The Diary
After the war was over, and Harry and I were married, someone gave us the diary. Yes, that diary. They thought that Harry and I would want it as a reminder of the defeat of Voldemort, how it had been just one cobblestone on the road to Lord Voldemort's destruction. Well, they were wrong. I never really wanted to see that diary again. It brought back too many memories. Some were good, happy memories. Some were terrible, depressing memories.
One day, Harry decided to pull out the diary to show our whole family, all of the nieces and nephews and family friends. The children were amazed at the long tale that he wove about the defeat of the Greatest Dark Wizard of All Time. He flipped through the diary and showed them that the pages were blank. I sat next to him on our couch and when he told them of my part in the story they all gaped at me in wonder and amazement.
It wasn't until later that night when something bad happened.
It was late and we had finally gotten the children to bed. I just wanted to curl up into bed and fall deep into slumber. But Harry didn't want that.
We kissed each other goodnight and then I curled up inside of the cage of his arms.
"Ginny, can I ask you something?" he breathed against the back of my neck.
"You just did," I bumped him with my shoulder. "But I will grant you one more."
It sounded like he took a deep breath.
"What's wrong?" I asked, turning around to face him.
He sighed and sat up, running his fingers through his messy raven black hair. "Gin, why are there pages missing from the diary?" He looked me dead in the eye. Sadness filled his eyes, but I couldn't look away.
"W-what? I don't know what you mean?" I stuttered.
Harry's voice became rough. "Why are there pages missing?"
"I don't know! Maybe when Riddle had the diary way back when, he tore some pages out! Or maybe Dumbledore or Snape did! " I answered throwing my hands into the air.
"No, I don't think so. When I looked through the diary in my second year, that book was perfect, albeit a little old, but other than that... There weren't any pages missing back then. And why would either of them do such a thing?"
"Are you suggesting... that I ripped pages out of that... bloody diary!" I scrambled out of the bed. "Why on this Earth would I do that? Riddle put my through hell and back again. He treated me so terribly!"
"Ginny, no, no. I - I didn't mean..." He broke off and leaned forward, putting his face in his hands. "I just meant, do you have any idea who could've done it?"
"No, I don't." I climbed back under the covers, but perched myself on the precarious edge of the bed.
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The nest morning, the sun was filtering into Harry and I's bedroom and he woke me with a kiss. It was as if the fight last night had been completely forgotten.
We got up and ready for the day and then I went and woke the kids while he ate breakfast. They did not want to get up, it was, after all, summer break. I went back out into our kitchen. Harry was standing at the door, prepared to leave. I kissed him goodbye and he Apparated away to the Ministry.
Moments later, our fourteen year old daughter, Lily, walked into the kitchen.
"Mum, I was just wondering if I could borrow some of your fancy stationery. I promised Marcus that I'd write him this summer." She blushed. Marcus is her brand new boyfriend.
"Sure, sweetie. It's in my desk in..." she was already gone.
A few bangs and faint "oomphs!" later, my two sons were in the kitchen. James was now 17 and Albus was 16. They grow up so fast. They both ignored the table I'd set with breakfast, and both just grabbed a bit to eat before heading for the door.
"Now, where do you think you're both off to?" I asked, putting my hands on my hips.
"I'm going to go play Quidditch with Scorpius," Albus explained.
"I'm going to visit...someone." James quickly ducked out the door and Apparated away.
"Alright, Al, make sure you're home before dinner."
"Okay, Mum."
All of the guys were gone. Now, it was just Lily and I.
"Lily! What's taking so long?"
My question hung in the air as she slowly walked into the kitchen, a sheaf of papers in hand.
"What're those?" I asked. They looked old; they were yellowed with age.
"Mum, aren't these those pages that you and dad were fighting about last night?" she looked up at me. Her eyes were tearing.
"You heard that?" She nodded. "I'm sorry you had to hear it."
"Why'd you keep them?" she suddenly shouted. "Why did you do it? When dad finds out - "
"No! Lily, don't tell your father!" I shouted over her.
Her voice was suddenly quiet when she said, "But, why, Mum? Why would you keep them if you knew that they would hurt dad?"
"You don't understand, honey. I was young and naïve. I thought I loved him." I looked off into space. I remembered when I saw Tom's face in the chamber. He was handsomer than I'd ever dreamed. His gorgeous hair fell into his face. His beautiful ebony eyes shone, lighting up the darkness that had then been my life.
"Are we talking about dad or Tom Riddle?" Lily's voice brought me back to the present.
"Tom Riddle." The name slid out of my mouth. It felt amazing to say it. "He was always so kind and so sweet to me when I talked to him through the diary. He was my best friend. Then he called me down into the chamber and I actually saw him. He was..." I smiled. "He was hot, Lily. I was only eleven, but I wanted to give him everything.
"I almost did. He kissed me and before I knew it I was dying. I lay in his arms as he sucked the life out of me. I could tell by the look in his eyes that he would rather it be anyone but me in his arms at that moment. He regretted trying to kill me." I felt a tear roll down my cheek as I remembered it. "He asked me, if I could have one thing at this moment what would it be? I told him I wanted the diary, but he told me that was the one thing I couldn't have.
"I didn't give up. I persisted until I only had one breath left. He ripped out a couple of pages and as he did I saw pain and anguish ripple on his face. I understood just how much it hurt him. It was like ripping out part of himself. He tucked them inside of my waistband and I told him thank you and that I loved him. Then I became unconscious. If everything had gone as planned, I never would've regained it, but I did."
Lily looked at me with her green eyes and tears were running down her cheeks, too.
"I have never forgiven myself for that. I haven't forgiven him for trying to take my life, either. I wanted both of us to live. I wanted to grow up and fall deeper in love and marry him someday. Obviously, that never happened. But I did see him again. This is the part of the story that none of the other family members have ever told you kids.
"When your father defeated Voldemort, for just one moment in time before he really, finally died, he converted back to Tom Riddle, Jr. the one I had fallen in love with 5 years previously. The one I wanted to give my everything to. If I had my way, I would've stopped time, right that second just so he and I could see each other one last time."
"Mum, if you really feel that way, why did you marry dad?"
"Because Lily, your father looks like Tom Riddle did. He used to be one of the Horcruxes, remember? I don't think that that part of Tom Riddle ever really left him. It's still there. Please, don't tell daddy this story. He will become very angry." I pleaded.
"Alright, here." She handed me the only fully intact pages of the diary. "I swear I won't tell him." She left the room to go write that letter.
When I heard the click of her bedroom door shutting, I pulled a jar of ink and a quill down from a shelf. The sheaf of papers sat in front of me. I dipped the quill in and then I poised it above the top page.
A single drop fell onto the page. It was sucked inside. I smiled.
I dipped it in again.
Hello, Tom. It's Ginny. Are you still there? I wrote.
Ahh, my love. Ginevra, why would I ever leave?
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