Chapter 63 - 64

"Thank god!" said Mrs. Weasley as she walked up to Harry and Evan, "You saved Ron, you saved him! How did you do it?"

"That's what we all want to know," said Snape as he stared at them.

Evan and Harry looked at each other quietly, Evan motioned Harry to recount what happened. Harry hesitated for a moment, Harry went to Dumbledore's desk and put the sorting hat, the silver sword, and Riddle's diary on it.

He then began to tell the story to everyone.

He talked for about a quarter of an hour, everyone listened intently, the room was silent.

He told them that he had been hearing the basilisk's voice, and then after investigating, they figured that the monster must be a basilisk, it lurked in the water pipes, wandered around the school and attacked the students.

He then spoke of the battles, the one in the common room and in the Chamber of Secrets, how he and Evan were brought to the Chamber of secrets by the Basilisk, how Evan was struck by Riddle's spell, how the sorting gave him the sword, and how he used the sword to kill the Basilisk.

But his voice became hesitant.

He avoided mentioning Riddle's diary and Ron's involvement in the plot.

When they heard him say Voldemort's name, the room turned eerily quiet. The Weasley's, Hagrid, and Fudge shuddered, Snape's expression was also a little strange and Lucius Malfoy who had been huddled in the corner had an unnatural expression.

"You mean this is all the one who shall not be named doing? It wasn't Hagrid that did it fifty years ago, he was caught and framed by that person, we even gave a reward for his contributions to the school," said Fudge.

"Cornelius, I told you before, Hagrid was wronged, he was innocent the entire time," Dumbledore said calmly.

"Yes, yes, you did say that but the student who caught Hagrid…" Fudge said with uncertainty.

"His name was Tom, the student was Voldemort, he orchestrated a series of attacks inside the castle but Harry and I stopped his plot," said Evan.

When he heard Evan's words, he stepped back, though he listened to Harry he could not imagine how two young boys not even in their teens could defeat the most powerful dark wizard and a basilisk.

The whole thing sounds like a fairy tale.

"Minister, since we have stopped Voldemort's plot and we saved Hogwarts." said Evan as he stared at Fudge with a smile, "Can Harry, Hermione, Ron, and I get a Special Award for Services to the School?"

"What?!" Fudge paused for a moment and said, "Well, since you defeated the one who shall not be named, it shouldn't be a problem but the board of Governors need to approve it first so it should take a few days."

"That's great, thank you, minister!" said Evan as he jumped up happily, "If I may, I would like you to give us the award personally and the news can be published in the Hogwarts' magic and Daily Prophet. I believe everyone appreciates the work that the ministry does."

"No problem, my dear child! I'll probably visit Hogwarts tomorrow with your award and Hagrid's pardon."

Fudge looked very happy to hear that the ministry's reputation would not go down, "Albus, since everything has been cleared up, I must leave. You know, there are a lot of things that are waiting for me to do."

He said farewell to everyone and turned and left the headmaster's office, and Snape followed.

"Although we all know that Voldemort planned this, we still don't know how Ron came across Voldemort and came under his control in the first place." said Dumbledore when Fudge left, "Because according to my sources he is hiding in the forest of Albania."

"What?!" said Mrs. Weasley in a startled voice, "You mean the one who shall not be named controlled Ron but Evan just said it was them the defeated Voldemort together…"

"Professor, the diary is the culprit."

Harry hesitated to say anything, he grabbed the diary and showed Dumbledore, "It was written by Riddle when he was sixteen.

Dumbledore took the diary from Harry and stared down at it for a long time, he gazed at the damp scorched pages.

By the way, Dumbledore looked at the pages he knew Dumbledore must have realized what it really was.

"This is amazing!" said Dumbledore softly, "Needless to say, he was probably the most gifted student that Hogwarts has ever produced."

He turned around and told the Weasley's about a few of Voldemort's school days.

"But I don't understand, what does Ron have to do with this?"

"It is because of the diary!" said Ron, "I have had it for an entire year, he's been talking to me. Evan is right I'm a jerk, I trusted a diary more than my friends."

"Ron, did I not teach you better?" gasped Mr. Weasley. "Don't trust things that can think independently. That suspicious diary was apparently full of dark magic!"

"Don't blame Ron, Mr. Weasley." said Evan hastily, "when the basilisk attacked in the common room, Ron saved Ginny."

"Very few wizards can break away from Voldemort's control!" Dumbledore added, "Arthur, you should be proud of Ron and I believe you must have taught him a lot regarding this matter."

"So, touching!" just when everyone thought it was over, Lucius Malfoy suddenly stood up from the corner with a sneer, "Dumbledore, don't you remember the board suspended you. You should care more about your position rather than a ridiculous diary and the self-esteem of a child."

Before his words were finished, a letter suddenly appeared on Dumbledore's desk.

"I just wanted to tell you about it, Lucius!" Dumbledore said calmly, "I just got in touch with the other Governors and they told me that they think I'm the best person for the job."

"So, it is...." said Lucious while squinting.

"On top of that they told me something fascinating, it seems a certain someone was threatening to curse their families if they didn't agree with suspending me" Said Dumbledore while smiling at Lucius.

"What a good joke!" Lucius's face was paler than usual, his eyes were seething with anger, "In that case, I shall leave, I hope this attack will not happen again! Otherwise, as a school Governor, I will be very troubled!"

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Lucius was ready to leave but the house elf who stood behind him was behaving strangely.

His two gigantic eyes stared at Harry, it was pointing at Dumbledore's desk and then to Malfoy while pounding his head with his fist.

Harry then understood what Dobby was trying to tell him.

He nodded at Dobby, and Dobby backed into a corner, now twisting his ears in punishment.

"Mr. Malfoy, don't you want to know how Ron got the diary?" asked Harry.

"What!" Lucius looked at Harry with disgust, "My time is precious, I have no interest in learning how a twelve-year-old got a diary."

Harry raised his voice, "Ron said that he got it from Ginny's Transfiguration book, and I remember at Flourish and Blotts you picked up Ginny's book, that must have been when you secretly stuffed the diary in. Am I right?"

When Mr. Weasley heard this, he jumped up and stared at Lucius angrily. He would have rushed over if Mrs. Weasley didn't stop him.

Evan noticed that Lucius clenched his hands into fists and then loosened them.

"Where is your evidence?" said Lucius with a hoarse voice.

"There is no way to provide evidence!" Smiled Dumbledore and said, "Riddle has vanished from this book but Lucius, I would like to give you a piece of advice. Don't give out any more of Voldemort's old school things and if anymore find their way into innocent hands, I think for one, Arthur will make sure it is tracked back to you…"

Lucius stood still for a moment, his right-hand twitched, as if he was about to draw his wand but he restrained himself.

"I will remember your advice, Dumbledore." He turned to the house elf and said, "Let's go, Dobby!"

He wrenched open the door and as the elf hurried over, Lucius kicked Dobby out of it. Everyone could hear Dobby squeal in pain as he was kicked along the corridor.

While Evan was looking at the back of Lucius, he felt a little bad for him since when the dark lord returns in a few years he will have a horrible time.

Harry stood in silence while staring at the diary, he frowned and pondered for a moment.

"Professor Dumbledore!" said Harry hurriedly, "May I return this diary to Mr. Malfoy?"

"Of course, you can, Harry!" said Dumbledore calmly, "But after that, you need to go to the school hospital so Madam Pomfrey can treat your wounds."

Harry then grabbed the diary and rushed out of the office. Evan thought for a moment, he then whispered something in Hermione's ear, she nodded and ran. Ron, Hagrid, and the Weasleys looked worried so the followed.

In the blink of an eye, only Dumbledore and Evan were left in the office.

"Sit down, Evan!" Dumbledore pointed to a chair, "It seems you have something to say to me."

Evan nodded and sat down since he had caught Dumbledore's attention, it would be better to avoid it then to take the initiative.

"Relax would you like some cockroach clusters, I heard you like them." Dumbledore took a jar of sweets and offered it to Evan.

"No thank you, Professor!" Evan shook his head in a hurry, he only advertised the candy in the paper once and even the ghost knew how he liked it.

"In fact, I have something I would like to say to you. First, I must thank you for helping Harry in the Chamber of Secrets." Dumbledore's eyes shone, "I haven't seen an excellent young wizard like you in a long time, excluding Riddle of course. Seeing you reminds me of an old friend."

Evan was still secretly wary even though the other side told him to relax.

He knows Dumbledore's history, and he knows who his old friend is. He is probably thinking about the dark lord before Voldemort so it wasn't a good comment.

"You flatter me, Professor! I just know a little more than others in the same year." said Evan modestly, "But in Hermione's words, I'm just a bookworm."

"You aren't a simple bookworm though; I have read your articles and they are brilliant. I have subscribed to almost every issue of the Hogwarts' magic."

"Professor, if you're talking about the articles in the academic research section, I'm sorry but they were given to me by Riddle before I knew he was Voldemort."

"Yeah, those studies were really profound, and like I said Riddle was the best student Hogwarts has ever had." Dumbledore stared at Evan, "You are like him in some place but you are different and you have friends."

Evan breathed a sigh of relief when he heard Dumbledore's remark.

He knew it was his relationship with Harry, his attitude toward power and his Muggle origins the finally put the other person on his guard.

Otherwise, with Dumbledore paying attention to him, he wouldn't be able to keep a single secret at Hogwarts.

If I am even a little bit dangerous, I will probably be illuminated.

After all, Dumbledore wouldn't let a third dark lord rise to power.

But then again, Evan doesn't have an interest in power, immortality, or anything like that.

So, Dumbledore is just a little worried.

When Evan was preparing to leave to look for Harry, Dumbledore suddenly asked, "Evan do you know what this diary is?"

"That's simple, it is a Horcrux!" said Evan without thinking.

'Damn it isn't a wise thing to expose what I knows prematurely, even though I intend to fight Voldemort but I don't want to become a disposable pawn.' thought Evan.

He didn't know why he said it but Dumbledore's voice seems to have a magic about it. It can make people unconsciously say what they are thinking.

Dumbledore was surprised when he heard Evan's words. He didn't think the boy would have guessed what it was. He was going to disclose some information but he didn't think Evan knew so much.

"Yes, it is a Horcrux but can you tell me how you know?" said Dumbledore kindly.

"Rowena Ravenclaw told me, she said it was a wicked spell, capable of splitting the soul."

"What?!" When Evan mentioned Rowena Ravenclaw, Dumbledore really froze.

To avoid the suspicion of the other, Evan hurriedly told him what had happened, including that the four founders left secret treasures.

"Ravenclaw's time turner is marvellous!" Dumbledore soon regained his composure, "I hope you can find the hidden treasure through the four founders test."

Evan nodded; Dumbledore seemed to believe him.

"You must already know Voldemort is the last descendant of Salazar Slytherin, he should be the last Parseltongue but Harry can speak parseltongue to. If I'm not mistaken, he shifted some of his powers to Harry the night he left that scar."

Evan shrank back, he wondered what Dumbledore meant. Of course, he knew what the other side said and he even knew Harry was a Horcrux.

"I mean, no matter the circumstance, no matter the incident, you will certainly stand on Harry's side, right?"

"Yes!" replied Evan hastily, "He is my friend and I will help him in the face of Voldemort and anyone else."

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