The words Sean wrote in the diary quickly faded, as if swallowed by the pages. As his text vanished, a new line appeared where he had written.
"You're not Ginny. Who are you? How do you know my name?"
Seeing the diary's response, a mischievous grin spread across Sean's face. He picked up his quill and wrote another line.
"My name is Albus Dumbledore!"
"…"
The diary fell silent, as if startled.
Sean sat quietly in his chair, waiting for the diary's reply.
After a long pause, new words slowly appeared.
"You're not Dumbledore! Who are you really?"
"Heh, you saw through me."
"You can't deceive the great Voldemort!"
"Oh? So you're dropping the act already? Not pretending anymore?"
"Since you've called me Tom, you clearly know who I am. There's no point in keeping up the pretense."
Sean looked at the diary, thought for a moment, and wrote, "Fine, I don't mind telling you my real identity. I'm Draco Malfoy. You must be familiar with the Malfoy name, right?"
"You're Lucius's son?"
"That's right, it's me." As he wrote this, Sean smirked.
"I don't believe it. I don't believe that fool Lucius would dare disobey my orders, send me to Hogwarts, and then let you come into contact with me."
"Believe it or not, that's up to you."
The diary was one of Voldemort's Horcruxes, but Lucius didn't know that. He only knew it was something important to Voldemort, likely a dark magical artifact.
If Voldemort were still around, Lucius wouldn't have dared, even with a hundred times the courage, to slip the diary into the Weasley girl's old books and let her bring it to Hogwarts. But in Lucius's mind, Voldemort had been defeated by Harry Potter. Recently, the Ministry of Magic, led by the Weasleys, had been cracking down on dark artifacts, with Malfoy Manor as a primary target. Lucius couldn't risk keeping the diary at home.
Moreover, Lucius had lately noticed the diary's growing influence, strong enough that even the house-elves sensed something was off. He couldn't keep it any longer.
Once in Ginny's hands, the diary had been subtly manipulating and controlling her, gradually bending her to its will and setting its plans in motion. Now, it had fallen into the hands of someone claiming to be Draco Malfoy, a Slytherin. The diary didn't fully believe the name, but one thing was certain: this person was cunning and bold—definitely a Slytherin!
"Whether you're Draco Malfoy or not makes no difference to me. What matters is this: do you want power? Do you want to rise above others? If you do, I can help you!"
Ginny lacked a true friend, so the diary had approached her with care and understanding, slowly gaining control. Now, in the hands of this self-proclaimed Draco Malfoy, an unknown Slytherin wizard, the diary shifted tactics, appealing to ambition and power. In its view, no Slytherin could resist the allure of strength and influence.
Admittedly, the diary's approach was simplistic, but Sean did crave power and influence. Only with them could he protect himself and shape his future as he desired.
Unfortunately for the diary, Sean didn't trust it one bit. His plan was to extract every bit of knowledge he could from it, then find a way to discard it. The Chamber of Secrets had to be opened as part of his plan, but he'd ensure someone else did the deed.
"Power and influence? What can a mere diary offer me in terms of power and influence?"
"With Knowledge and magic comes power. With power comes influence."
"So you're saying you can give me knowledge and magic?"
"I possess all of Voldemort's knowledge and magic. If you agree to my conditions, I'll share it all with you!"
A slight smile curved Sean's lips. This was exactly why he'd gone to such lengths to get the diary.
But those so-called conditions? Sean had no intention of agreeing to them.
"You're in no position to set conditions. Teach me some knowledge and magic first. Once I'm sure there's no catch, then we can talk about your terms."
"Impossible!"
"Very possible. If you don't agree, I'll flush you down a boys' toilet. I bet you'd love that environment, wouldn't you?"
"You dare threaten the great Voldemort!"
"I don't know how great Voldemort is, but you're just a diary that can't even move. As long as I'm not swayed by your manipulations, you're at my mercy."
When Sean wrote those words, the diary fell silent.
Seeing its silence, Sean sat quietly, waiting for a response.
After a long while, words slowly appeared on the page.
"I can agree to provide some knowledge and magic first, but you must give me a deadline. Otherwise, I'd rather—rather be flushed down a toilet."
Sean smiled at the text and wrote with his quill, "One month. For one month, you must answer all my questions fully and honestly."
"Fine."
"Great, then. Happy cooperation!"
After writing that, Sean snapped the diary shut, ignoring its calls, and slipped it into his pocket.
He wouldn't carry the diary with him or keep it in his room. Its ability to manipulate was too dangerous, and he wouldn't let his guard down. Instead, he planned to store it in the Room of Requirement, in a room only he could access. He'd visit it there when he needed to communicate, avoiding any potential trouble.