Harry Potter: Who cares about belated motherly love?

"Thank you for your hard work, Theodore. Leave the rest to me."

With the sound of resounding footsteps, a handsome boy in Slytherin robes appeared. He was about the same age as Percy, or a little younger.

He has shiny black hair and beautiful dark eyes, and his facial features would probably not be inferior to Sirius if he stood next to him.

He was tall and well-proportioned, and did not look frail at all.

Anyone who saw him would describe this young man as "charming", but what was obviously different about him from ordinary people was that he seemed to be surrounded by a faint light, like a ghost.

However, unlike a ghost, he does have a physical body.

"Who are you……?"

Harry asked the question in confusion as I held my breath.

"Me? I'm Tom Riddle."

The boy - Tom Riddle answered Harry's question with a pleasant smile.

"Why are you here? Could it be you...?"

"Yes. It's me - I'm the 'Heir of Slytherin'."

Tom Riddle whispered in a tone full of smugness.

"So, why is Theodore Nott here?"

"Ah, Theodore... He is an extremely outstanding subordinate of mine and has been of great help to me. Thanks to his magic, I was able to regain my physical form."

“…What does this mean?”

——While paying attention to the conversation between Harry and Tom Riddle, I secretly observed Theodore who was lying on the ground.

Although he was lying face down on the ground without moving, I could still see the slight rise and fall of his back.

——He is still alive. There is still a chance.

"Don't worry, Theodore is still alive, Miss Weasley. However, it can only be said to be 'temporarily' for now."

Tom Riddle obviously noticed my action and said in a mocking tone.

When I was suddenly called out, I couldn't help but tremble, trying hard to suppress my impending collapse.

"What does this mean? What did you do to Nott?!"

Harry squeezed my hand tightly and questioned Tom Riddle.

"I didn't do anything. In fact, it was Theodore who woke me up."

"…What do you mean? Who are you?"

"I am a memory."

Tom Riddle answered with a childlike smugness, as if to say "you asked a good question."

"I am the memory that was recorded in that diary fifty years ago."

Following his pointing, I looked at a black-covered diary under the huge stone statue and saw it spread out on the ground.

"Diary? Memories?"

Harry frowned, obviously unable to understand what was happening in front of him. I held his hand tightly, licked my dry lips, and spoke.

"...Did you open the 'Secret Chamber' fifty years ago?"

Tom Riddle raised an eyebrow before answering me with an amused look.

"That's right, Miss Weasley. Theodore is right. You are very clever."

I still don't know why Theodore has this diary, but now is not the time to think about it. I have to find a way to survive this situation first.

***

"Fifty years ago, I spent five years finding the entrance to this 'Chamber of Secrets'. Inheriting the will of Salazar Slytherin, I killed a 'Mudblood' and everything went well. But later, Dumbledore began to doubt me. Although I made that big, stupid Hagrid a scapegoat and was expelled, he still suspected me. I realized that it was dangerous to continue taking action while in school, so I sealed my sixteen-year-old self in this diary, hoping that one day someone would discover the secret of the diary and wake me up."

Tom Riddle was absorbed in his own narration.

"To me, it seems like it just happened. Theodore's father discovered the secret of the diary and gave it to his son. Theodore did a lot for me. With his magic and soul, I was able to regain my power... until now, I have regained my body. Coincidentally, Theodore's father has been one of my followers since my school days. It was because he knew my name that he discovered the secret of this diary..."

"Nott's father... gave the diary to his son?"

I was shocked to hear these words. I couldn't believe that he would sacrifice his own son. Harry still didn't understand the truth of the diary. He frowned and asked, "What does this mean?"

"Ms. Weasley, you are cleverer than I thought - I see that you have realized what this diary is?"

Tom Riddle's dark eyes rested on me.

——Yes, I know what this diary is.

Not only in the memory of the previous life, but also in the "70 Most Horrible Black Magic Selections" taken from the forbidden bookshelf. Although it was just the name, there was a sentence that read: "This is the most evil invention in magic. No one discusses it, and no one teaches it."

Although it is not stated explicitly, everyone who knows this name knows that its terrifying nature is vaguely hinted at in various banned books.

A book says: "This is territory that should not be entered."

Another book states: "Those who practice this art have departed from reason."

Frankly speaking, the only "original knowledge" I remember about it is also very vague. I only remember some vague content, such as "the Dark Lord cannot be defeated if it is not destroyed."

So I wrote to the one person who might have more detailed information - Sirius.

Sirius and I have actually been communicating regularly.

This time it wasn't just Harry who wrote to him, I wrote one too.

In addition, I also told Sirius that since Professor Gilderoy Lockhart, who is currently teaching the Defense Against the Dark Arts class, is so incompetent, we have to use the forbidden bookshelf to learn defense ourselves.

So, I asked Sirius in the letter -

——About the "Horcrux".

"It is said that this is the most terrifying invention, but there is no detailed information", "You can't deal with it without relevant knowledge, at least you need to know what it is", "I hope you can check if there are any books in the Blake family collection that mention it."

Sirius naturally went to investigate.

His reply read: "This is not something a child should know" and "As an adult, I cannot teach you this 'black magic'."

It took me a while to convince him.

I told him, “I don’t want to make a Horcrux” and “I don’t want to know how to make one.” “I’m just upset because I don’t know what it is and what to do about it.”

After several rounds of correspondence, Sirius finally told me.

"This is an evil spell that splits one's soul and seals it in an object. Even if the body dies, the caster can remain in the world." He also said, "To destroy it, you need to use 'evil spirit fire', dragon fire, or biological venom rated as XXXXXX by the Department for the Control of Magical Creatures."

——Therefore, I can assert.

"It's a 'Horcrux', right?"

Hearing what I said, Tom Riddle smiled intoxicatedly.

"--marvelous!"

"What is a 'Horcrux'?"

"This is what the magic world calls the 'most evil invention'. It separates a part of the soul and seals it in an object. In this way, even if the user's body dies, the soul can still remain in the world... just like a ghost."

——You can ask Sirius for details.

Harry gasped at this.

"…Isn't that the same as Voldemort?"

When Tom Riddle heard Harry mention the word "ghost", he was obviously reminded of the old enemy he faced last year and reacted strongly.

"Yes! This is exactly what I want to know. Even Theodore doesn't know this..."

Tom Riddle shrugged, made a dramatic expression, and then stared at Harry's forehead - more precisely, at the lightning-shaped scar on his forehead.

"How did a baby without any special magical powers defeat the greatest wizard ever? Voldemort's power was destroyed, but you were left with only this scar. Why?"

Tom Riddle's dark eyes began to glow red.

"How did I escape Voldemort? Why are you so interested in this? Voldemort came after you."

Harry's question made Tom Riddle become unusually calm and his tone grim.

"Voldemort is my past, my present, and my future... Harry Potter."

Tom Riddle gently pulled his wand from the fallen Theodore's hand and began to write in the air.

Three letters floated in the air, emitting a strange light.

"Tom Marvolo Riddle"

Tom Riddle waved his wand once more, and the arrangement of the letters changed, revealing an entirely different word.

"I am Voldemort"

Harry held his breath and I squeezed his hand tightly.

"Do you understand now?"

Tom Riddle whispered softly, his voice full of tenderness.

"I've been using this name since I was a student at Hogwarts. Of course, only my closest friends knew it. Theodore's father was one of them. Really... 'Tom Riddle' is a vulgar and tasteless name. Don't you think so? It's the name of my filthy Muggle father who abandoned my mother. Do you think I will always use this name? I have the blood of Salazar Slytherin! The answer is no. I made up a name for myself, a name that will one day make the entire wizarding world fear me... I knew that one day I would become the greatest wizard in the world!"

I felt terrified when facing Tom Riddle who was speaking so passionately.

Because Harry had been unusually silent since just now.

Whenever he behaves like this, it's usually a sign that he's planning something big.

"wrong."

——That voice was filled with endless hatred.

"You're not the greatest wizard in the world!"

I watched as Harry squeezed my hand and yelled at Tom Riddle. I couldn't get a word in because Harry was so powerful.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but the greatest wizard in the world is Albus Dumbledore! Everyone says so. Even though you were once extremely powerful, you were never able to take over Hogwarts, or even touch it. Dumbledore saw through you during your time there. No matter where you hid, you were always afraid of him!"

Harry's shouting made Tom Riddle's handsome face twisted with anger. His originally dark eyes turned scarlet due to his excitement.

But just then——

His face was frozen in shock.

—Because some kind of music was coming from somewhere.