It was like the beginning to a very funny joke; an Auror, a dead man, a banshee, and an old witch are all in a bookshop, and the Auror says… Sirius chuckled.
"Keira, Madam Wolple, this is Quirrell." Sirius waved at the gaunt man standing in the doorway, who was staring at the hairs on Madam Wolple's chin until he noticed Kiera.
"You're a- she's a banshee," Quirrell said, turning to Sirius.
"And you're a manipulative, murderering, ex-servant of Voldemort's," Sirius said. "I might not be a Ravenclaw, but I don't need to be, to work out who the real monster is." Quirrell, surprisingly, lowered his gaze and fell silent.
"It's a pleasure to meet you both," he said quietly.
"He wears a second face," Keira said, cocking her head to one side. "Are you aware?"
"Yeah, he'd be recognisable, otherwise, and the story is that he's dead, so-"
"I have never worked with a dead man before." Keira smiled her odd smile at Sirius, and then her eyes landed on Quirrell. "Do I make you uncomfortable?" Keira asked, gliding forward.
"Yes," Quirrell said, flinching.
"Hmm." Keira glanced quickly at Sirius and then back at Quirrell. "We will work on that."
"Keira, leave the poor boy alone," Madam Wolple said, clicking her tongue. Keira tossed her long hair over her shoulder, seeming disappointed, but retreated back to where Sirius was standing.
"How is young Harry?" Keira asked. "I worry for him."
"Don't we all?" Sirius asked, rubbing his chin.
"That awful man is at the school with him. I saw the paper."
"Who?" Sirius asked sharply.
"Gilderoy," Keira said scornfully, putting her nose in the air. Madam Wolple – who was talking to Quirrell about his new job – glanced over and shook her head. Keira sighed.
"Oh, Lockhart," Sirius said. "Yeah, he's a bit of a git."
"There are so many tales I could tell about horrible Gilderoy." Keira's green hands clenched. "Maybe I could send him away from his home-"
"Keira, why don't you go and show Quirinus where we keep our stock," Madam Wolple said, shuffling over. Kiera gave Quirrell a look, and swept away, leaving him no choice but to shuffle after her. Any worries that Sirius had had about Kiera and Madam Wolple being able to handle Quirrell vanished at once. "And I think we've kept you long enough, Auror Black. Surely you've got more important things to do than help old women staff their businesses." She smiled at him, revealing missing teeth. Those that were there were yellow and cracked.
"Let me know if he's any trouble at all," Sirius said, tilting his head at the back door. Madam Wolple waved a hand at him, and went to talk to a warlock that was lurking between two bookshelves. Sirius left the shop, and checked his Sidekick.
Excellent, he thought; he still had fifteen minutes until he'd arranged to meet Marlene for lunch, so he had time to get them a nice table in the sun, and pay for it all ahead of time, before she could make a fuss about wanting to pay her part.
Ginny drew her wand and pressed her back against the nearest wall. It was cold stone, and did nothing to calm her down. One minute, she'd been sitting on her bed in her first year, Gryffindor dormitory, talking to Tom, and now she was... well, somewhere vastly different.
The entire room had a strange, eerie green glow about it, and the couches were sleek black leather, rather than the comfy red chintz or worn fabric she'd been used to all her life. A Slytherin banner dangled on the wall opposite her, and she wondered if she was somehow, in the Slytherin common room. Ginny fancied herself a fairly independent girl, and not someone that needed taking care of, but right now, she'd give her wand for any of her brothers, or even Harry or Draco or Hermione to come and help her.
"Hello?" she squeaked, and the wall she was leaning against rumbled. She hurried out of the way, wand raised in the direction of the wall, which slid open to reveal three boys. Two didn't even glance her way; they headed straight for the couches talking about some sort of curse. The third, though, paused when he saw her, the small, scared Gryffindor. She watched him warily; he was about Percy's age, with a Prefect pin on his robes, so she though he might be trustworthy, and he didn't look mean. He was quite handsome, in a dark, mysterious sort of way.
"Excuse me," she said, when he just stood there, watching her wand with what might have been amusement. "Where am I?" The boy smiled rather charmingly, and took a step toward her. Ginny did her best not to flinch.
"You must be Ginny," he said. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person." Ginny just stared at him, and after a while, the boy smiled again. "Silly of me," he said, "forgetting to introduce myself. My name is Tom Riddle." He held his hand out to her, but Ginny didn't take it. She stuffed her wand back into her robes, and folded her arms, the way Mum did when she was angry.
"Fred," she said loudly, "George, this isn't funny!" Tom just watched her with his dark eyes. "Ron?" she asked, when no tell-tale snigger gave her brothers away. "If you don't stop this right now, I'll hex you both, and I'll tell Percy and he'll write to Mum-"
"I assure you, Ginny, I'm quite real," Tom said. He crouched down to her eyelevel, and while it would ordinarily have annoyed Ginny, she appreciated it. His hand still hung in the air between them, and Ginny, figuring she had nothing to lose, shook it. Tom kissed her knuckles and then stood and put a friendly arm around her shoulders.
"Where am I?" she asked again.
"In the Slytherin common room," Tom said, gesturing around. A few other students had returned from classes and started to fill the room, but they either couldn't see Ginny, or were ignoring her. With Slytherins, it was hard to be sure.
"But- how- I was in my-"
"Dormitory," Tom supplied. "Writing to me." He smiled charmingly again, and Ginny felt some of her worry fade; Tom was her friend, and he'd certainly look after her until she got back to her dorm. "This is my project, Ginny. Do you like it?"
"This is where you live?" she asked. Next to one of the armchairs, she could see a very familiar diary, and ducked out from under Tom's arm to go and see it.
"Don't touch it," Tom said sharply. Ginny yanked her hand back at once. Never, in all their writings, had she thought Tom could sound like that.
"Sorry," she said in a small voice.
"I didn't mean to offend you," Tom said, sweeping over to put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm just very protective of my diary. It's my only link to the outside, to you. I'd be upset if something were to happen to it."
"I always thought the diary was just a book with a hidden brain," Ginny said. "But you're actually real, aren't you?"
"Oh, yes," Tom said. He curled a lock of her hair around his finger. "I'm quite real."
"So how did you get in here?"
"It's not a happy story," Tom said. He released her and stepped away.
"I want to know."
"My sweet, brave Ginny," Tom said. Ginny didn't look at him, because then he'd see her blushing. Tom seated himself in one of the armchairs. "Very well. When I was sixteen, there were- bad things were happening here at the school. There was a monster on the loose, you see, and a girl died, and they were going to close Hogwarts." Ginny looked at the other, oblivious people in the common room, and at how quiet and scared they all seemed.
"That's horrible! What happened?"
"I caught the person responsible." Tom looked away. "He never meant to hurt anyone, but I couldn't just stand by. I was a Prefect, and I was responsible for keeping the students safe. I couldn't do nothing." Tom turned back at her, his dark eyes very bright. "He was expelled, and I was given an award, by the school."
"If someone died, though… I think you did the right thing," Ginny said slowly, sitting down on a leather footrest.
"Thank you," Tom said. "After that, however, I was too smart. I, after all, had discovered the monster and its owner before even the teachers. And I was a good student." Tom glanced at his diary. "Top of all my classes, and, particularly after the monster event, trusted. One of my classmates, and heir to the Slytherin line, used very dark magic to trap me in this diary one night. He'd killed his father-" Tom's handsome face was disgusted for a moment. "-and feared that I'd be the one to uncover it."
"How awful," Ginny whispered. She looked around the common room, frightened. "Is he here now?"
"They're just memories," Tom said, waving a hand at the people scattered around the room. "And no, as I have no desire to remember him, he's not here."
"You can do that?"
"I managed to bring you here, didn't I?" Tom asked, smiling at her.
"I can get out, though, right?"
"Of course, Ginny. I was desperate to meet you, but not so selfish that I'd trap you here with me, just for your company." He smiled again. "I won't say I wasn't tempted, though. You're very intriguing."
Blushing again, Ginny asked, "But there isn't a way out for you? I could take you to Dumbledore-"
"You said he was the Headmaster, now?" Tom asked. Ginny nodded.
"And he's brilliant. The greatest wizard ever, or that's what everyone says."
"Is that so?" Tom's expression was perfectly smooth. "The greatest ever? Dumbledore has talent, don't get me wrong, but when I was here, he taught me Transfiguration, and always seemed… well, a bit odd."
"He defeated Grindelwald," Ginny said. Tom looked impressed despite himself. "And Mum said he was involved in the war against You-Know-Who-"
"Of course," Tom said, frowning. "But what about the Potter boy you're always talking about? Surely, if he defeated this Lord V-"
"Don't say it!" Ginny said, shaking her head at him.
"My apologies; this Wizard-We-Won't-Name… then shouldn't he be the greatest-"
"Harry's only a year older than me," Ginny said, laughing. "He's brilliant, so good and brave, but- well, he's just Harry. He doesn't know how he defeated You-Know-Who when he was a baby, and last year he had the others to help him for some of it-"
"I beg your pardon?" Tom had gone perfectly still. "Last year?"
"You-Know-Who was after the Philosopher's Stone," Ginny said, scowling. "A man named Quirrell was disguised as a first year, and You-Know-Who was possessing him. But Harry and Ron and Hermione and Draco worked it out, and stopped him."
"This You-Know-Who sounds like a joke," Tom said. "Defeated by four first years?" He scoffed, and then glanced at Ginny. "You seem to talk about Harry Potter a lot, though." This time, his smile was sly, and Ginny found herself blushing again. "Do you fancy him, Ginny?"
"No!" Ginny protested. "Well, maybe, I don't know." She held her hands to her cheeks so he wouldn't be able to see how red they were. "How do you even know if you fancy someone, Tom?"
Now Tom was blushing – and his skin was so pale that it was very obvious - and looked uncomfortable, but he said in a stiff voice, "Well, why- uh- How about you tell me about him, and I'll tell you if it sounds like you do."
"You won't laugh at me?" Ginny asked warily. Bill had once offered to talk to her about boys, after Ron told him that Ginny fancied David, a muggle boy in the village near home. She'd been four and he'd given her a strawberry, and by the time Mum had come back, she and David had decided they'd get married one day. When she told Bill about it, Bill had laughed so hard that Ginny was too embarrassed to ever go back to the markets to see him.
"I would never laugh at you, Ginny," Tom said. He'd regained his composure, and looked very serious.
"Well, I think I used to fancy him," Ginny said. "Because Mum always told stories about him. And maybe if I'd never met him until Ron brought him home one day, then I might have just listened to the stories, but we did meet him, and he was so normal. Even though he's famous, he shared his biscuits and played cards with us, and he's so nice that I think I might still like him sometimes." Ginny frowned thoughtfully. "He never ignores me like my brothers sometimes do, and never seems to care that I'm the youngest or that I'm a girl… but then other times he talks with his mouth full, like Ron, or I hear him laughing about Percy with the twins and he's just another silly boy."
"Interesting." Tom spoke with such a straight face that Ginny wasn't sure if he was teasing her or not. "I asked," he assured her. Ginny, afraid that she'd made him uncomfortable, tried to think of something else to talk about.
"Did you ever fancy someone, Tom?" she asked.
"No," Tom said.
"Not ever?" she asked.
"Never," Tom said, rather curtly. Ginny felt her face fall. "They were all very giggly, and not very clever," he said. "And those that were clever didn't like me very much." Ginny cocked her head, frowning. "They were jealous," Tom said.
"How sad," Ginny said, stifling a yawn.
"Are you tired?" Tom asked at once. "I'm so sorry, I've kept you here too long."
"No, it's-"
"I don't want you to be tired and get in trouble with your teachers, Ginny," Tom said. "Then you'll be in detention, instead of able to come and visit me again." Ginny nodded slowly, and as soon as she did, the Slytherin common room started to waver, and she found herself lying back on her bed, with the diary open by her hand. She blinked and rubbed her eyes. She didn't feel like she'd been visiting Tom, she felt like she'd been sleeping. Her eyes fluttered shut, but she forced one open so she could see where the diary was, and move it, and find her way under her covers.
Good night, Ginny, Tom wrote. Ginny smiled into her pillow, already fast asleep.
"I don't suppose you knew?" Harry asked, flopping down to lunch on Saturday, after a four hour Quiddich practice. Hermione sniffed and edged away from Harry, who hadn't had time to shower yet. "Sorry," he told her.
"Knew what?" Draco asked.
"Your brother's the new Slytherin Seeker," Harry said.
"You're joking!" Ron said. "How'd that git- sorry, Malfoy, but he is – get onto the team?"
"He's got a Nimbus 2001," Harry said. Ron whistled. "He must have outflown Higgs at tryouts." Harry was a little sad about that. He'd played Higgs twice (admittedly, one of those times, he'd been Confunded) and Higgs was a decent player, and not as prone to fouling as the rest of the Slytherin team.
"He and Father were practicing all summer." Draco's eyes flicked to the Slytherin table, despite the fact that Hydrus and the rest of the team were still out on the pitch.
"And you didn't say anything?" Ron looked at Draco like he was mad.
"I didn't think you'd particularly care what my brother did over the holidays," Draco said.
"But- this is Quidditch-" Hermione snorted.
"I really didn't think it was important," Draco said, shrugging. "Potter can probably still fly circles around him anyway."
"But we don't know that," Ron pressed. Harry sighed and poured himself a goblet of pumpkin juice, as Draco bristled and began, very sarcastically, to apologise. Ron's ears were growing steadily redder, and Harry knew the pair of them would be bickering for a while.
"Honestly," Hermione muttered, and then smiled. "Have you just got out of bed?"
"Morning, Mum," Ginny said, scowling. "Didn't think I'd be seeing you until Christmas. Have you done something different with your hair?" Colin, who was bouncing alongside Ginny, laughed and sat down next to Harry, while Hermione pursed her lips and moved over for Ginny.
"Are those your Quiddich robes, Harry?" Colin asked. "Are they very different from what the other Houses have? Would you mind if I got a photo of them later?" Harry, who still felt bad about how upset Colin had been after the whole camera-fish incident, nodded. "Brilliant, thank you!"
"No problem," Harry muttered. "Sandwich?"
"Thanks, Harry!"
"-library this afternoon, if anyone would like to come with me," Hermione was saying. It seemed the word library had recaptured Ron's attention, as well.
"Again?" he asked, turning away from Draco. "You've spent the whole morning there!"
"And I've nearly finished that essay Professor Snape gave us," Hermione said. "I don't suppose you've even started."
"No," Ron agreed. "Harry and I are going to do that tonight."
"I thought we were going to re-write the letters to Lockhart tonight," Harry said. Snape had drafted them that week, and sent them back to Gryffindor with Draco one night.
"Oh, yeah," Ron said. He shrugged. "Well, Potions tomorrow, then." Hermione snorted and left for the library a few minutes later, with both Draco and Ginny in tow, while Harry and Ron joined Neville, Seamus and Dean, who were heading up to the common room to play Exploding Snap, and even managed to coax Colin into putting his camera down and actually playing a few rounds.
Eventually, Harry and Ron did settle into working on their letters. Fred and George hovered over their shoulders for half the time, reading bits and pieces and laughing and teasing them, until Percy marched over, thrust a piece of parchment and a quill at them and told them Mrs Weasley wanted to hear from them.
Hermione and Draco returned just as Harry and Ron were finishing, and Draco and Ron immediately set up the chessboard, while Hermione read ahead for Transfiguration, and Harry infuriated her by already being able to answer some of the questions she muttered to herself.
Really, he felt guilty. He'd been an Animagus for over half a year, and still hadn't said anything to his friends. He'd meant to, but then had never had the chance, and was now so used to keeping it to himself that he wasn't sure how to broach the topic with everyone.
That train of thought, of course, led to him thinking of all sorts of funny ways that he could reveal his secret, and after he'd chuckled to himself and startled Kirke and Higgs (who were in the armchairs behind his) for the third time, Harry got up to fetch his mirror, so he could have a laugh with Padfoot.