Author's Notes: Sorry for the delay. The original version of this chapter seemed rather lousy. So I decided to rewrite it. I also made some minor adjustments to the plans I had for the story. Due to this, I had to adjust the second last paragraph of last chapter. It's nothing major. I'm posting the adjusted paragraph for your convenience.

Update: I made some changes to the chapter – based upon the readers' suggestions and my own observations. Nothing major; but you may want to go through it!

I'd be grateful if someone points out my mistakes!

That said, read, review and most importantly, enjoy.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and associated characters are NOT mine! So lawyers, keep away!

With all his might, he focused on Ginny – a fog seemed to lift from his mind. Realisation dawned upon him. Dumbledore – it was entirely his fault! He must have used some compulsion spell. He'd never forgive that manipulative old goat!

Harry realised he was tightly hugging Ginny. He knew he had to save her; no matter what it cost him. He silently willed his magic to pass through her, to revive her. The block on his magic tried to restrain him, but it couldn't stand against his resolve. Finally it gave way. Magic poured out of him. Though he couldn't see it, they were surrounded by a golden aura, laced with ruby red and emerald green. Then there was a blinding flash of white light and he knew no more. His last thoughts were, "I'm sorry Gin. I was too late."

Chapter 5: Revelations

Harry opened his eyes groggily. It took him a moment to remember where he was. The Chamber – the basilisk – Tom Riddle – the diary – Ginny! He sat up quickly, dislodging a small body resting on his chest in the process.

"Ginny! You're alive! Thank Merlin! I thought I'd lost you!" He hugged her.

"Harry, I'm so s-sorry. I didn't mean to. H-he made me. I- I-" She broke into fresh sobs.

"I know, Ginny. I know."

"No-nobody will believe me. T-they'll expel me. What will my parents say?" sobbed a distraught Ginny.

"They won't expel you – I'll tell them everything – I'll show them the diary." Harry held her close, trying to comfort her, while feeling deeply uncomfortable himself. He had no experience with crying girls.

After what seemed like an eternity, Ginny finally calmed down, only to look at him with questioning eyes. "What happened Harry? Why did you stop talking to me? You went out of your way to avoid me. Was it something I did? I tried to ask you – but you wouldn't even look at me!"

Harry's face darkened. "It wasn't what you did, Ginny; it was what your brother did – him and the Headmaster!"

"My brother?" Her eyes narrowed, "Which one? What did they do?"

Harry sighed, "When I came here, I tried to remember why I had avoided you the whole year; I couldn't remember any reason. At that time I shrugged it off, I had more pressing matters to deal with. After Riddle was gone, I tried again. This time I felt my thoughts drifting to other things – rather meaningless things too. I forced myself to concentrate upon you; it was – it was as if a veil had been lifted from my memories. I remembered the whole year quite clearly," said Harry. "It started a week into September. After dinner Hermione had excused herself to go to the library. Ron said he wanted to show me something, so I followed him. He took me to Dumbledore's office.

Headmaster's Office: One Year Ago

"Ron! What are we doing here?" asked a confused Harry.

"Take a seat, Harry. Lemon Drops?" asked the Headmaster.

Harry sat down shaking his head, "No, thank you, sir. I don't understand – why am I here? I haven't done anything, have I?"

"No Harry, but there is something I must do. I deeply regret this. But it's for the Greater Good."

"Wha-" began a panicked Harry, but before he could finish, Dumbledore had drawn his wand and pointed it at his forehead, "Legilimens!"

Harry felt something enter his head. His whole life flashed before his eyes. The Dursleys' abuse, his first year, his encounter with Quirrell/Voldemort, his suspicions about Dumbledore, his summer, his friendship with Ginny – his memories and thoughts played like a video tape in fast forward. At last Dumbledore withdrew from his mind. Harry was panting – his head hurt – he felt dizzy. He took a moment to gather his bearings, before shouting, "YOU INVADED MY MIND! YOU SAW MY MEMORIES! DID YOU ENJOY WHAT YOU SAW? I WAS EXAGGERATING, WAS I? WHERE WAS YOUR STUPID BLOOD PROTECTION WHEN THOSE ANIMALS BEAT ME TO A PULP AND THREW ME INTO A CUPBOARD! YOU'RE WORSE THAN VOLDEMORT! AT LEAST HE DOESN'T HIDE HIS TRUE INTENTIONS! YOU FILTHY – EVIL –"

"Shut up and sit down, Harry." Dumbledore ordered.

Harry found himself obeying without thinking. He hadn't realised he was standing. "I really regret doing all this, Harry. I regret sending you to your relatives. But it was for your own good. I hope you'll realise it someday and forgive me."

Harry was fuming, but he couldn't do anything.

"Now to business, Harry – you'll forget all your suspicions about me. You'll never question me. You'll remember that the block on your magic is natural and will never think about it. You will listen to Mr. Weasley and obey him without question. You'll behave normally and not raise any suspicions. And you'll forget all about this conversation once you step outside the door."

"Yes sir," Harry found himself answering.

Gryffindor Common Room: A Few Days Later

"Let's go to dinner, Harry."

"Ron, you go on ahead with Hermione. I want to talk to Ginny. I'll join you later."

"Give us a moment Hermione; I need to talk to Harry." Ron said to Hermione. She walked away, looking suspicious.

"Harry, you'll stay away from Ginny. You won't talk to her. If she tries to talk to you; you'll avoid her. You won't even think of her. And you'll forget this conversation." Ron's voice was commanding.

"Yes." Harry found himself replying.

"Good, now let's go to dinner."

"I think it was some kind of compulsion potion. It made me obedient to Dumbledore. And he gave this authority to Ron. I managed to fight it off a couple of times – only to be attacked and dosed again, before I could do anything!" Harry was barely controlling his rage.

Ginny didn't have so much of self-control. "THAT FILTHY BASTARD! I'LL KILL HIM IF THAT'S THE LAST THING I DO! AND DUMBLEDORE – HE'S SUPPOSED TO BE THE LEADER OF LIGHT!"

Somehow Ginny's rage had a calming effect on Harry. "Calm down Ginny. There will be time for retribution later. We can't challenge him as we stand. We need to become powerful first. We can't be naïve Gryffindors anymore. We have to embrace our Slytherin sides."

"Did the hat really want to sort you in Slytherin," asked Ginny, after she had calmed down.

"Yes, it did. Does it matter?"

"No. It tried the same with me. I was so afraid that my family would be disappointed in me. I had to beg it to put me in Gryffindor."

There was a pregnant pause.

"I'll follow you Harry, whatever you do." Ginny said with a determined look on her face.

"Are you sure? I mean your family supports Dumbledore blindly. Following me will put you at odds with them."

"I am choosing what I feel is the right path over the easy one," said Ginny. "Now where did I hear this saying again?"

"It's something Dumbledore says. Did you ever talk to him in person?" asked Harry.

"I don't think so." Her face was scrunched up in concentration. "I remember being there once – in his office – but I can't remember anything else. And thinking about it gives me a headache…." She trailed off.

"He probably put a memory charm upon you. I wonder what he said during the meeting."

"Whatever it was, I probably didn't agree."

There was another pause.

"So Harry, what are these suspicions of yours – the ones Dumbledore told you to forget?" asked Ginny.

"Before I tell you, promise me you won't repeat any of this to anybody, your parents, you brothers – anybody at all. I don't know how they will react. We need to find a way to stop them from going to Dumbledore - in case they don't agree with us."

"I understand, Harry. I promise."

"It started on my eleventh birthday. Hagrid came to pick me up from my relatives. The first question arises here. Why Hagrid? It's not his job. Why not McGonagall – like she does for all the muggleborns? At least she could use magic properly!"

Ginny didn't say anything.

"In the light of recent revelations – I can come to only one conclusion. Hagrid is blindly loyal to Dumbledore. He'd do anything he tells him to – without any question – he'd obey him to the last word. I doubt McGonagall would have let Dumbledore rest if she found out that I lived in a – bleeding – cupboard; for the first eleven years of my life. She would have berated him for his decision to place me with those animals! She would have told me a lot more about the wizarding world than Hagrid did. She would have given me an objective view of all the houses, not a biased – Gryffindor-centric view. This could have led to me being sorted in Slytherin – something that probably doesn't fit in his grand scheme of things!"

Ginny was horrified. "You lived in a cupboard?" Harry hadn't told her anything about his life with the Dursleys, except that it wasn't pleasant.

"Can we talk about that later?"

"Okay. But I'm not forgetting about it." She said stubbornly.

"Anyway, moving on to Gringotts' – Hagrid wouldn't let me talk to my accounts manager. His excuse was that he was in a hurry – but wouldn't meet my eyes when he said this. This leads me to believe he was lying. The same happened before the beginning of my second year. This time it was Mrs. Weasley. There is something about my vault that Dumbledore wants to hide."

"You mean mum's involved in this?" asked Ginny.

"Not necessarily. Dumbledore could simply have told her to stop me from talking to goblins - for my own good – no doubt." Harry said bitterly.

"Moving on to King's Cross. Hagrid conveniently forgot to tell me how to get to the platform. A few minutes after my relatives dropped me, your family walked in, talking loudly about muggles. Tell me Ginny, does your mother ask about the platform number every year?"

"It did sound rather odd. I mean the platform number doesn't change every year. And she was talking rather loudly – you don't think…" She looked shocked.

"That our meeting there was set up? That's what I thought. I think it was your mother who was supposed to talk to me, but she got distracted by George. Good thing too, or you'd be nothing more than Ron's little sister to me." Harry smirked.

Ginny blushed. "And I'd still be one of your fan-girls," she mumbled.

It took Harry a moment to process what she had said, "WHAT!"

"Don't be mad Harry. When I was little, mum used to read me bedtime stories about the boy-who-lived. I used to dream of meeting you and –" she buried her face in her hands.

"Looks like someone had a crush on me!" Harry teased her. For some reason he wasn't annoyed to find that Ginny used to be a fan-girl. He was rather amused. He wondered what her reaction was when she found out his last name.

"Don't you dare tease me about that, Harry Potter!" Ginny looked up, glaring. Harry remembered her brothers cowering before her when she did that. He always found it amusing.

"You know, you look quite adorable when you do that," he said, quite seriously, "Would you consider being my girlfriend?" Harry didn't know where that came from, but he had meant it. 'Must be the Gryffindor side of me!' He thought.

Ginny's eyes went wide as saucers. "Do you really mean it?" Then they narrowed, "You were teasing me, weren't you?"

Harry gulped. "N-no. I really meant it. But you should probably wait till you hear the whole story before answering – the path before me is dark and dangerous. I will understand if you don't want to." He finished miserably.

Ginny jumped up and embraced him. "Yes!" She was beaming.

"Are you sure?" Harry couldn't believe it.

"I have already said that I'll follow you, no matter what you do."

Harry was happier than he had ever been in his life. He leant forward on kissed her lightly. She had a goofy grin on her face as he pulled away. She felt like she was in heaven – a feeling that Harry mirrored.

After a few moments, Harry's face became serious, "You do realise that we can't make it public yet, don't you?"

"Why not?" asked a confused Ginny.

"We don't know if keeping us apart was Ron's decision or Dumbledore's. We can handle Ron easily. But if it was Dumbledore, he might do something drastic – like slipping me a love potion or something. I think we should wait until my fourth year at least. Then we will have at least your parents support – I mean, I hope so. Right now, they'll probably say we are too young. And we will be a bit better prepared to handle him."

"But why would Dumbledore want to keep us apart?" asked a confused Ginny.

"Think Ginny, who are my – best – friends?" Harry said; disgust evident in his voice.

"Ron and Hermione?" asked Ginny, confused.

"And what kind of people are they?"

"I don't understand…." She looked thoughtful. "Oh! You mean they can easily be controlled!"

"Exactly! I am glad we are on the same wavelength," said Harry. "Muggle saying – meaning our thoughts are similar." he quickly added at Ginny's confused look. "Ron with his jealousy and Hermione with her blind faith in authority. I wonder if she knew any of this…." He trailed off. "You, on the other hand, are more of an independent sort and have a certain disregard for authority. If Dumbledore wants me under his control, he can't have me associating with the likes of you, can he? That's probably why you were in his office – to determine what kind of a person you are and if possible, turn you against me – like Ron. And that's one of the reasons he didn't want me in Slytherin – they don't hero-worship him."

"Harry, if you were given a chance at re-sorting, would you choose Slytherin?" asked Ginny.

"No. But not because of the likes of Malfoy or any other such reason. I'll stay in Gryffindor to avoid the scrutiny the Slytherins face. Much better to play the naïve little Gryffindor, isn't it?" Harry smirked.

"Aren't you the devious one, Mr. Potter? I'm sure Salazar Slytherin himself would be proud of you." Ginny had a matching smirk on her face.

Harry didn't reply. He looked thoughtful. "Do you remember our discussion about the Philosopher's Stone at the Burrow?" Harry had told her about his first year during the summer – minus his suspicions. He had talked about them to Ron and Hermione – both of whom had been sceptical. Harry was afraid it would be the same with Ginny – they were taught to never question Dumbledore.

"I- I think so."

"Do you find anything odd about the whole thing?"

Ginny looked thoughtful. "I think the protection around the stone was rather peculiar. Bill told me that wizards usually place some really nasty curses and wards around the object to be protected. But there was no such thing around the stone. And what was the point of placing the real key in the same room as the door? Or the potion meant to bypass the flames, for that matter? It was like each room was meant for one of you."

"That's what I thought! I did say we are on the same wavelength. It was as if we were expected to go there. The potion in the last room – it was enough for only one person – I was supposed to face him alone! All the protections were bypassed by eleven year-olds, for Merlin's sake. What chance did they stand against Voldemort? If the stone really needed protection, it should have been placed in Dumbledore's office. And why did Hagrid know about it? He can't keep a secret to save his life! No – he knew about it so he could slip us hints – unknowingly of course. The Mirror of Erisad, the invisibility cloak, the detention in the forbidden forest – he sparked my curiosity, gave me enough tools and information to find out about the Stone and enough incentive to face him." Harry finished bitterly.

Ginny was shocked. "But why? You could have died!"

"It was a test. He didn't go to the ministry. There simply wasn't enough time – especially since he decided to fly instead of using the floo or apparating. He was there to monitor how I handled him – to prevent me from getting killed. How is it that he came to my aid just when I fainted?"

"A test? For what?"

"Haven't you guessed? I am a tool – a weapon – to use against Voldemort when he returns – and he will return – before long too."

"How do you know that?" asked Ginny.

"This was the second attempt in two years. How many times do you expect him to fail?" replied Harry.

"But – but why you?"

"I don't know. But there was a reason he attacked us – and no, my parents were not the targets – it was me. They were merely in the way. He even gave my mother a chance to step aside and stay alive! When I asked Dumbledore for the reason, he told me I am too – young – to hear such a horrible truth. You'd think I had the right to know why a lunatic is after me! Now I am beginning to wonder if that ruddy blood protection is a lie as well; he probably just wanted to keep me so downtrodden that I would see him as a saviour." Harry's voice was laced with bitterness.

They were silent for a while.

"What are we going to do now, Harry?" asked Ginny.

"I am going to learn as much magic as I can; become as powerful as I naturally can. I'll face Voldemort when the time comes – I am not going to hide from him – that'll be insulting my parents sacrifice; but it will be on my own terms, not Dumbledore's. I'll fight fire with fire. And Dumbledore – I'll warn him once or twice; if he doesn't stop meddling with my life – let's just say I have no problems with getting rid of him either – he has caused me – and Merlin knows how many others – enough pain to deserve it."

Ginny's mouth was wide open. "You'll kill Dumbledore!" she protested weakly.

"Only if I must. You don't have to follow me, Ginny. You can have a normal life – get married, have kids – whatever you want. You don't have a power hungry maniac and a well-meaning old man after you." Harry finished, trying to put up a brave face, but feeling miserable inside.

"No, I don't have to follow you. But I want to – and I will – after knowing all this, I can't follow Dumbledore in good conscience; and I am definitely not joining V-Voldemort." She said with a shudder, "And I'll be happy as long as I am by your side." Determination was shining on her face. "You asked me to be your girlfriend. No getting rid of me now." She smirked.

He held her in a tight embrace. "I wouldn't have it any other way, Gin. I would be very lonely without you." He finished with a kiss.

"You are getting quite fond of kissing me, Mr. Potter." Ginny smirked.

"And I thought you liked it. Wasn't it a part of your childhood fantasies?" Harry mock pouted.

She swatted him on the head. "I told you not to tease me about that. Now if you are done with kissing me, shall we try and get out of this place?"

"Wait, we need to decide what we are going to tell them. Dumbledore will have a fit if he found out that I used Avada Kedavra."

"Why?"

"It's one of the most heavily punished curses in the wizarding world. If I used against a human, even once, I'd get a lifetime in Azkaban. If Dumbledore finds out that I can use it, he'll probably declare me the next Dark Lord in training."

"Then why did you use it?"

"Are you kidding? We'd both be dead if I hadn't used it."

"I suppose you are right…" She looked thoughtful, "You know what; I think we should find an adult we can trust. Someone who can teach us magic which is not usually taught at Hogwarts. Someone we can ask for advice."

"You are right, Gin. But who..."

"I can help you with that," said a voice from a shadowy corner.

Harry and Ginny jumped and turned around, wands in their hands, "Who are you? Show yourself!"

A handsome young man - about six feet tall, with shoulder length jet black hair and piercing green eyes – stepped forward. Only, he wasn't solid. He looked like Tom Riddle did – when he had called the basilisk.

Author's Notes: Sorry for the cliff-hanger; but what comes next deserves a whole chapter to itself. Till then, how about a guessing game about who the newcomer is!

Thanks to all the reviewers for your support.

Hope you enjoyed it. Please Review!