The Story of Virginia Weasley

Chapter 3: Awakening

Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God. It's him, it's Voldemort.

Her heart raced, her pulse beat fervently against her pale skin. She stared from the back of a huge tree, her fingers grasping the rough surface of the tree's bark. A skeletally thin, tall man with ghostly white skin and livid scarlet eyes stood inside a circle of Death Eaters, his wide eyes on the boy lying down on the ground before him. The boy was staring defiantly at the man, and as his grip on his wand became tighter, the boy's fringe fell aside to reveal a scar in the shape of a lightning bolt. Ginny tried to breathe as softly as possible as she wondered to herself what she should do. She knew she should leave and get help, but she did not want to leave Harry behind. She was not exactly sure why, but her instinct told her to stay. Ginny cautiously took a step forward to see if Harry was all right. At that moment, someone covered her mouth and grabbed her from behind. The person spun her around, and Ginny's eyes widen with surprise as he took his hand off her mouth.

'What the hell are you doing here?' asked an angry looking Draco Malfoy in a fierce whisper. 'Do you know you can get yourself killed?'

Ginny was not sure why he was concerned all of a sudden, and she felt disturbed by this change of manner in the malicious boy. 'What do you care, Malfoy? Since when did you develop a conscience?'

'Hush!' he shushed her, his eyes flickering left and right. 'Come on, let's go.' He then pulled her arm, intending for her to follow him.

Ginny pushed Draco's hand away roughly, and stared at him. 'I'm not going anywhere without Harry,' she said, determined.

'Potter's got to fight this on his own. You've got nothing to do with it. Now, let's go.'

Ginny was determined to stay. 'I am not going anywhere!'

She must have spoken louder than she intended to, because the Death Eaters heard her and two of them appeared before Ginny in a few seconds. As Ginny stood there, trembling, she could have sworn she heard Draco muttering 'That stupid Gryfinddor!' to himself. She took a few steps backwards, as the two Death Eaters walked menacingly towards her, their wands ready in their hands. As slowly and as silently as she could, Ginny pulled out her wand from her skirt pocket. She knew she could not defeat the two men before her alone, but she sure was not going to die without a fight.

'STUPEFY!'

'PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!'

Just as she cast a Stunning spell, someone had cast a Body-binding spell. She had a good idea whom it was, when Draco came running, grabbing her hand and breaking into a sprint.

'Come on, run faster!' urged Draco.

'I'm trying, I'm trying!' Ginny cried out.

As they ran through the dark forest, Ginny could make out loud voices and heavy footsteps. Panicked, she ran faster and tumbled over a protruding tree root. As she got up with Draco's help, Ginny heard a familiar voice.

Ginny, why are you running away from me? It's your friend, Tom.

Tom? Ginny stopped in her tracks, ignoring Draco's urges to run. Instead, she walked slowly back towards where she had ran from, hypnotised. Someone was calling her name, telling her something, but all Ginny could hear was Tom's voice.

That's right, Ginny. Come to me.

Someone was clutching her shoulders, shaking her violently, but Ginny merely ignored the person.

Don't you remember your good, old friend, Tom?

'That's not Tom! It's Voldemort!'

At that point, something in Ginny awakened. Somehow, in her mind, Tom Riddle and Lord Voldemort were two different people. Tom was the handsome boy who befriended her when she was lonely. Tom was the boy who listened to her problems when nobody else did. He used her, but Ginny could not hate him, as she knew she should. To her, Tom was bad, but not evil. Not after all the things he said to her. Lord Voldemort, in Ginny's knowledge, was the evil maniac who was trying to kill Harry and rule the world. To Ginny, they were two different people. She never thought of associating the two of them together, merely because she did not want to. She could never admit the truth to herself, because she rather lived a lie. Now that the truth was uttered, Ginny could no longer lie to herself. Tom Riddle was just a shadow from Lord Voldemort's past.

'Are you listening to me? That is not Tom!' Draco was yelling at her, pulling her arms at the same time.

'Y-yes,' Ginny said shakily, turning around. 'I'm listening.'

Then, together, they ran out of the Forbidden Forest. They got out just in time, as a group of Death Eaters caught up with them. A huge number of wizards and witches were right outside of the forest; their wands ready in their hands, waiting to attack the about-to-be surprised Death Eaters. Ginny and Draco were taken to safety as the fight took place. As they were rushed towards the Hogwarts castle, Ginny looked back. She was sure she heard Tom - no, Lord Voldemort's wavering voice.

Goodbye, Tom.

With a tired but triumphant smile, she turned her head away.