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Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 100: The Bottom Layer
Ginny took several steps back. "Ew…there are more of those things." She made a face of disgust when she spotted more black goo consuming the bookshelves.
"Yes…unfortunate. It is spreading very quickly. If we cannot recover Harry soon, then there will be nothing to recover," Tom said.
"Then why don't we just jump down? That would be faster," Ginny suggested.
According to Tom, they needed to reach the bottom level of the library to access the next area.
"I would not suggest that." Tom shook his head.
"Why not? When I entered Harry's mind, I noticed that I could not feel any pain and was even able to fly for a bit," Ginny said.
Tom pointed up. "You were barely in the memory layer. Your mind was yet to sink into Harry's psyche. If you were to try something like that again…" He got a bit closer to her and pinched her cheek.
"Ouch!" She flinched. "Wait…that hurt!"
"You need to be much more careful from here on. If this metaphysical body you have now were to get damaged, your real body out there would also be in danger. That's why I warned you before to stay away from the black goo."
Ginny took a deep breath. The danger of the situation was now getting to her.
"Come on. It will be fine. I will guide you. I know this place better than anyone." Tom turned around and continued to walk through the corridors of the library, occasionally finding a set of stairs that took them another level deeper.
"Do you know the whole layout of this library? It's massive," Ginny said, sounding impressed.
"Of course. Harry and I were connected for over fifteen millennia. I spent a lot of time in this place and saw it grow," he said. "The deeper levels are the most secure ones. That's where Harry keeps his most important memories."
"The most important memories…" Ginny muttered to herself, wondering if she was part of any of those memories.
"Tsk! There are more of them here," Tom said after spotting a glob of black goo hanging from a guardrail. "I didn't think they would be this deep already."
They hurried their steps, staying clear of any fragments of the Obscurus that they came across.
Ginny only had time to catch occasional glimpses of the book titles. Many of the memories on this level were from before the Ministry's incident. Quidditch games, visits to Hogsmeade, vacations at the Weasley house.
These were important memories for Harry.
"We are getting close to the last level. Keep your eyes open," Tom warned her.
Ginny glanced down the stairs as they moved. She could finally see the end. There was a pristine white floor at the bottom.
"Are there any of those things in here?" Ginny asked, her eyes constantly shifting around.
"No. Luckily, they haven't reached this part. But it's only a matter of time before they do," Tom said. "This is where Harry's most important memories are stored."
Ginny passed by the countless tomes and picked up some of the titles.
"My First Day at Hogwarts."
"The Day I Met Hagrid."
"My First Friends and the Train Ride."
"I Got the Snitch!"
"I Saw My Parents in the Mirror of Erised."
She suddenly stopped. Something had caught her attention. "That's…" Her eyes opened widely.
There was an entire bookshelf filled with books that had her name on them.
"I Met Ron's Sister. She Is Very Shy but Cute."
"I Saved Ginny from a Basilisk."
"I Talked to Ginny on the Roof of the Train."
"We Went to France. Was It a First Date?"
"First Official Date. Now for Real."
"We Kissed. It Was Amazing."
"Hey." Tom had to pull her away from the shelf. "We don't have time for this, Ginny."
"Sorry. It's just…" She kept looking at the hundreds of tomes. They were all about her. Harry was keeping her memories in his most important place.
"If you want to protect those memories, you need to save Harry's mind first." Tom guided her away from the shelves and toward another hallway.
This one didn't have any more books in it. But at the end of it was a large archway.
"What is that?" Ginny asked.
"That should lead to the actual deepest part of Harry's mind. His consciousness must be there." Tom said.
"Should? You don't sound very sure. I thought you knew this place perfectly."
"Not that part. That belongs only to Harry," Tom said. "And besides…" He moved his hands. "The current me wouldn't be able to go further even if I wanted to. A memory is not powerful enough to cross that boundary. That's why I have been stuck in here all this time. But you should be able to do it."
"So you can't come with me in there? What am I supposed to do?" She was counting on him for that. Ginny was no mind healer, so she didn't know how she was supposed to repair his damaged psyche.
"Ginny, there is no clear answer for this. I don't even know what you will find in there," Tom said. "But you have to understand one thing… When I first met Harry, he was broken. The pain and solitude had turned him into a shell of the person he once was. When we became connected, I took some of his burden away. I took as much as I could must, and even that was just barely enough to get him back into being a functional person. From then on, I stood there and acted as his anchor so he wouldn't drift away."
"So you are saying that I should try to do that? To act as his new anchor and not let him drift away. To share his burden."
Tom shook his head. "That won't be enough anymore. What I did was just to hide the problem. I delayed the inevitable, and I believe that you can do better than I did. Harry needs to face his traumas. You need to convince him to do that."
Ginny didn't look too sure of that.
Tom smiled. "Believe in yourself, Ginny. You can do this. You are the only one who can. Bring Harry back. Give him a reason to fight again."
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