"Ginny..." Tom said one day inside the diary, "Are you fine? You seem upset."
"People have got stop telling me this!" she shouted at him.
"Hey," he said quietly and touched her shoulder, "It's me. Relax."
It felt like an order more than a request. She relaxed.
"I'm sorry," she said and turned to him, touching his hand on her shoulder, "people are dumb."
"Oh yes." Tom laughed, "People are dumb."
"What do you mean by that?"
Tom has shaken. "What? Er- nothing. Just agreeing with you."
"You're the best." Ginny smiled and blushed.
"I know."
Ginny closed her eyes and exited the diary. It was difficult to learn how to do that on her own, but after a while, she managed to do so.
It was a rainy Sunday morning, and when Ginny went down to the club, everyone was there in sweaters and heavy socks, sitting next to the fireplace, talking and joking.
She looked for Fay, and she found her sitting on a couch next to Ron and talking to him. It looked very serious.
"Hey," Ginny sat next to her brother, "what are you talking about?"
He turned to her, wearing a serious look on his face. He opened and closed his mouth like a fish.
"We're talking about you." Fay said, "You make us worry."
Ginny smile disappeared and she felt her cheeks burning.
"We think you should let go of this diary," Ron said quietly like he was talking with an infant or a pet.
"No!" Ginny yelled and jumped from her seat and ran back to her room.
"Tom…" she whispered when she entered the green world. It was the first time she entered with no invitation but she felt like she had to.
But Tom wasn't there.
She wandered around, looking for her friend. But she didn't find him. She tried to exit the diary, but she didn't make it, not without Tom's power.
All of a sudden, Ginny felt two arms wrapping around her. She turned and saw Tom hugging her in a very intimate way.
"What are you doing?!" she asked, feeling mad but also sort of fuzzy. His arms were cold and warm; pushing her away but also making her want to be closer to him.
"Hugging you," he answered with a smile on the corner of his lip, "you seem sad."
Ginny couldn't help it but smile. He was looking so good smiling at her. That smile. It was the smile she had dreamed Harry would smile at her. That loving smile that melts you.
She liked Tom. Actually liked him.
"Tom," she whispered, feeling enchanted.
"Come with me," he said, and Ginny lost conscious.
In her dream, she was walking around the castle, in places she has never been before, but she somehow knew it was the castle. Somewhere deep inside the castle, deeper than the potion room, deeper than Slytherin dorms. It felt darker.
Ginny was not completely aware of what she was doing. It was like watching herself from the side walking while her conscious isn't controlling her actions.
She woke up in her bed, and again, couldn't remember what happened. But now she knew something. She felt like she needed to get rid of the diary.
