A strange, cold, evil aura immediately spread along Dudley's palm, making his whole body feel chilled.
"Hmph!" With a cold snort, Dudley forced that evil aura back.
He slowly opened the diary, only to find that, besides Tom Riddle's name, not a single word was written inside.
Is it recorded using some special method? Dudley quickly realised this diary probably couldn't be read through ordinary means.
He flipped through the pages. The black cover was already damaged, with a date from fifty years ago recording when it was manufactured, along with a London address, indicating this was an ordinary diary sold by a Muggle shop. Beyond this, there was no other information.
Then Dudley recited several testing spells at the diary.
"Aparecium."
"Finite Incantatem."
"Specialis Revelio."
The spells had no effect. Dudley changed his approach and began using physical methods.
First, he soaked the diary in clear water—nothing happened.
Then flames appeared. At first, Dudley only carefully heated it, but soon discovered the diary was immune to his flames. This ordinary magical fire couldn't harm the diary in the slightest.
Next, Dudley continued testing various methods.
The results quickly showed this diary couldn't be destroyed by conventional means. It was covered by a powerful protective spell that even Dudley couldn't break through yet.
At the same time, the diary's secrets were also hidden beneath this spell. It was like a protective shell, firmly guarding the diary's mysteries.
If not for the diary's intensely dark magical aura—so strong that even the spell couldn't completely conceal it—Dudley probably wouldn't have detected anything unusual, even while holding it.
What's stored inside that's worth protecting with such powerful magic? Dudley frowned slightly.
The diary was far more complex than he'd expected. His curiosity intensified.
After a moment's thought, Dudley made a small cut on his fingertip, and a drop of bright red blood quickly seeped out.
Dudley gently raised his hand, allowing the drop of blood to hover in mid-air, then set up a barrier between the blood drop and himself.
As long as Dudley detected any abnormality, he could sever the connection instantly.
After completing the preparation, Dudley guided the blood drop down to the diary.
The blood spread across the yellowed pages, then quickly disappeared.
Dudley could sense he had now established a slight mystical connection with this diary. That drop of blood seemed to have entered deep within the diary.
He closed his eyes to sense it. A cold, evil aura rushed at him. He saw a mass of strange black mist condensing within the diary, constantly changing forms.
Hum!
Sensing Dudley's presence, that mass of black mist suddenly condensed**, transforming** into a huge skull.
Roar!
The skull roared at Dudley, and the entire diary began shaking violently. At the same time, powerful soul energy surged through the connection, attacking Dudley's blood.
Snap!
Dudley severed the connection in that drop of blood without hesitation.
The next moment, the blood instantly evaporated and disappeared.
"That feeling... it's Voldemort!" Dudley's eyes widened in shock.
He recognised that soul's aura because he'd dealt with it more than once.
That feeling came from Voldemort!
However, unlike when Quirrell was possessed by Voldemort last year, this soul aura was somewhat weaker—different from the Voldemort who'd fought him before.
Comparing the two, this felt more like the sensation when Voldemort had touched Harry's scar.
This is Voldemort's diary? Dudley's mind raced.
"Who are you?"
Just then, three words slowly appeared on the diary pages.
They were written in the blood Dudley had just provided, though this blood drop now had nothing to do with Dudley—basically equivalent to a drop of red ink.
Dudley looked at the words appearing before him, studying them intently.
He doesn't seem to have recognised my aura...
From that brief contact, if it were last year's Voldemort, he would definitely have recognised him as Dudley.
But the Voldemort in the diary hadn't discovered this.
After a moment's thought, Dudley raised his hand to conjure a quill and wrote in the diary: "Hello, I'm Harry Potter."
He wanted to test whether the Voldemort in the diary actually knew who he was.
Therefore, he didn't write his own name but wrote his cousin's name instead.
"Hello, Harry Potter. My name is Tom Riddle. I've heard about you."
New text quickly appeared on the diary pages.
Dudley leaned closer, analysing the response.
As expected, the Voldemort inside the diary doesn't know who I am.
As for how this Voldemort learnt about Harry, it was most likely that Malfoy had told Tom Riddle.
Since this diary could communicate, Malfoy had probably already discovered this, so telling Tom Riddle about some Hogwarts affairs in the diary was perfectly normal.
Especially as one of the people Malfoy hated most, the chance of Malfoy not mentioning Harry was very small.
In fact, the Voldemort in the diary might have deliberately induced Malfoy to tell him about events over the past fifty years and, after learning he'd been defeated by Harry Potter, specifically enquired about Harry's information.
However, Malfoy probably didn't know that Tom Riddle was Voldemort.
From this, Dudley could deduce that the Voldemort in the diary knew only some things about Harry at school. Regarding last year's Voldemort possessing Quirrell, the diary's Voldemort didn't know, because Malfoy didn't know either.
This also aligned with Dudley's earlier assessment—the diary's Voldemort hadn't recognised his aura.
Interesting. Two Voldemorts? Or is this some kind of clone magic?
"How did you find my diary?"
New writing appeared on the diary.
After considering his options, Dudley certainly couldn't say this was sacrificed to him by Malfoy.
"I found it in an abandoned classroom," Dudley wrote.
"Fortunately, I recorded my past using a more lasting method than ink. I know there are people who don't want my diary to be seen."
Looking at the writing appearing on the diary, Dudley smiled slightly.
The Voldemort in the diary was clearly trying to reveal some secrets to gain his trust, then extract valuable information from him.
But why couldn't Dudley also extract some information from Voldemort?