Ron looked at Harry seriously.
"Harry, I also have something I want to tell you."
"What is it?"
Ron recounted everything he had heard from Hagrid that afternoon.
Harry sat up abruptly.
"What? Ginny? No way!"
"I didn't believe it at first either," Ron said, a little nervous.
"But Charlie wouldn't lie about something like this."
"And Hermione said it might be that Ginny was affected by some Dark Arts object."
Harry's heart began to pound.
Seamus groggily lifted his head: "What are you guys talking about? Aren't you sleeping yet?"
"Nothing, go back to sleep," Ron whispered.
He didn't want too many people to know about this; it wouldn't be good for Ginny.
Once Seamus lay back down, Ron leaned closer to Harry and whispered:
"Harry, I have to figure out what's wrong with Ginny."
"Can you help me?"
Harry nodded without hesitation.
"Of course."
"Charlie said Ginny goes out at night," a flicker of determination crossed Ron's eyes.
"We can wait in the common room and see where she goes."
After they had planned everything, Harry took out his Invisibility Cloak from his trunk.
He had lost his Invisibility Cloak last semester, but it was returned not long after, and Harry guessed Dumbledore had sent it to him.
"Let's go."
The two put on the Invisibility Cloak and tiptoed out of the dormitory.
The Gryffindor common room was pitch black, with only the embers in the fireplace still faintly glowing.
They found a corner to sit in and waited quietly.
Time passed by minute by minute.
Harry felt his eyelids getting heavier and heavier.
Just then, a faint sound of footsteps came from the girls' dormitory stairs.
Ron immediately perked up and nudged Harry with his elbow.
A slender figure descended the stairs.
Moonlight streamed through the window onto her; it was Ginny.
She was wearing a nightgown, barefoot, her face indistinct in the shadows.
He wanted to rush over but was held back by Harry.
"Wait," Harry whispered in his ear.
"Let's see where she's going."
Ginny walked straight towards the fat lady's portrait, which was the entrance to the common room.
Harry suddenly pulled off the Invisibility Cloak.
"Ginny!"
Ginny turned calmly, as if nothing had happened.
"Harry? Ron?" Her voice sounded normal.
"What are you two doing here?"
Ron stepped forward, asking somewhat excitedly.
"Ginny, where are you going in the middle of the night?"
Ginny blinked, an innocent expression on her face.
"I'm hungry, I wanted to get something to eat."
Her expression was flawless, and her tone was natural.
Ron and Harry exchanged glances.
Could Charlie have been wrong?
Harry narrowed his eyes.
"Then go to the kitchen and get something to eat."
"Remember? I told you where it was."
Ron looked at Harry in confusion.
Brother, what kitchen? Why didn't you tell me?
Ginny paused, then nodded.
"I remember, I was just about to go there."
A glint flashed in Harry's eyes.
"I never told Ginny where the kitchen was!" he shouted.
"You're not Ginny!"
Ron rushed forward in anger.
"Let go of my sister!"
But Ginny, or rather Tom Riddle, moved with unusual agility.
He dodged Ron with a swift movement and then quickly ran towards the portrait hole.
Tom's face was grim; he hadn't expected to be outsmarted by a child.
Now that he was exposed, the Gryffindor dormitory was no longer safe, and he needed to find a new target.
"Stop!" Harry and Ron chased after him simultaneously.
But Ginny's speed was astonishing, completely unlike an eleven-year-old girl.
She flew down the corridor, her footsteps as light as a cat's.
Harry and Ron chased desperately, but the distance between them grew wider and wider.
"Damn it!" Ron panted.
"How can she run so fast?"
By the time they reached the third floor, Ginny's figure had already vanished at the end of the corridor.
"Lost her," Harry stopped, gasping for breath.
Ron stubbornly kept going, wanting to find Ginny.
Harry caught his breath and followed him... Tom, controlling Ginny's body, hurried through the corridor.
His face was terrifyingly grim.
Over a month of careful planning, over a month of consciousness erosion, ruined by two brats.
Damn Harry Potter!
Tom gritted his teeth.
It had taken him a whole month to fully infiltrate the consciousness of this Weasley girl, and now he could manipulate her body at will.
But tonight's accident had rendered all his efforts futile.
Since he was exposed, he had to change targets.
Tom pondered in his mind.
Among the four houses, his favorite was, of course, Slytherin.
He controlled Ginny's body and headed straight for the dungeon.
The entrance to the Slytherin common room was hidden deep within the dungeons.
Tom, familiar with the route, found the stone door.
The entrance was deserted.
Tom looked around, confirming no one was present, then pulled out the black notebook from Ginny's nightgown.
He gently placed the notebook in the shadows of a corner by the door.
The position was clever; it wouldn't be stepped on, yet it was conspicuous enough that it would surely be discovered by passing Slytherin students in the morning.
"Soon there will be a new host."
A cold smile played on Tom's lips.
For him, Slytherin students were easier to control than Gryffindors.
Because Tom understood Slytherin; they inherently craved power.
After placing the notebook, Tom's control over Ginny's body began to loosen.
Ginny's eyes gradually became confused, and she stumbled, dazed, back the way she came.
Her steps were unsteady, her eyes vacant, completely unaware of where she was.
As she walked back to the first floor, hurried footsteps came from the stairs.
Harry and Ron, panting, rushed down the stairs, colliding directly with Ginny.
"Give Ginny back!!!"
Ron lunged forward, grabbed his sister's shoulders with both hands, and shook her violently.
Ginny was instantly shaken awake.
"Stop, stop, stop! I'm going to throw up!"
She looked at Ron, utterly bewildered.
Who can understand, she was sleeping soundly in her dorm, then suddenly her brother pulled her up and shook her.
"Ron, what are you doing here? This is the girls' dorm..."
Before she could finish, Ginny looked around, realizing she wasn't in her dorm, her face filled with confusion.
"How did I get here?"
Ron's heart pounded.
"Are you Ginny?"
"Do you remember what just happened?"
Ginny shook her head vigorously, her red hair flying.
"I don't remember anything. I was clearly sleeping in my dorm, how could I..."
Her voice trailed off, her eyes filled with fear.
Harry stepped forward, his gaze fixed on Ginny seriously.
"You really don't remember anything?"
"I swear!" Ginny's voice trembled slightly.
"I just remember lying in bed, and then... then I didn't know anything."
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