Ashes to Ashes

Ginny received two notes at breakfast a few days later. One said, in Snape's distinctive scribble, 'Come to my office after the meal. There is someone who wishes to speak with you.' It wasn't signed.

Her eyes darted up to the Head Table before she could stop herself, meeting Snape's eyes. He nodded infintisemally and she tucked both parchments away, forgetting to read the other one.

Afterwards, she arrived at Snape's office, wondering who her visitor was and what she would say. The door opened when she knocked, so she went in and stopped short at the sight of Lucius Malfoy.

His eyes were burning with an unholy light as he looked at her, making her nervous. "Please, have a seat," he invited smoothly.

Ginny sat down.

"It is indeed an honor to be chosen by him," said Malfoy. He seemed agitated, inching slowly toward her. "He has shown you how to do the ritual? It will take place on Halloween. That night, at eleven o'clock, we will meet in Myrtle's bathroom and go down into the Chamber to raise him. And then... then, he will teach you the art, and you need have no further concern with our plans. Unless, of course, you want to..."

Ginny thought it was spooky how Malfoy pronounced 'he' so that one could almost hear the capital letter, the sound full of a lust for power. She wondered what he wanted with her; she already knew what he had told her. When it became obvious that he was waiting for her to speak, she jumped to her feet. "Is that all? Because I have a class soon."

"I will be waiting for you when it's over," he said in a low voice, still staring at her.

"I have to go." She edged toward the door.

He waved a lazy hand in dismissal and she walked out the door in a dignified manner. When it closed, she broke into a run, heading for the Chamber and trying to ignore the full-body shiver slamming through her. It was like a set of burning eyes on her back, watching her.

She sat with her back to the wall in the bathroom, seriously disturbed. This whole business made her feel nervous, but there had been nothing like this encounter with the Malfoy patriarch that had left her so spooked. He had been perfectly polite, but it had felt like he wanted to either destroy or devour her, she wasn't sure which. It was quite disturbing.

All of a sudden, she remembered the second note and took it out of her pocket. It read, 'The Order of the Phoenix must have your answer today. Meet me in the Chamber of Secrets at nine.' It was stamped with a seal that had a phoenix on it. Ginny supposed it was from that woman she had talked to.

She tried to keep her resolve. She would question the Order representative that night and decide what to do then. She thought morbidly: 'Or maybe I should just do whatever it takes to stay alive.'

Getting a last shiver out of remembering Malfoy, she got up and went to class.

***

It was nine, and Ginny stood shivering in the cold in the entrance hall to the Chamber. The woman was late, and the Chamber was making her nervous as ever.

After a minute, the woman appeared out of the shadows, making Ginny jump, startled. "I apologize for my lateness," she said.

Ginny shrugged. "I want to know why the Order thinks I can trust them over Tom. What reassurances can you give me that what you tell me is the truth?"

The woman hesitated, then laughed. "Good. You are learning already. I am going to turn around and show you something, so don't startle." She turned around and pushed her robe and dress down to her waist before Ginny could protest.

Tattooed on her back was a huge phoenix, from what Ginny could see underneath the bra. It seemed almost to glow with a light of its own, red and orange and yellow flames actually moving, flickering, along the surface of the tattoo. The crest reached the woman's neck and the wingtips stretched onto her arms. When she flexed her shoulderblades, it seemed to come alive.

Ginny gasped, staring at the magnificent work of art. But she also recognized it for what it was, like most people would: moving tattoos signified membership in whatever order the tattoo represented. She was certain, now, that the snake in the Dark Mark would move, too, although she had never seen one on the skin.

Magical tattoos were binding contracts. It meant that whoever had the tattoo could not betray their coven - if it was the first magical tattoo the person had. A very few people had more than one, but if they did, then the magic in the first affected the magic of the rest and made them only partially binding.

"Do you know what it is?" The woman pulled her dress and robe back on and turned around again.

"One of the binding tattoos," replied Ginny, surprised. "So you can't betray them. But..." she frowned. "How does that help me?"

The woman shook her head and put a hand to her back, on the tattoo. "I swear to you, we can destroy the diary, get rid of the dreams, and kill Voldemort once and for all, with your help, and we will train you well." Her hand fell back down to her side. "Are you satisfied?"

"Yeah," said Ginny. Apparently that was a good oath. "But I would like to know more about the Order."

The woman shrugged. "It's an organization of sorcerers, the ones who practice what people call the Dark Arts, among other things. The headquarters is underground, literally. We're just trying to keep all the knowledge alive, for whatever personal reasons. Some people, like me, are out and about looking for young people with potential, like you."

"Um... why?"

"There aren't all that many people who practice the art," said the woman, giving her an odd look. "We try to avoid having written knowledge, as it could lead the Ministry to us. So we have to train you personally to pass it on. There are even fewer male sorcerers, perhaps three right now - not counting Voldemort."

"Why?" said Ginny again.

"It's more of a feminine art, I suppose. I don't really know. So... you're in?"

Ginny stared at the ground for a moment. The woman had sworn an oath that could be trusted. Ginny still felt a longing for Tom, but if they could get rid of that and help her develop her talents, it would be all right. But Tom...

'...is using me,' she thought, and said firmly, "Yes. I agree."

"Glad to hear it," said the woman. "Your contact will meet you in here tomorrow night at the same time. Remember... you've agreed. Eventually you will get this." She tapped her back, and gave Ginny a rather nasty grin. "You can't back out now."

Ginny gulped, but nodded. "Tomorrow."

"See you around." The woman melted back into the shadows, leaving Ginny still shivering and wondering how to do that.

***

She was in there at nine as promised, still nervous and still cold. Surprisingly enough, she found Professor Snape waiting for her, wrapped in a warm cloak and with a scowl on his face. She stopped cold mid-stride. "How-"

"I am your contact," Snape said dryly, turning halfway and pulling down his collar to reveal the top of the moving phoenix tattoo. "This I had first."

"Oh," managed Ginny. So that was how he had known about the Order: he was one of the three men in it. And if he had gotten the Dark Mark after the Phoenix, then he really had betrayed Voldemort. Some of the puzzle pieces were beginning to fall into place. "How did you get down here?"

He tapped his left arm. "Occasionally, with the Dark Mark comes a bit of Voldemort's power. He was a Parselmouth."

"Oh," said Ginny again. How was that possible - the transfer of power? But wasn't that what Tom had done to her? This was opening up a whole new can of worms. "Well - what happens now?"

Snape sighed. "We will meet here every few nights, likely depriving ourselves of needed sleep, so that I can make you ready for the ritual."

"But then how do we get rid of him?" wondered Ginny.

"There are several mistakes one can make, without too much danger, that will halt the working," said Snape, slipping into lecture mode. "What you will be doing is, quite simply, nothing, while you are in the otherworld. I will keep you safe while you distract the Death Eaters so I can let in the Order of the Phoenix. You need'nt think about anything but keeping yourself safe."

She shrunk under the acidic tones, suddenly feeling like a little girl caught in a game that was important beyond her comprehension, and wondered suspiciously who he was actually working for. He had two binding tattoos; what if there were more? And did Dumbledore know about this, and the Order? She voiced her last thought rebelliously.

Snape looked insulted. "Certainly."

"What's going to happen to the Death Eaters?" she realized suddenly.

"The Order will bind them and give them to the Headmaster, who will deliver them to the Ministry, you foolish girl! Can we get on with it?"

"Yes, sir," said Ginny. She sat down on a nearby shelf while the professor paced and lectured about sorcery. It turned out that the Dark Arts weren't really what most people thought of them as (several terrible curses that quickly exhausted magical energy); they were simply magic that wasn't accepted in general society. A lot of it was indeed harsh curses, but most was simply misunderstood. The sorcerers sometimes walked in another world, a reality of spirits, demons, and gods, with whom they usually tried to establish good relations.

Necromancy, in particular, was forbidden because most souls were reincarnated. When a necromancer called for a spirit to come, for whatever reason, the call ripped it out of its current body and sent the body into a sort of coma. The body eventually died, and if the necromancer didn't send the soul back into the afterlife, it would wander the world forever as a ghost.

In this case, however, a bit of Voldemort's soul was contained in his two diaries. When the first one had been destroyed, that bit of soul had rebounded back to the original as if it was on the opposite end of a stretched rubber ban, likely making him stronger ("Oh no!" gasped Ginny. By saving her, Harry had only made the situation worse). As for the second diary, it was slowly getting stronger and stronger from Voldemort's soul filtering into it. Snape explained that Voldemort had a remarkable grasp of necromancy and had made incredible advances in the art, which was how he had managed to keep his spirit from going on to the otherworld when defeated in 1981. What the Order was going to do on Halloween was gather all his remaining soul into the diary and destroy it utterly, to keep him from ever coming back. Ginny didn't want to ask how that would be done.

It was late when Snape stopped his lecture, checking the time. "Have you been keeping the diary in a safe place?"

She had put it under her pillow and a locking charm, figuring that the house-elves would leave it alone and no one would be looking for it anyway. "Yes, sir."

"Good. Keep it there, and don't write to him," said Snape urgently. "It is imperative. Tomorrow, at the same time, we will check to see if he is... infiltrating you, like the last time. Bring the diary."

Ginny shuddered deeply, involuntarily. "All right." They went out together and she closed the Chamber, Snape nodding a sharp goodnight.

Digesting the new information, she slowly walked up to her room. Her roommate, Veronica, was probably already asleep, because the bed-curtains were drawn and the lights were out. Ginny got ready for bed and fell onto her pillow, exhausted, but after a moment sat bolt upright and tore back the pillow. Only pristine white sheets met her eyes.

The diary was gone.

***

Ginny pulled on some ragged slippers and her robe and was up and running down the stairs, heading for McGonagall's office, after checking to see that Veronica wasn't there. They weren't good friends, but she was the closest thing to a friend that Ginny had, and Ginny had certainly been neglecting her lately. But now, she was full of rage and fear that all the plans would fall through. She knew the most likely place Veronica would have taken the diary was to their Head of House.

The door burst open and she skidded in, breathing heavily, to see Veronica, Ron, Harry, and Hermione standing in front of McGonagall, who was holding the diary in her hands. She was pale and tight-lipped, eyes locked accusingly onto Ginny.

"I have summoned the Headmaster, Miss Weasley," said McGonagall grimly.

Ginny nodded, still trying to catch her breath, and remembered that Snape had told Dumbledore what they were trying to do: now everything rested upon Snape's trustworthiness, which was rather worrying. She didn't meet anyone's eyes, afraid to see their reactions. Soon enough, Dumbledore arrived through the fireplace, with Snape soon after. Professor McGonagall held up the diary. The Headmaster's face didn't change, but Snape looked furious. He glared at her.

"Excuse us, Minerva," said Dumbledore calmly, and set up a ward of silence. Snape started hissing at her immediately.

"You stupid girl, you were supposed to keep it safe! Your idiocy could get us all killed, or reveal our plans to him! You-" he stopped when Dumbledore held up a hand, eyes glinting.

"Severus," he said quietly. "It matters only that they know, now. Surely they can be trusted until Halloween, and then it will all be over. I will explain what parts of the plan can be explained, and it will be up to Miss Weasley to keep her friends from finding out anything else." He fixed her with a powerful stare, and she bowed her head nervously.

Snape hardly looked satisfied, but nodded jerkily. Dumbledore took down the ward, and immediately McGonagall started in.

"I would not have believed it of you, Miss Weasley," she snapped, "but-" She, too, was stopped by Dumbledore.

He said, "Miss Weasley is, in this case, endorsed by myself to be in possession of that diary. It is, in fact, what you are imagining it to be, and likely even more. On Halloween, Miss Weasley and Professor Snape will help use it to destroy Voldemort and bind the remaining Death Eaters. I would have preferred you five not to know of this now, but what is done is done.

"If any one of you betrays this information, Voldemort will rise with his full powers, and you will be killed by Death Eaters." Dumbledore shook his head. "The consequences will be far worse than you can imagine."

They looked properly cowed. McGonagall stared at the diary in horror. "You mean to say, Albus, this isn't just Tom Riddle, it..."

"...is Voldemort," finished Snape.

She dropped it as if it was on fire, and Ginny snatched it up, still not looking at anyone. There was an awkward silence until Dumbledore said, "I suggest going off to bed for us all. It is rather late."

They dispersed, giving Ginny horrified looks, until it was just her and Snape, who gave her a poisonous glare. "Listen, Weasley," he growled, "you may not yet have the Phoenix, but you are still bound to the Order, and if any word gets out about it I will know."

Ginny nodded again and, clutching the diary to her chest, ran to her bed and her dreams of Tom.