Warmth surrounded Ginny. She leisurely stretched under her dow feather blankets. Her neck was sore from the angle she slept so she turned her head to feel the cool unused side of her pillow. She sighed in the deep contentment of her early morning nest. She was safe behind the velvet curtains of her four poster bed.

"We are bound."

"Shut up Tom."

Jerking slightly Tom's words replayed in her mind. The comfort of daybreak crashed into the jarring reality of the day. Her heart pounded in her chest as her mind raced thinking about nothing and everything at the same time. Contradictory thoughts fought for dominance. "They know. Everyone knows. Why doesn't anyone know? Why doesn't anyone see I need help."

Her stomach constricted twisting in knots as she shook her head trying to clear her thoughts. Anxiety palpated through her body. It was almost as if she was floating above herself as she watched oversized weights crush her body into the bed. Sitting upright in bed she reached to her side where Tom usually stayed at night. The emptiness helped abate some of the anxious energy threatening to overtake her.

Three days ago she locked him in the bottom of her trunk. She leaned over her bent knees as she gripped her ankles and waited for her heartbeat to return to a normal tempo. Tom lay dormant wrapped in an old torn cloak, tied with hair ribbons, and stuffed into a fraying jumper. He can't control her anymore.

"As long as I exist we are bound."

"I can't hear you."

"Then why are you responding?"

A cold draft blew rustled through her bed curtains chilling and causing her to shudder. Shaking the cold off she slid off her bed and dressed in a frenzied hurry, desperate to chase away the chill by the fire. Stuffing some unread letters from home into her satchel she walked into a quiet common room. Her favorite worn chair waited for her by the roaring morning fire. All the chairs were deep crimson red with gold rivets but this particular chair enabled her to sink deeper allowing her feet to dangle. There was something comforting about feeling small and surrounded in an oversized space. Nestling her feet under her body she let her head fall into the lumpy armrest as she gazed into the flames. She watched as the logs broke apart from the burning coal and blazing embers. The smoke spiraled dancing in vertical patterns escaping into the chimney's flue.

"No escape."

"Really Tom, this is getting boring. I don't see you being able to do anything other than sitting with my smelly used socks."

"Just you wait child, just you wait."

Blood rushed away from her face leaving her cheeks cold. Despite being a foot from the heat emanating off the flames the warmth was unable to reach her. Numbness spread throughout her body. Pinching her palm she let the pain bring her back to the common room. She forced herself awake from a horrible night terror.

"Ginny? Why are you ready so early?" Percy came up behind the chair with arms full of parchment. Ginny didn't break her gaze from the fire and shrugged her shoulders not wanting to speak.

"Do you not feel well?" Percy shifted the parchment freeing a hand. He swept the back of his hand across her forehead gauging her temperature. She unwittingly moved her forehead into the warmth and comfort of his hand. "You feel cold. Are there enough blankets in your room? You look so pale."

Shrugging again Ginny yelled inside her head for him to leave her alone while somehow simultaneously smothering her. She wanted to say something. To unburden herself and tell him everything. Sitting upright she broke her gaze from the fire and looked at her brother. Her brother with his proper haircut, horned rimmed glasses, pressed robes, and a gleaming prefect badge. Opening her mouth to speak she shut it again. What would she even say? Anything. Saying anything was better than feeling like this for one extra moment. Ginny pushed herself up in her seat and looked at Percy. Beneath the controlled calculating demeanor, she saw worry and fear. Was he worried about her? Yes. She needs to tell him what has been going on with Tom.

"Percy comes one we will be late!" Oliver stood by the portrait holding his own armful of parchment. "These routes won't design themselves."

"Honestly, Oliver," Percy tensed his shoulders and removed his glasses pinching his nose. He turned to face his friend with huffiness dripping from his voice. "Five minutes with my sister will not destroy your precious self-imposed daily timetable."

Oliver huffed irritated in response. Percy turned around to Ginny but all he found was an abandoned seat with tear stains on the armrest.

-G-G-G-

Ginny moved through the halls lost in the fog of her thoughts. Twisting and turning she walked deeper through the hallways and corridors. She tried to evade the intrusive noise bombarding her thoughts.

"You can walk all day but I can still feel you."

"Shut up Tom."

"It really is cute how you think you can avoid me."

"I don't care."

"Perhaps Harry would be interested in knowing how often you watch him while he studies. He might be flattered to know how much you admire and adore him."

Ginny stopped walking and sighed leaning into the stone wall for support. Shaking her head she continued walking without responding to Tom.

"Perhaps Dumbledore would like to know how many students you have hurt so far."

Ginny found herself in front of the library as Madam Pince opened the door. She smiled down at Ginny happy to see someone waiting for her early on a Saturday morning.

"Good morning! Here for some early preparations? Can I help you find anything today?"

Ginny moved past her grunting a noncommittal response as she kept her gaze on the floor. Surrounded by hundreds of worn and well-loved books piled six feet high in cherry red wooden bookcases. She selected Uncommon Charms from a Meddlesome Mind from one of the stacks and kept walking. Her mind felt very meddlesome today, every day since her fight with Tom. This might help her push him away.

Ginny worked her way to the table wedged between the Restricted and the advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts sections. It was quiet back here because Lockhart's tests revolved around his biographies. Only Hermione or serious N.E.W.T students ventured this deep in the stacks looking for supplementary material. She pulled out her first unread letter. It was from her Dad. It had been weeks since she had responded to him. Guilt from his words "never trust anything without a brain" twisted her gut seeing his familiar handwriting. She put it away resolving to respond tomorrow. She turned to her Mum's letter with the familiar cursive oversized loopy handwriting. She traced the G in her name and smiled at the extra curl her Mum always made at the base of the G.

Dear Ginny,

Please let us know if you want to join us in Egypt over the Holiday. Percy, the twins, and Ron have already said no so you would have a chance to have Bill all to yourself. I miss you so much dear but I know you are having fun and many adventures with all your new friends. Try to keep up with your classes and make time for studying, I know how easy it is for you to get distracted with an audience. I am sure you are holding court nightly in the common room keeping everyone in stitches.

Her mom prattled on. Ginny did not have the heart to correct her misperceptions about her time at Hogwarts. She lied through omission in her responses. She filled her letters home with assurances she was finding time to study and proclamations of missing the Burrow and home.

"You can't escape me. As long as you exist I will find you."

Ginny sighed, sat aside her letters, and opened the library book to the first chapter: Biological Jinxes and Hexes. She needed a new spell to practice to drown out the yelling in her head. The Bat-Bogey hex is a delicate and potentially lethal hex for nonhuman creatures...

-G-G-G-

The days dredged as the weight of Tom's interference pulled Ginny deeper into their internal arguments. Transfiguration and Charms offered the most relief. The mental and magic energy required to cast the spells was usually enough to keep Tom at bay. Herbology, Potions, and History of Magic classes relied on theoretical understanding and practice. Without the extra magical exertion, she found herself struggling to keep Tom out of her mind.

"And in 1387 the magical economy experienced significant disruption based on speculative trading of soap and bubble subsidies," Professor Binns stood in the front of the class lecturing in his typical monotone and dry voice. Ginny looked around and saw her classmates struggling to stay awake. Beryl sat next to her upright with her eyes glazed over. A small sliver of drool dripped from the left corner of her mouth resulting in a small puddle on her parchment.

"He hasn't changed a single word in over 40 years."

Ginny didn't respond. She grabbed her wand by her side and attempted to turn the tight spiral formation of the Bat-Boogey. She pushed her magic from her palm to the tip of her wand and then pulled it back to maintain tight control. She focused on not allowing the spell to cast by releasing any magic.

"Such a shame you are going to fail everything. All these distractions are weighing you down, aren't they? You know, you can just give in. You don't have to fight anymore. I can take care of you love. It can be like before."

Ginny felt fire explode within her chest. Her anger was making it harder to keep the magic from escaping her wand so she opened her palm dropping it to the floor.

"Anger over the rising prices of soap led Podmoreous Stodgins to conjure a cloud of soap in the middle of the primary trading district dispensing soap to anyone who past. The ability to obtain unlimited soap caused the price to plummet in what is now referred to as the great Soap Blizzard of 1378."

"Tsk tsk tsk. So much anger in you Ginny. Be careful. You don't want to loose time again by giving into your emotions."

Buzzing and pressure surrounded Ginny. She now recognized Tom's presence descending and surrounding her. No. She wasn't going to give in. Grabbing her hand she pinched the center of her palm. The pain re-centered her focus. Closing her eyes she pictured the burrow. Flying. Apple orchards. Mentally she took herself through the steps to a feint. She pictured the way she had to grip the broom to not fall during the sharp turn. Left over right instead of her typical flight pattern of right over left. Forgo speed for increased control closer to her core.

The buzzing and pressure intensified. She needed something else. She needed more. She picked her discarded wand off the floor and started to perform the Bat-Boogey again. She pushed the spell from palm to the tip of the wand and back again. She mouthed the incantation under her breath. She could feel the buzz and pressure abating until a sudden surge surrounded her. Startled, she lost control of the spell and light shot from her wand hitting Beryl on the side of her sleeping face.

Beryl screamed as a small bat emerged from her nose. Ginny brought her wand back to her lap and sat wide eyed at the scene she inadvertently caused. The entire class jumped to attention. Beryl looked around wildly trying to figure out what was causing one small bat at a time to fly from her nose. The bats were so small, the boogies appeared to be an out of control runny nose. She raised her hand as redness spread across her face and the back of her neck.

"Professor Binn, I don't feel well, may I please go to Madam Pomfrey?"

Professor Binn nodded affirmation and brushed her aside. Beryl went running from the room as the rest of the class looked around trying to figure out what happened. Ginny shrunk into her seat as Beryl left the room.

She hurt someone without Tom's interference. She was completely present and aware and she hexed a friend. She never thought she would be this person, someone who would hex people. The energy of pushing Tom out of her mind and refocusing her thoughts was taking a toll on her mind and body. She noticed her inability to stop her hands from shaking. She knew her eyes were sinking into her pale face and she was losing weight.

The bell rang. Ginny gathered her things rushing to leave. Everyone else lagged behind to discuss Beryl's abrupt departure. No one recognized the poorly executed hex. Everyone seemed to assume she had taken ill. Ginny could not keep this up. She had to tell someone. Even if showing Tom to someone meant exposing everything she had done. She walked off determined to find someone and get the whole charade over with. Now to find anyone she could trust.