Many thanks to all my wonderful reviewers. You guys are the greatest. I'm so sorry it's taken so long for me to update. I took a writing class to help my work but my teacher hated my work and failed nearly every piece. So I haven't really wanted to write since. Regardless, I'm still going to try to finish this. I don't want to leave something unfinished no matter how long it takes.
--Chapter Six--
Ginny felt like she was never going to go home. Three months had passed and there were no signs of finding a way to return to her present. She missed her family and was growing very homesick.
But at the same time, a part of Ginny hoped she never had to go back. She was well known in school now but not because she was the youngest Weasley child. But because of her accomplishments in classes and her budding romance with the proclaimed Slytherin Prince. Ginny spent a lot of her free time with Tom Riddle and grew very close to him. According to the Gryffindors, no one got near Tom Riddle, not even the Slytherins. But for some reason, Tom was always with Ginny. It baffled the Gryffindor girls so much that they constantly hounded Ginny for the gossip of her study dates with Tom.
"Come on Ginny. It's a Hogsmeade weekend. Come with us." Myrtle pleaded with the rest of the Gryffindor 5th year girls behind her. Ginny sighed at them from her seat on her bed.
"I'm sorry girls but I can't go. Uncle Albus can't sign my form because he's not my guardian." Ginny explained. She had to think of a lie that would work and this was the only thing she could come up with. Which technically it was true. Dumbledore couldn't sign her permission slip since they were of no relation. Jacinda raised a blonde eyebrow at Ginny. She climbed to sit on her ankles behind Ginny.
"Uh-huh sure. I bet your going down to Slytherin to spend the day with Riddle." The Gryffindor girls watched Ginny carefully. She felt the slight heat of her face blushing. "I knew it."
"So what if I do." Ginny replied rather indigently. "We do have a potions test next week. There's nothing wrong with taking advantage of the weekend for a good grade." Ginny huffed. A tapping at the window was heard. Myrtle reached and opened it for a dark brown and black eagle owl to swoop in and drop a roll of parchment on Ginny's lap before flying back out. Ginny picked up and unrolled the parchment.
Ginny-
Meet me at the lake.
-T.R.
"Oh Merlin! It's from Riddle!" Jacinda exclaimed, reading the note from over Ginny's shoulder.
"Do you mind!" Ginny quickly held the note close to her chest so no one else could read it.
"He wants Ginny to meet him down at the lake." Jacinda announced to the Gryffindor girls.
"You're not going are you Ginny?" Myrtle had a wary expression on her face.
"Of course she is." Jacinda answered, crawling around Ginny to sit on the edge of the bed. "You have to admit, Riddle is a bit gorgeous."
"But he's a Slytherin!"
"Well what's the point of rivalries if you can't have some fun with the other side?" Jacinda shrugged. Several head shook including Ginny's.
"I'm going to meet Tom." Ginny stood from the bed and went to leave.
"Ginny," Myrtle's voice called. Ginny turned around and saw Myrtle standing behind her.
"Just watch your back okay? Riddle is still a Slytherin. He still could do something to you." Myrtle wrapped her arms around Ginny tightly. Ginny returned the hug after the slight surprise wore off.
"I'll be careful Myrtle." Ginny pacified. "You're a great friend." Ginny whispered to her. She saw Myrtle smiled as she pulled away. "Have fun in Hogsmeade girls."
--The Black Lake--
Ginny arrived to find that Tom wasn't there yet. She sat on a fallen log at the edge of the water while she waited. She looked out on the lake and watched the giant squid's tentacles move in the water making the waves catch the sunlight and sparkle.
"It's such a beautiful site." Ginny whispered to herself.
"Yes it is."
Ginny smiled slightly. She now would know Tom's voice anywhere. Ginny, still smiling, turned to Tom. She scooted over on the log and invited Tom to sit next to her. "So you wanted to meet me?" She asked as he sat down.
"Have you found a way back to the future yet?' He asked. Ginny shook her head and glanced back out on the lake.
"No. There isn't any spell that will help. And I still don't know what I was sent here to do." Ginny sighed.
"Do you want to go home?" Ginny looked at Tom and back out to the lake, a thoughtful expression on her face.
"I don't belong in this time and couldn't leave my family. They may forget me sometimes but I can't just leave them behind." Ginny paused. "But then again, a part of me wants to stay here." She looked Tom in the eyes. "For various reasons."
Tom held Ginny's gaze for several moments. She watched him lean closer and leaned closer herself. Their lips met halfway in a feather light caress. Ginny pulled back slightly and looked deeply into Tom's eyes. She leaned in for another kiss.
When she suddenly became drenched in water.
"Ah!" Ginny jumped up as the cold water ran covered her. She looked to the lake and saw a tentacle receding back into the water. She pushed the wet hair out of her face and looked down at Tom, who was just as wet as she was.
"I don't think the squid likes public displays of affection." She laughed.
"Guess not." Tom replied, casting a drying spell on himself then Ginny.
"Let's go back inside the castle." Ginny suggested. Tom nodded.
"Slytherin is empty. We'll have privacy."
"Okay." Ginny followed Tom on the walk down to the Slytherin dungeons. Tom spoke the password and led Ginny up to Tom's dormority.
"The Slytherin dungeons aren't what I thought they would be." Ginny commented as she sat on Tom's bed. "I thought they'd be cold, dreary and nothing but green and silver. It's actually pretty nice down here. Not nearly as bright as Gryffindor though." Ginny smiled at Tom as he sat next to her. He stared at the comforter covering the bed, frowning.
"Is something wrong?" Ginny asked, softly resting a hand on his shoulder.
"I used to curse my existence." Tom quietly said, still looking down.
"What?" Ginny questioned with disbelief.
"No one wanted me. I was a freak even by magic standards. Slytherins listen to me because they fear me."
"Please Tom, no more." Ginny pleaded. She grasped his face gently with her hands and made him look at her. "You're not a freak. You're an intelligent and powerful wizard." Ginny moved her hands to hold his. "If it helps, I never thought of you that way."
"It does." Tom brushed Ginny's lips with his own. Ginny pulled back with a pained gasp.
"Something's wrong." Ginny's breath became slightly labored.
"What is it?" Tom eyed Ginny in concern.
"I feel like I'm going through a portkey." Ginny tried to shake the feeling but couldn't.
"I'm taking you to the hospital ward." Tom helped Ginny off the bed. She took a few steps before collapsing on the stone floor.
"I think I'm being sent back." Ginny winced when a glow began to surround her body.
"No." Tom tightly grabbed Ginny's hands, trying to anchor her to him.
"I don't want to go." Ginny's breathing became erratic. She felt herself drifting as the pain through her body began to intensify. "I don't want to leave you." Tears made silvery tracks down her cheeks when she saw her body become transparent. Her hands went through Tom's. Ginny looked into his eyes one last time.
"I'm sorry." She whispered before she faded. The last thing she saw was Tom reach for her and hear him call her name before she found herself in a black void. Her eyes got heavy as she felt herself falling asleep.
--It's been over a year since I updated and all I have to give is this pathetic chapter. I'm sorry readers. I'm trying to get back in the spirit of writing again. I promise I'm gonna work harder on the next chapter. You have my word.--
