Author's Message:

Please note that I have gone back and edited the past chapters to fix up Tom's character a bit.

The specific things I changed were:

Tom's interaction with Myrtle.

Tom's interaction with McGonagall

Harry's initial interrogation of Tom.

Ginny's reaction to seeing Tom.

And the reason why Harry can't kill Tom. (Because it makes more sense.)

If you don't go back and read these, you might get a little confused with the rest of the story line. I edited to improve Tom's evil nature, because he wasn't coming off evil enough for me. Well, thanks everyone who has been reading. Hope you enjoy the new chapter.

Chapter Four

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The good news is, Lupin allowed Harry to take the spell and ropes off me; the bad news is, Harry took my words of locking me in his bloody room seriously. So I'm stuck here until he feels so inclined to get me out.

What scares me the most about all of this is that my thoughts are not on escape, not on getting home. Their on that girl, Ginny, the one who keeps flashing in my mind.

What's wrong with this picture is that, I'm sensible, I'm intelligent. I do not get mixed up in girls, because they mean trouble. The kind of trouble where you're forced to give up your hopes, your dreams, your life, basically, so that you'll make her happy.

I can't do that, but I can't get Ginny out of my head. The way she holds herself. That confident stare.

I'm thinking about her so much that I'm actually considering breaking out of this room and risking myself to be put in the full body bind again to go find her. Breaking out of this room...The thought sounds extremely risky, but well worth it, if I can just get a few words in with her.

I put my ear to the door, I hear no one; I glance out the window, no one is there either. I ponder the door or the window. Which would be the easiest to escape from? I decide the door.

I try to open it, just in case, but it's locked tight. I'm not worried yet though, because there's always more then one way to opened a spelled door.

I find exactly what I'm looking for in a trunk at the end of Harry's bed – which I had to pick open with a safety pin mind you. I pull out from the trunk an old sneakascope wrapped in an old sock. I pull it out, and it is humming like mad so I stuff it back into the sock, it'll work – really I just need any small magical object, particularly a powerful one, and this would have to do.

I've been practicing wandless spells as long as I can remember - though they're not exactly "spells" per say, just really concentrated magical thoughts. If I want something enough, I can get it just by pursuing that thought for all it's worth.

That's what I do now; using the sneakascope to direct my energy to the spell on the door. I hear a crack, and the spell is off. I smile to myself as I open the door, stepping out into a small hallway.

I could take off now, leave and not return. But with my thoughts on this girl, I just can't do that yet, plus I think they can actually help me return home – what a bonus. Bullshit in my own head.

I swiftly make my way along the house, approaching a nearby door. I slowly turn the handle and peek inside. And I see her. She's got her back on the wall, curled up reading a book. I slide in and shut the door softly, I don't want to frighten her, so somehow I have to make my presence known quietly and innocently.

I watch her for a moment, and then I say softly, "Excuse me."

She looks up, and giving a startling squeak and drops her book.

"I just came here to apologize," I say, not sure exactly what I'm apologizing for. "I don't mean to frighten you."

I don't even know what I've done to you.

"Get out," she hisses under her breath.

She looks a lot more in control of herself then she did earlier. Her eyes are strong and determined...and hateful.

"No," I say, as I fold my arms across my chest.

She looks at me surprised, and slowly slides her legs out to stand up.

"Does Harry know you're in here?" she asks, never taking her eyes off me.

"Does it matter?" I ask.

Her hair moves off her shoulders as she stands.

Her eyes falter because she's thinking so much. I watch her glance from the door to me; she's probably wondering what she should do about me.

"What are you reading?" I ask, glancing at her book.

She quickly slides the book from my view and shrugs.

"Nothing," Ginny says carefully.

I chuckle mostly for her benefit. She's tense, and I want to shake her loose, tell her I'm not planning on harming her.

"So, you're a witch?" I ask, noticing that her wand is poking out from behind her ear.

I pretty much already assume this, but it will keep her talking.

She nods, "I am. Harry says you traveled through time to find out about your future self."

I nod, not sure what sort of statement this is.

"What do you think so far?" she asks, eyes searching.

"No one will tell me anything," I say.

"Then why'd you apologize?" she narrows her eyes.

She's found me out.

Shit.

What am I supposed to say now?

"I-"

"Let me guess, you don't know?" she interrupts my lie.

I stare at her blank faced.

Ginny's pale, but her eyes so strong but frightened. that I'm not sure what's going on. I'm fairly good at reading people, so looking at Ginny I can tell she's pretty confident of herself – so why does she look so frazzled with me around?

"Leave me alone," she says.

What if I don't want to?

I don't move, and she stares at me. I don't move and she angrily stalks past me, and opens the door, but she's opened it for me.

"Go," she insists.

I move towards the door, and stand in front of her, sliding my hand along the door, shutting it. I'm so near her I can smell her vanilla perfume mixed with rosemary, jasmine and sandalwood incense.

She backs away, looking up almost horrified.

She's too strong to beg me to leave, but her eyes are silently pleading, but I can't do that – I'm enjoying this far to much. Her calculating eyes carefully document every little movement I make.

I take a step foreword, she takes a step back.

"I'm not going to hurt you," I say softly.

"You've told me that before," she says.

"And did I?" I ask, hoping the answer is no.

"Yes," she says, her voice steady.

I freeze in my tracks and tilt my head.

"In my first year," she says. "You almost killed me."

I can see her face flashed with memories of that year. But it doesn't make any sense to me at all.

"Your diary," she says.

This is when everything clicks in my head. The jigsaw comes together, and all the pieces fit. That diary I had created in my fifth year, preserving myself to lead someone else in my work. And if Ginny knew about my diary then that must have meant it was her – her who had been continuing my work. By the look on her face, she wasn't happy about that at all.

I look away from her for the first time, deep in thought. The diary was meant to destroy the user when the time had come – but Ginny was still here alive, so what had happened?

"My diary," I whisper. "What became of it?"

"It was destroyed," she says.

I turn back to her.

My hard work lost, was it worth her? Something nagging at me says yes, but I don't care to listen.

There's a soft knock on the door and both Ginny and I glance at it. Me in fear, because I'm trapped no matter what.

"Ginny?" it's Harry.

She glances at me, "Come in."

I watch, bracing myself for Harry to see me. Not much I can do about it now.

The door slowly opens, and when I come into view, his face turns from sincerity to hatred in seconds flat, his eyes dart from me to Ginny; and I realize just how close I had moved towards her and how she was almost backed up against the wall.

He whips out his wand and points it at me, "How did you get in here?"

"Used the door, and my legs," I say straight faced.

He looks at me like I've insulted his mother.

"You couldn't just use the door! It was spelled!" he seethes. "How did you break out?"

"It's simple really," I say. "I just directed a counter curse through a sneakascope you had."

Harry blinks at me a couple of time, "Why did you come in here?"

I glance at Ginny and back to Harry, "Well, you see Harry; I got turned around and ended up on the wrong end of the house."

Harry rolls his eyes at me, then turns to Ginny, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she says, glancing at me.

"Well," Harry says giving me a glare. "I'll talk to you later, Ginny. Come on, Tom, you have to meet someone; she's going to send you back home, where you belong."

He says the last bit in an icy tone; then he opens the door for me to step out first, and he leads me back into the living room at wand point.

After that encounter with Ginny, I don't think I'll ever be the same again – I almost was the cause of her death, that's a cryptic notion. She's blown me away, and I will get her to fall for me no matter what I have to do. Because I know I cannot be without her now that I've met her.

There's something distastefully wrong with me – I can't believe I'm being like this. What has gotten into me?

Author's Note:

Again, if you missed the announcement at the beginning notes here it is again:I have gone back and edited the past chapters to fix up Tom's character a bit (more info at the top of this page on what I changed).

Thank you to everyone who has been reading and reviewing and I hope you're all happy with the changes I made.