Rating:: PG
House:: The Dark Arts
Characters:: Ginny Weasley
Genres:: Angst Drama
Era:: Multiple Eras
Spoilers:: Chamber of Secrets
Stats:: Published: 05/17/2004

Updated: 05/17/2004

Words: 961

Chapters: 1

Hits: 333

Fade To...?

Dark_Unicorn

Story Summary:: Moaning Myrtle tells a ghost story. Her death is not Hogwarts' most tragic by any means.

Posted:: 05/17/2004

Hits:: 333

Author's Note:: With thanks to Taho, my Beta- worth his weight in gold.

Fade to...?

"And that's how I died...but then," sniffled Myrtle to the wide-eyed, fresh-faced first year before her. "I'm not the most tragic ghost here, oh no." Another sniff, then suddenly brighter: "Want to hear a story?" she asked, with disconcerting glee.

"Well, I doubt you'll remember the days when Harry Potter was here. But in his second year, there was a girl, taken into the Chamber of Secrets by the Heir of Slytherin. There, already a tale of despair, and I've hardly started.

"She eventually got over the ordeal, or at least as much as she could. She returned to normal, and regained her interest in boys. There was one she had always fancied, and especially after he rescued her so heroically... Harry Potter. He used to visit me, you know..."she tailed off, wiped a tear from her eye, and sighed wistfully. When she realised the girl was staring at her, she gave a dainty little cough.

"Yes, well... Anyway, she rather liked him," -a little giggle- " and she tried everything to get his attention. She would follow him round, send him notes, a valentine's card, 'accidentally' bump into him in the corridor, you know the sort of thing.
"The clothes she wore became more and more outrageous, makeup more obvious. She was making an effort, shall we say. But it wasn't as though she wasn't attractive, mind- no, not by a long way. But Harry Potter was being Harry Potter, and noticed neither this nor the girl's love for what it was."

"In typical insensitive Slytherin style, the other girls tormented her- I've never liked the Slytherins, ever since I found out about the... oh, I just told you about that..." She suppressed a wail, and continued. "She took what they said to heart, despite what she knew and what her friends thought. Oooh, those spiteful Slytherins. She convinced herself that the reason Harry didn't seem interested was because she was ugly. That's heroes for you, they just don't notice..." she trailed off.

"Well, she decided to do something about it. She went up to the library, and took out all the books on makeup she could find. She must have tried almost every makeup charm in the world. So, when even that didn't work, the stubborn girl went a step further. It went..." She paused. She leaned towards the open-mouthed girl. Grinning, and with narrow eyes, she whispered fiercely:

"...dark."

-giggle-

Myrtle swept away from the wide-eyed girl, who had a hand covering her open mouth.

"Well, there's a lot in that library, you know. There's plenty that's useful... and the rest dangerous. Now, the books Ginny Weasley found... well, to her they were just what she had been looking for. A guide for changing her appearance completely."

"She started small. But what the poor girl didn't realise was that unlike temporary makeup charms, enhancing what's there, she was changing her entire appearance forever. That's where it became dark. And, for everything she changed, it took a bit of her personality. Not a lot, but enough."

"They say that beauty's on the inside- well, for Ginny Weasley, that changed- that inner beauty was ripped out and recreated on the outside. She was always pretty, but now even the Veela had to admit that, on the surface at least, she was stunning."

"She straightened her teeth, and tamed her hair, and lost a few pounds here and there. Her skin was spotless, eyes big and beautiful. The more she changed, the more confident she got at changing- larger breasts, fuller hips, thinner waist. Her figure and appearance changed almost completely."

Myrtle sighed, and put her head to one side. "Well, that transfer left nothing on the inside." A pitying smile. "she became a walking shell, an exquisite shadow of her former self. Harry" -giggle- "still didn't notice. Her friends and family did- though there was little they could do about it, had they known what was really happening to her.

"When there was nothing, the last essence of Ginny gone, all that was left was the body, existing without soul, purpose, or personality. It walked through the corridors, not speaking, hearing, or blinking even. Just empty endlessly wandering."

"Oh, the teachers? Well, they tried. They didn't know what had happened to her, nor even where to start trying to reverse it - not that they would have succeeded, what with her that far gone. No, there was nothing anyone could do for her, not since she had started down that road. Except for Harry, of course."

"When he finally realised, he was beside himself. He hid away from his friends, and came to visit me for a while. Well, I wasn't going to turn him away, was I?" She bit her lower lip, smiled, and continued.

"Eventually, the body of Ginny faded. Slowly, it lost its real form. A beautiful spectre, floating around the castle, of no substance, personality, or future. She's still around, a faint shimmer, as a trick of the light. You wouldn't spot it unless you were looking. Harry never forgave himself for what he let happen, and never loved anyone since."

"That's what love does to you. Now what's left of her will never really be gone, but never really be there. That's the story of the most tragic secret of Hogwarts," she said, the corners of her mouth turning down.

Myrtle drifted away slowly and disappeared, leaving the first year standing there, white-faced and a tear welling up in her eyes. She dashed out of the room, not wanting to be there a second longer.

Hovering in the corner was a little less than a shimmer. But- just a hint of a trace of a despairing whisper.

"not... all... gone..."

And a sigh.