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--Your enthusiasm always makes me smile. Hope this is to your liking. ;-)
Nekuyr2004--Thanks. Glad you liked it. You have a point about 3 and 4, but I'm still tempted to see what I can do...Hope you keep reading and enjoy.
EEDOE--What a wonderful review! :-) I totally agree with you...Gotta love the firecracker...and the fufillment of her romantic dreams! *winks* Hope you approve of the next part as much. *hugs*
Bill--No need for apologies! I'm just relieved not to disappoint YOU after you've invested so much in this story! ;-D I'm not completely confident I can do justice to Ginny's second and third years, but I'm very confident in my desire to try...although that confidence would really suffer if I didn't think you (and hopefully the others as well) would keep me company on the quest. Great point about the parallel between Ginny and Harry...I hadn't even consciously thought of that!
I totally agree with you about Ginny...no one will ever be able to top the gesture Harry made--and he wasn't even TRYING to be romantic! I like that she can be head over heels lost to him, and still be ready to tell it like it is. (I love how you described Harry--dead on!) *grins* To me, that's an added security of solid love...knowing that little flaws can't shake how incredible it really is.
As for the title...*grins* The answer is...yes and no. The title was directly at the center of how I developed this story. I love it because it can be read in more ways than one--Tom is a powerful memory, Tom's diary is the record of power gone, this experience is likely to be a memory that affects Ginny strongly in the future...but I didn't realize when I chose it that the title would actually make an appearance in the text. The opportunity presented itself somewhat unexpectedly, and I HAD to take it! *winks*
Looking forward to hearing what you think about the next installment. *hugs*
********************
Ginny listened to Tom's recitation of their history feeling strangely detached. It didn't matter any more-what was done was done-all that mattered was saving Harry.
Harry, on the other hand, seemed to have completely forgotten leaving the Chamber. He was standing over her, so rigid with anger she could feel it pulsing through the floor. She could almost feel his fingers clenching and unclenching as if they were her own, the nails biting into her palms...
"Ginny told me all about you, Harry," Tom hissed. "Your whole fascinating history." He was eyeing the scar on Harry's forehead as it were a revelation... "I knew I must find out about you, talk to you, meet you if I could."
Ginny didn't know why, but she knew it must be important if Tom wanted it so badly...and she knew it must not be good.../Leave now, Harry. Don't let him have what he wants./
"I decided to show you my capture of that great oaf Hagrid, to gain your trust--"
/I knew it! Harry, he framed Hagrid!/
"Hagrid's my friend," Harry said, his voice smoldering. "And you framed him, didn't you? I thought you made a mistake, but--"
Tom laughed, a sound like ice pouring down her back. Ginny wasn't sure whether the resolution was Harry's, or belonged to her...all she knew was that somehow, someway, Tom Riddle wasn't going to get away with what he had done to Hagrid...and she wasn't going to be some girl he used and never thought of again.
"I have many questions for you, Harry Potter," Tom was saying, oblivious.
"Like what?" Harry snarled.
"Well, how is it that you-a skinny boy with no extraordinary magical talent-managed to defeat the greatest wizard of all time? How did you escape with nothing more than a scar while Lord Voldemort's powers were destroyed?"
"Why do you care how I escaped?" Harry said slowly. "Voldemort was after your time..."
"Voldemort," Tom said the name like a caress, "is my past, present, and future, Harry Potter..."
Ginny knew. Before he pulled Harry's wand from his pocket and began to burn letters in the air, hanging over her like a curse, she knew exactly what he meant. It made such perfect, clean, simple sense...
TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE.
And the letters moved, as if by fate, falling neatly into place...
I AM LORD VOLDEMORT.
He had been rearranging words like that all year, writing back to her.../If I could move, I'd kick myself for being so stupid. What was I thinking? Voldemort is coming back to life because of me.../
"Dumbledore saw through you when you were at school," Harry was all but shouting, "and he still frightens you now, wherever you're hiding these days--"
"Dumbledore's been driven out of this castle by the mere memory of me," Tom spat venomously.
"He's not as gone as you might think!" Something about the words gave her hope.
Music filled the Chamber, haunting and unearthly. It had to herald a miracle.
A crimson bird swooped over them, a flash of flaming feathers cutting through the smoke left behind Tom's letters. The bird dropped a ragged bundle between them at Harry's feet with a soft flop, and perched on his shoulder. Ginny could feel its presence glow through him, and didn't think to wonder how.
"That's a phoenix," Tom said.
"Fawkes?" Harry knew the bird.
"And that is the old school Sorting Hat," Tom added, giving name to the ragged bundle. He began to laugh, but Ginny felt strangely unafraid.
She wasn't surprised when Harry began to pick a fight. /That's my Harry/, she thought affectionately, ready for Voldemort's defeat, or to die together, whichever came first.
"You're a wreck," Harry said flatly. "You're barely alive. That's where all your power got you."
It was true.
Harry knew it.
Ginny knew it.
And Tom Riddle knew it.
And called it a lucky chance. Fool.
Slytherin's stone mouth began to open.
"Kill him."
The basilisk scraped upward, and Ginny was motionless, trapped within herself, unable to help. Fawkes did what she couldn't, diving at the great snake's eyes, stabbing them with his deadly beak, spattering blood across the floor.
"THE BOY IS BEHIND YOU! YOU CAN STILL SMELL HIM," Tom shouted, his determination to destroy Harry putting the lie to his dismissal of the threat Harry presented to him.
The blinded snake swayed, lurching hesitantly toward Harry. "Help me, help me-someone, anyone," Harry muttered, falling reluctantly away from Ginny. She wanted to help, but all she could do was watch...The basilisk's tale caught the edge of the Sorting Hat next to her, thrusting it into Harry's arms.
Harry, trusting to fate, yanked it over his head. She felt something slam into the top of his head as if it were her own... Tom moved toward him as if to show the basilisk the way. "KILL THE BOY! LEAVE THE BIRD-THE BOY IS BEHIND YOU!" Tossing the Hat aside, Harry whirled to face them, a naked sword gleaming moon-bright in his hand.
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--Your enthusiasm always makes me smile. Hope this is to your liking. ;-)
Nekuyr2004--Thanks. Glad you liked it. You have a point about 3 and 4, but I'm still tempted to see what I can do...Hope you keep reading and enjoy.
EEDOE--What a wonderful review! :-) I totally agree with you...Gotta love the firecracker...and the fufillment of her romantic dreams! *winks* Hope you approve of the next part as much. *hugs*
Bill--No need for apologies! I'm just relieved not to disappoint YOU after you've invested so much in this story! ;-D I'm not completely confident I can do justice to Ginny's second and third years, but I'm very confident in my desire to try...although that confidence would really suffer if I didn't think you (and hopefully the others as well) would keep me company on the quest. Great point about the parallel between Ginny and Harry...I hadn't even consciously thought of that!
I totally agree with you about Ginny...no one will ever be able to top the gesture Harry made--and he wasn't even TRYING to be romantic! I like that she can be head over heels lost to him, and still be ready to tell it like it is. (I love how you described Harry--dead on!) *grins* To me, that's an added security of solid love...knowing that little flaws can't shake how incredible it really is.
As for the title...*grins* The answer is...yes and no. The title was directly at the center of how I developed this story. I love it because it can be read in more ways than one--Tom is a powerful memory, Tom's diary is the record of power gone, this experience is likely to be a memory that affects Ginny strongly in the future...but I didn't realize when I chose it that the title would actually make an appearance in the text. The opportunity presented itself somewhat unexpectedly, and I HAD to take it! *winks*
Looking forward to hearing what you think about the next installment. *hugs*
********************
Ginny listened to Tom's recitation of their history feeling strangely detached. It didn't matter any more-what was done was done-all that mattered was saving Harry.
Harry, on the other hand, seemed to have completely forgotten leaving the Chamber. He was standing over her, so rigid with anger she could feel it pulsing through the floor. She could almost feel his fingers clenching and unclenching as if they were her own, the nails biting into her palms...
"Ginny told me all about you, Harry," Tom hissed. "Your whole fascinating history." He was eyeing the scar on Harry's forehead as it were a revelation... "I knew I must find out about you, talk to you, meet you if I could."
Ginny didn't know why, but she knew it must be important if Tom wanted it so badly...and she knew it must not be good.../Leave now, Harry. Don't let him have what he wants./
"I decided to show you my capture of that great oaf Hagrid, to gain your trust--"
/I knew it! Harry, he framed Hagrid!/
"Hagrid's my friend," Harry said, his voice smoldering. "And you framed him, didn't you? I thought you made a mistake, but--"
Tom laughed, a sound like ice pouring down her back. Ginny wasn't sure whether the resolution was Harry's, or belonged to her...all she knew was that somehow, someway, Tom Riddle wasn't going to get away with what he had done to Hagrid...and she wasn't going to be some girl he used and never thought of again.
"I have many questions for you, Harry Potter," Tom was saying, oblivious.
"Like what?" Harry snarled.
"Well, how is it that you-a skinny boy with no extraordinary magical talent-managed to defeat the greatest wizard of all time? How did you escape with nothing more than a scar while Lord Voldemort's powers were destroyed?"
"Why do you care how I escaped?" Harry said slowly. "Voldemort was after your time..."
"Voldemort," Tom said the name like a caress, "is my past, present, and future, Harry Potter..."
Ginny knew. Before he pulled Harry's wand from his pocket and began to burn letters in the air, hanging over her like a curse, she knew exactly what he meant. It made such perfect, clean, simple sense...
TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE.
And the letters moved, as if by fate, falling neatly into place...
I AM LORD VOLDEMORT.
He had been rearranging words like that all year, writing back to her.../If I could move, I'd kick myself for being so stupid. What was I thinking? Voldemort is coming back to life because of me.../
"Dumbledore saw through you when you were at school," Harry was all but shouting, "and he still frightens you now, wherever you're hiding these days--"
"Dumbledore's been driven out of this castle by the mere memory of me," Tom spat venomously.
"He's not as gone as you might think!" Something about the words gave her hope.
Music filled the Chamber, haunting and unearthly. It had to herald a miracle.
A crimson bird swooped over them, a flash of flaming feathers cutting through the smoke left behind Tom's letters. The bird dropped a ragged bundle between them at Harry's feet with a soft flop, and perched on his shoulder. Ginny could feel its presence glow through him, and didn't think to wonder how.
"That's a phoenix," Tom said.
"Fawkes?" Harry knew the bird.
"And that is the old school Sorting Hat," Tom added, giving name to the ragged bundle. He began to laugh, but Ginny felt strangely unafraid.
She wasn't surprised when Harry began to pick a fight. /That's my Harry/, she thought affectionately, ready for Voldemort's defeat, or to die together, whichever came first.
"You're a wreck," Harry said flatly. "You're barely alive. That's where all your power got you."
It was true.
Harry knew it.
Ginny knew it.
And Tom Riddle knew it.
And called it a lucky chance. Fool.
Slytherin's stone mouth began to open.
"Kill him."
The basilisk scraped upward, and Ginny was motionless, trapped within herself, unable to help. Fawkes did what she couldn't, diving at the great snake's eyes, stabbing them with his deadly beak, spattering blood across the floor.
"THE BOY IS BEHIND YOU! YOU CAN STILL SMELL HIM," Tom shouted, his determination to destroy Harry putting the lie to his dismissal of the threat Harry presented to him.
The blinded snake swayed, lurching hesitantly toward Harry. "Help me, help me-someone, anyone," Harry muttered, falling reluctantly away from Ginny. She wanted to help, but all she could do was watch...The basilisk's tale caught the edge of the Sorting Hat next to her, thrusting it into Harry's arms.
Harry, trusting to fate, yanked it over his head. She felt something slam into the top of his head as if it were her own... Tom moved toward him as if to show the basilisk the way. "KILL THE BOY! LEAVE THE BIRD-THE BOY IS BEHIND YOU!" Tossing the Hat aside, Harry whirled to face them, a naked sword gleaming moon-bright in his hand.
