Chapter 11 - The Trick

It had been a week since the angry blonde attacked Ginny on the first day of her stay at the juvenile correction centre. And my, what a colourful week it was.

The Weasley girl considered herself lucky as that maniac only get to punch her once before she was able to slip to other side of the room. Just when she was about to land her second hit on Ginny's face, the warden suddenly showed up and pulled her away.

Ginny never saw her again since that day. She spent the rest of the week with the pregnant girl, who was just beginning to say a few words to her when her water suddenly broke. She had to be taken to the hospital, and nothing was heard of her anymore.

So our girl woke up on a cold Tuesday morning with a sense of gratitude that she was finally able to have the whole room to herself. Not going to lie, while the pregnant girl was not as intimidating as the angry girl, she was still a difficult person to deal with. And things are hard enough for Ginny already.

Checking out her watch, she learned that she was about 30 minutes early, but got up from her bed anyway. Once she was done making it up, she changed her clothes, combed her hair, and got herself ready to face yet another day at the centre.

Before she walked out of her room, she took a moment to touch the leaves of a small potted plant by her bedside. She had never been a plant person; in fact, she would not even know what this one was called. But she really liked this gift and determined to keep it alive. Somehow, it reminded her about life outside of the centre.

The life that she used to be part of.

She sighed. There is no need to lament over it, eh? Shit happened. And she only had herself to blame for it.

Ginny left the room to welcome another cold, lonely day at the centre.

Hard to explain why, but something inside her believed that something good is going to happen today.

[break]

Something different did happen that day.

While Ginny was doing her shift swiping the yard with a large broomstick, she suddenly got called to the office. Once she got there, she was then led to a separate meeting room, where one of the most outrageous looking gentlemen she had ever seen was already sitting in.

His silvery hair and beard reminded her of Santa Claus, but his purple suit made her think of a person from the circus. There were frills on some strategic parts of his suit, and there was also a bright yellow handkerchief peeking out of his pocket. Ginny guessed that under his massive beard his tie must be of similar colour; though she was unable to see his shoes, she believed that they must be as eye-catching as the rest of his clothes.

She was trying to imagine how the gentleman had looked like when he was young, when he extended his hand. "Miss Ginevra Weasley. My name is Albus Dumbledore. It is a great pleasure to meet you."

"N-nice to meet you, too," Ginny replied.

Upon closer look, she noted that the gentleman seemed to be radiating with warmth.

"How was your day? I hope this facility has been treating you well," Dumbledore said when he returned to his chair.

"I … I guess it was okay." Ginny shrugged.

"Very good," the old man smiled. Ginny noticed that behind the half moon spectacles his eyes shone brightly, as if he had never grown old. "Now there are many things that we need to talk about. But in principal, I am here to bring you good news."

Ginny leaned forward. "Good news, sir?"

"Well, first of all, I am here as your new attorney. There were several … Updates on your case. And the authority has decided to start afresh with the investigation process. They have also appointed me to take over the case from Mr. Lockhart."

"W-what kind of updates?"

Dumbledore took out a leather bound notebook from his bag, which was settled on a chair next to him. "Well … It was quite unexpected, really, but a new witness has come forward."

He put the notebook on the table in front of him. "And we believe that this might just be the way to prove your innocence."

Ginny felt her heart stopping.

Looking as if she was going to jump towards Dumbledore's direction, she blurted out all sort of nonsense from her mouth. "W-witness!? There's a witness!? Who is this witness, and what did he say about me? He saw the whole thing, right? Right? He saw it? Please tell me he saw that it wasn't me…"

Dumbledore gently lifted up his hand, gesturing Ginny to calm down. "Miss Weasley. I understand that this must be very exciting for you. But we need to remain calm."

"Oh. Sorry." Embarrassed, she folded her arms and bowed her head.

Dumbledore smiled again.

"Now. Before I tell you all the details, and we decide our next move …," he muttered, flicking his notebook open. "Why don't we begin by talking about what happened?"

Ginny gulped.

"I have certainly been briefed about your case, but I always make a point about hearing it directly from the client. So, tell me, Miss Weasley. About the day the incident happened."

The girl lifted her head, maintaining eye contact with the attorney's bright blue eyes. He was no longer the friendly old man that she first saw moments ago. His smile had faded and his piercing gaze allowed her to know that it was finally time to talk business.

Ginny had repeated this story over and over again, that she had actually made a template for it in her mind. But understanding the gravity of the situation, and how this might be the the only chance for her to be free, she began to tell it with a new determination in her voice.

She started out by explaining how she woke up that day on his sofa.

Having been on the run for almost a week, it was the first time she was able to sleep properly. It was only five in the morning, but she was prevented from continuing her slumber by this inviting aroma coming from the kitchen --and this glowing feeling, stemming from the thought that she had spent the night at his place.

She took a look around and gladly noted that everything was just the same as yesterday. A shelf filled with thick, serious books. A television with a cracked screen. A living room that was so clean and sterile, it reminded her of a physician's office.

Ginny folded the woollen blanket that she had used, but before she put it away, she took the time to put it in front of her face. Trying to adsorb his scent.

The girl then combed her hair using her fingers and moved to the kitchen to meet her saviour.

"Morning. I hope you don't mind eggs."

Tom was moving a piece of omelette into a plate when Ginny walked into the kitchen. There were two plates with a nice, fluffy omelette on the table; they were accompanied by potato chips and tomato slices.

"Oh. N-not at all. Thank you," she muttered.

She was a bit shocked to find Tom already fully dressed so early in the morning. Behind a simple grey apron that he used while he made breakfast, he already had his white shirt and black trousers on, completed with black tie.

When they moved to the dining table, Ginny noticed that his bag, a black suit, and a long coat were already hung on one of the chairs.

"We'll go right after breakfast," he said, putting the plates on pieces of table mat.

Ginny felt herself containing her laughter when she noticed how tidy everything was. The mats and the plates were of matching colour of white and blue, with knives and forks arranged neatly beside them.

She was suddenly reminded of that one time when her family received an invitation from a family friend to have dinner at this high-end restaurant in London. The Weasleys all wore their finest clothes; it was one of the very few times Ginny got to see her mother in full make-up, and she was even allowed to try on this soft pink lipstick.

The atmosphere at the place was so unlike what the kids are used to. Prior to arriving at the restaurant, Percy had researched about table manners and would not stop lecturing his siblings about which spoon to use with the soup. Ron embarrassed himself every time a meal was served ("It won't stop coming!") while the twins spoon-fed each other ("Yours tasted better than mine!"). Ginny herself remembered that awkward feeling of having to make sure that her elbows are off the table.

This memory of her family made her feel a bit sad.

With that many people to take care of in the Weasleys' home, table manners often just flew out of the window. The plates and utensils are always mismatched; at the end of a long day, sometimes Mrs. Weasley would not even bother about table mats. Everybody talked loudly at the dinner table, and when all seven children were having meal at home, someone had to sit in front of the television because their table would be full.

Today at the breakfast table, the difference between her world --and Tom's-- felt even more unbearable than usual.

"Thank you for this," she muttered as she began eating.

"Couldn't let you starve," he replied.

They proceed eating their breakfast in silence. Ginny wondered if she should try to strike a conversation. But whenever she glanced into Tom's direction, he seemed to be focussing intently on his meal.

She guessed that he was not one for conversations during mealtime, but decided to give it a go anyway.

"So … Um … Do you always live alone, like this?"

"Yes."

"Okay," Ginny said. "How about your family? Do you meet them often?"

"I grew up in an orphanage. I thought you know."

"Oh. Right! Sorry."

Her brain urged her to stop, but her mouth had a mind of its own. "So … I saw this really pretty girl on the picture," she said, gesturing at the shelf where the photograph was. "Is she your girlfriend?"

It actually broke her heart to ask this question, especially since Tom seemed to be taking his time to answer it. For a moment, he just stared at the direction of the shelf, silently munching on his meal.

"You can say so," he finally said.

"I see. You two looked really good together …,"

"You really enjoy talking, don't you?"

Feeling hurt, Ginny bowed down her head while her brain kept on telling her so. "I'm sorry."

"It's all right. I am just not used to it," Tom shrugged. "But I am glad Gin the Catlady is here to show me the different ways to live."

If there was something dishonest and sarcastic in his last sentence, Ginny was too mesmerised to notice it.

[break]

Less than two hours later, Ginny found herself sitting on the passenger side of Tom's car, leaving his apartment to bring her back to her family.

Up until this morning, the girl still dreaded the whole idea of coming home. Apart from being scared of her mother's imminent wrath, now that she had seen herself the difference in how she and Tom live their life, she just could not bear to part with it.

But as she watched him drives, dutifully taking her home like the responsible gentleman that he is, she thought that there is really nothing to fear. Somehow she had managed to prove that her family was wrong for distrusting her, and for taking Tom as a bad man when they did not even know him.

"Anyway, before we go to your place, do you mind coming with me to meet a friend?" Tom asked. "Won't take a long time. Just a short meeting."

"Sure. No problem."

"Wonderful. We're not in a hurry, are we?"

"No, not at all."

They both smiled at each other as the car took a turn into a direction that was the complete opposite of Ginny's address.

Still unable to get her eyes off Tom, Ginny suddenly realised how lucky she was to meet him. Perhaps her parents' concern was not baseless at all. How many girls of her age found themselves being stuck with a predator that they met on the internet? Yet here she was, being returned home safely by the man she had only known through their online conversations.

Perhaps she should apologise to her family --and Harry. They were just concerned, after all. Also, imagine the pain they had to go through to find and bring her home.

Moments later, the car moves closer to the direction of a local park. The park was surrounded with dense rows of trees, so thick that it almost become a miniature forest.

There was also a parking lot nearby, where Tom stopped his car. "And this is where we meet him."

Ginny immediately released her seat belt and prepare to get off the car. "So, who is this friend of yours? Someone from school?"

"We met at the foreign affairs office years ago," Tom replied, taking his coat from the back seat. "It's been a while since we last met."

"And you guys are meeting here, so early in the morning?"

"Yeah, we are both morning people."

Both of them got off the car at the same time, and Tom looked slightly surprised when he saw the girl at the other side. "Oh, Ginny. Do you mind bringing your bag with you?"

Ginny was just shutting the door closed. "Oh? Why?"

The man took a deep breath and made a gesture of checking his surroundings. His handsome face looked worried.

The parking lot was quite large and can fit up to more than 15 cars, but theirs was the only one parked there that morning. The street lights also just went out, in preparation for the sunrise, making the atmosphere suddenly felt a bit creepy.

"I'm just not sure if it's safe to leave your belongings in the car."

"But there's no one else around."

Tom nodded knowingly. "Which makes it a perfect crime scene."

Following his logic, Ginny then reopened the car door and took her rucksack out. Tom locked his car as soon as she was ready, then headed to the direction of the trees, with his coat swishing lightly behind. "Follow me."

"I think the path is over there?" Ginny pointed to a little path that seemed to divide the forest into two parts.

"No, we go this way. We're meeting him there."

Even with her tendency to believe in everything that Tom is doing, Ginny thought that the whole idea of this meeting is weird. But it was none of her business, anyway. All that mattered is that she will be home very soon.

So she followed Tom into the park, carefully treading on its ground, for fear that her feet might get stuck on the roots of a tree --or something worse.

Meanwhile, the man seemed very calm. He was walking with his hands in the pocket of his coat, gazing straight ahead, giving the impression that he knows the place well enough already.

"This friend of yours … how is he like?"

"He is a good man. Very hardworking and honest."

Ginny laughed. "It sure takes a lot of hard work just to meet him."

Tom actually smiled at the thought. "Yeah, but we are not far though. I think we can wait in here."

He abruptly stopped at a spot where the trees seemed to be most dense. However, there was a small clearing in the middle of it, where the two of them can lay around comfortably, if they wish to.

"This looks like a nice picnic spot!" Ginny just could not resist.

"Is that so?" Tom mindlessly replied, taking a handkerchief out of his pocket.

"Yes, imagine laying the blanket in here." Ginny walked around the spot, pointing at here and there. "I think we can bring up to four people. Everyone will be able to sit and stretch their feet."

She continued to talk about her imaginary picnic while Tom was doing something with the handkerchief. "This is great because sometimes the heat gets really unbearable in summer, but with all these trees, it will be really breezy …"

"Uh huh …"

"This is amazing, Tom, we should try to make this happen …"

"Anyway, Ginny dear …"

She turned around. "Yes?"

"Please be quiet."

Her eyes widened as he swung his hand into the direction of her face, with his other hand grabbing the back side of her head.

The last thing she saw before everything turned dark was Tom's handkerchief covering her mouth and nose, making it impossible for her to breath.

[break]

Ginny Weasley fell into the ground, but the ground seemed to be disappearing as she was about to touch it.

As her ability to see diminished, her hearings strengthened. She can hear the winds rustling all around her, even the swooshing sound that she made as she continued to fall.

In addition to her hearings, her sense of smell also heightened. She can sense the soil, the leaves, and even the air around her. But suddenly something different passed through her nose. It was sharp and sickening, with a hint of iron that reminded her of monthly pain.

Blood.

Her eyes slowly opened.

Everything from her eyes to her limbs felt extremely heavy; it really took her a great effort just to be able to blink. The first thing she saw was the trees above, shading her from the sun like a rooftop, with some of the leaves falling to cover her body on the ground. She then tried to move her feet and her hands.

And was stunned to find something solid in her right hand.

She turned to the right and noticed the thing that has been in her palm all along. Wincing hard, she tried to pick it up and move it closer to her face.

It was a knife.

Gasping, she threw it away. The girl then tried to lift her body up in panic; her head spinned so wildly she had to press her lips to prevent herself from puking.

Why is there a knife in my hand?

As her stomach easen up, she was finally able to see her surroundings clearly. And she almost jumped again for then she noticed that there was a man lying at her side.

The man had dark skin, an earring on one of his ears, and was wearing a set of dark blue jogging suit. As he lied on the ground, he stared blankly into space ...

And he was completely motionless.

"Sir?" Ginny felt her voice cracking. "Sir, are you …"

She crawled towards his direction with fear engulfing her every being.Once she was able to grab him, she shook him as hard as she could, hoping that he would be awaken.

But she knew that there is no hope in getting him to wake up, for there was a gaping wound right where his heart is.

"Oh, God. Oh, no …"

Suddenly there were new sounds coming in. Starting with hurried footsteps, she heard shouting coming from a distance, and these noises continued to close in on her. She also heard barkings following the noises.

Putting two and two together, Ginny finally realised what kind of trouble she was in when the police surrounded her, demanding her to stand back and lift up her hands.

Meanwhile, at the other side of the city, Tom Riddle put a telephone handset back to its place.

He was standing behind the counter of a small grocery store near his office. His phone battery had drained, but he just saw a robbery nearby and need to call the police as soon as possible. So he asked the kind elderly woman behind the counter if he can borrow their landline phone.

"Thank you very much. You might just saved a life," he said as he walked out of the counter.

"Oh, not at all. We should thank you for taking the initiative to call. Most people nowadays would just watch, you know, with their phones and all!" said the old lady, her eyes widened.

Tom smiled, slipping a few bank notes to the counter. "Also, can I have a pack of mints …"

The old lady gladly gave what he asked for. Soon after, the man walked out of the grocery store with triumphant smile on his face.

He felt deeply satisfied with himself for making such a smart, efficient move to get rid of his competitor --and that little parasite.

Laughing to himself, he continued on walking down the street.

Goodbye, Gin the Catlady.It has been a good one.

Hi everyone.First and foremost, I am sorry that this chapter took WAY longer than I expected to finish. I do not have the right to make any excuses, but let's just say that life happened and writing fanfiction needed to take a back seat for a while.The next thing that I want to say is: THANK YOU. When I gave up on finishing this story, I really never expected to have people sending me messages and asking me to update it.I am humbled by your kindness m-_-mNext chapter: Ginny fought to be free.