"Hm, it's been a while since I've had a visitor. Hello?"
"What is your name?"
"Aha, Malfoy. That is very, very interesting indeed."
"My name is Tom Marvolo Riddle."
"If you have something you wish to confide, feel free. That is what a diary is for, is it not?"
"What is it that troubles you so?"
"Ah, I see. The fall of a noble bloodline. A common, yet tragic tale."
"Tsk, tsk, this is the problem with those of filthy blood. They are not fit for your company."
"Do you wish to be revered by others? That is a very simple matter."
"People always cheer for old legends. For instance, the grand design of a wizard from a thousand years ago."
"A very deep secret of Hogwarts."
"Do you not wish to restore your family's glory?"
"Do you not wish to crush those wretched fools beneath you?"
"Do you not wish for your father's gaze to be filled with pride when he looks at you?"
"If so, Malfoy, kneel and serve your new master."
"Ah, dear me. Did I not tell you?"
"My middle name. It is…"
***
"He'll bring out Voldemort next," Harry suddenly blurted out.
"Ugh, Harry. What a horrible thing to say in the middle of a meal."
Hermione, being Muggle-born, only frowned for a moment, but Ron, who had grown up hearing all sorts of stories in a wizarding family, immediately scrunched up his face in disgust.
Harry just shook his head. "After taking Defence Against the Dark Arts from Voldemort for a whole year, you're complaining now?"
Strictly speaking, Quirrell and Voldemort were separate entities, so his statement was inaccurate, but no one pointed it out. After all, it was true that we had been in the same classroom as Voldemort for a year.
Hermione asked, "So, why bring up, er, Vol— I mean, You-Know-Who all of a sudden?"
Harry shook his head, a weary look on his face. "Lockhart. It's Lockhart. He brings all sorts of outlandish things to every class. At this rate, he's going to bring in Voldemort himself."
At that, even after hearing Voldemort's name, Ron couldn't suppress a snort of laughter and ended up choking on his soup. Hermione also coughed awkwardly and tried to make an excuse.
"But it's all because the professor wants us to experience real-life situations."
Ron, after a long coughing fit, couldn't hide his laughter. "Oh, I'm sure it is. It would have been great if he'd devoted just half of that dedication to his own skills."
And I, listening to this conversation… was keeping my mouth shut.
What was the point in hiding it? This whole situation was my creation, after all.
I had cast a suitable spell on Lockhart's quarters, planting a kind of suggestion in his dreams. Something along the lines of, 'If you teach like this, the students will look up to you.' I'd been half-sceptical it would even work, but I never expected it to be this effective.
Thanks to that, my hideout in the Room of Requirement was piling up with all sorts of things.
A Manticore's tail, a Nundu's tooth, the memoirs of a renowned Dark Wizard, a cursed chain, and so on.
Most of the materials were used for my experiments or Harry's training.
It was astonishing to see Lockhart manage to procure even the rarest items I suggested.
For a while, Harry had even welcomed Lockhart's bizarre behavior because it meant he got practical, hands-on lessons. But that didn't last long.
The reason was simple: there wasn't a single thing Lockhart brought in that he could actually control.
It was becoming routine for the classroom to be a complete wreck by the end of Defence Against the Dark Arts. Though, the fossil I had magically reinforced remained sturdy through it all.
Harry shook his head and said, "The teaching method itself is good, but I wish he'd at least think of some basic countermeasures. The other day, he brought in some kind of chain and spent the whole hour tied up in it."
If I weren't in this class, Lockhart would have brought in items that could have easily caused a mass casualty event at Hogwarts. Of course, if it weren't for me, he wouldn't have brought those items in the first place.
Ron grimaced and pointed somewhere. "Oh, for goodness' sake. Look over there."
In the direction Ron was pointing, Lockhart was eating at the staff table. The peculiar thing was that he was looking right at us. Even while eating, he flashed his pearly-white grin.
Ron grumbled, dumbfounded, "Unbelievable. He has an uncanny knack for knowing when he's being talked about."
"Ron, that's a rude way to talk about a professor."
Despite Hermione's chiding, Harry and Ron continued to bad-mouth Lockhart.
In any case, thanks to my invisible help, Lockhart, under the delusion that he was in control of the situation, was growing bolder by the day. His initial hesitation had vanished, and now, whenever he had a dream, he would immediately go out and procure the materials.
No matter what the kids said, from my perspective, he was a very useful vending machine, so I kept my thoughts to myself.
Actually, there was another reason I was keeping quiet.
Hermione looked at me and asked, "So Aisen, how much longer do you have to do that?"
"On moh wee," I mumbled.
TL: One more week.
The reason my pronunciation was so terrible was because there was a Mandrake leaf under my tongue.
It was the most basic preparatory stage for the Animagus transformation, and I'd already been holding it in my mouth for almost a week, as it needed to be constantly soaked in saliva.
While I could handle everything else with non-verbal magic, not being able to speak was incredibly inconvenient.
As Hermione giggled at the sight of me, a clicking sound came from somewhere at the Gryffindor table.
Turning my head in that direction, I saw a small, slight student.
Harry saw him too and waved a dismissive hand. "Colin, I told you not to take pictures without permission, didn't I?"
The culprit was a first-year student, Colin Creevey.
Colin approached our group and spoke in a high-pitched voice that was almost a shriek. "What? Harry, you let me last time! You even signed it!"
"Colin. You're supposed to ask for permission every single time you take someone's picture."
Ignoring Harry's reply, Colin came closer, asking for another autograph.
Just then, someone else approached, having seen Harry.
"Well, Potter. Are you one of those people who can't live without being the center of attention?"
It was Malfoy, walking over from the Slytherin table.
Malfoy sneered at Harry. "An autographed photo. You could probably sell that for a high price, couldn't you?"
As if provoking Harry wasn't enough, Malfoy turned his sneer on me. "And that Potter can't even speak properly, can he? I hear you've gone completely mute these days!"
I suppose a rumor about being mute is better than one about babbling incoherently.
I wasn't the least bit bothered by a brat's taunts, so I paid him no mind and continued eating.
Colin, who had been listening quietly, spoke up to Malfoy. "Isn't getting attention better than getting none?"
Harry picked up where he left off. "That's right. You hungry for attention, Malfoy? Instead of trying to get it from me, why don't you try getting some from your friends?"
It was a pointed remark, as none of the Slytherins had followed Malfoy over.
For a moment, Malfoy looked flustered, but he quickly recovered and smirked. "You won't be able to swagger around like that for much longer, Potter. It won't be long until your lowly nature is revealed!"
After sneering at us with an air of extreme confidence, Malfoy spun around and returned to the Slytherin table.
We stared blankly after him as he left after having his say.
Colin, who was still standing next to us, said to Harry, "Don't worry about it, Harry. Famous people always have people like that clinging to them. He's probably just jealous of you."
"Yeah, thanks for the thought."
Even though Colin could be annoying at times, Harry didn't seem to mind him sticking up for him, and he let out a small smile. "Do you want an autograph?"
"Really? Of course! It's been my lifelong dream!"
Even after finally getting his autograph from Harry, Colin lingered around us for a long time, chattering on about all sorts of trivial things.
Something about Muggle pictures, how expensive his camera was.
As I was letting his words go in one ear and out the other, Harry suddenly frowned.
"What did you just say?"
"I was saying how boring Muggle newspapers are… huh? Should I say it again if you didn't hear?"
"No, not you… ah."
Harry then seemed to realize something and gestured to me with his head. It was a sign to meet in the Room of Requirement after class.
I tilted my head but blinked my eyes in affirmation. I couldn't speak, after all.
***
Bubble, bubble. Whoosh.
This place, filled with the sound of bubbling pots, burning flames, and manifesting magic, was my hideout in the Room of Requirement.
On one side of the living space, a Manticore's tail lay dissected, separated by muscle group. On the other, a dangerously green potion was bubbling away. As an added touch, the walls were covered in densely written runes.
Chirrup! Chirp.
And occupying the center of the room was none other than Ardeura.
She used to stay with us in the dormitory in her parrot form, but lately, she had been spending all her time inside the Room of Requirement.
The reason for this was undoubtedly the enormous creature that now took up the middle of the room.
"Wah ih dah?" (TN: "What is that?")
The creature was a Kraken. Specifically, a Striped Kraken from the Mediterranean Sea.
Naturally, Lockhart had procured it.
With her favorite snack, dried squid, now delivered in its original, uncut form, it was only natural for her to hole up in the Room of Requirement, feasting on the meat. Seeing how obsessed Ardeura was with the Kraken these days, I felt she might actually save Lockhart's life once if he was ever in mortal danger.
Paying no mind to Harry and me as we entered, Ardeura was already finishing off the third tentacle and was now inspecting the fourth.
Come to think of it, she seemed to have gotten a bit bigger lately. Had she put on weight?
If she could read my thoughts, she would have pecked me for being rude, but Ardeura was still completely engrossed in the Kraken and didn't even glance our way.
"Whah ih ih abou?" (TN: "What is it about?")
Harry, understanding my mumbled question perfectly, replied, "Master, did you happen to hear any strange noises during dinner earlier?"
I shook my head from side to side.
"No."
Harry grimaced. "I heard something strange while we were eating. A really… creepy voice."
***
Meanwhile, in the Slytherin common room.
Draco Malfoy glanced around, and after confirming no one was there, he pulled a black, leather-bound notebook from his pocket.
"Just a little longer…"
If I can just handle this one thing.
If I can just make it through this year successfully.
Surely, my father will be pleased with my accomplishments.
Today, once again, Malfoy opened the diary and dipped his quill deep into the ink.
***