Mildly serious ficlet inspired by a very hilarious (and not so serious) fic called Nicking knickers, by the ever talented Nimori. It can be found at Hogwarts: a Rehabilitated History at http:etc.slashcity. net/hrh/hrh. html (just take out the spaces, it should work.)
It sprang fully formed into my head one night, and promptly vanished while I slept. This is the reconstructed version, which is never of the same standard as the original idea. sulks
Disclaimer: As always, I don't own any of the characters that I'm playing with. I think they're rather relieved by that.
xxx
The first time it happened, Ginny looked down at her penis and did not run screaming from the shower. She'd been expecting this, expecting it for five years since the Chamber.
But she didn't fear it, and she didn't hate it. She accepted it, and accepted Tom.
He wasn't the same Tom that had tried to kill her before, in her first year at school, he was the Tom that had been left behind. The little boy who had grown up and become Voldemort, grown up and been hurt and closed himself in. This Tom had been growing in Ginny over the years, living as she lived, developing as she developed, being loved even if the love wasn't intentionally aimed at him.
He was a Weasley Tom Riddle, an unobtrusive part of a family that was renowned for being a family. He was what could have been, if circumstance had not dealt him such a harsh wyrd in life.
Ginny had felt Tom's presence grow, from an echo in her thoughts to another mind, nestled with hers until they were no longer two completely separate entities, but still two different people. She let him look through her eyes as she went about her life as Ginevra Weasley. In return, he'd help her from the confines of her own mind when she struggled in class, or console her when the events he couldn't control brought her grief. That was the only aspect he retained from his diary form, an advisor who Ginny could pour her heart out to and who would help her as best he could.
She'd read about what could happen, when a witch or wizard held two people in their head, and she'd accepted what could happen to her. So she wasn't surprised as the changes began occurring in her fifth year at Hogwarts, a shift back and forth. Their personalities were equal, neither one seeking dominance over the other.
Tom shrugged one of the charmed robes they owned over his head, and checked to make sure Ginny was happy in the back of his mind before leaving the little flat they shared. He always tried to keep Ginny happy, both in her mind and in his body. He loved her, after all.
xXx
Edit: Corrected several errors that I'd not noticed. Also, in response to the anonymous reviewer: mainly they shift at will, unless their emotions are strong enough to form a sort of panic-override. I really should have included that, but it sounded wrong when I typed it. Also, this Riddle isn't domineering because he hasn't needed to make himself so strong/self-reliant/dominant to survive, he's developed into a gentler person. But thank you for your words! -huggles-
2nd edit: Have now moved this to the Tom section, rather than Voldemort. Also, it response to reviewer:'Bob': real mature. I'm so very, very impressed with you right now.