Tom was the first to enter the fireplace and disappear in the green flames towards the Malfoy Manor. When the fire faded back to its original form, Ginny sat in the nearest chair and took a deep breath, watching Burkes's house elf furiously attack a chicken with a knife before seasoning it and putting it in the oven. All kitchen surfaces were covered with food, there were even some dishes floating near the ceiling; it looked like Borgin was going to have the party of the year, and she was sure that everyone there would be eating better than she at the Malfoy's party.
Ginny had a bad feeling about that, but probably the feeling was due to the fact that she was feeling very tired; she was exhausted by what the Horcrux had done to her, with stealing her energy and such, even more, exhausted by what he had said. Tom Riddle, her Tom Riddle, as she distinguishes him from the Horcrux and Lord Voldemort, had done an excellent job distracting her during the afternoon, but now that she was about to do something for which she was not feeling particularly motivated, what had happened during the afternoon was starting to catch up with her, weighing on her thoughts.
But that dinner... Ginny knew very well what to expect from it, the Malfoy's Christmas dinners were very popular in her time, even after Lucius Malfoy had dragged the family's name through the mud, nothing had changed in relation to it. All wizards with prominent positions in the Ministry were there, even if their blood was not that pure, but what made them so special was the true pureblood families, the "Sacred Twenty-Eight," as had written Cantankerous Nott.
Malfoy's Christmas dinners had begun shortly after the publication of Nott's book, and her family had been invited during the first years, but their insistence about distancing themselves from the rising issues of blood purity and the social differences between the pure blood and the other wizards and Muggles, plus the emergence of Grindelwald who insisted on spreading Nott and Slytherin's ideas, led to the progressive reduction of business contacts with the Weasleys, until the whole family lived in relative financial struggle, and they stopped being invited to that event, or much of anything.
Blood traitors was the term associated with her family, being the idea spread and promoted by Abraxas Malfoy everywhere he went.
'Life is full of ironies.' Ginny thought bitterly. Maybe she was looking at the problem the wrong way, perhaps it was not Tom Riddle that she should be careful about and waste time thinking about the impact of making him disappear from History. Abraxas Malfoy and his son had had a crucial role in the rise of Lord Voldemort, would Tom get to where he got without the contact network of the Malfoy family? Did Abraxas knew that Tom did not have the pure blood he claimed to possess? By the way, did Abraxas know who Tom Riddle actually was, or Tom had lied to him to ensure that Abraxas would not exclude him from his circles?
Abraxas probably didn't know, how else would his only son and heir follow in the mad footsteps of Lord Voldemort so easily?
She would never understand the relationship between Tom and Malfoy, or Tom and his Hogwarts classmates who became Death Eaters.
Ginny slowly rose from her chair, leaning against the table for a moment before taking a handful of Floo powder from the pot and throwing it into the fire.
"What happened?" Tom asked raising an eyebrow, curious about why she didn't follow him immediately. "I was about to go back for you."
"We were beginning to think that Burke was with you or something." Malfoy added, standing next to Tom, kind of looking worried.
"Nothing happened guys! The kitchen was covered with food and I had to ask the elf what were some of those dishes." Said Ginny with a smile, looking first at Tom and then Malfoy lingered a little longer over him, who was impeccably dressed in black as usual.
It was weird, she always thought that Tom would dress in black, from his robes to his shirts, but he didn't, perhaps because if he dressed that way he would look intimidating and it went against his plans. Tom, with a dark red tie, almost looked festive.
"Let me show you where you are going to sleep... well, not you Tom, you already know my house from one side to the other." Said Malfoy with a laugh, watching Ginny intensely before turning to Tom and putting his hand on his back to encourage him to walk.
When Ginny stepped into the hallway, she started to get kind of itchy. She was officially in the Malfoy Manor, it was a horrible feeling and she would have to shower for hours when she got home...
It was horrible.
Ginny remained behind the two wizards, making sure to stay a few steps away from them and ignore whatever it was what they were saying.
She was in mental agony.
The guest rooms were in the most private area of the Manor, and the family rooms in an area even more secluded, so that they were not bothered; it was there that Abraxas prepared their rooms, they were not family but Tom visited them long enough to have that privilege, and since Ginny was with him, it made no sense to put her on the other wing. That corridor had only six rooms, two of them to the Malfoys currently living in the Manor, and now two for her and Tom.
At least Malfoy had had the good sense to actually prepare two rooms and not just one, sign that he had actually abandoned the idea that Tom and she were a couple.
Tom entered his room taking his bag from his shoulder and was immediately followed by Abraxas, leaving her alone to explore her quarters.
Ginny's room was a relatively large and adorned with light colours from the woods on the floor to the fabric of the curtains. The division was dominated by the large stone fireplace on a wall and a four-poster bed in front of it. Ginny approached the bed, and took off the clothes she had tackled in her purse to sleep and to have the so said semi-formal lunch the next day, and calmly folded them before putting it on the embroidered quilt of the bed.
She was feeling even more distraught as fraternising with the Malfoy family was against all the principles the Weasley family had. There wasn't much she could do about the situation now, it was this or be in the store and raise Borgin's suspicions... but now that she thought about it, she could also have rented a room at the Leaky Cauldron.
'Well, it's too late for that.' She thought to herself.
Ginny was looking at the gardens when Abraxas and Tom entered her room.
"What do you think?" Malfoy asked with a big smile on his face, hoping to have impressed Ginny.
"It looks alright, I guess." Ginny said dryly, closing the heavy curtains that covered the window, not seeing Malfoy make an annoyed expression that made Tom cough to hide a laugh at his reaction.
Malfoy run the tip of his tongue over his lower lip looking at her, and smiled before looking at Tom. "Well, let's see where my father is, he asked me to warn him when you arrived, he wanted to talk to you about something important." He said before heading back out into the hallway.
"I hope this important talk is not another attempt of coercion to make me go work with you, Abraxas." Tom grumbled, taking a deep breath and looking bored at Malfoy.
The other wizard hesitated a moment before answering him, but Ginny cut in before he could speak.
"What is the problem with working in the Ministry of Magic?" Asked Ginny, actually curious to know what sort of excuse he had for refusing to work there.
"Well, after finishing Hogwarts with highest distinctions, I tried my luck with becoming a Defence Against the Dark Arts' teacher and wad turned down by Dippet…"
"He told him he was too young! Can you believe the old man? He really had no eye to see talent…" Interrupted Malfoy.
"And taking a small vacation to actually rest from everything, when I returned back to England, I was almost crushed with job offers, not only from the Ministry of Magic here, but also from other countries, and I also got several proposals from private families to work for them." He said dryly as if being able to choose where to work was something bad.
"Your co-worker here was one of the best students that went through Hogwarts, and not only that, but he was a school hero!" added Malfoy.
"You never told me you were a hero, Tom!" Ginny blurted, trying to look excited but ending up being sarcastic because it was actually really weird to hear anyone say that Tom Riddle was a hero, rather than a mass-murdering psychopath.
"Always the humble one!" Laughed Malfoy, looking at Tom who rolled his eyes at the other wizard. "When Tom was in his sixth year, a half-giant called... What was the name, Tom?"
Tom looked at Malfoy with raised eyebrows and wide-open eyes putting his hands in his pockets, trying to remember the name. "Hmm... Hagrid, I think. Something Hagrid."
"Yes, that! Anyway, this huge guy named Hagrid, clearly out of place at Hogwarts, being half a monster and such... but what I was saying is that during that year, this half-giant got a highly dangerous creature as a pet and let it roam free in Hogwarts like it was some kind of cat! Several students were attacked, one died, and he almost had the school year cancelled!" They were going down the stairs to the ground floor as Malfoy spoke.
"Yes, Tom told me the other day that there was an accident with a Basilisk an-"
"But he didn't tell you the part where he was the one to stop the half-giant and repel his monster into the Forbidden Forest." Malfoy interrupted her, looking way too happy then he should and quite pleased that Ginny was finally giving him some attention.
"No, he didn't tell me that." Ginny hoped that her face was expressing curiosity and surprise and not the fury that was boiling inside. She loved Hagrid, her brother loved Hagrid, Harry went to see him every Sunday to have lunch with him at Hogwarts... How did Malfoy dare to speak about Hagrid like that?
Ginny couldn't wait for the opportunity of punching his stupid face to finally arise.
"But that's what happened, he even received a trophy… a special award for services to the school." Said Malfoy giving a lyrical intonation to the name of the award. "What did you do with it?" He asked Tom.
"I left it at school, in the trophy room." Tom said with a shrug, indifferent.
Ginny exchanged a look with him, making him tilt his head slightly to the side with a small smile on his lips.
"Well, it's nice to know that I'm working with someone so important..." She remarked. "But you still haven't explained why you don't want to work for the Ministry."
"Honestly, it's because I'm tired." Said Tom. "I finished Hogwarts under enormous pressure to be the best of the best, half of the Ministry was preparing to make me jump through the hierarchy, some even asked if I saw myself as the Minister of Magic in the future."
"Really?" Ginny was surprised, of course,she knew he was very smart, she knew what were the real reasons he had refused to work for the Ministry of Magic, but she had no idea that he had been pressured in that way. Ginny still remembered how the seven years had been hard, with all those exams, those important decisions and she was not even thinking about the stress that was to go back to Hogwarts after the war, with the castle still under reconstruction and having to walk over the spot where Fred died.
"I decided that I needed to do other things, needed rest after those exams..." Tom shook his head. "I almost had to beg to Borgin to let me work with them, "You have too many qualifications." he told me. Now, I do like what I do, I'm quite good at it in fact, and it leaves me free to do other things without the burden of being responsible for something actually important."
"Oh! You're right!" Exclaimed Malfoy. "I had almost forgotten that you got top marks on everything didn't you? Nott told me he barely saw you for like 3 months." Abraxas was a year older than Tom and had left Hogwarts earlier than him.
"Yes, that's right." Tom laugh. "I still can't believe I did that; I feel quite lucky to be alive now."
They had stopped at a door in the middle of the east wing. Malfoy was the first to enter and waited for Tom and Ginny to pass too close the library door behind them.
Mr Malfoy was sitting cross-legged with a book in his lap by the huge stone fireplace ornamented with a scene of a battle between wizards and Muggles. The fact that he only rose his eyes from his book when his son called him, said everything that could be said about that wizard.
At least, the Malfoys seemed to have some good taste when it came to libraries, the walls were lined with books, and some particularly beautiful volumes were open through tables spread around the room.
Abraxas' father shook hands with Tom with a smile and then took a moment to look at Ginny, lingering a little more in her hair, not giving her more than a smirk.
'Rude.' Ginny thought.
Malfoy sat back and made them a sign to do the same.
Tom had been correct, what Malfoy's father spoke of was a position he had waiting for him at the Ministry.
To hear Mr Malfoy speaking was something almost supernatural, the way he articulated the words, he expressed himself, the arguments he used... It became obvious where Abraxas and Lucius had got their way with words to make Ministers resign and influence Hogwarts's administrative board.
Tom was unmoved by the wizard's words, he had a friendly smile on his lips and was listening carefully the arguments of the other wizard without actually paying attention to him. She seemed to be the only one, in that room, to realise that.
She was starting to see how Tom had used the Malfoys to his advantage, the other wizard was just talking, too in love with the sound of his own voice to care about who was listening.
Maybe it was not the way they spoke that influenced other wizards Ginny thought… maybe it was just the money they paid to have what they wanted.
Ginny slowly rose from the chair where she was sitting, bored with what was going on and creeped out by her thoughts regarding the Malfoys. She decided to have a look at the books displayed around the room. She stood by an open manuscript on a podium on the far wall the room, she was about to touch the intricate golden illustration of the page when Abraxas suddenly appeared beside her, startling her.
"It's not a good idea to touch that... the book is almost a thousand years old." He said in a whisper, near her ear, placing a hand on the curve of her back. "Have I told you that you look remarkable in this dress?"
"No, but thank you for the kind compliment, Abraxas." said Ginny, uncomfortable with Malfoy's proximity, but when she tried to push his arm away, Abraxas let his hand slide down Ginny's arm to hold her hand gently between his long, thin fingers. He looked at her for a moment before smiling and pulling her hand up to his lips, placing a small kiss on her skin.
"I'm glad you came."
"Right..." Ginny had nothing to say. Malfoy dropped his hand and Ginny flexed her fingers before crossing her arms over her chest, trying to ward off the unpleasant feeling of Malfoy's touch.
Abraxas gave her a tour through the library, stopping in front of all the books that were displayed in the room, describing what he knew about each one of them, trying to put an arm around Ginny's waist whenever they stopped, infuriating her. She would have slapped his hand if his father wasn't there.
They were looking at the last book displayed in the library when Mr Malfoy got up from his chair with a slight frown on his face that seemed to express some frustration for not being able to convince Tom to accept the place in the Ministry.
Saying their farewells to him, the three returned to Abraxas' office, where he served them a glass of firewhisky.
"It's a shame that my father did not convince you to join me at the Ministry, Tom." Said Malfoy, hiding an amused smile behind his glass, it was not the first time he told him that.
"But why do you work at the Ministry, Abraxas?" Ginny asked him, looking at the ice she was stirring inside her glass before looking at him. "From the looks of this house, you shouldn't have to work."
Abraxas smiled at her enigmatically. "Family tradition."
"Oh..."
"My family made its fortune centuries ago, but one time, one of my ancestors almost managed to ruin everything. He loved to have fun and spent most of his life doing exactly that and being an ass to the rest of the family, including his sons while accumulating lots of debt. His wife complained to their eldest son, and heir and he were already fed up with his father because the allowance he gave him was barely enough to eat and he had to actually work to live." Malfoy got up to refill his glass. "When he took control of the family business he managed to pay the debts and even restore a small part of the original fortune thanks to the experience he gained while working in the Ministry. To prevent that any of his descendants did the same his father did, when he died, he left a curse, forcing all the family heirs to work a minimum of seven years before getting into the family business, or something horrible would happen."
"Like what?" asked Ginny.
"He did not say, and we don't want to find out." Said Malfoy.
"That seems wise." Ginny finished drinking her glass and placed it on the desk.
They fell on an awkward silence after that, with Malfoy looked into his glass thoughtfully and Tom with his legs crossed, tried to balance his glass on his knee, Ginny took a deep breath looking around.
Malfoy summoned an elf and asked him to bring them something to eat.
"Shouldn't we eat with the other guests?" Asked Ginny between mouthfuls, making Abraxas laugh. "It depends on how hungry you may be..." He looked at Tom, who chewed quietly and dragged the food from one side to the other side of his plate, taciturn, not returning his gaze. "The dinner part kind of fell out of costume a few years after it started, despite the fact that we serve food, it is always advised that you have dinner before coming."
They finished eating in silence, and Ginny couldn't stop herself from constantly looking at Tom, she didn't like to see him so quiet, it didn't seem like him, it made her feel like he was plotting something evil and horrible. She gave him a slight touch on the foot he had in the air with the tip of her red shoe and leant forward to get his attention, a smile on her lips. "Are you alright?"
Tom looked at her and smiled back. "Yes, why?"
"Nothing..." Tom turned his attention to his plate, continuing to eat, ignoring her since he thought she wasn't going to add anything else to her statement, but she did "You're lying..." said Ginny.
"What? No!" Tom looked at her confused, but actually starting to feel unnerved by the ease she had in knowing when he was lying. This kind of things only added fuel to his idea of her knowing him in the future, that they had been close for a long period of time for her to be able to tell when he was lying when no one else could…
Even Dumbledore couldn't tell the difference, and he was sure she was not using any spell or potion on him. Or was she? No… they weren't even in the store; he was letting his paranoia get to him.
"You just did it again." Ginny accused him. "Why aren't you alright?"
"Ginevra, nothing is going on, why would I lie to you about this?"
"I don't know, but you are not telling the truth."
Tom took a deep breath, angry, and looked at her with a frown. Ginny looked back, letting show how annoyed she felt by the fact that he was hiding something, since those silences always hid information that she should better know, for her own wellbeing.
Malfoy across the table looked alternately from one to the other.
"Are you two alright-"
"YES!" They shouted in unison looking at him, causing him to drop his fork on his plate and raise his hands defensively in front of him, rolling his eyes.
When they finished eating, Malfoy took them to the balcony, his office overlooked the front of the Manor and the three bent over the railing, watching the guests who had decided to arrive by Portkey, make a spectacular entrance with their expensive gowns and robes billowing in the cold wind of the late afternoon.
Ginny began to tremble with cold, the dress, showing her shoulders, did not offer enough protection against the settling low temperatures, so she rubbed her arms trying to warm up but in vain. Unexpectedly, a cloak fell over her shoulders and Ginny looked at Tom surprised by the delicate gesture, but he was looking at Malfoy, his face painful expressionless that meant he was not happy, which made her look at the other wizard, that hold a warm smile on his lips and was just wearing his coat.
"Thank you, Abraxas." She said, turning back to the railing, pulling Malfoy's cloak closer against herself, making his scent on the fabric, strong and manly but not in a good way, irritate her nose.
When they got bored and a good amount of guests arrived at the party, they walked back into the office, Ginny returned Malfoy's cloak to him and he dropped it on the back of his chair and Tom did the same with his. Walking down the stairs in the middle of the two wizards, she looked at Malfoy for a moment and he smiled at her, but then Tom caught her attention by lighting sliding his fingers down her back for an instant.
Ginny crossed her arms over her chest the moment they entered the ballroom where the party was happening, feeling trapped between a rock and a hard place and feeling like screaming until her head exploded.
'This is stupid.' She thought bitterly. 'I can't believe this is happening.' She repeated a few times inside her head. It was more than obvious that Abraxas was very interested in her with that invitation for dinner, his insistence for her to come to this party, those creepy Malfoy smiles… But Tom… that was her fault, no matter what the Horcrux had said that afternoon, she refused to believe he would be interested in her if she didn't spend so much time with him, and Ginny was sure none of them wanted to be with her for her personality alone… maybe Tom, but if the Horcrux was indeed right, his interest was more disturbing then Malfoy's, a lot worse than whatever he was thinking.
Either way, she was now part of a ridiculous love triangle and she wanted out. Of all the things that could happen, this was so far the worse and it made no sense.
This was not one of those Muggle films that her father forced everybody to see, this was the real world.
Maybe she should have risked it and stayed in the store with Burke, maybe she could leave the party unnoticed and rent a room at the Leaky Cauldron for the night.
She took a deep breath. The most important thing now was to stay calm. If she remained calm the night would pass in an instant and it will be the Christmas day where she could enjoy a quiet and pleasant morning... with Abraxas, and then with him and his parents during lunch.
Ginny took a deep breath again.
The Universe truly hated her.
The three mingled among the guests, a band on a small stage played the popular wizardry music of the time, and some couples had already taken a part of the room to dance, moving to the sound of the melody between laughs and complicit smiles.
Mrs Malfoy suddenly appeared beside them putting a hand on Abraxas' shoulder to draw his attention to her and sending a smile in Tom's direction, who smiled back. "A friend of yours Tom?" She asked with a wink when she noticed Ginny, who had to struggle not to roll her eyes.
"A co-worker." Corrected Tom gesturing towards her. "Ginevra."
"It's a pleasure, Mrs Malfoy." Greeted Ginny, trying to be friendly.
"The pleasure is all mine dear." Said the other witch without looking at her, her attention drifting around the room while she grabbed a glass of wine from one of the several trays that were floating around the room with drinks and food. "You'll have to forgive me, but the other guests need my attention." She said walking away, already reaching out her hands to a wizard near them.
As soon as Mrs Malfoy walked away, her husband appeared to take his son with him, saying he needed to introduce him to some people.
That left Ginny and Tom alone and in a very awkward silence, with the other guests dancing only a few feet from them, but Ginny would kill Tom right there and then if he dared to invite her to dance.
They took a glass from a tray that floats by them in that moment, but stayed in silence, she didn't even bother to glance in his direction.
"I don't suppose you want-"
"Please don't say it." Ginny interrupted him, shrugging her shoulders, mortified.
This was not happening.
"I just wanted to be sure." Tom said, raising a hand for her to stay calm and smiling, amused at her discomfort.
"You already said too much." Ginny muttered through gritted teeth, making Tom laugh. "And you were right this afternoon..." He looked at her confused, drinking a sip of wine, before turning his attention to the dance floor waiting for her to continue. "I should have bought a dress; I'm not dressed for this kind of thing." She said, looking at the other witches, with long, elegant and colourful gowns.
Tom leant against Ginny, putting an arm around her to rest a hand on her waist and tilting slightly down to her ear, he murmured, "But this one's one of my favourites." Ginny elbowed him roughly in the ribs, rolling her eyes but he did not pull away, despite having to catch his breath for a second, keeping his hand in place, moving his thumb slowly up and down her waist, making her shiver with the intimacy that he decided to impose on her. "Let's go sit by the fireplace, I can see some people I know from here."
Ginny took a deep breath as he pulled away, annoyed by her reaction to his closeness and followed after him, trying to avoid colliding with wizards who danced between them and their destination. But before they crossed the dance floor, a witch called Tom.
"Tom!" She called, making him turn around.
"You..." Tom smiled, surprised. "I thought I'd never see you again!" He said approaching the witch and accepting her hug.
"Such a surprise!" She said pulling away from him but living her hands on his shoulders looking at him with a kind, nostalgic smile.
"Where have you been?" Asked Tom, genuinely curious, as she stepped back. "I missed your company in Potions and our chess games in the library." That made her laughed. "Ginevra, the classmate I told you about some days ago."
Ginny smiled warmly at her, feeling actually sorry for her, because she was smiling at him in a way that clearly told how she felt about seeing Tom again, and he was the one that almost killed her.
It was unbelievable how Tom could speak with her so naturally, how he could smile and greet someone that he purposely placed in danger, that he nearly killed, and not even show any discomfort regarding her presence.
The witch gave them a short summary of what had happened in her life since leaving Hogwarts and was quite surprised to learn he had chosen to work at the Borgin & Burkes after school.
"I always thought you'd go to the Ministry!" She exclaimed. "That store doesn't fit you at all!"
"Maybe it's true, but I decided to have a simpler career, I hope to be able to open my own business in a couple more years." He said.
"But the Borgin & Burkes... is it safe? You are not involved in... you know... criminal things?" She asked uncertain, lowering her voice.
"Of course not, but just because I didn't want to work in the Ministry, it doesn't mean I don't want to retire by my 40's." He answered with a sly smile and a wink, making her laugh and give him a pat on the shoulder.
"Will you dance with me?" She asked, looking down to follow the movement of her hands smoothing the folds of her dress.
"Maybe another time." Said Tom pretending to be disappointed and stretching a hand to Ginny, who automatically hold it in hers without thinking about what she was doing, and he pulled her to his side. "We were on our way to find some friends by the fireplace."
Tom was not much taller than her since she got her height from her father instead of her mother, but it was enough to make her look up to be able to see the look he cast on his former schoolmate.
When she said goodbye to Tom, it was likely that this was the first and last time he would see her again. Ginny released his hand and crossed her arms over her chest, looking at him coldly.
"You know you hurt her, right?" She asked in an accusing tone, which made him roll his eyes and turns his back to her, starting to walk. "It was cheap of you to use me like that. Who do you think you are?"
Tom suddenly stopped and looked back, acutely annoyed and approached Ginny with a couple of firm strides, making her resist the urge to step back.
"You're complaining about me? You did exactly the same." He said pressing his finger on her arm. "It doesn't feel good now, does it?" Tom pulled away and put his hands in his pockets, watching her strangely.
Ginny looked at him in surprise; he was right about that.
"How can you compare the two things? She only asked to dance with you!"
"Well, maybe I really don't like to dance or…" He stepped closer to her and put a hand on the small of her back before doing half a turn to the pace of the other dancers around them. "I only want to dance with you."
Ginny immediately stepped back from his hold and covered her eyes with one hand. "Let's just go find your friends." She was horrified by what he had just said and just wanted him to stop and start walking to the damn fireplace, she was already regretting even speaking about the subject.
That almost counted as dancing and she would never be able to recover from the fact that she danced at a Malfoy Party, even worse, she danced with Lord Voldemort… it was almost as bad as kissing him.
The couches and armchairs spread around the warmth of the huge marble fireplace were full of wizards that risen to greet Tom when he arrived, freeing a more or less central chair in relation to others for him. Ginny took a deep breath, disturbed by their demonstration of reverence towards Tom and the fact that she was ignored and no one offered her a place to sit. The jerks. That would have left her fairly offended in other circumstances, but since they looked like Death Eaters, she would never dare to be offended by them, she wouldn't even care.
Resigned, she walked towards Tom making him stop talking and look at her, surprised for a moment, also catching the attention of the wizards around him. However, Ginny merely sat on Tom's armchair's arm looking undisturbed by the stares, and acted like she belonged there, she crossed her legs, shifting her attention to the fireplace and ignored them.
She had to hold on to Tom's shoulder for support when a wizard suddenly cut off in front of her. She recognised him as one of Tom's classmates who had practically forced her to drink that night in the Cauldron, but his name was eluding her. Tom slightly rolled his shoulder to encourage her to take her hand from him and ignored her when she stood up with a smile on her lips.
"You don't know my name, do you?" He asked with a fun and sincere smile, walking towards the large glass doors to the garden. "It's alright, though, it's usually like this when a knight has to save the damsel in distress."
"Was I in danger?" Asked Ginny amused, accepting the arm he offered to her.
"Yes! You're almost dying of boredom." He laughed at his own joke. "Well, last time, you called me Nott, I suppose now you can call me by my first name..."
"Nott is enough, let me memorise one name at a time, okay?" Ginny said, patting his arm with a smile. "And you did very well in saving me from there, thank you."
Nott, from the Nott family, related to the men who wrote the "Sacred Twenty-Eight", that doomed her family, actually made a pleasant company and talked to her about normal things, like his very big family, so it was alright, maybe this Nott was not the one that supported Tom in his madness in the future.
The gardens were her favourite part of the Malfoy Manor so far, they had invested as much work outside of the house as in the ballroom, or perhaps more if she was sincere, as they had cleared all the snow from that area and revived the plants. It was snowing, but the snow crystals didn't reach them, melting and disappearing when they entered in contact with the spell that held the cloud of warm air near the ground and allowed the guests to walk in the garden without their robes and not freeze.
Nott was talking about that time when Malfoy took Tom and him to his summer house in France when Abraxas himself appeared behind them, an arrogant smirk on his lips and reached a hand towards Ginny, like now he was the one saving her from Nott's boring company, but Ginny did not move to accept it, keeping her hand around Nott's arm and making the wizard look at her for a moment when she gave him a squeeze.
Ginny really was not feeling like leaving Nott to go with him.
"How can I help you Abraxas?" She asked dryly.
"I need to talk to you." Malfoy gathered his hand, controlling a grimace of irritation.
"Can't we talk later? Nott was showing me your garden and I really don't feel like going back inside."
"I promise to be fast, and it's important." Malfoy said with a trembling smile. Ginny clenched her lips into a thin line, annoyed. Nott, not wanting to anger his friend, walked away with a quick farewell, and Ginny crossed her arms the moment he turned his back to them, waiting for Malfoy to tell her what had brought him there, but he said nothing, merely smiling at her in a strange way, a strand of his blond hair partly covering an eye.
"So?" Said Ginny, trying to encourage him to spit it out.
"I want to dance with you."
"You told me you wanted to talk." She accused him with a sigh.
"I lied." Malfoy offered simply, with a smirk and shrugged.
Ginny rolled her eyes and walked around Malfoy towards the house, she had no patience for these things and for drunk Malfoys, she stopped in the doorway, looking at the tall clock at her side, noting that it was a reasonable hour to go to bed. She swept the room with a look and found Tom in the same place that she had left him. She still had a vague idea of where was her room, so she just wanted to tell him she was going to sleep and then try not to get lost on her way there.
She was walking around the dancers when Malfoy suddenly pulled her to him, moving to the sound of the music. He had rested a hand on her lower back and the other held hers in the air, to close to her then he should, when she tried to stop moving and get away from him, he spun, making her stumble on her own feet.
"That wasn't so hard now, was it?" Asked Malfoy in her hear, clearly amused.
"Are you happy? Are you happy now that you got what you wanted? " asked Ginny with venom in her voice, feeling disgusted by his proximity, smelling the scent of alcohol on his breath.
"Well…" He hesitated for a moment. "I suppose I am." Ginny rolled her eyes and stopped dancing, and this time, she did not stumble which forced Malfoy to stop as well. "I'm too tired, Abraxas, and I want to go to sleep, thank you for this dance." She said, pulling his arm from her to be able to walk away from him
"Go to sleep? But it's so early!" He exclaimed, confused by what she was saying.
"Well, but I'm tired, I was on my way to tell Tom I was going to bed when you showed up." Malfoy slightly shook his head, before looking at her with a small smile.
"If you want to go to bed, I'll take you to your room." Said Malfoy, seeing her looking around for the fireplace and Tom, since Malfoy had dragged her to the other side of the ballroom in the small moment he had touched her.
"There is no need for that, Abraxas, I am perfectly able to find my way without your help." Ginny finally saw the fireplace wall and started walking towards him, but Malfoy laid a hand on her shoulder and made her stop.
"It's not that I doubt your sense of orientation Ginny, but that wing is bewitched and to be able to enter, you must be accompanied by Tom or me." He said honestly.
"Really?" Ginny doubted his words.
"Yes... It is a private area of the house; only authorised people can go there." He said.
"Right." As much as it cost her, that excuse made sense. "Then I'll ask Tom to take me there, I don't want to keep you away from your duties as the host." Ginny turned around, trying again, to get away from Malfoy and into the relative safety that Tom's presence offered her.
Malfoy stopped her again. "Don't worry about it, my father will take care of the guests and when I return I will warn Tom that you that you went to bed."
Ginny couldn't give him any other excuse without being rude, and she was also kind of taken out of guard when he mentioned his father, because it made her remember Draco and how he spoke about Lucius in the same way, and that made her thought about home. She followed him through the ballroom doors into the great hall and remained a few steps behind him all the way to the beginning of bedroom's wing. She tried to feel some sort of spell when they entered the hall but couldn't notice anything and began to think he had lied, again.
They stopped in front of her bedroom door and Ginny turned the elegant glass knob, opened the door and entered. "Thank you for bringing me here, Abraxas, I will see you tomorrow." She said, but Malfoy did not answer her, glancing at the floor, they had made the trip in silence and now he was not returning her farewell, and it made Ginny start to feel uncomfortable. "Okay, bye Abraxas." Ginny waved her hand and started to slowly close the door, giving him time to say goodbye if he wanted so before he was forced to leave her alone by social etiquette.
When the door was about to close, Abraxas put his hand on it. "Aren't you inviting me in?" He asked, with dull eyes from the alcohol and a smile on his lips that matched the meaning of his question.
"Excuse me?" Ginny pretended not to understand and tried to close the door.
Malfoy didn't give her an answer, he merely pushed the door open and entered the room, making her walk several steps back, then he closed the door behind his back before glancing at her, annoyed by the fact that she tried to keep him outside.
Ginny had dropped her purse to the floor when he forced his entry and with it, her wand, without breaking their eye contact, Ginny gave a couple of side steps to her purse. Malfoy noticed what she was doing and advanced, and she automatically stepped back, feeling absolute horror when her back hit the bedpost. Before she had time to move away, he was on top of her, pinning her against the engraved wood with his body, pushing her into it to the point of hurting her back.
His lips were on hers before she could scream for him to stop, biting her lower lip to try to make her open her mouth so he could deepen the kiss, his hands roaming her back, one finding her bottom and pulling her hips to his.
Her body jolted in response, writhing in horror, the smell of alcohol on his breath overpowering and sickening her.
She tried to push him, but he was heavier and taller than her, she could feel his muscles contract and stretch underneath his clothes, a sign that he had played Quidditch at Hogwarts.
But so had she.
When Ginny felt Malfoy's hand slide through her leg and start to pull her dress up, she focused on her problem again. Taking advantage of the fact that he was distracted by trying to find the clasp of her dress, Ginny managed to make him take a few steps back.
"Stop this!" She shouted, but all he did was start laughing.
"Oh come on Ginny, you want this, you're just playing hard to get. You did just the same downstairs with the dancing, but then you danced." He said pushing her back into the bedpost pulling on her hair, undoing it, Malfoy pulled a lock, fascinated by its colour in the dim light from the fireplace. She tried to push him back with the force of both hands now, but he didn't move, it just made him grasp a handful of her hair and pull her head back to give him access to her neck while his other hand slide through her side to pull her hips against him, to make her feel how hard he was, even with all the layers of clothing between them, in a way to show her that he, a Malfoy, really wanted her, despite that he not knowing anything about her blood or caring about her lack of values for living in such way with Riddle. Her body writhed underneath him, struggling to get away.
Ginny grabbed onto his arm, trying to make him release her hair, but Malfoy seemed not to feel anything more than the way she moved against him to try to free herself from his hands. He leant down, licking his lips and gave her a quick kiss, tracing her jaw with his tongue, stopping by her ear and Ginny could hear his breath, hot and fast against the shell of her ear.
He pulled her dress up again, hoisting her leg up with strength, digging his nails into her skin, making his way up to her hip, Ginny was trying to pull his hand away from him, but every time she was close, he would pull her hair, causing her to cry out.
Malfoy managed to get to where he wanted, grabbing her underwear from around her hip, he pulled, breaking the seam of the fabric. He took his hand around her, making the piece of cloth fall to the ground around her red shoes and pull her even closer to him.
"Malfoy, you piec-" Ginny said, ignoring the pain in her scalp to take his hand from her before he decided to move it to the other side, but she wasn't able to finish what she was saying or taking his hand off her because his teeth dug into the sensitive skin of her neck, making her scream with pain.
Malfoy finally released her hair and leant back, not taking his hand from her hip, he cleaned his lips with the back of his hand and looked at her, admiring his brand on her. Ginny, feeling naked with her dress half raised, hurt from his bite and furious on his behaviour, found the strength to push him away far enough to slap him across the face, leaving a red mark on his pale skin.
Ginny pulled her dress down while he touched his face, lightly sliding his fingers through the imprint of her hand with his fingertips, looking shocked by her sudden action.
He gritted his teeth, ran his hand through his hair, and looked at Ginny.
By the way, he tensed his shoulders, she thought he was going to start yelling at her, that he was going to hit her, but he didn't do any of those things, and she tensed, ready to defend herself. She grabbed her by the arm and pulled her towards him before pushing her into the bed.
The sound of her blood rushed in her ears, and she bounced back against the mattress, enough for her to recoil from it and deliver a sharp, vicious punch to his nose, feeling it break against her fist.
Malfoy automatically fell to the ground, screaming in pain, screaming at her, but Ginny didn't stay to see what he was going to do next, she needed to get out of there, she needed to get off that house, but she didn't want to go back to the store and have to deal with Burke and whoever his guests were alone, she needed to take Tom with her. She grabbed her purse and stepped into the hall and looked around, she turned back to enter the room again, she wanted her clothes, she didn't want to leave nothing there, nothing that Malfoy could touch, but Abraxas was beginning to rise from the floor, so instead she went into Tom's room and grabbed his suitcase, putting the wing on her shoulder and went back into the hallway
She had to make sure Tom understood she needed to go back to the store.
Closing the door of her bedroom and not glancing towards Malfoy for the second time she started running to the stairs and back to the party while trying to smooth the torn fabric of her dress. Ginny stopped on the top of the stairs to the hall and ran her fingers through her hair, pulling it over Malfoy's bite and trying to regain some composure before entering the ballroom, she didn't want to draw anyone's attention to her.
She didn't even want to imagine what would happen if some of those guests found out what had just happened.
Ginny passed swiftly among the other guests, focused on getting to the fireplace, where she hoped he still was.
She had to stop herself from running to him, she really wanted to get out of there as soon as possible, despite being pretty sure that Malfoy would never follow her there with a broken nose and a face covered in blood.
Ginny didn't want to risk it, she never imagined he would do something like what he did, but on the other hand, what had happened was her fault, his stupid son thought it was a good idea to give a Horcrux to an 11-year-old girl, he had learned that from someone! She should have known!
The Universe hated her but she had been foolish herself, what was she thinking? She should have kept herself away from him, she should have told him that she was in fact in a relationship with Tom. If it was enough to keep Borgin away it should be enough to Malfoy as well, and she should be returning to her own time soon enough, it certainly would do no harm if Malfoy thought that.
She dropped the suitcase on Tom's feet, calling his and Nott's attention to her.
Tom looked at the bag on the floor confused, and then up to her. He was frowning, annoyed, and then, then he noticed her appearance, her tussled hair and disturbed expression.
Then he noticed the blood on the curve of her neck, under her hair and a muscle under his eye twitched.
Ginny touched her neck with two fingers, massaging the bruise with her fingertips and he closed his lips into a thin line. She could see him holding back a cold rage. She lowered her hand and looked at its back, stained with blood.
She should have taken the other hand to her neck instead of the one she used to break Malfoy's nose.
"I want to go home, Tom." Ginny said quietly, giving a small smile to Nott that looked slightly shocked at her, realising what had probably happened after he had left her with Malfoy.
"Of course." Was Tom's answer. He rose from the chair, pulling the suitcase with him. "Let us go." They didn't say goodbye to Nott, but even if they had, the other wizard would not have answered since he was still staring at Ginny's with wide eyes and a half open mouth when they turned away.
Tom put his arm around Ginny's shoulders, pulling her to him in a protective gesture. The last thing she wanted was to be so close to other of her problems, but she put an arm around him anyway, clutching to his coat with her wounded hand, seeking the comfort of the only person that could, unfortunately, offer her some support.
They crossed the ballroom and the wall with quick steps into a small door in the far wall of the room, into a hallway that went in to the kitchen.
Tom laid the bag on the table and asked for one of the elves to bring him a clean cloth and a bowl of fresh water. He raised her chin with a firm hand and touched the hound with his fingertips, pressing down to see if there still was some blood running.
"I did not expect him to have the audacity to do this to you, Ginevra." He said, accepting the cloth that the young elf stretched him. The elf was wrapped in a dirty pillowcase, and in Ginny's eyes he looked a lot like Dobby, and she absentmindedly wanted to ask him his name, but Tom started to talk again. "Especially when he knows that you live with me."
"Living with you is not the same as being with you, but don't worry, he's not going to come back after me." She said hissing when he pressed the cloth too hard against her neck. "Be careful there…"
"Oh… you're right about that Ginny, he will not go after you ever again..." Tom muttered between his teeth. Ginny put a hand on his arm causing him to stop and look at her.
"Don't you dare do anything to him." Tom returned his attention to her wound.
"Why do you think I will do anything to him?" He said quietly, not liking the threat in her words, but not sharing his feelings regarding that. "Sometimes I've the impression you think I'm some sort of horrible person, only interesting in harming others…" He smiled tightly, his eyes narrowed and cold.
"I'm not joking, Tom!" Ginny was getting exasperated and was not in the mood to deal with him, and she ignored the last thing he said. "Forget this happened!" She exclaimed.
"Ginevra..." Tom also was in no mood to argue, all he wanted to do was exactly what Ginny was telling him not to do; he wanted to lock her in his attic, where she would be safely away, return to the Manor, find Malfoy and show him what happened to those who touched what was his.
"Do this for me, Tom." Ginny said putting her bloodied hand on his face, pausing his work and thoughts. His blue eyes were expressionless, but Ginny could see beyond the mask he was wearing, she could see how angry he was with Malfoy, she could see how much he wanted to hurt the other wizard. "Tom, please... for me."
Tom did not answer immediately. He held the hand that Ginny had placed on his face and looked away, he dipped the cloth into the bowl, watching the blood taint the clean water and started to clean the blood from her hand, noting how some of the blood was hers.
Ginny squeezed his fingers. "I want to hear you say that you're not going after him, Tom... please, promise me that you'll let this die here." She was getting desperate.
"I'll try."
Ginny took a deep breath closing her eyes, it was the best she could get from him, and it was better than nothing.
She released his hand and grabbed his vest, leaving her hand rest against his heart.
"Thank you."
"Let's just go back to the store before I change my mind." Said Tom, grabbing his suitcase from the table, ignoring the nagging voice in the back of his mind that was wondering why he accepted…
When they stepped into the store itself instead of the kitchen, neither one of them were ready to be welcomed by the large table of laughing wizards and witches that Burkin had invited to dinner. Most of them had a rather suspicious and criminal look, and for some reason, they could hear in the background some children laughing and it made no sense that any of those people would have any children and even bring them there. Among the guests were the Borgins, with Mrs Borgin and her swollen stomach surrounded by most of the witches in the room.
Burke rose from his seat, laughing louder than all the others, "What happened Riddle? The Malfoys Manor didn't give you enough privacy?" He shouted to be heard above the noise, making the other wizards laugh harder, obviously everyone knew Tom, and everyone was had a fair chair of wine.
Tom and Ginny exchanged a look, and he turned to the other wizard with a laugh, pulling her against him, instantly entering their lie. Ginny pulled her hair over her shoulder, making sure it would hide Malfoy's bite and smile embarrassedly at Burke, but when Mrs Borgin raised from her chair holding on one of her friends' shoulders with a photographic camera on her hand, Ginny grabbed Tom' coat with force, making him look at her confused for a moment before allowing her to see a wry smile on his lips.
"Are you afraid of having your picture taken, Ginny?" He asked near her hair, it didn't surprise him if she didn't want to take a photo.
"Don't be silly…" Was her cold answer, but she couldn't help herself but hold on to him when Mrs Borgin stopped in front of them, the view of the other witch overpowered his use of her nickname, that always had something to it.
"You two look so adorable!" Said Mrs Borgin preparing the camera with her swollen fingers. "I'm going to take your photo!"
Ginny began to feel sick, this was not happening, she needed air, needed to get out of that tobacco and alcohol blighted room, but the time was starting to slow down, and all she could feel was Tom moving to take her hand from the back of his jacket and step away from her to drop the suitcase on the closest armchair.
Tom grabbed her arm to guide her hand into the crook of his arm as he spoke to Mrs Borgin about it being time for them to have a photo together. Ginny smiled at the camera as she pointed it in their direction, feeling uncomfortable and awkward. Thinking there couldn't be anything worse than having her picture taken in 1946 with her hand stuck on the crook of Lord Voldemort's arm, the wizards around them started to sing Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!, and she wished a hole would open beneath her feet and swallow her whole.
Damned the hour he stepped on the store when Burke was grabbing her skirt, she should have just cursed him and be done with it.
That decision marked the beginning of a spiral of bad things she wished that had never happened.
Ginny was thrown to the present when the camera flashed as he pulled her to him theatrically, pressing their lips together in a swift, sudden motion, his arms winding around her and lifting her easily, her feet well above the ground. Riddle's flair for the dramatic went over exceptionally well with the crowd, making the room break out in laughs and whistles.
Tom curled his fingers around hers, bending to the side to grab his suitcase up, before pulling her to the stairs and into the attic.
They stopped at the top of the stairs, by the locked door with the new spells Tom created to prevent Mrs Borgin and her skeleton key to open it again without his knowledge.
Ginny leant against the doorjamb, letting her head fall against the wood, exhausted, she wanted him to hurry up and open the door and be done with it. But Tom looked at her, his face expressionless for a moment. Stepping closer to her, he sighed and pushed her hair over her shoulder. Ginny closed her eyes when his cold fingers touched the red and swollen skin marked by Malfoy's teeth, she lost herself for a moment in the feeling of his fingers on her, his all too familiar smell.
She lost herself in the memories of his ever presence during that first year in Hogwarts, the calm summer before that on The Burrows rooftop and their tireless conversations through the diary, how he made her feel special and important
Everything was so innocent.
When life was hard, and she did not keep herself busy, she would catch herself drifting to those times, to those memories of a simpler time before she went to Hogwarts.
She was sure she would miss him now as well, miss his comforting presence, she never dared to imagine it would be like this, a store lightened by candles in cold winter mornings, sitting by his side, hearing the sound of his pen scratching the paper's surface over his steady breathing that let her know he was real, that he was there. His quick smile in her direction every time he would catch her looking at him before returning to his work.
Those smiles. She remembered them when she started to see him in person back in Hogwarts, those small smiles… she would never forget them.
"We will have to disinfect this…" He said, letting his hand fall to his side and cutting Ginny's thoughts making her exhale sharply and straight her back away from the doorjamb.
"Whatever… just open the door, Tom."
With a twist of his hand the door opened and they entered, Ginny closed the door behind her and leant against the wood with eyes fixed on the floor.
"Are you alright?" He asked.
The sound of his voice drew her back to reality and she headed to the bathroom, not feeling well at all. "Yes, don't worry."
Ginny turned the shower on and watched the waterfall, then she turned to the side and threw up in the toilet.
The Horcrux visit, Malfoy, the fact that, without a doubt, she was the girl on the photo that Borgin had spoken to Kevedo about, was too much for her nervous system and now that she was alone she was not able to handle it.
She hoped Tom couldn't hear her from the other side of the door.
Tom put his suitcase over the books and papers he had left scattered on the desk the previous night, and rested a fist on its surface, rubbing the bridge of his nose, he took a deep breath, frustrated.
He slowly unbuttoned his coat thinking about what he had to do the next day. It was one of the first Christmas days he would not be with Malfoy and it was not going to be for a good reason, but he had to return to the Manor soon, he had left his best cloak on Abraxas' office and she had probably left her clothes in her room as well. Tom opened the suitcase to confirm her clothes were on top of his, unfortunately, they weren't. He could still go have lunch with them, see what excuse about his broken nose Abraxas would offer, see what his parents had to say about it.
That would be fun, no doubt, but he would need a good night of sleep to regain the full control over his mood, because, in that moment, he felt like killing him. He would love to hear him scream, beg for forgiveness for touching her, for even looking at her… Tom swallowed hard and exhaled. He was no longer 8 years old, allowing his impulses to consume him, he ran the back of his hand across his mouth, he needed more time to think about Malfoy and what to do the next day.
Deciding to focus on Ginny's wellbeing, Tom walked to the kitchen, ignoring the noise coming up the stairs and Borgin's house elf that was cleaning the kitchen, he opened the drawers looking for a potion to disinfect her neck, his favourite potion was downstairs in one of the shelves inside the counter since she had been bitten by the vampire's skull, but he was not feeling like going there again.
When he returned to the attic, Ginny was still in the bathroom with the water running, so he sat on the bed, playing with the vial between his fingers, resting his arms on his legs, his eyes fixed on the floor.
"Ginevra…" Tom said her name in a whisper, savouring the sound.
He had been surprised that afternoon, two times none the less. First, when she had held his own razor against his throat and he had been almost sure that she was going to cut him, and he, for some reason, and stayed frozen, completely at the mercy of her will...
That had been exceptionally stupid of him, but it didn't compare to what she said to Malfoy some hours later when the other wizard was telling her about the half giant's monster.
A Basilisk, she had pointed out.
Something clicked.
Tom suddenly rose from the bed and ran over to the desk, scrambling through his things feverishly before grasping his Horcrux in his hands, its cold cover reassuring him of what he was he was thinking, of what he was remembering. Tom sat back down on the bed slowly, flipping through its pages.
The year he had written that diary was the most important year of his life, the year he found out, after months of research, where Slytherin's Chamber was, how he found out how he could live forever.
What Slytherin's monster was.
He had never told a soul – how did she know?
'What if…' Thought swam feverishly through his brain as everything else clicked into place – it was time; it was always about time. A time beyond his present. What if his corporeal body had died in the future? What if, after he had gone, she had found his Horcrux? If someone gave it to her?
"I was actually right… I got you." Tom said, a cruel smile curling upon his lips, he was sure he was right, it made perfect sense. It tied into everything perfectly. Her sudden appearance, her distaste for him, how his Horcrux spoke to him, their unusual comfort around each other after they were forced to live together, the way she seemed to know him so well, when he didn't even know her surname.
He would never be close to anyone to the point to let them know him well, so it had to be something forced, something like the connection between the Horcrux and its victim.
Tom remembered reading something about Horcrux survivors and the possibility of some kind of bond happening between the two, it was a very small passage and he had found that information useless at the time; who would survive his Horcruxes? But it explained why he felt so protective of her, why he felt like she was his when it made no sense, it was a side effect of the Horcrux protecting its investment on its victim, to be sure the person would not run away.
If he really was not wrong, this started because he attached a memory to the Horcrux, a memory that would adopt a corporal form to interact with its victim.
Tom turned the ring on his finger, the second Horcrux he made, absently. He would not make the same mistake again regarding his Horcruxes.
As the weight of his realisation settled, he ran his hand across his face, feeling a strange sense of unease.
All of this was very inconvenient.
Tom was not going to sleep that night without her corroboration of his theory, even if he had to take them by force, which should be easy taking into account how she was that night.
He smiled for a moment, calculating, deciding. His eyes focused on the door behind which she was.
And he waited.
An eternity seemed to pass before Ginny walked back into the attic, dressed in her favourite sweater and pants ready to sleep, Tom was still sitting on the edge of the bed with the vial between his fingers and the Horcrux discarded by his side.
Ginny walked towards him, but she stopped by the curtains, not him, pulling on them to close his side of the attic. She was not feeling like speaking with him.
"Let me clean your neck." He said looking at her with a brisk finality that left no room for discussion.
With a sigh, Ginny sat down beside him on the bed and moved her hair to the side, tilting her head to give him better access to her neck.
Now who was the prey?
Tom put the potion on a clean cloth and lowered it onto her bruised skin, making her exhale harshly between her clenched teeth. Then he took the hand that had broken Malfoy's nose, gently compressing the cloth against her knuckles. His eyes glinted malevolently, watching her with a new kind of wonder now that everything about her made sense.
"Tomorrow, when everyone leaves and we can be in the store without anyone making us kiss." He said with a smirk, making her hiss. "We can get the other potion, so that this doesn't leave a scar."
"Yes… the last thing I want is to walk around with a bite on my neck." Ginny grumbled, ignoring what he said.
When Tom was content with his work, he didn't let go of her hand, squeezing it slightly between his fingers.
"I'm fine, Tom." Ginny said, taking her hand from his and getting up from the bed, she just wanted to sleep, but before she started to walk he grabbed the hem of her sweater, his hand balling up around it with a vice grip.
"There's something I want to talk to you about." He said, looking up at her.
Ginny sat beside him again, rubbing her legs, unable to stop the anxiety that rose from her centre when she had to move his diary from under her.
It wasn't there when they left to the party.
"I've been thinking a lot about you." Tom began, and Ginny automatically rolled her eyes, supporting her hands on her knees to get up, but he held her by the arm and pulled her down again, his nails digging into her skin. "And I'm finally sure of who you are."
Ginny's breath hitched.
"When Malfoy told you I won a trophy for saving Hogwarts from this creature that was attacking the students, you told him that it was a Basilisk that harmed the students." Ginny tried to maintain a neutral expression, veiling her horror, as he smiled at her, calm and controlled. "Hagrid's monster was an Acromantula. Nobody ever mentioned a Basilisk. In another context, I would find such a thing extremely strange to hear, but not when it came from you." Tom pulled her close to him until their legs were touching, his nails digging so tightly into her skin they threatened to pierce the flesh. "Right now, only my diary and I know about it." He said, so close to her that Ginny could feel his breath on her face.
"I do not know how, but tell me if I'm wrong… Ginevra, did you came from the future?"
Ginny looked at him, surprised and shocked, as she reviewed that part of the afternoon, trying to remember if she had actually talked about the Basilisk. Her stomach lurched as she recalled the exact conversation.
She was fucked.
Ginny pulled her arm with a jerk and got up laughing. Tom also rose, looking at her annoyed. "That's the most ridiculous thing I've heard all day!" She said walking away from him. "Please, tell me you have not been drinking, I cannot handle another drunk person this evening." When she looked at him, Tom stood stock-still, frighteningly mute. Ginny immediately pulled the curtain between them to create some sort of barrier, so she could grab her wand—
His hand suddenly emerged from the opening of the curtains and grabbed her wrist. Ginny screamed, jerking back, trying to pull her arm from him, he walked between the fabric, not knowing his Horcrux had made something similar hours earlier, not knowing this was the second time he trapped her against a wall, or in this case his bookshelf. Tom put his hands on both sides of her head and Ginny, with her wand still inside her purse, and knowing he wouldn't take as lightly as Malfoy if she broke his nose, decided to defend herself in the most dramatic way that came to her mind.
She took a deep breath and glued her back up as much as possible to the books behind her, turning her face to the side, biting her lower lip and holding her breath. "Tom, please don't..." She murmured.
Tom was caught off guard by her words, did she thought so little of him to think he would try to do the same Malfoy did? Did she think him so low? "Don't worry, Ginny," came the hiss from between his lips, as he wrapped his arms around her tightly, "I didn't mean to scare you." She was immobile within his tight embrace, a helpless animal wrapped in the boa's constrictive trap. Seconds from being devoured.
"You're lying." Ginny whispered, her arms limp at her sides, eyes darting wildly in fear, knowing she had just said the wrong thing.
He allowed her to go and she moved away from him, walking to the couch to grab her blanket to put it around her shoulders, then his fingers digging into her arms from on top of it. The attic was cold; it was as if there was a Dementor there.
"How can you know that?" Asked Tom, walking towards her. She was right, he was not sorry and he intended to scare her, not in that way, but scare her none the less.
"You're easy to read."
"How do you know about the Basilisk?"
"Care of Magical Creatures was my favourite class."
"You never went to Hogwarts."
"It's a common subject."
"You're lying." Tom hissed between gritted teeth, closing the distance between them, towering over her, looking unimpressed and much older in the dim light of the candles spread around the attic. The horror of her childhood.
"You're hurting my arm."
"Who told you about the Basilisk, Ginevra?" His voice dropping lowly, he wanted to shake her until she broke under his finger. "How do you know me?"
"I never met you before…" She answered in a whisper. She had avoided his eyes until now, and she met his gaze, so cruel and cold - so much like the wizard that faced Harry in Hogwarts.
"You will tell me."
"I have nothing to say…" She couldn't avert her eyes from his, she couldn't move, she was starting to struggle to breathe under his cold gaze.
Ginny couldn't find the strength to fight him when she heard him muttered the Legilimency spell.
Tom was pulling her recent memories away, trying to reach to what she knew about him, and Ginny would not allow it. Finding her strength, she closed the distance between them and kissed him, pulling him down to her, feeling the spell break the moment her lips touched his.
She would have to thank her dad when she returned home, for making her see that crazy Muggle film with the mummy and the librarian.
"Don't do this to me, Tom, please…" She pleaded against his chest, like when she had been lost in the memories of her first year. "Just leave it be, let me go home in peace…"
He put his arms around her waist and rested his head against hers, taken aback by her sudden kiss.
"You know that if you tell me who you are, I can help you get back home." He said, clear as crystal. "You know I can."
His words echoed through her head, over and over again.
"It's a low price to pay to go back to your family, to Harry."
Ginny lowered her arms, resting her hands against his chest before raising one to caress his cheekbone with her thumb.
"Don't say his name." She whispered. She hated when he said his name. The boy, years later that he would try to kill. She hated Tom, hated him with every fiber of her being, but there was something that ran lower, under the feelings she was facing, something that started all those years ago in that summer and that had found a way to flourish in the past weeks, between small talks in the store and smiles over dinner.
Something related to those thoughts she had when his fingers touched her neck, about her missing him, about her craving to be with him again, needing his comfort.
"Why shouldn't I?" He asked, with his eyes half-closed, absorbed in her touch.
"It doesn't sound right…"
"Why?" Tom smiled that cruel smile she hated and she felt her magic react to another Legilimency attempt that demanded that she showed him who Harry was. Ginny, angry, pushed him back into the couch, letting out a gasp when he pulled her with him, making her fall awkwardly over him.
The moment their lips touched, the spell was irreversibly over, and Tom didn't care, if he had her in his arms like this, so willing, so pliant, he could wait.
It was not a simple kiss to distract him, she was releasing everything upon on him and she was completely lost to herself, assaulted by something she could only recall later as a sudden madness, something she would never do under different circumstances. She was the one moving to sit on his lap and pulling him to her, she was the one that was exploring his mouth, not leaving him much to do but dip his hands under her sweatshirt and run them up the warm skin of her back and enjoying the feeling of her gooseflesh rising underneath his fingertips.
Tom stopped the kiss when she started to pull on his tie, trying to undo the knot and take it off from him. Curious to see how far she wanted to go, he grabbed her legs and pushed her to the side against the couch, and stood over her, surprising her for a moment, but she quickly pulled him down to her, kissing him again, wrapping her legs around his, rocking her body against his, moaning against his lips.
He stopped and looked at her, out of breath.
What was wrong with her? What had changed?
Ginny, not breaking their eye contact, took the opportunity to finish loosening his tie and dropped it on the floor beside the couch. She bit her lip, smiling innocently at him, and began to unbutton his shirt, soon reached his vest, then she moved to pulling his collar open and kissed his neck, before starting to unbutton the next annoying piece of fabric between her and his skin. She slowly slipped the waistcoat down his arms, sliding her hands over his shoulders and then his back, biting her lip thinking about the skin she would be soon able to touch.
Tom moved his arms to shrug off the waistcoat, making her arch her back to better hold him between her legs when he changed his weight on top of her.
She pulled him to her again, kissing the air out of him, leaving both of them gasping for air.
Their eyes locked again when Ginny finished unbuttoning his shirt, reaching a hand between them, caressing his stomach down to his belt, stopping there to pull the shirt from the inside of his trousers to undo the last buttons, spurring an amused laugh from him.
Her hand trailed lower for a brief moment, over the thick, hard space between his legs, causing him to groan, in anticipation. His head jerked back, eyes mad and dark with desire. This was not the same person that had been mortified by a simple kiss the other morning, that spoke to him about love potions and how she didn't want to have anything to do with him.
Ginny was completely lost in what she was doing, in what they were doing, her mind was blank, only being able to focus on the fact that she needed him. And he needed her. Needed this.
It just felt right.
It felt right to rest her hands against his chest and feel his heart beat under his ribs, it felt right to slide her hands down his stomach again, feel the muscles contract against her touch, and trail his back up to his shoulders with her nails, leaving half-moon shaped marks all over the bare skin of his back.
She wanted him as close as possible.
"Tom…" She pulled him down by his collar and whispered in his ear, making him draw a sharp breath, deciding in that moment to let himself be drawn into her madness. He kissed her with the same force he had the first time, waiting for her to push him away, but she never did. His hands twined through her hair and he coaxed her mouth open, his tongue sliding easily in between her teeth.
Tom in that moment, really didn't care if she was doing this to distract him or something else, all he knew was that she was his, and there was no Harry in her mind, only him.
He would never be able to let her go now.
He deepened the kiss even more as his nimble fingers darted downwards to undo the buttons of her pants.
He stopped the kiss to look down at what he was doing, gasping quietly. She was clinging to him in such a way that he barely had space to move his hand between them.
Ginny, indifferent to his struggle, caressed his face, making him look up at her, she traced his jaw with a finger and pulled him down again, biting down on his lip hard, causing him to groan either in pain or pleasure, before giving him another kiss, tasting his own blood on her lips. Almost reluctantly, he pulled his lips from hers and slid them, slick with blood and lover's spit, across her cheek, until he reached her ear, ignoring what he was trying to do just a moment before. "Say my name again..." He commanded in a whisper, wanting to make sure she was still thinking about him, wishing to lose himself in her voice, letting his hands slide under her, grabbing her, using her as a leaver to push himself harder against her.
"Tom..." She replied in a hoarse whisper, almost pleading, holding his collar and pushing his shirt down, leaving his shoulders bare, trying to undress him, but Tom ignored her as she pressed kisses to his naked collarbone, too distracted by the rush of thoughts that went through his mind.
"Tell me... my name." He said again, now kissing her neck, tracing her skin with his lips, stopping over Malfoy's bite, his disgusting mark on her.
But she didn't belong to Malfoy, she belonged to him, she was his most precious possession, she was his, she was his… Ginny.
Small Ginny, dearest Ginny, precious…
"Voldemort..."
A/N: Kudos for my betas ShirleyIAmSirius and Sinsinnatus from Tumblr!