Smile Like You Mean It
Characters: Ginny and Tom Riddle
Content: Start of Deathly Hollows. Ginny finds herself back in time with the use of a Time Turner she found.
Warnings: None / It's Tom Riddle.
( Dreams Aren't What They Used to Be )
Content: Start of Deathly Hollows. Ginny finds herself back in time with the use of a Time Turner she found.
Warnings: None / It's Tom Riddle.
( Dreams Aren't What They Used to Be )
Of course, with such power came responsibility, and thus Tom was out doing a few rounds. The Head Girl was currently making her way about the dungeons, as they had previously agreed on (although the encounter had actually just been Tom dealing out instructions for her to follow and her agreeing to it with a glint of admiration in her eye).
The Room of Requirement was no secret to Tom, but surely he was the only student brilliant enough to discover it. Surely, there was no other who had quite the same level of intelligence as needed to discover the fabled room. And yet, Tom had only to pass the familiar section of wall -- and there was a shift.
Before his assumptions about Hogwarts' fabled room were properly thrown into question, Tom halted in his walk of purpose. After which he began to ponder: was there another so quietly brilliant to have discovered this room? Not only that, but to avoid his detection until now?
Tom's head turned toward his right, his gaze toward the wall. As Head Boy, it was his responsibility to make sure no student is out after a certain time. It was his responsibility to confront the student coming out of the Room of Requirement now. And yet, his curiosity told him to wait, observe, see what sort of face emerged, talk to it and find out how it had hid from him. Just like that, Tom had a plan.
He turned, his body following his head following his gaze, until he was facing the fully-formed entrance to the secret room, and the girl who emerged from it.
Of course, a girl. So few of them were worth his attention, after all. He had yet to find one who would prove her worth to him. While he enjoyed flattery, he often tired of blind adoration (after all, the fairer sex had little else to offer; until now, that is - potentially).
Though he wasn't the fondest of Gryffindors (Slytherin and Gryffindor were rival houses, after all), she could very well prove to be of use, if her knowledge of the secrets of this castle is any sign.
"Excuse me," he began, his tone a practised friendly yet respectable, charming yet authoritarian and his Head Boy badge catching the torchlight just so, "all students are to be in their dormitories at this time."
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Until she came face to face with him. Ginny wasn't even out of the room when she saw him. She blinked. She must be dreaming. But no, this was real. And she would never forget his face. Not ever. It was a face that would creep into her dreams at the dead of night.
Ginny held the Time Turner loosely in her hands. Her robes were even different than his. "Sorry, but what year is this?" She asked, much more calmly then she could have ever imagined.
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"1944. May I ask what year you're from?"
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And she remembered what it was like to trust him, to tell him all her secrets. All about the Boy-Who-Lived. And that's when it changed. He was no Savior, but a destroyer.
She ignored his question. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction, for everything that he's taken away from her and her family. "I need to see Dumbledore. He'll fix this." Ginny said defiantly. There was nothing he can do to her there.
How easy would it be to just hex him and be done with it? Here he was in front of her and the wood of her wand pressed against. Oh, it was tempting. But not possible.
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Boy-Who-Lived? He had never heard of such a thing, and yet it was clearly a title... Something to look forward to in the future, then. If he was feeling particularly vindictive, he could just physically overpower her, tie her up, and ravage her mind. She was from the future, after all. No one knew she was here except him and --
Dumbledore. She mentioned Dumbledore. Tom could either lead her to the Transfiguration professor's office, or he could lead her to the Chamber of the Secrets and find out exactly what she was here for, what she knew of the future. Perhaps that would be best. After all, Dumbledore certainly wasn't the most agreeable professor. The one least impressed with his talents, the one who never took a liking to him. And yet, if he were to bring her to the Chamber, and she escape, she would go right to Dumbledore, and not only would he learn about her existence, he would learn of Tom's little stronghold in the castle, and that the incident two years ago was in fact Tom's fault.
The Chamber was too risky, much too risky. He knew this ever since the end of fifth year. And yet, if he were to take her anywhere else in the castle she would have a much higher chance of escaping. The Chamber would be foreign to her. Hogwarts itself was not.
And yet, bringing her to Dumbledore was not something he wanted to do. He needed to know just how capable she was as a witch. He needed to know when she was from, and what she was going to do once she reached the professor's office. There were too many variables in the equation for him to act now.
... Very well.
"I'll escort you to his office."
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Ginny bit her lip tentatively. This was Riddle. And he was going to escort her? To say she didn't trust him was an understand him. The redhead crossed her arms. She was just supposed to follow him? "Go ahead of me. I don't trust you." She said simply.
That was it? He just agreed? He was still too charming. Ginny knew he was ever calculating. He had to be planning something. And he was the only one that knew of her existence. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. If she thought she was in a bad situation before, it seemed to only get bleaker. But she had to hold her head high. She wouldn't give up.
Of course if he wanted to do something, she knew there wasn't much she could do. She was a capable witch, headstrong and potentially dangerous, but she knew his power was greater than hers - that he knew Dark Magic above her own knowledge. Even if what she learned in Dumbledore's Army could help, there was little she could do.
But that didn't mean she wouldn't try. She wouldn't move from her spot until he did. Not of her own accord at least. And this was a true test of her courage, with a little of the Weasley stubbornness and her mother's temper. It wasn't much, but it's what she had - it's who she was.
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"I understand. Follow me." And with those words, he began their trek to Dumbledore's office. After a bit of walking, she could notice that they were headed towards the office she knew to be McGonagall's.
Tom, of course, was still in contemplation, was still pondering the situation. He spent much too time in this castle to have to think about where he was going, and therefore was free to let his mind focus on the girl behind him (he, of course, glanced back every so often to make sure she was indeed behind him).
The ideal situation, of course, would be to extract any useful information from her before offing her completely and simply leaving her body in the Chamber for the Basilisk to eat. And yet, she had escaped his future self, and she was obviously on her guard at the moment. It was more than obvious she didn't trust him, and it would take him quite a bit of effort in order for her to do so again... If he were to lead her to a girl's bathroom, or even an empty classroom, she would undoubtedly become suspicious. Was it too risky to try and do away with her now? Perhaps. Yes, better to be cautious and play it safe. He could ravage her mind another time... Hopefully.
And yet the factor of Professor Dumbledore was unpredictable. If he were to get involved, he would undoubtedly take things into his own hands, make it so Tom would no longer be necessary, be involved with this girl. No, Professor Dumbledore couldn't keep him away. Time Turners were never designed to be able to go so far into the past, not to mention the faulty magic that regards the future. This girl would be staying for a while, if only to work out the magic she would have to use in order to return. If it was possible, that is.
With that sorted and out of the way, Tom knew he would have to play even nicer than usual -- perhaps he could even try to seduce her? The thought made Tom sneer. Love, relationships -- idiocy, all of it. The bile that rose in his throat at the thought was swallowed back down. Trivial foolishness, it was. Tom had no doubt he would be a master at it. Anything he put his mind to he could master, there was no doubt. Not to mention, he had quite a number of - ahem - fans, and while he certainly didn't mind the adoration he got from the situation (he quite enjoyed it, actually), the idea of sinking to that level...
No. If he were to master the art of seduction, he would do it his own way. Ridiculous holidays, pet names, meaningless words thrown about -- it would not be anything of the sort. He would dominate her, spiritually, physically, magically, and she would be begging him to do it.
The idea had some merits, not to mention it wasn't as horrid as he first thought it might be. Uncomfortable and unwanted on the whole, yes, but perhaps he could work with it. Merely because certain incidents in fourth year --
One thing was certain: Tom was not going to commit to any course of action, not yet. First, he needed to get to know her, needed her to be comfortable in his presence. He needed the basics, and of course he had little intent to allow her to learn of his talent for Legilimency.
So, he began with the simple, "May I ask your name?"
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Ginny's soft brown eyes weren't so soft every time he turned around. She was there, yes, but because she couldn't just go anywhere else. Her jaw was clenched, and she looked in his eyes each time. She wouldn't back down despite the pit in her stomach.
But he finally broke the silence. It reminded her that he was also in his head. That was never a good thing. But she wondered if she should continue to ignore his questions. It might be better to not anger him. Plus she'd rather not have him stew in his own thoughts.
Then again there was a whole other side that wanted to snark back. And it was winning out. "Ginny." The redhead answered. "Ginny Weasley. No need to ask who you are, Tom."
Tom Marvolo Riddle. She knew what it meant. His name, his father's name, the name that was forgotten. She bit the inside of her cheek; for half a second she remembered the first time she met him. But she couldn't let her own memories linger. She couldn't think of him like that. Well the memory, since she was unfortunately standing. And it was just a lie.
She looked back at him briefly. Ginny walked along the halls with her head high even if she had no other reason to not let herself falter. She knew where she was, suddenly remembering that Dumbledore was a professor in this time. Her face dropped and her brows furrowed. Still he was the one professor who saw through Riddle. That was some hope. And with things slipping through her fingers and seeping into his the longer she stayed.
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