The Prisoners of Hogwarts

Chapter 199 The Whereabouts of the Diary

Chapter 199 The Whereabouts of the Diary

The moment the words left her lips, Ginny's hands, which were holding the pumpkin juice, trembled violently. The cold glass almost slipped from her suddenly weak fingers, and the liquid inside sloshed violently, splashing out a few drops of orange-yellow juice that landed on her dark school robe like ugly tear stains.

The last bit of color that had returned to her face vanished in an instant, leaving her as pale as parchment. Her usually bright, slightly shy brown eyes were now wide open, with pupils constricted to pinpoints.

Lin Qi quietly watched Ginny's intense and unmasked physiological reaction; her pale face and shrunken pupils said it all.

He didn't press further, but turned to Professor McGonagall sitting beside him, and said in a calm and certain tone, "It seems we have a definite answer, Professor McGonagall."

Seeing Ginny's violent reaction, Professor McGonagall's expression turned very ugly.

Previously, Lin Qi had already told her in detail that the monster in the secret room was a basilisk, and that it was likely opened through a black magic diary.

The logical chain is clear, and the evidence points directly to the conclusion.

However, it was one thing for the conjecture to be confirmed, but quite another to witness firsthand the terrible consequences befall a first-year student in his own college—an eleven-year-old girl.

A heavy, burning sense of self-reproach instantly seared her heart.

As the dean, she failed to notice the student's abnormality early enough and failed to protect her from the harm of dark magic, which is an undeniable dereliction of duty on her part.

However, when her gaze fell upon Ginny's pale face, filled with fear and helplessness, and saw her frail body trembling uncontrollably, her strong sense of responsibility was instantly overwhelmed by a deeper pang of heartache.

Before me is not a mastermind who needs to be held accountable, but a child who has been manipulated by evil magic, suffering greatly from it, and whose world seems to have collapsed.

Without the slightest hesitation, Professor McGonagall stood up immediately, walked around the desk, and strode to Ginny's side. Then—this Transfiguration professor, known for her strictness and fairness, knelt down without hesitation, bringing her line of sight to Ginny, who was sitting in the chair.

She reached out and gently covered Ginny's cold, still trembling hands, soothing her with an extremely gentle voice, so different from her usual classroom tone: "It's alright, child, it's alright—look at me, Ginny. I'm here, the professor is here."

Her voice carried a reassuring, steady strength: "You don't have to be afraid alone anymore, you don't have to hide anything anymore. Tell us, tell us everything. We're here to help you, Ginny."

This sudden, caring tenderness was like a key, instantly shattering the high wall of fear that Ginny had built in her heart.

Her tense nerves suddenly relaxed, and the pent-up grievances, fear, and lingering dread that had been suppressed surged forth like a flood bursting its banks. She let out a sudden sob, and large tears rolled down her cheeks. At first, the tears flowed silently, but then they turned into suppressed, intermittent, soft sobs.

No one urged her.

Lin Qi remained seated quietly, his gaze calm, giving her space to release her emotions.

Professor McGonagall remained crouched beside her, holding her hand tightly with one hand and gently, rhythmically patting her back with the other, like a mother comforting her frightened daughter.

After a while, Ginny's intense crying gradually subsided, turning into occasional sobs, and her shoulders stopped shaking so violently.

At this moment, Lin Qi spoke slowly in a calm voice, asking, "Ginny, when did you realize—that this matter might be related to you?"

Ginny sniffed, her voice still thick with nasal congestion, and answered haltingly, "About a month ago." She lowered her head, her gaze fixed on her tangled fingers, avoiding eye contact with anyone. "I—I really don't remember anything—it's like—it's like a huge blank space appeared in my memory, or—or it was shrouded in a thick fog—"

She swallowed hard and continued, "Until one day, I—I needed a sweater, and by chance—at the very bottom of my trunk—I found—an old robe that I used to really like—"

Then I saw—I saw on its cuffs—there were—dark red marks, like—like dried blood—”

When she spoke the word "blood," her body began to tremble violently again, and Professor McGonagall immediately tightened her grip on her hand.

"I—I was terrified. I was desperately trying to remember what it was, how it got there—and then—" Ginny's voice was filled with nightmarish fear, her eyes glazing over as if she were seeing those horrific images again. "Then fragmented, terrifying images—started to appear uncontrollably in my mind—"

Very clear, very real —

Her breathing quickened. "I saw myself—standing outside Hagrid's chicken coop, my hands—my hands, one after another, strangling those roosters—"

She paused abruptly, gasping for breath, as if the cold air of that night was still stuck in her throat.

"And another time—and another time, I saw myself standing at the end of an empty, cold corridor—"

Before me stood a massive, ancient stone gate, carved with two giant serpents entwined around it—I stood there, feeling—feeling that my body wasn't my own—I made a hissing sound as I faced the gate—"

She raised her tear-filled eyes to look at Lynch, her gaze filled with confusion and self-doubt. Her voice was so weak it was almost inaudible: "Professor Lynch—did I really do it? Did I—release the monster from the secret chamber? Did I hurt Mrs. Lorris?"

“No, you didn’t do it, Ginny,” Lynch replied firmly. “It was that diary. It’s a very dangerous, very evil dark magic artifact. It bewitched you and controlled your mind. It used you to do these things; you were just a victim it used.”

The professor's authoritative conclusion seemed to lighten the burden on Ginny's shoulders somewhat; she choked back tears and let out a long, trembling breath.

Lynch paused, then asked in his usual calm tone, "Where is that diary now, Ginny?"

"It's in—in my dorm," Ginny whispered, "I tucked it at the very bottom of my bedside table drawer, covered with some odds and ends—"

Upon hearing this, Lin Qi immediately stood up. "I'll have someone fetch it. That will eliminate this hidden danger completely."

He nodded slightly to Professor McGonagall, then walked steadily out of the office and gently closed the door behind him.

In the office, only Professor McGonagall remained, gently comforting Ginny, who was still sobbing but had calmed down a little.