Me!

"Can you really help me open the Chamber of Secrets?" Malfoy's eyes positively gleamed.

Excitement burst inside him like fireworks-the Heir of Slytherin! What an incomparable honor!

In Britain, all-or almost all-pure-blood wizards revered Slytherin. That great wizard, who had ultimately parted ways with the other three founders, was their true idol!

If I could inherit Slytherin's secrets, couldn't I become another great wizard myself?

Then, just as Father said, Hogwarts would have to be cleansed! All those filthy Mudbloods should be purged! Colin Creevey and Justin were only the beginning!

I!

Draco Malfoy!

Would be the one to carry on Slytherin's legacy!

Wait,

The fire inside Malfoy suddenly faltered. Something occurred to him: if he had only just received the Diary, who had owned it before him? He did not mean the heir from fifty years ago, but the person who had petrified those two Mudbloods not long ago.

He immediately questioned Cyrus.

Cyrus did not particularly want to tell Malfoy about Ginny, so he simply replied, "Just a pathetic coward. The moment the professors grew vigilant, my previous owner got scared. Otherwise, your father wouldn't have asked you to help me."

That immediately made perfect sense to Malfoy. "You mean my father thinks I'm more reliable?" he wrote excitedly. "Of course I am. I'm a Malfoy!"

Dealing with a foolish boy so full of himself was even easier than dealing with Ginny. The slightest hint from Cyrus was enough to make Malfoy lose his head.

"All right-let's get started right away!" Naturally, Malfoy had no wish to be a coward, and he could hardly wait to see Hermione Granger become the next victim.

"No."

Cyrus refused without hesitation.

"Now isn't a good time. I know you aren't a coward, Draco. But it would be disastrous if we were discovered. We need to let them lower their guard first. Still, I can take you to see the Chamber of Secrets."

Draco had been disappointed a moment earlier, but the prospect of visiting the Chamber immediately excited him again. He wished he could appear in its center that very instant and see the terrifying monster.

"How do we get there?"

"I need to use your body." Cyrus finally revealed his true intent.

"What? You think I'll let you possess me?" Malfoy immediately cried out. He knew better than anyone how frightening Dark Magic objects could be. Who knew what would happen if he let something like this possess him?

"You don't dare?"

"You think I would hurt you?"

"You think your father would send you something that might endanger you?"

Cyrus unleashed three questions in succession, shattering every doubt in Draco's mind.

"All right. What do I do?"

"You don't have to do anything. Just bring your face close to the Diary-"

Draco immediately began leaning his face slowly toward the Diary. Silver mist appeared in his vision, like misty threads spewing from some sort of insect.

The threads clung to his face, dragging him into a dark abyss before he could react.

When he raised his head again, the consciousness controlling this body was already Cyrus's.

"At last..."

First, Cyrus greedily absorbed a tiny, insignificant portion of Draco's life force. Then he prepared to keep his promise and take Draco to see the Chamber of Secrets.

Although he had earned Draco's trust, it was still nowhere near the trust Ginny had placed in him.

Ginny had trusted him so deeply that whenever something went wrong, she would come up with excuses for him herself. The trust between Cyrus and Draco, however, could easily shatter.

Under these circumstances, even his possession could not last very long. He still needed to earn more of Draco's trust.

Before that, though, he needed to retrieve something-the Marauder's Map.

After obtaining the Marauder's Map from Fred and George, Cyrus had hidden it away. At the time, he had felt that the fewer people who knew about it, the more useful it would be, so he had not told Ginny about the map. He had never expected that decision to pay off now.

Once he had retrieved the Marauder's Map, Cyrus folded it and tucked it into Draco's sleeve. Then he turned and headed toward the bathroom on the third floor.

At his command, the bathroom's washbasin opened, revealing endless darkness within the secret passage.

Draco Malfoy felt himself slowly opening his eyes in the darkness. At last, a little light filtered in. It was faint, but at least he could see.

Then sensation slowly returned to his body.

He felt as though he were lying in sticky mud, which made him extremely uncomfortable. But the fear of being somewhere completely unfamiliar soon made him forget that minor discomfort.

A very high vaulted ceiling rose overhead, making it clear that this was an enormous space.

On either side stood lifelike stone statues of snakes, each raising a terrifying head above the black water.

-The Chamber of Secrets!

The answer immediately sprang into Draco's mind.

He hurriedly sat up, causing the Diary lying flat on his chest to slide to the ground. Draco quickly picked it up and opened its pages.

"This is the Chamber of Secrets."

Those words were written on the page.

The Chamber of Secrets is inside the book?

The thought came instinctively to Draco. He assumed that when he had leaned close to the Diary, he had been pulled inside it, allowing him to reach the Chamber.

No wonder Father said this Diary was the key to opening the Chamber of Secrets!

Now his fear disappeared.

Draco grew excited.

He quickly stood and surveyed everything in the Chamber. It was very empty, with almost nothing inside, yet he felt like its true master!

"Where's the monster?"

"Where's the monster Slytherin raised to wipe out Mudbloods?"

He eagerly wrote in the Diary.

"You cannot summon that monster. You must speak Parseltongue to summon it. Otherwise, it will attack you." Cyrus was not about to let Malfoy lead him around by the nose. Letting him see the Chamber was enough. It was not yet time to let him push for more!

"Parseltongue? Harry Potter speaks Parseltongue! Was he the one behind it before?" Malfoy asked incredulously.

He certainly did not want to believe that saintly Potter could be the Heir of Slytherin.

"Of course it wasn't him."

"Who else, then? Who else speaks Parseltongue?" Malfoy immediately asked.

A moment later, he saw two letters appear in the Diary:

"Me!"