The Unexpected Diary

Lucius, who had been so arrogant just moments ago, felt an indescribable panic rise within him the instant he met Wes's eyes. The next second, he desperately avoided Wes's gaze. Then, in a fluster, he hurriedly left Flourish and Blotts with Draco.

In his panic, he had even thrown his carefully laid plans completely out of his mind. When Lucius finally calmed down, he reached out and touched his chest.

At that moment, his face instantly turned deathly pale, as white as a sheet of bloodless paper. "Where is it? Where did it go?"

Frantic, Lucius could only keep searching himself with both hands. To his despair, no matter how thoroughly he searched, the thing he had been so preoccupied with was nowhere on him.

"Damn it!!"

A powerful fear surged through Lucius. The moment he thought of the consequences of losing that diary, his legs went numb, and he collapsed to the ground.

That diary was something that person had entrusted to him for safekeeping.

"Father, what's wrong?"

Draco looked at his father in confusion. He had never seen him so flustered before.

In his memories, his father had always been the elegant and composed head of the Malfoy family, lofty and untouchable. When had he ever been so rattled?

"Nothing... I just lost something..."

Lucius tried to make his voice sound calmer. He did not want Draco to worry.

However, his bloodless face and trembling legs were anything but convincing.

Seeing his father like this, Draco was filled with worry. He struggled to help Lucius to his feet and asked, "Was it something valuable?"

"Just a diary..."

Lucius forced out a smile, trying to reassure Draco.

"A diary?" Draco frowned.

He truly could not understand what could be so important about a diary that his father cared so much.

"If you lost it, then you lost it. Can't you just buy another one from a bookshop?"

Draco said innocently to his father.

Lucius's eyes suddenly lit up at Draco's words, as though he had glimpsed a ray of hope in the darkness.

"A bookshop? Flourish and Blotts!"

It must have fallen there during the fight.

With that thought, Lucius seemed to regain his strength at once. Disregarding all decorum, he began jogging back.

"Father, wait for me~~"

Watching his father's receding back, Draco hurriedly moved his short little legs and struggled to catch up.

As Lucius ran, he put on his monocle.

This monocle was no ordinary pair of glasses. It was a Magic Item, and one of its functions was long-distance viewing.

Through it, Lucius could clearly see scenes in the distance.

When his gaze passed through the monocle and landed on the floor of Flourish and Blotts, his heart suddenly skipped a beat.

He clearly saw that diary.

"Yes!!"

Lucius excitedly punched the air. However, his smile froze the very next second, because he saw Wes pick up the diary from the floor.

"Damn it!!"

Lucius cursed inwardly. Just as he was about to lose his temper, he saw Wes nod at him.

He thought his eyes were playing tricks on him and quickly blinked.

When he looked again, Wes was actually holding the diary and greeting him.

Lucius's mouth fell open in shock.

His monocle also dropped from his eye socket from sheer astonishment.

"Puff... puff..."

Draco arrived, panting heavily.

Looking at his father's strange expression, he said in confusion, "Father, slow down. It's only a diary."

Lucius put his monocle back on and turned his gaze toward Wes.

He saw Wes talking to the Weasleys. The scene looked so ordinary that Lucius even began to suspect that everything which had just happened was an illusion.

"Father, what is going on? You've been acting strangely ever since we left the bookshop," Draco asked in confusion.

"Nothing." Lucius slowly exhaled, trying to steady his emotions.

"That young man just now was a Hogwarts professor?"

"That's right! He's the school's Professor of Runes."

At the mention of Wes, Draco became excited.

He began eagerly recounting his experience in the Forbidden Forest last term. "Professor Erwin was incredible. Back when we were in the Forbidden Forest..."

"Hm? The Forbidden Forest? Why were you in a place like that?"

Realizing he had let something slip, Draco quickly shut his mouth. His flustered expression was rather adorable.

"I'm not trying to scold you." Seeing Draco's nervous look, Lucius's heart softened. He reached out and rubbed Draco's head. "Tell me about Professor Erwin. What kind of person is he?"

Lucius pondered inwardly.

It should be more or less fine if the diary had fallen into a professor's hands. It would end up being brought back to Hogwarts anyway.

Thinking that way, Lucius felt somewhat relieved. As long as he could achieve his goal, the process did not matter.

So, he left Diagon Alley with Draco.

Meanwhile, Wes declined the Weasleys' invitation to dinner. At that moment, he had only one thought: to study the diary he had just acquired as soon as possible.

Wes knew very well that this diary was one of the most crucial things in the Harry Potter World—a Horcrux.

In the original story, Voldemort was the only known wizard to have created Horcruxes.

The process of making a Horcrux was extraordinarily evil. It required some heinous act, such as murder, to split a wizard's soul. Then, part of that soul was removed from the body and placed into an object outside it. That object became a Horcrux.

That way, no matter how grievously the Dark Wizard was injured, he could not die.

However, once a soul was split, it became extremely unstable. The separated fragment could not feel the pain of being destroyed, which also meant the creator could not sense when a Horcrux had been destroyed.

Therefore, even if many Dark Wizards were capable of making Horcruxes, they were unwilling to do so. They would rather face death cleanly.

No one had ever made multiple Horcruxes like Voldemort.

Comparing Voldemort's cold-blooded, mindless madness in the original story with his earlier brilliance and wisdom, Wes guessed that creating Horcruxes caused irreversible damage to the soul and mind.

Wes had no interest in making Horcruxes, but he was extremely interested in studying them.

After hurrying back to his dormitory at Hogwarts, he eagerly opened the diary he had just obtained.

He thought for a while, then wrote in the diary, "It feels wonderful to be back at Hogwarts. This place is like home to me."

However, the writing on the page was not absorbed as Wes had expected, nor did he receive any response.

Looks like Senior is quite shy. No rush. I have plenty of time to wear you down slowly. Even if I can't find anything through research, I can still trade it to Dumbledore for something.

He locked the diary in a puzzle box and cast a spell on it, then locked it in a drawer.