Hogwarts had never felt this quiet.
The atmosphere was thick with dread, pressing down on every student and staff member like a heavy fog. The news had spread faster than wildfire: Ginny Weasley was missing—taken into the Chamber of Secrets.
At breakfast, barely anyone touched their food. Students huddled at their tables, whispering nervously. Even Fred and George, usually beacons of mischief, sat in stunned silence, staring at their untouched plates. Percy was nowhere to be seen.
The staff convened in hushed urgency, and not long after, word spread that Gilderoy Lockhart had been "volunteered" to rescue Ginny. The Gryffindors exchanged uneasy looks—everyone knew Lockhart was more glitter than grit.
Harry and Ron, however, weren't about to sit and wait for a fraud to do nothing. By the time the sun began to drift toward its afternoon descent, they were already slipping away from the Great Hall.
What they didn't know was that someone had overheard them.
⸻
Meanwhile, by the Black Lake…
Lennon sat alone on the grassy bank, arms wrapped around her knees, staring across the shimmering, gray surface of the water. The wind was sharp today, biting against her skin, but she didn't move. The heaviness in her chest refused to lift.
She heard footsteps behind her, slow and deliberate. She didn't turn around—she already knew who it was.
Mattheo dropped down beside her in the grass, knees bent, arms resting over them. He said nothing for a while, only stared at the lake with her.
"I know you already know what they're doing," he said eventually.
Lennon let out a slow breath. "They're going after Ginny."
Mattheo nodded. "With Lockhart. Idiots."
"I don't think they had a choice," she murmured.
Another pause.
"You're not going to stop them?" she asked, turning her head to look at him.
"I'm not sure I could, even if I wanted to," he said. "But that's not why I'm here."
Lennon waited.
He hesitated, then looked at her properly. "There's something I haven't told you. About Ginny. About the diary."
At that, Lennon's breath caught.
Mattheo lowered his voice, though no one was around. "It's not just a cursed object—it's a Horcrux."
She turned to face him completely, brow furrowed. "A Horcrux? I've heard that word before… in books. It's Dark magic, right?"
Mattheo nodded slowly. "It's a way to split your soul—to hide a piece of it in an object so you can't die. Not truly."
Her stomach turned. "So Ginny's been carrying around a piece of someone's soul?"
"Yes," he said quietly. "My father's."
Lennon blinked, stunned. "Your father—Voldemort?"
"He planted it in the diary years ago. Before his fall. And somehow, it found its way to Ginny. He's been using her—feeding off her emotions, controlling her. Every time she wrote in it, he got stronger. Every time she trusted it, he grew."
Lennon turned her gaze back to the lake, heart pounding. "And now she's in the Chamber… with him."
"I think that was the plan all along," Mattheo said. "To lure her down there. She's weak enough for him to take full control."
"But he's dead," Lennon whispered, more to herself than him.
Mattheo's voice turned sharp. "Pieces of him live on. That's the danger of a Horcrux. And the longer it's left unchecked, the more it can grow. He's not back… yet. But if Harry doesn't stop him—"
"Then he could be," Lennon finished, standing up.
Mattheo stood too. "I didn't tell you all this so you'd go running after them."
"I'm not running," she said, her voice low but determined. "But I need to be ready."
They looked at each other for a long moment. She could see the conflict in his eyes—his anger, his shame, and something else. Regret.
He took a step back. "There's more I could tell you. But you don't want to know that part. Not yet."
"Why?"
"Because if Harry doesn't come back… it won't matter."
⸻
Back in the Castle…
Theodore had overheard Harry and Ron's rushed plan just outside the staff corridor. He found Mattheo quickly and told him everything, but Mattheo only gave a grim nod.
"She already knows," he said simply.
Theodore blinked. "You told her?"
"No. She figured it out on her own."
Theodore stared at him. "And you're okay with her knowing?"
"She has a right to," Mattheo replied. "It's her fight too. Whether we like it or not."
⸻
In the Chamber Entrance…
Harry and Ron stood before the sinks in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, Lockhart bumbling nervously behind them. With the knowledge they'd pieced together, Harry hissed in Parseltongue, and the sink slid aside, revealing a dark, gaping pipe.
"After you," Ron said with a nervous grin.
They slid down into the dark.
What followed was chaos.
Lockhart, ever the coward, snatched Ron's broken wand and attempted to erase their memories, only for the spell to backfire spectacularly. The resulting blast sent him flying into a wall, unconscious and amnesic, as the tunnel collapsed around them. Debris rained down, separating Harry from Ron.
"Harry!" Ron shouted through the rubble.
"I'm okay!" Harry called back. "I'm going on. Try to clear a path!"
The echo swallowed his words as he turned toward the darkness ahead.
Whatever lay at the end of the tunnel, Harry would face it alone.
And above them, in the stillness of the castle, Lennon stood at the top of the Astronomy Tower, her hair whipping in the wind, her eyes locked on the horizon—waiting.