Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.


Chapter 4 – Ginny and Tom


Ginny's luck in avoiding Tom ran out the night of her brother's wedding. The vows had been spoken and dancing commenced when Kingsley's patronus brought the warning everyone had hoped would never come, yet also had been waiting for.

"The Ministry has fallen. The Minister of Magic is dead. They are coming." The guests had little more than thirty seconds after the patronus disappeared to leap into action. Many disapparated on the spot as Death Eaters apparated in. A battle broke out, the Weasleys and Order members staunchly defending their home and loved ones. Harry knew he had to get out of there. The Death Eaters would no doubt have orders to capture him if they could and that was something he knew could not happen if he was to destroy Voldemort. He sent off stunners and erected shields as he frantically searched for Hermione and Ron. His search led him to the edge of the marquee where he saw Ginny fighting three Death Eaters on her own.

"Ginny!" He cried as he rushed to help her, all thoughts of escape gone. He mentally slapped himself for forgetting that he would not be the only person Voldemort wanted.

"What the bloody hell are you still doing here?!" She roared, sending a stunner towards the Death Eaters as she closed the four-foot distance between them. They had discussed this. They knew there would come a time when they could no longer stay together, and for Harry, Ron and Hermione's safety, she knew no more than that they would not longer be a group of four. That time had come, and Ginny had expected Harry to do the right thing and get the hell out. Apparently she had been wrong and he would need some help. Grabbing Harry by the shoulders, she turned him in the opposite direction and shoved him away. "Go!" she demanded. Harry looked like he wanted to protest but Ron and Hermione found him, grabbing onto him and preparing to apparate, at the same time that a Death Eater grabbed Ginny from behind. The two had just enough time to share a meaningful look before they were both apparated out.

~~/~~

Ginny awoke on a soft bed, feeling rested despite her location. Yesterday, the Death Eater that had captured her had brought her to a grand manor, taking great pride in the fact that he was the one to bring back the prize for his master. This Death Eater was not one Ginny recognized, nor was he very smart. He had neglected to remove her wand, obviously revelling in his good fortune, and discovered his mistake the hard way. When they entered the manor and he released her, believing she had no means of escape, she quickly turned on him and hit him with a powerful stunner, sending him flying into the wall and knocking him unconscious. She knew her victory would be short lived as there were other Death Eaters in the room, and so it came as no surprise when she was disarmed. She turned to see it was Narcissa Malfoy who held her wand. Ginny then looked sideways to where both Lucius and Draco were standing, and backed away when Draco was ordered to take her to a room. Any chance of a fight was taken away from her, however, as she was hit with a stunner and her world went black. Draco had released the spell once she was safely in the room that would become her prison, before quickly retreating, locking and warding the door as he went. Draco had not said one word to her, and he had truthfully looked like shit. She thought back to how his parents had looked and realized that the entire family seemed the worse for wear. Ginny found this odd; she would think that the Malfoy's would be happy that their master was gaining more power. Apparently some of his followers had had a change of heart.

It was with those thoughts that Ginny fell into a surprisingly peaceful sleep. Now, however, she was awake and although it had only been for a few minutes, she was already feeling restless. She knew he would come; there was no doubt in her mind. But when he would come was the question. She hoped it was soon, that he would get on with whatever he had planned for her; Ginny had never been a patient person. She stood up from the bed and took in her surroundings. The room was sparsely furnished. There was the bed, and a wardrobe, a small table that held a candle which she had no way to light and a single window across from the wardrobe. Across the room was a lavatory, which she made use of. After, Ginny went and stood by the window, looking over the vast grounds, which she now assumed belonged to the Malfoys. Thankfully, her prayers of a short wait were answered. Barely a half hour after she awoke, the door opened to admit her captor. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up and she stiffened, knowing it was him.

"Hello, Ginevra." The voice sent shivers down her spine. She had not heard that voice for almost five years, though she would never forget it.

"And just what, exactly, do you intend to accomplish by taking on his form?" She asked in greeting, not even turning to face him. "You think it will unnerve me? Make me more compliant to whatever you have planned for me? Think again." She heard a soft chuckle that came from directly behind her and she had to stop herself from jumping when his hands came up to rest on her shoulders.

"No, I know you are too smart to fall for that." His voice was soft and dripped of the charm he had used on her all those years ago. "But you are wrong on one count. It does unnerve you. You can pretend all you want, but I know the truth, because I know you, Ginevra." She wrenched herself away from his touch and whirled around to face him. He looked exactly as she remembered him, Hogwarts robes and all.

"You know nothing of me. A lot has changed since I was eleven. You saw to that." She hissed. He smiled at her, that half smile that she used to associate with patience and understanding, but now she saw was only patronizing and mocking.

"People don't change, not really."

"Well, you're wrong about that. You may not be capable of change, but others are. People who have a heart and a conscience, who learn from their mistakes instead of repeating them time and time again. That is just one of the reasons why you'll fail, Tom."

"Don't call me by my filthy muggle father's name." He seethed.

"It's your name too, the one your witch mother gave you. It's who you really are and who you chose to come to me as."

"I had thought seeing an old friend would put you at ease." Now it was her turn to send him a patronizing smirk.

"Oh yes, because one crazed psychopath is far better then another." His face darkened at her mocking sarcasm.

"You try my patience, Ginevra."

"Good." She answered, her smirk only widening. "Someone ought to. And who better then the one person you can't torture or kill. Unless of course you want to harm your precious horcrux." His reaction to her words was immediate and harsh. He grabbed her about the throat, slamming her into the wall, his face a perfect mask of fury; a look she had never seen on the young Tom Riddle, having been unconscious in the Chamber when he revealed his true colours.

"How do you know that word?" He demanded, his voice barely audible. "How did you figure it out? Who else knows?" Ginny tried to answer but could not get any air into her lungs. Realizing she couldn't breathe, she began clawing at his hand. He didn't budge under her attempts, his strength far surpassing her own, but it had the desired effect and he released her. Ginny fell to the floor gasping for breath. When she looked up at the man who towered over her she saw that he had regained some of his composure. Ginny thought she detected a hint of fear in his features, but if she did it quickly disappeared.

"Answer me, Ginevra." He growled when she remained silent for too long.

"You told me." She gasped out. "Or rather, the Tom from the diary did. Though I rather think it was by accident."

"Explain." Ginny took a breath and began the tale she and Harry had concocted. When Voldemort had seen into Harry's mind at the end of his fifth year, he'd seen only that Ginny had a piece of Tom inside her and they suspected it had something to do with soul magic. It was all they had known at the time, the discussion with Dumbledore not taking place till the next term, so it was all he could see. They'd debated about revealing that Ginny knew about the horcruxes. They didn't want him to know that Harry knew, that they had destroyed some and were going after the others, but him knowing that Ginny knew could have its uses. If they revealed that she knew, they had more leeway to protect her and even perhaps those around her, for Tom would know that she knew that he and his followers could do nothing to harm her. If they didn't reveal it, then Ginny would have to pretend to not know exactly why Tom wanted her and couldn't use her situation, or station as the case may be, to her advantage. Ginny had practiced her occlumency hard – her efforts made quite easy thanks to Tom – and before his death had gotten Dumbledore to test her shields and her skills at lying through occlumency and legilimency, constructing false memories and the like. When he'd deemed them good enough, Ginny had gone to Snape and had attempted to manipulate him. He'd tried more than once to look into her mind throughout the year, thinking she didn't know, but had always been blocked. This time she let him in, at least a little, and let him see a certain false memory she'd constructed. When he'd then gone to Dumbledore about the memory, the Headmaster relaying that the potions professor thought it to be true, they knew she was ready, and finally it was time to put it to the ultimate test.

"Tom fed off my soul. As he grew stronger, I grew weaker. But he gave to me as much as he took and somehow when the diary was destroyed something of him remained. A part of him, a part of his soul, your soul, is inside me. But it's more. It's like you're a part of me, or I'm a part of you. I can speak parseltongue. It's not something I could do before, and it's not exactly something you can learn. But it's a gift you have. Information is the same; I know what you know. Once I figured out it was a part of your soul that's in me I just knew it was, or rather that I am, a horcrux. You know what they are, so I know what they are." He said nothing as he took in this new information and decided if he believed her or not.

"Have you told anyone?" He asked finally. She shook her head.

"No. Not about the horcrux. Harry knows the diary left something in me, but that's as much as he knows." He nodded and she could feel a slight pressure in her head, he was using legilimency on her, searching her memories for the truth. He found it, or so he thought, and visibly returned to the calm, collect Tom she knew. Their plan had worked, and Ginny felt herself relax as well as silence descended for a moment only to be interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Enter." Ginny's head snapped up hearing a different voice than Tom's; he had dropped his guise and had returned to being Voldemort. The door opened at his bidding and the last person Ginny wanted to see, besides the one already in the room, entered.

"You!" She roared, jumping up and making a beeline for Snape. "You bloody murderer! He trusted you! Let go of me!" She demanded of Voldemort for he had grabbed her as she ran past him. Voldemort remained calm and only tightened his grip on her arm, making her wince.

"You summoned me, my lord?" Snape asked, completely unflustered by her outburst.

"Yes, Severus. As you can see, we have a guest. She will remain with us for the remainder of the summer, and then I have decided to allow her to return to Hogwarts. Under your watchful eye, of course." Snape nodded and Ginny's eyes widened in shock and indignation.

"He's returning to Hogwarts?" she demanded, rounding on Voldemort.

"Yes. He will be the new Headmaster." Now Ginny looked murderous.

"You made him Headmaster? Are you trying to incite a rebellion? Neither the students nor staff will stand for it. Making him Headmaster is declaring open season on greasy gits. You're asking for trouble."

"Trouble you will take no part in." He replied.

"Like hell I won't." She muttered. Voldemort whipped her around to face him.

"No, you won't. Am I understood, Ginevra?" She said nothing, but the defiance in her eyes spoke volumes. He sighed and released her, letting her stumble back a couple steps as he pulled out his wand.

"I had hoped that we could come to some sort of understanding. But if you are insistent in your defiance of me, I will take steps to ensure your obedience." He waved his wand and Ginny felt a weight on her neck. She reached up and felt the necklace that had settled there. Voldemort waved his wand again and conjured a small mirror. Ginny eyed him wearily as she stepped forward to take a look. It was a simple short silver chain with an emerald pendent of two intertwined snakes that twisted to form two letters.

"LV?" she asked. "Lord Voldemort? How original." Rolling her eyes she reached behind her, intent on taking it off.

"It's lovely." She said, her voice heavy with sarcasm. "But I'm not one for jewellery." It took her barely a second to realize she could not remove it.

"There's no clasp." She said, her eyes flying back to his. "This isn't just for decoration, is it?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"I said I would take steps to ensure your obedience." He replied, waving his wand and making the mirror disappear. "That necklace cannot be removed by either physical or magical means, nor can it be destroyed in any manner." Ginny's eyes narrowed, not liking this one bit. "It also contains several charms. There is a tracking spell on it and an anti-apparition charm. It is a portkey, should you get in trouble it will bring you to me, it will also activate upon command should you…get lost." By which he meant if she tried to run. "There are also two spells of my own design. The first will render you incapable of acting against anyone bearing my mark. The second is a variation of the Imperius Curse. It will force you to obey any commands given to you; in that manner it is similar. Where it differs is that the Imperius Curse places you completely under the control of the one who cast it, and only the one who cast it. You are not in control of yourself and can do nothing without being ordered to. This spell will not render you incapacitated, but merely obedient. I suppose you could say it is like a very strong compulsion charm."

"And I'm not under the control of only the caster, right? So anyone can just shout a command and I'll hop to it?" She said through gritted teeth.

"No, not anyone. The spell is keyed only to two people."

"You…and him." She concluded, jerking her head towards Snape. Voldemort merely nodded. He then waved his wand again; a ring appeared in his hand and he walked over to Snape, who held out his hand to receive it.

"The ring is connected to her necklace. It will allow you to keep track of her and will alert you should she leave Hogwarts grounds without your express permission or should she run into trouble." Snape nodded in acceptance and understanding and placed the ring on the middle finger of his right hand. "I believe that is all, Severus. Narcissa will see her safely onto the Hogwarts Express." Snape nodded and took his leave. Voldemort turned to Ginny who hadn't moved and was doing all she could to not cry in front of him.

"I did not want to do it this way, Ginevra. I had so hoped we could have come to an understanding." She said nothing, the only indication she heard him was the clenching of her fists. "It does come with its benefits though. No one will dare harm you."

"Yes, because not only does it take away my free will and imprison me more than being locked in this room, it declares to everyone, your Death Eaters, my friends, everyone, that I am yours, your possession." She seethed, a few tears of anger escaping.

"Yes it does, and you are mine, Ginevra. As you so rightfully said you carry a part of my soul. So long as you do, you belong to me."

"Then why don't you just remove it and get rid of me? Oh wait, because you can't. You can only remove it if you kill me, thus destroying the part of your soul, or if you repent. Admit your mistake, know you were wrong, and really feel remorse for what you have done. And that will never happen because you are too much of a monster, incapable of feeling anything but greed and hate." She turned away from him and returned to the window effectively dismissing him. She thought he would come at her, not let her get away with what she said, or at the very least not let her have the last word. But he did none of that; instead she heard the distinct sound of apparition. Alone, she sank to the floor and allowed the tears to fall.


A/N - Sorry for the wait, I work long hours on weekends this month so didn't have time for anything else. Should have the rest posted by the end of this week.

Review please!