A Bond of Trust Forged
Chapter One "A Brand New Diary"
8/19
After the Weasleys had eaten dinner, Ginny ran up to her room to flip through her new school books for Hogwarts. The cauldron that she had bought for school and had also used to carry her books at Diagon Alley lay on her bed. She took out a book bound in leather that was entitled A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration, and lifted it closer to her face, admiring it. Suddenly, she heard a thud on the floor. A book had fallen out of the one she held, so she bent down to pick it up.
Ginny turned the book over, looking for any indication of who it belonged to. Finding nothing, she opened the book, and was surprised to see that it was completely empty- except for the faded name 'T. M. Riddle.' "I wonder who that is?" she mused.
* Now, what can anyone possibly do with a blank book? What can I do with a blank book? * Then the answer struck her. * I can use this as a diary! * She thought excitedly.
Sitting down at her desk, she searched for a quill to write with. Finding one, she put the feather to her lips and looked heavenward, pondering what to write as she began her first entry. "Hello, Diary. My name is Ginny Weasley."
As soon as she had finished writing, her words disappeared and new words formed on the page. "Hello, Ginny. My name is Tom Riddle."
Ginny gasped. However, she decided to see what would happen if she wrote, "How are you today, Tom?"
Immediately, a response appeared. "I'm fine, thank you for asking. How did you come by my diary?"Ginny put the quill down and leaned back in her seat. * Relax, Ginny, just relax. This must be a prank or something, * she told herself. But the more she thought about it, the more she knew it wasn't. Her brothers wouldn't do something like this- they didn't know enough magic yet to charm a book like this anyway. She knew of no one else that would play such a trick.
Ginny finally picked up the quill and wrote, "What are you doing in a diary, if I may ask?"
"When I was sixteen, I preserved myself in this book."
"Why?" asked Ginny.
"It's a very long story," Tom replied evasively.
"I have time," Ginny persisted.
"Well," Tom said reluctantly, "I used to be a student at Hogwarts many years ago. I preserved myself as a memory in this book, hoping that someday another Hogwarts student would open it and inform me about how incredible it still is today."
* That's lame even by Fred and George's standards, * Ginny thought, but she pretended to believe him and replied, "So, you preserved yourself in a diary to talk to Hogwarts students?"
"Yes, if you put it that way."
Ginny stared at the presently blank page and wrote, "I must admit, as fascinating as all this truly is, I'm a bit disappointed- I was hoping for a diary I could confide in." Her words disappeared as the response came back.
"Ginny, dearest, you can confide in me. Your secrets are safe, I assure you."
Ginny chewed her quill slowly. Something wasn't quite right here. "Tell me, Tom," she wrote, "Why did you preserve yourself in this book in the first place? Couldn't you have seen what Hogwarts was like when you grew up?"
After a while, a hurriedly-penned answer came back. "Ginny, you must understand that I was only sixteen when I did this. I didn't think about the consequences."
Ginny thought for a moment. Something wasn't quite right here, but she decided to save her questions for later. "So if I confide in you, how do I know that you won't betray me?"
"Ginny, dearest, who would I betray you to? The only way that I can communicate with others is through this diary, and I am sure that you will not let it out of your sight if you suspect me of betrayal."
"True," Ginny wrote back, "but I just don't know. How do I know that you are who you say you are? You might be You-Know-Who for all I know."
"I might be," Tom agreed. "But I might not."
"That's true," she replied, "I guess I can trust you."
"Know that you can, Ginny. You can confide in me as I can confide in you."
A smile crept across Ginny's face. Perhaps Tom could be her friend after all.
A/N- The numbers at the top of the chapters are dates, by the way.
Chapter One "A Brand New Diary"
8/19
After the Weasleys had eaten dinner, Ginny ran up to her room to flip through her new school books for Hogwarts. The cauldron that she had bought for school and had also used to carry her books at Diagon Alley lay on her bed. She took out a book bound in leather that was entitled A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration, and lifted it closer to her face, admiring it. Suddenly, she heard a thud on the floor. A book had fallen out of the one she held, so she bent down to pick it up.
Ginny turned the book over, looking for any indication of who it belonged to. Finding nothing, she opened the book, and was surprised to see that it was completely empty- except for the faded name 'T. M. Riddle.' "I wonder who that is?" she mused.
* Now, what can anyone possibly do with a blank book? What can I do with a blank book? * Then the answer struck her. * I can use this as a diary! * She thought excitedly.
Sitting down at her desk, she searched for a quill to write with. Finding one, she put the feather to her lips and looked heavenward, pondering what to write as she began her first entry. "Hello, Diary. My name is Ginny Weasley."
As soon as she had finished writing, her words disappeared and new words formed on the page. "Hello, Ginny. My name is Tom Riddle."
Ginny gasped. However, she decided to see what would happen if she wrote, "How are you today, Tom?"
Immediately, a response appeared. "I'm fine, thank you for asking. How did you come by my diary?"Ginny put the quill down and leaned back in her seat. * Relax, Ginny, just relax. This must be a prank or something, * she told herself. But the more she thought about it, the more she knew it wasn't. Her brothers wouldn't do something like this- they didn't know enough magic yet to charm a book like this anyway. She knew of no one else that would play such a trick.
Ginny finally picked up the quill and wrote, "What are you doing in a diary, if I may ask?"
"When I was sixteen, I preserved myself in this book."
"Why?" asked Ginny.
"It's a very long story," Tom replied evasively.
"I have time," Ginny persisted.
"Well," Tom said reluctantly, "I used to be a student at Hogwarts many years ago. I preserved myself as a memory in this book, hoping that someday another Hogwarts student would open it and inform me about how incredible it still is today."
* That's lame even by Fred and George's standards, * Ginny thought, but she pretended to believe him and replied, "So, you preserved yourself in a diary to talk to Hogwarts students?"
"Yes, if you put it that way."
Ginny stared at the presently blank page and wrote, "I must admit, as fascinating as all this truly is, I'm a bit disappointed- I was hoping for a diary I could confide in." Her words disappeared as the response came back.
"Ginny, dearest, you can confide in me. Your secrets are safe, I assure you."
Ginny chewed her quill slowly. Something wasn't quite right here. "Tell me, Tom," she wrote, "Why did you preserve yourself in this book in the first place? Couldn't you have seen what Hogwarts was like when you grew up?"
After a while, a hurriedly-penned answer came back. "Ginny, you must understand that I was only sixteen when I did this. I didn't think about the consequences."
Ginny thought for a moment. Something wasn't quite right here, but she decided to save her questions for later. "So if I confide in you, how do I know that you won't betray me?"
"Ginny, dearest, who would I betray you to? The only way that I can communicate with others is through this diary, and I am sure that you will not let it out of your sight if you suspect me of betrayal."
"True," Ginny wrote back, "but I just don't know. How do I know that you are who you say you are? You might be You-Know-Who for all I know."
"I might be," Tom agreed. "But I might not."
"That's true," she replied, "I guess I can trust you."
"Know that you can, Ginny. You can confide in me as I can confide in you."
A smile crept across Ginny's face. Perhaps Tom could be her friend after all.
A/N- The numbers at the top of the chapters are dates, by the way.