I'm doing a full re-read, partly to celebrate chapter 43, and partly to help with kaotik's eBook, and there's a significant plot element that I'm a bit stuck on.
What is the Watsonian explanation for Harry keeping the Diary such a secret?
It wouldn't have been all that hard for him to explain it away. He could have told Ginny about finding it in her cauldron, and made sure that this time she remembered not to trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain. He could have talked to Mr and Mrs Weasley about it, especially after it proved to be fireproof. He probably could even have found a way to get it into Professor Dumbledore's hands; not only would Dumbledore doubtless have ways to destroy it, but he might even have been able to wring more information out of it first. And in doing so, Harry might well have gained more of Dumbledore's trust. Why did he feel a need to hide it, when he was constantly trying not to keep secrets?