A/N: Ahoy hoy, everyone! One day, six hours and thirty minutes! Hurray!
One more chapter to go...! No, not this one. The last chapter will be the thirteenth, which is almost done. I aim to finish before I actually begin reading the next book; maybe I'll even have it up tomorrow or Saturday, but I really don't know. I'm tryin' though.
Thanks to all who reviewed my story: Kryptonite, anable, Rjk, A.Dee, liltrick, Wicked Lee, scabberssucks (he he), and Frederick.
You will notice I have included a bit more of Fiona Apple's "Fast As You Can" in the beginning. Skipped a big part of the song, but that's okay. Enjoy :).
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But if you're getting any bright ideas, quiet dear
I'm blooming within
Fast as you can, baby
Wait, watch me, I'll be out
Fast as I can, maybe late but at least about
Fast as you can, leave me, let this thing run its route
Fast as you can
Chapter Twelve
Losers, Weepers
He just smiled as he stood over her. "Better, I presume?"
She only gave another distraught whimper, struggling to move away. He simply chuckled.
"You're fighting a loosing battle, Ginny. You're not going anywhere."
Her breathing became rapid and desperate; she could feel her heart pounding harshly against her ribs, the blood rushing in her veins.
"No," she breathed, unable to grasp that this supposedly destroyed being was standing over her feeble body once more. "But he…killed you…"
He scoffed, casually taking a seat where Becky had once slept. "Death for me and for those like me is but a mere wish… I might as well keep you company for the next few minutes; I haven't gotten all my needed strength yet."
She stayed silent and continued to stare at him, unblinking and terrified. Tom went on.
"Let's see, where to start… Ah, yes. When he destroyed the diary. True, he did do that…but that's like burning down a person's home, you see. The person doesn't always die. The only difference in this scenario, I suppose, is that I'm not a person, but a memory. And you, of all people, should know that memories don't die. They can't."
Ginny only flinched slightly at his stern remark. Her expression now showed despair.
"Anyway," he persevered, "when one's home has been burned to the ground, what does he normally do? Well, they find a new one, Ginny."
He gave her a mild suggesting tap on the nose with a long index finger. Her face deadened in realization.
"You've been living in me," she said softly, looking away. "The whole time, you were right here…all along…"
He smirked, his eyes solidly looking upon her. "To be perfectly honest, I wasn't exactly happy either, at least not at first. Not until I found a way to feed off of you until I could free myself. I don't know why I didn't see it before – probably angered into stupidity, like so many others – it was remarkably similar to getting out of that diary. I mean, you were still lonely, you needed a friend, so why not?"
Ginny blinked lethargically. She could still feel herself getting weaker and weaker.
"You made Becky," she whispered, feeling somewhat empty inside.
He smirked again. "I am Becky," he said, his voice changing into hers. Switching back to his normal voice, he explained. "Obviously, she was my cover. Logic tells me you would've lost it if you found the person who almost murdered you and your boyfriend sleeping in the bed next to you. So I used Rebecca Cwalino.
"Verily, she was my first girlfriend. We were in the same year, she was actually in Ravenclaw." He paused to sigh. "We had some good times together. Even when she was sick, I stayed in with her. She didn't care that I was a bastard child, or a half-blood, or an orphan. She made me feel like I mattered. I felt so safe with her…I barely even realized it when I slipped up and told her I was a Parselmouth. Needless to say, she didn't take it very well. Who would've? It was practically the mark of a Dark wizard, especially during the era of Grindewald… She became distant, very distant. Again, I was alone."
Ginny's eyes widened. You didn't kill her for that, did you?
"I didn't kill her at all," responded Tom, discerning her thoughts. "You forget, I'm still in your head; I can read you like a book if I wanted to. But no, I didn't kill her. I couldn't. I guess I was too attached to her to let go. I looked into her file when I went to see Daphne; Becky died of pneumonia nine years ago. Her immune system wasn't exactly the greatest thing in the world, as I've told you. I'm surprised she even lived that long.
"At any rate, that's how all of this really started. She was the best friend I'd ever had; one of the only ones I'd ever have. I felt dead inside when I lost her trust. There was nothing left for me, and I had nothing to lose… You know, I suppose that's what has made Voldemort into the crazed man he is today? There was so much jealousy, anger, hatred – and he kept it all in. Mix those all together, and you get apathy… It all started with me."
Ginny peered at him from her paralyzed spot. She almost felt sorry for him. Almost.
He stood suddenly, looking down at his hands. "I can't believe this…" he said in a much different tone of voice. "I feel alive again…"
It was then that Ginny again became aware of what was going on. Moving her neck slightly, she looked down at her own body. She wasn't sure whether she was just delirious, but she swore she seemed somewhat transparent in contrast with her robes. She felt helpless and weak again, knowing it was too late to control him. She kept her questions simple now.
"Will I die?"
Tom looked down at her, his face once again emotionless. "I'm not going to kill you, if that's what you mean. Don't have to; I have what I need to do what I must."
Ginny grimaced. "Please, not Harry…"
He didn't respond in any way. Her eyes misted over.
"Please," she pleaded, tiredly trying to pull in her robes and hide her wand. "You can't."
"Give me your wand," he demanded. Almost gently, his hand slipped past her grasping fingers and retrieved her wand with ease.
"I'm sorry, Ginny," he said blankly, gripping the wand tightly in his left hand. "I must have my revenge."
In vain she tried to lift herself off of the bed, but with buckling elbows, she fell back down to the mattress and began sobbing into the pillows.
I'm sorry, Harry, she thought vaguely. As she wept, she vaguely heard heavy footsteps becoming fainter, fainter…then they stopped.
No door had been opened or shut, no others sounds except for Ginny's gasping sobs. The footsteps had simply…stopped….
Ginny's tears immediately halted. She knew Tom was still in the room. Ears suddenly alert, she listened intently for something besides the silence.
And then, Tom's panicked voice, something she thought she'd never hear.
"What's going on?" said Tom in a combination of apprehension and anger.
Ginny's brow, in spite of herself, furrowed as she tried her best to turn around and look. She didn't achieve this before she heard his wand – her wand – clatter on the floor, heard his increasing breath as it did.
Somehow, perhaps out of her curiosity, she found the strength to roll herself onto her other side. All she could really see was the back of Tom and how he looked down in confusion at himself. He was silent for a few seconds, and then –
"N-no…" he stuttered quietly, turning his hands over to examine them further. "You couldn't… No…"
In complete shock, he turned around to face Ginny. His face seemed to be even paler; his eyes wide and frightened, yet casting a venomous look upon her.
"What are you doing?" he hissed at her, instantly furious. "Stop it!"
Ginny, confused at what she was doing that was so wrong, said nothing. She just watched, searching for clues to what was happening all of a sudden. Then she noticed a small gleam, seeping between the crevices beneath and above the doorway.
That didn't worry her as much as the fact that Tom was standing in front of the doorway.
He's…He's disappearing…but how?
"Stop!" he yelled again, a bit more desperately. "I can't rest until he's dead!"
"It's not me…" she whispered, though unsure if he'd actually heard her.
The gleam steadily became a radiant light, illuminating the threshold and everything around it, piercing Tom's translucent form. He began to shout, from the very depths of his chimerical lungs, as he dropped to the ground; she could feel it, a faint rumbling spreading through her body.
And slowly, feeling the familiar dull ache in her head, Ginny felt her strength return. As it did, she gradually pushed herself off the bed, cautiously scooting closer for a better view. She watched him on the floor as he writhed in pain, in frustration, in despair.
Beside him was her wand. As he continued to scream, she quickly pounced for it and backed up the edge of the room, making sure she was out of his grasp. But it didn't matter; he continued to weaken, she continued to become stronger. Still, she backed away in fear, silently looking on.
Who's doing this?
To her side, there was a faint creaking, followed by a loud bang, the room suddenly becoming fully alight. She screamed slightly, jumping away from the doorway.
The door was finally blasted off the hinges, most likely by whatever was causing the light. It reverberated against the floor, masking Tom's yelps for only seconds. Ginny looked expectedly to the door. She seemed to find her voice.
"Is anyone there?" she shouted, unable to decipher much with the blinding light in her eyes.
Two more voice joined the turmoil.
"Ginny?" called the first voice. "Where are you?"
"Oh, she wasn't a girl at all…!" sounded the second voice calmly over the noise. Both were male voices, she concluded as the second continued.
"I thought so…! No, stay back! You lot would probably do well to not intercept the wand!"
She looked hopefully toward the door, now able to make out a few figures in the doorway beyond the light.
"Ms. Weasley!" called the second voice. "Can you hear me?"
"Yeah!" she called back, grateful someone had come in time.
"Alright, listen carefully! I need you to come out – be sure to avoid the light as much as possible!"
She'd heard him but simply stood there, glancing nervously back and forth between the door and Tom. What if he grabbed her as she approached the door, dragged her down with him?
"He can no longer harm you, Ms. Weasley!" he called again, seeming to read her mind. "But whatever you do, do not intercept the wand!"
With a timid gulp, she edged along the wall, reaching the door. She looked down one more time at Tom Riddle. His hollow figure didn't return her gaze, eyes squeezed shut in agony. Turning away, she ducked lowly beneath the beams and exited the room.
She was still ducking when she felt someone grab her arm and lead her out. Straightening up, she looked up at the person, the first one she saw.
Harry was the one who guided her through the doorway. Before she could even comprehend that she was out of the dormitory, she was suddenly enveloped into his arms. Very tightly. Suffocating, she tried to pull back.
"You okay, Gin?" said Harry almost casually. She was able to move her head just enough to give him a look.
"Peachy," she breathed sarcastically. Finally, he released her, and she then proceeded to look around, eyes widening as she did.
The whole house was awake.
It seemed they were all whispering amongst themselves when she came out; now there was a sea of gasps.
"She's alive!"
"Who's screaming then?"
"But I don't see any blood!"
Her brow furrowed slightly at that certain comment, looking around to see who said it, but no sooner was she out of Harry's close grip that another pair of arms suddenly snaked around her and pulled her into a hug.
"You're alright!" she heard him yell above her head.
Again feeling her air supply dwindling, she fought against him until he freed her.
No one but Ron. Behind him were Hermione and Dumbledore (who, she now saw, was holding the wand).
Hermione was next in line, briefly capturing Ginny in a bear hug before pulling away, asking tons of health-related questions.
"Ginny, are you okay? Are you injured in any way? Nothing's broken, right? Oh, I hope the spell the headmaster's doing didn't hurt you! We should get you to the hospital wing straight away! Oh, did Tom hurt you at all? 'Cause if he did –"
"Hermione!" said Ginny finally, silencing the other girl. "Yes, I'm okay. No, I'm not injured. Nothing's broken; the worst that's happened to me so far are a few headaches –"
"Oh, but that could be anything!" Hermione went on. "You've any idea how much disease or infliction involves headaches? Do you feel ill at all?"
"I feel great now," said Ginny simply with a small smile. Hermione lapsed into silence once again.
After a little while, what was left of Tom was gone from the dormitory, leaving a dark, open room; everything within was quiet and calm again. The wand light put out just as he was performing another spell.
"Reparo."
And the door instantly flew back onto its hinges as if nothing had ever happened.
***************************************************************************************Yay! He's gone...sort of. That's the next chapter, of course. This is Maddie Lupin, saying thanks for reading, everyone.
Just think - this time the day after tomorrow, we'll all finally have "Order of the Phoenix" in our hands...*sigh, faraway look*
