Disclaimer: See Chapter 1 and as always, thank you J.K.R.

Chapter 2 – The Edge of Despair

Ginny Weasley was lost in her thoughts as she made her way back to Gryffindor Tower through the packed hallways. Two of her best friends from her year in Gryffindor, Natalie Bell and Lindy Baker, were chattering excitedly about the name that had just sent shockwaves through the Great Hall twenty minutes ago. Ron, Hermione, and Neville were having an intense, whispered, conversation a few steps ahead of them.

All around them the rest of Gryffindor house was carrying on in much the same way. Some of the students boldly making claims that Harry Potter wasn't even real. Many saying that he had certainly been alive at one point but now had to be dead as no one had seen him in 13 years. Others were saying he must have snuck in while the Goblet was in the entrance hall overnight and submitted his name. Obviously, he must be good at sneaking around if nobody had seen him in years!

The more sensible of the lot were reminding everyone that while Harry Potter was real and alive, he was also supposed to only be 14 years old. If Fred and George Weasley couldn't get past Dumbledore's protections (a claim the twins loudly protested), how could Harry Potter even if he was in the school somewhere?

Ginny wasn't taking in any of the conversations around her though. She was stuck in her memories of the last time she saw one Harry James Potter. Very real and a very secret memories of an alive Harry Potter (albeit how he survived was still nearly unbelievable if she hadn't been there) from almost a year and a half ago…

~HP~GW~~HP~GW~

29 May 1993

Ginny blinked open her eyes slowly. Her back was stiff and wet from lying on a rough stone surface in a puddle of water. She sat up with a gasp. "The Chamber! Tom, the Diary!" that one thought piercing through the fog in her sluggish brain. Her body felt like she had been run over by a herd of angry Hippogriffs.

Looking around her, she was startled to see that damn diary lying in a in the water with what looked like a hole burned through it. Black ink was oozing out into the surrounding puddle like blood from a stab wound.

Turning around slowly she caught a glimpse of a huge green serpentine body and slammed her eyes shut with a small squeak escaping her lips.

"It's okay now Ginny, it's dead." A soft pained voice to her left said. She nearly jumped out of her skin as she spun around and noticed for the first time a boy, maybe a few years older than her, sitting there on his knees clutching his arm with a wince on his face.

As she stared at him, too shocked to speak, she noticed a huge white fang sitting a couple of feet away. Her eyes widened as she realized what she was seeing. A Basilisk fang!

"Oh Merlin! You've been bitten by the Basilisk!" she sobbed out. "I'm so s-sorry! Tom Riddle took over. I couldn't f-fight him anymore. This is all my fault!"

"Ginny, it's alright." The boy said in the best reassuring voice he could muster. "Dumbledore and my godfather are just down the passageway into the chamber. There was a cave-in, and my godfather was buried-…" he paused with another wince and squeezed his eye shut against the pain. "Anyways I don't think they'll be stuck there long. They'll come and get you out of here soon. Just tell Dumbledore what happened. He knows it's not your fault…"

As the boy finished speaking, he slumped sideways against the floor. His eyes fluttered shut as he fought to keep them open. Ginny rushed to close the gap between them and cradled his head in her lap. She was sobbing now uncontrollably as this boy she had killed with her weakness was taking his last breaths.

"Wait! Hold on just a little longer p-please!" she gasped out. "Please just stay with me! If Dumbledore's really coming, he'll be able to help you! Just keep… keep talking to me… what's your name?"

"…Harry.." the boy breathed out in a voice so quiet if she wasn't holding his head in her lap she could not have heard.

Suddenly in a bright flash of flame a magnificent red and gold phoenix appears just above them. It let out a sorrowful trill that sent a shiver down her spine. The large bird alighted on the ground next to them and bent its head low over Harry's wounded arm. With another keening note it splashed great tears made of what looked like diamonds or starlight on the wound.

The boy, Harry, she now knew, stilled. His eyes now fully closed. Ginny knew in her heart that he had just passed on to the 'Next Great Adventure'. With tears flowing freely down her cheeks all she could think of in the moment was that nothing about this was 'Great'.

It was no adventure. It was horrifying. It was cruel. It was certainly nothing like the bedtime stories went when the damsel was saved by her knight in shining armor. How could the gods or fate or whoever take this boy, Harry's, life when he had just saved hers? And it was all her fault.

A commotion and shouts came from the direction of the chamber's entrance causing the phoenix to look up and take flight with another trill. Ginny couldn't look up from the face of her rescuer though. She was falling over the edge into the deepest pit of despair any 11 year old should never know.

"HARRY!" a deep voice shouted from nearer. "HARRY – No! No, no, no! Please, no!" the same voice, now filled with soul-wrenching anguish, yelled as a force slammed into them from Harry's other side.

Ginny looked up through her eyelashes at the man now clutching at Harry's body. He looked to be in his late 20s or early 30s, long dark hair that hung to his jawline, and piercing grey eyes that were filled with pure terror.

A gasp followed by a huge deep breath escaped the smaller form now trapped between Ginny and the older man. Shocked, Ginny and the man were staring straight at them as two emerald eyes that were nearly glowing in their brilliance opened wide to stare up at them.

"Uncle Siri, you're okay!" Harry coughed out.

The man, 'Uncle Siri', choked out a garbled sound halfway between a sob and laugh, "Oh Merlin, my darling boy! You were just still as the grave, and you're worried my being okay!?" Tears were streaming down his face but he beamed with relief.

Harry was staring wide-eyed up at his godfather but did manage to give a sheepish look. As he turned his head towards Ginny, she felt like she had unfrozen. Harry was alive? He was just dead she was so sure of it! "Oh well, now's not the time to look that dragon in the mouth… I can't believe I was so stupid to fall for Tom's lies" she thought.

"Ginny…" Harry spoke softly with a small smile. Looking directly into her sad chocolate-colored eyes "Everything's going to be okay now. You're safe. I promise."

"I'm so sorry, Harry" she answered in an equally soft voice. "If I wouldn't have been such an idiot you would've never been down here to rescue me…" The rest of the world had faded away as she got lost in those striking emerald orbs. They seemed to be peering into her very soul while giving off a soft warmth. She almost found herself believing the truth and reassurance she saw in them.

A throat clearing nearby brought her back to the reality that they were in the Chamber of Secrets and they were not alone.

"Miss Weasley, I'm glad to see you are still with us" Albus Dumbledore spoke in a kind grandfatherly voice. "When Professor McGonagall contacted me with that dreadful message painted on the wall, I must admit I had feared the worst. However, even though we all have much to discuss I'm sure, allow me to make some introductions and then we'll be on our way to visit Madam Pomfrey to get you looked over." Turning his head to the other man who was still clutching at Harry. "Sirius Black, please meet Miss Ginevra Weasley, daughter of Molly and Arthur Weasley."

"Hello, Miss Weasley." Sirius offered with a shaky smile. "My apologies for not making the introduction myself. You'll understand if I was a little distracted there for a moment." He added ruefully.

"Hi, Mr. Black. I'm sorry you had to come down here for me." Ginny responded. Struggling not to look at the floor as she did.

"It's quite alright my dear. I'm just happy we appear to have arrived in time" Then Sirius barked out a laugh. "And please… call me Sirius. Mr. Black was my father!" he joked weakly but with a much more genuine smile this time.

Ginny couldn't help but think she had heard the name Sirius Black somewhere before... Some sort of odd feeling she hadn't felt since just before the train ride to school that year when she found herself alone in a compartment.

The headmaster then turned to Harry who Sirius had helped sit upright. "And this fine young man is Harry… Harry Potter."

Ginny gasped and her head spun around so fast the others wouldn't have been surprised if it separated from her neck. "Harry Potter!" she shouted in her mind. Could he really be the Harry Potter she always got teased by her brothers for saying she would marry one day?

Ginny was blushing furiously now. Her eyes took in the boy who had rescued her. Messy black hair, bright green eyes that had captured her just minutes before. She was surprised to see he didn't have glasses like all the Harry Potter books she loved always described him wearing. Her eyes darted up to look at his forehead and she could just see the bottom of the famous scar slipping out from under his fringe and dipping into his right eyebrow.

She was mortified to be meeting her hero, literally now, thinking she must look like a drowned rat. And to think that she was the reason he almost just died! At the same time, she was also strangely thrilled to be rescued by him just like stories she had read. It was doing a number of strange things to her stomach.

"Hi Ginny! It's nice to officially meet you!" Harry said brightly with a smile that elicited some chuckles from the older men.

"H-Hi, Harry." She got out with a nervous stammer. "T-thank you for saving m-my life.. I'm really glad you're okay now" she finished with a shy smile looking up at him through her lashes.

Albus Dumbledore and Sirius Black shared a knowing smile over their Heads. It appeared young Miss Weasley was having a bit of a moment meeting with the famous Harry Potter who'd just swept in to rescue her.

Dumbledore took that moment to interrupt. "Ah, yes! Pheonix tears have powerful healing qualities to them. We are very fortunate Fawkes here considers Harry a good friend! Now that the introductions have been made, I believe it is time we departed this place. If you're all feeling up to standing, we'll impose upon Fawkes one more time to take a shortcut up to the infirmary."

Harry and Sirius rose together, and Harry reached out to grasp Ginny's hand and help her up. She could feel herself blushing over what must've been her entire body at this point, but his hand felt so comforting to her, all she could think to do was hope he didn't let go.

The headmaster motioned Fawkes over. "Alright, all you need to do it reach out and grasp one of his tail feathers with a free hand… very good. And off we go!"

~HP~GW~~HP~GW~

The group arrived in the hospital wing of Hogwarts in a pillar of flame. Fawkes let out a triumphant note and alighted on the nearest bedpost. Summoned by the phoenix's call, the school's resident matron, Madam Pomfrey came hurrying out of her office.

"Albus! You're back!" she exclaimed as she rushed up to them. "Thank Merlin you're all here. Miss Weasley, Harry. Each of you please take a bed so I can examine you." She shot a look at the state of the headmaster's and Sirius's clothing as well as a couple rather nasty bruises that were forming on their exposed skin. "Albus, Sirius. You two will also get in a bed until I can clear you." She finished firmly.

Ginny privately thought it was odd that Madam Pomfrey was so familiar to use Harry's first name but called her 'Miss Weasley'. It was also quite amusing to see the two adults in her rescue party wearing contrite expressions and dutifully climbing into open beds.

As soon as the two younger patients settled in their beds Madam Pomfrey's wand was being waved from head to toe. She was muttering under her breath what sounded like incantations mixed with occasional "harrumph!". The healer went on from bed to bed running diagnostic spells. Ginny receiving a calming draught and strengthening potion. Harry, under the gaze of stern witch, also received a strengthening potion, a restorative potion, and series of other potions Ginny had never heard of before.

"They're likely for the basilisk venom." she thought. She was glad she had already taken the calming draught because she still felt the beginnings of a panic attack as she remembered how they all got here. He also had some minor scrapes and bruises treated. It looked like the phoenix tears closed the wound on his forearm, but there would always be a scar.

Dumbledore and Sirius each received potions for headaches, some bruise salve, and had their cuts healed. Sirius received an extra potion for treating his likely concussion.

Just as Madam Pomfrey was finishing up her treatment, the doors to the hospital wing burst open with a wild-eyed Molly Weasley running in followed up by Arthur Weasley and Minerva McGonagall.

"Ginny! My baby girl, you're here!" Molly wailed. She rushed over to Ginny's bed where she swept her daughter up in her arms crying tears of joy. Arthur Weasley followed his wife's lead and sandwiched Ginny in a hug from the other side. Tears were glistening in his eyes as well at the joy of finding his daughter alive when all had seemed lost only a few hours ago.

Professor McGonagall approached the headmaster with a relieved expression on her face. "Albus, I'm so relieved to see your rescue attempt was a success." She began in her Scottish brogue. "Molly and Arthur were in a distraught state in my office, and I was very close to joining them! One of the house elves popped in to tell us the four of you were in the hospital wing! What happened? How did you get into the Chamber of Secrets and save Miss Weasley?" Albus opened his mouth to respond but the formidable witch cut over him. "And why in Merlin's name did you and Sirius take Harry with you!?" she finished with a glare at Sirius who appeared to be trying to sink into the pillows on his bed.

Dumbledore held up his hands in a placating gesture. "Minerva, I promise you the answers you seek. No doubt Molly and Arthur have many of the same questions." At this, Molly and Arthur Weasley looked up indicating their agreement. "Poppy will need to grant our young charges leave for an hour or two so we many answer these questions in my office first." He looked over at the matron who glanced at Harry and seemed to understand his meaning.

"Very well headmaster, you may use the floo in my office to get up there." Poppy offered. "Just give the potions another half hour to do their work and you'll have my leave."

Thinking they would be unavailable for a while; Professor McGonagall called a house elf to deliver a message to the Weasley boys in Gryffindor Tower that their sister was safe and would be with their parents for some time yet. That taken care of the group headed into Madam Pomfrey's office.

~HP~GW~~HP~GW~

Once the three Weasleys, Harry Potter, Sirius Black, and Professor McGonagall were all seated in a semi-circle around the headmaster's desk, Dumbledore looked to the Weasleys and started speaking. "Thank you for holding your questions until we arrived here in my office rather than speaking on these events in the hospital wing. Let me first reiterate my joy that Miss Weasley was recovered from the chamber." Dumbledore paused as Ginny's parents nodded in agreement.

"To understand my insistence on moving our conversation, you'll need to take a closer look at our two guests to your left… Lord Sirius Black… and Harry Potter" he indicated each with a nod of his head. Molly Weasley gave a gasp and did a double take at the mention of their names. Arthur, for his part, went slightly wide-eyed with understanding and gave an appreciative nod in their direction. They had both been so focused on their daughter in the infirmary that they hadn't taken much notice of the two strangers before.

"Sirius, as you may know, is young Harry's godfather." Dumbledore continued. "Over the past 11 and a half years since that fateful Halloween night, we have worked very hard to keep Harry's and by extension Sirius' whereabouts secret." He glanced over at Sirius who gave a nod of confirmation. "Suffice it to say there are maybe a handful of people who are in contact with these two with any type of regularity, and we do not wish to advertise that they were in the castle today due to ongoing security concerns."

At this point Ginny looked over at Harry who she noticed was looking at the floor with his shoulders slumped. It seemed to her that Harry looked a little sad and a little guilty at that admission. She watched as Sirius placed a hand on Harry's shoulder to comfort him. Harry glanced up at his godfather quickly with a weak smile that did not reach his eyes before focusing back on the floor. As far as Ginny could tell, her rescuer was feeling the weight of being hidden away all his life. It broke her heart that her hero had to be hidden away from the world just so he could keep living in it.

"As you'll all know, I was recently given a temporary dismissal order by the board of governors from my posting as Headmaster. What Minerva, Sirius, and Harry know, but you Weasleys do not, is that I used my brief hiatus from the school to rejoin in Harry's magical education a few months earlier than our schedules usually allow."

Ginny was paying very close attention to Dumbledore's words now. Apparently, he knew Harry on a personal level. Not just as 'Albus Dumbledore' leader of the light but was involved personally in Harry's education for at least part of every year when his duties allowed. Pomfrey and McGonagall's familiar use of Harry's first name now started to make sense. "They must know Harry personally too! McGonagall is probably one of his tutors just like Dumbledore!" Ginny concluded.

"Which brings us up to the events of earlier today." the headmaster paused. "Now under normal circumstances the protocol would dictate that we request you three to submit to voluntary memory modification." Molly and Ginny both looked up sharply at this statement. Ginny didn't want to forget Harry! Voluntarily or otherwise the idea terrified her, and she began trembling. Dumbledore raised a hand to hold off any interruption.

"However, given what I can piece together from the chamber today and having witnessed the very close brush with disaster, I believe simply forgetting these events would only harm Miss Weasley's recovery and your family's ability to properly help her." Ginny immediately stilled and looked up again, as if she was not quite sure she had heard correctly. Molly on the other hand seemed unsure and looked to her husband who indicated that they should hear Albus out.

"Now, in order to get to the bottom of everything that has transpired I think we must turn it over to Ginevra and start at the beginning. Where she first came to possess the diary of Tom Riddle and anything she can recollect from there." Ginny looked teary eyed, sure she was going to be blamed for everything as her gaze jumped from the headmaster to her parents and her head of house. "Ginevra before you start your piece, allow me to state categorically" he stared at the elder Weasleys steadily now, "that you were in no way responsible for falling under the thrall of an incredibly powerful dark magic object." Molly and Arthur looked horrified by this bit of fact. "Many adult witches and wizards would have succumbed to Tom Riddles will in a fraction of the time. You, my dear child, are frankly remarkable in your willpower and demonstrated a strength of character worthy of Godric himself."

Ginny nodded shakily, not really believing that last bit, and took a deep breath. Looking around the room once again she saw Sirius and the headmaster's warm smiles, her parents' – her mums in particular – faces cycling through emotions faster than she could keep up, and Harry's soft and reassuring smile. Drinking in his visage to fortify herself, she began.

"The first time I noticed Tom's diary was when we got home from Diagon Alley from our school supplies shopping trip. I-… It's not uncommon for us to purchase school supplies second-hand and I had mentioned needing a new diary as my last one had just about filled up." Her dad's ears went a little red at the discussion of their family's finances but gave no indication this was not the truth. "A couple of weeks later on the night before the Express I started to write my first entry… I was excited to finally start at Hogwarts and wanted to put my feelings to paper so I could get to sleep, you see. Only the ink didn't dry on the page… after I finished my first couple of lines the writing faded into the page. A few seconds later new writing appeared. I-it said 'Hello Ginny, my name is Tom'."

She paused and gulped in a large breath trying to continue, but struggling to go on, when Dumbledore spoke up. "I believe I can make some inferences here my dear… Tom Riddle from your diary wrote back. He presented himself as a friend that you could share your excitement, your fears, and your dreams with? All in a small diary that you could slip in your pocket."

Ginny was surprised at his accurate depiction. "Y-yes, sir… At the beginning Tom was so understanding and charming. You see, I had been so looking forward to being at Hogwarts with my brothers instead of having to stay behind. I'm not blaming them or anyone else, but I had built up my first year in mind. We would all be together the whole year, we'd have adventures and learn magic together… when the time finally came, I rapidly realized that my brothers were busy with friends of their own. I felt so alone and couldn't make any f-friends on my own." She finished looking down at her hands.

The headmaster picked back up softly, "and Tom would have worked to make you believe that he, and he alone, could understand you. That it was better to only rely on him, your 'true friend'."

She nodded. 'After the first couple months of school I believed Tom completely when he said my b-brothers didn't want me. He really was my only friend by that point… That's when the blank spots in my memory started. The morning after Mrs. Norris was attacked, I woke up with red paint on my fingers and no memory of how it got there… Tom of course told me not to worry about it. As the blackouts became more frequent, he told me I was just too tired and needed more rest."

Ginny's head shot up with a defiant look in her eye. "I would get brief moments of clarity throughout the year. I started to think something was wrong with Tom... with the diary. I even tried to throw it away but could never bring myself to do it. I was… trapped but I tried to fight him sir!"

Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling with pride. "I have absolutely no doubt about that Miss Weasley. While you were reuniting with your parents in the infirmary, Harry here told me about his own conversation with Tom in the chamber." He turned to the boy now. "Harry, if you will please provide us with an abridged version of that conversation now?"

Ginny looked over at her rescuer now, needing to hear what Tom had to say. "Yes sir," he cleared his throat, "As soon as I got into the chamber, I was careful to keep my eyes down and my ears open for any sound of movement. I didn't hear anything though, so I looked up and spotted Ginny lying on the floor at the base of the Slytherin statue. I ran over to her to get her out of there, only she wouldn't wake…" Harry looked over at her with his brow furrowed. "I was just about to levitate her back to the cave-in when Tom Riddle showed up. He went on to tell me she wouldn't wake, I insisted we had to leave with Ginny as fast as possible. That we were in danger from the Basilisk that could show up at any moment." Ginny shuddered thinking about the massive serpent Tom had forced her to call forth several times this year. "Tom assured me that the Basilisk would only come when called. I was already pretty weary of him by this point since he didn't seem concerned for Ginny, when it clicked - he had to be the Heir of Slytherin… he must have realized who I was because he started asking my how I defeated Voldemort-" all three Weasley's and Professor McGonagall flinched. "…-as a baby. When I asked why he cared. That he too could've been only a small child when Voldemort was banished judging how old her looked… Tom then wrote in the air with Ginny's wand the words 'Tom Marvolo Riddle'. He rearranged the letters to say, 'I am Lord Voldemort'."

The Weasley parents went ridged, and the normally composed Minerva let out a small moan. Ginny felt like her world twisted on its axis. "Tom was really He-who-must-not-be-named?" She felt so dirty, like she needed to scrub her skin in 20 scalding hot baths, like she was going to sick up right on the floor. She had spilled her deepest darkest secrets to the darkest wizard in the last 50 years. Dumbledore had said the diary was a powerful dark magic object, but how was He able to fool her into thinking he was her friend?

After a brief pause allowing that news to settle, Harry continued with his tale. "Tom explained how he had manipulated you, Ginny. He made it so you were isolated and could only share your feelings with him. The worse he made you feel, the more you retreated into yourself and the diary, and the more powerful he became."

Harry reached out and took Ginny's hand. This simple act of kindness shocked her. How could someone as good and pure as Harry want to possibly touch her? She was tainted by the darkness of the wizard who had made him an orphan! She wanted to recoil, but a small part of her couldn't help but hope if Harry didn't mind touching her then just maybe she wasn't a lost cause. He squeezed her hand and plowed on.

"Ginny, Tom told me how he could only take control of you for brief periods of time. He was furious that you were fighting his possession of you and stopping him from using to Basilisk to actually kill anyone. I know you are probably blaming yourself, but if you hadn't been so strong then everyone who was petrified could have easily been killed. You might not believe it right now, but you are a hero, Gin."

Ginny was staring at him in disbelief, but then she started at that nickname. She always threatened her brothers away from using that lest they face her rath. Coming out of Harry's mouth though… it sent shivers of warmth through her body. He thought she was strong and even a hero! She definitely didn't feel very strong or heroic, but this amazing boy was reassuring her at every turn. Slowly it felt like the ice around her soul from the horrors of this year was beginning to melt.

"Ultimately," said Harry, "Tom gave up his attempts at controlling you and took you to the chamber for the final time today. He was draining your lifeforce to give him his body back. Then he called the Basilisk out…"

Those not in the chamber to see the aftermath went deathly pale at his statement. Professor McGonagall leaned forward to look past Sirius at Harry, as if to reassure herself he wasn't a ghost after apparently encountering one of the deadliest creatures to have ever existed. Sirius had a very firm grip on Harry's shoulder, and it didn't look like he was going to be letting go anytime in the next 20 years. His joy over Harry being alive seemed to be warring with the terror of what his boy went through.

Sirius used Harry's pause to speak up, "Harry, if I hadn't seen that bloody giant monstrosity with my own eyes I don't know if I could believe it! The fact that you only survived getting bitten while running a sword through its head because of phoenix tears is going to give me nightmares for years…" Molly, Arthur, and McGonagall were all gaping from this fantastical sounding tale. "I'm so grateful your okay, but can you explain how that happened?"

Harry looked a little sheepish but replied quickly, "I had help! As soon as Riddle called the Basilisk out of the Slytherin statue, Fawkes here flamed in." Harry looked over fondly at the bird. "He actually dropped this," he pulled a familiar beat-up old hat from inside his robes as if he just remember it was there, "off to me… I turned and ran off to a side tunnel away from Riddle and Ginny, but as I got near it I heard the Basilisk making a horrible screeching sound. Thank Merlin Riddle didn't know when to shut up because he told me Fawkes had blinded it!"

Fawkes puffed up his chest and was preening under all the looks of admiration he was receiving. Dumbledore let out a quiet chuckle at his familiar's pleased state.

"I fired off a couple blasting and cutting hexes at it now that I could safely look but nothing made a scratch. All that did was let the thing know where I was, and Riddle commanded it to go after me again." Harry admitted with a guilty look. "I ran into the tunnel was able to lose it when the tunnel split, and I levitated a rock to make noise in the other direction. Since Fawkes dropped me this had I figured it was important, so I put it on and asked for help. Then I felt something hard drop onto my head inside the hat, so I took it off and saw the hilt of a sword in it, so I grabbed it. I just thought that if my spells couldn't pierce the basilisk's hide maybe the sword could." He shrugged and reached up to rub the top of his head, "I looped back around to get to Ginny and try to get her back to the chamber entrance, but the Basilisk shot up out of the reflection pool in front of the statue…" He looked up at his godfather with a determined glint in his eyes, "it struck at me a couple of times and I dodged, but by the third time I was too close to Ginny to risk it hitting her instead. I did the only thing I could do and planted my feet with the sword pointed at its mouth… the basilisk really did the all the work impaling itself through its mouth trying to bite me."

Harry looked down at the floor and rubbed his newest scar on his arm, "Well I guess it didn't just try… it succeeded. But it was enough to kill the basilisk too."

Sirius pulled his godson into a crushing hug as Ginny felt tears begin to fall down her cheeks for what felt like the hundredth time in the last couple of hours. Her parents and her usually unflappable head of house's eyes were also glistening.

Even Dumbledore looked shaken before he spoke softly, "My boy, I'm so sorry you were in the situation standing alone with that impossible decision. Sirius and I never intended for you to go into the chamber itself. That the passageway chose that moment to collapse centuries after its creation was either an act of Fate or the most remarkable example of bad luck I have ever seen." He paused, giving everyone a moment to restore their composure. "If you are feeling up to it, Harry, could you tell us what happened next?"

"Yes, sir…" Harry took a fortifying breath. "Riddle was furious that his pet was dead, but he said it didn't matter in the end. The venom would only take minutes to kill me and by that time he would be restored and Ginny dead. My whole arm felt like it was burning from the inside, so it wasn't hard to believe… I don't know what made me do it but when I saw the Diary next to Ginny, I pulled the fang out of my arm and just stabbed it… Riddle started screaming and ink shot out of the hole. Whatever was happening seemed to be destroying him, so I closed it and stabbed it again through the cover. After that, Riddle just faded away in a green mist. A few seconds later Ginny started to stir."

Ginny was at a complete loss for words when Harry turned back to her and pinned her with those eyes again. Remembering what happened to Harry just after she woke up, she reached out and took his hand this time. If he could comfort her after everything he went through she would be damned if she couldn't try and help him now.

"I was so relieved that you were okay, Ginny. That was the last thought I had before I blacked out…" he looked shy now. "That if you were going to be okay then everything that happened was worth it."

Ginny burst into tears and launched herself at him. They both hugged each other tightly as they cried. All the adults realized these two would be very important to each other's recovery from the traumatic ordeal.

~HP~GW~~HP~GW~

Ginny spent the next few days staying in Professor McGonagall's staff apartment with Harry and Sirius. After they had all calmed down from the headmaster's office, Ginny and her parents had gone back to the hospital wing. Her brothers arrived a short while after and while she appreciated their obvious relief and sincere apologies, she just wanted them to get back to Harry and make sure he was still alright, and it hadn't been a dream.

Madam Pomfrey was able to convince her parents to let Ginny stay with Harry as it would help them both to talk about what had happened more than what anyone else could offer at the moment. She also promised to keep a close eye on their recovery and send for them if she felt Ginny needed her parents. They all agreed that in order to keep Harry's involvement and presence a secret, her brothers and the rest of the school would need a cover story, but Ginny left that to the adults. She and her parents were sworn to secrecy and none of them wanted to put Ginny's rescuer and his godfather in additional danger by letting something slip.

She and Harry did indeed talk about what happened, but they also talked about everything and anything else. For her part, Ginny was thrilled to get to talk to this incredible boy and get to know him when no one else could. She felt a little bit guilty at that because Harry was obviously loving getting to interact with someone near his own age for a change, but she got to keep him all to herself.

When the time came for Harry and Sirius to leave Hogwarts, Ginny cried again. This time though it was because she didn't know when she was going to see her new best friend again. Okay, she would be lying if she said she didn't have a crush on him anymore. But what used to be a childish crush on the mythical boy-who-lived was now a crush Harry, built on real feelings for the great person who had saved her life.

~HP~GW~~HP~GW~

31 October 1994

Ginny Weasley was roused from her thoughts as Hermione called her name, "… sorry, what was that, Hermione?"

"I asked if you were okay. You were looking a little vacant there for a bit and we're just standing in front of the portrait hole." Hermione gestured to the round passageway that was opened behind the Fat Lady's painting. "Did it have anything to do with Harry Potter's name coming out of the Goblet tonight?"

Ginny looked around surprised to see the hall mostly empty, realizing she had just walked all the way up to Gryffindor Tower without paying the slightest bit of attention. "Sorry for worrying you, Hermione. Yeah I'm alright, I was just thinking that whoever put Harry's name in the Goblet is in for a nasty surprise" she said with a wan smile.

"So, you don't think he put his own name in somehow? And since when were you on a first name basis with Harry Potter?" Hermione arched an eyebrow.

"Nope!" Ginny said, exaggerating the 'pa' sound and ignoring the second question entirely.

Hermione, Ginny knew from years of experience, was about to launch into an interrogation after that answer. Not wanting to say anything else about it tonight, she quickly stepped through the portrait hole and headed up to bed.

That night while everyone else in the castle was probably up late discussing their increasingly wild theories, Ginny Weasley lay in her four-poster bed wearing a soft smile. She was worried for her friend and what his name coming out of the goblet meant, but she couldn't help being a little excited too. She was going to see Harry again!

A/N: Chapter 2 is mainly just laying some more background. Chapter 3 will be doing a bit more of the same and taking care of a pesky issue. I'm trying not to get too far into the weeds with rehashing certain things that are pretty standard from canon… we'll see how successful I am with that. Next chapter will be entirely divergent from cannon besides some periphery events that are mentioned.