Sirius snorted. 'But it flew worse than a dying hen.' He paused. 'Now, are there any other secrets you wanted to tell me?'
Harry thought for a second. He didn't particularly want to tell his dad about the diary. He rather thought that Sirius wouldn't approve of it, and he didn't want to give it up. He didn't think that Sirius could have figured it out, but, then again, Harry hadn't thought Sirius would ever have been able to find out about the Philosopher's Stone. And there was something about the way Sirius was asking. He had his lower lip curled the way he always did when he was asking a question to which there he was expecting a very particular answer. Harry took a deep breath.
'Yes,' he said. 'At Easter, Draco gave me a diary. He thought I was becoming obsessed with the Stone, and he thought it might help me to deal with my feelings over Uncle Marius's death. It's really a wicked diary. It writes back, you see.'
'It writes back?' Sirius asked. 'Jokes and whatnot?'
Harry shook his head. 'No, it's like a real person. Riddle and I have actual discussions. He's helped me with my research, and he's given me loads of brilliant ideas.'
Sirius looked as though he had seen a ghost. 'Was this Riddle the one who helped you improve the Cruciatus Curse?' he asked coldly.
Harry nodded eagerly. 'Granddad says my work is revolutionary. He thinks...'
'Do you know who Tom Riddle is, Harry?' Sirius asked evenly.
'No,' Harry said, shaking his head. 'Granddad does, though, but he won't tell me. He must be a very powerful wizard, though. I thought that perhaps if I could find him, we might be able to work together.'
Sirius grabbed Harry by the shoulders roughly. 'Are you out of your bloody mind?' he shouted.
'D-dad, what's going on?' Harry stammered. 'You're frightening me.'
'Well, you're sure as hell frightening the shit out of me!' Sirius shot back.
'You know who Riddle is, don't you?' Harry said in a small voice.
Sirius scowled. 'Tom Riddle is the scum who murdered your parents, and damn near murdered you.'
'You mean the Dark Lord?' Harry whispered, all blood draining from his face. 'I've been plotting and joking and doing research with the Dark Lord?'
'I can't believe you'd do something so stupid,' Sirius went on, rising from the sofa and beginning to pace. 'Who knows what kinds of Dark magic Voldemort put into that bloody thing? You could have been killed, or even possessed!'
'I'm sorry, Dad,' Harry said. He had never seen Sirius so angry. 'I fouled up.'
'You're damn right you fouled up!' Sirius retorted. He picked up a rickety old chair and smashed it against the wall. 'I should have seen this coming. You've been different all summer. I just thought it had something to do with Uncle Marius's death, but no, you were having a grand old time refining Unforgivables with the bastard who killed him!'
Tears began to stream down Harry's face. 'I'm sorry, Dad,' he sobbed. 'I didn't know.'
'And what was Draco thinking, giving you a cursed object like that?' Sirius went on obliviously. 'Where would he even find something that belonged to Voldemort?' The realisation struck him like a bolt of lightning, and he fell silent. Sirius set his jaw and narrowed his eyes dangerously. 'Harry,' he said quietly. 'Take me to your dormitory. I want the diary.'
Harry sniffed and nodded. He led Sirius back through the tunnel up to the castle. They dripped water and mud all over Filch's clean floor, but the old Squib didn't dare to say anything once he caught the feral glint in Sirius's eye. They went up to Gryffindor Tower, and Harry ran up to fetch the diary. Draco was in the Common Room talking with the Weasley twins. He started when he saw his uncle, and frowned at the upset look he had seen on Harry's face.
'What's wrong, Uncle Sirius?' the blond boy asked hesitantly. 'Is everything all right?'
Sirius took a deep breath and closed his eyes. 'Yes or no, Draco. Did your father tell you to give that diary to Aries?'
Draco paused. His father hadn't wanted anyone to know, but he couldn't lie to Uncle Sirius, not when he asked a direct question.
He nodded. 'Yes, Uncle Sirius.'
Sirius made no response, but stood there clenching and unclenching his fists. Harry came down a moment later with the diary. Sirius snatched it from his hands and stuffed it in his pocket.
'You two stay here,' he commanded. 'I have business to attend to.'
He turned around on his heel and stormed out of the Common Room. Draco looked at Harry curiously.
'What's going on, Aries?' he asked in confusion. 'Is Uncle Sirius upset because the diary isn't technically legal?'
.....
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