Chapter Twenty-Six – Spilling Secrets

"Ginny!" Tom conjured a blanket out of thin air and wrapped it tightly around the shivering woman sitting on the ground. "Ginny, what happened?"

With teary eyes, Ginny peered up at Tom and just looked at him. She seemed to stare through him as he waited for her to calm down and tell him the whole story. Seeing Ginny was still shivering he conjured yet another blanket, making sure it was thicker then the previous one. Giving it to Ginny seemed to bring her back to the present and she started to talk in a shaky voice.

"I couldn't sleep. I had tried to fall asleep but couldn't get it out of my mind."

"It?" Tom asked.

"I kept seeing it and for the life of me couldn't forget. Knowing that I needed to clear my mind I went out to the waters edge to take in the nighttime activities in the forest. From all my walking I had become hot, so I waded ankle deep into the cool water.

"I started to space off and let my mind take me to other places. I imagined my family and friends back home, Hogwarts, the Burrow, and everything that I hadn't seen for ages. The comfort of those places made me absent-mindedly walk farther into the water.

"Then, I was…"

"Pulled under by the octopus."

Nodding her head yes Ginny wrapped the blankets around her even tighter as she relived the trauma she had just been subjected to.

"Hogwarts' lake has a friendly octopus, but this one was not. Its slimy tentacles grabbed me, and before I could take a breath I was underwater. Soon my lungs were begging for air and I struggled with the evil creature. Thank God it finally let go.

"But by then I had lost all consciousness and left the water currents to push me back to the surface."

"It's a good thing that I was here or else you might have…"

"Died," Ginny interjected. "Drowned, then be eaten by the animals that lived in the lake. No one would ever know where I went, how I died, if I was still alive."

"Shhhhh." Tom placed his hands on Ginny's shoulders and directed her attention to his face. "Lets not talk about it any more for tonight. Come, let's go to bed."

Sighing Ginny stood up. "What's the point of lying in bed and thinking about the letter? I wont be…"

"Letter? What letter?"

"Ginny covered her mouth with her hands and guiltily avoided Tom's eyes. Nervously she wetted her lips and tapped her right foot rhythmically on the wet ground.

"There is no letter." Nervously laughing, "I didn't mean letter."

"Ginny. Tell me. If you don't I can read your mind through the link we created after our marriage."

"Link?"

"You must remember, it was how I found out about the Order's hideout."

Mentally slapping herself for her stupidity she mumbled, "How could I forget?"

"So, what's it going to be? You wish to tell me, or make me read your mind?"

"Not here, it could be dangerous. Come with me and I will show it to you."

Ginny made her way to the castle with a curious Tom following her every move, making sure that she was indeed fine. Once the couple reached their rooms Ginny pulled the letter out of her jewelry box. Hesitantly she placed the letter in Tom's waiting hands and watched as he read the message scribbled on the piece of parchment.

"How long have you had this?"

"Only a day." Ginny confessed how she had wanted to show him, but didn't think he needed extra pressure. At her naiveness, Tom exploded.

"How could you not show me this right away. Damn it, this handwriting could lead us to the killer."

"Its my handwriting. It burst into flames when I finished reading it, so I had to rewrite it. Tom, please forgive me!"

"I don't know if I should." Tom paced back and forth for no more then thirty seconds before he stopped and mumbled, "But everyone makes mistakes."

"What did you say, Tom?"

"I said that everyone makes mistakes. Although this was a big mistake I will live and let live." Begging to pace again Tom continued, "I need to look inside your memory to try and see what the handwriting looked like before the letter self-destructed. It wont hurt, and will be over before you can recite my whole name."

"Tom Marvolo Riddle. That was simple. Now are you done?"

"No."

Settling down on a couch in front of the blazing fire, Ginny closed her eyes and let Tom invade her memories.