Chapter Fifty-One:
�Harry, you have to do this.� Ron said again as Harry tried to comb his hair.
Harry frowned at his reflection and gave up. He slipped his glasses on and turned to face Ron, who was sitting on the bed holding Miracroix�s letter.
�Why? Because she says the fact that Ginny and I are soul mates will open up some great connection between us?�
Ron frowned. �No, because you should be jumping at any chance, no matter how remote it seems, to find my sister.�
Harry met Ron�s eyes and felt his skin heat. �I don�t need to be lectured on how to find Ginny, Ron.�
�Then do it. At least try this as a possibility. It might even work. Merlin knows the connection between the two of you has saved you both before.�
Harry sighed. �Look, Ron, what is this? You don�t care for Divination stuff. You never have. When did you change?�
Ron stared at him a long time, his expression unreadable. Finally, he spoke in a quiet voice, and Harry had to strain to hear him.
�When Ginny became a Seer. When she saved your life with her vision. That�s when I knew that inside all of the mumbo-jumbo there are some things that just are. No reason, no meaning. I�ve seen Ginny do too many strange things, too many things that by all rights she shouldn�t have been able to do. And I�ve seen you do those things too; you�re both touched by the same sort of magic. Call it being soul mates or whatever, I don�t really care, but you more than anyone should know that the things that end up helping us are sometimes the things that make the least amount of sense.�
Ron was as serious as Harry had ever seen him, and he felt guilty for having scoffed at him. His friend was right, of course. There was something different between Ginny and himself and he�d been fighting it because to accept it would mean that there was some truth in the idea of fate. Ron was also right about something else; he should be trying every way available to find Ginny. His narrow mind regarding Divination shouldn�t matter in the slightest, if it meant he could find her.
�You�re right,� Harry said and saw Ron relax as though he�d been expecting Harry to fight him. �Hand me the letter. What does it say we have to do to prepare this thing?�
Ginny didn�t like standing, she decided. After Louis had left her, he hadn�t come back, and she�d had to stand, chained to the wall for hours. She was grumpy, hungry and tired. She was ready for a fight.
Except no chance for one came. She looked around the room she was in for the 450th time and got as far as the strange looking contraption in the corner before closing her eyes for a rest. She was in some sort of torture chamber, it looked like. She shuddered to think of Louis trying everything out on her... but it was odd though, how everything looked small, as though it had been designed for a child. Even the chains he�d locked around her wrists seemed shortened in size. Which probably accounted for how utterly uncomfortable she truly was. Of course, she reckoned that her being comfortable wasn�t high on Louis�s list.
To pass the time, Ginny had started to bring images of Harry into her mind. The way he smiled after he kissed her, or the way he laughed at Ron and Hermione bickering. The kindness in his eyes when he was listening to someone, the intensity in his gaze when he looked at her in bed, intuitively knowing exactly what she wanted....
Ginny shivered despite the warmth of the room and sighed. She knew this was all her fault. If only she�d listened to Harry and stayed home, this would have never happened. Louis would have never grabbed her...Ginny paused then, her mind seemingly blank. How had Louis grabbed her, anyway? She remembered getting the note from Dex, going to the hospital to see Mandy....but then that was it. Nothing but emptiness. She reckoned it didn�t matter, really, but it still bothered her.
Ginny tried to stretch, to keep her muscles somewhat awake. The desire to fight Louis wouldn�t get her far if she was too stiff and sore to move very fast. A sudden noise made her stop her movements, and she looked in the direction that she assumed was the door. She steadied herself and after a moment, Louis entered the room and Ginny closed her mouth. She�d been ready to lambaste him with words for having kept her tied up for so long, but what she saw in his hand caused her words to die in her throat. Louis was holding a very long and sturdy looking belt and his intentions were clear as he walked towards her.
�Okay, it says you have to fill it with water, halfway,� Ron was saying as Harry lay the Ewerahn down on the floor. He�d arranged some pillows on the floor and closed the doors and curtains so that the room kept out the morning light. Ron had lit a stick of the incense Miracroix had thought to include, and the bedroom now smelled surprisingly like pine. It was very different from the type of incense Trelawney had stuffed down their throats at school. In fact, it reminded Harry more of Firenze, the centaur that had helped out Dumbledore in fifth year.
�Any water or does it have to be a special sort,� Harry said, trying to make his voice sound neutral. Ron glanced at him.
�Well, it doesn�t say it has to have been bathed in by virgins or anything, but it does say fresh.�
Harry smirked and was about to say he didn�t even know where they could find a couple of virgins in this day and age, so that was a good thing, but suddenly frowned. Fresh water? He had a feeling water from the taps wouldn�t cut it. Ron met his eyes, apparently he�d had the same thought. Harry was about to suggest one of them pop out to a stream somewhere and grab some, when Ron said �Ah ha!� and disapparated suddenly. Harry blinked at the space his friend had just been occupying and frowned. Now what?
A few minutes later, Ron was back with a pitcher of water in his hand. Harry merely watched him pour about half of the pitcher into the Ewerahn and then set it aside. Harry raised his eyebrow at his friend, who shrugged.
�I remembered that Neville hooked something up for Ginny to collect rainwater for the flower garden he made her for her flat. It keeps the water fresh for the flowers. They grow better that way.�
�Well, we�ll have to thank Neville if this works, then,� Harry said. �Now what does it say we do?�
�Er...right, well, we made it as dark as possible in here, okay... right, and we have the fresh water, the incense...er...it says you have to be naked.�
Harry looked sharply at Ron. �What?!�
�Heh, just kidding,� Ron said sheepishly and then handed the letter back to Harry. �Really, mate, the rest of the stuff is all on the inside. She says this is different then how regular Seers use it, but it should work for you.�
Harry frowned at Ron and took the letter back from him. He read the words Miracroix had added and then understood what Ron meant. The next part of scrying would come from inside him. He needed to watch the water and try to focus his mind on what he was searching, in this case, where Louis was keeping Ginny. With determination, Harry sat down in front of the Ewerahn and tried to open his mind.
At first, Harry was very aware that he was in his bedroom, sitting on the floor and staring at a stone basin, while his best friend watched him. Harry glanced up at Ron and nodded his head. Ron stared dumbly back at him.
�Er, Ron, could you just not...I don�t know, stare at me? It�s a little distracting.�
�Oh, okay. I�ll leave you alone for a little while,� Ron turned to go and then paused, glancing back at Harry. �You promise you�ll tell me what you see?�
�Of course. If I see anything out of this, I�ll be singing it from the top of the building. After of course, I go and find Ginny.�
Ron smirked at him and then closed the door as he left the bedroom. Harry sighed and tried to relax, closing his eyes. He practiced the breathing techniques that had been a part of his daily routine since he�d first started mastering Occlumency. When he felt as though he had reached a relaxed point, his heart and breathing even within him, he thought of Miracroix�s words and started to do what she�d asked.
Think of your favourite thing about Ginny...she�d written, and for Harry it wasn�t a question of just one thing, but many. Her face flashed in his mind, and she was laughing. He loved the sound of her laughter more than anything. Well, almost more than anything. He loved the sound she made when he was kissing her or touching her in some way that she liked...he felt his skin turn warmer. He remembered the last time they�d been together, the morning of Draco�s attack, and he had given her the ring....
Harry focused on the look of joy he recalled seeing on her face and the way she had raised her hand above them as they lay on the bed. He remembered feeling completely at one and happy with her. It was this feeling that compelled him to finally open his eyes and look at the water.
It was no longer just fresh water in a stone container. It had turned darker and Harry could see it was moving. Lowering his face down, he stared intently into the water, but nothing stood out to him. It just looked like shapeless figures underneath the water somewhere. Determined to make this work, Harry closed his eyes and tried to think of more things about Ginny.
He liked the shimmer of her hair; whether in firelight or in sunlight, it blinded him sometimes with its beauty. He realized with a start that he�d never told her that. But he could trace the outline of her face with his inner eye, and count the freckles on her nose. But more than these physical things, Harry recalled her strength and her tenacity. Her humour and the mischievous streak that made him laugh when she was up to something. He loved her quick intelligence and her seemingly never-ending supply of kindness towards other people. He even loved it when she was being stubborn because unlike his own inner need to be right, hers always made sense. Well, at least it made sense to her. Harry smiled at the thought and felt another warmth fill him. He opened his eyes again and was disappointed to see that the water hadn�t changed. It still swirled in thick, darkened whirlpools.
Harry looked down at the letter and re-read it, to make sure he was following the instructions correctly. Sighing, he tried to clear his mind again and attempted to do what Miracroix had said was the most important part: Open yourself up to her, not just your memories.
What did that mean? Harry wondered. Wasn�t that what he was doing here- thinking of all the reasons he cared about Ginny? You know what it means, a small voice said inside of him and he frowned as he thought about it.
Harry didn�t like to let people in. Even Ron and Hermione, who had known him forever, didn�t have all the keys. And Ginny, who had gotten closer to him than anyone else, couldn�t even get in all the way. He just didn�t have it in him to let them. It was a fault in him, not in them, and Harry knew that. He�d spent too many years protecting himself. Too many years trying not to let things hurt him. It made a piece of him cold, probably, but he didn�t think about it too much. It was that piece of him that had been able to fight Voldemort, after watching Hagrid and Dumbledore die..it was that piece of him that had made him get out of bed the day after Sirius had gone through the veil...and it was that piece of him that had killed Draco with no remorse. He knew it was a defence mechanism brought on from years of living with the Dursley�s and being The Boy Who Lived. But maybe it was also the thing that was keeping him from making this work.
Harry sighed and slumped as he stared at the water again. Nothing. He ran a hand through his hair in frustration. Maybe if he had something of Ginny�s to hold in his hand...Miracroix�s letter had said the Ewerahn held a bit her magic in it...maybe if he had something else that had the same thing. Suddenly remembering the stone, Harry got up to find it in the robe he�d tossed carelessly on the lavatory floor.
Sitting back down with the stone in his hand, he was hesitant to touch it, half wanting to feel Ginny again because of it and half worried that he wouldn�t feel a thing. The stone tingled slightly in his hand, but that was it, and Harry felt disappointed. He held the stone in his hand and started to try again. Closing his eyes, he didn�t notice the water turning red....
Ginny bit her lip as she lay on the cold stone floor. Her back ached but it was nothing compared to the pain she felt inside of her. She felt weak and that wounded some part of her pride. He shouldn't be getting to her like this. The crack of the belt against her skin made her whimper and she heard him laughing somewhere behind her. With a strength that Ginny didn�t know she had, she forced herself to a sitting position. She fell forward as she tried to stand up and cursed as her weakened leg gave out.
�Why Ginny, are you going somewhere?� Louis asked, suddenly nearby.
Ginny ignored him and gritted her teeth. She sat forward again and forced herself to stand. She knew the cut in her leg had started bleeding again, but she didn�t care. She raised her head to find Louis staring at her.
�I much prefer you to beat me standing up, thank you,� she said roughly and lifted her chin at him. She hoped she was meeting his gaze with force and not with screaming fear, which is what she was really feeling. The finger that she wore her ring on, prickled, and she kept thinking the same thing...Harry. Just the sound of his name in her head and she felt better. Almost
Louis frowned at her, but shrugged. �As you like it. Personally, for me, I think its easier to stay down on all fours, but then I seem to recall you didn�t really like being subordinate to me, did you?�
Ginny winced as he forced her to turn around again, his hand rough on her back. Ginny wondered how many welts she had back there and if they would scar. Then she marvelled at how she could keep thinking such idiotic thoughts. Scaring was the least of her worries, she knew.
As Louis drew back again, and she heard the familiar rushing of air that meant the belt was arching towards her, she gritted her teach. She was not going to cry out. She was not going to be broken.
Harry tried to open his mind again. But he didn�t know how to do that exactly. He started by just saying Ginny�s name over and over again in his head, as though he were calling to her. He held the stone in his hand and noticed it had gotten warmer; he opened his eyes to look at it and then noticed the water. Harry froze as he watched it - it was bright red now and turbulent as it moved in the basin. It was like a miniature tidal wave and if it weren�t for the colour reminding him so much of blood, he might have been fascinated.
Harry unconsciously gripped his hands against the side of the Ewerahn and felt the same spark he�d felt before as his hand brushed against the stone heart. This time there was no doubt in his mind that that spark had been real. Reaching out to touch it again, the water crested in the basin as his finger made contact with the stone and Harry thought that he could finally see something in the water. It looked like a circle of stones, and with a sharp breath, he recalled the dream he�d had. Was what he was seeing now a replay of the dream or did it represent a place he needed to go to?
Think of how much you need Ginny, a voice said in his head and Harry obeyed it. His heart rate quickened and he knew something was happening. He could feel something just beyond his reach. It was like a power wrapping around him and he wanted...no, he knew he needed to connect with it.
Harry tried to let down all the walls he�d had in place. All the blocks he�d put up because of Voldemort had never broken away because he�d found too much comfort in them. They�d kept him too safe. It was one of the reasons he had ran away from Ginny five years ago; she made him feel as though he was never going to be safe, no matter what he did. And at that time it had frightened him to the core. He thought that he�d had all the answers then - Voldemort dead, the Prophecy fulfilled, his life stretched out before him, and then Ginny had reminded him of all the things he thought he�d pushed away. Her love for him had made him feel again. Harry saw now how much that had scared him.
I need Ginny because she makes me feel alive. She makes me love and care and be frightened again. Her love makes me question everything I thought I understood.
Harry reached out with his mind as his hand connected with the heart on the Ewerahn and he felt himself falling forward. He opened his eyes and saw the water getting closer and closer. He felt as though he was about to drown in it. He paused, his face inches away from the water and then he saw it turn clear, suddenly. His eyes opened wide, Harry�s face touched the water and then he was inside. He was inside her.
Relief spread through him at once; it was good just to know that she was still alive. But his relief was short lived as he realized that Ginny was in pain. So much pain.
It was like a shock to his system, and Harry felt his own power pour out of him into her, but it hit something within her and he could only watch in horror as he felt her body give under the pressure. He knew she was weak; she was crying and she was saying his name inside her head, and Harry screamed out to comfort her - he didn�t understand why he could feel as though he were inside her and yet she couldn�t feel him.
Harry felt strong arms pulling on him and he fought, not realizing he was fighting Ron and not Louis. He didn�t realize the connection had been broken until Ron slapped his face, hard, saying his name over and over again. Harry came back to himself in a rude awakening, and screamed out loud in frustration.
Thousands of miles away, Laura Miracroix gathered her books, readying herself for another day of walking through Cairo with her guide, Perusah. She was trying to learn as much as she could about certain aspects of the culture, but the heat made it difficult. She wasn�t as young as she used to be, she knew. Ah, getting old, just one more reason to keep looking.
She paused before she left, her friend Liliana having left a note for her on the door. Frowning as she read it, she knocked on what Liliana liked to call her �Divining Chamber� and entered it when she heard her friend�s muffled voice.
�Ah...Mira...come, talk with me.�
Liliana always called her Mira, always claiming it was Laura�s real name. Laura had long since ceased to argue with her.
�Lili? Your note said you�d had another vision? Is it my friend Ginny Weasley again?�
Movement came from the far right corner and Liliana came into view, her countenance hidden in milky white layers of fabric. Her voice came out in a breathless wonder.
�No, not the girl. She is still missing, but the one who seeks her...he will be contacting you. The package you sent, he could not make it work. He only feels, he cannot help her. I fear you must wait until he contacts you. It is...important.�
Laura frowned. She trusted Liliana�s visions completely, but sometimes they did have a tendency to...well, take a while to come true. She had no way of knowing if Harry Potter had even received the package yet, let alone tried to use it.
�He has it, Mira. He needs your guidance,� Liliana said softly.
Laura sighed. Well, there went another day lost. Not that she minded too much. She looked at Liliana.
�Should I contact him do you suppose, or -?�
Liliana shook her head. �No, he will do it. It is necessary for him to find you, I cannot say why.�
�Right then,� Laura sighed. �Well, I�ll just be in the library then, waiting for the fireplace to ring, eh?�
Liliana nodded, her face going slack and peaceful again. Laura watched her return to her corner, knowing that when her friend was in the midst of �using the inner eye� she was, to be polite, a bit �round the bend. She closed the door behind her and told the servants to let Perusah know she would not be needed today.
Sighing again, Laura sank down into one of the old chairs that rested in front of the only floo-able fireplace Liliana liked to keep. She pulled out one of her books and stared at the dry heath; she wondered how long she would have to wait. Opening her book, she began to read, trying desperately not to worry about Ginny Weasley.
Harry stared at Ron, not really seeing him. He was still on the floor. His back, even though he knew it had not been harmed at all, still had echoes of the pain he�d just felt. Pain he knew that was Ginny�s and not his own.
�He�s hurting her,� Harry croaked out, and Ron stopped trying to make him sit up. He gave Harry an odd look and sat down on the bed.
�You...you definitely saw something then?� Ron asked, his face pale with understanding.
Harry had no idea how to explain that not only had he seen something, he�d felt something. It had been similar to the time when he�d been in Voldemort�s mind, but different as well. It hadn�t just been Ginny breaking under the pressure, it had been Harry too. He cursed loudly and sat up, feeling the blood rushing from his head. It left him feeling dizzy.
�I felt it,� Harry said as he rubbed his head, his hand unconsciously rubbing the spot where his scar used to be.
Ron looked sharply at him. �What do you mean, you felt it?�
Harry looked at Ron and gave a half-shrug. �That...Ewerahn or whatever it is, it connected me to Ginny. It was like I was...I was inside of her. And I could feel everything she was feeling and I tried to help her...something in me wanted to help her but it was like...I couldn�t. I don�t know. The connection was broken when she passed out. Oh, gods.� The reality of what that meant became clear to Harry, and he felt all of his strength leave him. Ginny was out there, suffering, and he was powerless to stop it.
�Well, where is she at then, let�s go get her and...kill the bastard,� Ron said as he stood up, his face red with anger.
�That�s just it, Ron...I don�t know where he...I don�t know where she�s at. I saw something with stones in a circle somewhere...some place I dreamed about. But when I was...in Ginny, all I saw was a room in a house that could be anywhere.�
Ron began to gasp for breath loudly and he was saying something, but Harry didn�t hear him. His head still felt light and he forced himself to stand up. His leg hurt for some reason too; he didn�t know if that was a left over echo of what Ginny had felt or if he had hurt it while he�d thrashed about on the floor.
Harry looked at the Ewerahn and noticed the water had returned to normal. Ginny�s meditation stone lay next to it. Apparently the two had been a strong combination. Harry wondered why he had been able to connect with Ginny and why she had seemed unaware of it.
�Well, Harry?� Ron was demanding something and Harry looked up at him.
�I�m sorry Ron, what did you say?�
�Harry! Haven�t you been listening? I say we go and grab Donald Fagan and force him to tell us where his son has gone and if he doesn�t know, then we beat him! We make him tell us and then when that doesn�t work, I�ll tell Fred and George that he�s holding out on us and -�
Harry tuned out Ron�s ranting and forced himself to walk around the room, testing his body�s strength. He picked up Miracroix�s letter and looked around for the paper the box had been wrapped in. It had fallen away, under his bed. He reached for it and read the return address, making a decision. He turned and faced Ron, who was still ranting.
�Ron,� he said, hoping to calm his friend down and not succeeding. �Ron! Shut up for a minute!�
Ron stopped in mid-yell and then shut his mouth. His eyes flashed at Harry. �Why aren�t you more upset about this, why aren�t you ranting?�
Harry shook his head. By all rights he should be crying into his pillow at what he�d just experienced, but he couldn�t. For some reason he knew he had to act now, while Ginny was out. That for some reason he knew Fagan would let her sleep her pain away, because it would hurt her that much more when she woke up again. Anger, hot and cold twisted through Harry. But he stared calmly at his friend.
�Because for some reason, I know I can�t waste any time. Donald Fagan isn�t important now. Look, do you think you can pop over to the Ministry and see if the Floo Regulation Department can find me the fireplace for this house in Cairo?�
Harry thrust the paper at Ron, who looked at it, not comprehending. �You want permission to floo to Egypt?�
�Maybe some day, but not now. Look, I want to talk to this Miracroix. She seemed certain this Ewerahn would work. I want to know why Ginny can�t feel me, but I can feel...her.�
Ron nodded, comprehending suddenly. He took the paper and Harry watched as he disapparated, knowing he�d be back soon. Harry walked over to Hedwig and woke up the sleeping owl, who only nipped at him half-heartedly.
�Sorry old girl, but I need you to send a message to Remus. He�s probably with Arthur. Do you think you can do that?�
Hedwig ignored him for a moment, but then after he continued to stroke her feathers she turned an eye to his and then hooted her agreement. Harry jotted out a short note and then tied it to her leg as she clambered out of her cage. Harry watched her soar away and then turned his attention back to the Ewerahn. It was time to set it up so that he could try again.