"Ginny" waved her wand with ample reaction time, a small tendril of vine extending to easily intercept the spell.
"Give us back my sister!" Ron shouted, his voice trembling as much as his legs.
"Ginny" smiled sweetly, her demeanor childlike and innocent. "That's not how you cast a spell."
"Didn't Professor Flitwick tell you?"
"You need conviction—determination! So weak and flimsy, what were you planning to…"
SMASH!
A potion bottle shattered at "Ginny's" feet, spilling a faint purple mist. Simultaneously, a silk ribbon darted from the corner, wrapping tightly around her body.
"Conviction? Oh, we've got plenty of that!" Fred roared with exaggerated laughter, wand held high.
But before he could finish his sentence—
Rip!
The silk ribbon tore apart into countless shreds, which fell away from "Ginny's" body like confetti.
"Not a bad idea."
"But where's the conviction?"
Two vines shot out, coiling around Fred and George's feet and hoisting them upside down. Like Percy, they were pinned to the wall with sharp tendrils piercing their hands.
"Ginny" reached down, plucking at the mist around her. "A Sleeping Draught? Gryffindors really haven't changed over the years."
"Do you even use your brains?"
"Did you think this was enough to deal with me?"
Another spell flew toward her, and "Ginny" casually tilted her head to dodge it.
Ron's hands trembled violently. "Get out of my sister's body!"
"You're afraid of me." She tilted her head, staring at Ron. Her eyes reflected a strange yet familiar look that sent chills through him. "You're terrified of me."
"Do you know who I am?"
Ron stumbled back two steps, his voice quivering even more. "Leave her! Now!"
"A frightened kitten poses no threat." She chuckled, her shoulders shaking in amusement as if recalling something funny. "So easy to drown."
"And since you know who I am…"
"Why do you even dare to raise your wand?"
"And your sister? She's not worth saving. She's told me plenty of little secrets—do you know which brother she likes the least?"
Ron's eyes glazed over, but deep down, the answer surfaced instantly.
"Bill is the most brilliant. Charlie shines in Quidditch. Percy, though stiff, genuinely cares about his siblings."
"Fred and George? Mischievous, but they bring her the most laughter."
She paused, dragging her words out in an oily tone.
"But Ron…"
"You're the one she likes the least. Sloppy, lazy, not even good-looking. The only thing you've got going for you is being Harry Potter's friend."
"It's hard to imagine…"
"How someone like you could ever be friends with someone as extraordinary as Harry Potter."
Percy, despite his injuries, struggled against the vines and roared, "Shut up, you monster! Ron is—"
His words were cut off as "Ginny" flicked her wand, shoving a vine harshly into his mouth.
"Everyone knows how to say nice things." She mocked, her tone teasing and manipulative. "I could easily say, 'Ron, you're the most impressive young wizard at Hogwarts.'"
"But the truth? Well, we both know it, don't we?"
Her sentence was interrupted mid-flow as George, clenching his jaw, flung something at her.
"Ginny" waved her wand, a red flash slicing through the air. The object exploded mid-flight, releasing a foul, murky yellow smoke that billowed outward.
Her face twisted in disgust.
"Stupefy!"
Seizing the opportunity, Ron gripped his wand tightly and cast his spell with determination.
Another red beam of light shot from a corner, where Hermione, hidden beneath a table, had been holding her breath. Her face was flushed as she muttered the incantation aloud, her attempt at nonverbal magic proving too challenging.
Two stunning spells, one from either side, hurtled toward her.
"Ginny" simply waved her wand.
A shimmering golden shield materialized, deflecting both spells with ease. Another flick of her wand sent a gust of wind sweeping away the noxious fumes.
"Do you like it, Mr. Riddle?" George laughed loudly. "That stench suits your mouth perfectly!"
"Ginny will kill you for this—after all, that's her body!" Fred added, shaking his head.
Smack! Smack!
Two vines whipped across their faces, silencing them with more branches shoved into their mouths.
"You're all such Gryffindors." She sneered coldly, the humor in her tone gone.
"Let's end this."
She raised her wand, the vines poised to pierce them.
Hermione attempted to summon flames with her spell, but "Ginny" suppressed the magic, reducing the orange glow to a mere flicker before it snuffed out entirely.
Ron, shaking, tried to cast a Transfiguration spell. A vine shattered his wand, another piercing his palm and hoisting him into the air, pinning him to the wall alongside his brothers.
"I hope Mr. Potter appreciates my gift." She chuckled softly, lifting the unconscious Auror from the floor with a flick of her wand.
"Now, time for me to enjoy my reward."
"Ginny" aimed her wand at the Auror's forehead, chanting dark, malevolent incantations.
Magic and life force drained from his body as blood ran dry, his flesh shriveled, and his soul dissipated. Black energy emanated from Ginny's body, growing darker and more substantial.
It was like a feast.
When the last trace of life left the Auror, his body crumbled to the ground, shattering like fragile glass.
"Ginny" waved her wand, using the blood of the Weasley siblings to scrawl a message on the wall before slipping out through the portrait hole.
Several minutes later, Harry was the first to burst into the room.
The scene was utter chaos.
The Weasley siblings hung limply against the wall, their breaths shallow but present.
One person was dead—not a Hogwarts student but an Auror.
Hermione crawled out from under a table, her body trembling, still bound by remnants of vines.
And on the wall, a message scrawled in blood:
"Mr. Potter, meet me in the Chamber of Secrets. Come alone."
"I hope you understand my eagerness to meet you. Don't disappoint me."
Professor McGonagall arrived moments later, her expression dark as she took in the room's state. She waved her wand, transforming the vines binding the Weasleys into streams of water that gently lowered them to the ground.
"That wretched man… he… he…" Her voice trembled with fury, struggling to maintain composure. "What about the other students?"
Percy, weak but conscious, answered, "I told them all to go back to their dormitories. No one else was hurt."
He glanced toward the table.
Hermione crawled out, her body still shaking.
"And this?" McGonagall's gaze landed on the shattered remains of the Auror.
Scrimgeour recognized him immediately. "Brit—an excellent Hufflepuff alumnus, just three years out of school."
"I knew him," McGonagall choked out. "A kind-hearted boy. Gryffindor troublemakers gave him no end of grief."
Snape's cold voice cut through the room, his eyes fixed on the bloodstained message. "At least there's some good news."
"He can't hide anymore."
Harry's gaze remained fixed on the bloody message.
"Mr. Potter, meet me in the Chamber of Secrets. Come alone."
"I hope you understand my eagerness to meet you. Don't disappoint me."
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Powerstones?