Chapter 22

The next day, Severus was seated in the solar with a modest plate of roasted pheasant and greens before him. The door opened, and Neville and Ginny entered with plates and mid‑conversation with neither noticing Severus at first.

"...I swear, the Minister of Finance is such a misogynistic pig," Ginny stated with irritation. "The way he spoke to me after the trials, like I was some silly girl who didn't understand numbers." Now, Severus watched her make a face of disgust. "For Merlin's sake, Neville. I am the bloody Chancellor! The archivists and the government's central writing office fall under me."

Neville sighed, "I don't disagree, Gin. But unless Harry actually hears what he's been saying to you, or unless there's another witness... It's just hearsay. And you know how quickly that gets dismissed in council."

"So I'm supposed to just sit there and let him belittle me? Pretend it doesn't matter?"

"No. But you know how politics works. Evidence is everything. Without it, he'll just twist your words back on you." Neville replied while shaking his head.

"If he doesn't watch out, I will shove his bloody expense reports where the sun doesn't shine," she growled. "Harry already told me I wasn't allowed to poison the prick or let Tom at him, but..."

Severus cleared his throat deliberately. The sound cut through their exchange, and both Neville and Ginny startled.

Neville gave a startled squeak, while Ginny flushed slightly as she realized her old professor had been there the whole time. "You heard all that, didn't you?"

Severus inclined his head while they joined him at the table. Then Neville immediately began babbling, words tumbling over themselves in his rush to smooth things over. "Ginny didn't mean anything about poison, sir... she was just frustrated, you know? She wouldn't actually do it. I mean, yes, she helped kill Voldemort, but that was different, wasn't it, Gin? Entirely different circumstances, really, and..."

Ginny groaned. She buried her face in her hands. "Neville, for Merlin's sake, stop talking."

Severus arched a brow while his lips twitched faintly at the corners, "Indeed. I am well aware Miss Weasley is not about to lace the Minister's tea with aconite." He paused just long enough to let Neville squirm. Then, with a deceptively casual air, he added, "Though if one were truly intent on humiliation rather than death, a careful combination of castor oil, powdered jalapeño, and a dash of senna leaf would produce results most... explosive."

Ginny snorted despite herself, half-horrified, half-amused. "You did not just give me a recipe for diarrhea."

Severus arched a brow, his expression perfectly composed. "I merely stated a fact. Whether you choose to apply it is another matter entirely."

She shook her head and muttered under her breath, "Tom would love you."

"Who is Tom?" Severus asked as his hearing was quite good.

Ginny froze with her fork halfway to her plate. Neville glanced at her, then sighed. "You might as well get it over with, Gin. Professor Snape would figure it out either way... or Harry would just tell him."

Ginny groaned. Then her shoulders slumped. Her eyes dropped to the table. When she lifted her head again, her entire demeanor had shifted. Her gaze was sharper, colder, and the voice that greeted him carried a familiar hiss.

"Hello, Severussss."

The sound of it made Severus's blood run cold, and instinctively, his hand darted toward his wand.

"He's an ally! I swear!" Neville quickly uttered in panic as he realized what was about to happen.

Severus's eyes narrowed, though his wand stayed raised as he studied Ginny.

The air in the solar seemed to thicken as Neville rushed to explain. "Professor... Remember when you saved Ginny? When Lockhart nearly let that Horcrux revive? The diary was destroyed, yes, but some essence of Tom Riddle stayed behind. It... it never left the mortal plane. It possessed her."

"We formed a partnership of sorts. Though I will admit, teenage girl hormones were... inconvenient." Ginny, no, Tom, smirked faintly.

Severus's wand hand trembled ever so slightly, "Tom Riddle," he said slowly, "As in the Dark Lord Tom Riddle... Voldemort?!"

"Well, pre-Dark Lord phase, technically. Honestly, once I saw what happened to my handsome nose, I was over the whole world domination thing."

"It's... complicated, Professor," Neville stated. "Ginny and Tom aren't enemies. They've... coexisted. Partnered, even. She's still Ginny, but Tom's essence never left after the diary was destroyed in second year. From what I've seen, they've learned to live with each other."

"You expect me to believe that the Dark Lord has simply decided to play house inside Miss Weasley?"

"Believe what you will, Severus," Tom stated. "For what it is worth, know that I am happy where I am right now. As Chancellor, I have access to the most obscure and darkest magic ever. Your husband lets me learn and experiment as much as I want, so long as it does not impact his kingdom and authority. Do you know how much knowledge the former government tried to hide?! The history of the house elves is particularly jarring."

Tom, in Ginny's body, leaned back, "When my... counterpart... won the war and crowned himself, the truth of my existence came to light. Ginny and I were captured during the royal procession through Diagon Alley. Voldemort kept us close because I was still, in essence, a Horcrux, just with a new vessel. Much like Nagini. To the world, we looked like his right hand, his trusted advisor. But in reality, it was a gilded cage."

"There were spells on us that made it impossible to leave the castle. He knew everything we did. Every breath, every whisper. And any attempt to escape was punished harshly with public lashings."

"I saw it once. He made an example of them. Ginny bore the scars for weeks. No healers would touch her for fear of earning the tyrant's ire."

"Neville was the only kind soul to offer me medicine," Tom stated.

"Honestly, Professor, I wish I could have disappeared like you," Tom stated. "The fact that you killed Bellatrix in the process of escaping when you were outed as a spy still impresses me to this day."

Tom's smirk lingered. "I'm sure you want to know my role in Voldemort's death..."

"Enlighten me."

Tom's grin widened. "Neville never registered on Voldemort's radar as a threat. He was very underestimated. That made him the perfect courier. We used that. We sent out a message through Neville, our security, in exchange for Voldemort's throne."

Neville shifted uncomfortably, his face pale. "I didn't mind. Voldemort threatened Gran. He wanted to seize her vaults."

"Two years into Voldemort's reign, Harry Potter answered. He came to us, cloaked in Death's shadow, and listened. We don't know how he got the Hallows, but he had them. The cloak, the wand, even the stone. Imagine my shock when he revealed it was in the Gaunt ring."

"I was the one who poisoned Nagini. And Voldemort himself. Subtle and slow at first. He never suspected me. Why would he? I was his fragment, one of his tethers to immortality. The irony was delicious. His own soul betrayed him."

"Nagini weakened first. Voldemort thought it was age or the strain of his magic. But when the poison reached him, when his body began to falter, he realized too late that the rot came from within."

"Harry wanted power to defy his family. I wanted freedom to exist. Ruling, in my opinion, was far too much paperwork. All I ever wanted was to master obscure magic, to dig into the forgotten corners of knowledge. And I got what I wanted. Your husband got what he wanted, power to never be controlled again."