Slytherin Common Room
Draco Malfoy was in a foul mood. On one hand, there was the humiliation and slap Silas Kirill had dealt him—though the injury had healed, the psychological shadow remained. On the other, his father Lucius seemed to have been having a rough time lately as well, and had become irritable and short-tempered.
What annoyed him even more was that the meddlesome House-elf Dobby had somehow gotten hold of a battered black diary and secretly shoved it at him, babbling about "danger" and "being careful," which only made him more irritated.
"Get lost! You filthy little freak!" Malfoy had kicked Dobby away on the spot, snatched the diary, and not even bothered to look at it. All he thought was that it was old, ugly, and gave off an unpleasant aura.
As casually as throwing away rubbish, he tossed the diary into the bin in the corner of the common room, the one meant for discarded parchment and empty ink bottles.
"What kind of junk do you think you can bring me?" Malfoy grumbled as he walked away, paying the diary no mind at all.
He had no idea that what he had casually thrown away was the Dark Lord Voldemort's first Horcrux—an evil creation containing immense dark power and conspiracy.
A few days later, the bin was nearly full, and the House-elf responsible for cleaning the common room prepared to clear out the rubbish.
Just as the House-elf was about to tie up the rubbish bag, someone approached—it was Theodore Nott.
Nott was usually quiet and solitary, but he had a little-known habit: from time to time, he paid attention to things other Slytherins had thrown away, especially items that looked old or unusual. He always felt that sometimes, one could pick up interesting information or overlooked