Ian made a rational decision.
"Betrayal!?"
Malfoy heard nothing else; his mind was filled with this one word. His face was completely colorless, and he seemed ready to faint at any moment.
"As long as the diary is still at Hogwarts, I can search high and low to find it." Ian was not worried; at worst, he would use Legilimency on the entire student body.
Of course.
Unless absolutely necessary, he wouldn't do such an unethical thing and would only recommend Dumbledore to do it. After all, as the headmaster, it's reasonable to care about students' mental health.
"What should I do now?"
Malfoy's mind was buzzing; he couldn't calm down.
"Continue with your normal life."
Ian took out a pendant and put it on Malfoy.
He never goes back on his promises.
"This thing can defend against three magical attacks, and after it's triggered, I can translocate to your location with Apparition." Ian soothed Malfoy's nerves.
"But that… that's the Black Demon King…"
Malfoy swallowed hard.
He found Ian's gaze calm and profound.
"It can defend against him three times as well; he can't harm you, and I can certainly save you." The Little Wizard's tone was quite calm; he did not believe Voldemort's magic could surpass his own magic power.
"You…"
Malfoy initially had his mouth open, seemingly wanting to say something more, but as soon as his gaze met Ian's, he swallowed back the words.
What a confident gaze that was.
"Alright."
Malfoy eventually just nodded.
His eyes were somewhat unfocused.
"Remember to notify me if there's a problem." Ian patted Malfoy's shoulder, whistled, and the Black Phoenix appeared out of nowhere. After Ian grabbed it, they disappeared from the spot.
He stared at the place where Ian disappeared.
For a long time afterward.
"Perhaps Dad was really… wrong again."
He recalled the previous conversation.
It seemed he finally understood why other families were scurrying around.
"Your father has never been right."
Suddenly.
A mocking laugh from behind.
Made Malfoy feel chill at the crown of his head.
He struggled to turn his neck.
Only to see.
A slender figure had quietly appeared behind him at some unknown time.
Slightly transparent.
Yet different from Ghost in color, leaning towards real but not quite real. This was a tall and straight young teenager.
A long green robe further accented the boy's cold demeanor. He stood there quietly, hands slightly overlapped in front of him, calmly leaning against the long table.
"Who are you…"
Not only was Malfoy's voice trembling, but his body was also shaking uncontrollably. He already had a very bad suspicion in his heart, and the boy's light laughter confirmed his suspicion.
"You've been chatting with me every day during this time." The young Tom Riddle laughed with great charm, but his eyes could not hide the inherent sharpness and cunning.
"Thud~"
Malfoy directly collapsed on the ground.
Face ashen.
Hands hurriedly clutching the pendant Ian had put around his neck.
"An impressive alchemy work."
The young Tom Riddle glanced at Malfoy's neck, showing no anger, but instead giving quite a decent appraisal of Ian's work.
"That guy was right; even Voldemort in his prime would surely fail on it three times." The young Tom Riddle even gave a thumbs up.
Seeing Malfoy's quite distressed and terrified face.
The boy again began speaking in a light tone.
"Relax a bit, don't be afraid, don't tremble… you only betrayed Voldemort, right? We're all the same; who hasn't betrayed Voldemort?"
"Actually, you might not believe it even if I say this, but we're absolutely in the same camp now." The young Tom Riddle's expression carried a bit of sentiment.
Perhaps even he found it astonishing.
"But you… aren't you…" Malfoy's voice struggled out each word, he definitely was no fool, last night's conversation with the diary had already revealed some truths to him.
"You're pretty smart."
The young Tom Riddle raised an eyebrow.
Expression unchanged.
"But no one's ever said the past self can't break away from the future self, right?" The young Tom Riddle's lips once again curved into a barely visible smile.
That smile contained no warmth yet evoked a chill, "Voldemort is a lunatic; he sold himself, sold us, to an unsellable target."
"Who would want to become a slave with him? Draco, I'm doing this for self-preservation, just like you." One must say, the smart Voldemort indeed understood how to draw connections.
"We're not at fault; we're doing this to survive, avoiding a bad end." He showed great empathy with Malfoy.
Hard to tell how much was true and how much was false.
"Prince is just a second-year student…" Malfoy bit his lip, expressing his doubts, thinking the best to seek help should be with Dumbledore.
Or find Harry Potter who defeated Voldemort.
"You don't understand his strength."
The young Tom Riddle shook his head, perceiving Malfoy's thoughts but not considering them the best choice.
"Dumbledore is old and powerless, cruel and cold-blooded; seeking his help will only implicate your family, and of course me, whom Dumbledore would love to eliminate completely."
He did not conceal his situation.
He expressed his views on Dumbledore.
And.
Why he wanted Malfoy to give Ian the Crystal Ball.
"Only a madman can deal with a madman; Voldemort is mad, so we must get a madder madman to deal with this completely insane madman."
The young Tom Riddle spoke with certainty.
His words deepened Malfoy's inner confusion.
"If I remember correctly, you were sealed in my home for a long time, how could you know more about Senior Prince than I do?" Malfoy asking this showed obvious courage.
He dared not get up from the floor to stare directly at the young Tom Riddle.
"Of course because of childhood shadows, and my advantage over Voldemort lies therein; he erased his humiliations, while I still remember that afternoon."
In the empty dormitory.
The young Tom Riddle expressed a seemingly baffling response that Malfoy couldn't make heads or tails of, but he feared querying further.
Without allowing Malfoy to ponder further.
"Oh, by the way."
The young Tom Riddle clapped his hands.
"Don't think of tattling, oh, I may lack other abilities, but the ability to perish together with you is within my grasp." Even when threatening, his tone remained gentle and light-hearted.
"Gulp~"
Frightened, Malfoy instinctively grabbed the pendant on his neck.
Perhaps only this promise from Ian brought him some security.
"This thing is impressive, but it can't withstand my all-out destruction." Tom Riddle showed no concern for Malfoy's actions, he snapped his fingers right before Malfoy.
"Because since last night, I have already been with you; this pendant can stop others from hurting you, but it absolutely can't stop you from wanting to harm yourself."
Tom Riddle's voice had a touch of mockery.
His figure began to dissipate.
Malfoy only felt his vision blur—once his sight and thought cleared again, he found himself somehow in the dormitory washroom.
"Ah!!"
He looked down at his hand, a knife stained with snake blood for some unknown reason pressed against his neck, leaving a faint thin mark.
As if some sort of warning.
"I love deceiving, but this time I'm not."
In the mirror.
Another "Malfoy" spoke with a faintly amused tone.
The voice didn't enter Malfoy's ears.
But resounded directly in Malfoy's mind…