Chapter 119: Infiltrating the Girls' Dormitory (Pt 2)

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"Ginny, what's wrong? You seem so down lately," George said, smiling as he walked up to Ginny, who was sitting alone under a tree during their Thursday afternoon flying lesson.

Ginny had always loved flying lessons, and she was usually the most energetic during class. But recently, she lacked her usual enthusiasm, even when flying.

"George, do you think if someone makes a mistake, but it wasn't really their fault, they can still be forgiven?" Ginny asked, her voice a little distant as she looked up at him.

George thought for a moment before replying, "It depends on how brave she is. It's not terrible to make a mistake; no one is perfect. Even Dumbledore made plenty of mistakes when he was younger. But if she recognizes her mistake and is brave enough to admit it and correct it in time, she'll definitely be forgiven."

"Really? As long as I correct it in time, I can be forgiven?"

Hope flickered in Ginny's eyes as she heard his words.

Before the school year started, Ginny had found an old diary in the books she had purchased. Whatever she wrote in it, the diary would respond, offering useful advice. Over time, she grew to trust the diary more and more, sharing all her secrets with it.

But one day, she discovered that her body was starting to act on its own. She even opened the Chamber of Secrets and released the basilisk to attack her classmates.

That's when she realized something was wrong with the diary. In a panic, she secretly threw it into the washroom, hoping the plumbing would wash it away. But Harry had found it and kept it.

Worried that Harry might discover her secrets, and the mistakes she had made, she stole the diary back from the boys' dormitory.

However, in the past few days, she began to suspect she was under control again, and the basilisk she had released nearly killed her close friends, George and Hermione. Even worse, it had led to Dumbledore's temporary suspension.

"By the way, I bought this bookmark in Diagon Alley for Christmas," George continued, pulling a metal butterfly-shaped bookmark from his robes. "The shopkeeper said it can ward off dark magic and protect its owner from curses, bringing good luck. It's for you!"

Ginny took the bookmark, and a genuine smile spread across her face.

"Thank you, George. I really like it."

"You look much cuter when you smile," George said, reaching over to ruffle her hair before standing up to leave.

Ginny watched him walk away, touching her hair. For some reason, a faint blush appeared on her cheeks.

That night, in the Gryffindor girls' dormitory, Ginny carefully slipped the butterfly bookmark George had given her into the same terrifying diary. She hoped the bookmark would protect her from the diary's influence.

"Tomorrow morning, I'm going to tell Harry and the others everything," Ginny thought to herself. She placed the diary into a box under her bed, feeling a sense of resolve. George's words earlier had given her the courage she needed.

At 2 a.m., in the Slytherin boys' dormitory, George suddenly sat up, wide awake. He quickly grabbed his wand and cast the same spell on the other three boys in the room.

"Stupefy!"

Though the others didn't usually wake up during the night, George decided it was safer to put them all to sleep just in case.

Afterward, he quietly left the Slytherin dormitory and made his way to a secluded corner outside the castle. A magical symbol flashed across his body, causing his form to expand from that of a child to one that was slightly taller than an average adult.

He then pointed his wand at himself and said, "Metamorphosis!" His nightgown, which was stretched to the limit, quickly transformed into a standard set of night clothes, leaving only his eyes exposed.

This spell, known as the Disguise Charm, was a form of Transfiguration magic, much like the spells for summoning snakes or birds, and was an extension of Transfiguration magic.

He had learned the spell from a magic book in the library called How to Become an Elegant Wizard.

The spell was quite simple: it allowed the caster to change their clothes into any style they wished, so there was no longer any need to worry about buying new outfits.

In fact, if one spent more time reading in the library, they would come across many strange spells. While some of these spells might not be very powerful, they could make life much more convenient. These were the kinds of spells wizards had created for their everyday needs.

Once he was done with this, he flipped his hand and conjured a flying broomstick out of thin air.

He had bought this broom during the Christmas holidays in Diagon Alley, and later placed it into a box he had enlarged using the Undetectable Extension Charm and brought it to Hogwarts.

Why not use flying magic, you ask? Well, tonight he had planned to sneak into the Gryffindor girls' dormitory to steal the diary, and he couldn't afford to leave any traces behind.

Riding the broom, he didn't fly directly to Gryffindor Tower on the eighth floor. Instead, he flew a large circle around the castle, taking about an hour before returning from a different direction. He was doing everything he could to avoid being tracked.

Using the magnetic trace he had left on the butterfly earlier, he quickly located the girls' dormitory.

Every entrance to the girls' dormitories at Hogwarts was protected by a special spell that prevented boys from entering. So, if he wanted to sneak in and steal the diary, he couldn't go through the common room; he would have to find an entrance from outside the tower.

In contrast, there were no such enchantments on the stairs leading to the boys' dormitory. Girls could come and go as they pleased. He had often been tricked by female students from his own and upper years into mistakenly entering the dormitory under various pretexts. As a result, he now mostly read in the library or in some abandoned classroom in the basement.

Ginny had also been able to sneak into Harry's dormitory and steal the diary for the same reason.

"Alohomora!"

He pointed his wand at the window, giving it a gentle tap. After hearing a faint "pop," he carefully stowed his broom and pushed the window open to step inside.

"Looks like I haven't made a mistake," he murmured to himself.

Seeing Ginny lying asleep in her bed, George followed the signal of his earlier trace and quickly pinpointed the exact location of the metal butterfly.

"Just as I thought."

Carefully, he retrieved the old diary from the box under the bed. A smile played on his lips.

The main purpose of the conversation earlier that day was to get Ginny to place the metal butterfly bookmark inside the diary so that he could easily find it. Otherwise, he would have had to search around, unnecessarily increasing the risk of being caught.

Without hesitation, he tossed Voldemort's diary into the transformation space and made a swift exit, retracing his steps back the way he came.

(End of Chapter)