Douglas was searching the shelves in the Ravenclaw Common Room for a book that might be the diary.
After all, the most dangerous place was the safest place.
The best way to hide a drop of water was to hide it in the ocean...
All Douglas could do was search for a needle in a haystack.
He specifically looked for old-looking notebooks.
But he found nothing.
The Summoning Charm?
Of course he had tried it, but almost every name he used proved useless.
Just as he stood up and looked out the window, he suddenly froze.
An owl out hunting happened to fly past...
Douglas smacked himself on the head, feeling as stupid as a pig.
He had actually forgotten about owls.
Suddenly, he recalled Snape and Dumbledore's parting words.
He felt certain they had already guessed the answer. No wonder Snape had said he would be better off looking for clues from Malfoy.
At that moment, Douglas felt thoroughly dejected...
He had made something so simple into something so complicated.
He had even thought Voldemort might have hollowed out a book and hidden his diary inside it.
But things in the magical world were actually that simple. Given enough time, the book could easily have been sent away by owl.
Unless Heaven's Net had been laid in advance to intercept it.
No wonder those two had left so readily...
By that reasoning, the diary had been sent away, and the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets was under surveillance.
Even if Malfoy sent the diary back, there would be little chance of opening the Chamber of Secrets.
So, had the danger at Hogwarts passed for now?
That was what Douglas thought, anyway...
He left the Ravenclaw Common Room and went straight back to his office without returning to the