Ch. 30
Guard

Ginny woke up with her head pounding, legs twisted in the white sheets, and slick sweat on the back of her neck. It felt as if her heart wanted to beat out of it's chest, but nothing compared to the intense hollowness that she felt.

Her hand was cold, hanging off the bed limply. Harry was nowhere in sight, but she could feel him. He was somewhere off to the east, but far enough away that Ginny couldn't pin-point his exact location. The sad thing? She needed him right now, badly. She felt as if someone had reached into her chest and taken her heart, squeezing until everything ached.

The voice was so cold and chilly, it's resonance bouncing through her mind. She'd heard it so many times, it was familiar, but brought with it panic and hurt as well as confusion. How was he back? Harry killed him, or so she had assumed. But then, in the back of her mind, everything made sense. The straining of her powers that had knocked Chimpy out of her mind brought something much more sinister.

But he was dead. She knew it. She'd seen him die. That was reassuring, since she doubted she'd be able to sleep for nights if it seemed he was real, but it also scared her. There was something going on, something sinister that brought Tom Riddle back to settle into her dreams.

Ginny wondered where Chimp was, she remembered his name was something like Julian or Gillian but refused to call him that, even that creep was better than Tom.

Harry must have felt her emotions, as she could feel his presence making its way towards her. In the meantime, she sat up and leaned her head against the wall, hoping to rid her mind of the murky blankness it had been drowned in.

Harry looked like he hadn't slept in days, his usual handsomely tousled hair was sticking up in every direction, bags were imminent under his eyes, the green being dark and guarded. But when he saw her, he lightened, practically sprinting to her with relief and throwing his arms around her. Immediately, the darkness that surrounded her turned glowing and bright. She felt better with him there, but there was still a needle that pressed into the back of her mind.

"Thank Merlin." Harry sighed, still holding her to him. He sat on the edge of the bed, his vest untucked and his tie undone. He looked like a mess. "They said... They said you were incurable."

"Well, I wasn't was I?" Ginny said, wrapping her own arms around his waist. Harry laughed, pulling back to kiss her forehead lightly. The little pricking that was in the back of her mind became more intense, then he pulled away and it relaxed.

Ginny? Harry questioned at her silence, pushing some hair behind her ear as she stared out the window behind him. His jet-black hair looked brown in the light and his eyes had turned a dark shade again.

I'm fine, she reassured herself more than him, I just don't feel too well. Tired. Harry shook his head, sighing at her statement as he looked at the sheets.

I guess that's my cue to head back to Dumbledore's? His voice was soft, and she wished he didn't have to leave, but knew that she had to do something and quickly. There was only one person that could know anything about Tom coming back and the plans of the Death Eaters.

Harry looked back up, his eyes focusing below her eyes and nose, towards her lips. He leaned forward and kissed her, his hand at her cheek and the pressure in her mind building with every second, but pulled away just as quickly.

Harry stood, jamming his hands into his pockets as he smiled at her, his messy hair falling into his face. Ginny smiled back half-heartedly, feeling desolated from her Bondmate for the first time in a while.

Harry turned and left not long afterwards, his footsteps echoing off of the stone walls.

///

Cain Boyle sat in the Gryffindor Commons with a bag tossed over his shoulder, his hair in a new, yet perfect, style, combed forwards then the top flipped backwards in a way that reminded Ginny of that muggle singer that Lily enjoyed listening to while cleaning. He watched the fire with a small smile when Ginny approached him.

"You are supposed to be in the Hospital Wing." He pointed out, looking up at Ginny, his smile turning to a smirk. "I'm surprised your boyfriend didn't carry you upstairs." Ginny rolled her eyes, knowing Cain meant it all in good fun.

"I'm surprised you're not making the most of your last year here." Ginny noted, walking over to stand next to him. He looked her in the eyes, a smoldering gaze that would bring plenty of girls to insanity, but only annoyed Ginny. "Aren't you starting on the list of girls to snog, yet?" She asked. Cain snickered.

"Just because I have girls after me doesn't mean I can't be a gentleman, Weasley." Ginny fell silent, and Cain laughed. "It's no problem, really, lots of people expect me to be like that." She still felt a flutter of shame spark in her stomach. "What did you want, again?"

Ginny looked back to him, "Right. I have to speak to you." She said, crossing her arms. Cain stood, looking out the window.

"It'll have to wait, I'm meeting Katrin for lunch outside, like always." He said, grabbing a book from the table in front of him and dropping it into his bag, "She's awkward around crowds, doesn't like eating in the Great Hall. Hasn't since she first started school." He paused, looking up at Ginny with interested eyes. "You could come with me, you know. I'm sure Katrin won't mind."

Ginny bit her lip, thinking it over quietly. She felt bad for leaving Harry to speak to Dumbledore and go through with classes, and wondered if he'd return to the Hospital Wing to tell her about the meeting with the Headmaster, as well as if Madam Pomfrey would pop in to check on her and discover her bed deserted. But despite her better judgment, Ginny decided she had to speak to Cain even if it meant going behind Harry's back.

To be honest, she wasn't sure why she wanted to keep this from him. Perhaps she felt it wasn't important, that he would overreact, or that it was just her imagination that showed her the visage of Tom Riddle grinning at her in the darkness. Whatever which way, she still said yes to the lunch invitation and followed the figure of Cain Boyle downstairs to the Entrance Hall.

///

Ginny thought Katrin couldn't be more surprised to see her walking towards the Lake with Cain. The girl's grey eyes widened, her hands frozen as she held an open book in front of her, her face drained of colour so that she was as pale as milk. Despite this, Cain seemed moderately pleased with himself as he dropped a plate of sandwiches he'd picked from the Gryffindor table in front of Katrin.

"Brought a friend, hope you don't mind." Cain sat with his legs crossed, motioning to Ginny to sit as well. Katrin had moved her gaze towards Cain with a look that not only made Cain grin even brighter but made Ginny feel more than slightly unwelcome.

"Manners." Cain muttered as he bit into his ham sandwich. Katrin cleared her throat, picking at a loose thread on her skirt.

"Hi, Ginny." She attempted, not looking the girl in her eyes.

"Hello." Ginny responded, glancing over at Cain who gave Katrin a pleased look.

"Go on." He poked, looking at Ginny. She blinked, then realized that she had come to talk to him for a reason.

"This is about, y'know, the Death Eaters. Patrick and them." Ginny said, laying her hands on her lap. Katrin tore apart a piece of bread. She looked up at the two from under her eyelashes.

"Right." Katrin's voice turned sour. Cain seemed to lose his vigor at gobbling up his second sandwich. Ginny swallowed.

"I was wondering-"

"If I knew their plans." Cain sounded bored, a sigh escaping his lips after her spoke. Ginny nodded, "I don't. It's all fuzzy." He shook his head, "But I know their intentions. They want to drive you insane. They had all these ideas, some I can recall and others I can't, to make you lose your mind with worry and panic."

That sounded cheerful. The prickling pressure at the back of her mind became more insistent and Ginny cleared her throat.

"They want me to die so that Harry will be broken-"

"Or vice versa." Katrin piped in, her voice breathy. Cain gave her a pitying glance but Katrin still had her gaze focused on her sandwich.

"Ginny, all I know is that they want you to be dead. They'll do anything. That's why you have to believe nothing." Cain said softly. Ginny took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

"Anything? Like, hallucinations, sending people into my dreams-"

"They can't do that," Cain reminded her, "They can't really send someone into your dreams. The Bond prevents that. However, altering dreams... That's a different beast."

"So, Ch- Patrick, he wasn't really there?" She asked hopefully. Cain looked down.

"When I was... Spiking your drink, those potions were opening your mind to attack. If I hadn't stopped, by this time you would have already gone insane from torture. Now that you're not taking them, however, you will be fine after the gap in your conscious is healed."

Ginny's heart started pounding, resonating through her ears, "So, people can still get into my brain?" She asked.

"Well, yes. Just not anything strong. In fact, I'm sure that if you and... You and Harry stay in, uh, contact, it will hurry up the healing process." Cain reassured her, looking over at Katrin once or twice.

"And if my magical core was snapped? If the guards fell for two or three minutes?" Ginny's voice was hurried. Cain watched her with the same look that he used on Katrin moments before.

"Then anything could happen."