Malfoy's face turned red with anger, but he was speechless. His past actions were laid bare for all to see, and no one believed he didn't do it on purpose.
"A poor family can only raise such cheap tricks!"
Malfoy snorted coldly, gestured to his son, and the two quickly left.
"You shouldn't bother with him, Arthur. That guy is rotten to the core..."
said Hagrid, helping Mr. Weasley smooth out his robe while advising him.
Ginny Weasley, who had fallen, quickly went to pick up the books scattered all over the ground, including a set Harry had given her—
The complete set of books published by Lockhart, unreasonably expensive, enough to empty the Weasley family's vault just to buy one.
The Weasley Brothers and Harry helped her pick up the books, and soon they were all gathered. Then, a stranger's hand passed her an old textbook, asking, "Is this the last one?"
"I think it is... Thank you."
Ginny quickly took it, feeling a little upset that she could only use such old things.
She suddenly realized the voice seemed unfamiliar, and looking up, she saw an unknown boy.
"You are..."
"Vid?" Harry said happily, "You also came to buy books today?"
"Yeah," Vid said naturally, "I heard today is the release of Lockhart's new book. I'm curious about this adventurer."
"What adventurer?" Ron retorted, "He's just a boastful peacock!"
"Don't talk nonsense!" Hermione immediately countered, "Have you read his books? Gilderoy Lockhart often goes to desolate places for adventures and deals with the most dangerous creatures!"
Ron's mouth slowly fell open, looking at Hermione, who was the spitting image of his mother, as if he had seen a dragon dancing.
"Wake up, Hermione. Can't you see it from a glance? He's just a pretty boy!" Ron shouted incredulously.
His words made many Lockhart fans around glare at him, and if he weren't a kid, they would have probably beaten him up.
Hermione was also very angry: "Don't slander him! Mr. Gilderoy Lockhart is a very brave person! He can even defeat werewolves single-handedly!"
Mentioning "werewolf," Harry's expression became a bit unnatural. He quickly interrupted: "Alright, stop arguing about this. Vid, have you got all your books?"
"Yes, I'm ready to head back." Vid waved his hand: "See you at school."
...
Steven took Vid home before leaving, and when Vid opened the door, he found the house empty and quiet.
He knew the Greys were organizing their company employees for overtime to complete an urgent order, so he wasn't surprised not to see them.
Returning to his bedroom, Vid took out a pen case and lightly tapped it with his magic wand.
This level of application wouldn't trigger the Ministry of Magic's trace detection.
The pen case unfolded in layers, then transformed into the shape of a suitcase.
Vid opened it, and the bottom of the suitcase contained several boxes of various sizes, with only one of them holding something.
He opened a flat box and took out a black notebook.
It was a very old diary, with a faded cover dating back fifty years. Opening the first page, a blurry name could be seen:
Tom Marvolo Riddle.
In his eyes, a layer of the same name also appeared on top of the notebook.
Vid picked up a pen and wrote a line on it:
"It is not our abilities that determine who we are, but what we choose to do with them."
The line of text flashed on the paper and was then absorbed, disappearing without a trace.
Soon, new text appeared on the paper:
"It has been a long time since I met someone who shares my thoughts; I guess you must be a talented young wizard."
The text flashed, then disappeared, and a new line appeared on the paper:
"However, people like us often do not get understood or recognized. I was very lonely once; are you like that too?"
—Sorry, I have no intention of talking heart-to-heart with you.
Without hesitation, Vid stuffed the notebook back into the box.
When the lid was closed, the Magic Rune Chain began to wander over it, wrapping around it like vine-like patterns, finally fixing in place.
Place the notebook as far from the diadem as possible.
Even though both soul artifacts were tightly sealed in boxes with masking spells, Vid still felt a sense of urgency.
—I need to find a way to solve these soul artifacts... at least get rid of one...
To prevent them from influencing each other, causing some sort of magical resonance and escaping from their confinement.
...
At six in the evening, the Greys finally returned home, bringing back two boxes of pizza from a nearby restaurant.
"Rushed orders are so troublesome; if it weren't for a longtime client, I wouldn't have paid for this overtime."
Ferdinand said as he loosened his tie, "Vid, have you been waiting long? Why didn't you watch some TV?"
"I read a bit; today at Diagon Alley, I got new textbooks."
Vid helped his mother with her coat, hanging it on the rack.
Ferdinand placed a briefcase on the table, saying, "This is what you wanted... Vid, use it well, don't get yourself into danger."
"I understand, Dad," Vid said.
"What is it?" Fiona asked curiously, "I asked your dad on the way, but he kept refusing to say."
Vid chuckled and said, "It's magical materials required by the school, like fly eyes or toad eggs. Do you want to see?"
He pretended to open the box, and Fiona immediately jumped behind her husband, closing her eyes and shouting:
"No, no, no, don't open it! It'll give me nightmares!"
Ferdinand tapped his son's head, and Vid gave a mischievous grin.
After dinner, he returned to his bedroom and opened the briefcase.
The small case was filled with personal resumes, featuring photos, names, characteristics, and family members' basic information, along with a transparent specimen collection bag holding three or four strands of hair.
Ferdinand collected these "magical materials" for him, mostly from prison inmates, some looking very dangerous just from their appearance, while others seemed harmless.
Some came from barbershops or hospitals, and the people in the photos were men, women, the elderly, and children.
Gathering hair is easy, but collecting comprehensive information about the hair owner is challenging, especially when you can't hire someone else to do this crucial task.
Ferdinand spent a long time collecting this much bit by bit. As for the Polyjuice Potion, Vid brewed a large batch last term.
Even Dumbledore couldn't tell apart someone who used Polyjuice Potion, as Barty Crouch had already proven.