All My Secrets

Chapter 1

"Just a second there, Mudblood!"

Hermione Granger's head snapped quickly around at the sound of that cold, drawling voice. Fighting down a sudden onrush of fury, she turned away from platform nine and three-quarters, back towards the immense scarlet Hogwarts Express. Which was currently being exited by one Draco Malfoy.

As Malfoy stepped off the train, she was pleased to note that faint rings were still visible on his face. She doubted that they'd ever be able to re- create the combination of curses that they'd leveled on him and his goons that day, but she could certainly enjoy the effects while they lasted.

Noting her irritated look, he winked arrogantly at her. "Temper, temper, little one," he shot in a patronizing tone of voice. "No reason for the nasty looks."

"No more reason than you had to insult Cedric like that!" she snapped back. "He was pureblood all the way back, never did wrong a day in his life, and how you can stand there and just.."

He cut her off, raising a brow. "Do I take that to mean that you fancied him, Bucktooth? Strange, I thought you only went for ugly bludger-targets - or redheaded weasels."

She jerked back as if she'd been slapped, then deliberately strode forward, her gray eyes narrowed in a vicious glare. As she advanced, seething fury, he only gave a mocking smirk. That tore it. She ripped her wand from her book-bag, leveled it at him, yelling, "Mustela Furo!"

Chapter 2

"'Never trust anything that can think for itself, if you can't see where it keeps its brain'," Ginny muttered to herself as she watched the arched entranceway between the Leaky Cauldron and Diagon Alley form. Her father had been right - she knew that. She'd been stupid, naïve, and thoughtless, and she knew that as well. But for all the horror of that nightmare year, there had been one thing she could count on, something that she'd never had before. ..someone to confide in. Someone to whom she could pour out all her troubles, and who could never gossip about those troubles to anyone else. A friend, a confidante, who would always love her, and never judge her. ..Tom Riddle had seemed to be all of that. But, just as her father had said, she couldn't see where he kept his brain. Not this time, though, she promised herself. Not this time.

Taking a deep breath, Ginny strode through the doorway, blinking in the sudden change from dark gloom to glaring sunlight. She'd thought this through, long and hard. Somehow, she didn't think she could bring herself to trust another human again - let alone share all her secrets with one. And keeping a diary, or even a journal, would just plain be a bad idea. But there was one more option.

Fred and George had apparently gotten their hands on some gold during the last term, Merlin knew from where, and they had deigned to share a bit of the wealth with their little sister. Two Galleons worth of wealth, in fact. It wouldn't seem like much to most of the wizarding world, Ginny knew, but it was more money that she'd ever had, to spend just by herself. Glancing at her watch, she quickened her pace, almost jogging along the cobbled streets, before she came to a stop in front of the shop she'd wanted. A triumphant grin began to creep across her face as she reread the name on the sign: 'The Magical Menagerie'.