A/N: Here's the next chapter. ...Yep, not much to say about that.

So I think all my canon facts are correct. If not...well, it is fanfiction, lol.

Enjoy, and please review!

Ginny finally arrived home as the sun began to set. She stashed her broom away, made sure the envelopes were tucked into her robes, scooped up an exhausted Shikoba and headed into the house.

"Ginny Weasely!" came her mother's high-pitched voice. Ginny resisted rolling her eyes, sighed, and turned to face her mother with a fake smile.

"Yes?"

"Where have you been?" her mother demanded.

Ginny shrugged. "I just went flying for a little while."

"It's past dinnertime, Ginny!" said Molly Weasely, putting her hands on her hips. "You had Harry worried sick! You said you'd be taking a nap, and then you run off to God-knows-where!"

"I'm sorry," Ginny apologized quickly, beginning up the stairs. "I didn't mean to cause any worry. Is Harry still here?"

"He's upstairs with Ron," her mother said. "You better go straightaway, and tell him you're alright."

"I will," promised Ginny, and then she ran upstairs to her room. She dropped Shikoba roughly on the bed, then took out the files and knelt down and slid them under her mattress. She looked up at Shikoba, who was lying where she'd dropped him, glaring at her like she'd betrayed him.

"I don't know who or what you are," she whispered sharply at him, "But I'm on to you. You're sleeping outside tonight, so don't get too comfortable."

Shikoba turned his head from her, hiding under his wing. Ginny sighed.

Sometimes a bird is just a bird.

"Shut up," Ginny muttered, standing and turning to face her mirror. She began straightening her hair. "He's not a normal diver if he can walk on land. He's not a normal diver if he can lead me straight to a Death Eater's house. I don't know how you managed it, but something isn't right with him."

I never said I did anything to the bird.

"But you did," spat Ginny, angry. She'd thought the bird was the one thing she could trust not to hurt her, and here it was under Voldemort's control the whole time!

Lord Voldemort is dead.

"Yeah, I know," said Ginny. She pulled her hair into a bun and grabbed the nice perfume Harry had surprised her with a couple months ago.

Has the bird ever harmed you?

Ginny hesitated before finishing spraying the perfume on her throat. "No. But that doesn't mean it won't."

Have I-

"No," said Ginny, slamming the perfume bottle down. "I'm done talking to you tonight. I'm going to go and say hello to Harry, and kiss him full on the lips."

No, you will not.

"Yes, I will," insisted Ginny, now starting to grin. "There's nothing you can do abou-"

Ginny have a sharp cry when she felt an intense pain in the front of her head. She closed her eyes tight and gripped her head, with a hand on each side. She'd never had a headache like this, except it was the same pain she'd felt earlier at Hades Xylander's...

"You're doing this!" she gasped.

Yes, admitted Riddle. And if you kiss Harry it will continue, on and on, for weeks! Are you sure Potter's kiss is worth it?

"What is wrong with you?" Ginny demanded. "How are you doing this?"

I'm gaining power, little Weasely. You cannot stop me.

Furious, Ginny turned and stormed out of her room. As she began towards Ron's room, she felt the headache begin to fade away.

She hated letting him control her life like this, but what choice did she have? Hear the Lady of Shalott chanted in her head the rest of her life? Live with this debilitating headache? She couldn't do it. As strong as she once thought she was, she didn't have the strength to deal with this. She only hoped the folders held the answers for how to free her from this...this prison in her own mind.

Ginny knocked softly on her brother's door, and then held her breath.

"Yeah?" came Ron's voice. Ginny opened the door a bit.

"Hey, Gin," said Harry, sounding relieved. He instantly stood and walked over to her. "Where did you go? I was worried something had happened..."

He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a hug. Then he tried to kiss her. Ginny turned her head to look at Ron, making Harry's lips fall on her cheek.

"I was out flying, sorry," she apologized. "I didn't mean to scare you."

Ron shrugged. He had a distant look in his eyes. Ginny knew that look to mean that Ron and Percy had been fighting again. Would it ever stop?

"You want to play some Wizard's Chess, Ginny?" asked Harry, stepping away. He tried to sound normal, but the creases in his brow told her he'd noticed her avoiding the kiss. "Ron and I have been playing awhile, and I...think he wants a break."

As in he'd finished ranting about Percy and was now thinking about Fred. Ginny felt a sharp pang in her chest as she thought of her dead brother. The house seemed so empty without him. George was probably locked away in their room right now...

"Um, I think I should just go to bed," sighed Ginny. "I am really tired."

"You did skip your nap..." said Harry, looking concerned.

Ginny nodded. "Yeah. I'm just gonna go. Goodnight."

She didn't wait for a response. Instead, she went downstairs and searched their cupboards.

Half an hour, a huge mess and some improvising later, Ginny knocked on George's door.

"Who is it?" demanded George.

Ginny's hands trembled. "It's Ginny. Can I come in?"

She heard some commotion in the room, some things moved around (probably trying to hide how lazy he'd become) and then some heavy footfalls. The door swung open a few seconds later, revealing George. He had dark circles under his eyes and tangled hair, and was wearing very wrinkled robes, rather suggesting he hadn't bothered to change in a while. He was getting worse.

Ginny held her offering in front of his face slightly, smiling weakly. "Cake?"

George managed a small chuckle and stepped aside. Ginny walked into the room and set the cake on the desk. It was white cake swirled gold and red – a trick Hermione had taught her, though Ginny had used magic instead of food coloring – with fondant colored the same, except with the figure of a lion dyed into it. Gryffindor colors, the Gryffindor mascot. Fred's half of the room was exactly as he'd left it.

"Cake...great," George said, attempting to be enthusiastic. Ginny handed him a fork, and they dug in, eating directly from the pan. They sat there together, eating in silence for quite some time.

"The covering is really sweet," commented George.

Ginny nodded. "It's kind of like marshmallow."

"I like it," said George, peeling it off of some of the cake and eating it alone. Ginny giggled when she noticed some of the chocolate frosting on his nose.

"What?" he demanded.

"Nothing," Ginny said innocently, pretending to scratch her nose where George had frosting on his. He went crosseyed trying to see his own nose, making Ginny giggle again. George wiped the frosting off of his nose and wiped it on Ginny's hand.

"Ew!" she exclaimed, laughing. She wiped the frosting off on her robes. "You're so mean."

"Yeah," George laughed. "I'm your brother, it's what I do."

She shook her head slowly, still laughing, taking another bite of the cake.

"You know..." George sighed. "I also...take care of my little sister."

Ginny looked back up at George. He almost looked like he was going to cry.

George set down his fork. "I know you're down some siblings, Gin. Charlie and Bill are busy with their own lives...and Ron and Percy are too busy fighting with each other to notice anyone else. And Fred..." he swallowed hard. "But I'm here for you, Ginny. You can talk to me, okay? Even things you can't talk to Harry about."

Ginny's vision blurred as tears filled her eyes. "Thanks, George," she croaked out. "I will."

Somehow he knew. He knew she wasn't telling him something very important.

Probably from catching me breaking down on the floor, she thought

But not only was he letting her know he knew, he was letting her know that he was willing to listen. To be there for her, maybe...to help. And who knew? Maybe he could help. Maybe sometime he'd come across some magic like this, maybe he'd understand what she meant. Maybe he really could help her.

Ginny swallowed, setting aside her own fork.

"George..." she began.

"Yes, Ginny?"

"I have a headache." She hadn't meant to say that! It'd come out of her mouth, but she didn't say it.

But it was true. There was a sudden throbbing pain in her temples. She winced and brought her hands to them. Obviously, Tom – Voldemort – whoever the hell it was, didn't want her getting help. At least, not from George. But he had no problem with her getting help from a Death Eater.

"It's probably from the sugar," suggested George, sounding vaguely disappointed.

Ginny smiled, agreeing. "And I'm pretty tired."

"Go to bed," said George, standing up. "I'll take care of the cake."

Ginny sighed. She'd hoped to spend a little more time with her brother, but the throbbing in her head told her that her time was out.

"Okay," Ginny sighed. "Goodnight."

"G'night," said George as his sister left the room. Ginny headed back to her own room, shutting the door behind her without noticing Harry's eyes on her.

Ginny leaned her head against the shut door, closing her eyes as the headache began to fade away.

"Fine," she sighed. "You win. I won't ask for help. At least...not until I read the files."

There was no response, but she wasn't surprised. Because she knew she was lying, and therefore he knew it, too. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that the records might be a trap. Maybe Lord Voldemort had suspected what would happen, and wrote false records that would lead her to...something. Maybe some way to resurrect him.

Lord Voldemort is dead. The fully dead can not come back to life.

Shikoba was already asleep, but on the floor in front of her bed. She didn't have the energy to move him. Instead, she changed quickly and collapsed in bed. As she began to fall asleep, Tom spoke again.

I'm gaining power, little Weasely. You cannot stop me.

"Shut up," she mumbled into her pillow.

Do you remember the last time I gained power through you?

"Shut up," she said a little harsher, closing her eyes a little tighter. She fought memories back.

Do you remember how I used you to kill? It may have been mere birds...but it was still murder.

Now she was crying, and the memories were swirling in front of her eyes. The confusion, the terror, the fear of being out of control of herself. How like now was to then.

Wait...was that it? Was now exactly like then? The same kind of magic? She searched her memory desperately for an answer. How had he managed to control her?

You are searching in vain, my little Pandora, he said, again using a nickname that meant nothing to her. The answer does not lie in your memory.

"Then where does it lie?" she hissed, sitting up in bed. "In whose memory does the answer lie?"

The answer lies in the Chamber of Secrets.

"Impossible," she sighed, falling back. There was no way she could go back there, and no way she could remember anything about it. She was unconscious for most of what had happened in the Chamber. The only ones who knew what had happened there were Tom, and – and –

Harry.

Harry Potter had been in the Chamber, too. He remembered more about it then she did.

"Is that right?" she asked, slowly, carefully. "Is that where the answer lies? In Harry?"

Your King is in check. He was back to speaking in code. This comment made no sense at all. He was done being helpful. Ginny rolled her eyes, rolled onto her side and tried to sleep.

Be careful how you open that box, Pandora.

Artificial: Review, pwetty pwease.