Ginny struggled desperately, but the ropes only constricted tighter. Worse still, they looped around her in… rather awkward places.
"Smart girls shouldn't play dumb," Tom sighed. "Lovegood here just told me—every time you hear my name, you react. Strangely. Nervously."
He tilted his head, eyes boring into her. "And yet… you and I have never spoken a single word before. Care to explain why?"
"I don't understand what you're talking about, Riddle!" Ginny shot back, her voice trembling but stubborn. "If you don't let me go right now, I'll tell Professor McGonagall! No matter how good your grades are, the school would never allow you to—"
"Yes," Tom interrupted softly, nodding. "The school would never allow someone who can open the Chamber of Secrets to stay here… isn't that right?"
The blood drained from Ginny's face. She stared at him in horror.
That reaction alone was all Astoria and Luna needed. They exchanged a look—wide-eyed, confused, shaken.
Salazar Slytherin chose… a Gryffindor as his heir? What kind of twisted joke was this?
"I-It wasn't me! It really wasn't me!" Ginny wailed, sobs tearing through her chest. "I didn't open the Chamber! I didn't hurt Penelope or Mrs. Norris! I don't know anything!"
Her voice cracked as she spiraled into hysteria. "I don't know why I keep blacking out—why I wake up with blood and feathers on me! I don't know what's happening!"
Her eyes lifted, wet and terrified, to Tom. "Tom Riddle—that name—it's his name too! But he's so much more terrifying than you!"
"That man?" Luna's dreamy voice sharpened as she stepped closer. She glanced at Tom. "Riddle… let her down. She's on the edge."
For once, Tom relented. With a flick of his wand, the ropes loosened, dropping Ginny into a heap on the floor. She curled in on herself, sobbing weakly.
Astoria crouched beside her, frowning. "Weasley… was he someone you met outside school?"
"N-No…" Ginny hiccupped, voice breaking. "He's not a person at all. He's… a diary. A diary from fifty years ago. There was another Tom Riddle then—he was Head Boy. He was kind… understanding…"
Luna and Astoria's eyes widened as the truth dawned.
Luna's brows knit together. "A sentient magical object. That's dangerous. Almost certainly black magic."
Ginny only wept harder.
With a lazy curl of his finger, Tom summoned the diary from her robes. It floated into his hand—a shabby, worn-out little book, no different at first glance from a dozen others in any secondhand shop.
Yet Astoria stiffened, and even Luna's expression grew tense.
"Seems we've found our culprit," Tom said lightly, turning the diary over in his palm. "To be precise—the one opening the Chamber isn't Ginny. It's this book."
He crouched, eye-level with the trembling redhead. "Enough crying. It's pathetic, and honestly, it's grating to the ears. Tell me everything—clearly, from the start—or I'll tell the whole school you were the one opening the Chamber."
Ginny's sobs caught in her throat. A hiccup escaped, and she clamped her mouth shut, forcing the tears back. She stared at him, terror in her eyes.
To her, Tom Riddle was no longer just frightening. He was worse than the Dark Lord himself—because even when she broke down in tears, he remained unmoved. No comfort, no kindness—only disdain.
And with the threat of eternal humiliation hanging over her, she had no choice but to obey. Haltingly, between shaky breaths, Ginny confessed.
She'd stumbled upon the diary by accident, hidden among a pile of secondhand books. At first, it was harmless—an oddity that could answer her words on the page. A toy. A distraction.
But then she discovered "Tom Riddle" was kind. Thoughtful. Understanding. A perfect confidant. Slowly, she grew addicted, writing to him constantly, carrying the diary with her everywhere, pouring out her secrets.
"Congratulations," Tom said dryly. "You've been catfished."
"Cat… what?" Astoria blinked, puzzled.
"It's like…" Tom smirked. "Imagine using 'WhatsApp' to talk to some stranger you've never met. You don't know who they are, what they look like, or even if they're male or female. But you convince yourself they're the perfect friend. Your soulmate. The kindest person alive."
Astoria's jaw dropped. "There are people that stupid?"
Tom jerked his chin toward Ginny. "You're looking at one."
Ginny wanted to sink into the floor. Her head hung so low her chin nearly touched her chest. Her cheeks burned with shame, and though she fought to hold them back, fresh tears welled up again.
Stop! Please stop! I get it—I'm an idiot!
Even without knowing what "WhatsApp" was, she understood perfectly well what Tom meant. The comparison stung like a whip.
"So the diary manipulated her into opening the Chamber?" Luna asked quietly.
Ginny shook her head frantically. "I didn't! I never wanted to! I don't remember doing any of it!"
"You wouldn't," Tom replied coolly. Silver threads shot from his wand, wrapping the diary in shimmering webs of magic, binding it tight. "It's similar to the Imperius Curse. It erased your memories—but that doesn't mean you didn't do it."
"Then give it to Dumbledore immediately," Astoria urged.
"No rush…" Tom smiled thinly, spinning the sealed diary in his hand. "It's not every day you meet someone with my name. I'd like to play with him a little first—then I'll let the Headmaster deal with the headache."
"Then… what about me?" Ginny asked in a tiny, broken voice.
"You?" Tom tilted his head, eyes narrowing. "Weasley… you don't want anyone to know what you've done, do you?"
Her heart lurched.
"Then you'll do as I say," he continued smoothly, almost gently. "From now on, you'll listen. Quietly. Obediently. Because this little secret…" He tapped the diary against his palm. "…is mine to keep. For life."
Ginny collapsed against the wall, her face ashen, her body trembling. She knew then her future was ruined. Her freedom gone.
From this day forward, she would live in Tom Riddle's shadow.
And in her heart, she realized—she'd never escape him.