Disclaimer--If you see something you like just assume I don't own it, and you'll be fine. Conversation between Harry and Riddle is taken from CoS--no opyright infrigement is intended by this, and no money is being made. Please don't sue.

Author's Notes--For artistic purposes, this scene deviates slightly from the one described in CoS as well as the one in the second Harry Potter movie, however they remain essentially the same as it is the same event being described...I like to think of it as differing accounts from eyewitnesses. ;-)

Strawberries and Blueberries--Sounds like I had you on the edge of your seat. I hope you enjoy the follow-up. ;-)

Pauline--You have a good point, and one that I'll try to take into account...on the other hand, Stephen King says the same thing about JK Rowling, so I'm hesitant to edit the variety too far for the sake of continuity. I'll try to check you out on fictionpress, and I hope you keep reading. Thanks!

EEDOE--I'm sad to know this will soon end myself :-( but I've been consoling myself with the prospect of the sequel...which wouldn't be the same without you reading!! It's great to know you liked the way I handled Ginny's descent into the Chamber. I hope you enjoy what happens next. *crosses fingers*

Bill--Should I be worried your lack of things to say indicates disappointment in the last installment? I'm a bit disappointed in myself if that's the case. I agree the speed was shocking...rather like being stricken by a snake? For me, things accelerated the minute Ginny decided to write Tom Riddle after she retrieved the diary...after that, it seemed inevitable, a downward spiral, so to speak...so that's what I tried to portray.

As you know, I've been debating whether or not I thought I had enough material and/or interest from myself and my readers to carry Ginny through all 5 years to date, or if I should just skip straight to OotP. I'm still not convinced either way, but I've got some ideas about PoA I really want to see on paper, so I hope to give Ginny's second year a try...including a bit about her summer--especially if you're interested in coming along for the journey. ;-) *Hugs*

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Warmth...Ginny felt it from the distance, tiny spots glowing above her like stars in the night...She had never before had stars touch her skin...she barely felt them at all, but, somehow, nothing had ever so completely captured her attention.



The cold hard surface against her face fell away.



The spots of warmth brushed across her skin, came to rest against her face...She could hear the stars murmuring from light years away, their voices faint but insistent in her ear... "Ginny." As if from a great distance away, Ginny felt a surge of deep, illuminating satisfaction. The stars knew her name.



"Ginny." She had never imagined stars could sound so desperate, so pleading...especially because of her. She yearned to reach out to them, to comfort them, to make them happy as they made her...



"Don't be dead," the words were a motion in the air, a ripple against her skin, a feeling in her stomach. "Please, Ginny...don't be dead."



Awareness ebbed slightly inward.



Tom.



She understood-Tom couldn't exist without her...because he was going to exist instead of her.

But...she wasn't dead.



Not yet.



"Ginny! Wake up!" The voice didn't belong to a distant star. It belonged to-Harry! Harry had called her back...



"She won't wake." Tom said silkily.



Harry's touch broke away from her skin, leaving her bereft. "Tom?" he said, incredulous. "Tom Riddle?"



/Run/, Ginny thought, trying to warn him. /Run, Harry./



She didn't hear Tom respond, but Harry had already moved on. "What'dya mean she won't wake? She's not-she's not--?" The emotion in his voice made her want to touch him, but she was both very far from her body, and buried deep inside it like the barest flickering ember. Motion was impossible.



"She's still alive," Tom said, and Ginny could hear reflection in the words. "But only just."



"Are you a ghost?" Harry asked, and Ginny suddenly realized he didn't know what he was facing. He didn't know what Tom was. He was in terrible danger. /Harry, it was him...the Heir of Slytherin...I tried to tell you.../



"A memory," Tom said, and it was the most threatening word Ginny had ever heard. "Preserved in a diary for fifty years."



/A memory...of someone, something, so.../

/A memory of power./



"You've got to help me, Tom," Harry said, and Ginny felt his hands on her again, warm and strong, holding up her body, holding up her life. "We've got to get her out of here. There's a basilisk...I don't know where it is, but it could be along at any moment...Please help me."

Ginny knew Tom just stood there, hands clasped loosely behind his back, cold gray eyes cutting through to Harry's soul. Ginny knew Tom.



Harry's arms slid around her. Her head fell against his shoulder. She was safe, cherished and protected, in Harry's embrace. His heart beat against her chest, lending conviction to her own.



"Hand me my wand."



Ginny's heart gave an odd sideways jerk she hoped Harry could feel. If Tom had a wand...



She could nearly see, as if she were hovering far above the scene...Harry, cuddling her to his chest as if to shield her from any threat-a sight that made her throat swell-his hand outstretched. Tom, his lipsquirked with some private joy or amusement Ginny understood all too well, watching them, twirling a wand-Harry's wand-in an unspoken threat uncomfortably like a promise.



"Listen," Harry said urgently, and Ginny felt his knees begin to buckle. She hadn't realized she was so heavy. /Just leave me/, she thought at him, trying to make him understand. /It's too late for me, Harry. Just go while you still can...The basilisk...Don't make me responsible for your death too./



"If the basilisk comes--" Harry said, and for a split second, Ginny thought she had gotten through to him.



"It won't come until it's called," Tom said. Ginny knew...oh, how she knew...



Harry laid her on the floor as gently as if it were a feather bed, and she a princess. "What'dya mean?" he asked. It sounded as if he were standing protectively above her, shielding her from threat. "Look, give me my wand. I might need it--"



The way Tom's grin broadened was almost feral.



"You won't be needing it," he said.



"What'dya mean I won't be--"



/Think, Harry!/ Ginny felt the sudden urge to slap some sense into him.



Apparently, so did Tom.



"I've waited a long time for this, Harry Potter," he hissed, "For the chance to see you. To speak to you."



Suddenly, Ginny was as lost as Harry had to feel. What did Harry have to do with Tom?



"Look," Harry said impatiently, "I don't think you get it. We're in the Chamber of Secrets. We can talk later--"



"We're going to talk now," Tom contradicted.



"How did Ginny get like this?" Harry said slowly. If she could have, Ginny would have breathed a sigh of relief. /About time you started to catch on./

"Well, that's an interesting question," Tom said as if discussing an unusual aspect of a lesson. "And quite a long story."



/No it's not. It's simple, really. I'm like this because of you./



"I suppose the real reason Ginny Weasly's like this is because she opened her heart and spilled all her secrets to an invisible stranger."



To her surprise, it was an explanation Ginny agreed with.



"What are you talking about?" Harry demanded.



Ginny tried-and failed-to roll her eyes.



"The diary," Tom said for her. "My diary."