The words soon disappeared, but only after Snape began writing on the surface.
"Hello, Tom. Who are you? And why can you communicate with me?" He didn't answer Tom's question, instead feigning curiosity as he wrote.
Narcissa held her breath, waiting anxiously for Riddle's response.
"No, this isn't real communication," Riddle replied smoothly through the diary. "I'm merely a memory, a recollection written into this book. No different from a portrait hanging on the wall."
Snape didn't write again. He looked toward Narcissa. She wore an expression of contemplation, her gaze fixed on the fading letters that Riddle had written.
Then she looked up at him, mouthing silently: "Tom Riddle... is he the Dark Lord?"
"Yes," Snape nodded slightly and said quietly, "Wait a moment."
He closed the diary, slipped it into his robe, picked up a blank sheet of parchment, and began to jot down the clever link between the names Riddle and Voldemort. He then showed it to Narcissa.
"Do you see now?" Snape asked.
"I see," Narcissa murmured. Her eyes gleamed in the light, fear, shock, and a faint spark of strange excitement flickering within them. "We'll keep this secret."
"That's what I like about you," Snape said sincerely. Then, waving his wand and muttering an incantation, a blue, bellflower-like flame burst from its tip.
The parchment was consumed entirely by the flames.
At Snape's murmured "Evanesco," even the ashes vanished into nothing.
"Hey," said Lucius quietly from the side, his silver-gray eyes filled with confusion and irritation, "what are you two talking about?"
"None of your concern, Lucius," Snape replied. "Just remember to listen to Narcissa, she'll decide what to tell you."
Lucius shot him a displeased glance, his Adam's apple shifting slightly. But out of respect for the wand in Snape's hand, he quickly fell silent.
"Sir," Lucius finally said, tone polite but strained, "since you've already taken the notebook, might you leave in peace now? If there's anything else you require, please state it."
"Thank you for your cooperation. No, I think that's all," Snape said, placing their wands on the desk and undoing the ropes that bound Narcissa.
"Good night, Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy," he said, one hand still holding his wand pointed toward them, the other pulling from his pocket a parchment-wrapped Portkey. "I wish you both a pleasant evening."
"Wait, sir." Narcissa stopped him before he could open the parchment. "It would be better for you to leave Malfoy Manor by normal means, just as you came."
Snape paused, then tucked the parchment back into his pocket and nodded. "Very well, then I must trouble you both for a little more cooperation."
Casually pocketing the two wands from the table, he released the spell restraining Lucius.
"Come," he said. "You're walking out with me."
Right before their eyes, Snape slid the wand up his sleeve, allowed Narcissa to take his arm, and pointed his wand at her.
"Lucius, you go first," he ordered.
Under the watchful eyes of the Malfoy ancestors' portraits on the walls, the three of them walked out of the mansion chatting pleasantly.
"You needn't worry," Narcissa said in the drawing room. "Lucius and I will instruct the house-elf to relocate the office and apply for a better, more obedient elf."
She lowered her voice until it was barely audible. "I'll contact Abraxas immediately after this, to find out what happened with Dobby."
"Good," Snape said approvingly.
Once outside the wrought-iron gates of Malfoy Manor, Snape said, "No need to see me off. Wait here. I'll place your wands on the ground in a moment."
He walked down the country path, heading toward the edge of the Anti-Apparition Charm's boundary.
Unexpectedly, Narcissa whispered something to Lucius, then began walking toward Snape. Her footsteps sounded unusually sharp in the quiet night.
"Something else?" Snape turned as he heard her approach.
"Severus," Narcissa said softly, unease in her tone, "what you said, about Abraxas Malfoy being in mortal danger, was that true?"
"Of course," Snape said. "I wouldn't lie about that."
"What exactly is it?" she pressed.
"The Defense Against the Dark Arts post," Snape explained. "The Dark Lord cursed the position. No one has lasted more than a year."
"We've heard that rumor," Narcissa said, "but Lucius told me he was the one, under the Dark Lord's approval, who recommended Abraxas to Hogwarts."
"Do you think Death Eaters are the Dark Lord's friends or his disposable servants?" Snape sneered. He knew Narcissa saw the truth far more clearly than Lucius ever did.
After a brief silence, a flicker of understanding passed through Narcissa's eyes. "Servants," she said slowly.
"Severus," she continued, "Abraxas's appointment has also been approved by the Ministry."
"Well," Snape shook his head, "you political types are truly..."
"Anyway," he changed the subject abruptly, "your brother, Regulus Black, he's joined the Death Eaters. Did you know that?"
"What?" Narcissa's voice rose sharply, barely restrained. "Regulus... a Death Eater?"
Snape looked at her with pity and nodded.
Her face, already pale, seemed to glow ghostly white beneath the moonlight, her golden hair cascading down her back like that of a drowned woman.
"He's not even of age," she said through clenched teeth, chest heaving, voice low and full of fury. "Lucius never told me this. Isn't one Black, Bellatrix, enough?"
Snape shrugged. "The Dark Lord clearly doesn't think so."
Though he knew from Kreacher's story that Regulus had joined Voldemort's ranks willingly and proudly, Snape had no reason to tell Narcissa that. Keeping her anger toward the Dark Lord alive suited his plans better.
Watching the hatred burn in her blue eyes, Snape finally understood why, in the end, Narcissa had chosen to deceive Voldemort.
From her perspective, even without counting Sirius, the "family traitor", the Dark Lord had destroyed her family: her brother dead, her husband imprisoned, and her beloved son forced into impossible, suicidal missions because of her husband's failures.
And with her intelligence, she must have realized that by sparing Harry Potter's life, she could atone for all the Malfoy family's sins in one stroke.
"I'll find Regulus," Narcissa said, breaking Snape's thoughts. "I'll look for a chance to check his arm."
"Good," Snape replied. "Then you'll see I wasn't lying."
"I don't think you'd lie to me, Severus," she said. "I just want to confirm it. Also, a reminder. Bellatrix has been looking for you. The scar you left on her face... she doesn't find it flattering."
"Ah," Snape sighed dramatically, his tone turning playfully morose. "I seem to have a habit of leaving indelible marks on women, whether on their bodies or their souls."
"What a strange thing to say," Narcissa muttered, rolling her eyes.
"Seriously," Snape said, his voice hardening. "You'd best tell her not to seek me out again. Next time, I can't promise the scar will be that shallow. Remember, she nearly killed your other sister, and her entire family. There was even a four-year-old girl among them."
"I will," Narcissa said. "Goodbye, Severus. Keep in touch."
"Keep in touch," Snape echoed. Stepping back, he placed Lucius and Narcissa's wands on the ground. "Take good care of your wands," he added, "and never hand them to anyone else, especially the Dark Lord."
Leaving that odd piece of advice behind, Snape vanished into the night.
The gates of Hogwarts were far grander than those of Malfoy Manor, tall wrought-iron doors flanked by stone pillars, each crowned with a winged boar.
He felt a strange lightness within him. Not only had he secured the Horcrux diary capable of devouring souls, but he had also gained a potential ally, Narcissa Malfoy, a clever woman who valued her family above all else. She might truly become a force against Voldemort.
Just as Snape raised his wand to open the gate, a hook yanked sharply at his navel, pulling him forward uncontrollably. The ground vanished beneath his feet, and the gate disappeared from sight.
"Damn," he muttered amid spinning colors and rushing wind. "The Portkey... I forgot I was still wearing it. Just a few more steps, honestly..."
Less than half a second later, his feet slammed onto the floor. His knees buckled, and he fell.
Lifting his head, Snape saw Dumbledore still seated calmly behind his desk.
"Rise, Severus. There's no need for such formalities," said the Headmaster kindly. "How did the mission go?"
"Pah," Snape spat, standing and pulling the black diary from his robe. "Better than expected, Professor."
He stepped forward and handed it over. "Don't write in it yet, Professor. Let me do the talking with Tom."
Dumbledore took the diary, studying it closely. He too saw the name Tom Riddle on the title page. His fingers brushed over it, and his expression grew pensive.
Finding no writing within, he turned it over and noticed an imprint on the back cover, a shop name on Vauxhall Road, London.
"Winstanley Books and Stationery," Dumbledore read softly. "Interesting. Isn't that right next to the Prewett family's place?"
"What?" Snape leaned in, curious. "Ah, what a coincidence. Seems he bought this before ever knowing about magic. I wonder if he ever noticed how peculiar the Prewetts were."
"I doubt he cared much for Muggle streets," Dumbledore said, shaking his head. "What do you plan to do with it next?"
"Oh, that's the interesting part," Snape said, sitting down opposite him. He took the diary, tucked it into his small pouch, and slipped it into his robes before continuing. "I haven't quite decided, Professor."
He held up three long fingers. "But I have three ideas so far.
"First, threaten to destroy the soul fragment within the diary to coerce him into helping me absorb Nagini's soul while keeping her alive.
"Second, deceive him into doing the same.
"Third, cooperate with the fragment, seek mutual benefit."
"Cooperate?" Dumbledore asked.
"Yes," Snape replied. "Dividing one's soul destabilizes the original self. This Tom within the diary appears to possess independent consciousness. I suspect he wouldn't mind improving his standing."
"You intend to cooperate with Tom?" Dumbledore frowned deeply.
"Of course-" Snape paused, then smirked. "No. I'm afraid he'd deceive me. Any 'cooperation' would only be mutual manipulation.
"My next step is to acquire the means to destroy Horcruxes, and to ensure Nagini's survival in the worst-case scenario."
"Be cautious, Severus," Dumbledore said, seeming relieved. "Still, perhaps it would be safer if I kept the diary in my custody?"
"I found it, Professor. And I also found Ravenclaw's Diadem before this," Snape sighed heavily. "To be frank, I'm rather disappointed in you.
"When I handed you the Diadem, I hoped you'd take the opportunity to push forward, quickly. Being Headmaster of Hogwarts, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, and Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards isn't just about doing your daily duties.
"You should be capable of systemic thinking. What's the value of your work? Why you, and not someone else? I think it's time for you to make some chang-"
"Enough!" Dumbledore interrupted sharply, rubbing his forehead. "Another word, and I'll show you exactly why my list of titles is so long."
"Understood, Professor. So, we're in agreement then," Snape said cheerfully. "Since you're not overburdened with work, I'll entrust you with the crucial task of preserving Nagini's life. I do hope you won't disappoint me."