Chapter 613: Anticipating Your Anticipation
Chapter 613: Anticipating Your Anticipation
Ever since returning to school, Albert had been gripped by a sense of urgency. He felt that if he didn't make the most of his time, he might not be able to accomplish everything he wanted in the next few months.
Tom's juicing plan was back on the agenda.
Even though the young Tom in the diary was just a fragment of his soul before he turned seventeen, less powerful and experienced than the aged Voldemort, Albert still had to remain vigilant. One wrong move and things could go south quickly.
After consuming the Polyjuice Potion once again and disguising himself as Gilderoy Lockhart, Albert prepared to make contact with Tom in the diary, just as he had done before.
"I've finally found you, Tom. I thought I might have lost you," Albert wrote, only to see the ink quickly disappear without a new response, indicating that Tom Riddle was wary of him. Undeterred, Albert swiftly penned another line.
"Are you doing alright, Tom?"
Disguised as Ginny Weasley, Albert pretended to have just rediscovered the diary, though he didn't expect to fool Tom. It was merely a ploy to infuriate him, as he suspected Tom Riddle might just feign ignorance otherwise.
"Where did you find me?" The diary finally responded with a short message.
"I don't know who it was, but they threw you into a toilet in the girls' bathroom on the second floor," Albert replied, narrowing his eyes as he stared at the mirror in front of him, awaiting Tom's next move.
"Liar! You deceitful liar!" Tom Riddle saw through Albert's ruse, and the words that seeped out of the diary seemed to carry his anger, as if attempting to engulf the person beyond the pages.
However, ever since separating from Ginny Weasley, Tom had slowly lost the small amount of power he had gained from the pitiful girl.
"Merry Christmas, Tom!" Albert replied gleefully, doubting that Tom could grasp the current time, or even had a concept of time while sealed within the diary.
"It's you! I knew it!" Tom Riddle decided that, given the chance, he would make sure to finish off Gilderoy Lockhart.
Unfortunately, Tom didn't realize that the person infuriating him was an imposter, and his anger clouded his judgment.
"Don't be angry, I was just joking," Albert wrote, contemplating the possibility that Tom was feigning anger to deceive him. "I imagine you must be quite bored in there."
"What do you want from me, you wretched creature?" Tom demanded.
"From the beginning, I've only been curious about what you are," Albert replied truthfully, knowing that Tom had encountered a similar conversation before—no, an identical one.
Tom had no choice but to suppress his anger and calm himself. He needed to devise a strategy to deal with the person before him, as ordinary methods probably wouldn't work. Based on his identity as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Lockhart was clearly vigilant about dark magic and extremely cautious when handling the diary, never touching it directly.
However, Tom had also discovered Lockhart's weakness.
While Lockhart was indeed cautious, he was also arrogant and only accepted things that aligned with his own beliefs. Therefore, regardless of what Tom said, Lockhart wouldn't believe him and would remain on guard. Tom had to play into his expectations.
Everyone had their weaknesses, and by exploiting them, he could quickly gain control of the situation and manipulate this self-important individual.
"Until next time, I hope you'll be willing to share your secrets then," Albert wrote, feigning resignation.
"Wait! Oh, damn it, fine, I'll tell you the secret of this diary." Tom began to pretend to compromise, knowing exactly what Albert wanted to hear. He believed that by playing along, he could soon pique Albert's curiosity.
However, Tom had no idea that his so-called plan was well within Albert's expectations.
Yes, it was all according to Albert's predictions. Ordinary methods would definitely not work to get Tom to willingly hand over what Albert desired. The best approach was to make Tom want to hand it over of his own volition.
As Tom cast his lure, intending to reel him in, Albert was ready to devour the bait.
Tom may have anticipated this outcome, and both sides were now waiting to see who would take the bait and who would lose it all.
Albert held the upper hand, the advantage was on his side.
【A Secret?】 Albert curled the corners of his lips in pleasure. He knew this was Tom's trick, so he calmly waited for the other party to cast the bait he desired, ready to net it all in. 【Yes, the secret of this diary.】
The words that seeped out from the paper seemed to carry a magical allure, piquing Albert's curiosity.
As if to prevent Albert from asking further questions, new words appeared on the diary:
【This is a diary with self-awareness, similar to the Sorting Hat. It was created using the same principles as the hat, but with the use of dark magic. So, you've guessed it, it's a dark artifact.】 "You're truly something, Tom Riddle!" Albert muttered to himself. He was a master of deception, not batting an eye at lies (well, he couldn't anyway, given his condition).
If Albert hadn't known the truth, he might have fallen for it.
【You're lying to me!】 【I'm not lying.】
【You controlled that unfortunate Weasley child.】 【Ginny Weasley was weak and couldn't use the diary properly. After all, the diary is a dark artifact, and only a powerful wizard is worthy of using it.】
More words appeared on the paper:
【Don't bother guessing, I am a product of Tom Riddle's experiments. In a sense, you can consider me his avatar, created to record his important knowledge.】 The ultimate lie was to weave truth into deception, but Tom apparently didn't realize he was up against a wall.
As Tom voluntarily brought it up, Albert broke into a wide grin, goading Tom to prove that he wasn't being deceived.
Then, Tom Riddle taught Albert the Fiendfyre Curse, holding nothing back and sharing all his experience with it.
【You've got an evil mind, haven't you? Do you think I don't know what the Fiendfyre Curse is?】 Albert couldn't help but sneer. This guy probably wanted him to lose control while practicing the curse and burn to death in the Fiendfyre, right?
Well, that was a possibility he couldn't dismiss.
Throughout history, there had been no shortage of wizards who had perished in their own Fiendfyre.
【I know you're a powerful wizard, and with my insights, mastering the Fiendfyre Curse shouldn't be difficult.】 The diary then revealed some of Voldemort's experiences with the Fiendfyre Curse. One had to admit, he was truly formidable to have mastered it at such a young age.
Alright then! Tom's understanding of the Fiendfyre Curse at that time was still limited, and whether his so-called insights would be of any use remained to be seen.
Albert wasn't worried. He quickly copied down the information about the Fiendfyre Curse and continued writing in the diary:
【You're lying, you deceived me...】 Half an hour later, Albert had successfully obtained a bunch of random spells from Tom. He knew some of them might be fake, but he didn't care. He recorded them all, intending to find someone to test their effects later.
As for Tom's little scheme, Albert didn't give it any mind. As the saying went, a lie wouldn't hold up beyond three repetitions, and after the third time, it would all be over. Let Tom rack his brains out! Oh, and he almost forgot, Tom didn't have a brain to rack anymore.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
