15 March 1993, Hogwarts
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was veiled in an unsettling fog, a reflection of the shrouded mystery that had consumed not only the minds of the residents of the castle but also of Harry Potter. Unlike the rest of the student body and the staff, the resurgence of the Heir of Slytherin was something that he had expected. However, the change in patterns was something that he didn't see coming. It had baffled even his admittedly sharp intellect, and his usual air of confidence was beginning to show cracks, replaced by visible frustration.
The castle's usually lively halls were now hushed with fear, as the once-safe haven became tainted by the sinister presence of the infamous Heir of Slytherin.
Currently, Harry Potter was staying in his trust Room of Requirements, which he had shaped into a comfortable living room. He was sitting in an armchair that was identical to his favourite one in the Slytherin common room. Next to him, Daphne was pacing around, while Luna was humming distractedly.
All of them were trying to figure out what Riddle's angle was. His change in patterns was baffling. It just didn't make sense. The first smiling face might be a message saying that he was back and not to forget about him, but the second petrification was such a break in the routine. Cormac McLaggen was a Pureblood, and from a very influential family as well. His father was very well known in the ministry, and that meant that the Wizengamot would start putting pressure on Dumbledore to investigate, something that the headmaster would probably protest heavily.
But also, it was the location of the petrification. One of the biggest reasons he was even doing this was to spread fear in the muggleborn population. He always chose a location that was pretty popular to release an unspoken message, 'I can get you wherever you are.'
However, McLaggen's petrification was in a part of the castle that no one ever ventured. Riddle obviously expected the petrification to occur there, since the blood drawing happened. Curiously, Longbottom was the one who found the body and from a preliminary Legilimency scan, the boy had foolishly followed the Basilisk's voice once more.
And that also posed an issue. How was Longbottom connected to all of this? Riddle would be curious about his future self's defeat, of course, but the attack on McLaggen was pretty much framing the boy since he was spearheading the harassment of the boy who lived.
The timing also didn't make sense. Considering that his attacks happened a month apart, which was ideal to keep this little reign of terror while leaving enough hope that he wouldn't continue. Yet, he was accelerating now, something that risked getting the ministry actively involved and the students observed even further.
Harry spent what seemed like hours trying to understand Riddle's motivations, "There's something I'm missing…"
Daphne spoke out loud, "What if it is Longbottom?"
The Potter scion gave her an incredulous look, "Didn't I tell you that a cursed diary is responsible for all of this?"
"No, I meant that Longbottom is the one being possessed. Maybe Riddle is using his subconscious to pick his target somehow."
Harry shook his head, "No, I used Legilimency on him. He wasn't the one who petrified McLaggen, he just followed the Basilisk's voice and found him."
"I'm just saying that it's suspicious, that's all."
"No, the bigger question would be why McLaggen was even in that corner of the castle when he was petrified and how did Riddle know about it and plan to have him petrified in that exact spot."
"Why don't you track him like you did before?" Daphne asked, "Luna told me you used something to scry his location. Can't you do that again?"
"I used something similar to the Diary to do it, a part of a whole. Plus, he figured out how I tracked him down, so he probably put up some protections. I took him by surprise the last time. I don't have that luxury now."
"Do you have at least a few ideas on why McLaggen was chosen? The guy is an ass, but he's hardly the ideal victim that Riddle would pick…"
Harry shook his head, "This was premeditated. The school has to send an owl to a student's guardian if he or she gets hurt. For muggleborns, since the school is technically foreign territory, the headmaster could choose to act as a guardian since they are considered to be orphans in the magical world, at least in terms of paperwork. So, technically this forced the headmaster to admit that something was wrong, especially since two attacks happened so quickly one after another."
"So, McLaggen Senior would have to know what happened to his son and he'd demand answers," Daphne continued.
"Yes, but he's also a known supporter of Dumbledore. A petrification wouldn't really be a big deal, but the headmaster would technically be forced to break his own embargo about the chamber. And that would mean that people outside the castle would have to talk, which explains the article."
Yeah, the infamous article that pretty much caused the headmaster to keep putting out one fire after another.
Hogwarts was Dumbledore's territory and he liked having its secrets remain in the castle. There was this large ward that pretty much caused people to not want to talk about anything unusual happening in the school. Harry had sensed it pressing down on him when he tried to send a letter to Arcturus Black that had information about the petrifications.
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