Chapter Forty-Four:
�I just don�t remember, I�m sorry,� Winifred said for the third time and Harry had a hard time restraining himself. He could feel Remus�s eyes on him and turned to look at him.
� Fine, you try,� he whispered to his friend and moved away from the girl�s bed. Harry knew Winifred was getting upset, almost hysterical, from the questions he�d been asking, but he didn�t have time to be nice. He needed something to go on.
But it was Tonks that went to Winifred�s bed. She sat down and took the girl�s hand into her own. Harry heard her whispering softly to her. Remus put a hand on him, to stop him from getting too close.
�Winifred doesn�t appear to be too trusting of men, right now, Harry. Let Tonks try,� Remus said quietly, his voice even.
Harry nodded and then turned away, sitting down in one of the chairs against the wall. Harry tried to calm his nerves by taking deep breaths. He didn�t want to think about Ginny going through what Winifred had obviously gone through. He didn�t want to think of anyone touching her...
Almost against his will, the images of Ginny being hurt flitted through his mind and Harry punched his injured hand into his leg, wincing with pain. Reminding himself of his earlier tantrum was the only thing that kept him from breaking into another one now. Harry closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on something that was far removed from what was happening. When he opened his eyes finally, he found Remus nodding at him.
�Good, Harry. You�re getting your emotions in check. That�s a good sign.�
Harry scowled but it quickly turned into a frown. �I�m sorry for losing my temper earlier. I know you were just trying to-�
�Be a voice of calm in a sea of madness? Yes, that�s always been my cross to bear. Don�t let your frustration get to you so easily Harry. Ginny doesn�t need that; she needs you to be calm and collected. It�s the only thing that�s going to help us find her.�
Harry nodded. He knew his friend was right but he couldn�t help it. The anxiety that had started when he�d left the flat earlier had only grown and intensified inside him. It was unlike anything Harry had ever known before. To say that he felt as though he were missing a part of himself sounded clich� and trite, but it was true, he realized that now. The fact that he couldn�t control what was happening to that missing part of him made him angry and frustrated. He�d not seriously given the soul mate idea any thought- he was glad it had allowed Ginny and he to remain alive after the incident at the prison, but other than that, Harry didn�t think he�d have any use for it. But now he saw that without Ginny, he was less than what he had been before and Harry didn�t like the growing sense of emptiness inside of him. It scared him in a way that he didn�t understand. He could face Voldemort, he could face Draco Malfoy and anyone else that represented evil, but the thought of facing life without Ginny... it left Harry deathly cold inside. As though she were the thing that caused his very heart to beat.
Remus put an arm lightly on his shoulder and Harry blinked up at him. He�d been so lost in his own thoughts he�d forgotten where he was. His eyes strayed over to Tonks who seemed to be making headway with Winifred. Harry suddenly couldn�t be in the room any longer.
�I have to get out of here for a while, I�ll go find Ron and Hermione,� he whispered to Remus and broke away before the other man could stop him. Harry practically ran out of the room, letting the door swing shut behind him. He took deep breaths again and willed his heart to stop beating so frantically.
Keep your head about you, Remus is right. It�s not going to help things at all, if you start to lose it.
Harry didn�t like feeling powerless. It reminded him too much of when he was growing up, lost inside prophecies and fated destinies. Lost inside a game he�d never wanted to play. He�d barely survived that by the skin of his teeth and here he was, years later, a grown man, driven to distraction because of some empty feeling inside. He wouldn�t stand for it. He would not fall to pieces because of some ancient idea of being less than complete because Ginny wasn�t with him. It was codswallop. He was Harry Potter, and he was definitely better than this. Lost in his own thoughts again, he jumped when Dex called his name.
�Harry? How�s it going? Has Winifred told you anything worthwhile yet?�
Ginny felt numb. She stared at the ceiling above her, unblinking. The only thing that kept her awake was the ring on her left hand. It warmed her skin where it touched her and she was thankful for it because it reminded her of Harry. She didn�t want to think of anything else right now.
But she forced her mind to focus and tried to loosen the ropes around her arms again. She was not going to wait for that... that maniac to come back and do anything else to her. There was something about him that seemed oddly familiar to Ginny but she didn�t feel like studying him to understand what it meant. If she relaxed her arms enough, she noticed the rope would slacken so she tried to make herself as relaxed as possible, except of course, you couldn�t move once you had your body that still. As soon as she started to try to twist her arm out, the rope would coil and go tight against her skin. It was useless.
The man had seemed surprised that she was awake so quickly, so she reckoned the ropes must have a sort of poison they wrapped around their victim as they moved across them. It would explain the rope burns they�d found on Winifred. Why Ginny wasn�t susceptible to the poison herself, she didn�t know, but she was thankful because it made trying to escape that much easier. Except of course, it appeared that she was completely at the mercy of the ropes he�d left tied to her body.
So Ginny tried to come up with a way to get loose. She was not going to let that fiend touch her again. Just the thought of his hands on her... Ginny felt the same revulsion she had felt when she had seen her name carved into Mandy�s back. It sickened her and her stomach twisted.
No, stay calm. You can do this. You can get free and kick his arse while you�re at it too.
So Ginny stared up at the ceiling again and thought of all the things she had to fight for.
Harry wanted to lose Dex, but the man would not leave him alone, so the two of them headed downstairs to find Hermione and Ron. Harry knew if Winifred came up with anything new, that Tonks would let him know. He found Hermione and Ron in the hospital�s teashop, talking quietly.
They searched his face for any news as he reached them and Harry merely shook his head. Ron�s fist flexed beside his cup and Hermione rubbed his arm, absentmindedly.
�Join us then, Harry, Dex, we�ll wait for Remus and Tonks to get done talking to her,� Hermione said as she pointed to the two other chairs at the table.
Harry just stared at them and almost turned around again, but Dex moved behind him, blocking him. Harry sat down and glared as the other man did the same. He shook his head as Hermione offered him a cup of tea.
�You have to keep your strength up-�
�I don�t want any tea, Hermione. Nor any biscuits. I don�t have the stomach for it,� he said, his voice breaking.
He watched as Dex took the offered cup of tea and added milk and sugar to it. Harry�s stomach did feel queasy, as though he was about to be very sick. He knew it was just nerves.
�I thought they put a charm on your cheek, Dex, to make the bruising go away?� Hermione was saying as Harry rubbed his hands together under the table. He glanced at Dex and saw that the bruising from before was indeed still visible. He wondered if it had been the result of the person who had jumped him or Harry�s bedroom floor making connection with his face that had been the creator of those wounds. For some inexplicable reason, Harry hoped it had been the floor.
Dex looked flustered for a moment and then his hand went up to his cheek.
�Oh, well, reckon the charm wore off. The medi-witch said that might happen. I�ll have to get some Healing potion for it, no doubt.�
Hermione opened her mouth to say something else when Ron pushed away from the table in frustration.
�Bloody hell. I can�t stand just sitting here, waiting. Shouldn�t we be out there somewhere, looking?�
Harry nodded in agreement. But Hermione shook her head.
�No, what if some news comes in or Winifred remembers something and no one can reach you? Let the patrol wizards handle it, they specialize in this sort of thing. You don�t even know where to look-�
�We knew where to look for Malfoy-�
�That�s different Ron, you�d had a sighting of him-�
�Well, maybe someone has seen someone with Ginny, you don�t know-�
Hermione and Ron continued bickering and Harry put his head in his hands. Useless. It was all... useless. He had all this magical ability at his fingertips and nothing could help him find Ginny. Harry felt someone�s eyes on him and he looked over at Dex. The other man continued staring for a moment, a strange expression on his face. Before it could register on Harry, the other man blinked and then looked away. He nodded at Harry.
�Ginny�s a fighter, Harry. She won�t be hurt without a fight, you can probably trust in that. You�ll find her before too long.�
Harry nodded his head numbly. He wasn�t even listening. He felt old, suddenly. Old and tired. Why was it exactly he could never have a nice, normal, boring life? Why couldn�t he be curled up into bed with Ginny right now, doing the Daily Prophet crossword puzzle or some other mundane thing?
Because you�re lousy at crosswords and you�re the man that defeated Voldemort. Boring isn�t in your vocabulary and you like it like that.
Hermione and Ron were interrupted in their arguing by a loud bang! and Harry looked up to see Fred and George glaring at them. The twins marched in and folded their arms as they looked at all of them.
�Fine sight you lot are-�
�Ginny�s been nabbed and you�re all sitting down for a cup of tea and an episode of the Ron and Hermione hour. Brilliant. Harry, we thought you cared more about Ginny that this,� George said angrily.
Harry just blinked up at him. �I�m waiting for Tonks and Remus to get done questioning Winifred.�
�Yeah and then what? You�ll pop home for a lounge on the bed before you get out there looking for our sister?�
�Hey, look you two, we�re all trying to remain calm and collected. Harry�s doing the best he can-�
Fred interrupted Ron with a snort. �Figures you�d say that Ronnie, you�re sitting about with him.�
George pointed to his own chest and then at Fred�s. �We�re going out-�
�And we�re going to ask as many questions-�
�As we can, so that when Ginny asks what we did to find her we�ll at least be able to say we didn�t sit on our arses drinking tea!�
The twins glared at them again and then left the teashop. Ron called after them in anger and started to follow them. Hermione looked at Harry.
�Don�t listen to them Harry. You�re doing the right thing, trying to get a plan of action, trying to find clues first, before going off half-crazed. I�m proud of you,� Hermione said consolingly.
Harry shook his head. He was about to tell Hermione that she could stuff her pride, he was with Fred and George; they should be out there looking, except Ron came back into the teashop then, followed by Remus and Tonks.
�Good news, Harry! I think we have our first real clue,� Tonks said.
�What? What did she say?� Harry stood up fast from the table.
�Well, Winifred seems to remember a few things about the house she was kept in and I think it�s important. I got her permission to put her under a Remembering Spell, but I think someone must have done a Memory Charm already, because she was really blank on a lot of things. But she remembers the air being stale, as though it had been closed up for awhile. And she remembered that once she heard a loud bell or horn, like it was from a ship. I think she was being kept in a house along the docks! That�s where we picked up Draco at wasn�t it?�
Everyone started talking excitedly then and Harry felt his first surge of hope. Of course, Draco had been sighted along the docks, after having seemingly disappeared out of the city. It made sense that he would have been kept somewhere. Maybe the person who took Ginny had been responsible for Draco getting out of jail! Not caring to wonder why at that point, Harry nodded as Remus suggested they all go to the area they had been at earlier in the day so that they could focus and start their search there.
No one noticed Dex slipping out of the teashop and hurrying down the stairs...
Professor Laura Miracroix sat waiting for her transport to take her to the house she�d be staying at in the city. She�d been waylaid in Port Royale for days and she felt that she was quite done with the desert in its entirety. She fanned herself with a small twirl of her wand and sighed. She glanced down at the over-sized package she carried on her lap, which was destined for England. She only hoped that she would get to mail it soon. It weighed a ton, for one, and she had a strange feeling that the contents of the box were needed now more than ever.
With a smile, the carriage master helped her out of the cab and took the box from her. Speaking in French she told him that the box needed to go out as soon as possible. He nodded at her and then called to one of the servants. A small boy ran out to meet him and graciously accepted the package. As Miracroix went into the house, the boy carried the box to the local wizard post and paid the extra fee for fast delivery. He glanced at the name before the clerk took it out of his hands and gasped as he recognized the name.
Just wait until his friends heard that he�d help mail a package to Harry Potter!
Harry, along with Ron, the twins, Remus, Tonks, everyone he knew practically, searched all night along the docks, asking questions, trying to appear nonchalant when they tried to ascertain whether or not anyone lived in the houses they came upon.
By the morning�s first ray of light, they had covered a good deal of area and were still no more the wiser. No one had seen a thing, which Harry reckoned wasn�t that odd considering Ginny had been taken by a wizard and not a Muggle. He�d probably apparated straight to wherever it was he was keeping her.
He looked over at the determined, yet tired expression on Ron�s face and knew it matched his own. It had been a long 24 hours for all of them. Add to that the fact that there hadn�t been even a word or a sign of anything that could remotely help them, and it seemed as though it had been even longer. Harry just wanted Ginny to be safe. He thought about where they had found Winifred, and then where they had found Malfoy. It made sense that the house they�d stayed at had to be around this area somewhere. Even Mandy, who had been returned to her own flat, lived in the same area. So there was something here, he just knew it. Trouble was, he didn�t know what good it did him to just keep going over the same area again and again.
Harry also couldn�t understand why someone had freed Draco Malfoy if the real object of their desire had been Ginny all along. He�d heard about Mandy�s hair, heard about Ginny�s name being carved in her back. He knew Winifred had said the man had used that name for her. It left a bad taste in his mouth to think that someone was obsessed with Ginny, that someone would go to all this trouble...
Ron�s voice interrupted his thoughts. �Harry, Remus wants us to fall back and get some breakfast. He says the 2nd Wizard Patrol will take over for us while we rest up. I have to admit I could use a bit of refreshment.�
Harry shook his head. �Fine, you can go and eat up, I�m staying out here. I�ll help them with the areas we�ve only been through once.�
Ron frowned at him. �Remus said you�d say that. He said to remind you that we all need to touch base and we may as well do it while drinking tea and grabbing a bit to eat to keep our strength up.�
Harry groaned and reluctantly agreed to head back in with Ron. He knew Remus would just keep sending people out to pester him, so he�d drink a spot of tea and chew on a biscuit and hop out again. Maybe they�d have more luck in the light of day...
He followed Ron as they ducked in-between two shops. They both tried to look causal as they apparated to the Leaky Cauldron and avoid any Muggles seeing them disappear.
Hermione was already there waiting for them and she poured a quick cup for Ron and him. The twins came in soon after, grumbling about being pulled away from the search but looking slightly mollified when their mother stuffed two chocolate tarts in their opened mouths. Everyone ate and drank in silence and Harry had to admit that maybe it had been a good idea to come back in. The tea did feel good on his throat and he�d never admit this to Ron, but his stomach was thankful as well.
Harry watched Neville Longbottom and Charlie Weasley as they came in and sat down at the far end of the table. Neville looked a wreck and Harry wondered if he had the same haunted expression on his own face. He buried his head in his hand then, closing his eyes for a moment. Now since he was sitting down, he realized how tired he was. He felt a hand on his back and looked up to see Arthur Weasley gazing down at him.
�Alright there, Harry?�
Harry nodded and removed his hand from his face. The older man sat down next to him and offered him a chocolate tart. When Harry started to refuse, Arthur stuck it in his hand anyway. Harry smiled slightly and took a bite to make the elder Weasley happy.
Arthur looked as tired as the rest of them, and for the first time Harry saw how old his future father in law looked. The war with Voldemort had been long and of course, it had taken its toll, but Harry had thought the years in-between had to have been good ones, surely. But then, maybe it only took something like your youngest child being taken by someone to bring every harsh thing you�d ever lived through back to you in one fell swoop.
�I�m going to find her, Arthur,� Harry said softly and the other man glanced at him and nodded.
�I know you are Harry. I have every faith in you. So does Molly. We know you love her very much.�
Harry glanced at Molly who was talking quietly to Tonks and Hermione and nodded.
�I asked Ginny to marry me yesterday and she agreed, we just didn�t get a chance to tell you. We didn�t want to take any of the happiness away from Ron and Hermione, I reckon. Seems silly now,� Harry said, not understanding why he felt compelled to say this at the moment.
Arthur looked at him, surprised, but then he smiled and patted Harry on the back again.
�Thank you for telling me that, Harry. It... well, it makes me happy to know my daughter had that joy before all of this happened. Maybe it�ll keep her strong enough to survive it all.�
Harry didn�t say anything or try to argue with him. He knew Arthur was right. There was no telling what was happening to Ginny now and if knowing of his love for her made her be stronger then Harry was glad. He knew she would fight anything and anyone who tried to control her. She�d always been strong; it was one of the things he loved her for.
Arthur patted him on the back one last time and then stood up, letting Bill who had just come in, sit down in his place. Harry watched Arthur comfort Neville and felt the love he had for the Weasley�s course through him. With renewed vigor and determination, Harry got up and walked over to Remus and Tonks, ready to discuss their next strategy.
The real Dexter Eoghan woke up in his flat feeling as though he�d chased a liter of Ogden�s Firewhiskey with a fifth of Glen Livet. Moaning, he rubbed his head and was surprised to feel a soft spot there. Had he bumped his head last night?
Dex searched his mind and was surprised when he came up fairly blank with what had happened to him. The last thing he remembered had been talking to Ginny, taking her to see Mandy Brocklehurst...
Almost as though on cue, the unknown memory Fagan had left for him bloomed in his mind and Dex felt his first surge of panic. What had he done to her?
He forced himself off his sofa and stumbled into his bedroom, afraid of what he would find...
Susan Bones was knocked out cold and tied to his bed.
Damn, not again, Dex thought to himself. What have I done?