My partner at Hogwarts is Tom

Chapter 92 Memories

The sound of hurried footsteps echoed in the empty corridor as the three of them escorted the floating Ginny all the way to the second floor.

Fred and George's faces no longer held their usual playful smiles; instead, they displayed a tense tension mixed with anxiety, anger, and resolve.

Ron followed closely behind, panting, his mind a jumbled mess, filled only with worry for his sister and confusion about his brothers' actions.

They finally rushed to the door of the Magical Creatures Protection Division office.

Fred didn't even bother to knock; he just rammed the unlocked door with his shoulder, and it opened with a thud.

The office was warmly lit and filled with the gentle scents of hay, herbs, and some kind of animal fur.

Victor was facing away from the door, seemingly consulting a huge illustrated book lying on the table, while Tom on his shoulder looked up alertly.

Hearing the banging on the door, Victor turned around and saw the three panting brothers at the door, and the floating figure among them, completely wrapped in magical bands, with only a pale face showing. His usual gentle smile froze instantly, and a hint of astonishment flashed in his blue-gray eyes.

"—Mr. Weasleys?" Victor's gaze swept quickly over the three men, finally settling on the unconscious Ginny, his brow furrowing slightly. "This is...?"

He immediately turned to the side, and with a silent wave of his wand, the office door closed gently behind them and locked automatically, cutting off all outside sight and sound.

"Come in."

Fred and George practically "rushed" in, carefully controlling the floating Ginny and gently landing her on a soft, thick carpet in the center of the office.

Ron was the last to enter. He slammed the door shut behind him, leaned against it, his chest heaving violently, and stared intently at his sister on the floor.

"Professor! It's Ginny! She—" Ron tried to speak urgently.

George interrupted him and began to speak rapidly but clearly.

"Professor, Ginny may have been affected by a very dangerous dark magic artifact! A talking diary! She found it in a secondhand bookstore she bought in Diagon Alley before the start of the semester, and she's been 'talking' to it ever since."

"She's been experiencing memory gaps and seems to be sleepwalking. After your warning, she threw it away yesterday, but when she went to look for it today, she found the diary was gone! She's terrified and thinks she might be the one who unleashed the monster!"

Fred added in a low voice, "We were worried that there were still residual effects on her, or that thing had done something through her—so we had to put her to sleep and restrain her. Professor, that diary—it perfectly matches the characteristics you warned about before!"

As Viktor listened, the gentle expression on his face quickly faded, replaced by a focused and serious one.

He crouched down and carefully examined Ginny's face, which was still slightly furrowed in her sleep. He then reached out and pressed his hand lightly above Ginny's forehead, as if sensing something.

After a moment, he stood up, his face solemn.

"Well done, gentlemen. In this situation, isolation and seeking professional help are the wisest choices." He praised them, then waved his wand without hesitation.

A soft yet firm silver light flowed from the tip of his staff, like mercury spilling onto the ground, quickly covering Fred's magical band and making the binding magic even brighter and more stable.

"For absolute safety, temporarily strengthen the restraints."

At the same time, he had already waved the magic wand in his hand.

"Protect the Gods!"

Silvery-white light burst forth from the tip of the staff like a gushing spring, transforming into a guardian deity completely enveloped in a dense, almost tangible, silvery-white mist.

Victor whispered quickly to the unique, silvery-white guardian spirit.

Immediately, the silver-white guardian deity transformed into a condensed silver stream of light, passing through the wall at an astonishing speed and disappearing into the ceiling.

Then, he gently touched the tip of his wand to Ginny's temple, closed his eyes, and chanted a deep, ancient incantation.

The tip of the wand emitted a soft, milky-white light, like a searchlight, slowly sweeping over Ginny's entire body, from head to toe.

Wherever the light passed, it occasionally stirred up tiny, ominous dark ripples, like silt rising from the bottom of clear water.

Viktor's expression grew increasingly grim as the examination progressed.

His brows were furrowed, and his lips were pressed into a straight line. His originally gentle demeanor was now replaced by a cold and solemn air.

The twins and Ron were on tenterhooks.

They had never seen Professor Victor with such a stern expression, not even when facing the most ferocious magical creatures.

The air in the office seemed to freeze, with only the occasional, uneasily swishing sound of Tom's tail and Victor's deep chanting of spells remaining.

Finally, Victor lowered his wand, and the milky-white probing light dissipated.

He opened his eyes and looked at the three brothers who were extremely nervous.

"Professor! How is Ginny?" the three asked almost in unison, their voices filled with urgency and fear.

Viktor took a deep breath, his voice steady but carrying an unmistakable seriousness.

"Her main problems are twofold. First, some of her memories have been skillfully modified and blocked, especially those related to her contact with the diary and certain blank periods. These memories have become blurred and fragmented, which is likely the effect of a sophisticated obfuscation spell or memory manipulation technique."

Seeing the three brothers' faces turn deathly pale, he immediately added.

"The good news is that this modification is not irreversible or permanent damage. With the help of a powerful 'legendary memory' master or a specialized memory therapist, it is possible to sort out and recover the obscured true memories."

He paused, then continued, "Secondly, and more worryingly, is the fact that her vitality and magic have been continuously and slowly drained."

"The amount isn't large, but for a first-year witch, this continuous blood loss" will make her weak, tired, and less resistant, and may cause her to faint or experience unstable magic when she is emotionally agitated or has a high level of magical energy depletion.

Ron gasped, while Fred and George clenched their fists so tightly they cracked.

"However," Victor's tone softened, giving them a glimmer of hope.

"The damage caused by this absorption can also be recovered through careful use of magical potions, adequate nutrition, and a period of rest."

"Her magic core is not permanently damaged, and her life force will slowly recover on its own as the source of her energy is interrupted. What she needs is time and proper treatment."

Hearing that Ginny's condition could recover, the three of them relaxed a little, but the thought that their sister had been so viciously harmed for months without their knowledge reignited their anger.

Just then, a knock sounded on the door, short and forceful.

Victor quickly walked over and opened the door.

Albus Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall stood outside the door, both with unusually serious expressions. Dumbledore's blue eyes behind his half-moon spectacles were sharp as an eagle's, while Professor McGonagall's lips were tightly pressed together, and her brows were furrowed so deeply they could trap a fly.

"Victor—" Dumbledore's voice trailed off when he saw Ginny bound on the carpet in the office.

He and Professor McGonagall quickly walked in, their eyes fixed on the small red figure.

"Albus, Minerva," Viktor said in a deep voice.

"The situation is worse than we anticipated. Miss Ginny Weasley, the chosen one. A diary, suspected to be a dark magic artifact, influenced and partially controlled her for months, draining her life force and magic, and altering her memories. The diary is currently missing."

Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall's expressions instantly became even more serious.

Professor McGonagall covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes filled with shock and heartache.

Dumbledore slowly walked to Ginny's side, squatted down, and carefully examined her pale face. His gaze seemed to penetrate her skin and flesh, revealing the dark imprints remaining deep within her soul.

He stood up and, without any hesitation, gently beckoned with his hand.

With a clear, melodious cry, a dazzling golden-red flame bloomed in the office, and Fawkes the Phoenix gracefully appeared on Dumbledore's raised arm.

Dumbledore quickly pulled a parchment and a quill from his pocket, wrote a few lines at a speed too fast to read, rolled it up, tied it with a thin golden cord, and handed it to Fawkes.

"Take this to Arthur and Molly, immediately, Fawkes. Tell them it's urgent, it concerns Ginny's safety, and ask them to come to Hogwarts through you at once." Dumbledore's voice was deep and powerful.

Fox picked up the letter, tilted its head back and let out a short, loud cry, then transformed into a ball of blazing flame and vanished into the air in an instant, leaving only a few slowly drifting golden-red feathers.

A brief silence fell over the office, broken only by the crackling of burning wood in the fireplace.

The twins and Ron looked nervously at Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall, then at Victor, and finally back at their sister, their hearts filled with apprehension about their parents' impending arrival and anger at the unknown danger.

A moment later, two figures emerged somewhat unsteadily from the flames that Fox had transformed into, accompanied by swirling sparks.

It was Arthur Weasley and Molly Weasley.

Arthur's usual kind smile vanished, replaced by deep anxiety and confusion, his eyes behind his glasses scanning the room anxiously.

Molly's face turned deathly pale. The moment she emerged, her gaze locked onto Ginny, who was bound on the ground. She let out a suppressed gasp: "Ginny! My darling!"

She almost lunged forward, but Dumbledore stopped her gently but firmly.

"Molly, Arthur, please calm down. Ginny is currently in a protected coma for her safety. We need to understand the situation first."

Victor stepped forward and succinctly recounted to the Weasleys what he had just told the twins and Ron, emphasizing the issues of memory manipulation and life force extraction, as well as the terrifying speculation that the diary might be a Horcrux.

Upon hearing the words "memory modification" and "life force draining," Arthur's face turned pale, while Molly swayed and was caught by Arthur in time. Tears welled up in her eyes instantly as she was overwhelmed by immense fear and heartache.

"Who—who did this to my little daughter—" Molly's voice trembled, filled with the fury and grief of a mother beast.

"We suspect it is a terrible dark magic artifact," Dumbledore said in a deep voice.

"To ascertain this, and to understand what Ginny went through and what the purpose of that diary was, we need to examine her altered memories. This requires your consent, Arthur, Molly."

Arthur and Molly exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with pain and struggle, but even more so with concern for their daughter's safety and a yearning for the truth.

Arthur gripped his wife's trembling hand tightly, took a deep breath, looked at Dumbledore, and nodded vigorously.

"We agree, Albus. Please—please find out what happened and save our Ginny!"

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"I will do my best," Dumbledore solemnly promised. He turned to the twins and Ron.

"Fred, George, Ron. You did a great job, very brave and decisive. But now, the next steps require more careful handling. Please leave the office and return to the common lounge as usual."

"Remember, don't mention anything about Ginny and the diary to anyone for now, including your other brothers. This is to protect Ginny, and also to protect Hogwarts."

Although the twins and Ron were extremely reluctant to leave, especially seeing their parents' grief and their comatose sister, they also understood the seriousness of the situation.

George gritted his teeth, Fred nodded heavily, and Ron, with red eyes, took one last look at Ginny before silently leaving Victor's office with his brothers.

The door closed gently behind them, shutting out the world inside.

Only five adults and the sleeping little witch remained in the office.

Dumbledore walked to the center of the room, his wand tracing a complex path through the air.

Silver light gathered and flowed, eventually forming a rough, ancient stone basin phantom more than a meter above the ground. The phantom quickly solidified, transforming into a meditation basin radiating a soft, pearly luster, and slowly landed on a sturdy small table next to Viktor's desk.

Then, Dumbledore gently tapped the tip of the Elder Wand on Ginny's temple once more.

He closed his eyes and concentrated, chanting ancient and mysterious incantations.

This time, the tip of the staff no longer emitted a probing white light, but rather strands of something like silver threads.

The threads were dim and discontinuous, sometimes clear and sometimes blurry, and in some places they looked like they were tied in knots or simply broken.

They wriggled as if they were alive, carefully guided by Dumbledore, until they all finally disappeared into the Pensieve, which resembled a surface of liquid moonlight.

The silver substance inside the meditation basin began to slowly rotate, creating ripples.

Dumbledore, McGonagall, Victor, and the Weasleys, who were huddled together, gathered around the Pensieve, exchanged solemn glances, and then pressed their faces close to the shimmering silver surface.

Their consciousness was instantly absorbed.

Above the Pensieve, silvery clouds began to churn and condense, and fragmented yet clear images emerged like those in an old-fashioned film—

Ginny curled up in bed, the curtains drawn, with only the faint light provided by the "flickering" of her wand tip.

A black-covered, tattered-looking diary lay open in front of her.

She bit the end of the quill pen, hesitated for a moment, and then wrote on the blank page.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

The handwriting slowly disappeared. A moment later, a line of elegant, flowing handwriting, completely different from Ginny's, appeared.

"Hello. I'm Tom Riddle. Who are you?"

Then the scene suddenly changed.

Ginny secretly wrote in her diary in various corners of the castle, behind secluded bookshelves in the library, in empty classrooms, and even in the broom's shed.

Her expression changed from curiosity and excitement to dependence and confiding.

The handwriting in the diary always maintained that elegant yet strangely attractive tone, patiently responding and occasionally "sharing" some "Hogwarts secrets" or "interesting magic".

Ginny's figure appeared somewhat stiff, her eyes vacant, and she clutched the black diary tightly in her hand.

She hid behind the bushes, watching the lights of Hagrid's cabin, motionless, as if waiting for something, or like a puppet set in motion.

The image blurred for a moment.

Ginny stood in the open space outside Hagrid's hut, a few bright feathers scattered around her, and her robes and hands were stained with specks of dark blood.

Her eyes regained some of their light, but were filled with confusion and a vague fear. She looked down at her hands, then at the closed door of Hagrid's hut in the distance, then suddenly turned and stumbled away.

A girls' washroom that looks long abandoned, with exposed pipes and a dried-up sink.

Ginny stood in front of a pool with a snake relief carving.

The scene shifts again, this time showing her holding the diary as if it were a red-hot branding iron. Her face is covered in tears, her eyes filled with extreme fear and resistance, and her lips move as if she is screaming silently.

Finally, with all her might, she threw the diary into the abandoned classroom.

Ginny immediately collapsed to the ground, covering her face and sobbing.

The scene then begins to fluctuate and shatter violently, with silvery clouds churning, as if Ginny's altered and repressed memories are creating intense resistance and chaos, making it impossible to extract any more coherent and clear images.

The five people's consciousnesses were withdrawn from the Pensieve and returned to the reality of the office.

silence.

A suffocating silence.

Only Molly's suppressed, heartbroken sobs and Arthur's heavy breathing could be heard.

Dumbledore slowly straightened up, every wrinkle on his face seemingly etched with deep weariness and icy rage.

The sparkle that used to dance in his deep blue eyes was gone, replaced by a icy sharpness and a heavy resolve.

"That abandoned girls' restroom on the second floor," he said in a low voice, his voice unusually clear in the silence, "that—is very likely the entrance to the secret room."

Upon hearing Dumbledore's words, Professor McGonagall gasped, while Victor's eyes sharpened like knives.

The Weasleys hugged each other tightly, feeling both fear and anger at the thought of their daughter being so close to such horror.

"We must find that diary," Dumbledore said firmly.

"Before it finds its next friend," or uses the power it draws from Ginny to do something even more terrible.

His gaze swept over the crowd, finally settling on Viktor.

"Viktor, I need your assistance, Minerva, to immediately conduct a highly secretive search of the entire school, focusing on the washroom and all suspicious corners. At the same time, increase security and patrols at the playground; it's crowded and could be a target."

"Arthur, Molly, and Ginny need immediate and meticulous protection and treatment. I will contact the experts at St. Mungo's, but until then, it will be safer for her to remain at Hogwarts under the care of Madam Pomfrey and Victor. I will have Severus prepare the Restoration Potion."

He paused, gazing out the window at the deepening twilight, as if he could see through the wall the ominous black diary hidden in some corner of the castle.

"Tom Riddle—" Dumbledore murmured the name, as if it were an ancient curse.

The fireplace flames leaped uneasily, casting the shadows of the crowd onto the wall, flickering like lurking beasts.