Lockhart suddenly snatched Ron's broken wand—the one patched together with Spellotape.
He screamed the spell he knew best.
"Obliviate!"
Harry and Ron were stunned by the sudden betrayal.
They didn't even have time to react.
Lucian Thornwick, however, simply watched.
He made no move to stop it.
His gaze rested on the wand in Lockhart's hand with calm indifference—like someone watching a clown perform.
Because Lucian already knew.
He didn't need to intervene.
Sometimes fate finishes its own irony.
The Backfire
The moment the spell left Lockhart's lips—
Ron's fragile wand finally gave up.
BANG!
A deafening explosion echoed through the bathroom.
A surge of violent green magic blasted from the broken wand.
The spell rebounded completely.
The Memory Charm that was meant for Harry and Ron shot backward at even greater speed—
And struck Lockhart himself square in the chest.
He flew backward as if smashed by an invisible hammer.
His body hit the wall and slid to the floor.
The sparkle in his narcissistic eyes vanished instantly.
They became empty.
Blank.
Vacant.
Lockhart lay there smiling foolishly, drool forming at the corner of his mouth.
All memories.
All identity.
Gone.
The famous wizard who had built his reputation by stealing others' achievements and erasing their memories—
Had now erased his own.
The farce ended in the most ironic way possible.
Ron stared at him.
"He… he just… erased himself?"
Lucian didn't spare Lockhart another glance.
"Let's go."
Entering the Chamber
Lucian looked into the dark pipe.
Then he activated Wind Control and jumped down first.
Harry and Ron exchanged nervous looks before following.
The tunnel inside was far larger than they expected.
A massive stone pipe slanted downward.
The walls were slick with moss.
The air reeked of rot and death.
They slid for a long time before landing on damp ground covered with small animal bones.
"Where are we?" Ron whispered.
They were standing inside a vast underground network of pipes and tunnels.
Like a labyrinth.
Lucian ignored the surroundings.
He simply followed the strongest scent in the air—
The pungent smell of a giant serpent.
He walked forward.
Harry and Ron hurried after him.
The Basilisk's Shedding
After a long walk through the tunnel, Ron's wand light suddenly illuminated something enormous.
It lay across the passage.
A huge, pale yellow-green object covered in diamond patterns.
It looked like discarded skin.
"What… is that?" Harry asked, touching it carefully.
The texture was cold and dry.
"D-don't touch it!" Ron shouted.
Because now they could see it clearly.
It was a massive snake skin.
Dozens of feet long.
A complete basilisk shed.
The empty skin coiled across the tunnel like the ghost of a gigantic serpent.
Proof beyond doubt—
The monster in the Chamber was a basilisk.
And far larger than they imagined.
Ron's legs nearly collapsed.
"Maybe… maybe we should go back…"
His voice trembled.
"Let Lucian deal with it…"
Harry was also terrified.
But he remembered Hermione lying petrified in the hospital wing.
His grip tightened on his wand.
Lucian merely glanced at the snake skin.
His expression didn't change.
Then he kept walking.
The Chamber of Secrets
Soon they reached a giant circular stone door carved with intertwined serpents.
Lucian didn't search for a mechanism.
He simply placed his hand on the door.
RUMBLE—
The massive stone gate slid open automatically.
Behind it lay an enormous chamber.
A cavernous hall like an ancient temple.
The ceiling disappeared into darkness.
Rows of gigantic stone pillars carved with serpent heads stretched toward the depths.
And scattered across the damp floor—
Were bodies.
Students.
Justin Finch-Fletchley.
Penelope Clearwater.
Colin Creevey.
All the victims of the attacks.
They lay there like discarded statues.
The basilisk had dragged them here.
Food for when it woke.
Harry and Ron felt their hearts sink.
Then Ron saw someone else.
"GINNY!"
Near the feet of a colossal statue of Salazar Slytherin, a small red-haired figure lay motionless.
Ginny Weasley.
Ron ran forward in panic.
Harry followed.
Ginny wasn't petrified.
But her face was deathly pale.
Her lips colorless.
Her breathing is barely detectable.
It was as if something had drained all her life.
In her hand lay a familiar object.
A black diary.
The same one Harry had found.
"Ginny! Wake up!" Ron cried desperately.
But she didn't respond.
Tom Riddle Appears
Then a calm voice echoed behind them.
"She won't wake up."
Harry and Ron spun around.
A ghostly figure was rising from the diary.
The transparent image slowly solidified.
Until a teenage boy stood before them.
Sixteen or seventeen years old.
Handsome.
Black hair.
Pale skin.
Wearing an old Slytherin uniform.
Tom Riddle.
Harry recognized him instantly.
"You!" Harry shouted, raising his wand.
"What did you do to Ginny?"
Riddle ignored the wand.
He looked down at Ginny with quiet admiration.
"Poor Ginny," he said softly.
"She was so trusting."
"She wrote all her secrets in my diary."
"Her fears… her crushes… everything."
"And in return…"
"I poured a piece of my soul into her."
Harry's eyes widened in horror.
"You don't understand yet, Harry Potter?"
Riddle smiled proudly.
"It was me who opened the Chamber."
"Through Ginny."
"It was me who wrote the warnings."
"Through Ginny."
"It was me who released the basilisk."
"Through Ginny."
His voice echoed through the chamber.
"I," he declared, spreading his arms grandly,
"I am the Heir of Salazar Slytherin."
Voldemort Revealed
Harry's wand trembled.
"You lied to me!"
"Lied?" Riddle laughed softly.
"I simply edited the truth."
"Hagrid was a perfect scapegoat."
Then his gaze finally shifted to Lucian.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"You… Lucian Thornwick."
"You're an anomaly."
"I can feel your power."
"It's… unusual."
"Perhaps even stronger than mine once was."
He paused.
Then smiled again.
"My full name is Tom Marvolo Riddle."
With Ginny's wand, he wrote glowing letters in the air:
TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE
The letters twisted and rearranged.
They became a new sentence:
I AM LORD VOLDEMORT
Harry gasped.
This boy—
Was Voldemort.
The future Dark Lord.
Temptation
Riddle stepped closer.
"Harry… we're alike."
"Half-bloods."
"Orphans."
"Powerful."
"I'm Slytherin's heir. You're a Parselmouth like me."
He extended his hand.
"We could rule together."
"We could purify the wizarding world."
"We deserve to lead it."
Harry glared at him in disgust.
Lucian remained completely expressionless.
Seeing they weren't tempted, Riddle's patience snapped.
"You fools!"
"If you choose to stand with those filthy mudbloods—"
"Then you'll die with them!"
He turned toward the giant statue of Salazar Slytherin.
Then he spoke in hissing Parseltongue.
"Speak to me, Slytherin… greatest of the Hogwarts founders."
The chamber echoed with serpentine sounds.
Then—
CLICK.
The statue's stone mouth slowly opened.
Revealing a gigantic black tunnel inside.
Something enormous was moving within the darkness.
~~--------------------------
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