A/N: This isn't an update, not really. I just needed a bit of story to post, so I can legally update you all to let you know that Shadows is officially ON HIATUS. I hate to do this, especially so close to the end, but I have no choice.

November turned out to be a lot more…distracting, than I originally thought it would be, and things have gotten worse from there. In November my mother became very sick, and for weeks no one knew why. We eventually learned that she had a staph infection, and it crossed the blood-brain barrier and became meningitis. After many procedures, tests and surgeries, she recovered from the illness, but her ability to move was almost completely gone. In the last five months we have been to four different hospitals and rehab centers and have seen countless therapists and specialists and doctors, and she can now move her head, limbs, torso and somewhat move her feet and hands, but we're a very long way off from walking and feeding herself without trouble. On top of this I have to get the house in order so we can have ramps put in, and figure out a way to fit a wheelchair down halls way too narrow.

In December my now one-year-old 'nephew' Gavin was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy type one, which very basically means that his motor nerves in his spine have never worked properly and will continue to deteriorate. People with SMA lose (or never gain) the ability to sit up, move, eat and breathe. Most types are fatal. Gavin has already outlived the average life expectancy by four months. He spent his first Christmas and birthday in a hospital that kept telling his parents to let him pass. There was very nearly a very public battle to get Gavin to better care.

There have also been a thousand smaller things, such as my car being stolen on Thanksgiving, and dental surgery, an attempt at focusing on original writing, and friends moving.

These things, understandably, have taken most of my time and effort. I miss writing, so I'm trying to return to it wherever possible. But Shadows requires what I've called a 'stillness of thought' that I'm not capable of now, a calm and quiet and pointed mindframe often accompanied by low moods, and it's not place I can afford to go right now. So until things in my life have settled down, I have no choice but to put Shadows on hiatus. I hope you all will understand. I'll do my best to return to this shortly, if only because I won't abandon my fanfiction for my original work, and I really want to start working on my writing career again.

So for now, here is a little, hastily written bit of story to take place between the last chapter and the next. If it seems a little odd, there are a few reasons for it, but one will be explained after. Thank you!

Ginny Weasley stood in her bedroom, staring down at her bed as Shikoba stared back at her in defiance.

"Come on, Shikoba," sighed Ginny, her hands on her hips. "I've asked nicely."

The diver only answered with a deep, mournful song. Ginny rolled her eyes. "Don't be so dramatic. I'm only asking you to move."

The bird had settled on top of her pink pajama top, and steadfastly refused to be moved. He had laid down for a nap, and didn't seem interested in moving, no matter how Ginny pleaded or demanded. It was almost as though he knew why Ginny had set it out on her bed.

Giving up temporarily, Ginny slumped against her wall, looking at the clothes spread across her bed. To the left was a dark red chiffon dress, with a Peter Pan collar, along with black boot wedges and a black clutch. In the center was a black lace crop top, a bright tribal patterned skirt and a floral clutch and ankle boots with a thick heel, and to the right was a simple pair of black jeans, a bag with the word 'ciao', and her favorite pajama top, a pink tank with the words 'I have nothing to wear' printed across it. Of course, the words weren't visible with the bird perched on top of them.

She had selected these outfits carefully, and it had taken quite a bit longer than she would ever admit. After laying them out carefully, she went and had a cup of tea to calm her nerves, and then went back to find her dear friend sleeping on top of the top she was considering putting on.

Considering. She hadn't decided yet. She hadn't yet chosen the message she wanted to convey that night. In fact, she still wasn't sure she wanted to go at all. She'd agreed to the date, to giving Tom Riddle a chance to prove that he was both dark and good, to seeing if the possibility existed that she could open her heart to him. She had promised that tonight she would bring down her walls as much as possible, to let Tom in the same way she would let any man in on the first date.

But the thought of that was so terrifying, part of her wanted to apparate somewhere far away and never come back. The idea of accepting Tom in any way made her dizzy, as though standing on the edge of something very tall with no broom by her side. How was she ever going to get through this night?

One step at a time. First step, choose an outfit.

Ginny sighed and picked Shikoba up, who objected by trying to flap his wings. But they were trapped by her arms as Ginny moved the bird to her pillow. "You'll be happier there, Shikoba, you know you will," she insisted. "Don't try to argue with me."

She could almost hear Shikoba scoff but he rested his head on the corner of her pillow and settled back into a deep sleep. That matter settled, Ginny turned back towards the outfits laid out on her bed, and she examined each and felt…nothing. It was as though a physical block stood between her and her clothes, and she didn't know what to do.

Maybe she could use a little help.

Ginny turned and left her room, heading to the living area. Luna was perched on the edge of the couch, dress in a white eyelet dress and bare-footed as she leaned over the coffee table. In front of her were pages of the Quibbler, which instead of reading Luna was folding into origami owls to reveal some secret message or other.

"Luna," greeted Ginny as she stepped across the floor to stand in front of Luna and offer her hands to help Luna stand. "I need your help."

Luna glanced up from her intricate folding to Ginny, and then reached beside her to grab her wand. She tapped the paper and it finished folding into the owl, and then Luna smiled, set her wand aside and took Ginny's hands. Ginny led her back to the room, and pointed at the clothes on the bed.

"I can't figure out what to wear tonight," she explained, "I picked these three out for a reason, but right now I don't know which reason to choose."

"What do they all mean?" asked Luna, in her soft, lilting voice.

Ginny motioned to each outfit as she described them. "The red dress is something I know Tom – Dante – whatever I should call him, would like. He seems very attracted to dark red, and it's in the same style of clothing he bought for me back when…when. It shows that I'm doing my best to give him a fair chance, and I'm not just making him do all the work, because I'm willing to do things for him, even just something as small as wearing a dress he'd like. And as much as I hate to admit it, it's the same style of Muggle clothes I choose now." She hated that she now liked the kind of clothing Tom picked out for her, as though it were some form of defeat. At first she could pretend that picking that style was just convenient, that it was a Muggle fashion she already had an understanding of, but now she had been living in the Muggle world and dressing for it for so many years, she had to admit that Tom had, perhaps, chosen her clothes well. "The skirt is what I wear on every first date. It's nothing like what Tom would choose, but it's what I picked when I was trying to rebel against everything Tom was. I like it, it's different, and it shows I'm making an effort but I'm not going to just….be his dream girl." Ginny felt it was important to hold on to her independence, to show Tom that she fully intended to remain in control of her life, and she would not give him one measure of power over her. "The last one says that I'll do what I said I'd do, but I'm not going to do anything further. I'll show up, I'll let you state your case, but it's not my job to look pretty or make you happy. This is about you proving yourself to me, not the other way around."

"Those are my cat shoes," noted Luna, pointing at the black flats with a little cat face on each that sat beside the pajama top.

Ginny shrugged. "Yeah. I don't have any shoes that don't scream 'I'm making an effort to look nice', besides my athletic shoes which I'm trying to keep clean for Quidditch practice only. Can I borrow yours?"

Luna smiled, ignoring the accidental insult so it was impossible to tell if she'd caught it or not. "Of course. You can borrow whatever you want from me. But aren't my feet a little too small?"

"Hermione taught me a spell that will make them fit."

Luna nodded, staring down at the clothes as she played with the ends of her hair. "I shouldn't choose this for you. If you close your eyes and listen to your inner voice, what does it say?"

Ginny hesitated a moment, and then closed her eyes. After a few deep breaths, she responded, "Don't go."

"Why does it say that?"

Ginny opened her eyes and shrugged her shoulders, and that action alone showed her how things had changed; it felt like only a few months ago she'd been trapped with Tom, and her skin had been deathly pale. Now they were a rich, golden color, with a tinge of red from the sun and spending so much time in it, practicing Quidditch as much as she could.

Luna placed a hand on one of her shoulders gently. "Think about it. Why does your inner voice tell you not to go?"

"Because I'm scared," Ginny answered back almost immediately, surprising herself. She hadn't known she was afraid, but there it was.

"Why are you scared?"

Ginny paused a moment, clearing her throat as she tried to let the reason for this feeling float to the surface of her mind. "Because Harry would never forgive me."

"For going on a date?"

"For going on a date with Tom Riddle," breathed Ginny, sighing as she collapsed against the doorframe. "I'm letting Lord Voldemort date me, what the hell is wrong with me?"

"I thought you already discussed this," said Luna, her voice soft. "He isn't really Lord Voldemort. And he isn't really Tom Riddle. He's Dante Wickham, and he's doing his best to be a good man. You told me everything he said. Did any of it sound like Tom Riddle?"

Ginny paused a moment and ran through their conversation in her head. "No. No, not really."

"You're going on a date with Dante Wickham."

"I know," said Ginny. "I know, I know. But he still is Tom in many ways. Maybe not the Tom Riddle that attempted to commit genocide, but the same Tom that kept me locked away for so long I nearly died. He's the same Tom he was when Harry died."

"Maybe you're right," said Luna, still playing with the ends of her pale hair. "Maybe Harry wouldn't forgive you for dating Tom. But Harry wasn't a perfect human being. Maybe he should have forgiven you. But, despite who it is you're dating, he would forgive you for moving on. For being happy. He's been dead for a long time, Ginny. It's time to give someone a real chance."

Luna was the only one who ever said that Harry was dead. Everyone else could only say that he was gone, like he was off on holiday somewhere. Ginny appreciated the brute honesty, because it was what she needed to hear. Harry was dead. It didn't matter if he'd forgive her or not, because he was dead, and no matter what she did she couldn't change that.

Ginny took in a slow, deep breath. "Okay. You're right," she admitted. "I'll give Tom – Dante – a real chance. But what do I wear? What do I tell him with the clothes I wear?"

Luna smiled. "Just close your eyes, and pick."

Artificial: So there's your last bit for a while! I hope it turned out okay. It was really difficult to write, and it ended up being written in short bursts over a few days in various places. You'll notice I went heavy on describing outfit choices – that's for good reason! If you'll check the website link in my author bio, you'll be led to my fanfic writing blog on Tumblr, where you can vote for which outfit Ginny wears, and therefore which message she'll send Tom, and what her mindset will be when the next chapter beings. I know it seems a bit silly for such a dark story, but I wanted to give you guys SOMETHING while I'm gone. (There may be other little Shadows things, such as fashion, recipes or other images.) In the meantime, those of you with me on author alert might notice one of my other stories updating. I'm focusing on that for now, because it's a lighter, more humorous story and therefore easier to write without complete focus, and more importantly, I prewrote the first few chapters, so they're ready to be posted without much effort. This doesn't mean I don't care about Shadows, or that I've abandoned it. I promise, this story will be finished. I can't promise everyone will love the ending, but it WILL END PROPERLY. Thank you for reading, everyone. I'll be back when I can.