When I produced the Diary, the shift in Nicholas's demeanor was immediate. The humor faded, replaced first by exasperation, then curiosity, then a solemn recognition I hadn't seen before. He said nothing at first, but I could see it in his eyes: this was no ordinary problem. A heavy silence filled the room as we both stared at the cursed object between us.
"I think it's time we deal with this," I said quietly, my voice cutting through the weight of the moment.
Nicholas blinked at the Diary, then at me, as if trying to process how I had just casually pulled out one of the darkest magical artifacts in existence like it was a slightly overdue library book. "You brought a Horcrux into my lab," he said slowly, tone wavering between disbelief and incredulous admiration. "Of course you did. Why wouldn't you?" He ran a hand over his face, muttering something in French I was fairly certain wasn't polite.
After a moment of collecting himself, he gave a resigned sigh and gestured for me to follow. Before stepping after him, I tucked the Diary back into my storage. There was no way I was walking through even one hallway of this place with that cursed thing out in the open—not until we were surrounded by wards thick enough to make the Dark Lord himself hesitate. "Come on, then. If we're going to poke at this nightmare, we might as well do it somewhere heavily warded."
He led me down to an ancient chamber beneath the château, the air thick with age and magic. The walls were carved with runes so old they felt as much a part of the stone as the stone itself, humming with layered protections even I couldn't fully decipher.
"So," Nicholas said casually as we descended the narrow spiral staircase, "how's school? Set any more professors on fire?"
"Not this month," I replied, giving him a crooked grin. "Though I did accidentally spin a Bludger so hard it started avoiding me like it owed me money."
He chuckled, shaking his head. "And Hermione? Still the voice of reason to your chaos?"
"Naturally," I said. "Though she's recently upgraded to Chief Disapproving Officer. Apparently, she doesn't think replacing sleep with magical caffeine elixirs counts as a healthy lifestyle."
"Mm. Sensible girl," Nicholas mused. Then, with a more pointed glance, he added, "And how exactly did this... Horcrux end up in your possession, Sky?"
I exhaled slowly, scratching the back of my neck. "It was a late coming-of-age gift. From Lucius Malfoy. I don't think he realized what it was—or maybe he did and just didn't care. Either way, I figured it was safer with me than floating around in the hands of people with... questionable priorities. So I kept it hidden and started poking at it. You know. As one does."
Nicholas gave himself a slow, deliberate facepalm, dragging his hand down his face with an exasperated sigh. "Sky," he said flatly, "there are times I think the universe bends to your brand of lunacy—and then you tell me things like this."
I grinned unapologetically. "What can I say? I'm a trendsetter in magical catastrophes."
"understatement of the year." Nicholas muttered under his breathe.
As we walked into the chamber, I took the diary out of my inventory. I found myself reflecting on the Diary's behavior—not based on anything it was doing now, but based on what I knew from canon. Its sentience wasn't theoretical. In fact, seeing its current reaction, it looks like a certainty.
It wasn't reacting to me anymore like I was the one poking at it. No, compared to its previous compulsions it used to emit, now it was vibrating almost akin to a tremble. Almost like a cornered animal realizing it had been thrown into the den of a much larger predator.
There was something in Nicholas's lab it feared. Maybe it was the wards, maybe it was the sheer age of magical knowledge in the room… or maybe it was Nicholas himself. The way the Diary squirmed when we stepped foot inside the chamber—it wasn't subtle. If this thing had legs, I'm pretty sure it would've run for the hills and that reaction?
That spoke volumes. Until now, it had writhed from pride and arrogance, from a desire to control or manipulate. But now? It was terrified. I could feel it through the subtle pulses in the air. The sheer magical pressure in this place must've been unbearable for something like that.
I'd been thinking of it as dangerous, sure, but this moment crystallized it in a different way: this thing wasn't just malevolent, it was intelligent enough to know when it had been cornered. Arthur Weasley had said it best: "Never trust anything that can think for itself, if you can't see where it keeps its brain." Wise words to live by
I couldn't help but glance around, my mind noting every layered ward and containment rune. "You weren't exaggerating about the protections down here," I murmured.
"Nothing gets in or out without my say so," Nicholas replied, his tone serious now. "And today, that includes whatever darkness clings to that book."
We worked together in silence, checking each barrier, reinforcing where needed. The tension was thick enough to cut. When at last we stood ready, Nicholas broke the quiet. "How do you want to proceed?"