My Eternal Curse

Chapter One

Reflections

As I walk through Hogwarts' grounds at night my thoughts return to him, once again. When we first met he was so sympathetic, and kind. God! How could I have been so blind? I should have somehow seen or known that it was all just for show. To get me to let down my guard enough, to let him into my life. But I was too lonely, stupid, and trusting to see the truth. I know now that... that was no excuse.

Back when all of this began the only ones I had at Hogwarts to talk to were my big brothers, and they were no help. I had no friends to confide in, there was no one who could understand. I felt like I was completely on my own... till Tom Riddle entered my life. He was calm, caring, everything I could ever want. We quickly became so close. He became my shoulder to cry on whenever I needed it. A soul to confide my deepest darkest secrets with. Unfortunately for me, the first and last person I trusted that much.

Whenever we were together all of my pain and fears just disappeared. I gave him all of my thoughts, my dreams, and poured out my soul. In return, he was my friend whenever I needed to talk. My voice of reason when I needed it the most... that, and so much more it seems. To this day I find that the bond we had shared in the good times is still difficult to describe, but there is one thing I can put into words with absolute ease. When we were still friends he meant the whole world to me. There were even moments before everything went so horribly wrong that I thought I could feel him somewhere in the back of my mind, quietly reassuring me that everything was fine.

But nothing was ever as it seemed with him, and my world slowly crumbled beneath my feet, piece by piece. I started having blackouts, and awoke having no idea where I'd been. At first Tom allayed my fears and suspicions. When things slowly got worse I finally began to see the truth. That he was the Heir to Slytherin, a monster within. At that point I thought I was in too deep to seek help from the Hogwarts staff, so I tried to handle things myself. Well... you saw how well that worked out.

For the briefest of times I thought I was free of him at last. Only to see my old crush Harry Potter with "The Diary" in his hands. I panicked when I saw that it was back. I couldn't risk any further exposure. If the diary blabbed all of my secrets, then I was doomed. So I waited till the dorm had emptied out and stole the bloody thing back, ending up back at square one. Trapped in a downward spiral I finally tried to seek help, but it was almost too late. Tom's talons were anchored so deep in my mind that I was losing myself.

Finally Tom decided to end it for me, once and for all. He forced the Ginny that everyone knew and loved into the Chamber of Secrets, never to return. I'm sorry to say that, in a way, the real Ginny Weasley died that day. The real Ginny was too weak to resist Lord Voldemort's powerful pull. Little Ginny... loving, and trusting to a fault was destroyed by the Dark Lord.

From the moment I awoke in that place I was never the same. At first I thought it was just the trauma I had endured. But with the slow passage of time I discovered that the changes that took place went far deeper then anyone had guessed. Every aspect in my life had been affected, from my personal tastes to my physical state. The worst change of all was in my heart. It had become so much more... dark. I felt like Tom had left a stain on my soul that I just couldn't get out. I realized that no matter how hard I tried, I could never be the same innocent girl that everyone knew.

Meanwhile, my family acted like I was made of glass. Always asking me if I was alright, or treating me like I was about to break down at any moment. I already felt like I could hardly breathe and their concern just made it all the worse. I decided that if I confided in them about my change, they would never give me the space I so desperately desired. So I pretended to be okay, and hid what I had become. They had bought it so completely that it was almost a shock. It hurt at first to use this charade, but after a while it seemed almost natural to me. As time passed my life seemed to regain some sanity at last...

But something happened just before my fifth year to cast a doubt... I was at Diagon Alley with my family, Hermione, and Harry. Tired of the others being my constant shadow I wondered into the Magical Menagerie for a few moments of peace. I knew better than anyone else just how edgy everyone had become after Voldemort's return, but the way they were acting was getting on my nerves. I went unnoticed as I traveled further in the store. I stopped when something had caught my eye. It was a long red and black snake, which looked oddly beautiful to me. I don't know why but I spoke to it aloud. To my surprise it answered, and I could understand! We ended up having a nice conversation, till mum found me and I had to leave. As I left the store the truth finally began to sink in. I was now Parseltounge, just as Tom Riddle had been. Somehow Riddle was with me still... more or less.

That day I had believed it to be only in part, little did I know what was really going on... Not long after that my blackouts, and dizzy spells returned in full force. It didn't take me long to realize the truth...

That monster never really died...

He was very much alive, and inside my mind...

I fear it is too late to seek assistance from anyone else, for he has blocked my every attempt. What he is after this time I do not know. This time only one thing is clear. No one will be able to save me from him or myself.

Tom Riddle is back, for better or worse...

My Eternal Curse

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TBC

Chapter Two

My Own Worst Enemy

The sun had already risen when Ginny finally returned to the Gryffindor common room. This had been the seventh night in a row Ginny had forsaken sleep and gone to the library. Each night she borrowed Harry's invisibility cloak and returned to the library to research her... "Condition". So far she had found nothing and was beginning to feel that her search was hopeless. She quietly walked up the stairs of the boy's dormitory and entered the sixth years' Prefects dorm. Everyone was fast asleep. Ginny crept up to Harry's bed not making a sound. She returned the cloak to its hiding place and then slipped out of the room as quietly as she came...

*~*~*

Harry Potter heard the door slide shut behind Ginny. He sat up in bed and stared at the door. He had found his invisibility cloak missing the night before last, only to find that the thief had returned it the next day. When it went missing again "last night" he had decided to wait up and see if he could catch the thief red handed. He was shocked when he saw Ginny enter his room, cloak in hand. He wasn't sure why he had continued to feign sleep when he saw her. Somehow, it seemed like the wrong time to confront her. He checked for his invisibility cloak. It was there. He sighed heavily. Ron wasn't going to like this. To tell the truth, neither did he.

"Ginny..." Harry said. "What are you up to? Why do I have a bad feeling about this?"

*~*~*

Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat down for breakfast together at the Gryffindor table. Harry tried to take his mind off of what happened yesterday, but couldn't. He still hadn't found an opportunity to talk to Ron or Hermione. Between schoolwork and his and Hermione's new duties as Prefect they were swamped. Ginny had taken his invisibility cloak again last night. He knew he had to tell them. Harry looked up and down the table for Ginny, but she wasn't there. Now seemed as good time as any.

"Where is Ginny?" Harry asked.

"I ran into her this morning in the library," Hermione said, taking a sip of her pumpkin juice. "She said she had an essay that she had to complete before class started. She should still be there. It's just...."

"What is it Hermione?" Ron asked as he took another bite from a piece of toast.

"Well... she seemed rather odd," Hermione said. "Almost like she was in some sort of trance or something... When I asked her 'what's wrong' she said 'it was nothing...' It seemed like there was something else she wanted to tell me, but..."

"But what Hermione?" Harry asked.

"The last time I saw her act like that was just before I was attacked by the Basilisk in our second year," Hermione said. "We bumped into each other in the hallway on the way to the library. She had that same odd, distant look on her face. I think something's up with her and she doesn't want to tell us."

"Well, it can't be You-Know-Who's diary again," Ron said. "That was destroyed, wasn't it Harry?"

"Yes, it was..." Harry said. "But I have to agree with Hermione. Something is wrong. Remember when I told you a few days ago that someone had taken my cloak and then returned it? Well it happened again the next night, so I stayed up to see who it was. It was Ginny. She had taken my cloak. When Ginny took my cloak again last night I tried to follow her, but I lost her. I think she may have seen me."

"Why would she do a thing like that?" Ron asked. "I think we should confront her. Find out what's wrong."

"And tip her off," Hermione said. "No, I think we should keep an eye on her. Try to find out where she's been going at night. If she saw you trying to follow her she probably won't try to use your cloak again tonight."

"You're probably right," Harry said. "Whatever's going on, we need to find out."

*~*~*

"Having fun my little Princess?" Tom whispered in her mind. She ignored the question. Ginny was sitting in the Gryffindor common room watching Harry and Ron play chess. For the first time in almost three weeks she had finally let her guard down a little. She continued to watch them play as Tom kept making comments about their game.

"So much for the boy who lived being good at everything," Tom said.

"As if you could do any better..." Ginny thought.

"You'd be surprised," Tom said. "I was quite good at chess in my day."

"Yeah right," Ginny accidentally said aloud. The other two looked at her funny. She decided to leave before her and Tom got into another argument. "I'm going to bed."

Ginny got up to leave.

"Wait!" Ron said. "You can't go yet. You still owe me a game. Remember?"

"I've had enough for one night," Harry said seemingly happy to get out of playing another game. "I've got to ask Hermione something before I go to bed. Night guys."

He walked up the stairs to the girl's dorm to find Hermione. Ginny sighed and sat down in the chair Harry had just vacated.

"I'll play one game," Ginny said. She was hopeless at chess. "Then I'm going to bed."

"Thanks," Ron said as he began to set up his chessboard for another game.

"I could help you know," Tom said. "All you have to do is ask..."

"Fine..." Ginny thought, just wanting to shut him up. "If you're such an expert... Just tell me what to do."

Ginny watched as Ron made the first move. Ginny listened to Tom's instructions and told the pieces where to move. It was all over in less than five minutes. Ginny and Tom had won hands down in less than ten moves. Ron just stared at Ginny and the chessboard in utter bewilderment. Ginny saw the look on his face and suppressed the urge to laugh. The look on his face was priceless.

"How did you do that?" Ron asked, finding his voice again.

"Divine inspiration," Ginny said, smiling for the first time in weeks. "Good night."

Ginny got up and walked out of the common room. She had enjoyed that a little more then she'd like to admit. It was nice to beat him at his own game for once. She walked into her empty dorm room. She wanted to close her eyes and sleep for a week, but she knew she couldn't. Instead she opened her trunk and pulled out a bottle filled with Pepper-Up potion. She drank some of the potion, grimacing at the strange after taste it always left in her mouth. Then she closed the bottle and put it away. Ginny felt the refreshing and revitalizing tingle coursing through her, working its magic. It swept away her physical exhaustion but did nothing for her bone-weary mind. She sighed heavily, and sat on her four poster bed.

"A little potion a day can help keep the monsters at bay," she thought ruefully. "If only it were that simple... Tom may only be able to take full control of my body while I sleep now, but that's bound to change if I don't find a way to stop him, and soon..."

With each passing day Tom seemed to be gaining a little more ground in their mental struggle for dominance, while she could barely even hold her own, much less stop him. He was wearing her down and Ginny felt powerless to stop him. She feared that if she didn't find a solution soon, she was gonna lose herself to him. Then nobody would be there to stop him from doing whatever he had planned. But how do you fight an enemy who knows you better than you know yourself?

"I'm so tired," Ginny said aloud as tears welled up in her eyes. "I just want to rest... Just for a little while."

"Then just let go..." Tom said. "You know you want to."

"No," Ginny thought. "You're lying. I refuse to listen to your lies and deceptions. I'm not the naive little girl you can use and then throw away, not anymore... Why can't you just leave me in peace?"

"I am a part of you," Tom said. "Its time that you accept it."

"NO!" Ginny thought. "It's not true! I hate you... you bloody bastard. You did this to me-"

"If you want someone to blame then try your precious Harry Potter," Tom said. "If it weren't for him I wouldn't be here."

"If it weren't for him I wouldn't still be breathing," Ginny said. "I owe him my life."

"You owe him?" Tom said. "For what? For this miserable existence, which he has so graciously cursed you with? For him spurning every advance you made? For looking at you like you were something to be scraped off his shoe?"

"You were going to kill me!" Ginny thought. "How dare you blame it all on him. So what if he isn't interested in me? He is my friend. This is not his fault!"

"Then whose fault is it?" Tom said. "Mine? For wanting to exist? For surviving despite the odds?"

"Yes..." Ginny mumbled.

"In the end what does it matter?" Tom said. "The fact remains. I am still a part of you whether you like it or not."

"I will find a way to get rid of you," Ginny said. "It's only a matter of time."

"Don't hold your breath," Tom hissed.

"We'll see," Ginny said.

*~*~*

It was just after dawn when Ginny entered the library. It had been two days since that chess match with Ron. She hadn't tried to take Harry's cloak since the night he had almost caught her. Part of her wished that he had, then maybe this nightmare would end. Unable to spend all of her time in the library anymore without the cloak she had taken to wandering through the grounds all night, careful to avoid Filch and his cat Mrs. Norris. Every morning she returned to the Gryffindor tower long enough to shower and change before returning to the library. Ginny had completely given up on going to breakfast in order to spend more time doing research. Each new search she made seemed more fruitless than the last, despite the fact that she spent all of her free time in the library now.

As she began her search through the stacks Ginny thought about her conversation with Hermione two days ago. Ginny had desperately wanted to tell Hermione about Tom, but Tom had stopped her once again. Ginny had the sinking feeling that all she was doing now was the equivalent of beating a dead Hippogriff with a Bludger. The likelihood of finding a case similar to hers was about one in a million. But she had to keep trying or she would lose hope of ever finding a cure. Ginny pulled out a promising looking book called 'Battle In the Psyche' and moved on. Five minutes later she pulled out another promising book called 'Psychological Maladies and The Dark Arts'.

"So now I'm nothing more than a figment of your diseased brain," Tom said in a mock tone of hurt.

Ginny ignored him and continued her search. Fifteen minutes later she hauled a large pile of heavy books to a table, sat down, picked up the first book, and started reading. Tom commented on the content of whatever book she read. Ginny pretended he wasn't there and kept her mind on the task at hand. After an hour of research she found something in chapter seventeen of 'Psychological Maladies and The Dark Arts'.

"It's looks like I've found something!" Ginny said.

"Aren't you supposed to say something like 'Bingo'?" Tom said.

"What's a 'Bingo'?" Ginny asked.

"Never mind..." Tom said mentally shaking his head. "Forget I even mentioned it..."

"Forgotten," Ginny said. "Now shut up and let me read..."

One of the strangest and most mysterious maladies resulting from a wizarding conflict was between the Dark wizard Neverland and the Light wizard Barrowstead. In the final battle between them Barrowstead killed the body of Neverland, but not his essence. Neverland had the unique power to possess the body of another, displacing the previous occupants' mind without the use of potions or other magical instruments. Unfortunately for Barrowstead, Neverland left his body just as the final blow was struck and took refuge in him.

Without his body Neverland had no way to escape Barrowstead, resulting in two minds trapped in the same body. They soon discovered that they could use each other's gifts and that whatever happened to one effected the other. Neither Barrowstead nor Neverland could accept their condition. They both fought for total supremacy of the body over several years. The battle eventually drove both parties insane. Barrowstead/ Neverland killed themselves ten years later, destroying a muggle village and killing three wizards in the process...

"Interesting," Tom said, after taking a moment to let the information sink in. "So they weren't able to escape their fate any more than we are... It looks like you have your answer, my little princess."

Ginny read the passage again not wanting to believe it. If they couldn't escape their fate then how could she? She shook her head. Now was not the time to go to pieces... Ginny looked at the footnotes. They mentioned two other books. 'Battle In the Psyche' and 'Dark Wizarding Conflicts In Medieval Times'. Ginny pulled the former book out of the pile and then tried to remember where she had seen the latter book before... Of course! She had seen it in the restricted section. The only way she could get a book out of the restricted section was to get a signed consent form from one of her professors.

"Were studying medieval times in history class," Ginny thought. "Maybe I can get Professor Binns to sign it..."

"What good is that book gonna do us now?" Tom said. "Those two wizards killed each other. Why? Because they couldn't cope, that's why. Is that what you want to happen to us?"

"There is no us," Ginny said.

"You can only keep your head buried in the sand for so long before you drown..." Tom cautioned. Ginny wasn't listening. She was too busy thinking up a plan, to have noticed a male figure with piercing cobalt blue eyes peering from behind the bookshelves, watching her with great interest.

*~*~*

Harry and Ron sat down at the Gryffindor table for breakfast. Harry looked up and down the table for Ginny but she wasn't there. He hadn't seen her at breakfast in ages, which wasn't like her. Hermione sat down next to Harry looking like she was half-asleep.

"You look like you've been through the ringer Hermione," Ron said.

"Thanks Ron," Hermione said icily. "You really know how to make a girl feel special."

"Rough night?" Harry said, taking a bite of breakfast.

"I had three essays to complete last night," Hermione said. "Between homework and my Prefect duties, I've been having a little trouble keeping up with everything. When I was finally done I couldn't sleep, so I went to the library-"

"You went to the library after all of that homework?" Ron said. Hermione gave him an icy glare that would have impressed Professor Snape, and Ron shut up before he could stick his foot in it further.

"Anyway," Hermione said. "Guess who I saw in the library?"

"Who?" Harry asked.

"When I entered the library, Ginny was there," Hermione said starting in on her breakfast. "She seemed to be talking to someone, but no one was there. At least no one I could see."

"What did she say?" Harry asked beginning to feel worried.

"I couldn't really hear her that well," Hermione said. "All I heard were the words 'I've found something.' "

"What do you think she was looking for?" Harry asked.

"I don't know what she's doing, but this isn't for a school project," Hermione said. "She seems to be spending every free moment in the library these days, I'm worried! This isn't like Ginny. I wish she would tell us what's wrong."

"Me too," Harry said.

"So am I," Ron said. "She's been acting strange... Hermione, do you know which book she was reading?"

"I managed to glance at the title when I entered the library," Hermione said, "It was called 'Psychological Maladies and The Dark Arts'. Why?"

"I've got an idea," Ron said. "We have first period free today. I think it's time we find out what she's been looking for."

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TBC