The Story of Virginia Weasley

Chapter 7: Bitter Memories

Someone's watching me, thought Ginny, as she ate her breakfast.

It was not the first time that Ginny had this feeling. The feeling that someone was watching her every move occurred to her many times, and had started since the previous week. At first she thought that she was being paranoid, and dismissed the feeling. However, the feeling of being watched became more frequent and more intense as well. Once, she had looked around, and caught a gawky-looking boy staring at her. She had given him a fierce glare, which caused his eyes to look away. Ginny had assumed that it was that boy who had been watching her all this while, until she had the feeling that she was being watched again. She knew it could not be the same boy who was watching her before, because she spotted him a couple of metres in front of her, chatting away with his friends. It was then that Ginny became afraid. Who was this person who was watching her so intensely and yet had been able to hide himself or herself completely from Ginny's eyes?

Losing her appetite, Ginny stood up and left. She resisted the urge to look behind her as she rushed out the Great Hall. She broke into a run once she was outside, ignoring the funny looks she was getting from some passing students. Ginny was running so fast that she did not see Professor McGonagall until she knocked her over.

'Sorry, Professor, I didn't see you there,' apologized Ginny, her eyes darting left and right nervously.

The Transfiguration professor straightened her robes, and was about to give the young Weasley a stern lecture about running in the corridor when she caught sight of the distraught girl's tired face. There were dark circles beneath her eyes, her skin taut and ghostly white, and her lips pale and chapped. She noticed that Ginny looked rather agitated, and that she often turned her head to look behind her.

'Are you all right, Miss Weasley? You look pale,' the professor expressed her concern, looking at her student.

Ginny smiled weakly, 'I just feel a little unwell, that's all.'

'Perhaps you like to be excused from classes today,' said Professor McGonagall. 'See Madam Pomfrey. She'll give you something that'll help.'

Ginny agreed without giving a second thought. She was far too nervous and tense to attend classes. Especially when she had Double Potions that day with the Slytherins. Having Potions was bad enough when you have a teacher like Snape, but having Double Potions with the Slytherins was worse. Whose brilliant idea was it to put the Gryfinddors and Slytherins in the same room anyway?

*

'Here you go, dear. Take this, and you'll feel all better,' said Madam Pomfrey, handing her a spoonful of dark brown liquid.

Ginny stole a glance at the fluid that smelt like the mixture of rotten eggs and curdled milk, frowning. One look at Madam Pomfrey's stern face told her that there was no way she could escape from drinking the disgusting liquid. Taking a deep breath, Ginny swallowed the liquid in one quick gulp.

'Hey, that... wasn't so... bad...'

Before she knew it, Ginny's head had landed on the soft pillow of the infirmary bed. She was aware of someone pulling her legs up onto the bed, and she felt a light breeze before the school matron pulled the cotton blanket over her body.

'Children nowadays...' sighed Madam Pomfrey as she watched Ginny Weasley drift into a deep sleep. 'They're always so stressed, so tense. Don't they know that sometimes they have to let us do the work?'

With a smile, the kindly matron left the infirmary, closing the door gently.

*

She was painting something, she wasn't sure what. But she was sure that it was going to be something huge, something that will impress everyone, something that will leave an imprint on everybody's minds. With a satisfied smile, she stood back and surveyed her handiwork. She let out a cry. She put her hands to her mouth in horror, and her eyes widened at the sight. Instead of the canvas she thought she was painting, a wall stood before her. The words Enemies of the Heir, Beware were in dark red, almost like blood. Did she really do this? The dry red paint on her hands confirmed the truth. She turned around as she caught sight of something dangling near her head. A sound of pure terror came out of her mouth. A cat. It was a cat. Bleeding. Dead. She looked at the words on the wall, and then at her blood-red hands.

'No! No!!' she cried, wiping her hands onto her shirtsleeves. Then, remembering that she had touched her mouth with her hands, she rubbed them against her arms.

Somebody touched her shoulders gently. She jumped, tears rolling down her face. A handsome face was in front of hers, a cold hand stroking her teary face. It took her about a second to recognize the face.

'Oh, Tom... What have I done?' she sobbed, putting her face into his chilling shoulders as his cold arms wrapped around her.

He rocked her gently back and forth. 'It's all right, Ginny. It's all right. I'm here. Tom's here.'

'Oh, Tom... What would I do without you?' she murmured, her tears receding.

'Live, for instance.'

She barely had time to react when Tom suddenly let go of her body, letting her fall onto the ground. The stone floor was cold and hard, and her surroundings suddenly became dark.

'Welcome, my dear Ginny, to the Chamber of Secrets,' announced Tom with a devilish grin.

'What? I don't understand,' said Ginny, confused.

Why was Tom looking at her like that? What happened to his warm smile, his gentle eyes? What did he mean when he said it was the Chamber of Secrets?

Tom let out an exaggerated sigh. 'You are really naïve. Did you really think that I had no motive for approaching you? Did you really believe that I came to be your friend?'

She looked at him with wide, frightened eyes as he crouched down. There was a look of wild rage and brutality in his dark eyes. Suddenly, quick as lightning, his hands were around her neck, tightening. She started to choke, trying to pull his hands away from her neck.

'Why?' She wanted to say more, but it was all she could manage.

'Why?' he echoed. He loosened his grip a little, and for a fleeting second, Ginny thought that he was going to let her go, but the hands still remained around her bruising neck. 'Because I don't need you anymore, that's why.'

Tears flowed rapidly down Ginny's cheeks. How could she be so stupid? So foolish? She should have known that Tom never really wanted to be her friend.

'Any last words?' said Tom nastily; his grip began to tighten around her throat once more.

'Have you ever loved me? Even just a little?' Ginny asked, weeping. She knew how pathetic she must sound, but she needed to know. She just had to know.

Amazingly, Tom actually hesitated. Without a word, he let go of her. Ginny looked at him, surprised. He touched her face, wiping the tears away. He was the same old Tom again. The Tom she had befriended and fallen in love with. He leant down and kissed her on the forehead.

Getting up from the floor, he looked down at her and said gently, 'Yes, Ginny. I did love you a little.'

Ginny closed her eyes, savoring the moment of pure bliss. He did love her! Even if he had only loved her a little, it was enough. Yes, it was enough.

*

When Ginny opened her eyes once more, she found herself in the hospital wing. She put her hands over her eyes, and found that they were wet with tears.

'Oh, Tom... Why did you leave me behind?'

She started crying softly, not aware that someone was watching her. Draco Malfoy had come into the room looking for Madam Pomfrey for some Healing Balm. He had caught sight of Ginny sleeping, and entranced by the way she looked, he had stayed. He was watching her, smiling to himself when she woke. The Seeker instincts within him kicked in, and Draco hid himself quickly behind the curtain next to the bed. He peeked from behind the curtain, careful not to move too much to alert Ginny of his presence. His heart broke a little as he watched Ginny cried herself to sleep. When he was sure that she was fast asleep, he stepped out from behind the curtain.

Touching Ginny's long red hair, Draco sighed. 'What am I going to do about you?'