Warning: Adult content in this chapter
After their battled with the basilisk they decided to take a much needed rest. Lucy sat on a rock with Ginny's head in her lap. Miraculously, the younger girl's injuries seemed to have healed themselves. Sirius thought that perhaps because they were not really in their physical bodies their injuries could not really sustain themselves. Lucy had another idea but she kept it to herself. If no injury could be sustained then why hadn't the bruises on her head and back healed? No, someone on the outside was looking out for them. She lifted her hand to the talisman around her neck. Dumbledore had said that they would keep them connected to the living world. Did that mean that injuries they sustained in limbo were affecting their physical bodies in the parlor of Grimmauld Place. She twisted the ring on her finger and thought about Oliver. Her face grew warm as she thought of their earlier lovemaking. It had been nothing short of miraculous. She had never felt so loved, or connected with someone else. She closed her eyes and reached into her mind for the memories of his hands touching her, his lips on her flesh, the heat that had poured from her as he used his hands and lips to bring her to the height of pleasure before entering her. She had been just as tickled by the sounds Oliver had made when she went down on him. God, what Oliver must be feeling right now.
"I know you're there," she whispered running her fingers over her lips.
"I can feel you." Ginny looked up at her with her big hazel eyes.
"How you doing honey?" The older girl asked her.
"All right for now," she said. "I haven't seen him yet. I thought for sure when the basilisk...but I haven't seen him"
"Who? Harry?"
"Tom," Ginny whispered.
"Tom Riddle?" Lucy asked, things becoming a little clearer.
"You heard someone giving the snake an order, right"
"Yes," Lucy said biting her lip. "Telling it to kill us"
"I thought that it had to be Riddle giving the command. I expected him to come out of the caves, but he didn't. That means he's still out there"
"It's going to be all right Ginny," Lucy said squeezing the girl's shoulder.
"I don't want to face him," Ginny murmured. "I don't know..."
"I won't let him hurt you Ginny," Lucy said strongly. "You will not have to face him alone"
"When those dementors attacked Harry and I last year I heard his voice. In my head. Taunting me."
"He can't hurt you unless you let him, Ginny. Tom Riddle is nothing but a memory."
"It must be strange for you to ta
lk about him in the third person," Ginny said thoughtfully. "Hmmm?"
"Your father," Ginny said. Lucy shifted uncomfortably. She'd been trying not to think about her father. Ever since discovering that she was a Parselmouth she'd begun to doubt herself. As hard as it was on her to be compared to her mother, having evidence of her father thrown in her face was like a knife in her gut.
"I guess I've only ever heard of him as Voldemort. I don't think of Tom Riddle and Voldemort as the same person"
"I guess I don't either," Ginny said. "Not really. It isn't the Voldemort that killed your mum and Harry's dad, or all those other horrible things that I see in my dreams, it's Tom." Lucy didn't say anything. Tom Riddle and Voldemort may be different in their memories, but they were still the same person, and Harry had nightmarish experiences with both. Ginny wasn't the only one who was going to be forced to face her inner demons on the track to finding Harry.
Back at Grimmauld Place, Remus had finally pulled Oliver away from Lucy's side and forced him to get some rest. Like he had so many times in the past he snuck out of the guest room and went to Lucy's room. Sleeping in her bed wasn't the same without her beside him. Had it only been a few hours since they'd made love in this bed? After a few minutes the dreamless sleep potion that Remus had made him take (Remus apparently knew the difference between dreamless sleep and skin cleansing potions) took effect and he was fast asleep. He woke up a half hour later feeling completely refreshed. He went into his own room and changed out of his rumpled clothes and into a fresh shirt and pair of trousers. "Arrrgh!" he shouted as Percy Weasley suddenly appeared directly in front of him.
"Shit Percy!" Oliver cried. "You nearly gave me heart attack. What the blazes are you doing here?"
"Running for my life!" Percy declared. It was then that Oliver noticed the cut on Percy's cheek, singed robes, and terrified expression.
"Good God Percy, what's happened to you?"
"No time," Percy said panting. "Where is Dumbledore? I must speak to him immediately." The two men went downstairs to the parlor where everyone was congregated.
"Percy!" Molly cried running to her son. "My god what's happened to you?"
"Death Eaters," Percy said. "More than fifty of them. They attacked the ministry." A shudder of fear went through the room.
"They freed Bellatrix Lestrange after killing four ministry members. There was a huge battle, we got a few of them but we were outnumbered. At least thirty ministry members were killed I don't know how many more were injured. I barely got away." Tonks and Arthur were immediately on their feet, for both of them worked for the ministry and had friends there.
"Who Percy?" Arthur demanded.
"Dawlish, Umbridge, Shacklebolt"
"Not Kingsley," Tonks wailed.
"I'm afraid so," Percy said mournfully, "Goyle got him with the killing curse"
"What about Fudge?" Dumbledore asked. "Did he survive?"
"I don't know," Percy said helplessy. "He was put under the Cruciatus curse when I apparated out"
"Wait," Hermione said, "If they have Bellatrix that means that they can get in here. They're coming after Harry!"
"They can't come here now!" Molly shouted geusturing wildly to Harry's, Ginny's, Sirius's and Lucy's bodies on the floor. "Look at them they're defenseless"
"We must be prepared," Dumbledore stated firmly. "We shall let no harm come to Harry or the others. If the death eaters come here we must be ready for them." Everyone nodded and pulled out their wands.
"We must get to the safest part of the house," Dumbledore said. "Lucy's lab," Tonks said. "There's enough potions down there to take out an army"
"Very good," Dumbledore said. "Bring their bodies and be careful that you do not lose their talismans." Remus picked up Harry, Oliver picked up Lucy, Arthur picked up Ginny and Bill and Charlie supported Sirius between them and they all went down to the cellar. They laid them out in the farthest corner from the stairs on some faded rugs once again, with Harry in the middle and the others forming a triquatra around him. Snape and Hermione grabbed every defensive and offensive potion on Lucy's table. They formed a guard in front of the bodies. Oliver and Molly stood at the very back with Hermione next to Oliver and Snape next to Molly. Ron stood on Hermione's other side and Percy on Snape's other side. In front of them were Bill, Charlie, Fred George and Tonks. In the very front was Dumbledore, Remus, McGonagall and Arthur all had their wands drawn and ready. If the Death Eater wanted Harry they would have to go through them first.
They journeyed on and the rocks turned into a forest. "Does this remind you of anything?" Sirius said.
"The Forbidden Forest," Ginny said. Lucy gave her an odd look.
"Parvati Patil bet me a box of chocolate frogs I wouldn't go in, second year. I won." Lucy shook her head. "As your teacher, I can tell you that if you were caught you could have been expelled"
"But as my friend?" Ginny said with a guilty smile. "Way to go," Lucy said shaking her head. Ginny grinned. All of a sudden Ginny was alone. Lucy and Sirius had disappeared and she was no longer surrounded by trees. She was in a clearing, the forest behind her. How had she gotten here? A cold shiver went up her spine.
"Sirius!" she screamed. "Lucy"
"They can't help you now, Ginny," a silky, sinister voice said behind her. The same voice that had haunted her for nearly three years now.
"Riddle," she cursed.
Sirius and Lucy looked around them in astonishment. Ginny had dissapeared into thin air.
"Where could she have gone?" Lucy cried twirling around hoping but not expecting to find Ginny behind her. "She disappeared"
"We have to find her," Lucy said running off.
"Lucy!" Sirius yelled running after her. "Let's not all get separated." They ran through the trees heedless of the branches that ripped their clothes and scratched thier faces. They came to a clearing and saw Ginny standing several yards away. She was yelling their names into the distance. "Ginny!" Lucy yelled running toward the younger girl. She was nearly to her when she slammed into an invisible barrier.
"Ginny!" she yelled slamming her hands against the barrier.
"I don't think she can see us, or hear us," Sirius said running his hands along the barrier. "Sirius!" Ginny yelled. "Lucy"
"Ginny we're here!" Lucy yelled. "We're right here Ginny!" Lucy's eyes widened as a tall boy of about sixteen years with black hair and frighteningly black eyes suddenly appeared.
"They can't help you now Ginny," the boy said. Lucy's heart was racing as she stared at the boy. There was no doubt in her mind who it could be.
"Who is that?" Sirius wondered aloud.
"Tom Riddle," Lucy hissed. "Ginny's greatest fear. Oh my God, Sirius she's all alone"
"Whatever's making all this happen is separating us from her. It wants her to face this alone."
"Have you missed me Ginny?" Riddle asked smoothly as he moved closer to her. Every voice in her head was telling her to run away but she couldn't. She was frozen to the ground. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her wand. Her hand shook as she pointed it at him.
"Must it be like this, Ginny?" Riddle was moving in on her, very slowly like the snakes he conversed with. Like a snake he pounced on her and spun her to him her back pressed against his chest. She trembled as his ice cold fingers trailed down her cheek her wand slipping uselessly from her fingers. "Don't you remember Ginny?" he whispered into her ear. "Don't you remember how you would pour your soul out to me? How you would tell me everything. You told me about your brothers, how they were so overprotective of you, and how you never thought you could live up to them. How hard it was being the only girl. How I was the only one you could talk to. Remember Ginny?"
"What is he doing to her?" Lucy cried pounding against the barrier.
"I don't know," Sirius said desperately. He had pulled out his wand and tried to blast his way through the barrier but it was useless.
"Leave her alone you bastard!" Lucy screamed. Ginny's face changed. Her chin lifted a bit and her eyes widened. "Oh my God, Sirius I think she can hear us. Ginny!"
She could hear her. Lucy was here. She was close.
'Ginny you can fight him. Don't be afraid!' Lucy didn't understand. It was easy for her to say don't be afraid. He was stroking her hair, his hot breath was against her neck. She gagged as his hand closed over her breast.
"You remember Ginny," Riddle said as he slipped his hand inside her blouse. 'Fight him Ginny!' Sirius's voice. Sirius was here too. "When you told me how you thought Harry was the most wonderful boy, and you hoped he liked you too." That was the magic word that snapped something in Ginny's brain. She slowly turned Riddle's hands still on her, and looked at him. "Do you remember, Ginny?" he said.
"I remember," she said and promptly slammed her knee into his groin. Riddle doubled over gasping in pain. Ginny drew back and punched him hard in the face. Riddle fell backwards and began to convulse until he burst into nothingness.
As Riddle vanished so did the barrier. "Ginny!" Lucy yelled dashing forward. Ginny ran to the older girl and threw her arms around her. Riddle was an illusion. Nothing but an illusion. Lucy was solid, Lucy was real. Ginny clung to her like a lifeline.
"Oh God, Ginny," Lucy said holding her tightly. "Are you all right"
"I'm fine," Ginny said. Lucy released her and held her face in her hands.
"We could see you, but we couldn't get to you"
"He wanted me alone," Ginny said. "So he could torment me with all those memories. But when he talked about Harry it brought me back. It grounded me. I remembered why I was here. For Harry"
"And then you kneed him in the groin?" Sirius said incredulously. "That was rather Muggle wasn't it"
"It may be Muggle but it'll put them down hard," Ginny said indignantly. Sirius grinned and Ginny realized what he'd been doing. He'd been teasing her, trying to lighten the mood. She smiled and laughed. Soon they were all laughing. They laughed until they were out of breath "We still have to find Harry," Ginny said, more determined now than ever before.
"We better get moving."