Ginny moved through the darkened castle on careful feet.
It was close to midnight. The corridors lay unlit, stretched long and empty, and the wind outside howled against the ancient stone. Branches scraped the windows, twisting and bending like misshapen birds clawing for entry.
She told herself she wasn't afraid.
Her body disagreed.
Every whisper of air made her flinch. Every distant creak sent her pulse racing. The silence pressed down on her ears until she was certain it was hiding something.
For the first time since leaving Gryffindor Tower, Ginny regretted putting the diary away.
What if Ron had been telling the truth? What if something huge and monstrous really did live in the castle? He had sworn there was a three-headed dog the size of a house somewhere inside these walls last year.
Even if she had the diary open, Mr. Riddle couldn't exactly step out and help her.
"Mr. Riddle…" she whispered under her breath.
She hugged the diary closer to her chest, fingers tightening around its worn edges, as if holding it might keep the darkness at bay. The thought comforted her more than she wanted to admit.
Gradually, her breathing slowed.
The castle, once her eyes adjusted, no longer felt like a place of lurking horrors. It was vast, old, and breathtaking in its own quiet way. The ceilings soared. The stone beneath her feet held centuries of footsteps. Compared to this, her room at home felt small and cramped.
Ginny began to understand the appeal of wandering at night.
No rules. No schedules. No one telling her to lower her voice or stop running. She darted down a corridor, laughed silently to herself, even flicked her wand once to send a brief spray of sparks into the air before hurriedly extinguishing it again.
At worst, she might get scolded by a painting or drift past a ghost.
As if summoned by the thought, a translucent figure floated into view.
"Tut, tut," said Sir Nicholas in a pleased voice. "A young witch wandering the castle after curfew. And a Gryffindor too. Let me guess. Ginny Weasley?"
"Yes," Ginny said, startled but smiling. "Hello, Nearly Headless Nick."
He preened visibly. "Sir Nicholas, if you please. Honestly, the lack of respect these days."
"Sorry. Sir Nicholas," she corrected at once.
"Well done." He nodded approvingly. "Out on your first night, no less. That puts you ahead of your brothers already."
He drifted closer, his head wobbling slightly where it was still attached by a narrow strip of ghostly flesh. "A word of advice. Avoid the fourth floor tonight. Peeves is there, and he's in a mood. And keep that wand tucked away. Filch has sharp ears."
With that, he passed through the wall, humming cheerfully to himself.
Ginny obeyed at once, slipping her wand back into her sleeve. A short walk later, she found herself at the edge of the third-floor corridor.
A wooden door stood ahead.
"This is it," she murmured. "Locked? That won't stop me."
She drew her wand. "Alohomora."
The lock sprang open with a loud clatter as the chain fell to the floor.
Ginny winced, then grinned. "Good thing Mr. Riddle taught me all the first-year spells."
She pushed the door open and stepped inside.
Darkness swallowed her.
"Lumos."
Light bloomed at her wand tip, revealing a bare, empty room. No enormous dog. No trapdoor. No sign that Harry Potter had ever fought anyone here.
Ginny deflated.
"There's nothing here," she wrote, setting the diary on the floor and crouching beside it, wand held awkwardly in one hand.
"Dumbledore may have removed everything," Elijah replied. "But the castle still holds plenty of interesting things. There are secret passages everywhere. Hidden chambers. If you ever get hungry at night, go beneath the Great Hall. There's a painting of a bowl of fruit. Tickle the pear."
"Maybe later," Ginny wrote. "I ate too much at the feast."
She hesitated, then added, "Mr. Riddle. You said you received a Special Services to the School Award. Can I see it?"
"Of course," Elijah replied at once. "The trophy room is on the third floor, just a short walk from where you are."
Ginny closed the diary, extinguished her wand, and slipped back into the corridor.
Moments later, another presence entered the room she had left behind.
"Hurry up, Mrs Norris," Filch hissed, lantern swinging. "I heard something."
He spotted the fallen chain and let out a rasping chuckle. "Careless little devils."
Mrs Norris sniffed the air, then padded after the faint scent leading away.
...
The trophy room stretched far beyond its doorway, shelves and cases extending deeper than Ginny had expected. Glass gleamed faintly in the low light, displaying rows of trophies, plaques, and engraved names.
Percy's name caught her eye first.
Then Tom Riddle's.
It appeared again and again, polished and prominent. Prefect. Head Boy. And finally, a large plaque set apart from the rest.
Special Services to the School.
No explanation. Just the name.
Ginny's curiosity burned hotter. She reached for the diary.
Before she could open it, a hand clamped around her wrist.
Ginny gasped.
"Haa! …Fred? George?"
Her scream was cut short as Fred clapped a hand over her mouth.
"Quiet," George hissed. "Filch is close."
"What are you doing here?" she whispered once Fred released her.
Her heart hammered wildly.
Had they seen her? Had they seen the diary?
Neither twin mentioned it.
"Sorry we scared you," Fred said easily. "We'll explain later. Come on."
They pulled her from the room just as Filch's lantern glow swept across the corridor behind them.
"That's Filch," Fred muttered. "Worst person in the castle. Oh, and Snape."
"Detention wouldn't be too bad," George added. "But writing apologies would be unbearable."
They stopped before a statue of a one-eyed witch.
"Then what do we do?" Ginny asked, calmer now.
Fred grinned. "We use a secret."
He tapped the statue twice. "Dissendium."
Stone split apart, revealing a dark passage.
They slipped inside just as Filch rounded the corner.
"Lumos."
The passage lit briefly, then fell quiet.
"Where does this go?" Ginny asked.
"Nowhere," Fred said casually. "Blocked ahead."
It wasn't true, but Ginny didn't notice.
"How did you find me?" she asked instead.
"We saw you leave the tower," George said.
"You followed me?"
"Not on purpose," Fred said quickly. "We were headed elsewhere and happened to rescue you."
Ginny studied them, then sighed. "Alright. Everyone has secrets."
She hugged the diary closer.
Fred and George laughed. "That's not a secret," George said. "Everyone knows you like Harry."
"Except Ron," Fred added.
Ginny flushed, but smiled despite herself.
Later, when she wasn't looking, Fred checked the Marauder's Map and nodded in satisfaction.
"Filch is on the fifth floor now," he said cheerfully. "Peeves too."
They returned her safely to the tower.
Back in bed, Ginny barely managed to write, "Good night," before sleep claimed her.
"Good night," Elijah replied. "Sweet dreams, Ginny."
Left alone once more, Elijah returned to his studies.
There were spells Tom Riddle had never learned.
One in particular lingered in his thoughts.
The Patronus Charm.
It required happiness.
Something Voldemort had never understood.
Something Elijah intended to.