A Soul Bond - HP fanfic (Completed)

Chapter 52. The Connection.*

A/N: Very explicit smut ahead. I'll let you know when it starts so if you want to skip it, you can. But I figured it's been a while so why not?

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The adrenaline of their escape from Gringotts still pulsed through Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Evelyn as they soared through the air, the dragon's wings beating fiercely against the wind. Below them, the churning ocean awaited.

Harry's heart raced, not just from the thrill of their flight but from the lingering shadow of Voldemort's presence, a connection he had felt so acutely in the moments after their narrow escape.

"I say we jump!" Ron shouted, adrenaline driving him to take action.

"When?!" Hermione asked.

"Now!" One by one, they leapt from the dragon's back, splashing into the icy depths below.

As they broke the surface, gasping for breath, Harry felt it again. That chilling link to Voldemort. It was as if a thread had tightened around his mind, pulling him into a space where darkness thrived.

The shock of it struck him like a physical blow, and he realized the depth of their bond. He had always felt Voldemort's emotions, his rage, his hunger for power, but now it was more profound, almost intimate.

But there was something else, a deeper connection he hadn't anticipated. Evelyn, bobbing beside him, suddenly stiffened on the waves of the ocean.

Her eyes widened, and Harry caught a flicker of terror on her face as she too felt the touch of Voldemort's dark energy.

The pain of her past, the torture she had endured at Malfoy Manor it surfaced with a vengeance, flooding through her as though she were experiencing it all over again.

"Evelyn!" Hermione cried, as she noticed her friend drowning, her voice barely breaking through the chaos of the waves.

But Evelyn didn't respond, she was lost in the overwhelming surge of emotions, her mind consumed by the dark pull of Voldemort's essence.

Harry reached out to her, desperately trying to sever the connection, to shield her from the agony of it.

He could feel the water around her, rising, pushing her down as she began to sink beneath the surface, her body going limp.

But he too was under the horrible feeling of Voldemort's mind, he couldn't help her.

"Evelyn!" Ron shouted, his eyes wide with panic as he spotted her drifting deeper into the ocean's depths. Without hesitation, he dove after her, plunging into the dark water, kicking with all his strength.

He was terrified, he had seen too many close calls to let another slip away, he can't help Harry but he can help Evelyn.

The world around Harry blurred as he felt the intensity of Voldemort's influence fade slightly, but it was too late.

Ron's hand found Evelyn's wrist, pulling her back up toward the light. She gasped as they broke the surface, swimming quickly back to shore, choking on seawater, her eyes filled with shock and confusion.

"What just happened?" she managed to croak, looking from Ron to Harry.

"Voldemort's connection," Harry said, voice low but urgent. "He's reaching out through me, through you. You felt it too, didn't you?"

Evelyn nodded slowly, the realization washing over her like the cold waves. "I didn't think -I didn't know I could—"

"It's because of what he did to you at Malfoy Manor," Harry said, determination setting in. "We're linked in ways we never understood. But we can break that bond. We have to."