A/N: This chapter has been beta read. Thank you, Lord Otello.
This chapter probably won't make much sense, but I swear everything will be explained in the next chapters. The POV in the chapter will be changing between Harry and Ginny.
Chapter 26 – The Bonding
It was an old and beautiful forest, where leafy trees with wide trunks rose up into the heavens. The sun's rays, always present, infiltrated through the leaves, creating light beams that gave a magical touch to that place.
There was a trail. He walked on it without fears, but carefully. He was looking for something… No. He was looking for someone. He needed to find her. He didn't remember who she was, or how she looked, but he would know once he found her. She was important, he was sure about it.
He could feel something watching him. Something was peering between the trees and was following him. He couldn't see what it was. Sometimes he would see a shadow, but it was fast and knew how to hide. What was that?
He kept walking on the trail, focused on his search and intrigued by the shadow that followed him. It wasn't a threat, he didn't feel threatened, just curious. They went on like that for a long time, he following the trail and the shadow following him by distance.
The fate was unknown.
It was a glade in the middle of a large forest. There was snow everywhere, but she wasn't cold. The temperature was pleasant, the snow soft and the breeze gentle. Everything was good. A small, quiet lake stood at a side of the glade. The waters were calm and clear, and the surface flat like a mirror reflecting the weak sunlight. The breeze that touched her skin didn't bother the calm waters. It was magical.
A movement in the trees drew her attention. Something was hiding. It was a clear, fast, silent spot. It would disappear among the trees and then it would come back as it was playing with her, as if it was inviting her. She wanted to do it. She wanted to follow whatever it was. She wanted to unravel the mystery.
However, she couldn't. She had to wait. Someone had to find her and she should wait. The person for whom she was waiting for always found her before, even when they were lost in worlds or in separate lives. He always found her. It had been always like that. Leaving now would only delay that meeting and she didn't want that.
He could see the end of the trail. A white, shining light penetrated those trees ahead of him. Suddenly he was anxious. He knew she was close, he knew the person for whom he was looking for was there. He was sure she would wait.
Without thinking, he ran. He didn't want to wait not even one more second to see her. He had to know, he had to understand, he had to remember…
The shadow seemed to feel his anxiety. Between the trees, it ran fast and, with a glance, Harry saw its dark silhouette. It was a big cat, a panther perhaps.
He was close to the trail's end when the shadow jumped in his front, blocking him the way. Tense, he stopped and faced the big black cat. It was huge with a dark, thick fur, concealing the strong muscles. He couldn't see its teeth and claws, but he didn't need to be very imaginative to know they were large and sharp.
He wondered for a moment if the feline would be an obstacle to him. Harry wouldn't stop now, especially when he was so close. The panther stared at him, its eyes were green and bright as emeralds. He understood. It wasn't a threat, instead it was an introduction, a recognition. Seeming satisfied that he understood, the animal turned his back and disappeared in the glade.
She was curious, so she moved closer to the edge of the glade. She wouldn't follow that little mystery for now, however, she still wanted to unravel it. What was the thing that was hiding from her? She moved closer and then she saw it. A big white cat like the snow with some orange stains prowled there quickly and silently as a breeze. She supposed it was a snow leopard. It was a female, she couldn't tell how she knew, but she was sure.
Light brown eyes stared at her and the familiarity of the stare surprised her. The cat walked closer to her and seemed also to recognize her. Ginny tried to touch it, but the animal got tense and she stopped. The leopard's eyes stared at the other side of the glade. She saw the animal's ears stretched out with attention. Something was there.
The cat passed by her so fast and stopped in the centre of the glade, waiting for something. A dark shape left the forest, it was a huge black panther, huger than the snow leopard. She got worried. Would it attack? The poor leopard wouldn't stand a chance. To her satisfaction, the black cat didn't attack. It moved closer with a too elegant walk for such big animal and stopped before the leopard. The two animals stared at each other in recognition and greeted in the same way typical of cats, rubbing and circling each other.
She watched quietly while the two animals disappeared into the forest too distracted to notice her.
He reached the end of the trail. A glade opened before him as a new different world. The trail in the warm and sunny forest ended in a glade covered by snow lightened by the soft light from the winter sun. He entered in the glade at the right time to see the encounter between his panther and its partner, a beautiful snow leopard. He knew the whole thing had a meaning, a revelation. He didn't understand it yet, but one day maybe…
His eyes roamed the glade and fell over a soft figure. The impact of that realization hit him. He found her once more… as he always had done. The knowledge of one thousand lives came back to him for a moment; he knew that once he found her, everything would make sense. Her eyes found his and suddenly he saw the recognition. She waited for him and she knew he would come.
He walked towards her without hurry. He had done that many times before to know they had time on their side. She always deserved to be appreciated. A small and curvy body, pale and creamy skin, and silky hair that fell over her shoulder like waterfalls in a tone of vivid red. She was so beautiful.
She was wearing a classic, long dress with a light and soft fabric. The type of clothes she would always wear if she could. An old soul, she was. Just like him, but he wasn't able to keep an aesthetic sense so well defined over the centuries.
He walked towards with slow and steady steps. His walk displayed the same predatory elegance the panther had. He wore black leather from his head to his toes: combat boots, pants, and coat. She wasn't surprised that he was dressed as a warrior. It was what he always had been. He wouldn't change now.
His eyes were analysing her with a brief flash of lust, and as he was coming closer, she became more conscious about how big and strong his body was. Lust was burning inside her too. When he reached her, there was no need for an introduction or for wasting seconds with conventions. A big and soft hand touched the back of her head and pulled her for a deep, carnal kiss.
The passion had always been strong between them, but this time there was a different impulse, a different urge. They had a need for an exchange… for a union. The tongue that was exploring her mouth was hungry, the hands wandering her body were voracious. The air around them was filled with energy. His experienced hands explored her curves and touched the right places. With one fluid movement, he made her dress to fall into the ground.
He stopped for a moment, contemplating the body of his soul mate. Ginevra… That was her name in this life. However, that gorgeous woman wasn't the Ginny he knew, she was probably a version of who she would become in the future.
'Are we dead?' He asked, searching for the meaning of that experience.
'I don't know…'
'I don't want to stop.' He said.
'I don't want you to stop.'
Without needing other incentive, he kissed her again. He took her in his arms and laid her down in the ground. The snow wasn't cold, the air and the breeze also weren't. He pulled off his coat and his shirt and leaned over her. He hungrily kissed her lips, her neck and her shoulders. Then, he mouthed a breast. She twitched with pleasure.
She couldn't think straight, because of the pleasure. The whole thing was real and unreal at the same time. They were pure energy, conscience, and passion. Not once in all eternity, in all infinity lives, she remembered having an experience like that one.
Each touch and each kiss were loaded with meanings and magic. They were bonding in a different way. That wasn't only bonding the bodies, they were bonding their souls. Her hands wandered gently his masculine body, exploring and memorizing each sensation. She helped him taking off the last pieces of clothing.
He didn't wait more time to penetrate her and she received him with satisfaction. There was an urge in that act, but the pleasure was superior to anything she had felt before. Skin, lips, and bodies were as one. The feeling of a bigger bonding was taking place was just increasing. When their pleasure hit the climax, a golden light covered them.
He lifted his head to see his lover. Her skin was still beaming a slight golden light and there were snowflakes that didn't melt everywhere, in her hair, on her face, on her shoulders and on her breasts… So beautiful. He raised his hand to her cheek and gently caressed her.
'I love you.' He said. 'I have always loved you and I will always love you. In this life and any other life we'll live.'
She smiled. 'I don't intend to live any life without you.' She assured. 'My soul wouldn't stand a life alone.'
'I know… Mine also wouldn't.'
He leaned to kiss her so intensely and so passionately that the little Harry Potter woke up suddenly in the hospital wing. He was breathless as a consequence of the more realistic dream he had ever had in his life.
A/N: Hello! I thought I would post this chapter last week, but I wasn't able to do it. Anyway, the next chapter is entitled His Red-Haired.
See you,
Inês
scrappy8: Thanks! I'm glad you like it. Yes, we will, but not in this chapter. We'll what's going to happen to Ginny and Harry in the following chapters. Thanks for reviewing!
Guest: Thank you! I'm very glad you like it.