Harry Potter and the Galator
Chapter 19
Fincayra
It didn't take long for Ron to figure out that Harry and Hermione were hiding something from him. They tried to distract his attentions by telling him about their suspicions about the Sirius that Harry has been meeting, but after a few minutes of shock he asked what else they were keeping from him. Hermione escaped by telling them she had some tutoring with first years to attend to. Harry was saved when Neville came down the common room and asked him a Defense against the dark arts question.
Ron looked at Harry as he walked away with a knowing look telling Harry the question still stood. Harry knew he had to let Ginny know that the time for telling Ron was now. He answered Neville's questions quickly and set off to find Ginny. For some reason he was able to find her quickly by focusing on her feeling. He thought it weird that he can tune to people's feelings. He even felt Ron's apprehension at his and Hermione's answer to what else they were hiding. He found Ginny in an empty classroom with Malfoy.
"Ahem!" he interrupted their snogging session.
"Potter, you have one heck of a timing."
"Better me than a certain red headed boy related to your snogging partner."
"Harry, did you tell Ron!"
"No, but he's suspicious, that's why I came looking for you. He suspects that Hermione and I are keeping something from him. We barely escaped his interrogation of us earlier. We have to tell him tonight, because I can't lie to him. If he asks me again later when he sees me, I won't be able to say "nuthing", because he'll know I'm lying."
"Well, I guess tonight is as good as time as any, Ginny conceded.
"Do you want me to be there?"
"It may not be a good idea at this time," Harry interjected. Malfoy glared at him.
"Harry's right. It's bad enough that I have to tell Ron, but if you came with me, he'll be angry before I even open my mouth," Ginny pleaded. He ran his hand down her cheek and gave her the tenderest look Harry had ever seen.
"Okay, I'll let you tell him alone only because Harry and Hermione will be there to watch your back, right Potter?" He looked at him and almost dared him to disagree.
"Of course. We will be there for moral support."
"Thanks Harry, so we should meet at the common room later then?"
"You bet. And Malfoy, make sure you keep yourself available afterwards. I'm almost sure how Ron will re-act and if I am right, Ginny will need you while we try to reason with him or he may want to talk to you himself."
"I will be nearby for as long as it takes."
"I'll let you two get back to what you were doing." He nodded and walked out of the room. He suddenly felt relieved that Ginny's secret would be out in the open at least with Ron, but he still had a nagging feeling there would be a bigger storm when the rest of the Weasleys find out about their relationship. He sighed and set out to find Hermione. He suddenly felt he needed a hug before the confrontation with Ron.
"YOU WHAT!" bellowed Ron. Lucky for them the common room was empty and Harry had cast the silencing charm otherwise Ron's outburst could have been heard all the way to the dungeons.
"Ron, calm down," pleaded Lavender after rubbing off the ringing in her ears.
"DO. NOT. TELL. ME. TO. CALM. DOWN. YOUR. SISTER. IS. NOT. DATING. A. MALFOY. IS. SHE?" He punctuated each word with a huff. He was like a raging bull that just saw red. He did not care whom he was screaming at as long as he was screaming. His anger and shock took hold of him and everyone was a target.
"That went well," Hermione whispered in Harry's ear. Harry chuckled. He was feeling Ron's anger and confusion. He felt angry that Ginny was dating Malfoy and kept it from him. He felt angry that Harry and Hermione his best friends knew about it and did not tell him. He felt confused about Ginny ever having feelings for a Malfoy after all they'd put their family through especially Tom Riddle's diary and the Chamber of Secret tragedy. Harry remained quiet and bided his time.
"And you two, you knew and you didn't tell me. You're supposed to be my best friends!" Hermione flinched at his anger it was as if watching Harry his first day at Grimmauld Place the summer before their fifth year.
"Ron, we just found out during the Hogsmeade weekend," Hermione tried to reason with him. "We wanted to tell you, but we promised Ginny that we wouldn't say a word until she told you herself." She looked at Ginny and then at Harry for some support. Ginny's temper however was also rising and was not going to allow Ron to yell at them like they were toddlers who'd just misbehaved.
"You have a lot of nerve yelling at all of us! You have no right to be angry with Harry, Hermione, Lavender or myself. Just because I am dating Draco doesn't give you the right to lash out at any of us. I am sorry for keeping it from you, but look at how you are acting now. It makes me think I did make the right choice in keeping it from you. If Harry and Hermione didn't feel so guilty about the potential of lying to you, I would have kept it from you until the day I die if I had to! Now you're yelling at your best friends as if they betrayed you when all they were doing was keeping their word to me."
Ron was silent for a while trying to let Ginny's words sink in. Harry, Hermione and Lavender remained silent. They didn't want to get in between of the sibling disagreement. Harry saw that Ginny was holding her own, but he felt all her anger with her brother and the slow ache in her heart at Ron's disapproval. He felt the love she felt for Malfoy, and Harry wanted to slap Ron into reality for being angry at Ginny for something she had no choice with. He knew that the heart had its own mind with whom it chooses to fall in love with. He was reflecting on himself and how much he was fighting his heart over the love for Hermione and knew that the heart would always win in the end. No one chose with whom they fell in love with so he knew that Ginny was much a victim of her heart as he was with his. He just had to convince Ron.
Harry felt Ron calming down. Ginny's words were finally sinking in. He felt Lavender's, Hermione's and Ginny's feelings of relief as well as saw it on their faces. He felt it safe to talk to Ron.
"Ron, you okay mate?"
"Huh? Oh, I am just trying to understand that's all."
"You should know that we don't really have much of a choice on who our hearts choose to love. Take me for example." Hermione, Lavender and Ginny were surprised at the word "love." They all knew that he cared about Hermione, but Hermione never mentioned that he'd professed his love for her. When the two girls looked at Hermione, they knew that she was as surprised as they were at Harry's choice of words.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, remember how long it took me to give in to my heart. I was trying to fight everything I felt with every ounce of strength I had because I thought it was wrong," Harry started. He didn't care that Hermione, Lavender and Ginny heard what he had to say. He'd never told anyone how hard it was for him to fight off his feelings for Hermione. He was saving it for some private man to man talk with Ron, but he decided this was a good time to have it even with the girls around.
"I remembered you acting like a git."
"Exactly, because my mind was trying to fight against my heart. Guess which one won?"
"Your heart?"
"Give the man a cigar! It was hard for me to ignore my heart Ron, and I am sure that Ginny tried to fight with her heart too given the person her heart was set on. Look at you and Lavender. I am sure you had no say in what your heart felt for her."
"Yes, I know you're right. It's just that, Malfoy?!"
"I know what you mean, but Ginny didn't stop being Ginny just because she was dating Malfoy now did she?" Ron remained quiet. "She didn't act any different, although we suspected something was strange with Malfoy, didn't we? Well, I guess now we have the answer to that puzzle." He smiled at Ginny. Ginny felt the love Harry felt for her. She was right in trusting her. He proved to be like a brother more and more.
"How long?" Ron looked at Ginny in defeat.
"Er, since almost the beginning of term," Ginny answered meekly.
"What?!" another outburst.
"Ron," Harry calmed him. Ron just sighed knowing it was useless to argue over matters of the heart. He looked at Lavender and felt the helplessness he once felt when realized his feelings for her.
" Fine, I want to talk to Malfoy," he told Ginny.
"I had a feeling you were going to say that. He should be on the fourth floor near the suit of armor on the right. He promised to be there no matter what the results of our talk was."
"Harry, could I borrow your cloak and the map?"
Harry walked towards the armchair by the fireplace and pulled out his invisibility cloak and the Marauder's map. He handed it to Ron and smirked.
"Boy, you lot come prepared, don't you?" They all smiled at him.
"Don't look at me," corrected Lavender. "This is as much a surprise for you as it is for me. I'll wait for you to let you in."
With a defeated look Ron took the cloak and the map and walked out of the portrait.
Lavender and Ginny decided to wait for Ron. Harry and Hermione wanted to, but they were ushered off to bed when their heads started to nod off after fifteen minutes of trying to read Discovering Merlin for Harry and Hogwarts: A History for the umpteen time for Hermione. They mumbled their goodnights as they walked to their respective beds.
The trees and the grass were so much greener. The flowers were so much brighter. It seems everything in the place he was standing in was much brighter in color; he even had the feeling that everything was more alive than usual. Then Harry saw the old man walking towards him with a staff in his right hand. His beard was long and gray. He almost reminded him of his headmaster, but for some reason he knew that it wasn't Dumbledore he was looking at. He waited, he felt safe in that place and even with the old man, though he was sure he'd never met him before. He looked around and saw several deer and other animals hop along merrily and the grass and the trees swayed back and forth. He saw the man gesturing to the trees, animals and the grass as if he were speaking to them. The trees and the grass stood still as he passed them.
"Ah, Harry," the old man spoke in a soft voice. "Glad you could visit. I have been waiting for you."
"You have?" Harry asked him very surprised that he knew his name and that he was waiting for him.
"Yes my dear boy. You have been overdue for a visit. You were supposed to be here during your fifteenth year, but no matter."
"Sir, if I may, where is here and who are you?" just as Harry asked the question, it dawned on Harry that he was standing face to face with Merlin.
"Ah, my dear boy. You are of course standing in Fincayra, or I should say what's left of it. This little place we stand in is called Avalon. And I am Olo-Eopia, but just call me Merlin." Harry stood staring with his mouth open.
"Come on my boy, it can't be as surprising as you being the boy who lived," Merlin chuckled.
"Sorry, it's just that you're so famous after all. I didn't think I would meet you in person or anything. You're dead aren't you?"
"See, that is where it gets tricky. I see I have much to teach you. But first things first, aren't you going to give your great-great… oh I've lost count - grandpa a hug." Harry was again dumbfounded.
"You- you're my great-great-great, you're my ancestor?"
"Yes, my boy, I wouldn't do this for anyone you know. I remember you dad reacted the same way," he chuckled. "I'm sorry about your parents, my boy, but once you've learn the power of leaping, you will be able to visit them as often as you want."
"I could?" He began to feel comfortable with the idea of being there with Merlin of all people and learning from him. He just wished Hermione and Ron were here with him. They would never believe him.
"Ah, but you can take them with you here after you've learned a few things," he answered Harry as if he'd read his mind.
"Great, when do we start?" Harry was excited. He hadn't been that excited since he'd started at Hogwarts and found his place there.
"First my hug, then we start." Harry hugged him happily and waited for his next instructions eagerly. Merlin returned his hug enthusiastically and gestured for him to sit on a boulder that appeared out of nowhere. He took his seat and Merlin did the same to another boulder across from the one Harry sat on.
"I have loads of questions I want to ask first if I may?"
"Okay, we'll consider this the getting to know one another session. James and I had this session too. You are so much like him, except for the eyes. You have your mum's, he had my dark eyes, but I see you have inherited the family's messy black hair. So what are some things you want to know? Guess the book didn't hold your interest much, eh? "
"Well, " Harry was embarrassed that he knew about the hard time he'd been having with the book. "It's just so hard to read when it's almost time for bed."
"That's okay Harry, that book was just to get you thinking about your heritage. I had you in the beginning until the tragic disappearance of Sirius." Harry was again struck with awe. How did he know all the things that had been happening in his life? Did he have some kind of crystal ball or something?
"So, you don't think Sirius is dead either?"
"Do you think I am dead?"
"Well, I don't know the answer to that yet. Will you tell me about the galator?"
"Ah, yes. The galator. That piece of jewelry had been passed down from my own grandfather, Tuatha. It is very powerful, but only in the hands belonging to our bloodline. It uses the power within your heart and will only be useful if your heart is pure and full of love. The galator will not work for evil contrary to what people might think. I have placed an enchantment on it so that if it ever falls into the wrong hands as it once did during my time, its powers will be useless. Besides that, it will only enhance the powers you already have within you, and as long as your intentions are for good rather than evil, the galator will always give your own powers a boost."
"Why is it that Voldemort wants it?"
"I'm sorry my boy, I can only guess at his intentions. It seems he'd learned about it with partial information. He'd only heard about the legend and not the truth. He seems to believe that by having the galator, his powers will be greater and will be able to rule the whole world."
"He's in for a disappointment then, isn't he?"
"That he is." He thought for a moment, his brows creased. "But, he will do anything to get his hands on it, even kill."
"I know. I think I witnessed the old woman get killed because she would not give him the information he wanted."
"So I gather your connection with Voldemort is still strong?"
"Yes, sir. But I have learned to shut him off. I've only had that one with the old woman and when Sirius was hurt. It's as if I only connect to him now when he is truly angered or if I seek to connect with him on my own accord."
"That is great. So the occlumency training with Severus went great?"
"Well, I did most of the training on my own and with Hermione's help."
"And, have you wondered why you saw when Sirius was hurt even when Voldemort was not there personally."
"Huh?" Harry was surprised with the revelation. Voldemort hadn't been present at the ambush, yet he saw Sirius and felt a surge of pain in his scar.
"Or have you been around others and seem to know what they were feeling?"
"Er." It was true. He'd been able to find Ginny by following his feelings and he'd been able to know exactly what others felt around him, but only when he tuned his focus on them. He'd thought he was just a good guesser, but now wasn't sure.
"Harry, you seem a bit confused."
"Yes, sir. I have been feeling others' feelings when I turn my attention to them."
"Great. That means you've been developing nicely even if our sessions are late. And what of your healing gift?"
"Well, sir, I hadn't had much practice since we've kept it a secret from everyone."
"That's okay. There will be a time when you may need it, and all I can say is you just have to concentrate on the area you are trying to heal and just let your healing energy pour out of you."
"Umm. Can I ask you other questions sir?"
"Of course you may, but it seems we've run out of time. I will see you again soon." Merlin stood waving, as Harry seemed to be flying and being sucked into some type of tunnel.
"Harry, get up. We'll be late for potions."
Harry sat up a bit disoriented and tried to focus his eyes. He noticed everything was still blurry and reached for his glasses. He was back in the boys' dormitory in his own bed. He felt refreshed and felt more confident. He knew part of his heritage, but if it was just a dream then could it be real? Could he be related to Merlin himself? Did he actually hug him? He needed to talk to Dumbledore.