Ch. 38
Flickering Eyes

Katrin shut her mouth, looking away from the girl in front of her and towards her brother, who looked shocked.

"Katrin? Ginny? Did I..." He looked awkward, for once in his life, and kept giving Katrin a strange look.

"It's fine, Cain. Did you tell the professors?" Katrin crossed her arms, turning her body away from Ginny, who was leaning against the wall.

"Yeah, I did. Ginny, your training sessions are cut short with Sirius. We thought we would step in."

"Why can't Sirius come?" Ginny asked slowly, "Is something wrong?"

"No, not at all. He's simply busy." Cain smiled, "We're here to talk to you about some things."

"Why isn't Harry here, then?" Ginny raised her eyebrows, looking between Katrin and Cain.

"Because you need to stay as far away from him as possible, Ginny." Katrin said, her voice deadly and still, "It isn't safe."

"He..." Ginny almost stepped in to defend her boyfriend (If he was even that anymore) but stopped herself. After the past couple of days, Ginny wasn't sure Harry would want to be around her anyway. She had broken his heart.

Cain cleared his throat, smiling through the awkward tension in the air, "I say we head to The Room of Requirement-"

"The what?" Ginny cut him off, standing up straight.

"Room of Requirement. Neville Longbottom discovered it not too long ago, I heard him talking about it with Hannah." Katrin sighed, "It's where we'll have these little talks."

"Talking about what?" Ginny asked immediately, narrowing her eyes at Katrin. The Hufflepuff looked away.

"The Bond." Cain explained softly, cracking a smile.

"What? How much do you all know about the Bond?" Ginny asked hesitantly.

"More than you or Harry." Katrin started walking off, her arms tightening around herself. Ginny almost followed, but noticed that Cain was still standing still.

"How do you know-"

"We'll explain that to you, Ginny." Cain held up his hand, "I know you're anxious to talk to us, but hold your horses for a few minutes."

"Hold my horses?"

"It's a saying..."

"Come on!" Katrin waved at them from down the hall, "I've got it."

The hallway that used to be empty of doorways now held one. A giant set of dark doors, standing square in the middle of the hall. It had just appeared out of nowhere, which surprised Ginny only slightly.

"Ready?" Cain gave a lopsided grin and strode off towards the doors, Ginny following soon after. Katrin waved them inside, her fingers brushing against Ginny's sleeve slightly as the girl passed before she snatched her hand back and shut the doors.

"Wow..." Ginny breathed, taking in the sigh before her. A large room, laden with ornate chairs and couches, was bathed in golden light. The fire flickering at the wall was bright and tall, the flames licking at the top of the fireplace. The rugs that were thrown out around them were mixed of yellow and red, and platters of biscuits and tea were set on a footstool by the couch closest to the fire.

It was dark outside the windows, rain trailing down the cold panes and making intricate shapes. The wallpaper was red with golden designs swirling across it, and in the corner of the room there were throw pillows across the floor. Flowers and other plants stood tall in beautiful vases and by the small work table pushed against one wall.

"Yeah, it's nice, isn't it?" Cain crossed his arms, winking towards Ginny.

"Yeah, it is..." Ginny muttered, the reflection of the fire dancing in her chocolate brown irises. The specks of gold swirled.

"Come on, sit down." Katrin walked to the couch, her head bowed. Cain followed, sitting next to his sister and scooping up a biscuit from the plate as well as pouring himself some tea.

"Here you go," He said around the wafer which he'd placed between his lips, he outstretched his arm, a teacup held by his fingers sparkled.

"Uh, thanks." Ginny took the cup of the hot beverage. She studied the teacup for a moment, watching as the painted figures of lions and soldiers danced before her eyes in the firelight.

"Katrin isn't a true British girl." Cain grinned, "She hates tea."

"I don't hate tea, I just prefer other drinks. Like hot chocolate or coffee." Katrin explained, spreading her hands.

"I hate coffee." Cain wrinkled his nose.

"No, you don't. The last time mum got some you almost drank the entire pot of it!" Katrin shook her head, leaning back into the cushions.

"You like coffee black. Without sugar or anything! It's disgusting." Cain swirled the contents of his cup quickly then downed the rest of the tea.

"It's an acquired taste, Cain." Katrin raised her eyebrows at her brother.

"Whatever." He bit into a biscuit, "Our taste in drinks isn't what we're here to discuss."

"Yet, you brought it up."

"Shuddup, Katrin. What we're discussing is the Bond and Miss Weasley over 'ere." Cain munched the biscuit and gestured to Ginny with the remaining bite of his treat.

"Cut to the chase, Cain, we only have one class period for this." Katrin scrunched up her nose, crossing her arms.

"Yeah, yeah. So, Ginny, I'm sure you're wondering why we care so much about the Bond." Cain wiped at his face with a napkin.

"Yes. As well as why I'm sitting here with two lunatics." Ginny shrugged playfully.

"Ha ha." Katrin rolled her eyes, "I think it's best to explain this to Ginny in small words, Cain."

"Ah, shut up." Ginny flushed.

"Well, Ginny, Katrin and I are only here to help you," Cain started slowly, "We are what you would call Guardians. Just like the rest of the Boyle's before us." Cain said quietly.

"Basically, hundreds and hundreds of years ago, our great-great-great-great-great-"

"Skip the 'great' part, Kat. We don't have all day."

"Grandad was assigned to protect this couple. You've heard about the spirits and such, right?" Katrin pointed to Ginny casually.

"Yeah. Time and all of them, right?"

"Yes, they told our grandad to keep an eye on these two people who were Bonded. And he did. And since then, our familial line has been full of Guardians. We aren't necessarily different from regular people, besides the fact that sometimes the spirits help us out in protecting The Bonded."

"Bursts of strength, enhanced senses, stuff like that." Cain added. Katrin nodded.

"Though, those never last very long."

"I can protect myself." Said Ginny grimly.

"Maybe, but it's better to keep us near, got it? We can help you live to succeed in whatever you were sent here to do. Lots of people would love to see you dead, Ginny," Katrin's voice was small, "And we're here to make sure that
doesn't happen."

"What about Harry?"

"We'll have to leave him in the dark for a little longer." Cain pressed his lips together, "Hopefully, only until we finally get to Gillian Patrick and kill him."

"How will that help?"

"Imagine your conscience is like a set of doors." Katrin leaned forward, spreading her hands in front of her. Her dark grey eyes bore into Ginny's brown ones, "You can close those doors, or open them, but you can lock them as well. Well, Gillian Patrick-"

"Chimpy."

Katrin smiled, "Chimpy burst through those doors at a time that you forgot to lock it. You might've been able to push him out eventually, but he's still got his foot in the doors. As soon as they close, whatever is on the inside of your conscience that isn't supposed to be there can be locked in and starved from all sources of magic. Therefore, it will die. But in order to do that, we have to make sure that Gillian has no choice but to evacuate your conscience. Basically, he has to die. And when he does, nothing will be able to slip through the crack in those doors or enter your mind without your permission."

Ginny took a minute to mull over this new information, the scratching in her mind still there and ever more insistent. She slowly took a drink from her cup before glancing up, a ball of determination settling into her stomach.

"What do you need me to do?"