Previously on 'The Redemption'... Things are made official between Cho and Tom, Tom fees a little jealous of her new friend and Cho makes it clear that she's not going to be a walking/talking doormat...

Chapter 19- The Weight of Living

Christmas morning dawned bright and early, the sun's rays streaming in through the paned glass windows of Ravenclaw tower. Inside one of the dormitories, a black haired girl sat on the edge of her bed with a small pile of presents on her lap with the wrapping paper strewn all over her bed. For Christmas she had received gifts from Henry, Sarah, Lucinda, Arlene and surprisingly, Quentin. Henry had given her a pair of earrings; Arlene had gotten her a purple scarf despite promising that she wouldn't get her anything, and her dormitory friends had gotten her an assortment of goods from Honeydukes. Quentin had bought her a muggle literature book and from Tom, she received a letter that she was currently holding.

"Cho,

Meet me at the north courtyard at 11:00 AM

T. Riddle"

Giving a quick flourish of her wand, Cho made the wrapping paper on her bed disappear before she shrugged a jacket on. Satisfied that the folded note was still in the pocket of her jacket, Cho exited her room to meet Tom.

Cho hurriedly made her way to the courtyard, passing through stone arches and pillars that she knew better than the back of her own hand. Glancing at her watch, she realised she was still 20 minutes early but deciding to sit it out lest she get distracted elsewhere. Brushing the frost off the side of the fountain, she perched precariously whilst looking at her surroundings.

She was just watching a flock of owls that swooped overhead when she saw a silvery shadow in the peripherals of her vision. Looking more closely, Cho realised that it was Ravenclaw's ghost – The Grey Lady. She floated inches above the surface of the ground, her silky gown trailing after her as she glided smoothly. Even back in her day the Grey Lady had been extremely private and sensitive towards certain subjects including her heritage. The only people Cho knew that had even tried to associate with her was Luna Lovegood and Harry when he tried to find one of the horcruxes.

The horcruxes.

Of course! How had she not thought of this before?

Hoping that Tom would somehow be late to their rendezvous, Cho sprung up from her seat and followed Ravenclaw's ghost with harried footsteps.

"Excuse me!" called Cho breathlessly, watching as the ghost turned around, her eyes large and dark on her face "May I please talk to you?"

The ghost frowned at her, circling in what would be a menacing way if she didn't look merely curious "Not many people speak to me… Are you the new transfer student they are talking about?"

Cho nodded "My name is Cho Chang" said Cho, licking her lips nervously "Would you mind if I asked you some questions?"

Tendrils of curly hair fluttered around her face in the invisible breeze, enhancing her almost ethereal beauty. Her eyes were pained and troubled but she stayed where she was "What do you want to ask me?"

Swallowing, Cho approached with caution knowing that she probably only had one chance with this "I wanted to ask you about Ravenclaw's diadem"

The Grey Lady's eyes widened, her translucent body stiff with tension "You are not the first to ask, but I will not tell you where it is" she murmured fervently, gliding away from Cho quickly "I won't!"

Cho chased her down the corridor "No Helena! Please listen to me! I don't want to know where it is!" she called, her tone desperate now that she was so close to finding out You Know Who's younger identity "I want to know whether you have told anyone else where it is. All I want is a name!"

The Grey Lady stopped in her tracks, the profile of her face visible as she turned to look out the window "Why do you want to know? What are your intentions?"

Cho stopped a distance from her, not wanting to corner her into speaking. Adopting her softest tone she addressed the ghost. "I know you may not believe me but whoever asked you about the diadem is going to use it for terrible purposes"

"How do you know this?" asked the ghost, her eyes suspicious as she regarded Cho "And what terrible purposes do you speak of?"

Cho shook her head resolutely, already feeling as though she had given too much away "I can't tell you exactly but I know. I've seen it with my own eyes. Please, just tell me the name"

The Grey Lady looked at Cho, taking in the younger girl's pleading eyes. Conceding, she drifted towards Cho, her voice a hushed whisper "It was a boy with a strange name. He was so charming… so understanding… I believe you have already met his acquaintance Miss Chang"

Cho whirled around to face the ghost, frowning as she pondered her words "What year is he in? Did he tell you his name?"

A sad smile touched Helena's lips, her eyes pitying for a reason Cho could not fathom at that moment "Yes. His name is Tom Riddle"

After the meeting with Helena Ravenclaw, Cho rushed to the closest bathrooms as she felt her stomach churn violently. Leaning in over the sink, she splashed icy water on her face to try and take away the dizziness in her head and the confusion in her heart.

It could not be. Tom Riddle couldn't possibly grow up to become Voldemort. Not her Tom Riddle – the sweet but dangerous boy who kissed her breathless and showed her that he was capable for caring for someone other than himself. He wasn't capable of what Voldemort had done. He couldn't kill innocent people. Could he?

But as Cho thought about it, it all began to make sense. She tried to repel those thoughts, tried to think of reasons why The Grey Lady was mistaken or perhaps why it was impossible. But she couldn't deny the overwhelming amount of logic that began to add up the more she remembered all the hints that had been there all along.

The sense of familiarity and unease she had felt when she first met him. The bitterness and anger he had displayed that night outside the library. The company he kept. He had even told her he spent his whole life living in an orphanage prior to coming to Hogwarts! Now that she knew, there was no mistaking it. She could see in her mind's eye; the transition between the handsome charming head boy and the snake like monster that had waged war on them during her time. They had the same eyes, dark blue with intensity that flashed and flared when angered. They paced and walked with slow languid steps and twirled their wands with pale elegant fingers. They even spoke in the same way – smooth, deliberate and with an articulateness that betrayed politeness though it sent shivers down her spine.

Not only had she fraternized with the enemy who had killed and terrorized all that she had loved, she had kissed him and enjoyed it too. She had always known there was something dark about Tom, but she thought she could fix his faults or learn to accept them in time. But there was no fixing or glossing over the faults of a murderer, not a person who could kill in cold blood and not care a whit. She thought of all those families he had driven to the depths of despair as well as her own. She remembered the innocent he had killed simply to make a point of his madness. But was Voldemort the same as the Tom she knew now?

Sliding against the wall of a cubicle, Cho buried her head in her arms allowing the tears to fall freely. So was this the intention of the Room of Requirement? To send her back in time to make an even greater mockery of her life?

Cho struggled to breathe, tearing off the scarf from her neck when it felt too restrictive. She didn't know what to do. She couldn't face him again knowing who he was but she couldn't quite stomach the idea of murder or condemning Tom to a lifetime of Azkaban either. Feeling the heavy weight of confusion press in on her head, she leant against the wall and hoped that no one would find her.

Tom paced the courtyard, growing more impatient with every second that she was late. He was use to her not practicing punctuality but 30 minutes was inexcusable. Ignoring the cold dampness that settled into his slightly threadbare robes, Tom decided to wait for another 5 minutes before leaving.

5 minutes turned to 10, and against his better judgement, he let it drift to another 20. Getting up from his seat, he strode out of the corridor only to be confronted by Ravenclaw's ghost who looked at him with knowing eyes.

Tom extended his polite greetings, remembering that she had done quite a favour for him a while back. It had taken weeks of coaxing and listening to her stories but eventually he had won her trust. He knew the location of the diadem and when he graduated, he will find it and use it to serve his purposes.

She didn't look appeased at his pleasantries, barely concealed dislike in her eyes and expression "Do not try to find her. She does not want to see you" she said, her voice uncharacteristically loud.

"What-"

"She knows. She does not want to see you" repeated the Grey Lady more forcefully, her eyes bulging slightly. Suddenly, she swooped right through Tom, feeling his insides grow cold not only at the sensation but at her words. Forgetting about exchanging Christmas presents altogether, Tom dashed away from the courtyard area, intent on finding Cho though he had no idea what she knew or how he could explain.

A/N: As per always, I am completely rubbish when it comes to regular updates. Just letting you all know though - the next 3 weeks for me is really busy in terms of university assessments so there's very little chance that I'll be able to update (sorry!).

As always, thanks for the reviews/story follows/favourites and I hope you enjoyed this chapter (and to Lysaia and JessicaEdlynEvans13, you did find out how Cho reacted when she realized to kissed Voldemort! Though you probably didn't think it was this soon ;) haha)

And to sectumsempsarah- no truer words have been spoken than when you said this about Tom Riddle in your review: "He's a babe in the CoS movie, of course..." :)

Thanks for sticking with me guys, you are all fabulous.

Love, DecoyDream x

P.S. Anyone recognise the name of this chapter? Hint: It's a song name.