The Lost Diary

Filch still did not appear at the castle the next day.

During dinner, Kyle specifically sought out Harry, wanting to find out what had happened in Lockhart's office the day before.

"You absolutely mustn't tell anyone else. Professor Dumbledore doesn't want too many people to know about this."

Harry looked around and lowered his voice, saying, "Filch turned to stone because of some advanced Dark Magic."

"Can't Madam Pomfrey cure him either?" Kyle asked.

"No." Harry shook his head. "Madam Pomfrey poured several potions on him, even soaked him in a barrel full of Potions, but it didn't work at all. However..."

Harry hesitated for a moment before continuing, "But Lockhart said he has a way, and that he's in a place called Vaga... what was it again? No, I can't remember the name."

Anyway, he had encountered a similar situation in a certain place and used various amulets to help those people solve their problems.

"But I think he's bragging."

Ron, standing beside him, confidently declared, "Remember? He said the same thing on the third floor, but the place names were completely different."

"It's just a different name, you can't say that," Hermione retorted. "What if he's encountered it twice before?"

"Hermione, do you still believe what he says?" Ron frowned in displeasure. "He can't even handle House-elf."

"By the way, Ron..." Seeing that the two seemed about to start arguing, Kyle quickly changed the subject.

Have you found your pet?

"Oh, you mean Scabbers? We've found it." Ron pulled the fat rat out of his pocket.

"Guess what? It didn't go outside at all. It was under the locker in the common room, but it seemed a bit listless, probably because it hadn't eaten in a long time."

"It's alright, I have rat poison here."

Kyle took out a small bottle filled with red potion and handed it to Ron.

"Thank you, Kyle."

Ron happily accepted it.

Kyle gave him a bottle of this rat tonic last year, and it was very effective. Every time Scabbers drank it, he felt very energetic... It's just that the dosage was a bit small. He finished last year's bottle a long time ago, and he's been too embarrassed to ask Kyle for more.

"You're welcome. I should thank you; you satisfied my curiosity."

Kyle waved his hand. "It's just a bottle of rat tonic, no big deal. Just come find me when you've used it up."

Then he looked at Harry.

"Harry Potter ..."

Just call me Harry.

"Alright then, Harry," Kyle asked, "Have you heard any strange noises lately?"

"Strange sound? What does it mean...?"

Kyle explained, "It's that kind of whisper that only you can hear, but no one else can."

Harry scratched his head, thinking hard for a moment...

"No."

"I only heard the letters talking when I was helping Lockhart reply to them."

However, Lockhart overheard this and said it was a special way of replying, saving reading time, and that many of his admirers used it."

"That's clearly not some unusual whisper... right?"

Kyle nodded.

So it seems Harry didn't hear the Basilisk's voice.

However, the petrification problem that even Dumbledore couldn't solve is most likely related to the Basilisk.

Add to that the mysteriously missing diary... all these problems piled up, leaving Kyle feeling utterly overwhelmed.

He still can't figure out how that diary got lost.

Kyle had considered Ron's Scabbers, also known as Peter Pettigrew... but that seemed unlikely.

Peter currently just a mouse disguised as a pet. Even Ron doesn't know that he has the Horcrux, the diary, so naturally Peter wouldn't know either.

Even assuming Peter did find out... Kyle always carried the Mokeskin Pouch containing the box with him, and it almost never left his sight. Even when he slept at night, Ladon was always there to watch over him.

A mouse sneaked in and stole something without the mouse noticing, and then left no trace?

It's not that Kyle looks down on Peter; if he really had that ability, he wouldn't have pretended to be a pet mouse and hidden in the Weasley family for over a decade.

He also considered the possibility of Time-Turner... but the Department of Mysteries had already rejected his application twice in a row, and even Dumbledore couldn't borrow one, let alone himself.

And why would he specifically go back in time to steal his own things...? Also, who released the Basilisk that petrified Filch? Was it himself? Or Riddle?

Kyle was filled with questions.

On the other side, in the eyes of Harry and the others, Kyle suddenly became silent, sitting there motionless, seemingly lost in thought.

If it weren't for his constantly changing expression and the occasional unconscious cuts in his steak with his cutlery, Harry would have thought Kyle had also turned to stone.

Ron was about to reach out and push Kyle, but Hermione stopped him.

"Ron, Kyle is thinking about something, don't disturb him," Hermione said.

"All right."

Ron didn't mind, and casually turned his hand to the dining table, taking two more chicken legs.

About ten minutes later, Kyle finally came to his senses, let out a long sigh, and rubbed his forehead.

He decided to give up.

"What were you thinking about just now?" Harry asked curiously.

"What kind of Dark Magic could have turned Filch into that?" Kyle said casually.

Harry became interested. "Have you thought of anything?"

"I don't know much about Dark Magic," Kyle shrugged. "I could use Petrification Spell, but that's obviously no challenge for Dumbledore."

"I see..." Harry looked somewhat disappointed.

"By the way, why did you guys go to the third floor?"

Kyle took a bite of the steak he'd almost sliced into dumpling filling, then suddenly asked, "Are you planning to go straight back to the Gryffindor Tower? I thought you'd go to the Great Hall first to get some food before heading back."

"We got there by following Moaning Myrtle," Harry sighed. "In the underground classroom, we accidentally said something that she overheard, and she wanted to catch up with us to explain."

"Then we ran into Filch, who was petrified, and that damn cat."

Ron touched a faint wound on his face and said angrily, "That cat has been following us ever since we left the underground classroom. When we got to the third floor, it mistook us for the murderers who petrified Filch, and it even scratched my face."

If you ask me, I should have used my wand back then...

"Ron, we can't do that," Harry said seriously. "Bumping into the petrified Filch is troublesome enough; if we hurt Mrs. Norris too, we'll have even more trouble explaining ourselves."

"I know..." Ron muttered softly, "But why do we have to go through all this? That cat's scratch really hurt!"

"You're right." Harry touched his arm, where there were also several faint bloodstains.

However, he and Hermione were lucky; they only got scratched on the arms.

While they were in Lockhart's office, Madam Pomfrey applied some medicine, which stopped the bleeding immediately.

When I woke up this morning, the wounds were almost healed, and I estimate they will be completely healed by tomorrow.