125: Chapter 125 The Eve of Ginny's Disappearance

"She hasn't eaten much in two days." Pansy pushed the untouched pie in front of Allen. "Gryffindor girls say Ginny chops up her food, pretends to eat it, then dumps it all into her napkin. At night, she sits by her bed looking at her hands, saying there's ink on them."

Draco put down his fork. "Hasn't anyone in the Weasley Family noticed?"

"They noticed, but everyone is tied up." Pansy looked toward the Gryffindor table. "Percy is watching Penelope, the twins are escorting the lower years, and Ron is following Harry to check on Hagrid. Whenever Ginny apologizes and says she's worried about Hermione, no one can force her."

Nott opened his small notebook. "She went to find Harry three times this morning—once in the Great Hall, once after Charms Class, and once in the corridor. Every time, before she could finish speaking, she would touch the inside of her schoolbag."

Zabini added, "The diary isn't with her."

Allen looked toward the staff table. Snape and McGonagall were both absent. Gilderoy Lockhart was lecturing the lower years on how he used his smile to stabilize the panic, while Flitwick sat beside him, the rim of his cup nearly crushed in his grip.

"Where did Snape take the diary?"

"He was in his office this morning, and this afternoon someone saw him go to the Headmasters Office, then to the old classroom on the Third Floor." Nott closed his notebook. "He's likely trying to seal it."

"The diary will fight back." Allen pushed the pie over to Crabbe. "Ginny's condition shows that the control chain is tightening. Tom is either trying to reclaim his host body or drain the remaining connection dry."

Crabbe clutched his plate. "Will she die?"

No one at the table spoke.

"Yes." Allen pushed a blank piece of paper to Nott. "If she stays in the Chamber of Secrets for too long."

Draco looked up. "Then why are you waiting?"

"Send a message to Harry today, anonymously, just one sentence."

Nott picked up his pen. "What should I write?"

"Keep an eye on the youngest Weasley."

Draco frowned. "You could be clearer."

"If I write it clearly, the note becomes evidence." Allen folded the paper. "Let a first-year Ravenclaw find it, then pass it to Ron. Don't let it pass through Slytherin hands."

Zabini asked, "Ron might not believe it."

"Harry will see it." Allen withdrew his hand. "Ron will deny it at first, but after something happens to Ginny, he will fall apart. If Harry has already put her in his sights, that will be enough."

In the afternoon, Hogwarts became a locked clock. When the bell rang, doors opened, students lined up, Professors escorted them, paintings were driven back into their frames by McGonagall, and even the armor near the Second Floor was devoid of idle chatter.

After Transfiguration Class, McGonagall kept Harry and Ron in the classroom, her gaze landing on the spider leg on the sole of Ron's shoe.

"I will say this again: the Forbidden Forest is not a place for you to prove your friendship. Hagrid's situation will be handled by the Professors."

Harry gripped his schoolbag strap. "But Professor, Hagrid has been taken away, Dumbledore has left, and Hermione is still lying there. Who else can we wait for?"

McGonagall's hand pressed against the edge of the podium. "Wait for a chance to solve the problem while alive, Potter. Dying in the Forbidden Forest won't wake Miss Granger up."

When the two left the classroom, a first-year Ravenclaw bumped into Ron, scattering books all over the floor.

Ron bent down to help, and a narrow slip of paper appeared in his hand.

"This isn't mine." The little boy hugged his books and ran off.

Ron opened the paper, his face changing. "Harry."

Harry took it. There was only one sentence on the paper: Keep an eye on the youngest Weasley.

Ron snatched the paper back. "Who wrote this? What does it mean? What's wrong with Ginny?"

Harry thought of Ginny's pale face, her reaction when she heard about the diary, and the words Hermione had said before the incident.

"We need to talk to her."

"She's just scared." Ron crumpled the paper. "She's a first-year. Hermione has been petrified, Hagrid has been arrested, the school is full of rumors about monsters—of course she's scared."

"Ron, she has been trying to talk to me."

"Then why didn't you listen?" The words left Ron's mouth, and his face went pale first. "I'm sorry."

"Let's go find her now."

They rushed to the Gryffindor Common Room, but Ginny wasn't there.

Fred said she had a headache and went back to her dormitory.

They couldn't enter the girls' dormitory, so they had to ask a second-year girl to check. The girl came down quickly, saying Ginny was sitting on her bed and didn't want to see anyone.

Ron sighed in relief. "See?"

Harry, however, stared at the banister of the staircase. There was a speck of dried ink on it, the color blackened by water.

"Ask her again tonight."

Ron stuffed the paper into his pocket. "Don't tell Percy; he'll treat Ginny like a violation form."

Nott brought the news back to Allen. "The note arrived. Ron reacted strongly, Harry noticed Ginny, and no Professors were alerted."

Draco sneered. "The Weasleys denied it first, as expected."

Pansy asked, "Is that enough?"

"Not enough." Allen drew a line between Harry and Ginny. "But it will make Harry move faster when he hears that Ginny is missing."

"You've already decided she's going to go missing?"

"Tom has no way out." Allen circled the Second Floor Girls Lavatory. "The diary is sealed by Snape, Dumbledore has left the school, Hagrid has been taken away, and Hermione is petrified. Harry knows the clues to the entrance; now is the window for him to trick Harry into going down."

Zabini put down a short note. "On the Board of Governors side, Uncle Lucius is preparing to leave Hogsmeade tomorrow morning, but he is still waiting for new news tonight."

Draco twitched the corner of his mouth. "He is truly patient."

"Patience is a virtue of the Malfoy Family." Zabini put away the note. "But the thing he is waiting for this time will eat people."

In the evening, Ginny appeared in the Great Hall. Her school robes hung loosely, her face was bloodless, and only a few peas remained on her plate, pushed aside.

Just as Harry stood up, Percy sat down next to her first.

Ginny shook her head, tears falling onto her plate. She looked up at Harry, her lips moving.

Ron saw it too. "Ginny?"

Gilderoy Lockhart clapped his hands at the front. "Students, cheer up! Tonight I will host a special morale-boosting event to teach everyone how to use courage to face unknown monsters."

Snape entered from the side door, his footsteps stopping at the edge of the door.

Draco nearly spat out his pumpkin juice.

The Great Hall's attention was drawn away by Gilderoy Lockhart. Ginny lowered her head; the opportunity from just a moment ago was broken.

McGonagall announced that each house should line up to return to their Common Room.

Ron shouted anxiously, "I'll find you later!"

Ginny didn't turn back.

Allen wrote on the parchment: Attempted to speak multiple times, failed; emotions critical.

Draco looked at that line of text. "Will she leave tonight?"

"Not necessarily." Allen put away the paper. "But starting tonight, I won't sleep soundly."

Pansy stared at his face. "How much longer can you hold out?"

"Long enough."

"Your complexion doesn't look like it's 'long enough'."

"My complexion can't go into the Chamber of Secrets for me."

Pansy was blocked by his retort, and it took a while before she said, "People like you will eventually be trapped to death by yourself."

"I'll trap Tom first."

Back in the Dungeon, Allen arranged the final round of division of labor.

"Nott, watch if Harry and Ron leave the tower. Zabini, wait for news from the Board of Governors. Pansy, watch for rumors among the girls. Draco, be responsible for creating the impression that I have been in the Common Room all night."

Draco stared at him. "You're going to disappear again."

"If Ginny goes missing, I'm going to the Second Floor."

"What do I do?"

"Sit here, complain about homework, curse Gilderoy Lockhart, and it's best if you get into an argument with Flint. Make sure everyone remembers that I was sleeping right next to you the whole time."

"You treat me as a witness, and also as an actor."

"You're acting quite well."

"Get lost."

Allen leaned against the fireplace and closed his eyes. Draco deliberately raised his voice to mock Gilderoy Lockhart. Flint took the bait as expected, Pansy rolled her eyes, Zabini tapped his glass with a silver spoon, and Nott noted down everyone who saw Allen sleeping.

Inside the Portable Space, the void plate hovered over the gold-patterned map. The cracked pocket watch no longer flashed; the blue light pointed continuously toward Gryffindor Tower, then turned toward the Second Floor Girls Lavatory, finally sinking into the underground.

Peter was released from the silencing spell. His first sentence was, "Don't let the girl go down alone. Tom needs her life force to complete the projection. He will write on the wall in the Chamber of Secrets, waiting for Harry to come save her."

Allen sat beside the ebony box. "The diary is sealed; how can he write?"

"The host writes." Peter hugged his knees. "He left enough commands in her mind. The more guilty the little girl feels, the more she will do as told. She will feel that going down is the only way to end it."

Allen lit up the anchor point. "That is Tom's fatal weakness. He must keep Ginny alive until the Chamber of Secrets."

Peter shivered. "You're going to follow her down?"

"If she makes it to the entrance."

"The Basilisk is inside."

"I know."

"Tom is also inside. After the projection is complete, if he has a wand, he will kill you."

"He doesn't have a complete body."

"He has the Basilisk."

Allen looked toward the void. The black snake raised its head, its silver pupils reflecting the gold-patterned waterways.

"I have a door."

The sound of the Black Lake water pressed against the window. High up in Gryffindor Tower, Ginny curled up on her bed, sitting up only after her roommates were fast asleep. She reached under her pillow, only to touch empty cloth.

Her hands began to tremble.

"I lost it." She looked at the ink on her fingertips. "Tom, I lost it."

No diary responded to her, but words floated up in her mind.

Find me.

Go end everything.

Go to the Second Floor.

Ginny put on her slippers, threw on her school robe, and walked toward the door.

On the other side, Harry sat up from his bed, hearing the voice in the wall...