The Black Lake Chapter 12, a harry potter fanfic

A/N: Please note that due to the AU nature of this fic, there may be differences from canon regarding wand lore, curses, and other plot points. Also, as mentioned before, a Pensieve is an extremely rare commodity to come by in this fic.

The Black Lake

Chapter 12

"There's something I don't understand."

Harry looked up from the book he had been reading in the Library to stare at Hermione. It had been a very long day. Last evening, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny had very much been looking forward to a joyous reunion. But that hadn't been at all what had happened. Instead, they discovered yet another facet of the complicated curse that had been placed on the young redhead. Ginny had been waiting in the Grotto for her brother, but the closer Ron and Hermione came to where she waited, the more Ginny felt an irresistible pull to flee into the watery depths- invisible hands dragging her under.

Harry met with her by himself the next morning, and it didn't matter how many soothing words of comfort he gave her, nor how tightly he held to her, the compulsion to flee was too strong. Ron was bitterly disappointed and had to resign himself to pass along messages to her through Harry. Ginny had been tearful and agonized over her behavior, but it was clearly out of her control. He reminded her of this when she asked if her brother would be able to forgive her, to which Ron's response was that there was nothing to forgive, only more urgency to break the magical hold over her. Harry explained every detail he could remember from what Ginny had told him about what the Queen and her Shaman had told her, hoping something would fall into place. When no spark of brilliance had appeared, he resigned to Hermione's suggestion to look up more information.

Harry had spent the last several hours with Ron and Hermione pouring over various books and texts regarding Magical creatures and curses. After spending some time at the Ministry library, Hermione became convinced they would find what they were looking for in the more extensive library at Hogwarts. It was early evening and Harry- classes done for the day- was becoming increasingly irritated. Time spent in the library meant time that was not being spent with Ginny. Not being with Ginny made him incredibly anxious- he would be lying to himself if he said he hadn't been paranoid that each time they met in the grotto would be their last. Ginny had sworn she wouldn't leave him, but he still harbored a fear of losing her. But now he had his own promise to keep- as she had only agreed to stay with him if they could figure out how to break the curse on the Merpeople. And if they could break that curse, surely they could break hers as well... Harry had a very large and very boring book on the history of the Merpeople, Ron had two different books on wand lore that he was squinting at as he sank lower into his chair, and Hermione had abandoned her book on curse-breaking. She was pacing back and forth with her face pinched in deep thought.

"The problem is," she continued, appearing to converse with herself, "the curse isn't following its own rules, it isn't behaving like a curse should. Somehow the law of magic has been defied."

She crossed her arms as she paced, appearing to be thinking out loud rather than addressing Harry or Ron. The latter didn't look up from his book but made a noise of amusement. "She does this a lot," he said with affection, "Paces and talks to herself. Comes up with her best stuff when she's like this. It's maddening, mind you, we've had to replace several rugs in our flat. But it's bloody brilliant what she comes up with."

Harry had been relieved when Ron and Hermione had come to his side so quickly- he was in over his head. He had also sought out the Ministry's help in supplying a curse-breaker, but it appeared that would take months at the earliest. Most were either killed or went into hiding during the war, and it seemed that only a scant amount had resurfaced since Voldemort's defeat. There were still a few dozen Death Eaters on the run, and nearly a hundred more in Azkaban, which meant the department was overrun with requests for assistance. But Harry had no intention of waiting for additional help- he would not risk wasting any time.

"According to the Mermaid Queen, You-Know-Who cursed her all those years ago," Hermione contemplated, "and he also cursed Ginny over a year ago. Same wizard... two different curses. And we haven't heard any news of any other victims not being released from their curses. How can that be?"

"Because he didn't curse people," Harry added solemnly. "He killed them... with very few exceptions."

Hermione stopped her pacing abruptly, having broken out of her trance. Harry sighed. "Voldemort was impatient, and once he wanted you dead, that was it." He ran a hand through his hair, thinking about the dozen or so close calls he had had while on the run with Sirius. "The Death Eaters were more likely to use long-term curses. That wasn't Tom's style... sure he had a penchant for torture, but his victims were never left alive. He focused mostly on elimination... He had no reason to curse someone unless it served a specific purpose. Even then, it was more often than not that the Death Eaters performed the curses. They even did most of the torturing. For the most part, he saved his wand for... for special cases." He felt a knot in his chest as he thought of Voldemort approaching Godric's Hollow on that Halloween night all those years ago. "If Voldemort was the one pointing his wand at you, it was personal."

The room was eerily still now, like a dark cloud had stretched over the sun and darkened it. He could feel the fear seeping out from Ron and Hermione, and understandably so. They had seen the Dark Lord descend upon Hogwarts castle with fury and darkness and had watched their Headmaster, family, and friends fall. Harry had been raised on the run- living almost as a fugitive. He had grown accustomed to danger, and accustomed to the reality that he may not live long. Voldemort's pursuit had been a way of life- so much so that he held little more than annoyance for the evil creature. His fear had been of losing the one person in his life he had ever cared for, and who had also been the only one who had ever cared for him. He swallowed heavily, fingers suddenly itching for the comfort of long, sweet-smelling hair and gentle touches. His worst fear had come true-he had lost Sirius.

But he had Ginny now. Looking up from his deep thoughts, he realized that he had more than just Ginny. Ron, Hermione, Hagrid, and even Professor McGonagall. He had friends now- something he had never had before. He cleared his throat, forcing himself back to the task at hand.

"Like I said, very few exceptions to this rule."

"Why the Mermaid Queen?" Ron asked. "Why curse her?"

"He apparently was still young when he cursed the Mermaid Queen," Hermione interjected, "Maybe he hadn't mastered the Unforgiveables at that time."

"That could be," Harry said hesitantly. "The Merpeople didn't say exactly when it happened, but we know at the time that Tom hadn't hadn't fully become Voldemort yet. Maybe you're right Hermione and he hadn't used the killing curse yet... Or maybe he planned to come back and use the curse to make them join him? He sought the support of all sorts of Magical Creatures. I'm not sure what his mindset was at the time..." In his peripheral vision, he saw Ron's brow furrow slightly. Of course, these two hadn't yet found out just how well he had come to know the mind of Voldemort.

"Alright," Hermione said. "For now we'll conclude that he was young at the time. What about Ginny, then? Why not-" she broke off a bit, glancing sideways at Ron. "I mean why not... well, you know."

For a moment the memory of that night blazed across his eyes. His jaw tightened.

"Ginny," he said quietly, "We have something in common, her and I. We are the only two people I know of who have ever survived a one-on-one encounter with Voldemort. She was certainly a special case for him. It became personal when he found out she helped destroy his Horcrux. He was killing her that night, and had he not become distracted, he would have done. He only turned her into a Mermaid to contain her. He fully intended to come back. He wanted her to suffer- a long, drawn-out death like he had done to Dumbledore. He never planned on leaving her alive." He avoided Ron's gaze, trying not to dwell on how close his Ginny had been to death. "So as far as exceptions to the rule, they are the only two I am aware of."

"And you, of course." Ron chimed in.

Harry didn't respond. He hadn't told Ron and Hermione about what exactly had happened on The Day. He hadn't told anyone, hadn't felt ready to tell anyone. When the day came that he was ready to talk about it, he wanted to be near his greatest source of comfort, and let her hold him while he poured the words out. He imagined her soft voice soothing him, and then her touches and kisses sweeping away the pain of it all. But that was a story for another time, he thought, shoving down the feelings welling up. There was work to be done. There was a heavy quiet in the room as each occupant had become absorbed in their own thoughts. Suddenly needing something to do, Harry pulled one of the books on the table toward him and opened it to a random page. A large picture of a very attractive Mediterranean Mermaid peered up at him beneath sultry eyes.

"And yet the curse remains," Hermione broke the silence. "On both of them. Even with You-Know-Who's death, the curses are unchanged. It's so strange. The moment he died the curses should have broken." She resumed her pacing. "We've got to get a curse-breaker on this."

"I told you," Harry said dejectedly, "I contacted the Ministry and they said it would be weeks if not months before they could get someone out here. They said every employee in the department is working overtime-"

"That's it!" Ron suddenly exclaimed.

Hermione jumped at the sound of his voice. "What is it, Ron?" She asked with a hint of annoyance.

"The Ministry, that's the problem!"

Harry and Hermione exchanged a look. "Er..."

Ron ignored them. "No, listen," He seemed almost in awe of his own epiphany. "The Ministry doesn't have enough curse-breakers at the moment, but that doesn't mean they aren't out there. We can hire a private contractor and get them out here straight away!"

Hermione folded her arms. "I suppose that could speed things up a bit. But would we be able to find someone? And even if we did, hiring privately would cost a fortune-"

"I'll put in more overtime hours."

"Ron, don't be ridiculous, you know very well that wouldn't be enough. Even if we used our money for the wedding it wouldn't be enough-"

"We'll figure something out, Hermione. Let's just use the wedding money, we can always postpone it. Ginny's suffered long enough as it is. I'll work more or get a loan or whatever- hell, I'll get a second job if I need to! I'm not going to let something stupid like money keep her trapped down there-"

"It's not a problem." Harry interrupted.

The pair turned and looked at Harry in surprise. Ron's eyebrows were almost to his hairline.

"It's not a problem," Harry repeated. "I'll take care of it."

"Harry," Ron started, "Listen, mate, while we both appreciate the offer-"

"No," Harry stopped him. "Don't even start. I'm doing this. You can call it a gift or a loan or whatever makes you feel better. We can hash it out later. I'm doing this for Ginny." Perhaps selfishly so, but for Ginny nonetheless. "I don't want to waste another day. Please. And you should be able to spend that money on your wedding- not this- not when I can help."

Hermione's eyes became watery, and Ron heaved a great sigh, looking torn.

"Right," Harry continued before Ron could try to argue. "So, we need a private contractor. Where do we start?"

Before either could answer him, Professor McGonagall approached their table, looking as rushed and harried as ever. "Weasley, how many times do I have to tell you, feet off the table! You were raised in The Burrow, not a barn. This is a library for Merlin's sake, and- where on earth is your uniform?"

"Well, Professor, I seemed to have left it at home." Ron grinned.

McGonagall bristled sharply with insult- until the realization set in and she sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Forgive me, Weasley, old habits you see." She looked around at the three of them. "May I ask what brings you and Miss Granger to the Hogwarts Library? Usually, guests check in with the Headmistress before they go meandering around." She gave a pointed look at Harry.

"Of course, Professor," said Hermione, "it won't happen again. We were just helping Harry with some research."

"Research? What research is this, Mr. Potter?" She asked, turning to Harry.

He shrunk a bit under her scrutinizing gaze. "Oh, nothing important," he said, trying to keep the guilt out of his voice, "Just a little project I'm working on." When he had first had his theories about Ginny and pestered her incessantly about them, the Headmistress had all but made him swear not to bring it up again. To be fair, he didn't exactly have proof yet. And short of someone finding a pensieve he didn't see the point of provoking her further. When her spectacled eyes strayed down to the open book in front of him and saw the large picture of the sultry Mermaid, her eyes immediately narrowed. Harry casually leaned forward on the book, his elbows covering up the picture, a perfectly innocent smile on his face.

McGonagall glared at him. "If this is what I think it is," she gestured sharply to the books scattered on the table, "It better not be. Potter, you should be spending this time with lesson prep. Merlin knows I have enough going as it is. I don't want to hear a word about- well, whatever this is."

"But, Professor-" Hermione tried to interject.

McGonagall held up a hand to silence her. At Ron's crestfallen look, she softened just the slightest bit but cleared her throat haughtily. "Weasley, keeping our doors open has my hands tied at the moment. I've more than enough Fiend Fires to put out with the Board as it is. See me if something changes- and only, if something changes." With one more glare at Harry's stupid grin, she left quickly, muttering something to herself.

Ron looked at Harry in a sort of indignant confusion. "What the hell was that all about? You'd have thought I just asked her to get declawed."

Harry sighed, his hands gripping his hair. "It's a long story."

"I'm sorry."

Ginny kneeled before her Queen in the Black Lake. Her hands fidgeted in her lap from her nerves. Guilt was gnawing at her insides, hot and acidic. She feared the reaction of her Queen, looking down so she wouldn't see the rejection and betrayal. But a hand raised her chin. Looking into the yellow eyes of the Mermaid, she saw no enmity there.

"I understand, little one."

Relief washed over her, and she grasped the Mermaid Queen's hand with her own.

"I will find another way," Ginny vowed fervently. "I swear it."

The Queen smiled back- a rare and beautiful thing.

"I know you will."

With a bow of respect, she swam away from the Queen's presence. The heaviness in her heart had become deliciously light. She felt instinctively that she had chosen the right thing. Harry's solemn vow echoed in her head, and she clung to its warmth.

A cold hand abruptly stopped her, and without looking she sensed the presence of the Shaman- always seeming to lurk on the edge of the dark waters. His green-skinned fingers clamped down painfully.

"So, Íde," he growled in her ear, "You have chosen betrayal. You have chosen rejection. Your actions mean our certain death. So disappointing, but not surprising for such a small-minded being."

"My name isn't Íde. It's Ginny." She wrenched her arm away from the Shaman, fire in her eyes. "And you are wrong- so wrong- about me. I will save the Merpeople, I swear to it. Not only that," The flame inside her stoked wildly, filling her with defiance as she met the Shaman's glare. "I'm going to save myself as well."

TBC

A/N: Thank you Gin110881 for helping me with this chapter! Once again, chapters will be shorter but hopefully more frequent.