{Outside the Lavatory, Second Floor, Hogwarts}
{13th Oct 1991}
{3rd person POV}
...
"Revelio~" Rigel chanted at the Diary. The spell harmlessly passed over the diary without revealing anything. The magic of the Diary was far sneakier than even the Diadem. It was still trying to influence me, even after several rejections subtly.
'I wonder if it would be able to get an advantage if I write into it. In canon, Ginny supposedly wrote so much that she poured her soul into it. Theo likely did the same, but I think he was more interested in learning spells and magic, considering his level is already at 4.' I looked at the now-conscious Theo, who was being questioned by Minerva.
"...Mr. Nott, what are you doing outside during curfew." Minerva asked, her voice stern as her face was set in stone.
Theo didn't reply. He simply stared at the diary that Rigel was holding, nervousness written on his face.
"That's my diary, Black," Theo said, his voice firm but surprisingly hostile.
'Hmm, he got addicted to accelerated magical learning.' Rigle thought.
"No, it isn't. Tom Marvolo Riddle. I don't think that's your name," Rigel replied, noting how Nott's expression shifted.
"He's a friend of my father's. It's his journal from his time at Hogwarts. Give it back!" Nott fired back. He got up, but as he attempted to move closer, Minerva stopped him.
"Mr. Nott, you still haven't answered my questions. We can discuss your diary later. Can you tell me what you are doing at 2 AM in the morning in the girl's lavatory?" Her words finally caught up to Nott as he looked around at the place he had woken up in. Rigel could tell he was trying to come up with an excuse when they heard footsteps.
Severus Snape ran through the doors. He looked far more descent than Rigel had expected, considering that it was 2 in the morning. His eyes immediately locked onto Rigel and then at Nott's pleading gaze. While Rigel stayed where he was, Nott immediately walked over to Snape, ignoring Minerva's face, which went a little stiff.
It was common precedent in the Slytherin house to defer to Snape immediately. He not only shields the house from punishments, but, most likely, he will take their side in a he-said-she-said situation.
"Mr. Black, it seems like you have gotten a taste for adventure after last week's incident." Snape practically hissed. That was Rigel's clue that the potion's master isn't happy over him exonerating Sirius, even if he gave over Pettigrew to the man.
"Nothing really adventurous, Professor. I just 'heard' something disturbing and collided with Professor McGonagall on my way to check it out." I emphasized the word heard, and Snape caught onto it pretty quickly; his eyes looked around the room before he turned to Minerva; before he could ask anything, another pitter-patter of footsteps stopped him.
Albus whirled into the room, his cloak billowing as he looked angry. Rigel could tell his mana was churning as the old man was angry. The massive amount of mana blinded his mana sense, and he had to reel his senses back in.
By the time he was able to focus on the situation again, Albus had already calmed down. He looked at everyone before surprisingly turning to Rigel and asking, "What happened, Mr. Black."
"Possession, most likely," Rigel shrugged as he threw the diary to Dumbledore. The old man raised his eyes as he grabbed onto the diary. He was about to say something more, but his eyes caught sight of the golden letters embedded onto the Diary's cover, and he stopped.
His frozen visage caught Minerva and Snape's attention, and they both stared at the Diary. Nott looked like he wanted to say something, but then Dumbledore pulled out his wand and silently started waving it over the diary.
Rigel stared at the explosion of colors in muted disbelief. In a couple of seconds, Dumbledore bombarded the Diary with at least seven different charms. The numbers kept racking up as he fired one magic after another at the Diary to reveal its secrets.
'Should I give him a small hint, he will either be more likely to listen to me, or obliviate me of my memories.' Rigel thought. But considering that the old man knew that my shields were quite good and quite possibly naturally occurring, there was very little chance he would take that approach.
"Try to search with soul magic," Rigel spoke. His words caused Dumbledore to freeze for a second as Snape took several hurried steps toward him. The mention of soul magic seemed to have caught Severus's attention.
"Minerva," Albus called out after he tried the first charm that likely detects soul magic. Rigel could finally see the Diary reveal its magic to defend itself. "Can you take Mr. Nott to the infirmary?"
Minerva likely wanted to say something, but Dumbledore was already focused on the diary once again. She sighed in resignation and said to Nott, "Let's go, Mr. Nott."
'Should I tell them about the confundus charm? No, Snape is Draco's godfather. There is no need to risk Narcissa's identity.'
Rigel watched as Minerva took Theo out of the room. Albus finally looked up from the Diary and into Rigel's eyes. He didn't say anything but just stared at Rigel.
'He seems to be struggling with something. It must be difficult for him to deal with something like this.'
"What do you know about the Diary?" Albus finally asked, waving his wand and closing the gate. Rigel also saw the runes on the doors glow.
"I know what it is and who made it," Rigel admitted.
"How?" Albus asked, his voice neutral.
"Because I know the name, and I'm a Black. If it is something about the knowledge of black magic, the Black family is the most knowledgeable. Even if I only searched through a list of the vilest magic in the Library at the ancestral home. It is quite obvious to someone who knows what the Diary is, even more so when you are aware of who the creator is and the fact that the chamber was opened today. Only he himself could have opened it, and considering only his Diary was there, it is the obvious answer." Rigel skirted around, saying the name of the magic, which seemed to have annoyed Snape.
Albus looked at Rigel critically for a moment before he sighed. He looked at the Diary and frowned. "So the chamber was opened," he muttered.
"Yeah, but I heard it going back into the chamber before Tom closed it. I think he likely had a plan or something." Rigel replied.
Albus nodded, "Severus, take Rigel to the common room. Please be discreet about the situation, Rigel; the fewer people that know about something like this, the better."
"Of course, headmaster," Rigel replied. He walked up to Snape, who glared at him discreetly as he began walking toward the door.
'Well, that was eventful. Hopefully, Dumbledore will begin searching for the Horcruxes. I need him to deal with the Ring, even if I'm confident that my mental shields would hold. I don't want to risk interacting with a curse that even Dumbledore could not deal with. I already have the rest of them except for the cup anyway.'
-----------------------------
{Somewhere else in the Castle}
{15 minutes ago}
"Agghhghgh~" Quirrell screamed as he could feel his magic revolt against himself. It happened every time Voldemort awoke and took control of his magic.
Tom ignored the quivering professor and instead focused on the voice that he suddenly heard. It was a variable he had completely forgotten existed, and as he heard her screaming for blood, a different and new plan began forming in his mind.
"~Come... come to me... Let me rip you... Let me tear you... Let me kill you~"
...
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AN- Another variable, another change. What would happen with Voldemort having access to both the Dementors and the Basilisk?