Chapter 31 is here... ❤️
John had decided to take Tom's diary that he found at Filch's office with him to the lake. That was the safest place he could think of where no one would interrupt him. Till then, whatever he tried, he couldn't figure out what was special about the diary. He knew that there must be something special about the diary, but it annoyed him that he couldn't figure out what it was.
"Revelio" whispered John pointing the spare wand he had on the diary. Nothing happened.
"Aparecium" he whispered again and pointed the wand at the diary. Nothing happened this time either.
"This is hopeless... I don't even know why I bother using the same spell a hundred times even though it hasn't worked once," he told himself. Life had gone stale for John ever since Malfoy had revealed to basically the entire school that John and Jane were related. Even though it wasn't as big a deal as he feared it might turn out to be, the effects were still noticeable. He had noticed how students had started treating him differently. Every time he walked into a room, there were whispers to be heard. Even though he gave a chuckle every time someone mentioned the word aunt associated with Jane, he knew in his heart that this should have been avoided. Even Ron had started behaving differently with John. But that was more down to being kept in the dark when both Harry and Hermione knew. Jane however remained nonchalant about the whole thing.
"John... do you know how many students have had a teacher who was a relative or a family friend?"
"No," replied John.
"That was a rhetorical question. Even I don't know the number, but that's not the point. This isn't something to worry about. Yes, now they all know we are related, but who cares? Let them talk about favouritism if they like," said Jane.
"We both knew this would happen," sighed John.
"Yes, we did," replied Jane. "But there's one thing that's a concern. How did it come to this?" she asked.
"Lucius Malfoy," replied John.
"Yes, that's obvious. But how did Lucius find out we are related?" asked Jane.
"You and Daisy were attacked by death eaters last year, remember? I also happened to kill a death eater, right in front of Voldemort, remember? That's how," replied John annoyed at the situation.
"If Lucius knows about us, that's bad," replied Jane.
"I have a lot of things to worry about right now. I didn't need another," sighed John.
"What other things?" asked Jane.
"The Slytherin monster, Ginny, Harry's missing cloak, Tom Riddle's diary, just to name a few," replied John hastily.
"Hold on! What are you talking about? Harry's cloak? What about it? And what diary?" asked Jane.
"Harry was looking for his invisibility cloak. He couldn't find it in his trunk. And he's confident that he hasn't misplaced it," replied John.
"His cloak's missing?" asked Jane shocked. John remained silent. He looked extremely annoyed at everything that was happening. "Why was he looking for it anyway?" she asked.
"Hermione and Harry were going to do something with it. I don't know, I didn't bother asking," replied John.
"Hermione and Harry? I can't believe her. She asked me a few days back, to borrow some potions books from the restricted section. I knew she was lying. I knew that she wanted to research the Slytherin monster," replied Jane.
"Give her the damn permission... At least, if that's what she does, it'll only help us get this over sooner," snapped John.
"Why are you in such a sour mood?" asked Jane. "And what was that diary you mentioned?"
John opened his bag and pulled out the diary and handed it over to Jane. The twins spent close to an hour with the diary, but couldn't figure out what it did.
John had started scribbling absent-mindedly in the diary when he noticed it. Whatever he had scribbled had vanished.
"Jane... I got to go. I just remembered, Harry asked for my help with his potions homework," he said. He got up and left immediately before Jane could even respond.
"What... was... that," said Jane to herself amused at what had just happened.
Hermione, like Harry and Ron, was extremely worried at the fact that the invisibility cloak was missing. The possibility of it being in the hands of the culprit behind the chamber of secrets horrified her. She even told Harry to inform Dumbledore about his missing cloak.
"Harry... we should inform professor Dumbledore that your cloak is missing," whispered Hermione.
"Hermione... what am I going to tell him? Someone stole the cloak, but I don't have any proof that it was stolen. I actually don't even know how long it's been missing for," whispered back Harry.
"But Harry, what if the person behind the attacks has the cloak?" asked Hermione.
"John knows that my cloak is missing, right? Well, that means, so does Professor Jane and Dumbledore, and everyone else. Can we please get back to studying?" snapped Harry.
"Harry... it's not your fault. Whoever stole your cloak, obviously planned it to perfection. And it's very likely that they are behind the attacks. Which suggests that they are powerful. It's not your fault that the cloak is missing," said Hermione.
"But if I had found out earlier, we could have reacted better. Someone stole from my trunk and I didn't even know about it for months. That's just... frustrating," sighed Hary angrily.
She noticed that Harry's mood didn't improve in the days that went by. But what was also interesting was John's reaction to the missing cloak. During their first year, John seemed to have an answer to virtually every question. But this year, things were different. And she had noticed John's change in behaviour ever since they found out that the cloak was missing. So, one fine evening, when Harry had left for quidditch practice, she decided to talk to John. When she approached John in the library, she noticed from afar that he was continuously writing something in a notebook of sorts.
"Hey, John... what are you doing?" she asked and sat beside John.
"Hi Hermione... nothing really," replied John.
"You haven't really spoken to us ever since we found out that Harry's cloak is missing. What have you been up to?" asked Hermione.
"I don't really have anything to say on the matter, Hermione. His cloak is missing, but there's nothing we can do about it," replied John.
"What if the person behind the attacks has the cloak?" she asked.
"It'd make sense," replied John absent-mindedly. He hadn't even looked at Hermione's face yet. All his attention was on the diary.
"What's this notebook? Actually, looks more like a diary," asked Hermione.
"This?" asked John and looked up. "This diary is... hold on, where is Harry?" he asked.
"Harry is at quidditch practice," replied Hermione.
"I have some news... very bad news," said John. "But I don't want to tell you about it now. Let's talk about this when everybody is there. When I say everybody, I mean you, Harry and Ron," he added.
"What bad news?" asked Hermione, alarmed.
"The chamber has been opened before. And I know who opened it last time," replied John. "But I don't want to tell you this alone. Let's meet after dinner tonight. Actually, not after dinner. Let's meet after everyone has gone to sleep. This isn't something that can be discussed in public if you know what I mean," he added.
Disappointed at being left with suspense, Hermione unwillingly agreed to let the matter go until that night. Hermione passed on the message to Ron and then to Harry after his back from practice. That night, once the Gryffindor common room was empty, the 4 of them started talking.
"What is it?" asked Ron.
"First of all, I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Professor Jane and I. I had my reasons, but I should have told you myself. It shouldn't have been Malfoy you found out from. So, I apologise," said John. Ron hadn't expected an apology from John, but the moment he received the apology, something in him changed and he accepted it right away.
"It's alright mate, I get it," replied Ron and patted John on the back. John smiled in return, satisfied at that outcome.
"So, what's the bad news?" asked Harry.
"Remember when I had that detention with Filch? I went to his office that night. He wasn't there, but I found this on his desk," whispered John and placed the diary on the table. Harry, Hermione and Ron, all read the name on the diary and exclaimed at once, "T M Riddle?"
"Yes, T M Riddle. And we all know who Riddle is... Voldemort" replied John.
"This diary belonged to You-Know-Who?" asked Ron.
"Yes," replied John.
"Is there anything written in it?" asked Hermione.
"Yes and No," replied John. Harry picked up the diary and examined it and realised that there wasn't anything written on any of its pages.
"There's nothing here," said Harry and handed it to Hermione. She examined the pages and came to the same conclusion followed by Ron.
"I don't get it," sighed Ron. John placed the diary on the centre of the table, picked up a jug of water that was there on another table and poured some on the diary.
"What are you doing?" squealed Hermione.
"Will you shout even louder, Hermione? I don't think everyone is awake yet," whispered John, loudly.
"Sorry," whispered Hermione. But everyone's attention had been captured by the weird behaviour of the diary. The water that was poured on the diary hadn't affected it all.
"What? How did... what just happened?" asked Harry, shocked. The other 2 gasped in shock.
"This diary here is a very interesting artefact. I have tried setting it on fire, pouring water, etc. And nothing happens to it," replied John.
"How is that possible?" asked Harry.
"I... do not know," sighed John, disappointed.
"But, what do you know?" asked Hermione.
John took out his quill and wrote, "Hi Tom," on one of the pages. The moment he wrote the words, they vanished. And a few seconds later, "Welcome back, John," appeared on the diary.
"Welcome back?" questioned Hermione.
"Yes, I have been talking to this diary," replied John.
"What do you mean, talking?" asked Harry.
"After I found the diary, I spent hours examining it. I had no idea what it was, apart from the fact that it belonged to Voldemort. I knew that there was something special about it. And once I found out that this diary replied back, I asked it a lot of questions. And I got some interesting responses," replied John.
"John... I don't think this is a good idea. My dad always tells us that, if a magical object can think for itself, and if we don't know how it does that, we have to be very careful of the object. And this belongs to You-Know-Who," said Ron shuddering at the thought. "Never trust anything that can think for itself," he added.
"And that is a valid point. But, if I hadn't interacted with it, I wouldn't know the things I do," replied John. "Anyways, coming back to the point... the thing I found out about the chamber is that, it has been opened before," he added.
"Yeah, Hermione told us that you told her that... who opened the chamber last time?" asked Harry.
"Hagrid," replied John calmly.
"What?" gasped Hermione.
"No way," gasped Ron.
"That can't be true," said Harry in shock.
"That is definitely not true," said John. "But that's what the diary told me... or should I say... the consciousness of Tom Riddle told me," he added.
"Consciousness?" asked Hermione curiously.
"Yeah... the diary showed me the events that took place about 50 years ago. Hagrid was accused of killing a muggle-born witch by opening the chamber and unleashing the monster within. Accused by Tom Riddle himself. And when the then headmaster found out, Hagrid was removed from Hogwarts," replied John.
"There's no way Hagrid killed someone," argued Harry.
"He does like some weird creatures though," added Ron.
"That doesn't mean he killed someone," snapped Harry.
"Ron has a point... even though I think he's wrong. But this is exactly the thinking that got Hagrid in trouble. Everyone knew his obsession with creatures and that's why everyone accepted it as the truth when Tom Riddle pointed the finger at Hagrid," replied John. "Everyone apart from Dumbledore of course," he added.
"So, who opened the chamber then?" asked Ron.
"Isn't it obvious? Tom Riddle opened the chamber and put the blame on Hagrid," replied John.
"John... you said that he was the last heir of Slytherin. It makes sense... Tom opened the chamber, killed a muggle-born witch, blamed Hagrid for it and got an award in the process," remarked Hermione.
"That is exactly what I think happened. But this means that we have to talk to Hagrid immediately. We have to know what happened, the truth and whatever else he knows about this," replied John.
Everyone sat there silently, recollecting the discussion that had just happened between them.
"Wait a minute... what was Filch doing with this diary?" asked Ron.
"I... uh... do not know... If I were to make a guess, he found this diary somewhere while cleaning... and he kept the diary in his office," replied John. They all remained silent. So, John continued after a few seconds, "if you're wondering Filch's involvement in all of this, I'd tell you to not even consider the possibility. There's no way Filch is doing that to his own cat and he's a squib. He's definitely not behind the attacks," he added.
Pretty soon after that, Harry left and went to sleep since he was tired after quidditch practice. Ron followed him which left Hermione and John alone. Once Ron left, Hermione spoke up.
"There is something else, isn't there?" she asked.
"I don't know... but I have this feeling that there is more to this diary than meets the eye. Also, I have an insane theory, which has no proof whatsoever," replied John.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Filch had this diary on his table. Now, there are a lot of reasons why that was the case. But what if the reason was, he found this diary somewhere while cleaning?" he replied.
"Yeah, you already said that," replied Hermione.
"Think Hermione... if Filch found this somewhere while cleaning, isn't it possible that someone threw away this diary themselves?" asked John.
"Okay... so, what if someone threw away this diary?" wondered Hermione. She didn't understand what John was getting at.
"This diary is very peculiar. Not only does this diary communicate with us, it also remembers who it communicated with. Almost as if it has some sort of memory. And there is one more concerning thing. Tom Riddle is a very charming person, at least that's what this diary seems to depict him as. I have spent enough time with this diary to realise that it is possible for someone to lose themselves in this. And if someone happens to be fragile and they lose themself in this, it is also possible for that someone to be controlled by this diary," whispered John slowly, taking multiple pauses.
"John... what you're saying sounds scary... do you really think this diary is capable of controlling people? Like do you mean, bewitch someone?" asked Hermione with a worried tone.
"It is hard to say... but I would be lying if I told you that the thought hasn't entered my mind," replied John. And with that, they both left their respective dormitories.
Meanwhile, in a different part of England, Daisy was sitting on a bench surrounded by nature, drawing something on a piece of paper. She heard footsteps approaching her and looked back and saw a woman, who looked in her late 30s to mid-40s, wearing faded old clothes walking towards her slowly.
"Mrs Davies, how are you?" asked Daisy.
"Daisy... has anyone told how you are a sight for sore eyes?" said Emily slowly, faking an elderly voice.
"Yes, you have, multiple times," replied Daisy blushing.
"How are you dear?" asked Emily and sat down beside Daisy.
"I'm fine, Mrs Davies," replied Daisy.
"What are you drawing, child?" asked Emily. Daisy handed Emily the paper she was holding. The drawing seemed to resemble a pair of people flying.
"Oh... What artistry and imagination! This is so beautiful," said Emily.
"Thanks, Mrs Davies," replied Daisy.
"Are they flying, my dear?" asked Emily.
"Yes," replied Daisy.
"How?"
"With the help of magic," replied Daisy.
"Magic? Would you want to fly if you had magic?" asked Emily.
"If I had magic, I'd do a lot of things," replied Daisy excitedly.
After a few seconds, Emily asked, "Why do you sit here, all alone, every day?"
"I don't know... I like this place... it brings me a sense of calm. I used to come here with a friend of mine, but he isn't here anymore," replied Daisy.
"Oh... why not child? What was his name?" she asked.
"John... he left because he is studying outside," replied Daisy continuing her drawing.
"And what about other friends?" asked Emily.
"Well... I have Harry, but he too studies outside. He only comes back during holidays," replied Daisy.
Reading a muggle's mind was easier than running a hot knife through butter. And Emily Davies, the special officer from the Ministry of Magic got everything that she came for.
PS - Bye... Have a great day ahead 😁