Blocked by Malfoy in Flourish and Blotts, Harry looked at the photographs in front of him.
Most of them showed Lucien and Malfoy together, along with several dragons: the Ukrainian Ironbelly, the Chinese Fireball, and the Welsh Green…
Before Harry could think of a retort, Malfoy glanced at Ron, who had just rushed over, and casually said to the two of them:
"Oh, that dragon farm was a lot of fun. But guess who didn't get an invitation? Drum-rolls please... You~"
Ginny, standing to the side, was utterly confused. According to her father, the Malfoy family were all bad people—the very worst kind.
But the Malfoy in front of her… why did he seem a bit foolish instead?
Ron, who had just arrived, was completely bewildered and didn't understand what was going on at all. Only after Ginny whispered an explanation did it start to make sense.
Malfoy glanced at Ron and Ginny's red hair, recalling how their father, Arthur Weasley, had been using his position to repeatedly search the Malfoy Manor recently.
He sneered.
"But going out to have fun costs quite a bit of money. Perhaps some people should be spending theirs on textbooks and wands—second-hand ones, of course."
At this, Ron was about to drop the books in his arms and confront Malfoy.
But Harry suddenly blurted out, without warning: "Malfoy, did Lucien visit your house this summer?"
Caught off guard, Malfoy answered instinctively:
"No— ahem, invitations between noble families are very formal and proper. There's a whole process…"
After attending Lucien's birthday party, Malfoy had gained a clearer understanding of the Grafton name's status in the Muggle world. He realized that Lucien was indeed a respectable person and should naturally be treated with proper decorum.
But before Malfoy could begin boasting about noble etiquette, Harry interrupted him:
"Oh, Lucien visited my house—and Ron's as well. I think visiting a friend's home is more meaningful than visiting a dragon farm, don't you?"
"..." Malfoy was left speechless. He had actually lost to Harry on the matter of propriety—and even fallen behind that red-haired Weasley?
At that moment, a large hand rested on the dejected and unwilling Malfoy.
"Mr. Potter. I am Lucius Malfoy. We finally meet."
Lucius shook Harry's hand and gave it a firm squeeze. Leaning closer, he carefully examined the lightning-shaped scar on Harry's forehead.
"Ahh.. Truly a legendary mark."
Lucius released Harry, then looked down at Hermione, who was Muggle-born, and at the Weasley siblings, his eyes filled with disdain. Just as he was about to speak, he noticed a young man of exceptional bearing approaching.
Those distinctive dark green eyes allowed Lucius to recognize him immediately.
Lucien.
He had met Lucien once before, when Draco had been injured and he had visited Hogwarts. Even then, he had sensed the young man's extraordinary nature.
Now, meeting him again nearly a year later, his keen intuition told him that Lucien's presence had grown much deeper—yet was also perfectly restrained.
Lucius trusted this intuition greatly, both inherited and honed through experience.
He extended his hand to Lucien. This time, however, Lucius carried himself with composed elegance, fully befitting a noble's upbringing.
"Thank you for helping Draco. It is truly that child's good fortune to have gained your friendship."
Faced with Lucius's manner, Lucien responded with equal courtesy, "Draco has a very solid foundation. I imagine that comes from excellent family upbringing."
At the same time, a black vortex subtly rotated within Lucien's pupils as his gaze, from the corner of his eye, swept over Lucius's waist.
That sinister, chilling magic… a Horcrux.
Lucius no longer paid any attention to the Muggle-borns or the shabby pure-bloods. After exchanging a few more pleasantries with Lucien, he led Draco toward the back of the bookstore.
As Lucius and Lucien passed by each other, Lucien's wand flickered within his sleeve, and an invisible mark fell upon the diary in Lucius's possession.
Even Lucius, standing so close, noticed nothing.
Lucien chatted with Harry and the others for a while longer. After hearing about the earlier incident, he shook his head helplessly.
They were all just children.
After parting ways, Lucien strolled through Diagon Alley again with Penelope. He also bought a broomstick, intending to experiment with related Alchemy tools.
After seeing Penelope into the car and asking her to return home first—saying he still had something to take care of and would be back shortly—Lucien focused his attention on the magical mark he had left on the diary.
Throughout this time, he could sense that the mark remained within Flourish and Blotts.
Then suddenly, the location began to move.
After making a few turns, Lucien arrived nearby.
Sensing the fluctuations coming from the crowd, he turned his gaze toward their source.
But the sight of the person made him frown slightly.
The blond man dressed like a flamboyant peacock.. Gilderoy Lockhart.
Wait, how had the diary ended up in his hands?
Lucien remembered that, according to the original course of events, the diary should have been given to Ginny by Lucius, triggering a new year's crisis and a series of trials.
His original plan had been to find an opportunity to take the diary once it reached Ginny.
But at that moment, a sudden inspiration struck him—perhaps a different approach would produce unexpected results.
Lucien also grew curious about what impact altering the course of events might have.
So, he had secretly placed a magical mark on the diary for tracking.
Yet he had never expected it to end up with Lockhart.
Was this the world correcting itself?
Was a year of disaster at Hogwarts inevitable?
No—the diary was Lord Voldemort's first Horcrux, containing a fragment of his soul.
And Lord Voldemort had placed a curse on the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.
Lockhart had already been confirmed for that position, so perhaps the curse had already taken effect on him… Was there some kind of magical resonance?
Through a chain of coincidences, had the cursed and the curser's soul been drawn together?
Damn.. A strange magical convergence…
Lockhart, unaware that he was being watched, only wanted to hurry home.
Because he felt he had obtained an extraordinary treasure.
He had a premonition that he was about to embark on a truly grand and thrilling adventure.
If he wrote this experience into a book, it might become his greatest work yet.
It was as if an illusory yet seductive voice was whispering to him:
You will become the most famous wizard. You will become a true VIP. You will possess endless glory and wealth… Go—go to Hogwarts. Go there… and you will obtain everything you desire…
________
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