Chapter Forty-six:

They were keeping Dex in a Binding Room at the Ministry of Magic. The rooms were specifically designed so that anyone with any hidden tricks up their magical sleeve (that is, if they were clever enough to get them past the Eradication Squad that checked over every suspected witch or wizard brought in) the room would squash such �attempts� at escape through the use of wards and spells put in place by very competent wizards. Harry was sure Dumbledore himself had done a turn in fortifying the rooms because strangely enough the password one needed to get into any of the 15 rooms was named for a Muggle sweet. The one he was waiting to get into now was protected by the seemingly innocuous title of �Flying Saucers.�

Harry had no idea what sort of candy a Flying Saucer was, having been out of the Muggle loop and in America for the last five years, but knowing Dumbledore it probably had something to do with sherbet. All Harry really cared about at the moment was talking to Dex. Preferably with no one else watching and preferably with the man tied to a chair. Of course, he knew this last thought wasn�t too noble of him, but at the moment he didn�t give a hippogriff�s arse. If Dexter were behind Ginny�s disappearance, then Merlin himself wouldn�t be able to save the man from Harry�s anger.

Harry, because he was an Auror, was allowed to find out where they were keeping Dex and he was also allowed interrogate him. After coming back to the Ministry, he had left Hermione and Ron in the Auror office busy contacting everyone who had been out searching, to let them know about the latest development. He also told them to wait for Mr. Weasley to show up. Neville had gone on to St. Mungo�s to watch after Susan. Harry wanted to be in the middle of throttling... no, wait, interrogating Dexter before Arthur or Remus could stop him.

With a nod from the witch guarding the door to Binding Room #12, Harry took the two cups of tea she offered him. She told him to make sure the prisoner drank the one on the right. He frowned but nodded. He said the password and entered the small room. A small whoosh of noise came from behind as the door shut and disappeared behind him. Harry walked through a narrow hallway and then came upon a small room that contained a table and two chairs. He looked at the man that he had never really liked and narrowed his eyes. Dexter didn�t stir when Harry came in, his head face down on the table in front of him. Harry knew that Fred and George had been the ones to find him and he also knew that the twins had been rough on him. Harry cleared his throat and saw the side of Dexter�s face flinch, but otherwise the man remained with his head down.

Harry knew from the onset that he wouldn�t get anywhere if he lost his temper, so he forced himself to take a deep breath and sat down in the chair across from Dex. Harry placed the cup from his right hand in front of Dexter�s head, saving the other for himself. He stared at Dexter a moment longer and then spoke.

�You�d better drink that while it�s hot, I can�t say when you�ll get something else, at this point.�

Dexter moved at the sound of Harry�s voice, as though surprised. He looked up finally and glanced at the cup Harry had placed in front of him. Harry winced despite himself when he saw Dexter�s face. The deep bruises and scratches from the spells the twins had inflicted up on him had indeed been harsh. Dexter had lost his glasses too and he squinted at Harry a moment before trying to grab onto the teacup. Harry realized Dexter�s hands were magically bound together and kicking himself only slightly for being such an honorable git picked up the cup and held it up for the other man. Dexter gave him a brief glance of thanks and drank the hot tea readily. He pulled back and then winced at what Harry could only assume was the hot liquid burning down his throat. He nodded at Harry, who placed the cup back down.

They stared at each other a moment and then Harry began.

�Where is she, Dex,� he asked simply.

�St. Mungo�s I assume,� the other man said quietly.

Any sympathy Harry may have just been feeling, evaporated. �I�m not talking about Susan,� he said, hearing the anger in his voice.

Dex gave him a clueless look and then looked down at the table. �I swear didn�t do anything to her, not that anyone believes me. Not this time. Not again.�

Harry frowned. He wasn�t sure if Dex was talking about Ginny or Susan or... what, exactly. He tried a different approach. �We know you�re behind everything Eoghan. Susan�s as much as admitted that. She came to, not too long ago and Winifred seems happy to place you as the one that grabbed her, so.... out with it. Fess up and you might just get a life sentence in Azkaban. Where�s Ginny?�

Dexter glanced sharply at him at the mention of Ginny�s name, but his eyes clouded in confusion. �Ginny? I don�t know where Ginny is. Why would I know that? And I know Susan hasn�t woken up yet, Harry. Don�t lie to me to get me to tell you something.�

Harry had to give the other man credit for seeing his bluff. He offered the man what he hoped was a patient grin. �Fine, you�re right. I was bluffing. Susan is still out cold, but it�s a mute point, isn�t it? Fred and George found you with Susan in your arms, in the same alley we found Winifred in. So I am going to ask this one more time- where is she?�

Dex blinked back at him and didn�t say anything for a long moment. �I don�t know, Harry. I would never hurt Ginny, despite what you may think you know about me. I love Ginny.�

Harry felt the last of his patience fade away. A detachment seemed to fill him. He fixed Dex with a cold stare. He�d been told once, (was it Ron? He couldn�t recall) that when he stared at someone like that, all calm and cool with slow unfurling rage that he struck a very intimidating figure. Harry hoped Dexter understood the meaning behind his look.

It appeared the other man did, because Harry saw him turn pale. Dex shifted uncomfortably in his chair, but the look he gave Harry was serious and if Harry didn�t know any better, he�d swear it was honest too.

�I don�t know where she is Harry, I honestly don�t. I think... I... I don�t know. I know everyone thinks I did something to those girls. I know I even think it. But I... I... look, there�s something wrong and that is the honest truth, but go ahead and hit me or kill me or whatever it is you want to do to me. I�ve obviously been doing things I�m not supposed to, so who knows, maybe I do know where Ginny�s at... but right now I can�t remember a thing except this overwhelming feeling that something isn�t right. But no one is ever going to believe me so it doesn�t matter. Do what you will.�

Harry, of course, had expected such a speech. What he had not expected though was the totally convincing quality it would have. Dexter did seem honestly upset and confused. Harry didn�t want to trust him, in fact knew that he couldn�t. The man had fooled even his best friends into thinking he was an all right guy and so he was obviously a good actor. He decided to try to anger the man, to see if he could get him to admit something then...

�You honestly expect me to believe this little sob story? You�ve hated me since the moment you met me. Or at least since you realized Ginny loved me instead of you. How did that make you feel Dex? Even when I was in America, far away and out of the picture, Ginny never did turn to you, did she? I remember you talking to me in the pub, about how you had never hurt her, had never done all the things I had done to her. You were so smug then but I should have realized how scared you were. Ginny has never seen you as more than a friend, has she? Didn�t it just drive you crazy to know that even after everything I�d done to her she still loved me and not you? She wanted my bed, Dex, isn�t that what you said? Ginny was with Neville out of loyalty and friendship. But you knew she didn�t love him. And yet still, she preferred that to being with you, doesn�t that tell you something? Doesn�t that tell you that she will never love you like you love her? Although I doubt at this point if you even know what love is, you sick twisted bastard.�

Harry finished, his voice sounding loud and cross in the small room. He felt his anger deeply inside him now, burning white hot. He hadn�t meant to say so much to the other man; he hadn�t meant to rub his face in the fact that it had been him that Ginny preferred, but he couldn�t help it. The idea that Dex was playing with him, that he knew exactly where Ginny was, wouldn�t let go of him it seemed. Harry could see it all in his mind- how jealous Dex had been of the growing relationship between himself and Ginny, how he had coveted her in secret, watching her, wanting to be with her...

Dexter gave him a strange look and then closed his eyes. Harry felt the desire to strike the other man rise up inside him. He may have actually done it too, if Remus hadn�t come through the doorway at that precise moment.

�Harry,� his old friend said sharply, a warning in his voice.

Harry glanced at Lupin and then realized he had been leaning across the table, his hand raised. He didn�t even realize that he had raised it. He lowered it, unashamed and sat back down in his chair. He took a deep breath and felt his anger cool, but only slightly.

Remus nodded at him and then looked at Dex, his own face a mixture of anger and struggling control. He looked at Harry and indicated towards the door. Harry took one more look at Dexter, knowing his disgust was apparent, and got up out of his chair. He paused at the doorway and looked back at the other man.

�If you have hurt one hair on her head, I will kill you, you do realize that don�t you? It won�t be magical and it probably won�t even be sanctioned, but it will happen. I want you to know that Dex.�

Dex opened his eyes and looked sadly back at him. �If I hurt her Harry, then you have my blessing to kill me. In fact, I would very much welcome it.�

Unnerved by the man�s reply, Harry followed Lupin out of the Binding Room, his mind churning with doubt and unanswered questions.

Ginny sat quietly in the corner of the room. She had managed to tip over the bookcase and used the books the best way possible. As soon as the man had come back in to check on her, she had thrown them at him, hitting him once on the head and twice in the chest. She hadn�t grown up throwing garden gnomes about for nothing and she reminded herself to thank her mum later if she ever got out of this.

Using the fallen bookcase as shelter, she had avoided most of the spells he had cast at her. She tried to keep throwing anything she could find at him and he became sloppy in his anger. He had finally snarled at her and left her alone. That had been two hours ago and she hadn�t heard from him since. He obviously thought she�d lose her nerve. He was wrong.

Ginny tried to concentrate. She�d been half-meditating, using the stone around her neck and half keeping an ear out for his return. He may have put a Silencing Charm on the room for all she knew because after that first warning set of chimes, she�d heard nothing. But that didn�t mean he wasn�t out there, biding his time.

She wasn�t out of the room yet, this was true. But she wasn�t being systematically raped by a crazy person either, so all in all Ginny thought her day was looking up, considering. She tried to focus her energy on the ring around her finger, to try to understand why it was giving her such strength. She concentrated hard on the image of Harry in her mind and she would feel the slightest twinge of something along her skin. She wished she had listened to her father more about that soul mate stuff and she wondered if her and Harry were still connected somehow because of the ring. Maybe he was out there, not understanding that he was feeling her anxiety and her determination. She searched her own mind for any indication of what Harry was feeling and came up empty. But still the thought of him comforted her. Ginny steadied her breathing and tried to slip into deeper mediation. She would need to reserve her strength and since falling asleep wasn�t an option, mediation was the next best thing.

She knew she had a long night ahead of her.

Dexter sat in the sterile Ministry room and felt the coldness of it seep into his bones. His mind, for the first time in a long time, was blank. It was as though the fog that he had been under was lifting. There were no startling images, no strange words passing through his head now. He hadn�t been completely truthful with Harry Potter because he did in fact, remember things, but they were so out of place in his head that he didn�t trust them. It was just like what had happened before... why was he surprised at himself for being such a degenerate? Hadn�t Louis warned him it would happen again?

At the thought of Louis Fagan, Dexter paused, his mind suddenly confused. Ginny was missing, but Dexter didn�t really understand what he had to do with that. The plan had been for people not to know she had gone missing, but then again, the plan hadn�t taken into account the existence of Harry Potter. But if Louis had taken her without him, wouldn�t he have told him? Dexter had no reason not to trust his old friend (they had been through so much together, after all) and yet... Louis�s action had been increasingly odd and the memories Dex now had in his head didn�t agree with what he had thought before.

Almost by instinct, Dexter�s mind traveled back to that place in time when he had been bad; the hiding, the stalking... the girls he had hurt. Unwillingly the memory sprung fresh in his mind as though it had just happened... but instead of feeling secure in those memories, Dexter felt that same familiar feeling of confusion. Laying his head back down on the table, he welcomed the coolness of it on his forehead. Maybe he if he let himself think of the past it would give him some sort of insight into what he was accused of doing now. He had thought that he had succeeded in keeping his wolves at bay. He had promised himself that he would never hurt anyone else again... not like before.

Three Years Prior:

�Oh, come on. Look at that one, you can�t tell me she doesn�t make your blood heat up just a bit,� Louis laughed in his ear as the two of them cruised through the Muggle nightclub. They were at the latest �hot-spot� for London nightlife, The Wandering Enchanter- a sort of a play on words for the Muggles because the nightclub had been designed with a magical motif. It was funny for two wizards, Dex supposed, to see how far off the mark the Muggles had actually gotten it. The only thing that looked slightly right was the wizened figure of Merlin someone had painted over the door to the gent�s loo. Not that Merlin would have probably ever been caught dead in a tacky turquoise robe and hat. The old wizard�s love of purple was legendary. Right down to his purple shoes. Or at least that is what Dex�s mother had always taught him...

Dex stared at the woman Louis was ogling and had to admit she was attractive. She had long, reddish brown hair and she moved to the music in seductive, capable ways. He knew why Louis fancied her; she was just his type. His friend seemed especially agitated tonight for some reason. His need to meet and bed as many women as possible lately was starting to wear on Dex�s nerves, actually. Out of the corner of his eye he watched his friend slowly lick his lips as he watched her and felt the slightest bit of apprehension. They weren�t going to have another incident were they? Just last week Dex had had to break up a fight involving Louis and a woman who wasn�t appreciative of his friend�s advances. Dex thought he still had the marks on his arm from where the woman had hit him.

Taking a sip of his scotch, Dex tried to find something else that would distract his friend, but he couldn�t. They were in a nightclub and nightclubs were notorious for being about one thing and one thing only: meeting someone you could hook up with. He didn�t think Louis would fall for the old �wow, wonder how they got those stars to hang so well� routine. He knew better than anyone that once Louis trained in on someone, he was a one-track mind.

�Oh look, she�s going to the lavatory, here�s my chance. I�m going to go chat her up, wish me luck,� Louis said with his usual cockiness. He winked at Dex and then

started following the woman through the crowd of people. Dex sighed and turned his attention back to his drink. If he didn�t see Louis again in five minutes he�d know his friend had found success.

Dex stayed and listened to the end of the song they were playing, something about standing alone in a nightclub and then going home to cry. He cast one last look towards the women�s loo. He didn�t see either the girl or Louis and reckoned they must have hit it off. He took one last swig of his drink and then placed it on the bar. It was time to call it a night. Maybe he�d owl his new partner and see if she were up to anything. Dex knew he liked his new work partner a great deal- so much in fact, that he�d hesitated telling Louis about her, knowing full well that the other man would want to meet her.

Once out in the London night air, his head felt clearer. Maybe he�d just apparate home and curl into bed with a good book. Sighing a little bit at his rather sad old-maid tendencies, Dex made for the alleyway behind the club so that he could disappear without being seen. He didn�t hear the noises until he was almost upon them...

Louis stared up at him, a startled look on his face. His wand was in his hand. �Dex,� he breathed, his voice soft. Dex looked down at the prone figure of the girl and stared back at his friend.

�What happened?� he asked immediately.

Louis looked around, his eyes wild. He hastily started smoothing his clothes and tucking his shirt back in. The girl beneath him started to moan, as though in pain.

Dex felt a cold feeling in his chest. �Louis, what have you done?� He dropped down to the girl and tried to see if she were okay. It looked as though Louis had used a spell to stun her. Her clothes were in disarray and Dex had to wonder if she had been conscious during whatever Louis had just done to her.

He looked up to question his friend and saw the end of Louis�s wand pointing at him. He blinked back at him and saw the slightly crazed look that still haunted Louis�s eyes.

�She fell. I tried to help her up. Nothing happened,� Louis said firmly.

Dex slowly nodded his head. Louis seemed to accept his silence as agreement, because he lowered his wand. �Come on,� he said roughly, �help me get her back to the flat.�

Dex stood up, not quite sure he had heard him right. �The flat? But... come on, let�s just make sure someone can find her and we�ll be long gone from here.�

Louis gave him a strange look. �I don�t want to let anyone find her. She might remember me. Are you going to help me or not, brother?� His voice softened on the last word and Dex felt a slight chill cover him. Louis always reminded him of the oath he�d taken when they were 12 when he wanted Dex to do something he didn�t want to do. He didn�t know why he always let it get to him.

Not saying anything, Dex helped Louis pick up the girl and then nodded to indicate he was ready. They both concentrated really hard on where they were going and then disapparated to the flat they shared in Diagon Alley. The girl moaned again and Louis carried her into the bedroom, taking her from Dex�s hand. Dex watched as Louis opened the trunk that sat at the foot of his bed and pulled out a long thick rope from a blood-red velvet bag. The rope twisted and moved over Louis�s hand and he lowered it toward the girl. After what seemed like a lifetime to Dex, the rope moved slowly off of Louis and onto the girl, moving over her skin as though it were kissing her. It wrapped itself around her arms and then tied the girl to the bed. Louis smiled satisfactorily at it and then lowered his head over the girl. Dex didn�t hear what he whispered but the girl twisted once and then was still. Louis looked up and smiled at him then, his face a strange mask of satisfaction and... something else that Dex couldn�t place. He turned and left the room, his emotions churning inside him. What had he just done? What had he just allowed Louis to do?

He heard Louis behind him and turned around. �What do you think you�re doing? Tying her up like that? How long do you plan on keeping her like that? We can�t keep girls tied up to our beds you know... someone�s bound to come looking for her...�

Louis interrupted him with a short, bark-like laugh. �They�re going to come looking for some Muggle girl in Diagon Alley? The Muggles don�t even know this place exists. I think we�re saved from Scotland Yard breaking down the door, dear friend. You can rest your head on that point.�

�And besides,� Louis continued as he flopped on the couch and looked up at him, a self-assured smile on his face, �that little rope caressing her right now will allow us to do whatever we want with her. It knocks people out. Makes them forget things. It�s a brilliant discovery my father made on one of his many trips. It�s funny actually... instead of letting me stay at home like I wanted, he sent me away, as you remember, so he�s always felt compelled to buy me strange and unusual things to make up for it. Lucky me. Instead of a mother�s love, I got gifts that can tie people up. Brilliant parenting, really.�

Dex shook his head. He�d heard Louis�s bitter talk of his father too many times to care. �You didn�t answer my question, Louis. What are you going to do with her?�

Louis cast him a wide smile. �Relax Dex... I�ll let you play too.�

�Play? You want me to play? She�s a person, Louis, not a bloody toy for you to amuse yourself with. I�m untying her right now and getting her out of here... where�s her purse, I can take her home and do a quick memory spell-� Dex started moving to where they had put the girl�s things. He�d just reached the table when he felt something hit him from behind. He felt himself fall to the floor, his mind spinning. He stared up at his friend in disbelief. Louis shook his head at him as he stood over him.

�Afraid I can�t have that, Dex. She�s mine and I was willing to share her, but you had to get all bleeding heart on me, didn�t you? She�s not a person, Dex, not like us. She�s a Muggle. No one will notice she�s gone, I already asked her. She just moved here from the Isle of Man. Aye, I thought it was appropriate too,� Louis said as he bent down towards him. �So you see, she has no one to miss her and no one to notice she�s gone. We can keep her as long as we like.�

Dex struggled against the Body-Bind he�d placed him under. Louis smiled down at him and Dex noticed for the first time how excited his friend was. As though all of this struggle was just something to liven up his night. He was conscious of Louis hitting him again with another spell and whispering something to him. Dex felt his mind begin to slip. His last image before slipping into the darkness was of Louis getting up and walking towards the bedroom, whistling...

Dex lifted his head up off the table and couldn�t believe it. He shook his head to clear it and was suddenly bombarded with what felt like a lifetime of memories. Memories that Louis had tried to hide from him. Dex saw it all; the way that Louis and Louis alone had been the one behind the attacks on the Muggle women, how he had made Dex feel as though he was responsible. All this time... Dexter had lived with the shame. All this time he had felt indebted to Louis for taking the fall for him and keeping him safe so that his family would never know what a miscreant he was...

Dexter had always had a distaste for Louis�s apparent joy at hurting people and he had believed that he himself was like that as well, had in fact, hated himself deeply. He saw now how Louis had let him believe that it was Dex who had started hurting the girls and that Louis was just the one who went along with him. Dex saw that now for the lie that it was. He had only wanted Louis to help him get Ginny, he had never meant for other people to get hurt. He had allowed Louis to manipulate him into to thinking that he was just like him- sick and deranged.

Dex felt the mental haze he�d been under start to unravel again. He didn�t know what was happening to his mind but he knew he needed to get out of the Binding Room. He needed to make sure that Louis hadn�t done something more to his memories and taken Ginny for himself...

Harry waited until they were out of the Binding Room for Remus to speak. The other man turned and looked at him.

�He drank the tea, right?� Lupin asked him and Harry nodded.

�Yeah, but what-�

�It was a Memory Potion, Harry. One of the Eradication Wizards picked up the remnants of some sort of spell being used on Dexter, so they suggested he be given a little something to help clear things up for him. However, judging by your anger in there I don�t think it worked.�

Harry shook his head. �No it didn�t really, he seemed even more confused... I almost believed him for a while... but... I think that�s what he wants us to think. I think he knows exactly where Ginny is. I think he�s playing us all for fools.�

Remus sighed. �You may be right, he had a lot of people fooled, obviously. Amelia wants to see us before we continue, but I think we should probably get to Dex�s flat and do a search. See if anything turns up. Ron and Hermione have gone on to St. Mungo�s to be with Neville and the rest of the Weasley�s are going back out to search for Ginny again.�

�Well, tell Amelia that�s where I am-�

�Harry, we have to go see her, plus you look horrible. When�s the last time you slept?�

�The last time any of the Weasley�s did, probably. If they can keep it up, I can. I�m not going to rest until I find her and you know that Remus,� Harry said, suddenly stubborn, even though he knew his friend was right.

Remus sighed. �Look, Harry... I know I�m always the one telling you things you don�t want to hear, but please do this one for me. Let�s speak with Amelia and then visit Dex�s flat. You never know, we might actually find something of value.�

Harry sighed. He knew his friend was right. He just felt powerless again and he hated that. The discussion with Dex had left him unsettled. Harry felt all of his anger towards the other man still within him, going no where. Frustration didn�t even begin to describe it. �Fine,� Harry said, firmly. �But I�m not sleeping or going home to rest afterwards, so don�t even try to talk me into that. If we don�t find anything at his flat then I�m going back out to help search or I�m coming back here to ask the git more questions.�

Remus gave him a small smile. �Of course, Harry. I know I shouldn�t push my luck with you too much.�

Harry shook his head and gave the man a return smile. He followed Lupin out into the hallway as they made their way to Amelia Bone�s office. Harry thought that with Dexter in custody he could at least be sure that no one was hurting Ginny right now, that was one good thing. Harry paused as the feeling that he�d forgotten something nibbled at him. Oh yeah, Louis Fagan, Harry thought to himself. He�d forgotten that he and Ron had been about to try to find the man to question him. Oh well, just add it to the list of one more thing to take care of. Harry didn�t think he�d ever get to sleep again. Of course, without knowing about Ginny, he didn�t think he�d ever want to. He wouldn�t rest until she was home. Until she was safe.