Interlude

In Cyberlina's Room of Requirement, Harry sat on a chair, his toes touching the ground, leaning to the side as he curiously poked at a plant behind him he didn't recognize. Snape, sitting beside him, pulled his arm back. Harry turned his head, just in time to see Snape glaring at him, his lips tight.

"Don't touch anything!"

Harry read the meaning in his expression, pouted, and pulled his arm out of Snape's grasp, but he didn't touch the magical plant anymore. He turned back, sat up straight, and looked at Cyberlina and Dumbledore, who were sitting opposite each other at the same long table in silence.

Because Cyberlina's action to suppress the Basilisk was so swift, it wasn't too late when the four of them emerged from the Chamber of Secrets. Dumbledore and Cyberlina's brief consensus in the Chamber of Secrets broke down, initiating a new round of disagreement—should Harry return to the dormitory?

Dumbledore: "I think he should meet an old friend of ours."

Cyberlina: "An old friend of yours, not mine... and they don't necessarily have to meet today."

Dumbledore: "There will be a day for it eventually, didn't you say it's better sooner rather than later?"

Cyberlina: "Don't conflate the two things, Albus."

"Then this way everything will be according to your wishes." Dumbledore sighed, "Don't be too stubborn, Cyber."

"Albus, you want me to listen to you too." Cyberlina smiled, "It's according to my wishes because I'm right."

The two of them bickered back and forth in the prefect's bathroom, while Harry and Snape stood side-by-side at the doorway watching them argue.

Myrtle, returning from Nick's birthday banquet, saw this scene and immediately raised her eyebrows, crying and cursing. But upon seeing who was arguing inside, she stopped, silently floated away from her home, and wondered where else she should visit. Although she didn't know Cyberlina, her name was all over the banquet today: Nick said she would dissect ghosts for experiments, but unfortunately, she didn't come to dissect his barely attached neck; Peeves said he was almost sucked into a bottle by this person and placed on a shelf with similar existences; the ghosts of the Headless Hunt were noisily saying she had hidden all their heads, making them unable to find them.

Snape patiently listened to the two engage in a pointless conversation—because he had obtained a Basilisk venomous fang, five other Basilisk teeth, three bottles of Basilisk blood, one bottle of Basilisk saliva, and a small piece of the Basilisk's giant eye tonight.

And that huge Basilisk, they could still get more from.

After all, the key was right beside him.

Snape looked at Harry and, noticing his conflicted expression, charitably spoke for him: "My dears, if my ears aren't deceiving me, you seem to be discussing Mr. Potter's matters. Then why not ask young Mr. Potter himself what he thinks?"

Dumbledore and Cyberlina stopped their conversation and both looked at Snape. The former was surprised, the latter chuckled lightly, and then they both looked down at Harry.

"So, my dear little Harry, do you want to go see the 'old friend' Albus mentioned?" Cyberlina asked, smiling, a step ahead of Dumbledore.

"I need to know who that friend is first," Harry said honestly, "Otherwise, I won't know the answer."

Cyberlina maintained her smile and raised her eyebrows at Dumbledore: Your turn.

Dumbledore: "..."

How could he say it? That the so-called "old friend" was Voldemort, who killed your parents and tried to kill you a few months ago?

He was wrong. He shouldn't have used that word.

--No, he should have cast a Silencing Charm on Cyberlina before she asked.

As they fell into silence, Snape spoke expressionlessly: "It's the one currently in that bag." He paused, unable to help himself, "I truly don't know how you two lived to your age, did you just drag things out? It seems our Savior has some merit after all, as he doesn't overthink and waste time."

The emotion Harry had just felt, without fully understanding what it was, suddenly sank. He pursed his lips and looked up at Snape: "Professor Snape, thank you for the compliment, but please don't praise me next time."

Then, without waiting for Snape's reaction, he turned back and looked at Cyberlina seriously: "Senior, I want to see him. I faced him last year, and I won't be afraid this year either."

Dumbledore looked gratified, feeling fortunate that Harry didn't care about his choice of words for that person.

"Alright then." Cyberlina stroked Harry's messy hair and then slung an arm around his shoulders, "Then let's head to the Headmaster's office!"

Dumbledore: "...? Why the Headmaster's office?"

"Isn't it the Headmaster's office?"

"He won't come out if you go to the Headmaster's office."

"He won't come out even if you use Fiendfyre Curse on him?"

"..." Dumbledore glared at Cyberlina, "You want to set fire to my office??"

Cyberlina tilted her head to look at him, her face full of innocence: "Then you choose a spell?"

Dumbledore stared at Cyberlina for a few seconds, then smiled and said, "I choose the Room of Requirement."

Cyberlina: "?"

"The room you used to live in when you were a student." Dumbledore seemed to suddenly recall something and looked up, "Oh, do you still go there often? I heard you almost never stay in the Slytherin dormitory. By rights, I should deduct points from you."

Cyberlina: "...I don't go that often."

"That's true, last time you were in the Forbidden Forest late at night."

Cyberlina: "..."

Meanwhile, Harry was stunned, staring at Dumbledore with wide eyes. Then he saw him stroke his beard, lower his head, and mumble, "You still haven't had me try your new drink."

Cyberlina looked at Snape, and Snape looked back without guilt, shrugging and spreading his hands, while raising his eyebrows and nodding his mouth, indicating: Didn't you know I'd report it long ago?

Cyberlina looked at the smugness in Snape's eyes, finding it amusing. Then she looked at Dumbledore's feigned grievance, and she couldn't help but laugh.

She hadn't seen Dumbledore like this in many years, almost since his youth, he hadn't shown her such a sulky, petulant demeanor—though he had complained about her to Omi a few times in this manner.

Dumbledore was doing it on purpose—that was obvious.

After all, he made no attempt to hide his desire to enter her Room of Requirement, even seeming to be prepared to throw a tantrum to get in. Cyberlina couldn't guess what he wanted to confirm inside, but she felt she should agree, otherwise, she'd be doing a disservice to the white-bearded old man acting so awkwardly in front of the two children.

"Alright, Albus, since you insist." Cyberlina put her arm around Harry's shoulders, "It's a pity for little Harry."

"Me?" Harry asked, confused.

"Yes, it's a pity you won't be able to find a way into the Room of Requirement yourself, missing out on one of the joys of attending Hogwarts." Cyberlina said regretfully, and as she spoke, she walked with Harry towards the eighth floor, "Just like me, Professor Weasley told me back then."

"Weasley?"

"Yes, that's your friend Weasley."

"Oh, he was certainly a friendly professor," Dumbledore caught up to the pair. "She was the Head of Gryffindor at the time, and also the Deputy Headmistress."

"Just like Professor McGonagall!"

"Yes, just like Professor McGonagall," Dumbledore chuckled. "They were both Transfiguration professors too."

"A classic duo," Cyberlina quipped.

The three of them chatted as they walked, with Snape listening and following behind. The four of them arrived unhurriedly before the giant troll tapestry on the eighth floor.

Actually, Dumbledore and Cyberlina had been talking when they first entered the Room of Requirement. However, after Cyberlina led the three to a room with a long table and they sat down, she and Dumbledore stopped talking. They silently took out the item from the black cloth bag—a black notebook.

Harry and Snape were both surprised. Wasn't it supposed to be Voldemort?

Cyberlina first suspended the notebook in her palm, examining it carefully. Later, it passed to Dumbledore. Both of them looked at it extremely closely, though it was unclear what they were looking at. Waiting quietly was always boring, so the bored Harry's gaze was drawn to the plants he hadn't seen before behind him, and then he was pulled back by Snape.

"How is it?" Cyberlina asked Dumbledore across the table, her arms crossed. "You won't hear anything, will you?"

"Yes, he's sealed inside, like being locked in a house with no doors and barred windows," Dumbledore placed the notebook between them. "He needs someone to open the window for him."

Cyberlina tilted her head and beckoned Harry over. Harry immediately moved his chair to sit next to her. Cyberlina placed the notebook in front of Harry, then flicked her hand and conjured a quill, handing it to him.

Harry took the quill and pulled the notebook closer. He realized it was a diary, and from the faded date on the cover, it looked like it was from fifty years ago. Upon opening it, Harry could only see a smudged name on the first page—T.M. Riddle. But any pages after that were blank.

Harry glanced at the quill in his hand and asked Cyberlina, "What should I write?"

"Anything."

"Anything?" Harry thought for a moment and wrote—

"October 31, 1992, Saturday night."

Just as Harry was lifting his quill, wondering what to write next, the notebook miraculously produced the next line on its own—

[Halloween, what a wonderful day, strange things tend to happen. What did you encounter at the feast?]

Harry: "!!!"

Harry looked at Cyberlina in shock. Cyberlina shook her head, signaling him to continue.

Harry pursed his lips and continued writing—

"Who are you? Where are you? How are you writing in this notebook???"

[You... Ah, I see. Yes, from your handwriting, I should have understood... Hello, young wizard. My name is Tom Riddle.]

Harry hesitated, then looked up at the three people beside him before continuing to write, "Hello, my name is Harry Potter."

[Harry Potter, may I ask how you obtained my diary?]

"I found it on the ground, sir."