Harley was now very glad that Professor Dumbledore had filled in all the blanks himself.
One lie required countless others to cover it up, but with Professor Dumbledore's vivid imagination, Harley didn't have to think up any more excuses.
At the same time, Harley was working out in her mind how to repay Riddle. Since her senior had helped her so much, saving her from losing control multiple times and "looking out" for her so much during her second year, she naturally couldn't let him go unrewarded.
Harley considered herself a good person, and good people needed to have fine virtues.
"Gratitude for kindness" had always been a Witch's fine virtue, hadn't it?
Harley was already thinking about how to use the soul fragment in the box sealed beneath layers of wards at the bottom of her trunk once she got back.
Since that soul fragment was connected to Voldemort... once she returned to the demigod level, she would have to give Senior Riddle a proper working-over.
She just wasn't sure whether, after bearing so much madness and loss of control, the soul fragment could still connect with Voldemort's other soul fragments.
But now that she thought about it, back in her first year, she had used the madness and curse on that soul fragment to strike back at Professor Quirrell and Voldemort.
The ritual had gone exceptionally smoothly at the time. She wondered if that was because the fragment had originally belonged to Voldemort.
If she started from that angle, perhaps her chances of success would be greater. With that thought, Harley had a general plan.
"All right, we've covered the most important matters. As for Tom's Horcrux, let this old man worry about it!"
Professor Dumbledore seemed to have relaxed, or perhaps he had finally put something troubling