There's a beast at the door
And he's wild and free
But we don't let him in
'Cause we don't want to see
What is lurking
Right behind the façade.

Jekyll & Hyde, Façade


Stained with Ink

Waking up, Ginny tried to stretch as inconspicuously as she could, expecting a cold stare from Snape for nodding off in class. In her mind, after all that had happened already, the last thing she needed was detention. With the frosty stones embracing the classroom, blocking out all sunlight, opening your eyes after a nap in Potions was never hazardous. But what Ginny saw as she opened her eyes, was bright sunlight on an open field overlooking the lake. What had awoken her was a burley shadow, towering high over her curled body that continued to poke her gently on the arm, as if it didn't notice her eyes had opened.

"Ha-" Yawn. "Hagrid?" she asked, rubbing her eyes to rid any lingering signs of sleep. The shadow looked surprised and took a step back, letting the rays of the sun he had been blocking fall onto Ginny's face. Shielding her eyes, she winced. Seemingly surprised, the shadow's face then took on a look of nervousness and a little embarrassment. But without the sun's rays silhouetting the back of his head, Ginny could see she was right, it was Hagrid. So why was she all of a sudden afraid of being caught?

"Miss- ah…" Again, Hagrid seemed shy almost. Her red hair billowed in the wind. "Weasley, I'm 'bout to guess. Ginny, right?" Nodding suspiciously, Ginny stopped herself and made her face contort to that of an innocent lost little first-year. It was less likely she'd be in trouble that way. "I've caught you wandr'ing these halls since Halloween, Miss Weasley. Whatch are you doin', not goin' to class, and at yer age! And to top that off, you've been sleeping in the middle of the day? I don' understand it, Miss Weasley."

Ginny relaxed into what she hoped was a look of shy sheepishness. "Oh, I'm sorry. I was so dreadfully tired. Ever since Filch's cat was attacked, I've been so worried." Hagrid appeared to look sympathetic, so Ginny continued, milking it for what it was worth. "I haven't been sleeping much, and I was tired. That's all! Oh, please Hagrid; don't report me to Professor McGonagall. I swear it'll never happen again." Under her breath, she muttered, "At least under your watch." Hagrid was still unconvinced. "Oh, please…."

After careful consideration for a moment, he conceded. Smiling gratefully, Ginny pushed the hair that was falling in front of her face behind her ears, letting her small face be shown. Her secret onlooker watched her movement silently, her moment of innocence and gratefulness reminding him of how she had been before. Before Hogwarts, before she first glimpsed the great castle, way before when she hadn't even owned a diary, before the whole Tom fiasco…

Brushing the dust off of her robes, Ginny noticed several bloody feathers covering parts of her robes. Some were drifting lazily, yet others fell heavily with blood through the air to the ground. Seeing her distaste for the feathery addition to her wardrobe, and noticing her gasp, Hagrid blushed again.

"Oh… ah, sorry 'bout that, Miss. That would prolly be my fault." He reached deep into his overcoat and pulled out a limp, strangled, and entirely dead chicken. Ginny shrieked out loud this time, and backed away to where she looked as if she was trying to climb up onto the side of the school like a spider. "You should be goin' inside for tea now, Miss Weasley. It'd wake you up nice 'n' good. I'll be cleanin' up this mess." Baffled, and with some slight thoughts of Hagrid being crazy running through her mind, Ginny quickly scrambled up and stared at the enormous metal clock of the Time Dragon base. 5:45. But… Potions class was her first class on Mondays, directly following breakfast. The clock must be wrong! Ginny thought. Either that or you need to get some caffeine in you, Ginny girl. At the crass stroke of the Time Dragon clock, Ginny realized she must have been missing for over half the day, not just taking a short nap in the most boring class of all time as she had thought.

So, why couldn't she remember anything she had done?


Chickens merrily strode around, lording it over the garden. Stealthily, Ginny saw fragile hands reach out for one. The chicken still clicked and clucked about, oblivious, until the hands, which Ginny now recognized as her own, found their way to it. Trying to make as much noise as possible, it squirmed and tried to escape, but Ginny held fast to its delicate neck. Tightening her hands, she heard the resulting snap of the bone and dropped the now limp chicken to the floor; her body was tingling with an awkward sort of pleasure. She reached for another one…


No! Ginny thought loudly to herself. You're just scaring yourself. Hagrid looked up as he heard the boom of the main doors hitting against the stone as a sudden multitude of Slytherins burst through the oak doors, each filing behind Draco as they prepared for yet another session of Quidditch practice. In each of their hands, was what Ron had described feverously to her just the week before as a gleaming, bullet-like, black, perfect broomstick with the label 'Nimbus 2001' engraved into its handle. Draco turned to speak to one of his teammates, and Ginny felt her mouth drop open at the hatred she could see in his eyes even at such a distance.

Obviously, his father had given him a good "talking to" after he had seen Slytherin's pathetic excuse for a Quidditch game. Not many people could miss a golden orb hovering about three inches above your head; if you did, you were pathetic. Worse still, if you, by any chance, were a pompous, bloody, heir to a vast Malfoy fortune, well, to put it bluntly, you were just screwed.

"You should go on now," Hagrid stated, surprising Ginny with the knowledge that, he too, had been watching the Slytherin team. He sighed heavily, "S' not safe fer a first-year to wander about all on 'er own nowadays. Now that this heir is on the loose." A dark shadow wormed its way across his face, and Ginny pondered as to why.

The roles of the two different sets of people had been switched. It was now the Slytherins who were all watching the two; Draco's grip on the handle was shaking his broom violently from side to side. Ginny chose to ignore this and, still watching Hagrid, flipped her hair out of her eyes in a way very characteristic of Tom. This made her onlooker smile in delight.

This was when Ginny noticed that she was still crouched on the floor, and had been ever since Hagrid has shown her that… disgustingly deceased creature. Her small book bag was lying beside her, and Ginny knew without a doubt, if she chose to look, a fresh quill and a black leather diary would be the first thing visible. The diary! She had to talk to Tom about why she couldn't remember that day. But… he might- no Ginny! He will not bid you to go to him, and he will definitely not curse you again. Just… go see him. And do not under any circumstances make him angry.

All the blood rushed to her head as she leapt purposefully to her feet, resulting in her having to use the aid of the wall to steady her. "Careful now, Miss Weasley…." Hagrid scolded, his eyebrows raised into that mat of thing called his hair. Ginny bit her lip, waiting until the world stopped spinning around. "Slow down a bit, let the dizziness pass."

She pushed her way through the Slytherins, noticing how they laughed when she nearly toppled over their conveniently and "entirely coincidentally" placed brooms. As she was about to break free of the group completely, Ginny felt a cold hand grab her upper arm. Swerving in a semi-circle to avoid landing on the floor again from this abrupt halt, Ginny found herself face-to-face with Draco.

Pulling her arm away from his, she took a step back into Marcus Flint, but she didn't seem to notice. Draco was looking at her with the most doleful eyes, eyes that he would never show to anyone else. Perhaps Daddy had been too harsh with his only little boy.

Again biting her lip until she could taste the sweet tang of fresh blood, Ginny summoned the nerve she needed to walk away and run as fast as she could to the main door, struggling to heave open the heavy doors. The Slytherins laughed at her when she continued to try and open the resisting door, stopping only when Draco opened the door for her, exaggerating his moves in front of his teammates in a mock display of gentlemanly behavior, but when he turned, she could see the sincerity in his eyes.

The entrance hallway was filled with wandering students, all shouting salutations to one another and chatting idly. With a hint of a smile, three brothers pounced on Ginny when they saw she had entered the room and led her to the Great Hall. Fred, George, and Ron poured themselves a round of tea and drank, all trying to involve Ginny in their conversations. "Ginny, where have you been?" Percy reprimanded as he lowered himself next to the quartet. Protesting, rather loudly one might add, the brothers fought for their little sister. Ginny's expression was confused as they for once fought her battle. The twins began reminding Percy of all the mistakes he had made when he was a first-year while Ron listed things he had done at home that were not so pleasant until he grudgingly backed out of the room.

"So, Skinny Ginny," George said in the typical nasally high voice that mothers use to coo to their young children. "What be the new news with you?" Despite his joking, he seemed so interested, and Ginny wondered why. She knew her brothers all despised her. Yes, they do. They all despise you, Gin. Every single one of them...

Yes, yes they do…

But after a minute of silence, Fred repeated the question; identical to the way his twin had said it. Feeling the comfort of the black leather through the thin material of her school bag, Ginny thought maybe she should tell them all about Tom. Maybe they would agree to meet him. And pound his face into a bloody pulp when I mention what he did to me. Then again, maybe it's not the best idea I've ever had.

"Oh, school's been loads of fun. I missed you guys. We should have a family night next week," Ginny proposed hopefully, her face glowing. Fred and George each agreed, their mouths stuffed with rolls, but Ron protested.

"Can't. Sorry, Skinny Ginny, but I have… plans with 'Mione and Harry. Maybe we could take a rain-check?" Ginny was smiling, but her soul was cringing. Tom was right. They didn't care for her. "Actually, I have to go now. 'Mione told me to meet her." He grabbed a roll for the trip there, kissed Ginny on the forehead, and walked out. Fred and George stayed and continued to tease Ginny about random things until Lee Jordan called them out of the room. Waving their reply to him, they repeated the same action Ron had done before leaving.

Gloomily, Ginny opened her book bag, taking out the quill, ink, and her Diary. Looking around, she saw over half the people had gone, and the other half in the midst of leaving. She opened the book, and took a sip of tea while thinking of what to write. Carelessly, she let a drop of tea fall onto the blank page. Ginny froze for what seemed like an eternity as it disappeared. Then the writing came. The green, fluid, beautiful script looped its way across the page: I love tea.

Ginny covered her mouth and set the tea down, noticing with a start that he had seen what she wrote. Unless she had taken her original diary back in her hurry, it should be him that must start the link with her… Sorry, she wrote in a hurry. I was foolish, and I'm sorry. She imagined Tom sighing as he read that. Tom, she wrote before he had the chance to respond.

Where was I today?

I have no idea at all.

I think I'm losing my memory. There are rooster feathers all over my robes and I don't know how they got there.

Poor Gin.

Don't pity me, please… I don't need your pity.

Well, that's a change of pace. What's wrong? I know… Why don't we have a long talk, the way we used to? You should come down here straight away.

Oh, Tom. Finally someone understands how much I need to just talk. No one's ever understood me like you, Tom…

Well, I'm one of a kind.

It's… strange really…

What is?

The way I can confide in you. Don't get me wrong; I'm so glad I've got this diary to confide in… It's like having a friend I can carry around in my pocket. But… it seems strange I don't have any friends I can actually talk to in real life.

You don't need friends like that. You have me. I'm all you'll ever need.

I wish that were true… We do need to talk. I'll be right down.

Oh, no. Don't leave your tea just for me. Enjoy your tea as if I were there with you. We can chat about the weather or something until you're done.

Are you sure, Tom? It would easier for me just to come down there. Like you said, and I can actually talk to you.

Of course not! Besides, the longer we talk, the more we can talk in public later.

I don't understand…

Just seeing your handwriting even, makes everything feel… solid.

I don't understand what you mean at all, Tom.

Oh, nothing, nothing at all.

I'm coming down. Now…to see you… This can't wait.

While she was collecting her things and brushing the crumbs off her robes, Ginny realized that the Hall was strangely empty for that time of day. Normally, hordes of students and teachers would be down here… but not now. Only one person, a man shrouded by a raggedy black robe was there, hunched over his cup of tea, watching her openly. Closing her eyes, Ginny brushed away that strange feeling you have when you know someone is watching you.

As she stepped into the entrance hall, she carried her book bag awkwardly as she tried to fit her books into it while she walked. An incredible silence that Ginny had never heard the like of filled the room. Each step she took echoed around her, always growing softer and softer every second before they were joined by another footstep. Her thoughts began to blur together like rainwater on a canvas where she couldn't perceive or hear anyone else near.

That was the time she began to regret her decision when she allowed her father to sweet-talk her into watching those stupid, Muggle, American horror movies. She could practically see those little blonde girls jumping rope, their pigtails bouncing up and down as they sang, "One two; Freddy's coming for you. Three, four; Better lock your door. Five, six; Grab your…" Stop it Ginny. You're only scaring yourself. She nearly screamed out loud when one of her Transfiguration classmates, a Hufflepuff girl with blonde pigtails named Emilia, ran by, disappearing around the bend without a sound.

Passing the Hufflepuff portrait hole, faint noises were present from another corridor nearby. Books and other things were being slapped down onto a stone floor. Baffled for a split-blonde-moment, Ginny glanced downward at her feet shuffling on the carpet. Unless you were in the entrance hall, the only other place you would find marble flooring would be the hallways. Unless you were in the dungeon, the only other place you'd find a stone flooring would be… the bathroom.

The noise continued to grow louder as Ginny neared the somewhat strangely familiar Mahogany door… All of a sudden, she had to caress her head to keep the visions at bay.

Snakes, chambers, Tom, pain, Tom, diaries, Tom, Slytherin, Tom, nightgowns, Tom…

Like eerie music, noise danced around her head in circles as she creaked open the door just a tad. There was a clamber of a brass pot and some hushed whispering because some house elves couldn't take time out of their busy schedule to oil some hinges. Pushing open her stall door, Hermione took a breath and walked out into the center of the lavatory, gathering herself with each breath. At the sight of Ginny, she just sighed heavily and leaned against the wall.

"You shouldn't be here, Ginny!" She exclaimed exasperatedly. Ginny looked her up and down with hatred embedded in her eyes. In her heart, she knew that she should try her best to get along with one of her brother's best friends, and possible girlfriend… but Hermione just worked on Ginny's last nerve.

"I have as much right to be here as you do, Hermione," she said, trying to remain as neutral as Draco could be. Needless to say, she failed miserably, emotions spilling out of her ears. It always happened like this. Even on the train ride to Hogwarts, Ginny had been so nervous about first impressions as she sat huddled in Hermione's compartment. At first, when Hermione noticed her, she had just smiled half-heartedly and gone back to discussing their new course books with Neville.

Ron and Harry hadn't been there, and Ginny had never been angrier in her life. Ron had promised to stay with her and protect her, but he had to go off and have an adventure with his best friend, leaving her behind. Maybe if he had invited her along, she wouldn't have been so angry… But for another hour or so on the train, Ginny blathered incessantly to Tom before Hermione finally got sick of her presence. As nicely as she could, she tried to explain to Ginny that they were having a private conversation. Ginny was never an idiot. She just took one look at Neville snoring away, and Seamus who looked bored to death with Hermione and slammed her book shut, walking out to sulk.

Later, she had apologized to Tom for shaking him like that. He reacted with nothing but words of acceptance and love, and Ginny felt herself fall head over heels for him. Oh, she would give anything to have him back to being like that to her again…

"Just leave. Please Ginny. I'm trying to have an "adult conversation" if you don't mind…" Hermione flipped her hair out of her face. She claimed to be Ginny's best friend. Well, she was dead wrong and the only reason she was pretending was so Ron would be more accepting of her. Although sometimes Hermione could be nice, it felt good to know that very soon, someone would not be in the way to stop Ginny from hurting her.

"With who, Moaning Myrtle?" Ginny heard herself scream. Someone giggled girlishly at that, and Ginny turned to see Myrtle watching them both gleefully. "Please, I just need to stay for the obvious use…and I want to talk to somebody." Hermione looked around at the beaten, old bathroom while Ginny continued. "Though it appears you have beat me to him."

Her eyes were locked onto the worn-out tennis shoes she could see poking out from behind the stall door. Hermione glanced nervously at the door before biting her lip to keep from retorting. "Ginny, please get out! I need this space. And maybe Myrtle would like some company tomorrow." Her voice was laced with false sweetness. Ginny's eyes were watering but she kept her eyes firmly on the shoes. See the shoes. Imagine those shoes walking down the hallway with blood on them. Dirty blood from where they stepped on the remains of an outspoken Mudblood.

Realizing she had called her only friend who wasn't related to her a Mudblood; even if it was only in her thoughts, was what truly broke down Ginny. "Fine!" she literally cried as she broke the silence. Hoping to Merlin that Hermione could not see her tears, Ginny turned her nose into the air.

A grateful sort of snort came from the stall, causing Ginny to fume in anger. She couldn't even move. Her hands clenched, her eyes clamped shut, and her teeth ebbing into her lip so hard there was blood where she had ripped open her wound from the previous day, Ginny could only see the stars behind her eyes.

Lying discarded against the sink, her book bag waited for her claim. With one hand, she picked it up and pushed the door open. As soon as it closed behind her, Ron and Hermione could hear her penetrating, frustrated scream.

A slow, mournful march was coming from up the corridor, growing closer with each step. Ginny froze, before leaping into one of Filch's supply closets right across from the bathroom door. In the darkness, she could see nothing but brooms and mops that kept falling and hitting her as she stumbled her way to the back of the closet. Interesting… it seemed that in the closet there was only a thin wall separating her from a row of bathroom stalls such as the one where Hermione and Ron were. She could hear every single minute, unimportant, little thing they said… Excellent.

The oncoming person tripped over something in the hall and let out a string of loud and… well, highly imaginative curses. Ginny felt her face redden as she heard a particular one. She had never known you could do THAT with a broomstick.

Ron and Hermione abruptly stopped talking when they heard the noise and that's when Ginny froze with panic. She had left her book bag outside! And it had her name on it and everything… Oh Merlin… "Did you hear that?" came the low whisper from inside the bathroom. Ron began cursing their misfortune in less than the "quietest" tones, only stopping when something, most likely Hermione's hand, hit him.

The door to the bathroom creaked as it opened, bringing a shadowy, cloaked figure into the small view Ginny had through a peephole. The figure reached out with an uncovered hand, knocking three times in succession upon the stall door where Ron and Hermione were doing… something behind. Hermione let out a sigh of relief and swung open the door, narrowly missing the figure as she admitted him.

"Harry! You gave us such a fright- come in- how's your arm?" Hermione worried over him like an old Jewish mother. The figure- Harry was it? – squeezed into the stall, murmuring something Ginny missed as she rolled her eyes.

"We'd have come to meet you, but we decided to get started on the Polyjuice Potion," Ron explained. Harry brushed away his words and launched into a story about the day before, in the Hospital Wing, which strangely enough involved Draco's house elf, Dobby.

"And then they brought in Creevey…" Hermione was the one who interrupted now with her own pathetic little sob story. Ginny wasn't looking at them anymore, though she was still listening as she looked up into the depths of the closet, trying to hold in the tears.

"We already know- we heard Professor McGonagall-"

Colin was attacked?

"Telling Professor Flitwick this morning," Hermione told him gloomily.

I told him to go. It's all my fault…

"That's why we decided we'd better get going-"

Why? What did Colin ever do to anyone?

"The sooner we get a confession out of Malfoy, the better," Ron whole-heartedly agreed.

They think the heir is Draco?

"Break at least," Hermione stated as if it were obvious while she stirred.

It can't be him.

"Maybe New Years. We all have to stay over."

But… it would explain a lot…

"Lucius Malfoy must've opened the Chamber when he was at school and now he's told dear old Draco how to do it." Ron, oh so cleverly, put two and two together to get six as always.

Like what Lucius said, what Draco was yelling about, the look on his face…

"So Dobby stopped us from getting on the train and broke your arm…"

Snape! It would answer what he tried to warn me about!

"You know what, Harry?"

His family has been in Slytherin for ages. He told me so himself.

"If he doesn't stop trying to save your life he's going to kill you."

Could Draco be the heir of Slytherin?

Of course not.

Tom?

You have a very close connection with the heir?

With the heir? But how can that be? Never mind that; Tom what are you doing in my mind?

Oh, actually, I'm taking my Winter Vacation up here. What a lovely bedroom you have in here. He retorted sarcastically. I was wondering what was taking you so long to get down here, princess. Now his voice seemed cold and penetrating, causing Ginny to shiver slightly.

The- path. It's blocked, not by a thing, but by a person. It had sounded so subtle and perfect in her mind. What happened?

Oh… Visions of Harry flashed through her mind and she knew that he knew all that she had seen. Distract the golden boy and his annoying lackeys.

What?

Tom spoke slowly like she was three years old, a smile evident in his tone no matter how he tried to hide it. Distract. The. Golden. Boy.

How?

There was a sigh of exasperation. Use your imagination.

He kept sighing almost every moment she sat in that closet wondering what to do, as if he were fidgeting in anticipation of returning to the depths of his very own Chamber. I don't know the password, Tom, she admitted warily.

What? His voice was curt and…surprised like he wasn't expecting that to happen. Ginny respectfully lowered her head and twirled a ring of hair around one finger.

The password. I can't get in if I don't know what it is. And I… don't know what it is. What language is it in?

Tom laughed nervously, but it was far too loud and long for it to be natural. You don't need to know the language! All you need to know is the word.

I like knowing the language, so sue me.

The password? After a long breath, he eagerly spat out: It's in… French.

French? I love French. I've taken it since I was four. Parler vous Français

Tom stopped breathing. Wait. I –changed it a week ago. It's in Pig Latin now.

Utbay ouyay nowkay ouyay oday otnay peaksay Igpay Atinlay. Ginny caught his lie once more. Tell me the truth.

Fine! Clearly, he was now annoyed with her. Ginny shuddered, not knowing what he might do when annoyed. It's in regular Latin. Happy now? His voice was coated in dripping sarcasm.

So, it's a spell then?

No. Tiredness crept into his words. Not all Latin words are spells. But it is true all spells have a root in Latin.

Wait, I'm confused.

Just distract them.

Ginny felt for her bag in the dark, getting hit over the head by brooms and mops a few more times before remembering she had left it outside. Pulling her wand out of her cloak pocket, she stuck her head out of the door and grabbed her bag, pulling it into the room behind her before pointing the wand at her throat. "Sonitus vocis vicissitudo Severus Snape." When she tested the spell she had learned from one of the books Percy allowed her to borrow, Snape's low monotone came out instead of her own voice. "Potter! You, Granger, and Weasley out now!" The noise in the bathroom stopped dead and Ginny loved the feeling of power surging through her. "I said out!" When she heard scrambling behind the door, she quickly rushed back into the closet and hid.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione sped out of the bathroom, leaving behind the book and potion in trust that no one would willingly enter the bathroom to see them. Ginny smiled, her wand at her throat again. "Sonitus rursus." Then she walked right into the bathroom. The book lay open, gleaming in the light on its dusty page. "The Polyjuice Potion…" She read aloud in curiosity.

All of a sudden, there was a creak of the door and Ginny turned, the book still open in her hands, to find herself face to face with Hermione. "Ginny!" she yelled, looking inquiringly around for Snape. "It was all a charm, wasn't it?" So, she knew… What is the name of that spell again? "Ron is going to brutally strangle you when he finds out. You know he hates to be out of the loop, and you're his own flesh and blood." Ginny's eyes sprang open, remembering the long ago word.

"Obliviate!" Hermione stood before her confused. "Stupefy!" Thank Merlin for Percy letting me read all of his spell books. Her body fell to the ground by Ginny's feet. In mere anger, Ginny kicked it to the side. Tom, I need you. She felt Tom's eyes skim her memories and then survey what she had done.

Perfect.

How do I get in? A light was lit under her heart, burning and she watched it in the grimy mirror as it traveled to her throat. It was glazing her vocal cords with some strange substance and she knew she could do… something, whatever it was, that she could not have done before.

Tom was chuckling, obviously pleased, at what she didn't know. Just say open.

Open? she asked, not believing it could actually be that easy.

Open. Ginny paused, not wanting to question Tom anymore, and looked over at the sinks. She could almost see… something. Something that had happened right there…

"Open," she hissed to the sink. And it did.


Ginny climbed down the grimy floors, not trusting that rusty pipe posing as a slide to get her down safely. Peering into the oncoming darkness, she sighed before starting on her way down again. It was a long way to the bottom.

Finally, she felt the path even out under her feet. By now, she could remember where she was and what had happened, in dreams and reality, there. A cracking noise startled her into her own reality. Her eyes narrowed, she tried to see what she had stepped on in the dark. Idiot. Are you a witch or not? she scolded herself. "Lumos"

With the light bathing her in warmth, she could see the white of skulls under her shoes and she let out a terrified scream. The entire floor was practically covered in skeletons of dead rats and so on. She was lucky to have even taken three steps without stepping on something… else.

Edging along the wall, she finally reached the main chamber. In the dim candlelight, the snake statues that marked the way had shadows thrown onto their faces; their eyes followed her as she walked.

Tears flirted with her eyes as she searched the room for Tom. Long ago, she had felt him leave her mind, and had not heard from him since then. Slytherin's shrine in front of her kept dripping leftover rain from the previous night down into a large puddle that had collected at his base. With the steady dripping noise being the only thing she could hear, every move she made was amplified for anyone else to hear.

Half of her desperately wanted to cry and the other half wanted to scream. But she felt that even if she did, even if she was in the middle of the Great Hall during a feast, no one would even look up. No one would listen, or care, or even notice…She couldn't shake off the funny feeling she had whenever she came into this Chamber. It made her want to do things. So, to drown out the voices starting in her head, she did both things she wanted to do: scream and cry.

Her bag was abandoned on the floor as she wiped her tears away with her dirty hands. "Tom?" she chocked out through her tears. From a random source of wind somewhere in the Chamber, her hair was ruffled, flopping in front of her eyes. "T- Tom? Where are you?" Intently, she listened, but all she heard was her echo coming back to her many times over. "Tom, please… Where are you?"

Really, Gin, I have no idea… His voice was smooth and pleasant, giving her pleasurable vibes even in the Chamber. Why don't you lay down the diary and come looking for me. I'm certain I'm here somewhere, princess. So, when I hear you calling for me, I'll follow and come to your voice. Ginny robotically moved her head to look at the leather diary in her embrace. If anything at all happened to her, she needed the diary to be right there by her side. And by the way Tom was being so pushy and fake-sweet to her, something big was going to happen.

But he used the diary, her other side argued. He used you through it. And he used it to get to you. He used the diary to get you to go down here last time and don't you remember how that had ended? It wasn't like she was hell-bent against parting with a leather binding attached with some blank pages. No. She didn't want to part with Tom as she wished he still were. And by keeping the diary near her, she could pretend she had never really met him. Okay, finally she relented, placing the book open at the feet of Salazar Slytherin.

"Tom! Can you hear me? Tom… Tom!" she began to call. If Ginny had been paying attention as she wandered aimlessly into a side corridor, she would have noticed her hand beginning to glow. "Hear my voice and come to me, Tom!" she willed, her eyes closed to give more energy to trying to hear him. If she had seen the way her hand was glowing, the curious Weasley nature would have compelled her to look back and see her diary glowing as well; but this time, her eyes remained closed and she remained blissfully ignorant.

Suddenly, she felt very, very drained and had a pain gnawing at her stomach. It was an odd, new feeling; it was like someone was pulling out all of her powers. In fear, she slipped on the back of her robes as she turned and ran back to her diary. It was still glowing, but with only a small shriek, Ginny slammed the diary shut and clenched it to her chest. At once, she felt the familiar tug on her navel before she stopped. Was it a Portkey? No, it wasn't. She was in the exact same place, as before, only, it felt different. That was the only word she could describe it with. Different…

The diary still clutched to her, she fell to the floor in shock. It took all of her energy to just lift her head. Her hand was still radiating a small, opaque purple haze, but besides feeling uneasy, she felt no difference and noticed calmly that the glow was fading. The feeling in her stomach had stopped when she grabbed the diary, but the feeling of something wrong lingered. Footsteps came closer behind her. Ginny yelped in an entwined emotion of fright and surprise.

Although it should have been obvious who was there, she still edged away from the center of the chamber to where she was nearly hugging the statue. The footsteps got louder, but no one entered her sight. They stopped suddenly. Ginny had grown tense with the anticipation, but for what seemed like an eternity, no one came. She was just about to try to gather her strength to get up, but then…

"What's the matter, love?" Tom took a noisy bite out of a green apple as he looked at her lying beside his feet on the floor. Ginny had a sinking feeling he had been watching her for a while. He sighed, and lowered the apple down to where he marveled at it. "You know what? I know I'm eating this apple. I can see it, I can smell it, and I can feel myself chewing it… but I know it's not real. The only reason I can taste it, is the spell is sending signals to my mind telling me it's succulent and juicy. But it's not real." There was a long period of silence after this where Ginny looked at Tom, not as a monster or her Tom, but as a poor teenager. Right as she was about to question what he meant, he asked her a question. "Want some? It's delicious."

What is that story with that stupid woman who took that apple from the snake because he persuaded her to do it? "It's absolutely scrumptious, princess… Or, so I've been told. It's been a long time since I've really had an apple. You'd be surprised at what you miss when you can't have it anymore…"

"I'm sorry," she whispered in that tone she had heard Ron use only so much when he talked to her mum about things he didn't really mean. Sarcasm was what he called it… "I'm sorry; I don't accept apples from snakes." He took another bite, making noises like he was enjoying it so much, although the entire time, he had a longing look in his eyes as he looked at the apple.

With a last bite, he tossed the barely touched apple into a large puddle where it bobbed, struggling to stay afloat for a minute, before sinking slowly to the bottom. "So, what's the big emergency you wanted to discuss about with me?" Tom asked while licking his fingers free of the stray juice. "You seem stressed." His hands had found her arm and he was stroking her shoulder gently, trying to calm her, but in truth, he was just worsening the situation. It only made Ginny widen her eyes and struggle to stand so she could get away.

"You can't touch me, Tom. You're only a memory. You go right through me…" His chuckle scared her senseless, but he forced her back down to the ground with his grip on her arm.

"Gin… even memories can be resurrected. It just has to be willed." Oh, Merlin. I brought him back… "So, come on, Gin." He pulled her up backwards to stand next to him. She only took one step away before his hand gripped her arm tightly. She wobbled for a moment with the extra weight he was exerting on her. Unsure about her own two feet, she tried to force herself to remain standing, but she just toppled over, his hands there or not. Bringing her arms up to shield her face, Ginny braced herself for the cold, stone floor. But it never came… She opened her eyes to see Tom holding her with a worried look. Noticing she was watching him, he coughed, straightening his face behind his hands. "Hello, princess."

"Tom, put me down…"

"No. Gin… you're weak," he said, mocking her desperate plea. "Off to bed with you, young lady." Skeptically, Ginny turned away to hide her fearful eyes. "Besides, I do have to talk to you." Brown eyes narrowed at him. Why was he being so considerate to her needs and so… nice?

Clutching her body closer to him, Tom stepped over the open diary on the floor and proceeded to carry Ginny like a newlywed bride into the bedroom. Shifting uneasily under his gaze, she dug into the pocket of her robe for the thing she needed to talk to him about. "Tom…" Even though her voice was a bare whisper, he still heard her. Looking at her oddly, he set her down onto the bed. "Tom, I got a letter… from my father, this morning. I was surprised because, you know how I stopped mailing everybody every single morning quite some time ago, but this is the first note I have ever gotten in response." Holding out her hand, Ginny waited breathlessly as Tom reached out and took the note.

Dearest Ginny,

I am most sorry I haven't owled you sooner, but your mother and I had some… trouble with the car. You understand, don't you? Well, we have been trying to speak to you for some time now. I hope your first year is going well. How are your brothers treating you? Oh, it's time for my meeting, but I'll owl you later on to see how you're feeling.

Love you to the moon and stars,

Daddy

Tom looked up from the letter, a little irritated it seemed, but also somewhat confused. "So?" he sneered. Ginny took a deep breath. Grasping the note firmly in her hand again, she crumpled it into a tiny ball before placing it back in her pocket.

"Don't you see? You told me…" Ginny found she couldn't find the words to speak. Tom barely raised his eyebrows at her as she stammered. "Well, for weeks now, every time I mention one of my brothers or my parents, I get the worst feeling. It's like someone is putting thoughts in my head. Eerily, it happens every time. The thoughts tell me that they all hate me. That they always have and always will... For the longest time, they didn't care about me and I saw the truth in these thoughts. I though I was just growing up. But it's not true. I guess they were just too busy with their friends to think about their baby sister." A quiver was evident in her voice.

Tom shushed her, his eyes wide but he didn't let her see that. "No, do not hush me." Ginny pushed his hand away. "Now that I look over everything that has happened, they weren't ignoring me. They barely left me alone. They always protected me against any danger I faced. Until you came along. And even then, I only magnified the bad so I could never look the good in the face. Why do I always think they hate me, Tom? How could things have changed so much since I met you?"

"You're imagining things, Gin. Your brothers have always estranged you. But you know as well as I that you're only making up an explanation to all of this. Until you came to Hogwarts, you had the gift of seeing your brothers as your saviors. But now you're here, and you've lost that gift. You can't blame me for losing that gift. They have other friends. You are not one of them. You are still their sister. They can barely stand you in the summertime when you annoy them incessantly, and now they can't get rid of you even at Hogwarts! You told me yourself that they despise you sometimes." His tone was mocking, yet… he was laughing almost.

"They do care for me!"

"I never said otherwise! I just quoted your own words." Ginny shook her head, flinging her hair from side to side. Sighing, Tom pushed her by the shoulders down onto the mattress. "Why don't you just go to sleep? I have other matters to attend to."

"But I'm not tired. It's not even 6:30! Why should I-" His hands pushed her down again. Her own wand betrayed her as it was pointed to her forehead.

"Quiesco."


Tom paced around. A flash of red and green light, and then there was another body in the room. "Riddle? Why have you brought me here?" the new voice demanded to know. Tom snarled.

"I would've gotten you here sooner but your pitiful servant wouldn't allow me to kidnap you." The new person laughed roughly at this, sending shivers of –was it fear he was feeling? - down his back. "What the hell do you think you are doing? I told you I'd get her and then I find out that the one time I can actually obtain power from her, I'm not even in my body! Just because you set all of this up does not mean you can steal her powers and strength before me!"

"Calm down, Riddle. What a typical teenager you're acting like…" At this, Tom seethed in anger. "I had my doubts about you. I can see into your mind just like you can with that brat you have under your control. With some of the thoughts you've been feeling, I wondered if I could trust you to finish off our noble work. You cannot hesitate to kill this girl!

"You think I don't know that?" Tom clenched his fingers into his palm, calming himself before getting even angrier. "You don't have to worry about me. I never let myself get attached to anything. This girl- this spoiled little brat- is no different."

"I think you're bluffing," the voice bluntly said what was obvious to him. Freezing, Tom bit his lip to keep himself from smacking this… this… vile, loathsome, evil waste of human space!

"I can assure you, at no time have I ever relented. I can kill this brat as easily as I can kiss her." Immediately after this, Tom mentally smacked himself for his choice of words.

"Kiss her? Please, my dear, dear boy… Tell me you've not gotten soft on me!"

"No! Tell me to do anything, and I'll do it. I await… your orders…" Although Tom hated being anyone's servant boy, he knew that this was far beyond his control.

"Kill the girl."

With a deep sigh, Tom bowed to the darkest wizard to ever roam the Earth as he backed away. Trying his best to keep the sneer out of his voice, he answered, "Yes Master."


Translations:

Do you speak French?

But you know you do not speak Pig Latin

Noise voice change Severus Snape

Noise reversed

Sleep


Sorry I didn't update sooner. So many things were happening. You guys know how I was grounded, but my parents took me on Spring Break, then I sent this chapter to my beta, but she couldn't finish betaing it because I had too mnay problems. Then I had my birthday and thenI got this back. So if it weren't for the site not letting me update, this would have been up here yesterday.

Disclaimer: I sort of stole these quotes. The whole thing with Ginny not knowing you could do THAT with a broomstick is from Cassandra Claire's fic Draco Dormiens.
Also the quote about the apple being succulent but he could only taste it because of a spell was half-taken from The Matrix. I was typing it, and I remembered the quote and thought it went so well with whatI was trying to say.

Again, I'm sorry, but I will try my best to stay on my schedule or be even faster typing up the next chapter.

Love from,

Emma

P.S. The reviewers from my authors note were: Vanessa Nicole Sisseck, Riddled-Slytherin, Strawberry-Heavens, Enialb Reprac (who by the way, I don't know who you are unless you are one of my friends, so next time, if I do know you, tell me who you are), and lilBlondi. You guys get a spoiler. In your next review, tell me whether you'd like a spoiler from the eigth chapter or from a chapter way off in the future.