Magical creatures, including wizards.
Their nerves are like conduits for the flow of magic.
Equivalent to the core of a wand.
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwZmKCUZfAj
If a wand is broken, a wizard can only buy another one.
The magic conducted by the new wand can never be the same as the old one.
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKQu3GboC62
If we liken magic to electricity,
When Ginny's nerves are broken, it's like cutting a wire.
Any "healing effect" of electricity that comes into contact with the "wire" will be dispersed and absorbed.
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnLVEwdayn8
Wizards' healing magic cannot take effect, and muggles have no means to connect nerves nighter.
So Tom believes that Dumbledore also thought: Ginny is doomed.
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHX4Ciohi7v
The cost of Horcrux to control the body is the soul of the possessed.
The more he uses Ginny's body, the faster and more thoroughly Ginny's consciousness will disappear.
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIg9i9iZ7zD
Since Dumbledore "installed" him into this body, he knew that there was no return.
The Horcrux will gradually replace the places where the nerves should be connected.
And His soul will gradually replace Ginny's.
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5xcwEz9zgR
"Just as I planned from the beginning," Tom thought inwardly.
"Thanks to Grindelwald speaking so well of me in front of Dumbledore."
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjJGa4qfnfg
He tried not to be happy, but the feeling of relief was not fake.
He sat in his self-made prison for fifty years, even a bit longer than Mr. Grindelwald's time.
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvVKIaQVxIX
Unfortunately, Ginny doesn't know this.
She was deceived by Dumbledore's sweet words.
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfFtMI0TzHJ
The Weasley family, and even everyone he will meet in the future will never need to know at all as well.
Tom told himself, "From now on, I am Ginny Weasley."
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiUMjaTL1dt
--
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn2CxBpSgG3
"Welcome back, Ginny!"
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9XER19uMOZ
On Sunday morning, he returned to Gryffindor Tower.
Her brothers adorned the common room with banners, making the place look like Christmas.
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXFoK7WYZV0
Ron, Harry, Hermione, Fred, George, even Percy.
Everyone was waiting here to celebrate for her.
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeP6KNJbMz8
Percy was the first to apologize, "I'm sorry for misjudging you. I should have believed you."
Tom forced a smile and thought, "Your sister is already dead. What's the use of apologizing?"
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz11iwZ1p8x
Ginny said in his mind, "Well, it's better than nothing."
Tom didn't respond because he had to concentrate hard on "daydreaming" to speak to Ginny.
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ6tiIfvH3L
Ron said, "All those jerks are gone now. Don't keep all things to yourself. You don't act like this at home!"
He felt that as he often hung out with Harry, that caused him distant from Ginny.
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMZIEsotdKe
Fred asked, "Are you still feeling unwell?"
George asked, "Why are you not speaking?"
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwx4MxHF8ay
Tom just had this subtle sense of empathy and guilt, feeling that all of this should belong to Ginny, not him.
He never had siblings or true human friends speak to him like that before.
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXy5sdPKPkN
Tom said, "I just feel like so many students left because of me. They were students at our house too. Shouldn't we... be less happy?"
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC1svWKJlPL
Hermione sighed, "You're thinking too much for others."
Harry said, "It's not your fault."
Ron said, "You didn't invite others to bully you."
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkTLuNF6ZTV
Percy said, "Maybe you should be more assertive and tell others to come to pick on me instead."
Fred said, "Yeah, why do you always want to solve things on your own?"
George said, "When Bill and Charlie were here, they helped us out a lot."
Percy scolded, "You guys have the nerve to say that!"
Fred said, "The prefect is angry!"
George said, "How scary!"
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAY3JjqCwi4
Then they all burst into laughter.
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5AIurh7wSX
Tom remained silent, but they attributed it to Harry's presence, so he couldn't fully relax. Therefore, they grabbed him and told him many jokes and little things about their daily lives.
Every little detail sparkled like they were back at the Weasley's home. Tom was so moved that he felt like crying. "I need to go to the bathroom," Tom said.
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOF9nNc0nTK
When he left, Hermione said directly, "She was really bullied badly. Those girls forced her to move in with me. I should have spoken up earlier, but I didn't want Professor McGonagall to know, for I also wanted her to be my roommate."
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRP03lwdOv2
Ron said, "She's acting so strange. She has never been this quiet before."
Fred said, "She's been like this ever since Harry came to our house."
George said, "She's always been a bit shy."
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡunm6BaGzuj
Percy said, "Once she gets used to the environment, she'll be noisier than Ron."
Ron retorted, "You're the noisy one."
Percy rolled his eyes at him.
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa6k46vT7gk
-----------
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSS3838wJkD
On Monday, they resumed classes.
Daisy and Colin became partners, and both of them apologized to Ginny.
Luna, as usual, recognized Tom's true identity.
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqFay3ZDl2V
"Where's Ginny?" she asked.
Tom replied, "She needs some time to come back."
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRsKgQXgOr3
He didn't know how to break the news of her death. Should he cast a Memory Charm on Luna? But she would still sense that they were different people, right?
Curiously, Luna asked, "Are you 'you know who'?"
Tom asked back, "Who?"
But their conversation was interrupted by the teacher's cough.
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlc07xY7v3r
Tom behaved like a good student and focused on the class. Luna fell asleep beside him, and they forgot about that topic after the class.
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVfsp7zfup2
During his class with Ricky, he enthusiastically said, "Ginny! I heard they all got expelled! You must be relieved, right?"
Ricky genuinely rejoiced Ginny, thinking that she wouldn't be bullied in her own house anymore.
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1cFLSMCpBy
Tom, however, couldn't even force to smile.
If Ricky hadn't rushed to fight and lost, maybe Ginny wouldn't have died.
But as a beneficiary of that event, what right did he have to blame Ricky?
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJ2FKunWGb1
"Wait, you're Tom, right?" Ricky finally recognized him from his silence.
Tom replied, "Yes, Ginny got hurt pretty badly. It will take some time for her to heal."
Ricky's joy was replaced with sadness, "Oh, I see. Sorry about that."
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcsDLhnm1h5
Ginny said in Tom's mind, "It's okay, it's not his fault. It's just my bad luck..."
Since the beginning of the school year, she has encountered attacks, accidents, and fights one after another. Without Tom, she wouldn't have made it this far.
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaUdBQqKTcI
Tom conveyed, "Ginny forgives you. But I hope you won't be so impulsive next time. If the enemy knows you'll retaliate immediately when provoked, you may easily fall into traps."
Ricky blinked and sighed, "You really are a Slytherin."
Tom took out stationery and books from his bag, ready to focus on class. Ricky, however, continued to watch him.
Tom couldn't help asking, "Is there anything else?"624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6xVgBfhj5p
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPC1xmeifyt
Ricky glanced around to make sure no one was paying attention to them and whispered, "Is 'You know who' related to you or not?"
Tom was puzzled.
Ginny explained in Tom's mind, "Because you changed your name to Voldemort and attached a curse definition to that term. So, people always call you 'You know who' instead."
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡD12geKFAcr
Tom blinked and said, "I have no relation with him at all," lying to Ricky.
Slytherin was an ancient figure from a thousand years ago, and there were likely many far-away descendants. It would be normal for someone to awaken unexpected parseltongue talent without knowing the confusing bloodline at all.
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoE7F4W1gW0
Ricky felt relieved, "Oh... I see. That's good then."
He also wanted to ask where Tom had been last Friday, but the class had started.
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8UXSKMhnyC
During dinner, Tom asked Ginny in his mind, "Do you feel lonely? Unable to chat with them anymore?"
Ginny replied, "I think of you. Before, You could only see the world through my eyes like that too, and I felt sorry for you."
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy3YP5GugMy
Tom realized that Ginny was exceptionally kind.
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmhZDik8uDQ
The guilt of stealing someone else's life kept growing inside him.
Quietly, Tom stuffed the steak into his mouth and said to Ginny, "We'll finish our homework as soon as possible, then research new healing methods."
Dark magic has limitless possibilities for an equivalent exchange, including bodies regenerated.
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0yXTUfHT9R
---
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLcpgX0be5j
Those around Ginny felt that she became even quieter and colder.
Despite her academic achievements remaining at the top, she seemed more engrossed in studying extracurricular subjects.624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkuxXWh1CpV
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh2FoDjQSqa
Daisy and Colin both tried to be friendly with Ginny multiple times, hoping to reconnect as friends, but Tom always expressed that he preferred solitude.624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaUtnSfovLm
Luna and Ricky knew that Tom was searching for a way to heal Ginny, but he refused to tell them what her injury was.
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3fg3h9ycEI
Luna probably guessed it out, but she kept silent and wished him good luck without pressing further.
Ricky felt deeply guilty and didn't ask any more questions.
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1RP1LCTCx9
Another person who observed Tom closely was Albus Dumbledore.
Since Tom entered Ginny's body, Dumbledore had not spoken to him again. 624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGvDI4wUQkn
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOrH9BhY02J
There was also no need to.
That day, he and Gellert were discussing how to design the second Chamber of Secrets event. Tom could hear them since Gellert's hand was pressed on the diary the whole time.
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSow6Q3tPoh
Albus Dumbledore had long known that Harry was a Parseltongue. He was informed about the zoo but kept it secret.
Connected with what Tom said about Horcruxes, Dumbledore guessed that Harry's situation might be similar to Ginny's.
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHhD3jvt0kj
If there was a protection spell that could exchange one life for another, how could only Lily Potter know how to cast it?
Lily's protection spell did work, but it was not enough to withstand the Killing Curse. It could only inflict some damage on Voldemort's fragmented soul.
This minor damage might not affect ordinary wizards, but Voldemort's soul was already too unstable.
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoKDzgnYQvR
Harry's near-death body attracted the fragmented pieces of Voldemort's soul, allowing the small baby to be resurrected.
But who was resurrected, Harry or the tiny Voldemort?
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKGYGsTkx5h
Dumbledore had found it odd at the time, so he went along with the flow and sent him to the Dursleys' house.
Now, it seemed that Tom's greatest enemy had always been himself.
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ1k9aWk2wc
---
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7VPMVqvy6u
Ginny couldn't understand the dark magic books that Tom was reading.
He completed her homework much faster than she could keep up with.
She suspected that once she took back control of her body, she might never catch up with her peers again.
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzWwGVDi5Zl
"Tom," he was the only person she could talk to now.
"Hmm? What's wrong?" Tom's surface was still reading the book, but he was engaged in their inner conversation.
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSwckCew21G
Ginny said, "What if I can never recover?"
They had never discussed this topic before.
Tom remained silent.
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9cfZXnwCpX
Ginny continued, "My parents will notice if we go back home for Christmas."
Time flies and October was almost over. They were approaching Halloween.
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWz1GcoxCVS
Tom said, "I can't say I'm Tom Riddle; it would implicate Dumbledore."
Although Dumbledore always asked him to do things against his will, he had indeed grown and benefited from those experiences.
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcrGrphfDxg
Ginny said, "Then let's find a plausible excuse for memory loss."
Tom thought, "Is she being too proactive? Does she suspect something?"
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLPhQsOdybi
Tom said, "For example, I, the dark lord, possessed you and made you open the Chamber of Secrets. As a result, you suffered a mental breakdown and lost your memory. Luckily, Harry Potter appeared, defeated me, saved you, and unravelled the Malfoy plot."
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbjcqx62ket
Ginny awkwardly replied, "So, you've already planned all this?"
Tom said, "Maybe I need to harm a few more classmates and some small animals."
Ginny asked, "They won't die, will they?"
Tom assured her, "We will be more careful this time."
Ginny asked, "We? You and Professor Dumbledore?"
Tom replied, "Yes."
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCmqqJ1G1ct
Ginny thought, "When did they discuss all this without my knowledge?"
Lately, she had been feeling mentally unstable due to sleepiness. Occasionally, she would lose consciousness for several hours unwillingly.
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuOP8q2DRod
Ginny said, "If I never wake up again, please take good care of my family. Protect them, especially Harry."
Tom remained silent.
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7rS0ErKg2m
Ginny said, "If my family finds out you're not me, don't admit it. Or, you can say you're my friend, and I gave you my body willingly."
This time, Tom asked, "Why are you so sure that this wasn't all planned by me and Dumbledore from the beginning?
Don't you think it's a bit too coincidental? Just when I needed a body, you became a vegetable.
Just when I left, you have been pushed.
I'm a seventeen-year-old Voldemort, and Dumbledore is Grindelwald's old flame.
We were most likely to conspire against you like we did with Harry from the start, wasn't it?"
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaOhIwh8s0J
Tom felt that the world seemed particularly malicious towards beautiful creatures. First, it was his mother, who gave him such a thoughtful name. Then it was Basilisk, and now Ginny.
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKlwY1DqvXA
Ginny said, "I don't think you're a bad person, Tom. Even if you were, it's too late for me to scream and shout now."
Tom said seriously, "I can leave if you want."
He could talk to Dumbledore about this.
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeNXTNL3RTO
Ginny said, "I still trust you the most. You will surely defeat yourself."
Tom didn't say anything.
He closed his eyes, folded his hands on the table, and rested his forehead on top.
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU1M8g1qCDo
If God existed in this world, he wished he had refused Dumbledore back then. 624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7GhTAjb2MW
He wanted to graduate smoothly, work for a while, save money, and then travel. He would keep waiting for a vacancy at Hogwarts while travelling.
And If he got a job at the school and worked with Dumbledore. On weekends, they would visit Hogsmeade and reminisce about the past like friends.
Maybe if he even sent the ring to Dumbledore in time, Grindelwald would have gotten married. So during summer vacation, he would visit their home and test the limits of magic together.
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEkP4ADXNI1
If only there were so many ifs in this world.
The longer people lived, the more things they would feel guilty and regarded about.
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8TLUBaVRPr
Tom responded, "I will let Harry defeat me. If possible, I want to live with your name forever. I don't want to defeat myself. For I've killed so many people, I don't have the face to live on. Your family and friends miss you, not me. I'm just an unloved, jinxed person, wherever I go, someone dies."
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM7QMvaJ35C
Ginny remained silent for a long time and said, "You're just very unlucky. Holding on for a little longer. Someone will love you eventually. My family and friends really like your type. Just look at Harry, my parents treat him like another son. Luna and Ricky both said you're great too."
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡruFK1juoQC
Tom rested his elbow on the table, wiped his tears with his sleeve, and knew that crying was useless. So he said with determination, "We have to start by dealing with Mrs. Norris."
624Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7kM3nFcTHK
Ginny didn't have much time left, and there was still too much Tom needed to take over.
Studying medical dark magic books every day now was unrealistic. It would be better to spend more time interacting and communicating with Ginny and truly becoming her doppelgänger.
ns216.73.216.107da2
and then Add to home screen.