Chapter Summary: The position as part of the twin’s pranking squad was still open when Ginny began at Hogwarts …
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea.
Author’s Notes: Kinda depressing for me. Wow … Story the sixth in ‘The Red Haired Trio’ series.
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The position as part of the twin’s pranking squad was still open when Ginny began at Hogwarts, but by then she was so absorbed in her new diary that she didn’t want it. All she wanted to do was talk to Tom, all day.
Her grades suffered, but she did well in Potions and Defence Against the Dark Arts. She knew everything that Professor Snape and that prat Lockhart could teach her.
She didn’t want to eat, either. She just wasn’t hungry anymore. When her teachers began to notice she cast a glamourie Tom had told her about over herself so they’d stop bugging her. Their ‘concerned’ talks took up valuable writing time.
Still, even with Tom reassuring her that nothing was wrong in the school, she knew something was. Why could she hear voices in the walls? Why were there chicken feathers all over her clothes?
These worries and the fact that she couldn’t write to Tom every minute of the day had her wandering around the castle, miserable. She appreciated Fred and George’s efforts to cheer her up, they even managed to make her smile every once in a while, but soon their faces covered in whatever grotesque affliction they’d decided on, wormed their way into her nightmares, nightmares in which she killed her entire family and laughed a high-pitched, terrible laugh …
It wasn’t until New Year’s that she wised up to the type of person Tom really was.
She’d been waiting eagerly all day for Mum’s cake and her letter. She knew from watching her mother, and later, helping her to bake the cakes, that Mum always baked a cake for special occasions, and sent letters to everyone.
So when the parcel came at lunchtime she was ecstatic. Not only would she get some of Mum’s delicious chocolate cake, she’d also have her own PERSONAL message from Mum, all of her own. (One bad thing about having so many brothers at Hogwarts was that Mum just wrote them a joint letter, and by the time she got it, it was so crumpled and stained that she could hardly read the words.)
“Fred, George, here’re your messages,” Ron said casually, handing the twins identical long letters, no doubt raging at them for their mischief making. “Percy, here’s yours. And here’s mine.”
“What about me?” Ginny asked excitedly. “Where’s mine?”
“Oh …” Ron frowned, searching through the paper. “I guess Mum forgot to put it in. Never mind, Gin, I’m sure she didn’t mean to. She was probably busy.”
“That’s all right for you to say,” Ginny choked, standing up and knocking over her tea so it sloshed all over the table. “You got a message!” She ran out of the Great Hall.
“What’s her problem?” She heard Ron ask as she left.
Once she reached her dorm she grabbed Tom from under her pillow and began writing.
Tom, oh, I hate them, I hate them all!
Ginny, what’s wrong?
Today is New Year, and Mum always sends all of us a message and some cake. And she forgot to send me a letter!
Poor Ginny. Never mind, I’ll send you a message.
Thanks, Tom, but it’s just not the same. Sometime I feel like I could just kill them! Then I could have Mum and Dad all to myself.
Well … why don’t you?
Why don’t I what?
Kill them.
Ginny stared at the written words in horror. She might say she’d like to kill her brothers, but she didn’t mean it!
Slamming the book shut, she jumped up. She had to get rid of it. Tom wasn’t who she thought he was. NO ONE would bluntly suggest killing their friend’s siblings. No one!
Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom. The perfect place.
But when she’d seen Harry with the diary on Valentine’s Day she’d been horror-struck. What if Tom, out of spite for her not writing to him anymore, told Harry of his crush on her! That was the reason she’d gone white, not that stupid Singing Valentine. She’d known Fred and George were going to send that, and had purposely made up a very silly rhyme for them to use. She hated the embarrassment on Harry’s face, though, at having to listen to such rubbish. And Malfoy’s malevolent comment had only made things worse.
Still, she was glad he’d been there that day, otherwise she wouldn’t have found out about the diary being in Harry’s possession.
As soon as she could, Ginny searched Harry’s things for it. The pull to linger was strong, but she needed to get rid of Tom, and fast!
The temptation to talk to Tom again, however, had been too hard to resist.
He’d grown stronger though, and some of the things he said terrified her.
However, no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t tear herself away again. Tom had his hooks into her good and proper.
No one noticed, not even her brothers or Hermione, reputedly the smartest witch in the school. And Dumbledore was gone, now, so he couldn’t help her.
She had no friends to turn to for help, after all, her entire life this year had been writing to Tom.
In desperation, she tried talking to Harry. He would know what to do. Then Percy intervened, and she ran for the twins.
But even they were too busy for her, planning a new prank to play on one of the kids in the DADA class.
So she’d struggled alone, her best friend now her worst nightmare.
Lying in the Chamber of Secrets, feeling her life being drained away by Tom, all cried out, without the strength to beg for her life, she’d been grateful that at least no one would realise how stupid she’d been. At least her family wouldn’t remember her as a monster.
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Fred and George had meant it when they offered Ginny a chance to be a part of their pranking team. The Weasley Duo, as they thought of themselves. She was intelligent and had an interesting outlook on life.
When Ron crossed them they may have turned his teddy into a spider, but Ginny not only got revenge when he pulled the head off her doll by ripping the legs off his stuffed dragon, she also managed to get Ron into trouble for it. They wanted that kind of innovation on their side.
But Ginny didn’t seem interested. They’d shrugged their shoulders and let her and her diary be, hoping she wouldn’t turn into another uptight Percy. She was a big girl; she could take care of herself.
They changed their minds when she lay in the Chamber of Secrets. Percy was beside himself, but he’d been that way ever since Hermione was petrified for some reason. Ron was nowhere to be found, nor was Harry.
And Ginny … their ickle Gin-kin, their baby sister … she was in the Chamber of Secrets, dead or dying.
George, calm, sensible George, the more pragmatic and even-tempered of the two, had punched a wall repeatedly, smashing his knuckles to pieces, sharp white bone poking through livid skin.
Fred hadn’t even been able to stand up, and both boys had to be dragged down to the Hospital Wing where Madam Pomfrey clucked over them worriedly.
So close they were almost one person, both boys had the same image in their mind. Their frail, freckled little sister spread-eagled in muck, her vibrant hair the only thing with colour and the semblance of life left, eyelashes lying against bruised cheeks.
They couldn’t believe their eyes when a miserable, dirty little imp arrived in the Hospital Wing and, through hiccoughing sobs, told Madam Pomfrey that Professor Dumbledore said she should have a cup of hot chocolate.
Without even thinking about it they’d jumped up only to fall in a tangle of limbs, eliciting a small, quavering smile from their sister.
“Gin-kin!” George cried.
“You’re all right!” Fred finished.
The pair hugged and kissed and petted the eleven-year-old until her cheeks were quite flushed from being between them with their combined body heat. She’d cuddled into them willingly, sipping her hot chocolate while Pomfrey fussed over George’s hand, since he’d somehow managed to break all the knuckles again in the ensuing rush to reach Ginny.
“I did a t-t-t-terrible thing!” Ginny wailed. “I was the one who was d-d-d-doing all those things t-t-t-t-to the Muggle-borns! I p-p-p-petrified Hermione!”
“Well …” George said, stroking Ginny’s filthy hair. “Did you want to?”
“No! Of course not! I like the li’l Muggle-borns! You-Know-Who was c-c-c-controlling me through my d-d-diary!”
“There you go!” Fred said with false-cheerfulness. “Not your fault then.” He exchanged a worried look with George. She was so upset. He’d never seen Her Royal Chatteriness like this before.
“B-but none of you c-c-care about me!”
“Gin-kin, what makes you think that?” Both twins chorused.
“I d-d-didn’t get a letter!”
“At New Year?” Fred asked. “Yes you did. It was just stuck to Ron’s. I guess he forgot to give it to you. I can tell you the extent of what it said, though.” He coughed importantly, and put on a high-pitched voice. “‘Ginny, dear, I hope you’re enjoying Hogwarts. We miss you very much. Happy New Year, and keep up the good work in Potions and Defence Against the Dark Arts. Love, Mum and Dad.’”
Ginny hiccoughed and giggled at the same time.
“You know,” George said. “We still need a third member of the Weasley Family to make us the Weasley Trio instead of the Duo.”
“You know what they say. Two’s company, three’s a pranking team,” Fred agreed.
Ginny lifted her head to look at them. “Really? You mean it?”
“’Course we do, Gin-kin.” Fred poked her in the nose.
“We wouldn’t have said it if we didn’t.” George added, smiling in relief as Ginny smiled back.