Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter

Chapter Sixteen

The Diary

Time went fast at Hogwarts, and Diana suddenly found that it was the weekend.

She pondered over what she could do for a while. Eventually, she gave up and whipped out Tom Riddle's diary.

Hello, Tom. Remember me, Diana?

Why yes. It's been a while since we've met.

I still don't trust you.

Diana, why not? You're hurting my feelings.

Diana rolled her eyes at the statement. He didn't have feelings. He was a diary!

I'm sick and tired of you! I'm going!

Diana slammed her quill down and was about to leave and head for the girls bathroom to shove the diary down the toilet, but as she stood up curiosity got the better of her. Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to ask Tom a few more questions before she headed straight for the bathrooms.

How did you get trapped in the diary?

When I was sixteen I dabbled in some magic I shouldn't have and left my soul in the diary.

When did you get trapped in the diary.

50 years ago.

Diana stared at the diary in awe.Surely it wasn't 50 years old, was it?

Perhaps it was alright, having a small friend to talk to.

No, that's stupid! You know absolutely nothing about this person! Tom could be lying, you know.

Diana sighed. She silently vowed to not talk to Tom too much.

But soon she found herself pouring her heart out to the diary. She knew Tom wouldn't be able to tell anyone, so she began to scrawl away. She told him about her parents, about Harry, about Ginny and Colin and about her childhood.

Tom was very understanding. Diana learnt that he'd grown up in an orphanage and didn't get any love or appreciation from anyone. He had been a Slytherin and was very loved by the teachers, and was even a prefect.

Eventually, Diana decided to ask him the ultimate question.

Tom, do you know something interesting to do at Hogwarts.

Oh yes, Diana. I know the perfect thing to do. Come with me.

Diana lay awake in bed. She replayed the events of the day in her head.

She couldn't quite remember anything. Tom had told her to come with him, and the last thing she remembered was standing up and walking towards the door, and then suddenly she was standing outside the entrance to the Ravenclaw common room.

What did Tom do? Or was it Tom's fault. Maybe someone wiped her memory of where Tom took her. All Diana knew was that whatever she did with Tom took up a lot of time, because when she'd found herself at the door knocker it was dark outside.

October arrived and brought a chill with it. Diana caught a cold and was forced by Harry to take medicine from the school nurse, Madam Pomfrey. It left her ears steaming.

Several of the memory-wiping incidents had happened by Halloween, and Diana was beginning to grow suspicious of Tom. But she was drawn to the diary, like someone would be drawn to a drug. Addictive, unhealthy and shady. That's what Tom was, a drug.

No one seemed to notice anything wrong with Diana. Ginny, Colin and Luna weren't suspicious of anything, and neither were Harry and his friends. Diana felt a little betrayed by them for not pointing out anything unusual.

But this betrayal only got her closer to the very thing she swore not to get close to. Tom was starting to become a better friend than any of the others.

Soon enough, the Halloween feast was going to take place, and Diana thought it was better than anything she'd experienced at Hogwarts.

Hundreds of plates full of sweets and cakes and chocolate, all Mayes out in front of Diana.

"Watch out for the mints," Luna told her. "Daddy says mints are brain-washers in disguise."

"Right," said Diana, who was used to this sort of thing from Luna.

She delved into her food. The cake tasted better than anything else, and Diana had a whole lot of it before she managed to control herself.

Something flickered across Diana's mind. She was walking through the corridors of Hogwarts. It was dark. She found herself in front of the first floor girls' bathroom.

Diana felt like she was in a dream. She could barely process what was happening. She was jumping from one thing to next, and she didn't feel like she was in control of her own body.

The next thing she knew, she was staring at something that looked like a scene from a horror movie.

The floor was soaking wet, absolutely flooded. Hanging on one of the lamps was the caretaker Filch's cat Mrs Norris, cold and stiff. On the wall was the message:

The Chamber of Secrets has been opened! Enemies of the Heir, beware...

Diana choked on a sob. Feeling dizzy, sick and miserable, she fled from the scene, the feeling of guilt lurking, as if somehow this was possibly her doing...