It was a few weeks into the new year at Hogwarts, talk of Ron and Harry flying to Hogwarts in the enchanted car had stopped and everyone was getting on with things. I carried on writing in the diary I had found that day after Diagon Alley.
I thought the diary was great, all I wanted to do was talk to Tom. I didn't really talk to many other people, and I only spoke to the girls in my dorm when they asked me questions. I wrote everything I was feeling down to Tom and he helped me through it. I told him all the embarrassing things that I did around Harry, and he told me not to worry about it while telling me about things he had done around people before.
The more time passed, the more I relied on Tom. I didn't see what was happening to me. I'd noticed that Malfoy had been looking at me weirdly whenever he saw me. I put that down to him not liking me because I'm a Weasley. I bumped into him one day on accident, I dropped Tom right in front of him. I've honestly never felt worse, I practically ran away after I picked him up. After that, my grip on him was tighter every day.
I didn't eat as much with more weeks going by, I felt faint a lot of the time. I thought I looked paler than usual. I was missing time, it was going more and more each day. I woke up with feathers around me not long ago, and something red on my fingers. I saw the message on the wall before they cleaned it off, I knew Mrs Norris was petrified and I wondered what was happening to me. I'd noticed my brothers trying to cheer me up, but it just wasn't working.
I tried to talk to Tom about it, but he told me not to worry about it. He had this strange hold over me, when he told me not to worry about things I never did. The more I talked to Tom, the more I wished he was real. I even put a face to his words, the more i imagined Tom, the less I thought about Harry.
Time went on, another attack. This time it was Colin Creevey, he was apparently sneaking to see Harry in the Hospital Wing. I told Tom, I was worried about what was happening to me I had managed to sleep walk last night, and I only know this because Draco Malfoy woke me up, I begged him to keep this to him. I don't know if I can trust that he will but nothing had been said yet. I didn't eat that day. Fred and George were still trying to cheer me up, but it was doing the opposite.
A few weeks later, and Professor Lockhart was doing a Duelling club. That was where everyone witnessed Harry talk to a snake. He claims he was telling it to leave Justin Finch-Fletchley alone but it looked like he was telling it to attack. I told Tom, he was extremely interested in this news. Next thing everyone knows is that Justin has been petrified. Harry looked more guilty than before, but I felt more and more guilty as the year went on.
Christmas break came and went, I spent the day with my family minus Ron who decided to stay at Hogwarts. I had a good time, I didn't spend much time alone meaning I couldn't write to Tom but I felt so much better. I decided to not write to him during the whole two weeks. Back in school I told him everything, about how I felt better than ever and how I had an amazing time with my family. He was angry I'd been gone for so long. That was when I decided I needed to get rid of him. I took the book and went to the bathroom I knew no one went in. I threw it in a toilet and left. No one would find it there.
I wanted to take it back, the next day I went to get the diary back. It was gone. I didn't know who had taken it and I was so worried he'd tell anyone anything. There seemed to be nothing happening in the weeks to follow, no one was petrified, there was no sign of any 'monster', nothing. It was after a while I overheard Harry, Ron and Hermione talking about the diary, about Tom. I knew what I had to do.
I waited a few days, made sure no one was in the common room or in the Year 2 Boys dorm. I snuck in and went over to Harry's bed. I looked through all his things for Tom and finally found him. I felt bad for messing up his stuff but I needed it back. When I was safely in my room, I picked up my Quill, opened the diary and wrote "Hey Tom. It's Ginny, I'm sorry for everything. I finally found you again, I missed you." I waited for what seemed like forever for him to reply. He told me everything was fine between the two of us and we caught up.
It was a few days later that the next attack happened, I was feeling worse in myself than ever. Eating less than I ever had. Basically not sleeping at all. It only got worse when I woke up with more feathers around me and found out that Hermione and another girl had been petrified, Hagrid had been arrested and Dumbledore had been suspended. Things were feeling worse in my head. I barely touched breakfast that morning, I didn't have lunch. After lunch that was when Draco followed me, he told me to eat, told me if I lost any more weight that I'd be nothing. I shrugged it off.
I carried on barely eating, I was only eating small things because I could see Draco looking at me during meal times. It was strange, almost like he felt guilty or something. I glanced up to show him I was fine and that I was eating. I'd never tell anyone that the Draco Malfoy was trying to help me but I just didn't have much of an appetite. I was still losing time, more and more as the days went by.
I decided a few days later, I was going to go to bed early. I headed up straight after dinner. I woke up in a strange room, with Harry sitting over me asking me if I was alright. I noticed him bleeding, and the diary had stuff leaking out of it. Fawkes came swooping down, and landed on Harry's arm, after crying onto it Harry's cut healed. We didn't talk as we left the room, we got back to Ron and he hugged me, I wasn't sure what had happened. I didn't ask.
Instead of going to the common room, we went to Dumbledore's office. My whole family was in there. That's when Dumbledore explained to me what had happened over the year. That's when I realised Tom wasn't really my friend. He was just using me. I, Ginny Weasley, had been possessed by the Dark Lord and survived.