Impure blood

The summer holidays soon passed.

Over those dozen or so days, Cyrus had more or less earned Ginny's trust. The two of them were now as close as old friends who had known each other for years. Honestly, it had not been difficult at all. Although Ginny was the most pampered child in the family, as a girl, she always had secrets she found difficult to share with them. That was where Cyrus came in.

Sometimes Cyrus felt guilty, as though he were deceiving a little girl, but for the sake of coming back to life, he could not afford to worry about much else. Besides, Ginny would not die in the end, and everyone petrified by the basilisk would eventually be saved.

Everyone else at the Burrow noticed that Ginny was behaving a little strangely. Since August began, she had stopped making a fuss and gone back to her room early every day.

They all thought Harry deserved the credit. Fred and George would exchange a glance every time, then snicker to themselves.

"Mr. Riddle, term starts at Hogwarts tomorrow."

Cyrus could feel the anticipation and excitement in Ginny's words. For every young witch or wizard, going to school was thrilling, because it meant they were not a Squib!

And he was even more excited than Ginny!

His return to life was almost within reach. If everything went according to plan, he would have a physical body before the end of the coming term. So he replied with tremendous enthusiasm:

"Congratulations, Ginny. I'm sure Hogwarts won't disappoint you!"

"Thank you-"

A hesitant word of thanks appeared, and Cyrus guessed she had more to say.

"To be honest, I'm a little worried about my Sorting. Fred and George refuse to tell me what happens during the Sorting Ceremony. But last year, I overheard them talking to Ron, and I might have to face a troll!" she said anxiously. "And I know they really did fight a troll last year."

"I'm also worried about being bullied at school."

Cyrus could not help smiling when he saw Ginny's words.

Keeping the Sorting Ceremony a secret from every first-year had become an annual tradition, giving rise to all sorts of wildly absurd stories.

Still, thinking about the Sorting Ceremony made Cyrus regret missing last year's. He would probably never get the chance to say "pure blood" again. Of course, he was Voldemort now, a half-blood.

"They're lying to you, Ginny. The school won't make first-years fight a troll. Keeping the Sorting process secret is actually a Hogwarts tradition. The Sorting Ceremony isn't all that dangerous, so you don't need to worry at all. As for being bullied-have you already forgotten the jinxes I taught you? If anyone dares to insult you, pick up your wand and hit them with one! Let them know you're not someone to mess with!" Cyrus said without hesitation.

"All right, I'll fight back. But what do you mean, 'isn't all that dangerous'?" Ginny asked.

Cyrus could not resist teasing her. "Well, they make sure the young witches and wizards don't die, of course. Otherwise, the parents wouldn't be very happy, would they?"

"Thanks for the reassurance!" Ginny snapped, closing the diary. She had not expected Tom Riddle to refuse to tell her exactly what the Sorting involved either. What he had said only made her more worried.

"Stupid Tom! I'm never talking to you again!"

Fuming, she hurled the diary onto her bed and sat there pouting. Before long, however, she could not resist opening it again.

"Are you sure we don't have to fight a troll?"

"Absolutely. Besides, even if you really did have to fight one, I don't think you'd need to worry. Don't forget the spells I taught you. If you need me to, I can tell you how to deal with trolls, too. Their brains are tiny. All you have to do is lift something heavy with a Levitation Charm, then slam it into the back of their heads to knock them unconscious."

Cyrus reassured her. Perhaps to make up for deceiving Ginny, he had grudgingly taken on the duties of a private tutor, teaching her almost every spell in the Standard Book of Spells, Grade One. By now, Ginny might even have been more capable than Ron.

At that, Ginny relaxed.

"I'll trust you this once. Good night, Mr. Riddle-"

"Good night, Ginny. I hope everything goes smoothly tomorrow."

Just as Cyrus had wished, everything did go smoothly for Ginny the next day.

The same could not be said for Harry and her brother Ron.

The two of them had missed the Hogwarts Express. Worse still, no one had noticed until Hermione came looking for her.

"Hello, Ginny. Have you seen Harry and Ron? I've searched every carriage on the train and couldn't find them." Hermione looked at Ginny as though she were her salvation. "Fred and George said they were right behind you."

"No, I haven't. Mum and Dad took me onto the platform first." Ginny shook her head. Sitting beside her was the white-haired Luna, whom Ginny thought was a rather strange girl. "But they should be on the train. We all came together."

Ginny sounded puzzled.

"I can't find them anywhere!" Hermione flopped down opposite Ginny and spoke in exasperation. She also had a bad feeling about this.

When the children went quiet, they were definitely up to no good.

Heaven knew what those two troublemakers might do!

"I just hope they don't lose Gryffindor any more points," Hermione said.

Just then, an ethereal voice sounded beside Hermione, as soft as a ghost floating through the air.

"I'm not sure." Luna's eyes were wide.

"What?"

"I'm not sure whether flying through the sky in a box would lose them points, but I think it's very cool. I'd like to try it, too." She looked out of the window.

"What?" Hermione and Ginny raised their voices together, turning toward the window.

Ron and Harry waved happily at them like two generals basking in everyone's attention.

"That's Dad's car."

"They don't seriously think this is something to be proud of, do they?" Hermione said incredulously. She was clearly furious. "Wonderful. They're bound to lose Gryffindor loads of points. They might even be expelled!"

"Expelled?" Ginny went pale and shrieked in panic.

She had been looking forward to spending six happy years at school with Harry Potter! But if Hermione was right, it would all be over!

"Er-don't worry. I only said they might be." Thinking Ginny was worried about Ron, Hermione hurried to reassure her. "We did something even more ridiculous last year, but everything worked out in the end. As long as no Muggles see them, I don't think there'll be a major problem. But this sort of behavior really is-"

She looked out of the window, leaving the rest unsaid. The Enchanted Car finally soared back into the clouds and vanished.

"Never mind. I'd better go and find Neville." Hermione stood up and walked to the door alone, leaving Ginny and her classmate to themselves. "Have a good time, Ginny."

"Thank you."