It had been a week since Ginny had seen or heard from Tom Riddle- she had of course expected this since he had told her he was was travelling. Yet she was still left with a uneasy feeling that had lingered since their conversation. At first Ginny had thought it was a result of the horcrux that had been temporarily in her possession. Now however Ginny wasn't so sure. She had been replaying their interactions over and over again in her head hoping to find some small detail that she missed. Desperate to do everything in her power to end the war. Her attempts were leaving her with bags under her eyes, restless nights and unfinished homework.
From everything she knew about Tom, she knew that it was in his nature to keep secrets, and trust no one. It was a habit he was unable to shake off since growing up in the orphanage- and a habit that had clearly worked out for him. As far as she knew there wasn't anyone who knew his secrets like she did, and that was only due to the fact that Tom had no intentions of letting her live once she opened the Chamber of Secrets for him back in her first year. Of course Tom had no idea that Ginny would go on to open the Chamber of Secrets for him though his diary in the future and yet he had a fascination with her now - one Dumbledore believe was due to the ripple in magic she had caused traveling back in time.
Ginny was sitting in the back of the library- trying to do the homework she had let pile up, in order to avoid detention- yet she couldn't even focus on the books in front of her. Her mind wandered back to the ring Tom had left in her care. She wondered what Dumbledore was doing with it, and then suddenly she remembered.
Tom said he would be traveling to Albania. It could be nothing or it could be the clue Ginny was waiting for. She immediately sat up, suddenly feeling like she was finally awake for the first time in days, she had to stop herself from running towards the map that covered the wall on the other side of the library. When she reached it she searched the map frantically, running her finger along the different places trying to make sure she didn't overlook it.
"Need some help?"an unrecognizable voice asked, startling Ginny.
Ginny turned around, behind her stood a tall girl with short blonde hair and startling blue eyes that matched her Ravenclaw tie. From the text books that were wrapped under her arms Ginny guessed that she was a seventh year student.
"I'm looking for Albania"
"The Republic of Albania is in south eastern Europe," She responded immediately, walking over to the other side of the map and pointing out a country that was nestled on top of Greece.
"What else do you know about it?" Ginny asked staring at the tiny country.
It bordered Greece, Montenegro and Kosovo, and to the West is surrounded by water, it didn't look like anything special.
"What do you want to know?" The girl responded.
"I'm not sure- is there anything significant?"
"Everywhere has something significant, what are you looking for?" She responded.
"I'm not sure-" Ginny responded at a loss for words. And it was true, she did not know what she was looking for, nor did she want to tell a stranger that the reason she was curious is because Tom Riddle said he was travelling there.
The girl nodded, and turned to walk away when Ginny realized that she didn't need to use Tom's name.
"My friend mentioned she was travelling to Albania, I was just curios what was there."
"Well that would depend entirely on what your friend is looking for," She replied.
Ginny didn't know how to respond to that, as if the girl understood Ginny was at a loss she added.
"Check the third row from the back, anything to do with wizarding events in that part of Europe will be on the fourth shelf," she smiled before walking away.
"Third row, fourth shelf," Ginny repeated as she headed in that direction.
Thirty minutes later Ginny was back at her table, she found three books that might be useful to her.
European Travels - Landmarks and Historic Sites
Albania a History
What Where in When in Europe
Three books didn't seem like much, but Ginny knew it would take her weeks to get through them with over 2000 words between them. With the exception of Albania a History which was a thin book with a thick red cover and only contained about 300 pages. Just like that Ginny's homework was once again abandoned, and learning as much as she could about Albania took top priority. The buzz in the library died down, and when Ginny's stomach grumbled she decided it was time to pack up. Hoping that she wasn't too late for dinner she made her way down the quiet corridor. She was rounding a corner when her bag split at the seem, books spilling out around her.
"Of course," Ginny sighed under her breath, bending over to pick up her belongings. She felt the familiar awkward sensation of a ghost passing through her, Ginny looked up to see Nearly Headless Nick and the Grey Lady standing beside her.
"Dreadful," Nearly Headless Nick said looking down at the mess surrounding Ginny.
"To many books for my bag I guess," Ginny responded.
"Doing some traveling? Or has Binns finally decided to teach you kids something new?" Nick asked.
"Albania?" The Grey Lady asked, shooting Ginny a dirty look.
"Have you heard of it?" Ginny asked, hopefully.
"Why?"
"My friend is traveling there, I was just curious what was there."
She didn't respond, she just looked at Ginny in a way that made her uncomfortable. Nick prattled on in the background as Ginny collected her belongings. But The Grey Lady didn't move.
When Ginny was down the hallway she shot a look over her shoulder and Nick was no where in sight, and The Grey Lady however hadn't moved from her spot, and Ginny was almost positive she was still staring right at her.
Ginnys was feeling uneasy after her run in with the castle ghosts, and decided to head back to her dormitory instead of the Great Hall. She fixed her bag with a simple wave of her wand, but she doubted it would hold, so instead carried everything in her arms as she made her way through the castle. The halls had quite a few students and Ginny guessed that she would have been too late for dinner anyways. As she approached the entrance to Gryffindor tower she was greeted with a familiar sight.
"Hey red, come here often?"
"Ginny couldn't help the grin that made its way across her face as she stood in front of Sirius. Her brain hurt from overthinking and the small print of the books. But like always everything else melted away when she was with Sirius. It was almost dangerous sometimes to be with him, he made her forget about her problems and made time stand still. In any other situation it would have been perfect, but when your problem is defeating a wizard to who would go on for years to kill thousands and start two wizarding wars it wasn't one you wanted to forget.
"You missed dinner," Sirius stated, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her in close.
"I know I-"
"Lost track of time, it's fine love," Sirius mumbled as he kissed her neck.
"Yea, I'm behind in my classes and-"
"Excellent, then you can start joining James and me in detention then I'll know I'll be guaranteed some time with you," Sirius said jokingly.
"Ginny heard the laugh in the statement, but she also heard the tone of his voice. He might have played it off as a joke, but Ginny could tell the absence from his life was taking a toll.
"What do you know about Albania?" Ginny asked.
"The country?" Sirius asked.
"Yea, I'm trying to do some research on it," Ginny answered lifting her arms to show him the books.
"Sirius looked down at the large pile in Ginny's hand and took it all, lightning her load as he slipped his hand into her now free one.
"I've passed through when we visited Greece, I was young Regulus and I went with our father," Sirius shrugged.
"But what's there?" Ginny asked excitedly.
"I don't know, I was maybe ten years old, forest and water maybe," Sirius shrugged as he winked at the Fat Lady, she swung the portrait hole open without asking for the password.
"What are you looking for, maybe I can help?" Sirius asked.
"I'm not sure, is there any dark magic that happened there?"
"Sirius looked over at Ginny the grin disappearing from his face as he looked her over and then skimmed the tittles on the books he now held under his arm.
"Not that I know of, but I'll help you look," Sirius said.
True to his word Ginny and Sirius sat alone on a couch on the other side of the common room as they flipped through the books. They skimmed through them enough that Ginny knew she wasn't going to find anything - she didn't even fully know what she was even looking for. Feeling defeated she shut her book with a satisfying smack.
Sirius looked up from his book, which he held so close to the end of his nose that Ginny wondered if he even knew how to read.
"What time is it?" Ginny asked.
"Late," Sirius responded.
""I'm starving want to go to the kitchens?" Ginny looked over grinning.
"Well Miss Dunham are you suggesting heading to the kitchens when there's a chance we won't make it back in time for curfew?"
"That depends Mr Black, if we get caught we might get detention," Ginny grinned.
Sirius closed the book and tossed it to the side with a florish, he stood up suddenly offering his hand as he helped her up from the couch. He pulled her close, planted a kiss on her lips and the two of them made there way out of Gryfindor tower.
"It's almost curfew!" The Fat Lady called after them.
"We won't let you back in!" Her friend Violet called from beside her.
"I'm counting on that, then I have an excuse to sit out here and spend the night with you," Sirius responded, shooting the ladies his usual wink.
"Ginny could hear their giggling from down the hall as they headed towards the kitchens.
"You're horrible," Ginny laughed shaking her head.
"Are you jealous?" Sirius asked, looking over at her through the corner of his eye.
"Not in the slightest."
"Good don't be, I don't have the time of day for anyone else but you."
Ginny felt her heart beat faster at his words, she never thought it was possible to feel this way about someone, and then everyday Sirius proved to her that she could only love him more.
"So Albania? Did Binns assign you one of his make up assignments or did you suddenly become fascinated with European history," Sirius asked.
"The later, sort of. Tom Riddle told me he was traveling to Albania," Ginny said. She felt Sirius's body stiffen slightly, but she didn't look over to catch his reaction, so she continued on. "That night in Hogsmeade- those people, those are the same people that killed my family. Tom Riddle is part of it, and I want to know what he's up to."
Sirius didn't say anything as they continued down the hall, his hand remained tightly clasped with hers, and the only sound was there footsteps gently on the stones.
"You don't talk about your family much," Sirius said.
"Neither do you," Ginny responded
Sirius laughed at this and looked over catching her gaze.
"You can tell me anything you know that right? You've met my family," Sirius said, running his free hand through his curls. "You don't judge me for my upbringing, or my families mistakes. I've never met anyone like you, I've never felt this way about anyone. This- us, your story it's all up to you, you don't have to tell me anything you don't want to. I'm not going anywhere."
"Ginny stopped walking and pulled Sirius close to kiss him. She always managed to feel incredibly lucky, and extremely guilty with Sirius.
"I love you, you know that right?" She asked, leaning against him.
"I hope so, I don't think I could handle it if you didn't." Sirius responded.
As they arrived at the corridor leading to the Hufflepuff common room, they stopped in front of a painting of a bowl of fruit, Sirius reached up and tickled the pear. It began to squirm, shaking the other fruit before it started to laugh, and suddenly the pear turned into a door-know. Sirius reached out and turned the knob and the two of them stepped through the doorway. Back in her time Fred and George had taken her to the kitchens quite regularly, and nothing had changed much. The high-ceiling roomed still had pots and pans lining the stone walls. There was a fire blazing at the other end of the kitchen and there stood five tables identical to those in the great hall above them.
"Can I make you something to eat Mr. Black?" a house elf squeaked, appearing beside them suddenly.
"Yes, I'd like sausage and potatoes, some jam-"
Ginny cleared her throat and gave Sirius a pointed look.
"Or whatever you have left is fine, poor Ginevra here didn't get dinner," Sirius corrected himself.
The eyes on the house elf widened and shocked took over the features on it's tiny face, it immediately scurried off, and suddenly there were 20 elves banging pots and pans and another elf appeared beside them, he guiding them to a table as he placed a fresh jug of pumpkin juice in front of them. As soon as they sat down two glasses appeared on the table. Sirius poured both himself and Ginny a glass, and before they even had the chance to drink it, enough food to feed five people appeared on the table in front of them. Ginny realized how hungry she was and quickly began loading here plate, they two ate in silence for a while.
Sirius put down his fork and watched Ginny for a while silently before she spoke up, breaking the silence.
"Sirius, my family- my past really, I haven't wanted to talk about it with anyone, except you. I wish I could tell you everything," Ginny blurted before Sirius had a chance to speak.
"Then tell me, you know you can tell me anything,"
"I can't not yet," Ginny responded his voice lowering as she turned her gaze to her plate.
"I'd wait forever for you if I had to," Sirius responded.
Ginny smiled, but it didn't meet her eyes. She knew that with the path she put herself on, that Sirius might end up waiting forever.