Disclaimer: if Tom Riddle (Christian Coulson) and Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliff) belonged to me I'd be too busy toying with them to write this fic so… no, unfortunately for me (and them) they don't.

Warning: This is a slash fic, so homophobes away!

Chapter 1: It's a deal.

Harry's P.O.V

The chamber of secret… everything is dark and humid. I'm cold… colder by the minute. I refuse to let it show but I'm scared… very scared… to tell the truth I'm mortified at the idea that this might just be it. I know I shouldn't think like that, but the fear that clutches my heart is almost unbearable. Doesn't matter, I can't give up. I can't abandon. Not now. Not her. She's done nothing to deserve this, if she's there, like this, it's my fault. I have to save her, I can't let her die.

… Ginny… she's so pale… I can feel life escaping her tiny body… and for what… for who… for that monster. Tom Riddle. Wasn't enough for him to take away my parents from me, he now had to steal the life of an innocent young girl. Why? How could someone lack humanity that much? Didn't he love anyone; was he even capable of loving?

I look at my bloody arm. It hurts so much. I can feel the venom of the Basilisk running through my veins. My blood feels like ice and my muscles are weakening. My breathing's going. I still manage somehow to limp toward the quickly paling body of my best friend's little sister. But as soon as a reach it I sense my entire being falter, my grasp on the sword loosens and it falls to the ground along with the Basilisk's fang. I fall to my knees on the cold and wet floor.

"Remarkable isn't it? How quickly the venom of the Basilisk penetrates the body. I guess you have a little more than a minute to live. You'll be with your dear mudblood mother soon, Harry."

I look at him with hate and fury and he answers with nothing but a little vicious and mocking smile; I'm well aware that nothing amuses him more than to see me perish. But I can't let him win; I refuse to let my parent's death be in vain. I mustn't die here, I just can't. If I do, he wins. I gaze at Ginny once more. She's almost dead. I reach out to put my hand on hers. She still has the diary under her arm. How could such a small object have caused her so much pain? And then, as though he read my mind, Riddle speaks again.

"Funny, the damage a silly little book can do, especially in the hand of a silly little girl."

Then it hits me: of course, the diary, it's what links them together Riddle and Ginny. I have an idea. I take the book and open it up.

"What are you doing?"

I have to destroy it, but how? I look around me and I spot it; the Basilisk's fang, perfect.

Third-Person Narrator

But just as Harry reached for it, Tom stepped in and kicked the giant tooth away from him.

"Oh no, you don't! I've been imprisoned for fifty years and I'm not about to let you take my only chance to live again."

The boy tried moving but felt his bodyweight become too much pressure for his weakening muscles and he collapsed.

"Soon I won't ever have to worry about you again."

Just as Harry was ready to give up, Fawkes landed near him. The young Gryffindor looked up at the beautiful bird.

"You were brilliant Fawkes, but I just wasn't quick enough"

"Come to morn your death as he?"

Thankfully, the phoenix had positioned himself so that Tom wouldn't be able to see that he was actually letting tears drop from his eyes and right onto the boy's injury. Harry watched his arm heal as he remembered what Dumbledore had said to him earlier.

"Of course, the phoenix's tears have healing powers."

He whispered so that Riddle wouldn't hear him. He felt his strength quickly coming back to him. He snatched the diary and ran to the get the Basilisk's tooth. He swiftly grabbed the fang and opened the diary on the floor, ready to stab it with all he had.

"Wait!"

Harry turned his head and saw his enemy holding Ginny by the hair with his right hand, while his left was holding his own wand to her throat.

"Don't even think about it, unless you want me to kill her right away. Personally, I wanted to enjoy her agony until the very end, but if you leave me no other choice…"

"Liar, if you could have killed her you would have done so already by now. I bet you anything you have to wait until she dies by herself for this thing to work!"

Harry might have only been in second year, but he was not dumb. Tom however, seemed surprised at his sharpness. He clearly didn't expect the boy to be this clever. Still, he remained calm and didn't show a single emotion that could have betrayed him. Instead, he simply smiled with his signature devil smirk.

"Perhaps... but are you really willing to take that chance?"

Harry's expression answered for him.

"I didn't think so… tell me… about I stop the dying process for now…"

As Riddle spoke a bright light emanated from the wand and spread over Ginny and Harry could tell she had stopped dying.

"That way… we can come up with a solution."

Harry was surprised, Tom Riddle might have been evil but at the very least he was rational. It was astonishing to see just how cold Riddle could really be.

"Alright Tom, what are you proposing? I'm telling you right now… you won't take her life."

"And I'm telling you right now, I will be flesh and blood by the end of the night, no matter what!"

Harry looked at Riddle and knew there was no arguing that point.

"Fine then, there must be another way!"

His nemesis didn't take his eyes off of him, but Harry could tell that he was mentally frantically searching through his mind for an answer.

"Well…"

"Well what?"

"There might be another way… but I don't think you'll approve… it's pretty much… drastic."

"What do you mean?"

"I know of a ritual… It would allow me to substitute her blood to her actual life…"

"Her blood!"

"Only some of it… but that's not the real issue…"

"Then what is it?"

"Well the ritual requires the blood of a virgin… taken by force… in this case by me"

Harry might have been only 12 but he quickly understood what Tom meant by that. Still he had to ask, hoping he was wrong.

"You mean…"

"Yes… I don't exactly have any interest in doing it this way… but I'll do whatever's necessary to live."

"It's bloody sick"

"It's the only other way… personally I really don't care even though I'd rather just take her life."

"That's out of the question."

"Well then it's settled."

Harry looked at Ginny's frail little body.

"Wait… the… virgin… does it have to be her?

"Well it has to be someone who was connected to the diary… so then I guess… either you or her… but I doubt you'd…"

"Take me."

Tom was bewildered. He could not believe his ears.

"I beg your pardon?"

"I said… take me… let her go."

Tom scuffed

"Of course, the great Harry Potter. Just have to be the perfect little hero, don't you?"

"I said let her go!"

Harry was so confused; he simply had no idea of what he had just sign up for and was starting to be particularly pissed at Riddle. All he knew was that he had to save Ginny, he just had to.

"Fine Potter, you've made your choice."

"Free her now."

"Not until you give me back that diary."

They looked intensely at each other for several seconds than came to understanding without opening their mouths. They advance toward each other slowly, Tom holding Harry's wand firmly against Ginny's neck and Harry with a hand holding the diary open, while the other had a tight grip on the fang. Eventually, they stopped and nodded. Tom pushed Ginny into Harry's arms just as Harry threw the diary at him. As Riddle cached the book in his hands, Harry gently laid Ginny at his feet. While Tom opened the diary to check, Harry took his chance and tried to grab his wand. Tom however, was gripping it too tightly.

"Oh no Potter, you don't."

"Give it back."

"No way, Potter."

They were both fighting for it so hardly that the wand eventually flew from their hands and onto the cold floor of the chamber. Harry started running toward it but felt a magical force restrain him.

"I thought we had a deal, Potter… huh, like I'd need a wand to stop you. Besides If I had wanted to use that wand to kill you, you wouldn't be standing right now… Still you can forget about getting it back… you might be one of the good guys but I'm no fool."

"Why not just kill me then?"

Harry just had to honour the Gryffindor's legendary stupid loud-mouthed courage.

"Do not tempt me Potter, I could just Accio that wand right now and kill you were you stand before you even understood what happened… I didn't kill you before because I wanted the pleasure of watching the Basilisks do it himself…"

"What's stopping you now?"

Harry didn't know just why he felt so bound to provoke the Slytherin so badly, it's not like he wanted to die: he just couldn't show him his fear.

"My god, Potter do you have some kind of death wish or are you just plain stupid? Like I said, we made a deal and I proud myself as being a man of my word… about you Potter?"

Harry tried to speak but found himself incapable of even just uttering a word. Tom was uncertain whether he felt bad about seeing him so disconcerted and vulnerable or if he rather just enjoyed it. He finally decided to take Harry out of misery.

"I'll just take your silence as a yes Potter... and to prove my good faith... Accio wand!"

The wand flew right into Riddle's hand. Harry gasped in horror. Tom just stood there and smiled.

"See? Not killing you... yet. So here is how it's going to work, first the girl will stay my captive until I get my life back, that will ensure me that you won't try any funny business again. If you do, I will kill both you and that girl. Either way I'll have what I want."

"Alright, I don't care just... just don't kill her... please."

"Good boy, Potter."

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