A/N: In this story, the Pagan holiday Imbolc will be celebrated in March instead of February. And as usual, curses and wand-lore differ from canon.
X
X
X
X
X
CHAPTER 17
X
X
X
X
X
She was dancing.
Someone was dancing with her- someone with a long nose, abundant freckles, and laughing blue eyes. Ron. One hand held hers, and the other at her waist, they laughed and twirled each other round and round. Much taller than she was, they were awkward and stumbling and it only made her laugh more. The room was grand, torches flickering on towering stone pillars, and windows that stretched from floor to ceiling. Dozens of other couples danced with them- though they were by far the loudest and most uncoordinated, earning glares from those next to them. A slower song must have begun, because the dancing began to slow, and the couples who had been glaring earlier were now too busy staring starstruck into each other's eyes. Ron settled for something resembling a bit of a waltz, but she didn't care. It was a good night. A curly-haired brunette came to Ron's side, and he turned red and nervous. With a smile, she placed Ron's hand into the other girls and watched happily as they danced closely.
For several dances she rotated partners, content with the variety- until the next boy who grasped her hand pulled her far too close and spoke far too haughtily. When his hands began to wander, her fist met his jaw sending him flailing to the ground. With an indignant toss of her hair, she made sure to step on his over-priced robes as she found her next partner, and began enjoying the night once more.
Suddenly, the scene fell away. She was still dancing with someone, but the other couples had vanished. Turning her slowly as they waltzed, shadows seemed to obscure his face. His hair was dark, his skin was light, and her heart thudded ominously.
"Ginevra."
Cold hands with long fingers. A Handsome face with eyes that flickered red. A black book that dripped ink like drops of blood.
She woke with a strangled cry.
The lake- she was still in the lake. Sitting on her boulder, she held a hand to her racing heart. Images had been coming to her in her sleep, both wonderful and frightening. Flickers and flashes had been coming to her frequently the past few days… but were often disjointed and difficult to recall. This one, however, had been an actual memory. At least, that was how it started. Squeezing her eyes closed, she tried to picture the scenes in her mind. Dancing, a large room, people everywhere, and Ron- her heart gave a squeeze- her brother had been there. Then something went wrong and all of it had changed, and she hadn't been in a memory anymore, it had turned into a-
"Nightmare?"
The voice made her snap her eyes back open. Hovering near where she sat, Djet stood sentinel, yellow eyes smug. Though he was a good few feet away from her, she found his proximity discomfiting. It was unsettling any time he was near, and she knew better than to let it show. Setting her jaw, she glared at him coolly, hoping that ignoring his inquiries would make him leave. He crossed his arms in a very human-like stance.
"You never used to sleep, Íde, how interesting you do so now- now that the veil is lifting."
"That's not my name," she snapped.
"Indeed. Forgive me, Ginevra. How quick I am to forget all of your many privileges. Tell me, how is the surface? I would think you'd have plenty to say on that matter, seeing as you spend every minute you can spare up there. Then you dare come back, with the stench of the surface on your body, thinking all of us down here are so much less than you are- that we are only mindless beasts whose lives can be so readily forfeited-"
"Enough!" Fists clenched, eyes full of rage, she rose to meet him. "I do not have to listen to this- to you lies. You think you know the answer to all of this, but I assure you, you do not. The power behind the curse on the Merpeople is far greater and darker than you could ever know. I could never think the Merpeople as beasts, not even you, but you are small-minded. You always say how foolish I am, and maybe you're right, but I would never twist and manipulate the fears of those around me like you are trying to do. You are entitled to your opinion. The village is entitled to their opinion. Hate me if you want, in fact, the whole Black Lake can hate me, it doesn't matter. Not anymore. The Queen knows the truth, and so do I, so I will not listen to you for one more bloody second."
Looking shocked only for a moment, he snarled and clenched his staff. Uninterested in hearing any retort- and unsure how long she could refrain from throwing a punch- she moved off the boulder to swim away. Her movement was abruptly stopped by a painful grip on her upper arm.
"Let go of me!"
Unable to shrug him off, she thrashed until she felt another painful grip on her other arm holding her firmly in place. Djet's face-disgusting and menacing- came closer, making dread pool in her abdomen.
"Know this, girl," he said through bared teeth, "betrayal in these waters is not quickly forgotten- and almost never forgiven. So do as you please, but remember that I will do what is necessary to protect my people."
"You can't hurt me," she swallowed. "The Queen forbids it."
A smirk crept upon his face, eerie and disturbing. It reminded her of someone, but she couldn't think of who. "So she does."
The grip of his hands loosened, and she wrenched herself free. Long red hair streaming behind her, she swam as fast as her Mermaid tail would allow her, not looking back once. Djet and the lies and the ominous words could stay at the bottom of the lake. She would leave them all down there because right now she needed Harry.
X
X
X
X
X
Connor Blake looked positively giddy.
It was incredibly annoying, Harry thought. This man's social skills were severely lacking, and as he himself often felt incept in interactions with his peers- did he have peers?- it must be bad if he noticed. That wasn't the only thing that had him on edge- he hadn't seen Ginny yet this weekend. She knew the meetings he was attending were important, but not seeing her face every day made him… nervous? Scared? Either way, he didn't enjoy it. Once he had unintentionally mentioned this in front of Ron and Hermione, the latter of whom began schooling him on how he was likely over-attached due to the trauma of his upbringing, much to his mortification. The last thing he wanted was for Ron, her bloody brother- to hear about his odd dependence on his sister. As if that hadn't been bad enough to make him want to crawl into a Niffler and die, Hermione continued on with how he likely needed to see a mind-healer to sort out his 'complex post-traumatic responses' before earning a nudge and cough from Ron. Harry could have given him his Order of Merlin for that act of mercy. It did give him something to think about- he was nearly certain that the level of which Ginny Weasley occupied his mind was bordering unhealthy.
But he'd deal with that later because the only thing that occupied his mind more than his Mermaid was the curse she had been stricken with. So he had spent all weekend meeting with Connor fucking Blake, actively trying not to upend the table.
"As you can see, these runes are quite complex." Blake gestured to the parchment in front of him. "We'll tie in traditional curse-breaking as well as a few modifications of my own."
"You have a rune for blood," Hermione stated, pointing to one of the runes on the parchment. "We cant resort to Dark Magic. Ron, tell him this isn't acceptable. Besides, Harry would never allow that, would you, Harry?"
"Keep your hair on, Hermione." Ron patted her shoulder. "Bill said people got confused about this all of the time. It's only Dark magic if you are taking someone else's blood, and obviously against their will."
"Precisely," Blake nodded. "The blood will be willingly given. Just a tad is needed, she won't be harmed at all-"
"Wait, it'll be Ginny's blood?" Harry bristled.
"Well, obviously," Blake chuckled. "The curse is on her, after all. What you think we'd use yours or something?"
Harry felt his cheeks color. "Right, but is it really required? There isn't some other way?"
"Aw, such worry for your girl. Warms me to my dragon boots." He clapped a hand on Harry's shoulder, and the urge to upend the table came back fiercely. "Only a very small amount is required, and I would not dare harm a hair on her head, lest you have mine. Don't fret, it will all be worth it."
Shrugging him off, he sat down moodily, crossing his arms. Blake took a long drag of his cigarette, studying him. "It will work, mate. It will." His words were uncharacteristically serious.
Harry said nothing, and Blake chuckled quietly. "Blimey, is he always like this?" He asked Ron and Hermione, the latter smiling weakly at him. Ron cleared his throat again. "Right, what's next then?"
"Imbolc will be upon us soon. This will be the most opportune time for the curse to be broken, the spell will gain power from it, and I have every confidence that this is what is needed to break the hold of the curse on her."
"Imbolc?" Ron scoffed. "No one celebrates that anymore."
"It doesn't matter," Hermione shook her head, "the Pagan holidays are known for strengthening magic. We need every ounce we can get to be sure this all works-"
"It will work," Blake emphasized. "So, Potter, we need you and her to be ready on the first night of Imbolc. Memorize these runes, and familiarize yourself with the ritual."
"Everything?" Harry glanced dubiously at the many runes on the parchment.
"The runes in this first paragraph, especially," Blake confirmed. "I'll be facilitating the other aspects of the ritual, but the spell will be performed by you. Can you do that?"
Swallowing heavily, something twisted in his gut, but he could not be sure why. The others at the table were looking at him expectantly. Meeting each of their eyes, Harry nodded.
X
X
X
X
X
Harry quickly ushered the students out of his classroom the next day.
Arriving back at the castle late Sunday night, he hadn't yet had time to go see Ginny due to his classes. Glancing out of the window, the Scottish mountains were still snow-covered. Imbolc seemed an eternity away, and he desperately hoped that the next several weeks would go by quickly. As the last student stepped out the door, Harry grabbed his bookbag, full to bursting with rolls of parchment he had not yet graded, and made his way down to the Black Lake. Spotting Hagrid on the way down, Harry gave him a friendly wave, shouting a promise to meet for tea later in the week. Nearing the shore of the massive lake, he skidded to a halt when the grotto came into view. Near the shore entrance, a small group of students appeared to be searching for something. They looked to be a mix of older and younger students- a few Hufflepuffs and some Ravenclaws. Moving closer, he strained to hear what they were saying before making his presence known. One of the Ravenclaws peered into the grotto.
"Enough Allie, there's nothing there!"
A first-year scrambled out to the others. "I saw her, Alex, I saw a Mermaid!"
"You did? What did it look like?" The blonde responded.
"Well, we only saw her for a second, but then there was this big splash and she was gone!"
"Allie, I can't believe you made me come all the way down in the cold for this. I'm telling Mum."
"Will saw her too! Tell her, Will!"
"I don't know what I saw. It was probably a seventh year, taking a swim or something-"
"But we heard her crying, Will! And it's too cold to swim!"
Harry cleared his throat, and the group simultaneously jumped. Looking sheepish, they gathered their things, nodded at their Professor, and made their way back towards the castle. Will and another of the older boys hung towards the back.
"So, Will, was it some seventh-year skinny dipping or what?"
The boy chuckled nervously. "I dunno, it was so quick- I think we scared her pretty good. But I'm pretty sure I'd remember her face-"
"Oi, Merlin she was good-looking then! Hah! Will fancies a water Siren!"
The boys rough-housed good-naturedly as they went out of sight. Once he was sure they were gone, Harry ventured into the Grotto. He knew the Curse made Ginny flee from everyone except himself, but he hoped she hadn't gone too far. Sitting down, he cast a warming charm around him before resting his feet in the water. Absentmindedly, he withdrew the Elder Wand and twirled that in the water as well.
He felt her eyes on him, but she remained hidden. "It's alright," he whispered, "They're gone." A timid face appeared from around one of the rocks. Another side effect of the Curse, he thought. From the stories Ron and others had told, Ginny Weasley had been fierce. Fearless. Untamed. Glimpses of that fire had appeared occasionally in the time he had spent with her, and he treasured them. The Ginny he saw currently was skittish. Nervous. He treasured this as well.
After all, she saw different versions of him too- Grumpy Harry, depressed Harry, happy Harry- and he felt treasured by her as well. Motioning for her to come closer, he smiled as her pretty face came into clearer view. But the smile faltered when he saw the tremble of her lips, had the students really scared her that badly? Easing himself into the water, he reached out and drew her near. Pulling her to him, she winced when his hand held her arm. Releasing his grip quickly, his eyes darted to her arm, and his breath caught in his throat. Around her arm- no, both arms- were discolored bruises. Rage boiled in the back of his throat. Djet.
"I'm going to kill him, I'm going to fucking kill him."
"Harry-"
"Does the Queen know he did this?" He demanded sharply. "Does she know he put his bloody hands on you? She wouldn't tolerate it, not for one minute-"
"I don't-"
"Doesn't he know what I'll do to him? Doesn't he know he'll be left in pieces once I'm done with him?" A low, rumbling noise began beneath the bedrock of the grotto. It was too late to stop himself, he was losing control. "You- I- I can't… I can't allow anyone who hurts you like that to still breathe…" Vision blurring slightly, images of all the ways he would make Djet pay flashed in his mind.
He has to pay, he has to pay for putting his hands on her.
Small, cool hands cupped either side of his face. He focused on her sparkling brown eyes, on the softness of her touch, on the shushing noise she made with her lips. The rumbling subsided, and his temper began to recede.
"I'm not hurt," She whispered to him. "Not really. He just gave me a scare is all. That's all he wanted- to scare me. But I'm alright."
Looking at the marks on her body, he seriously disagreed with her statement but took several calming breaths and nodded. "You have to tell the Queen."
She bit her full lip. "I already did. Last night, when you- I mean, I told her last night. And, I have some news." A mischievous glint appeared in her eyes. "The Queen was very displeased."
"Yeah?" He grinned. "How displeased?"
"Oh, full-blown banished-him-from-the-village displeased."
"What? Really?"
"Yeah," Ginny was smiling widely now, "he didn't go quietly, though. He tried to get in my face, and I- well, I may have hit him. I'm not sure I hit him hard enough to do any damage, but I think it was a dent in his ego. Then he just started spewing nonsense and the Shaman, oh my, I'd never seen him look so disappointed. Just shook his head as Djet was escorted away. The Merpeople just watched him go, turns out none of them ever believed his lies in the first place."
"Well done, love. Serves him right," He became solemn once more. "But still, you should be careful."
"Don't worry," she assured him. "I have a personal guard now when I'm down there. Perfectly safe."
Nodding, Harry grabbed his wand and brushed it over Ginny's arms, and the bruises melted away. She sighed in relief, and the noise made his body tingle.
"So," she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Don't make me wait any longer. Tell me everything."
"Well," he drawled, "What is your schedule looking like this evening?"
She bit her lip, and he felt his neck heat up. "I'm all yours."
Moving closer, he withdrew a small leaf from his pocket. Bringing it between them, he traced the leaf along her full bottom lip. Her eyelids fluttered closed, and he replaced the leaf with the pad of his thumb, feeling the soft flesh.
"It's a date," he murmured. Then he placed his lips on hers.
X
X
X
X
X
TBC
Thanks again to Gin110881 for the beta!
