Chapter 55: The Truth
Chapter 55: The Truth
Ron was like a discarded doll, his face was as pale as marble, cold and colourless.
“Ron!” Harry dashed to him, knelt down, and shook him, “Ron, don’t die, please, don’t die!”
“He won’t wake up.” said a voice softly.
Evan turned towards the voice; he saw a tall boy leaning against a nearby pillar.
“Tom Riddle!” said Evan softly while he pointed his wand at Tom.
“It’s no use mud blood, it’s all over! There’s only us here, no one will come and save you, and there’s no rooster! Victory shall be mine; you will soon be like this boy and stay here forever.”
“What did you do to Ron, why is he like this?” shouted Harry as he stood up.
“That is a very interesting question, it’s a long story,” said Riddle cheerfully, “But let me tell you before you take the eternal sleep. As far as I know, the real reason Weasley is like this 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.
“The Diary!” said Riddle, “Ever since my servant gave my diary to Ron, he has written his secrets in it for several months, he told me his troubles and sorrow. He is the most ordinary one of his family, his friends are better than him, no one notices him, he is weak and poor.”
“What?” Harry paused.
“Harry Potter, you are the famous saviour, you have never understood that Weasley is jealous of you, he envies your fame, he envies your talent!” Riddles eyes twinkled, “He told me he is worse than a first year even though he himself is a second-year student.”
Riddle glanced cautiously at Evan, and turned back to Harry, his eyes concealed an almost greedy expression.
“It was so boring to hear a twelve-year-old boy talk about his childish troubles.”
Tom continued, “But I am tolerant, write a few words to answer him, I am kind considerate. I gradually gained his trust, he thought I was his only friend.”
Harry looked pale as a ghost, “I don’t know why he would think that but we have been friends since we meet.”
“Obviously you haven’t!”, Tom gave a cold, shrill laugh, “After months of talking, Ron opened his soul to me, it was exactly what I needed.”
“I swallowed his most secret fears, his deepest secret, his most intense jealousy. I grew stronger, stronger than little Weasley, strong enough to control him, to accomplish what I had always wanted to do, and it was all in….”
“Stop your tricks, Tom! It isn’t going to work, when Ron wakes up, I will kick his but until he figures out that I have always treated him like my best friend.”
“Fucking Mud blood! I knew you were a problem, I wanted to kill you the moment you took out that fifty-year-old newspaper clipping,” said Tom as he turned his head to look at Evan in disgust.
“So is that why you, attacked me with a corrosive curse at duelling club.”
“Ron’s broken wand weakened my magic but it was a mistake of mine, you were more cunning than I thought and I should not have exposed myself so early if Dumbledore had noticed that it was me that put Ron under the imperious curse I would have.”
“Is that why you tried to make him use the killing curse on me?”
“No, without me controlling his body he couldn’t pull it off so it was just a simple green light.” said Riddle proudly, “The imperious curse was just to throw off Dumbledore but he was still suspicious. Ron didn’t disappoint me though; he was cowardly and concealed the diary from everyone. He was afraid that people would figure out that he was a person that helped in the attacks.”
Upon hearing Riddle’s words, Evan held his wand tightly and Harry clenched his fists tightly.
“But since that moment, Ron didn’t trust me anymore,” said Riddle, “He finally got suspicious and tried to throw away the diary. Harry how I hoped that you would pick it up, as I said I desperately wanted to see you!
“Why did you want to see me?” asked Harry angrily
“Oh, Harry, Ron told me everything about you,” Said Riddle, “you are breath-taking, your enchanting past.”
His gaze turned to the lightning-shaped scar on Harry’s forehead, his face began to look like a starved beast.
“I must know more about you, talk to you, and see you in person if possible.” Riddle once again turned his eyes to Evan and said in disgust, “But I didn’t think it would be a filthy mud-blood to pick 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 opening fifty years ago but…”
“Unfortunately, I saw through you,” said Evan with a face full of disdain.
“You are indeed a crafty mud blood, a nuisance, as I initially thought.”
Riddle’s voice soon returned to being calm, “I felt you were on guard against me, but you had a powerful lust for magical knowledge so I changed my plans, I decided to slowly lure you in with the promise of power.”
“You failed once again, Tom!” said Evan as he began to accumulate magic.
“Obviously, but can you tell me why?” asked Riddle eagerly.
“A girl once told me Wit beyond measure is man’s greatest treasure.” said Evan as Luna figure came to mind, “The most important thing is to believe in friendship, believe in family, believe in love, believe in all things good! Tom, you can never do this, besides your own strength, you do not believe in anything so you are doomed to fail.”
“Love?! It’s ridiculous that you think these things are more reliable than power, typical mindset of the weak. Well, let’s get back to business, I have a lot of question to ask you, Harry Potter!”