Ancient Wizards Return to Hogwarts...

Chapter 190 Riddle: I don't even know how I'm going to lose.

[Snake King, you have finally answered my call!]

After failing once, Riddle adjusted his mindset a bit—before, he really considered himself the master of the Snake King, ordering it around, but after being ignored once, he learned his lesson and began to respect the Snake King.

【Hungry!!!】

The basilisk didn't really want to talk to Riddle, but it had to carry out Rice's orders, so it simply shouted out its truest thoughts.

Riddle suddenly realized: So that's why I couldn't control the Snake King before—it was because I hadn't offered it enough benefits!

Riddle felt that everything made sense.

I offer you this sacrifice; please forgive my rudeness.

He immediately began to make empty promises to the basilisk.

Surprisingly, this pancake smells quite good. The basilisk, seeing an offering, was willing to chat with the little guy for a while, even without Rice's orders.

So it immediately seized the opportunity and agreed with Riddle's suggestion that they could go back to the secret chamber to discuss it in detail.

Riddle had no reason to refuse. However, he was still somewhat conflicted about who to sacrifice, because Ginny hadn't been completely drained by him yet, and it seemed a bit of a waste to just throw her to the basilisk. But he couldn't worry about that now; appeasing the basilisk king was the most important thing. He had as many children like Ginny who could be fooled as he wanted.

He directly guided Ginny towards the girls' restroom on the first floor.

While Riddle was talking to the basilisk, Rice had already located him. As he walked towards the restroom, Rice suddenly remembered something trivial...

Riddle quickly reached the girls' restroom on the first floor of the castle.

Decades ago, he opened the door to the Chamber of Secrets here and accidentally killed a foolish girl. Fortunately, he was clever enough to make the big oaf take the blame and convince all the professors except Dumbledore of his story.

However, only that damned Dumbledore refused to believe in himself!

Why? Why?!

Even after so much time had passed, Riddle still couldn't let go: one student was poor but exceptionally intelligent, orphaned but brave and intelligent, and an outstanding prefect. The other was clumsy, a troublemaker, getting into trouble every week, and fond of keeping all sorts of dangerous magical creatures. Why did Dumbledore choose to believe the latter?

Of course, it's a bit far-fetched to say that a big, dumb guy like Hagrid is the heir to Slytherin, but it's the most reasonable explanation!

Because Dumbledore intensified his surveillance of Riddle after the incident, he had to abandon his plan to open the Chamber of Secrets and continue to feign being a model student in an attempt to lull Dumbledore into a false sense of security. However, Riddle wasn't idle in the following two years. He turned his diary into a Horcrux, preserving his sixteen-year-old self within it. This way, one day he could guide another person to follow in his footsteps and complete his unfinished work.

Riddle shook his head, banishing the jumbled thoughts from his mind, and recited the password to open the secret chamber in Parsleyan.

"Open."

The restroom was quiet; nothing happened.

Riddle frowned and repeated the command.

But nothing happened.

A hint of confusion and bewilderment flashed in Riddle's eyes: Why has everything changed?

The basilisk, which had followed Riddle to the vicinity, heard everything that was happening outside. Then it suddenly remembered that its master seemed to have sealed off the original exit. Although it did not affect its travel, normal humans could not pass through.

It forgot to tell the little guy outside about it.

This isn't the snake monster's fault, since it actually had little to do with the matter.

It recalled the locations of the other entrances left by its master and then told Riddle the locations.

Riddle: ? ? ?

What's going on here?

He couldn't help but ask.

The basilisk ignored him and silently slithered into the secret chamber. Then it told Riddle to hurry over, as it would be waiting for him inside.

Riddle was now powerless against the basilisk, and could only silently turn around, preparing to enter the secret chamber through the entrance the basilisk had shown him.

As Riddle turned and walked out of the restroom, his eyes lit up: he saw a lone boy walking towards him!

He recognized him; the boy was Rice, the one who had ruined his plans before!

awesome!

Riddle couldn't help but feel happy: now he had the offering for the basilisk, and it just so happened to be Rice, who had ruined his plans before. This was a double blessing!

So the moment he saw Rice, he pulled out Ginny's wand and cast a disarming spell on Rice.

Just as he had expected, Rice's wand spun out.

After succeeding, Riddle laughed triumphantly.

"So what are you trying to do?" Rice didn't seem flustered at all. He just stood there calmly, looking at Riddle as if he were watching a child's prank.

Riddle was quite annoyed by that look. However, considering that he was currently communicating with Rice through Ginny's skin, he felt relieved: a little witch like Ginny at that age was indeed very deceptive.

But Riddle, a fine wizard, never lets his guard down! This is the first lesson I'm teaching you, learn it, pay for it with your life! Riddle grinned inwardly.

Although Rice was disarmed, Riddle did not let his guard down. He conjured up another rope and tied Rice's hands together.

"Want to know what I'm doing? Then come with me." He pointed his wand at Rice, forcing him to follow him.

To his surprise, Rice was surprisingly cooperative throughout the journey, neither resisting nor asking any questions.

"Is he putting on a brave face, or does he think he's playing house with children?" Riddle was a little confused, but these things didn't bother him much.

In his view, Rice had lost his wand and his hands were tied, so he didn't know how he could possibly lose! As long as he kept his distance from Rice and prevented him from physically attacking him, he would be safe.

And so, Ginny, possessed by Riddle, led Rice into the secret chamber following the directions left by the basilisk.

Although the way of entry has changed, Riddle has to admit that the new entrance is much more respectable than the previous one.

Riddle was thrilled to step into the Chamber of Secrets again: he felt he was about to realize the ideal he shared with Slytherin!

His excitement made him overlook some subtle changes in the secret room: for example, the lighting was much better, and the cleanliness was also much improved...

Riddle saw no reaction as he entered the secret room. He thought the poor little guy must be terrified by the magnificent sight inside.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Update delivered, second update will be a little later.

(End of this chapter)