Hours had passed as they sat in their lonely cells. They all talked for that entire time, trying to figure out a way to get out of this mess.
"He has the key and the sword," Harry said, for what felt like the hundredth time. "Even if we're able to escape, without those two, this trip would've been for nothing."
"I think our lives are more important at the moment," Hermione sighed tiredly. "But that's hardly the point at the moment."
"You still have your hands free though," Ron reminded her as he looked to the locks on her cell door. "Think you can…?"
"Harry's normally the one who can pick locks," she informed him. "And his hands are tied at the moment."
"Doesn't matter," Harry said dully, "Don't have anything to pick the locks anyway."
"Well, we have to do something," she said, her voice higher than normal. "Because I'm not going to become a snake's dinner!"
"We won't let it happen!" Harry said, with his wrists constantly going against the chains was now starting to hurt. They each kept coming up with one idea after another… though each one was becoming as unlikely as the next.
Harry's eyes began to droop… he was sure that it was very late. He wanted nothing more than to sleep and escape into that perfect world once again. But he knew that they needed him to stay awake for as long as possible until they could think of something.
"Harry?" Hermione said softly. "You look terrible…"
"So do you," he reminded her, his voice slurred a little from exhaustion.
"I mean you look like you need some sleep," she said firmly. "Look, we'll talk for awhile while you get some sleep ok?"
"But…" he began but she shook her head. "You hardly got any sleep for the last few days. It's ok… we need you to be ready at a moment's notice. You get some sleep."
"You sure?" he asked, though he knew that he couldn't hold his head up for much longer.
"Yeah, mate," Ron agreed. "We'll wake you if we think of anything good."
He gave them both a grateful smile as he laid his head against the dirty wall and felt himself slowly starting to drop off. "Wake me… when… when…" he tried to say, but he was losing the fight as sleep took over.
"When we think of something," Hermione finished for him, but he barely heard her voice for he was already sleeping.
*Dream*
He was free from pain and chains—free from the prison bars and the darkness…
He had escaped into the dream world once again.
But for some reason, he still felt so cold, as if he was still in that freezing cell.
He had his back up against a large tree and opened his eyes. He knew where he was this time. It was here… it was the same forest where he first met her…
He was even sitting underneath the same tree that they had once been under as she worked on her woven blanket and showed him the Daffodil. But once his blurred vision cleared, he knew that something was wrong. The forest looked sick. The trees were starting to wilt, their leaves a sickly black color, there were no more birds chirping… there was nothing but silence.
What is this?
He stood up, staring around him. Where was she? She had to be already here somewhere wasn't she? He had to find her. He took a few cautious steps forward, not having the slightest clue to where to even start looking for her.
He stared around him in circles, not knowing where to go or what to do… that was when he saw it. Over the dying trees, there was the tip of what appeared to be some kind of tower. He couldn't ever remember seeing that there before. But something inside him just told him to start heading to that tower…
So he ran. He ducked underneath the sick trees, jumping over the ones that had begun to rot and had fallen over. He ignored everything around him as he continued to run… he couldn't explain, even to himself, why it was so important for him to get there, only that something precious to him was being held there.
He had no idea how much time had passed. It could've been hours or just a few minutes… all he knew was that he eventually came bursting out into a clearing and there she was.
"Oh, thank goodness," he sighed, recognizing that long red hair anywhere. "For a second, I thought that something had happened to you. Are you ok? What's going on?"
It was only then did he notice where they were. They were standing on the doorstep of a castle—but it was as silent as a grave. There was a large wall that was keeping out anyone who could even think of entering; covered in thick, branch-like vines that were covered with thorns as long as knives.
The many turrets and towers of this castle were covered with so many of these vines that you could hardly see any of the gray stone that was underneath. There was nothing but silence…
As quiet as a grave and it sent shivers up his spine.
He stepped forward, his footsteps echoing on the hard road as he approached the girl. Her back was to him and she didn't even look back when he had called to her… she just continued to stare off at the distant castle.
"Hey," he called.
She turned her head to look at him for a brief second before she turned away from him again.
"You came back," she said. But this time it wasn't a question… it was a statement.
"I always do," he answered. "Could you tell me… what your name is?" he asked her softly, though he had a feeling that maybe now wasn't a good time to play that game.
"Why ask a question you already know the answer to?" she asked, still not looking at him. Her tone was not of the playfulness that it usually was.
"What's wrong?" he asked her quietly.
"Nothing," she answered, and he didn't believe her. Feeling anxious, he stepped forward and touched her shoulder. She didn't react at all, still refusing to look at him.
"What is it?" he repeated worriedly.
"I told you, nothing!" she said forcefully, pulling her hand from his grasp and began walking away, towards the castle. Harry was completely taken aback. This wasn't like her at all… he quickly followed.
"I know that something's wrong! Hey!" he called to her. "You can't just walk away from me like this!"
"Watch me!" she shouted back.
"Listen," he yelled to her, now starting to get angry himself. "Why are you so angry with me?"
"I'm not angry at you!" she shouted back. "I just don't want to see you now!"
He couldn't believe this, what had gotten into her?
"Look," he yelled to her, stopping. "If you really want me to leave you alone, then I'll go. But would you at least tell me what I did to make you angry? If it was something I did, then just say it!"
The girl stood there for a moment, "I—," she croaked, "I'm afraid."
Harry stared at her back, trying to make sense of what she said. "Of what? There's never anyone else here but me and…"
"But that's the problem!" she shouted, finally spinning around to look at him. "It's you I'm afraid of!"
Harry stared at her beautiful brown eyes. "What?" he repeated dumbfounded. "What did I do? I never did anything to you…"
But then she ran over to him, right into his arms and buried her face in his clothes. Startled, he held onto her as she cried into his shirt. "But you did…" she gasped. "You made me… you… you made me…"
"Made you what?" he demanded, now completely lost here. He had known her for a long time… and he had only ever seen her cry once when they first met. She was normally so strong-willed and stubborn… yet here she was, reduced to a quivering, crying wreak. "If this is about me throwing you in the ocean then I'm sor…"
"No," the girl shook her head, raising her face so that she was looking up at him. "It's nothing like that."
"Then what?" he asked, now starting to feel afraid himself. Just what had gotten into her and why was she crying like she was in so much pain?
Tears in her eyes, she reached up on her toes and pressed her lips to his forehead. He felt the blood rushing to his head and he even felt dizzy. The place where her lips had left him felt warm and burned—but in a good way.
She drew away to look at him fully in the face. What she said next made his heart beat faster and he felt his whole face burn. "You made me fall in love with you…"
He stared at her, as she stared back at him. Her brown eyes were sad, but fierce at the same time. Her face was now as red as her hair and she pulled away from him. "For as long as I've been here," she whispered. "I couldn't remember anything. Who I am, where I'm from, how I got here… all I knew was that I was so lonely."
"But…" Harry croaked out but she went on.
"All I knew was that I was waiting for someone…" she told him. "And then, you appeared out of nowhere… you told me so much about the outside world… given me so much… how could I not love you? You're such an idiot… but even after you've done so much for me… I can't give you anything… not even my name…"
"I…" Harry whispered, truly not having an idea of what to say.
She continued to look at him. "After you left last time… something happened… something dark is covering everything. You can leave, but I'm trapped here."
"What do you mean?" he asked, sounding stupider by the second.
"You can leave here… but I can't," she said softly. "And should you leave now… before something terrible happens to you. If such a thing were to ever happen with you I—I don't know what I'd ever do!"
"What's happening here?!" he said loudly, rushing forward and taking her hand. "What brought this on all of a sudden?"
"The thorns," she whispered, gesturing around them. Harry looked and saw that the thorny vines were moving slightly like thousands of tentacles. He pulled her against his chest and moved further away from them. "What's going on," he asked her.
"I don't know," she confessed. "But it's nothing good I can tell you that."
"Listen," Harry said, pushing her back so that he could see her face. "I don't have the slightest clue to what's going on here. But listen, I won't let anything happen to you."
She shook her head. "After you left," she told him, "These thorns appeared. They began taking over everything… it's like they're killing everything that they touch. When you came here… I just knew that this might be the last time I see you. I can't help but feel that way. I love you, Harry. I wanted to tell you that in case something happened. I don't care if you don't love me. I just want…"
Harry's mind was completely blank, he simply held her tightly against his—his heart pounding so hard that he thought it might burst through his chest. "I just…" he croaked out, but before he could explain what was going on inside his heart, he felt something grab his leg.
Letting out a yell, he looked down to see that the thorns had come up from the ground underneath his feet and had started wrapping tightly around his legs.
He then heard her screaming and his head jerked up to see that the vines that were attached to the castle had reached out to form hands and had wrapped themselves around her and began pulling her away. "NO!" Harry screamed, grapping her hands, refusing to let go, but then the vines wrapped themselves around his waist and crept up his chest and arms until they held him back as her hands continued to slip through his fingers. She screamed, trying desperately to hold onto him.
"No," she cried, "No, Harry…"
"What's happening?!" he called to her.
"I don't know!" she screamed as the thorns continued to try to pull them apart. "But they're taking me somewhere! To that castle!"
"What do I do?!" he screamed, her hands slipping through his.
She shook her head, "I don't know… but I just want you to know that I love you Harry… if I had to wait all this time just to meet you then I don't regret it. I gave you my heart a long time ago, but I've just been too afraid to say otherwise…"
A single tear fell down her face and she smiled, "I just wish that I could've kissed you… just once…"
And then Harry couldn't hold on. Her hands slipped away. "NO!" he screamed and watched as she was pulled into the darkness by the thorns.
After she disappeared, Harry continued to hang there, his hands outstretched, desperate to grab her hand again. Up until now he had no idea what his own feelings had been, but this pain… the thought of never seeing her again hurt more than any physical wound. It was only when she was pulled away from him did he finally understand.
"I LOVE YOU TOO!" he yelled. "AND I WILL FIND YOU!"
His eyes snapped open, and he was back in the cell. He sat up, gasping for breath as he stared around, trying to make sense of what was going on.
"Harry?" Hermione called to him anxiously. "Harry, what's wrong?"
"We've got to get out of here," he said, sweat pouring down his face.
"We know that," Ron snapped in annoyance. "We've been trying to get out of here since they first dragged us here!"
"No!" Harry called desperately. "I've got to help her! I've got to get out of here! She needs help!"
"Who needs help?" Ron asked sounding completely bewildered. "What are you talking about?"
Harry ignored him as he looked to Hermione, whose eyes widened in understanding. "It's her again isn't it?"
He nodded once.
Hermione gave him a piteous look. "Harry, she's just part of a dream."
"She's not a dream!" he yelled back urgently, trying to force his way out of the chains. "She needs my help! She's in trouble!"
"Who does?" Ron repeated.
"The girl in his dreams," she told him.
"They aren't dreams, Hermione," Harry croaked out. "They never were just dreams. She's real… I can feel her."
"Who?" Ron cried out, now sounding angry.
"For a long time now, Harry's been having these dreams about a girl," Hermione explained. "But that's all she's ever been, Harry. I don't know why you're so upset about it all of a sudden…"
"For a long time," Harry interrupted, "I dreamt I was in a different place each time. There's this girl with red hair. She's always there… and she's trapped in a place, unable to escape. She talks to me…"
"A girl with red hair?" Ron repeated in surprise.
"Don’t entertain his ideas… they're just dreams." Hermione snapped.
"No they aren't," Harry repeated irritably. "I can't explain it… but this time she was crying, she's trapped somewhere with thorns…"
"What did you say?" Ron demanded. "Thorns?"
"She's trapped inside some castle covered with thorns," Harry said hurriedly, now feeling blood dripping down his wrists as the chains cut into his skin. "She needs help… I think that she might be running out of time or something."
He was so focused on getting his hands free, he didn't notice the startled expression on Ron's face. "What did this girl look like?" he asked slowly.
Harry described her, "Hair redder than a rose, pale skin, warm brown eyes…"
'Perfect,' he added in an afterthought. "She's tough as nails though… and just as strong… but she was crying because she's trapped."
Ron was staring at him.
"It's fine if you don't believe me," Harry snapped.
"No…" Ron croaked out. "It's not that. Mate, you just described my sister."
He looked up at him. "What?" he asked. "Your sister?" They all stared at each other.
"You mean to tell me that the person that we've been looking for all this time was you?" Ron repeated, staring at him.
"Wait, what?" Harry demanded.
"Everything you just said!" Ron repeated. "That's my sister that you're talking about! Down to the last detail!"
"I don't know if she's your sister," Harry said at once. "I didn't even know her name and…"
"Ginny," Ron said at once. "Her name is Ginevra! But everyone just calls her Ginny."
"Ginny…" Harry said, thinking of the girl. Was it true? Could she really be…?
Hermione suddenly gasped, her eyes as round as coins as she stared at Harry. "What he said…"
"What who said?" Ron asked.
"Remember what Dumbledore said?" Hermione said, continuing to stare at Harry. "In the princess's dreams will the answer be revealed? Or something like that? This must be what he meant! Harry… if this is all true… then I think that you're the only one who could break that curse."
Ron gapped like a fish out of water. "W-what?" he croaked out finally, not having a clue to what she said. He wasn't the only one though.
Harry wasn't fairing much better. A princess? Could it really be possible that she was really? He shook his head. He didn't know… but he didn't care. He didn't care if that girl was a princess or not. He just knew that he had to get to her.
"First things first," Harry said, glaring at the door. "We've got to get out of here."
A/N: So they finally figured it out!
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