(Please Read!) Author's note: Yay, the last chapter is here! All I have to say is that I am very sorry. I went to a website that has this write up all about these lovely things called 'Mary Sues'. And guess what? I am teh Queen of teh Mary Sues! Which is rather like being a queen of foot fungus. Le sigh. Apparently, having an OC that is a hybrid is a no-no, and they can't have cool names that the author likes. They're also not supposed to be pretty, or have any other character acknowledge that they are pretty. Other characters can't like the OC either. And it's not just original characters that can be Mary Sues too! Ginny is one as well! I've made her too smart, well liked, and attractive! Which is true, I've made almost no enemies for little Ginevra in this story. Which is why, in Part Two, I have created several big-scary-scaly-unpleasant meanies for Ginny to deal with.

Warning! There is some very unpleasant stuff in this chapter. It is not for the faint of heart! Of course, I may be exaggerating, but I just want you readers to be aware that some depressing or upsetting stuff may happen in this chapter. Proceed at your own risk of discomfort.

serenity's hell: I am so sorry to hear that! That's creepy! Hopefully this chapter will put those dreams to rest. And hopefully this chapter won't be really lame…

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Riddle continued his ravenous assault on Ginny's neck as she stood quietly staring over his shoulder at the stonewall. Her heart was pounding loudly in her chest, though it was the only part of her body that seemed to be moving. She felt even her lungs were not moving with each breath she took, as if she was undeserving of the oxygen. Was this it, had she again given in to Tom Riddle. Was she really a follower of the self-proclaimed Dark Lord?

His lips met the cool metal of the necklace around her neck, and they curved into a smile. "No one will ever touch you…" he said, pausing as he rested his lips on her skin, "You are a part of me, now. And I you, did you realize?"

Ginny didn't answer him, not knowing what to say. Then, something he had said earlier came swimming back into her thoughts. She knew her smile must have looked twisted, back was thankful no one could see it. Riddle was too busy tearing his hands through her hair, which he had undone from its plaits.

"I want to have some more, fun," she announced suddenly, allowing her arms to slip around Riddle's neck as he leaned back to look at her. Ginny slid a smirk across her face, "After all, we do still have guests…"

Ginny held her grip around Riddle's neck as he glanced at the odd bunch of prisoners littered in front of the throne. He mirrored her smirk and looked down at her. "Are you sure they mean enough for an interruption, Red?"

"I think," Ginny paused to rest her head on his chest and placed a few butterfly kisses on his exposed skin, which was cold as ice to her lips. Then she continued, "This will be more pleasurable once we don't have such unworthy eyes watching. Why don't we just let Zabini deal with them, once you lift the spell from the wolf…"

He looked into her face, sweeping a few hairs away from her eyes, "I have a better idea. How about we let the wolf deal with the rest of them?"

"As you wish," Ginny punctured each word with another kiss. She let a soft moan escape her lips when Riddle stepped out of reach. He laughed haughtily, and appreciatively, at it. She watched as he lifted the giant iron cage off the ground with one lavish movement from her wand.

Zabini, Blaise, and Luna all turned as one to watch, terrified, as the cage disappeared into the ceiling. "What the bloody hell is going on?" Zabini asked no one in particular. He looked up at Riddle and yelled out a few good cusses.

"It's like watching a sport," Riddle commented as the veelawolf chanced a step out from where the cage's boundaries had previously been. It tested the borders several more times with its paw before it was satisfied. "Look at them, they are like a bunch of trapped rabbits."

Luna looked down at the unconscious Malfoy and tried unsuccessfully to pick him up without lighting him on fire. Ginny watched as Luna rubbed at her forehead with her upper arm and attempted to move Malfoy with her feet.

Riddle laughed at Luna's efforts, "Stop trying to be so noble, Miss Ravenclaw."

Zabini whipped his wand out and started yelling curses and hexes at the approaching veelawolf. This only spurred it on, and in a matter of seconds, it was running full speed at him. Riddle laughed uncontrollably as Zabini shot a levitating spell at the veelawolf and lifted it ten feet into the air, where it whimpered horribly and began thrashing wildly at the air.

"That won't help you, Zabini," Riddle called coolly, "I can already see the strain that it cost you to initially get the beast into the air. I doubt you'll be able to hold it up much longer…"

Ginny had stopped watching, for another pair of eyes had locked with hers. Hunched over and in a clear amount of pain, Blaise was openly gazing at Ginny with a look of contempt. His face was covered in sweat, dirt, and blood, and he looked more dangerous than she had ever thought possible. His eyes were void of any fear, and she knew that all the anger in them was pointed directly at her. His lips moved ever so slightly, mouthing the word 'traitor'. She looked away.

Her gaze swept to Riddle, who was thrilled with watching Zabini trying to hit the veelawolf with paralyzing spells and Stupify, all of which missed or seemed to have no effect on it. His handsome face twisted in a wild fashion, and Ginny realized this would be the only chance she had as Riddle was finally distracted enough.

She began searching around the room with her eyes, hoping to find something close enough that she could use. She turned around a little, and that's when she saw it. It was leaning innocently against Riddle's throne. Sliding her foot backwards, she made to reach for it, when a piercing scream stopped her.

Ginny looked down at the scene in front of her just as the veelawolf made a lounge at Luna. Her heart stopped as she realized she had allowed for one of her friends to die.

Luna fell backwards to the floor, inadvertently throwing her arms over her face. The two fiery hands connected directly with the veelawolf's neck. Reeling onto its hind legs, the veelawolf promptly forgot about the trapped Luna beneath it and leapt away from her. It stopped running only when it had reached at least twenty yards from Luna.

Amazed and thankful, Ginny quietly tried to slow her heartbeat.

This was as good a time as any, and she cast a glance out the corner of her eye to the throne. It was an object of beauty, with emeralds lavishly carved into the hilt, and the silver detailing running up the curved blade of the dagger. She wondered how she had failed to notice it before, but pushed the thought aside as she swooped down and snatched it into her hands. This was it, this was the only way she'd ever be free of Riddle. Quickly and quietly, she concealed the blade in her sleeve, which was ironically loose and long enough to perfectly hide it and allow for easy access. She snapped back to place at Riddle's side just as he turned to wrap an arm around her waist possessively.

Tilting his head slightly, Riddle looked at her regretfully. Her heart stopped, and instantly she knew that he had seen her. He brought her wand to up to his face, and held it there for a second. Ginny waited for him to aim it at her, almost hoping he would just get it over with. But then, without a word he lowered it again and smiled vaguely at her. "You are mine, yes," he said soothingly, "Until the day you die, Virginia."

He swept a lock of her hair away from her neck, and fingered her skin. He pulled back the collar of her shirt and ran his hand over her bare shoulder. Ginny felt the dagger slip a quarter of an inch down her arm, and swallowed loudly.

"Do you feel you know what's coming? I suppose you should, after all, I'll hardly need you around forever. Only a few months longer, and I'll be through with you. There will be no more reason to have you around, and our bond will dissipate," Riddle was explaining something to Ginny, but she couldn't hear him properly over pumping of blood in her head. He bent down to let his mouth rest on her skin, and said into her, "This will hurt you more than it will me, my little Red…"

He opened his mouth and sank his extraordinarily sharp teeth into her skin, letting her blood spill down her chest and back.

It was at that moment she acted.

The blade struck his forearms first, and Riddle jumped away from her in astonishment clutching at his wound, her wand falling out of his grasp. A staining stream of blood ran down the blade that Ginny was now holding in front of her threateningly. She made a quick glance to the ground to see where he had thrown her wand, but could not see it anywhere and figured it must have rolled over the throne's edge. She swore under her breath.

"What is going on here?" he hissed out, his shock quickly changing to anger.

"You had this coming to you Riddle," she spat at him. She had said it as more of a distraction, but reasoned that it was true. He had too much faith in his year-old knowledge of her and in his spell.

"Do not call me such a defiled name! I am Lord Voldemort!" his handsome features darkened as he made a grab for her at managed to snag one of her sleeves. "How dare you…"

She made a swing with the dagger at his chest, but he again caught her. This time it was her wrist, and he painfully twisted it until the weapon slipped from her grasp. Ginny heard it clatter down the steps, Riddle's laughter joining the noise.

"My little Red, how feisty you can be," he said, regaining his composure. He tightened his vice-like grip on her wrist and drew her into his chest. "Such a little thing you are, but so full of energy…"

She wriggled against him, her mind racing. She had to do something to get to her wand. Even if it meant 'playing a bit dirty' as Fred or George would have said mischievously. She stopped struggling. Ginny tilted her head up to Riddle's, making sure her eyes were wide and her expression one of 'all hope is lost'. She cried out quietly, "T-tom…p-please d-don't be mad! I-I'm just so sc-scared!"

His face didn't soften, but his words did, "You should be afraid. I am what you fear most, after all…"

"Oh Tom, why c-can't you b-be kind t-to me like last year? You m-made m-me feel so c-comfortable! I loved n-no one more than you!" she sobbed out, burying her face in his chest, popping a foot into the air dramatically. His grip lessened slightly.

"I am not one to be, uh, kind, is it? However, I am still prepared to offer you that, comfort, which you seek," he said, his voice very low, almost charming.

"You so c-confident, Tom," she whispered just as quietly, then dug her heel into his left foot until she heard something crack, but she didn't stop there. She swung the same leg up hoping to strike his stomach, but missed. Instead, she hit a bit lower, but the effect was desirable all the same, and Riddle doubled over slightly.

Ginny was too afraid to laugh at the sight. She backed away from him, and the floor disappeared from behind her. Too late, she realized that she had come to the top of the stairs, and she was suddenly rolling head over heels down the stone steps. Her hand hit something sharp as she fell. After many spiraling rotations, she came to a stop at the bottom of the steps.

Blaise, who was now crouched over Malfoy, looked up in surprise at her literal trip down the steps. His mouth fell in confusion, "Ginny, what—?"

Ignoring Blaise as best she could and grumbling from the throbbing sensation throughout her body, she tried to push herself up. There was a sharp pain in her palm, and she saw that it was bleeding profusely, the cause of which was lying not a foot from her. As she had fallen, she had knocked the dagger down with her, cutting her hand in the process.

In final desperation, an idea came to her, and Ginny knew what she was to do, no matter how cowardly it was. She grabbed the weapon, ignoring the gruesome gash the handle was pressing into, and stood shakily on her feet. Deliberately, she brought the blade tip to her chest.

Riddle was hobbling down the steps —but managing to do it in a graceful manner all the same— with his eyes trained on her. He almost lost his balance when he saw what she was doing, her intentions deathly clear. Riddle stopped in his tracks, and narrowed his eyes. When he spoke, his voice had gone hoarse, "You wouldn't do it. You have wanted this power, this recognition, for too long! You can't…It's a bluff, I know you…"

A sick smile spread across her face, her sadness making its appearance haunting, "No, you should have known that I would never join you. No matter what tricks you pulled or promises you made. You have no control over me."

"Virginia," he took another step. "Don't do this to me! To us! Virginia!"

"My name is Ginevra, Tom Riddle." She swung her hand out and back into her chest with as much strength as she could. It was enough force to make her stumble backwards as the dagger hit her. The blade struck her skin and sliced through it easily, as if she were hollow inside. It delved deep into her body until the hilt her skin.

Her eyes were frozen open, and she saw with satisfaction as a lightning bolt fracture ran through Riddle before he exploded in a mixture of startling light and disturbing shadows. Ginny sank to her knees and fell over on her side, her last breath over with before she even hit the stone floor.

ooo

Blaise watched, stunned, as Ginny's small frame went limp and fell silently to the ground. His breath caught in his throat and he completely forgot about Riddle, and Malfoy who was moaning beneath him. His blood was pounding so hard in his head, that he couldn't hear anything else. All Blaise could think about was the little red haired girl who had just driven a dagger through her chest, knowing that it was the only way for her to rid the world from the memory of the young Dark Lord. It had only cost her life; the pool of blood spreading around her was proof of what she had sacrificed.

He got to his feet slowly and began to wander his way towards the crimson framed girl on the floor. He watched the pooling red liquid gather area as he neared.

Blaise stopped suddenly; there was a tug at his sleeve. It was Luna Lovegood. He was baffled for a moment at her touch, before realizing that Riddle's fear spell must have worn off after he vanished. To verify this even further, he saw over Luna's head, Draco was awakening from his knockout and the Gryffindor with the werewolf curse was back to her normal state albeit passed out.

"My nails are black," Luna said, her voice echoing loudly in Blaise's ears. She held them up for him to see, and indeed, her fingernails looked as if they had been charred. "Funny, they don't hurt."

A little sigh snapped Blaise's eyes back to Ginny. His heart skipped a beat, but his mind was telling him he must have been hearing things. Surely, that could not have been Ginny. But there it was again, she had stirred.

"Ginny!" he yelled, sounding astonished, hopeful, and thankful all at once. He raced to her side, knowing instantly that he had to get the dagger out of her. Gripping it with two hands, praying that he was doing the right thing, he slid it out of the wound in her chest.

It was as if the air around them released a great sigh, and at once the pool of blood around looked as if a sponge were sucking it all back into her chest. It slinked back into the hole in her chest and when it returned safely inside, the wound began to stitch itself up as a needle would a rip in a shirt. Finally, the stitching ceased, and all that remained of Ginny's lesion was an oddly curved scar. Blaise looked down at the weapon in his hands, and saw how the metal was molded to look like an 'S' at the base of the blade.

Still quite bewildered, Blaise jumped when a very raspy gasp came from Ginny. She coughed several times, and then blinked her eyes open. It was one of the most beautiful and distressing sights Blaise had ever witnessed.

"Oh Ginny," someone spoke the words on his mind, and Blaise saw that it was Luna. She had come and knelt next to Ginny as well, but he hadn't even noticed. "You're going to be okay, I don't think any Fragnledaks managed to get into your bloodstream."

The redhead's face was one of confusion for a long moment. Then, "Did you die? I wasn't fast enough to save you?"

Blaise almost laughed, but it came out closer to a sob, "We're fine. Ginny, you aren't dead."

"Then, Riddle's not gone," her eyes watered, "I can't even kill myself correctly."

"Stop that," Luna said sharply, even all the while calmly. She took a breath and continued in a softer tone, "If I am correct, the fear spell Tom Riddle used, Metuovere, made your fear that you would join him reluctantly, and in the end have to commit suicide in order to escape him and redeem yourself, come true. His spell made our fears physically manifest, and when you drove that thing into your chest, it was enough to sever the bond that was keeping him in this world. But when he disappeared, his spell lost the power behind it, and faded. That's why my hands are not on fire any more, but my fingers remain black as if they had been burned."

"What about Malfoy and Ashlyn…" Blaise lost track of Ginny's voice as Luna's words suddenly brought something to his mind. If Riddle's spell had separated him and Zabini, then where had Zabini gone when he died? Blaise's head shot up and he began scanning the room for any sign of his other side. But all that he saw was Ashlyn and Draco. He looked back down to the floor and closed his eyes, searching inside of him for Zabini, but he came up short. His other personality was nowhere to be found.

There was a hand on his shoulder, and Blaise realized Ginny was using him to push herself off the ground, saying something about how she had to help Ashlyn. He rose with her even though he was in a daze. Where had Zabini gone…

Then, effectively stopping his train of thought, he felt a soft pressure on his cheek that was pleasantly warm. He looked down and saw Ginny smiling up at him. He blinked as she mouthed the word 'thanks' and hurried off with Luna to the other Gryffindor. He rubbed at his face, not sure if that had really just happened.

o o o

He had a terrible headache, was the conclusion Draco Malfoy came to as he pushed himself off the ground with his arms. He rubbed at his temples distractedly, not quite certain of what had happened in the past few hours. A pair of running footsteps brought his attention to the Weasley and the Ravenclaw. Draco was still at a loss, but as his eyes took in their appearances, everything came flooding back to him, making his head hurt worse. He remembered Riddle, the spell, the werewolf thing, and…

Ginny.

The very same Ginny that was now running past him. Wait, running past him? He turned to see where she was going, and saw her drop down beside the other Gryffindor, Ashlyn, the half-breed. He groaned, had he really said that he didn't mind half-breeds aloud?

"You alright there, mate?"

"Blaise?" Draco was confused, but not about his friend. "I—I, I don't really like half-breeds. You know that, right?"

A small smile lit his friends face up, "Your secret's safe with me, Draco."

"And, and, the whole thing with Weasley…it wasn't her per se. I'm just afraid I'll end up in love with any old muggle-lover, not her at all," he said quickly, hoping against hope that his friend would understand. "She just happened to be there."

His thoughts on Ginny halted. Draco looked at his friend, knowing his face must look odd, but he asked anyway, "Where's Zabini? 'He back in your head or something?"

Blaise's face darkened, "I don't know. He's seemed to have made a break for it. But he's definitely not up in here," he said, tapping his head for emphasis.

"Accio Malfoy's Quidditch cloak," a voice said calmly, and Draco felt something tugging his cloak off his shoulders.

"What the bloody fu—" Draco cried indignantly as he ensued in a wrestling match with his cloak, which seemed determined to free itself of him. It won, and he watched it zoom off into the Weasley's hands. "Why the heck did you do that?"

She gave him a stern look, "Because, my friend here kind of needs some clothes you dolt!"

Draco's cheeks flushed and he turned around abruptly and saw Blaise do the same. He should have known the werewolf girl would have been…unclothed. He said sulkily, "Well fine then, just don't try and give that cloak back to me after she's touched it!"

"Shut it!" he heard the Weasley snap back.

"I'm never going to end up with that absolute hag of a filthy blood traitor," Draco huffed under his breath, crossing his arms.

"Well, all the better for me," Blaise laughed. Then, "Ow! What was that for?"

"Nothin'."

o o o

Ginny swung the velvety swathe over her tearful friend and tried to usher comforting things to Ashlyn. "Don't worry, it's not your fault…You couldn't stop it…There was nothing you could do…"

"I am quite unharmed," Luna said vaguely to Ashlyn, though Ginny could the statement was strained.

"I-I c-can't b-believe this happened!" Ashlyn's tears flowed twice as hard, and she wrapped Draco's cloak further around her. She was still kneeling on the floor haplessly, looking all the worse for wear. Her hair was knotted and wild, her face smudged with dirt, her feet and hands filthy. "I d-don't kn-know what I'm g-going t-to do!"

"Shh…you're going to go to the hospital wing with us, and get cleaned up. Then, you're going to tell Dumbledore everything. I promise he'll help you," Ginny said, meaning every word.

"What if he k-kicks me out of sch-school?" she sobbed louder and buried her head in Ginny's arms.

"We should be going now," Luna said, noting the hysteria rising in Ashlyn's voice. She helped Ginny get her to her on her legs. "Can you walk?"

Ashlyn made a barely audible answer of 'yes'.

The three, with Luna and Ginny supporting Ashlyn between them, made their way over to where Blaise and Draco were standing. Both their faces were flushed, and Blaise seemed to be tending to his arm as if he had been hit.

"How are you, Malfoy?" Luna asked as they approached. Malfoy just shrugged his shoulders and glared in another direction.

"So, to the hospital wing now," Ginny announced, feeling the need to say something. She ignored the pain in her chest as she adjusted her hold around Ashlyn. "Oh wait… I forgot, the walls…"

All five looked at the room around them, as if expecting the walls suddenly to snap back to their normal positions.

"Well this just bites," Blaise said, then let out a yelp as he fell to the ground, for the floor had suddenly sprung forward.

All five were on the ground in heaps, when it stopped moving. "Gods, I never want to do that ever again! Twice in one day is quite enough," Ginny heard Malfoy declare as she rubbed at her head. She looked over at Ashlyn and Luna, making sure that they were all right, she said, "So I'm guessing the floor's moved before, huh?"

"Feels like it happened ages ago," Luna admitted, getting to her feet as she spoke. She gave Ginny a hand before they both helped Ashlyn up. "At least it seems someone knows where we are now…"

Blaise was almost jumping up and down, but seemed to have enough restraint so that only the balls of his feet were bouncing. He was saying excitedly, "This is amazing, just down this hall…we'll be at the entrance to the dungeons in no time, and from there it's just a little walk to the hospital wing…"

"I don't think I have to go, you know, with all of you, to the infirmary," Malfoy said slowly, he looked to be hiding from Blaise's gaze. And for good reason, because Blaise started angrily pointing out the fact that Malfoy's back was covered in burns. "They don't hurt…much. I doubt they're even there anymore, I mean, my cloak looks quite unharmed."

"Which is why you screamed out in pain when the floor moved, because it didn't hurt?" Ginny asked a little too sweetly to be sincere. She raised her eyebrows at him expectantly.

He didn't answer, but glared at her darkly.

"That's a good point you raised," Luna said vaguely as they walked up the Dungeon stairs to the Entrance Hall. Ginny looked at her, prompting her to continue. So, she did, saying, "Even though the spell ended, some of it was undone, yet remnants of it can be felt as well. I suppose it wasn't a very stable spell that Tom Riddle used…"

There was a pause in the conversation as Ashlyn lost consciousness, and they had to float her the rest of the way.

"It seems to have had lingering effects on all us, that is, besides Malfoy and you, Ginny," Luna ended pensively.

Ginny offered a shaky smile, trying hard to ignore the pain in her chest. "That's odd isn't it."

"Maybe for you, Weaslette, but not for me," Malfoy drawled from in front of them. He was walking ahead of Blaise, his pace fast and nervously erratic. "I had no lasting effects."

"Maybe that's because your fears were too shallow to have any real effects."

"The fear of being bonded in a relationship to a mublood-loving, ugly-haired, blood-traitor like you, is not shallow! Especially one that thinks she's Merlin's gift to the world and that everybody loves her, when really every body wishes she would just go away and stop causing them such trouble!"

Ginny's comeback about being pale and pointy-faced died on her lips, and she quieted. No one said anything to contradict Malfoy, and she had a sinking feeling that on some level they all agreed with him. At least Ashlyn's knocked out, so she has an excuse…

"Well, here we are. Good thing Madame Pomfrey doesn't ask questions," Blaise announced uneasily in the waking silence. He knocked loudly on the infirmary door.

Within minutes, Ashlyn and Malfoy were whisked away to the back of the hospital wing, having the most pronounced injuries. Ginny, Luna, and Blaise were left sitting awkwardly on one of the beds, silence having befallen them finally. Almost absently, Ginny reached to rub at her aching shoulder, remembering only then that she had been bitten by Riddle there. She ran her hand over the skin, expecting to find some sort of indent or mark, but came up empty handed. This was odd, she thought, being that Riddle's bite was not part of the spell, therefore; the mark should not have faded.

But the absent bite mark quickly became the last thing on her mind as the pain in her chest finally became so intense that she had to warrant it some attention. Ginny doubled over and fell off the bed, which she had been sitting against, to her knees on the floor. She heard Blaise calling for Madame Pomfrey in the distance, but could have sworn she remembered himstanding right beside her.

Just as her vision started to darken, Luna's voice drifted hazily into her ears, "Maybe the spell did leave an effect on her after all…"

o o o

Dumbledore was just rising from his desk for bed, when green flames erupted in his fireplace and the pale spinning head of Madame Pomfrey appeared in it. She stopped moving after a few seconds, but her face was filled with worry and remained faint. "Albus, I believe it would be best for you to get down here…"

"What is it, Poppy," he asked, stooping over to talk with her.

"I've just had five children arrive in the hospital wing, one of whom was unconscious when she arrived, another had what appear to be burns on his back, and a second girl has just fainted…"

"Their names?"

"One's the Weasley girl—" she began, but Dumbledore held up a hand for her to stop. Bending back up, he said tiredly, "I'll be right there, Poppy."

On his walk to the infirmary, Dumbledore thought over all the things he had started putting together the past months, and how the information would effect the young Weasley. He had half a mind to tell her, but knew it would do her no good to have such troublesome knowledge. She was only a child, after all.

Dumbledore entered the hospital wing, not wait for Madame Pomfrey to let him in. Before checking on Ginevra's status, he quietly visited the other occupants of the room, finding two Slytherins, a Ravenclaw, and two Gryffindors in total. He thought it a rather odd combination, especially the presence of one Draco Malfoy. He shook his head sadly after turning away from the Malfoy boy.

Lastly, he arrived at Ginevra's bed. Madame Pomfrey was finishing up the last few medicinal spells when he cleared his throat softly.

"I believe, if it is possible, that now would be an appropriate time to wake her?" It was more of a statement than a question. Madame Pomfrey's eyebrows creased, but she nodded her head grudgingly. She said indignantly, "I figured as much, Headmaster, when I called you down, but please make this quick. She suffered a considerable amount of internal bleeding."

He nodded his head as watched as the girl was awoken. Ginevra seemed to struggle with releasing sleep's comforting grasp, but when her eyes caught Dumbledore's she seemed to perk immediately. She tried to sit up, but rather dizzily collapsed back into her pillows.

"I realize that you must have been through a great ordeal tonight, due to your current state and those of your friends, but I must ask of you to explain what happened," he said quietly. "This has something to do with the memory of Tom Riddle, I presume."

"Y-yes, it did," she managed to heave herself into a sitting position, "I guess it all started with the Diary, of course. I'm—, I hope you don't mind if I start from the beginning, sir…"

"Go ahead, Miss Weasley." As she talked, he probed her mind gently, making sure she left out nothing. Her frequent yawns and trailing sentences were a bit hard for him to follow, as it were, so it was best to see the images straight from her mind.

"I had no idea that he had…fiddled with the spell, of course—" she yawned again, "But he told me that he had done the alterations when he had possessed me that Quidditch match when Harry collapsed…Oh, Harry…"

Dumbledore let her trail off tiredly, a small smiling tugging at his lips with her last words. Deciding to skip ahead in the story, he asked, "And when Riddle appeared in this old History of Magical Literature classroom, he…" Dumbledore tried to be tactful with his words, "Acquired your energy through an oral exchange, did he?"

"Yes, it was like…a Dementor, how I've always imagined one. It was dreadful… He said he needed me for my soul, or something. He said his soul and mine would, be connected, or something…" she said lamely, knowing how inadequate her answer must have been. Dumbledore, however, found it to be quite useful.

"His soul, did he say?"

She bounced her head up and down, then said, "Strange, isn't it? A soul inside a book…"

"It's a very powerful and rare spell. It is Dark Magic," he said almost to himself. His working theory was starting to gain physical evidence.

The little girl in front of him tensed, and her expression became one of a person much older and wiser than any child should be. "I expect splitting his soul, Vuh―Vv… You-Know-Who, thought he could leave a part of him behind immortally in that book."

"I am thinking about something along those lines." Dumbledore considered her silently for a moment. "Please, continue…"

He listened to her explain the Zabini boy's arrival, and how the Castle walls and floors had changed. Dumbledore thought this rather odd, but admitted he knew very little of Hogwarts' secrets. She went on about how she had come to in a large, unfamiliar room in the Dungeons, but could not explain how Ashlyn Wischard, Luna Lovegood, and Draco Malfoy had gotten there.

"He must've cast this spell while I was out. Something about making our worst fears come true. It made Ashlyn—" she stopped suddenly, her eyes widening as she looked at him.

"It is all right, I know about your friend, Miss Wischard. You needn't worry right now. I am also aware of Mister Zabini's rather unusual condition," he said calmly and asked her to continue. She seemed to mumble over the part about Riddle's —close contact— with her, but he could see the images from her mind clearly. Dumbledore closed his eyes for a moment.

"…The finally, right after Luna, oh Luna…Well, right after she was knocked over, I found this dagger on the ground. It was odd, you know? I hadn't noticed it before, but that didn't keep me from picking it up…"

Dumbledore opened his eyes again and probed Ginny's mind gently, trying to find an image of the weapon. He asked, "What did it look like?", and a image of it fluttered immediately into her head. His eyebrows creased. The only known relic of Salazar Slytherin's was a ring, but the dagger he saw from her memories was one that was easily identified as the Founder's. "Do you know what happened to the dagger, Ginevra?"

"No, I don't. Why?" Her eyes were wide with fear and curiosity.

"It was of great importance at one point in time. It belonged to Salazar Slytherin."

The girl's mouth dropped, and she appeared disgusted. "Why would that have been there?"

"Your fear of having to," he wanted to say this as tastefully as possible but found no way to do so, and said "Your fear of killing yourself, demanded that his spell procure an object with which you were to harm yourself. So, in a rather ironic fashion, Riddle's spell delivered Salazar's dagger for you. The Magic behind the spell must have been extremely powerful to summon a weapon that has been lost to history for centuries."

"In the end, I really wouldn't have cared if it had given me a spoon to work with, I was so desperate to b-be rid of him…" he heard her sob as she buried her face in her hands. "I t-tried to b-be strong, Headmaster. I really d-did."

Dumbledore did not make to move, but said, "It was a brave thing of you to sacrifice your life for the sake of others. Facing death as you did…is something Tom Riddle could and still cannot bear to do himself."

Her cries did not lessen, but he could tell that she had heard him. Eventually she looked up at him through her wet fingers and calmed herself once more. "He hoped to escape death by splitting his soul," he heard her whisper. Dumbledore barely nodded his head a fraction of an inch. He decided then that she had talked enough for tonight.

"I believe this is enough for me to mull over for now," he told her softly, his eyes twinkling from behind his spectacles. "Maybe a celebratory feast to ease your—"

She interrupted him quickly, "No, no! I-I mean, that wouldn't be such a great idea. I don't want people t-to know…about what happened tonight. Especially my family! When they hear about this, I'll be taken out of Hogwarts for sure…Please don't tell anyone, Headmaster…"

Dumbledore realized that tonight five children were placed in extreme danger, their lives at risks, the whole Wizarding World a step away from disaster from the memory of Tom Riddle. He knew all of this, but he also knew that before him lay a child of no more than twelve pleading with him to stay at the school she loved. Much like another child he knew. He sighed, "Well then, I suppose forty house points to each of you will have to do. I daresay you need not worry about your parents, either."

He turned to leave, but stopped and looked back at her, "Forgive me, but you are the, ah, seventh Weasley child, of course…"

"Yes, Headmaster," she answered him quietly, and he knew she was unsure of what he meant.

"Yes, yes, I see that the Diary made it's way into your hands for a reason." Seven, he knew, was a very powerful number when it came to magic. He smiled at her, and new to expect great things to come from the girl in front of him..

"Headmaster!" a shrilly whisper made both Dumbledore and Ginny jump. They turned their heads to see Madame Pomfrey poking her head through the bed curtains and frowning disapprovingly. "You know that this child needs her rest, now if you would kindly let her rest!"

Crinkling his eyes with a smile, and looking sheepish, he made his way past Poppy and away from the girl's bed, Dumbledore continued his thoughts on the littlest Weasley. It seemed she would be doing the great things, and as of now at least, for the right side.

o o o

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Author's note: Yea, it was lame, wasn't it? I mean, you all were probably expecting it. You see, it's also bad to make your character kill themselves and then have other characters mourn his or her death. That's too Mary Sue-ish. And, I cannot write Dumbledore's character for my life! GAH! He's too smart for me to accurately portray! The Epilogue/chapter nine will be up in a couple of days. It's finished, but I don't want to double post chapters. So yea, REVIEW and TELL ME WHETHER YOU HATE OR LOVE IT, PLEASE. Reviews are the greatest! Thanks to all of my lovely readers!