History Fanfic / TheVerySecretDiary

* SpeechCentricWork: The story is nothing ''but'' dialogue between Tom and Ginny (and, for one chapter, Harry), not unlike an internet chatroom. Ginny will sometimes describe what things look like at Tom's request, but that's about it.

* SurvivalMantra: After Tom forces Ginny to stay awake for a whole week, she tells herself that she only needs to hold on until the mandrakes mature. At this point it's pretty clear that telling herself this is the only way she's managing to keep going.

* RealityEnsues: [[spoiler:Yes, Tom, torturing Ginny via sleep deprivation is all well and good, until she inevitably passes out from exhaustion and is taken to the hospital wing. And she's not much use to him while she's practically comatose.]]

--> '''Tom''':Misuse of Muggle Artifacts, is it? The Muggle Protection Act? And his own daughter, attacking Mudbloods. My my. Yes, I'm afraid that your father would be sacked.

-->'''Ginny:''' I'm just saying goodbye. I can't think why I care, but I didn't want to throw you in the fire without saying goodbye.\\

'''Ginny:''' And a… ghost and a… cat…

'''Ginny:''' Thank you… Tom…\\

'''Ginny:''' I will…\\

'''Ginny:''' Yes…\\
'''Tom:''' Can you sit against your headboard?\\

'''Tom:''' Close your eyes, Virginia… Close your eyes…\\\

[[spoiler:I… A M]]\\
[[spoiler:L …O RD v…]]\\

[[spoiler:I am l…ord v - Vold… emort]]\\
[[spoiler:I… AM… LORD… VOLDEMORT … great en…ough to… con…tinue the… noble… work… ofmy great… ance…stor by this… small… child's… hand…]]\\
[[spoiler:With this… weak… little… hand I shall… open… the Chamber…and call… my… servant… to me…]]\\
[[spoiler:Hidden in innocence… again under Dumbledore's crooked… nose I will do what must be done…]]\\
[[spoiler:One small step at… a time. One mastery and then… another. Sleep, my Virginia, while I learn to use… your hand… until your hand belongs to me. My hand. For my work. I will practice you until I do not fumble. Piece by piece I will inhabit and employ you, and you will be silent, so beautifully silent, while I do so.]]\\

'''Ginny:''' I just… I just had to see what you'd say. I don't believe it.\\

[[spoiler: '''Tom:''' And who else am I…?]]\\

* [[HypocriteHasAPoint]]: Tom tells Ginny to be wary of people who seem overly-friendly or generous, because they might have an ulterior motive. Well, he's certainly not ''wrong''...

* {{Hypocrite}}: Tom tells Ginny to be wary of people who seem overly-friendly or generous, because they might have an ulterior motive. Well, he's certainly not ''wrong''...

** BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: ''Disenchanted'' reveals that while Ginny is alive, she is still horribly traumatized by what she went through, to the point that she can't stand being called her own name. Dumbledore believes she'll eventually recover]].

* PapaWolf: [[spoiler: In ''Disenchanted'', Arthur snaps after Dumbledore reveals that Malfoy was the one gave Ginny the diary. Dumbledore himself feels a touch of anger at Tom for badly traumatizing Ginny]].

%% * ShrinkingViolet: Ginny, although she gains some CharacterDevelopment halfway in.

* RealityEnsues: [[spoiler:Yes, Tom, torturing Ginny via Sleep Deprivation is all well and good, until she inevitably passes out from exhaustion and is taken to the hospital wing. And she's not much use to him while she's practically comatose.]]

* SleepDeprivationPunishment: In some of the most disturbing scenes in a very disturbing story, [[spoiler:Tom]] torments [[spoiler: Ginny]] by refusing to let her sleep for days. It gets so bad that she passes out at one point.

* WouldHurtAChild: Once he has enough power over her body, Tom physically tortures Ginny by painfully twisting her wrist and depriving her of sleep for days. When she protests that he is hurting her, he answers with a spiteful ''I hope so.''

** Also, the diary turning up in the toilet? [[spoiler: Tom had gained possession of Ginny and was about to commit a mass murder with the basilisk. He was crowing about it to a hysterical Ginny as the chapter ended. It turns his canonical conversation with Harry ("Someone tried to flush you down a toilet") into a WhamLine.]]

%% * FalseFriend: Tom to Ginny, shown here in complete, ''horrible'' detail.
%% Explain the detail. :-)

* FutureBadass: Tom is quite pleased to hear he became Lord Voldemort, a wizard so evil and powerful, everyone is too terrified to even say his ''name''...
* FutureLoser: ...but hearing that he was defeated by a baby and forced to share a body with Quirrel, only to be defeated by the same kid ''again'' sort of bursts his bubble.

'''Tom:''' Close your eyes, Virginia… Close your eyes…\\
\\
\\
\\
\\

* {{Hypocrite}}: Tom tells Ginny to be weary of people who seem overly-friendly or generous, because they might have an ulterior motive. Well, he's certainly not ''wrong''...

* LackOfEmpathy: Guess who? He wouldn't be Tom Riddle if he had an ounce of empathy in him.'

* SleepDeprivationPunishment: In some of the most disturbing scenes in a very disturbing story,[[spoiler:Tom]] torments [[spoiler: Ginny]] by refusing to let her sleep for days. It gets so bad that she passes out at one point.

* SmugSnake: Riddle is certainly dangerous and manipulative, but he's not as smart as he would like to believe. He utterly underestimates Ginny's intelligence. [[spoiler: This partly ends up his undoing, since he constructs fake backstory that's so weak, Ginny only had to ask a few questions to poke holes in it. And when Ginny does get wise, his plans are set back by her attempts at resistance]], leading him to basically throw a tantrum.

-->'''Ginny:''' [Myrtle] told me another story about how I'd been in there calling her names. It's horrible how she lies.\\

--> [[spoiler: '''Tom:''' Idiot girl, it took you five months even to suspect me. And in another five months you have been completely unable to extract yourself from me for long enough to say a single word in your own defense. Of course you do not know who I am. You do not know to whom you have been giving your soul. Ask me now who I am. I want to tell you.]]
-->[[spoiler: '''Ginny:''' [[CreepyMonotone You are Tom Riddle. You are the Heir of Slytherin.]]]]
-->[[spoiler: '''Tom:''' And who else am I…? ]]
-->[[spoiler: '''Ginny:''' I do not know who else. ]]
-->[[spoiler: '''Tom:''' Ah but you do. You do know who, Virginia. You know who. ]]
-->[[spoiler: '''Ginny:''' No, I do not.]]
-->[[spoiler: '''Tom:''' Yes you do. You know who. You know who... ''You-Know-Who''.]]

-->'''Ginny:''' You wouldn't care if it was a bad one?
-->'''Tom:''' You could not tell me anything that would make me like you less.

-->'''Ginny:''' Oh, Tom, guess what!\\

-->'''Tom:''' So far, a perfect score. Four students, all Muggle-borns.\\

-->'''Tom:''' ''You know nothing''. You do not know what I ''became''. I make wizards' minds ''writhe'', when they come close to a Dementor - I ''commanded'' the Dementors - I am the terror of the ''world'', ''DO YOU HEAR ME''?\\

* FalseFriend: Tom to Ginny, shown here in complete, ''horrible'' detail.

* FromBadToWorse: Pretty much the whole story in a nutshell, from Ginny's point of view. Realizing your "[[FalseFriend friend]]" was lying to you all along? Bad. Realizing he's been possessing you and forcing you to do horrible things? ''Bad''. Realizing he's going to murder every Muggle-born in the school if his plans go through? Really, ''really'' bad. [[spoiler:Realizing he's ''freaking Voldemort''? [[SanitySlippage Bye-bye, sanity]]...]]

** GetOut: Tom's only response to the above.

* ShrinkingViolet: Ginny, although she gains some CharacterDevelopment halfway in.

* OhCrap: A deadly serious one when Ginny realizes what "Tom Marvolo Riddle" is an anagram for.

* RealityEnsues: [[spoiler:Yes, Tom, torturing Ginny via SleepDeprivation is all well and good, until she inevitably passes out from exhaustion and is taken to the hospital wing. And she's not much use to him while she's practically comatose.]]

* SleepDeprivation: [[spoiler:In some of the most disturbing scenes in a very disturbing story, Tom torments Ginny this way, refusing to let her sleep for ''days''. It gets so bad that she passes out at one point.]]

** Tom also lampshades that Ginny's [[PrecouciousCrush possible crush]] on him is quite ironic, given what he's done to Harry.

* ConsummateLiar: Guess. Tom frequently feeds lies and half-truths to Ginny, both to further his plan and just for kicks.

* DramaticIrony: Early on, Ginny thinks of Tom as a friend, so many of his responses sound interested and earnest to her. To the reader who knows the truth, however, those same responses are sardonic and condescending.

* DeadpanSnarker: It's how Tom lets out his aggravation, and Ginny's often too naive to get that she's being laughed at.

* LackOfEmpathy: Guess who? He wouldn't be Tom Riddle if he had an ounce of empathy in him.