6kv Chapter 200 The Vanished Diary
Chapter 200 The Vanished Diary
Chapter 200 The Vanished Diary
The office door opened again, and Lin Qi walked in. His expression remained as calm as before, but his hands were empty.
Professor McGonagall looked up and read an ominous signal from Lynch's empty hand.
Lynch's words confirmed her suspicions: "The diary is missing."
Professor McGonagall's heart sank; the worst had happened—the source of the danger had spiraled out of control.
Ginny's reaction was far more intense. She jumped up from her chair, her face contorted with disbelief and panic, her voice shrill with urgency: "Impossible! I definitely put it there! Underneath it with my old notebooks and a few rarely worn socks! I swear! I'm not lying! Professor Lynch, you have to believe me!"
She looked anxiously at Lynch, then at Professor McGonagall, tears welling up in her eyes again.
"Don't panic, Ginny." Lynch stepped forward, extended his palm, and made a downward gesture to signal Ginny to calm down. "We believe you. We completely believe you're not lying."
"You've proven your honesty. The problem isn't with you."
His words calmed Ginny down a bit.
Seeing that she had calmed down a bit, Lin Qi continued, "Now that the diary has disappeared for some unknown reason, in order to find it and protect others who might be targeted by it like you, we may need to know some more detailed information. For example, how—did that diary affect you?"
She took a deep breath, as if gathering her courage, then hesitated for a moment before timidly saying in an almost whispered voice, "I—I—talk to it."
"A dialogue?" Professor McGonagall couldn't help but ask softly, her brows furrowing tightly. Dark magic items of this caliber were extremely rare.
"It's just...writing." Ginny Ginny struggled to organize her thoughts. "I write on the blank pages of my diary, pouring out my troubles to it, and then...someone else's handwriting will appear on the page, answering my questions, comforting me, and having a heart-to-heart talk with me."
It wasn't until she later discovered the bloodstains on her cuffs and recalled those horrific moments that she realized with a start what profound, twisted malice and traps might be hidden behind those gentle and considerate words.
Lynch and Professor McGonagall quickly exchanged a glance.
They didn't interrupt Ginny, but continued to listen patiently to her story.
Ginny described the whole process in fits and starts—how she found the diary, how she began to communicate with it, and how she began to realize the loss of her memory.
After she finished speaking, she slumped back in her chair as if she had collapsed.
Based on Ginny's physical weakness and her extremely unstable mental state, Professor McGonagall and Lynch unanimously decided that she must undergo a full magical examination immediately.
Without a moment's delay, they took the extremely weak Ginny directly to the school hospital where Mrs. Pomfrey worked.
At the entrance to the school hospital, watching Mrs. Pomfrey lead a dazed Ginny behind the white curtain for an examination, Professor McGonagall turned to Lynch and whispered gravely, "There's another person's handwriting responding—which means there's very likely someone else hiding on the other end of the diary, a real culprit capable of manipulating things through the diary."
“From a magical point of view, it is indeed a possibility, and a very high one at that,” Lynch agreed, his thinking being more pragmatic. “But Professor McGonagall, the most urgent task right now is not to speculate whether there is another mastermind behind it all, nor is it to concern ourselves with who that person is or where they are.”
"Instead, we must take immediate action to prevent the situation from spiraling out of control. I suggest that we issue a clear warning to all students immediately, making public the existence of this diary and its basic characteristics. We must tell them that it is an extremely dangerous, deadly black magic artifact, and that anyone who sees it must report it immediately and must never touch it. We must prevent the next Ginny from appearing."
A flicker of hesitation crossed Professor McGonagall's face. As the vice-principal, she had to weigh the overall situation: "To make it public to all students? That could cause even greater panic—"
"Panic stems from the unknown, while knowledge, even knowledge about danger, is what brings true vigilance and avoidance." Lynch's voice was calm and firm. He looked at Professor McGonagall, "The fact that we failed to notice Ginny's condition in time proves that professors' observations alone are limited. We cannot know what every student is exposed to in private, in unnoticed corners. As educators, besides imparting knowledge, we have a responsibility to teach them to recognize the dangers lurking in the shadows. We cannot forever shield them from all risks, but we can, and must, teach them how to protect themselves, and how to remain vigilant against well-intentioned but unknown acts of kindness."
Lynch's words were reasonable and every word struck a chord with Professor McGonagall.
She was silent for a moment, the image of Ginny's pale face flashing through her mind. Her instinct to protect her students overwhelmed her fear of potential chaos.
Just then, Madame Pomfrey emerged from behind the curtain, her expression unusually serious.
She approached the two professors and lowered her voice, saying, "The examination results are very worrying. Miss Weasley appears to be only somewhat weak and emotionally unstable, but a deeper magical examination reveals abnormal and persistent signs of depletion in her vital signs, especially her soul—a phenomenon similar to the slow but continuous draining of life force caused by the most malevolent curse. This perfectly explains why she was previously in poor physical condition and so emotionally fragile and prone to breakdowns. This deep-seated life depletion is beyond the scope of the university hospital's ability to completely treat and reverse. She needs to be transferred immediately to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Injuries and Healings for more comprehensive and specialized treatment and long-term rest; otherwise—it may leave permanent damage."
Professor McGonagall pursed her lips. The result pained her deeply, but it also strengthened her resolve.
She made a decision immediately: "I understand, Bobby. Please stabilize her condition with the best potion and make sure she can be transferred safely. I'll go and send the fastest emergency communication to her parents, Arthur and Molly. They need to know this immediately; they have the right to be there, and they must be there."
She couldn't imagine how heartbroken the Weasleys must have been when they heard the news.
Then, she took a deep breath, turned around, and looked at Lin Qi with a firm gaze.
My sense of responsibility as an educator and my deepest love for my students completely prevailed at this moment.
She said to Lynch with a heavy but firm voice, "You're right. We have to do it, and quickly. I'll draft an emergency notice for the entire school immediately and contact Professor Dumbledore to explain the situation."