The next few weeks for rough for everyone who had been involved in the Sword-stealing drama. Carrow had taken to emotionally abusing them rather than physical torture. It seemed to be his new favorite thing to do. The week after the incident, Carrow had asked a question in class, "Now, everyone…I want to know…what do you think is the appropriate protocol for dealing with liars and thieves…" The story had spread around the school, but was not entirely accurate. Most people hadn't figured out exactly why they had tried sneaking into Snape's office…which was somewhat of a relief to Ginny. She didn't feel like explaining their motives, although plenty of Gryffindor's had asked.

It was a month since school had restarted, and finally Draco had returned. Ginny was eating her cereal of Cornflakes one morning. She glanced up and happened to see a flash of white-blonde hair. She paused and then looked up properly. She watched the Slytheirn walk towards his table, looking taught and tense, Pansy fawning over him and acting like a lost puppy who had just found his master. It made Ginny nauseous watching it.

But as she watched him, Draco turned his head subtly in her direction. He must have sensed her gaze because he stared at her with empty eyes for a second. He was a shadow of the Draco Malfoy she used to know. A month being away from school had done him no good whatsoever. His facial features were sunken in an there were dark shadows under his eyes.

Draco was the first to break the eye contact. Ginny sighed and Neville asked from beside her, "What's wrong, Ginny?" He had been quieter lately. Ever since the Break-In Incident, as it had become to be known, he had been rather subdued. Neville shrugged, "Nothing. I just…feel like we need a safe haven. A place where we can go where we won't be mocked, teased or bullied by Slytherin's. Carrow is certainly influencing them to do so."

Ginny had noticed that there had been more than the normal amount of bullying lately. The other day, Pansy had sneered at her for being a thief and a liar. Clearly, she was taking Carrow's words to heart, the idiot. Ginny nodded in agreement, "You're right. I'm tired of this endless nastiness. What do you say, Seamus?" He glanced up from his toast and nodded, "I agree. I think we should go somewhere we can be protected. I don't feel like we're safe anymore." Then Colin muttered, "We haven't been safe in this school for a long time. How about the Room of Requirement? Surely it would let us stay there."
Even after the sword incident, some Gryffindor's had begun mistrusting them, as crazy as that was. When Ginny couldn't answer some of their questions, they shunned her. She felt isolated. Amelia and Charlotte had tried getting answers from her, but Ginny had explained that she couldn't…wasn't allowed even to say much on the subject. They had cold-shouldered Ginny for the rest of the month since.

And then there was Romilda who was spreading crazy rumors like wild-fire. Ginny tried not to let these rumors bother her. She'd heard one girl telling her friend in a hallway, "Ginny has moved on from Potter. She's been spending so much time with Longbottom, I reckon they're an item now. I feel so sorry for Harry." It sounded exactly like the kind of rumors Romilda would spread. The awkward part was, Ginny had been walking with Neville at the time. His cheeks had turned quite pink when he heard them.

McLaggen piped up now. He'd been keeping to himself a lot lately…not quite the same, obnoxious guy Ginny had once known. He said brightly, "Why don't we go and check it out during lunch time? See what the room can provide for us?" They nodded in agreement and Ginny couldn't help but smile a little, "Agreed. Ok, we meet at one."
Ginny still hadn't heard from Luna and she was seriously missing her friend. It was nice to have at least one girl friend around at times like these. The only thing getting Ginny through her days was Quidditch. It was the one thing she looked forward to. It was the thing she began depending on to make her days a little bit brighter.

They had their second match the following weekend and Ginny was drilling everyone that Monday. She wanted to increase their chances of winning the cup this year against all odds. Their next match was against Hufflepuff. They had some strong, built players on their team this year so Ginny was training everyone hectically in terms of physical fitness.

The snow was beginning to melt away and this meant they could train properly more often. Today, they were running laps around the field and Ginny joint them. She felt her insides burning and it felt so good to heave fresh air into her lungs after so long of not really being able to do so. They had just run two laps around and had done several star jumps as a warm up. They were all huffing and out of breath by the end. Ginny blew a strand of hair out of her face and said jokingly, "I'm guessing we all need to work off our Christmas meals still." This caused most of the team to laugh with her and they then hopped on their brooms, ready to do drills. They all played fairly well in their improvised match considering they hadn't practiced religiously during winter. Most teams didn't start practice again until now anyway.
Ginny left the pitch feeling satisfied. She went to have a shower and to rub off the grime from her skin. When she was done, she changed and then she and Demelza headed up to the Room of Requirement. They had slowly but surely started taking hostage there now. It was the first night Ginny was spending in the room. When they arrived there, they had to ask the room for 'a place where we can be safe…' The door opened after thinking this three times and revealed a room which had mattresses and sleeping bags dotted all over the floor. There was a couch or two with pillows and even a fire place in case it got cold at night. Neville, Seamus, Colin were already in there. Ginny smiled as they walked in an Neville smiled at her, "Hey! How do you like our new digs?"

Ginny grinned and sat down on the couch beside him in front of the fire, "It's nice and cosy." It was still fairly chilly outside and Neville passed her a fluffy blanket. Demelza laughed loudly, "Wow! This place truly provides!" McLaggen walked in a whistled, "Wow! This place is sweet!" he commented. Ginny grinned and looked around a little more. They had come in earlier but the room was obviously feeling a little more prepared now that they'd already been in once. There were small tables to do homework at in a miniature study to the left of them.

Ginny yawned and murmured, "I think I could fall asleep right here almost…" She felt snug right in front of the fire, with the few people she trusted most in this school right beside her. She had taken her tog bag with her pajama's and necessities such as her toothbrush and toothpaste to Quidditch in order to prepare for the evening. It made the most sense as to how to get her things down there. Ginny was so comfortable that she didn't even realise she was drifting off, with her blanket wrapped around her and in front of the fire.

XXX

Ginny dreamt that she was in the Room of Requirement, and it was as it was when she had fallen asleep. Then suddenly, Harry appeared in the far corner of the room. Harry was there with no Ron and no Hermione. Ginny found this strange….he was rarely without them. She blinked in surprise and whispered, "Harry?" careful not to wake the people around her.

Neville had also fallen asleep next to her on the couch, but the rest had maneuvered to mattresses. Harry beckoned her into the little room on the far left. Ginny followed him into the small study. He stood at the far end, his back turned to her. Ginny walked hesitantly up to him and then tapped him on the back. There was something very odd about the way Harry was behaving.

Then Harry turned around and Ginny realized that it wasn't Harry at all! She screamed when she saw Riddle's face…hoping to alert everyone else that he was here. Tom covered her mouth quickly with his hand and smirked at her, "Hello, Ginny. Thought I was your boyfriend, did you? I have been told we look rather alike."
Ginny stared into his black eyes and felt fear crawling all over her skin. He chuckled at her scared expression and whispered, "Now, I hear you've been causing trouble in this school, Ginervra. What you're going to do, is tell me where Potter and his friends are…or I will Crucio you to infinity and back. Ginny pulled her face away from his hand and spat back furiously, "You can Crucio me all you like, but I don't know and I'd never tell you even I did!"

Riddle stared at her with mock sympathy in his eyes, "Come on, do you really expect me to believe that even Potter's girlfriend doesn't know where he is?" Ginny glared at him and sighed dramatically, "Tom, you should know better than anyone that he broke up with me for this very reason. He knows you and how you operate." Riddle's eyes sparked with curiosity and he said thoughtfully, "Oh really? He did?" Ginny watched him, unsure how much of this Tom truly believed but she didn't care. Tom sighed sadly, "You know Ginny, when you were younger you would do just about anything for me. Kill a few school chickens, frame Potter, and even write messages on the wall…"
Ginny tensed and Tom chuckled as he stroked his wand deviously. He asked sincerely, "You're ready to put yourself through a Voldemort Crucio just to spare Potter…even though he abandoned you and left you alone all this time?" Ginny knew what he was trying to do. He was trying to manipulate her. It was what he was best at. Ginny said tonelessly, "I don't know where he is, Tom. You know that's true…so I don't see why doing Crucio on me would work in your favor."

If there was one thing her encounter with Tom Riddle had taught her all those years ago, it's that she knew how he thought. This became an advantage to Ginny. Tom frowned and shook his head, "This is true, dear Ginny. What are we going to do with you then?" Ginny raised her eyebrows and replied, "You can tell me something for a change. Do me a favor."
Riddle raised his eyebrows at her and asked curiously, "What would that be?" Ginny said bravely, "Lay off Draco Malfoy." Tom started laughing at her. It was horrible, mocking laughter. He chuckled and whispered, "My my…has Weasley actually started falling for a Malfoy?" She rolled her eyes and snapped, "Of course not! I just think you're being very unfair to him." Tom smiled a genuinely delighted smile, "Wait until Potter hears about this…" Ginny's jaw dropped and she was for once….speechless. She glared at him angrily and then retorted, "I do not have feelings for Malfoy. I'm just worried about him is all. I, unlike you Tom, care about people." Riddle sighed and shrugged his shoulders, "You care about him? I don't think Potter will like that either."

Ginny realized she was digging herself a grave. She decided to zip the lip and not say anything more. Tom smiled at her in what could be thought of as a kind smile…but Ginny knew better. Tom wasn't kind and never would be kind. He chuckled and said, "I will spare Malfoy some small degrees of humiliation, but don't be surprised if Potter finds out."

Ginny ran up to him and slapped him in the face. She couldn't help herself. She hated the way he thought he had control over everything. The sad truth was….he did to some degree. Now his eyes glinted with fury and he laughed, "You asked for it Weasley! Crucio!" Ginny felt a pain worse than any other Crucio she'd ever experienced by Carrow or anyone else. Tom was right. For some reason…his were more intense and more painful than she could have ever imagined.

XXX

Ginny woke up to Neville saying frantically, "Ginny? Ginny! Wake up!" She was twitching on the couch by the fire when she felt Neville shaking her awake. She frowned and whispered, "Huh? What's going on?" She glanced around to find that everyone else was still sleeping thankfully. She sighed in relief and then Neville questioned her, "What happened?"
Ginny blinked to try and rid the sleep from her eyes. She asked curiously, "What's the time?" Neville glanced at an old grandfather's clock to the left, "It's four a.m. What was happening? Does that happen often?" Ginny frowned and whispered, "What are you talking about?"
Neville sighed and whispered, "You were jerking in your sleep. It was quite terrifying to watch." Ginny sat up and gestured with her head to the left. They walked into the small study which looked exactly like it had in her dream. Her eyes were now adjusting to the darkness. There was a door which shut off this room from the main room. Ginny closed it and cast Muffliato charm on the door so that no-one else could hear their conversation.

Ginny took a seat at one of the small tables. What she wouldn't do for some hot chocolate right now. She glanced at Neville and whispered, "I've been having these dreams…ever since my first year. I haven't ever really told anyone about them except Harry…so please understand that this is very hard for me." Neville was frowning in concentration but otherwise he didn't say much. He whispered, "Alright…"

Ginny grimaced and then continued, "So basically I have dreams about…Riddle." Neville's expression remained neutral and for that she was grateful. She couldn't bare it if he would judge her over this. She swallowed and whispered, "These dreams are really vivid. Like…they're so life like and I'm now beginning to think that Riddle is somehow finding a way in."

Neville was silent for a minute before murmuring, "Is he possessing you again?" Ginny shook her head and groaned, "No! Not like that…he just gets in my dreams and tries to control the way I think about things. He's trying to change me by invading my headspace. I just…it scares me truth be told. He uses my fear of him to try and get to me."

Neville grimaced and then whispered, "How long have you had these dreams?" Ginny shrugged and murmured, "On and off since the Chamber of Secrets, but they've become more prominent as the years have gone on…particularly since we were at the ministry." Neville nodded and replied with a strain in his voice, "So mostly whenever you're physically close to Voldemort?"
Ginny had never thought about it like that before, but then she nodded, "Possibly." Neville stared at her for a moment until he asked, "And what usually happens in these dreams?" She shrugged and whispered, "I told you, Riddle always makes an appearance and tries to change the way I think about things. He's pretty controlling." Neville grimaced, "Controlling doesn't sound good." Ginny muttered under her breath, "But he's always been like that. He can't help it." Neville took her hand in his and sighed, "Promise me that you'll say something if it becomes like last time?" Ginny knew what he meant immediately and she smiled forcibly, "I will Neville. Thank you for listening. Please just don't tell anyone?" He smiled briefly as he said, "I won't Gin. Now let's go and get a few more hours of sleep."

A/N: Hi all! Please please please let me know what you think of these chapters? I haven't really gotten any feedback so I'm dying to know! We're slowly but surely getting to Harry's return. I just want to say a big thanks in particular to: topofthemuffin. Its reviews like that which make me feel like this is really worthwhile writing. Happy weekend everyone!