try with the bracelets. I know you said it's not a two-way street, but maybe that's just because they're used to collecting power for the Master. But there's no reason why we can't just use them as a true conduit. I mean, they're magical objects. Ancient magical objects, but simple objects all the same. Who says they can't help you draw back the magic you originally cast? We just have to figure out how to do it, without draining you. I think you need to accept more of my magic to help you, and no," Brogan paused when Harry opened his mouth to argue. "Don't worry about depleting my magic. This is about Ginny, Harry. We need to do all that we can to help her."
Harry could tell Brogan's mind was made up and to be honest, he had very little argument in him because he'd awoken with the same sort of thoughts in his head. What had Aine told Brogan in the Well? That Harry needed to embrace the bracelets and all that they could do? Well, this seemed like the perfect opportunity.
"You're right. Again," was all he said now, and Brogan narrowed his eyes at him.
"Really?"
Harry nodded.
"You're not even going to argue? Wow, how good was I last night? Not only are you agreeable, but you're also downright passive this morning."
Harry stuck his tongue out. "Don't get cocky. It's only because I had similar thoughts myself this morning. But yes, you were very good to me last night."
Brogan grinned and relaxed against the headboard. "I'm sure you actually getting some sleep last night as well has nothing to do with this agreeable mood of yours."
"No, not a thing, I'm sure. It was all that amazing mouth of yours," Harry said dryly. He handed Brogan the second coffee cup. "This one is for you too, by the way. I know your second cup of coffee rule, although we seemed to have broken that."
Brogan finished his toast and then sat forward, taking his hand and squeezing it in a comforting way. Harry felt reassured as Brogan gazed seriously at him, his blue eyes practically burning with earnestness.
"She's going to be fine, Harry. I promise. Between the two of us, we'll make this work. Failure is not an option, as they say. And even if it takes us a while, we'll figure it out."
"Look at you being all positive," Harry said softly. "Where is the real Brogan Caley and what have you done with him?"
Brogan looked down at their hands and traced his finger lightly over Harry's ring. "For better and for worse, yeah? I'm starting to understand what that means. It means we face the bad stuff together."
"And just enjoy the better stuff with Ginny?" Harry asked, smiling.
"Ginny is the better stuff, mate. Why she puts up with us two louts is anyone's guess. She'd have figured everything out by now if this had happened to one of us, you know."
"Yeah, you're probably right. Well, come on, go shower. I'll meet you in her room," Harry said, standing up.
Brogan got out of bed and grabbed his clothes, glancing at Harry as though just realizing he had different clothes on. "Does my father still have that special wardrobe of his across the hall?"
"Ah, I meant to tell you about that. Now the wardrobe in here does the same. Go on, fresh clothes await you," Harry said nodding at the piece of furniture in the corner.
"Brilliant. You know, far be it from me to ever tell him this to his face, but sometimes… sometimes my father is pretty clever."
Harry hid a smile at that statement and resisted taking the mickey. He left the other man to it and made for Ginny's room. He hoped that Brogan's positive attitude was a premonition for the rest of their day. Harry wanted, no, needed, good news today.
o-o-o-o-o
