Chapter 69: Riddle's Diary

"The events this diary holds... they're rather frightening. Detailing certain clandestine incidents from years past, events that unfolded right here within the esteemed Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

Harry felt a shudder of apprehension snake its way down his spine as he perused the message freshly inscribed on the diary's page. He filled his lungs in a deep, steadying breath, before swiftly beginning to write.

"I'm here at Hogwarts right now and things are seriously dreadful too. Have you ever heard about... the Chamber of Secrets?"

With every beat of his heart, Harry felt an undeniable thrill, a tantalizing sense of being on the brink of unveiling an epoch secret buried in a half-century old diary.

The diary's possessor, Tom Riddle, began to feverishly respond in an increasingly hasty scrawl. He recounted his experiences from his fifth year at Hogwarts when the eerie chamber of secrets was first unveiled, leading to a tragic fatality. It was Riddle who brought the offending party to light, but the then Headmaster chose obscurity over honesty in order to preserve the school's reputation. The miscreant was duly banished, while Riddle was compensated for his acquiescence with a medal of merit.

Nearly knocking his ink bottle over in his agitation, Harry implored Riddle to disclose the identity of the original insidious opener of the Chamber of Secrets. Graciously, Riddle acceded and offered Harry an immersion into the past, into his perception of the events from five decades ago. Despite a moment's reluctancy, Harry agreed.

Riddle navigated through the tale of what had transpired, painting a graphic image of accusing Hagrid, facilitating Hagrid's dangerous "friend" to make a quick escape, and finally leading to Hagrid's capture.

Emerging from the trance-like journey through memory, Harry found himself back in the stark reality of the dormitory, gasping for breath. The possibility of anyone being Slytherin's heir and opening the Chamber was always there but no one would have guessed Hagrid. Lost in his thoughts, Harry failed to notice the sudden opening of the dormitory door until Ron's startled gasp shook him out of his stupor. Hastily, he snapped Riddle's diary shut just as Ron made his entrance, his soaked hair and sleep-ruffled attire radiating perplexity, "What's the matter with you?" He queried.

Without wasting a second, Harry launched into the details of his discovery. From Riddle's chilling revelations about the previous opening of the Chamber to the inexplicable expulsion of Hagrid, Ron seemed to grow more wide-eyed at each reveal.

"Oi, Harry! Wait a minute! Tom Riddle... why's that name sound familiar? Oh, I got it! He got some unusual award for the school, like a proper unique contribution, I think like, fifty years back!"

Harry looked at Ron, taken aback. "How do you know that?"

Ron replied with a disgruntled look on his face.

"Didn't polish the bloke's trophy right, the old git Filch caught me and made me mop up the entire trophy room again."

The mention of the trophy served to reinforce Harry's faith in Riddle's confessions.

"That's the reward he must've gotten for exposing Hagrid! That means his story is really true!"

Their animated discussion was cut short by the dormitory door creaking open once again. In walked Neville and Seamus, looking thoroughly worn out, oblivious to the air of anticipation hanging around Harry and Ron.

"Dean hasn't come back yet, has he?" Seamus inquired weakly. Ron simply shrugged, "Last I saw, he was in the common room, flapping his new quill around."

Neville had just started to collapse onto his bed when Harry interjected, "What on earth did Snape have you lot doing?"

"Frog brains..." replied Neville, an eerie glaze to his eyes, "Snape had us extricating brains from a god-awful number of frogs, our hands were drenched in blood..."

Harry and Ron exchanged glances, keenly aware of Neville's pet toad, Trevor. Ron tried his hand at consolation, "Neville, you can't think like that, Trevor's a toad and not a frog." Although his words fell on deaf ears as Neville was already sound asleep.

....

The events of the cryptic night played on repeat in their minds as Harry, Hermione and Ron huddled over breakfast at the Great Hall, absorbed in discussion over Riddle's dark revelations. With the repeated retelling, Harry found himself worn out with thoughts of regret about ever finding the diary.

"Riddle might have been wrong about Hagrid," Hermione hypothesized, "There could have been another creature responsible for the attacks..."

Ron shot her a skeptical look and asked, "How many other monsters do we have skulking around at Hogwarts? Look at Hagrid! Remember Norbert? And Fluffy!"

Harry wanted to defend Hagrid, but the evidence seemed damning. Transactions did cease after Hagrid was expelled, or else Riddle wouldn't have been given his award, ventured Hermione.

"Should we confront Hagrid, then?"

"And how do you see that playing out?" Ron demanded, "Oh, hello, Hagrid! Have you been keeping any more terrifying monsters in your hut recently?"

The ensuing silence felt oppressive to Harry and Hermione, and they refrained from pushing the matter.

Finally, they resolved not to challenge Hagrid nor disclose their disconcerting findings. They put a pause on their probing into the identity of Slytherin's heir as processing the news about Hagrid being potentially endangered proved overwhelming. However, stuck in the whirlwind of gloom, a beacon of hope appeared when Professor Sprout announced that the mandrakes would soon mature, presenting a possible cure for the numerous petrified.

A temporary calm settled over the castle until the subsequent week unveiled another shocking twist during the class of Defense Against the Dark Arts.