The Gathering: The New Order of Merlin Book 1

88. Crossroads

Lisa's excited voice awoke Ginny from a deep slumber. She was in her bed, trying to fall back asleep while The Chatties were, well... chatting, and as usual, she ignored them, but then Lisa said "Harry Potter" and Ginny's eyes flew open.

"Look who's awake," Lisa said. "Wait, did you even go to classes today?"

Ginny wondered what she could have meant and looked at the wall clock. It was three o'clock. Three in the afternoon??? Ginny closed her eyes and wished that she'd imagined it, but when she opened them again, the clock still showed the same hour.

"I wasn't feeling well," she mumbled in response and the girls ignored her again.

The last she remembered, it was Sunday evening, and she was in her dorm, writing to Tom about the Dueling Club. How could she have slept through the whole night and day? She got up and noticed that she was wearing her robes. She sat back down as if a great boulder was tied around her waist and was pulling her down to murky waters. There was one possible explanation. She was sleepwalking again, and this time, she'd lost a huge chunk of her day.

"So," Lisa continued gossiping, "Ernie, who's Justin's friend, told me that they warned him to stay away from Potter and just hide. He marked that poor Muggleborn yesterday after all. And now, Potter was caught red-handed, having attacked Justin as predicted, and Ernie is furious that he hasn't been arrested yet or at least expelled."

Ginny's hands trembled and she balled them into fists. Someone else was attacked while she was asleep!

"Do you think I have anything to worry about?" Tracie worried. "I'm in Gryffindor."

"He went after Creevey first. House loyalty doesn't matter to him."

"I forgot Creevey was in our House."

"Exactly. No one is safe. Even I could be in danger just because you're my friend."

"There was always something shifty about him. You saw how he talked to that snake. It was just wrong."

Ginny had to leave the room. She couldn't stand listening to that. Unfortunately, down in the common room, all conversations sounded the same. Harry was being blamed for this attack even more than for the earlier ones. Then, free chats turned into whispers when Harry Potter walked through the portrait hole. A few people packed up their things and ran to their dorms, everyone else stared.

Her twin brothers took this as yet another opportunity to make a joke.

"Make way. Evil wizard coming through," Fred said while George spread his arms wide as if he was parting a crowd when, in fact, it was only two people in front of Harry who scurried out of the way anyway.

"It isn't a laughing matter," Percy huffed at them. "You two need to start acting your age."

Fred nudged Harry with his elbow and asked loudly, "So Harry, who do you plan to attack next?"

"Oh, don't," Ginny begged them to stop, worried that those who didn't know Harry well enough would take this seriously, but they just laughed it off. No one ever took her seriously.

Harry smiled awkwardly and moved on to sit with his friends.

It was so unfair. Harry was the victim here. She wished she could reassure him that it was going to be okay but she wasn't sure of that herself. She was sure of his innocence but not of her own. She was starting to doubt her own memories and worried that she was responsible for the awful things that had happened.

The saying went that if something happens twice, it's a coincidence, but thrice is a pattern. This was the third time that someone was petrified while she was sleepwalking.

Her hands shook as she reached into the pocket of her robes and pulled out her diary. She sat down at a nearby table, picked up a quill someone left behind, and started writing. She felt like she was at crossroads with no signs to guide her on which path to choose. She needed advice, but when she wrote to Tom about it, he dismissed her concerns.

Does someone become petrified every single time you sleepwalk?

No.

Then, that's your answer. It's a coincidence.

But it's the third time, Tom.

You're a good person, Ginny. You wouldn't be capable of something this awful.

Of course, she would never attack anyone, but could she really control her actions while she was asleep? She could ask one of her roommates to observe what she normally did when sleepwalking and to stop her if she tried to leave the tower, but Tom reminded her of the story of his friend who had the same problem and how badly he was treated when he admitted to it.

She was torn and wasn't sure what to do. If there was even a chance that she was responsible for these boys getting hurt, she should turn herself in.

They'll take you away and I'll be left all alone again, Ginny. I need you.

Ginny read those words and a sob escaped her throat. No one had ever needed her the way Tom did.

I could give your diary to someone else to keep you company.

I've never connected with anyone the way I connect with you, Ginny. Please, don't abandon me the way everyone else had. I beg you. Don't do this to me.

Ginny clutched the diary to her chest and realized that she couldn't be that heartless. After everything Tom gave her, she couldn't take away the only thing he ever asked for—her company.

She opened the diary again and put the quill down but wasn't sure what to write. He was waiting for her to promise him that she wouldn't tell anyone, but if anyone else got hurt, it would be all her fault. She didn't know what to do.

The ink from her quill pooled on the page, making one large blotch that got absorbed by the paper.

You're my best friend, Tom wrote in a very small print and Ginny broke down, making her tears mix with the new blotch of ink.

As she watched the diary drink the salty ink, her heart knew that she couldn't hurt Tom. She needed him as much as he needed her. They were one.

She lifted the quill and wrote back,

And you're mine. I won't abandon you, Tom. I won't tell anyone.