The bell rang. Ginny Weasley was the first one out of the Transfiguration classroom. Her red hair flew out behind her, her skirt swirling around her, and her bag banging against her leg. She ran down the stairs, taking them two at a time.

She stopped outside a doorway, looking around to see if she was followed. Then she opened the door and stepped inside. She was in an empty classroom, one she visited every day. She pulled up a chair and sat down at a desk. Ginny pushed her hair out of her way and then reached into her bag. She pulled out a black book and opened it. Then she brought out an ink bottle and a quill. Slowly she dipped the quill into the ink and wrote onto the page:

"Hello, Tom!"

She stared at the paper, watching as someone wrote back to her, their writing perfect in every way.

"Aw, Ginny. I've been waiting for you."

Although Ginny knew Tom couldn't see her, she blushed.

"Thanks. I got out of class as fast as I could."

"Good. Now, you promised that you'd get Harry Potter to write to me. Is he with you?"

Ginny blushed even more as she bent over the book and scrawled her next message quickly.

"Well, no he isn't."

"Ginny!"

"I'm trying! He hardly even notices me! How am I supposed to get him to write to you? And if I told him there was a book that writes back to me, well, he'd think I'm crazy!"

"Well, how do you expect Harry to notice you if you don't speak to him?"

Ginny paused, her quill suspended over the paper. Tom knew how she felt about Harry. How did he expect her to talk to him?

"Look, Ginny. I know that you like him a lot, but this is really important! Just, get him in here somehow. You won't have to explain anything. Just shove the book under his nose and I'll explain."

"Oh, Tom. I don't know what to do! I really, really like him! But every time I see him, I have to run away! And then when I get the courage to stay still, he never even looks at me! How can I stand it?"

"Just be patient Ginny. I'll help him notice you. Just get him to talk with me."

"Oh, you'll really help me?"

"Ginny, when have I ever steered you wrong?"

"Oh, never, Tom, never! Alright, I'll get him in here somehow. Wait! He passes by here in a few minutes on his way to lunch! I'll see if I can catch him on the way!"

"Okay. I'll talk to you soon. And Ginny, don't run away from him again. If you keep doing that, he'll never find out how you really feel about him. Just stay calm."

"Alright Tom, I'll try."

Ginny was relieved that Tom hadn't asked her how she knew Harry was passing soon. If truth be told, Ginny knew every step Harry ever took in his regular day. She had memorized his schedule. She knew that he had double potions right after his lunch.

Ginny stood and tucked the book under her arm. Slowly she poked her head out of the door. The hall was crowded with students on their way to lunch. But she saw who she was looking for. There, just down the hall was a brown, bushy head, a bright red head, and in between these, the dark, messy head of Harry Potter.

Ginny closed the door behind her and stepped out of the shadows. She put her prettiest smile on her face, but as Harry drew nearer, she lost all courage. Her smile was hard to keep up. She had to fight just to keep standing. She waited. He was talking with Ron and Hermione.

Ginny strained her ears and caught a few worlds of what they were saying. Hermione said something about, "is a diversion. You two will be expelled if…"1 But whatever else they were saying was lost in the murmur of the crowd. Ginny had no idea what they were talking about.

The threesome was right in front of her now. She tried to move forward, but her legs wouldn't move. Hermione turned her head and saw Ginny staring at them. Hermione gave her a knowing smile and then turned back to the conversation. Ginny felt hurt. Hermione had seen her, but Harry hadn't even looked in her direction.

Ginny turned on the spot and ran into the room again. She turned the book and began to write:

"I'm sorry, Tom. He didn't even look at me!"

And slowly tears fell onto the pages as Tom wrote calming things to her. Slowly she calmed down.

"Thank you. No one has ever understood me like you Tom! I'm so glad I've got this diary to confide in! It's like having a friend I can carry around in my pocket."2

Once more, Ginny was charmed, and once more, murmurs were sent up throughout the halls of

Hogwarts. Another Muggleborn, Justin Finch-Fletchly, was petrified.

"Tom! There was another attack! Justin Finch-Fletchly was petrified and Nearly Headless Nick. Justin is a Hufflepuff and Nick, which I'm sure you know, is Gryffindor's ghost! Oh, Tom! Everyone thinks that it is Harry! But I'm sure it wasn't him! But how can I know for sure! I can't even remember what I was doing! I think I'm going mad! Tom, help me! Please! What's happening to me?"

And deep within the dairy, where Ginny couldn't hear him, Tom Riddle was laughing, rejoicing in Ginny's pain, celebrating another victory for the Heir of Slytherin. No one could stop him! He would be powerful again, no more a memory for silly girls to bother. He would be someone that people would fear! To himself, Tom Marvolo Riddle whispered the title he had created for himself when he had first walked the halls of Hogwarts: I Am Lord Voldemort!

Tom wanted to act now! But, he calmed himself.

"Patience. Ginny has almost given me enough. Just a few more tears and heartache, and then I'll destroy Albus Dumbledore and his favorite little student: Harry Potter. And of course, Ginny won't be hurt when her love is killed. She won't even be around to miss him."

1 is from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter Eleven, pg. 186.

2 is from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Chapter Seventeen, pg. 309 and 310.