A/N: The song used in this chapter is My Immortal by Evanescence. I also, obviously, named this chapter after the title of the song. I got the lyrics courtesy of lyricsmode.
I just want to say to all of my reviewers, every single one, that I read and loved your reviews. Each time I got a new one it was like receiving a gift. I'm so glad you all loved the ending to my last chapter, and I hope this one meets expectations.
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"What did you say to me?!" Lucius roared, raising a hand to strike her.
"Lucius Malfoy!" The Dark Lord rose from his throne and glared his red, slitted eyes at the man, who stopped his hand before it could strike Ginny's face. "She is valuable, you fool! Do not lay a hand on her!" Lucius bowed low to Voldemort and backed away from Ginny with a cold glare.
The Dark Lord descended the steps once more until he stood before Ginny. "Where is the Horcrux, little girl? Tell me, or I will kill your friend."
Ginny glared at him, her thoughts whirling. "It's at Number 12 Grimmauld Place. That's where the Order-"
"You lie!" hissed the Dark Lord, whipping out his wand and pointing it between her eyes. "My Death Eaters destroyed that place a year ago!"
"Then I don't know where it is!" Ginny yelled back, her face defiant, trying to sum up the courage her House was famed for. Instead, all she felt was fear, fear threatening to overwhelm her, making her heart race, her head woozy, her stomach sick.
The Dark Lord smiled, his disfigured, lip-less mouth turning up. "We'll just have to see about that." He grabbed her by the head and suddenly it felt as if he was reaching his hand into her brain, into her mind, rummaging around with his icy hand. The feeling was much stronger than it had been before, for it was almost as if she could physically feel him searching through her memories and thoughts for what he wanted, his power like an icy vice making her head numb. Unwanted memories flashed before her of her home being invaded, her parents murdered, her mother raped. The Death Eaters heard her cry out, they were pulling up the floorboards, leering at her. The memory changed. She was completing the ceremony with Dumbledore, feeling as her voice was literally pulled right out of her throat. Ginny changed the course of her thoughts as quickly as she could, so as to not let him see. But she had no control where they went. Ginny was in the Chamber now with Tom, he was stroking her face, trying to calm the little girl. A few months later she looked at herself in the mirror and screamed when she saw his face over her shoulder. More memories, flashing faster and faster, and there he was, in all of them, her personal ghost haunting her, following her everywhere, seen only by her.
Ginny fell back with a scream as Voldemort let go of her, his presence leaving slowly, thawing her mind and returning her thoughts to normal. He stared at her for a long time before speaking. "There is no Horcrux."
She laughed giddily, insanely, and shook her head, tears slipping out of her eyes. "No. I am the Horcrux now." Gasps resounded throughout the room. "When the diary was destroyed, Tom's soul was already a part of mine. He used me as his new vessel. He has been with me ever since."
"And do you know how to free him?" Ginny shivered, acutely aware that she was having a conversation with the most horrendous Dark Lord in all of history, and he wasn't trying to kill her. Yet.
"Of course." She closed her eyes, leaning her head against the basin. Tom was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps he had faded out of sight because of weakness, or perhaps he did not want Voldemort to invade her thoughts and hear him speaking.
"Tell me!" Voldemort grabbed her by the chin, glaring at her, his wand again at her throat.
She stared him in his glowing red eyes. "No."
The stinging pain of a slap throbbed on her cheek while the sound reverberated throughout the room. "Tell me or I'll get the answer from your mind, and I know you don't find that pleasant."
Ginny shuddered at the thought of him invading her mind once more. "Magic. Old magic. I have to want to release him." She shook her head. "You can torture me all you like…but I am the only one who can free him. And I won't."
"You will! With motivation!" He turned to Alex, pointing his wand at her. "Crucio!"
"No!" Ginny closed her eyes and covered her ears, trying to block out the sound of her friend's screaming. Shuddering sobs left her as she was forced to open her eyes, to watch the woman writhing and twisting on the ground in pain. Voldemort held her under the spell for a long time before finally letting her go, and she continued to twitch from the aftereffects.
Ginny crawled towards her friend weakly and lifted her head off of the ground. It was bleeding from the impact of the spell smacking it against the marble. Alex tried to smile up at her, but it was weak and frail. "G…Ginny," she whispered, her voice hoarse from screaming. She lifted a hand to Ginny's face. "I…I love you. I always have." And then suddenly her hand fell away and her eyes rolled back into her head.
No. No, this couldn't be happening. It wasn't real. Ginny had seen so many people die, so many, she knew what death looked like, but it just couldn't be. Alex was strong, stronger than Ginny, stronger than anybody she had ever known. Suddenly Alex's face was wet. Was she crying? No. It was Ginny. She was weeping. But why? Her friend was fine. Her friend wasn't dead. She wasn't dead!
"Alex?!" Her voice sounded foreign to her ears. The voice of somebody who had just lost a loved one. "Alex?!" No. But Alex was fine. She wasn't dead. She couldn't be. Ginny shook her, but her eyes just rolled around. She leaned her head over, trying to listen for breath, but there was none. "Alex!"
Ginny cradled her friend in her arms, tears flooding down her face like a waterfall. Why?! Why damnit?! She would have said! She would have spoken! But he didn't have to kill her! If Ginny had known he would have killed her, she would have released Tom! She would have told them everything they wanted!
Ginny's fingertips rested on the eyelids and she pulled them shut. So beautiful. Alex was so beautiful. She always had been. And she was still warm. If her heart had been beating, Ginny would have thought she was still alive. But nobody was strong enough to live through one of Voldemort's curses, at least not for that long. But Alex was invincible. She was infallible. Wasn't she? "I love you. I love you, Alex."
Sobs racked her body so hard that her chest started to hurt. She couldn't breathe because of the tears running into her mouth, making her throat sticky. Ginny felt she would be sick, but she couldn't defile Alex's precious, beautiful body that way. She leaned over, her lips pressing against her friend's warm ones. Why she did it she didn't know, but it just felt the right thing to do. "I'm so sorry. Please…please forgive me," she whispered. Ginny unclasped the cloak and laid it over her friends body, carefully covering her head.
And then suddenly she was up, but not of her own accord. Her legs were unable to move, her body frozen in shock. Voldemort was before her and Lucius, that must have been it, was holding her up by her hair. "Now tell me!"
Ginny looked into his eyes, unafraid. She laughed manically and shook her head with a little smile. "You have nothing left to threaten me with. I don't care about my life."
"Don't I? Lucius! Where is your traitorous son?!"
"Right here, My Lord. Draco!" Ginny looked to her left, looked and saw Draco struggling against two Death Eaters, his face bruised and bloody, his clothes torn. He fought strongly but they were stronger as they threw him to his knees before Voldemort. "I am sure you would tell us if we threatened to do the same to your boyfriend, here."
"Draco?" Ginny stared in horror. What had they done to him? One of his eyes was so bruised it was closed shut. His usually pristine, beautiful hair was sticky with blood. His arm looked broken; she could see the white bone sticking out of the bloody flesh, making her wince. He was a mess with an assortment of bruises all along his body. And those were just his physical injuries. There was no telling his magical ones. "Lucius…your own…son."
"He is no son of mine!" screamed the man behind her, holding her up. He shook her for good measure. "He is a traitor! He helped my slave to escape, and then tried to escape with you! He has fallen in love with the enemy, and so he will be rightly punished until his last breath! Now tell the Dark Lord what he wants to know, or that will be sooner than I had planned!"
"No! No, don't hurt him!" Ginny screamed and Voldemort lifted his wand and pointed it at Draco. "I'll tell you. I'll free him. I'll free Tom. Just please, don't hurt Draco!" She took a shuddering breath, the next words spilling out of her mouth in a rush. "I have to perform a ceremony. Have to say the incantation. Have to release him from my soul. Then he will be free." Ginny closed her eyes. Please forgive me, Alex. Please forgive me.
"Then do it!" hissed the Dark Lord impatiently.
"I will…but you must meet my…and his…conditions." Ginny lifted her chin defiantly. She had the control now. The ball was in her court.
"And what, precisely, are those?" He looked irate, but she didn't care.
"Yes, what are those, Ginevra?" Tom's voice was back, though she couldn't see him. "Finally starting to act like a true Slytherin, are you? I'm proud."
You must agree to this as well, or you shall never be free, no matter what they do to Draco and I. "You must promise not to kill Draco or me. That is all."
"And why, pray tell, should I agree to this?" Lord Voldemort narrowed his already slitted eyes at her.
"Because…because Tom wants me…as his…his…" Ginny closed her eyes, trying to force the word out. "Mistress. And because as his mistress, I demand that Draco not be killed."
"How very interesting." Ginny could practically hear Tom sneering.
Do you agree?
"I do. I never intended to kill you anyway, my dear. And I suppose if the boy must live, then I can still torture him."
Just don't kill him.
"As you wish. You are too pure of heart, Ginevra."
She repeated her question to Voldemort, who grudgingly agreed, though whether he would keep his word was unknown. "Let her go, Lucius."
Ginny dropped to the floor like a lead weight and lay there for a moment, too tired to get up. Finally she rose, with the help of the basin, and glanced at Alex's dead body, then Draco's broken one. "I'm sorry," she whispered to no one in particular. Ginny stepped into the center of the room and the crowd of Death Eaters backed away, still gossiping. She lifted her head to the ceiling, staring up at the chandelier, remembering how she had danced under it with Alex.
"What is taking so long?!" hissed Lucius in annoyance.
"Silence!" Voldemort commanded, turning his attention back to Ginny. She spread her arms wide and began to chant as her eyelids fluttered closed. The language was foreign, even to her, but she knew the meanings of these words in this archaic language, and that gave them power. Ginny fed them all of her power, every ounce of it, letting it consume her magic. A welcoming warmth spread over her body and a light seemed to fill the room and, opening her eyes, Ginny realized it was coming from her. Not only that, she realized she was levitating off the ground by a few feet. For a frightened moment she began to drop but she could hear Dumbledore's voice in her mind. "You must focus, Ginny. Old magic doesn't use spells or potions or scrolls. It uses the magic deep within your heart, within your soul. It is about willpower. And focus. Focus is key."
Focus. She repeated the word in her mind as she repeated the chant out loud, the words leaving her lips without any thought. Her mouth moved of its own accord and her voice grew stronger, finally starting to lose that hoarse edge that came from lack of use. The words echoed around her, forming into archaic letters and symbols as they left her mouth, glowing with a light of their own, circling and spinning around her. All she could hear was the sound of her voice multiplied in her ears, echoing through the hall, all she could see were the symbols dancing around her, the chandelier lowering towards her. All she could feel was her body lifting, getting warmer, until it was almost unbearably hot, her dress billowing behind her, even though there was no wind to make it so. All she could smell was fire burning in her, for that was her magic, that was her core, her soul. Fire consumed her, became her, fed her. Her hair caught on fire, no, it was fire, burning on the top of her head. All she could taste were those hot letters on her tongue, the taste of her voice echoing in the hollow cavity of her mouth.
And then suddenly the fire became unbearably hot. She screamed in pain, unable to chant, but the words, the symbols and letters, continued to twirl like a tornado, faster and faster, blending into one spinning blaze of fire. Ginny screamed and screamed and screamed. It felt as though her soul were being ripped in two, a part of her trying to claw its way out of her chest. Her monster was finally loose, the monster that had threatened to claw its way up for all those years, was finally being set free from its cage of ribs. The agony was horrendous and she watched in a horrified trance as Tom's soul clawed its way out of her chest, inky darkness, for that was his magic, his essence, leaving her fiery soul. He continued to claw, the light growing brighter, even as he grew darker, and she screamed again and arched her back as she was ripped apart from the inside and suddenly he was gone and she was falling to floor and the last thing she saw was Tom, standing in all his naked glory, drifting to the ground beside her, flesh and bone. Alive. Tom Riddle was alive.
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Tom blinked in the sudden light, wincing at how overwhelmed his senses were. As a ghost, the five senses were greatly muffled. Seeing was like looking through a dirty window. Hearing was as if listening underwater. Taste and smell were practically nonexistent. And touch, the only touch he had received in the past five years of being trapped in Ginevra's body was her touch alone, and before that he was in a diary, with no one and nothing to awaken and refresh his senses. And now, abruptly, all of his senses were reawakened with no warning. The change was immediate, there was nothing gradual about it, and so it was also intensely painful. He supposed having what little piece of soul belonged to you ripped from its only source of power for the past five years could do that to a man.
But he stood quickly, feeling the eyes on him, the voices around him. Tom stared at his hands, at his arms, at his entire body. It was exactly the same as he had remembered it, nude, naturally, for souls had no need for clothing, and still young and powerful. Power. He could feel it coursing through his veins, running through his body. His dark magic finally had its own shell-he no longer had to share a body with Ginevra, overwhelmed by her fiery core. No, now he had a body and a means to channel his magic, and it was beautiful, absolutely beautiful. Tom lifted his arms above his head and screamed as loudly as he could, so loud it made his voice hurt and many people wince, and he reveled I the way his chest vibrated, he way he affected the air, the way people could see and hear him, the way his power reverberated off of the ceiling and walls, making the chandelier shake.
He was mad with the power coursing through his veins. He had spent years in Ginevra's body, studying old magic. At first it had been an attempt to escape from Ginevra, but then it had become something more. With old magic, frivolities such as wands and bodies were unnecessary. The magic came from within. And he had practiced and stored it up for five years, learning how to manipulate the mind, dreams, and emotions of another human being. Manipulating inanimate objects such as a chandelier now were child's play.
He grinned triumphantly around him before his eyes landed on Voldemort. The man disgusted him with his unnaturally pale skin, deformed features, red slits for eyes, lip-less mouth, and practically nonexistent nose. Was that honestly what Tom would become one day? Not if he could help it. He walked towards the man, the action coming easy to him, and smirked, raising his hand up.
Tom grinned manically as Voldemort, fear and wonder written on his face, an expression that was surely new to him, rose up out of his throne with Tom's hand. "You are pathetic. I truly must apologize, Your Majesty, but it appears I will be taking the throne as the Dark Lord now." And with that Tom crushed the man's feeble throat in a vice like grip, despite the fact he was not even touching him. Tom threw him to the floor with a simple sweep of his hand.
The Death Eaters were in a shocked silence, and so Tom ignored them as he glanced around for Ginevra. She was unconscious on the floor, her soaking wet crimson hair fanned out around her. His eyes trailed down the body he knew so well, observing the way her wet dress stuck to her breasts and hips and legs. Tom ignored the cries of surprise from the women in the crowd as they stared at his nakedness which became very excited as he stepped towards Ginevra, rising her up as he did the Dark Lord with just the lift of his hand. She floated towards him until she lay in the air before him, her dress and arms and hair hanging down below her limp body. Tom frowned at the dress. It was wholly inappropriate for his future queen and mistress. He ran his hands along her body, watching as the wet white cotton changed to a dry, silky material. When he was done she wore a deep green dress that trailed past her ankles. Her voluptuous chest was even more eye-catching with the tight green corset laced up the back wrapped around it. Tom smiled as her eyelids fluttered but didn't quite open. "You're red hair goes beautifully with green, Ginevra. You would have made a fine Slytherin" He carried her to his throne and sat her in it, her head rolling to one side, before he turned to his new followers and army.
"Well?! Aren't any of you going to offer the new Dark Lord a robe to wear?!" His question was met with silence. "Come now, why does nobody speak? I am your new Lord Voldemort, and I demand that you bring me clothes!"
One of the Death Eaters removed her mask and kneeled beside Voldemort's dead body, her eyes wide. "You-you killed him. You killed him! My Lord!" Bellatrix Lestrange held the corpse to her chest, weeping, before she looked up, her eyes flashing in rage. "I will kill you now!" She whipped out her wand, running at Tom, the Killing Curse leaving her lips, but a simple flick of his wrist sent her flying into the far wall, where her neck snapped against the hard marble.
"Now, let that foolish woman's behavior be a lesson to you. I have dethroned Voldemort, but I am Voldemort. I am his former self, and I am much smarter, stronger, younger, and more powerful than that fool ever was. And if anyone, anyone, has an objection to that, step forward now!" Again he was greeted with silence. He lifted his chin as his eyes roamed over the crowd. "That's what I thought. Now bring me some clothes!"
Lucius was before him in an instant, taking off his robe and presenting it to Tom with a deep bow. Tom snatched it from him, lifting an eyebrow at the coarse, plain material. With a sigh it changed into a rich, deep green velvet robe, and he threw it around his shoulders, clasping it. "Very well. That will have to do. Now…aren't you all going to bow to your new master?!"
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Ginny's eyes opened slowly as she tried to ignore the spinning in her head and the nausea in her stomach. The room spun as she had the distinct impression of sitting up in a comfortable chair. Had someone moved her? How long ago had she passed out? But it didn't feel as if a long amount of time had passed, yet, she observed subconciously, her clothing had been changed. And she realized, as she sat up and stared in wonder, that not much time had passed. Not much indeed. But that a lot had happened.
Before her Tom stood in nothing but an open green robe, looking regal as a king. All around him Death Eaters took off their masks and hoods and kneeled and bowed their heads. As she sat up more, Ginny's eyes took in a dead Voldemort lying on the floor, his pale throat covered in blood, his windpipe crushed, an equally bloody Bellatrix Lestrange on the far wall, and Draco, unmoving, his eyes never straying from Ginny, despite all that went on around him. Ginny caught his eyes with hers and his hard, angry look suddenly softened when he saw she was conscious and unharmed.
"Ahh, I see you are awake, Ginevra." Ginny looked up at her name to find Tom gazing at her with a smirk on his face. She nodded silently, unable to speak. She stared as her worst fear walked and talked and breathed and ruled. He stepped towards her and she sank back, but there was nowhere to go as she suddenly realized she was in Voldemort's throne, now Tom's. He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her up, as if showing her off to the Death Eaters. "May I present to you all…Ginevra, my future Dark Queen. You will show her the same respect you show me, for soon she shall rule by my side."
Ginny's heart stopped and she stared in panic at the Death Eaters bowing low to her as well. She shook her head and tried to step away from Tom, but he was incredibly strong, especially for having just revived his body. "Now now, Ginevra, do not be shy. Your people want to hear from you." He came behind her, an arm on her shoulder, stroking it with what might have been considered romantic or calming caresses, but they only made her shiver in fear. "Why don't you sing for them, love?"
Ginny looked away from him, disgust written on her face. He was showing her off. This was all a game to him, some sort of sick, twisted fun. Well, she wasn't going to play. "No," Ginny answered bluntly.
"Tsk, tsk, Ginevra. You would not want me to hurt your love, would you?" His eyes snapped over to Draco and he smiled cruelly.
"No! You promised not to-"
"I promised not to kill him. I said nothing about torturing." He lifted his hand to Draco and Ginny could feel his dark magic flowing off of him in waves, striking the boy on the floor. Draco began to scream in agony and writhe on the cold marble, and she knew the pain, from his reaction, was worse than any Cruciatus.
"Stop!" she screamed, picking up her skirts and running towards him. Ginny kneeled down before Draco, taking his face in her hands, thankful when she no longer felt the powerful magic bearing down on him. "Just don't hurt him!"
"Then do as I command you, Ginevra!" Ginny winced at Tom's harsh voice and looked into Draco's eyes, into those mercury orbs she had come to know and love. They looked back at her in defiant pain.
"Draco…"
"Don't do it Ginny," he whispered hoarsely, coughing up blood. Ginny stoked his face in her hands and he closed his eyes, sighing contently. "You can't let him control you."
"It's just…it's just singing," she whispered, though they both knew that wasn't true.
Draco shook his head, wincing in pain. "No. It's about control, Ginny. It's about power. You can't give in to him. Right now that's all it is, but you heard him. He'll make you marry him. He'll…he'll ra-" He saw Ginny shudder at the word that almost left his lips so he stopped short. "He'll hurt you Ginny. He'll make you do things you don't want to."
She shook her head and leaned down, kissing him on the forehead. "Draco…I…I…" She what? She wasn't sure. Ginny didn't know how to voice what was going on right now, what was happening to her. She didn't know how to explain these emotions, these feelings for him. He was her friend, she wanted to protect him, but it was so much more than that. Instead she stood and turned to Tom, her head bowed low in defeat. "I will do whatever you wish of me, Tom."
"Master, Ginevra. I am your master now, and you will call me Master." Ginny's head whipped up and she glared angrily at his cold, arrogant smirk.
"Master," she gritted out between her teeth. He beckoned her forward and she followed, walking up the steps to his throne where he lounged out, unashamed of his open robes revealing his nudity.
"Now sing for us, Ginevra. Sing for me." Tom caught her gaze and music began to play on the piano. "Interesting choice, love." She did not bother to hide her surprise. How could he still hear her thoughts, still speak in her mind? Ginny had never heard of Legilimency like this before. "Ginevra, just because I have my own body now, does not mean our connection has severed. Our souls were intertwined for so long. I believe they will be forever. Now sing!"
Ginny turned towards the crowd of Death Eaters, closing her eyes and humming along with the music. Could she even sing, after just now getting her voice back? It was no longer a question of her thoughts or feelings. Tom owned her now, he was her master, dangling the threat of Draco's pain over her head, and she knew she could not resist him when he threatened her so. But she was not sure if her weak throat could hold out throughout an entire song. But voicing her worries to Tom would make no difference, so instead she closed her eyes and set her voice free.
I'm so tired of being here
Suppressed by all my childish fears
And if you have to leave
I wish that you would just leave
'Cause your presence still lingers here
And it won't leave me alone
Ginny's eyes strayed to her friend's lifeless, unmoving body on the ground. The truth of it had yet to sink in. How could she die so simply, so easily, without a fight? Alex was the type of woman who would only go down kicking and screaming, though in a sick way that was exactly what happened. Yet, she was murdered by a simple curse, the deed taking no more than five minutes. Five minutes for her body to give out and the life to leave her. Just five minutes, the blink of an eye, and she was gone. How? How?!
These wounds won't seem to heal
This pain is just too real
There's just too much that time cannot erase
When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears
When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears
And I held your hand through all of these years
But you still have
All of me
Ginny glanced out of the corner of her eye to Tom as he stood and began to circle around her. She steadied her voice and continued singing, trying to ignore the stinging of tears forming in her eyes. Her voice became suddenly bitter and harsh as she glared at him, though the cold, hateful words only made him smirk in admiration and amusement.
You used to captivate me
By your resonating light
Now I'm bound by the life you left behind
Your face it haunts
My once pleasant dreams
Your voice it chased away
All the sanity in me
These wounds won't seem to heal
This pain is just too real
There's just too much that time cannot erase
When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears
When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears
And I held your hand through all of these years
But you still have
All of me
Her voice ascended and she closed her eyes, trying to ignore the way Tom's hands roamed along her body as if he owned her, trying to ignore the shame burning in her as Death Eaters watched the performance with stunned faces, trying to ignore Draco's ussually cold eyes glaring angrily, burning holes in Tom's soul. She let her love and hate for Tom consume and feed the music.
I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone
But though you're still with me
I've been alone all along
Ginny's chest heaved as she fought to catch her breath, eyes roaming the crowd. Her dark brown eyes locked with Draco's mercury ones, and she found herself unable to look away. He looked so battered, so hopeless and defeated, but still the rage burned in his heart. How could he have the strength to continue hating, to continue fighting, after all that had happened? Ginny herself was a jumbled mess of confusing emotions, some of them hate, some of them pain, some of them...love? She loved Draco just as much as she loved Alex, yet her love for him was different.
The impact of the truth hit her like a bludger to the stomach, and she heard Tom's hiss of anger and felt his painfully tight grip on her shoulders before she had even completed the thought. Ginny didn't just love Draco, she was in love with him.
When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears
When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears
And I held your hand through all of these years
But you still have
All of me
Ginny's voice died and there was a stunned silence left in her wake. Suddenly, quiet, surprised clapping filled the room, most likely courtesy of Tom's glare threatening death to those who did not clap politely. She reveled in her small victory. They would never know she had sung them a Muggle song.