Ginny was in the Chamber, walking with Tom. She was so happy to see him that she'd cried when she'd first seen him. He was happy to see her, and Ginny hugged him as tightly as she possibly could.

To her shock, he shoved her away and hissed, "You were told not to hug me anymore, Estella."

"But that wasn't you," she replied in her sleep, "that was—no, it can't be!"

The dark-haired boy stared deep into her eyes. "Potter killed your friend Riddle, and I am yet alive."

Ginny began to scream. "I won't believe it!" she screamed, tears streaming down her face. "No, I want Tom! He—he loves me!"

"You stupid child," hissed the evil Tom. "He never loved you." He took Ginny by the arms and shook her hard. "Listen to me, little girl. He just wanted to trick you into believing he did so that you'd help him get out of the journal that I'd confined him in."

Refusing to reply, Ginny sobbed hopelessly and leaned her head against the Chamber wall. "Stubborness is soon corrected in my followers," said the evil Tom. "Crucio!"

Ginny fell to the ground, screaming and sobbing in agony.

"Estella! Estella!" the voices cut through Ginny's pain. "Wake up! I didn't know she could scream so loud, did you?"

Obey me, taunted the Tom in Ginny's dream. I won't let up the curse until you obey.

"I won't!" Ginny screamed, and the girls jumped back from her bed. "Oh, oh, ahhhhh!"

"Somebody silence her," begged Reya, who was sitting on her bed with her hands over her ears.

Brianna and Samantha jumped up on Ginny's bed and shook Ginny. "Estella Parkington, wake up! You are having a bad dream! Wake up!"

"I want Tom," Ginny sobbed. "I want him! He does love me; I know he does."

"Yes, he does," Brianna soothed Ginny. "He does. And he wouldn't want you to be all hysterical, though, I think."

A scream from Ginny shattered the stillness and Reya dove under her blankets. "No, stop! STOP! It hurts, Tom, oh, it hurts!" screamed Ginny, tears streaming down her face. She writhed under her blankets.

The girls looked at each other and Megan placed a Quieting Charm on Ginny, her screams now normal voice level. "What do you think he's doing to her?" Guage asked. "She seems to be in agony."

"Do you think he's cruciating her again?" Samantha wondered in horror.

"Probably," commented Megan just as Ginny's body shuddered.

A sob came from Ginny, and she choked, "Tom, what are you doing? Tom, sto—no, Tom, don't hurt me again! NO!"

Ginny's arms flailed, and the twins jumped off the bed so she wouldn't hit them. A heartbroken sob came from Ginny, and she screamed, "Help! HELP ME!" Suddenly, her begging and pleading stopped, but she kept sobbing, her wrists still appearing to be bound together. "Mum," sobbed Ginny, "he was going to kill me!"

The five Slytherin girls looked at each other, the twins infuriated. "I hate him," Brianna ground out.

Suddenly, Ginny sat up and stared at them, her face pale and streaked with tears. "Mummy," she sobbed, but then saw the girls. "What—where am I?"

"You're in the Slytherin girls' dorm," Guage replied gently. "Safe. It was just a dream."

Ginny collapsed into her cousin's arms and wept in relief. "It's okay, Ginny," Brianna soothed her. "Tom will never hurt you again."

"He wasn't the one," sobbed Ginny, barely able to get one word out. "It was his cousin in Tom's body. He tortured me again! He tried to kill me, but Mum came," began Ginny, sobbing heartbrokenly. "No, she wasn't my mum. Well, in the dream she was. Oh, that must have been my real mum. I woke up when ."

The girls put their arms around Ginny. "We're sorry," Samantha whispered. "We tried to wake you, but you wouldn't wake."

"It's going to be all right," Brianna murmured.

Ginny sniffed, trying to stop her tears. "I was terrified," she whispered. "I've never felt so helpless, and I knew that he was going to hurt me very badly. He tortured me first, and then decided that since I couldn't be of help to him anymore, he'd—" She sobbed and hid her face in Brianna's robes.

"It's okay, Estella," Guage said.

"I miss Tom," sobbed Ginny. "I want him back! I need him!" She continued weeping and crying, "I need him" over and over again.

Brianna kept her arm around Ginny's shoulders until Ginny became quiet. "Ah, it's 5 o' clock in the morning," Megan told Ginny. "If we go now, we can beat the Ravenclaws to the best seats in the library, and still bypass any of your family that we see—if you want to stay as Estella."

Ginny grinned. "Of course."

On the train home, Ginny sat in the compartment with Fred, George, Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Percy (the up-himself prat) was in the prefect compartment. Even better, Ginny thought to herself. I can tell them about his girlfriend.

Her eyes dancing, Ginny told the five others, "I—I caught Percy snogging his girlfriend in a classroom in the middle of the night. That's why Percy chased me away from you two [she motioned to Harry and Ron] when I was about to tell you about the Chamber."

Fred and George caught Ginny's excitement, and grinned widely. "That's wonderful, Ginny," Fred said, and George winked at her wickedly.

"You won't tease him, will you?" Ginny asked, her sarcasm lost on them.

"Of course not," the twins replied, looking offended. "What do you take us for?"

Ginny smiled, then curled up against the side of the car, looking out the window. I miss you, Tom, she sighed to herself, trying not to burst into tears again. A tear slid down her cheek unheeded, and Granger looked directly at her and asked, "Are you all right?"

She nearly exploded at Granger, but snapped, "I'm perfectly fine!" Stupid Gryffindors with no subtlety!

Ron looked concerned. "Are you sure?" he asked, and Ginny nodded.

Everyone was watching her as if they were waiting for her to explode. "Of course I'm all right," she said in a low tone. "I just want to be left alone. And I guess I can't expect you all not to meddle. Sorry, Fred, George, I don't include you in that."

The twins nodded at her, but Ron was annoyed. "We don't want you to withdraw yourself and almost get killed again," he told her.

Ginny jumped to her feet. "I'm not going to!" she half-shouted at her brother. "And I'm not staying here: I'm going to find my friends!" She stormed away to the Slytherin compartments to find the first year girls.

She found them—in the same compartment with the Malfoy boy. She debated whether to stay, and remembered that Tom had told her that her Parselmouth abilities made her better than Draco. Eh, maybe not better. I rather like Draco. And anyway, I'm not letting some blonde kid keep me from my friends.

Ginny hurried into the compartment and sat down between Megan and Brianna. Draco raised an eyebrow at her, and Ginny just watched him, inwardly laughing with glee.

"Well, Weasley," drawled Draco, "what brings you over here? Do you identify with the Heir of Slytherin now?"

Smiling, Ginny replied, "Yes, I do." Crabbe and Goyle spit out their chocolate frogs and Draco shot both of them a disgusted look. "I should tell you the whole story, but it would take way too long," she sighed, "but the Heir of Slytherin is actually not the same person who tried to kill me."

"Who was it then?" Draco asked with a smirk.

"It was the Heir's cousin," Ginny sighed. "And you can ask any of the first year Slytherin girls: they know the whole story. Don't say anything to my family—but I'm sure you wouldn't anyway."

Draco scowled. "Of course not, Weasley."

"And I know you can barely believe that I'm speaking to you civilly, but I am," Ginny said quickly. "The girls are my friends, and they have my full permission to tell you." She shot a dirty look at Crabbe and Goyle. "But don't tell his goons," she grinned.

Crabbe and Goyle did not get it, and just looked at Ginny stupidly. She laughed and turned to her friends, letting Draco think about what she'd said. Ginny couldn't wait to get home.