https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-624-Preparations-for-the-Journey/12527030/
Chapter 625: The Blank Diary
Chapter 625: The Blank Diary
As Harry bent down to pick up the Riddle diary from the ground, Tom Riddle, hidden within its pages, immediately sensed that something was amiss.
After all, Gilderoy Lockhart never touched the Horcrux, and the sensation was vastly different from someone writing in the diary with a quill.
Given Lockhart's cautious nature, Tom couldn't believe that he would be careless enough to let someone take the diary from him.
Could this be another trap set by that man?
No wonder Tom had such a misconception. Lockhart had deliberately pretended that Ginny Weasley was playing a prank on him the last time, and who knew what new tricks he would pull this time?
Yes!
It must be another one of that bastard's new schemes! An outsider might think that Tom was suffering from paranoia.
Harry, holding the diary, had no idea that the diary he was holding had just gone through so many strange thoughts. He was trying to wipe the water stains on the diary with a cloth.
Noticing that Ron beside him looked like he had something to say but was hesitating, Harry finally asked, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Ron finally said, not opening his mouth.
"If there's something, just say it. Don't keep it to yourself!"
Harry slowly tore the damp pages after wiping the water stains from the diary, only to find that the diary was completely blank, with no signs of ever being written on.
After much hesitation, Ron finally spoke up, "Harry, you know, some books can be dangerous in the wizarding world."
"Are you saying this diary is dangerous?" Harry looked up at Ron and smiled reassuringly, "You can see now that this diary isn't dangerous at all."
"No, it's your actions that are dangerous." Ron looked at the blank diary and recalled, "My dad once told me that there was an unlucky Muggle who accidentally bought a book from the wizarding world. As he was flipping through the book, his eyes were burned out by it."
Harry raised an eyebrow, clearly skeptical of such a story.
"There's also a well-known incident in the wizarding world. Anyone who has read 'The Wizard's Sonnet' can only speak in five-line doggerel for the rest of their lives, and..."
"Alright, I get it." Harry interrupted with a smile, "I'll be more careful from now on, but how can I tell which books might be dangerous?"
As he was speaking, Harry found the only page in the book that had writing on it—the very first page. However, the ink had already faded.
"Tom Riddle."
Harry read it softly. Ron, who was about to walk away, paused at the sound of the name and furrowed his brows deeply.
"You know this person?" Harry noticed Ron's strange reaction and asked.
"Yes."
Ron leaned in and looked at the only place in the diary where there was writing. "Tom Riddle received a Special Service Award from the school fifty years ago."
"How do you know that?" Harry was curious how Ron knew about this.
"Remember when I was locked up by Filch last time? He made me clean the items in the Trophy Room." Ron recalled the incident and said annoyedly, "That day, I sneezed and got bogeys on it. It took me a lot of time to clean it up. If you had a similar experience, you would remember his name too."
"It's very unusual that Tom didn't write a single word in it." Harry ignored Ron's complaint and said, "You should have noticed that there are no signs of tearing in the diary. Usually, when you buy a diary, you write something in it."
"What's unusual about that? Maybe this was a Christmas gift for Riddle, and he just happened to not like the gift, so he threw it aside and never used it."
"If Riddle didn't care about it, the diary wouldn't have survived for fifty years. This isn't parchment." Harry felt that things weren't that simple, "Also, Riddle must be a Muggle-born wizard."
"Why do you say that?"
Ron felt that he couldn't keep up with Harry's train of thought.
"Only a Muggle-born wizard would buy a diary on a Muggle street." Harry flipped the diary to the back cover and showed Ron the printed address of Vauxhall Road, London.
Ron had to admit that Harry made a lot of sense. Wizards usually didn't go shopping on Muggle streets. In fact, his father still didn't understand the Muggle monetary system, let alone other wizards.
"There's also something else that bothers me." Harry, at this moment, seemed to be possessed by Hermione as he muttered to himself, "Why would someone want to throw it away? It's very unusual. I feel like this diary holds some secret."
After Hermione returned from the library, Harry showed her Tom Riddle's diary and told her how he had found it.
"Your suspicion is correct. This diary might indeed hold some secret." Hermione took the diary, examined the date, and said, "It's strange that a fifty-year-old diary suddenly appears. Don't you think it's too much of a coincidence?"
"What do you mean too much of a coincidence?" Ron was full of confusion and bewilderment, "Do you mean to say that you expect this diary to hold the secret to opening the Chamber of Secrets?"
"I remember you told me that Malfoy said the Chamber of Secrets was opened fifty years ago." Hermione ignored Ron's words and continued her analysis, "Tom Riddle received a Special Service Award from Hogwarts around that time. Don't you think this is a bit too coincidental?"
"What's the Special Service Award?"
"It should be the Award for Special Services to the School." Ron explained, "I remember Albert received such an award too, I think it was because he saved Fred and George."
Harry looked perplexed, clearly not understanding what Ron was talking about.
"It was during their first year. Fred and George went into the Forbidden Forest and got into trouble. In the end, it was Albert who noticed their disappearance and went into the forest alone in the middle of the night to bring them back."
"Do you think Riddle received the award because he captured the heir of Slytherin?" Hermione reached into her bag and took out a bright red eraser, "This is a Revealing Charm Eraser. I got it from Diagon Alley."
Noticing that Harry and Ron were both looking at her, Hermione explained, "You should know that if someone writes a diary and doesn't want others to know its contents, they usually use invisible ink or concealment charms to hide the writing."
After saying this, Hermione started rubbing the pages vigorously, but nothing appeared.
Undeterred, Hermione drew out her wand and tapped the diary three times, saying, "Revelio!"
Still, nothing happened.
"It seems this diary won't tell us anything it knows." Ron felt that Harry and Hermione were wasting their time, as it was just an ordinary diary.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
