Something had gone wrong.
She shouldn't have been here. It was lunch, all students and staff should either be in the Great Hall or their respective common rooms or offices and even if not, there was no reason for anyone to be on the second floor.
No one was meant to die. At least not yet.
He had plans. Ever since he'd found the Chamber in his second year and woken the basilisk, he'd spent nights mulling over how to best use his secret. For years, he'd been waiting patiently for the right time, until he'd found out the half-giant (no doubt it was Dumbledore who insisted on letting it come to Hogwarts) was raising an Acromantula of all things. And so, finally, he decided it was safe to begin.
There was a brief moment at the beginning of the school year where he'd feared everything would come crashing down around his ears when the foolish snake refused to leave the Chamber. It had taken him nearly three months to convince it that Slytherin would have wanted her to rid the school of any muggle taint, and yet another month to stress the importance of staying hidden.
He'd been so careful. And yet.
The stupid, useless girl. Now Dippet would no longer be able to hide the attacks from the Ministry. Oh, he hadn't believed the Headmaster would be able to fool everyone completely. The students would have to write to their families sooner or later. But there was a significant difference between petrifications that could be reversed with a Restorative Draught and a death.
He wanted to laugh. It was almost ludicrous how she'd managed to cause more of a problem than Dumbledore ever did, and he could barely even recall her name.
So. What to do now?
Should he give her to the snake to eat? No, all that would do is get rid of the corpse and prolong the search that would most certainly happen, thereby most certainly delay his plans by at least a year. He supposed it was a small mercy that she was a mudblood. No one with any power or standing would care about her beyond how it would affect the public opinion. Still, he'd prefer to avoid annoyances if possible. Should he move the body, then? Perhaps closer to where Hagrid was keeping his monster? No. He didn't doubt his ability to move without being seen, or his knowledge of the castle, but he could not risk even the smallest possibility of getting caught. He must not be the first to find the body. Besides, he wasn't willing to use his scapegoat so quickly for so little. He'd save the half-giant for later.
So. He couldn't destroy the body, or move it. Then the only option left was to leave it here to be found.
Perhaps he could use this to his advantage. As a message. Once it was clear Hogwarts was no longer safe for those with dirty blood, he expected the majority of mudbloods and half-bloods would leave. And after they left, they would be no match for any decent wizard or witch, let alone himself or his potential followers. Yes, he could let them squirm in fear and deprive them of any training or a chance to create useful ties with other families.
And perhaps… Slughorn had finally gotten around to answering his questions on Horcruxes…
He supposed this was as good of a chance he was going to get before he was forced to leave the school. He should have an hour or two till his next class. That would be enough.
He let his fingers run over the leather binding of the plain notebook he carried in the pocket of his robe. The ghost of a smile flit over his lips.
Yes. This should do quite nicely.