Tom Riddle's Diary

Headmaster Albus Dumbledore had resigned?

There was no doubt that this was far from encouraging news.

"They've gone completely mad!" Zacharias Smith commented. "Professor Dumbledore may be the only person the Heir of Slytherin fears... Could the monster in the Chamber of Secrets have been released by someone from the Ministry of Magic?"

Many familiar faces had already left the Hufflepuff common room... Hannah Abbott, Susan Bones, Steven Lucas, and many other younger students had all left Hogwarts early under various pretexts.

The common room no longer rang with its former laughter and chatter. It felt somewhat desolate.

Jon sat quietly by the fireplace, lost in thought.

There was no doubt that the situation was dire... It was only February 15th, and Professor Dumbledore had already left the school. It was hard to imagine what terrible things might happen next. Whether the Basilisk ran rampant through the castle or Hogwarts shut down completely, neither possibility was good.

So he had to do something to change the situation!

Jon turned his gaze to the inconspicuous portrait of a witch above the fireplace.

"Professor, what should I do?" he asked Helga Hufflepuff in the portrait softly.

The kindly witch looked at Jon gently, a faint smile on her lips. She said nothing, merely nodded slightly... Yet in that instant, Jon felt a powerful force surge through his entire body.

"Thank you, Professor..."

"Zacharias!"

"What is it, Jon?" Zacharias Smith was about to go to bed when Jon Hart stopped him.

"There's something I need your help with." Jon spoke with a serious expression. "Come with me."

"All right, all right..." Zacharias followed Jon lazily into his dormitory.

Seeing the stacks of books piled by the bed and across the desk, Zacharias could not help curling his lip. "You really are hardworking, Jon..."

"Diligence is a traditional Hufflepuff virtue," Jon replied casually. He pulled a black diary from among the books, then asked, "Do you recognize this?"

"What?" Zacharias gave the diary a casual glance. It was small, thin, and battered, with a black cover that seemed to have been soaked in water. It was clearly quite old. "Where did you get this antique?"

"I found it," Jon said calmly. "I picked it up in a bathroom a few days ago. I don't know whose it is... There was that terrible attack the day before yesterday, and I got a little hurt too, so I nearly forgot all about it."

"Did you ask Ernie and Wayne?"

"I did. It wasn't either of them. I suspect it belongs to a student from another House..." Jon said. "But you know, with the Slytherin monster running rampant around the school lately, and me being Muggle-born, I don't dare draw too much attention to myself."

"Got it, got it!" Zacharias said carelessly. "Leave it to me. Tomorrow in the Great Hall, I'll ask the Gryffindor and Slytherin students whether one of them lost it!"

"All right. Thanks."

"No problem!"

Early the next morning, Jon and a group of Hufflepuff students had just arrived at the Great Hall under Filch's escort when they heard Zacharias's booming voice.

"Have any of you lost a black diary?" Zacharias Smith shouted at the Gryffindor table. "Jon... no, I found one in a bathroom a few days ago. It's old and battered, like something from decades ago, and it even has the name of a Muggle bookshop printed on it..."

"No? All right, then I'll go ask Ravenclaw."

While Zacharias shouted away, Jon nibbled on a bread roll and secretly watched the other tables.

Unfortunately, the Great Hall was rather chaotic and crowded. He failed to spot anything useful.

After breakfast, they had no classes that morning, so they returned to the Hufflepuff common room under Filch's escort.

As he watched his classmates climb into the barrel one after another, Jon deliberately lingered at the back.

He was the last to climb into the tunnel, but instead of crawling through, he stayed where he was... After silently counting for several seconds and sensing that Filch had left, he crawled back out of the barrel.

Jon did not leave the area, however... Instead, he headed straight for a painting of a silver bowl overflowing with fruit.

He slipped secretly into the Kitchen.

Inside the cottage of Sylvanus Kettleburn, the Care of Magical Creatures professor, beside the Forbidden Forest.

At that moment, several adult wizards were crammed into the narrow cottage.

Minerva McGonagall, Filius Flitwick, Pomona Sprout, and Severus Snape—the heads of the four Houses—had gathered here swiftly after escorting their students away. Gilderoy Lockhart, the Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor, was there as well.

Professor Kettleburn crouched in the middle of the group, carefully examining a bloodstained sheet of white paper in his hands.

"This blood was collected from the scene where Mr. Weasley was attacked. Headmaster Dumbledore asked me to analyze it... I can say with certainty that it is snake blood!" His aged voice carried an added note of weariness.

"So, Sylvanus... I think I mentioned this to you before..." Professor Sprout's voice trembled slightly.

"Yes... It should be correct..." Professor Kettleburn said, shuddering. "A terrifying creature... There are many dreadful beasts and monsters roaming across Europe, but none are more bizarre or deadly than the Basilisk, also known as the King of Serpents."

"This snake is enormous, and its method of killing is astonishing. Aside from its lethal fangs, a Basilisk's gaze can also kill. Anyone caught in its eyes will die at once. Spiders flee when they see a Basilisk, for it is their mortal enemy. And a Basilisk will flee in terror only upon hearing a rooster crow, because a rooster's crow is fatal to it as well..."

"Whenever an attack occurred, the spiders would be terrified, even frightened to death alive; all of Hagrid's roosters were killed, because their crows were fatal to it..." Professor Sprout asked bitterly.

"Potter and his friends always appeared at the scene immediately after every incident..." Snape said in astonishment. "Because he can speak Parseltongue? So he heard the Basilisk's voice and was drawn there?"

Professor Kettleburn nodded gently.

"No one died..." Professor Flitwick lowered his head as he analyzed the situation. "Because none of them looked directly at it... Mr. Creevey saw it through his camera, Finley must have seen it through Sir Nicholas, and Mr. Weasley saw it through the mirror in his hand... As for Miss Crivat?"

"The knocker..." Professor McGonagall said. "She was attacked through the reflection in the bronze knocker, and the knocker was damaged as a result."

"Unbelievable!" Professor Sprout growled angrily. "Such a filthy monster has been running rampant in our school for so long!"

"We have to find a way to kill it!" Professor Flitwick drew his Wand from his waist.

"Is that so... No, you're absolutely right!" Professor Lockhart stretched lazily, but upon noticing the hostile looks from his colleagues, he swiftly changed his tune.

Suddenly, a crisp popping sound made the professors turn their heads.

"What is it?!" Snape had already raised his Wand.

"Wait... Severus!" Professor Sprout stopped him. "It's a House-elf!"

She turned her gaze to the ugly "little monster" who had Apparated over and asked gently, "What is it, Logno?"

The House-elf named "Logno" bowed respectfully to Professor Sprout, then greeted each of the other professors in turn.

"An intruder. She tried to break into the Hufflepuff common room, and we caught her..." the House-elf said in a shrill voice. "By our usual custom, we would pour vinegar all over her and let her go. But Klyne told me that some terrible things have happened at Hogwarts recently, and that we ought to be more careful."

"So, respected Professor Sprout... I brought the intruder here!"

As he spoke, Logno snapped his fingers.

Six House-elves Apparated beside Professor Kettleburn's hut, carrying a small, thin girl.