From the title alone, Sean couldn't guess what the book contained. But the name Albania immediately made him think of Voldemort.
At Lucius's prompting glance, Sean picked up the book and began flipping through it. The first two pages roughly described the origins of dark wizards in Albania. The later sections recorded several dark spells.
Books like this couldn't be found in legitimate bookstores. Any text that recorded dark magic was forbidden from sale and classified as a banned book under Ministry of Magic regulations.
"I heard from Kurt that you're equally talented in the field of dark magic. This book should be helpful to you," Lucius said.
Sean had originally assumed that Lucius intended to lure him toward darkness with the temptation of dark magic, hoping he would lose himself in its power. But when Lucius handed him the second book, Sean realized his thinking had been far too simple.
It was a notebook. Lucius pretended to give it to Sean as something he could use for taking notes. Yet the moment Sean took hold of it, his Magic vision activated automatically once again.
Sean had never seen the real Voldemort's diary with his own eyes, but at that moment he understood—this was Tom Riddle's diary.
The notebook was wrapped in black mist that the Magic vision revealed clearly, just like the black magic radiating from Ravenclaw's crown. It was filled with an aura of evil and death.
This was the second time the Magic vision had activated automatically when Sean touched a Horcrux. Sean guessed that the Magic vision had a warning function against evil energy.
Sean stood there holding the notebook, frozen. He seemed to hear a whisper by his ear—a voice filled with a seductive, misleading power. Yet Sean's mind remained perfectly clear, unmoved by it.
"Sean," Lucius called when he saw him standing there.
"Thank you, sir. I like this book very much. And this notebook as well," Sean said with a polite smile.
Lucius was a cunning fox. On the surface, he was gifting Sean a dark magic book. But in truth, the notebook was the real focus. He intended to use Sean to open Slytherin's Chamber of Secrets, release the basilisk, and kill the Muggle-born students.
That way, Headmaster Dumbledore's reputation would be damaged, and the Muggle-born students would be eliminated. All it required was sacrificing a single Sean to achieve two goals at once.
"No wonder he said he needed my help. Damn it, he's trying to set me up," Sean cursed inwardly.
However, unintentionally obtaining the diary had confirmed one of Sean's earlier suspicions. Back then, Dumbledore had given him a ruby necklace, saying it could protect the heart from the corruption of dark power.
At the time, Sean had wondered if the Magic vision possessed a similar ability. After all, in the Room of Requirement, the Magic vision had activated automatically and snapped Sean awake when he was nearly bewitched by a Horcrux.
Since then, Sean had not dared to deliberately touch Ravenclaw's crown again. But just now, he had accidentally come into contact with another Horcrux. The Magic vision had activated automatically, revealing the Horcrux's evil nature, and Sean had not been influenced by the whispering voice.
"So while the Magic vision is active, I'm immune to those evil temptations," Sean thought.
He decided to bring the diary back to Hogwarts and place it inside the Room of Requirement as well. When Harry and Dumbledore eventually began searching for Horcruxes, Sean could release a few clues and let Harry discover the two Horcruxes.
Although Sean was no longer afraid of being tempted by Horcruxes—and besides basilisk venom, there was also Fiendfyre, another known method capable of destroying them. Given Sean's learning ability, mastering that spell shouldn't be too difficult.
Still, he had no intention of destroying the Horcruxes in advance. When a Horcrux was destroyed, Voldemort would sense it. He might even see who had done it. Sean had no desire to attract the Dark Lord's hatred so early.
If things played out this way, then in Harry's second year there should no longer be incidents of students being petrified by the basilisk. The trio could spend the entire year peacefully.
Lucius smiled at Sean with satisfaction. Sean returned the smile politely. The atmosphere in the pavilion was perfectly harmonious—one believing his scheme had succeeded, the other seeing through it yet playing along.
When the entire second year passed without a single basilisk incident at Hogwarts, Lucius would surely grow suspicious. Sean could simply make up an excuse, saying the notebook had been stolen. There would be nothing Lucius could do about it.
"Master, afternoon tea is ready," the Malfoy family's house-elf, Dobby, said timidly from outside the pavilion.
"Then bring it here, you idiot. Do I have to fetch it myself?" Lucius snapped rudely in front of the three children.
Sean watched the distressed Dobby. He had always wondered why house-elves, a race with remarkable magical talent, had become slaves to humans.
It wasn't until last Christmas, when he had been chatting casually with Professor Flitwick, that he learned the truth. Flitwick told him that house-elves were a race created by ancient wizards, developed from magical creatures.
They were born as a subordinate race to wizards. Obedience to wizardkind was carved into their very genes. Their existence was to serve wizards.
After hearing that, Sean couldn't help but sigh. Ancient wizards had created an entire enslaved race purely for their own selfish desires.
As an intelligent magical species, their treatment and living conditions were terrible. Even a dog would be happily patted on the head by its owner. But house-elves faced endless labor and constant scolding.
Still, Sean could only sympathize with Dobby in his heart. Right now, he had no power to change any system within the wizarding world.
"Draco, when you enroll next year, learn well from Sean. After I graduate, Sean will be Slytherin's most outstanding student," Kurt said, praising Sean while not forgetting to include himself in the compliment.
"After I enroll, he won't be anymore," Draco said confidently, raising an eyebrow.
Sean chuckled quietly. Your father doesn't even plan on letting me survive through second year. If I weren't unusually gifted, I'd probably be used as a pawn without even realizing it.
After afternoon tea ended, Sean returned to the Leaky Cauldron. He locked the diary inside his suitcase. As long as no absurd accident like swapping suitcases happened, the diary would safely reach Hogwarts and then be hidden inside the Room of Requirement.
Of course, this wasn't meant to hint at Newt Scamander. After all, taking the wrong suitcase was perfectly normal, wasn't it?
A few days later, a whole family of guests arrived at the Leaky Cauldron—the red-haired Weasleys.
"Look at you, Sean. You've grown quite a bit taller since last year," Molly said, holding her hand beside Sean's head to measure.
Sean hadn't really noticed it himself. He had grown five centimeters since last year and now stood at one meter sixty.
"That must be thanks to the food at Hogwarts. Good nutrition does wonders. If I stayed here at the Leaky Cauldron all the time, I probably wouldn't have grown this much," Sean joked loudly toward Old Tom.
Old Tom pretended to be angry. "You ungrateful brat. Isn't the food here good enough for you?"
Nearby, Ron asked Fred timidly, "Is he the most outstanding student in your year?"
"Yep, very outstanding," Fred said.
"And he's got real talent for pranks too. It's a shame he's a Slytherin," George sighed regretfully.
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