~Authors Note: An extra chapter has been added to come before this one. So this will officially become Chap16. I am slowly rewriting the chapters, but I promise no more chaps will be added before this one. That way there will be no confusion. Also, for the sake of the continuation of this story, imagine that Windwall was never destroyed. Instead, it was really taken over by new management and thus renamed into Coldrock. :)

Song of the Melodie
by Greenleaf7

- Chapter 16: The Connection

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING, HARRY!" Hermione's shrill voice seemed to echo throughout the kitchen and down the hallway.

Harry, Ron and Hermione were now all together in Number 12 Grimmauld Place. Currently in the kitchen, sharing a mug of butterbeer and talking about the days events. After leaving The Leaky Cauldron; Harry, Ron and the twins were taken back to Grimmauld. Both Fred & George, after finding that their mom was searching for more of their joke products, left the house to test their products in a more private setting. This left Ron and Harry to tell Hermione all about what happened that day, including meetings Eliora and her brother Charlie.

Naturally, Hermione was interested to know why someone like Eliora, with obvious magic of her own, wasn't in Hogwarts. Then again, she could be in another wizarding school. Since there are so many, some even unknown, around the world. Still, as Harry continued to tell Hermione about the connection that he and Eliora had shared, that really fascinated the teen witch. She wanted to know everything! How long it lasted? What it felt like? And many other questions, each one answered by Harry. However, upon finding out that they had shared each others memories, Hermione's curiosity quite literally flew out the window.

"Harry, do you have any idea how dangerous that it? Sharing someone's memories is not a good thing. Your memories could be used against you!" Hermione countered, her tone was dead serious.

Harry rolled his eyes. It's a good thing he didn't tell her about having a telepathic link with Eliora. She would have gone berserk with that information.

"Oh come on, Hermione. Eliora would never do that." Harry answered as he took a sip of his butterbeer.

"And how do you know that? You just told me that you met her today. You don't know who she is! Who her parents are? How do you know that she's isn't with…?" Her words were cut short when Harry suddenly stood up from the table and slammed his mug down. Some of the Butterbeer sloshed out and dripped unto the table's surface.

"How could you even think that? Eliora is NOT with Voldemort. I told you, when we were connected...it was like seeing her entire life through my own eyes. The same was for her when she saw my memories. I can now feel what she feels, I know what she knows. Honestly, I know her just as well I know myself." Full of passion for what he believed, Harry heatedly replied.

It took him a moment to calm down, but when he did the fires in his eyes faded and his gaze softened. After turning away from his friends, he seemed to be lost in his own thoughts, dwelling and remembering what had happened between himself and the girl with the purple eyes.

"In a way, I feel like I've always known her. And I know this sounds weird, and I really can't explain why, but feels like there's a bond between us. It's like we're family…or something even more." Harry whispered to himself mostly, but his friends had heard every word. Glancing at each other, his friends had the same written expression on their faces, concern. Noticing the silence made Harry turn around and face his friends. Instantly, he knew what they were thinking.

"Listen, I know what you're thinking. But I'm not crazy." He began, hoping to try and explain himself as best he could. "It just felt like, like we're a part of each other. Also, and I don't know why, but ever since meeting her I've had this strong feeling that she needs to be protected." He explained, looking at each of his friends and hoping for a positive reaction. What he got was sort of expected.

"Oh come on, Hey! Don't look at me like that." Harry suddenly shot out, catching the weird looks his friends were giving.

"Harry, what exactly do you mean by, 'she needs protection'?" Hermione asked, hoping to break the growing silence.

"I don't really know, actually. I just felt it. So I gave Eliora the address to…" Harry stopped himself short before he said too much, but the damage was already done.

He knew that Hermione was going to blow when she understood that Harry and given a complete 'stranger' the address to Grimmauld. And he was right... Hermione's face turned a shade of red as her eyes bulged as the truth sunk in. [Which brings us back to her previous outburst]

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING, HARRY!" Hermione near screeched as she quickly stood up, knocking her chair over while the contents of her butterbeer spilled across the table.

"HOW COULD YOU BE SO IRRESPONSIBLE?" Hermione's voice seemed to magnify ten fold, even Ron's face turned chalk white and it wasn't even himself who was getting yelled at.

"She needn't protection, Hermione! She needed to be safe. I wanted her to be safe!" Harry countered back as he too stood up, but his voice didn't match Hermione's volume. It was instead, a little softer as he tried to make her see his reasons. Fat chance.

Just then, Mrs. Weasley came in. Upon hearing the commotion, she came to investigate. "Is everything alright in here?" She asked. But with one look at Hermione's dominating stance, the wide-eyes of her son and Harry standing up to counter Hermione. It was all Mrs. Weasley needn't to know.

"Alright now, what's going on?" She questioned as she walked towards the table. Harry was about to explain to Mrs. Weasley, while giving as little as possible, when suddenly he was overcome with the feeling of being slapped right across the face!

His head sharply turned towards his shoulder by the sudden impact, his left cheek burning. He gripped the edge of the table to keep his balance. But as quickly as it came, so was it disappearing. Before long, the feeling slowly started to fade away, but the shock of it stayed.

"Who. Slapped. Me?" Harry questioned as he raised his hand to cover his cheek. It still stung from the impact.

"Harry, are you alright?" Mrs. Weasley asked as she hurried over to Harry's side.

Ron and Hermione turned their attentions on Harry, neither of them hearing his question. Mrs. Weasley, after prying Harry's hand away from his cheek, gasped as she inspected it. Right across his left check, was the fearsome red mark of a bony hand that no doubt was the cause of the slap.

"How did that happened?" Hermione asked with worry, completely forgetting the address ordeal.

Harry shook his head as Mrs. Weasley inspected the baffled mark. "I don't know. It just suddenly came." Harry answered as he winced when Mrs. Weasley lightly touched it.

"Perhaps it's a ghoul or something." Ron suggested as he tried to get a better look at the mark too. And then, to everyone's astonishment, the mark began to fade. A second later, it was as if the mark was never there. Not even Harry could feel the sting anymore. Almost like, he wasn't supposed to feel it in the first place.

"Ok, I'm officially weirded out now." Ron said as he sat back down.

"Well, I-I don't know what to say." Mrs. Weasley breathed as she took a step back to get a better look at Harry.

Hermione on the other hand looked as though she was solving a huge problem. She was frowning as though she had thought of something…something impossible and yet probable. Harry himself appeared to be in deep thought. He was wondering on what the heck had just happened! For a moment, and maybe it was his imagination, he thought he saw the image of an older woman with grey hair standing in front of him. And that when it hit him. She was the one who had slapped him! And like a lighting bulb was switched on, Harry's eyes doubled in size as he finally understood.

"She didn't slap me. She slapped Eliora!" Even if what he was thinking was impossible, there was no didn't doubt in Harry's mind.

After all, he and Eliora had shared each others memories. They now also share a telepathic link, so who's to say that they couldn't share each others feelings or keep a deeper connection then they first realized or even imagined? "But how far will it go?" Asking himself this important question, poor Harry didn't have to wait long to find out. Because at that very second the wizard found himself doubling over his chair and crashing to the floor. Tumbling over on his side, Harry curled himself up with his legs held tightly against his chest. His teeth began chattering as soft white puffs of air flowed from his lips. He was freezing! The very air around him felt chilled, sweeping over him so suddenly like a bucket of ice of cold water had been poured down on him. He couldn't help himself but tremble and shake as his whole body felt like it was freezing from the inside out!

"HARRY!" He heard Hermione scream. He had closed his eyes and could hear chairs quickly scraping back and the hurried footsteps of his friends coming to his side.

"Harry, what's wrong?" The shrill voice of Mrs. Weasley questioned in fear.

"Blood hell! He's freezing!" Harry could hear Ron exclaim when he felt him touch his arm.

"Take him near to the fireplace. I'm going to get some blankets." Harry heard Mrs. Weasley say. From the distance, he heard her steps grow fainter and fainter as she left the kitchen, leaving him with Hermione and Ron.

"What do you think is going on?" Ron asked as he bent over and looped his arms under Harry's. Hermione went for his legs and grabbed a gentle hold of his ankles. Together, both Hermione and Ron slowly carried & half-dragged their friend towards the fireplace. But no sooner had they brought Harry beside the warmth of the fire, did the freezing temperatures suddenly leave him. Everyone was surprised when Harry started picking himself off from the floor without even a hint of ever being near frozen. He wasn't even the least bit cold. Quite the apposite actually, since he was feeling a little on the toasty side . His friends, however, stood where they were as they watched Harry get up. Completely baffled as to what was going on.

Opening his mouth like he was going to speak, poor Harry didn't even get the chance to utter a sound before he was once again overcome by an intense feeling. But it wasn't a slap or the feeling of turning into a posicale. It was actually something far worse, and it tore at Harry's heart. Basically, It felt like an urgent yanking or sharp pull towards Eliora. A silent urg to get to her as fast as he could. But the sense of danger crashed on Harry's mind so hard that he found himself loosing his balance as he wobbled on his legs. Luckily, his friends held onto his arm for support and steered him towards his seat, but stopped when Harry started talking.

"It's her. Everything, it's all her. Eliora got slapped, not me. And now, now she's freezing. She's so cold. So alone..." He whispered aloud, his breathing coming out short and heavy. His voice even breaking a little, as he too could feel Eliora's fears and pains like they were his.

"Harry, what are you talking about?" Hermione questioned as she seated Harry unto his seat.

But Harry immediately jumped back up. "She's dying! I have to get to her!" He cried out as he sharply turned away and started heading for the door. But not before Hermione ran in front of him and blocked his path.

"Where do you think you're going Harry? You can't leave Grimmauld!"

"Watch me…" Harry answered as he moved to the side of Hermione, but she stood her ground and blocked him again.

"Harry, we don't understand. What's going on mate?" Concerned, Ron's voice came from behind Harry.

Harry turned towards Ron and then back towards Hermione. He knew that they needed an explanation. But Eliora's life was at stake! There was no time for this!

"Look, I'm not sure why but I'm somehow connected to Eliora now. I'm sharing her feelings..." He started, figuring if he could give a crash course now…they'd leave it be and just trust him.

His friend's reaction, on the other hand, wasn't much of a shock to him. Ron's eyes had bulged and Hermione's mouth had dropped.

"Look, if I don't get to that orphanage, if I don't get to Eliora in time...I have this terrible feeling that she will die!"

"Die?" Ron shot out, still lost back when Harry talked of being connected to the girl.

"How can you be so sure, Harry?" Hermione softly asked, taking a step forwards.

"I can't explain it, but I can feel it here." Resting a hand against his heart, he silently pleaded that his friends would understand and let him go.

But Hermione didn't fully understand what was happening now, but at least she trusted Harry enough to see that his care for this Eliora was very strong. Perhaps a little too strong for someone you only just met a few hours ago. But still she trusted him, so she'll lay off. At least until she could get to the bottom of this So after a few tedious seconds, ever so slowly, she began moving away from Harry's path. As if she wasn't even in control of her actions, she also went as far as opening the door and keeping it that way.

"Thank you." Harry said softly as he made his way towards the door. But was stopped by Ron as he grabbed him by the shoulder and sharply pulled him back. "Uh, hate to put a stopper on the heroics here. But have you forgotten about mom? She's bound to kill us all, especially me, if we were caught leaving!"

"We? Ron...thank you, but you don't have to come. I'll be-" Harry started, but was interrupted.

"Yeah yeah, we know. You'll be fine. But we're still coming. Right, Hermione?" But Hermione hadn't heard Ron. Instead, she'd been pondering very hard on another important matter. Though she couldn't believe that she was actually joining in on this crazy idea! Still, she couldn't stop herself from asking the next question. "Harry...just what exactly where you planning to do? Where is this orphanage? And how are we going to get there?"

"We could always take the Knightbus..." Run suggested, though he caught Hermione's roll of the eyes.

"The Ministry of Magic covers all Knightbus routs and stops. We'll be caught in seconds..." Hermione explained with a heavy sigh, like it was so obvious.

Harry, on the other hand, knew that his friends were both right. Mentally he cursed at having let that thought slip. How was he going to get to the orphanage? Then remembering what Eliora had given him, he than quickly reached into his back-pocket and pulled out the piece of paper with the address to her orphanage. He opened it and read it twice, Hermione and Ron peering over his shoulder to read the address as well.

"That's on the other side of town." Ron replied.

"If what you saying is true about Eliora...than not even the public trains will get us there in time." Hermione firmly added. "Wait, I can't believe I'm actually giving in to this ludicrous idea!" She muttered under her breath.

"We can always fly." Ron suggested, though immediately regretted it after seeing the fires lit in Hermione's eyes. After hearing Ron's ludicrous idea Hermione had snapped her head up and glare at the redhead like he had lost his mind. This entire idea was insane! Harry, on the other hand, looked at Ron like he was a genius. "That's a great idea, Ron! We can fly on my Firebolt. We could make it to the orphanage in no time at all." Harry exclaimed.

"WAIT A MINUTE! Are you two actually thinking this through?" Hermione shrilled as she looked at each boy in turn.

"First off, you can't leave Grimmauld Harry. You-know-who is still on the loose or must I remind you?" Hermione firmly pointed it while tapping each of her fingers in turn.

Harry rolled his eyes. Of course he knew that! But Eliora's life was at stake!

"Second! Ron, your mother... As you said, she'll for surely kill us all if she found out that we left. And thirdly…" But Hermione was suddenly cut off by the sharp emerald green eyes as the stared ever strongly at her. Soon enough she quieted down, her lips pursing together.

"Hermione now is reallynot the time. Eliora's life is in danger. And going through Mrs. Weasley rage is fine with me, as long as Eliora is safe and sound." Harry firmly replied, a flash of deep resolve in his eyes. And with that said, he left the two and walked out of the kitchen and up the stairs. A moment passed, before both Ron and Hermione followed Harry up to his room. Without a sign of Mrs. Weasley, they reached his room and closed the door behind them.

While Harry went searching for his Firebolt; his friends were busy getting ready themselves. Like putting on their sweaters and grabbing their cloaks. Ron was actually excited that they were doing something spontaneous. Hermione on the other hand was in turmoil. Even though, a part of her was actually thrilled that they were doing something adventurous, the other part of her was scolding the other.

"Harry, are you sure about this?" Hermione's voice sounded shaky as she watched Harry pull out his Firebolt. Her question was ignored though.

"Will that hold all three of us?" Ron asked as he looked at the Firebolt, hands tracing over the smooth "Firebolt" words etched in glittering gold.

"It would be a tight squeeze. But yeah, I think we can all fit." Harry answered as he reached for his invincibility cloak.

"Harry, that's not going to hold..." Hesitantly Hermione mentioned. She was still not sure if they should even be doing this. The dangers alone were too numerous, and yet…what if Eliora's life really was in danger? And they did nothing?

"We can't be seen." Quickly she reminded the boys, choosing to swallow down her own fears on this.

Ron and Harry looked at each other. Being wrapped up in preparing, they had forgotten that they were not supposed to be seen by muggle's. On the bright side though, it was two hours into the night. The sun wouldn't be coming up in a long while. So all they needed would be the cover of darkness and a little bit of extra non-muggle-seeing-warranty to get through this.

"We won't be..." Harry replied, the idea becoming more and more solid. Having his Firebolt hovering off the ground, he then mounted it before turning his gaze back to his friends.

"It's only nine pm. So we'll have plenty of darkness to cover us. And besides, there are no muggles that could catch sight of this." Patting the front end of his broom, Harry smiled. If he pushed on his broom hard enough, they could be at the orphanage in a matter of minutes. That is, if they didn't get lost with Eliora's instructions. Then again, with Eliora's memories, Harry could clearly remember every path and detail she had taken from the hospital to the orphanage. All he really needed to do was follow the landmarks.

"Sounds good to me..." Replied Ron, as he climbed up on the Firebolt right after Harry. Looking back towards Hermione, his eyes open with a shy smile. He then brought a hand out to her.

Come on, Hermione." The voice of Ron floated from the middle of the room. Harry had already used his own wand to open the bedroom window, causing a shiver from Hermione as she took a step closer towards the broom.

"On second thought, I think it would be best if I stayed behind…" She quietly mumbled. She still didn't like flying.

"Oh come on, Hermione!" Ron exasperatedly replied. With that, he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the Firebolt. Not at all believing what she was doing, the teen suddenly found herself climbing in between Ron and Harry. Already she gripped a hold of the broom so tightly that her fingers were turning white. Without so much as a word of protest, Hermione quickly squeezed her eyes shut and muttered a prayer of sorts that Hogwarts wouldn't expel them for this...

The moment Harry kicked off from the ground, Hermione didn't even dare open her eyes as she felt the first gusts of winds pick up around them. In moments, she could no longer feel the floor, as her shoes slipped off from the ground as theybegan to rise. Feeling a sudden pair of arms wrap quickly, but gently, around her waist; brought Hermione to dare a peek over her shoulder. Knowing that Ron Weasley was the culprit, she couldn't help herself from blushing slightly as he gave an equally nervous smile. But the awkward, though not so bad closeness of the two, was suddenly snapped away by Harry's sudden shout-out.

"Here we go!" He cried out, kicking off from the ground. At least the window was big enough for them to fly out of and into the night.

Scared out of her wits, eyes wide with horror, Hermione quickly grabbed a hold of Harry before stuttering a reply... "H-Harry? W-what's the plan?" She trembled, her arms near squeezes the air out of Harry.

"Get to the orphanage. Save Eliora. And maybe even bring her and Charlie with us. Why?" He asked, gasping for air a few times over because of how tight she was holding him.

Not really waiting for a reply though, he aimed for the open window and sharply leaned forwards. The Firebolt took off like a bullet, leaving clouds of dust and cobwebs to billow behind them. But not before Hermione was able to scream her reply.

"Because there's not enough room back, heeerrrrrreeee!" Hermione's shrill scream seemed to echo into the night, causing a few dogs to bark and cats to screech. Luckily, the animal racket was just what was needed to cover the trio's flight into the night...plus Hermione's screaming. But no sooner had they rocketed out the window, did the door open and in walked Mrs. Weasley caring a few blankets in her arms. In seconds, they tumbled from her arms and unto the floor as she rushed to the open window and screamed out into the foggy still night. But the trio didn't even hear her, as they were already miles away.

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