77 Diary

Arth finally met up with Harry, Ron, and Hermione during breakfast who were very excited to see him. especially Ron. Ron was treating Arth with a level of respect that exceeded his own parents.

"Why are you treating me like this? In fact, why is everyone treating me like this?"

"Say no more Arth, say no more. You are a bloody hero man, bloody good hero?"

"Ok, seriously. What is going on?"

"Nothing man. Nothing."

Arth sighed and decided to ignore it.

"So what's been going on since I was gone?"

"A boy was attacked, we got some homework, and Harry found a diary." Answered Hermione.

"What do you mean diary?"

"The diary he found on the floor."

"Why is that so important?"

"It's not really that important, it's just that Harry seems to taken a liking to it. There's nothing in it too, it's blank."

"It just bugs me. I feel as though there is a connection between the book and me."

"Huh..."

Arth raised his eyebrows in curiosity.

"Hand over the diary for a second. I wanna check it out for a bit."

Arth took the diary and turned to the back cover of the book and saw the printed name of a variety store on Vauxhall Road, London.

"The owner must've been Muggle-born," said Arthur thoughtfully. "To have bought a diary from Vauxhall Road..."

"How do you even know that?" said Ron. "Did you memorize a map of England or something?"

"Yeah, I did in fact. For fun."

Ron decided to shut up.

"It might have hidden powers," said Arth, taking the diary and looking at it closely.

"If it has, it's hiding them very well," said Ron. "Maybe it's shy. I don't know why you don't chuck it, Harry."

"I wish I knew why too," said Harry. "I wouldn't mind knowing who Riddle was either."

Arth frowned.

"Riddle?"

"Yeah," Replied Ron. "The owner's name is T. M. Riddle."

"Hang on," said Arth. "That name is familiar... Oh I remember, T. M. Riddle got an award for special services to the school fifty years ago."

"How on earth d'you know that?" said Harry in amazement.

"Because I cleaned the trophy room remember?"

"You remember that? That was like ages ago!"

"I have good memory."

Arthur stared at the diary for a while before brightening his face with excitement.

"This might be it."

"What?" said Ron.

"Well, the Chamber of Secrets was opened fifty years ago, wasn't it?" he said. "That's what Malfoy said."

"Yeah..." said Ron slowly.

"And this diary is fifty years old," said Hermione, tapping it excitedly.

"So?"

"Oh, Ron, wake up," snapped Hermione. "We know the person who opened the Chamber last time was expelled fifty years ago. We know T. M. Riddle got an award for special services to the school fifty years ago. Well, what if Riddle got his special award for catching the Heir of Slytherin? His diary would probably tell us everything — where the Chamber is, and how to open it, and what sort of creature lives in it — the person who's behind the attacks this time wouldn't want that lying around, would they?"

"That's a brilliant theory, Hermione," said Ron, "with just one tiny little flaw. There's nothing written in his diary."

Hermione shoved her hand back into her bag and pulled out what appeared to be a bright red eraser.

"It's a Revealer, I got it in Diagon Alley," she said.

She rubbed hard on January first. Nothing happened.

Arth took Hermione's wand.

"It might be invisible ink." He explained.

He tapped the diary three times and said, "Aparecium!"

"I'm telling you, there's nothing to find in there," said Ron. "Riddle just got a diary for

Christmas and couldn't be bothered filling it in."

"But why would a diary from fifty years ago randomly appear?"

"I dunno, he forgot it and people didn't want to pick it up?"

Harry took the diary back from Arth and put it into his bag.

"I'll just keep it then. Can't hurt right?"

Arth rolled his eyes.

"Let's just all go to the trophy room together ok? We have enough time anyways."

They headed for the trophy room to examine Riddle's special award after they had their fill of breakfast.

Riddle's burnished gold shield was tucked away in a corner cabinet. It didn't carry details of why it had been given to him. However, they did find Riddle's name on an old Medal for Magical Merit, and on a list of old Head Boys.

"He sounds like Percy," said Ron, wrinkling his nose in disgust. "Prefect, Head Boy...probably top of every class —"

"You say that like it's a bad thing," said Hermione in a slightly hurt voice.

"I forgot we had two top of the class people with us."

"You are just jealous that you can't have our brains," said Arth with a smirk.

"Nah, thinking too much isn't really that fun."

"Thinking can also keep you alive?"

"Then why do instincts and reflexes exist?"

"Then why did monkeys eventually become humans?"

"I don't know, how am I supposed to know that?"

"It's because the dumber ones got eaten up by the predators and the smarter ones lived to reproduce. Eventually, the smarter apes became dominant and created a race called humans."

"..."