Chapter 258: The Most Unique Horcrux
Chapter 258: The Most Unique Horcrux
Kyle held a quill and stared at the diary for a long while before finally opening it.
He hesitated...
The diary was Voldemort's first horcrux and, in a sense, the most unique one.
Among all of Voldemort's horcruxes, only the soul fragment within the diary had the ability to resurrect and function independently from its container.
Given the right conditions, the soul fragment attached to the diary could directly absorb the life force of others and manifest a physical body from thin air.
This unfathomable method of resurrection was beyond even the capabilities of the Voldemort in Albania.
Otherwise, he would have drained Quirrell dry last year instead of bothering with the Philosopher's Stone.
If one were to liken the soul to a pie, the fragment within the diary might be the largest slice, perhaps even larger than Voldemort's own remaining soul.
After all, the first division might result in a larger portion due to inexperience, and it's possible that the soul was almost evenly split.
This could also explain Riddle's possession of such complete memories and his ability to converse with others... One could say that aside from being unable to cast spells, this diary was no different from the student-aged Tom Riddle.
Perhaps this level of completeness was the true key to creating a successful horcrux.
Kyle wondered what the relationship would be between Riddle and Voldemort if the former were to successfully resurrect.
Would they work together, or would it be a battle to the death?
Kyle felt the latter was more likely, though they might initially cooperate to deal with Dumbledore and Harry, only to later fight over the right to the name "Voldemort."
Regardless, the two of them coexisting peacefully was out of the question.
After all, someone as proud as Voldemort would never tolerate the existence of another self, even if they shared the same soul.
Before he knew it, Kyle realized he had been sitting in front of the diary for over an hour.
He shook his head, dismissing the strange thoughts from his mind, and put down the quill.
There was no doubt that the student-aged Tom Riddle was an exceptional student—intelligent, charismatic, adept at deception, and possessing an extraordinary ability to read people and a keen insight.
Kyle recalled Dumbledore mentioning that he was one of the brightest students he had ever met.
Prior to that statement being applied to Kyle, it had belonged solely to Tom Riddle... and at that time, there had been no "one of."
Facing such an opponent, Kyle knew he had to be cautious to avoid revealing any openings.
At the very least, he needed to create a "disguise" that would cause Riddle to lower his guard.
Kyle took out the box that Nicolas Flamel had given him and placed the diary inside. He then retrieved a thick pamphlet from a trunk at the foot of his bed.
On the outer cover of the pamphlet, a line of flowery script was written in ink.
Secrets of Fear
He had copied this from the Restricted Section just before the holidays and hadn't had a chance to read it thoroughly yet.
Most of it described research on Dark Magic, but there were some practical bits as well.
Among them was a mention of advanced applications of the Occlumency technique—actively opening up one's mind while hiding crucial thoughts and memories.
This was likely the method Severus Snape used when he was a double agent among the Death Eaters.
If he had maintained an empty mind, Voldemort would have surely become suspicious.
Kyle could even imagine the scene...
"Hey, you're hiding your thoughts from me. That's a problem. Avada Kedavra!"
But if he just wanted a shallow imitation, to make it seem like his mind wasn't completely empty, that would be much simpler.
...
Three days later.
"Ron, has Kyle gone out again?"
At the shabby dining table, Harry asked while slicing a piece of bread, "I haven't seen him since he came back from Diagon Alley."
"I'm not sure either," Ron shook his head. He had been a bit obsessed with Harry's Lightening 2000 of late, rushing off to play Quidditch whenever he had the chance. He really hadn't paid attention to Kyle.
"Fred and George should know, though..."
"What?"
Having just come downstairs, Fred heard Ron calling his name and asked, "What were you guys just saying?"
"Oh, I was asking about Kyle..." Harry said, "I haven't seen him lately. Has he gone out again?"
Fred walked over to the table and began spreading marmalade on his bread. "Why are you asking about him all of a sudden? Do you have business with him?"
"It's for Hermione," Harry replied. "She really likes the auto-inking quill Kyle gave to Ron, so she asked me to ask if they're for sale."
"For sale? Of course, they are!"
George sat down next to Harry and pulled out a brand-new quill from his pocket, handing it over.
"I have to say, you two have good taste. This is one of our earlier creations, but it's quite popular. And it's reasonably priced at just one Sickle."
"An earlier creation?"
Harry looked at the quill in his hand with confusion... Didn't Kyle say he made it at Nicolas Flamel's place? Had he remembered wrong?
However, this quill looked no different from the one Ron had—a plain, ordinary quill.
"You can give it a try," Fred said with a smile. "This one's on the house."
"Then... alright."
Harry rummaged in his pocket for a while and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper.
It was the notice about students not being allowed to use magic outside of school that had been handed out before the holidays. He hadn't even looked at it then and had just stuffed it into his pocket, but now it came in handy.
Harry flattened the paper and took the quill from George, ignoring their expectant gazes.
"Pfft!"
As soon as the quill tip touched the paper, a large blob of ink sprayed out from the tail of the quill, splattering all over Harry's face.
Harry was stunned, holding the quill dumbly as his entire face turned the color of ink.
Fred and George burst into laughter, but their mirth was cut short by the furious voice of Mrs. Weasley, who appeared behind them, brandishing a frying pan like a sword.
"Harry is our guest! How dare you... And didn't I tell you not to pull these stunts at home!"
Fred and George turned with difficulty.
Mrs. Weasley stood there, frying pan in hand, ready to strike.
"Mom, I can explain!" Fred hurriedly said. "Harry asked for it himself!"
George nodded. "That's right, Mom. Harry wanted to buy one for his friend, so we let him test it out. Ron can vouch for that!"
(End of Chapter)
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