[a/n0]Wish I could thumbs up a couple of #57's reviews
[a/n]idea credit Slytherin66 what if someone had noticed and helped Ginny that would have had a huge impact
Harry Does Different CCCVIII
Harry v Tom & Ginny
"Throwing that diary in the loo was stupid!" Ginny was scolding herself "Now where could the stupid thing even be? I've got to find it! Oh Tom! I miss you so much!" Gryffindor Tower was empty "Only place I haven't checked is the boys' dorm." And the shade of Tom enabled her to get past the sex-based wards.
Abcij
Far from the beginnings of mayhem the Gryffindor second years were heading from History of Magic to The Great Hall for lunch. Pausing near the Great Tower Hermione announced "I am going to swap out my books."
"Nah. I'm hungry. Come on Nev, Harry, Dean, Lav? Let's go eat." Ron nudged several of their Housemates along the corridor, but nevertheless a few agreed.
Including, in this case Harry "I see her point. Never know when Snape's going to pull one of his '…infusion of wormwood' quizzes.
Hermione wanted to both beam in delight at Harry for his foresightedness and frown at him for criticizing an authority figure. But she was pleased with a studious attitude. She encouraged "Go on up, I'll wait. I already have my Potions textbook with me."
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"They been messy but McGonagall would have a fit if she saw this mess." Harry was gloating as he climbed the Gryffindor tower. The place was setup with a certain hierarchy. You had to climb longer the younger you were. So Harry saw all the messes as he passed, then he got to the Second Year dorm which was in the process of being ripped to shreds. At the specific moment he entered, the lid of his trunk slapped him in the chest. No particular damage except it tossed him out of the room, he ran back in as soon as he could breathe again. The sight fairly shocked him, he wheezed at who was assaulting his trunk "Ginny!"
"Potter! Stole me!" a red-eyed furious girl snarled at the discovery of her burglarizing the dorm.
Something Harry pointed out "Hey! You're the one where you don't belong!" near the end of that sentence he dodged a red spell that ripped apart several of Dean's class robes and all of his casual wear. Moments later, a second red ball hit him and he cried out in agony, but it didn't last long.
"Curse this brat's weakling body!" hissed Ginny "Can't even cast a proper curse! Kill you the Muggle way Potter!" And she pounced on him.
Each preteen had some advantages, Ginny hadn't suffered under a Cruciatus. But Harry was an athlete and enraged, also he wasn't being drained by the effect of partial possession. Once the fight turned his way and some of his fury faded, he'd sated much of his rage by snapping her wand, he staggered down the tower seeking help.
"Harry! My God!" it was Hermione at the base of the tower who he first encountered "You look like you fought Quirrell all over again!"
He shook his head, panting "Gin…ny…tacked me." He was also bleeding from his forehead and favoring his ribs.
"Girls aren't allowed in boys dorms." She pointed out adding "And the wards will not let you or us go - -"
He cut her off "Mione …think you…get Pomfrey…details later?" the last word weren't really spoken as Harry was in the middle of falling over.
Abcij
"GEROFF!" Harry lurched out of bed fighting, or more accurately, tried to.
Poppy Pomfrey had long years of experience of youngsters waking up in her hospital. Her spells were calibrated to the second when a witch or wizard would waken. Further, the Mediwitch knew all her charges' most likely responses. So this particular patient had a gravity intensifying spell dealing with any possible rebelliousness. She pressed a potion bottle to the boy's lips and upended it lecturing "Now Potter, you can either argue with your Healer and spend seven days here. Or obey me and be out in two."
"I need to talk to Professor Dumbledore." Harry sagged back into the pillow, just barely able to move.
She scolded him "ONLY when I decide."
"Poppy I wonder if I might have a word with your patient?" asked the Headmaster.
The Mediwitch gave her patient a stern look, then a protest to her boss "I'm staying. Potter shows the slightest sign of relapse or stress and I'll force feed a dreamless sleep that'll keep him out for the next three days."
"Ginny had red eyes!" was Harry's first worried report "And she was after a diary I'd found. The name was T.M Riddle!"
Dumbledore held up a hand "This is important, Poppy. Are you quite certain dear boy?"
"And she threw a real nasty curse at me." Harry went on "Red, maybe purple, and it felt like my whole body was on fire. Pulling me apart cell by cell."
He looked at the Mediwitch "Not to overlap your field Poppy, but I believe young Harry would benefit from a Cruciatus potion. Now while you and Miss Weasley did a certain physical damage to each other, I think was perhaps for the best. Harry see your way clear not to hold a grudge against Ginevra. Now, if you will excuse me, I have some rather dark magic to contend with."
Abcij
"Good morning Harry." The soft voice of Ginny Weasley brought him to full wakefulness "I wanted to be the first to tell you … and thank you… and apologize."
Harry was surrounded by redheads, some smiling, some…not so much. "What happened? And what happened to your tooth?"
"Ahh, picked that up did you?" despite the sour expression of a couple of the aforementioned redheads, hers was light "Madam Pomfrey offered to fix it, naturally. I told her no. Kind of a fair trade for my soul. That diary, Harry… it belonged to Voldemort- -"
Harry remembered the woman as Mrs. Weasley, nudging her "GINEVRA! Don't use that word!"
"Mum! Didn't you hear Professor Dumbledore?" the young witch shot back blushing slightly "I fought him for months! If anyone's earned the right to use the name it's me!"
Harry gestured wildly and snapped impatiently "Back to the story please!"
"Professor Dumbledore didn't have a name for it." Said Ginny "But it was REAL dark. Tom Riddle became Voldemort" she briefly locked eyes in a battle of wills with her mother before resuming the narrative "The thing was slowly taking me over, becoming stronger. I threw it away, but the compulsion to get it back was overwhelming. That's what happened in the Tower with the fight. Professor Dumbledore destroyed it, breaking me free … thanks to you. So, even if you didn't understand what was going on and even if you punched me in the mouth and threw my wand out the Tower window. Thank you Harry." She leaned over and kissed his cheek.
Mrs. Weasley did as well, followed by a teary handshake from Mr. Weasley. Ron and George quickly did as well. In a rare split Fred joined Percy being most sullen in offering barely grudging acknowledgement.
