Tom never expected Elliot to be this eager to learn.
Over the next ten-plus days, this boy who hadn't even started his second year yet began asking deep questions about the very nature of magic.
Every question revolved around emotions, consciousness, wand movements, incantations, or magic itself.
During their conversations, Elliot also showed strong approval and support for pure-blood ideology.
Elliot (Richie): Yeah, exactly.
This made Tom increasingly convinced that Elliot came from a pure-blood wizard family.
After all, only pure-bloods had the environment and the luxury to ponder such fundamental questions.
Not to mention having a private tutor.
During one well-timed probe, Elliot finally told Tom his full name:
Elliot Malfoy.
The Malfoy family?
Yes, an ancient and powerful pure-blood house.
It seemed they still hadn't changed.
Tom was very pleased with Elliot's identity and began thinking about cultivating him.
If he managed to resurrect, Elliot and the Malfoy family would become his greatest support for returning to the wizarding world. Through them, he could learn what the current magical society was like and what "he" had done after sixth year…
So Tom stopped trying to influence Elliot directly and started looking for other targets.
In the end, he reminded Elliot to bring him—that is, this diary—to Hogwarts…
Of course Richie was going to take Tom Riddle's diary to Hogwarts.
He planned to hand it over to Dumbledore personally.
The more he understood, the more uneasy he felt.
Tom Riddle was a genius.
But he was also a madman on the verge of falling completely.
In those ten-plus days of conversation, Tom displayed an astonishing breadth of knowledge. Many fields Richie already knew about, and many he didn't, were laid out before him through Tom's casual remarks.
He gave Richie unreserved advice on research directions, ways of thinking, what to study next, and which reference materials to look at.
However, Richie could also sense that Tom's pursuit of knowledge was no longer pure. His words were filled with an intense, almost fanatical desire for power.
To him, dark magic, forbidden knowledge, even trading away lives were nothing more than "means to become stronger."
Richie could only pretend to admire Tom while carefully picking out and absorbing the useful knowledge he let slip.
Soon, the rest of August passed, and it was time for Hogwarts to start.
---
"Oh, when you come back next time, you'll get to meet our new family member."
In front of King's Cross Station in London, Mrs. Harland looked at Richie, who was holding his suitcase.
Denton stood beside her with his hands on his hips, grinning.
"You'll be a big brother soon."
"I'm looking forward to it," Richie said, waving goodbye to his parents.
Nearby, Hermione finished saying goodbye to her own parents and hurried over to join him.
The two families had gotten used to sending the kids off together and then spending the day in London.
The men would talk about sports while the women focused on the upcoming new baby.
After passing through the barrier between platforms 9 and 10, Richie and Hermione stepped onto Platform 9¾.
It was as lively as ever. Young witches and wizards who hadn't seen each other in a month chattered excitedly. The loudspeaker was already urging students to board the Hogwarts Express.
"Hey, Richie!"
They had barely stepped onto the platform when three figures came rushing over.
It was Terry, Anthony, and Stephen.
"I still can't believe it, Richie—you're way too brave!"
"Did you bring the Golden Flame Medal with you?"
Terry punched Richie lightly in the chest.
Stephen adjusted his glasses beside them.
"And that photo of you, Lockhart, and Harry Potter made the front page of the Daily Prophet on August 16th!"
Anthony looked at the three of them blankly.
"Did something happen?"
Terry stared at him wide-eyed.
"You didn't know?"
He shook his head.
"Oh, right. You wouldn't."
"Richie over the summer…"
Terry quickly filled Anthony in on the newspaper stories about Richie's summer adventures.
Anthony kept letting out sounds of amazement.
"You guys go ahead. I'll wait for Harry and Ron," Hermione told Richie.
Richie nodded.
He boarded the Hogwarts Express with his three Ravenclaw roommates.
Hermione stayed on the platform waiting for Harry and Ron.
They had agreed over the summer to meet on the platform and board together.
When she still didn't see them even as the train was about to leave, she had no choice but to get on board.
---
"We can't get through! What do we do?!"
"The barrier seems sealed!"
"It's eleven o'clock—the train's leaving!"
"Are we really going to have to drive back?"
"Oh—look at that car!"
A moment later.
The flying Ford Anglia shot into the sky.
---
"I had a pretty ordinary summer," Anthony said, flipping through the chocolate frog cards he'd just gotten.
"Besides reading at home, I just helped my dad learn how to use the lawnmower."
"He told me that as a man, it's hard not to fall in love with those damn sexy machines."
Terry shrank back at the two adjectives Anthony used.
"Those words sound pretty crude. Your dad must be a big, strong guy."
Anthony shrugged without hesitation.
"Actually, he's pretty short."
Richie nodded in agreement.
"Actually, Muggles have their own kind of magic. They just call it science."
"And their magical creations are all those machines."
"What magic is to us, science is to them."
While the three were chatting, Stephen, who had been staring out the window, suddenly froze.
He rubbed his eyes and looked again.
A car was flying outside—rolling through the air at a ridiculous angle.
The person in the passenger seat was flung out, but managed to grab the door just in time before falling.
"Harry… Potter?"
Stephen said in disbelief.
"Harry Potter is in a flying Muggle car?"
Terry, sitting next to him, looked completely lost.
"What are you talking about, Stephen? What's a car?"
But Anthony and Richie reacted instantly. They both turned to look out the window.
A heart-stopping scene was unfolding outside.
"Harry!"
In the driver's seat, Ron gripped the steering wheel with one hand by feel while leaning across to the passenger side, desperately trying to pull Harry back in.
Finally, Harry managed to climb back into the seat.
The car door slammed shut, and the flying car sped away.
"Not bad, Harry Potter," Richie muttered.