Death is but the Next Great Adventure

If These Pages Could Talk, They'd Be Pretty Damn Annoying

In the last chapter: Harry kicks his second year at Hogwarts off with endless rumors and chatter about the trial, being dubbed by the public as 'Ice Prince.' Harry takes a neutral and non-confrontational approach to the teasing. Lockhart is his usual despicable self. Harry and Anthony join the Ravenclaw quidditch team as seeker and chaser. Harry's teased by his friends about his 'infatuation' with Ginny, though Anthony takes Harry's side. Harry catches Ginny writing on the wall in blood and steals the diary from her, which he later realizes is Tom Riddle's first Horcrux.

______

After realizing what the diary was, Harry kept it locked away in his room, taking it out each night to study it and try to figure it out. There was obviously something more to the diary than there seemed, it had some very strange effects on the young Weasley girl and Harry had always seen he writing in it, yet the diary was completely blank as far as Harry could tell.

The obvious solution to Harry's unanswered questions was to write in the diary himself, but for a solid week, Harry was reluctant to do much else than cast detection charms on it. Finally, after days of coming up with inconclusive results with the detection spells and drawing a blank on what the diary possibly did, Harry let his curiosity win out and sat down at his desk in his dorm room while his dorm-mates were out in the common room or at the library studying (Anthony).

Dipping his quill in an ink pot, Harry's hand was poised over a random blank page, prepared to write. However, as the inked nib of the quill hovered over the parchment, he suddenly wasn't sure what to write. As the seconds ticked on while Harry tried to drag up something to possibly write, Harry didn't notice the ink gathering and swelling at the tip of his nib until a fat drop of black ink struck the page with a soft sound.

Harry sighed at the sight of the wet blot on the page and set the quill down next to the diary. Once the ink had stopped spreading through the fibers of the parchment, something rather curious happened. Right before Harry's eyes, the ink blot shrunk and faded into the page until there wasn't any trace. Interest peaked, Harry sat further forward, picked up the quill again and didn't hesitate to write this time.

My name is Harry Potter.

Again, almost as soon as Harry had finished writing the letters were disappearing one by one until the page was blank and seemingly untouched. Moments dragged like dead weight through his mind as Harry waited. Quicker than he'd expected, new letters seemed to ink themselves on the page, different from what he'd written.

'Harry Potter? Ah, I've heard quite a lot about you from a friend of mine. Tell me, how did you get ahold of this diary?'

For while, Harry was so shocked he didn't know what to do. Only when the words started to disappear did Harry jolt into action, writing quickly.

First, who am I speaking to? What is your name?

Harry had a pretty good idea who he was talking to, but considering who it was, it was best to be absolutely sure.

'Of course, how rude of me. My name is Tom Riddle.

...

Tom Marvolo Riddle. The sentient diary had identified itself as Tom Riddle. Not Voldemort, but 'Tom Riddle.' The differentiation told Harry two things. First, that for whatever reason, the Horcrux hosted within the diary was powerful enough for not only sentience, but communication and some sort of possession of the young Weasley girl. Second, that the Horcrux was cut off from Voldemort's experiences and knowledge after being separated from his body.