LIFE AFTER DEATH

Part Eight: Bonds.

Ginny smiled as she watched Leo playing by the large lake on the grounds of the manor; he had a small net, and was trying to coax some fish into it, but failing miserably, yet this didn't stop him. She was sitting on a conveniently placed bench by the waters edge, with Elizabeth in her arms. "Leo!" Ginny cried out suddenly, as he almost fell into the water, "be careful," she breathed out in a relieved voice to see him unfazed by the shock that he had given her.

When she had woken up that morning, she could see that Tom was distracted by something, and she supposed it must be something to do with Lucius Malfoy's visit the day before. Ginny hadn't pressed on the matter, and decided to wait until Tom told her; that's if he ever would.

"Mummy, look!" she heard Leo call out, and she looked up to see him holding his net triumphantly. "Fishy!"

"Well done, baby," she said appraisingly, and Leo smiled widely at this praise.

"Yes, very well done, indeed." Ginny turned quickly to see Tom standing some metres away, his hands in his trouser pockets as he looked at his son. And how Leo swelled with happiness at that.

"You have to let him back in the water now, Leo," Ginny told him gently.

"Why?"

"Because he'll die if you keep him out of water for too long," she explained, feeling a bit sorry for him, to see him dump the fish back into the Lake, with an "ohh". All the same, Leo continued to look for more, further along the bank.

"I see the boy has finally achieved something," Tom muttered, as he stood beside Ginny.

"He has many years to achieve things," Ginny said with a frown. "Why can't you be nice to him?"

He looked down at her, his face giving away no emotion whatsoever, yet Ginny still searched for something, something to explain why he was like that. "I'm not nasty to him," he replied, "how am I supposed to be either to him, when I can't understand a word he says?"

"You could at least spend time with him," Ginny said quietly, turning away from Tom to look down at Elizabeth, who had made a slight noise in her slumber. "He wants to, he wants to spend time with you, Tom," she looked back up at him, reaching up to touch his arm. "He thinks that you don't like him," she said in a low voice, "that's not nice for a little boy."

"What am I supposed to do?" Tom said in an aggravated voice. "Well? Tell me, Ginevra."

"Teach him magic," she replied, "but don't shout at him, he is very young, and he'll find it hard to understand things. Please."

"He doesn't want to, Ginevra, you said it yourself," Tom muttered. "All he wants to do is mess about."

"That's because he is a child," she explained, "just don't be so… serious about everything. Just teach him small things at first, things he'll find easy to understand. Well," she smiled, "he needs to actually learn how to write." Ginny glanced back at Leo, and smiled to see the small frown forming on his head as he began to grow impatient. "You have to admit, he can be determined, and he does lose his temper rather quickly, not unlike some people I know," she smiled teasingly.

"We'll try it for a week, and if doesn't make any progress whatsoever, then it'll be left at that," Tom said firmly. "I can't afford to waste time now…."

Ginny looked back up at him with a curious expression. "Why not?"

He stared down at her, the words of the letter racing though his mind, the words about the wards, his impeccable wards, or was they impeccable? He sighed, knowing he couldn't let some cheap attempt at riling him up get to him. "Not now, Ginny," he said quietly. "I can't tell you right now."

Ginny stood up, knowing now was probably the appropriate time to appear concerned, she couldn't let him get suspicious of her, or wonder whether she wasn't as loyal as he thought she was. However, what she didn't know was that Tom had already been thinking this some hours ago, that was why he had come outside, he wanted to get some reassurance from her, to falsify the letters' assumption. And he was going to get just that.

She tiptoed to kiss him on the lips. "It'll be all right," she said softly. "Whatever it is, you'll sort it out, you always do," she looked down at Elizabeth, who had awoken at the sound of her parents' voices, and was now playing with her mothers long wavy hair. Ginny then smiled up at him. "You aren't going away again tonight, are you?"

He stared down at her for a moment, and then smirked. "No, my princess, nothing shall distract me away from you, not tonight…."

"I certainly hope not," she said in a low voice, before he bent to kiss her. "Did you want to tell me something? Is that why you came outside?" Ginny questioned when he had finished kissing her.

"Yes, I did, as a matter of fact," he replied. "I came to tell you that you can visit your brother tomorrow, it seems that some training was not necessary in the end."

"Why?"

"Because they knew most of it anyway," he shrugged, "and your brother, he isn't as innocent as we thought – he knows some very basic Dark magic, Ginny."

"Yes, I know," she said offhandedly.

Tom smirked again, and kissed Ginny once more before he left her, and returned inside to mull over that letter again. What could the writer possibly mean by Ginny? How did he know anything about Ginny? Perhaps Dumbledore… but, no, he had killed him himself, so it was impossible…. He didn't care about what the writer knew about him, Tom just wanted Ginny left alone; Ginny was all he really cared about, her and his children. That's what irked him even more, the part about keeping an eye on Leo.

All this wasteful thinking was getting him nowhere, and Tom couldn't wait for the night to come, since he could just forget about this letter for a while. Sometimes he wondered whether Ginny was just acting, playing a part of dutiful mother and obedient wife. She hadn't wanted to come back with him, he remembered, she only came back to save her brother, and her mudblood friend. He wondered whether she really did love him; it was logical that she should love him, because he was the father of her children, but Tom knew that he was not very smart on the subject of love.

If he hadn't been nasty to her in the beginning, then maybe things would have been different. Tom shook his head, and told himself that it didn't matter whether she was acting or not, because he knew he would keep her either way.

Tom knew that Ginny was his weakness, and he resented her once before for this, but now he didn't care, because he knew he could keep her safe. He hoped he could keep her safe.

The sound of dripping was an evident sound in the steamy room; it was full of vials of different coloured substances; some friendly, and some deadly. The occupant of this room had become a recluse, not that he had really ever welcomed company before, but now he was entirely on his own. He was forgotten. Yet, this gave him an advantage. An advantage at revenge, a chance to live life freely without the feeling of penitence.

Now, all his life consisted of was avenging himself, for he had the power to do as he pleased. Ever since he had become forgotten, he really could do as he pleased. No one watched his movements, no one sent him letters, and this was because no one wanted to be associated with a traitor.

All he had were his vials of different coloured substances; some friendly, and some deadly. That, and ink and parchment.

Ginny gave a satisfied smile as Tom stroked her hair; she was laying atop him at his request from earlier on, and Ginny had to admit, with a certain amount of irritation, that it had been good. Sometimes she forgot how strong Tom was, due to his slender figure, so when he did show his strength, it always surprised her, just like he had done so earlier on. With her head resting upon his chest, she could feel his equally unsteady heartbeat, and she wondered if he could feel hers, not that it mattered much.

And so, they laid there in silence. Tom absentmindedly stroking Ginny's head, and Ginny beginning to kiss his chest lazily, without knowing why.

"You want to go, again?" he drawled.

She looked up at him, her eyebrow raised. "That sounds so romantic," she answered sarcastically.

He chuckled, and grinned down at her. "Would you like it if I asked again, rephrasing it to your taste?"

"Yes," she replied, "that is no way to ask a Lady."

"As you wish," he murmured. She gasped as he grabbed her waist, and rolled over, with her legs still parted. He pushed himself away from her as he leant on his arm, only to lean back in to kiss her neck. Ginny sighed, and placed a hand on his back. "Would the lovely Lady object to my making love to her again?" he said in a husky voice, as he caressed her breast.

"That's better," she whispered. "And, no, I wouldn't object."

"Thank Merlin…" he mumbled, and he pushed inside her for the second time that night, and Tom couldn't believe his luck at finding Ginny so willing, and ready. There she was, sighing his name over and over, crying out with joy, and moving perfectly with him. He could do this to her all night….

Ginny couldn't believe she was letting him do this to her for a second time. Usually she pretended she was tired, and sometimes she didn't even have to pretend. But, her mind whispered, she liked it. She liked every second of it.

"Kiss me," she pleaded suddenly, and her needs were met with swiftly, as Tom's lips met hers with ferocity. She gripped his shoulder, her nails digging into his skin, as her other ran up his chest, and around his neck to settle on the back of his head, her fingers tangling themselves in his short black locks. "Oh, Tommy…" she moaned as he pushed deeper, "you feel wonderful…."

He continued to kiss her in reply, those words making him want to be inside her as much as possible. And, had she called him 'Tommy'? His mind wondered vaguely. It didn't matter what she had called him, now he only cared about finishing what he had started, like an animalistic instinct had taken over him. Tom wanted her to be full of him, so that no one else could ever be good enough for her, so no one else could satisfy her.

"I could do… this to you forever," he said in a low voice, before he bit, and kissed her neck gently.

"I don't think… I could last that long…" she replied, stroking his hair. And, without warning, she arched up against him, moaning his name and Tom watched with satisfaction since it had been he who had caused her body to do that. It wasn't long after Ginny, that Tom came inside her, growling her name.

Breathing heavily, Tom rested above her, his face in the crook of her neck, listening to her heavy breathing. "You're so beautiful, princess," he said quietly.

She smiled softly, and reached up to touch his cheek, kissing him as she did so. Ginny could understand her reaction to him now, it was only because the feeling of euphoria was caused by him that she felt the need to be complacent to him in this way. That was all.

"Ginny…" she heard Tom say, "listen; I know I said otherwise, but I want you to have another child." He pushed himself up, to look at her reaction.

"I'd rather wait until Lizzy is a bit older," she replied, "I won't be able to look after her properly if I become pregnant again."

"I'm not an attractive piece of furniture, Ginny," he muttered, "I can actually do things. I'll help you, and in case you've forgotten again, we do have a Nanny."

"Yes, I know, but can't we just wait a few more months? I'm not ready yet."

"I suppose a few months…."

The next morning, after Tom said he was going to teach Leo how to write that very day, Ginny instructed Leo to try and remember everything about the room, and eventually she would get him to find out if Tom uses a key, or locks the room magically when he learns the difference.

Before Leo's lesson, Tom had given out his orders to the carriage drivers to take Ginny to where Ron and Hermione were staying. So, whilst Tom was spending time with Leo, and the Nanny was put to use by looking after Elizabeth, Ginny went to visit the two of them.

When the carriage pulled up outside of the house, Ginny realised that Tom must have wanted them to be kept close, as the journey hadn't lasted very long. The house looked normal, four windows at the front, and a little pathway leading to the front door. Ginny walked up the path, flanked by two burly-looking bodyguards that Tom had insisted go with her. They knocked on the door for her.

It was opened by an important-looking ghost, who must have been a butler when he was living. "Could you two just wait in the hallway?"

"Ginny!" she heard a gasp, and she felt herself being lifted off the ground by a strong force. It was Ron. "I haven't seen you in such a long time."

"I know…" she said quietly, "but I'm here now."

"Hermione!" Ron shouted. "Ginny's here!"

The sound of light footsteps coming from the staircase made Ginny turn her attention towards there. "Hello, Ginny," Hermione said gently, "we were wondering when you would be allowed to come." Ginny frowned, something seemed so… false about the two of them, their mouths were smiling, but their eyes looked dead.

"Look, I've come to ask about the Contract," she said bluntly.

Ron's smile faded, and he sat down with a soft thump. "We can't discuss certain things," he explained. "We can't betray our Master's trust."

Ginny stared wide-eyed at him, she knew it was the Contract speaking, but it just sounded so weird coming from Ron's mouth, of all people. "I know the terms, he showed it to me. I just want to know why you signed it. Hermione, you said you planned a resistance, how is that possible? There are no loopholes in this Contract, it's not like your everyday, average contract."

"Precisely, it's a magical contract, and there are ways of getting around magic, there always is," she said conversationally, as if trying to hint something at Ginny. "Before we signed the Contact, we were given a few hours to think about our options. We didn't want to die, Ginny, you saved us, and we wouldn't want to spite the sacrifice you made, so we had to sign the Contract."

"We did it for you, Ginny," Ron explained.

"But, you are going to become Death Eaters, don't you understand that?"

"At least we aren't dead, Ginny," Ron pointed out, "you would be left alone if we hadn't signed."

"Anyway," Hermione continued, "as I was saying, before we signed, we had access to ink and parchment, and many books," she added the last part quickly. "So, we gather that we were in the Library, because I wrote some things down, and put the meaningless notes in a book called 'Immortality: The Road to Eternity'. It was interesting, that's why I left my pointless notes in it."

Ginny blinked. "Hermione, you are making no sense whatsoever…" she thanked the ghost butler for the tea that he had just bought in, and she sat down.

"Before we signed the Contract, we could say what we wanted, I wrote down some unimportant notes, that you may not want to read, do you catch my drift?"

Ginny stared blankly at Hermione, then turned to Ron, who surprisingly seemed to understand what Hermione was saying, his eyes seeming to be desperate for Ginny to comprehend what her friend was trying to hint to her. "Uhh…" she started, then slowly came to the conclusion. "What was the name of the book? I think I shall read it," she smirked.

Hermione breathed out a sigh of relief, along with Ron. "It's called 'Immortality: The Road to Eternity."

"OK, it sounds so good, that I must go and read it this instant," Ginny stated. "since Tom is distracted at this very moment."

"That's a good idea," Ron muttered, a slight grimace showing through his eyes at the mention of Tom's name. It seemed thoughts were immune from the Contract. "See you later, Ginny, don't get into trouble. If anyone hurts you… well, you know."

Ginny smiled, and hugged her brother for the longest time, she needed to save them again, and she was going to do anything to make sure that they were all safe. If Tom were to be defeated, she didn't want to be alone in the world, with just Leo, and Elizabeth. She needed Ron, and Hermione.

Ginny rushed into the manor, and threw herself up the marble staircase, trying to get to Library as quickly as possible. She passed Tom's study very quietly, and peeked through the keyhole, Tom, and Leo were still in there. She almost let out a whoop of joy, but continued on her way to Library.

Once she reached it, she went straight to the section of Dark magic, and went to 'I', as books were alphabetically sorted by the title of the book. After a while of searching, as there were many books with the title 'Immortality' at the forefront, she finally found the one she was looking for; holding it by it's bindings, she shook it gently, and nearly screamed with happiness as a piece of parchment floated down to the wooden-polished floor. Ginny snapped the book shut, shoving it back in its place before picking up the parchment.

Unfolding it slowly, she checked the name at the bottom; Hermione, it read. This was definitely it. And, with that, she began at the top of the parchment, seeing the letter was rather long.

To Ginny….

A/N: Ooohh, cliffie! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. In the next one the contents of the letter is revealed, Ginny has another weird dream, Tom tries persuading Ginny to have another baby again (you try giving birth, you insensitive git, LOL), he also finds another letter from our anonymous writer, and a few other things will be happening. Those of which I won't give any details. Now, show your appreciation, and review, baby!

Motherlyclucker: I am glad that I am converting you….

Smileenov and riah riddle: All shall be revealed at some point in the story when something goes very wrong for Tom and Ginny.

Thanks for all your reviews.