The Heart Asks Darkness First

CHAPTER TWO - THE SCENT OF LOVE

A week later, Ginny was stood at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. It was well after curfew even if she was going somewhere she was normally allowed to. She shivered with a mixture of cold and fear, and was actually glad when she saw Malfoy walk up to her. "You´re here then? I was expecting you to pull out."

"Why would I do that?" Ginny looked at the box in the Slytherin´s hands. "Got everything?"

Draco nodded. "Father was a little confused as to what I wanted this stuff for, but I managed to explain it away."

"How?" Ginny still couldn´t bring herself to trust him.

Draco sighed. "I told him that I wanted to experiment with some...unusual potion ingredients. Snape already knows I´m working on some stuff, so he´ll probably think it´s for that."

Ginny had to admit it - she was impressed. She shot a glance at the Forest. "Do we really have to go in there?"

"Least chance of being found." Draco moved closer to the edge. "Don´t worry, nothing´ll hurt you."

Ginny sighed and resigned herself to following the blond deeper into the forest. When he found a satisfactory clearing, Draco stopped and placed the box down on the ground. Pale moonlight filtered down between the leafy canopies, casting an eerie glow on everything. Ginny hesitantly moved closer to Draco. "So, what now?"

Draco looked at her, a strange, almost concerned look on his face. "You do realise this might not work, don´t you? Even if we do manage to bring Riddle back, you´re a Gryffindor. He might not want anything to do with you."

"He will if he wants to stay in this world." Ginny spoke determinedly. "What do we do?"

Draco knelt down next to the box and pulled out some bizarre-looking items. The very last item he pulled out was a very old-looking Slytherin tie. Ginny eyed it suspiciously. "What´s that? And where did you get it from?"

"Courtesy of the Dark Lord himself." Draco sounded a little smug. "Told him that I wanted it to help remind me what to aspire to - fell for it hook, line and sinker."

Ginny looked from him to the tie and back. "You sure know how to work people!"

"All part of the Malfoy charm." Draco couldn´t help but wink at her. Ginny blushed slightly, glad that the lighting wouldn´t show it. Draco laid everything out on the ground then handed the Gryffindor a piece of parchment. "I´ll stay here to make sure everything goes okay, but you´re gonna have to be the one to do this."

Ginny nodded, feeling her stomach knot up inside her. This was her last chance - she could stop everything now and go back. `Yeah. Back to being ignored.´ Her resolve firmed, she took the tie and laid it flat on the ground. She glanced at the bottles, then turned to Draco. "They are all labelled aren´t they?"

Draco had leant back against a tree-trunk, but he straightened up and walked up to her. "I´ll hand you each thing as you need it."

Ginny nodded. As soon as she knew Draco was ready, she looked at the parchment. "Dragon´s blood? How will that-"

"Trust me." Draco whispered. "I know what I´m doing."

Taking the bottle off Draco, Ginny poured the contents over the tie, saying as she did so:

"Take this dragon´s blood, symbol of life. Take it and turn it into the blood that will flow through each of his veins."

Draco handed her each relevant ingredient as she continued to read:

"Take this frozen mist, symbol of breath. Take it and turn it into the breath that will cycle through his lungs.

"Take these dragon eyes, symbols of vision. Take them and turn them into the vision that will let him see this world.

"Take these dragon ears, symbols of hearing. Take them and turn them into the ears that will let him hear this world."

The incantation continued, taking in symbols of every vital organ in the human body. Ginny glanced at the final incantation, which Draco had marked as optional. The Slytherin was a little surprised to see her nod, and reluctantly handed her the blade. Ginny scored the palm of her hand with it then allowed her blood to drip onto the tie, which was already beginning to smoke with power. As she did so, she uttered:

"Take my blood, symbol of myself. Take it and let it bind him to me."

The spiral of smoke continued to spiral upwards, and as it did so, Ginny repeatedly whispered Tom´s name to herself. Suddenly there was a bang, and Ginny found herself inadvertently jumping into Draco´s arms. Hastily pulling away, Ginny turned to watch as a body began to form - a body that looked very familiar.

~GW~ ~TR~

Half an hour later, Ginny and Tom were sat alone together in the Astronomy Tower. Malfoy had left them at the school, still looking a little shell-shocked that Ginny had actually gone through with it all. Tom turned to Ginny. "I was wondering if our paths would ever cross again."
"You...you remember me?" Ginny sounded amazed.

"I fed part of my soul to you. Of course I remember you." Tom grinned. "Just because I´ve been non-existent for four years, doesn´t mean I´ve forgotten."

"So...what are you going to do?" Ginny asked. "I mean, you´re going to have to be careful-"

"I can live in the Forest." Tom replied, wrapping an arm around Ginny. She jumped initially, but soon relaxed and leant her head on his shoulder. "It´s good to have you back," she whispered. "And real this time."

"It´s good to be back." Tom kissed the top of her head. "Now, you´d best get back to your dorms before you´re missed. Don´t worry about me, I can look after myself."

"Where will I find you?" Part of Ginny didn´t want the night to end, but she knew deep down that he was right. As Tom moved to stand up, he said "Can you meet me at six tomorrow, at the edge of the forest?"

Ginny nodded. "I´ll see you there."