Here we go with the second book in the series that started with Harry Potter and the Boy Who Lived Inside his Head. If you haven't read it yet, you won't understand what's going on in this story. :)

Additional characters: Neville, Hermione, Draco, Severus Snape, Albus Dumbledore, Diary Riddle, Myrte, an OC character and logical others

Prologue

Lucius Malfoy was most annoyed, and that was putting it mildly. That the Ministry consisted of bumbling idiots was nothing new and usually worked in his favour. One just had to know who to bribe.

Unfortunately, the instigator behind this new, entirely outrageous plot to smudge the heritage and bite at the power of pure-blood families was Arthur Weasley, who wasn't an idiot, and worse, not susceptible to bribes. Which was especially annoying since one would have thought that, as a person with enough kids to form his own Quidditch team, he could really use the money.

Now the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office had been authorized to search family manors for items considered dark by people who had no true understanding of magic, and esteemed wizards with a proud heritage like him were forced to go through possessions passed down from generation to generation to check if there was anything among them that was perhaps not fully in accordance with current laws.

It was an arduous and time-consuming task. With many of the trinkets, Lucius had no idea what they even were or what purpose they served. But if they had come into contact with human blood at some point, it automatically landed them on the list of items that were 'dark' in the eyes of the Ministry.

Lucius had already put aside a small number of artefacts that weren't worth keeping and risking Azkaban for. Better to take them to Borgin and Burkes and convert them into money. Most precious heirlooms, though – especially books – would have to be cleverly hidden. It was a disgrace that he had to consider building a hidden room in his manor instead of proudly displaying these invaluable pieces of his inheritance in his library or study.

A small, cheap looking booklet squeezed into the shelf with valuable old tomes on blood magic caught Lucius' attention. Why had his father put this here? It looked almost Muggle in origin.

Confused, Lucius examined the book in his hands. Definitely Muggle. It even had a vendor's stamp on its back. It seemed to be a planner of some kind, with squares for each day of the year. A planner from the year 1943. And it was empty. Inside was the name of the previous owner: T. M. Riddle. Lucius didn't know any wizard family of that surname – in fact, it sounded Muggle as well.

He cast a couple of detection charms at it, but only found numerous protection charms, nothing sinister. The book seemed entirely harmless, but a blood detection charm revealed that it had to be more sinister than it looked.

Lucius almost decided to just toss it out – Borgin and Burkes wouldn't even know what to do with it - but his curiosity won over. Surely, his father had put it here among these valuable tomes for a reason?

He took the book to his desk, opened it and took out a quill, but not before putting up some protective wards beforehand. One had to be careful with unknown magical artefacts. Dipping the quill into black ink, Lucius put the command 'Reveal your Secrets' into the square for January the 1st, feeling a bit silly doing so.

The ink was instantly absorbed, proving the magical quality of the diary. Not long after and much to his surprise, Lucius received a response, but different from what he had expected. A line written in elegant cursive formed where his own handwriting had vanished into the pages:

"Who are you to command me and seek knowledge of my secrets?"

Lucius raised his brows. Whoever had charmed this diary seemed to be rather full of himself. The question was whether it was deserved.

"I am the heir to a long line of most esteemed and well-respected pure-blood wizards. Who are you to question my worthiness?"

"Judging by your tone, you must be a Malfoy," the diary wrote back. "Not Abraxas, as he wouldn't dare to take that tone with me. You must be his heir, then, and given that you are examining this token of my appreciation which I gave into his hands for safekeeping, I assume that my dear and loyal friend Abraxas has passed?"

"Indeed he has. Unfortunately without telling me the history behind every single item that has been bestowed on him in proof or show of appreciation or respect. This book looks Muggle."

"Looks can be deceiving. You're holding in your hands an item of great power! The power to bring down the enemies of magic who defy our traditions, who seek to outlaw ancient knowledge and treat values that any wizard should hold in esteem with contempt."

Lucius' mind was reeling. A friend of his father's had given him this diary for safekeeping. A diary that had somehow been imbued with the personality of its previous owner. Lucius suspected that it must be a kind of charm similar to the ones put on portraits, which mimicked the personality of the person caught in paint. His father, like him, had been a follower of the Dark Lord, and the owner of the diary seemed to have been of this circle as well.

"Consider me intrigued," he wrote back. "I will always defend the old ways against upstarts who seek to cut our power and those not worthy of magic. My father set a shining example for all Malfoys to follow and was greatly respected for it."

"Well spoken. Will you tell me your name?"

There was a certain danger incurred in that. Names were power. Lucius had no idea how the diary worked, and he didn't doubt anymore that it was indeed a very powerful item. But his father had obviously valued the person who had entrusted him with it, which probably meant he could risk it.

"I am Lucius Malfoy. Will you tell me your name, too?"

"You may address me as 'my Lord', as your father did."

Lucius gasped. There was only one person his father had ever addressed as such: the Dark Lord himself! But he was gone – vanished since the incident with the Potter brat. No one knew what had happened, not even his followers, and that included Lucius.

How was it possible that he was communicating with their lord, who had disappeared from the earth ten years ago? And why did he remember Abraxas, but not Lucius?

"My Lord! I am shocked! Everybody believes you to be dead!"

Lucius had to wait quite a while before he received an answer. Not surprising, given that his lord probably had to process the news of his own passing.

"As you see, Lucius, I am not. I am too great a wizard to be easily defeated. Tell me everything you know about me, your father and my other followers, starting as early as you remember. And as a token of your trust and loyalty, I ask you to write it down in your own blood."

Lucius sucked in a breath. That was a high demand to make! Blood was even more powerful than a name. By imbuing the diary with it, he would be giving it a considerable amount of power. But on the other hand, he would have demanded such a sacrifice as well if the roles were reversed. They both had to know they could trust the other, and Lucius, by holding the diary in his hands, was in a much better position power-wise.

So he told Narcissa that he was not to be disturbed under any circumstances for the next few hours, locked the study door and took out a clean silver dagger from his desk drawer. This was going to take some time.

*'*'*'*'*'*'*

"You have been very secretive lately," remarked his wife when Lucius joined her for evening dinner. He was extremely hungry and thirsty, like the previous evenings. Spending small amounts of blood over the course of days had made him a bit paler than usual and slightly lightheaded. "Does anything concern you – or do I have reason to be concerned?"

"Of course not, my dear!" As if he would ever cheat on his beautiful, loyal wife! No, if there was one thing Lucius firmly believed in, it was family loyalty. Who could you trust, if not those bound to you by name or blood? "But you are right – I have been secretive, as I have been working on a most daring plan that will have great impact on our lives and our society. If it goes well, we'll see the rise of pure-bloods to power again soon, and Albus Dumbledore and his band of good-doers and Muggle-lovers who are trying to hamper and subdue good and competent people to further their own agenda will be history."

Narcissa's eyes widened. "You're making me curious, Lucius. It sounds like you're planning a revolution all by yourself."

"Oh, I'm not alone in this. I have very powerful help from the past."

"Don't be so mysterious!"

"I found an artefact that was given to Abraxas by the Dark Lord himself, and it will bring Dumbledore and all those in opposition to his goal to their knees! Have you ever heard of the Chamber of Secrets?"

"Yes, but it's a myth!"

"No, it's not. It's very real, and I have the key to opening it. What we need is someone who can bring it into Hogwarts and act in our will."

"You want to give it to Draco?"

"No! The person will be but a vessel for the mind of our Lord, serving as his hands and feet and carrying out his will. We need someone gullible who can easily be charmed and controlled by smooth words and promises."

"The mind of our Lord?"

"The artefact holds his knowledge, his memories, his personality and his visions. All he needs to return is a body."

His wife didn't quite share Lucius' enthusiasm yet. "How will he be able to get a new body?"

"I guess the easiest way would be possession. If he can gain full control of the body of a voluntary host, there might be ways to make it fully his. He inquired after the Philosopher's Stone Flamel created. I was able to tell him that there were rumours about it having been at Hogwarts and that Harry Potter somehow managed to find it but gave it back to Dumbledore. It might still be there."

"He needs someone young and impressionable, then."

"Yes. Someone innocent and guileless who will arouse no suspicion. Preferably a girl. I already have a fitting person in mind. It's someone who might be able to get close to Harry Potter."

"Who?"

"It's best if you don't know in case anything goes wrong."

"How can this opening of the Chamber of Secrets bring down Dumbledore?"

"It contains a monster. One that can be used to purge the school of Mudbloods and all those who stand against us. If there's anything likely to cause serious trouble for Dumbledore, it's Mudbloods being killed in his school."

Narcissa's eyes widened in fright. "A monster?! But Lucius – our own son is in Hogwarts!"

"You need not fear, Narcissa! Do you think I would endanger our own son? He is perfectly safe. He who controls the vessel can control the creature in the chamber. Our son is neither a Mudblood nor a supporter of them. No, the only people who need to fear are Muggleborns, Dumbledore and Harry Potter."

"Harry Potter? He's a half-blood – and a Slytherin."

"Who grew up with Muggles and, from what Draco tells me, is quite out-spoken in his belief that they are in no way inferior to wizards. In fact, he claims that they have achieved things no wizard is capable of. He's friends with the Mudblood that Draco dislikes so greatly. And do not forget – there are rumours that Harry Potter defeated an 'evil wizard' who took possession of Quirrell last year. How a boy who holds such beliefs could end up in Slytherin is a mystery."

"So this monster will kill him?"

Lucius shrugged. "Kill him or incriminate him – I'm not privy to all of our Lord's plans. But he has a score to settle with Harry Potter, and I think it will be most amusing to watch." He took another sip of the excellent wine the elves had served with dinner. "If everything goes to plan," he promised his wife, "Harry Potter will be dealt with by the end of the school year and Hogwarts will no longer be under Dumbledore's rule."

A/N: Sorry to all of you who like Lucius Malfoy for some reason and believe that he didn't know what he was doing. The facts in canon are this: Lucius was in Borgin and Burkes that morning, selling dark artefacts because of the new law. He had the diary with him, so he knew it was dark. Yet he didn't sell it when he had the chance. Why not? If he had suddenly decided to keep it, he wouldn't have dropped it into Ginny's cauldron.

The only other possible explanation would be that Burkes refused to buy it, which I'd consider odd as well. Why not? Lucius wanted to get rid of it, so pay him a very small price and take your time to research what's up with this Muggle diary, or at least find out who T. M. Riddle was.

It all points to Lucius having planned to plant the diary on his adversary's daughter. While it might have incriminated Arthur if Ginny had been found with the diary, it wouldn't have involved Harry in any way, and Dobby overheard a plot that would put Harry in great danger. So Lucius must have known exactly what the diary did, and he must have communicated it to someone. We can get Narcissa out of it if we assume he discussed it with his dad's portrait. This seemed easier.