Ginny woke up after a restless sleep. She had been dreaming constantly about Tom Riddle over the summer. He had come across as such a good friend to her; he would always comfort her whenever she felt overwhelmed with her first year at Hogwarts and trying to fit in. But then he betrayed her. Her first friend and he was just using her so he could steal her soul. She felt so dirty knowing that she had been possessed by Voldemort's younger self.
"Argh why can't I do anything right?" Ginny thought. "I just wanted a friend and look at what I've done…so many students – my friends even had been petrified for months all because of me." Ginny was miserable. Her insecurity is what led her to trust the diary in the first place and now that same insecurity had nearly overcome her as a result. She had become incredibly secluded since the end of term at Hogwarts. She stayed in her room all day except for meals and when her mother forced her outside for chores.
She was always trying to fit in with her family. She knew that she really had to stand out to be able to get any sort of attention because her family was just so big and busy. Yet Ginny's seclusion and forlorn attitude pulled her away from her family. The Weasley's were known for their cheerful nature and their bubbly attitude (with the exception of Percy who had his nose up in the air too high to notice his family's unwavering optimism).
"Why can't I be like them? Everything's so easy for the rest of the family. Why does it all have to be so hard for me? They all make friends so easily and they naturally stand out. When I try to stand out I end up having Voldemort possess me so I can petrify half the school!" Ginny kept mumbling to herself about how much she screwed up. Nothing anyone ever told her would ever cheer her up. The twins tried, naturally, to prank her and when that didn't cheer her up they tried to get her to help them plan some pranks. She turned them down quietly saying she didn't feel like it.
Ginny thought about all this as she watched the sun rise slowly. She didn't seem to sleep much at night these days. She napped during the day to catch up on lost sleep but she still looked exhausted. Ginny felt so dirty and tainted from Voldemort that she showered twice daily. Her family noticed that she was in the shower for a long time and when she came out her skin was bright red, as if she had scrubbed it as hard as she could.
Molly noticed that Ginny was barely eating. She tried to make her daughter her favourite meals to cheer her up and encourage her to eat more but nothing seemed to work. Ginny was losing weight due to her lack of appetite. This was especially noticeable since Ginny already had a slight frame. The small amount of weight that she had lost since school got out two weeks ago showed a dramatic difference in Ginny's usually glowing appearance and made those close to her even more worried about her.
What could they do to help? Ginny seemed to be lost in her own world and no one seemed to know how to bring her out.
