Ethan had already decided on a plan that he thought would work. What he needed was a situation that would force Harry and Ron to act without giving them enough time to seek help.
With Hermione petrified and Hagrid gone, there were very few people left whom Harry trusted completely. If Ginny disappeared as well, Harry would almost certainly try to find her, and Ron would never allow his little sister to face whatever was inside the Chamber alone.
Now it was time for him to start his plan.
Ethan took control of Ginny early that morning while she was still in her dormitory. Once he had control, he sat her down and began writing a note. This note was going to be the key to his entire plan.
He picked up her quill and began, slow and deliberate, shaping each letter the way Ginny would if her hand were shaking.
Ron ...
Something is wrong with me. I don't remember most of what's happened the last few months. I black out and wake up somewhere else. I think I've been the one doing it, the attacks, but I don't remember any of it, I swear.
He paused there, reading it back. It was good. Not too neat, not too composed exactly the kind of confession a frightened twelve-year-old would scrawl at five in the morning before she lost her nerve.
He continued writing, carefully completing the note before slipping it into her robe. Once he was satisfied, Ethan released his hold over Ginny and let her mind settle back into control.
From there, he simply allowed her to continue with her normal routine, unaware of what he had written and what he intended to do with it.
That evening, while Ginny was sitting quietly in an armchair in the common room, Ethan reached through their connection and took control of her once again.
Harry and Ron were there as well, sitting nearby and talking among themselves, completely unaware that Ginny's actions were no longer entirely her own.
Ethan, in control of Ginny, rose from the chair and casually glanced around the common room, waiting for a moment when no one was paying particular attention to Ginny.
He guided her towards Ron, subtly shifting her expression into one of nervousness and fear as she approached.
When Harry got up from his chair and wandered off, Ethan took the opportunity to settle Ginny into the empty seat beside Ron, making the movement seem as natural as possible.
"What's up?" Ron asked, noticing her sitting beside him.
Ginny said nothing. Instead, she glanced nervously from side to side, her eyes darting around the Gryffindor common room as though she were afraid someone might be watching her.
"Spit it out," said Ron, watching her.
"I've got to tell you something," Ginny mumbled, carefully avoiding Ron's gaze.
"What is it?" Ron asked, turning fully towards her.
Ginny looked as though she couldn't find the right words. She opened her mouth, then hesitated, her eyes dropping to the floor.
"What?" Ron asked, leaning slightly towards her.
Ginny opened her mouth again, but no sound came out.
"Is it something about the Chamber of Secrets?" Ron asked. "Have you seen something? Or noticed someone acting oddly?"
For half a second, something flickered across her face that wasn't quite fear, something closer to relief. Ginny drew a deep breath, but before she could say anything, Harry appeared, looking tired.
"Hey, Ginny, you look pale. Is everything all right?" Harry asked from behind her.
Ginny jumped in her chair as though startled, then quickly stood and thrust a folded note into Ron's hands. "Just read it, please," she whispered so only Ron could hear her.
Before either of them could ask another question, she gave Harry a nervous glance, muttered something about needing to go upstairs, and slipped quietly towards the staircase.
As Ethan was leaving, he subtly used a charm to make Ron ignore the note, leaving him with only the vague feeling that there was something he needed to read later. Ethan had no intention of letting Ron remember it until the right moment.
"What do you think that was about?" Harry asked Ron as he settled into the chair Ginny had just left.
"Don't know, mate. She looked stressed about something, and it seemed like she wanted to tell me something," Ron said as he felt the note that Ginny gave him.
Before Ron could open the note and read it, a loud explosion suddenly shook the common room.
Everyone jumped, several students clapped their hands over their ears, and one first-year nearly fell out of his chair.
When the smoke finally cleared, Harry and Ron turned towards the source of the commotion and found Fred and George standing there, blinking innocently through clouds of soot, their hair sticking out in every direction.
"Bit more powerful than we expected," Fred said.
George nodded thoughtfully. "Much more powerful."
Ron slowly slipped the note into his robe as he and Harry turned their attention to Fred and George, quickly forgetting about Ginny as they began discussing whatever the twins had been experimenting with.
After dinner, Ethan took control of Ginny once more and began making his way toward the entrance of the Chamber. On the way, he stood before a wall and, using her wand, traced a message across the stone.
HER SKELETON WILL LIE IN THE CHAMBERS FOREVER
He stepped back and admired his work for a moment; the phrasing was almost nostalgic now, a small tribute to the story he was in. Then he turned and made his way down into the Chamber itself.
Once he reached the bottom, Ethan set a charm at the entrance- nothing elaborate, just a simple charm that would be triggered if someone else entered the chamber, and this would tell him how many of them there were.
If his plan worked, it would be only Harry and Ron who entered the Chamber. Even if they brought Lockhart with them, however, it wouldn't matter much. The man was hardly a threat, and Ethan doubted he would cause any real trouble.
He made his way towards the centre of the Chamber and gave the Basilisk a few final instructions, knowing that Fawkes was likely to pay a visit before the night was over.
Ethan wanted the creature prepared for everything that might happen once Harry arrived.
With that taken care of, another thought began to occupy his mind.
What was he going to do with the Basilisk after the Chamber of Secrets incident was over?
He had no intention of killing the Basilisk. The creature was far too powerful to simply throw away, especially when Ethan could control it.
Having a weapon like that at his disposal could prove invaluable in the future. Unfortunately, keeping the Basilisk alive came with its own set of problems.
The biggest one was Dumbledore. If the Headmaster ever discovered that the creature was still alive beneath Hogwarts, there was no way he would simply leave it alone.
In canon, Harry had killed the Basilisk, and it was never shown whether Dumbledore had actually entered the Chamber himself afterwards.
Ethan found that difficult to believe. Surely Dumbledore would have gone down there at least once to inspect the Chamber and make certain that the danger was truly gone.
It wouldn't make much sense for him to simply take Harry's word for it and leave such a dangerous place unchecked.
Ethan also didn't want to tell a lie that could eventually be exposed and cause problems for him.
The Basilisk's existence was dangerous enough without adding another unnecessary secret that Dumbledore might eventually uncover.
Perhaps the simplest solution was to move the Basilisk into the Forbidden Forest and have it remain hidden there.
The forest was vast enough that even Dumbledore couldn't possibly know everything that lived within it, and with the Basilisk staying deep in the woods, Ethan could still call upon it when he needed it.
It wasn't a perfect solution, but it was certainly better than leaving the creature beneath Hogwarts and hoping Dumbledore never discovered it.
Now, all that was left for Ethan was to wait and see whether his plan would succeed. He remained deep within the Chamber, listening to the silence around him while the minutes slowly dragged by.
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