a/n: So I can't believe this story has been up for over a year and only had six five chapters. It doesn't feel that long!

Well, forgive me! My blame for this is a long, confusing story that basically ends with 'and I didn't have internet for several months'. The good news is I did do some writing during that time, so this chapter and the next are ready to go, though I'm going to give a short time between chapters. Mostly so I can go through and make it better, haha.

Well...enjoy.

Ginny sat under a tree in the front yard, feeding pieces of bread to Shikoba between bites of her own sandwich. He was quiet for now, thank goodness. She was enjoying her well-deserved break from him, legs stretched out ahead of her, her face tilted upward towards the unusually clear sky and the bright sunshine. Shikoba sang now and then, seeming to answer other birds that chirped as they flew by high above them. A cool breeze blew the red hair off her neck. She was tempted to go inside and change into the muggle clothing Hermione had given her…the 'tank top' and 'jeans'.

She threw another piece of bread in Shikoba's direction then leaned her head against the soft bark of the tree, closing her eyes and sighing contently.

Of course something would come to interrupt it.

"He really was the most difficult person!" exclaimed Hermione. Ginny opened her eyes, seeing Harry, Ron and Hermione in front of her, getting ready to head to the Burrow. They all had a frustrated look about them, as though they'd just spent the last hours slamming their heads into a concrete wall.

"Hey," she greeted, but didn't bother to stand up.

"Hey, Gin," grinned Harry, slipping his hands into his pockets. "How're you?"

"I'm good," she smiled. "Meeting go well?"

Ron rolled his eyes. "Yeah. Real well."

Hermione reached down and patted Shikoba's wings. "We're thinking about going to Diagon Alley, do you want to come with?"

"Yeah, come with us, Ginny," Harry said, grinning. "Maybe you can cheer us up."

Ginny laughed and opened her mouth to answer –

If you go with him, I will recite the Lady of Shalott, every word of it, nonstop for three days! Even while you sleep I will repeat each phrase passionately.

She stopped, paled. Closed her mouth. She desperately wanted to go with them…it had been so long since she'd hung out with them, the whole gang together. It would be fun, and she desperately needed fun.

Three days without a single break. She wouldn't be able to take it.

"I'm tired," she said weakly. "I think I'll just take a nap."

They frowned collectively.

"Are you sure?" asked Harry. The disappointment was clear in his voice. So was the suspicion.

Ginny nodded. "Yeah."

"Fine," sighed Ron, heading towards the Burrow.

Hermione laughed lightly. "Cheer up, Ron."

"Why should I? After dealing with Mr. Hades 'Git' Xylander, now I have to deal with Percy!"

Ginny was already on her feet, trotting after them. She ran around them, and then spun to face them. She continued to walk backward and tried to keep her tone casual.

"Who?"

"Hades Xylander," said Hermione. "He was a Death Eater the first time Voldemort was in power, but became a double agent soon before Voldemort fell. He worked with the Ministry afterwards. He's the one who wanted to talk to us, for Ministry records."

Ron 'humphed'. "Yeah, sure. Like the Ministry wasn't full of Death Eater spies before the second time around."

"You think he was still a Death Eater?" asked Ginny.

"We don't know anything for sure," Hermione said, glaring at Harry and Ron as though she knew what was coming. Sure enough, both boys had begun to nod their heads.

"He was definitely still a Death Eater," said Harry.

Hermione sighed, exasperated. "And how do you know that, Harry?"

"He was a git," answered Ron, and Harry nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah, well, you think Percy's a git," said Hermione, placing her hands on her hips. "Does that mean Percy's a Death Eater?"

Sudden visions of Percy coming back to fight with them at Hogwarts made Ginny's heart hurt. She didn't want to remember that, when their family was complete and whole and it looked like everything might actually be okay.

Ron sighed. "Fine. But I still don't like him."

"I didn't expect you to...he's a git," said Hermione. The trio continued moving to the house, but Ginny's feet seemed glued to the ground.

A Death Eater...named Hades.

'Maybe you should ask Hades.'

"...Tom," she said breathlessly once Harry, Ron and Hermione were in the house. "Tom. Is this what you meant?"

No response. She hadn't really expected one, either. He seemed to enjoy confusing her.

"Tom," Ginny repeated sharply as Shikoba caught up with her and sat at her feet. "Tom, was this what you meant?"

Silence again. She was getting fed up. She put her hands on her hips. "Do you want me to talk to him or not?"

That is for you to decide, not I.

Ginny frowned. He'd orchestrated this. He'd called her Kore. which led her to research the name and discover Persephone, which led her to discover the name Hades. He'd continuously called Lord Voldemort dead, but then asked how he could talk to her if he himself was dead. And then told her she should ask Hades. He'd had this planned. Who knew how far back the plan went? Maybe back to when he was still alive.

Who says I do not live now?

"Shut up," she mumbled. She ran her fingers through her hair and looked up at the sky as though for answers. If Tom wanted her to see Hades, it was probably for a bad reason. He might be using her now as he had when she was a first year.

The question was...would that stop her from going anyway, if there was a chance of discovering how to be rid of him for good?

"Tom, how do I get there?" she found herself saying suddenly. She knew it wasn't a good idea, that she was falling right into his trap...but that didn't matter anymore. She'd lived with him in her head for far too long.

But again he didn't answer.

"Damn you, Tom!" she exclaimed, though quietly enough to not be heard by anyone in the house. "You wanted me to talk to him, now tell me where he is!"

Fetch your broom.

Ginny didn't hesitate. She headed to her broom, which she'd left leaning against the back wall of the house after she'd gotten back from the library. Shikoba followed her around the house, though she kept trying to tell him to stay. He hated being without her.

Once her fingers had closed around the handle of the broom, she heard Tom again.

Take flight.

Ginny sighed in frustration at having to do everything step by step, but if that's the way he wanted to do it, then that was what she had to do. She got on her broom, took a deep breath and took off. Shikoba flapped his wings and took off with her. Ginny sighed and turned to face him.

"No, Shikoba, you need to..." she let the words die on her lips and Shikoba flew past her.

Follow him.

Follow him. Follow Shikoba. Of course, the diver that could walk on land...Shikoba was part of the plan, too. She'd been meant to find him. Meant to find him so he could lead her to Hades.

"Isn't that true?" she whispered against the wind.

True enough.

She was almost grateful that now it seemed that Tom had grown tired of speaking in code.

She'd been flying for over an hour now, in the cold high wind, tracking what she'd thought was her diver friend. Now that her hands were almost frozen to her broom and she was approaching an ex-Death Ester's house alone (what had possessed her to think that was safe?), paranoid thoughts were running through her head. What if Shikoba was a animagus, and was leading her to her death?

'Why would I go through so much trouble to destroy you that way?'' had been the response.

What if Hades was going to hold her prisoner, maybe use her to resurrect Voldemort?

'There is no coming back from death.'

Maybe Hades was just going to torture her for the hell of it.

That one had no response, which made Ginny grip the broom handle tighter.

Finally, Shikoba began to descend. She tilted the broom down a bit, matching the bird's speed as they came down for a landing on a lush green lawn. Looking around her, Ginny noted the six-foot concrete walls with a tall iron gate. There was a porch, too, with iron bars around it. It'd be easy enough to get through this magic, though she wondered why Hades bothered. Did he live in a muggle neighborhood? Why would a Death Eater live –

But of course, it was brilliant. Why would a Death Eater live in a muggle neighborhood? He wouldn't. So of course no one would suspect him of being a Death Eater the second time around.

Ginny got off the broom and drew her wand, looking around in case he released the hounds or something. But everything seemed safe as she approached the pebble stone pathway. The barred gate to the porch had white rose bushes on either side.

She whispered and unlocking spell and slipped through the gate. then looked behind her. Shikoba sat on the pebble path, refusing to go any further. Was it some kind of warning? Well, if it was, it was too late. The front door opened.

A man stood there, a man who looked like he might be prematurely aging. He had fine lines around the corners of his eyes and mouth, and more then a few grey strands in his chocolate-colored hair and goatee. But his skin was clear and his eyes were bright and full of distrust.

"Who are you?" he barked. His voice was gruff and suspicious.

Ginny cleared her throat to give her a moment before answering, to consider giving a code name. "Ginevra Weasely," she found herself saying. If she was led her for a reason, it wouldn't help pretending to be someone else.

The man – Hades Xylander, she assumed – closed his eyes tightly for a moment, and sighed.

"Come in," he said, stepping aside. Ginny hesitated a moment, then slipped in past him. She heard him close and lock the door behind her.

Saying that the hallway was dark would be an understatement. There were no windows in the house, no windows in the doors, and only a faint light ahead of her was on, coming from a fireplace. How strange. She walked carefully down the carpeted hall, still gripping her wand in one hand and her broomstick in the other. She stepped into an underfurnished livingroom. In the dim light from the fireplace, she could see one black plush chair, a coffee table and a silver file cabinet. That was it, besides the carpet and large red brick fireplace with a roaring fire inside it.

"Sit," Hades commanded as he walked past her into an adjourning room. She hesitated again, and then obeyed. She had to know what was going on, and this might be her one chance.

She heard some clinking noises from the room to her left, and her eyes strained in the darkness as she tried to see what was going on in the room, but a black curtain hung where the doorway was. A moment or two later, Hades came back through the curtain with a silver tray with two small white coffee cups, a white cup and a silver pitcher. He placed the tray on the coffee table, disappeared behind the curtain, and reappeared with a dining room chair.

Lines formed between Ginny's brows as she frowned. Hospitality wasn't exactly what she'd been expecting. She'd been preparing herself for the git-like behavior Harry had complained about. Serving drinks was not exactly git-like behavior.

"Coffee?" Hades offered. "I'm afraid I'm not one for tea."

"Um...sure," she said softly.

"Milk?"

"Yes, please."

She watched as he poured a generous helping of milk in her cup, and then took his own black.

"Thank you," she said, letting her broom rest against the chair and accepting the offered cup. She refused to release her wand, even for a second.

Hades just nodded and took a deep swig from his cup. Ginny hesitantly took a drink from hers, and then resisted making a face. It was a little too hot for her. She set it down carefully.

"Mr. Xylander..." she began hesitantly. Hades raised a hand to silence her, and he put his cup roughly back down on the tray. Ginny couldn't resist jumping. She was, after all, in the presence of a man who either once was or was currently a Death Eater. She didn't want to think about it. It made her blood boil, thinking of all the horrible things this man probably did...

"I prefer to go by Hades," he said, leaning back in his chair, making the wood squeak a bit. "And I know why you're here."

"You do?" asked Ginny, surprised. She highly doubted he knew the real reason, but she was curious to know what he thought she was doing there. Probably something to do with how he'd treated Ron, Harry and Hermione earlier. They were, after all, her brother, boyfriend and best friend.

"Yes, I do," replied Hades, standing suddenly and walking to the file cabinet. "You're here to claim the records. Hell if I know how you found out about them."

Play along. It was a command, and though once Ginny would have disobeyed it simply because it was a command, now she was too afraid to. Too afraid he would really drive her mad if she didn't do what he told her to. Though being mad would be a fairly nice escape from this nightmare.

Ginny felt a sudden rush of nervous energy and picked up her cup of coffee and quickly drank it down, then set the empty cup back on the table. Still feeling the need to move, she shifted in her chair to watch Hades. He let a finger drift across the names of the files, every now and then pulling a manila envelope out. When he'd collected eight of them, he came back and dropped them in her lap. "Those should be all of them."

"Thank you," said Ginny slowly, as she spread them out across her lap. Eight manila envelopes. which, by the feel of them, held a good amount of paper in each one. Maybe twenty pages each. She was tempted to tear them open there and then, but something told her that Hades didn't really want company for very long. Though he had served her coffee...

She looked up at him as he began pouring himself another cup of coffee.

"What are they?" She hadn't meant to say it, but her curiosity was going wild. She gasped as she felt a sudden sharp pain in the front of her head. She closed her eyes tight against it.

She heard Hades give a gasp of pain, too, and once the sudden headache faded she saw that he'd spilt coffee over his fingers.

"What d'you mean 'what are they'?" he demanded. "Don't you know?"

"W-well..." Ginny stammered, gripping her want tight enough to turn her knuckles white. "I was just-just told to come and collect them...I don't know what's in them."

Hades stared into her eyes, as though trying to stare into her soul. Oh. Was he able to read her mind, like Voldemort could? She stared back at him until he winced and looked away, rubbing his head in the same place that Ginny had felt pain earlier.

"They're records," he grunted. But this was something she already knew.

"Records of what?"

"Of you," he said, looking back at her. "You-Know-Who's records of you."

Ginny felt the blood rush out of her face. "Of me?"

"Yes," said Hades, picking up his cup of coffee again. "All about you when you were a first year at Hogwarts."

"He kept records of that?" It hadn't really occurred to her that Voldemort would know about the diary.

"Yes, and of other little things. I don't know exactly what they say, though," admitted Hades. "I wasn't permitted to read the Dark Lord's private writings."

Ginny swallowed, and then reached to pour herself another cup of coffee. Her throat was suddenly very dry. Hades beat her to it, pouring her another cup with one-third coffee and two-thirds milk. He passed her the cup.

Well, for an ex-Death Eater, he's a great host, thought Ginny, and then wondered why her friends had thought him such a git.

Ginny took a few deep gulps from the cup, now almost enjoying the burning sensation down her throat. This was getting to be too much for her to handle. Voldemort with records about her, about her first year? A Death Eater that was oddly polite to her? And now a cup and a half of coffee in her system. No wonder she felt the urge to jump up and run away.

"Is that all?" asked Hades. Ginny nodded enthusiastically, setting her cup down, tucking the files under her arm and picking up her broom as she stood.

"Thank for the records and hospitality, Mr. Xylander," she said,

"Hades," he corrected her, and then he scoffed. "And it's not hospitality. The Dark Lord said that if I ever met you I had to treat you with respect. And he's come back from the dead before, there's no sayin' what he'd do if he came back and found out I treated you...well, like I treat everyone else."

Ginny blinked, deciding to refuse to process this comment. "Yes, well, I-"

Hades wasn't done yet. "I mean, I don't know why he'd care how I treated a muggle-lover," he spat the word 'muggle', making it clear it wasn't the word he wanted to use. "But orders are orders."

"Yes, I understand," said GInny, now backing towards the hallway. All she wanted to do was get out of there, fast. "Thank you for the files, have a good day."

She turned and practically ran down the hallway and out the door. She slammed it shut behind her and ran onto the lawn, then paused to catch her breath and figure out how she was going to carry the files back.

"Why..." she began, and then took a deep breath. "Why would you tell him to treat me with respect?"

Read the records.

Ginny shook he head. "But-"

Read the records.

Ginny swallowed hard, and then tucked her wand into her robes. She gripped the broom with one hand, and clutched the files against her chest with the others. Shikoba gave a short call, and then took off. Ginny took off after him, headed for home.

Artificial: Please review!