Ginny-perhaps it was no longer appropriate to call her that.
Although she still looked like the Weasley family's youngest daughter, Ginny Weasley, her original soul had fallen asleep. Her body was now temporarily occupied by another soul, one named Tom Riddle.
He slowly got out of bed and put on his shoes. Then he took the black notebook from beneath the pillow, slipped it into a small bag, and slung it across his body. With that, Tom Riddle walked out of the dormitory.
"Ginny? Are you going out at this hour?" In the Gryffindor Common Room, a first-year girl who was also Ginny's roommate saw that Ginny was about to leave and could not help asking.
Although lights-out and curfew were still some time away, the sky outside had long since grown completely dark.
"Yes, there's something I need to do." Tom gave a faint smile, looking elegant and gentle. "Besides, the monster's already been caught. It's safe outside now, isn't it?"
"Mm, that's true." His roommate nodded and lowered her head to continue reading, adding a reminder: "Come back early."
Tom smiled and nodded, but the instant he turned his head, the smile vanished completely, replaced by an indifferent expression.
After climbing out through the opening and passing through long corridors and stairways, Tom Riddle arrived in the Entrance Hall outside the Great Hall and stood before the enormous piece of amber encasing the Basilisk.
Even though it was already evening, quite a few students were still gathered there, marveling at the enormous Basilisk "specimen," which looked ferocious yet possessed an eerie beauty.
Its two removed magical eyes drew particular attention. After learning that they were what had petrified Mrs. Norris and Colin Creevey, the students still felt as though magic were acting on them when they looked at