When Adam awoke the next morning, he wasn't sure where he was. He looked uncertainly around the room. Ginny's House! I'm at The Burrow! he suddenly remembered.
Adam was in a reasonably large room, far larger than the one he'd had at the home. There was a bed, a wardrobe, a desk and a chair. The bed was soft, as soft as his Hogwarts bed.
He got out of bed and spotted his clothes from yesterday in a pile on the floor. They didn't smell particularly pleasant, so he rummaged around in his trunk, found a clean pair of clothes to wear, and dressed.
Adam hesitated before leaving the room, listening to hear if anyone else was moving around. He was overjoyed at the reception he had received at The Burrow. It was almost as if Mrs Weasley wanted him in her house, but Adam still felt unsure what the reception of the other Weasleys would be. Adam hoped he would be able to stay at least for a few weeks.
Adam exited the room and looked around the landing. He couldn't see anyone else about. He thought for a minute about going into Ginny's room, to see if she was up yet, but decided against it. He'd never been into a girl's room before and Mrs Weasley might not like him going in there. After all, at Hogwarts the boys weren't allowed in the girls' rooms.
Adam walked cautiously down the stairs. As he approached the kitchen he could hear the sound of people talking. He poked his head around the door and looked into the kitchen. There were several people sitting around the kitchen table amongst whom Adam recognised the twins and Ron immediately. Mrs Weasley was bustling back and forward between the stove and the table, handing out plates of food as she went. Adam hesitated at the doorway, unsure if he was welcome at breakfast. He had, after all, just shown up unexpectedly the previous night.
"Take a seat, Adam. I'll get you some breakfast," said Mrs Weasley warmly.
"Alright, mate?" the twins said together, nodding towards him as he sat down at a free seat.
Ron mumbled something with his mouth full.
Mrs Weasley placed a plate of sausages and bacon in front of Adam, which he eagerly tucked into. He was especially hungry for some reason this morning. Adam had eaten half of his breakfast when Ginny appeared. As she approached the table, he noticed she was only wearing a nightdress and dressing gown. She sat down opposite Adam and started tucking into the breakfast her mother handed her.
"Good morning, Weasleys!" said a voice from the doorway.
"Hi, Dad!" the four Weasleys at the table echoed.
Adam realised this must be Ginny's dad. He glanced up. Like all the Weasley men, he had red hair, except his was thinning out on the top of his head. He wore glasses and a familiar bright red hat with a pointy top. Adam stared at him, he knew he had seen him somewhere before, but he just couldn't quite pinpoint where.
"Hello, son, who are you?" said Ginny's dad when he saw Adam.
Adam stared at Mr Weasley, trying to pinpoint where he had seen him before. Adam saw Mr Weasley staring at him, as if he too recognised Adam. The memory suddenly clicked in Adam's mind; he felt his stomach sink and he gasped in horror. Mr Weasley was one the people he had robbed while on the run. Adam remembered the wizarding coins in the money bag that he had nicked, but he hadn't known what they were at the time.
Adam looked away. Please don't recognise me, please don't recognise me, he chanted silently.
"I'm Adam, sir, Ginny's friend," he said, slowly raising his head.
Mr Weasley was still looking intently at him and Adam saw recognition dawn on Mr Weasleys face. It made Adam feel sick to his stomach.
"You?!" Mr Weasley exclaimed. "The kid outside the electrickity shop!"
All of the Weasleys turned to stare at Adam, Ginny included. Adam felt himself flush with shame. He didn't need to look at them to see their accusing faces. In his shame, Adam bolted from the room. He dashed out of the door into the early morning sunlight. All that remained of the rain from last night was the damp feel of the grass on his bare feet.
Adam ran until he came upon a large pond. There he stopped and sat down at the edge of the pond, resting his feet in the cool water. He couldn't run anymore, he didn't even have any shoes on his feet! Maybe the Weasleys would at least give him his stuff back before they sent him away. He would go to Hogwarts and try to find Professor McGonagall; she was his only hope now. Why did things from his past keep coming back to haunt him?
"Adam!" Ginny called as she rushed across the garden towards him.
"You want me gone already?" Adam said bitterly.
"What are you on about?" Ginny said.
"Don't you want me to leave now you know what I did?" Adam snapped.
"Adam, shut up!" Ginny replied hotly. "Get it into your head, we like you for who you are, I like you! We don't want you to go just because of something that happened in the past!"
Adam sat in silence. Did the Weasleys actually want him to stay?
"Adam, will you come inside? Dad isn't angry, he was just surprised. Mum and Dad would like to talk to you," Ginny asked in a more gentle tone.
Adam nodded stiffly and slowly got to his feet. He followed Ginny back inside the house. They passed through the empty kitchen and went into the living room. The room had comfortable chairs and a sofa; it felt very cosy.
"Adam, I'm sorry I raised my voice earlier. I was just surprised to see you again. Will you come and sit down?" asked Mr Weasley when he saw Adam in the doorway.
Adam moved and sat down on the sofa. Mr and Mrs Weasley moved two arm chairs and sat down opposite him. To Adam's surprise, Ginny sat down next to him.
"Adam, I want to make sure you understand I am not angry for what happened. Ginny told us a bit about your past and I expect you were going through a really tough time," said Mr Weasley.
"But I stole from you!" cried Adam.
"Adam, what did you use that money for?" asked Mr Weasley.
"Uh... food," Adam replied in a quiet voice.
"And I expect by that point you were pretty hungry?" continued Mr Weasley.
"Y-Yeah."
"Well, then," Mr Weasley smiled, "I dare say you needed that money more than me. If you'd have asked, I would have given you some. I was only going to use it to buy a few new Muggle gadgets and enter a competition in the paper."
"Y-You don't mind?" Adam replied, feeling shocked.
"No, I don't," replied Mr Weasley with a smile.
"Adam," Mrs Weasley added, "I had a talk with Professor Dumbledore last night after you went to sleep. He was shocked to learn where the Ministry had sent you. He will be coming to talk to you today."
"I work at the Ministry and I think it is disgraceful how they treated you. We want to help you, but before we can do that, we need to know a little more about what happened before you came to Hogwarts," continued Mr Weasley.
Adam looked down at the floor; he didn't like talking about his past.
"I know you don't like talking about it, Adam, but Mum and Dad will help," said Ginny, and she put her hand on his shoulder.
"Okay," replied Adam, looking up at the elder Weasleys.
"Can you tell us how you ended up living on the street?" asked Mr Weasley.
"I-I ran away from the place I was living. A kid tried to beat me up and I hurt him...." Adam hesitated, "...badly. It was magic; it used to happen when I got mad. The people there caught me and locked me in a room. I just wanted to get away, and I suddenly appeared outside," Adam replied.
"That place was where you lived up until then?" asked Mr Weasley.
"I lived in a few other places, but because I was magical, nobody seemed to want me, I was too unusual," Adam sighed. "It's easier to understand now I know about magic, but before I went to Hogwarts I had no idea why these things happened."
"Do you know what your parents' names were?" asked Mr Weasley. "We may be able to find if you have any living relatives."
"I-I..." Adam hesitated.
"Go on, Adam," said Ginny giving him an encouraging smile.
"I asked someone once if they knew who my parents were, they told me I was abandoned in some bushes in a park." Adam heard Mrs Weasley gasp. "I don't know if it's true or not," he added quickly. "I was named after I was found."
The room was silent. Adam was sure he saw a glimmer of tears in Mrs Weasley's eyes. Ginny was smiling encouragingly at him.
"Thank you for telling us that, Adam," said Mr Weasley.
"I'll get some tea," said Mrs Weasley as she stood up. "Professor Dumbledore should be here soon."
Professor Dumbledore arrived while Mrs Weasley was in the kitchen making tea. He came through the fireplace and was dusting some soot off his silvery robes as he entered the living room, with Mrs Weasley following.
"Good Morning, Mr. Winters," said Professor Dumbledore, as he pulled up a chair.
"Hello, Professor," Adam said coldly. He was sure Professor Dumbledore was responsible for where he had been sent during the summer.
"Adam," said Professor Dumbledore, he seemed surprised by Adam's cold response, "would you tell me what has happened so far this summer?"
Adam retold his story. As he described the place where he had been sent by the Ministry, he saw shock on the face of Professor Dumbledore, shock and anger. It was the first time he had ever seen the Headmaster angry, so he decided to leave out that he had used magic to unlock the door. He knew he could get into trouble for using magic outside of school.
"Adam, I can only apologise for what has happened. I left specific instructions with the Ministry, based on what Professor McGonagall told me that you told her. They obviously ignored my instructions," Professor Dumbledore sighed. "And as for why no owls were able to reach you," he paused, "I have an idea. Can you tell me if you used any deliberate magic while you were there?"
Adam hesitated, trying to decide if he should tell Professor Dumbledore that he'd used magic. Based on Professor Dumbledore's earlier reaction, he hadn't known what the Ministry had done, but he should have known. He should have checked on him!
Adam looked over at Mr and Mrs Weasley. He was somewhat comforted that they seemed to think Professor Dumbledore was not solely responsible for what had happened to him. They both seemed to trust him. Even so, Adam didn't want to admit to anything that would get him into more trouble, but the man obviously already suspected Adam had used magic.
"I used my wand to unlock a door," Adam said, deciding to be honest.
"Ah," Professor Dumbledore chuckled. "That explains many things. I got a message yesterday saying an unknown student had performed underage magic."
"Unknown, Albus?" Mr Weasley asked.
"Yes, Arthur, for some reason neither the Ministry nor Hogwarts have ever been able to identify Adam by name. So when Adam performed magic it was detected but the Ministry couldn't determine who had done it."
"But surely the Ministry knew where Adam was?" Mrs Weasley interrupted. "Couldn't they work it out from that?"
"Molly, that assumes that different departments of the Ministry actually talk to each other," Mr Weasley replied dryly.
"This, I think," continued Professor Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling, "could also be the reason why your owls were unable to find Adam. Post owls tend to use similar means of tracking people as the Ministry and the school."
"Am I in trouble for doing magic?" Adam asked in a worried voice.
"I think based on what has occurred, I will be informing the Ministry that I was unable to identify who cast that spell," Professor Dumbledore replied with a smile.
"Er... Thank you, sir," said Adam meekly. He still didn't like Professor Dumbledore, but the Weasleys obviously did, and Adam didn't want to upset them.
"It is no problem and I must take responsibility for what has happened to you. So once again, Adam, I am sorry." He winked. "Professor McGonagall had plenty to say about my lack of attention to your welfare." Turning to Mr and Mrs Weasley, he continued. "All that now remains to be decided is where Adam should stay until school starts again."
Adam huffed slightly at being ignored. Didn't he get any say in where he would go?
"He will stay with us," Mrs Weasley responded immediately.
Adam saw Ginny dart forward and hug her mother. He was too shocked to speak; he couldn't believe that the Weasleys actually wanted him to stay with them. Adam tried to talk, but all that came out was a strangled cough.
"T-T-Thank you, Mrs Weasley," Adam finally choked out.
"Well, that is settled, then. Thank you, Arthur, Molly. I will send Adam's Hogwarts letter with your children's when the time comes and I will write to you about the practicalities of this arrangement," said Professor Dumbledore, and he stood up from his chair and made his way back to the fireplace.
Once had had left the room, Adam and Ginny grinned at each other. The summer was looking to be far better than either of them had anticipated.
July 9th 1993
Adam bounced down the stairs of The Burrow. It was the beginning of his second full day at Ginny's house and, after the drama of the previous few days, he was looking forward to simply relaxing. Ginny had promised to show him around her home today.
When Adam reached the kitchen, Ginny was already at the table eating her breakfast.
"Good morning!" she said brightly. "The others are still sleeping. I was first up this morning."
"Hello, Adam," said Mrs Weasley. She bustled into the room and placed a plate of food in front of him.
"Morning," Adam replied and he began to tuck into his breakfast. Mrs Weasley's cooking was the best he had ever tasted. The only place that even came close was Hogwarts.
"Mum, I was going to show Adam around today, if that is alright?" Ginny asked her mother.
"Of course, dear, just don't leave the property," Mrs Weasley replied.
After they had both finished their breakfasts, they went outside. Adam looked around. It was the first time he had taken notice of the countryside surrounding The Burrow and he discovered that the house was surrounded by hills and fields for as far as he could see.
"The view is brilliant isn't it?" said Ginny, obviously noticing him looking around in awe.
"I've never been in the countryside before, well, apart from Hogwarts, but then, we are sort of kept inside by the walls," said Adam with a grin.
Ginny pulled Adam's arm and dragged him off on a whistle-stop tour of The Burrow. She showed him the large garden, which was overgrown enough that Adam couldn't see his feet as he walked through it. They came to a small stone building.
"This is where we keep our brooms. We can maybe play Quidditch later in the summer," said Ginny.
"We can play here?" asked Adam surprised. He hadn't seen a pitch so far.
"Yes, follow me and I'll show you," replied Ginny, she grabbed his arm and pulled Adam across the garden.
They were halfway across the garden when Adam felt a tug on his shoe and he went flying to the ground. As he began to right himself, he saw a tiny creature jumping up and down and squeaking at him angrily. Adam stared, unsure what to do. What was this thing?
"It's just a gnome, Adam," Ginny said. "We have them all the time in the garden."
Adam watched as Ginny grabbed the gnome by its small stubby arms and with a mighty heave threw it over to the far side of the garden.
"Mum gets the boys to clean them out every couple of weeks. She'll probably get you to help. I don't have to, though," Ginny said with a wicked grin. "It's not a job for girls," Ginny screwed her face up. "Unfortunately, I'll be given laundry to do."
They continued across the garden until they reached a group of tall trees. Ginny led Adam through the trees, until they came to an area of cleared land in the centre of what appeared to be an orchard.
"This is where we play Quidditch," said Ginny. "We just can't fly too high or the Muggles can see us."
"Can we fly?" Adam asked, suddenly remembering something from last year. "We said we'd go to the tryouts this year didn't we! We'll need to practice."
"Well, you'll definitely be able to fly. My brothers don't like me flying with them," said Ginny bitterly.
"Why don't they let you fly with them?" asked Adam.
"I'm a girl. They think I'll break easily," she replied with an exasperated look.
Adam paused. That seemed very unfair to him.
"Well, if you can't fly with them, me and you will fly when they aren't around," said Adam.
Adam saw Ginny's face break in a large grin.
"Yep, we can," she replied.
They began walking back towards the house. They were both feeling hungry and Adam was sure it must be lunch-time soon.
"If you've never flown with your brothers, how are you so good?" asked Adam as they navigated the garden.
"Oh, I sneak out to fly," Ginny replied, with an innocent smile on her face. "How are you so good?"
Adam hesitated, trying to think of a funny reply. "Must be my natural skills," he replied with a cheeky smile on his face.
As soon as the pair returned to the house, Ginny disappeared upstairs to the bathroom and Adam went into the living room to sit down. As he entered the room, he noticed that Ron was already there. Adam hadn't spoken to him much since he had arrived at The Burrow. Adam sat down on the sofa. The noise attracted Ron's attention and must have scared his rat. It had been sitting on his shoulder and quickly ran out of sight when Adam sat down. Ron and Adam sat there in uncomfortable silence.
"I'm sorry," Ron mumbled.
"What?" Adam replied.
"I'm sorry for the way I acted last year. I thought you were the one attacking people and I... I didn't even believe my own sister when she said it wasn't you," Ron stood up and walked over to stand in front of Adam. "I know I can't take it back, but can we at least try to get on. I've apologised to Ginny about being an utter prat to her last year and ignoring her. If it wasn't for you, she would have been completely on her own and things might have been far worse."
Ron held out his hand and they shook.
"Mates?" Ron asked.
Adam was amazed that Ron actually looked nervous.
"Mates," Adam replied.
"Um, do you want a game of chess?" Ron asked.
"Yeah, sure, I'm not very good though," said Adam with a smile.
Ron began setting up the chessboard. They had just begun making moves when Ginny entered the room, she sat down next to Adam.
"Ron is so good, I think it will take both of us to even have a chance against him," said Ginny with a smile on her face.
Ginny August 1st 1993
Ginny ran into the girls' bathroom, she was feeling sick. As soon as she entered the room, her body tensed. She turned around and left the room. She walked to the second floor girls' bathroom and descended into the Chamber of Secrets. When she reached the Basilisk, it was curled up at the feet of Salazar Slytherin.
"Go up into the school, kill the first thing that you find," Ginny hissed.
Ginny rode the Basilisk back up to the bathroom. It left her side to travel into the pipes. It had a mission to carry out. Within minutes, however, it had returned.
"Take me there," she hissed.
She followed the Basilisk out into the corridor, where there was a cat Petrified on the floor.
"Inefficient…" Ginny commented.
"Finish it..." Ginny began to hiss, but she fell to her knees gasping, holding her head.
"Stupid girl, you cannot fight me," said Ginny in a strained voice.
"Finish...Argh!" Ginny once again collapsed to the floor.
"Go, return the Chamber," Ginny hissed, accepting defeat. The girl was too strong; still, that could soon be rectified.
Raising her wand, she levitated the Petrified cat until it was hooked onto one of the torches on the wall. If she couldn't kill the animal, she would send the school a message. She conjured a pot of red paint and, using her hands, wrote a message on the wall.
THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED ENEMIES OF THE HEIR BEWARE
Returning to the bathroom, she cleaned the paint off her robe. It wouldn't do to leave any evidence. The girl might choose to confide in her Mudblood friend. The girl had told Ginny many things about the boy; she could see many parallels there to her own past. Such a pity he was a Mudblood.
Now clean, Ginny raised her wand to her head and a flash of light filled her vision.
In her bed, Ginny tossed and turned violently and let out a scream.
Adam August 1st 1993
Ginny's scream shocked Adam out of his sleep. Bolting out of bed, without thinking, he charged out of his room and into Ginny's. Ginny was tossing and turning in her bed and Adam could see beads of sweat on her forehead and that her usually vibrant hair was matted with sweat. She was obviously having a nightmare. Adam moved forward and was about to try to shake her awake when someone else entered the room.
"What is going on in here?" Mrs Weasley's raised voice came from behind him. "Adam?! What are you doing in here?"
"I-I heard her scream. I think she is having a nightmare," Adam replied shakily.
Adam thought he saw Mrs Weasley glare at him for a second, before she pushed past him to get to Ginny.
"Adam, go back to bed," Mrs Weasley ordered as she grabbed hold of Ginny and hugged her.
Not wanting to anger Mrs Weasley anymore than he already had, Adam went back to his room, cursing himself for somehow ending up in another suspicious situation. He seemed to really have a knack for making people suspicious about him.
Ginny August 2nd 1993
When Ginny awoke the next morning, her entire body felt exhausted. She hadn't got much sleep after her mum had finally been able to rouse her from the nightmare. It had been the worst one yet. The image of her body writing on the wall and hissing orders to the Basilisk made her shudder. Ginny was also fearful because, if the pattern of her nightmares continued, she would soon dream of the attacks on the students and finally Adam. She shuddered again at the thought of this.
Ginny lay on her back watching the sunlight stream in from behind her curtains, she knew she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep now, but she didn't have the energy to get up either. A short time later, the click of the door announced her mother's entry into the room.
"Hello, dear, how are you this morning?" her mum asked, as she bustled into the room with a basket of washing.
"Tired," Ginny replied.
"Ginny, what happened last night?"
"I had a nightmare, Mum. I've had them before, it's no big deal," she lied. “Why do you ask?”
"Oh, it's just that when I got here Adam was in the room and your father and I were a bit concerned..."
"MUM!" Ginny cried. "How could you think he had anything to do with this? He probably heard me scream and he is the closest! Adam would never hurt me!"
"Oh...” her mum seemed flustered by the strength of Ginny's reply. "Are you sure, dear?"
"Mum, I dreamed about the Chamber, okay? For the past few weeks I've been having memories coming back of the times that the diary was controlling me." Ginny was fuming now. "Adam is probably the only one that can sort of understand. He was the only one who noticed something was wrong with me and the only one to do anything about it!"
Her mum stood there in shocked silence.
"Mum, please don't accuse Adam. He had enough of that last year," said Ginny, looking at her mum with pleading eyes.
"Okay, Ginny," her mum lent down to give her a kiss. "When did you grow up so much?" she said, smiling.
Ginny decided that her mum probably didn't want to hear the answer to that question, so kept silent. Once her mum had left the room, Ginny dragged herself out of bed, dressed and made her way downstairs for breakfast.
When she reached the kitchen Adam, Ron and her mum were seated at the table. Adam was looking straight down at his plate, seemingly unwilling to make eye contact with anyone else in the room. As she entered the kitchen, he looked up and gave her a small smile. Ron ignored her completely, choosing to focus on his breakfast. Adam soon finished his breakfast and, nodding towards the garden, left the kitchen.
Ginny quickly ate her breakfast and went out into the garden. She finally found Adam sitting by the side of the pond.
"You okay?" Adam asked as she sat down beside him.
"Yeah."
"What was that last night?" he asked. "I heard you scream and dashed into your room. I don't think your mum was too pleased to see me there."
"No, she basically asked me if you made me scream," Ginny replied.
"I...” stuttered Adam.
"I know it wasn't you. My mum is just a bit overprotective. I don't think she's thrilled that my best friend is a boy," Ginny replied with a smirk.
"So what was the nightmare about?" Adam asked.
"Well," Ginny sighed, "I don't think it's really a nightmare, I think it's the memories that Tom erased when he was controlling me. I see myself doing things, but it's not like I'm doing them. It's almost as if I'm watching over my shoulder, but I can sort of tell what he's thinking when he is me." Ginny shivered. "It's hard to explain, it's like I am doing the things but yet it's not me."
Adam took Ginny's hand and held it for a second. It helped to know there was at least one person who sort of understood what she had gone through.
"Do these dreams happen often?" Adam asked.
"No. I've only had two or three so far, this one was when the cat was attacked. I saw myself commanding the Basilisk to attack! I wrote on the wall!" she said, feeling her voice quavering. "It's not just the things Tom does; it's when he casts spells. I don't know what the spells do, but they feel familiar." Ginny looked into Adam's eyes. "When Tom talks in Parseltongue I can understand him!"
"Isn't that just in your dreams, though?" asked Adam.
"I don't know! I can't try the spells out here and I'm not sure I want to!" Ginny stared at Adam intently. "Can you speak Parseltongue for me, to see if I can understand you?"
"I can't just speak it; I need a snake to talk to. I've never been able to do it otherwise,” Adam replied.
"Oh," replied Ginny, deflating slightly. "How do you know?"
"I've tried," Adam replied in a small voice. "If we find a snake, I'll give it a go for you, though."
"Promise?" asked Ginny, she had to know if Tom had left more than memories in her head.