AN: E, I am playing fast and loose with Persona rules, tweaking them so they would better fit the story. Neither setting is exactly the same in this fusion, though I do try to preserve the themes of both.

As for Ginny's Persona, there are twists planned on that front.

Chapter 3: In the Shadow of God

"So, what now?" Luna asked. She was sitting by Ginny's side at breakfast, having been released from the hospital the previous day.

Ginny sighed. "I don't really know. I had that dream where I saw the entrance to the secret room under the Astronomy tower. Well, I saw a girl talking about it. But when I tried to find it, it failed to appear. I guess we can try again or just smash through the wall with a spell... We should also look out for other disappearances, though I am not sure anything would come from it. I don't really know many people here aside from my family."

"Actually..." Luna said hesitantly. "I meant what do we do in general. You want to go after whoever is responsible, but... do we have to? I mean, what happened there..."

Ginny looked at Luna with surprise. She sighed again and looked at the crowd filling the Great Hall.

"You know, there is supposed to be a thousand students in Hogwarts," she said. "I've heard it somewhere. But looking at the crowd here, I don't think there are even five hundred. I did the math, too, based on the number of people in classrooms I know about. They don't fit. Yet nobody notices, nobody comments. And I think I know why..." Ginny looked back at Luna with a soft smile. "What happened to you was horrible, and I wouldn't think any less of you if you left it at that. We'll still be friends. But I don't think I can leave it behind. For whatever reason I am the only one with my memory intact. I am the only one who can do anything about it. I can't back out, no matter how much I want to."

Luna looked at Ginny for a long moment biting her lip.

"I'll go with you," she said eventually with a heavy sigh. "Not for them, though," she said gesturing towards the crowd. "I'll do it to keep you safe. You'd be lost without me, with all those vermis biting your heart and driving you forward."

Ginny released a breath she didn't know she was holding. "Thank you."

"Astoria Greengrass," Luna said looking at the crowd.

"Huh?"

"Pretty sure she's not here. And she never misses a breakfast."

"How do you know her?" Ginny vaguely remembered the name from her sorting ceremony. Waiting for her turn to be sorted and looking at the sea of unfamiliar faces in search for her brothers she was very surprised to notice a Slytherin girl waving for her until she realized the gesture was aimed at a short nervous girl standing next to her.

"I don't," Luna said. "Not really. I remember her name from the sorting. It's pretty, and I thought we could be friends, but her older sister, Daphne, scared me away."

Ginny frowned. "Is she one of the girls who take your things?"

"No..." Luna hesitated before continuing. "She is just, you know... weird."

Ginny blinked. "Right. So, you think Astoria is missing?"

"I don't know for sure, but we can ask her sister. If she remembers about Astoria, she should be fine. Or in danger from some other, unrelated thing." Luna frowned. "Just don't take any pamphlets from her."

Ginny looked at Luna dubiously, but shrugged. "I guess it can't hurt. Is she here?" she asked standing up and searching for a half-forgotten face at the Slytherin table.

"Yeah. " Luna led the pair to a blonde girl sitting by herself at an edge of the table skimming through some thin book.

Once she noticed them, the girl put away her book and beamed at Luna.

"Hey, Luna," she said. "Changed your mind?"

"Hey, Daphne. I didn't really think about it," Luna said quickly. She hesitated then, glancing at Ginny's injured hand. "Though I guess I can look over your pamphlets again?"

"Of course!" Daphne positively radiated cheer as she handed Luna a bunch of colorful pamphlets which she seemed to produce out of nowhere. Ginny tried to see the pictures on them - something about the forms she managed to notice disturbed her - but Luna quickly covered them up and hid them in her bag. "Our group meets on Sundays, in case you've forgotten, under the lake. Do you remember how to get there?"

"Yeah," Luna said.

"Good! So, you'll come?"

"I'll... think about it," Luna said, clearly uncomfortable.

"Great! We'll have a cake! Well, if Wilbur actually manages to make it right this time, anyway..."

Ginny cleared her throat. "Actually, we have a question for you." Luna gave her a grateful look.

"Oh, sorry!" Daphne said turning to Ginny. "I was just excited to meet Luna again. You're Ginny Weasley, right? Do you want to come to our meeting, too?"

"Err... Not at the moment," Ginny said after glancing at Luna. "I just wanted to ask you if you know where to find Astoria."

"Who?"

"Astoria Greengrass?" Luna said. "She shares her last name with you, so I thought you would know her."

Daphne blinked. "Why would I..." She stopped and looked at Luna. "Right, nevermind. And no, I've never heard about her, pretty sure. Sorry."

"It's fine," Ginny said. "Thanks for your help anyway."

"Are you sure you don't want to learn about the group?"

"Maybe some other time."

Daphne beamed at her. "Great! Don't hesitate to ask!"

With that, Luna and Ginny walked away.

"Don't ask," Luna said before Ginny could open her mouth. "Some things were not meant to be known. Their cake is one of them."

"Right," Ginny said. "So, now we know for sure that Astoria is missing. I guess we should do what I did to find you: go to Slytherin's dormitories, watch out for weird paintings. Only this time I'll do it smart and ask the experts how to get there."

"Experts?"

"Why'd you want to get into Slytherin's dungeons?" Fred asked. The moment she'd explained why she needed his help, he'd pulled her aside and led into an empty classroom which bore the marks of frequent testing of twins' inventions.

He'd cast a few spells on the entrance then, some of which Ginny had recognized from her visit to the headmaster.

Ginny took a deep breath. "I can't explain, really sorry. But it's something really important. Can you help?"

"Is it connected to..." Fred looked at Ginny's hand, then at Luna.

"Yeah," Ginny said.

"Look," George said, "if you need help, I mean, not just with getting into the dungeons, but with dealing with..."

"Thanks," Ginny said, interrupting him. "And I mean it. But no. It's... not something you can help me with, aside from providing directions. Sorry."

George and Fred exchanged glances.

"All right," Fred said. "We'll help." He then told her the directions and the current password to the Slytherin common room.

"And here is something more," George said showing her a piece of clear parchment. "We wanted to give it to Harry since he can't visit Hogsmead, but since there is something more important..."

"What is it?" Ginny asked.

George grinned. With a flourish he waved his wand over the parchment and said, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!"

Words and lines started to appear on the parchment, but Ginny couldn't concentrate on them. She took a step back as if expecting the parchment to leap at her at any moment.

"Are you mad? What is it? Where did you get it?"

George and Fred exchanged glances.

"Damn," Fred said. "Sorry, Ginny, we didn't think..."

"Of course you didn't!" Ginny shouted. "You should get rid of it! Or take it to Headmaster."

"Look," George said, "we get that you are upset, and really, we are sorry. But we've used it for a long time already. It hasn't caused trouble. The map just shows the map of Hogwarts with people marked as moving dots. There is nothing more to it."

"And you know that how?" Ginny asked. "There are subtle spells, spells you can't feel until it's too late. Before you wake up with... blood... on your hands..." she trailed off, staring into space and breathing heavily. Silence lingered on the scene for far too long.

"Shit," George said. "I guess we botched this one good."

"We'll take it to Dumbledore," Fred said. "Promise. We've memorized the secret passages marked here anyway, so no great loss even if it turns out fine."

Ginny slowly nodded. "Yeah, you do that." After a few moments, she added, "I... uh... sorry about the outburst..."

"Nah," Fred said. "We understand, really. It was dumb of us to show you this, and we should have handed it to Dumbledore after you demonstrated us the dangers of talking paper in person."

That managed to produce a chuckle from Ginny. "Yeah, you two should learn from my mistakes. You certainly don't learn from yours."

"You wound us, truly," George said. "Take care of yourself, will you?"

"Yeah," Ginny said. "You too."

They parted ways.

"You were silent during the conversation," Ginny said to Luna as they walked down into the dungeons. "Is everything fine?"

"Yes. I didn't want to interrupt. Is it always like that?"

"What?"

"Talking with your family. I don't have much experience in it. You got mad, but then you joked around with them. It looked a bit weird. Is it normal?"

"I guess. I don't think much about it." Ginny shrugged. "It's just something that happens. They can be a handful, but in the end I know they have my back, so it's hard to stay mad at them."

"Huh. Perhaps I should study families alongside nargles. They seem to be equally fascinating."

For the next few minutes they navigated the narrow corridors of the dungeons, Ginny murmuring the directions given to her and counting turns.

"Are we going to just walk into the Slytherin room?" Luna asked.

"Yeah," Ginny said. "The classes are starting soon, so there shouldn't be any people. If there are, we'll come up with something. You aren't expected in classes yet, right?"

"No. Madam Pomfrey told me to take it easy for the next two days."

"And I'm still waiting for my new wand to arrive. So, nobody should miss us."

"Unless we disappear there forever. Though, given how that place operates, I guess nobody would miss us then, either." Luna said calmly.

The rest of the trip was spent in silence.

"Is that it?" Luna asked.

The girls were holding hands as they stood before a painting on the wall above what they presumed was Astoria's bed. The painting depicted a black humanoid silhouette inside a green circle. It was titled The Sun.

"I think so," Ginny said. "Though nothing happens. The last time the world changed the moment I read the title."

"Hmmm... What did my picture look like, anyway?"

"It was titled the Moon, the words crossed out. Though the actual painting was showing a family standing beneath a sun."

"Huh. Well, this Sun isn't like a sun at all, so I guess the paintings are consistent. Though it doesn't look like the Moon either. Unless it's a particularly green moon."

The world changed while Luna was speaking, a soft light taking the place of the dungeon gloom. The girls now stood in a circle of vibrant grass surrounded by a cement wall on which the painting of The Sun could still be seen. Only a small piece of clear blue sky could be seen above them, so tall was the wall.

A girl in a light brightly-colored dress was sitting in the grass, playing around with a few pale white flowers.

"Oh, hi there," she said smiling broadly as she noticed Luna and Ginny. Ginny noted that her eyes were solid gold, shining brightly in the sunlight. "Want to play?"

"Astoria?" Ginny asked.

"Yeah, that's my name," the girl said standing up and clearing her dress from dirt. "What are yours?"

"Ginny and Luna," Ginny said looking around. She wasn't sure how to proceed. The girl before her most likely was the same kind of being as the one she encountered while rescuing Luna, but there was no sign of real Astoria in sight. Should she try asking the girl before her about it? Should she even talk with her at all? Perhaps it was better to search around, but could she afford to ignore the girl?

"Where is the other Astoria?" Luna asked.

The girl's smile fell.

"She's not here," she said.

"Where is she?" Luna asked.

"Outside," the girl said. "It's scary there, you shouldn't go. You can just stay with me and play."

"We have to," Ginny said.

"Don't you want to save her, if it's scary outside?" Luna asked.

The girl looked at her feet.

"Yeah," she said. "She is out there, alone, surrounded by... Surrounded. At the bottom of..." The girl looked at them, biting her lip. "I... I can't go there. I can't. And... and neither should you. You'll be lost."

"We will, though," Ginny said. "It's fine if you don't want to go, but we are going to rescue her. Can you tell us where to go?"

The girl nodded and walked to the wall. She breathed at it, and the wall parted, revealing a narrow entrance.

"I would wish you to be safe, but you won't be," the girl said.

Ginny peered outside and was met with darkness. The sunlight floating from the entrance was consumed almost instantly, leaving only a small space right before Ginny, made even smaller by her shadow. She couldn't see what was lying ahead, but she could swear that something was moving there, for the darkness was shivering.

Ginny took a deep breath and stepped forward. Luna took a moment at the entrance to cast a spell conjuring light.

As they walked further the darkness slowly parted around them, letting her just barely make out the details of that place, sending shivers down her spine. She'd never been there, but she could not be mistaken in her recognition, no matter how much she wished she was.

"Azkaban," she whispered, looking at the row of cells at each side of her, with dark tattered figures floating between them.

Ginny looked warily at dementors, expecting them to draw closer, to do what they did on the train, but they paid her no heed. She looked back at Luna and saw her leaning close to the bars, peering inside a cell.

"There is someone inside," Luna whispered as Ginny walked closer to her.

Ginny peered inside as well and soon noticed a form crouched in the darkest corner of the cell. The details were impossible to make out, though Ginny thought she could see dirty blonde hair hiding the face of the figure.

"Is it Astoria?" Ginny whispered.

"I don't think so," Luna whispered back. "Didn't the other Astoria say that she is at the bottom? This one is probably like those two-dimensional figures you saw around me. We should go down."

Ginny nodded. They left the cell behind them and started walking down the corridor, carefully avoiding the dementors floating by. Ginny shivered each time they came closer to one, wondering if a flush of dark memories was a reaction to their presence or merely an echo of her experience with the real ones.

As they walked, it became clear that each cell contained a prisoner. Or perhaps the prisoner, for every one of them looked like the same tall woman with blonde hair. Some of them were gaunt, clearly malnourished and exhausted, while others radiated vigor. Some crouched in the dark corners of their cells, clawing at the walls every time a dementor came near. Others stood on their knees right behind bars, hands folded in a prayer. Others still stood defiant and proud, growing paler as the dementors approached, but never bowing down. All, however, were unmistakeably the same person. And all were silent. Even when their lips parted in prayer or scream, no sound could be heard.

"What's going on here?" Ginny whispered as they descended down the stairs to another row of cells. "Who are they?"

"They kinda look like an older Astoria and Daphne. Maybe they metaphorically represent what Astoria is afraid of becoming?" Luna whispered back.

"Or maybe it's their mother."

"That would be a stretch, I think," Luna whispered. "I mean..."

She was interrupted by a woman's voice.

"Ah," the voice said. "You must be the intruders disturbing my garden. What a noisy pair of children. Leave now, and I shall suffer your existence."

Ginny turned around, trying to find the source of voice. Luna stood still, rising her wand high, making the light brighter.

"Who are you?" Ginny demanded, straining her eyes trying to see anything in the darkness beyond the spell light.

She saw it in the darkest shadows around them. A light so bright it could not be seen by human eyes, appearing as another patch of darkness. It could be registered only by the afterimage it burned into Ginny's sight. As she blinked tears away, the blots dancing in her vision slowly took form of words.

Once, there was a maiden who wanted to be perfect.

"I am someone beyond your comprehension," the voice answered.

Her love was forbidden,

So she cut away her love.

"Where are you?" Ginny shouted. "Show yourself!"

Her hatred threatened to consume her,

So she cut away her hatred.

"You intrude upon matters you don't understand and can't hope to stop." the voice said. "Leave. Now. It is your final warning."

As she cut away more and more of herself, she changed and became afraid.

So she cut away her fear of cutting.

"No!" Ginny said. "We are not leaving without Astoria."

Since then she never stopped cutting until she became nothing.

"Then you won't leave here at all."

I am everything she is not.

The dementors, until now content with floating from cell to cell, turned towards the girls. The atmosphere grew heavy and cold, and as the dark figures approached, Ginny could feel her vision narrowing, the darkness taking her sight inch by inch. Ginny knew that should she move, should her sight shift even slightly, she would find herself back in the Chamber of Secret, listening to the dripping of water and smelling old death.

"No," she whispered.

She had to move. Each moment of hesitation was bringing the dementors closer.

She couldn't move. Not with something much worse waiting behind her.

Oblivion was better than hell, and the dark figures in tattered cloth before her promised her release from her sorrows.

The bright light put an end to her entrapment. As she turned to look at it, she saw a chariot emanating bright cold silver light, with two bulls pulling it. A woman in flowing toga stood tall and proud in it, her face hidden by a helmet decorated with a crescent moon.

Luna stood by her side, eyes filled with a cold light. She smiled at Ginny and beckoned her to come closer.

Ginny looked around, fearful of dementors, but they were repelled by the light, sticking to shadows where the voice dwelt.

Ginny made her way onto the chariot, and stepping inside was like stepping into a dream. Nothing felt quite real, but everything held meaning Ginny could almost but not quite comprehend. Luna took her hand and said, "I guess you are the one in need of saving this time."

Ginny smiled back, though the words disturbed her.

"We should move," she said.

Luna nodded and tugged at woman's dress.

The chariot started to move, crushing dementors under its wheels and the legs of the bulls. As they died, they turned into a heavy dark mist sticking close to the floor and marking the chariot's passage.

"That is not going to work," the voice said when the chariot started to gain speed.

More dementors emerged from shadows. All were crushed by the chariot, but the mist remained, filling the air, bringing bad dreams and twisted memories with each breath Ginny took.

She coughed violently, lungs burning, throat numb, and rasped, "Faster! We need to go faster!"

Luna nodded, coughing herself. The bulls doubled their efforts, but more and more dementors were closing in on the girls. The light repelled them, but others pushed them back to their target. Not every one of them could be rammed by the bulls, and soon Ginny felt cold touches on her skin, leaving her numb.

Her vision started to dim again. Luna faltered by her side, leaning closer on the chariot.

Desperately, Ginny looked forward, hoping against hope to see their goal, but the row of cells merely continued to the next flight of stairs, promising a lengthy descent.

"Your struggle is futile," the voice said, and Ginny knew it to be true.

In desperation she turned inwards, trying to find the part of herself that was the rider of a two-headed dragon. She found it easily, a shimmering dark presence under her skin, defying the numbness left by the cold touch. She let it out, and the dragon, whole again, materialized before her, causing the chariot to turn and abruptly stop. The dragon recoiled from the dementors, and the voice laughed.

"Even the power you hold in your heart is meaningless here."

Ginny was the winged dragon rider now as well as herself, but despair didn't leave her. She tried to find a solution, tried to think of anything she could do.

Down, she thought. We have to go down.

The dragon exhaled poisonous smoke, which coiled into serpentine shapes, dissolving the floor. It parted easily, world growing fragile, and the group fell to the floor below. Ginny held tightly to Luna, who wasn't looking good.

"Ginny?" she said, her eyes unfocused.

"We're going to see it through," Ginny said, for her own benefit more than for Luna's.

The dragon exhaled again, sending them to the next level, and again, leaving each before the dementors from around and above them could catch up with them.

She prepared to make the dragon exhale again, then noticed that their surroundings had changed. Gone was the endless corridor, gone were the narrow flights of stairs. They were in a round chamber, similar to the one where the girl with gold eyes dwelt. Only the contents were different.

An altar stood at the dead center of the chamber, surrounded by a circle of candles broken by the chariot's fall. On top of the altar a blonde girl was lying, looking just the same as the girl above, save for her blue eyes. She watched the group before her without expression.

Ginny grinned. "Astoria!" she said. "Look, Luna, we've found her!"

Luna smiled faintly, visibly trying to focus.

"Yeah," she said. "And we're both alive."

Ginny crawled off the chariot, awkwardly providing support to Luna while trying not to put weight on her injured hand. Together, they slowly approached Astoria.

"No!" the disembodied voice screamed. "You won't take her!"

Astoria's lips parted in a silent scream, but only plants emerged from them. A single, pale white flower bloomed and withered right afterwards, rotted petals falling to the floor. Astoria's face froze, still looking as if she were screaming, and the world shattered.

Ginny and Luna fell into darkness, their companions dissolving into them. Again there was a terrifying moment of nothingness, though this time it was filled by all the screams that had been silenced until now.

She fell hard on the wooden floor of the classroom, Luna lying unconscious beside her. She clasped the girl's hand, looking wildly about, and barely noticing the confused and scared faces of the students and Professor Lupin before her gaze settled on what looked like a wardrobe. There was a dark hole in it, leading to places Ginny didn't want to imagine. The hole was spreading, not contained by the boundaries of physical world, consuming all that was behind it. Ginny could swear she saw forms of dementors swirling inside.

"Weasley?" an incredulous voice said. Ginny turned sharply, to see Draco Malfoy pointing a wand at her.

"Run!" she screamed, starting to drag Luna to the classroom door.