Ginny had discovered yet another new form of Muggle transportation. She was currently strapped into the back seat of a Muggle car with Adam sitting next to her. Who would have thought you could pay a Muggle to drive you somewhere in their car! The car itself was a lot more posh than her dad's Ford Anglia. It even had leather seats! Even so, Ginny doubted this car could fly as well as her dad's.
They had been travelling nearly all day to get to the location where Professor Dumbledore had believed the cave with the Horcrux was. They'd had to get on and off several trains and Ginny had to admit it had been quite fun. She had even been able to forget, for a while, why they were travelling. It had been nice to pretend, even just for a few minutes, that she and Adam were off on a holiday together!
Eventually, after they had been in the car for nearly half an hour, they rolled past a large sign reading:
Welcome to Ramsey Island
"Finally," Ginny said, looking over at Adam.
"Yes," he smiled back. "Here at last."
Entering the village, the car rumbled down a dark street and into the village square. The driver stopped the car, and they both clambered out.
Ginny looked around the square. It was fairly well lit by the nearby street lights and she could see several brightly lit buildings that fronted onto the open area.
"Ginny?" Adam's voice distracted her. "Ready to go?"
Ginny took his hand and they began walking across the square. Adam had the backpack slung across his back. It wasn't particularly heavy because they had decided to leave the majority of their things behind in London and only bring the essentials — plus her broom, of course. Tomorrow Adam was seventeen, so they could at last both do magic and Adam would be able to Apparate them back to London.
"Shall we take a look around?" Adam asked as they reached the centre of the square.
Ginny nodded enthusiastically and the two of them had an enjoyable time peering into shop windows as they walked by. They bought an evening meal in the village pub, getting some funny looks in the process, but no one said anything and, much to Ginny's relief, they saw no sign of any other wizards.
The evening drew on and suddenly Adam yawned loudly as they peered in the window of a local gift shop.
"I think we should find somewhere to stay for the night," Ginny suggested. "I think I saw a hotel back where we were dropped off."
"Yeah," Adam said, his voice suddenly turning serious. "I think we'll need to be at our best tomorrow."
Ginny and Adam walked back across the square to the small hotel they had seen earlier. The building was easy to find because of the brightly lit sign hanging above the door of the white-painted building. Hoping there was a room available, they stepped into the reception area.
"Hello, dears," the elderly woman behind the desk exclaimed. "You're out and about late!"
"Hi," Ginny replied brightly. "Have you any rooms free?"
"You're in luck, deary," the woman replied with a smile. "I have. We're normally full at this time of year…" but then she hesitated, looking at Adam and then Ginny in turn, "But I've only the one left…"
Ginny hesitated and looked over at Adam, but he only shrugged. It wouldn't be a problem sharing a room, would it? she wondered anxiously. While they were living in the tent, they were effectively sharing a room, having only a flap for privacy. Anyway, Ginny decided at last, it's much better for us to be together in case something happens.
The woman gave them a funny look for a second, and then began rummaging below the counter.
"Thirty pounds, please," she said with a smile. "That's with breakfast, too."
Adam stepped forward, grabbed several pieces of Muggle paper money out of his pocket and passed it to the woman.
"Thank you," she said, holding out a key. "Number twenty-two, on the second floor."
"Thanks!" Ginny added.
"Thank you," Adam said, leaning forward to take the room key.
"So how much did the room cost in Galleons?" Ginny asked as they wandered through the hotel looking for room twenty-two.
"Hmm," Adam said, pausing for a second. "About ten I think… I'm not quite sure."
"Ten Galleons!" Ginny exclaimed. "We should have just brought the tent!"
Adam laughed. "We've plenty of money, Ginny. Anyway, it'll be nice to sleep inside again."
After wandering around for several minutes, they eventually found the room, and Adam unlocked the door. He trooped into the room in front of her and suddenly froze.
"What's up?" Ginny questioned, trying to peer around him.
She slipped past him and then she too froze. There was only one bed in the room: a double bed.
"Oh," Ginny said.
"Well…" Adam said with a sigh, "there was only one room." He paused. "Not to worry. I have the sleeping bag. You take the bed. I'll sleep on the floor." He paused again. "I should probably stay up on guard for a bit anyway."
"Adam…" Ginny protested weakly. That wasn't fair on him. "Don't be silly. We're safe here, you don't need to stay up. I'll sleep on one side, you on the other."
"Er…" Adam said, looking very apprehensive. "I'll be fine, honest."
"Adam!" Ginny exclaimed, her anger spiking at his hesitance. "You said it yourself: we'll need to be at our best tomorrow! We've slept together in the common room before!"
"Yes!" Adam said back, his voice beginning to rise. "But this is a bed!"
"That's a really stupid reason!" Ginny retorted.
"But…" Adam stammered, "your parents…"
"Aren't here!" Ginny snapped back, putting her hands on her hips. "Now Listen. Don't be stupid! I'm going into the bathroom to get ready for bed. Pick a side and get in!"
Ginny then stomped into the bathroom and closed the door behind her.
Still feeling annoyed with Adam, Ginny quickly changed into her night clothes and walked towards the door. Putting her hand on the door handle she froze, hesitating a second, and then blushing furiously.
Here I go ranting at Adam, she thought, and now I'm feeling the same!
Shaking her head, Ginny opened the door, switched off the light and strode into the bedroom. She grinned slightly when she saw that Adam had done as she said and had lain down beneath the quilt on the far side of the bed.
Putting her things on the dressing table, Ginny switched off the light and slipped into bed on the other side.
She searched with her hand under the quilt until his hand found hers and she felt him give it a squeeze.
"Adam," she said softly.
"Yeah," he replied.
"Night."
"Night, Ginny."
Ginny lay there in silence for several minutes, listening to Adam's breathing. Once she was confident he was asleep, she wriggled slightly closer to him and, after tossing and turning for a while, eventually drifted off the sleep.
Adam July 31st 1997
The sunlight streaming in through the curtains woke Adam the next morning. Strange, he thought blearily as he squeezed his eyes shut against the bright light. I've slept much later than normal.
As he stretched himself, getting ready to get up, he heard a soft sigh and felt something move against him.
Quickly, he opened his eyes and was greeted by the sight of Ginny's face on the pillow only inches from his. It was then that he realised they were both lying near the centre of the bed, both of them having obviously moved in the night.
Not really thinking about what he was doing, Adam put his arm over Ginny's body and she snuggled up closer against him, murmuring softly.
As Adam lay there for several minutes just staring at her, he felt the strangest feeling sweep over him, one he couldn't recall ever feeling before, but, before he could determine what it was, Ginny moved. Her body tensed and her eyes flew open. They widened slightly, obviously slightly shocked at how close they were.
"Hi," she said softly, suddenly blushing furiously.
"Er… Hi." Adam hesitated. "I think we moved in the night."
Suddenly, Ginny wriggled even closer to him and kissed him.
"Happy Birthday!" she exclaimed with a grin.
Adam grinned back. "Thanks!"
They lay there, staring at each other for several seconds.
"Er…" Adam said hesitantly. "Should we…"
Ginny blinked. "Yeah…" She hesitated. "I'll just…"
Adam lay still and allowed Ginny to disentangle herself from him. Once up, she disappeared into the bathroom, while Adam stood up and began getting ready to search for the cave.
Adam and Ginny ate breakfast together and then wandered down to the meagre beach on the outskirts of the village. Using it as a starting point, they wandered up and down the coastline searching for caves.
By mid-afternoon, they had yet to find a cave that looked even remotely like it could have been used to hide a Horcrux. They had previously searched three other caves, but these had all been easily accessible and one had even had some tourists in it. There was no way Lord Voldemort would hide a Horcrux somewhere where it would be stumbled upon by Muggles.
"There!" Ginny exclaimed suddenly, as they trudged up one of the many coastal paths in the area.
Adam stared at where she was pointing. The coastline seemed to curve inwards in front of them and, set at the deepest point of the curve, was a cave. As he looked at it he shivered, goose bumps prickling on the surface of his skin.
"Let's get closer," Adam suggested, his voice strangely quiet.
They followed the coastal path and then trudged across the long grass until they were standing at the top of the cliff just above the cave.
Adam crept closer to the edge, and stared at the deadly drop in front of him. The sea rolled below, smashing up against several large chunks of rock that appeared to have fallen from the cliff and into the sea below.
"This is it," Adam said with confidence. "It feels right."
"I know," Ginny added hesitantly. "I guess we head down on the broom then."
Adam nodded in response and began searching the area for nearby Muggles. Finding none, they mounted the broom together and, after a brief argument over who would control the broom, they shot over the side of the cliff.
Adam guided the broom down towards the entrance of the cave and in through the entrance.
"Lumos," he heard Ginny mutter, when the light failed as they ventured deeper inside the cave.
They flew cautiously down a dark tunnel by the light of Ginny's wand. The tunnel stretched in front of them as they flew on, surrounded on all sides by dripping wet, slimy walls or the channel of pulsating water. After several minutes, the tunnel curved suddenly to the left and Adam was relieved to discover that they had now reached the point where the cave had a floor. Finally they could get off the broom and walk.
"Lumos," Adam whispered, lighting his wand.
He gazed around, his wandlight reflecting strangely off the slick walls. The narrow tunnel they had emerged from had become a huge cavern. It was far bigger than he had imagined, stretching far away back into the darkness.
"There's nothing here!" Ginny exclaimed in frustration her voice echoing strangely, as she searched the seemingly empty cave. "I thought we had it, it felt like we had it…"
Adam stood, disbelievingly, in the centre of the room. He was so sure this was the right place!
"Damn," Ginny continued, still muttering angrily. "I guess we look for the next cave then."
"No," Adam said firmly. "This is right. I can feel it. We just have to figure it out."
He wracked his brain, thinking back to the time when Professor Dumbledore had taken him to the Gaunt house.
"Blood!" he exclaimed.
"What?" Ginny questioned.
"Blood!"
Adam grabbed his wand, and, before he had a chance to chicken out, whispered, "Diffindo."
"Adam!" Ginny screeched as blood oozed from the incision he had made in his hand.
Ignoring her, Adam ran over to the one of walls and pressed his bloody hand against the slimy stone.
Nothing happened.
"Adam?" Ginny queried sounding concerned.
"Wait," Adam replied softly. "This is what Dumbledore did at the Gaunt house."
With blood still welling from the cut in his hand, Adam moved along the wall of the cave pressing his hand against it every so often. He had made his way about a third of the way around the cave when there was a flash and a giant, blazing white archway appeared in the rock.
Adam leapt back in shock and Ginny gasped in surprise.
"You did it!" she exclaimed, running up to stand by his side. "Oh, Adam," she admonished, grabbing his hand and examining the wound. "Wasn't there an easier way?"
Adam shook his head in response. "Dumbledore said that Tom liked to use blood to unlock things."
"Oh," Ginny replied flatly, taking out her wand and, bringing it up to the cut, whispered a spell.
"Thanks," Adam replied with a small smile as the skin resealed itself.
"Well," Ginny said, now sounding nervous, "I guess we go through, then."
Adam nodded. "I'll go first, keep your eyes peeled."
The two of them walked through the archway. On the other side, stretching out in front of him as far as he could see, was a black lake. It was so huge that Adam could not make out where it ended or see anything other than the still water. The cave itself was completely without natural light, lit only by the light of their wands and a strange greenish glow that seemed to originate from some far off point across the lake.
"Adam…" Ginny said in a hushed voice. "Do you think that light could be, you know, where the Horcrux is?"
"Yeah," Adam responded in an equally awed tone. "It could be."
"We'll have to cross the lake, then," Ginny said, evidently shuddering at the thought of swimming in that black water. "Hang on!" she exclaimed suddenly brightening. "We can use the broom," she withdrew her wand and cast. "Accio broom!"
The broom shot into Ginny's hand from where they had left it by the archway.
"Hmm," Ginny commented. "The broom feels strange."
"Can it fly?" Adam asked, feeling nervous now. If the broom wouldn't work, then they were stuffed.
"Yeah…" Ginny said. "I have it," she paused and shot him a small smile, "But I'm flying this time."
The two of them mounted their broom and began to traverse the lake. Their flight wasn't smooth by any means and Ginny seemed to be struggling to keep control of the broom, something that Adam had never seen before.
"Ginny…" Adam said hesitantly a short time into the flight. They had made decent progress, but they were now definitely beginning to lose height.
"I know!" Ginny snapped in response. "It's the broom, not me! I'm trying to get it to pull up, but something is pulling us down into the lake!"
The broom continued to fall until they were flying only a metre or so above the water. Adam was sure if they went any lower his feet would begin getting wet.
"I think we may have to swim for it after all!" Ginny said grimly. "The broom…"
As she was speaking, Adam suddenly felt his entire body go cold; a movement in the lake had caught his eye. Just below the surface of the water there was a pale hand, moving slowly back and forward as if caught by a non-existent current.
"Ginny!" Adam gasped in horror. "Pick up your feet and get this broom up. There are things in the lake!"
"I'm trying!" Ginny cried.
"Try harder!" Adam called frantically. "Try something else!"
"Okay! Okay!" Ginny snapped, panic now evident in her voice. "On three, lean backwards as far as you can! One. Two. Three!"
Adam threw his entire body weight backwards and Ginny did the same, her back slamming into his chest. The broom shuddered and screamed, the only other similar sound Adam had ever heard was the sound of someone's nails scraping down a blackboard.
"It's working!" Adam cried, as, after a few seconds of painful shuddering, the broom finally began to gain height.
"My broom!" Ginny cried, as the screaming intensified. The broom rocked violently and then pitched back down. "It sounds like its dying!" Ginny moaned morosely as she put on more speed.
"We need to do it again!" Adam called a few seconds later. Once again the broom was losing height as they were sucked, as if by some invisible force, back down towards the lake. "We need to get as much height as possible!"
They repeated their earlier manoeuvre and once again the broom screamed like an injured animal.
"The charms on it are getting weaker!" Ginny called to him, once she had wrestled the broom back under control. "I don't know if we can do it again!"
"Keep flying!" Adam cried back. "We need to stay out of the water!"
They kept flying, all the time losing height. Then, Adam felt a flicker of hope. The greenish light they had seen when they entered the cave was getting brighter.
"We'll have to try the thing again!" Ginny called. "By the look of it, we are only a few metres from the surface."
They pitched up yet again but this time, by Adam's estimate, they only gained a few metres of height.
"Just keep flying!" Adam called to Ginny, gripping her around the waist. "We need to just hope we're close enough. The light is getting even closer!"
They screamed towards the light, which was now tantalisingly close, the whole time loosing height in a seemingly unstoppable dive towards the lake and the things.
"We're not going to make it!" Ginny cried.
"Keep going!" Adam yelled in response. "We can't give up!"
The broom, now constantly making the screaming noise, shot towards the island, still loosing height.
"Nearly there!" Adam shouted, picking his feet up so they wouldn't touch the water. "I think we'll need to stand up!"
As the broom screamed forward, Ginny helped Adam stand up on its handle. He in turn then helped Ginny to her feet.
"It'll touch the water in a second!" Ginny said, in panic. "We're not going to make it!"
"If we don't make it, we'll just have to fight whatever is under the water!" he called, realising that Ginny was probably right. The water was so close now that he could have touched it if he had still been sitting on the broom
"The broom's going to touch!" Ginny screamed.
Adam squinted at the rapidly growling green light.
"Put your arms around me and we'll jump!" he ordered, gripping Ginny around her midsection.
"NOW!" he screamed, once he felt Ginny's arms securely clamp around his waist.
The two of them leapt forward as the broom disappeared beneath them, and Adam felt himself collide with something hard.
"Ughh…" Adam grunted as he came back to his senses several seconds later. Checking his body over, he stood up and looked around.
Everything was pitch black except for the bright green glow which seemed to now not be too far away.
Ginny!
Realising that he couldn't see Ginny, Adam quickly lit his wand and looked around. He had landed about two feet from the edge of water, on what appeared to be a small island. Ginny was lying on the ground next to him. Adam knelt down next to her and gently shook her shoulder.
"That hurt," she moaned, rubbing her face as Adam helped her sit up.
Adam couldn't help but smile and he gave her a quick kiss. "We made it," he said. "We're on some sort of island."
She quickly rose to her feet and lit her wand. "I…" she hesitated, as she looked around, "I guess my broom's gone, then?"
"I think the things in the water grabbed it," Adam replied sadly. "I jumped just as it was about to touch the surface.
"Well," Ginny said, failing to hide her disappointment, "at least we’re here in one piece!"
"Now we're stuck here," Adam added glumly.
"Let's at least try to get the Horcrux," Ginny said, giving his hand a squeeze. "Then we can worry about getting back across. As Dad says: 'one problem at a time.'"
"Okay," Adam replied. "Let's take a look at that green light."
Adam and Ginny approached the green light and, as they drew closer, they saw that it was coming from a stone basin.
"It looks a bit like a Pensieve," Adam mused.
"There's liquid in here," Ginny said, leaning over the basin. "And the green light seems to be coming from something in the liquid."
Her hand shot out and then suddenly quickly withdrew with a yelped, "Ow!"
"Ginny!" Adam exclaimed. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah," Ginny replied. "I tried to grab the thing, but the water seems to have a solid barrier in front of it!"
Adam cautiously put his hand into the basin and found that he too couldn't actually touch the water.
"Hang on!" Ginny exclaimed suddenly and, taking out her wand, she lowered it into the liquid. "I can put my wand in it!" she cried and began moving the wand around inside the liquid. "There's definitely something there, but it won't move!"
"Hmm, so we can put things in the liquid, but we just can't put our hands in," Adam mused, wracking his brain for a solution. "Any ideas?"
Ginny shook her head. "Okay, so we can't reach into the liquid. Do you reckon we could tip it out, or scoop it out somehow?"
"Hmm..." Adam mused and he walked forward, put his hands on the basin and pushed it with all his might.
"Enough," Ginny continued, with a short sharp laugh. "That was probably never going to work. So do we have anything to scoop it out with?"
Adam was silent for several seconds. Then an idea hit him and, grabbing the back-pack off his back, he began rummaging in the pockets.
"My camping flask!" Adam said enthusiastically. "It has a cup on it!"
Retrieving the cup, Adam threw it to Ginny, who dipped it into the water.
"I can't scoop the thing up!" she called back to him in frustration. "It's like it's stuck to the bottom of the basin! I'm going to try to empty the liquid."
Adam watched her intently. "Yes!" he exclaimed as he watched Ginny successfully scoop a cup full of liquid and tip it over the side of the basin.
The liquid, once Ginny had tipped it out of the cup, fell towards the floor. As it neared the rocky ground, it changed direction and, like the stream of water caused by the Aguamenti spell it poured itself back into the basin.
"Bugger!" Adam said, his shoulders sagging.
"He's not making this easy," Ginny growled. "So we can't get the thing out of the water, we can't tip the water away, how else can we get rid of it?"
Adam stared at the water for a second, feeling a sinking feeling in his stomach. "We drink it…" he said faintly.
They both stood there for several minutes, staring at the basin.
"Right," Ginny said decidedly, breaking the silence. "It makes sense for me to drink it."
"No way!" Adam exclaimed. "I'll drink it!"
"Adam!" Ginny retorted. "You're a better duellist than me if something happens! Plus, you can Apparate; if it makes me ill, you can Apparate us to get help rather than have to go back on the train again!"
"Ginny!" Adam said, his voice involuntarily rising. "There is no way I'm going to let you drink it!"
"Let me?" Ginny snapped back. "It makes sense for me to do this! I'm volunteering to do it! I said I was in this with you, whatever happens, and if 'whatever' means me drinking this, then so be it! It's hardly going to kill me, is it? If it did, Tom would never be able to retrieve the Horcrux if he wanted to move it."
They both stared at each other for several minutes, neither flinching. Ginny was still standing by the basin with Adam facing her. Their silent argument went on for nearly a minute longer, neither of them prepared to back down. Adam knew Ginny's suggestion made sense logically, but he wasn't prepared to think logically when it came to the possibility of Ginny getting hurt.
Suddenly, Ginny's face crumpled.
"A-A-Adam…" she said in a tiny voice. "Something's coming!"
Adam whipped out his wand and spun around.
There was nothing there.
He turned back towards Ginny. She now had the cup from the flask pressed to her lips and was pointing her wand at him.
"NO!" Adam screamed.
"This is my job, Adam. I need to drink all of this so we can get the Horcrux," she said gravely and then she put the cup to her mouth and drank. "If I don't, then Tom's won."
"Ginny," Adam moaned in distress, unable to move as Ginny calmly lowered the mug to the basin and drank another mug full.
Ginny didn't stop drinking. She moved the mug down and filled up a third cup, and as she moved the mug to her mouth Adam noticed that her arm was trembling. The mug touched her lips and she groaned, her body visibly sagging. Her wand fell from her grip and her wand hand moved up to the mug keeping it to her mouth as her body slumped against the basin.
"Ginny!" Adam cried, charging forward, just about managing to catch her before as she fell to the ground. Holding her body gently, Adam lowered her to the floor and pulled her head and shoulders onto his lap.
Ginny's face was twitching slightly and her eyes were closed.
"Ginny," Adam said in a quiet voice, rubbing his hand over her hair and face. "Oh, Ginny."
Her eyes cracked open and she looked up at him.
"More," she gasped. "Don't let me stop. Promise me you won't let me stop."
"Ginny…"
"Promise me!" she rasped. "More!"
Adam adjusted Ginny in his lap so he could reach up and fill the mug without getting up. He filled another mug with the liquid and pressed it to Ginny's lips, trying not to hate himself for doing this.
As she drank, Adam was sure he could see a smile on her lips.
She's made her decision, Adam thought grimly. If I drink it now, we'll both be incapacitated.
Once Ginny had finished the next mug, her eyes began darting around the room, seemingly unable to focus on anything.
Adam reached up again and filled up the mug and pressed it to Ginny's lips.
"Nnmmm," Ginny grunted and shook her head but still allowed the liquid to flow into her mouth. It was almost as if she was fighting herself.
As he filled up the next cup, Ginny suddenly gasped.
"Adam!" she nearly screamed. "Adam!"
"Ginny?" Adam asked, moving the cup closer to her mouth, and hating himself the whole time.
"Adam!" she cried again. "Don't!"
"Ginny…" Adam pulled her closer to him. "I'm here, but you have to. You told me to make sure you did. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry!"
He held the cup to her and tipped it down her throat.
"Adam!" Ginny screamed yet again. "Harry!"
Adam, who had just refilled the mug, looked down at her. Her eyes were staring into space.
"Adam," she moaned, sounding like a small child.
"I'm here," Adam said, doing his best to comfort her.
"Adam, I know you're famous," she wailed. "But don't leave me!"
"Ginny!" Adam said in response, feeling the all-too-familiar prickling sensation behind his eyes but also feeling genuinely puzzled. "I won't leave you! I won't! I promise!"
He gently pushed the mug towards her lips and as the liquid flowed into her mouth, her hands shot up and began tugging the loose ends of her hair. Once he removed the mug from her lips, Ginny screamed again, this time a full blown scream of terror.
"Tom! Don't kill him!" she sobbed. "Take me! Don't make me… Don't kill… " She began murmuring something indecipherable before her eyes flew open and she screamed. "Noooooooooooooo! HARRRYYYY!!!!"
"Ginny!" Adam choked out, barely holding back a sob.
Ginny seemed to slump in his lap before she reached out as if searching for something.
"Here… drink this!" Adam said, once one her hands grasped at the mug.
"Yes!" she gasped suddenly, her arms now falling limply back to her sides allowing Adam to tip the drink down her throat. "Thank you… I'll drink it all."
Adam filled the next mug and held it to Ginny's lips. This time her arm shot out and pushed it away, and she screamed yet again. This time it was a dismal wailing sound that broke Adam's heart.
"Ginny!" he sobbed. "Drink this… please drink it…"
He was finally able to force the drink down her throat, hating himself even more every second. As she finished the final gulp, her eyes once again flew open and she made eye contact with him.
"Adam…" she said softly.
"Ginny," Adam said, forcing a smile onto his face. "You're okay… you're okay."
"Adam…" she said, this time in a pleading voice. "Please…"
"Ginny, you have to drink."
"No," she said staring right into his eyes and her face contorted in pain. "Don't leave me, I know you're famous, but I can be a better girlfriend," she hesitated. "I…" she trailed off and began tugging on her clothes, "…I promise I will! Please, Adam!"
"Ginny!" Adam exclaimed, kissing her. "I'm not going to leave you. I don't want to be famous!"
Ginny suddenly sobbed openly and began pounding her fists on his legs. "Don't lie! Don't lie!"
"Ginny!" Adam cried as he brought the mug towards her. "I'm not going to leave you!"
"You will…" Ginny sobbed. "You will…"
"Ginny, I won't," Adam sobbed back. "I… I love you," he gasped. "I'm always going to be with you!"
Ginny suddenly began to convulse in his arms and Adam had to grip her tightly to stop her from thrashing around wildly.
"No!" she wailed. "No! No! No! No! Nooooooooo!"
"Ginny, you need to drink. This will make it all better!"
Adam continued to grip her thrashing body tightly, but then suddenly her eyes seemed to clear and she reached out towards the mug. In response, Adam brought the mug to her mouth, kissed her cheek and fed her the potion.
Adam reached up and filled the next mug and he sobbed in relief when he felt the mug scrape the bottom of the basin. This is it, she just has to drink this one, then it is all over.
Ginny was now whimpering and Adam could see tears streaking down her face.
"This is the last one, Ginny," Adam said, pressing the mug to her lips. "Just drink this, it'll all be over!"
"No, no, no, no, no, no," Ginny sobbed, shaking her head. "No, no, no, no, no. You can't be gone. You can't be gone. He can't have killed you!"
"I'm here! I'm here! Please…" Adam pleaded with her. "Please, just drink this!"
Ginny kept trying to move her head away. So Adam, once again filled with a sense of self-loathing but also thinking about how mad Ginny would be if he allowed her to give up at the last hurdle, grabbed her head and forced her to drink it.
Once she had drunk the last mug of the potion, Ginny lay in his arms, still twitching slightly. Then, suddenly, she let out a sharp gasp and then her body went completely limp.
"Ginny!" Adam cried in horror. "Ginny!"
"What have I done to you?" he sobbed, as he laid her down on the ground. She was incredibly pale and her breathing was sharp and rapid. "Ginny!" he cried, shaking her, but she did not respond. "Ginny! Rennervate!"
Nothing happened.
"Rennervate!" he cried again. "Rennervate!"
Finally, her eyes flickered and opened.
"Ginny! Oh, Ginny!"
Ginny looked around the room, confused.
"Water…" she croaked faintly. "Water… please."
Quick as a flash Adam grabbed the mug and shouted, "Aguamenti!"
The cup rapidly filled with water and Adam held it up to Ginny's lips, tipping it so she could drink. She growled in frustration, and Adam saw that by the time the mug had reached her mouth it had somehow emptied.
"Water…" Ginny rasped, again panting desperately, as if she was struggling to breathe.
"What!" Adam cried. "Aguamenti!"
Once again the mug was empty before it reached Ginny's lips.
Nearly screaming in frustration, Adam charged down to the edge of the lake and filled the mug from there. He spun around, dashed back to Ginny, and he put the mug to her lips.
"Ah… Ahhhh!" Ginny said, sighing deeply in relief, and her breathing seemed to immediately ease. "T-thanks," she mumbled softly. He eyes closed and she began breathing deep breaths as if luxuriating in the sensation.
"I'll get you out of here," Adam whispered to her, standing up, intending to retrieve the Horcrux. "We did it, Ginny!"
As he stood, he saw before him the most horrifying sight he had ever encountered. Rising from the water in all directions were white figures and Adam realised in absolute terror that they were bodies, dead bodies, of men, women and even children. He watched, frozen in terror, as the closest Inferi dragged themselves out of the water and began crawling, or shuffling, towards him and Ginny.
Swinging into action, Adam quickly pocketed the golden locket that was now visible in the bottom of the basin. After all they had gone through to get it, he didn't want to chance anything happening to it. With the Horcrux now safe, he grabbed his wand.
"Stupefy!" he fired at the closest corpse.
It had no effect.
Come on, Adam! What works against Inferi! You read this somewhere!
"Expulso!" Adam screamed the most powerful curse he knew at one of the Inferi. "Expulso!" Adam cast again, seeing his first spell hit the closest Inferius in the centre of the chest, causing its upper body to explode and shower the area with its disgusting congealed innards. "Expulso! Expulso! Expulso!"
Shattering Inferius after Inferius had very little effect on the stemming the tide of corpses that were trudging in an unstoppable wave towards them. They moved towards them like the tide, drawing ever closer. As they closed in around him, Adam couldn't help but wonder if this was to be the end. He and Ginny had bitten off far more than they could chew and they were going to die here… All because of him.
"Incendio!" another voice called, and a bolt of fire flew at the nearest Inferius, causing an explosion of fire, forcing the corpse backwards.
"Ginny!" Adam cried with joy. Ginny was back on her feet, still leaning heavily against the basin and panting desperately, but alive and firing spells at the Inferi.
"Incendio!" "Incendio!"
"Incendio!"
Adam and Ginny cast the Incendio spell time after time in rapid succession and slowly the bursts of fire around the island began to slow the flow of bodies.
I need to get us out here! Adam thought desperately, as he continually cast the spell, forcing the Inferi backwards as they shrank away from the flames. There has to be a way! There has to be something I can use to escape!
Nothing came to mind.
I need some way to get Ginny off this island! I need to save her! he thought desperately as he sent a ball of fire at an Inferius that attempted to make its way closer to him.
As soon as he had finished that thought, he heard a gurgling sound coming from the lake and then suddenly a thick, coppery green chain flew out of the water, decapitating several Inferi on its way to him. It landed softly in his hand, almost as if he had Summoned it.
"Fight!" Ginny rasped from his side, obviously seeing him staring dumbly at the chain. "Don't stop."
Adam transferred the chain to his left hand and continued firing spells in all directions. As he did so, he pulled on the chain, trapping it between his arm and body so he could pull it one-handed.
"Follow the chain!" Adam called to Ginny, once the chain finally seemed to reach its end with a thud.
The two of them targeted the Inferi that were standing on both sides of the chain and slowly drove them out of the way with their spells. It was slow going with Ginny leaning heavily on Adam for support, but when he looked back, Adam discovered that island was now covered with advancing Inferi and that the only way for him and Ginny to move was forward, following the chain.
The two of them forged ahead, still firing spells as fast as physically possible, and eventually they reached the edge of the lake where a boat waited for them. It was the most wonderful thing Adam had ever seen. They charged forward, and Adam practically threw Ginny into the boat before jumping in himself. As soon as he was in, the boat started to move, sliding gracefully across the surface of the lake, away from the island.
"Incendio!" Adam cried, firing a continual stream of parting shots at the Inferi who were now streaming off the island and back into the water.
Once out of range, Adam took up a position at the rear of the boat, almost hanging off the back, keeping a sharp lookout and ready to deal with any Inferi that might attempt to climb onto the boat. On several occasions he was forced to blast a decayed hand, arm or face away from the boat with the Blasting Curse.
He heaved a sigh of relief. He'd managed, just barely, to prevent any Inferi from climbing onto the boat.
"Let's go!" Adam called, leaping up from his position at the back of the boat, once it hit the far bank of the lake with a soft thud.
But Ginny didn't move. She was slumped, unconscious, in the front of the boat. Feeling a sense of renewed panic, Adam dashed over to her. She was breathing, but unresponsive.
"Rennervate!"
It had no effect.
"Rennervate!" Adam cried, his voice more frantic than before.
Once again it had no effect.
"Ginny!" Adam cried, shaking her.
When she didn't respond, Adam cradled her in his arms and, lifting her out of the boat, he carried her back the way they had come. Once clear of the boat, Adam held Ginny in his arms and attempted to Apparate away.
It didn't work.
Oh no! Adam realised. It's just like at the Gaunt house. I'll have to get outside before I can Apparate.
So Adam, still carrying Ginny, continued through the cave until he reached the place where he thought the arch was. When he reached it, Adam found that it had closed, so he was forced to cut his hand again and search for the correct location.
Once clear of the archway, Adam carried Ginny's limp body back towards the ocean. With no broom, he would be forced to swim. Without hesitation he plunged into the water, pulling himself along with one arm and using the other to ensure that Ginny's head did not go below the surface.
It was a ghastly experience, as Adam was forced to battle against the rolling waves. Their unrelenting force caused him to lose his grip on Ginny several times, forcing him to dive to retrieve her. Please, Merlin, he though as he began to tire, let her be okay!
Eventually, an exhausted and sodden Adam crawled out of the sea, pulling Ginny's unconscious form behind him onto one of the rocks outside the cave. As he pulled her out of the water, he could see that she was still breathing but was now pale and freezing cold.
Gripping her in a bear hug, Adam staggered to his feet, stood up and turned on the spot, hoping desperately that his Apparition would take them safely back to their tent in London.