Harry Takes Control, Master of the Diary

The shutter clicked away continuously.

"You have a beautiful smile, Harry. We could be on the front page."

Lockhart flashed his signature charming smile and whispered to Harry.

But Harry felt only awkwardness, finding this uncle very strange.

After the shutter clicks subsided slightly, Lockhart announced loudly:

Ladies and gentlemen, what an exciting moment!

"When little Harry walked into the bookstore this morning to buy my autobiography, ' The Magical Me,' a book that topped the Daily Prophet's bestseller list for 27 consecutive days, he certainly couldn't have imagined..."

Lockhart paused, whetting the appetites of his fans.

"I'm going to give Harry my entire collection of books for free!"

Lockhart was pleased with the enthusiastic applause and prepared to wave Harry off so he could begin his own autograph session.

But he didn't notice that Harry took several deep breaths and clutched a black cloth bag embroidered with silver patterns.

"Oh, these books are too many and too heavy, I really can't carry them all!"

The exaggerated yet loud voice made Lockhart's smile freeze. He turned to look at Harry, who had spoken, then glanced at the books. Hmm, what's this kid up to?

What's wrong with these books? Have you been eating properly and exercising regularly?

Lockhart was about to use his quick thinking to defuse this strange and awkward situation.

But then, a chorus of voices rose from the audience:

"Yes, great the Chosen One, what should we do?"

"I have to bring a ton of books and a crucible to school every day, it's so heavy! Legendary boy, do you have any solutions?"

Not only was Lockhart stunned by these sudden words, but Harry's face also flushed red as he looked at the Weasley Twins darting about in the crowd.

The lines about the Chosen One and the legendary boy weren't in the script!

But there was no turning back now. Harry steeled himself, raised the black cloth bag in his hand, and read aloud in a solemn voice:

"It's alright, I have this. It can Shrinking Satchel and fit even the most books in it!"

As he spoke, Harry took out his wand, cast Levitation Charm on the books, and made them fly towards the bag opening one by one. At the same time, he placed the bag on his chest so that everyone could see it, and he also made sure to show the corner with the logo.

Still worried about Shrinking Satchel smaller bags will solve your problems.

For more details, please visit the Diagon Alley xxx...

Lockhart was stunned by what he saw.

No, is this kid playing GG?

At Gilderoy Lockhart's autograph session?

They've turned the tables! They've reversed the Heavenly Gang!

Lockhart's original intention was just to ride on Harry's popularity and boost his own publicity, so how did it turn out like this?

Although Lockhart was confused and bewildered, someone else reacted quickly.

For example, a reporter from the Daily Prophet started snapping photos like crazy the moment Harry pulled out his retractable bag to put his books in.

Just kidding, Lockhart a lousy book, and it gets reported several times a month.

Nothing gets as much attention as the Chosen One getting killed!

This is really news!

Harry Potter usually attends school, and during holidays he stays home and studies diligently.

What chance do reporters have of catching such stories?

"Genius? Which genius came up with the idea of using Harry Potter to promote merchandise?"

The reporter muttered to himself as he snapped photos of Harry, taking into account both Harry's face and the shape of his retractable bag.

"LG?"

"Which new workshop? It looks interesting. Shall we go check out the shop Harry Potter mentioned later?"

"I just don't know the price; these kinds of Undetectable Extension Charm containers aren't cheap..."

"Exactly! Taking advantage of the fact that only a few companies can buy, they've been driving up prices like crazy. Merlin's pockets are full of black-hearted wizards!"

"..."

Discussions like these arose among the crowd, clearly showing interest in the retractable backpack.

Harry struck a few more poses with the retractable bag, his mind preoccupied with Lucien's promise to teach him a few more powerful and fun spells.

To avoid another autograph rush later, Lucien had already taken his aunt to a relatively quiet corner of the bookstore.

"Is that child quite famous in your wizarding world?"

Lucien wasn't surprised by his aunt's question; observing the reactions of those around him, it was easy to draw similar conclusions.

"Yeah, that's like being a celebrity in the Muggle world."

Penelope nodded upon hearing this, understanding why Lucien had asked the child for help with the publicity. She didn't specifically remind Lucien to remember that helping friends also requires reciprocation, and Penelope trusted that Lucien could handle these matters well.

"Oh right, that guy named Lockhart, is his life really as exciting and eventful as they say?"

Hearing his aunt's pointed question, Lucien smiled.

"You noticed it after all."

Penelope stroked the ring on her hand, her tone indifferent:

"He seems like a great writer, but he doesn't seem to have much of an adventurous spirit, and it's hard to associate him with those exciting experiences, isn't it?"

As the current leader of Grafton, her rich experience has given her a keen ability to judge people.

Lucien wasn't surprised by this assessment. Yes, how could his aunt not see through the facade of a good-for-nothing?

"Unlike our little Lucien, who is not only good-looking but also truly talented."

"Speaking of which, do you know any female classmates you're close friends with at school? Didn't you ask me to give you some jewelry before?"

"If not, why not see the Campbell and Fitzgerald girls again during winter break? They..."

Auntie changed the subject so quickly that Lucien was caught off guard.

"Ah, the great the Chosen One has arrived."

Malfoy stood in front of Harry, who was squeezing through the crowd, looking smug for some reason.

But Harry didn't want to think about it; Malfoy was always like that anyway.

"Malfoy, is there something you need?"

In response to Harry's question, Malfoy shrugged.

"Sigh, you didn't have much fun this summer, Potter? School's starting soon and you finally get to be on the news! I'm so envious!"

Harry frowned, wondering if Malfoy was about to have another episode after not seeing him for a summer and without Lucien's restraint.

What exactly are you trying to say?

Upon hearing this, Malfoy finally stopped suppressing a smile, pulled out several animated magical photos from his pocket, and held them up to Harry's eyes:

"Ha, cough cough, I went to my family's dragon farm with Lucien during summer vacation. We didn't take many photos. Can you help me choose which one is suitable?"

Standing to the side, Ginny, who had originally intended to speak up for Harry, slowly raised a finger above her head:

"?"

Cornered by Malfoy in Flourish and Blotts, Harry stared at the photographs before him.

It's basically a photo of Lucien and Malfoy together, and there are also several kinds of Fire Dragon in the photo, such as the Ukrainian Ironbelly, the Chinese Fireball, and the Welsh Green...

Before Harry could even gather his words to retort, Malfoy glanced at Ron, who was running over, and said casually to the two of them:

"Oh, that dragon farm looks like a lot of fun, but guess who didn't get an invitation?"

"You~"

Ginny, standing to the side, was puzzled. According to her father's description, the Malfoy were all bad guys, really, really bad.

But why did this Young Malfoy give her the impression that he wasn't very bright?

Ron, who had just arrived, was completely bewildered and didn't really know what had happened. It was only after his sister whispered an explanation that he understood.

Malfoy looked at Ron and Ginny's red hair and thought about how their father, Arthur Weasley, had been using official business as an excuse to search their mansion lately.

Then Malfoy mocked:

"But going on a trip like this will cost quite a bit of money. Hmm, maybe some people should spend their money on textbooks and wands, of course, I'm talking about secondhand ones."

Upon hearing this, Ron was about to drop the book he was holding and start sparring with Malfoy.

But Harry suddenly blurted out:

"Malfoy, did Lucien visit your house during the summer vacation?"

Faced with Harry's question, Malfoy instinctively answered:

"No... cough cough, invitations between nobles are very formal and respectable, the procedure is..."

After attending Lucien's birthday party, Malfoy became even more aware of the status of the Grafton name in Muggle society, realizing that Lucien was indeed a respectable person and should be treated with the appropriate respect.

But before Malfoy could even begin to flaunt his aristocratic manners, Harry interrupted him:

"Oh, Lucien came to my house, and Ron's too. I think visiting a friend's house might be more meaningful than going to the dragon farm, don't you think?"

This left Malfoy speechless. He had actually lost to Harry, and even fallen behind the red-haired Weasley, because of his pride?

Suddenly, a large hand pressed down on the frustrated and resentful Malfoy.

"Mr. Potter."

"I am Lucius Malfoy, and we finally meet."

Lucius squeezed Harry's hand and pulled it hard, then leaned closer to examine the lightning bolt-shaped scar on Harry's forehead.

"Truly a legendary symbol."

Lucius released Harry, looked down at the Muggle-born Hermione and the Weasley siblings, his eyes filled with disdain and contempt. Just as he was about to speak, he saw a distinguished young man walk over.

Lucius recognized him immediately from those distinctive dark green eyes.

Lucien Grafton.

When Draco was injured and he went to Hogwarts, he had met Lucien once. At that time, he noticed that the boy was extraordinary. Nearly a year later, when they met again, his keen intuition told him that Lucien's aura had become much deeper but was well contained.

Lucius had great faith in this intuition, which was both inherited from his family and reinforced by his upbringing.

He extended his hand to shake Lucien's, but this time, Lucius behaved with maturity and elegance, truly befitting a nobleman.

"Thanks to your help, Draco is truly fortunate to have your friendship."

In response to Lucius's attitude, Lucien also responded politely:

"Draco has a very solid foundation, which is probably due to his excellent family education."

At the same time, the black vortex in Lucien's pupils swirled slightly as he glanced at Lucius's side.

That eerie, chilling magic...

Horcrux.

Lucius ignored the Muggle-born wizard and the shabby Pure-blood wizard, exchanged a few pleasantries with Lucien, and then led Malfoy toward the back of the bookstore.

Just as Lucius and Lucien brushed past each other, Lucien's wand flashed slightly in his sleeve, and an invisible mark landed on the diary in Lucius's arms.

Even Lucius was recently identified as being in the wrong place, did not notice anything unusual.

Lucien chatted with Harry and the others for a while longer, and after learning about the incident, he shook his head helplessly.

They're all just kids.

After everyone parted ways, Lucien took his aunt to stroll Diagon Alley again, and bought a Flying Broomstick, intending to try designing related alchemical tools.

He then put his aunt in the car and told her to go home first, saying that he had some things to do and would be back soon.

During this time, Lucien kept sensing the magical mark on the diary and discovered that it remained within the Flourish and Blotts area.

Suddenly, the location started moving, and Lucien arrived nearby after a few turns.

Sensing the fluctuations emanating from the crowd, Lucien looked toward the source of the fluctuations.

But the other person's appearance made him frown slightly.

The blond man dressed like a peacock, Gilderoy Lockhart.

Wait, how did the diary end up in his hands?

Lucien remembered that according to the original story, Lucius would give the diary to Ginny, which would then trigger the crisis and trials of the new year.

His original plan was to find an opportunity to take the diary after it was in Ginny's hands.

But then a special inspiration suddenly struck me, and it seemed that trying a different approach might yield unexpected results.

Lucien also became curious about what the impact would be if the plot changed.

So he secretly left a magical mark on the diary so he could easily track it.

But he never expected that the diary would end up in Lockhart's hands.

Could this be the correction of the world's power?

Will a year-long catastrophe necessarily occur at Hogwarts?

No, the diary was Voldemort's first Horcrux, containing fragments of his soul.

Yes, Voldemort cursed the position of Defense Against the Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts.

Lockhart had already been confirmed as the Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts; the curse might have already taken effect on him...

Is it a magical connection?

After many twists and turns, the soul of the cursed person and the cursed person finally met?

A magical coincidence...

Lockhart was unaware that he was being watched; all he wanted to do was get home as quickly as possible.

Because it seems he's acquired an incredible treasure!

Lockhart had a feeling that he was about to embark on a truly great and exciting adventure.

If he were to write this experience into a book, it would likely become his most successful work.

It was as if a phantom yet seductive voice was telling him:

You will become the most famous wizard, a truly great man, and you will enjoy endless wealth and glory...

Go, go to Hogwarts, go there...

You will get everything you want...