TheGodfather, Eike... here you go! I think I'll be avoiding female POVs for a while, though.
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POV: Ginevra Weasley
Ginny Weasley sat at a wooden table in the Slytherin common room, her shoulders slumping and a quill clenched in her hand. As a first-year and the only Weasley in history to be sorted into Slytherin by the Sorting Hat, she still felt like a stranger here—someone who didn't belong. What's more, the older students regularly made sure she knew it.
She was certain that their bullying and insults would eventually lose their appeal, especially if she didn't hide and didn't let on that it bothered her. That was why she spent every evening in the Slytherin common room, making herself visible while quietly getting her homework done. Just like right now.
She was taking extra care with her Transfiguration homework. Professor McGonagall hadn't seemed particularly thrilled about her being sorted into Slytherin, even though she had treated her professionally since the start of the year. Everyone in Ginny's family spoke of the professor only in glowingly high terms, so Ginny didn't want to believe her Sorting could be the reason she acted differently toward her. Even so, every time the professor looked at her, Ginny was left with the uncomfortable feeling that she had disappointed her.
The atmosphere in the common room was hostile towards Ginny almost every night. She was starting to get used to that. She was alone, without friends, and if the others had at least left her in peace, she might not have minded as much. But they wouldn't even grant her that.
Just as she was reaching the end of her essay, a group of four Slytherins stood in front of her table and began showering her with one insult after another.
She was used to this, too. In one ear and out the other. So why was she rewriting the exact same word for the fourth time?
Ginny looked down at another blot on the parchment. She hoped she wouldn't have to rewrite the entire line because of it.
By the fifth attempt at writing the same word, Ginevra had had enough. Her face felt hot, and she tightened her grip on her quill. Still, she forced herself to calm down.
She took a deep breath.
In the very first message Aunt Muriel had sent congratulating her on her Sorting, she had reminded her that she needed to learn to control her emotions. The sooner she learned, the easier her time in Slytherin would be.
But why was it so hard?
Ginny exhaled and forced herself to look back down at the parchment. Her anger was slowly ebbing, and she was finally able to get back to her homework.
Suddenly, a pitch-black cat leaped onto her table.
She recognized it. It was the same cat from the Hogwarts Express, the one she'd given a tuna sandwich to. This time, however, it hadn't come for food. It turned to the older boys standing in front of her table and began to hiss at them.
Her heart warmed for a moment. So at least someone in Slytherin cared about her.
The cat stood on the table directly facing the boys, its fur bristling. Cassus Holloway frowned.
"A penniless blood traitor and her cat," he said with a smirk that didn't fit his handsome face at all, drawing his wand.
Ginny gripped her quill so tightly her knuckles turned white. A knot of anger formed in her throat.
This time, though, she wasn't going to keep quiet. She was just about to say something when the entire common room suddenly fell silent.
"You should lower that wand," a cold voice spoke up from behind her back. "That cat is mine."
Ginny noticed Flint and two others back away without a word. Cassus Holloway, however, merely walked around the table with a smirk, wand still in hand.
"Rosier," he said mockingly. "I've been meaning to get to you too!"
From what Ginny already knew of him, Cassus began gradually raising his voice. He was clearly enjoying the attention he had commanded, turning the whole situation into a little show for the rest of the common room. A broad, sneering smile stretched across his face, and every word he uttered was louder than the last.
Ginevra quietly stood up from her table and watched the scene unfold along with everyone else.
Standing opposite Cassus was a tall boy. Patrik Rosier.
Ginny already knew about him and was familiar with his reputation, but only now did she begin studying him closely. He had dark brown hair, equally dark eyes, an attractive oval face, and an athletic build. He was significantly taller than most boys his age, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist, and it was obvious that he worked out regularly.
Despite his face still retaining the features of a boy, there was something about him that made Ginny uneasy. Perhaps it was his calm expression and the way he stood facing Cassus without the slightest hint of nervousness. His dark brown eyes looked cold and indifferent, as if Cassus didn't interest him in the slightest.
Cassus was different. He was handsome in a polished, aristocratic way that reminded Ginny more of a girl. Perfectly styled hair, flawless clothes, and a wide smile that appeared whenever something entertained him. Even though he was nearly an adult, there was still something childish about him.
Patrik seemed more mature despite his younger age. It was as though this entire situation simply annoyed him, and Cassus wasn't even worth giving more attention to than strictly necessary.
He reminded her a bit of her mother. Molly Weasley looked at her father in that exact same way whenever he was supposed to vanish into the garage for fifteen minutes and ended up lost in there for half a day instead.
While Cassus stood alone, Patrik had his group backing him up. They all hailed from wealthy or powerful pure-blood families, and in Slytherin they were known for constantly practicing combat and Dark magic. Now they stood behind him with their wands drawn.
In that exact moment, Ginevra felt a pang of envy. She, too, longed for friends who would stand by her in a situation like this, ready to defend her.
Cassus aimed his wand directly at Patrik. The latter merely sighed.
"You really are an idiot."
Ginny suddenly felt a strange pressure. The air around her seemed to thicken, and goosebumps broke out across her body. She smelled the sweet scent of hot chocolate—pleasant and inviting, yet carrying something disturbing within it. It was so thick that Ginny felt if there were too much of it, a person could drown in it.
Holloway began brandishing his wand, but Patrik merely looked at him calmly and carried on speaking as though nothing were happening.
"Even if I were an ordinary Muggle, you would still be beneath me."
The pressure intensified. Ginny tried to breathe in, but the air suddenly felt far too heavy and dense.
Cassus suddenly sank to his knees as if pressed down by an invisible force. His whole body trembled as he remained there before Patrik.
Ginny stared at this in bewilderment. She had no idea what had just happened.
"You and..." He shrugged. "I don't know your name. Just you."
How could he not even know who Cassus Holloway was? The thick pressure subsided for a moment.
A few students in the common room let out muffled laughs, as did several of Rosier's friends. Ginny, however, couldn't bring herself to smile. It was terrifying.
And Rosier continued.
"You would still be kneeling before me like some bug."
The pressure mounted once more, and Cassus suddenly found himself bent low over Rosier's boots, as if kissing them.
"You would still be kissing my feet."
How was he doing that? How was it possible?
Suddenly she could breathe without trouble again, and Holloway scrambled to his feet.
"Even if you were descended from Merlin himself, you would still be a nobody," Rosier said with a laugh. "Power is everything, and you... your magic is practically that of a Squib."
Immediately after, Cassus ran out of the common room.
Rosier went on speaking. The common room quieted down, humming with his next words, but Ginevra could think only about that feeling. She was certain that the chocolate sensation had been magic. But how was that possible? She could still feel it in the air, subtly. It wasn't a smell, but a pure subconscious sensation—so abstract and strange that only now, having felt it so intensely, did she realize it had been there all along.
Ginny had the study desk to herself again. The black cat had vanished just as quickly as it had appeared, so she could return to her Transfiguration homework. Once again, she tried to ignore the chatter of her classmates around her.
She tried to go on, but she couldn't finish a single sentence.
Her mind kept returning to that strange sensation. It had to be magic; nothing else made sense. But how had Rosier done it? She needed more information, and she knew exactly who to ask—her best friend in the diary, who was there for her every time she needed to confide in someone.
She began packing her things in a flash. Hastily rolling up her unfinished, ink-blotted Transfiguration assignment, she shoved it into her bag and headed for her dormitory. On the outside, though, she forced herself to walk calmly so no one would notice how much of a hurry she was in.
The moment she stepped into her empty room, she pulled out a thick history textbook and set a bottle of ink, a quill, and a simple black notebook with a worn cover on top of it. Carefully sitting down on her bed, she laid the notebook across her knees, taking care not to knock over the ink, and opened it.
She hesitated for a moment. But she knew Tom wouldn't make fun of her feelings. She stopped biting her lip, dipped her quill into the ink, and took a deep breath.
Then she began to write.
"Hello, Tom. Something happened."
The written words slowly faded away, and an answer began to appear in their place.
"Hello, Ginny. What happened? Feel free to write it down. You are completely safe here. I am here for you and listening."
His words calmed her down a little. For a moment she just stared at the page in silence, then lowered her quill and began to write.
"Cassus Holloway started insulting me again, but this time a cat belonging to Rosier helped me. Then Rosier stood up for me, and they started arguing in the common room."
The reply came almost instantly.
"Holloway again? I'm sorry he's making your days unpleasant once more. But do you remember what I told you? His words aren't worth a single one of your tears."
Immediately, more words appeared.
"And Rosier... well, that's quite a surprise, isn't it?"
As soon as his words faded, Ginny brought her quill to the page, only to pull it back a moment later. How was she supposed to explain what had happened? It left only a single dot of ink on the paper, which vanished shortly after.
Ginny took a deep breath and re-read his question once more.
"Are you alright, Ginny? Did Rosier say something to you? You mentioned that he and his group have a dangerous reputation."
She hesitated a moment longer. Then she gripped her quill tightly and began to write.
"You'll think I'm crazy, Tom. And I don't even know how to describe it properly..."
Ginny paused. The words slowly faded from the page, but no answer came. For a moment she just stared at the blank paper, then took a deep breath and continued.
"Holloway pointed his wand at Rosier, and then suddenly all the air in the common room seemed to thicken. I couldn't breathe properly. And I felt something strange in the air. Chocolate... but it wasn't like a smell. It was more like a feeling. I can't explain it."
She stopped writing for a moment, but this time she forced herself to keep going.
"It was as if something unbelievably alluring was all around me. Something pleasant and safe, yet dangerous at the same time. So thick that I felt like I could drown in it."
Ginny paused briefly. The memory of what followed still felt unbelievable to her.
"And then Holloway was suddenly on his knees. And he was kissing Rosier's feet..."
Most of her words had already vanished, but Ginny resolutely pressed on.
"And Rosier didn't even have his wand out. He was just smirking and talking to the others in the common room. What was that, Tom? I felt like I was drowning in something that was simultaneously drawing me in so strongly."
After her words faded from the creamy page, it felt like an eternity before the reply appeared.
"What does Patrik Rosier look like, Ginny?"
Ginny was taken aback that Tom was asking this. She didn't know why he would care, so she simply answered.
"He's tall, has dark brown hair and eyes, and an athletic build."
As soon as her words disappeared, more appeared on the page.
"What about his lips? His nose? And his eyes? Is he pale?"
Ginny frowned. Why was he interested in Rosier's appearance in such detail? He hadn't asked questions like this even about Cassus.
"He has fuller lips. A normal nose, I suppose. Deep, piercing eyes, but cold. And he's a little tanned. Why do you ask, Tom? Cassus Holloway is prettier."
The words faded and Ginny waited.
This time, no reply came right away. The longer she stared at the blank page, the more she pondered Tom's questions. What about Rosier interested him so much?
Then, at last, new words appeared.
"This might sound strange, Ginny, but do you happen to know if he speaks to snakes?"
Ginny didn't have to think twice about that.
"No, Tom. You know I looked up everything about everyone in Slytherin on the very first day. If he could speak to snakes, I would have told you."
After a brief moment, the response Ginny had been waiting for arrived.
"Thank you, Ginny. That was what I needed to know. And because of that, I know more now. Stay away from Rosier."
Ginny snorted. Staying away from Rosier had been obvious to her even without Tom's warning. He was handsome, sure, but certainly not so much that she would forget everything said about him. But now she wanted to know why Tom was warning her against him so strongly.
"Why, Tom? You're not going to hide the reason from me, are you?"
As soon as her words vanished, an answer began to appear.
"Of course not, Ginny."
At those words, she couldn't help a small smile. After all, that was exactly what she expected from Tom.
"Rosier is dangerous, Ginny. What you felt was his unusually strong magic. If he really trains as often as you say, his magical core must have grown considerably over the past few months. His magic has become denser and stronger, but his control hasn't kept pace with how quickly it has developed. You mentioned that it's an open secret in Slytherin that he and his group practice Dark magic every day. That could be making the situation even worse. You must stay away from him. When his magic spills into the surroundings, it can feel pleasant and even addictive. Someone might find themselves wanting to experience it again without understanding why. For younger people, that is especially dangerous."
His words gradually faded, leaving the page empty once more. Immediately afterward, however, more appeared.
"The fact that Rosier was able to force Holloway to bow before him without a wand means only one thing. The difference in power between the two wizards is astronomical. Either Rosier possesses power like Dumbledore, or Holloway is practically a Squib. Do you happen to know what his grades are like in practical subjects?"
Ginny bit her lip.
"I don't know, Tom, but I can find out. Astoria knows everything."
Almost instantly, the reply appeared on the page.
"There's no need, actually, Ginny. I am almost a hundred percent certain that Holloway is practically a Squib... The main thing is that you avoid Rosier. Promise me that."
Ginny had no problem with that. Aunt Muriel had already explained to her how things worked in Slytherin. She knew she had nothing to offer yet. She wanted to have friends like Rosier did, to finally belong somewhere, but for that she needed power. And power required time.
"Thank you, Tom. And I promise."
Ginny had barely finished writing the last word when Tom's next reply appeared on the page.
"You're very welcome, Ginny. I am here for you, as always. Why don't you tell me about your day instead? Is Greengrass still refusing to talk to you in public?"
Ginny smiled broadly. Tom Riddle was the best friend she could ever wish for. She immediately set about writing her response.
***
Author's note:
Isn't Tom Riddle just the sweetest?
Writing an eleven-year-old girl is honestly really hard.
***
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Upcoming Chapters – Already Written(15):
103. Pride Before the Haircut
104. Fire and Thunder
105. Better to Be Feared
106. A Serial Killer Under the Bed
107. The Legacy of Rookwood Castle
108. Worse Than Horcruxes
109. Cleansed by Fire
110. Running Dead
111. I'm Dying
112. AM: Everything We Had Left
113. Still Breathing
114. The Headmaster Is Expecting You
115. The Silver Hand
116. Last Thoughts and Pancakes
117. Hello, Father
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