"Miss Weasley?" Professor McGonagall exclaimed in surprise.
Ginny Weasley stood there looking lost, her wand held by a nearby House-elf.
"What is the meaning of this?" Professor Sprout frowned. "Why would a first-year Gryffindor try to break into the Hufflepuff common room?"
"I believe you owe us an explanation, Miss Weasley!" Professor McGonagall said sternly.
Ginny stammered, "Professor McGonagall... I think... the Chamber of Secrets... I might have been the one who opened it..."
"What?" All six teachers turned their eyes on her at once.
"Professor McGonagall..." Ginny suddenly burst into tears. "I feel like I've been losing time. So many times, I've found feathers all over my robes and I have no idea how they got there...
"I don't remember what I did on Halloween, but a cat was killed, and there was paint all over my chest... On the day of the Quidditch match, Colin told me he was going to visit Harry in the hospital that night, and then he was attacked—I don't remember what I did then either... The day before yesterday, Percy said I looked pale and was acting strangely. I think he was starting to suspect me... And then that night, he was attacked too, and again—I can't remember where I was...
"I think... I was the one who hurt them all, Professor McGonagall!"
The expression on every teacher's face grew serious—even Gilderoy Lockhart looked grim.
"Take your time, Ginny. Just tell us everything. I believe you," Professor Lockhart said as he walked over. His voice was quiet, but oddly reassuring.
"The diary... I found it in a book my mum gave me. I thought someone had just left it there and forgotten about it... I wrote in it, and it wrote back. It said its name was 'Tom Riddle'..." Ginny sobbed.
At the mention of "Tom Riddle," Professor McGonagall visibly flinched.
"I tried to get rid of it—I threw it down a toilet... but Zacharias said he found it. I was scared my secret would be discovered, so I tried to sneak into the Hufflepuff common room to take it back... I heard Fred and George talking once about how to get into Hufflepuff's common room, so I..."
...
"What's going on, Minerva?" Ten minutes later, Professor Albus Dumbledore, the former Headmaster of Hogwarts, returned to his old office, holding a letter.
A deep red bird, the size of a crane, stood perched on his shoulder, making for a slightly comical sight.
"Albus... Miss Weasley told us something useful—about the Chamber of Secrets. After some discussion, we agreed you should come back and handle this," Professor McGonagall said, her expression grave.
"I see." Professor Dumbledore nodded with a smile, then turned to greet Ginny Weasley, who was standing behind Professor McGonagall with a terrified look on her face. "Good afternoon, Miss Weasley."
Dumbledore looked directly into her eyes. His pale blue gaze was soft and calming.
They held eye contact for several long moments.
Finally, Dumbledore turned away.
"Miss Weasley should go to the Hospital Wing immediately," he said firmly. "I imagine what she's been through has been incredibly traumatic... The school will not punish her. Many witches and wizards far older and wiser than her have been deceived by Voldemort."
Professor McGonagall nodded and waved toward the door.
Madam Pomfrey, who had been waiting outside, hurried into the office.
"Come with me to the Hospital Wing, dear... Everything will be alright," she said gently.
"As for us, we must now locate the Chamber of Secrets," Dumbledore said with a smile. He pulled his slightly peculiar Elder Wand from his robes and began carefully polishing it with a handkerchief.
"Miss Weasley's memory has been tampered with!" Professor McGonagall said quickly. "She can hardly recall anything she's done..."
"One of Tom's little tricks," Dumbledore replied calmly. "Without damaging her mind entirely, retrieving those lost memories will be difficult... but he's bound to have left some traces behind."
"What kind of traces...?"
But Dumbledore shifted the topic. "What about the diary Miss Weasley mentioned? She said it was in the Hufflepuff common room?"
"It wasn't," Professor McGonagall shook her head. "Pomona found Mr. Smith and retrieved it. Professor Snape examined it thoroughly and insisted it was an ordinary Muggle item—not enchanted with any dark magic."
"It's right over there," she added, pointing to a diary encased in glass on the headmaster's desk. "Would you like to inspect it?"
"No need. I trust Severus," Dumbledore said with a wink and a smile. "Besides, it doesn't match Miss Weasley's description... Perhaps just a curious coincidence?"
Professor McGonagall nodded.
"Let's go. Call Severus, Pomona, and Filius. We'll take a look at that disused bathroom between the first floor and the dungeons," Dumbledore suggested.
"Is there something wrong with it?"
"Miss Weasley seems to recall being there more than once... For a first-year Gryffindor, that's unusual. Apart from Potions class, she shouldn't have any reason to be there."
...
"Professor Dumbledore, over here!" came Professor Flitwick's sharp voice the moment they entered the bathroom.
"What have you found, Filius?"
Dumbledore bent down in the direction Flitwick indicated, and under one of the sinks, he saw a line of writing:
I am Ginny Weasley.
I think I opened the Chamber of Secrets.
Something is controlling my mind.
The entrance to the Chamber seems to be beneath the tap on the right-hand sink.
It requires Parseltongue to open.
Help me...
"Just as I thought!" Professor McGonagall gasped.
Dumbledore paused for a second, then smiled.
"What is it?" asked Professor Sprout, puzzled.
"Interesting—very interesting," Dumbledore said as he stood and shook his head with a smile. "From the strange behavior of the spiders that Pomona and Silvanus noticed, to Miss Weasley's accidental capture, and now this writing... It almost feels like someone is guiding us toward the next step."
"Albus, are you saying this is a trap?" came Professor Snape's cold voice from the side.
"That's unlikely... Tom wouldn't come up with something so foolish. And he wouldn't dare try to trap me," Dumbledore said with confidence. "Still, if we're going to open the Chamber, we may need someone who speaks Parseltongue."
"Potter..." Snape murmured.
"Exactly," Dumbledore said. "Minerva, perhaps you should fetch Mr. Potter."
"Yes, Headmaster."
Professor McGonagall turned and left, while Professors Flitwick and Sprout continued studying the inscription on the sink.
"Albus, don't you think all of this is a bit too convenient?" Snape asked in a low voice.
"Is it?" Dumbledore nodded. "Perhaps it is all just coincidence... or perhaps not. Who knows?"