Phantom Shadows

Phantom Shadows Chapter Two Come to me, Angel Angel, oh speak, What endless longings echo in this whisper Too long you've wandered in winter, Far from my far-reaching gaze. Wildly my mind beats against you You resist Yet the soul obeys! ~ Angel of Music (reprise)

Divinations class sped by for Ginny that day, instead of being hopelessly long and boring. However, if you wanted to know what had happened in class, you would have to ask another person, for the blissful state had not lifted from her mind yet. She spent most of the class scribbling romantic nonsense on scraps of parchment, instead of writing notes. If anyone had been there looking over her shoulder the phrases Mrs. Ginny Potter, Ginny Weasley-Potter, Virginia Adrienne Potter and Mrs. G. W. Potter would have been seen on the paper.

"Ginny! Ginny, wake up," a voice snapped impatiently. With a start, Ginny looked up to see her friend, Mariana Javenson. The blonde-haired girl was looking extremely hacked off, but her expression softened when she saw she had the other girl's attention, "Now, if you're finished scribbling about your future name when you marry the famous Mr. Potter, we can go grab a bite to eat before the Quidditch game."

"Oh!" Ginny blushed horribly, shoving the parchment into her bag, lest anyone else saw it. She stood up as Mariana grinned, "Oh, you're horrible," she muttered, the blush that stained her cheeks starting to die down.

"Of course. I try my best," Mariana grinned, linking her arm in Ginny's own, "Now, c'mon, let's go get some food."

"Who's playing tonight?" Ginny wondered as they made their way to the Great Hall.

"Hufflepuff versus Ravenclaw." Mariana replied, "I just want to see my cousin get creamed."

"And why's that?" a voice asked from behind them.

"What the bloody hell?" Mariana shrieked as she whirled around. Unfortunately, her arm was still linked through Ginny's, so the red-haired girl half-turned as well before falling to the ground. "For the love of God, do NOT do that!" she snapped at Harry, who had been the one behind them.

"Ah, sorry about that, then," Harry said sheepishly. He held out a hand to help Ginny up, "Here."

"Well, I'll see you two later, then," Mariana said, a mischievous grin on her face, "Oh, and Gin, your diary's on your bed."

"Diary?" Ginny asked blankly.

"The black one. Jezebelle found it and put it on your bed after you gave us a scare," Mariana called over her shoulder as she started off down the hall.

"You have a diary again?" Harry inquired, looking rather serious, "I didn't think you would have one after what happened in your second year."

Ginny winced at the memory and at the even more recent experience of the dreams with Tom, "Yeah, well."

"Did you write anything about me in it yet?" Harry asked, his green eyes sparkling with an air of mischief.

"No, not yet," Ginny smiled, removing all thoughts of Tom Riddle from her mind. She was here with Harry - they were going to the Hallowe'en Ball together. It was exactly what she wanted. Yes, it was.

"So. . ." Harry said slowly, glancing around. It seemed that they were the only ones in the hallway, which left not much for conversation.

"Right," Ginny nodded, a faint blush creeping up her face again. Why do I have to get so flustered around him? she asked herself, cursing her inability to hide her emotions, "So are you going to the Quidditch game?" she asked brightly. Idiot, she mentally kicked herself, of course he is.

"Actually, I'm not," Harry replied, "I haven't been sleeping well lately and I wanted to catch up on some rest."

"Really?" Ginny asked, "You're having nightmares too?"

"Nightmares?" Instantly a concerned look came into Harry's eyes, "What about?"

She was about to tell him everything - how Tom had been taunting her in the dreams, how he hadn't left her alone even though everyone had thought so. But something stopped her, "Nothing, just trivial things," Ginny lied, of her own accord. It was not Tom trying to control her now, it was just simply her.

"Are you sure?" Harry asked, concern still showing blatantly on his face, "I mean - "

"Harry, it's nothing," Ginny said firmly, holding a hand up to his cheek. "Trust me, there's nothing wrong."

"But you said - " Harry began to protest.

I want him to be quiet and stop talking about these nightmares, Ginny thought, trying to keep herself from screaming. If someone were to get her to talk about the dreams she had been having, more than likely she would have a nervous breakdown. And it seemed that Harry seemed intent on pushing her down that path. How can I get him to stop talking about it? She wondered, trying to block him out but to no avail.

"Harry, stop it," she commanded, closing her eyes, "I don't want to talk about it."

"Ginny, what's wrong?" instead of getting him to stop pressing her about her dreams, it had made him more concerned.

Cover his mouth, was the natural thing that came to Ginny's mind, Or make a quick escape. Another suggestion resounded through her mind.

Ginny winced and put her hand to her head, "Harry, I'm fine. It's all right. The nightmares are over. I haven't been having them recently, so it's all right. I just have a bit of a headache left so I'm going to go lie down, all right?"

"If that's all it is," Harry said, suspicion slightly evident in his voice. He took a deep breath, then sighed, "Of course it is. And if your head does hurt, you should go lie down so you don't make it worse."

"Thanks Harry," Ginny smiled wanly, "I knew you'd understand." But does he really? she asked herself as she walked away from the black-haired boy, Does he really understand you? Shut up, Ginny told the little voice in her head, Just shut up.

But is that what you really want, Ginny? The voice asked, slightly mocking as she turned the corner and hurried towards Gryffindor Tower.

Shut up, Tom, Ginny thought furiously, And get out of my head. Go back to your little diary.

There was silence in her brain, as if he had actually heeded her command. She stopped for a moment, directly in front of the Fat Lady, listening intently to her mind. No reply, still.

"Password, love?" the Fat Lady smiled down at her.

"Crescent soul," Ginny said as the portrait swung open to admit her. She hurried up to her dorm room. Indeed, sitting there on her bed was the black diary. Funny, she thought as she drew closer to it. She picked it up and ran her fingers over it, Funny how this small thing could have caused me so much pain.

Her natural instinct said throw it away. You don't want a repeat of your first year, do you? Immediately, Ginny recognized it as her common sense. For one wild moment, she thought viciously, What if I do? What if I want a repeat of my first year?

"What if I do what Tom Riddle to come back?" she inquired of the empty room.

If you want Tom Riddle to come back, he shall. Ginny said to herself, knowing that it was the truth. After all, it was her want for him that had kept him strong, enabled him to come through the diary. No matter what anyone said, she was the one who had done it all. No one had coerced her into doing anything, it was all of her free will.

She sat down on her bed, thumbing through the diary. It was as if it hadn't changed at all. The pages were still yellowed with age and stained with some sort of liquid. The only sign that this diary had almost literally gone through hell was the almost unnoticeable patch on the cover. Ginny ran a finger over it, feeling the slight bump in the leather where the patch began. But does it still hold the same magical properties as before? she wondered, looking up toward the window.

"I wonder if he'd still be able to come back . . ." she whispered aloud, her eyes fixated on the window. She got up and placed the diary carefully under her pillow, lest someone find it. Walking over to the window, she rested her elbows on the sill and gazed out at the endless expanse of blue sky. She mentally shook herself, "Why are you thinking about Tom at a time like this? Everything's virtually perfect. You are going to the Hallowe'en Ball with Harry. Harry, whom you've had a crush on for five years now."

Ginny paused, taking a break from rebuking herself. Five years? she asked herself, indeed it had been almost five years since she had first developed a crush on Harry Potter - when she was ten, the year before she was to go to Hogwarts. She sighed, it seemed almost pathetic the fact that she had been stuck on the same guy for almost a third of her life.

"Ginny, what are you going, girl?" a voice demanded from the doorway of the room. Turning, Ginny saw Mariana there, with her hands on her hips. The blonde girl smirked, "Where's the enigmatic Mr. Potter? Hiding him under your bed?"

"Mariana!" Ginny said with indignance in her voice, "Harry's gone to supper."

"Which is where you should be then, right?" Mariana asked, striding over to where her friend was, "And not up here by the window."

"I was just trying to get some time alone, some time to think . . ." Ginny said as Mariana grabbed her arm and began to propel her out of the room.

"About what?" Mariana inquired, a mischievous grin on her face, "Anyway, Gin, have you thought about what you're wearing to the Hallowe'en ball?"

"Not really," Ginny said, allowing herself to be pulled out of the room and down the stairs, "After all I just got asked to it today."

"Perfect," Mariana said, grinning widely, "Now, we are going to figure out what you're going to wear," they were down in the Common Room by now and almost immediately, Mariana dragged the red-haired girl over to where Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown were sitting.

"Hi, Mariana," Lavender said, smiling up at her cousin, "What are you doing?"

"Well, Miss Ginny here is in dire need of a fashion consultant for the Hallowe'en Ball this year. She has no idea on what she's going to wear," the blonde said, plopping herself down in a chair and releasing Ginny's arm.

"Really?" Parvati inquired, her brown eyes lighting up as they always did whenever she could sense a piece of gossip coming on, "Who with?"

"Harry," Ginny mumbled, hoping that the other girls wouldn't be able to hear her. No such luck.

"You're going with Harry?" Parvati asked, raising an eyebrow, "Well, just don't expect him to be a good dancer. Quite plainly put, he sucks."

"But that doesn't matter," Lavender chimed in, "All that matters is if you have the right outfit."

Ginny raised an eyebrow, was this girl always this shallow?

"And it helps if you can move around in it, too." the older girl added, "In case anything happens, like . . ." she trailled off.

"Like what, Lavender?" Ginny asked, sensing a bit of darkness in the brunette's tone.

The girl looked visibly torn, like she was wrestling with her feelings. She sighed as Mariana put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Lav's parents are . . . well," the blonde said, her expression anxious and nervous. She lowered her voice, "Not very good people."

Ginny's eyes widened, then narrowed, "You mean they're . . .?" she trailed off, not wanting to finish her question.

"Yeah," Lavender said, biting her lip. There was an awkward pause, then she shook herself, "But then again, what they do doesn't involve me, so it's all right. Let's go upstairs and see what we can do about your dress."

Ginny allowed herself to be turned from the topic of Lavender's parents and let the three girls lead her back upstairs, but this time to the fifth-year female dormitory. Upon entrance, she was seated on one of the beds and Parvati immediately headed over to where a large wardrobe was set up.

"How come you guys get a wardrobe and all we have is our trunks?" Mariana protested, looking extremely indignant.

"Because Parvati got her mum to ship it here," Lavender said, looking rather smug. She joined Parvati at looking through it.

"Why am I doing this again?" Ginny whispered to Mariana.

"Because you want to look absolutely gorgeous so that Harry won't be able to keep his eyes off you," Mariana whispered back, "And so you'll look better than everyone at the Hallowe'en Ball - except me, of course."

"Of course," Ginny smiled weakly, trying not to remember her first Hallowe'en at Hogwarts. When the attacks began and that's when Tom had begun to take over.

Because you let me, precious, his voice hissed. Ginny almost gasped, but bit her lip to avoid drawing attention to herself, And about the Hallowe'en Ball? Why don't you wear something green? Or silver? You know how I love those colours.

Get out, Ginny furiously thought, I'm not wearing any colours that have to do with Slytherin and with you!

You've changed greatly, Ginny. You used to do everything I asked of you.

And look where that got me, Ginny thought, trying to return her attention to Lavender and Parvati who had quite a few outfits to try on, it seemed.

"Here, try this one." Lavender said, handing her a green dress. Ginny blanched at the colour,

"Ummm . . . I don't particularly like green. Or silver for that matter," she said, Take that, Tom. She waited for his reply, but there was none.

"All right," Parvati said cheerfully, "Here," she handed Ginny a long, black dress.

And that was the start of a miniature fashion show that almost bored Ginny to tears. However, the good thing was that she did manage to get a suitable outfit out of it from Lavender.

Mariana let out an admiring whistle as the red-haired girl spun around, wearing a long, flowing dress. It was of a dark red velvet, almost blood-coloured but slightly too dark for that. There were gold patters on the dress and many costumed jewels encrusted the low neck-line that showed off a bit of cleavage.

"I do believe that is the dress that you'll wear," Lavender said, tucking her wand into her bag. The dress had once just been a simple red one, but within the last half-hour she had added designs to it to make it the masterpiece it was now, "I love it!"

"It is pretty," Ginny agreed, looking at herself in the mirror. The straps were thin, made out of strings of costume jewels and the dress was a perfect fit thanks to sewing magic which Lavender seemed to excel in.

"You should keep it," the brunette girl continued, "It looks much better on you than it would on me, any day."

Ginny wasn't paying attention to her though, she was still fixated on her own image in the mirror. She pulled her hair back from her face and twisted it into a loose bun, leaving some tendrils of hair dangling down to frame her face.

You look like a princess, precious. Tom's voice was back again, back in her head, taunting her.

Shut up, she angrily though.

Yes, a beautiful princess, Tom was saying in her mind. Ginny closed her eyes and tried to force him out of her head, even though she new it was futile.

"My princess," he whispered in her ear. Ginny opened her eyes. She was still standing in front of the mirror, but it was as if time had frozen. Lavender, Parvati and Mariana were unmoving, like they were trapped in the space of time. Looking back in the mirror, Ginny saw herself not to be the only one who was unaffected.

Tom was there, slightly behind her. Her eyes widened as he stepped forward and wrapped one arm around her waist. Ginny closed her eyes, hoping that when she opened them, he would be gone. But she could still feel his body pressing against hers. She had let her arms drop to her sides and her hair was now down around her shoulders, flowing and loose.

"If you're a princess," the dark-haired male whispered, pressing his cheek to her hair and taking one of her hands in his, "Then you're mine."

"I'm not yours," Ginny whispered in protest, "and I never was."

"Oh, yes you were, precious," Tom said, his eyes glinting with a hint of red mixed into the violet, "You were mine and you are mine again."

"No," Ginny protested, a slight feeling of dizziness taking hold of her.

"Sorry, precious," Tom said, planting a light kiss on her cheek, "But you are and there's nothing you can do to stop it. Unfortunately, I must go now. So I bid you adieu and au revoir, my precious."

Ginny closed her eyes against him and when she opened them, he was gone and Lavender had resumed her talking. Ginny stared into the mirror and covered her cheek with the hand Tom had been holding. She could almost still feel the imprint of his lips there.