A/N: I swear I'm not ignoring my other fics! I was just cleaning and found a fanfiction that I wrote for the class I took on Harry Potter the second semester of my freshman year. I know that doesn't sound like a real class, but it was. The University of Cincinnati can be super great sometimes! Anyway, I typed it out and cleaned it up a bit and here it is! I also feel like there was another fanfiction that we had to write, too, but I don't remember for sure. I'll search my computer and if I find it (or any other works, for that matter) I'll post them! Enjoy!
Ginny Weasley stretched out on her stomach in her four-poster bed, a small black diary in front of her. it was her third day of her first year at Hogwarts, the one place she'd been dying to go for ages. It hadn't seemed fair that her older brothers had gotten to go while she was stuck back at home. Fred and George had tried to make her feel included by sending funny owls or various items from around the school (which she dutifully hid from her mother, of course), but now they didn't have to do all of that! She had finally- finally- made it to Hogwarts. She no longer needed to hear their adventures; she was going to have plenty of her own.
Not only was she laying on her bed in the most prominent wizarding school in the country, but Ginny also had a brand new diary. While it wasn't exactly new in condition, it was new to her. She hadn't ever really had a private place to store her thoughts before now. When they'd gotten home from buying her textbooks, the tiny redhead had discovered the black diary strategically placed into her Transfiguration book. She was certain it was a gift from her mother for starting her first year, and she'd decided to wait to write in it until the moment felt perfect.
Dear Diary, she now began, today Fred and George told me that Peeves the Poltergeist-
Wait a minute. Were her words disappearing? Ginny let her quill fall back down upon the book, startled. The ink that had been residing in the tip splattered all over the page and before long had faded into the yellow parchment, too. She sat for a long time, staring at the little book. It seemed to stare right back at her- or, it would be if it had had any eyes. Then, slowly, words began bubbling up to the surface.
Hello.
That was it; just the single word.
Ginny scrunched up her brow, watching as the word began to sink back down into the parchment. For a moment, she slammed the book closed. After all, her father had always told her not to trust anything that she couldn't see "where it kept its brain." Still, the curiosity was too much. She opened the diary again, but it was not until after she glimpsed the name Tom Riddle in chipped gold paint on the front.
Hello. She wrote. Who are you?
Tom Riddle. To whom am I speaking?
Ginny Weasley. Is this your diary then?
It was. It appears that it is yours now.
I think that mum must have given it to me for starting Hogwarts. I found it in one of my school books.
It would appear that your mother is very kind. I never knew my mother, but I did go to Hogwarts. It's your first year, you said?
Ginny hesitated, her quill suspended over the diary. Something deep in her gut told her to shove the diary into her trunk and not let it see the light of day for a long time. Still, this Tom guy didn't seem so bad. He was being nice and actually paying attention to her. She also highly doubted that he could hurt her from inside a book, and after all, what could he really do with the little information that she would give him by answering?
Ginny?
Ginny once again went to write back, but her hand still seemed to refuse to let her quill fall onto the parchment. "Maybe he'd be my friend," she whispered, as though trying to convince the quill that all was well. She hadn't made any of those yet, as she'd been rather shy in all of her classes. The utensil must have eventually believed her because it came back down just as Tom wrote again.
I thought that you'd want to talk, Ginny, but perhaps I was wrong.
Guilt flooded over the girl, although she wasn't exactly sure why. Of course she wanted to talk to him! How could he think that she didn't? However, a tiny voice reminded her that they had just met. Wasn't it a little bit odd that he was asking where she'd gone, even after a few short moments?
Nevermind that, Ginny told herself, He just wants to get to know me and be friends, that's all. He said he never knew his mother. Perhaps he's lonely. She began to write once more.
I'm here, sorry. Yes, this is my first year of Hogwarts. I'm also sorry about your mum. That must be terribly hard for you.
It hasn't been easy, no, he replied.
I suppose it wouldn't. I can't imagine what it would be like if my mum and dad weren't around anymore, but there are a few kids at Hogwarts that have had to deal with things like that.
Oh, are there really?
Yes, a few, Ginny replied. I suppose the most famous would be Harry Potter, but you probably know all about him. Everyone does.
Harry Potter? Who is Harry Potter?
Surely you're joking. Everyone knows what happened to him.
I'm not, Tom wrote. I honestly don't know who that is.
Well, he's amazing, for starters. He has these bright green eyes and black hair that sticks up a bit. It would look silly on anyone else, but not on him. Then, he also has this scar on his forehead that he got from You-Know-Who. You-Know-Who tried to kill him as a baby, but he failed and lost all of his strength. It's because of Harry that we're all safe now. The absolute best part is that Harry lives in Gryffindor Tower with me! Although, I'm not sure that he'd ever find me very interesting.
You-Know-Who?
I'm not allowed to say his name, she admitted.
You wouldn't be saying it, though. You'll be writing it. It'll be okay.
Oh. I suppose you're right. His name is Voldemort.
There was a pause in which Tom Riddle did not respond. Then, finally, his answer came seeping through.
Voldemort? Tell me more.