Ron's enthusiasm wasn't dampened in the slightest. He thought he could further improve the code names by incorporating everyone's middle names to create even more variations.
He pulled out a full sheet of parchment and began experimenting with Harry's middle name, James. Meanwhile, Orli suddenly thought of another way to subtly steer the conversation:
"Harry, your middle name is your father's name, Hermione's middle name is her mother's, and Ron's middle name is his uncle's. If middle names carry any family significance, it must be hidden there," Orli said, trying to make her statement sound less forced. She was working her brain overtime, trying to guide their thoughts in the direction she wanted.
"If only the Heir of Slytherin can open the Chamber of Secrets, then the person who opened it back then must have had a special middle name, right? The older and darker the wizarding family, the more unique their naming conventions tend to be. Think Salazar, Snake-man, or Baldy—names that are a bit of a mouthful, not something like Teddy, Ben, or Kevin. What's Hagrid's middle name?" Orli asked.
"Or we could just ask Hagrid directly," Ron suggested. "I think he'd be happy to tell us."
"No, think about it. No one knows what Hagrid's middle name is. If it really had something to do with Slytherin, he wouldn't want to talk about it," Hermione said, frowning.
"Actually, I mean, Hagrid might not really be the Heir of Slytherin. We could check the school records from fifty years ago. Maybe Riddle accused the wrong person? Hagrid could've been framed. All we need to do is find someone with an odd middle name," Hermione added.
Orli casually turned to Ron. "Do you remember what Riddle's middle name was?"
"Oh, of course. I scrubbed his name off the trophy room plaque over fifty times. His full name was Tom Marvolo Riddle," Ron said.
"Well, it seems people back then had some strange naming habits," Harry said with a shrug.
"No! I've heard that name before—Marvolo. That's not a name a Muggle-born would have. I swear I've seen it in a history book," Hermione exclaimed, suddenly standing up and smacking her forehead.
"I need to go to the library. Right now. Immediately!" she declared, dashing off. Her bushy hair flew behind her as she ran, even colliding with two older students in the hallway. Before long, she returned, clutching a towering stack of hardcover books nearly a meter high.
"I remember it clearly. These are all the history books I borrowed this term. The name 'Marvolo' is in one of them," Hermione said.
"These—books?" Ron asked, his mouth hanging open as he stared at the pile that covered the entire table. "You want us to find a tiny name in this mountain of books?!"
Hermione tilted her chin up and nodded, while Orli and Harry had already resigned themselves to the monumental task of flipping through the books.
Fortunately, hard work always pays off. As night fell and the castle was enveloped in darkness, the wall lamps silently lit themselves. Finally, Harry found a clue in a book about pure-blood families:
"Look here!—'The pure-blood Gaunt family was prominent in the sixteenth century, known for their unruly and violent nature. The family patriarch, Marvolo Gaunt, insisted on maintaining the purity of wizarding bloodlines through generations of inbreeding. They were particularly obsessed with lavish displays of wealth and were once incredibly rich, but their fortune was depleted three centuries ago,'" Harry read aloud.
"That's disgusting. Why would Riddle have such a middle name?" Ron said, wrinkling his nose in distaste.
"Maybe Riddle has some kind of familial connection to the Gaunt family?" Orli suggested, feeling that the truth was within reach.
Harry's finger traced the letters on the page, finally stopping at a particular sentence. He suddenly gasped.
"What is it?" Hermione asked, leaning over in concern. She then muttered the sentence Harry was pointing to:
"'The Gaunt family is the last known descendant of Salazar Slytherin, one of the four founders of Hogwarts.'"
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Author's Notes:
1. Regarding "Baldy," this isn't meant to mock Voldemort—purely coincidental. It's just that Salazar Slytherin was depicted as bald in his later years. Perhaps male pattern baldness runs in the family? After all, British men… (wink)
2. Marvolo Riddle's grandfather doesn't appear in history books due to the timeline being too recent. For the sake of storytelling, I've invented an older family patriarch named Marvolo Gaunt. After all, it's common for families to recycle a few names, like how Harry's father was named James, and his son is also named James.
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