The Return of an Old Friend
The first week of school had come and gone before Ginny was able to take out the watch again. She'd managed to steer clear of Draco since the start of term banquet. Ginny was very glad of the fact because Ron had told her how horrid he was already behaving. Apparently, having his father in prison was not agreeing with him.
But, now it was the weekend and she didn't need to worry about avoiding Draco for a few days. She planned on spending the weekend fixing up the watch. Her goal was to get it looking and running perfectly before her schoolwork got out of hand, as it invariably would. Already McGonagall had given a writing assignment that was to take up four feet of parchment. Ginny didn't think a report on the ways to identify an animagus would be as interesting as playing with her pocket watch, so she was at her desk with her wand and the "Timepiece" edition of Do-it-Yourself Fix-it Charms which she had kept from her earlier watch-mending endeavor. The book made her think of her own watch and she glance down to see that the hand was pointed to "Study." She looked up again before her watch could make her feel guilty.
Earlier in the week, Ginny had made a list of what specifically needed to be done to the watch. Looking over it now, she was torn between whether to start with the harder or easier parts. She didn't struggle very long before she decided on the easier bits. Ginny knew herself well enough to know that if she didn't see any initial progress she would get discouraged. A cursory glance at her list convinced her that the part that showed "Muggle time" would be easiest to fix. And if I get that done straight away, at least a part of the watch will be working!
Ginny looked the process up in her Fix-it book and found that there were actually two separate parts to fixing Muggle time. Step one actually involved manual labor! Well, sort of. All Ginny actually had to do was find a little knob and turn it until it read the correct time. After a few minutes of turning she looked down and found that the numbers had not marched forward even a year. Her eyes widened in exasperation and she quickly thumbed through the book for a spell to quicken things up. "Here it is… tornare acceleros!" She watched as the hours blurred by; she did a little wand movement to slow down the knob. When it reached very near the correct time she stopped it all together and finished the winding by hand. Back to the book… another simple incantation would keep the Muggle time running accurately. This is so easy, she thought as she swished her wand in 12 circles and flicked "Chronos reparo
"Lovely!" Ginny was so engrossed in admiring her handiwork that she didn't notice the swirling green vortex coming from the engravings on the watch. She didn't notice anything until she heard the voice. Even then, she didn't want to believe. It couldn't be. But she would never forget that voice, it had been part of her.
"Gryffindor," he said disgusted.
As Ginny clenched her eyes, willing him to go away, the words why me and not again drifted through her head. She slowly opened her eyes, not wanting to believe the dark haired Slytherin would be there. He was about two years older than the last time, but there was no mistaking him.
"Hello, Tom."
His mouth slowly curved into a thin lipped smile. "You remember me Miss Weasley, I'm flattered." Ginny did not miss the sarcasm in his last statement. "First my journal, now my grandfather's pocket watch. If you don't watch out, people will start to think you're trying to summon me."
"Your grandfather's…?" she trailed off. She was not as scared as she thought she would be, face to face with Tom Riddle again. The visage of the young Dark Lord was one she had live with consistently for a year.
"Cygnus Marvolo, my mother's father. Headmaster Dippet gave it to me in my first year. He did not think I would be able to follow in my grandfather's footsteps, but as you already know I have greatly surpassed him."
"But, how are you here when you are out there somewhere… I meant the real Vol-…the older you…and then last time…?"
"Don't you remember my diary, Ginny?" How could she forget? "I am a shadow. Not Tom, but part of his essence. I can feel my body is back in this world, and it is time that I rejoined him. Come, Ginny, and we will decide what is to be done with you."
She wanted to cry out or run, but before she could regurgitate those thoughts as action, her room had vanished into a deep blue fog. When it cleared, she did not know where she was.