"It was Hagrid, fifty years ago, Hagrid opened the Chamber of Secrets," Harry said breathlessly to Draco.
It was a Monday in mid-February, in the castle courtyard. Draco had just finished a gruelling Quidditch training session. Facing the trio of Harry, Ron, and Hermione who had stopped him, a barely perceptible hint of surprise flickered across his usually impassive face. "What? Why did you make that judgement?"
Harry fell silent. It was not that he did not trust Draco, otherwise he would not have told him; he did not know how to explain it, nor did he know if Draco would believe his bizarre experience.
Draco—unlike Ron, who was so easygoing as to believe everything Harry said—was calmer, more mature, and more rational than the average boy, and also more difficult to persuade.
Ron, on the other hand, had no scruples.
Their purpose in stopping Draco was precisely to tell him this, was it not? So, Ron finished Harry's sentence for him: "Harry got a diary, and it was the diary that told him this."
Draco was puzzled, and he turned his gaze to the most rational of the three—Hermione.
Hermione did not say a word, only nodded at him, her expression a mixture of confusion and seriousness. Her attitude made Draco understand that this was not a joke, despite her lingering doubts.
"That diary is amazing," Harry said. "It showed me a memory that explained everything!"
Typical Harry Potter-esque mindless behaviour!
Completely unaware of the danger, he blindly followed the advice of a book. Suddenly, Draco felt a dull ache in his body.
He recalled being injured by Harry's "Sectumsempra" in sixth year. It was supposedly a spell Harry had casually picked up from an old textbook. Had Professor Snape not intervened in time, he might have died.
Ignorant children often possess a curious nature, blind to the dangers of unfamiliar objects and blindly trusting them. Harry's terrible habits are truly detrimental.
Draco silently observed Harry's innocent yet excited face, secretly wondering how Harry had managed to survive to the seventh year unscathed in his previous life. He was incredibly lucky! Should he try to persuade Harry to change these bad habits as soon as possible?
However, at this moment, there are more important things for Draco to worry about.
"A diary?" His pale grey eyes sharpened as he looked at Harry. He held a thin, tattered black book in his hand. It gave Draco a sense of déjà vu.
"That is not important. What is important is that we have figured out one thing: Hagrid opened the Chamber of Secrets, and the monster was not a Basilisk, it was a spider." Harry hid the diary behind his back.
"Nothing is unimportant," Draco said gravely. "You had better tell me the details of how you learnt this."
Harry saw a certain resolve, and a fleeting worry, in Draco's unwavering grey eyes—he knew Draco would not believe him so easily.
He could only patiently explain to Draco how he obtained the diary, how he communicated with it, and how he learnt about the memories from fifty years ago from it.
Despite having heard it several times already, Hermione and Ron listened with great interest. Even long after Harry finished speaking, they were still marvelling at the amazing encounters he described in his diary, bombarding him with questions about every detail.
"Is that a giant spider in that box? Judging from your description, it must be a very rare species to grow that big. Maybe it is an Acromantula," Draco said thoughtfully.
He had no doubt about that. Given the gamekeeper's unique taste for dangerous species, even if he were to keep spiders, he would definitely choose the most dangerous kind.
"However, I do not think it could be the monster from the Chamber of Secrets. It could just be Hagrid's pet, right? Like the dragon he kept last year. First of all, I have never heard of any spider that can turn people to stone; secondly, as far as I know, Slytherin has its own taste... Spiders are not elegant at all," he said dismissively.
Ron nodded unconsciously beside him. He did not like spiders either.
"Are you sure?" Harry said. "The contents of this diary are well-documented, and there is even a clear memory. You have said before that the Basilisk is only a possibility, not something to be one hundred per cent certain, have you not?"
Draco frowned. He knew perfectly well that there was no giant spider in the Chamber of Secrets, and that the Grey Lady's information was correct. Hagrid might have an annoying penchant for keeping oddities, but regarding the Chamber of Secrets, he was indeed innocent.
Now, this mysteriously appearing diary points the finger at Hagrid, even offering a flawless memory to seduce people, which is clearly suspicious.
This diary is suspicious—according to Harry's description, it seems to have its own thoughts, can chat and converse with people, and can even take people into a memory.
It is by no means an ordinary magical object. It spreads rumours and stirs up trouble amongst the students of Hogwarts. It may be something created by the mastermind behind it all, and it may be inextricably linked to the opening of the Chamber of Secrets.
"Harry, why did you not choose to trust your friend Hagrid, instead of a stranger, and a magical artefact of unknown origin?" Draco pointed out incisively. "How can you be sure it is not some sinister Dark magical artefact?"
Harry, his two friends, and his companions looked at each other.
The complex emotions of doubt about the diary, shame for trusting others, and hope for Hagrid's innocence were intertwined on the faces of the three of them.
"Harry, more than this, I would like to see the diary you are holding—if you do not mind." Draco examined the diary Harry was clutching tightly in his hand.
The more he looked at it, the more he felt that the diary resembled the one in his own collection of contraband items.
This idea terrified him.
Harry hesitated for a moment, but still handed it over.
"All right, no doubt about it, it really is." Draco looked at the damned "T.M. Riddle" in the diary, both amused and exasperated.
He never expected the Malfoy family to get involved in this mess! Could it be that his family is connected to the Chamber of Secrets in Slytherin?
In a flash, he suddenly remembered something: in his past life, the Dark Lord had once been furious with Lucius because of some unlucky diary or something.
Is this the one?