A/N: I thought it would be nice, given how creepy this story is, to complete it on Halloween. So, here we are. FINALLY. I hope you enjoy it, even though it's weird as hell. Lol.
Four years later
Ginny startled awake, but when her eyes shot open she wasn't looking up at the ceiling as she expected.
Instead, she was looking down at the bed she shared with Harry. She could see herself wrapped around The Chosen One as he slept peacefully.
But her image flickered in and out, her body morphing into something sharp and chiseled. Her long red hair shortened into thick black locks, and when the body lying in bed met her gaze, it wasn't her own reflection staring back at her.
Tom Riddle's dark red eyes held the hint of a smirk, as she gasped at the sight of his pale, gaunt skin stretched tight over the bones of his face — her face.
He looked back to her boyfriend, and her heart leaped uncomfortably in her throat as she felt Tom's rage fill the marrow of her bones, his hatred toward her boyfriend drowning her mouth with the coppery taste of blood.
She watched helpless as Tom's bony fingers raked across Harry's scalp. She swore she could actually taste blood, and then Tom's tongue flicked out from his mouth, it was unnaturally long, ripped down the middle like a snake's. He licked at the nape of Harry's neck, and all she felt was anger boiling inside of her.
When she looked down at the scene, she could see Tom's saliva glistening against Harry's neck, but when she looked through Tom's eyes, she saw blood boiling from the path his tongue had forged along Harry's skin.
She screamed, but Tom's mouth stayed firm, his lips curling into a sneer, revealing his ghostly white teeth stained red with blood.
Ginny jolted awake once more, frantically grasping at the sheets below her. She turned to Harry, who was still fast asleep.
Carefully, Ginny slipped from the bed and tiptoed into the bathroom. Her hands shook as she turned the faucet and watched water pool into the sink. She looked at her reflection in the mirror as she tried to steady her breathing.
Ginny splashed cold water on her face, but she still felt only half herself despite the tingling of her skin. Her image in the mirror flickered as it had in her dream, in and out, Tom taking her place for seconds at a time. She could feel him inside her, feeding off her consciousness, gaining control over her senses.
He'd been coming back in dreams lately. She'd stupidly thought she'd banished him that night in the Room of Requirement. After all, shortly thereafter, Harry had defeated him and all was well.
When the dreams started weeks ago, Ginny had tried to ignore them. But she could feel Tom inside of her stronger than ever.
She walked back into the bedroom and knelt at the bedside next to Harry. Her eyes roved over his face, stopping for a moment at the lightning-shaped scar on his forehead. Tears welled up in her eyes because she knew — she knew it was over. Something inside of her was desperately trying to get out, and she wasn't strong enough to keep it at bay. Harry's scar usually made her swell with pride at his achievements. Sometimes it drowned her in sorrow, reminding her of all that they'd lost. Now she stared at it and felt Tom's need for revenge. Tom's desperation to feel Harry's heartbeat sputtering until it pumped life into him for the very last time overwhelmed her.
Ginny was powerful, but it was that very thing on which Tom fed mercilessly.
She sobbed as the pads of her fingertips traced the indents of skin on Harry's forehead, and she stumbled back when he yelped at her touch.
OOO
His wide green eyes searched her as she sat on the ground helplessly, tears falling freely down her cheeks. Harry touched his scar. It hadn't hurt him since the Battle of Hogwarts — until now.
The jolt of pain had washed over him, pulling him angrily from sleep. "What the hell was that?"
"It's me," Ginny whispered in disgust, staring at her hands as if they were horrid creatures.
"Ginny?" He slipped from the bed and sat across from her on the floor, pulling her into his embrace.
She shook her head violently, and he fought her, trying to comfort her. "Tell me what's wrong."
"It's him!" Her voice came out a wail, and the sound sent shock through his brain. Harry wasn't used to his strong, independent girlfriend crying.
"Who? Him who?"
"You-Know-Who!" she responded, bitterness dripping from her teeth.
Harry stood, bringing Ginny up with him so he could stare into her eyes. "It can't be."
Ginny shook her head, unable to meet his gaze. "He's inside of me, his soul...it's —" She grasped her Holyhead Harpies T-shirt as if she could rip him out by ripping it from her body.
"No - no!" Harry said desperately. "We destroyed that piece of his soul remember? A long time ago. We'll get you to a mind healer in the morning. It will be okay!"
"NO!" Ginny's voice caught on a sob, and his heart broke at the sight. He desperately wanted to make it better for her. "You're - you're not safe around me, Harry, please."
"Please what? What can I do?"
"You have to kill me."
"What? No! Ginny, that's mental," he grasped her shoulders like he was going to shake her. "We can destroy it. There's got to be another way."
"I thought it - I thought - it should have stopped when…" She sniffled, wiping furiously at her nose. "When you killed him once and for all."
Harry stilled. "How long has this been going on?"
She met his eyes finally, and he wasn't sure what he saw there. He could definitely see his girlfriend, her fire, but it was corrupted, cold, calculating. He felt lightheaded, nauseous. "Since last summer when you, Ron, and Hermione left to find the rest of the horcruxes. I — it was so subtle at first, I thought I was just crazy. He only came to me in glimpses or after … after the Carrows would…"
Harry brushed the tears from her cheeks, but her skin was cold and slick. He tried not to recoil when he realized it reminded him of snake scales. "Ginny, you're so strong," he said in an attempt to sooth her. "You can beat him. You did it last time."
"I didn't! You did! And you have to this time, Harry, please." She grabbed his hands desperately, begging him. Her eyes were locked onto his, and he couldn't move, couldn't breathe. A chill blossomed inside his mind, freezing the edges of his thoughts. "Kill me. Kill him!"
Different voices swirled in Harry's brain, but he couldn't focus on any specific one. He felt the tug of magic leading him, but he couldn't infer what had been done to him. He swayed on his feet until his eyes locked on Ginny's. One last independent thought sprang to his lips.
"The horcrux in me… When I took the killing curse willingly, it killed the dark magic in me. You can come back. You'll come back!"
Tears clouded Ginny's eyes as he tried to reassure her that this would work out. But some part of him was reassuring himself while the other moved of its own accord.
"Please don't cry," he whispered as he reached for his wand on the bedside table. He could feel something inside of him, urging him on, and he couldn't stop himself. Ginny's commands echoed incessantly in his mind — kill her, kill him, kill her, kill him.
Kill her.
Kill him.
"I love you," she said, and he shook his head.
"Don't say that. I'll see you on the other side," he responded, but the voice didn't sound like his.
Kill her.
Kill him.
Kill her.
"Avada Kedavra!"
Ginny screamed as the jet of green light hit her, but Harry could hear Tom Riddle's voice mixed in as the life drained from his girlfriend, and she fell to the floor.
Seconds ticked by, and Harry wouldn't let himself feel the fear that swirled inside of him as he waited.
But the longer she lay there lifeless, his mind became clearer until he finally realized what he had done.
"GINNY! NO!" He fell to the ground beside her and scooped up her limp body in his strong arms, tears brimming in his eyes. He screamed until his throat split and the sound turned into wracking sobs as he cradled his girlfriend and rocked her. "You have to wake up, Ginny! GINNY!"
And that's how the Aurors found them hours later. Harry swaddling the dead body of Ginny Weasley, screaming and sobbing and demanding that she come back to him.
One later recalled Harry screaming Ginny's name 100 times before he lost count.
