InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "the traveler be with you"

Tom Marvolo Riddle (riddleman) wrote in beyondthepages,
@ 2010-05-19 20:55:00

Entry tags:

!complete, 2023 10, ginny potter, tom riddle

RP: Just A Young Man, No Danger At All
Characters: Tom Riddle, poking Ginny?
Time/Date: 19 October 2023, mid-morning during classes
Location: The Great Hall, Hogwarts
Warnings/Rating: TBA
Summary: This is not where Tom was.
Status: Incomplete

Tom Riddle had been in the Great Hall at Hogwarts many times over the years. For meals, for evacuations because of the wars (even wretched Muggles can drop a lucky bomb or ten), for performances by the choir, for any number of other things but what he couldn't quite work out was what he was doing here right now. He had been walking down the corridor towards his Charms class with his friends and yet... now he was here.

He slowly turned around and took in the room. It was exactly what he was expecting... and yet not. There were changes, they were subtle but they were there. Little changes in the architecture, in the very walls themselves. Nothing big but enough for someone who was as observant as he was to notice. But it was undeniably the Great Hall at Hogwarts.

He realised then that he was also minus his bag of books though his wand was still tucked away in his school robes. Another curious little fact that he couldn't yet explain. It was all very odd though he wasn't at all alarmed or panicked. He didn't know what was going on but he was sure it must provide an opportunity for him. Though he suspected he would be wise to play his usual role of the good boy here... wherever he was or whatever was happening.

He glanced around the room again and then started to walk towards the doors. Perhaps he ought to head up to the Headmaster's office. He disliked Dumbledore intensely but the man would likely provide answers.

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bat_bogeys
2010-05-19 02:04 pm UTC (link)

"Because I said so, and I'm your mother, that's why," Ginny said to her daughter as they stood outside the open door of the Great Hall. "This is ... serious, all right? Don't think of it as homework. Now go on or you'll be late."

Ginny gave Lily the look that informed the younger witch she'd endure no further conversation on the matter, and she watched as her daughter stomped off. Ginny ran her fingers through her hair, the memory of Harry's owl still firmly at the front of her mind. No, she didn't think having Katie run Lily through some extra defense spells was a very bad idea at all. Not if Bellatrix was going to make good on her threats - and Ginny didn't doubt it. If there was any family for her to bear a grudge against, it was hers.

It was serious, and as she saw who was standing in the Hall, walking toward the doors, she realized it was about to get a hell of a lot more serious. She had the advantage of knowing who he was though, and she eased her wand out. She very nearly cast off a patronus to Harry before thinking better of it. He was dealing with organizing the Aurors for extra patrols and setting up safety precautions for the house. At least his mother was well protected where she was, and Harry didn't have to worry too much about her.

Putting on a smile and attempting to ignore the churning in her gut, Ginny called out softly to the young wizard. "Hello."

Now she'd get to explain to Tom that he'd been dead and was alive again. And she had to do it unbiased and professionally and let everyone else deal with figuring out what to do with the monster. "I'm sure you're wondering how you got here," she offered as she gestured him toward one of the benches even as she started over to it herself. "I'm Ginny Potter, the flight instructor here. What's your name?"

Her knuckles were nearly white as she gripped her wand tightly, unwilling to surrender it even as far as her sleeve. For the moment, it was the only thing really keeping her from ... well, losing her cool.

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riddleman
2010-05-19 10:48 pm UTC (link)

Tom didn't recognise the woman who spoke to him though his sharp gaze easily picked up her tension and her white-knuckled grip on her wand. It was rather interesting though it made him exceedingly wary. No matter. He'd convinced almost the entire school that he was a harmless yet excellent young man. He doubted he'd have much trouble repeating the act here... wherever here was. He was starting to get the distinct impression that something had gone terribly wrong. Which was somewhat annoying given the plans he'd initiated this year.

"Hello," he said with his most charming smile though he let his eyes fill with confusion. "I'm Tom Riddle. I'm one of the Slytherin prefects. Sixth Year." He frowned slightly. "Did you say you were the Flying Instructor? That's odd. Professor Gamp is the Flying Instructor and Quidditch coach."

He looked around, his body language relaxed yet quizzical. "I am at Hogwarts, aren't I? Something very odd has happened. I was walking along the upper corridor on my way to Charms with Professor Flitwick and then suddenly... I'm here." He smiled slightly, even a little ruefully. "This... isn't one of Professor Dumbledore's little jokes, is it? He does like doing odd things to cheer up the students in this time of war and trouble."

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bat_bogeys
2010-05-19 11:20 pm UTC (link)

Ginny really wondered, if she killed him now and no one ever knew he came back, how well that would go over. It was something she was giving some honest consideration to, but he wasn't yet the monster he'd later become.

Maybe it would be different this time. If he couldn't get a toe-hold, if he couldn't start the climb ...

But that wasn't hers to decide, or consider seriously. So Ginny exhaled softly and simply tried to think of him as Tom Riddle, formerly deceased, not Lord Voldemort, destroyer of families.

"It's nice to meet you, Tom," she said. Lied. It wasn't nice at all and could he not just stay dead and not be here while her family was already being harassed by his right hand. Former or to be or however the terminology worked.

"You're right. Something did happen. It's currently October nineteenth, of the year two thousand twenty-three. Early last month, something happened and people who were dead, long dead in some cases, started to come back to life. That's what happened with you."

Ginny opted not to get into the hows and whens just yet; let Filius or the Ministry deal with that.

Speaking of .. they did need to be alerted, but she'd wait. Escort him to Filius' office herself when the time came.

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riddleman
2010-05-19 11:49 pm UTC (link)

That little revelation broke through even Tom's sangfroid and he stared at her in shock for a moment. Two thousand and twenty-three? That was... eighty years! How could that be possible? And had he been simply lifted out of his own time and placed her or had something else happened? What of all of his plans!

No... she'd said he'd died. Fury raged through him for a moment though he kept it well-concealed behind his mask of shock. he had died! No! How was that possible! Everything he was working towards was to stop that from happening. He had been certain he would succeed. He'd even intended to go back to the bathroom and use the residual energy from that stupid lump Myrtle's death to create the first of his Horcruxes. What he had learned told him that he could still do it. Myrtle's death energy would linger as long as she remained a ghost... and given how entertaining she seemed to be finding haunting Olive Hornby, that seemed likely to be a while. It would have been better, more powerful, if he'd created it at the time but... well, he hadn't had the knowledge then. Alright, he didn't exactly have the knowledge now but he'd known where to get it Slughorn. He'd just needed time to appropriately butter up the man and attempt to lull Dumbledore into believing he was doing nothing.

"I... well, this is something of a shock," he said, putting on an artful display of surprise as he stumbled over to the nearest bench and sat down heavily. "I... it's 1943. Or it was." He drew in a sharp breath. "The wars! Who won? Surely... surely not Grindelwald? Or Hitler? You don't sound very German or Austro-Hungarian." Not that he'd disagreed with Grindelwald's aims though it would have been the height of treason to admit that aloud.

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bat_bogeys
2010-05-20 01:13 am UTC (link)

She watched him, and she thought if she hadn't known better, hadn't spent time possessed by him, she would have bought the entire thing. Oh, she didn't doubt there was some genuine shock involved - even the great Tom Riddle had to be a little flustered at an 80 year displacement - but Ginny wondered how much of it was genuine, and how much was calculated.

She wondered if this was before or after he'd started tearing apart his soul, but ... it had to be before, didn't it? At that moment, Ginny wanted to strangle whoever had done this. Whoever had unleashed this force. Whoever had brought back Tom fucking Riddle but not her brother.

"Albus Dumbledore defeated Grindelwald in a duel in 1945. So a few years after ... the point you're from."

Ginny did manage not to scoff or snort at his declaration. Surely not Grindelwald, though she shuddered to think what the world would have been like if Albus hadn't defeated Gellert. If that side had won.

"There are people in the Ministry better equipped to answer what questions you surely have, and you'll have to reregister. I'm sure they ... they'd welcome you back to the school if you desired to continue your education. The professors are all tutoring the others like you who have returned at a school age, to help get them caught up." Ginny, for her part, wanted Tom no where near her daughter. Al was smart enough to know better, to handle himself, but Lily ... Lily was headstrong, impulsive, and given to ridiculous ideas far more often than she should be.

"I can take you to see the Headmaster, if you'd like, and I'm sure you can Floo from his office. Or I can try to answer a few of your questions if you'd rather."

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riddleman
2010-05-20 01:47 am UTC (link)

Tom looked startled at the news about Grindelwald then he smiled and shook his head. "I should have guessed. Professor Dumbledore is a fine wizard. I'm lucky to have him as a teacher." He was also an annoying old fart who seemed to be the only one who didn't suspect Hagrid was responsible for the trouble he'd caused. Certainly he'd been watching him annoyingly closely since school started again.

He nodded thoughtfully. "I'd like that though the idea of making up eighty years seems somewhat... daunting." And he also wondered how easy it would be if this woman's reaction was anything like what he could expect. It made him wonder what he'd done. had he actually managed to achieve some of his plans? He hoped so.

"Yes, please," he said, getting to his feet and settling his book bag more comfortably. "Who is the Headmaster these days? It surely can't still be Armando Dippet so... Professor Dumbledore? Or did he go on to bigger and better things after such a grand success? No, eighty years would be too much even for him, wouldn't it? He was in his sixties in 1943." He made sure to sound interested and charming. "This is going to be odd. All my friends would be... quite elderly now. How strange."

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bat_bogeys
2010-05-20 02:01 am UTC (link)

"I imagine it will be a bit overwhelming," Ginny said quietly. "There are others here who have fifty or so years to make up for, so you wouldn't be completely alone." She didn't say the others would help him, because she couldn't imagine some of them taking his presence here well. A lot of them, really, but especially James. It made her glad Harry's mum wasn't in school just now. Not if Tom would be staying here.

Ginny rose as well, trying to relax and make her motions look natural. It wasn't as though he was going to swing a killing curse at her - but she didn't doubt he was capable of it. Still, she'd be glad to be shed of him, and she'd tell Harry, and ... let that ball get rolling.

"Professor Flitwick, actually, is the Headmaster now. Professor Dumbledore was the headmaster for a while, and then Professor McGonagall before she retired and handed the reins to Professor Flitwick. I'm fairly certain all of the other professors will be new names to you though. Most of them are ... around my age." Give or take, some more than others.

Ginny did pause, and fix her eyes on him. "Professor Dumbledore has returned as well. If I'm not mistaken, it's from ... near the time you're from. Give or take a few years." She doubted that would accomplish much, but it might give him something to think about.

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riddleman
2010-05-20 04:42 am UTC (link)

Now that was interesting news. So there were others like him but from different times. He would have to find out who and whether they were of any interest. Surely he must have kept loyal people close to him. Those he had been cultivating had been most useful during his fun wit the Chamber. He was certain they'd have raised their children correctly.

Tom joined her, doing his best to look calm and harmless. He was intrigued by the fact she remained tense and wary. It did raise many questions that he hoped he would get answers to. "That's good news," he said with a smile. "I always liked Professor Flitwick. His classes were very challenging." He paused and stared at her then laughed. "Minerva McGonagall was a teacher and Headmistress? That is... quite odd to hear. She's a year ahead of me. Or was, I suppose I ought to say now. It's odd to think of her as being a teacher."

He affected a pleased look though in truth he felt like snarling at the news that Dumbledore had returned as well. How annoying. Still he'd managed to work his way around the man before. He could do it again. "That's good news. At least there will be one person who understands my references to the wars."

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bat_bogeys
2010-05-20 04:51 am UTC (link)

"She was, and a very good one at that," Ginny said. "Tough but fair," she elaborated with a soft, fond smile. Fair enough, anyway, though she imagined she'd bent a little on the matter of Harry a time or two. "She taught transfiguration, and was deputy Headmistress when Professor Dumbledore was the Headmaster."

Ginny strolled out of the Great Hall, making herself be relaxed, be casual. This was just another wizard back from the dead. He was young. Mistakes could be corrected. He just needed to stay the fuck away from her daughter, and oh was she ever going to sit Lily down later and have a very, very serious talk with her about this.

She was itching to tell Harry so he'd have a head's-up before the official notice went through, and as soon as she'd pawned Tom off on someone else, she'd do just that.

"I'm sure he'll be very eager to talk to you when he hears you've returned," Ginny assured Tom. She didn't even think it was a fib; surely Dumbledore would be very, very interested in knowing about Tom's return.

"Does the castle look very different from your time?" she inquired, mostly to have something to say, but she was curious if he'd noticed the marks of rebuilding, the subtle differences.

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riddleman
2010-05-20 05:21 am UTC (link)

Tom managed to look blandly pleased at the idea of speaking to Dumbledore. If the man was from near the time... no, the woman had mentioned that Dumbledore had defeated Grindelwald, which placed his return after his fun with the Chamber. A pity. He would have enjoyed a Dumbledore ignorant of that time. No matter. He would handle it.

"It does a bit," he said, looking around eagerly as they walked up the stairs. "Not much, just here and there in certain places. I suppose that makes sense. Eighty years is a fair stretch of time, one would expect some changes."

He smiled mischievously. "I do hope Slytherin House is still down in the dungeons. It just wouldn't be right for us to be anywhere else."

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bat_bogeys
2010-05-20 05:30 am UTC (link)

"Some of it was rebuilt, a quarter of a century ago. There was a battle here," Ginny said calmly. So very calmly. Harry would be proud. "Fair bit of destruction, a lot of deaths on both sides. I'm sure they'll offer you some history books and you can read all about it, if you'd like."

She wondered what it would be like for him to read how he was taken down, and a hint of a smirk pulled at her lips as her eyes briefly flooded with a fierce light. It wouldn't matter, whether he read it, or someone told him. The stories would be the same.

"It still is. They haven't moved any of the house commons." Ginny stopped outside of the Headmaster's office and waited for the charms to acknowledge her before entrance began to open. "Would you like me to go in with you, or do you think you'll be all right from here?"

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riddleman
2010-05-20 05:53 am UTC (link)

Tom caught the tiny smirk and puzzle pieces started to slot into place in his minds. Only tentatively since he was definitely operating without necessary information here but the picture they formed had a certain logic to it. A battle that she found amusing so... presumably a battle in which he'd died and she liked that. Which meant she had opposed him. Was she a Mudblood then? She'd called herself Potter and he knew Charlus Potter. He was a pureblood.

"I'd imagine there is a great deal of history I must catch up on," he said dryly, acting as though he hadn't seen her reaction.

"Good," he said as they arrived at the entrance to the Headmaster's office. He smiled charmingly at her. "No but thank you for all your help. It's very much appreciated. I'll be alright from here. This part is familiar."

He gave her a small bow and made his way up the stairs, wondering what he would face with this Headmaster. Hopefully a little more like Dippet who had thought he was a fine young man.

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bat_bogeys
2010-05-20 06:03 am UTC (link)

Ginny watched him go, and only when the door was closed between them did she react as she'd wanted to. She pressed a hand to her mouth as she tried to sort out her priorities. Harry ... Lily Luna. Albus Severus. She suppose Filius would handle the other professors formally and officially, but she'd go see Katie.

Katie. Definitely Katie.

Withdrawing her wand, she imagined her happy, healthy, extended family and she cast her patronus. "He's back," she said simply. Harry would know who she meant. She watched the silvery horse gallop off, and she turned away to go talk to Katie about LilyLuna's lessons.

Then, she'd find her daughter and do whatever it took to make sure Lily understood this wasn't a joke and 'stay away' meant just that.

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