The summer heat was blazing, yet the activity room at Wool's Orphanage was pleasantly cool. That was all thanks to Roy, who had spent a fortune installing new air conditioners in most of the orphanage's rooms.
The orphanage's original air-conditioning system had long since outlived its service life and was practically useless for cooling anything. This summer had been particularly scorching, and thanks to Roy's out-of-pocket support, the children of Wool's Orphanage could get through a less sweltering summer.
In the activity room, Mia sat alone in a chair, hugging a book with neither cover nor contents—an utterly blank tome—as she stared into space.
Since Roy, who loved blowing up fish, had gone to work at St Mungo's Hospital today, the orphanage children had taken the opportunity to go play football. Only Mia thought it was too hot and had stayed alone in the cool air-conditioned room.
Mia had not been idle either. She was still studying all manner of wicked and bloody Dark Magic with Sebastian, the old man who accompanied her everywhere.
Within her mindscape, Mia had entered the Chamber of Secrets. As she listened to old Sebastian's guidance, she flipped through the secret volumes preserved in Sebastian's memories, left behind by Slytherin himself.
"So, you understand now, right? I'm not a Horcrux, just a talking Pensieve. Although infusing your soul into a Horcrux could achieve exactly the same effect, I don't think I was crazy enough to voluntarily split my own soul when I made this memory-storage device."
Mia was looking through the magical books that had been passed down within Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets in Sebastian's memories. The Sallow Family was one of Slytherin's descendant families, and Sebastian had entered the Chamber of Secrets and office Slytherin left behind while he was in school.
He had