Chapter 99: Tom Riddle's Diary

The victim tonight would be Colin Creevey, an unfortunate boy born to Muggle parents. Besides being a fan of Harry Potter, there wasn't much more to say about him, apart from his sad death in the Battle of Hogwarts in his sixth year.

The moon was already at its highest point of the night, where the stars adorned the sky. William had been waiting in silence the entire time, following Ginny everywhere until the right moment arrived. At that moment, Harry was in the infirmary, being bothered by the house-elf Dobby.

Due to the previous Quidditch game, the students had lost that sense of danger instilled by the announcement of the Chamber of Secrets. Even the professors had unconsciously lowered their guard; perhaps this was Tom Riddle's modus operandi for his attacks.

William stood quietly in one of the stalls in the girls' bathroom on the second floor, with a powerful invisibility charm on his body that he had learned a year ago from an unidentified author's book.

Every time William used this magic on himself, he couldn't help but praise the creator; this magic was incredibly useful and consumed very little of his magical reserves, to the point where he kept asking himself, "Who was the author of the book?"

Right now, that wasn't important; what mattered was the first-year girl who, under the effect of an Imperius curse, was doing things against her will, such as releasing the basilisk for the second time.

William watched as she pressed the button on one of the sink taps, activating a special mechanism and opening the passageway for the basilisk to emerge.

Although the basilisk could be silent, William always wondered how it was possible that no portrait or ghost had seen such a serpent in the castle, even if it only used the castle's plumbing system.

Seeing the immense serpent poke its head out from the sink, William couldn't help but feel his survival instincts urging him to retreat. This creature only needed to look at you directly to end your life, and even if you saw it through a reflection, you would be petrified. To make matters worse, the venom of this creature alone was incredibly destructive, to the point of being a weapon to destroy a Horcrux.

William waited patiently until the basilisk completed its task and was locked away again. Then, when Ginny was returning to the Gryffindor common room, William approached her silently and placed his wand on the back of her neck.

"Stupefy."

The girl collapsed to the floor, and William easily took the diary from her hands.

"Would this count as camping?" William wondered aloud, looking at the small black diary that contained a fragment of the soul of one of the most evil wizards in history.

Once more, William used the spell to make Ginny invisible and carried her on his back. She couldn't simply appear here unconscious; besides Colin being a victim, he didn't need Ginny to be one too. To prevent this, William carried her to the Gryffindor common room. The problem was getting past the defenses in the girls' dormitory, but knowing that his magic could stop working at any moment, he decided to leave her on one of the sofas in the common room. Inevitably, at some point during the night, all the students would be in their beds, and at that moment, the invisibility charm would wear off.

In his dormitory, William did as usual, leaving a decoy of himself in bed and descending into the box where he kept his pets. There, in the section reserved for his learning, he placed the diary on one of the tables.

"Alright, Tom, it's time for you to reveal all your secrets," he said with a smile.

The pages of the book were blank, but the words would only begin to flow after William wrote with ink in the book.

William took his quill and wrote on the first page: "Hello, I am William Rosier. Who are you?"

The words faded, and after a few seconds, new words began to appear:

"Hello, William Rosier. I am Tom Riddle."

William's hand trembled slightly upon seeing the response. He had heard of Tom Riddle, but having a direct dialogue with him was something completely different.

"What do you want?" William wrote.

"I want to help you," Tom replied. "I can give you knowledge and power. All you need to do is trust me."

William frowned. He knew he couldn't trust Tom Riddle, but he also knew this was an invaluable resource.

"What kind of knowledge can you offer me?" William wrote.

"All kinds," Tom responded. "Dark magic, powerful spells, secrets of the castle... Whatever you want to know."

William thought for a moment. He knew playing with fire was dangerous, but the opportunity to learn more about his enemies and about Tom Riddle himself was something he couldn't pass up.

"Alright," William wrote. "Do you know anything about the Chamber of Secrets?"

The words appeared slowly on the page: "The Chamber of Secrets is a legend. But there is truth in every legend."

"Can you tell me something more concrete?" William insisted.

"Only the heir of Slytherin can open the chamber," Tom responded. "I know many things, William. Things that can help you achieve great power."

William knew he had to proceed with caution. "And what do you want in exchange for that information, Tom?"

"Only your trust," Tom replied. "Let me guide you, and I will share my knowledge with you."

William closed the diary for a moment, reflecting on Tom's words. It was clear that Tom Riddle had his own plans and motivations. However, William was determined to gain as much information as possible without falling into the dark wizard's grasp.

"Agreed," William finally wrote. "What is the first thing you want to teach me?"

The words appeared again: "We will start with dark magic. There is one spell in particular that might interest you..."

William continued reading, his mind working quickly to absorb the information and discern how to use it to his advantage.