Ginny used her solitude to rouse herself from shock and force herself to think on his actions, his words – anything that might help her to escape from this long-dreamed and dreaded nightmare.
It was unusual of Tom to do something so drastic as to kidnap her. It seemed as though he just wanted to keep her here. That didn't seem like an intelligent, or even worthwhile, idea to her, but killing roosters had seemed kind of stupid, too. He had to want something from her. It was possible that he was using her against Harry, as he had before. It was even possible that he needed some talent of hers for some sort of plot. What seemed most likely, however, she didn't know. It was difficult to conceive of what he wanted. Tom always had an ulterior motive for any kind of niceness and such offerings were certainly his idea of "nice". She had learned last time that it was best to discover the motive before he took whatever it was that he wanted from you.
His demeanor, his manners, his very expressions had been perfectly schooled for years to avoid any kind of proper observation. Fortunately, he had schooled for a naïve outsider, not someone that he himself had taught to hide and read emotions. She was still somewhat of a novice, but during that year, she had been an attentive student, learning all that should could. Even Tom could be read, right along with the most dramatic teenagers. It just took a bit more knowledge of his moods and habits, a subject in which she was probably one of the most well-informed people in the world.
His expressions told her that he was being cautious. There was something that he didn't want to screw up. She rarely had the privilege of making Tom worry. Beyond that, she couldn't place any other expressions or tones, or at least none that she recognized. There had been something different in his manner of speaking, but it was subtle and new to her.
It was his words that were the most curious. To actually go to such trouble as trying to deny her Hogwarts. To claim that he wanted to help her "escape." Of all things that Ginny could have expected when she first saw him again, it was not that. Not even close. She had expected something at least on a more... plotting level. Or maybe even information gathering.
It was plain to Ginny that she simply didn't know what to make of the situation. If only she could have someone else's opinion. It was her observation that in any relationship, the only two people confused about the relationship (mostly) were the two people mainly involved. Outside opinions, although in this case not recommended, were generally useful and more objective. What she wouldn't give for someone to talk to about this who wouldn't screech something about "Voldemort." Alas, that was not within the realm of possibility. There was simply nothing that she could do.
Well, she could try the door again. She went to the door and turned the knob and pushed. "'Try pulling, love." Tom's voice rang from the room itself, and she started ever so slightly. For a few seconds she considered making some remark, but decided that if Tom was going to let her out, she wasn't going to do anything to convince him otherwise.
She pulled, and the door opened to reveal the obsidian room she had remembered. She walked to the door, but before she got there, Tom's head popped up from the couch. "Going somewhere, love?" She nearly growled aloud.
"Yes. I am going back to my dormitory before I am found to be missing, and would you stop calling me love!"
"I can't let you do that, princess. You haven't told me what your decision is."
"Alright. First, the pet names are creepy. Especially from you."
"You used to like them so much."
"Yeah. When I was eleven, and you hadn't tried to kill me and my friends yet. Anyway, there is probably no way in hell I would stay with you. How dare you even have the presumption to act like I might. Even thinking that there was a possibility is an insult." Her fury began with a cold voice and raised until she was sure that he got the drift of her anger.
Tom had no problems hearing her anger. He didn't even have any problems comprehending the anger. If their situations had been reversed, he would have killed her several years ago. Fortunately, they weren't. His challenge now was to keep her there without making her angry enough to hex him... too seriously. "Ginny, why don't we sit down and talk about this?" He deliberately placed himself between her and the door. He bowed and offered her his hand, looking very much the gentleman.
Ginny purposefully ignored the hand, the bow, and the body placement. She tried to push past him, but when she did, he took the hand meant to push him to the side. "Splendid," he said while trying to lead her, instead of pull her, to a seat.
"Tom, let go of my hand." He slowly released her hand, which she promptly snatched to her side. They were sitting now. He had originally placed them close together, but she immediately slid as far from him as she could. Tom pretended not to notice, and, in all honesty, he had somewhat expected the reaction. "Just let me leave." Ginny sounded tired to Tom. That was probably because she had had a full day of classes and it was almost midnight.
"You can't leave yet."
"But why?"
"Because I don't want you to."
"You can't decide for me where I go and what I do. I'm a big girl now, Tom. I can make my own decisions. In fact, my decisions seem to lead me to less trouble than yours do."
"But you are deciding. Give me another chance to explain, and then you may leave."
The offer was very tempting to Ginny. She was still angry with him, but she could understand the sense of the offer. He got another chance to talk her into whatever he wanted her to do. She could refuse. If she stayed calm enough to allow him to talk, she could hold him to his word. She had at least that power. Tom rarely directly lied to her. He didn't need to. She would hear him out, she would dismiss the proposition, and she would leave.
"Alright, Tom. I will hear your offer, assuming that you don't take more than half an hour to explain." That last bit was simply to reassure herself that he wouldn't just explain for years on end and keep her against her will in that manner.
Tom nodded, smiling slightly at her catch of his loophole, and began talking. "You may continue to be angry with me, but give weight to my words because you will want to remember them later.
"First, understand that I am different from Voldemort. I am also more substantial that a memory. I needed no help to attain this corporeal form. Know that, had I known of such a spell earlier, I would not have attempted to take your life."
"As comforting as that is..."
"Do not interrupt, please. As I was saying, I propose to you nothing more than a plan for escape from those that do not properly appreciate your skills. Stay here with me. I can teach you of more than any of the teachers. I understand your talents, your weaknesses, your mind.
"I can give you all the power than anyone could hope for. I would do that for you. You could be free of all the annoyances, the imperfections of Hogwarts and your so-called peers. Do not throw off my offer lightly. I will not go away. Even if you refuse, I will be here. I will remind you. You do not want to be rid of me, and so I will not go." A slight air of embarrassment pervaded as he took a short breath for the next part of his argument.
"Ginny, you are the only one to whom this has ever been offered and ever will be offered. That is all I will say. Consider my motivations. If I must spell them out for you, then you have slipped more than I would have expected.
"You may leave, if you wish. Just consider who – and what – you would be leaving." With those last words, Tom waved towards the door. He smiled slightly at her and got up. He walked to the black oak door and entered into what was a distinctly dark room.
Ron was about to rush straight to Dumbledore when she suddenly appeared in a mostly unused hallway. There was one secret passage in that corridor, but she was nowhere near it. He, Harry, and Hermione got the Invisibility Cloak and disappeared to help Ginny before she ran into Filch. And (in Ron's case) to scold and question his younger sister about her whereabouts for the past hour.
A/N: The reason why they didn't go to Dumbledore in that hour is because Hermione made the boys check all over the map first and Hogwarts is quite a big place. And Ginny has been gone for a little over an hour and a half but they didn't notice that she was missing for about 45 minutes. Sorry for any confusion.