Disclaimer: None of these charaters belong to me.

A/N: Another books which is out of my norm. It's shorter and darker.

Hold You Until I Die
Chapter one: Hello, Darkness, My Old Friend

Ginny found herself wandering down dark corridors made of shinney black obsidian. The hard floor felt as ice to her bare feet. She continued onward, her finders playing nervously at the low collar of her cotton nightdress. The hall felt to be going on forever. Suddenly, large black doors sprang from the darkness. Ginny could barely reach the wrought iron knocker. As she knocked, the sound echoed loudly through the corridor. One of the large doors swung open slowly with a loud screech. Ginny stood idly, peering into the darkness the door revealed.

"Come, child," a deep, cold voice beckoned.

Ginny walked into the room. She heard the door slam behind her, and she knew it was too late to change her mind. Torchlight erupted suddenly so that Ginny could see where she was. It was a large, empty chamber, made of sleekest obsidian. A mere hundred yards in front of her was a tall throne. Someone sat there, shrouded in darkness. Another person lurked in the shadows beside the throne.

"I remember you, child," came the cold voice from the top of the throne. "Why have you sought me?"

Ginny's mouth was dry, exceedingly so that she couldn't make a sound escape it. Suddenly, a voice echoed from the ceiling. Ginny recognized the voice as her own, yet no words could escape her lips.

"Dark Lord," came Ginny's voice, "I have sought you because you are the most powerful of wizards. I need of you a favor."

They were the very thoughts she had wished to convey. How they came about was a mystery to her.

"Yes, child," the Dark Lord replied. "You have helped me in the past. I do believe I owe you a small favor. What do you wish of me?"

"Please, Lord," Ginny spoke from her own mouth. "You know my love as he is your enemy. Please, enable me to frolic in his dreams."

"Very well," said the Dark Lord. "I will give you full reign over his dreams at one condition. He will not know you."

"What do you mean?" Ginny demanded worriedly.

"You may slip into his dreams and do whatever you like there," the Dark Lord explained. "But, he will not see you as you are. Nothing about you will be familiar. He will not know you."

"Wait!" Ginny cried. "That defeats the purpose. How is he to love me if he doesn't know it's me he loves?"

"You will find ways to tell him, to show him, it was you," the Dark Lord told her. "But you cannot tell him who you are."

Ginny fell to her knees and thought. Could it work that way? Could he figure out on his own that they were meant to be?

"Oh, and one more thing," the Dark Lord continued, an evil smirk apparent in his voice. "If your love, in your dream, calls you by your name, then he shall know it is you and shall love you forever. But, if he calls you by another girl's came, then you shall die before the sun rises."

"That's not fair!" Ginny cried. "You can't do that!"

"You came to me," said the Dark Lord. "I make the rules."

"I think that's too much risk," Ginny told him, standing up and turning to leave.

"Virginia!" the Dark Lord called. "How will he love you without me? Think about it. All these years, you have wanted him. And all these years, he has seen you for no more than a little sister. This is your only chance to allow him to really know you."

Ginny stood with her eyes closed. As she thought about forever without him, tears filled her eyes. Then she thought of forever with him. More tears came, but not tears of sorrow. Each tear brought a feeling of joy beyond anything she had ever felt. Ginny had to do it. She had to.

When she turned and saw Lord Voldemort on his dark throne, the joy left her. Why had she sought help from the most evil person who existed? She couldn't make a deal with him. That would be like selling her soul to the devil.

"I'm sorry," Ginny said suddenly. "I can't do it. I'll have to get him on my own."

"Very well," the Dark Lord said, giving up faster than Ginny thought he would have. "But I'll give you this."

The Dark Lord snapped his fingers. Immediately, the dumpy man in the shadows ran up to Ginny and presented her with a necklace. It was a black nylon string with a small black stone on it. A small gold lightening bolt in the middle of the pendant shimmered in the firelight.

"What's this for?" Ginny asked.

"Put this around your neck before you go to sleep," Voldemort instructed, tapping his long fingers on his armrest. "It's just in case you change your mind."

"I won't change my mind," Ginny insisted stubbornly, not even looking at the necklace.

A cold laugh radiated from Voldemort's throne.

***********

Ginny sprang from her bed, breathing hard. She frantically looked around and found herself in her own bedroom. She was so relieved as she lay back down.

"That was the strangest dream," Ginny muttered to herself, still breathing heavily.

She rolled on her side and saw a book beside her pillow. It was Tom Riddle's diary, the one she had used to seek out Voldemort in her dream. That was probably what brought on the whole thing. Playing with something dangerous and linked to bad memories can bring on nightmares.

Ginny turned on to her other side. Surprisingly, there was a black, velvet box on the other side of the pillow. Ginny stared at it, hoping it wasn't what she thought it was. Slowly, she reached over to the box and opened it. Inside, there was the necklace, the lightening shape glowing red.

A/N: Don't ask me how she got Tom Riddle's diary back and whole. She just has it, okay?