Chapter 55 Chapter 55

Ron lay there like a discarded doll, his complexion as pale as marble, cold and devoid of color.

"Ron!" Harry rushed towards him, knelt down, and shook him, "Ron, don't die, please, don't die!"

"He won't wake up," a voice said softly.

Evan turned towards the voice and saw a tall boy leaning against a nearby column.

"Tom Riddle," Evan said softly as he pointed his wand at Tom.

"It's pointless, mudblood, it's all over! It's just us here, no one will come to save you, and there's no rooster! Victory will be mine, soon you'll be like this boy and you'll stay here forever."

"What have you done to Ron, why is he like this?" Harry shouted as he stood up.

"That's a very interesting question, it's a long story," Riddle said cheerfully. "But let me tell you before you enter an eternal slumber. As far as I know, the real reason Weasley is like this is that he opened up his heart to a complete stranger and told that person all his secrets."

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked, surprised.

"The diary!" Riddle said. "Since my servant gave Ron my diary, he has been writing his secrets in it for several months, telling me his problems and sorrows. He's the least remarkable in his family, his friends are better than him, no one notices him, he's weak and poor."

"What?" Harry stopped.

"Harry Potter, you're the famous savior, you never understood that Weasley is jealous of you, he envies your fame, he envies your talent!" Riddle's eyes gleamed. "He told me he was worse than a first-year student, even as a second-year."

Riddle glanced cautiously at Evan and then returned his gaze to Harry, his eyes hiding an almost greedy expression.

"It was so boring to listen to a twelve-year-old talk about his childish problems."

Tom continued, "But I am tolerant, I wrote him a few words in reply, I am considerate and kind. I gradually gained his trust, he thought I was his only friend."

Harry turned as white as a ghost, "I don't know why he would think that, but we've been friends since we met."

"You clearly haven't been!" Tom let out a cold, strident laugh. "After months of conversations, Ron poured out his soul to me, it was exactly what I needed."

"I swallowed his deepest fears, his most profound secret, his most intense jealousy. I became stronger, stronger than little Weasley, strong enough to control him, to achieve what I always wanted, and it was all in..."

"Stop your tricks, Tom. They won't work, when Ron wakes up, I'll set him straight until he understands that we've always treated him as our best friend."

"Damned mudblood. I knew you were a problem, I wanted to kill you the moment you pulled out that fifty-year-old clipping," Tom said, turning his head to look at Evan in disgust.

"Is that why you attacked me with a corrosive curse in the dueling club?"

"Ron's broken wand weakened my magic but it was my mistake, you were cleverer than I thought and I shouldn't have exposed myself so soon. If Dumbledore had noticed that I put Ron under the Imperius Curse..."

"Is that why you tried to make him use the Killing Curse against me?"

"No, without me controlling his body, he couldn't carry it out, so it was just a simple green light," Riddle said proudly. "The Imperius Curse was just to mislead Dumbledore, but he kept on distrusting. Ron didn't disappoint me, he was cowardly and..."

Upon hearing Riddle's words, Evan tightly gripped his wand, and Harry clenched his fists tightly.

"But from that moment on, Ron no longer trusted me," Riddle said, "He finally grew suspicious and attempted to dispose of the diary. Harry, how I hoped you would pick it up, as I said, I eagerly longed to see you!"

"Why did you want to see me?" asked Harry, angry.

"Oh, Harry, Ron told me all about you," said Riddle, "you are amazing, your charming past."

His gaze fell on the lightning-bolt-shaped scar on Harry's forehead, his face started to resemble a hungry beast.

"I must know more about you, talk to you, and if possible, see you in person." Riddle turned his eyes back to Evan and said with disgust, "But I never thought it would be a filthy mudblood who would pick up my diary. I tried to control you like I controlled Ron, tried to earn your trust, even wanted to tell you about the opening of the Chamber of Secrets fifty years ago, but..."

"Unfortunately, I caught on to you," said Evan with a disdainful look.

"Indeed, you are a cunning mudblood, a nuisance, as I initially thought."

Riddle's voice soon calmed down, "I felt you were guarded against me, but you had a powerful craving for magical knowledge, so I changed my plans, decided to slowly entrap you with the promise of power."

"You failed once again, Tom!" said Evan as he began to gather magic.

"Obviously, but can you tell me why?" asked Riddle anxiously.

"Once a girl told me that intelligence beyond measure is man's greatest treasure," said Evan as Luna's figure came to his mind, "The most important thing is to believe in friendship, believe in family, believe in love, believe in all good things! Tom, you will never be able to do this, besides your own strength, you believe in nothing, thus you are destined to fail."

"Love?! It's ridiculous that you think these things are more reliable than power, typical of weak minds. Well, let's get back to the topic, I have many questions to ask you, Harry Potter!"