AN at the end of the chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter 5

The First Tattoo

"I"

I asked Dumbledore to perform Legilimency on me today. I needed to know what it feels like. Ever since learning about the art of Occlumency and Legilimency, I've had the suspicion of what Tom's diary was trying to do to me back in First Year.

Dumbledore was shocked at first, I guess by the fact that I even knew what it was, nevertheless that I was asking him to perform it on me. He protested, convinced that I didn't know what I was asking for. But I explained to him how could I possibly protect myself against such a vile intrusion if I didn't even know what it felt like? After a bit of persuasion he saw my way.

He started with a 'light glance,' as he called it, enough Legilimency to get a bit of my emotions or concepts of what my thoughts were if they were particularly strong. It felt like I was trying to remember something I wanted to say, but it also felt slightly alien.

He then tried a 'gentle probe', or a more specific look at my thoughts. He said he could get a sense of a thought pattern, how it was structured, and if it was obvious in my mind, he could tell if I was lying or telling the truth. I definitely felt it then! It was like something was brushing against my mind, a little niggling feeling that something was off.

Then, lastly, he tried his 'searching probe,' or a full scan through my thoughts. He said if he was doing this on an untrained Occlumens (such as me) all of their thoughts and mind would be open to him, there was nothing he could not take. But it wouldn't be subtle. He made sure to warn me of that. I would be able to feel him rummaging through my thoughts. He made sure I really wanted him to do this, and I have to admit I wasn't sure, I didn't know if I wanted him seeing all my thoughts! But, I needed to know what it would feel like, so I steeled myself and said yes, go ahead. And nothing happened. Dumbledore looked at me, I looked at him, but nothing happened. He furrowed his brow and I began to feel something, someone rummaging around. And I definitely didn't like that! But then it stopped as soon as it started.

He was most surprised! Apparently I'm a natural Occlumens! He was very impressed, though I have my own suspicions. It definitely has something to do with Tom.

I now know for certain that Tom's diary was using some form of Legilimency on me. That niggling feeling I felt in the back of my brain when I first started writing him, and since I was able to get him back, to trick him into confiding in me, I guess I was unconsciously working on my Occlumency? I will have to put more thought to it later. I am quite tired after all that rummaging. It's time for bed for me.

I also will need something to protect myself, I don't like the idea of anyone having access to my mind again. I can practice Occlumency as well, but there should always be a backup shouldn't there?

"III"

February 8th, 2008

She stands gripping the basin of the sink, staring into the mirror, into her own eyes. She looks past the pale blue that they have become since her ascension, she looks past her thoughts. She looks past. She can feel the icy burning of the tattoos on her palms. They are cool to her touch and they burn with power.

She got her first tattoo when she was 15. It was a triple binding between algiz, ehwaz, and laguz. She set it into her own skin with only a spell and her intent. For what was magic but not intent — but not the caster's will? And her's, her's is stronger than glass-shattering diamonds; stronger than the passions of a tempest. Her will runs deep. As deep and hot as her fury.

The tattoo is a protection called zel. Her mind is her own, and it will never fall to another, zel ensures that. Algiz provides the channel for her magic while also acting as the shield. Laguz is her mind, the hidden part of her, her subconscious, her emotions. It also helps that with her natural affinity towards water, she feels a particular connection with laguz. Ehwaz is the connecting rune, ensuring that the binding between the other two won't fail, providing the power through the channel and amplifying it within her subconscious protections.

Her mind is her own. And it will not fall.

At first, the tattoo was linked directly to her magic, it would fail if her magic did. For someone like her, with as strong of a will a she had, her magic was unlikely to fail — at least that was her reasoning at first. But, it was a dangerous link to make, between rune and self. If someone was to attack her mind, the runes would draw on her magic to keep the protection around her mind running, and while she had strong magic, it still was a finite resource. Well, her magic was finite, before her ascension. Now, it is a very different matter.

But she doesn't have to worry about that anymore, she changed the channel a decade ago, and it is safer now anyways.

When she had first realized the danger of her first channel between her magic and the tattoos, she had tried to develop a new way to power her tattooed runes, especially as she began adding more tattoos, they couldn't all be drawing on her magic.

She had toyed with an idea similar to her ring, but instead of storing spells, it would just store magic to power her tattoos. She couldn't use stone like her ring was made out of, it would get too hot. Individually cast spells leaked their energy in the form of light, often not putting off too much heat if any at all. But storing raw magical energy displaced a lot of heat. So, of course, she turned to runes to find the solution.

She also began studying muggle energy storage and conduction. Through these studies, she developed a coin that could store large amounts of power, discharge little to no heat, and would be self charging.

The array was much more complicated than any she had created before; it was made from ehwaz (to transport the energy to the runes, and to bring power to the coin), ingwaz (to keep the energy balanced within the coin), thurisaz (to focus the intent of the energy to the desire of each rune), üruz (to increase the durability of the coin, so it wouldn't wear out over time), tiwaz (to initiate the draw of power when needed, and to keep the energy contained within the coin), isaz (to minimize the heat produced by the stored energy, and to stabilize it), and algiz (to act as the channel between source, coin, and rune).

At the age of 15 and almost four years into practicing runes, it had been her most complex array ever.

The ring was designed as a coil of copper wire wound tightly around and around in a flat spool, and then encased in bronze. The bronze was cast with dragon's blood and phoenix ash, leaving the coin consistently cool to the touch no matter the amount of energy stored within.

The coin ended up being an inch in diameter, and is currently threaded onto a golden chain hanging around her neck. It attends to the zel array at the base of her neck on her back, as well as the sōwilo and tiwaz bindings she has on each forearm and calf, the daguz, üruz, and fehu she had tattooed onto her right shoulder, and a triple binding between mannaz, isaz, and perth on her chest. She has two more magical tattoos, but they don't require any powering. Two ihwaz runes appeared on both of her palms after her ascension. They don't require additional power from her, but they do burn with their own power.

The coin hangs now against her chest dipping down between her breasts, brushing against triple binding there. The golden bronze glints in the white light of the bathroom, a gleam of warmth among the sterile setting.

A harsh clanging siren rents the air, and she sighs, pulling her shirt on over her head, and pulling her eyes away from the mirror and her memories.

She makes her way onto the deck past running sailors, and looks out over the harsh sea — feeling more at peace among the rough waves than she ought to — and readies herself for their landing.

Now we're getting into the meat of things! The story is starting! All this backstory will finish being fleshed out in flashbacks but no more full chapters just devoted to backstory. Unless I change my mind in the future. Who knows. But hey. The Story is Starting.

I'll give a ~Gold Star~ to anyone who can tell me what her other tattoos mean! Yes, all the runes I've written about are real, based on real meaning behind them too. Each tattoo has a singular purpose brought together by the runes they're made up from. Each rune does have many meanings, but there are connections between them that become apparent in the bindings and arrays. (A bind rune is one made of two or more mashed into one rune, an array is a string of bind or individual runes - basically a word or a sentence).

Thank you for your reviews!

Scrappy8 - I'm glad you enjoyed another chapter, I too am excited to see where Ginny takes us.

Elixb - Thank you so much! I am trying to update weekly (usually on Tuesdays or Thursdays, but I also get excited and post early sometimes), all the rune lore is taken from true history — the runic arrays and binds are all made up by me!

Dust - I'm a fan, and I'm a fan of your reviews! And I love a fierce Ginny!

And thank you to the Harry and Ginny Discord for all your support!

As always, rate and review please!

—upstater—