A/N: I am way behind schedule. Good news is that my hand it back to normal, which means I can type. Bad news is that my muse sort of deserted this story for a few other ideas. Don't worry, I'll beat her back into her place, but updates might continue to be slow.

I'm not so happy with this so far, but I'm doing my best to bring it to a conclusion without abandoning it for some better thought out ideas.

**********

Ginny awoke famished and extremely grateful for the array of food on the table next to her. Without a thought of where she was or how the food ended up there, she ate greedily, barely stopping to take a breath.

From his chair, Draco laughed. She stopped shoveling food into her mouth and stopped to look up at him, a red blush creeping up her face. She dropped her fork, suddenly feeling quite bloated, and stepped back from the table.

"My, my, Weaselette, don't your parents have enough money to feed you?"

Ginny gritted her teeth and glared at Draco. "Right, everyone gets it. I'm poor. It's funny. Haha. Why don't you come up with something new?"

Had Draco been a lesser man, his jaw would have dropped. As it was, he just stared at her in shock for just a second before regaining his composure. He held back another insult and took a few steps towards her. He had to admit; she was most attractive when she was angry, when there was hate in her dark eyes.

She backed up into the bed as he came closer. She closed her eyes but she could feel his breath on her face and his hands clasping around her wrists. She shuddered at the thought of be so close to him, both out of lust and disgust, but she tried to hide her feelings.

"What do you want with me Malfoy?"

"What does Tom want with you?"

Ginny's eyes shot open. She searched Draco's face for some indication of his meaning, but he revealed nothing.

"Who is Tom, Ginny?"

She pulled her arms away from him, and pushed past him toward the door. She paused for a minute to look over her shoulder and say, "You should know Malfoy. Your father introduced us." A second later, she was gone again, leaving Draco to mull over her thoughts.

She certainly had a knack for leaving him puzzled.

**********

On the other side of the castle, three anxious Gryffindors poured over book after book in the library, looking for something to explain Ginny's unusual behavior. Hermione slammed her book shut, earning her a look of distain from Madam Pince. "This is useless. We need to get into the restricted section." She said eyeing the sectioned-off portion of the library.

"I think we should tell Dumbledore." Ron received a thwap on head for his comment, not from Harry, but from Hermione.

"Brilliant Ron. What should we tell him? Ginny is possessed by You-Know-Who again. How do we know? Well Malfoy told us, after we found the two of them in the throws of passion together. Sorry Harry." Hermione cringed, realizing that Harry probably didn't need to be reminded of that night. "My point is, until we know more, this needs to stay between us.

Harry nodded and Ron grudgingly agreed.

"Now," She continued, "I've been working on a theory. Harry you said that when you found Ginny in the Chamber of Secrets, Tom had been stealing her energy to escape from the diary, right?"

He nodded silently.

"And when you destroyed the diary, it must have all returned to her, because she woke up. So what if some of Tom went with her?"

"So my little sister is Tom Riddle?" Ron asked raising his voice and receiving some looks from those around him.

"Shh!" Hermione hissed as Madam Pince got up from her desk and started walking towards them.

"Let's go." Harry grabbed the seething Ron and pulled him from the library, while Hermione followed still trying to explain. "Not exactly. Ginny is still Ginny, just with a little bit of Tom in her."

"So then, she'd be parselmouth, like me?" Harry asked.

"It's possible, but I think it's not his powers so much as Tom the person. His memory didn't have any powers of it's own to pass on. Maybe stress has just brought this out."

**********

Ginny stormed through the halls, with nowhere to go, but at the moment, she didn't care. She wasn't welcome back in her common room, but if she kept wandering through the halls, she'd end up running into someone she didn't want to meet. Once glance at the rainy window told her that the lake was not an option.

Up ahead she could hear voices, and she ducked behind a statue so that she could listen without being seen. The voices traveled down the hall and she recognized them long before she saw them, and she didn't think she wanted to hear anymore.

Lavender Brown, surrounded by her usual posse, was telling a story she knew only too well.

"And her boyfriend had been standing there the whole time."

"Tramp. She doesn't deserve either one of them."

"Well, she's been smart to keep out of sight, but she has to come back to the common room soon."

Oh no, she didn't. Ginny made up her mind. She didn't care if Draco was still in the Room of Requirement; it was the only place she could go to hide from the rest of the school. She waited until the girls had passed and crept back up the stairs towards the room.

**********

I need somewhere safe, Ginny thought as she passed the door for a third time. Tugging it open, she hit something firm but soft, and body shaped.

"Watch it, Weasley." Draco drawled as he took a step back from her, not surprised to see that tears were streaming down her face. She sobbed and collapsed into his chest, wrapping his arms around her. Draco was surprised now, so surprised that he didn't push her away.

He patted her awkwardly wondering how he ended up being the one she turned to. He hoped this was a one time thing, and he was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. Whatever prompted it, Ginny was in the mood to trust him now.

Looking up at him through her disheveled hair, she spoke.

"I don't have anywhere to go anymore. My friends, my family, they all hate me. And he won't leave me alone. Every time I close my eyes, he's standing there, clear as day, and he's killing me and he says the same things as you."

Malfoy didn't need to ask who she was talking about, but he did need to find out more. He sighed, and gave Blaise's advice one more try.

"Ginny, I want to help you, but you have to tell me who he is."

When she looked into his eyes, he found himself shivering.

"Tom Riddle."

The name hit Draco like a ton of bricks. He had only heard it once or twice, but he knew exactly who she was talking about now. Why it hadn't occurred to him early, he didn't know.

"He's in my mind, Draco and he's wants me back."

Draco dropped his arms from Ginny, and back up, collapsing into a chair. It was going to take some time for this to process.