"So, you ran into Dumbledore?"
Inside the memory space, Cyrus looked grim. He had only learned about it on the second evening. Ginny had fallen asleep as soon as she returned to her dormitory the night before.
"Yes! Headmaster Dumbledore mentioned you. He didn't say your name, but I knew he meant you," Ginny said excitedly. But Cyrus's next words were like a bucket of cold water thrown over her.
"I may have been exposed." Cyrus let out a heavy breath, trying to steady his emotions. He had never expected that after waiting so long, this would be the result.
Ultimately, he and Riddle were not the same person, and they treated Ginny differently. The slightest coincidence could lead to a vastly different outcome.
But-
Perhaps there's still hope, he thought.
If Dumbledore believed he had everything under control, he would be in less of a hurry to act.
Just like Quirrell last year, he would make the perfect practice target for Dumbledore's Chosen One.
There's still room to maneuver!
Cyrus forced himself to calm down. In truth, he had no idea what Dumbledore intended, but almost twenty hours had passed since Ginny encountered him last night, and Cyrus remained safely in her possession. That meant the situation was not yet hopeless.
"Exposed? But I've never told anyone about you, Mr. Riddle!" Ginny was so startled that she nearly dropped her quill, and her words came out in a rush.
"This isn't your fault. Magic can be impossible to guard against. Dumbledore is a master of Legilimency. When he looks into your eyes, he can get a general idea of what you're thinking." Once Cyrus had steadied himself, he even felt up to comforting Ginny.
"Wizards usually say that Legilimency isn't mind reading, but to a completely undefended mind, it's actually more frightening than that."
"Then... then what should I do?" Ginny was on the verge of tears.
She did not want Mr. Riddle to "die" because of her, nor did she want to lose a friend she could confide in.
"Don't worry. If someone really does ask you to hand me over, just hide me. I'll alter your memories then and keep the real ones hidden with me. That way, no one will be able to find me," Cyrus reassured her.
That was his last resort.
If it came to that, there was no telling how long he would have to wait for someone else to open the Diary. Besides, would Voldemort die if the Diary had not been destroyed?
While Cyrus and Ginny were weighed down by worry, Dumbledore sat in his office, carefully recalling the little details of his encounter with Ginny Weasley the previous night. Though it was hardly something to be proud of, he had indeed used Legilimency on a first-year witch.
He had been far too eager to learn why she had appeared in that particular place at such a coincidental moment.
But the information he obtained had surprised him greatly.
He placed his memory in the Pensieve and stirred it, and the scene from the previous night immediately emerged.
He watched himself aggressively, shamelessly forcing his way into Ginny's mind with his powerful magic, reading her thoughts at that moment.
To that end, he had even deliberately asked a question to guide her thoughts: "Before you leave, I'd like to make sure of something, Miss Weasley. Is there anything else you would like to tell me?"
Ginny Weasley had clearly been hiding something.
And at that moment, her voice had echoed over and over in his mind: Draco Malfoy is the Heir of Slytherin!
Draco Malfoy?
Even he found that rather absurd.
If Salazar Slytherin had truly chosen Draco Malfoy as his heir, he must have been blind.
It was not that Dumbledore looked down on Draco Malfoy. Quite the opposite, in fact: he believed Draco had real potential. But the Malfoys were not particularly exemplary Slytherins, let alone worthy heirs of Slytherin.
Ambition and honor?
They had some, but not much.
And besides-Draco did not speak Parseltongue!
That was a crucial point. At the very least, Dumbledore believed that if Slytherin really had left behind a Chamber of Secrets, perhaps only Parseltongue could open its entrance.
On the other hand, he could not even confirm whether the Chamber of Secrets existed. Dumbledore knew perfectly well that Hagrid had not been responsible for the murder fifty years ago. Back then, he had not suspected Tom Riddle, but time had made the truth behind many things increasingly clear.
The killer fifty years ago had most likely been Tom. Dumbledore simply could not be certain how he had done it.
Had it been a deliberate murder to create a Horcrux? Or had he truly opened the Chamber of Secrets, as the rumors claimed, to purge those supposedly "unworthy of learning magic"?
"Draco Malfoy... it isn't impossible. I believe Arthur was raiding the Malfoys' home over the summer. Perhaps Lucius had him bring some things from Voldemort's day into the school," Dumbledore speculated.
In truth, his guess was already very close to the mark. It was only that the thought in Ginny's mind had led him to suspect someone slightly different. Moreover, Draco, who should have followed the others back to the dungeons, had appeared on the third floor at that moment. That was an even greater coincidence than Harry and his two friends being there.
As for why Ginny Weasley had appeared in the classroom where Hagrid had hidden the Acromantula, perhaps someone had told her the location of this "secret chamber that wasn't the Chamber of Secrets."
Perhaps it had been her grandfather or grandmother, fifty years ago.
"What exactly is this old relic from Voldemort's day? A key to open the Chamber of Secrets? Or perhaps-"
He withdrew from the memory and looked at Fawkes, who was already on the verge of rebirth, then spoke cheerfully.
"Hurry up and get ready to be reborn, old friend. I may need your help."
If that old object was what he suspected, then something he had spent decades pursuing without success had finally seen progress. Of course, given Tom Riddle's madness, he might have made several such objects. Still, being able to destroy even one now would be a very good thing.
Fawkes lowered his head and plucked out one of his own tail feathers, ignoring Dumbledore's words.
"It seems I'll have to find time to visit my old friend, Horace Slughorn. I haven't seen him in a long time, not since he retired." Dumbledore walked over to the window and stood watching the moonlight spill down.
"But I should wait a little longer. If it really is Draco, I'm sure Lucius Malfoy will make a move."
Before you continue