Hoare remembered that the venom from a basilisk's fang could destroy soul fragments.

  If Number 3 didn't speak up, he wouldn't miing him be slowly tortured to death by the venom.

  He opehe diary in his hand and borrowed a quill from Madam Pomfrey's desk.

  "What did you do to Ron?" Hoare wrote iebook.

  The mome pen to paper, Hoare could distinctly feel something trying to crawl up from the point where the quill met the notebook.

  His writing seemed to gradually disappear, leaving the page bnk.

  Then, right under everyone's noses, a line of golde appeared on the white paper.

  "Who are you?"

  Dumbledore frowned deeply. "Henry, you shouldn't tinue." He voiced his , knowing there was something wrong with this diary. If possible, he ime to exami.

  "This is the quickest way," Hoare insisted. Everyone uood that Ron didn't have time to wait.

  "You don't o know who I am; you just o tell me what you did to Ron," Hoare tinued writing.

  "Why do you think I would tell you?"

  The words appeared slowly, almost nontly.

  Hoare's lips curled into a cold smile.

  "You choose not to speak."

  "I also choose to let Helena bite you."

  "Riddle."

  The ink was absorbed by the white paper.

  It seemed like the other side something, and after a long while, a sentence appeared: "Who is Helena?"

  Hoare...

  What? You've had her do your bidding, and you don't even know her name!?

  Are you Huang Shiren!?

  The others could only see Hoare writing and stopping iebook, but for Dumbledore and Snape, who stood beside Hoare, they could clearly see every word he wrote.

  When the handwriting appeared, both men found it familiar.

  Snape was merely puzzled; it was somewhat simir but ly the same. The writing was too immature pared to that person's.

  But Dumbledore's pupils shook. He had taught that person and studied everything about him repeatedly.

  He naturally reized this handwriting.

  Most importantly, Hoare's way of addressing that person.

  Everything poio who was oher side.

  Tom Riddle.

  His former student.

  Voldemort's true name.

  Just as Dumbledore was about to speak, Harry rushed back, handing something to Hoare.

  Hoare casually pced the small obje the diary.

  Only then did Dumbledore see that it was a small snake.

  No, that's nht!

  Although the snake's eyes were green, not the yellow described in books, Dumbledore could still sense her power from her aura.

  She even had a small bump on her head.

  Dumbledore and Snape exged gnces, both seeing the sho each other's eyes.

  It was a basilisk!!!

  Hoare didn't bother expining to Number 3. He took Helena from Harry's hands and pced her, looking sleepy, directly onto the diary.

  "Helena, bite."

  Hoare anded directly.

  Helena, still groggy, instinctively opened her mouth, revealing sharp fangs, and was about to bite down.

  A line of words hurriedly appeared on the bnk notebook, so quickly that they almost formed a siroke.

  "I'll talk! Keep the basilisk away from me!"

  "How you and a basilisk?"

  "Who are you really?"

  "Are you a desdant of Slytherin?"

  Hoare rolled his eyes. "Helena, wait."

  Helena, feeling pyed by Hoare, unhappily slithered up his arm and coiled around his neck.

  She lightly nibbled on Hoare's wrist, as if using him to sharpeeeth.

  The sight made everyone around anxious, especially Dumbledore and Snape, who knew what Helena was.

  Hhem and wrote iebook, "Answer my question."

  There was a moment of silence, and then the golde began to flow.

  "See for yourself."

  The golde disappeared, repced by long passages of bk, which Hoare reized as Ron's handwriting.

  Before Hoare's eyes, a se gradually unfolded.

  It was Ron.

  Ich-bight, while everyone else was asleep, he was the only oting at the desk, writing in the diary with a troubled expression on his face.

  "Hoare is my twin brother, even though he always likes to bully me."

  "He's a Squib, but he's still my brother."

  "He likes to py a game where he pretends to sell me to someone as a helper, and then I sneak away. Each time, we mao earn a few Knuts."

  "Then we secretly buy dy. Hoare really loves sweets."

  "He's eaten so much that he has cavities, and when Mom hides the dy, he drags me around the house to find it. If I don't help him, Hives me this pitiful look, thinking he's being fierce."

  "I miss him."

  "I tried writing him letters, but there's no reply. Is he mad at me?"

  "Even though Hoare says it's fine, I feel that he's unhappy inside."

  "Mom says that Muggle school is pletely closed off, just like Hogwarts, and very safe."

  "But Hoare has never been to the Muggle world. What if he's not used to it?"

  "I keep w, we're twins, just like Gee and Fred. Why is Hoare a Squib?"

  "Is it because of me...?"

  "If, if it's possible, as long as Hoare be cured, I'm willing to do anything."

  "What, really, Riddle! Do you really have a way?"

  "Thank you so much, Riddle. No matter the cost, I'm willing."

  "Willing, willing! Just half of my magic, Hoare and I are twins, we're basically one."

  "So I just draw this magic array?"

  "That simple!?"

  "Alright, alright, I'll give it a try."

  Finally, a magic array appeared on the white paper.

  Dumbledore quickly leaned in for a closer look.

  "This is!" Dumbledore's brow furrowed deeply. "This is a sacrificial magic array!"

  As he spoke, the st stroke of the magic array was pleted.

  Hoare had a rough idea. Ron robably tricked by Number 3 into some sort of deal, which was why his life force was being ed so quickly.

  Hoare hadn't expected the reason to be himself.

  This was the first time Hoare truly felt that Ron was his brother.

  Molly and Arthur had privately spoken to Hoare before he left for London.

  They hoped Hoare wouldn't give Ron his owl address or unicate with him, not just for Ron's sake but for Hoare's as well.

  Being twins, only to hear Ron talk about the magic-filled life at Hogwarts, was too cruel for Hoare.

  After learning he was a Squib, Hoare and his family, no matter how indifferent they acted, had been silently distang themselves.

  To make the day of parting less painful.

  But Hoare hadn't realized that being a Squib also weighed so heavily on Ron.

  He had to save Ron, no matter the cost.

  "Now that we know what the magic array is, Headmaster, the ed life force be returo Ron?" Hoare asked, eyes red, looking up at Dumbledore with a hint ency.

  Dumbledore cast a sileng charm outside the diary to eheir versation wouldn't be overheard.

  "Yes, I use a reversal spell to return the ed life force to Drad Ron," Dumbledore nodded.

  "Please hurry, Headmaster." Hoare showed a hint of joy, but he noticed Dumbledore's expression hadn't improved.

  "What's wrong? Is there a problem, Headmaster?"

  Dumbledore's expression was a bit awkward. The magic array couldn't be opened from the outside.

  Which meant that even if the life force was reversed, it couldn't return to the people ihe magic array.

  Draco was fine; he was simply asleep and could break the array himself.

  But Ron was in a a.

  0Niffler0