Zhang Xiao stared at the all-too-familiar black notebook, momentarily at a loss for words.
Tom... had he bought a whole stack of these black notebooks?
The enormous study was unusually quiet. The exquisite Candle Chandelier overhead had clearly been enchanted as well.
It gave off a light quite unlike ordinary candlelight. Bright as it was, it was also remarkably soft and soothing.
Zhang Xiao simply sat down in Voldemort's chair. The moment he settled into it, the soft cushion sank beneath him, enveloping his entire body. The armrests rose automatically until they fitted snugly beneath his arms.
He exerted the slightest pressure against the backrest, wanting to recline, and it immediately obeyed, tilting backward with extraordinary smoothness.
A footrest even extended from beneath the chair for him to rest his feet on.
This was... ridiculously comfortable!
Zhang Xiao felt the chair in astonishment. Had this thing developed a mind of its own?
After an afternoon of nonstop Apparition, he was feeling a little tired anyway, so he took out his tea set.
He laid out an assortment of snacks, then picked up a fragrant, roasted Five-Spice Sunflower Seed. With a crook of his finger, he brought the black notebook floating before him and slowly opened it.
The very first page nearly made him choke on the seed. Coughing violently, Zhang Xiao stared at the words on the flyleaf:
"When the great Voldemort steps forth from this place, the entire world shall prostrate itself at his feet!"
All right, Voldemort was a little narcissistic. Understandable, really. Judging by the date, he had only been around twenty.
Dumbledore had plenty of embarrassing stories from his youth too. And hadn't a young Grindelwald broken in somewhere to steal the Elder Wand?
As for Nicolas Flamel... rumor had it that he had once stood