The Black Lake Chapter 1, a harry potter fanfic

After years of waiting, it seems there is no Chosen One after all.

On the eve of the Final Battle, Death Eaters have descended upon Hogwarts, and Voldemort is determined to exact revenge on Ginny Weasley for her crimes. She is placed under a curse- condemned as a mermaid to the waters of the Black Lake.

One year later, a traumatized Harry sits on the shores of the lake and catches a glimpse of a redheaded young woman who had long been thought to be dead.

Chapter 1:

It was nearly nighttime.

The twilight of night should have been peaceful- it was a Scottish spring after all- but this night was harsh and violent. It was a far cry from anyone seeking solace in the sounds of nature or the quiet stir of the June breeze. This night showed a grand castle under attack. Horrid noises pierced the night, and fire and flame began to lick the side of the tallest tower. The grounds around the castle were becoming shrouded in the deepening shadows of night. Evil men hidden under cloaks and white masks peppered the grounds around the castle. Some asserted a quick and aggressive attack, while other lied in wait for prey to come to them. It was deadly. It was dangerous. It was no place for anyone in their right mind. But there was someone there- out there on the dark grounds. She was sixteen years old, with long red hair, and she was running.

The young redhead was running across the grass strewn grounds of Hogwarts, as fast as her Quidditch-toned legs would carry her. The school behind her was nearly engulfed in the fierce battle. Spells and screams filled the air in the distance, and rumblings of the stone walls cracking and tumbling down could be felt underneath her feet. Lives and loved ones were being torn asunder left and right. The young woman's entire family was somewhere in that castle fighting, but she did not stop. She could not stop.

He had asked for her.

He had asked for her by name. After striking down the powerful Headmaster of the school, Voldemort was near ready to declare victory, but was met with resistance. Those fighting for the light had held on to a feeble hope that a savior foretold in modern legend- a prophecy- would come and stay the Dark Lord's hand. It had been told there was a boy who had been destined to defeat Voldemort and who would surely arrive to help a seemingly hopeless pursuit. Without him, what chance did they have to battle against the Dark followers? To even hope to succeed? But in the end, no such rescue came. There was no boy, no warrior, no savior, and the few who dared stand against the darkness found themselves quite alone.

The Dark Lord mocked them for their hope- for their faith- that the light could win. His cruel followers cackled and celebrated as hours passed and it was clear that the prophecy was a farce.

But then he had asked for her.

She should have known she would be punished for what she had done, just as Dumbledore had been when Voldemort struck him down. When her family refused to surrender her to the Death Eaters, he began with her parents. In a scream of rage and anguish she was restrained by the older redheads, unable to keep from watching as snakelike demon snuffed out their lives in one fell swoop of his wand. Limp in her brothers' arms, she felt as if he truly had killed her at that moment. She refused to let another loved one die for her. Her brothers were sparing a moment to mourn their beloved mother and father, when the Dark Lord asked for her again. Her brothers moved in to protect her, but it was in vain. She was already running. Waving her wand wildly and shooting sparks she flew through the castle, ignoring the cries of her family and friends for her to stop. She ran through the doors and out onto the grounds- intent on heading as far away from the castle as she could go. She knew he would follow, and he did.

He hadn't killed her outright, which surprised her. Instead, he calmly followed her out the door and onto the grounds. He fiddled with his wand absentmindedly as he followed her, occasionally calling out to her in a playful voice that did nothing to mask the predatory intent within it. The girl ran around Hagrid's hut, which had already been sparked with a flame, heading down towards the Black Lake. A spell whizzed past the girl's head and hit a large monolith of stone on the grounds, cracking it in half. It was a blatantly purposeful miss. She supposed Voldemort was humoring her- allowing her to think she stood a chance if she ran.

She knew better. She knew very well she was dead already- knew she had no chance. There was really nothing to be done except stall for time to allow the others the chance to escape. For those who remained to stay and fight, she held a hope that more reinforcements might arrive if given enough time. Though the hope was feeble because anyone she knew who could fight was already doing so.

In the end, just before he had asked for her, most hopes had been diminished. Hopes that the mysterious Chosen One would miraculously appear and defeat the Dark Lord were lost. No one had come- save for a few brave Aurors- but they had been some of the first to fall. No, in the end it was students and teachers and the Order of the Phoenix, fighting a great battle. The prophecy had not been fulfilled, and they were alone.

Ginny flew past a hedge, its dead branches leaving scratches across her neck and face. She was just beginning to feel a stitch in her side, but she could not stop. The rough terrain was difficult to sprint on in her school shoes, the ground becoming more rocky and uneven the closer she got to the lake. Her foot caught on tree root and she tripped. Her momentum caused her to fall forward violently. Her body made contact with the ground, air whooshing harshly out of her lungs. She tasted blood in her mouth, could feel it flowing down her chin, but she was back on her feet without even wiping it away. She kept moving.

"Ginevra."

His deadly voice carried through the trees, taunting her. Branches of pines reached out their dark arms to her. She continued running, drawing Voldemort to the far edge of the lake. The screams behind her were fading. Several towers of the castle were now in flame, occasionally reflecting orange hues on the surface of the lake. The sky was dark save over the castle, where it was illuminated by a great, glowing green skull erupting a serpent. The grounds were beginning to become impossible to navigate without wand light, but she did not have that luxury.

Feeling her strength begin to drain, and nearly blinded by the darkness under the trees, Ginny missed another step and this time felt herself fall sideways. Tumbling roughly, she fell down the small hill, landing in a painful heap near the water's edge of the Black Lake. She moaned, her breath coming out in painful gasps. Noting no broken bones- aside from perhaps a few ribs- she rolled over and slowly sat up. She immediately wished she hadn't.

A tall, dark figure stood directly in front of her. He smiled down at her wickedly, twirling his wand between his fingers. The fingers were white like bone, and unnaturally long. Red, snake-like eyes danced with amusement, and tiny slits for nostrils flared. It was truly a monster and not a man who towered over her.

"Do you want to keep running?" He pointed his wand casually at her. "It was quite entertaining to watch."

The redhead narrowed her dark brown eyes in anger. Defiantly, she clambered to her feet, wand raised. She would not serve as his amusement. Distraction, yes, but never amusement. Never again.

"Little Ginny Weasley," Voldemort chuckled, "But not so little anymore, are you? That girl from so long ago must still be in there somewhere. I can't decide which version of you pleases me more. Here you stand- all fire and passion- knowing you will soon breathe your last breath but still ready to challenge me. It would be very admirable if it were not so foolish."

He paused, his head tilting to the side as he considered her. "However, I rather like that other version of you, as well. The little girl who faced Tom Riddle, becoming closer to him than anyone had ever done, that girl was special. She was so devoted to me, so loyal and..." He trailed off a bit, his smile widening, "Well, she was rather submissive, wasn't she? I quite like that. She would have done almost anything for her dear Tom. He held an enormous amount of power over you, something I feel that in this current form I couldn't possibly replicate."

Voldemort pointed his wand to himself and gave it a wave. The horrid, snake-like appearance of him began to ripple and disintegrate. Skin melted and sloughed away, revealing a much younger and much less pale face. Jet-black hair appeared, along with a handsome nose. His face no longer looked monstrous, but bore features of a teenage boy. Only his eyes were the same. Red eyes were no longer snake-like, framed by dark lashes, but none the less still menacing. Appearing ethereal and otherworldly, it was the face of her fears from long ago. He had haunted her, the same caressing voice in her head that sometimes whispered to her in the night.

For the first time this night, the girl was frozen in fear. A walking nightmare stood before her, his eyes turning the blood in her veins to ice. She hoped he wouldn't speak, because the cool seductive voice had been in complete control of her body. Words in her head in that voice had given her instructions- to hunt for him, to obey him, to submit to him.

"Thats better, isn't it?" Tom's eyes gleamed at her. "I always did appreciate the power I had over you in the past. Or- I suppose I should say- the power I obviously still have over you."

Fear and disbelief held limbs as if bound. His voice reaching her ears pried open a deeply hidden box in her mind. She became assaulted by memories of feathers, fear, and crimson blood on her hands. Blinded by the rush of thoughts of that horrid first year, she hardly noticed as Tom stepped close enough to her to wrap his cold hand around her throat. The handsome dark-haired boy had rendered her helpless, her life within his hands- but isn't that how it had always been? His hand squeezed around her throat. Perhaps a quick death was best anyway.

She had been so young back then- young, lonely and lost. Like Eve of old, she had been deceived by a serpent's voice filling her ears with sweet poison. Eventually, she could see the invisible shackles Tom had silently been wrapping around her. Every word she wrote, every intimate thought shared, had been a new link in the chains that bound her tighter and tighter. It was nearly too late when she began to feel the heavy chains and the sting of poison that he filled her with. She had fought him back, fought him until she lay near death on the stone floor of the legendary chamber. Death was near again, just like before. Except this time, there was no rush of scarlet feathers, no beautiful bird song, and no twinkling blue eyes as her little body was lifted from the ground. She hadn't known then- when the handsome boy rose from the pages of the diary, black robes spilling around him like ink, and the life rapidly leaving her little body- that she would once again draw breath. Yes, she had still fought him even then.

Why lose her nerve now?

Life and blood returned to her limbs. Drawing back her arm, Ginny swiped her hand viciously across the god-like face in front of her, smiling when it drew blood. Who knew Dark Lords could bleed? He was looked at once shocked and insulted. Red lines ran across his face where nails had broken skin. Red eyes filled with darkness and evil glinted. She knew he could make it quick- snap her neck with a twitch of his hands, steal the life from her body with a flick of his wand and a flash of light. But his eyes- not snakelike but every bit as red as ever, calculated and orchestrated her suffering. Voldemort had always been vengeful, and the deaths he wrought upon his enemies were a work of art to him- purposeful, planned, and with a dramatic flair that showcased his arrogance. He would execute her with flourish, and she would meet every blow until her body failed her. She flailed and kicked until he struggled to hold her. He snarled impatiently at her, throwing her body down on the ground. Rocks dug into her back, and she could feel the frigid cold waters of the Black Lake soaking her clothes, but she could breathe now. She knew he still stood above her, but her body craved the precious air, and she lay still on her back as she let her lungs take their fill.

Just as she was catching gulps of air, hands were once again wrapped around her throat. Through half-lidded eyes she saw his face contorted in fury, and she found satisfaction in the fact she could make him so angry. She had helped destroy the diary- a piece of his soul- and in his anger he had asked for her by name. Another victim to be personally killed by Voldemort. A great honor, really.

She couldn't help the grin that crossed her face, and it further incensed the boy above her. He dragged her across the shore of the lake by her neck and hair. She felt the water across her legs and waist. With a growl, Tom shoved her downwards by the neck until she was completely submersed in the waters of the lake. The frigid water over her head was as powerful as if had he stunned her with his wand. Her muscles contracted violently in retaliation to the cold. Her lungs tried to gasp in pain but she clamped her mouth closed. Not that it truly mattered, his cold, pale hands were squeezing her airway closed. Did he remember she had been afraid of drowning when she was eleven? She had been afraid of a watery grave, and ironically, it was the boy above her- the boy currently holding her under the water- that had shown her there were much more terrifying things in the world to fear.

He held her under for a few moments before his hands released her, letting her surface. She coughed and sputtered, letting in huge, frantic breaths. Tom glared down at her, lip curling, and she knew this was only the beginning of her suffering. It was just as well. The longer he was away from Hogwarts, the better. She would draw it out as long as she needed to. Feeling reckless- whether from her impending death of the lack of oxygen to her brain- she flung her fist out, making contact with Tom's jaw. He barely flinched, but his red eyes flashed. He bared his white teeth, cursing her and her family, and pushed her back down into the water. He didn't wrap his hands around her throat. He held her down by her red hair, keeping her under the water longer this time. When he let her to the surface, she was choking on the lake water, her vision blurry.

"When they finally find what's left of you, Ginevra," he spat down at her, "you will be unrecognizable. You will be broken in the most horrid of ways. Your family will weep at your feet when they see what I have done to you. Well, what's left of your family, anyway. No child makes light of my hard work and lives to tell. It was sacrilege what you did- plunging that fang into my very soul. There is no greater trespass against me. What a foolish girl you are. If you had but surrendered, if you had allowed me to continue my great work, we could have changed the world."

Ginny wanted to laugh but she was more focused on breaths of air. Tom held her by the back of her neck, towering over her, the cold water dripping off of her. Her trembling limbs had gone numb. One of his hands moved, touching her chin. His expression was unreadable, but even with her blurred vision she did not like what she saw.

"There are so many ways to kill you, little Ginny. I've so many ideas- so many ways to make you suffer." He contemplated her with a leer, a wolfish grin sliding onto his face. "You have shown yourself a capable vessel in the past, and I'm not sure I want to waste such an opportunity."

Ginny suddenly found her voice when realization hit her.

"No," she choked, her voice hoarse and strained. "I'll kill myself first."

"Ah, yes, you would try that, wouldn't you?" He smirked at her. "Predictably Gryffindor. But let me do the honors, won't you? It's quite a complicated ritual- but once your soul has left your body, you will be the perfect host to house a piece of my own. Then you will be a true servant. Obedient to me in every way, a very extension of my own self."

Her face was already wet with drops of lake water, but now tears threatened to join them.

"No!" She screamed shrilly. "I won't!"

Adrenaline coursed through her, fueled by anger and disgust at the thought of being used as she had in the past, of her body not being her own again. Feeling flew back into her and she fought. She arched her back, throwing her arms and legs at whatever part of Tom she could reach. He restrained her and she choked and sputtered as he pushed her down to hold her under the water. He was strong- so much stronger than her. He held her under until black spots began to fill her vision. His hands moved off of her and she felt herself surface. She coughed out water before her burning lungs began greedily sucking in air.

Tom was standing very still- so still he seemed not to be breathing. He was so inhuman at this point, maybe he didn't need to breathe anymore. His eyes were locked on something in the distance. Something lit a hunger in his eyes- a hunger that far out-shadowed his desire for vengeance on the girl who lay soaked and trembling below him. He was looking towards the castle, at a figure who was standing on the hill. Ginny had but a few seconds' glimpse, trying to see who had captured Tom's attention.

It was Tom Riddle on the hill- except it wasn't. This boy wore glasses and she could barely make out a pair of striking eyes beneath the dark hair. Before she could get a better look, Tom had shot a jet of green light towards the figure, who disappeared into the brush.

Tom looked down at her. Water was still rolling down her face, and she blinked it away. Only her head and neck were above the surface, and she scurried backwards. Even if the boy on the hill had seen her, he had no chance against a monster like Tom, and she was no closer to escaping her fate.

"I've got a guest to greet, little one." He was smiling triumphantly- he was winning, after all. She was only delaying the inevitable. "It shouldn't take long. Wait for me here, won't you?" His red eyes danced wickedly, and Ginny gulped.

Tom's wand and hand began glowing with golden sparks. "Be a good girl, Ginny Weasley. Be a good girl and hide in the lake for me."

He thrust his hand out, and the golden light burst down into the water, hitting Ginny in the abdomen. It wasn't death- whatever hit her- but it was agonizing pain. The water around her was lighting up, and a golden light was slowly spreading out from her abdomen and engulfing her body. She writhed in the water, crying out in pain. Instead of frigid cold it was burning heat. The heat traveled through her blood stream, burning and searing as it went. She tried crawling to edge of the lake.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

Ginny wasn't listening, her legs felt on fire. Tom was next to her again. She reached out and grabbed his ankle, digging her nails into him as she gasped from the pain.

"Oh, and you won't be needing those." He spoke causally, flicking his wand at her again. She expected more pain. Instead, she felt her clothes falling away from her in ribbons of fabric. She cried out again and attempted to cover herself. Tom was laughing at her. The humiliation of her nakedness before him ebbed away as the pain in her legs increased. She thought death must be near and was grateful for it, even if her loved ones would find her body in such a horrid state. Curling onto her side, she waited for her last breath to leave her. It wasn't as painful now. She didn't feel the cold anymore, and the heat was becoming more tolerable. But just as the pain began to ebb away, she found she could hardly move her legs. Maybe that was the beginning of death.

Looking down at herself, she saw that she could not move her legs because she had none. Where her long, pale legs had been, there was now a tail. It was a mermaid's tail. It shimmered, the scales reflecting an iridescent rainbow of color from the moonlight. Ginny froze, her body reacting like when Tom had first been holding her under the cold water. Eyes wide, she couldn't move or breathe. Tom looked enormously satisfied, appraising her new form.

"Between you and me, Ginevra, I do enjoy a good story. Have you ever read the fairytale about a mermaid? She wanted more than anything to become human. She didn't belong out of the water. It was a very tragic love story. You see, she dies in the end- just like you will."

He reached out to her shocked wet face, stroking her hair. A leer was on his features, his eyes moving across her lips, her hair, lingering on her chest before moving down to her abdomen- she was in too much disbelief to cover herself. "Though I must say, you are much more pleasant to look at than a real mermaid- such horrid creatures. I'll rid them soon enough. Until then," he took her hand, coaxing her into the water, "Wait for me." A ribbon of golden light was flowing from his wand. It gently fell around the girl, wrapping its threads around her. "Wait for me in the lake. Do not come until I call."

Using his wand, he slid her body into the water. It was cold but it didn't bother her. Her eyes were glassy, and her mind was quite blank. The water was up to her neck now. The golden ribbon of light grew tighter around her. Enveloping her within its threads, it lit brightly before soaking into her body, leaving behind unmarred pale skin. Tom flashed her his most handsome smile.

"Go. Go hide, little one."

Against her will, her body moved further into the lake. Tom lingered for a few moments watching her before he walked toward the hill. As he reached the far end of the shore, he looked back at her and nodded. Her dark brown eyes watched him until her mermaid body took her further beneath the surface and she could no longer see the shore.

Completely under the water, she allowed herself to sink into the liquid depths. The dark of night was more intense beneath the surface, and the deep cold surrounded her. She hardly felt it. Infact, she wasn't feeling the cold at all, nor any remnants of the burning heat that had encased her legs in a mermaid tail. Her shimmering tail gently held her upright as fell deeper. Long, flowing red hair billowed around her head. Her dark eyes closed. All the physical pain was gone, replaced by a great nothingness. Is this what mermaids felt? A great, empty nothing? But she was not a real mermaid- she had seen them before. No, whatever she was now was the creation of Tom Riddle and the golden, cursed threads of light that had come from his wand.

A large boulder touched the bottom of her tail, and she sat upon it, her tail fluttering in the gentle current of the water. She didn't know how long she sat there. Almost completely absent of sensation, no longer feeling any human needs, she had no grasp of time. No pain, no tiredness, no hunger, no thirst...

There was only one thing she felt. She was breathing, though she wished she wasn't. A part of her thought it would have been better if she had drowned. Water wasn't what was drowning her anymore, it was despair. It's cold hands were a heavy chain around her neck. It told her she had failed her loved ones, whom she would never see again, and that she would forever be slave to a boy who had placed a hold on her mind since the tender age of eleven. It told her there would be no rescue, no escape. She would be doomed to wait in the watery depths of sadness, until Tom drew her to the surface to finally end her. It was all hopeless.

Ginny let out a wracking sob, her shoulders shaking. Trembling as she sobbed, she moved her hands to cover up her bare chest. She was very much alone, but wrapped her arms around herself tightly anyway, and bowing her head. She didn't know it was possible to cry when one was underwater, but cry she did.

Time passed on and still she cried. Eventually, her sobs finally quieted. Arms still wrapped around herself, she looked around the quiet depths of where she sat on the boulder. Water plants swayed gently, and occasionally a small school of fish swam by. As she watched the peaceful scene, her heart was soothed.

Wait for me in the lake, little one.

Tom's voice whispered in her ear, and it was then that she looked up towards the surface. The night was over- she could see the sun reflecting off the surface of the glassy water. An urge to surface and scream for help took over her, but anytime she tried to reach it an overwhelming power would push her back down. She repositioned herself on the large boulder, staring towards the shore, and waited. Once or twice, she became distracted. She thought she felt eyes on her, felt herself being watched. It didn't matter though, she had to wait for Tom.

But he never came. He never called for her. Ginny waited obediently, but the hours stretched into days. As more days passed, the more she had trouble remembering who she was waiting for. Time passed right over her, and the more time that passed, the more Ginny began to forget.

Her shredded clothes were all that they found. That, and a broken wand.

After hours of searching for survivors, the remains of her school uniform- stained with her blood- were found on the banks of the Black Lake. A pair of shoes lay not far from them, next to a wand snapped in half. Drops of her spilled blood could be seen on the smooth rocks near the shore. The banks of lake showed the marks of her struggle. She must have been very brave, they said, she fought him back. She drew him away from the battle, kept him distracted long enough for help to arrive, resulting in her own death. It was admirable, but regrettably tragic. Despite her bravery, the entire Weasley clan had been killed- save for the youngest brother- in retaliation for their treachery.

In the aftermath, there was no body to be found. With her clothes, wand and spilled blood on the rocks, it was assumed the girl had met a horrifying end at Voldemort's hand. Another victim of the snake-like monster. The last victim...

In spite of the death and destruction, including the sacrifice of a heroic young woman, all had not been lost. A seventeen-year-old boy appeared on the hill at the final hour and proved the long-foretold prophecy to be true.

Almost a year later, a beautiful redhead in the lake still lay waiting, though she had completely forgotten both who and what she was waiting for.

A/N: This chapter is the darkest this story gets. Enjoy!