"I know you,
I walked with you once upon a dream,
I know you,
The gleam in your eyes is so familiar a gleam,"
Ginny sings the sweet song from the Muggle 'moo-vee', Sleeping Beauty, Hermione had shown her two Christmases ago. As she sings she works outside, hanging laundry by hand and wishing she were a year in the future, at the age of seventeen, so she could magic it all dry. But all the same, she enjoys the time she has to herself, away from bickering brothers and preaching mothers.
"Yet I know its true,
That visions are seldom as they seem,
But if I know you I know what you'll do,
You'll love me at once,
The way you did once upon a dream"
She hangs and pins yet another garment on the clothes line, singing and humming to herself as she works. She bends down picks up another piece of clothing from the basket at her feet and repeats the action.
The dream that plagued her almost a week ago is far from her mind as she works sings.
She finishes pinning up the last of the basket's contents and steps back, checking over her work. Feeling wholly satisfied with it, she picks the empty wicker-basket up, drops it in the house, and makes her way back outside.
***
She smiles, feeling the sun's warm rays on her face, and makes her way over to a particularly large oak tree with a wooden swing hanging from the thickest branch by two fraying pieces of rope. She does a twirl or two on her way to the aging tree and swing, thinking over what a good day it had been.
She woke that morning in a wonderful mood, had a marvelous breakfast of eggs, bacon, and porridge (Compliments of Mum), and then, as if things couldn't have gotten better, all of her brothers had business that would keep them out all of the day.
She has the Burrow to herself now, as her father is at work and her mum is running errands at the moment.
She feels like she has swallowed an entire vile of Liquid Luck.
She sits down on the wooden plank and swings lightly, kicking her legs and watching the large white clouds drift in the sky.
***
"Ginny," she hears her voice being called from the kitchen and sighs a deep, heavy sigh. Her family is home.
"Coming," she calls back, and with great effort, lifts herself from the swing's wooden seat and makes her way up to the Burrow.
***
The first thing Ginny sees, entering the back kitchen entrance, is her mother bustling about the small kitchen, moving old and worn pots and pans, looking as though she were preparing dinner for twenty people instead of six. Her mother ushers her immediately to sit at the table, where Ron and the twins, Fred and George, were arguing over Quidditch.
"I'm telling you, Waypley is taking the Wooden Wallabies to the top," Ron says to his brothers.
" Shut your mouth," the twins chorus.
"Hush now, boys," Molly scolds lightly from behind Ginny. "Your father'll be home any minute."
As if on cue, Ginny sees, through the open door near her, one hands on the odd clock that sits in the sitting room move. The hand marked 'Arthur' with a small picture of her father is moving slowly from 'Traveling' to 'Home'. Not a minute later, a burst of green flames erupt in the sitting room fireplace and Arthur Weasley steps through, the green flames licking at his clothing and skin.
"Hullo. Everybody," Arthur calls. He is answered by great shouts of 'Hullo', 'Where you been, Dad?', and 'Arthur, welcome home!' from the occupants of the kitchen. He rushes into the afore mentioned room and sits at the head of the long table after pecking his wife on the cheek. He then tells everybody about every aspect of his day at the Ministry; all about whose cubicle was set aflame, how So-and-So Splinched herself on her way to work, leaving her right foot behind, and when he was completely accosted by the head of his department and blamed for the rampaging Muggle children's toy that was enchanted to bite hands and breathe fire. "You enchant a Ford Anglia one time- one!- and all of a sudden…" he was interrupted by many bouts of laughter, Ginny's not excluded.
The house is small and warm and homey and absolutely perfect right now and Ginny loves it.
"Alright," Mrs. Weasley calls, "Dinner's on," and six large plates, all piled high with meats, vegetables, potatoes, and rolls, levitate themselves onto the table, guided by Mrs. Weasley's wand. Everyone smiles become just a little bit wider at the sight of the delicious cooking placed in front of them, and they start to pile their plates high with food.
***
Dinner is all said and done now, and the dishes are being cleared by Ginny (As it is her turn tonight) as Mr. and Mrs. Weasley chat at the table, and her brothers are back into a heated argument over Quidditch. Ginny sings the Muggle tune from the 'moo-vee' once again under her breath as she moves the dishes from the table to the sink.
"I know you,
I walked with you once upon a dream,"
She takes another dish, riddled with scraps of food and crumbs, from the table.
"I know you,
The gleam in your eyes is so familiar a gleam,"
And another. She smiles at her parents.
"Yet I know its true,
That visions are seldom as they seem,"
And another. She giggles at Fred when he mimes choking Ron.
"But if I know you,
I know what you'll do,"
She takes the last dish few remaining dishes and piles them into her arms.
"You'll love me at once,
The way you did once upon a dre-"
Crash! The dishes in Ginny's arms fall to the floor, scattering glass and food everywhere. She stares at a spot on the table, her mouth open in horror, in a scream that will never come. Her eyes are wide with fear as she looks on at the table.
There, resting on the table is a black book. A black book that, although it is closed, Ginny knows has no words in it. She knows this because it is not just any book sitting on her kitchen table. It is a small black book with horribly ugly golden words inscribed on the front that read:
'Tom Marvolo Riddle.'
It is Tom's diary, his diary, that sits on her kitchen table, in her home, dirty and filthy and covered in ink, so much ink, dripping from every page, and it is laughing at her, it is, and-
"Ginny!" a far away voice calls, snapping her from the horrific scene before her. It is her mother, her mother Molly Weasley, who is there and is worried for her daughter. The rest of the family stares on at Ginny in shock. "Ginny, darling, what's the matter?" her mother's tone is gentle and loving and worried and not scared at all, like Ginny's would be if she could speak at all.
'"What's wrong?"' Ginny thinks. 'Can't she see it? Can't she-" but she can't. She can't because Ginny looks back for it and it isn't there and she doesn't think it ever was. Ginny looks all around her. What is there is broken plate shards all around her.
"Nothing, Mum," Ginny answers, regaining her voice. She must pretend. She must not worry anyone. It is just her imagination. "Just…thought I saw a rat is all."
A/N: Ha HA! You thought I wouldn't do it, but I DID! I updated and its NOT a one-shot, and I LOVE writing this story. Thanks to all the reviewers, NovemberDreamer, DiagonAlleyParis, and springawakening1894. And to all those who read and added the story to their Watch List or Favorites! Loves to you all! Updates to come soon, God of Quill and Ink willing!