Chapter 2
The woman surveyed her new office. Everything in it from the desk to the ceiling sparkled. A slow smile teased her soft, pink lips as she thought about working in this beautiful room.
A hand rested on her shoulder, lovingly and a voice whispered in her ear, "I guess you like it."
Ginny looked over her shoulder at her husband of five years, Harry Potter. "I love it. I can't believe they added a new room to the school just for me!" She tried not to squeal, a habit from her youth she worked constantly on.
"Well, Professor McGonigal wouldn't deny her favorite student a brand new office. Especially when it's Virginia Potter, the old Head Girl," Harry said, teasingly, spinning Ginny so she faced him completely.
"Hate to break it to you," she said teasingly. "But I was Ginny Weasley back then. Your name was not always attached to mine."
"Oh, try to tell me I'm not important, will you?" Harry said, mock-angrily. "Well I'll teach you." He lowered his head and enveloped Ginny's mouth in a passionate kiss.
They separated when they heard a soft cough from the doorway. Hermione Granger was leaning on the door frame, raising an eyebrow at them. "You know, it's not that I don't think it's appropriate to consummate a new office by shagging in it, but I do actually need to talk to Professor Potter. H. Potter, that is," Hermione said, sounding very much like a teacher, despite using the word "shagging."
"Actually, you can call him Professor Potter. I think I'm going to go by Professor Weasley," Ginny said, stepping away from Harry. "The students will be less confused."
"You're probably right," Hermione said. "Harry, McGoganal wants to see you. Something about you teaching Advanced Divination," she added smirking.
Harry groaned, "She does realize that I only got those god marks in that class because I'm a terrific liar, doesn't she?"
Hermione shrugged. "Don't kill the messenger. I have to go do an inventory for the potions ingredients. See you, Harry, Ginny," Hermione said happily before leaving. Hermione was the only one who could be happy about making an inventory.
Harry turned to Ginny and gave her a quick peck on the lips. "Got to talk McGoganal out of this. I'll see you at dinner?" he said.
"Yes. I'll just unpack and then go make lesson plans," Ginny said, smiling.
Harry returned her smile before heading out to argue with the current Headmistress.
Ginny went into the hallway to pick up one of the boxes of books she had piled outside the door. As her hands lifted the heavy box, suddenly something came over her.
My Virginia.
No reason why she thought of that. It just came into her head. The phrase, the oh-so-familiar phrase. At the moment, she couldn't remember who had always called her that. Not Harry, not Neville, not Dean, not Michael; she made a mental checklist in her head of the guys she had dated. She couldn't even remember if her dad had called her that.
She turned to enter back in her office when she saw it written on the wall to the left of her. The same place it had been written 13 years ago.
THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE.
Ginny dropped her box and her hands flew to her mouth. She closed her eyes, telling herself that she hadn't just seen that. And when she opened them again, they were gone.
Long lost words whisper to me again
She wanted her office here. She had hand picked the spot where it would be located. And now she realized why.
Still can't find what keeps me here
She suddenly remembered who had called her his Virginia. Tom. Tom, Tom, Tom, her mind repeated his name over and over. How could she have forgotten about Tom.
When all this time I've been so hollow inside
She kicked the cardboard box that she had dropped in front of the doorway into her office. She ripped off the top, not even thinking about using her wand. She then started unloading it quickly, throwing every book that wasn't the one she was looking for across the room.
Watching me
Wanting me
I can feel you hold me down
And then she found it. The red leather cover was still perfectly intact. The pages looked like they had never been stained with blood. She grasped the diary to her chest, and then held it dropped it to the floor and backed up.
Fearing you
Loving you
I won't let you hold me down
Where had it come from? Why was it here? These questions plagued her mind. The most terrifying of all was the thought that she had put it there. On purpose.
Haunting you, I can smell you, alive
You heart pounding in my head
A tear escaped her eye. She didn't want to write in it. She couldn't. She shouldn't. She just needed to burn it. Throw it in the fire.
Watching me
Wanting me
I can feel you hold me down
But she didn't. She placed on her bookshelf. The first book ever placed on that bookshelf. It stared at her like a red eye, like the red eye of the modern day Tom. The red eye that had looked at her the one time she ever met him. The eye that Harry hadn't been able to make close forever.
Ginny placed other books on the shelves, but Tom's diary kept staring at her. And she couldn't bring herself to get rid of it.
Saving you
Raping you
Watching you hold me down
She couldn't take it anymore. She closed the door, leaving three more boxes outside her room and half of the books in the first strewn about her floor. She didn't know how she would ever be able to go back into that room.
As she walked away, she knew something. She needed to find her Tom. Not the diary, but the real Tom. She had to find Lord Voldemort.