Draco immediately remembered the ancestor his father had mentioned a few days earlier.
Wait… hadn't she disappeared?
"Are you really Cassandra?" Draco wrote in the diary.
"Yes."
The delicate handwriting reappeared on the page.
"But… why?" Draco continued, intrigued. "How did you suddenly appear and start talking to me through this diary? Is this some kind of Dark Magic you created?"
"Isn't magic wonderful?" the elegant script replied.
Immediately below, two more lines appeared in quick succession:
"Tell me about yourself, my descendant. What is your relationship to Abraxas?"
"He was my grandfather. He has already passed away," Draco wrote.
His words faded after a moment. The diary fell silent long enough for Draco to begin feeling impatient, until the writing finally reappeared.
"Oh… that is truly unexpected."
"Time is cruel. When I left home, Abraxas was still just a child."
Draco watched the writing disappear once more. Excited, he quickly wrote again:
"Then you truly are my ancestor. I've heard many stories about how you suppressed the goblin rebellion and wiped out the Fire Serpent Faction a hundred years ago, but my father never told me the details. Could you tell me about it? I truly want to know the glory of my ancestors."
A very Malfoy-like child—obsessed with family prestige.
The diary remained silent for quite some time before responding:
"I'm sorry, my descendant. This diary exists only to record my research and discoveries in spellcraft. I cannot grant that request."
Draco felt a twinge of disappointment, but his eyes soon lit up at the phrase research and discoveries in spellcraft.
"Spell notes?" he scribbled quickly.
"Could you teach me, Ancestor? I know you were one of the most exceptional witches Hogwarts has ever seen. With your guidance, I'm certain I can defeat Harry Potter."
"Very well, my young one," the diary replied without hesitation.
"As long as you study spells diligently with me, defeating any Hogwarts student will be trivial."
Draco nearly jumped for joy.
In his mind, he could already see himself defeating Harry Potter and reigning supreme over Slytherin.
However…
"You must listen carefully. First, you must keep our existence an absolute secret. If this diary attracts greed and is stolen or taken away, I will no longer be able to teach you magic."
"Don't worry, Ancestor," Draco assured her at once.
"Additionally, I left several items within Hogwarts. Once you help me retrieve them, I will gladly share them with you."
"Items?" Draco frowned, unimpressed.
"It's been a hundred years. I doubt anything you left behind is still intact."
"The secrets of Hogwarts are far beyond your imagination, my descendant," the handwriting replied.
"No one has ever entered the place where those secrets are kept."
Draco hesitated.
"I don't think it's worth taking that risk…"
Before he could finish writing, his words vanished.
In their place, the delicate script appeared once again.
"Do not worry. Aren't you curious about Merlin's Secret Treasure hidden within that chamber?"
"What does it do?" Draco asked at once, thoroughly hooked.
"Have you never wondered why my magical abilities were so extraordinary?" the diary responded.
The mention of Merlin's Secret Treasure sent Draco's imagination racing.
"So… is it because of Merlin's Secret?!" he scribbled hurriedly.
"Yes, child," the diary replied.
"It is because of that treasure that my magic surpassed that of my peers."
Draco took a deep breath and wrote solemnly:
"I will help you, Ancestor."
What he failed to notice was that, as he communicated with the diary, a subtle current of magic flowed along his arm and slowly seeped into his mind.
Hogwarts was quieter than usual during the Christmas holidays, but it was far from deserted.
Under the guidance of Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick, the students who had remained at school were busy decorating the Great Hall with festive ornaments, filling the castle with holiday cheer.
Fred and George Weasley were teasing Percy, claiming the "P" on his badge did not stand for Percy, but for Prefect, prompting him to chase after them while brandishing a book.
"You can't boss prefects around today!" Fred shouted as he ran. "You're family today, you idiot!"
"Youth…" Dumbledore murmured from the High Table, wearing a hat adorned with flowers.
"I bet Dumbledore's gay," Ron whispered to Harry. "Just look at that hat… tsk, tsk."
"What?" Harry scratched his head. "You can't say that just because of a hat. And even if he were, who would someone as remarkable as him be interested in?"
Ron merely shrugged; it was more intuition than anything else.
Scabbers, his rat, was completely absorbed in the Christmas feast, enjoying the food in blissful peace.
"More importantly, mate," Ron said, "after dinner we're having a snowball fight. Fred and George said you absolutely have to come."
"I think we have something more important to do," Harry replied quietly. "Now that we have the Invisibility Cloak, why don't we explore the castle a bit more?"
"Brilliant idea!" Ron's face lit up, only to fall moments later. "But the cloak only works for one person."
"Don't worry," Harry chuckled. "I can turn invisible even without it."
Now accustomed to his eleven-year-old body, Harry's magic had recovered somewhat. At the very least, he could cast an Illusion Charm on himself without obvious side effects.
Just as Ron was about to reply, Hedwig hooted and flew in through the window.
"It's Hedwig," Ron said. "No wonder I hadn't seen her."
"She must have brought something for me," Harry said, holding out his hand to take the small box she carried.
"A Christmas present? From who?" Ron asked, leaning closer.
Harry examined the package. There was no note attached.
"No signature…" he muttered, opening it.
Inside was a small, crystal-clear glass vial.
Harry recognized it instantly.
Felix Felicis.
/------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------/
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