Tom

Two seconds later, words appeared on the diary again.

[Thank you so much for not letting my diary be trampled on the ground.]

The reactions of Cyberlina and Dumbledore both indicated that this Tom Riddle was Voldemort, but they didn't know why he appeared in a diary.

Harry naturally understood this, so he was very confused by this polite tone. In his impression, Voldemort was a mad villain, and he couldn't imagine how that ugly face, which bared its fangs at him, could say such things.

But he hesitated for a few seconds and still politely wrote, "You're welcome, sir." Seeing the other three letting him act on his own, Harry continued to write, "Then how can I return the diary to you?"

[Oh... Actually, Harry, I am just a memory. A memory that exists in the diary, so there's no possibility of you returning the diary to me.]

Harry was a little confused; it was the first time he had heard of such an existence.

Cyberlina pushed a cup towards him, and the warm, milky aroma wafted over. Harry looked up and found that Dumbledore opposite him had already started to taste it. He nodded to Cyberlina to express his thanks, put down the quill in his hand, and held the cup with both hands, taking a few sips—then showed an amazed expression to Cyberlina before drinking half the cup. On the diary in front of him, the next line had already appeared automatically.

[You don't need to be afraid, I'm not a dangerous magical item. In fact, I'm very similar to the portraits in the school.]

Harry put down the cup and his eyes flickered to Dumbledore, who had taken out a jar of honey from somewhere and was spooning it into his own cup.

"But you're not a portrait—"

Thank goodness you're not a portrait.

Harry thought to himself. He didn't want to see that terrifying face he had seen a few months ago ever again.

Cyberlina next to him suddenly tapped her cup with the small spoon in her hand. The crisp sound broke the silence in the room, startling Harry and interrupting his writing. He immediately looked up and saw Dumbledore raising his head with him, looking at Cyberlina. Cyberlina took Dumbledore's jar of honey, casually tossed it into the air, and it disappeared.

The messy emotions about Voldemort instantly vanished from Harry's mind. He quickly lowered his head, pretending to continue writing, completely unaware that his bulging cheeks had told everyone he was holding back a laugh.

Dumbledore withdrew his gaze from Harry and turned to Cyberlina, staring directly at her. Cyberlina smiled faintly, waved her wand, and a small plate appeared in front of Dumbledore, containing colorful fruit candies. Those sky-blue eyes were once again filled with laughter.

Snape, who was watching everything, silently savored the taste in his mouth, thinking that the next batch of dental strengthening potion would require Dumbledore to personally assign a small assistant to brew it.

"—you can't speak either."

The emotions of the other party while writing suddenly disappeared. When he started writing again, his tone had become calm. Riddle seemed confused and took a few seconds longer to reply.

[But aren't you talking to me now? Writing is also a form of communication, isn't it.]

Harry noticed an ink dot stop at the end of the sentence, as if there was more to say, so he didn't reply immediately.

[Are there other people around you? Are they your roommates?]

Seeing this, Cyberlina confirmed that even if the window was opened, Riddle wouldn't be able to sense everything happening outside the room. So she pointed to herself with a smile and said, "Reply that you're a senior who went on a nighttime stroll together."

So Harry obediently replied, "Not roommates, but a senior who went on a nighttime stroll together."

[A nighttime stroll on Halloween night, you must be brave Gryffindors.]

After seeing this sentence, Cyberlina thought for a moment, stopped Harry, who was about to reply, took the quill from his hand, pulled the diary closer, and prepared to write herself.

After writing the first letter on the book, she paused, but then continued as if she hadn't noticed anything, writing, "Thank you for the compliment, Mr. Riddle. Judging by your tone, it seems like something terrible is bound to happen on Halloween."

[Such beautiful handwriting, you must be Harry's senior. You are right, Miss, not necessarily something will happen on Halloween, so tonight should be peaceful.]

"Yes, extremely peaceful, Mr. Riddle."

[Oh... That's really lucky. I haven't asked for your name yet, Miss.]

"Cyberlina Sekerei."

This time, it took a long time for the text to appear on the diary.

[Ah, I know your name. Are you named after one of your elders?]

Cyberlina raised an eyebrow and wrote, "Yes, Mr. Riddle, do you know her?"

[I regret that I am still too young to have met her, but I want to say...] The handwriting on the diary paused before continuing, [We might be related by blood, Miss Sekerei.]

Harry was stunned. He turned to look at Cyberlina and found that her eyes, looking at the diary, were curved into a smile, sparkling brightly in the light, and were very beautiful.

"Why do you say that? I don't remember any of my relatives having your surname." Cyberlina paused deliberately. "To be precise, I don't have many relatives."

Her handwriting was still sharp, and a hint of excitement was transmitted through the paper.

[I'd be happy to explain this to you, little Cyberlina, but I don't think now is the appropriate time.]

Cyberlina put down her pen, took a sip of the tea in her cup, took a candy from Dumbledore's plate and put it in her mouth, then slowly picked up her pen again to write:

"There's no need, tell me now. I've already separated from Harry and taken the diary from him. Don't worry, he's easily fooled."

Harry, staring wide-eyed at Cyberlina writing this: "?"

[You are such a clever child.] Riddle's handwriting clearly became cheerful. [You understood what I said, and in a short period of time, you made a judgment and acted. You are amazing, little Cyberlina.]

"Thank you for the compliment, may I ask now what this blood relation is about?"

The girl wrote with some urgency. Her tone was polite, but the underlying condescension shattered her polite facade.

[Little Cyberlina, don't rush. Calm down, or the other party will see through your flaws.]

The girl's pen tip poked the paper impatiently a few times, then suddenly lifted. After a few seconds, she slowly and calmly wrote, "Who is the 'other party' you're referring to?"

Riddle knew that this clever girl had realized her emotions were exposed to him, but unfortunately, he relied on more than just her writing movements.

[It could be anyone, your elder, your enemy, your—]

"And you."

The girl mercilessly interrupted his unfinished sentence and added her own handwriting.

"Mr. Riddle, I don't care what tricks you're playing, but if you keep rambling like this, I'll hand you over to Headmaster Dumbledore. I'm sure he'd be happy to deal with an unknown dark magic item for his students."

[Fine, it's hard to believe that you, who can see my true nature and make such threats, are a Gryffindor.]

"Which house do you think I should belong to?"

[Slytherin, without a doubt. The formidable elder you're named after and her husband were both Slytherins.]

"You seem to know our family very well. I've never even heard of her. But you haven't met her before, so my blood relation to you comes from her husband?"

Although the girl had been eagerly asking him about blood relations, she became unusually calm when family was actually mentioned. This meant... what she cared about wasn't familial affection.

[Yes, you're too smart. He was my maternal grandfather's brother, but he abandoned his surname, a surname that flowed with Salazar Slytherin's blood.]

"Why did he give up that surname? Was it because of that elder in my family?"

[Perhaps, after all... it was great love.]

Faced with Ginny's confession, Riddle could be an understanding and gentle friend. But facing this girl before him, he could be her guide—a guide who would lead someone with the Gaunt family blood onto the path left by Salazar Slytherin.

He deliberately hesitated as he wrote this, because he was certain that this clever girl, who was indifferent to familial affection, used her friends, and was so aggressive, would notice his hesitation and press him. This way, he could speak with a hint of sadness and unspeakable emotion about how his great-uncle foolishly wanted to abandon his surname. Then, he could bring up how the Gaunt family, now almost extinct, was once so proud—this might take a few weeks—and finally, he would tell how that powerful but love-struck foolish woman suppressed the Gaunt family.

Then, this girl, who didn't value family affection and, like him, valued bloodline, would resent—the Sekerei who destroyed her potential birth into a dual-powerful wizarding family—and then seek the roots of the Gaunt family, which carried her blood, open the Chamber of Secrets, and complete Salazar Slytherin's unfinished business!

Wasn't she more useful than the bored Weasley who was just a puppet?

And she was a Gryffindor, a Gryffindor who trusted Dumbledore! Ha! Dumbledore would never have thought of this.

It's just—why hasn't this girl replied yet?

Harry was engrossed in watching the drama unfold, waiting for Cyberlina's reply, when he heard a short, strange chuckle beside him. He cautiously looked up and saw Cyberlina smiling happily, her fingers fiddling with the feather quill in her hand, making it sway back and forth. Her other hand was repeatedly rubbing and folding the corner of the diary's page. She was still sitting upright, but her head was tilted slightly, as if deep in thought. A faint red glow flickered in her light golden-brown eyes, which were facing the light.

Harry subconsciously looked up at the ornate, bright, but clearly warm yellow lamp and decided it must be his eyes playing tricks because he was a little tired. When he looked down again, he noticed Dumbledore quietly tucking the fruit candies in front of him into his sleeve.

Harry: "..." So Headmaster Dumbledore had already reached this level of sweet tooth?

Noticing Harry's gaze, Dumbledore winked at him, put his index finger to his lips with a slight smile, then pointed to the cup beside Harry, and made a drinking gesture.

Harry understood, though he didn't quite grasp it. The headmaster must have his reasons, so he complied. He glanced at Cyberlina, who had just raised her arm again to write, and immediately picked up the cup, downing the remaining lukewarm milky drink in one gulp.

Cyberlina began to write: "Perhaps you'd be willing to tell me their story?"

[I'd be more than willing, but I don't know that much either—] Perhaps because he had waited for a long time, Riddle wrote this sentence with unusual speed, but unfortunately, Cyberlina interrupted him again.

"But I still feel strange."

[What?]

"I think it's better to tell stories face-to-face."

[But I'm sorry, I'm just a diary.]

"I can help you."

[Help me?] Riddle was stunned for a moment, then found it a bit amusing. [There will be a time when you help me, little Cyberlina.]

"But I'm already helping you." Cyberlina lowered her gaze, smiling as she pressed the page corner she had just folded with her finger. "Don't you feel it, Mr. Riddle?"

Riddle was somewhat confused. Just as he was about to ask in detail what was happening, a powerful force suddenly surged into his soul—the vitality he could only absorb in small amounts when someone was writing word by word, now rushed in like a tide, unstoppable and endless—until his soul gradually appeared as a phantom above the diary.

Snape tightened his grip on his wand.

Harry abruptly stood up, his chair scraping loudly against the floor.

"Well... I think Mr. Riddle's current state should be enough for storytelling," Cyberlina said, pushing Harry's chair back into place, gently patting his shoulder to reassure him, and then closing the diary on the table. She folded her hands on her lap, pressed down on her wand, and smiled at Riddle.

Her series of actions was enough for Riddle to recover from his shock.

He stared at Cyberlina's face, realizing he had been tricked.

Riddle, having deeply studied several forbidden dark magic books, knew very well that someone who could supply him with such immense life force and even soul power at once was no ordinary person. He was even certain that Dumbledore couldn't do it.

So, this Sekerei, who was "of unknown identity" according to Ginny, was the legendary Sekerei he knew! And she even admitted to being his descendant!

Riddle was now in a state very close to a solid entity, looking clearer than the pale white ghosts in the castle. Harry's eyes widened as he looked at him—why was he different from the Voldemort he knew? Why did he look as handsome as the popular Diggory brother from Hufflepuff?

"Weren't you quite talkative, Mr. Riddle? Why have you become a mute after coming out?"

Dumbledore paused upon hearing Cyberlina's merciless laughter, then took his teacup and leaned back in his chair. He wasn't worried about Riddle seeing him because he had already sensed the Disillusionment Charm Cyberlina had placed on him. Also... he suddenly realized that even if Riddle didn't want to come out, he would have to.

It was a shame he hadn't seen what Cyberlina and Riddle had discussed earlier, but he was already considering what time would be appropriate to call Harry to his office after this was over.

"A pleasure to meet you, Madam Sekerei. I have admired you for a long time." Riddle offered a gentle and polite smile, bowing slightly. The only awkward thing was that half of his body was below the table.

"You flatter me. I am merely a foolish woman who indulves in love," Cyberlina said with a smile, tapping the handle of her wand with her finger.

Dumbledore looked at Riddle in surprise upon hearing this obvious sarcasm, as he remembered Tom at this age being quite polite—at least on the surface.

Riddle: "..."

He understood. The moment Cyberlina wrote the first word, today was destined to be like this. Because Cyberlina's control over souls and life force was far superior to his. Since he could draw life force from others through the diary to gain their emotions, Cyberlina could do the same—as long as her power entered the diary, she could capture his soul.

He even suspected that Cyberlina could influence people's emotions through this.

It could be said that he had brought the wolf into his own fold.

And it was clear that she could extract more than just emotions from his soul; she could even accurately read his thoughts.

So his sincere words, which were actually offensive to Cyberlina, were heard by her word for word, and even now—

Riddle looked up abruptly and, as expected, saw the mockery and ridicule in Cyberlina's eyes.

"Mr. Riddle, you know, Albus has been giving me the cold shoulder lately."

Riddle didn't understand why Cyberlina suddenly changed the subject and mentioned Dumbledore, but after realizing she could know what he was thinking, he immediately put away his dissatisfaction.

"I don't know, madam."

"The reason is very simple and easy to guess." Cyberlina shrugged, "Because he still found some of my notes and insights that I hid in Hogwarts."

Harry: ...This reason... simple, easy to guess?

Dumbledore snorted at this—he had only thought of this point, but hadn't found anything!

"Many of those notes are about souls, so I placed them near the few books related to souls. Therefore, I believe that when your main body created you, you couldn't help but discover those things." Cyberlina tilted her head slightly, looking at the incomplete soul standing before her with a hint of disdain. "But clearly, you and your main body are as stupid as trolls with snot in their brains, completely failing to notice whose they were or what their real purpose was..."

Riddle showed a look of realization at her first half of the sentence, but was completely confused by the second half.

Harry and Snape indicated that they were already out of the conversation. But after hearing these somewhat familiar words, Harry couldn't help but turn to look at Snape, only to find that he seemed to be spacing out, his eyes empty from some point on, as if he wasn't listening at all.

Only Dumbledore understood completely. He glanced at the distance between himself and the table, then chose to get up and move away.

—Those notes existed because of Mr. Ominis, Tom must have said something bad about Mr. Ominis, and Cyberlina was about to lose her temper.

"Now, whenever I think of them being seen by you—" Cyberlina smiled gently, her eyes curved as she looked at Riddle, her hand gripping the handle of her wand and caressing it. "I feel they're a bit dirty... Do you know what to do with dirty things?"

Before Riddle could answer, Cyberlina answered her own question with her actions—she waved her wand with a small movement.

The next moment, white flames enveloped Riddle's entire body. A dry burning sensation appeared throughout his soul, but the pain was so mild that it didn't make him cry out. He even had the energy to question Cyberlina, "Why... can it hurt me?"

After all, he was just an incomplete soul, not even a ghost. How could he be hurt by magic?!

Cyberlina remained silent, just smiling at Riddle.

In those light golden-brown eyes, Riddle only saw a smile, with all other emotions blank. He inexplicably felt a chill and wanted to return to the diary, only to find that he couldn't! He reached out to touch the diary but could only pass through it, and through the table.

"No... hiss—"

Riddle then realized that the burning pain from the flames was gradually increasing!

Harry on the side was a little stunned. He was even getting a bit groggy, feeling like he didn't understand any of this.

"Good child, move away."

Dumbledore appeared behind Harry, pulling him and his chair backward, then cast a silencing charm on him. He then patted Snape's shoulder, signaling him to move away from the table.

The white flames grew larger and larger, and Riddle's pained groans grew louder. What made him even more desperate was that he had no physical form; he was floating, unable to touch anything, not even himself—so he couldn't grab anything to alleviate his pain, and could only endure all this suffering with his weak soul power.

"It's sterilization, Mr. Riddle. And the Muggle world often uses high temperatures for sterilization."

Cyberlina suddenly moved. Riddle looked up with difficulty and saw that she had simply picked up the diary from the table. The next moment, the white flames suddenly intensified—

"Boom!"

The table couldn't withstand the sudden surge of white flames and began to shatter outwards from where Riddle was.

Cyberlina raised her wand, waved it casually, and the table fragments, along with the teacups and saucers, disappeared, leaving only a shriveled, incomplete soul floating in the air, howling within the white flames.

Harry couldn't hear any sound, but that didn't stop him from staring at it all, dumbfounded. He immediately understood why Headmaster Dumbledore had taken away the sweets earlier!