"Ginny Weasley and the Memory of Power"
by Jedi Amoira
*****************
Disclaimer--I don't own Ginny, the Weasleys, Hermione, Harry or Tom. I don't Hogwarts, Diagon Alley or the Chamber of Secrets. I don't own...well, if you see something you like just assume I don't own it, and you'll be fine. I have done my best to rely largely on my own imagination and vocabulary for the scenes I describe, however I have borrowed from JK Rowling, the movies, and my fellow fanfic writers wherever I found something I really liked. I hope they all take this in the manner in which it is meant--as sincere flattery of their skills.
A/N--I have some great reviewers, but an author writes for praise, and I need more! If you like it, PLEASE leave a review! I may not own any of this, but I have worked very hard and do love this story. If you like it, please say so. And please respect my work and don't print or post it elsewhere without my knowledge. Thanks!
*******************
--Everyone was talking about that message—
--The one on the wall?—
--THE CHAMBER OF SECERETS IS OPEN, ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE. What's the Chamber of Secrets?—
--Don't any of your teachers know?—
--Don't you? I thought you knew everything.--
--Well…since you put it like that…—
--Quit playing and tell me, Tom—
--Why so touchy all of a sudden?—
--You know why…I think maybe that message has something to do with me.—
--I already told you, that's ridiculous. You don't even know what it is.—
--Well…what is it?—
--Okay, well you know the school was founded over a thousand years ago by 4 teachers: loyal Helga Hufflepuff, learned Rowena Ravenclaw, noble—Ginny could almost picture Tom's eyes rolling, which seemed slightly strange to her since she didn't even know what Tom was supposed to look like—Godric Gryffindor, and the most powerful of them all, Salazar Slytherin.—
--The most powerful? I thought they were all kind of equal or—
--Revisionist History…they have to make them sound about the same, or the people in other houses would feel inferior. Anyway, as I was saying before you interrupted—
--Sorry.—
--Ginny, do you mind? Things went pretty well for a while, but eventually Gryffindor started to think maybe he knew better than Slytherin…he thought that Slytherin was overly cautious in wanting to limit the school to pureblood families, even though it was during the time muggles were hunting us down like deer and muggle-borns were obviously a threat to other students—
--You don't believe that's true now, though, do you, Tom? I mean, Hermione is one of the nicest people I know and—
--Muggles will never be able to understand us… you can't control what you don't understand, and you hate what you can't control; they'll always be a threat, don't kid yourself otherwise.— Ginny shivered, but Tom couldn't see, and was still continuing his explanation. –Slytherin tried his best to make the others see reason, but no one would listen, so he finally decided to leave, rather than watch the school he'd worked so hard to build become a desecration. But before he left, he built a secret chamber deep within the school, concealing it so that none but his true heir would be able to find and open it, unleashing the forces within to cleanse the school of contamination—
--Contamination? You mean…but—Ginny stopped, completely at a loss. Eventually—she didn't know how much later—she wrote—but what does that have to do with Mrs. Norris?—
--Mrs. Norris?—
--The groundskeepers' cat. She's been attacked. Something…froze her or something…But she doesn't have anything to do with muggles.—She frowned trying to think. –For that matter, I'm not the Heir of Slytherin…am I?—
Somehow the letters wavering up through the page gave her the impression of someone trying very hard not to laugh, and she felt a twinge of annoyance. It wasn't funny. –No, dearest, you definitely aren't.—
--But…then...if I'm not doing these things, who is? Someone has to be.—
--This isn't the first time the Chamber has been opened, actually.—
--It's not?—
--It was opened while I was at school…a young woman actually died.—
--Oh, Tom!! What if someone dies this time? Was she the one that opened it?—
--Sometimes you really are a silly girl, Ginny Weasley.—
--Well, if she didn't, who did?—
--Do you remember me telling you I went to school with Hagrid?—
--Of course. You said he'd been expelled, and you didn't think I should be associating…Hagrid? Now who's being ridiculous?—
--It's true. –
--He…he seemed so nice.—
--Not all evil is ugly and unattractive, you know.—
--Do you think I ought to tell someone?—
--NO!!—Ginny blinked at the sudden venom of the word. –I mean—Tom continued a little more reasonably—he was allowed to stay as the Groundskeeper's Assistant because it was thought he only opened it out of pity for the monster inside, so maybe it wasn't him this time. I'm sure they're keeping an eye on him. Dumbledore knows all about it.—
--He does?—
--Sure. He was teaching Transfiguration at the time.—
Footsteps sounded behind her. Ginny jumped and hastily dropped the diary out of sight under the couch. "Thought you went to bed, Gin," Ron said.
Ginny half-snorted and half-sighed, pushing the hair back off of her face. "I couldn't sleep. What's it to you?"
"So I forgot your birthday. Why waste time getting mad when you could get even?"
"I'm not mad," Ginny snapped. "And I'm not getting even, either." She concluded in a mutter so soundless she wasn't even sure she'd actually spoken the words, "What's the point—it's not like I could make you notice."
"What?" Ron looked startled.
"I said—I'm not mad!"
"So then what are you sitting up for?," Ron asked skeptically.
"Oh, right…I forgot, if I need to think, it must be about you," Ginny said snidely.
"Well, you're obviously upset about something," Ron shot back, "so if it's not me forgetting your birthday, then what is it?"
Ginny hesitated. She wanted more than anything in the world to tell him what was bothering the way she always had before he went to school, to have him tell her with firm and gentle confidence that she hadn't done anything too awful to be loved, or too permanent to be fixed, to have him soothe her with hot chocolate and wrap her in the protection of his hugs…but how did you even begin to tell the big brother you idolized more than anything else on earth you thought you might be loosing your mind? Even if she knew, she wasn't sure he was that big brother anymore…he didn't care about her enough to remember her birthday, let alone love her even if she were somehow responsible for helping Slytherin terrorize the school she'd waited her whole life to attend with some awful monster. Not that it mattered, because even if he did, he couldn't do anything about it except try to protect her and end up getting into trouble…
"It's not still Mrs. Norris?"
"It's just…" Ginny began and stopped with sigh. Finally she managed, "what if Mrs. Norris is only the beginning? What if Hogwarts isn't safe?"
"So that's it! Honestly, Gin, stuff like this hardly ever happens at Hogwarts. They'll catch the culprit in no time—I just hope he has time to petrify Filch before he's expelled."
Ron looked as if he was afraid she would faint. Actually, Ginny wasn't sure that was too far from the truth. She felt as if all the energy had suddenly leaked out through her face.
Then she noticed Harry waving his arms wildly in the stairwell and wondered if it were possible to die of embarrassment.
"Harry," said a stiff voice, "What do you think you are doing?" And, belatedly, Ginny understood. He'd been trying to warn Ron back to bed.
"Er…Sleepwalking?" Harry suggested. Ginny couldn't see them well in the shadows, but she knew Percy must have given him a good imitation of Mum's famous look, because he shrugged sheepishly and disappeared in a hurry.
"Ron!," Percy admonished imperiously, his robe flying behind him like a chastening banner as he descending the rest of the stairs. "Just what do you think--"
He stopped, slightly confused. "Ginny?"
" 'smy fault, Percy," she said tiredly. "I came down because I couldn't sleep and Ron came down to talk to me."
"I didn't know you'd been having nightmares," Percy said suspiciously.
"It wasn't a nightmare, exactly," Ginny said, avoiding the issue of whether or not she'd been having nightmares. "I just couldn't stop thinking about…"
"What happened to Mrs. Norris is very unsettling…especially to the young and impressionable," Percy said sympathetically. "But the other prefects and I are here to take care of you, and Dumbledore will have the situation in no time. The problem is, rules are rules, Ginny, first year or not. No one is supposed to be in the Common Room after Lights Out."
"You're right," she said submissively. "It won't happen again."
"That's a good girl. Ron, after you." Ginny watched Percy herd Ron up the stairs; she knew it was a comical sight, but she didn't feel the slightest urge to laugh. Sighing sadly, she gathered up the discarded and went to bed.
And had nightmares.
~~She could see the face more clearly now, a ripply and dim reflection like the mirror in Myrtle's bathroom. Large eyes that reminded her of Lucius Malfoy's-- large and clear in a way that should have been attractive, but had a cold, unpleasant edge—looked at her from under a thick peak of wavy dark hair that almost looked too perfect. Full lips moved, forming words, words she couldn't hear or see, but only feel…feel coiling about her like the tight, squeezing coils of a snake, burning into her skin like a burning brand, marking her…
She wanted to run, but the coils held her in place and she couldn't move…a girl was laying in a heap at her feet, her dark hair snaking in thin trails through what looked like a puddle of water on the floor, her skin unnaturally white, her face unnaturally still…something in the way her hands hung limply at her sides seemed familiar, and Ginny tried to scream. She could hear laughter in air, cold and high and mocking, and for some reason she remembered Tom's words earlier as clearly as if they were being spoken. "Sometimes you really are a silly little girl."~~
by Jedi Amoira
*****************
Disclaimer--I don't own Ginny, the Weasleys, Hermione, Harry or Tom. I don't Hogwarts, Diagon Alley or the Chamber of Secrets. I don't own...well, if you see something you like just assume I don't own it, and you'll be fine. I have done my best to rely largely on my own imagination and vocabulary for the scenes I describe, however I have borrowed from JK Rowling, the movies, and my fellow fanfic writers wherever I found something I really liked. I hope they all take this in the manner in which it is meant--as sincere flattery of their skills.
A/N--I have some great reviewers, but an author writes for praise, and I need more! If you like it, PLEASE leave a review! I may not own any of this, but I have worked very hard and do love this story. If you like it, please say so. And please respect my work and don't print or post it elsewhere without my knowledge. Thanks!
*******************
--Everyone was talking about that message—
--The one on the wall?—
--THE CHAMBER OF SECERETS IS OPEN, ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE. What's the Chamber of Secrets?—
--Don't any of your teachers know?—
--Don't you? I thought you knew everything.--
--Well…since you put it like that…—
--Quit playing and tell me, Tom—
--Why so touchy all of a sudden?—
--You know why…I think maybe that message has something to do with me.—
--I already told you, that's ridiculous. You don't even know what it is.—
--Well…what is it?—
--Okay, well you know the school was founded over a thousand years ago by 4 teachers: loyal Helga Hufflepuff, learned Rowena Ravenclaw, noble—Ginny could almost picture Tom's eyes rolling, which seemed slightly strange to her since she didn't even know what Tom was supposed to look like—Godric Gryffindor, and the most powerful of them all, Salazar Slytherin.—
--The most powerful? I thought they were all kind of equal or—
--Revisionist History…they have to make them sound about the same, or the people in other houses would feel inferior. Anyway, as I was saying before you interrupted—
--Sorry.—
--Ginny, do you mind? Things went pretty well for a while, but eventually Gryffindor started to think maybe he knew better than Slytherin…he thought that Slytherin was overly cautious in wanting to limit the school to pureblood families, even though it was during the time muggles were hunting us down like deer and muggle-borns were obviously a threat to other students—
--You don't believe that's true now, though, do you, Tom? I mean, Hermione is one of the nicest people I know and—
--Muggles will never be able to understand us… you can't control what you don't understand, and you hate what you can't control; they'll always be a threat, don't kid yourself otherwise.— Ginny shivered, but Tom couldn't see, and was still continuing his explanation. –Slytherin tried his best to make the others see reason, but no one would listen, so he finally decided to leave, rather than watch the school he'd worked so hard to build become a desecration. But before he left, he built a secret chamber deep within the school, concealing it so that none but his true heir would be able to find and open it, unleashing the forces within to cleanse the school of contamination—
--Contamination? You mean…but—Ginny stopped, completely at a loss. Eventually—she didn't know how much later—she wrote—but what does that have to do with Mrs. Norris?—
--Mrs. Norris?—
--The groundskeepers' cat. She's been attacked. Something…froze her or something…But she doesn't have anything to do with muggles.—She frowned trying to think. –For that matter, I'm not the Heir of Slytherin…am I?—
Somehow the letters wavering up through the page gave her the impression of someone trying very hard not to laugh, and she felt a twinge of annoyance. It wasn't funny. –No, dearest, you definitely aren't.—
--But…then...if I'm not doing these things, who is? Someone has to be.—
--This isn't the first time the Chamber has been opened, actually.—
--It's not?—
--It was opened while I was at school…a young woman actually died.—
--Oh, Tom!! What if someone dies this time? Was she the one that opened it?—
--Sometimes you really are a silly girl, Ginny Weasley.—
--Well, if she didn't, who did?—
--Do you remember me telling you I went to school with Hagrid?—
--Of course. You said he'd been expelled, and you didn't think I should be associating…Hagrid? Now who's being ridiculous?—
--It's true. –
--He…he seemed so nice.—
--Not all evil is ugly and unattractive, you know.—
--Do you think I ought to tell someone?—
--NO!!—Ginny blinked at the sudden venom of the word. –I mean—Tom continued a little more reasonably—he was allowed to stay as the Groundskeeper's Assistant because it was thought he only opened it out of pity for the monster inside, so maybe it wasn't him this time. I'm sure they're keeping an eye on him. Dumbledore knows all about it.—
--He does?—
--Sure. He was teaching Transfiguration at the time.—
Footsteps sounded behind her. Ginny jumped and hastily dropped the diary out of sight under the couch. "Thought you went to bed, Gin," Ron said.
Ginny half-snorted and half-sighed, pushing the hair back off of her face. "I couldn't sleep. What's it to you?"
"So I forgot your birthday. Why waste time getting mad when you could get even?"
"I'm not mad," Ginny snapped. "And I'm not getting even, either." She concluded in a mutter so soundless she wasn't even sure she'd actually spoken the words, "What's the point—it's not like I could make you notice."
"What?" Ron looked startled.
"I said—I'm not mad!"
"So then what are you sitting up for?," Ron asked skeptically.
"Oh, right…I forgot, if I need to think, it must be about you," Ginny said snidely.
"Well, you're obviously upset about something," Ron shot back, "so if it's not me forgetting your birthday, then what is it?"
Ginny hesitated. She wanted more than anything in the world to tell him what was bothering the way she always had before he went to school, to have him tell her with firm and gentle confidence that she hadn't done anything too awful to be loved, or too permanent to be fixed, to have him soothe her with hot chocolate and wrap her in the protection of his hugs…but how did you even begin to tell the big brother you idolized more than anything else on earth you thought you might be loosing your mind? Even if she knew, she wasn't sure he was that big brother anymore…he didn't care about her enough to remember her birthday, let alone love her even if she were somehow responsible for helping Slytherin terrorize the school she'd waited her whole life to attend with some awful monster. Not that it mattered, because even if he did, he couldn't do anything about it except try to protect her and end up getting into trouble…
"It's not still Mrs. Norris?"
"It's just…" Ginny began and stopped with sigh. Finally she managed, "what if Mrs. Norris is only the beginning? What if Hogwarts isn't safe?"
"So that's it! Honestly, Gin, stuff like this hardly ever happens at Hogwarts. They'll catch the culprit in no time—I just hope he has time to petrify Filch before he's expelled."
Ron looked as if he was afraid she would faint. Actually, Ginny wasn't sure that was too far from the truth. She felt as if all the energy had suddenly leaked out through her face.
Then she noticed Harry waving his arms wildly in the stairwell and wondered if it were possible to die of embarrassment.
"Harry," said a stiff voice, "What do you think you are doing?" And, belatedly, Ginny understood. He'd been trying to warn Ron back to bed.
"Er…Sleepwalking?" Harry suggested. Ginny couldn't see them well in the shadows, but she knew Percy must have given him a good imitation of Mum's famous look, because he shrugged sheepishly and disappeared in a hurry.
"Ron!," Percy admonished imperiously, his robe flying behind him like a chastening banner as he descending the rest of the stairs. "Just what do you think--"
He stopped, slightly confused. "Ginny?"
" 'smy fault, Percy," she said tiredly. "I came down because I couldn't sleep and Ron came down to talk to me."
"I didn't know you'd been having nightmares," Percy said suspiciously.
"It wasn't a nightmare, exactly," Ginny said, avoiding the issue of whether or not she'd been having nightmares. "I just couldn't stop thinking about…"
"What happened to Mrs. Norris is very unsettling…especially to the young and impressionable," Percy said sympathetically. "But the other prefects and I are here to take care of you, and Dumbledore will have the situation in no time. The problem is, rules are rules, Ginny, first year or not. No one is supposed to be in the Common Room after Lights Out."
"You're right," she said submissively. "It won't happen again."
"That's a good girl. Ron, after you." Ginny watched Percy herd Ron up the stairs; she knew it was a comical sight, but she didn't feel the slightest urge to laugh. Sighing sadly, she gathered up the discarded and went to bed.
And had nightmares.
~~She could see the face more clearly now, a ripply and dim reflection like the mirror in Myrtle's bathroom. Large eyes that reminded her of Lucius Malfoy's-- large and clear in a way that should have been attractive, but had a cold, unpleasant edge—looked at her from under a thick peak of wavy dark hair that almost looked too perfect. Full lips moved, forming words, words she couldn't hear or see, but only feel…feel coiling about her like the tight, squeezing coils of a snake, burning into her skin like a burning brand, marking her…
She wanted to run, but the coils held her in place and she couldn't move…a girl was laying in a heap at her feet, her dark hair snaking in thin trails through what looked like a puddle of water on the floor, her skin unnaturally white, her face unnaturally still…something in the way her hands hung limply at her sides seemed familiar, and Ginny tried to scream. She could hear laughter in air, cold and high and mocking, and for some reason she remembered Tom's words earlier as clearly as if they were being spoken. "Sometimes you really are a silly little girl."~~
