Hogwarts Diary: Snape Goes Crazy

Chapter 181: Chapter 180 — Meeting Tom Riddle

# Chapter 180 — Meeting Tom Riddle

”Shut up!”

Harry shouted, kicking Lockhart.

”It doesn’t seem to be alive...” Vesey said softly.

”Stay here and don’t move. I’ll go and take a look!”

She approached the enormous creature’s remains with her wand raised.

Harry and Ron wanted to follow her, but Lockhart grabbed hold of them.

”Don’t go! Don’t go! Someone will die! Let her go by herself!”

Harry and Ron each punched him.

”Shut up, you idiot!”

”Coward!”

Lockhart howled in pain, but he continued clinging to them, evidently fighting for his life.

”If you grab me again, I’ll—”

Harry raised his fist threateningly, but when he sensed Lockhart’s fear, he couldn’t quite bring himself to deliver another punch.

”It’s just snakeskin! You can open your eyes now!”

Vesey’s voice came from farther down the passage.

Harry and Ron immediately relaxed.

”Put a Tongue-Tying Curse on that bastard so he can’t scream anymore—”

Before Ron could finish speaking, Lockhart suddenly lunged at him, knocked him down, and snatched his wand.

”It’s all over, children! The adventure ends here. I’ll simply tell everyone that I found you here.

”Once you saw the girl’s bloody body, you went mad with grief. As for your sister, she’ll meet the same fate. She’s always been so sentimental. Is it any wonder she’ll go mad too?”

Lockhart laughed triumphantly.

”I’ll take this snakeskin with me, and then I’ll become the man everyone loves!”

He raised Ron’s wand and shouted, ”Obliviate!”

**Bang!**

The wand suddenly exploded.

The blast was like a bomb going off. Even the ceiling collapsed.

Stones rained down from above.

Harry could only shield his head and run forward.

Vesey hurried back at that moment. Seeing what had happened, she immediately shouted, ”Protego Maxima!”

A protective barrier appeared around Harry, shielding him from the falling rubble.

”Where’s Ron?” she asked anxiously.

”What happened?”

”I’m here!”

Ron’s voice came from somewhere nearby.

Vesey and Harry saw that the stones had formed a thick wall of rubble, completely blocking the passage behind them.

Ron had to be on the other side.

”Are you all right? Were you hurt?”

Vesey began thinking about how to clear the rubble without triggering another collapse.

”No, I’m fine! I’m not hurt. It’s Lockhart who seems to have a problem!”

Ron kicked Lockhart in the calf.

Lockhart burst into tears, his cries sounding utterly pitiful.

”He looks like an idiot now!” Ron called.

Vesey frowned.

”Be careful. What if he’s only pretending to be stupid to deceive you?”

Harry and Ron were both stunned.

Their silly little sister actually knew that people could pretend to be stupid to trick others!

”Don’t worry!” Ron replied after recovering from his surprise.

Vesey sighed helplessly. After hesitating for a moment, she looked at Harry and spoke softly.

”Brother, why don’t you stay here? You can stay with Ron, and then you can still—”

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

[...]

”Don’t even think about it! I’m not leaving you behind!”

Harry strode ahead of her, forcing Vesey to hurry after him.

They passed the enormous snakeskin and continued deeper into the tunnel.

The passage twisted and turned repeatedly.

Just as Harry was growing increasingly nervous and eager to discover what lay ahead, they finally reached a solid stone wall.

Two intertwined serpents were carved into its surface.

Harry heard Vesey call out in Parseltongue.

”Open!”

The serpents separated, and the stone wall split apart, revealing another passage.

Beyond it lay a dark chamber. Rows of pillars stood on either side, with serpents carved into the ceiling.

At the far end stood a gigantic statue depicting a man with a monkey-like face.

And beneath the statue’s enormous feet lay Ginny.

Vesey immediately rushed towards her, wand in hand.

”Ginny...” she called softly.

Harry hurried over as well, looking anxiously at the girl lying motionless on the ground.

”Is she still alive?”

Vesey nodded firmly.

”She is! Let’s get her out of here first and pass her to Ron!”

[Ding! Points +10]

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

[...]

As soon as she finished speaking, a burst of applause rang through the chamber.

A tall, black-haired boy looked at Vesey with undisguised malice.

”She won’t wake up. Don’t think you can save her from me. You won’t get that chance. You’ll die here with her, and you’ll never leave this place alive!”

Vesey froze.

*What’s going on?*

*Can Tom Riddle see the diary too?*

But on second thought, it made sense.

Tom Riddle was Voldemort himself!

No wonder the basilisk had attacked her.

So it had all been this bastard’s doing!

Vesey smiled.

She decided that today, she wouldn’t worry about preserving the original storyline. She was going to kill this man!

”Who are you?” she asked warily.

Harry answered angrily, ”He’s Tom Riddle, the owner of the diary I told you about. He’s the one who showed me those memories!”

Harry turned back to Tom Riddle.

”What are you talking about? Are you insane?”

Tom Riddle smiled.

”Insane? What would you know about it? Imagine working so hard, only to discover that a child had defeated you in the end. Then, in the future, you would die completely because of a woman. You’d go mad too!”

Harry frowned.

”What on earth are you talking about?”

”You think I’m talking nonsense? Yes, I am. But after today, everything will finally settle down, and I’ll be the only one left!”

Tom Riddle burst into laughter.

He stared intently into Vesey’s eyes, as though trying to discover what she was thinking. Was she frightened?

No.

After her initial shock and astonishment, Vesey had calmly figured out who Tom Riddle really was.

”Brother, don’t waste your time talking to him. He’s Voldemort!”

Harry stared at Tom Riddle with wide eyes.

”How is that possible?”

Vesey shook her head.

She waved her wand, and Tom Riddle’s name appeared in the air. With another wave, the letters rearranged themselves until they formed a new sentence.

**I AM VOLDEMORT.**

Tom Riddle clapped his hands.

”How clever of you! You certainly live up to the reputation of someone I’ve gone to such lengths to destroy!”

Vesey shook her head.

”I’m not clever. At least, I still haven’t figured out why you captured Ginny. What secret does she know about you?

”Or does she know your weakness? This is all my fault. I should have chased after her sooner!”

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

[Ding! Energy Points +10]

[...]

”How touching! Unfortunately, even if you’d caught up with her, you wouldn’t have been able to make her tell you everything. I took control of her just when she was about to kiss you.”

Vesey was interested and wanted to question him further, but she knew this wasn’t the time. She merely frowned calmly.

”There’s no point in slandering Ginny. There must be something going on between you and her. She’s been acting strangely all year. You haven’t been controlling her for the entire year, have you?”