As Halloween approached, the atmosphere at Hogwarts grew lively.
Sean also began paying extra attention to Ginny, which made Blaise, ever-sensitive to such things, wonder if Sean had a crush on her. In a roundabout way, Blaise cautioned Sean that, even in the wizarding world, Ginny was a bit too young, suggesting he wait until she was older.
Sean's response was a playful barrage of punches, leaving Blaise yelping in protest.
"Sean, aren't you going to the Great Hall?" Blaise asked.
"No, I've got other things to do."
"Need me to come with you?"
"Not for now. Head to the Great Hall. Andy and Jason are probably there. Let them know I won't be stopping by to tell them myself."
"Alright, I'm off."
Having experienced Sean's sudden disappearances last year, Blaise was used to it. When Sean wanted to act alone, Blaise didn't pry and went about his own business.
Watching Blaise leave, Sean noted the Slytherin common room was nearly empty. Even Slytherins loved holidays, and most had already headed to the Great Hall. Rumor had it Dumbledore had arranged a skeleton dance troupe to entertain everyone—a rare treat for the young witches and wizards.
Stretching briefly, Sean grabbed his potion kit and left the common room. In the dark corridor outside, he cast the Disillusionment Charm, blending seamlessly into his surroundings.
Ginny awoke from her faint, her eyes darting nervously around the unfamiliar space. It appeared to be an old, abandoned girls' bathroom, long unused. Scrambling to her feet, she glanced around and immediately spotted an old diary nearby. Instinctively, she reached for it, but the moment her fingers brushed it, she froze.
Ginny wasn't a foolish girl—far from it. She was clever.
At first, she hadn't noticed anything unusual, but after so many strange incidents, she realized her recent troubles all stemmed from this diary. A thought struck her: she should leave it here and walk away. Her parents had warned her that magical objects with a mind of their own were to be discarded immediately—they were almost certainly dark magic.
Yet, at the same time, the boy in the diary, Tom Riddle, was the most understanding and empathetic person she'd ever met in her short life. Ginny had come to see him as a friend, one she couldn't bear to abandon.
In that moment, as reluctance to part with Riddle and the diary welled up, a shadowy figure appeared beside her, whispering in her ear. "Ginny, let's go back. Take me with you. We can talk—about your feelings for Harry Potter, about those little thoughts you can't share with anyone else. You'd love to share them with a friend like me, wouldn't you?"
Hearing the figure's voice, Ginny's eyes grew hazy. She nodded slowly, reaching out to clutch the diary to her chest, murmuring as if in a dream, "Yes, Tom is my best friend. I won't abandon him. He'd never mean me harm. He's my friend, my best friend."
"Exactly. I'm your best friend. I need your protection. Come, take me back, let's leave this place."
The Basilisk had already been released, and Tom Riddle, using his identity as Slytherin's heir, had given it orders. All that remained was to manipulate Ginny into leaving clues at the scene of the Basilisk's attack.
The diary controlled Ginny, guiding her to the site of the Basilisk's carnage. Seeing Filch's cat, Mrs. Norris, lying on the ground, the soul fragment of Voldemort within the diary frowned slightly. He could tell at a glance that Mrs. Norris wasn't dead—just petrified.
Noticing the water on the floor, the diary understood why. Petrification or not, it didn't matter. The chaos on Halloween was deliberate—most students and staff were in the Great Hall, making it less likely for him to be noticed. But time was running short; someone could arrive soon. Petrified cat or not, it was enough to spark panic.
Controlling Ginny, the diary made her wave her wand, leaving two lines of blood-red writing on the wall:
The Chamber of Secrets has been opened.
Enemies of the heir, beware!
With that done, the diary prepared to make Ginny leave.
But at that moment, a red flash erupted behind her. The next second, the light struck Ginny, knocking her unconscious.
As Ginny began to fall, an invisible force caught her, preventing her from crashing to the ground and getting hurt.
Sean approached Ginny, his gloved left hand reaching into her arms to retrieve the diary. He slipped it into a bag, then, controlling Ginny's body, quickly left the area.
Not long after Sean departed, Harry, Ron, and Hermione arrived from another direction. They saw the petrified Mrs. Norris and the writing on the wall.
Meanwhile, Sean had placed Ginny in the shadows of a secluded corner. Glancing at her, still unconscious, he turned and left, returning with the diary to the Slytherin common room and his own room.
He had already sent Kurkan to Blaise's room to prevent Voldemort's soul fragment in the diary from controlling it with Parseltongue. Kurkan had been quite unhappy about this, only calming down after Sean promised to visit daily.
Sitting at his desk, Sean took out the diary and removed his gloves. Just as he was about to open it, his system panel suddenly appeared, displaying a prompt he'd never seen before.
[Horcrux of the same origin detected…]
[Soul fragment of the same origin detected…]
[Can be absorbed to initiate third magical awakening.]
[Prerequisite for conversion: Defeat the soul fragment in a duel.]
[Soul fragment can be extracted at any time.]
[Extract soul fragment for duel now?]
Staring at the prompt, Sean immediately selected No.
No he wasn't about to pass up a chance for a third magical awakening, but now wasn't the time.
Picking up a quill, Sean opened the diary and wrote a single line.
"Hello, Tom!"