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Chapter 34 - Tommy Gaunt

Bella led Ginny to the hospital bed, "Ginny, you've met Tom before, haven't you?"

She nodded, "He looks just like he did in my dreams. He was sweet and understanding. We were instant friends, and then best friends, then, well, in my dreams at least, more than friends."

Bella and Cissy sat on the bedside, leaving space between them for a confused ginger.

"Let me tell you about homunculi, and how they're formed."

Ginny patiently listened to the two sisters who had intimate knowledge of the subject. She asked insightful questions along the way.

"The Tom Riddle that ensorcelled me was not this Tom?" she asked, gesturing to the sleeping form on the bed.

"No, but the homunculus had all his memories, and mimicked him perfectly."

"So, it was all an act?"

"Not an act, a memory. He /remembered/how to be sweet, caring and attentive, even though he, the "clone" as Harry calls him, was incapable of those feelings."

"What do I have to do to release him from this curse?"

The Ladies explained the"Sleeping Beauty" treatment.

"It's a full, penetrative cure, and you'll have to be the one penetrated, well, you or some other volunteer."Cissy explained.

"To be most effective you will need to be off the potion, completely." Bella added.

Ginny shook her head, sadly. "I took a dose just before the Yule break," she looked up, defiant, "well, it was cold and I had to go back to the Burrow over the holidays and there's no sex for me there so I had a foursome with three of the seventh year Hufflepuffs on the night before I left. I like Puffs, they keep their mouth's shut if you ask em'to."

Cissy stroked Ginny's back, "No one is judging you here, Ginny, but will you be able to content yourself with one wizard, at least for a while? Tommy will need you to be there for him and, well, he is fifty years out of his time. He'll likely be old fashioned in some ways."

"I guess I could try being a one wizard witch, for a while. But the fact remains that I've still got an effective dose of the potion."

Cissy called her coven sister and nurse.

Poppy offered a small, crystal flask. "This is a powerful purgative, Miss Weasley; it will flush your body of any and all potions. If you decide to take it, be warned, it's not pleasant and it acts almost instantaneously, so you'll need to be in, or very near, aWC."

Ginny took a deep breath, let it out and asked, "Where's the nearest loo?"

"Straight through my office, dear."

The youngest Weasley downed the potion in one swallow, blinked, smiled and said, "That's not at all unpleasant, tastes rather like raspberry cordial . . . oh!"

Ginny ran to the loo, one hand over her mouth, her long, red hair streaming behind her.

Poppy smiled her best "Told you so" smile and walked casually to her private WC, picking up a bucket along the way.

"Our Miss Weasley will be needing this."

The normally quiet hospital wing was treated to the echoing sounds of Ginny Weasley voiding her bowels, bladder and stomach, loudly. Many times.

Millicent was nearly bent over laughing, "How can such a little girl hold so much - she sounds like a cow pissing on a flat rock!"

After a quarter hour of dry heaves, Poppy led Ginny, pale, sweating and barely able to walk on shaky legs, out of the loo, "Let's get you cleaned up dear. Some fruit juice and a little hot porridge wouldn't be amiss, either."

The look on Poppy's face let everyone in the room know that the first person who found humor in Ginny's present state would find themselves treated to a double-dose of the same medicine.

Tracy and Daphne joined Poppy,"We'll do your hair and makeup, sweetie, and Megan has some nice, not-too-conservative sleepwear that will fit you perfectly.

Ginny smiled wanly and managed aweak, "Thanks."

Two hours later.

A very satisfied Ginevra Weasley walked into the curtained-off area surrounding Tom Riddle's bed. Her cheeks were rosy; indeed, the blush seemed to radiate from her neck outward. Her tossled hair and Mona-Lisa smile screamed, "I just got shagged, but good!"

All of which was a little too much for the Ginny Weasley on the bed to take in.

"Its okay, Ginny," Ginny said,"I'm you in about an hour. While you're here with Tommy, I'm going to be inside his head, bringing him back from dreamland."

Present Ginny was a little jealous when future Ginny crawled into the bed on the other side of Tom but then thought, how can I be jealous of myself?

Astarte fluttered down, startling present Ginny.

"It's okay, baby, I'm your Dream-walker, your future self and I will be stepping into Tommy's dreams together."

)O(

Ginny and Astarte found themselves in the library. Ginny wore a uniform that was just a little longer in the skirt than what she was used to, but otherwise the same. Astarte was in her "naughty schoolgirl" uniform, with a skirt that, in most cultures, would be considered a belt and her tight uniform top tied under her breasts - unbuttoned to flaunt the impressive cleavage barely contained therein.

Ginny rolled her eyes, "If the professors see your outfit you'll spend the rest of this dream in detention."

"Oh, naughty schoolgirl being disciplined by the young professor, I like the sound of that."

"What if the professor isn't young?"

"I'll make him feel as if he was."

"What if he's not a he?"

"I'm a goddess of sex, I go both ways."

"What if he's a he and gay?"

"Then I'll grow an impressive todger and, top or bottom; give him the ride of his life."

Ginny threw her hands up, "You're incorrigible."

"Hey, you're the one fucking three Hufflepuffs at a time."

Ginevra looked shocked. "What gave you that idea?"

Astarte looked at Ginny with narrowing eyes, "You did, just before we entered Dreamscape."

"I've never!"

"You most certainly have, and often."

"I'm no slag, I'm a good girl; Ialways stop the boys before, um, before . . ."

"Okay, that's enough!" Astarte changed back into her goddess form and pulled the shocked little Gryffindor into a searing kiss while wrapping her arms, wings and tail around her tightly.

In Dreamscape Astarte was more than just a goddess; she was a Goddess with a capital "G", omniscient and omnipotent. She entered Ginny's psyche and immediately found what she was looking for.

Small, apelike, naked and pale as a grub, with his preternaturally long fingers in every part of Ginevra Weasley's heart, soul and mind, was a fragment of the monster that had become Voldemort.

"She's mine, and you can't have her!" the demonic, naked ape hissed.

"Wrong, asshole, you're in /my/realm now."

"You can't banish me; I control every aspect of her being."

"You can't control anyone, neither can I, for that matter. All we can do is persuade."

"So what if I persuade her to stop breathing?"

"Then you suffocate. Don't make threats you can't carry out."

Black tendrils wormed their way above and behind Astarte as the manipulating spirit distracted her.

Poisonous coils whipped out capturing the goddess's neck, wrists and ankles.

"Got you, bitch!"

"Are you so sure about that?"

The coils passed through Astarte's body and grasped impotently in the ether where she had been.

"Poor, deluded spirit. I'm not really here, am I? I know where you are, though, and that's all I need."

The goddess inhaled deeply and blew out a stream of golden motes, which surrounded the manipulative parasite, then spread to the tendrils the daemon was using to "persuade" his young victim. When every part of the malevolent spirit was completely gilded the goddess clapped three times and said, "It is done."

The manipulator hissed, and then shrieked as he shrank to nothing.

"NOOOOOOOoooooooooo............"

Astarte pulled away from the tonsil probing kiss and watched as Ginny's face went from shock to horror to grief,

"Goddess, oh my Goddess, what have I been doing? What have I done? My family, my parents, my /reputation/. . ."

"Shush, little one, shush. It's okay. What's past is past. What matters is what your do with your life now. Be the Ginevra Weasley everyone knows you can be. Anyone who brings up your aberrant behavior, well, lets just say they have to go to sleep sometimes, and I'll be waiting for them!"

"Cissy and Bella told me about Horcruxes, was that . . . thing in me a Horcrux?"

"Not really. More of a'whore-maker,' it fed on your libido, and amplified your natural urges. It was a copy of a copy, an echo's reverberation."

"Am I truly free of it?"

"Yes, your mind is completely your own now, sweetie, for the first time since you were twelve years old."

She bowed her head, "Half the boys in Hogwarts have known me. I can't face them everyday; I'll need to drop out of school."

"No, because I'm going to make sure all the boys who've ever taken advantage of you know what they've done, and what the consequences will bit if they continue to try. Besides, if I'm not mistaken, you'll have a champion at Hogwarts."

"I can't burden Harry with my sordid problems."

"Not Harry." The goddess rounded atowering bookshelf and pointed to a study table with a single occupant.

Fifteen-year-old Tommy Riddle.

"Why not talk to him; you already know so much about him."

"Don't we have to, um, y'know . . ."

"Shag like bunnies?"

". . . yeah."

"Let me tell you about Dreamscape time . . ."

Ginevra Molly Weasley met Tom Marvolo Riddle in the winter of 1941. Tommy had been having the oddest feeling that he was living the same day over and over forever until Ginny came into his life. That was the day he started living from one day to the next. She was abright, intelligent, beautiful girl with uncanny insights concerning all things Tommy Riddle. They had so much in common that they liked each other immediately, they both flew chaser for their house teams, and when Slytherin and Gryffindor met on the pitch they agreed to fight for their houses to the best of their abilities and still be good friends after. This was a time when honor outshone petty house rivalries and inter-house dating was not frowned upon.

Spring of 1942 saw more bombs falling on Britain in places like Bath, Canterbury and York, more relevant, Grindlewald was firmly entrenched in Europe and was poised to invade magical Britain.

Random curses in the form of demonic blitzes were terrorizing magical population centers all over the Island Nation. Ottery St. Catchpole was devastated by a blast that killed nearly aquarter of the mage population.

Tom comforted Ginny as she grieved the loss of her grandparents.

"Tom, please, I don't want to die a virgin, do you?"

Any other teenaged boy would have jumped at the chance to dip his wick in the beautiful little witch, but, though/sorely/ tempted, Tom was made of sterner stuff.

"I will stand between you and anyone or anything that would hurt you, my Ginny. When the danger has passed we will be together, as we were always meant to be. I love you. I've loved you from the day I first saw you in the library."

Dreamscape time fast forwarded to the summer of Forty-five. Grindlewald was defeated, victory in Europe, victory in Asia!

Ginny all but threw Tommy on the picnic blanket, straddled him and said, "Now, Tommy, and I mean right now!"

"Only if you promise to marry me!"

"Oh, yes, yes, yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes!"

It was awkward, fumbling, alittle painful and over too soon, but as Tommy Riddle spurt, spurt, spurt into Ginny's receptive womb he found himself naked, laying in a hospital bed, with the girl of his dreams lying atop him, her nightdress askew. He realized that his John-Thomas was embedded deeply in her soft, warm sex.

"That was amazing Tommy." Indeed, real time Ginevra had enjoyed a long, luxurious coupling with the unconscious yet receptive Riddle.

"Ginny?"

"Yes, Tommy?"

"Where are we?"

"We're home, Tommy my love, home at last."

)O(

Later that evening Dumbledore invited the young Riddle to dinner with Ginny of course, from whom he would not be separated. Harry, Cissy, Bella, and Narcissa were at the long table, Severus came in last.

Tommy, intelligent lad that he was, listened patiently to the story of his capture and incarceration by the monstrosity he'd created. He broke down, overcome by guilt and deeply ashamed at what his creation had done. The list of the dead was like that during the blitz, and it was entirely his fault.

"No!" All present were surprised at the vehemence in Snape's voice, "most certainly not your fault. Anymore than it was Attila the Hun's mother's fault, or Hitler's or Grindlewald's.

"You overcame the hellish experiences you endured before entering the wizarding world, much the same as someone else I know."

All eyes turned to Harry.

"But I was a right bastard at the orphanage." Tommy said, looking askance at Ginny.

"What would your life have been like if you weren't?" she asked, holding his hand tightly.

"They, the older boys, would have eaten me alive." His voice became a frightened whisper, "They would have used me like a girl."

Dumbledore spoke up, "When you came here to Hogwarts, you put away your old ways and fought hard to better yourself - you impressed all your teachers with your hard work, and your willingness to learn and to help others better themselves.

"When you transferred your memories into the creature you'd created, he, the homunculus, chose to dwell on the negative aspects of his psyche and used them to shape his destiny."

Tommy turned tortured eyes to the Headmaster. "He's still out there, isn't he?"

"Yes. Greatly weakened, without followers or resources, but yes, Voldemort is still with us."

"Call him by his name, Headmaster, Tom Riddle. I for one will never use that name again." He thought for a moment and said, "Please, Headmaster, may I be called, instead, by my mother's name, Gaunt. Tommy Gaunt."

Dumbledore nodded, "A good choice, and one, I think, that will bring honor back to that name."

He summoned the bursar's book from its podium, opened it and, with the stroke of a quill, changed the entry.

Tommy couldn't stop the tears.

"I was so lonely, y'know? I had friends, but no family. I wanted to be part of a family so bad I could taste it. When I came across that text on homunculus theory I thought, "Hey, swish and flick and /Alakazam/, instant brother"."

Harry rose and extended his hand,"Tommy, you and I both grew up in abusive homes, and we have had to fight to survive. It's only through the sacrifices of our loved ones and the efforts of our good friends that we can be who we truly are. We have so much in common, Ifeel as though we're already brothers in all but blood."

Tommy stood, wiped tears away with the back of his hand and said, "My brother from another mother."

Dumbledore, likewise, said, "I have no grandchildren in Great Britain, and will stand for your mother's father."

Narcissa stood, "I will happily answer to Aunt Narcissa." She then kicked Severus under the table.

Standing painfully Snape groaned out, "Outside of class, feel free to call me Uncle Severus."

Narcissa smiled at her fiance, "You're such a good boy, you get treats."

"Treats?"

"Later, we don't want to traumatize our nephew."

Tommy turned to Ginny, "I feel so awkward about this, on the one hand I've known you for years, but on the other we've only been together a day, but I know I love you, and always will. We're too young to marry, but," reaching into his pocket drew out a silver ring, "will you accept this token of my affection as a promise to ask you when it's more appropriate?"

He placed a simple ring on the third finger of her right hand, the proper place for a promise ring. He'd pounded it by hand from a coin fifty years before. "It's only a shilling ring, Ginny, but I promise to replace it later with one of gold, if you'll still have me."

"Only if you promise not to make me wait another three years before making love to me again," she said with awicked smile, "I've sampled the goods and now I want more."

Tommy Gaunt glowed red, "Darling, the adults . . ."

". . . suffer from selective hearing loss, Tommy." Dumbledore said, eyes twinkling.

Gesturing to the ring he asked,"May I."

"Of course." Ginny said, extending her hand to the headmaster's.

"This is remarkable; I don't detect any trace of spellwork."

"No spells were used, sir, just ashilling, a ball-peen hammer and a lot of patience."

The old wizard raised his wand and asked, "With your permission."

"By all means, sir."

The large, bulky silver ring spun on Ginny's finger. The lion's share of silver peeled off, enough to leave apetite circle of silver on Ginny's finger. Dumbledore used the excess silver to form another, more masculine, ring on which he engraved, "/meus spondeo/."("My Promise")

He charmed the remaining petite ring on Ginny's finger to match. Then, smiling, handed her the larger ring.

"Tommy Gaunt, I accept your pledge and ask if you would accept this, my token against the day when we may become properly engaged?"

"Gladly, darling, gladly."

He raised his right ring-finger so that she could slip it on.

"You may kiss the eventual bride." Dumbledore said, and they did, to general applause.

"He could have hand-fasted them."Harry murmured to Bella, at his side.

"No, let them be kids for a while longer."

"He's the same age as me."

"Yeah, but it's not the years, it's the mileage."

)O(

Lord Voldemort, once the most feared Dark Wizard of the 20th century, sat in a cave huddled by his meager fire. His dinner, two trout stolen from an angler's basket, slowly roasted on greenwood skewers.

The fish weren't the only things in the cave doing a slow burn.

Bellatrix and her Cossack guard had deserted and were beyond his reach, he couldn't summon her because she was in amagical enclave that was too far away and too well protected. Pettigrew was either dead or had reverted to his rat form permanently, and, as a rat, was unreachable.

Severus Snape stayed within the Fidelius charmed Order Headquarters or at Hogwarts - he'd long since abandoned trying to summon the traitor.

Everyone else was gone. Dead or deserted.

All he'd ever wanted to do was take back the wizarding world for right-thinking wizards. He would have ushered in a millennium of peace and prosperity, the likes of which the world had never known.

Where had it gone so terribly wrong?

That was the easy question to answer.

Potter.

Always Potter.

From the time he was a baby, shielded by his mudblood mother's sacrifice.

Take out Potter, and he could rebuild. It would take time, but he had his guarantors of immortality, his Horcruxes.

And as long as his "original" lay in the sarcophagus within the cave he had an anchor to life - forever.

He turned the fish over and tested the flesh. Done enough.

A simple slicing spell filleted both trout and he considered how to eliminate the one obstacle to his return. The fish was good, tender and succulent; he took a large bite and swallowed afish-bone.

Which lodged in his throat.

He began to choke.

Grabbing a bucket he tried to force the bone down by gulping great mouthfuls of brackish water.

Breathing became difficult as the tender tissue of his throat began to swell from the irritating fishbone.

Voldemort panicked and began to run helter-skelter toward the mouth of the cave, slipped and fell face first onto the limestone floor, onto a stalagmite, which stuck his solar plexus, forcing all the air from his lungs.

And the bone from his throat.

He stood and felt warm blood on his chin. Gingerly he touched his front teeth and found two of them broken, one of the pieces imbedded in his lower lip.

If Voldemort had been capable of tears he would have curled in a ball and wept.

As it was he screamed his impotent rage.

No more.

Never again.

He returned to the fire and his few remaining possessions - one of which was the forbidden tome, Magiks Moste Darke.

Using a jagged piece of limestone, Voldemort scratched a pentagram into the floor of the cave, which he then encircled.

Standing in the pentagon within the delimited pentagram he opened the book to the last page, let the blood from his shredded lip drip onto the paper, and read the forbidden name, aloud.

"Abaddon."

)O(

So many Witches, so little time.

Coven of the Four Houses Members

Gryffindor-

Hermione Granger

Minerva McGonagall

Angelina Johnson

Patricia Stimpson

Alicia Spinnet



Ravenclaw-

Myrtle Malone

Luna Lovegood

Li Su

Mandy Brocklehurst

Padma Patil

Helena Slytherin-Ravenclaw



Slytherin-

Millicent Bulstrode

Glynda Newton

Pansy Parkinson

Tracey Davis

Daphne Greengrass

Bella Black

Cissy Black



Hufflepuff-

Susan Bones

Hannah Abbot 2

Megan Jones



Poppy Pomfrey joins later, Cougar minx that she is. . .

Nymphadora Tonks jumps on at a point TBD.



The second prophesy: "The one with the power to defeat the Dark Lord is come. He will wield power that the Dark Lord knows not. The weeping virgin shall forsake her afterlife to walk again amongst the living. The Lady of the Loch shall surrender her age so that she may with him grow old. One and twenty maidens shall take up their arms and together they will destroy magic in order to save it. The one with the power to defeat the Dark Lord is come. . ."