Disclaimer: I still do not own Harry Potter.

Thank you so much to everyone for the awesome reviews! It is true that in canon, possession seemed to erase the memories from Ginny's mind, but I am making it different in my fic. In this, Tom made Ginny perform memory charms on herself to erase the memories.

On another note, one of my reviewers told me that they preferred the original storyline. I am really sorry for changing it, but I find that I simply cannot endure writing it anymore. But I'll tell you what. I still have the original version, and if you really want it, I can send it to you. Just give me your email address and I'll be happy to do it. That goes for anyone else as well.

I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 6: A Painful Conversation

Fred, George, and Ron went downstairs and told the three adults what had happened. "I just said something about Memory Charms and she just ran off!" said Fred.

Mrs. Weasley's face went pale. "Oh dear," she said, frowning deeply.

"What's going on?" said Ron angrily. He desperately wanted to protect his little sister.

"I'm afraid I can't say," said Mrs. Weasley. "If Ginny wants to tell you, she will."

"Oh come on, Mum! She's my sister!" Ron said furiously.

"I know, Ron, but it's her story to tell. I'm going to go check on her. You three stay here. No, Ron, you're not coming too!" she snapped as Ron made to get up. He sat back down, dejected.

Mrs. Weasley went outside and saw Ginny quietly talking with Harry, tears rolling down her cheeks. She was desperate to go to her, but had a feeling Ginny only wanted to talk to Harry now. They needed to bond over this experience, she could just tell. Her mother's instincts, though, told her to keep a lookout. So she stood a little way away from them, watching to see if Ginny needed her.

xxx

"Oh, no," said Harry, everything clicking into place. "Tom Riddle hurt you?"

"Y-yes, and I loved him!" Ginny sobbed.

"What do you mean?" said Harry.

"I was in love with him!" Ginny said brokenly. "When I found the diary in my cauldron, I started writing in it. Tom understood me like nobody else did. I should've been suspicious right from the start, but Tom swept away all my fears. I've always felt the odd one out in the family, being the only girl and everything. The twins always tease me and I know they mean it in good humor, but I just needed someone to talk to! I talk to Ron sometimes, but the first year he went to Hogwarts and I couldn't go, I felt so alone!"

"So what happened?" Harry prompted gently. This girl had a long story to tell, he could just feel it.

"Tom made me feel better," she sniffled. "He became my best friend. Sad, isn't it?" she gave a humorless laugh. "Sad that my best source of comfort was someone in a book. When I got to Hogwarts, we talked more and more. I was so painfully shy I hardly talked to my dorm mates at all. When I'd had a bad day, Tom listened. When I felt down, he cheered me up.

"Then, all of a sudden, this handsome boy started showing up in my dreams. We were in this unknown place, which I found out later was the Chamber of Secrets. He said he was Tom from the diary, and he wanted to meet me in person, so he wanted to communicate with me while I was asleep. I thought it was the most wonderful thing ever; I fantasized about going to sleep at night just to see him again.

"We were best friends at first, or I thought he was my friend. Then I started feeling things I'd never felt for any person before. It took me a while to realize it, but I-I was in love." Tears started to pour out of her eyes again. Harry held her for a moment, waiting patiently for her to go on.

"After that, he was the sweetest boy I ever knew. I know he was sixteen and I was eleven, but I was smitten. I knew not to tell anyone in the real world, because I knew they'd think I was crazy, falling in love with someone who wasn't really real. He told me he was in love with me too, that he'd kiss away all my tears and that he'd give me everything I ever needed. He was so romantic, and so loving. Every night I fell in love with him more. I never really liked the Chamber much, but he said there was nothing he could do about it; he was stuck there. So I was eventually okay with it. I never wanted to awaken from anything that involved him.

"Then, strange things started happening. What was weird was that I could never remember what exactly happened, but I woke up with what I thought was red paint all over my hands and feathers all over my clothes once. I started blacking out and not knowing why on Earth I'd done it. I was so scared, Harry, but Tom told me everything was okay. He looked after me and told me there was nothing to worry about. Oh, I felt so calm and comforted in his presence! I told him about the attacks and the students getting petrified, and I told him my fears that I was the one who'd done it. He promised me that it wasn't anything I did.

"Tom always seemed so depressed all the time. He showed me some of the memories he had of Hogwarts, and how no one understood him either, similar to my situation. He told me of his parentage, and we'd have long, deep, meaningful conversations. He was more human than I'd ever seen anyone be before. He always called me by my full name, as well. "Sweet Ginevra" was his endearing term for me. I'll never forget the night he told me he loved me."

"And then what?" Harry asked softly.

"Then, one day, we got into a fight. He was really depressed that day and started calling me all these nasty names. I'd just told him all about you, and what a hero I thought you were. He didn't react well at all. I remember him saying, "Well, if you want to be with Harry, get the hell away from me, then, you little whelp!" I immediately forced myself awake and the next day, I threw the diary in the girls' toilet. I was hoping he'd get out of my head if I did that. Another reason why I did it was because I was becoming more and more suspicious about the attacks. I was really starting to think it was me who was carrying them out.

"A few days later, I was missing him like crazy. I was so stupid, Harry, such a lovesick idiot! I wanted him back! I'd convinced myself again and again over those days that it couldn't possibly be me who was attacking people, and Tom couldn't possibly agree with such actions. So I went through your room, grabbed the diary, and took off.

"Everything was fine between Tom and I again. He was so sorry for hurting me verbally, and promised he'd never do it again. Things went on as normal, or as normal as Hogwarts ever was that year. Then, one day, Tom told me he wanted to see me. I was writing to him, and I found this very strange. It was during the day, and we usually met at night. Stupidly, I agreed, and I blacked out for a moment.

"When I woke up I was down in the Chamber. I remember now that he made me write a farewell message on the wall, and I struggled and cried. But at that time, he'd made me forget about it. Anyway, when I woke up in the chamber, he was looking especially handsome that evening, and we started kissing," she said, her cheeks flushing a tomato red. "Then he said, "I have to tell you something." "What is it, Tom?" I asked. He took my hand, looked right in my eyes and said, "I want to keep you down here with me forever, sweet Ginevra Molly Weasley." I told him I loved him but I needed to be with my family, and if we could keep doing what we'd been doing for months, I would be happy. "But I want you to stay with me!" he said, "and Tom Riddle always gets what he wants!"

"I tried to plead with him, tell him that I loved him but I just wasn't prepared to go that far with him. He got really angry and threw me onto the floor. Oh, Harry, it was horrible! He got right in my face and h-he told me e-everything. He t-told me how I'd b-been attacking everyone all y-year and that I was just a stupid little b-bitch for falling for him. He told me he was the Dark l-Lord and that he was g-going to kill you too, and k-kill my entire f-family. He said I was just a lovesick little bitch who d-didn't understand anything about anything. He told me that he didn't love me and never had, that this was the Ch-Chamber of Secrets, that after he got what he wanted from me I was going to die. Then he said that if I'd survived he'd have p-pitied the man who wanted to marry me!" she sobbed. "Then he banged my head against the floor, swearing at me the entire time. After it was over he threw me roughly against the wall and I started to feel really lightheaded and weird. He said I was a waste of time and I was just a stupid little girl. And then I blacked out. Merlin, I'm so stupid! I fell for You-Know-Who's younger self! How pathetic is that?" She buried her face in Harry's hair and sobbed for all she was worth.

Harry was shocked. He couldn't believe what a monster Tom Riddle was. He couldn't believe he'd done that to a sweet, innocent girl who loved with all her heart. Harry had always felt, at the Dursleys, that no one ever understood him either. "Ginny," he said gently, "you're not stupid and pathetic. I always felt alone too when I was living on Privet Drive. I would have given anything to have a friend like Tom. If he were a girl, I'd have probably fallen for it too." He rubbed her back as she continued to weep. "Gin, it's all right," he soothed. "Shhh, Ginny, it's all right now. I was the one who was stupid; I never paid any attention to you. I was just always hanging around with Ron and Hermione, never seeming to notice anyone else. But I promise that now, I'll be there for you, and I'll never let anyone hurt you again. They'll have to go through me to get to you. I promise you that."

Ginny started crying even harder, and Harry held her close. After a few minutes, her sobs slowed to hiccups, and she lifted her face. "Th-thank you, Harry," she said brokenheartedly. "I never blamed you for any of it, though. It wasn't your fault. You were with your own group of friends, and I could understand that."

"Well, I'm still sorry," Harry said quietly. "But is that okay with you? Would you like to be my friend?"

"Yes, I would," whispered Ginny. They embraced again, and then they saw Mrs. Weasley step out from the shadows.

"It's time to go home, Ginny," she said softly. "Ron, Fred, George, you, and I are going back to the Burrow. Harry, dear," she turned to him, "thank you for listening to my Ginny's story. If anyone can understand what she's gone through with that monster You-Know-Who, it's you."

"No problem, Mrs. Weasley," said Harry. The three of them walked back into the house. Harry then said goodbye to the Weasleys and promised to see them again at, if not before, the Quidditch World Cup.

Sirius and Remus then asked Harry if Ginny was okay, and Harry said she was much better. They told him that he didn't have to tell them what the two had talked about; friends were allowed to talk about things in private. The three spent the rest of the day sharing more stories and playing games together. When Harry went to bed that night, he was thinking of Ginny. He would never let her get hurt again, as he'd promised her. He hated to see anyone else's innocence taken away like his had been.

Within minutes of his head hitting the pillow, he was asleep.

xxx

He was in an old, old house. There was a man in the room, and he was facing something in a chair. Harry couldn't see what the man looked like, he had a mask over his face. He was kneeling before the figure in the chair.

"There is a little more in the bottle, my Lord, if you are still hungry," said a voice. Harry knew it came from the masked man.

"Later, Bartemius, my faithful one," said a high-pitched, cruel voice. Harry knew immediately who it was. Voldemort. "Move me closer to the fire," he demanded.

The man, Bartemius, obeyed without protest.

"Where is Nagini?" said Voldemort.

"I-I do not know, my Lord," said Bartemius nervously. "She is probably exploring the house."

"You will milk her before we retire, Bartemius," said Voldemort commandingly. "The journey has greatly exhausted me."

"How long are we going to stay here, my Lord?"

"About a week. It would be foolish to act before the Quidditch World Cup is over. The plan will proceed as normal if we continue to be vigilant."

"That is sensible, my Lord," said Bartemius.

"Of course it is, you fool," snarled Voldemort. "We don't want any meddlesome Ministry idiots getting wind of it, do we?"

"No, of course not, my Lord."

"Are you sure that Potter is definitely the boy you need?"

Voldemort's face grew furious. "Are you questioning me, Bartemius?" he said menacingly.

"N-No, of c-course not, my L-Lord," Bartemius stuttered.

"Good," said Voldemort. "It will be done with the help of Harry Potter. You can be sure of that. This won't be accomplished without the boy."

"Very well, my Lord."

"I have waited thirteen years for this," said Voldemort quietly. "Thirteen years to get my hands on the brat."

"I am aware of that, my Lord," said Bartemius. "I have relished in the task of nursing my Lord back to health, and I will do all you ask of me."

"Very good," Voldemort purred. "Very, very good."

"I must warn you though, my Lord," Bartemius said bravely, "that the disappearance of Bertha Jorkins won't go unnoticed for long."

"I very well know that, Bartemius," Voldemort sneered. "But they will think she just got lost. After all, she's known for being very forgetful, isn't she?"

"Y-Yes, my Lord," Bartemius said. "Very well."

"Fools will be sent out to find her," said Voldemort, "and they never will."

"Exactly, my Lord."

"You did me an honor by capturing her, Bartemius."

"Why thank you, my Lord."

"Ah, yes. I broke the memory charm placed on her by your fool of a father. It would be an insult to her MEMORY not to use the information I extracted from her."

"Indeed, Master."

"Be quiet now," Voldemort whispered. "I think I hear my faithful Nagini."

Sure enough, in slithered a huge snake. It was the biggest snake Harry had ever seen. It made goosebumps run up and down his spine. It started hissing to Voldemort in Parseltongue, and Harry found that he could understand it.

"A Muggle is listening right outside the door."

"Ah, a Muggle," sneered Voldemort. "Bartemius, open the door for our guest."

"Very well, Master," Bartemius said. Dread crept into Harry. The door opened, and in the doorway stood a terrified-looking old man. He was holding a walking stick and looked to be in about his seventies.

"Come in, please, Muggle," Voldemort said softly.

Frank staggered into the room. "I will call the police!" the man said. "Or I will tell my wife to call the police! You sound like you're talking about killing someone! You are a madman!"

"You will address me as Lord Voldemort, Muggle!" Voldemort snarled angrily.

"Well, MY LORD," said the man mockingly, "you don't have very nice manners, do you, calling me a Muggle?"

"ENOUGH!" Voldemort roared. "And you have no wife! Do not try and fool me!"

"Why don't you face me like a man, you monster!" Frank shouted.

"Ah, old fool," Voldemort purred, "I am not a man. I am much, much more than a man. But if you would like, I will turn around and face you. Bartemius, turn my chair around."

Without a word, Bartemius did as he was told.

Harry saw the man look at the thing in the chair and let out an earth-shattering scream. Voldemort pointed his wand at the man, saying, "Avada Kedavra!" A burst of green light shot out of the wand and hit the man directly in the chest. He fell to the ground and did not move again. His eyes were wide open, sightless, staring at nothing. Harry knew he was dead.

His scar then seared in pain, and he sat bolt upright in bed, with a scream.

Sirius and Remus came running into the room. "Harry, what happened?" said Remus. "We were about to fall asleep, and we heard you screaming."

"Are you okay, kiddo?" said Sirius. "Another nightmare?"

"V-Voldemort," stuttered Harry. "He was ... he was with a man called Bartemius ... and they were talking about some plan ... to get their hands on me. He killed an old man ... cast some spell ... and he just fell, dead, to the ground." Harry was shaking all over.

"Bartemius?" said Sirius. "Are you sure, Harry?"

"Yes, that's what the masked man was called," Harry said.

"Well, the only Bartemius I know is Barty Crouch, Sr. and there's no way he's a Death Eater. He's totally against the Dark Arts!"

"His son was into them, though," said Remus. "He was caught for being a Death Eater just after you went to Azkaban."

"I know," said Sirius. "He died there."

"He died in Azkaban?" Harry asked.

"Yeah. I saw the dementors bury him," said Sirius. "That's really strange. Do you remember anything else?"

"Well, he called Bartemius's father a fool," Harry said, racking his brains for anything else. The dream was starting to fade from him. "There's nothing else I can remember."

"We should talk to Albus in the morning, Padfoot," said Remus. "If Harry's somehow got a connection with Voldemort, we need to talk about it."

Harry felt a shiver go down his spine. A connection with Voldemort; that was the last thing he wanted. His two guardians saw the look on his face and tried to reassure him. "It may have just been your imagination running wild, kiddo," said Sirius soothingly.

"But it felt so real," muttered Harry.

"Don't think about it anymore for now, cub," said Remus gently. "Go back to sleep, and we'll talk more about this in the morning."

"Okay," Harry said, lying back down on his pillow. Sirius and Remus tucked him in, and this was the best feeling in the world; he'd never had anyone tuck him in before. They softly said good night and walked out of the room.

Harry didn't get back to sleep for a while. His mind was swimming with thoughts of Ginny, the man named Bartemius, the old man who was now dead, and Voldemort. But finally, his exhausted brain shut down, and sleep eventually claimed him.