"Long time no see, Albus Dumbledore-" Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic, held the Diary in his hand, twisted his mouth into a sinister smile, and spoke in an eerie voice. Then he dropped to the floor like a bird that had flown too fast to brake before hitting a pane of glass, reverting to the particular exhaustion of a middle-aged man who had used up his strength.
This time, however, the pane of glass really had struck first-Dumbledore's spell had been both swift and accurate.
Cornelius Fudge fell with the Diary still in his hand. The Basilisk, now gentle and docile after its mental reconditioning, poked its head over curiously. The Diary actually shifted on its own, landing on the Basilisk's tongue. In an instant, a trace of ferocity that should never have resurfaced appeared in its eyes. Dumbledore reacted swiftly, casting a Summoning Charm to drag the Diary in front of him before slamming it hard onto the floor-five points from Dumbledore for mistreating books.
Percy Weasley, the redheaded young man, clearly had nerves of steel. Faced with Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore attacking the Minister for Magic in what looked suspiciously like an attempt to seize power, he had not so much as changed expression-of course he had not, because he had already fainted. He was also covered in Basilisk stomach fluid, though fortunately none of it had blocked his airways.
That was the scene Brian arrived to find in the Chamber of Secrets.
Dumbledore needed to explain nothing. Brian understood everything immediately-the urge to cut through, pierce, and shred the Diary revealed its identity. This was another of Voldemort's Horcruxes, and Fudge's behavior just now clearly showed that the Diary could control other people's thoughts and actions.
It was somewhat similar to Slytherin's Locket-but the Locket could