Chapter 100: The Diary

The joy of the holidays always seemed to vanish in the blink of an eye. Before they knew it, they were back to darting between classrooms, cramming their heads with as much textbook knowledge as they could manage.

Ron had grumbled more than once about how much of their holiday had been wasted in the library, searching for clues about the Chamber of Secrets. Hermione, however, didn't share his sentiment. She firmly believed that reading extracurricular books was a perfectly enjoyable way to spend one's free time.

Despite their efforts, they hadn't uncovered anything new over the break. But on an otherwise ordinary morning after the holidays, Harry and Ron suddenly pulled Orli and Hermione away from the Great Hall's breakfast table and dragged them into an empty classroom.

"What's going on?" Hermione asked, still clutching a half-eaten slice of lemon tart. They had left so quickly that she hadn't even had time to set it back on her plate.

"Did you find something new?" Orli asked.

Harry nodded eagerly and pulled out a small, black, leather-bound notebook.

"I got this in an anonymous package on Christmas Day," Harry explained. "At first, I didn't think much of it, but then I noticed the name on the cover—'T.M. Riddle.' Last night, Ron saw it and told me that Riddle was a Hogwarts student fifty years ago."

"Yeah, and this Riddle guy won a Special Award for Services to the School fifty years ago," Ron added. "Remember the day I got detention for belching slugs? Filch made me polish the trophies, and I accidentally slimed his plaque. I must've polished that thing fifty times."

Ron scowled at the memory.

Orli felt her chest tighten. Voldemort's diary—how had it ended up in Harry's possession again?

"It looks like a diary," Hermione said, taking the notebook and flipping through its pages. But she quickly handed it back to Harry with a disappointed look.

"It's completely blank. Not even a '3:30 dentist appointment' or 'Auntie's birthday' in sight. I thought you'd found something useful in Riddle's diary."

"I don't know why someone sent this to me," Harry said, "but don't you think it's all too coincidental? Riddle was a student fifty years ago, the Chamber of Secrets was opened fifty years ago, and he even won a Special Award for Services to the School. What do you think he did to earn it?"

"Could be anything," Ron said with a shrug. "Maybe he got thirty O.W.L.s, saved a professor from the Giant Squid, or—who knows—murdered Moaning Myrtle. That would've made everyone happy…"

Ron's joking tone did little to ease Orli's growing dread. She stared at the diary, her fear mounting far beyond what she'd felt when facing the snake Malfoy had summoned.

"Maybe… he closed the Chamber of Secrets? Or caught the person who opened it?" Hermione suggested, her voice rising with excitement. She slapped the diary with her hand.

"This diary might tell us everything—how the Chamber was opened, how to close it, where it's located… Something this important must have some kind of protective enchantment."

Hermione tapped the diary three times with her wand and said, "Aparecium!"

Nothing happened. Unfazed, Hermione dug into her bag and pulled out a small red object that looked like an eraser.

"This is a Revealer. I got it in Diagon Alley," she explained.

She rubbed it vigorously on one of the diary's blank pages, but still, nothing appeared.

"Maybe we should check the Trophy Room again," Harry suggested. "Since Ron found Riddle's plaque there, there might be other information about him—like those museum displays with detailed descriptions."

The next day, during a break between classes, the four of them finally found a chance to head to the Trophy Room together.

Orli, with dark circles under her eyes, looked both anxious and exhausted.

"Don't worry so much, Orli," Ron said, trying to lighten the mood. "Visiting the Trophy Room during the day doesn't break any school rules. Filch isn't going to jump out and catch us."

Orli forced a weak smile, but it was far from convincing.

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