Difficulties of Avoidance by chaiteelatte
Chapter Notes: Beta'ed by the lovely PippaPippa, who I'm sure is confused as to why it took me so long to update this after she so nicely beta'ed it for me.
Every instinct told Ginny to keep her eyes shut. But she opened them.
“I really must apologize, Miss Weasley,” said a soft voice from her left and she squinted against the bright white Hospital Wing. “I had planned to meet with you after the Feast was over. I admit, I did not realize you would react in such a fashion.”
Ginny’s cheeks flared up “ that blotchy red color that made her look like a tomato, she knew “ and as she looked at Dumbledore she simultaneously felt like screaming at him and pulling the sheets over her head in embarrassment. Instead, she made herself sit up, bite her lip, and wait for him to continue.
“As you have probably guessed, Mr. Riddle has recently taken up residence in the Room of Requirement. He is under the highest security Hogwarts can””
Ginny’s short temper quickly won out over her embarrassment. “So, he’s ‘Mr. Riddle’ now, is he?” she snapped. “Why didn’t you turn him over to the Ministry? Instead of Azkaban, you’re keeping him at Hogwarts, during the school year, with hundreds of students “ at least half of them Muggle-borns “ who he can kill if he gets out?”
“I did not believe the Ministry would be sufficient for his protection,” Dumbledore answered simply.
“Protection?!” Ginny hissed.
“I’m sorry; ‘Our protection’ may be the more adequate term. Society’s protection, that is. If you’ll recall, I theorized that Tom “ I’m sorry, the present Tom “ brought this Tom Riddle into the present. I was correct.” Dumbledore folded his hands in his lap and stared pointedly over his glasses. “Miss Weasley, forgive me for saying this, but I would not leave him in the hands of the Ministry to be snatched away by the Dark Lord anymore than I would hand over Harry Potter.”
A chill went up Ginny’s spine at the conviction simmering in the headmaster’s eyes. She drew back. “What does Voldemort want with him?” she breathed.
The Headmaster began twiddling his thumbs ever so discreetly. “I am not entirely sure,” he answered, “although I am fairly certain I have discovered how he brought Tom here.”
While Ginny leaned toward him in curiosity, Dumbledore stopped abruptly and looked speculative. “Miss Weasley, in all future conversation, perhaps it would be easiest to refer to the present Tom Riddle as Lord Voldemort and the young Tom Riddle by his given name. I dislike the stigma created by his pseudonym, but for the sake of clarity…”
Ginny nodded, wishing only for him to continue.
“Where was I? Oh yes”the spell I suspect Voldemort used is not only complex, but highly illegal. I suppose Harry has told you of the Horcruxes?” His eyes twinkled for a moment, and, confused, Ginny nodded. “Yes, well, secrecy generally means very little in our school.”
Ginny blushed again. “Only tidbits, sir,” she murmured.
“Do not worry,” Dumbledore answered, chuckling. “It only makes the explanation that much easier. The spell is similar to the one that creates Horcruxes in that it splits the soul in two. Can you see why?”
“I don’t know.” Ginny searched the ceiling for the answer. “I suppose he could be in two places at once?”
“You’re on the right track, Miss Weasley,” Dumbledore nodded. “You see, if Voldemort had truly snatched himself out of time, he would not have been there to grow up, become the Dark Lord that he is, and plan to snatch himself out of time. It would create such a paradox that the universe might very well collapse on itself, which is why such a spell does not exist. Even if such a spell does exist, the fact that we can remember the name Voldemort and his deeds he has done is proof enough that it was not employed.”
“So… He would be able to live in the past while existing in the future?” Ginny ventured.
“Correct, Miss Weasley. It is slightly more complicated, but that is the general gist of things.”
“Complicated?”
“Yes. You see, you can never truly be half a soul. In the case of Horcruxes, you still possess a whole soul; it is only divided into different containers. However, a soul separated by time cannot exist. The split souls instead fill themselves back in, and as a result we have a whole and complete Tom Riddle on our hands. You can see the danger of letting him fall into Voldemort’s hands, I assume.”
After studying her bed sheets for a moment, she sighed. “I understand, sir.”
The Headmaster’s eyes softened as he reached out and patted Ginny’s shoulder. “You needn’t fear for your fellow students. We did have the foresight to remove his wand from his person. He’s harmless without it, at least in the physical sense. Ever since he realized that I am assured of his guilt, he has developed a very sharp tongue. Luckily, I am the only one who must be subject to that.” There was a pregnant pause before he added, “Unless you wanted to see the security for your own peace of mind?”
Even Ginny could tell that the suggestion was not actually a suggestion. She nodded slowly. “I think I’d like to,” she said. “It would probably be for the best.”
“Excellent,” Dumbledore said, standing up. “It may be best to do it before classes begin. Is tomorrow too early?”
“That would be fine, sir,” Ginny answered. She hid her shaking hands in the sheets.
“Madame Pomfrey will want you to stay in the Hospital Wing overnight, but I suspect that I can convince her to release you to your dormitory. I believe that they are infinitely more comfortable.”
“Thank you, Headmaster,” Ginny grinned. Dumbledore smiled back and moved towards Madame Pomfrey’s office. That night, Ginny stared up at the canopy of her own bed until dawn.
“Are you going to eat that?” Luna asked, leaning over Ginny’s shoulder. Ginny stirred around her potatoes a moment longer and then handed her roll to Luna. “Thank you!” Luna chirped, squeezing in next to Ginny. Demelza shot her an odd look from down the table.
“Lovegood, go sit with your own house!”
“Are you feeling alright?” Luna asked Ginny, reaching across the table for the gravy.
Ginny sighed and glanced over at Luna. “Yes, I”” She stopped short and did a double-take. A shiny Head Girl badge was pinned upside-down on Luna’s chest. It was a few seconds before Ginny could speak.
“You got Head Girl?” she gasped.
“Yes.” Luna dipped her roll in the gravy and popped the whole thing in her mouth.
“But you were in our compartment the entire time on the train!”
“No, you just didn’t notice I left,” Luna answered around a mouthful of food. At Ginny’s incredulous look, she added, “It’s true. I told you I was going but you only made a funny noise and kept looking out the window. It was quite bizarre.”
Frowning, Ginny waved her hand dismissively towards the Ravenclaw table. “Maybe you should…”
Luna stopped mid-chew and looked over. “Oh, of course.” She gathered up what food she had collected at the Gryffindor table, only to be accosted by a pale Slytherin boy who looked strangely ill.
“Lovegood, we have a meeting,” he said stiffly, looking pained just for saying it. Ginny noticed the Head Boy badge on his chest, and the way he wrinkled his nose hinted that he noticed the eccentric position of Luna’s badge.
Beaming, Luna jumped to her feet and picked up the gravy. “Oh, Harper, I almost forgot. Lead the way.”
Harper did not respond, but one Gryffindor did raise an outcry over the stolen gravy. “You don’t mind if I take this, do you?” Luna asked, drifting away before anyone could respond.
“Head Girl…” Ginny muttered, shaking her head in disbelief. “She’s going to drive him crazy.”
“Dumbledore is going mad putting her in charge,” said another seventh-year, Gregory Jones, as he moved over to fill in the gap Luna had left.
“She was in the D.A.,” Colin Creevey said around a mouthful of food. “I say he’s more crazy putting a Slytherin in charge.”
“And she may be eccentric, but she’s one of the brightest girls in our year,” Ginny added.
Gregory snorted out a laugh. “Don’t let her hear you say that, or she’ll figure out some way to make her head glow.”
Ginny leveled a scowl at Gregory and was about to snap back when a wiry hand closed around her shoulder. “Miss Weasley,” Professor McGonagall said, “the Headmaster wishes to speak with you.”
All the blood drained from Ginny’s face. It must have been a drastic change, because immediately all the students sitting around her looked concerned.
“I’m fine, I’m fine,” she responded to their well-meaning inquiries, and got up to follow McGonagall. They had barely gotten out of the Great Hall when Dumbledore intercepted them. “I’ll take Miss Weasley from here,” he told McGonagall. “No need to walk more than necessary.”
They walked briskly to the seventh floor corridor, and the entire way, all Ginny could think about was Tom Riddle’s dark eyes boring into hers the second the door to the Room of Requirement opened. She could picture him there, seated on the floor, glaring, smirking, his head tilted slightly to the left in that perfectly arrogant way.
Abruptly, Ginny was in front of the door to the Room of Requirement, and Dumbledore was opening it. The room before her was hazy, like a cloud had engulfed the room. She could not see Riddle. They stepped through and Ginny felt as if an egg had been cracked over her head and was oozing down her spine. Shivering, she took another step and felt like her skin was on fire. Beside her, Dumbledore looked casual.
“Nothing to worry about, Miss Weasley. Simple defense mechanisms; one removes all charms and curses, the other all transfigurations. If you wouldn’t mind one last step, it should remove all traces of potions from your body.” Ginny nodded, and as she took the last step, a shiver ran up her legs and exploded in her head. Suddenly the room was crystal clear. Ginny staggered for a moment, and then her head cleared.
The room was dark, but her eyes did not need to adjust. From the floor to the furnishings, everything was plain; nothing was tattered, but neither was anything extravagant. Nothing furnished the room but the bare necessities: a bed, a chair, a toilet. An empty bookshelf stood against the far wall, but Ginny could see no trace of the books that should have been stored in it.
All this paled in comparison to the figure in the middle of the room. He was not facing Ginny; he was lying on the floor, his knees clutched to his chest and his back to the doorway. From what she could make out, his clothes were fraying at the hems and his hair was far more disheveled than how she remembered it to be.
Ginny started when the curled figure suddenly moved. Riddle scrambled across the floor with such agility, she did not have time to jump away before he was at her feet, staring up at her with dark, wild eyes. “Please, you’ve got to help me!” he rasped. “That crazy old man is keeping me prisoner!”
When he reached for her feet, hands shaking, Ginny jerked away like he was the plague. “Get away from me!” she spat, aiming a kick for his face. He ducked his head in time to receive only a glancing blow to his shoulder.
The transformation was swift. Sitting up, Riddle fixed Ginny in a deep glare and wiped the dirt off his face. “So, you’re convinced of my guilt also?” he asked, his voice now strong and sneering.
It took every bit of self-restraint Ginny possessed not to hurl every sort of jinx and curse she had ever learned at Tom Riddle. Shaking so violently she could barely speak, she pointedly ignored the question and turned to Dumbledore “ though still careful not to expose her back to Riddle. “So far, I’m satisfied. What is keeping him in here?”
“A weave of barrier spells, not unlike those surrounding Hogwarts itself,” the Headmaster answered. “And you may have noticed that the door disappeared behind us? It has been specially configured to reveal itself only to specific wand signatures. At the moment, mine is the only one it will recognize.”
Ginny glanced at Tom, who was gazing hungrily at Dumbledore’s wand. “Thank you, sir,” she said quickly. “That’s really all I wanted to see.” The hair on her arms was starting to stand on end. She backed toward the door, and Tom turned his curious gaze on her. Ginny groped at the wall where the door was supposed to be.
“Who are you?” he asked.
“If you don’t mind, Sir, I’ve seen enough,” Ginny said, her voice wavering at a feverish pitch.
“Of course, I’ll just be a moment.” The door handle appeared under Ginny’s hand, and she stumbled out into the corridor. Closing her eyes, Ginny sagged against the wall. She was still breathing fast and the remnant of adrenaline kept her heart thundering in her chest.
“Well, what do we have here? Five points from Gryffindor, I think.”
Ginny opened her eyes and glared half-heartedly at Harper, who was approaching with a satisfied grin. “What?” she breathed.
“This seventh floor corridor is off-limits.” Then, glancing over her disheveled appearance, the Head Boy sneered. “Potter not good enough for you? Has your current boyfriend run off already or is he still in the closet?”
For a moment, Ginny still had no idea what he was talking about. Then she realized that Dumbledore’s defense charms must have negated her hair-smoothing charms and her short tussle with Riddle had left her robes uneven. “Get your mind out of the gutter, Harper”DON’T GO IN THERE!”
Harper had just started reaching for the “closet” door and Ginny lunged for him. Just as she managed to rip his hand away from the handle (“Trying real hard to hide someone, aren’t you?”), the door opened.
“Is there a problem here?” Dumbledore appeared from within the Room of Requirement and waved his wand over the door to make it vanish. Ginny and Harper jumped apart and Harper looked a delightful shade of red.
“N-No, nothing, Sir. Just doing my rounds.”
“Delightful! I won’t hold you up, then. Miss Weasley, thank for accompanying me. I hope you’re satisfied with our… guest’s arrangements.”
“As much as I’ll ever be, Sir,” she answered. Harper looked on with rabid curiosity, and Ginny smirked at him. “If you’ll excuse me, I have some work to do that I put off over the holidays.”
Dumbledore smiled and waved her away. “I wouldn’t want to get in the way of your academic endeavors. Be on your way.” Ginny could feel Harper’s eyes on her back until she reached the end of the corridor.