Ron clutched his hair in both hands, tugging at it as he cried out in anguish:
"Ah! Hermione… Hermione is my friend… But… who is she? Why can't I remember her?!"
Seeing his best friend in such a state, Harry's face twisted with pain as he shouted:
"Ron! It's me—Harry! I'm Harry Potter!"
At the sound of Harry's voice, Ron froze. He slowly lifted his head and stared at Harry. For a long moment, he seemed to recognize him, and a flash of joy broke through his tormented expression.
"Harry! You're here—Harry! Come, come! Let me show you my pet! You'll never guess what it is! I'm telling you—it's a basilisk! A huge one! Ha! Are you scared yet?"
Ron danced excitedly, but Harry's face was already streaked with tears. If Cedric hadn't been holding him back, Harry might have rushed forward to embrace him. As it was, he collapsed to the ground, staring at Ron as he pleaded:
"Ron, wake up! That's not your pet! That basilisk nearly killed Hermione—don't you remember?!"
Ron's glee vanished in an instant. He grew quiet, then muttered darkly:
"That was just… an accident. The basilisk was hungry. That's why it attacked Hermione. Just give the girl to me—once it's fed, it won't hurt anyone again. It's my pet!"
Hearing Ron insist the basilisk was his, Harry turned to Wentworth with a face full of grief and anger.
"Wentworth, what's happened to him?"
Wentworth was frowning deeply as he studied Ron. After a long pause, he answered cautiously:
"I think… he's been too deeply affected by the Horcrux. If this continues, it won't be long before Ron becomes someone else entirely—someone named Tom Riddle."
"But… he's changing so fast!"
It was no wonder Wentworth hadn't realized it at first. In the original tale, Ginny had possessed the Horcrux far longer than Ron has now, yet her transformation was nowhere near this rapid. In fact, Ginny even snapped out of it long enough to try and discard the diary.
After a moment's thought, Wentworth understood. There was only one explanation: Ron never resisted the Horcrux's influence. Unlike Ginny, he never lost consciousness—but that also meant Tom Riddle's resurrection through Ron's body was happening much faster.
Harry stared at Ron in growing panic and called out desperately:
"Ron, please! Come with me! We'll go to Dumbledore—he'll help you! He'll make you better!"
But Ron replied with eerie calm:
"I am better. Why would I need Dumbledore? I've never felt more alive!"
As he spoke, Ron suddenly drew his wand. Cedric and Kirk immediately raised theirs in response, pointing them straight at him.
Sensing the looming confrontation, Harry jumped between them and shouted:
"Don't attack! He won't hurt me!"
Cedric reached out to pull Harry back, urging in alarm:
"Harry, be careful! Get out of the way!"
But Harry stood firm.
"No! Ron won't hurt me. I know he won't!"
And Ron didn't. Instead, he walked over to a nearby statue, wand still in hand. What happened next shocked everyone—Ron hissed in Parseltongue.
Immediately, a hidden stone door beneath the statue creaked open, and the massive head of a basilisk emerged.
Just as the creature began to rise, Wentworth raised his wand high and shouted:
"Lumos Maxima!"
Cedric and Kirk followed suit, casting the same spell in unison:
"Lumos Maxima!"
Three beams of blinding white light shot toward the basilisk and exploded before its eyes. The entire Chamber of Secrets blazed like daylight.
The basilisk, used to the eternal gloom of its lair, recoiled instantly. The sudden brightness rendered it momentarily blind, and it thrashed about in rage and pain, hissing furiously.
Seeing this, Ron roared in anger:
"How dare you hurt my pet?!"
Harry looked from the furious Ron to the writhing basilisk beside him, his own fury now rising.
At that moment, Harry suddenly felt something in his hand. He looked down—inside the Sorting Hat, which Wentworth had given him to hold, the hilt of a sword was beginning to emerge.
Understanding flashed through Harry's mind. There was no time to question how Wentworth had known. He grasped the hilt and drew the sword free, then turned to the basilisk and shouted:
"This is all your fault! Ron became like this because of you!"
With the Sword of Gryffindor in hand, Harry charged the beast without hesitation.
Cedric reached out instinctively to stop him, but Wentworth held him back, saying gravely:
"Let him go. This is Harry's fate. And Tom Riddle's."
Watching Harry race toward the basilisk, Ron bellowed in fury:
"Stop! Don't hurt my pet!"
He raised his wand, pointing it at Harry. But just then, Wentworth spoke coldly:
"I'd think twice if I were you. I don't care if you're Ron or Tom Riddle—if you so much as twitch, I'll destroy this."
Ron turned to him—and saw that Wentworth was holding a golden diadem: the lost diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw.
Ron sneered:
"You? Destroy it? You can't."
Wentworth let out a cold laugh, then lowered his wand to the ground and began tracing an intricate pattern with its tip. At the same time, he muttered in an ancient, forgotten tongue:
"Fiendfyre."
Ron froze, recognition dawning on his face. Frowning, he whispered:
"Ancient runes? Nibelungen script? Fiendfyre?"
Then a ghostly blue flame burst into life on the damp stone floor, burning impossibly despite the wetness.
Wentworth slowly raised Ravenclaw's diadem over the flames and looked straight at Ron:
"What was that you said? I can't destroy it? I'll give you one more chance—say it again."
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