When I typed this "?", it wasn't because I had a question...
Sensing the intense emotional fluctuations from the soul within the diary, William contentedly closed it again—
Don't you like staying silent? Like pretending to be dumb? Then if I suddenly cut off the chapter here, wouldn't you be outraged?
Noticing the diary almost exuded a visible aura of resentment into the air, William nearly couldn't hold back his laughter.
Before actually seeing the truth, William couldn't confirm how much of his speculation was accurate, but it didn't stop him from messing with the other side's mindset. The investigation over this period had allowed him to confirm a few things—
1. The diary is absolutely related to the attacks, because it flew out of Weasley's underwear at the time, and Lucius Malfoy also confirmed that the "attacks" were related to the diary he brought into Hogwarts, and the soul in the diary is connected to Voldemort.
"I only know you cast magic on it." That was Lucius's original words.
2. The monster in the Secret Chamber is a Basilisk, or... frankly, besides a creature like the Basilisk, he couldn't think of any snakes that could "kill" ghosts, since there seems to be no mythical creature like Medusa in this world.
And Harry is a Parseltongue; normally, Parseltongue is only used when seeing snakes or conversing with them. Of course, except for particularly skilled Parseltongues—this is why he let Harry try again, as he might have extraordinary talent.
A hundred years ago, he had a friend from the Gaunt Family who was a Parseltongue. Speaking of which... Ominis might be Voldemort's ancestor?
But he's probably not a direct ancestor since Ominis hated the bloodline within him and the consequences of inbreeding caused him to lose his sight—William believed he would likely never marry or have children.
3. As for why the soul in the diary is definitely Voldemort's... obviously, the answer is right in front of us, Tom M. Riddle, that's the name written on the first page of the diary, although most people view the Dark Lord's true name as taboo, but he captured a werewolf leader.
This person didn't hold back when it came to the secrets of the Death Eaters, spoke openly, even revealed that "among the Death Eaters, there was a witch who admired Voldemort so much that she once licked the soles of his feet in front of her husband while Voldemort enjoyed it..."
...Tsk, what a real pervert.
Playing too much with the Dark Arts indeed tends to warp one's mindset.
Based on the above points, and some small findings, William could almost confirm that there's currently a snake (probably a Basilisk) wandering in the castle, and the culprit behind its release is this diary in his hand.
However, if the Basilisk had been roaming since Halloween and it has been wandering like this for over a month, it hasn't really killed anyone yet...
Honestly, William wondered if some force was secretly protecting the students at Hogwarts.
Otherwise, how could such a creature, possessing instant-death magic, wander the castle for one whole month before finally petrifying a little wizard and a ghost in the past two days?
This probability... is lower than someone spending a hundred thousand to buy fifty thousand lottery tickets with the same number and winning 220 million.
Do you believe him or do you believe I'm a time traveler... wait, I might actually be a time traveler.
...
After settling the plan, William stuffed the diary into the inner pocket of his wizard robe, turned, and pushed open the door. Then, he saw Cedric and the Niffler "fighting" by the fireplace, while Dobby was trying awkwardly to stop them.
...Tsk, did he mistake the person?
"You-you're back... Dobby wanted- wanted to stop..." Dobby immediately noticed William's frowning face, hesitantly waving both hands, trying to explain the situation to William.
He was dressed in Draco Malfoy's childhood suit, which, although somewhat ill-fitting, made the little house-elf look much more spirited than before. After receiving a tie directly from Lucius, Dobby regained the status of freedom—
This is actually an insult to normal house-elves, but the one from the Malfoy Family clearly wasn't normal-minded.
During these last two weeks of interaction, of course Dobby saw William's experiments that seemed to benefit (or torment) society, but the subject was the werewolf whom Dobby had long branded as a "big baddie" in his mind.
∵Greyback = bad guy, ∴ William tormenting Greyback, ∴ William = good guy.
So the equation held, Mr. Richard is a good person, the previous punishments on Dobby were because it tried to attack Harry Potter, whereas Mr. Richard wanted to protect Harry Potter. He even disregarded past grievances to help Dobby gain freedom...
So, under such self-hypnosis, Dobby expressed upon gaining freedom that he wanted to work for William, somewhat timidly stating he wished for one Knut per week's pay.
"...What could you do with a Knut?"
At the time, the plan was to cast a Forgetfulness Spell on Dobby and then send it off to Hogwarts' kitchen. William was puzzled, originally taking this little elf to Malfoy Manor to serve as evidence—but who knew it would result in such an awkward NTR development.
So he simply asked Lucius to set Dobby free, to avoid constantly banging the cage and causing him a headache... As for giving Dobby back to them? Ha, what comes into my hands can't be snatched away by others?
"No-no payment is also fine, because Dobby is now a free elf, thanks to Mr. Richard, so you-you're now my benefactor..." Dobby clearly misunderstood William's meaning and quickly waved his hands.
"No, how about one Sickle per week... you pick it out yourself from Kabuda's stomach." William waved his hand, halting Dobby's praise, "As for the job... help me look after those Nifflers, Diricawls, Moon Enchanted Beasts... and those Chomping Cabbages, ask if there's anything you don't understand..."
After settling Dobby's duties, William went to the Great Hall...
Back to the current moment.
"...What are you doing?"
Watching Cedric, who struggled equally with the Niffler, even seemed to be at a slight disadvantage, William curiously asked.
"It... stole, the ring that Cho gave me..." Grabbing the Kabuda slapping randomly on his face, Cedric seized the opportunity to hold her two hind legs, then began to shake her vigorously. A pile of glittering bits and pieces fell out with each shake.
"A token of love?"
"Well... sort of?"