Chapter 55: The truth

Ron was like a discarded doll, his face as pale as marble, cold and colorless.

Harry ran to his side and fell to his knees, shaking Ron desperately as he said, "Ron, don't die, please don't die!"

"He won't wake up," a voice said softly.

Ivan turned toward the voice and saw a tall boy leaning against a nearby pillar.

"Tom Riddle!" said Ivan in a low voice as he pointed his wand at him.

Riddle said nonchalantly, "It's no use, you dirty blood, it's over! It's only us here, no one will come to save you, no cockerels crowing! Victory will be mine, soon you'll be like that boy, and you'll stay here forever."

"What did you do to Ron, why is he like that?" cried Harry as he stood up.

Riddle said cheerfully, "That's a very interesting question, it's a long story, but let me tell you before you take eternal sleep. As far as I know, the real reason Ron Weasley is in there is because he opened his heart to a complete stranger and told all his secrets to that person."

"What are you talking about?" asked Harry, surprised.

Riddle said, "The diary, since my servant gave my diary to Ron, he has written his secrets in it for several months, he told me his troubles and sorrows. He's the commonest of his family, his friends are better than him, no one notices him, he's weak and pathetic."

"What?", Harry froze for a moment.

Riddle's eyes flickered as he said, "Harry Potter, you're the famous savior, you never understood that Weasley was jealous of you, he envies your fame, he envies your talent! He told me he's worse than a freshman, even though he's a sophomore himself."

Riddle looked warily at Ivan, and turned to Harry, his eyes hiding an almost covetous expression as he said, "It was so boring to hear a 12 year old talk about his childish problems."

Tom continued, "But I was tolerant, I wrote a few words in reply to him, I'm kind and considerate. Gradually I gained his trust, he thought I was his only friend. You, on the other hand, merely treated him as a humble and ridiculous follower."

Harry looked pale as a ghost and said, "I'm not, I never did, I don't know why he would think that, but we've been friends since we met."

Riddle let out a cold, harsh laugh, not unlike that of a sixteen year old and continued, "Obviously you're not, after months of talking, Ron opened his soul to me, and his soul turned out to be exactly what I needed. I swallowed his most secret fears, his deepest secret, his most intense jealousy. I became stronger, stronger than the little Weasley, strong enough to control him, to accomplish what he had always wanted to do, and all because of...."

Ivan interrupted him as he said coldly, "Stop your tricks, Tom! It's not going to work, when Ron wakes up I'll beat the shit out of him until he realizes that we've always treated him like our best friend!"

"You bloody dirty blood! I knew you were trouble, I wanted to kill you the moment you pulled out that newspaper clipping from fifty years ago" Tom said turning his head to look at Ivan in disgust.

Ivan pondered for a moment and said, "That's why you attacked me with a corrosive curse at the dueling club."

Riddle said sternly, "Ron's broken wand weakened my magic, but it was my mistake, you were more cunning than I thought, and I shouldn't have exposed myself so soon. If Dumbledore had realized that it was me who put Ron under the Imperius curse, I don't know what he would have done."

Ivan said quickly, "Is that why you tried to get him to use the killing curse on me?"

Riddle smiled proudly and said, "No, without me controlling his body, I couldn't use it properly, so it was just a simple green light, the Imperius curse was just to get rid of Dumbledore, but I was still suspicious. Ron didn't let me down, he was cowardly and hid the diary from everyone. He was afraid that people would find out that he was a person who helped in the attacks."

Hearing Riddle's words, Ivan gripped his wand tightly and Harry clenched his fists tightly.

"But from that moment on, Ron didn't trust me anymore, he finally got suspicious and tried to throw the diary away. I was waiting for Harry to pick it up, like I told you, I really wanted to see you," Riddle said

"Why did you want to see me?", Harry asked angrily.

Riddle said, "Oh, Harry, Ron told me all about you, you're impressive, all those exciting and fascinating stories from your past."

His gaze turned to the lightning shaped scar on Harry's forehead, and his face began to resemble that of a hungry beast as he said to Harry, "I knew I had to know more about you, talk to you and see you in person if possible."

Riddle looked at Ivan again and said with disgust, "But I didn't think it was going to be a filthy dirty blood who picked up my diary. I tried to control you like I controlled Ron, I tried to gain your trust, I even wanted to tell you about the chamber of secrets that was opened fifty years ago, but...."

"Unfortunately, I saw right through you," Ivan said with a face full of disdain.

Riddle's voice soon returned to calm and he said, "You are a very cunning dirty blood, a nuisance, as I thought at first. I sensed you were on guard against me, but you had a powerful thirst for magical knowledge, so I changed my plans, decided to lure you in slowly with the promise of power."

"You failed once again, Tom!" said Ivan as he began to build up his magical power in his wand.

"Obviously, but can you tell me why?" asked Riddle eagerly.

The figure of Luna flashed through Ivan's mind and said, "A girl once told me that wit beyond measure is a man's greatest treasure, the most important thing is to believe in friendship, to believe in family, to believe in love, to believe in everything good. Tom, you will never be able to do this, besides your own strength, you believe in nothing, so you are doomed to fail."

Riddle froze for a moment and said, "Love?! It's ridiculous that you think those things are more reliable than power, the typical mentality of the weak. Well, back to business, I have many questions to ask you, Harry Potter!"