Special thanks to Deadwoodpecker for pointing out what would have been a rather glaring continuity error, and to the Ginny Lovers discord for general awesomeness, and to my readers for some really lovely reviews lately. Stay safe everyone!

As soon as the door closed behind him and he was plunged into blackness, Harry felt a ping of regret at his haste. He had no idea where he was going or what he was going to find when he got there and so stopped short to consider that maybe he should have asked a few more questions before giving into his "saving people thing" and rushing after Ginny.

"Lumos," he whispered into the void.

He hadn't expected to see the interior of a broom closet but was still unprepared for the sight that awaited him, illuminated eerily by the end of his wand. The low-ceilinged, rocky corridor was both familiar and not, but it was enough to make him fairly certain about what this place was. Kane's a fucking maniac.

The floor was easier to navigate this time, but Harry tread cautiously anyway, his desire to get to Ginny at war with the need to be on his guard. Voldemort might have been dead but Harry didn't trust that there was anything safe about what he was going to find. But the corridor was silent and dry and once he saw a glow of light ahead he couldn't hold back. Heart beating out of his chest, Harry rounded a corner and burst into the Chamber.

Past and present crashed over him again. Some of the details were different but Harry barely noticed, his eyes pulled immediately to the small, red-headed figure in the middle of the room.

Ginny was sitting heavily against a broken stone pillar, legs splayed out in front of her. Her eyes and mouth were tight with pain although Harry couldn't see any obvious injury. He tripped over a rock in his hurry to get to her and she opened her eyes at the noise.

"Harry," she said hoarsely. She licked dry lips. "I didn't know if you'd come."

That stopped Harry short. "Of course I came," he said. "I was on my way to find you anyway, to apologize for being a prat. And when Kane told us . . . " He shook his head. "Of course I came, it doesn't matter that I don't . . ." He stopped again.

"That you don't care about me right now, not really," Ginny said. She'd sat up a bit when Harry'd arrived and now she leaned her head back against the pillar again and closed her eyes. "It really is like the Chamber," she mumbled. Her face tensed again.

Harry dropped down beside her "What's wrong, are you hurt?"

Ginny didn't answer. After a moment, the pain in her face receded and she opened her eyes. "It comes and goes," she said. "Gets worse when I ignore the visions."

Harry looked around but there was nothing new to see. "What visions? What is this place exactly? Is the Basilisk coming?" He swung his wand over the space, half expecting the giant serpent to come slithering out of a dark corner.

"No . . . no Basilisk," Ginny panted. "It's not important. But . . . Tom." She put her head into her hands and started rocking back and forth. Slowly, her breathing eased. Harry sat dumbly, not wanting to interrupt whatever had taken away some of Ginny's pain with more questions. Instead he looked around the space they were in.

It appeared to be a fairly decent representation of the Chamber of Secrets, albeit created by someone who'd only read accounts of it and never been inside. It was less damp but just as looming and eerie and Ginny's promise that the Basilisk would not be appearing at any moment only minimally calmed Harry's senses. His body felt heavy and he resisted the urge to sit fully down next to Ginny.

"I have to get you out of here," he said urgently. "We'll figure the rest out later."

"I don't think you can," said Ginny softly. She gestured back the way Harry had come. The entrance had disappeared; it wasn't merely sealed, but gone as though it had never been. Harry swore. "What the hell is this place?"

"What did Kane tell you before you came down here?"

Harry grimaced. "He didn't really tell me anything," he admitted. "I uhh, I may not have bothered to wait. Getting down to you was the most important thing at the moment."

Ginny gave him a small smile. "Your 'saving people thing,' " she said.

Harry was surprised. "That's what Hermione calls it," he said with a chuckle. "How did you know?"

Ginny smile dropped off her face. "I know a lot of things about you now, Harry," she said.

"Oh," said Harry, feeling like an idiot. "Right." Ginny's face went tight again with pain and Harry waited for it to ease before he spoke. "Do you know anything about what's going on here? I can't imagine that you ran through that door without asking at least a few questions. Not with your superior Auror abilities." He meant it as a compliment, but the words sounded patronizing even to Harry's ears. He grimaced again. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean . . ."

"It's okay, Harry, I get it," Ginny said. She gave him a look that made Harry wish he could understand exactly what Ginny knew about him. It was disconcerting, to have Ginny talk to him with real feeling when all he could remember was teasing and exasperation and indifference. Next to him, Ginny shifted against the pillar and gave a small groan of discomfort and Harry realized it didn't matter right now. He sat himself cross-legged on the ground across from Ginny. "Can you tell me what you know?" he asked gently.

Ginny nodded. "We're inside a . . . a spell of some kind," she said. Kane's been hinting all year that there was something about my experience in the Chamber that would help fight Dark Magic. And yours too. Something about the fact that we both were possessed by Voldemort. He said it left a magical signature or something that he wanted to use in the spell." She gave Harry a piercing look. "You started the spell, but didn't finish it," she said. "And that's what made you lose your memory."

Harry stifled a groan. Ginny didn't even know the truth about how he'd lost his memory. Quickly, he told her about the coffee and the Bellows sisters.

"So they weren't trying to get into the building for any truly evil purposes," she said.

"No, just to help them raise their social standing and sell more gossip," he said."Sasha was actually shocked to hear what Kane had used her for."

Ginny nodded. 'i'm glad," she said, and then winced.

"Is it getting worse?" Harry was concerned. He was starting to have a suspicion about what was going on, and if his hunch was true, there wasn't going to be much he could do to help Ginny right now. In fact, the heaviness in his own limbs was getting stronger, and there was a strange pounding in his head, as if someone was trying to open something up from the inside. He rubbed at his eyes.

Ginny gave a tiny shrug and Harry could tell by the way she was holding her body that movement was difficult. "It's been worse since you've been here, but I think that's because I haven't been able to . . . do what it wants. The spell, I mean." She cocked her head and looked at Harry. "Do you feel it?"

Harry nodded. "I'm starting to, I think," he said, and was surprised when Ginny scooted over and gestured at the space next to her. "It's easier if you have something to lean against," she said. Although he knew it had been put there on purpose, the pillar appeared to have fallen from the ceiling and cracked into several pieces. Harry moved towards Ginny and ended up sitting against another piece of stone kitty-corner to hers. He sighed, although it was not quite in relief. "Thanks," he said. His head thumped again. "Maybe you'd better tell me how you make the pain go away?"

Ginny's eyes went a little unfocused before she answered. "Tom's here, can you see him?" She pointed across the open space to a dark spot that would have released the Basilisk in the real Chamber.

Until Ginny said anything, Harry would have said the model of the Chamber they were in felt enough like the real thing that he knew where he was, but the details were a little off; he'd even describe them as fuzzy around the edges. But when Harry looked where Ginny pointed, his vision tunneled. The Chamber he was sitting in fell away and sixteen year old Tom Riddle was stepping out of the shadows and walking towards them. As Riddle neared, the space around him shimmered, contracted, and then reformed, this time looking exactly like the real Chamber of Secrets from all those years before. The air turned dank, water dripped from the walls, and Harry thought he heard the quiet approach of a giant serpent. Ginny disappeared from the side of Harry's vision and when Tom spoke, the words didn't come from the solidifying figure in front of him but seemed to emerge directly into Harry's brain.

"I was evil from the start, you know. Why do you think that is?" Riddle leered at Harry and flickered, and for a moment, Harry saw the image of a child. It was the young Riddle Harry had seen in Dumbledore's memory, from the orphanage. The boy-Riddle sneered too and morphed back into the teenager who looked down at Ginny. "She certainly grew up, didn't she? She was a stupid, whiny little girl and and now I suspect she's no better now. It was easy for me to possess her; I've always been so good at getting people to do what I want." The voice and vision in Harry's head swirled again, so quickly it made him feel sick. When he could focus again he was looking at the handsome face he knew to belong to Tom Riddle Sr., but almost immediately, another image was superimposed over him. Marvolo Gaunt was yelling angrily, but without sound, as if someone had taken his voice. Instead, Harry heard the teenaged Riddle yet again. "They both must matter, as loathe as I am to admit it. Power, intelligence, charm, cunning. It's all here, you know. And it's been here from the start. Too bad you didn't get here earlier. That bitch has done so much already. She's close to my age now, it's helped her, I think. More than when she was a child." Riddle shimmered again and Harry saw Ginny when she was eleven, lying pale and barely alive on the stone floor. Riddle chuckled. "She hasn't grown that much though, has she? Now she thinks she's in love with you; still doesn't realize what a waste it is to put any effort into you." Tom's voice grew fainter. "You gave a lot; it's a good start. I'll be back you know. For you, and for her."

Riddle faded away and the room shimmered again. Harry found himself on his hands and knees, panting and trying to get the sound of Riddle's voice completely out of his head.

"It'll ease up in a moment, although then the pain will start." Ginny's voice was quiet and strained. Harry forced himself back into a sitting position. The Chamber was back to the fuzzy space Harry'd first found; it looked even less familiar now that he'd seen the real thing. Ginny conjured a cup of water and handed it over. Harry drank greedily, feeling his head settle a bit. He finally looked at Ginny.

"You saw all that too? With Riddle?" His voice sounded weak in his ears.

Ginny nodded. She seemed to have grown even more pale. "He's been appearing like that since I got here. Talking to me about how much time I wasted the I was younger, complaining to him about you, and about how I was jealous of you and Ron." She shook her head. "And how he thinks I was actually secretly in love with you, way back then, and that's why I complained to the diary so much. He called it 'stupid crush' on you, telling me what a waste it is to love, to love you." Her voice choked on the last word. Harry wasn't sure if Riddle was taunting Ginny about her past or present. He thought maybe he should comfort her but he wasn't sure how, wasn't sure how she'd take him touching her or something. Before he could figure out what to do, Ginny kept talking. "He's so proud of his power, you know. Every time I've seen him, he's talked about that same thing, that rejecting love, rejecting friendship, rejecting connection made him who he is."

Harry frowned. "Did you see him as a young boy too? And did you see his father?"

Now Ginny looked confused. "No, I only see Tom," she said. "Like he was in the diary." She shifted a bit on the ground and rubbed her head. "He talks to me differently now that I'm older though. He's less understanding, more . . . disdainful of my choices."

"Your choice to love me," Harry said cautiously. It felt odd in his mouth to say it.

"Yes, but I think it goes beyond that," said Ginny. She rubbed at her head again. "He thinks all love is an impediment to what's really important. He actually used that word, impediment. And my family, big as it is, holds me back." She looked at Harry. "He says you had a lot more potential and he doesn't understand why you never used it."

It wasn't the first time someone had drawn a parallel between Harry and Voldemort. He and Dumbledore had talked about it at length. Now he shrugged. "I never understood that, how it could be okay to live without love." His head felt heavy and he leaned back and closed his eyes for a moment. "Especially after I met your family," he added. Ginny made a soft sound and Harry opened his eyes. "Are you okay?" He was feeling more and more disjointed although the pain, when it came, was still manageable. He knew he had to figure out what this place was, and then figure out how to get out of it, but he found he could only focus for a minute or two. And yet, Ginny had been here for hours and hours before him; the fact that she was still upright and talking was rather amazing.

She nodded. "I want to see them again," she said quietly.

"Me too," said Harry. "And we will, I promise."

"I know," said Ginny in a tired voice. Before I came down here Kane said something about talking to me when I saw him later."

Harry looked sharply at Ginny. "He did? Did he say when?"

Ginny shrugged. "When the spell is complete, I guess," she said.

"Not a spell," Harry said, certainty bursting into his head with a speed that made him dizzy. "We aren't inside a spell, it's a ritual." The room shifted again.

"Good job, Potter. I didn't think you'd remember so soon. You've never been as powerful as you could be. Otherwise you'd have been able to fight Kane's more effectively." Tom Riddle was back. Now he was sitting on a stone chair, speaking to Harry almost conversationally. This time, Harry tried to respond but he couldn't make his mouth work. It didn't matter though, for Riddle smirked.

"Oh, I know, you think you did fight him, and I guess you put in some effort, but really, I never would have fallen to a memory charm so easily. You had other things on your mind, even back then, didn't you? Don't you understand yet? What really matters? The source of all my power? That's why you're here, you know. You and the girl. Somehow you both managed not to die before. Too bad. Will you die now, once we're through here?"

Harry's mouth worked. "No," he gasped. "You're not real."

Riddle shrugged. "I don't think that matters though. I'm still able to draw out what he needs, no matter how inartfully he set everything up here." He peered at Harry. "You do know what he wants don't you?"

Harry was about to say no he had no idea who - or what - Riddle was talking about, but then it felt like his brain shifted in his head and his thoughts shifted with it, as if a curtain had been pulled open.

"I do know," he gasped. "But . . . but it won't work. I told him before, it won't work." He repeated it again. He pointed at Riddle. "You . . . you were unique. There's nothing to be learned, we can't help you." Harry put his hands to his head, trying to force Riddle out again, ignoring the pain that came in his place. But Riddle sat forward, shaking his head as if admonishing a small child.

"I wasunique, I'll give you that," he said. "And I doubt there will ever be another as powerful as I was." Riddle seemed comfortable speaking about himself in the past tense, for which Harry was grateful. "But," he continued, "it is not necessary to mimic my circumstances exactly. Even those with only a few attributes are suspect, and must be contained." Riddle cocked his head and shimmered for a moment before reforming. When he spoke again, his voice sounded rather as though he was speaking under water. "What is being gleaned here, now, will be used to great advantage for years to come. You and Miss Wesley hold the key, you know . . ."

"Oh shit," Harry said. The vision was fading but Tom Riddle's words still echoed in his ear, now sounding more and more like Shepard Kane. His head pounded but he ignored it. "I know what he wants to do. Kane." He looked over at Ginny, not sure if she'd seen Tom Riddle again this time. "I remember."

"What is it?" asked Ginny tightly. She looked down for a second and Harry saw her take a deep breath. "What do you remember?"

Harry couldn't miss the undercurrent of hope in her voice and that made him hate what he had to say next even more. "I remember what Kane's plans are," he said. "I remember why I quit the Aurors because of it and I remember why we're here." He put a gentle hand on Ginny's arm. "But that's all."

Ginny took another deep breath and nodded. When she looked up, Harry could see the unshed tears in her eyes. "But that's . . . that's good," she said, her voice only wavering a little. "What does he want to do? It must be something big if it caused him to take your memory of it."

Harry grimaced, the memories of the fight he and Kane had had right before Harry had left were bad enough on their own but now they were coupled with the feeling that his body was being stabbed with shards of glass, too. Ginny put her hand on his leg. "You'll get more used to the pain," she said quietly. "It only seems to happen when you fight the visions and come back here." She gestured around the fake Chamber. "I couldn't stand it when I first got here at all, so I spent most of my time listening to Tom and remembering the things he told me the first time." Ginny's voice was very soft, as if she didn't have the energy to speak any louder. "But I still don't exactly understand what he wants."

"It's not what he wants, it's Kane," Harry finally said. "Riddle's dead. What we're seeing and hearing is an echo of our previous interactions with him, pulled out of us by the ritual."

Ginny frowned. "Ritual? That's different than just a spell, right?"

Harry nodded. "Rituals are a lot more involved. They require multiple spells and take a number of steps to complete; they usually need to draw on outside energy to fulfill their purpose." He stopped, thinking. "When I saw Voldemort resurrected, that was a ritual."

"This ritual, it's using our energy, isn't it? Taking it from us. How did you stop in the middle, last time?" Ginny looked at him. "I don't think I have enough strength right now to battle a flobberworm."

Harry shook his head. "That's just it, I didn't stop in the middle. That's a lie Kane told to you to get you here. There's no real way to start a ritual and then just stop. It has to continue to completion."

Ginny groaned. "Really? I can't believe I fell for it. Kane . . . he made me believe that the best way to get your memory back was for both of us to work together to finish whatever it was you'd started. And when I couldn't convince you, then he said that me alone was the next best thing." She looked at Harry. "I'm sorry about that. I shouldn't have pressured you, especially since I didn't even understand what I was asking you to do and I knew you weren't remembering anything. About Kane or . . . me." Ginny's face grew tortured but Harry knew it wasn't all physical pain. He leaned in to comfort her and another memory struck him. He was barely aware of saying his next words.

"That's why I got so mad at you." He sat back again and closed his eyes, letting the thoughts form.

Kane had been pressuring him, telling him they really needed Ginny here too, that her participation was vital for . . . whatever it was that Kane had planned. And once again, Harry had refused, unless he understood exactly why Ginny was needed. Just the fact that she'd "also been subject to the greatest evil of all time" wasn't enough. Ginny barely tolerated Harry, he'd told Kane. If they were going to go searching for Dark Magic across the country, Kane had better have a damn good reason for both of them.

Harry opened his eyes. Ginny was watching him cautiously, as if she knew he'd just figured out something important but she might not like hearing what it was. "Kane wanted me to do the same thing," he said. "Get you to come and help us. But he wouldn't tell me exactly why he needed you and so I kept refusing him. It became a source of tension between me and Kane. And when you asked me the other night . . . "

"It brought the emotion of that memory to the surface but you couldn't remember why," finished Ginny. She nodded. "That makes sense, now. It annoyed me too, all the times Kane's bothered me about recruiting you."

This was news to Harry. "He did? Why did he say he needed me? Did I know it?" He grimaced. "I'm sorry, I don't remember."

This time, Ginny didn't seem to get as upset at mention of Harry's memory loss. She shrugged. "He told me about as much as he apparently told you," she said. "There was something about our collective experience that was important. I didn't know until recently that he's trying to build a new dark detector." She gave Harry a sad smile. "I'm sorry you don't remember. We'd actually become friends first, real friends, well before . . . anything else developed." She shrugged. "It was nice."

Harry detected a subtle shift in Ginny's demeanor. He could only imagine how difficult it must have been for her these past days, having to pretend when she was around him. Now she seemed to have decided that it was time for honesty, even if he couldn't give her what she wanted back. He only hoped her new attitude wasn't born of the resignation that they were not going to make it out of here alive. He had no idea how far the ritual had come or how much it had yet to go; the pain from fighting the visions of Tom Riddle was growing incrementally but he didn't know significant that was. And then there was the fact that Ginny had been here for so long on her own, which likely impacted the effectiveness of the ritual and how each of them reacted to it.

She was a lot tougher than he'd ever given her credit for. And she'd come here alone to help him, even after he'd been a complete arse to her. As he studied her, Ginny's face grew tight with pain again. When it finally eased, she looked curiously at him. "What is it?" she asked slowly.

"I've annoyed you a lot over the years," he said.

Ginny gave him a small smile. "We annoyed each other," she said gently.

Harry nodded. "That's fair." He knew there was a lot more for them to discuss, about why they'd never gotten along, what had happened the first time they'd been in the Chamber, and probably more. But he also knew this was the wrong place and time do it. Instead, Harry took a deep breath. If she was being honest, he could be too.

"This is really weird for me too," he said. "Even though I can't remember everything you do."

Ginny nodded. "I'm sure it is." She didn't say anything else. Harry plunged ahead anyway.

"Umm, one of the reasons it's so weird is that, umm, I kind of, fancy you." He felt his face heat. "Actually, I have since my Fifth year, even though that was when I umm . . ." he stuttered to a stop, thinking that Ginny didn't need to be reminded of that particular moment.

She finished his thought. "That was when you told me that it was my fault I'd ended up in the Chamber," she said matter-of-factly. "And then we barely spoke for a while."

"Uhh, right," said Harry. "Umm, that's the year it started anyway. Me fancying you." He looked down at his hands. "I'm sorry."

To Harry's surprise, Ginny laughed. She leaned forward and carefully untangled the bottom of his shirt from where he'd wrapped it in his fingers. "Harry, I know about your crush," she said. "You told me ages ago. Before we . . . you know. It was actually the first thing that got us started . . . becoming us." She was still holding his hand and when she looked down and realized it, she made a small sound before letting go and leaning back against the stone. "That happened the last time too," she said. "I held your hand without realizing it. That's when you told me you fancied me."

Harry wished more than ever he remembered. He thought maybe Ginny felt better being able to tell him and he wanted her to keep going. He nodded in understanding. "And then we . . .?"

"And then it kind of grew from there," she said. She swallowed hard and closed her eyes. "Not all at once; you gave me space to figure things out. And I did, on my own." She swallowed again. "I figured out I loved you." She opened her eyes and looked at him. "It happened very naturally, loving you," she said. "And you loved me." There was no accusation in her voice, it was almost as if Ginny was reciting a story for him to learn because it might be important one day. A faint blush climbed her cheeks. "And it was good other ways too," she said. "Physically . . ."

"I know we had sex," Harry said quickly. "Ron told me." He didn't want Ginny to have to say it. He shook his head to himself. "I can't believe I don't remember losing my virginity," he said mournfully. He looked at Ginny. "And you . . .?"

She nodded. "It was my first time too."

"Good," said Harry, earning a small smile from Ginny. "I didn't know if maybe you and Dam had . . .?"

"That bothered you last time too," said Ginny. "But no, Dam and I pretty much just snogged."

"So umm, I guess that means you've seen me naked, huh?" Harry shifted on the ground. Somehow, that fact seemed more intimate even that he and Ginny had slept together.

Ginny's mouth quirked. "I have," she agreed. "And . . . you've seen me naked too." She raised her eyebrows at him.

Harry hadn't considered that. "Oh," he said. "Uhh, wow." He looked down shaking his head. "That's just not fair at all."

"It's not," agreed Ginny dryly. "But I suppose if you can't remember anything else, I'm glad you can't remember just that."

Harry gave a small snort and winced as the pain shot through him again. He hadn't realized how much more he was aching now. Without thinking about it, or a word of warning to Ginny, he plunged back into conversation with Tom Riddle.

Riddle was pacing this time, and speaking quickly, as if he had a lot to say. "I went beyond the ordinary bounds of evil, didn't Dumbledore say that?" Without waiting for an answer; indeed, Harry wasn't sure he could have answered, Riddle continued. "But don't let that deter you, I have plenty of ordinary evil inside too, as you know. You and the girl." Riddle glanced behind him and Harry got the odd feeling that there was another incarnation of him talking to Ginny at the same time. He felt a thrum of fear. Something was changing.

He forced his attention back to Tom. "I had such control over my . . . well, they might have called themselves my friends but we know better, don't we? I always knew how to get what I want from those who were weaker and needier." Riddle gave a harsh laugh. "That was everyone of course." He stopped in front of Harry. "But now it will all be put to good use, won't it? It's almost all out of you now. Both of you. I don't really care anymore; it's not like anyone could have challenged my legacy anyway. But now it shouldn't be a possibility because they'll all be gone long before they get to be a problem." He laughed again and Harry's blood boiled as the last bit of memory dropped back into him. "I've always hated children anyway, except when I could use them for my own means." He sneered at Harry and began walking backwards away from him. "But I guess you're helping take care of some of that now, aren't you? You and the girl . . ."

Harry only just managed to crawl away from where he'd been sitting before he vomited. The fake Chamber shimmered in his vision and pain came in waves. He didn't want to believe what he knew again, the reason Kane had wanted - no, needed - Harry and Ginny for this ritual. It had horrified him so much the first time he'd learned about it that Kane had taken all of his memories to keep the secret safe. And now he'd succeeded in seeing it all through. The ritual was almost complete; Harry could feel the energy from Riddle being sucked out of him even as the pain became almost blinding. Only a small sound to his right brought him back to the moment.

Ginny looked a million times worse. Her skin was almost translucent, it was so pale, the hair framing her face was like blood. As Harry crawled towards her she cracked her eyes open and looked at him dully at him. "It's . . . it's almost over," she whispered. "I gave everything I had."

"Stay with me, Ginny, just a little bit longer," Harry muttered desperately. He grabbed his wand and conjured a damp cloth to wipe at her face. "As soon as it ends, we'll get out of here and get you help." Harry could barely hold his own self upright, but seeing Ginny nearly unconscious kept him going. Almost reflexively, he glanced at the high stone ceiling of the chamber, but he knew that Fawkes wouldn't be there to save them this time. He wiped Ginny's face again and kept talking. "Did he tell you too? Tom Riddle, I mean. Did he tell you why we're here?" Ginny shivered and made a small sound. Harry wasn't sure if it was pain or that she was trying to talk, so he kept going. "I know he was taking different things from each of us. That the ritual was taking different things. It got more of your energy because you came down here first." He looked around. The walls of the chamber were even fuzzier now and there was a rushing in his ears. He scooped Ginny into his lap, not sure he'd be able to stand when the time came. He had his wand, but the idea of trying any sort of lifting spell left him too dizzy to think.

Ginny nestled her head into the crook of Harry's neck as if it was a totally natural thing and he tightened his arms around her. "Tell me," she said, so quietly he wasn't sure he'd heard her right."

"What?" Harry was looking around, trying to figure out where the exit was going to appear. He couldn't tell which way he'd originally entered anymore.

"Tell me why we're here, what we did," she said. She turned her head and locked eyes with him. "I need to know."

Harry didn't want to say the words, but Ginny's breathing was becoming labored. The ritual had to end soon or it would be too late; maybe telling her would be the thing to speed things along. He nodded, keeping his eyes trained on hers.

It's true, the ritual is to make a new dark detector," he said. "But not just any old one. Kane's rather obsessed with stamping out Dark Magic before it has a chance to grow. In children." Harry swallowed, feeling a wave of nausea again. He had to look away to say the last bit. "He wants to build something that draws on all of Tom Riddle's evil, back to when he was a small child, and use it to find that sort of intent in others." He swallowed again. "Other children." Ginny shook suddenly in his arms. Her eyes closed and Harry made a sound of distress. But then she spoke again and Harry knew she already knew the answer. "And then?"

Harry nodded even though Ginny wasn't watching him anymore. "And then Kane plans to eliminate those children before they have the chance to grow evil. When they are babies. He plans to kill them all."

Harry couldn't hear if Ginny said anything else after that. There was a huge crash of stone and earth all around them and Harry flinched, trying to cover Ginny's body with his, although of course there was no way he could protect her from falling boulders. But the expected pain never came. Instead, a cacophony of voices seemed to be everywhere at once, screaming, yelling speaking in tones he thought he should recognize. Strong hands lifted Ginny out of his arms and when he tried to grab her back, other hands caught him too. "Tell St. Mungo's we're on our way," someone said, and then Harry heard no more.

A/N: I think this is the last cliffhanger for a while. I think, but I make no promises.