Chapter X – Secrets of the Mind

At nine the next morning Mr. Weasley, and Bill under a disillusionment charm, met MacDonnell and the new man Owen Thornbush. Thornbush said he would be needing his wand but Mr. Weasley took it anyway and said Harry and Ginny would make that decision. Then he led MacDonnell and Thornbush into the Burrow.

Looking at all the people in the sitting room Thornbush said, "I understand your demands for security. It is not necessary for all of you to leave but I must have quiet and not be disturbed. After introductions, everyone but Harry and Ginny move to the far end of the room and Thornbush started an explanation of what he intended to do.

"MacDonnell has told me your situation and how it began when you arrived here. I still find hard to believe; but before the end of the day learn the truth for myself. You two being young, I assume you know nothing about Legimency. I must tell you Legimency is not mind reading. At first I will be able to get only glimpses of your memories and thoughts which I will have to piece together to form a coherent pattern.

Once I have narrowed down which memories are causing this connection you claim to have, I will examine them more closely. It may take many visits to get enough information to discover what is happening. I may never find the reason; you must understand that.

You two say this connection began the first day Mr. Potter arrived here this summer as soon as you saw each other."

"Harry and Ginny both said," Yes."

Then Harry continued, "But we have reason to think it formed some time ago but just became active a month ago."

Thornbush asked, "And what makes you think this connection has existed for a long time in how shall we refer to it; a dormant state, until last month."

Harry said, "Ginny and I had similar experiences with Lord Voldemort when…"

Thornbush and MacDonnell both shuddered and Thornbush yelled, "Don't say that name!"

Ginny spoke up, "We're not afraid of the name. Both Harry and I have had personal encounters with him in the past. That's when and why we think the connection formed. Four years ago he possessed me and tried to kill me. Harry fought him trying to save my life. It was a situation similar to when he tried to kill Harry as a baby. You know Harry's story, yes."

"I know his story in as much detail as anybody." Thornbush said. "From what I understand no one knows the entire truth."

"We, I mean my friends and I, know much more than the general public; and what I have learned these past five years is what makes Ginny and I think it was our encounter with Vol.. ,You Know Who, four years ago that caused this connection. Perhaps that's where you should start looking through our memories."

"As I said," Thornbush said "you young people don't know how Legimency works."

"Actually," Harry said "I have some experience with this. I took Occlumency lesson last year so You Know Who wouldn't be able to see my thoughts and influence me so I know you need your wand to do this. We do however want your guarantee that our minds will not be harmed; and you need to know if you harm either of us you will not live to get out of this room."

Thornbush had a grim look on his face but he just nodded and Mr. Weasley returned his wand.

"Since you say you have experience," Mr. Potter "I will start with you. Do not use what you learned about Occlumency to try and block me; it will only slow down what I need to do. Miss Weasley can watch from where she is. Quiet now everyone.

Because you only became aware of this connection a month ago I am going to start with your most recent memories and work backward in time until I no longer find this connection. Then we will know at least when it started if not why and how."

Thornbush pointed the wand at Harry and said, "Legilimens."

Harry offered no resistance as he had done with Snape; instead he cooperated so Thornbush was able to move quickly from one memory to another. Nobody spoke but after a few seconds Harry was aware of Ginny being there and Thornbush stopped.

"I am seeing memories from Miss Weasley in you mind Potter." Thornbush said. "At first I thought you were thinking of her but it's not you; her mind is really sharing your brain."

"Yes," Harry said "that's what we told you. And I'm sharing her brain."

"I know you told me," Thornbush said "but being told something and actually feeling two people's sharing their brains is something else. I will need help from both of you to sort out which thoughts are whose if I am to organize a coherent pattern and find this connection.

I have done something similar to this working with an obliviator when it was necessary for the obliviator to try and erase long standing common memories from two people. It was never very successful in erasing such long standing memories but that's not what I intend to do here. I just wish to differentiate shared memories that might be responsible for your mental connection from individual memories that are not likely involved.

Hopefully it will work in this situation."

Harry interrupted, "You said you worked with an Obliviator to erase memories; does that mean an individual person who knows both Legimency and how to erase memories could cause two people with common memories to forget months of their lives?"

"Yes, in theory," Thornbush said "I suppose it is possible but I know of no single person good enough at both procedures to do it alone. And the odds of the memories returning would be quite high."

Harry looked toward Hermione at the far end of the room and nodded.

Thornbush started again, "I don't want either of you to talk; it will only distract me. What I do want is for you Mr. Potter not to think of any memories but only of the color blue; if I am viewing one of your memories I will see that color in the background. You Miss Weasley are to do the same except you think of the color yellow if it is your memory I am viewing. That should make your shared memories appear as a green background. If you're correct that something happened in common to both of you that caused this connection to form; it will have a green background. I will ignore blues and yellows for now and also any recent green flashes which would be memories made since the time you arrived here because we know the connection already existed by then.

Let's start again." He pointed his wand at Harry and said," Legilimens."

Harry and Ginny both saw flashes of blue, yellow, and green as Thornbush moved backward from today's memories to memories of yesterday and the day before. Most of the recent green flashes involved sex but Thornbush didn't seem surprised nor did he linger or seem to care about that.

When the memories passed back through Harry's arrival at the burrow, the green flashes became fewer but there were still some green flashes through the battle at the ministry and the last school year; mostly memories of Dumbledore's army. Thornbush was now slowing at each green flash to examine those memories in more detail.

When he got back to Grimmauld Place memories something happened. There were still flashes of green but they became dimmer and the color more pale. He lingered on memories of the last day at Grimmauld Place and Harry and Ginny saw Dumbledore easing their memories of that summer. Thornbush looked at that memory a long time.

Thornbush began to move to memories farther back in time. Now there were almost no green flashes through years of memories until the memories of the Chamber of Secrets started coming into Harry's mind.

Several bright dark green flashes appeared in a row after a long string of the dim pale green memories and Thornbush slowed his search from rapid glimpses to a slow long review of each memory. Finally he settled on the common memories of when Ginny had awakened after Tom Riddle was destroyed.

Then all the memories disappeared and Harry found himself next to Ginny in the sitting room at the Burrow again. "What happened?" he asked.

"We all need a break and some food." Thornbush said. "And I need some time to organize my thoughts and consider what I should do next."

"But we just finished breakfast an hour ago." Ginny said. "We should continue and get this done as soon as we can."

Mrs. Weasley came into the room with a tray of sandwiches and pitchers of drinks.

"It's about time you gave these children a break." she said. "It's almost two o'clock."

Harry checked his watch. What seemed to be a few minutes reviewing memories had actually been close to five hours.

As they ate Thornbush asked occasional questions.

"Last year Dumbledore erased parts of both of your memories, correct.

Harry and Ginny said, "Yes"

Ginny went on, "We suspected that happened when we first felt this connection. We discovered it was true when my parents told us the story of what happened and now we saw the memory with you."

"That was illegal." Thornbush said "I will have to tell the Aurors and have him arrested. It is punishable by up to a year in Azkaban."

"We are asking you not to do that." Harry said. "It involved the fight against You Know Who and you must know that Dumbledore is the only person You Know Who fears. We all want You Know Who defeated and arresting Dumbledore would be the worst thing the ministry could do. It would help You Know Who and hurt all of us."

Thornbush looked thoughtfully at Harry and Ginny and finally said, "I suppose if you two refused to testify against Dumbledore it would be my word against his and the ministry might not want to waste time and money on a loosing case. It might be better if I simple ignored it all.

Did you notice the shade of green changed as we moved backward from when Dumbledore erased your memories."

Harry and Ginny both said yes.

The darker shade meant a stronger tie between you two that started when Dumbledore made the attempt to erase your memories; but the pale shade in earlier memories indicated a weak link between you was there for many years. You didn't notice it because it was so weak. Dumbledore unwittingly strengthened it when he needed to search both of your minds for common memories at the same time.

The new stronger connection remained, how shall I put it, inactive until you two became sexually involved last month. The emotional ties you forged allowed the transfer of mental energy through the connection. Only strong emotions at first, but as the connection was used more often it became easier for weaker feelings and eventually thoughts to pass through. It is so strong now I am willing to bet it's hard not to let your thoughts and feelings be seen by the other person."

"Yes," Harry said "Ginny's thoughts are always present in the back of my mind."

"The same with me." Ginny said.

Thornbush nodded and continued, "Now as to when the first link formed; tell me more about the last memories we looked at; what is this Chamber of Secrets thing all about?"

Ginny started by telling how she was given Tom Riddle's diary without knowing it was his and how he took possession of her mind when she was only eleven.

Thornbush was unaware that Tom Riddle was Voldemort's real name, in fact very few people knew that, and Harry took time to explain.

Then Harry told what he knew about how Riddle used Ginny to get to Harry. How the teenage Riddle tried to kill Ginny to get her life force so he could come back.

Thornbush asked many details about the diary, about how Ginny felt when possessed, and about the destruction of the diary and Tom Riddle's destruction.

By now it was after four and Thornbush said, "All this about the diary is highly strange. We will do some research tonight and Mac Donnell and I will be back at nine tomorrow to continue. I suggest you two get some sleep tonight; you've had a long day and having your mind probed it more tiring than you realize. You may find tomorrow somewhat draining as we go into those memories.

After they left Harry and Ginny told Ron and Hermione about the experience and how the memories lead to the Chamber of Secrets. Harry said, "It looks like you were right about that Hermione. It seems the link between us did form when Tom Riddle was destroyed. Hopefully we will know the truth tomorrow."

It was too late to go to the pond so they spent a few hours playing Quidditch before eating then they turned in early taking Thornbush's advice.

The next morning at nine Thornbush and Mac Donnell were back and Harry and Ginny were on the divan in the sitting room ready to start again. All the family members left except Ron and Hermione who stayed with MacDonnell on the far side of the room to watch what they expected would be another day of the boring view of Harry, Ginny, and Thornbush sitting there not speaking or doing anything as far outsiders could tell.

Thornbush said, "Today we will start at the point where Mr. Potter went into this Chamber of Secrets and we will proceed slowly. Your description of the diary and what it did made me think that it was not just a memory held in it.

Have either of you ever heard of a Horcrux?"

Harry and Ginny both said no and Thornbush went on. "Well a Horcrux is a very dark object in which a witch or wizard has stored part of their soul. The soul in our body is what keeps us alive. When your body dies your soul can not remain on earth without the body to contain it and it passes into another plane of existence. Mac Donnell told me you know of the Death Chamber in the Department of Mysteries. The arch there is the doorway between this plane and the next.

A Horcrux holds and protects the part of the soul stored in it; binding that entire soul to this world. If the person who made the Horcrux dies their soul does not pass on. I can not explain exactly how that works but that's what theory tells us. Theoretically a new body can be formed or someone else's body can be possessed by that soul.

Thornbush didn't know that Harry had witnessed that very thing two years ago and Harry knew better than to give Thornbush that information.

It seems to me that is what the diary tried to do to Miss Weasley, possess her; which makes me believe it was a Horcrux. I plan to look at any changes in your brains that might have taken place at this time she was possessed and when the Horcrux was destroyed. I can not see actual changes in the brain; but in people who had brain damage from spells there are shifts in the memory pattern at the point the damage occurred. Though your brains do not seem damaged I am hoping this connection also caused memory shifts that I can detect.

Are you both ready?"

Harry and Ginny nodded and Thornbush pointed his wand and said, "Legilimens"

It took a few minutes to find the point Thornbush intended to start at but soon Harry was remembering how he used Parseltongue to enter the Chamber of Secrets. Then the cave in that trapped Ron behind, then the memory of Ginny on the floor came up but only from Harry's memory since Ginny was unconscious at the time.

Harry's conversation with Tom Riddle was gone through and the arrival of the Basilisk was seen. Harry's remembered the arrival of Fawkes and the sword and the fight with the Basilisk. The Basilisk was dead and Harry wounded. His memory became fuzzy as the poison spread. Fawkes was there crying and his memory cleared. He stabbed the diary with the poisonous fang.

The diary was bleeding and Tom Riddle screamed. Then a memory from Ginny appeared as she regained consciousness but she was not alone another mind was with her; Tom Riddle. Then in Harry's mind the mind of a fifth entity was present; the adult Voldemort.

They were back in the present, in the Burrow, and Harry struggled as Voldemort's mind tried to take control of him and Thornbush's mind was caught in the middle of battle. Then all sense of Voldemort's mind was gone; just like in the ministry hate filled, corrupt Voldemort couldn't stand to be in Harry's love filled selfless mind and that part of him gave up the fight going back into hiding.

In Ginny's mind however a struggle continued; young Tom Riddle who still possessed a semblance of humanity refused to concede the fight. Ginny fought to maintain control, not to be possessed as she had four years ago. Suddenly Harry was there in her brain helping her to fight Tom Riddle's mind. Riddle struggled against the two of them with Thornbush still trapped with them, observing the struggle. Together they were forcing Riddle out of Ginny's mind and as he was forced out he screamed but it was with Ginny's voice and he was gone from Ginny's mind.

Ron and Hermione had jumped up when Ginny screamed. They took two steps toward her and froze. Thornbush had stood up and pointed his wand at Ginny. Then he spoke, "Free, after all these years.

Silly children, you think you could destroy me so easily. Potter thought he destroyed me in the Chamber of Secrets when he stabbed my diary with the Basilisk fang. The link I had with the little girl was almost gone but I managed to maintain it long enough to conceal myself in her mind as my Horcrux was destroyed.

I learned how to do that as I searched for the secret of how Potter survived as a baby. I discovered a fragment of my older self hidden in Potter's mind. I established a connection with that part of me and he told me of what happened when he tried to kill Potter as a baby; how he survived when his body was destroyed and how he was maintaining his existence all this time hidden in Potter's mind. I did the same with the girl as my body was destroyed.

I was alive but trapped; hidden in her mind, powerless to free myself. The connection I established between myself and my older self in Potter's mind held like a delicate thread. I could feel my other self still in Potter's mind but both of us were too weak to do anything.

Then last year Dumbledore unwittingly began to help me.

He formed a link between you two to erase your memories. When he was done I was able to hold that link between you together; it made the connection between me and my older self also a little stronger. It kept you both sharing memories but only when you were close and highly emotional like at the battle at the ministry. Then last month you two gave me another gift. You became lovers; making the link I was trying to preserve stronger each day, helping bring my soul into an active state and allowing me to learn from my older more experienced self in Potter's mind.

The connection between you allowed me to feed on you. Watching your sexual gymnastics was nearly unbearable but the energy it generated brought me close to possessing you fully again. It was difficult to control both of you but I almost had control the other day when you were in the shower; that is until your friends managed to pull you back again.

Now you did me another favor; bringing this ministry official here; having him link his mind with yours. All day yesterday I tried unsuccessfully to find a way to transfer my soul to his mind. He will be so much more useful to my plans than a school girl. Just when I was ready to admit defeat you two teamed up your minds to help give me the push I needed to make the jump into his mind.

Now I have full control of him and all of you shall die. There will be nobody left to oppose me as I use him to take control of the ministry."

"Avada Kedavra" There was a flash of green light and Thornbush's body fell to the floor.

MacDonnell stood there holding Ron's wand which he had slipped out of Ron's pocket. "I couldn't allow him to succeed." MacDonnell said. "After what he confessed to, you can't blame me for killing him, the ministry can't punish me." His knees gave way and he fell to the floor.

As Mrs. Weasley came from the kitchen to find out what all the noise was about, Ron and Harry lifted MacDonnell onto the divan and everyone just looked at each other for a long time not saying a word. Finally Harry asked, "Ginny can you sense my thoughts or feelings."

She waited a second then said, "No, I'm not getting anything; the connection is broken."

Mrs. Weasley tried to revive MacDonnell but he seemed to be in shock. Finally she said, "We need to get him help. We need to get him to St. Mungos."

"No," Harry said "this is all secret and it wouldn't stay that way long if we took him there. Do what you can for him here. We need to contact someone in the ministry and let them decide what should be done."

"I'll contact Arthur and he can get somebody from the ministry here quickly." Mrs. Weasley said.

It actually took almost an hour before help arrived. Clive Smedley showed up along with Mr. Weasley and Bill who Mrs. Weasley also notified.

"When I got Molly's message I knew that Smedley and the minister are the only people at the ministry that know what has been happening here." Mr. Weasley said. "I couldn't reach Smedley since he works in the Department of Mysteries so I went to see the minister. He was in a meeting and his secretary wouldn't let me see him because I couldn't tell her what I wanted. I waited almost a half hour before he came out of his office and saw me. He sent for Smedley and told him to evaluate the situation and do what he thinks is best."

Smedley said, "Brief me on what happened."

Harry told the story as quickly as possible while MacDonnell still remained in shock half conscious, sometimes mumbling.

When Harry finished Smedley said, "Arthur, I want your sons to move the body outside the Fidielius Charm; Aurors have been sent to guard your home and they will take it from there. You will help me get MacDonnell to St. Mungos. I'll arrange for him to be in a security ward where he can get treatment without revealing any secret information. The rest of your family is to stay here until I return or the minister sends someone to get the story in its entirety."

After Mr. Weasley and Smedley left with MacDonnell; Bill levitated Thornbush's body out of the Burrow and turned it over to a team of Aurors that had already arrived at the perimeter of the Fidelius Charm. Then everyone gathered back in the sitting room to discuss what happened.

Mostly Harry with some interruptions from Ginny told the story of their memories. By the time they finished Mr. Weasley was back.

"From St. Mungos Smedley and I went to brief the minister. I assured him we were all safe within the Fidelius Charm and he ordered the Aurors away." he said. "He asked all of you to write reports of what you witnessed here today; especially Harry and Ginny. I will review them and get them to him ASAP; so you all should get started on you individual reports. Harry, you and Ginny must try and write separate reports."

"We have to Mr. Weasley," Harry said. "The connection between us was broken when MacDonnell killed Thornbush. We think the part of Tom Riddle that was in Ginny's mind must have completely moved into Thornbush's mind and when he died that part of Tom Riddle died with him."

It didn't take long for Hermione, Ron, and Mrs. Weasley to write down what they had seen because they saw very little except Harry, Ginny, and Thornbush sitting there not saying a word until the last few minutes. Mrs. Weasley wasn't in the room when Tom Riddle possessed Thornbush so she didn't hear what he said. Hermione's and Ron's descriptions of that matched closely.

Harry and Ginny took more time to write their version of what happened then they read each other's report and removed anything Harry thought Dumbledore would want to keep from the minister. Mr. Weasley reviewed all the reports and found only minor inconsistencies. He planed to submit the reports the following morning but during dinner Dumbledore arrived.

For the first time nobody was happy to see him.

"I hear from my sources at St. Mungos and the ministry that an unusual and important event took place here earlier today. I am disappointed that none of you felt the need to inform me yourself." he said. "I insist on hearing the details now since I believe it may have vital consequences on our efforts to stop Voldemort."

Harry and Ginny again told most of the story of how their memories returned and they discovered the connection between them. When they got to the part where Thornbush told them about the diary being a Horcrux, what a Horcrux is, and about Ginny holding part of Tom Riddle's soul in her mind; Dumbledore held up his hand. "Stop there Miss Weasley." he said.

He asked her several questions then turned to Harry and asked, "You to felt Voldemort in your mind as you did last year?"

"Yes,' Harry said "Tom Riddle told us that was what made the connection between us; he was in Ginny's mind and part of his older self was in my mind. But you told me he wouldn't try to enter my mind again. Also when Tom Riddle was speaking through Thornbush's body he said he discovered a part of Voldemort in me while I was in the Chamber of Secrets.

I struggled with Voldemort earlier today and he withdrew from me as he did last year when he tried to possess me at the ministry. But what I fought today wasn't the part of Voldemort that attacked me at the ministry, is it? It means there is still a part of Voldemort's mind in me?"

Dumbledore hesitated a moment and said, "I thought that may be the case four years ago when you told me the story of the diary after you saved Miss Weasley in the Chamber of Secrets but I had no proof until now. I believe that part of him is still in you but I can do nothing about it right now. He has laid dormant in you and I believe he will continue to until such a time as we can find a way to force him out.

I did not anticipate that Miss Weasley would suffer the same fate as you Harry. I apologize to you Miss Weasley; I regret my error in judgment caused you so many problems and I am happy at least your situation has been resolved. Unfortunately the same process will not work for Mr. Potter

Now is there any more to tell me?""

When they finished the entire story, Ginny stood up and unabashedly tongue lashed Dumbledore for erasing their memories last year. She ended with, "You had no right to do such a thing to us."

Dumbledore listened to her emotionlessly and when she was finished he said, "You four have every right to be angry with me. I ask you to think however if you could live the lives you want and be happy if Voldemort gains power.

I am an old man and will not live much longer; whether Voldemort live or dies will not affect me personally but I have dedicated my life to stopping Voldemort so other people both magical and muggle can have the kind of lives you want. All of you, especially Harry, are vital to stopping Voldemort. I have had to make decisions affecting not only the happiness but the very lives of many people in order to stop him.

It is not an easy thing to know many people will die because of what I am doing; but knowing thousands of other would die if I don't do what is necessary allows me to live with my conscience. So it was with erasing your memories. If I allowed you four to continue as you were last year you would have give Delores Umbridge and the minister another weapon against all of us and our attempt to stop Voldemort. You know now what they did to try and remove me from Hogwarts and stop Harry from warning the magical world of Voldemort's return.

If she discovered you four were having sex at school you would all have been expelled removing you from what protection I was able to provide for you. Also she would have used it as an excuse to remove me as headmaster far earlier in the year. I would not have been able to protect Professor Trelawney and prevent Voldemort from getting to her and the prophecy.

I took no joy in erasing your memories but I stand by my decision to do what is necessary to stop Voldemort. I do not tell you everything that I know since the more people that know my plans the more likely it is that Voldemort will capture someone and learn my secrets. My secrecy is my best weapon in fighting his secrecy therefore I ask you all to trust that I will do you no harm.

Your memories came back sooner than I hoped but you must believe I always intended that after Voldemort is vanquished you four would regain all that I took temporarily from you and you will be able to enjoy your lives. I ask all of you to trust me when I say it is necessary for me to hide these memories again. This year there is greater danger to all of you than at any time in the past and I may not be able to give you even the small amount of protection I did in the past. You will be much better off in the long run if you do not remember you relationships for now. Your relationships must remain secret from Voldemort and his Death Eaters. The only way to assure that is to erase your memories again.

You have known me many years; consider what I have told you for the next few days. Before school resumes I will need a unanimous decision from all of you; will you allow me to erase your memories again until such a time as it is safe for you to remember or are you willing to risk your own future and the future of our entire magical world. It may mean sacrificing a year or more of your happiness but it very possible will lead to Voldemort's demise.

Arthur, Molly, you and the other members of your family that know these secrets are in the same situation. I ask all of you to consider allowing me to erase the parts of your memory concerning what happened here. I will get to MacDonnell and take care of his memories.

Also we must also remove all mention of Horcruxes from the report to the minister. Nobody must know Voldemort's secret lest he discover what I have learned and thwart my plan to eliminate him before I can act."

It took some time to rewrite the report to Dumbledore's satisfaction but when they finished with it Dumbledore stood and said, "I will return for your answer about your memories on August 31." Then he left.

The next two weeks involved two extremes. The couples had serious discussions and shared thoughts about allowing Dumbledore to erase their memories again but they also enjoyed their last two weeks of summer fun playing Quidditch, skinny dipping in the pond, and nights of passionate sex.

With Tom Riddle gone Harry and Ginny no longer shared orgasms; but neither were they passing out and totally exhausted the next day. With what Ginny learned about herself and sex from her experiment with Hermione Harry and Ginny's sexual lives only got better. After one particularly long night after multiple sexual episodes they lay talking as the sun rose.

"Harry," Ginny said "we can't let him erase our memories again. Not being able to spend the night together and share ourselves would be horrible."

"I agree it would be horrible," Harry said "but it would be worse if Voldemort wins and you or I are killed. Dumbledore's plan may be the only way we get to be together for ever. Muggle soldiers leave their loved one for years knowing them must defeat evil to be happy someday. I am leaning toward allowing Dumbledore to go ahead with his plan. I want to be with you forever, not just the next year or however long we get until Voldemort kills us. I want to take the chance; sacrifice temporary happiness for the chance at a life time of happiness.

Your mother, father, and the rest of your family have decided to let Dumbledore erase what memories they have of all of this; of course they have less to lose than we do. Hermione and Ron think the same as me. They want happiness in the long term; but I will go with whatever you decide. We still have two days before Dumbledore returns for an answer."

A fifteen year old girl never had to make such a hard decision but on September first Ginny Weasley boarded the Hogwarts' Express and sat with Dean Thomas not remembering she was in love with and shared herself all summer with Harry Potter.