My partner at Hogwarts is Tom

Chapter 91 Weasley

The abandoned classroom was filled with the smells of old parchment, dried ink, and dust.

This place was cleverly arranged by the Weasley brothers.

Several worn-out but reasonably clean desks were pushed together, piled high with the twins' "experiments".

.

Some colorful liquid cans bubbling suspiciously, oddly shaped unfinished magical artifact parts, and a few old textbooks with charred or graffiti-covered covers.

There were several Quidditch team posters on the wall, as well as a standard portrait of Percy, the "Boys' Council President," which Fred had drawn a huge X on with a red pen.

At this moment, George Weasley was comfortably reclining in a creaking armchair, his feet propped up on another chair, tossing a fake Galleon that emitted a slight scream in his hand.

Fred stood by a table, directing Ron, who was sweating profusely but whose eyes were full of expectation.

"A little to the left, yes, that purple bottle. Handle it carefully, Ronnie, little darling. It contains the Ultimate Swamp Concentrate. If you spill it, the three of us will be boating in this classroom tonight," Fred said in an exaggerated tone.

Ron carefully carried a glass bottle with a purple label and placed it on the designated shelf. He then wiped the sweat from his forehead, but his face wore an almost fawning smile.

"Don't worry, Fred, I'm fine! Is there anything else to organize? Do the lab records need to be categorized? Should we get rid of this waste first?"

George laughed heartily in his chair: "Look at our dear brother, how diligent he is! It's like he's a completely different person! If we had known that a new wand could make him so—well, so understanding—we should have used this trick sooner."

“Exactly,” Fred stroked his chin, looking thoughtful, “maybe we should start a business, the Weasley Magical Tricks Studio—with a brother-taming service included?”

Ron's face flushed red, but thinking of the new wand that gleamed in Ollivander's shop, supposedly with a unicorn hair core and willow wood, he swallowed his rebuttal and just muttered something.

"Say what you will—just don't forget my new wand."

The story begins a few days ago.

During a battle royale, Ron's old wand "betrayed" him once again. A "Grinning Woohoo" spell he intended to cast backfired at the crucial moment, causing him to laugh so hard he almost passed out, and his opponent took the opportunity to "send" him out of the game.

The twins "happened" to pass by and, seeing this scene, Fred put his arm around Ron's shoulder and said in a tone that was both heartbroken and seductive.

"Ronnie, look at you! How can a Weasley man be held back by a disobedient stick? The brothers have just made a small fortune; it's time to show real brotherly love!"

George chimed in, "That's right! A new wand of your own, one that suits your needs! Just imagine, Ron, no more worries about spell bounces, no more messing things up at crucial moments! You'll be a rising star in Battle Royale! Maybe you'll even make your broom more obedient in the Quidditch selections!"

Thus, after the twins' vivid descriptions and their wonderful anticipation of the new wand, Ron's attitude underwent a complete 180-degree turn in the past few days.

Serving tea and water, tidying up messy "experimental materials," and even helping to test some "safer" prank products.

As a result, his hair turned bright blue, and it took three days to fade, but he did it all without complaint.

All for that new magic wand, which has not yet been obtained but has already been promised, and which seems to shine with the light of hope.

"Don't worry, Ron, Mr. Ollivander has replied, saying that the willow unicorn hair wand is full of gentle resilience, suitable for wizards who need steadfast and loyal qualities"—it sounds like it was made just for you!

Fred patted his chest and assured him, "Once we finish the final work on these protective goggles and the professor settles the remaining payment, we'll take you to Diagon Alley right away!"

Ron's eyes shone even brighter, and he worked even harder.

Just then, the wooden door of the secret base, which had been enchanted with a disguise charm and a simple warning charm, was suddenly pushed open a crack from the outside.

A small, red-haired figure flashed in; it was Ginny Weasley.

But her appearance made her three brothers stop what they were doing instantly.

Ginny's face was as pale as a bed sheet. Her usually bright brown eyes were now red and swollen, filled with tears. Her long, thick eyelashes were wet and stuck together.

She bit her lower lip slightly, her shoulders trembled gently, and she gripped her wand tightly in her hand until her knuckles turned white.

She looked as if she had just experienced great shock and pain, her whole being enveloped in an aura of helplessness and fear.

"Ginny?!" Ron exclaimed first, dropping the bundle of crackling pyrotechnic fuses he was organizing and rushing over. "What's wrong? Who bullied you?!"

George and Fred jumped up from their chairs almost simultaneously, their playful smiles vanishing instantly, replaced by the anger and protectiveness of lions whose territory had been invaded.

In their family, Ginny was the only girl, the little sister who was cherished by her six older brothers.

Needless to say, she was loved by her mother and father. Even the usually serious Percy would soften his expression when he was with Ginny.

The twins and Ron have "protecting their sister" ingrained in their very bones.

Seeing their sister like this, their anger flared up instantly.

Fred strode up to Ginny, crouched down, and spoke in an unusually gentle voice, but his eyes burned with rage.

"Ginny, baby, tell your brother what happened? Which blind bastard dared to make you cry? I promise he'll regret being born at Hogwarts—no, regret being born!"

George also came over, his wand already slipping quietly into his hand. He scanned Ginny's entire body, checking for any signs of injury, his tone softening but still tense.

"Take your time, Ginny. With us here, no one can hurt you."

Ron was so angry that his face turned red and his fists clenched.

"Is it Malfoy? Or some Slytherin guy? I'm going to find him right now!"

Surrounded by her brothers and feeling their undisguised concern and anger, Ginny's tears fell even harder.

She sobbed, beginning to speak haltingly, her voice slurred from crying: "No, it wasn't someone else—it was, it was myself—I, I think—I am that—that bad person who released the monster—"

The three older brothers were stunned and looked at each other in bewilderment.

"What monster? Ginny, explain yourself clearly." George pressed down on Fred's shoulder, signaling him to calm down, and moved closer to him.

Ginny wiped her tears hard with the back of her hand, trying hard to find the words to express herself.

"Before school started—in Diagon Alley—among the secondhand textbooks I bought—there was a diary—with a black cover, it looked very old—it could talk to me—I wrote in it, and it would answer—"

"A talking diary?" Ron frowned, feeling that the name sounded familiar.

Fred and George's expressions changed instantly.

They exchanged an extremely serious look, Professor Victor's final warning at the Duel Club vividly resurfacing in their minds.

"Always be vigilant, especially against any magical items that attempt to make you think independently, grant you special abilities, or provide secret knowledge."

Ginny continued sobbing, "At first—I thought it was fun—so I talked to it—about Hogwarts—about my troubles—and—and Harry Potter—"

Her face flushed slightly at the mention of Harry's name, but was quickly overwhelmed by a deeper fear.

"But later—the more I wrote—the more I felt something was wrong—sometimes in class or while eating, I would suddenly drift off—and when I woke up, I couldn't remember what had just happened—sometimes I would wake up in the morning—and find my robe dirty and my hands muddy—but I had absolutely no recollection of going out at night—"

"Like sleepwalking?" George asked in a deep voice, his tone devoid of any humor.

Ginny nodded vigorously, tears welling up in her eyes again.

"I... I started to get scared—then, after listening to Professor Scamander's warning—the more I thought about it, the more scared I became—yesterday afternoon, I... I threw it away—I threw it into the broom shed on the fifth floor of the castle, the one that hadn't been used for a long time—"

"Well done, Ginny!" Ron couldn't help but praise, thinking his sister had done the right thing.

"But—but the more I think about it today, the more something seems wrong—"

Ginny's voice was filled with lingering fear and self-blame.

"I felt I should tell the professor—whatever it was, an adult should know—so during lunch break, I went back to look for it—hoping to retrieve it and give it to Professor McGonagall or Professor Scamander—"

She looked up, her tear-filled eyes filled with fear.

"But—it's gone! There's nothing in that broom shed! I searched every corner—it's vanished!"

"Did someone pick it up?" Fred asked immediately, his eyes sharp.

"Or—it left on its own." George's voice was as cold as ice.

A diary that can talk, influence one's mind, and even potentially control one's actions—this perfectly describes it!

Seeing her brothers' unusually serious, even somewhat frightening, expressions, Ginny became even more terrified and burst into tears.

"I...I'm so scared—I don't know what it is—but I feel that the recent events in the castle—Lady Lorris being petrified—and those rumored monsters—may, might all be related to me—I brought it in—I wrote so much—did I—unintentionally awaken it? Did I—harm everyone?"

She was almost overwhelmed by intense guilt and fear.

As a first-year student, she was under immense psychological pressure in the face of such a bizarre and terrifying event.

"No, Ginny, it's not your fault!" Ron quickly comforted her. "You don't even know what that thing is!"

But Fred and George didn't offer immediate comfort. Their expressions were terribly grave; the telepathic connection between the twins allowed them to instantly understand each other's thoughts.

The seriousness of this matter far exceeds any prank or even adventure they usually handle.

The involvement of a locked room, a monster within the locked room, and the possibility that the younger sister was influenced or even controlled by that thing—this is extremely dangerous.

We cannot allow Ginny to remain in this state, nor can we expose her to any potential lingering effects.

She must be brought to someone who is absolutely safe and capable of handling the situation immediately.

Without exchanging words, Fred and George reached a consensus in a very short moment.

Fred subtly winked at George, his fingers twitching slightly behind his back.

George nodded almost imperceptibly.

Just as Ginny's vision blurred with tears, and Ron helplessly tried to pat her shoulder to comfort her—

"Faint!" George's wand rose silently, and a soft red light shot precisely at Ginny.

"Bind him up quickly!" Almost simultaneously, Fred pulled a tough, faintly magically glowing girdle from his seemingly ordinary but actually cleverly concealed pocket.

This was originally used to test some kind of "automatic packaging" product; with a flick of the wrist, the strap shot out like a live snake.

The instant Ginny was struck by the Stunning Curse and her body went limp, she was quickly and methodically wrapped around from shoulder to ankle, the movements so fast that they were just afterimages.

In the blink of an eye, Ginny was wrapped up like a red cocoon, with only her pale, tear-streaked, sleeping face showing. She was firmly secured by magical belts and suspended in the air, a foot off the ground.

"What are you doing?!" Ron was stunned by the sudden turn of events, then roared in fury, lunging at Fred. "Let her go! Are you all crazy?! That's Ginny!"

Fred easily blocked Ron's punch, his face showing a sternness and urgency Ron had never seen before.

"Shut up, Ron! There's no time for explanations! This is serious, a million times more serious than you think! Ginny might be in danger, we have to take her to someone who can handle this immediately!"

"Who are you going to see? What are you going to do to her?" Ron was both shocked and angry, and he still tried to struggle.

George had already used a levitation charm to levitate Ginny, who was wrapped up like a mummy, and he looked at Ron, speaking rapidly.

"Go to Professor Victor! Only he and Headmaster Dumbledore might know how to handle these talking dark magical artifacts! Ginny was affected by that thing, and we don't know if there's anything left on her body or in her mind. Putting her to sleep and isolating her is the safest thing to do right now! Hurry up and follow me, no more talking!"

After saying that, Fred shoved aside the still-dazed Ron, and together with George, protected the levitating Ginny, and rushed out of the abandoned classroom, sprinting towards the Magical Creatures Protection Department office on the second floor.

Ron stood there for a second, watching his brothers' unprecedentedly solemn attitude and his sister being led away wrapped up. Although his mind was still a mess, a strong sense of worry and the thought that "I must follow" drove him to take off after them.

"Wait for me! Fred! George! What's going on?!"

In the corridor, the sight of three red-haired boys, one of whom was dragging a floating "red cocoon" as he hurriedly ran drew the attention of a few passing students.

But the twins had no time for pretense or explanation; they had only one goal—to get to Victor Scamander as quickly as possible.

As Fred ran, he whispered to George beside him, his voice filled with barely suppressed worry and lingering fear.

"That diary—if it really is that thing—Ginny wrote in it for months—Merlin—"

George's face was equally grim: "Her 'sleepwalking' and 'being dirty'—it's probably not sleepwalking. We need the professor to examine her memory, check her for any signs of being cursed—and, we must find that missing diary immediately!"

Their eyes met, and they both saw the determination and coldness in each other's eyes.

Whoever has that diary now, and whatever it is, since it has hurt their sister and threatens the entire Hogwarts, the Weasley brothers will never let it go.

Protecting one's family and defending Hogwarts became the same thing at that moment.

The sound of hurried footsteps echoed through the castle corridors, rapidly approaching the place that might hold the answer and hope.