"No more buzzing, pressure, or lost time," Ginny reported to Tom.

"Wonderful news Ginny. Don't forget to check back in during History of Magic."

She closed his cover and sat back allowing the tension draining from her shoulders. A full week past without lost time or attacks on other students, but her underlying anxiety lingered. Her transfiguration and charms homework took the most mental focus as she found herself spending more time in the library trying to siphon away the uneasiness. No level of mental fatigue removed the gnawing feeling that something worse was coming.

Gathering her Charms notes she left the common room for class. It was strange to study alone. Yesterday Professor Sprout told the class the mandrakes were growing on pace and would be ready for Madame Pomphrey soon. Until then, she had to sit next to an empty seat once occupied by her friend. Pushing visions of Colin to the back of her mind she meandered through the halls. Sir Calhoun paused from chasing a dog carrying a colored handkerchief. He turned, bowed with his visor slipping over his eyes and continued his chase through the portraits.

A strange growling noise reverberating from a side corridor as she past the Great Hall. Ginny stopped. Something was different about this corridor. She did not recognize the gothic archways or stone engravings, yet something felt familiar. A sense of deja vu overcame her as she walked into the dimly shadowed hall.

"Hello?"

The sound growled from behind one of the thick stone wall ribs. She stopped and tried to isolate the location.

"Is someone there?" Her heart raced. She heard the growl echo around the ogival curves of ceiling's gothic vaulting. The noise bounced like a ball between the ribs protruding from the wall and the high ceiling arches. She approached the wall rib and placed her hand on the worn stone carving when the noise stopped.

"Ooogle Google Boogle Boo!"

Fred and George flanked her from two sides covered in fur and boils. They laughed dressed as hideous creatures. Normally, she would have laughed with them for making themselves look like idiots. She would congratulate them for catching her off guard. Today they chose to play their familiar childhood game in front of fading writing on the wall. Ginny fell into the wall releasing a terrified scream.

Her eyes locked on the words, "THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE", unable to avert her gaze. She tried to calm herself and stop her echoing howl. Her heart protested pounding like a mallet against her chest. The words came alive. Shutting her eyes she was unable to halt the vision of the feathers and blood-soaked word. She could not stop them from dancing before her in a continuous loop.

Percy sprinted into the corridor hearing her screams. Anger distorted his face as he squared off between Ginny and the twins.

"Of all the idiotic, numbskull, toddler antics the two of you have pulled this is the worst! She is your sister for Merlin's sake! She just had a horrible fright with her friend! How could you possibly think jumping out at her dressed as...as...as… I don't even know what the bloody hell you dressed as!" His pace of speaking increased with every indignant explosion that rolled off his tongue. "How on earth would any of this rectify the situation? Forget lost points, I have half a mind to write Mum to send you daily howlers for the rest of the year!"

Ginny sprinted away. Percy turned to chase after her, but the twins, in a frenzy to apologize, knocked him into a wall sending his glasses spinning on the floor. Percy cursed as Peeves glided through a wall drawn to the chaos crackling with mirth.

"Prefect Percy cannot see pouts about his poor eyesight. Prefect Percy cannot see is angry about a sibling fright." Peeves picked up Percy's glasses and bounced them above his head.

Losing her brothers in the developing fight Ginny sped down the marble staircase and ducked into the girl's bathroom. Panting her body sank against the wall. She focused on matching her breath with the slow cadence of water dripping in the out of order toilet.

"You look particularly ugly today," Moaning Myrtle ascended giggling from the fountain in the middle of the bathroom. "Did a nice looking boy scoff at your face and make you cry?"

Before a retort formed on Ginny's tongue, the room lights strobed. She dropped her notes and books and fell into the cold stone wall gasping. Reflections of a different version of herself moved throughout the room. The mirror Ginny moved without coordination as if she were a marionette pulled by a puppeteer's string. Mirror Ginny's face was almost touching the nozzle on the fountain. Her mouth moved but a noise emanated instead of words.

The lights in the room flickered several times. The noise coming from mirror Ginny's mouth filled the room. It sounded like a snake hissing and then a word in a strange voice emerged.

"Open."

A buzzing sound whirled around canceling the hissing. She had to hang on. She had to identify the voice.

"Open."

She knew if she could fight off the surmounting pressure she would understand why she lost time.

"Open."

She thrashed into the walls trying to stay awake. Her arms and legs bounced against the stone wall but the pain kept her present. An external pressure encapsulated her. The room was compacting and she was being crushed. A few more moments. She had to hang on a few more moments.

"Ginny let go," Tom's voice echoed through the bathroom. She had to fight. She was almost there. She thrashed harder as mirror Ginny multiplied and danced around flashing lights reflecting in the mirror. That voice. She knew that voice.

"LET GO NOW!"

Everything turned black.

G

Ginny woke up in the Great Hall as the buzzing and pressure from the bathroom released. The light was too bright and hurt her eyes. Bacon was in front of her. It was morning. Harry. She kept hearing Harry's name repeated in hundreds of conversations filling the hall.

"Harry petrified Justin."

"Harry can't be trusted."

"Harry is the Heir of Slytherin, a parseltongue."

Silence. Harry, Ron, and Hermione entered the hall and all the conversations stopped for a few moments. Harry and Ron bowed their heads together deep in conversation. They were oblivious to the sudden silence that corresponded with their entrance. Hermione's noticed the change. Her gaze darted between hushed conversations with a warning glare on her face. Her face softened when she saw Ginny sitting alone and she gestured to Ron and Harry to join her at the table. Ron and Harry followed continuing to speak in low tones out of Ginny's earshot.

"Hermione, why does everyone keep talking about Harry? What is this about him hurting Justin?" Ginny whispered trying to not draw attention to herself.

"Didn't you hear? The chamber opened again last night. After everyone saw Justin's teasing Harry about the whole Parseltongue Malfoy incident. The whole Castle thinks he is the Heir of Slytherin and opened the chamber. "

"It's not him!" Ginny exclaimed much louder than she intended. Hermione looked worried at Harry to see if he noticed the outburst. His head stayed huddled with Ron and Hermione sat back a little more relaxed.

"Well, I know that, no need to shout. Anyway, I am sure this will all come to a head and be over soon. I think this will all resolve itself by the New Year, there is no need to worry."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I just am. Don't worry about what I know and how I know it. Focus on your schoolwork," Hermione's voice was calm and steady. It would be easy to take her assurances and let go of all her fear and apprehension. "Go get to class, you don't want to be late for Professor Binns."

Ginny looked down to gather her things and noticed her History of Magic book was sitting on top of her diary. Tom's voice yelling at her to "Let go" from the bathroom refilled her ears. Heir of Slytherin, Chamber of Secrets, Parseltongue. She saw herself hissing into the faucet. She heard the echoing voice telling something to open.

No. It couldn't be. Slowly pieces fell into place. No, Tom was helping her. He came into the bathroom to try and stop her from losing time.

But then why did Tom tell her to let go? Her body went clammy and started to burn at the same time. Sweat formed on her brow and she brushed it away with her shaking hand.

"Yes, you are right Hermione, I do need to be going," Ginny stood up. Ron, finally noticing she was sitting with them, nodded acknowledging her departure. Ginny walked as fast as she could to class without attracting attention. She sat in her seat in the back of Professor Binn's class and pulled out the diary.

"Tom," she wrote. No response.

"TOM," she wrote again. No response. She lost what little patience she had remaining. Doubt swirled around her head. "Tom, I swear to you, talk to me or else you will become kindling in the common room."

"Ginny, what is wrong? Why are you upset? Did you lose more time?"

"Yes, of course, I lost more time you were there! Why were you there? How were you there?"

"What do you mean?"

"I heard you. I saw myself. Only I wasn't myself. Something was controlling me. Something was moving my body and making me make these sounds. It wasn't my voice. Then you were there." Doubt replaced anger. She felt the ink flow like venom from her pen.

"Ginny I have no idea what you are talking about."

"I heard you! You were there. I don't know if you were there when I saw all this or if you were in the memory but YOU WERE THERE." Rage filled Ginny. Her face turned hot and she kicked her foot into the side of the desk in frustration.

No response.

"TOM."

"Yes, yes I was there. But you were out of control. I had to help you from hurting anyone else. Ginny please, I only want to help you."

Seeing his words admit he was present helped defuse the situation as her rage subsided.

"No more lies. What is the Chamber of Secrets? Who is the Heir of Slytherin? Who are you?"

"I am Tom. You know me. I am your friend."

"Who are you, Tom." Her frustration rose again as he evaded her question.

"I am your simple friend who cares and wants to keep you close."

"Who ARE you, Tom?" She sat and waited for his response. She stared at the blank page for about three minutes until new words emerged.

"Why do you care so much? Is it because of that filthy mudblood Colin? Or your mudblood friend Hermione? I only want to protect you, Ginny. To keep you pure."

Her blood ran cold. Fear replaced any residual anger seeing the slur written in front of her face. How could Tom say those things? She went to slam his cover shut when a few final words poured onto the page stopping her.

"Ginny, you know better than to push me away. You poured all your secrets into me. All your hopes, your fears, your dreams. I know the real you Ginny Weasley and I do not have to keep who you are a secret."

All her previous words flooded the page. Paragraphs documenting her love of every inch of Harry Potter. Her shame of being poor. Her feelings of isolation and loneliness without the support of her brothers. Her fear of going crazy as she described the white room. Her confession to hurting Colin.

"You are mine, Ginny. I am not letting you go. I no longer need your permission to force you to do what I want. Write in me, don't write in me, I don't care. As long as I exist, and trust me you possess no magic powerful enough to destroy me, we are bound. If you try to tell anyone, your family, your precious Harry, even Dumbledore, I can turn every word you ever put into me against you. You will rot in the white room as the consequence."

The words on the page amplified. I WANT TO MARRY HARRY POTTER. I HURT COLIN. I AM GOING CRAZY. LOCKED IN A WHITE ROOM. WHOSE BLOOD ON MY CLOAK?

She was trapped.