Duel in the Chamber

"Tom Riddle!" Yvonne hissed.

"Long time no see, HALS!" Tom, clad in Slytherin robes, strolled down the long aisle with the grace of a nobleman.

"You've indeed been hiding in the Room of Requirement on the eighth floor. Are you that afraid of me? You had to find a helper to come and see me…" Ivan mocked.

"Yes, I went to a lot of trouble to lure you away!" Tom Riddle was not offended.

Just as Ivan knew him well, Tom knew Ivan well enough to know that this young wizard, who never spoke a word of truth, was likely stronger than he appeared.

That was why he had spent so much effort to find the Horcrux that he had sensed.

Tom Riddle smiled at the thought.

"Speaking of which, I have to thank you for bringing me into the Room of Requirement before I could sense this!

Of course, I would have found it without you, as I had planned it in the first place…"

A smile tugged at Tom's lips, and after learning about Horcruxes from the Restricted Section, he decided that he would collect powerful and memorable items in the future to create several Horcruxes.

and placed in the safest places in the world to ensure his victory over death,

The Room of Requirement is one of the safest places in the wizarding world!

Ravenclaw's diadem was his intended vessel for his first Horcrux!

Unfortunately, he went to great lengths to please Helena Ravenclaw at Hogwarts, only to learn from her that the diadem was not at Hogwarts at all.

Ivan's face was grim. He knew very well that Ravenclaw's diadem was a Horcrux created by Lord Voldemort when he was around twenty-eight years old.

Because of this, he did not dare to try to get his hands on it for the past two years for fear of being bewitched.

Ivan wanted to wait for his Occlumency and Alchemy to reach a higher level, so that he could find a way to separate Lord Voldemort's soul from his diadem and preserve the legendary object.

"You seem to know it?" Tom asked in surprise, suddenly pointing at the diadem on his finger.

He found that Ivan seemed to recognise Ravenclaw's diadem, and even understood that it was a second Horcrux, otherwise Ivan would not have said to find another "helper".

This made Tom Riddle feel vaguely uneasy. He had tried to overestimate the young wizard in front of him, but every time they met, something unexpected happened.

Instead of answering Tom Riddle's question directly, Yvonne said sarcastically, "As you may have gathered from Lockhart, I saw another version of you last term, and there are two more of you. I wonder which of you is the real Dark Lord."

"Of course there's only one real Dark Lord." Tom Riddle pointed at himself, not caring about the subject Ivan was avoiding. He thought Ivan might have heard something from Helena Ravenclaw and guessed what it was.

"Really? I'm sure they feel the same way!" Yvonne said noncommittally, secretly relieved.

His worst fear was that Tom Riddle would revive the Horcrux in the diadem, thus forcing him to face two Voldemorts at once!

Now, it seemed that these two Horcruxes were not working together in good faith. Although he did not know how much help Tom would get if he put on the diadem, at least he would be able to fight!

Ivan inched closer, closing the distance between them, intending to do the same.

Tom Riddle realised that Ivan was trying to get information out of him, and his expression changed, but he quickly composed himself.

"Looks like you're smarter than I thought… Hals!" he said appreciatively, clapping his hands and staring at Ivan.

"Clever? You mean you've got me fooled?" Yvonne mocked herself as she walked, her wand held ready to spring into action.

"Don't say that. I went to a lot of trouble to plot against you," Tom Riddle said, looking at Ivan with admiration.

"You're much better than that stupid Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. He had all his thoughts written all over his face. All I had to do was guide him a little and he'd do exactly as I said…"

"Those boring, childish little girls are even more stupid, believing whatever I say…"

"That's why I've always considered Muggle-borns unworthy of learning magic, and that Hogwarts needs a cleanup, leaving only gifted and capable young wizards like you and me."

Tom Riddle spoke freely, and because of this, he spent the rest of his time possessing a pure-blood Slytherin girl, except for one occasion when he controlled Lockhart.

"Don't forget, you're a half-blood, too, Tom! You've got Muggle blood in you, too! Why don't you think about getting rid of yourself first…" Ivan's sarcasm was merciless.

Tom Riddle's expression changed and his eyes darkened.

"Maybe it was once, but it won't be for much longer! I've used the information Salazar Slytherin left behind to develop a way to cleanse my pit-dirty blood. I'm sure you've already experienced that, haven't you?" Tom Riddle said with a ferocious expression.

Ivan frowned, understanding that Tom was referring to the merging of blood, which was equivalent to a blood transfusion.

However, this was apparently not enough to satisfy the need for "purification", and even multiple blood fusions would not be enough to completely remove the "dirty blood" Tom was referring to.

Ivan looked with pity at Tom, who was obsessed with "purifying" his blood. He felt that Tom's disfigurement was likely due to this…

After paying the price of near-disintegration of his looks, he had to use his Muggle father's remains to revive himself. This so-called cleansing of the blood was a complete joke!

The two move closer as they talk, verbally affecting each other with words …

Until they were less than ten meters apart.

The long and narrow aisle was somewhat similar to the Duelling Ground. The statues of giant serpents that lined the aisle were like spectators watching two people preparing to fight…

Ivan silently calculated the best distance to attack, but Tom Riddle did not let him get any closer. A dark light flickered at the tip of the wand in his hand, and endless black smoke poured out, spreading into a tortured face that screamed and charged at Ivan.