"However,"
Avada turned back and continued his explanation, "killing a seer is an extremely difficult task—because that seer may very well have already foreseen the existence of the Chamber of Secrets and the basilisk, and would take precautions against the basilisk's gaze, or even strike first and kill the basilisk in advance. In that case, the diary would lose its greatest weapon."
"It's even possible that the seer had already foreseen that the diary would infiltrate the school, release the basilisk, and attempt to kill him—so right at the start of term, he might have dealt with the Chamber problem in advance and then rooted out the student carrying the diary…"
"Even so, the diary still possessed one uniquely advantageous condition. If used properly, all of the above threats would amount to nothing…"
At this point, Avada suddenly paused and looked expectantly at everyone, hoping someone would follow his line of thought.
Unfortunately, everyone looked utterly confused. Only Snape wore a thoughtful expression—and he was clearly not the sort to play along verbally.
"So I'll have to explain it myself," Avada said with a sigh. "That condition was Dumbledore's speech."
"Dumbledore's end-of-year speech last year thoroughly offended all the hardline pure-blood families. They developed an unprecedented sense of crisis toward him and wanted nothing more than to remove him immediately. And just so happened, right beside the diary was one of the most representative hardline pure-bloods of all."
"And Dumbledore also happened to be the greatest pillar supporting that 'seer'—this was the method to counter him."
"So, the diary revealed its identity as Voldemort to Lucius, gaining his expectation and trust. In their eyes, Voldemort was the only one capable of opposing Dumbledore. After that, the diary restored a great deal of power by siphoning Lucius's mental energy, directly gaining the ability to condense a physical form. Then, through Lucius, it contacted and rallied the hardline pure-blood faction and former Death Eaters, secretly gathering an enormous force."
"And that force became the driving factor behind the later fainting incidents."
"I've got it!"
At last, someone reacted—Hermione Granger.
"They caused the fainting incidents themselves, then sent out an investigation team to 'discover the truth,' undermining Dumbledore's authority and driving him out! No wonder Slytherin had the most victims—they were all in on it together!"
"Largely correct,"
Avada nodded approvingly, then added, "Though I suspect the true mastermind behind the fainting incidents was still the diary. The pure-blood families merely provided assistance—such as an invisibility cloak, and a Dark artifact capable of disrupting mental power and causing unconsciousness."
"I believe Lucius used some method to pass the diary to an unfortunate student—most likely a first-year, to avoid arousing suspicion. With its restored power, the diary could easily control the student, enter the school through their body, and then have Lucius send over the invisibility cloak and the Dark artifact. That's how the 'fainting incidents' began…"
"But before all that, it carried out one urgent and crucial task—so urgent that it had to act immediately on the night of the Opening Feast."
"That was erasing Myrtle's memories, and altering the password to the Chamber of Secrets."
"These were key pieces of evidence proving the existence of the Chamber and the basilisk. Once those were destroyed, the seer would likely begin doubting the accuracy of his own prophecy, greatly lowering his guard."
"And in fact, it worked. I really did fall for it at the time."
Avada sighed. "And I informed Dumbledore of the basilisk's existence, which is what led to all those roosters appearing in the portraits at the start of term. Those roosters probably convinced the diary even more firmly of the seer's existence."
"After that came the fainting incidents. I have to admit, they were a brilliant move—not only did they successfully drive Dumbledore away, they also thoroughly muddied the seer's judgment, making him believe that the basilisk in his prophecy had become something else entirely, leading him into a string of incorrect decisions… Well played, Tom."
"And perhaps, when Dumbledore was successfully driven out and Snape took over, the decision to immediately unleash the basilisk again served not only the mission of purging Muggle-borns, but also as a way to flaunt power before that panicked 'seer.'"
"Then came the tampering with the basilisk's eyes and hearing, shifting the blame for purging Muggle-borns onto the so-called 'will of the castle.' This both served as effective intimidation, splashed more filth onto Dumbledore's name, and successfully concealed the basilisk's existence—a triple win, exquisitely executed."
"And finally, with the castle mostly empty during Christmas, it was time to strike at the greatest threat of all—me, the 'seer.'"
"That is the full picture of the entire conspiracy. Do you have anything to add, Tom?"
Avada tapped the box, allowing Tom's voice to be transmitted outside—but Tom only sat there, eyes closed, his face ashen, refusing to say a single word.
"Then that settles it."
Satisfied as he observed the diary's mental state—shock, fear, despair—Avada resealed the box.
"Once you understand these key points, dealing with him becomes simple. When you fully grasp your opponent's logic, countering it is easy."
"If the basilisk is his crutch, then make him believe something is wrong with the basilisk. If he believes his opponent is a seer, then give him another explanation—one that makes him doubt his original conclusion. And if he is cautious and calculating, then burden him with a complex problem that occupies his thoughts, preventing him from noticing flaws or growing wary of his surroundings."
"That is what we did over Christmas—fabricating basilisk attacks, having me impersonate a being of the diary's own kind to gain its trust, and assigning it the task of luring Dumbledore back, forcing it to constantly rack its brain."
"And to make the performance convincing, I even asked Harry—who can speak Parseltongue—to take Polyjuice Potion and disguise himself as me. Conveniently, they already had Polyjuice prepared. I then hid nearby and quietly transmitted my words, letting him repeat them in Parseltongue. With a few extra props, the diary was fooled instantly."
Avada smiled toward Baron's side. At some point, the "other Avada" there had already melted and deformed like wax, reverting back into Harry Potter.
"And just in time, Fred and George had a small tracking device. Combined with the earlier basilisk attacks, we had already cleared Hogwarts of most people, eliminating outside interference. So once we used that device to see who approached Harry in the empty classroom, that person was guaranteed to be the diary's host!"
"And once we knew the host's identity, we could prepare the final blow."
Avada finished recounting the entire chain of events with undisguised pride. He couldn't help it—no one knew how many Brain-Boosting Potions he'd drunk, how many neurons he'd burned, or how many favors he'd called in to design this trap for the diary.
"To be honest, I didn't expect things to go this smoothly. It really feels like Merlin was watching over us."
As he spoke, he turned toward Luna, who was listening with rapt attention.
"Originally, once the diary recovered enough power to form a physical body, it could have switched hosts at any time—controlling anyone, becoming a ghost among the students, and making my capture plan a nightmare."
"But for some reason, in the later stages of the fainting incidents, after it latched onto Luna Lovegood, it seemed to get stuck—and could no longer change hosts."
"This was something the twins discovered using their tracking device. During the fainting incidents, they had been trying to identify the culprit by recording the names of people present near each scene. Early on, the names showed no pattern. But during the final incidents, one name appeared every single time—Luna Lovegood."
"And when we finally lured it out and saw that the name approaching Harry was still 'Luna Lovegood,' we knew for certain that it was trapped inside her…"
"So—how did you do it?"
Everyone turned to look at the blonde girl sitting on the floor, making her instantly nervous.
"Wr—wrackspurts…"
She timidly pointed at her head. "During that time, I kept seeing black wrackspurts buzzing around me—the worst kind of all wrackspurts. That means my mind was under a very serious attack."
"Whenever I noticed black wrackspurts, I'd immediately warn the people around me and ask a professor for help. Then I'd lose a large chunk of memory and see even more black wrackspurts… After several days of that, the thing finally completely took over my mind and refused to leave."
"After that, I was always in a daze, like I was watching my own body move on its own… To be honest, it felt rather novel."
"..."
Avada scratched his head, not having expected the truth to be something like this.
What trapped the diary was Luna's absurd spirituality—and since she was a half-blood, the diary couldn't petrify her without causing panic…
And so, the diary was forced to control Luna long-term, unable to switch hosts, its strongest survival trump card sealed away.
It really was spectacularly unlucky.
Avada couldn't help but chuckle as he glanced at Luna poking her fingers together, then at the faces around them that were clearly wondering what exactly a "wrackspurt" was.
How wonderful.
In the fight against the diary, everyone had been indispensable.
Harry's Parseltongue. Ron and Hermione's Polyjuice Potion. The twins' map. Baron's warning devices. Snape's public cooperation. And Luna's spirituality.
He hadn't been fighting alone…
"Well done, Ken—and well done, everyone."
Suddenly, a burst of crimson flame flared nearby, and an elderly man stepped out of it, smiling broadly—
Albus Dumbledore had returned.
And to everyone's surprise, he was holding an unconscious figure in his hand—platinum-blond hair hanging loose, swaying slightly as it dangled.
Lucius Malfoy.
(End of Chapter)