Paper Should Be Good Enough

Paper should be good enough--Chapter 5

Dianthe Perkins, the girl who sleeps in the bed next to Ginny's in the dorms, will not shut up about what happened to Ginny before Charms. "Is it cancer?" she says. "What did Madame Pomfrey say?"

"She said there's nothing wrong with me." Ginny stares up at the hangings of her bed. "I don't know what happened. It was like I was on fire from the inside out. And..."

"What?"

She was going to say that Tom left, but Dianthe doesn't know about Tom. "Oh, nothing." She stands up and brushes off her robes. "What time is it?"

"Eight-thirty. Hour and a half 'til bed." Dianthe sits up. "Why, are you going down to the common?"

She nods. "I need to talk to somebody," she says.

"Oooh," Dianthe says keenly. "Colin Creevey? You know everyone says that he has a major crush on you, Ginny."

She shrugs. "No, just Ron. Or Harry."

"Harry?" Dianthe teases. "Are you going to ask him to sign your robes or what?"

"Shut up," she says, flushing. "I'm not like that anymore. He's just my brother's best friend, that's all."

"Your brother's handsome best friend."

"Shut up, Dianthe!" She laughs. "I just need some help with Transfiguration, that's all, and I know that they know it."

"If you're not up by bed, I'll bring McGonagall up and tell her that you and famous Harry Potter are snogging."

It's amazing how many people joke about the truth, Ginny muses. "I'll be up by ten, Mum," she says, and leaves.

Harry is not in the common, but Ron is arguing with Hermione over something, so Ginny naturally goes over to Neville. "Where's Harry?" she asks him as he pores over a huge Herbology book.

"In the dorm," he says. He never looks up. "Why?"

"Nothing," she says, and after making sure no one is looking, she silently goes up into the sixth year boys' dorm. Harry is lying on the bed, staring up at the hangings in complete silence. She goes to his side as quietly as she can and touches his hand. "Harry," she says.

He jumps. "Ginny! This is a boys' dorm!" He shuffles up into a sitting position. "You shouldn't be in here."

"So?" She sits beside him on the bed, facing him. "Did you really mean what you said at lunch?"

"Yes," he says firmly. She says nothing, just looks him in the face with a serious look on her face. "You can't change my mind, Ginny."

This is your chance, Ginny,

Tom says. Everyone's down there, in the common. He has no chance against your charm, Gin. Show him how you really feel. He loves you; he just doesn't realize it. He needs you, because he trusts Ron and you know who Ron is. If you can have him trust you with the Fidelius Charm, you are saving his life, and then you'll have your Harry and everything will be perfect, right Ginny love?

Right,

she agrees. She leans forward and kisses the denial off of Harry's lips. He resists but she is stronger, emboldened by Tom's words; it is a long time before they stop. Harry finally stares up into her brown eyes and sighs. "I didn't realize you could be so..."

"Persuasive?" Tom's words through her voice. Harry laughs like those trapped in a tense moment.

"Yeah. Persuasive." He is looking right at her for a moment, but quickly looks away, flushing. "I... I think I'm persuaded."

"Is that a yes?" Her fingertips trail his jaw and down his neck. He just nods, silently staring up into her face. "Good." Leave, Tom commands, and she stands. "I have to go before anyone notices that I'm up here," she says. "Could soil my reputation."

He laughs, and it's more hypnotized than happy. She leaves, smiling to herself.

Good job, Gin,

Tom says. He'll never leave you now. You have him exactly where you want him. He loves you, Ginny. He really does love you.

Tom, I just couldn't live without you,

she says. You've helped me so much. I love you, Tom...

And for a moment, the scene of the busy common room flickers, and she is standing inside that same musty basement. There is a pentacle at her feet, glowing, and Tom is standing there, across the circle.

"Come across the circle, Ginny. I have to ask you something."

She steps, and it's like the air is liquid she must swim through, until she breaks through the circle. He takes her hand, leans close to her ear and whispers, "Do you really love me, Ginny?"

"Yes," she whispers. A smile flickers past his face.

"Good." He pulls back, cups Ginny's chin in his other hand and says, "You're mine, Ginny. Isn't that right?"

"Yes," she says again. "You've given me everything I ever wanted."

He smiles again. "That's right, Ginny. I know you, I know you more than anyone knows you. You must trust me and only me, Ginny. Do you understand?"

"Yes," she says again. "Yes, Tom. I trust you more than anybody."

"Good." He leans towards her again and kisses her, longer this time, until the agony and ecstasy fade and she is in her bed in the dorm.

"Tom," she whispers as she fades into blissful sleep. "I love you." And she can hear the answer not only in her head but faint echoes in her ears now... "I love you too, Ginny."

-----

A day has passed and Tom and Ginny are now one, one being of pure courage and intelligence. There is no separation now. Their thoughts and their words are the same.

Ginny now knows what Harry wants, how to make him happy, and best of all, how to protect him from the menace of her devious brother. Tom, her soulmate, is teaching her.

Ginny has variously set on fire, stunned, tortured and killed at least 20 spiders. She's mastered both the Cruciatus Curse and the Killing Curse. Quite an irony, with Ron's arachnophobia.

"You've really improved, Gin," Tom says approvingly. "Good job. You'll be set against Ron when it happens."

"When what happens?"

"When you reveal who he really is to Harry, of course. You are going to, aren't you? How else do you expect to be the recipient of the Fidelius Charm?"

She nods. "Of course. I didn't think."

"That's all right, Gin. Just listen to me and everything will be all right."

"Crucio!" The spider twitches on the desk, and a smile crosses her face. "Of course, Tom. I don't know why I ever would deny you."

Tom smiles, and it's a snake's smile. She raises her eyes to his and returns the same smile. "Nor do I," he says.

-----

She is in the common room, poring over her Dark Arts book, the section on the Killing Curse. Harry sits beside her for one moment and she snaps the book shut, glancing back up at him. "Read this note," he whispers to her, and hands her a roll of parchment. "It's from Ron. To me. Meet me at the Astronomy Tower tomorrow at eight, and we'll talk."

He stands and leaves the common room, rather hurriedly. Ginny rolls open the parchment and begins to read thus:

Harry,

You've known since, well, forever that Ginny has fancied you. She's grown up since first year, you know, and... God, I'm putting this wrong. All I have to say is, stay away from her. She still cares about you and I don't want you to encourage those feelings. She's my little sister, and you know damn well you can get any girl you want. Just flash the bloody scar and every girl except Slytherin girls are throwing themselves at you. Keep your eyes on someone like Cho Chang and away from Ginny, or you'll regret it. A relationship based off of hero-worship and schoolgirl crushes will just break her heart, and if you break her heart, you won't have me to complain to about it.

In closing, stay away from Ginny, or Malfoy'll be my new best friend after I tell him every little dirty secret about you.

Your best friend,

Ron

She rolls it back up and bites her lip. She calls Tom's name gently in her mind and he appears beside her. "It's just a ploy, Gin," he says soothingly. "He knows that Harry wants you, has always loved you, and is trying to prevent him from giving you the title of his Secret-Keeper."

"Secret-Keeper?"

"In the Fidelius Charm, the secret of one's location or something likewise is kept within one person's soul. This person is called the Secret-Keeper. If the Secret-Keeper divulges the Secret, the location or whatever was chosen is revealed and the protection given is retracted." His face is serious, and he squeezes her shoulder. "If Harry chooses Ron, Ron will tell the Secret and Harry will be dead. Do you understand? Harry must tell you."

"Yes, Tom." She leans towards him and he pulls her close.

"Harry is yours," he whispers. "Harry is yours and no one else's. Just like you are mine and I am yours."

"Mine," she murmurs. "I owe you everything, Tom."

He kisses her forehead and she does not see the smirk unfold over his face. "You've paid everything you had to pay to get what you wanted the most," he murmurs into her scarlet hair. "Your soul."

Neville sits beside her and suddenly Tom disappears back into her head. "Ginny, can you help me with something?" he says. "I'm trying to get this charm right and Charms is your best subject. Will you?"

"What charm?"

"Incendius," Neville says. "I just can't seem to get it. I keep getting flowers out of it." He pulls out his wand and says, "Incendeo!" Flowers wrapped in cheap green foil appear and fall to the ground.

"You're saying Incendeo instead of Incendio," Ginny says. "Incendeus is the charm for making the most mundane thing you think about appear. I bet it's all the Herbology research. Try Incendio."

Neville sighs. "Can you show me?"

"Sure. Accio spider." One flies into her hand. "Incendio," she says clearly, and the spider starts on fire, twitching.

Neville watches in horror. "Ginny, stop! You're going to kill it!"

"It's just a spider," she says, and watches with vague interest. It stops moving and the fire consumes it. She blows the ash remains of the spider off her unmarked hand. "Don't get so... emotional over it." She gestures to him. "Now you try."

The expression of utter horror on his face wanes, and Neville looks around. "On what?"

"The flowers," she says, picks them up and places them on the table. "Probably the most flammable thing here."

"But I--" He looks at the flowers. "Ginny," he says in a pleading voice.

"What else, then? The fireplace?"

He grips his wand and points it at the flowers. "In.. Incendio!" Fire shoots out of the wand and the flowers are burning within seconds. He quickly puts them out and grins up at Ginny, if nervously. "I did it! Thanks, Ginny. Incendeo!" He hands her the flowers that emerge.

She takes them, smiles and says, "No problem. Where's Ron?" Tom is whispering in her ear, "You have to make sure he's not with Harry alone."

"Um, I think he's studying with Harry in the library. There's a big History of Magic test and I think they're actually studying." Neville glances at her. "Why?"

"No reason," she says. She begins to gather her books as Neville bids her good night. He tries to put out the fire and ends out stomping out sparks. She sees his retreating back and feelings unlike her surge throughout her body. Why did I waste time on him? What a waste, trying to teach a Squib. He'll probably forget tomorrow.

A smirk traces itself across her face, and she points her wand at his back. Her lips form the cruel word that she now knows haunts Neville in his sleep. "Crucio."

He falls, screams, flails under the torturous magic curled within his limbs. She watches with that serpent's smirk on her face for a moment longer, lifts her wand and says, "Obliviate."

Her innocence died the moment Tom first resided in her head. She is no longer a girl, but a woman, a princess with every wish and desire tended to by her very own guardian angel. A queen with the man she loves over all as her king. A goddess with power over every Squib and Mudblood.

She strides up the stairs with Tom's praise ringing in her ears and sleeps a night full of dreams of Harry and Tom, the two so alike they could be twins. She sleeps, and is the only one in Gryffindor Tower who doesn't crowd around Neville Longbottom's prone, tortured body, and doesn't help to take him to the hospital wing.

"Everything you want, Ginny, anything to make you happy. I'll make sure you get it. You can trust me, Virginia Weasley.. you can trust your Tom."

Is it her voice, or Tom's? No telling anymore. No lines. His presence inside of her, within her head, now so common that she can't tell where her thought begins and his ends.

"I.. I can't. You're Ron's little sister, Hermione and I.. I can't. I can't."

Dreams where she's kissing Harry, and Harry is kissing her, and Tom is watching and laughing with a smirk on his face.

"Just listen to me and everything will be all right," her voice says in the midst of dreams. The smirk slowly crawls over her face.

"You can trust your Tom."