Into the Labyrinth

Happiness didn't come easily for Ginny Weasley, but it came all at once during once certain fall. On one of her regular walks on the grounds, she realized as she clutched the diary in her little hand, as she hid a secret smile and felt her heart race, she was happy for once. But this fortune and comfort made her lapse into a false sense of security outside the lesson life had taught her: happiness is ephemeral.

Although she didn't know it, the bitter cold winds nipping at her face and the lifeless leaves lying on top of the hundreds of tiny grass blades that crunched under the weight of her shoes were trying to tell her something. She didn't pay attention; all she saw, all she wanted to see was a beautiful autumn walk with a close friend; they were the only two people in existence and the coming death of winter couldn't touch the countless seconds they spent together.

Hmph, a "silly little girl" and a "silly little book", she thought. Writing to Tom Riddle, the handsome ghost of a memory, Ginny found a kindred spirit. The ambition he had made him dangerous and also attractive to Ginny as she learned more about him. He listened to her and made her feel special, but she realized that he used her to get to Harry Potter. Those green eyes looking into hers after a rescue she wasn't awake for, stayed with her. So perhaps Tom wasn't the only one who cared after all, even though Harry didn't pay her any mind. Silly boys.

The vivid memory of Tom stayed with Ginny. Transferred from the magical sinews and pages of the diary to her own mind, Tom was quiet at first. She liked to talk to him every once in a while, as if he were with her, because he would always be in her heart. A dangerous place for him to be for the heart has strange powers. Gently placing her hand to her chest, Ginny felt tom whisper softly in her ear. She ran her fingers through her copper hair and tucked it behind her ear. She was smart enough to speak with him only when she was completely alone. Because she was so desperate to keep him with her, as someone who would always listen and care for her, Ginny made him secret, selfishly guarded; she didn't want anyone to rip him from her heart.

Accepting his presence, Ginny forgave Tom for using her, since she grew to love him as the only person who really cared. The first. Finally warping into an idealistic image of a boy who worshipped her, Tom became more loving and gentle as she dwelled on him. She immersed herself in Tom's world and as she went on walks with him, telling her he really did love her and was only blinded by the hatred he had for that Potter, Tom felt he was very wrong for mistreating Ginny. Only for the fact that he didn't treat her at all. Tom told her that Potter probably only saved her for Ron's sake and she has to keep in mind that afterwards he still ignored her.

As Tom eventually became louder, more alive and more forceful, as the Tom in Ginny's mind began to take a form of its own over time, he tried to coax her to do things to Harry. Losing control little by little, Ginny was afraid of what she might do. It scared her how real Tom was becoming and it tore her apart whenever he said things only for her ears and she ached to feel his lips graze her soft skin and to feel his fingers play with her hair. Afraid and elated at the same time, Ginny felt chills down her spine and wanted to do whatever she could for Tom; but it scared her how real he was becoming. All the emotion she poured into him created a kind of second personality for her to pour her anxiety and "silly" life into. Tom's growing power over her caused blackouts and she ran anytime she saw Harry.

Ginny's face flustered every time she thought what if she hurt him somehow? Because how could she, a "silly little girl" hurt Harry Potter who lived after being attacked by You-Know-Who? The old feelings for her Harry Potter still existed, locked away in the back of her mind by Tom, but the echoes of cries could still be heard reverberating past the bars and renewed her attachment to Harry every time.

That emotion stayed with her as she began to go back and forth between pushing Tom away and begging for him to stay. As she had become accustomed to having Tom in her life, she didn't want him to leave the niche in her heart. That place where if he ripped himself from, he would devastate Ginny. But it was just as easy for him to whisper deceit into her ear as she was used to hearing. She didn't mind what he said to her, just as long as he stayed and spoke to her, so she wasn't alone.

Everyday she suspected Rom didn't notice any odd behavior and she was at her cleverest around Hermione who was a closer friend than anyone. The thought occurred to her that she could talk to Hermione about it, but what would she do if Harry ever found out? He already knew about the diary and Ginny still couldn't bear the thought. Walking across the grounds on her free afternoons she consulted Tom about it and, guilty, told him her secret thoughts, all the while listening to the crunch of dead things under her shoes. The brown grass blades that were more like an empty shell, without life in them, depending on the earth to bring them to life when the weather was warmer.

Happiness didn't come often for Ginny Weasley. As she had six brothers, one, best friends with Hermione Granger, the highest marking student, and harry Potter, the boy who lived, she was overshadowed by their greatness. Feelings for Harry always stayed with her and she suspected that's what kept her mind straight. What would she do if Harry knew she did something that he of course never would? But as he still didn't recognize she was there, walking in the shadows of her brothers and closest friends, Ginny began to become overwhelmed with hopelessness and loneliness until Tom reminded her otherwise. And her haven for her troubles became Tom who gave her a false happiness, but any kind would do. He would always be there for her; although she knew one day the dead of winter would come and he would be gone. Memories like him wouldn't fade fast, so she held a tight grip on to whatever happiness she could while she had it. Though the bright spring and summer would arrive they didn't last long enough to count or make up for what Tom gave her.