Hey y'all! How's everyone doing? It's a brand new year and that means a new chapter! Apologies for the delay, I wanted to try and get this chapter out last year but I kinda lost motivation for it and it felt like a slog just trying to at least finish the outline for it. So I decided to take a step back, focus on some other stuff first, and then come back later once I had renewed vigor. Anyways, this chapter focuses on Seth's first interaction with the notebook so I hope it lives up to whatever expectations you may have for it. Hope you also enjoy the chapter as well!

Like always, I enjoy any comments, except for those that are just full of negativity and not constructive at all. Just give me something to work with instead of just "It's bad." I also appreciate any positive constructive criticism since I'm always looking to improve my writing and storytelling capabilities.

Thanks for reading this story! Virtual hugs and cuddles to y'all.

Disclaimer: I still do not own anything except any OC's that may come up, any world building that has not yet been officially stated by the books or movies, and any plot points/structures that have not been used in the books or movies.

Warning: No beta, we die like Stingbulbs.

Chapter 4: The Therapy Notebook

XXXXXX

For the rest of the week, their classes went about as well as expected. Harry never did seek out Lockhart and spent his spare time dodging the professor as best as he could. So far, he was succeeding with the help of Seth, Ron, and a reluctant Hermione. But knowing his track record, his luck was bound to run out soon.

Potions was the same as usual but Snape seemed to be unusually subdued in his hostile attitude towards Harry, choosing to ignore his existence outright instead of constantly antagonizing him like last year. The Gryffindor's were all waiting for the other shoe to drop while the Slytherin's were wondering who this stranger was and why they were pretending to be their cantankerous head of house. Draco looked particularly sour-faced but that could just be because Hagrid finally convinced the boy to join him for a cup of tea at his hut. It seemed to have some positive upsides though given what Seth saw when he happened to catch sight of the Slytherin leaving the hut just before curfew began.

The Hufflepuffs seemed glad that Snape was toning it down a notch. Apparently there was a long standing bet within the house where the winner would be whoever managed to figure out a way to melt the potion professor's icy exterior. The Ravenclaws could give less of a shit as long as it didn't affect the quality of his lessons which it definitely did not.

Charms was fun but somewhat boring in the beginning since Flitwick wanted to use the first few classes as a refresher course for last year's work. They spent half the class time redoing wand movements and the other half practicing last year's charms before they would be allowed to move on.

There were no more flying lessons given, now changed into a free period for studying and were otherwise completely voluntary for those who wanted to try out for the Quidditch teams.

History of magic was the same old, same old. It was still a great time to catch up on sleep or homework though mostly it was spent gossiping about Lockhart. Most girls were still enamored, some guys were now skeptical, and others were downright critical.

Astronomy was the only reprieve they had now funnily enough considering how late the class was and how everyone had gotten used to sleeping in during the summer. But Seth would always feel a pang of homesickness whenever he looked up at the stars. Then it would go away as quickly as it appeared when he remembered what his family had done and would feel the sting of betrayal all over again.

The others were quick to learn not to question him anymore when he got into those brooding moods and while grateful, Seth couldn't help but wish he had someone to talk to about his problems. Someone who could understand and sympathize without treating him with pity or kiddie gloves.

If only there was some magical object or something that could act as a makeshift therapist. Surely he wasn't the only person out there in the wizarding world who wanted someone to talk to but couldn't find or trust anyone enough so they decided to make their own. Now there was an idea worth looking into. He'll need to do some research tomorrow but if he couldn't find a magical therapist, then he'll just have to make his own.

XXXXXX

Seth was seated in the library, reading through a giant stack of books while Michael Goldstein and Anthony Corner did their homework next to him. They sat in the middle of one of the many long tables with Draco sitting nearby at one end of the table and Hermione and the Patil twins seated nearby at the other end.

You may be wondering why in the world Seth "Allergic to Books" Sorenson was in the library on a fine Saturday morning. The answer to that would be research. After the idea of making a magical therapist settled into his brain, Seth was committed to doing research on the subject. He'd grabbed every related book on the subject no matter how vague the relation may be and read through them with a fine tooth comb but so far, no dice.

He closed the overly large tome in front of him as gently as he could since, despite his frustration, he didn't want to summon the irate fury of Madam Pince so early. He looked over to Draco who was heavily engrossed in his potions homework and scooted his chair over to him.

"Hey Draco," he said as quietly as he could.

Draco startled at the sudden call out and glared at Seth. "What?" He quietly snapped.

"Just wondering what you're doing," Seth asked, unbothered by the other's hostility.

Draco scowled. "My potions assignment, obviously."

"So how was your talk with Hagrid?"

His scowl deepened. "Excuse me?"

"Your talk with Hagrid," Seth repeated, "Did it go well? At least, I assumed it did since I've seen you visit the hut a few times this week."

Draco blushed and snapped at him again. "That's none of your business!"

Seth grinned and held his hands up in surrender. "Alright, alright. I'll back off…for now."

Draco glared darkly at him before pointedly dropping his gaze back onto his textbook. Seth snickered, amused by the tsundere behavior the Slytherin was exhibiting. He scooted his chair back just as Michael dramatically gave up on his assignment by banging his head onto his textbook as quietly as he could.

"I. Give. Up," he said in between each bang.

Seth wondered if the Ravenclaw had finally gone off the deep end. "Uhhh…you okay there?"

"No," Michael said, voice muffled slightly from where his face was pressed into the pages of his book. "No, I am not," he declared with the surety of one declaring they were dying from an incurable disease.

Seth looked to Draco who sneered at Michael before returning his attention to his textbook, completely ignoring Seth who only shrugged and took no offense. He turned to Anthony who was patting Michael sympathetically on the back.

"He was trying to do Lockhart's assignment," Anthony said upon Seth's questioning gaze.

"Try being the key word here," Michael said, lifting his head up long enough to explain, "I barely even filled three inches on my parchment for a ten inch assignment on ghouls."

"Three inches?" Seth asked in bewilderment, "But there are so many books on ghouls here." He waved at the numerous shelves of books that surrounded them.

Michael groaned and dropped his head back down again.

"Lockhart wants us to only use his textbooks for reference," Anthony explained.

Michael lifted his head up again to say, "Which makes this assignment practically impossible given his sorry excuse of a textbook."

Seth winced in sympathy. "That's rough buddy."

Michael sighed and shook his head. "What about you? What's Lockhart got the Gryffindor's doing?"

Seth hesitated, not knowing if it was a good idea to answer that question truthfully but decided there was no point in lying either. "Nothing actually."

Both Michael and Anthony looked at him incredulously. "Wait, what?!" They both cried out.

Madam Pince suddenly appeared to shush them. The two Ravenclaws sheepishly shut their mouths and sank into their chairs. When she finally left with a warning glare, Michael immediately leaned over to where Seth sat next to him, grabbed him by the shoulders, and shook him.

"What do you mean nothing?!" He whisper shouted at him.

"Exactly that. He didn't give us an assignment," Seth answered, pushing Michael's hands off of him.

"What about you, Malfoy? What're the Slytherins doing?" Anthony asked.

Draco didn't even bother looking up from his book as he answered, "Our assignment is to read 'Voyages with Vampires' and write a ten inch essay on why he was able to achieve the feats in it."

Michael cursed lowly under his breath. Seth raised an eyebrow, impressed by the wide array of vocabulary the other was using.

"I wonder if every house got a different assignment," Seth voiced curiously.

Anthony hummed thoughtfully. "Well I did hear from Hannah that the Hufflepuffs just had to read 'Marauding with Monsters' in preparation for a pop quiz in their next class. I also overheard a bunch of fourth and fifth years talking about how it seems like each year in each house got a different assignment as well but it looks like your class was the only one that didn't get an assignment."

Michael peered curiously at him. "Why's that?"

Seth tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Well…did Lockhart do anything special during your class?"

Michael gave him a strange look while Anthony shook his head. "No, he only gave us the most narcissistic pop quiz to ever exist and then proceeded to lecture about himself for the rest of the hour because-"

"None of us read the books well enough and he is greatly disappointed in us all especially since we're Ravenclaws and should know books like the back of our hands," Michael finished sarcastically. He clicked his tongue in distaste. "Just because we're Ravenclaws doesn't mean we only have our heads stuck in a book. All the knowledge in the world means nothing if we can't even apply it practically."

"Hear, hear," Anthony dryly said.

"I mean, look at my notebook for his class," Michael said, holding up said notebook which was practically empty save for a few lines, "There's hardly any notes in here."

"What did he do with your class?" Anthony asked Seth.

"Well he did start off with a pop quiz but instead of lecturing about himself, he gave us a," he used his fingers to make air quotes, "Practical lesson on cornish pixies."

Michael snorted in disbelief. "Cornish pixies? You're not pulling my leg are you?"

"No, it's true," Seth said, "He pulled out this cage that was full of them and then proceeded to open the cage door and release all the pixies inside without warning."

Anthony and Michael gaped in shock. Even Draco looked up from his textbook to stare at Seth in surprise.

"Did he at least teach you all the basics on cornish pixies and how to combat them? Even though they're not dangerous, they're still classified as trickster beasts," Anthony asked.

Seth laughed like he'd just told a funny joke before he deadpanned. "No."

"That's completely mad!" Michael exclaimed.

Anthony nodded in agreement. "The more I hear about Lockhart's classes and methods, the more I'm coming to the conclusion that his class is a waste of time."

"Yeah. His class is even more of a joke than Quirrell's was," Michael added.

"Now you're just preaching to the choir here, man," Seth jokingly said.

Michael dropped his head into his hands with a groan. "I can't believe I'm saying this but if Lockhart keeps offering nothing of substance, I might actually start skipping his class."

Then he dramatically closed his textbook with a soft thud that thankfully didn't attract Madam Pince's attention. "And I give up on this stupid assignment. Honestly, how does he expect us to get enough information for our essay when there's barely any useful information on ghouls let alone on how to subjugate them!"

Hermione sniffed haughtily and closed her book with a loud enough thud to attract the boy's attention. "Obviously you can't complete the assignment because you're reading the textbook wrong," she boldly declared.

The boys looked at her incredulously, so stunned by her statement that even Draco turned to her in surprise.

"Excuse me? Did I hear you right?" Michael asked, looking at her as if she grew two heads and started tap dancing on the table.

She scoffed with an air of superiority that was very much unlike her usual book-wormish know-it-all demeanor. "And it seems you have hearing problems as well. I said that you're reading it wrong."

He scowled and crossed his arms defiantly. "And I say I'm not. These books are utterly useless nonsense and don't even qualify to be a textbook at all!"

"You take that back!" She retorted with a passion that stunned the boys again, "Professor Lockhart is a very knowledgeable man and he clearly explains everything there is to know about ghouls in chapter 13 and how to subjugate them in chapter 17."

Michael held up his copy of 'Gadding with Ghouls' and flipped to said chapters to show that they were only a handful of pages long each and made up about six percent of the whole book. "You're kidding me, right? You expect me to write a ten inch essay based on eight pages of large font information?" He asked, shaking the book to emphasize his point.

Parvati looked at him disdainfully and decided to add her two knuts. "There's other information about ghouls expertly sprinkled throughout the book in cleverly written anecdotes. As Hermione said, you clearly haven't been reading it as well as you should."

Padma nodded vigorously in agreement. "You're going to give Ravenclaw a bad reputation if you can't even read textbooks properly, Michael, Anthony."

Said two Ravenclaws gaped at the twins in shock for their cheek. Seth had to mentally applaud the trio of girls for being able to keep a straight face despite the utter nonsense coming out of their mouths.

Michael jumped up from his seat in outrage. "Excuse me?! You-"

Madam Pince suddenly appeared to shush Michael and he sheepishly sat back down with a whispered apology. She nodded slowly and walked away after giving him one last glare of warning.

Once she was gone, Michael leaned forward over the table to hiss at the girls. "If anyone's going to give Ravenclaw a bad reputation, it'll be you and your obsession with Lockhart."

Padma gasped, offended that he would dare make such an accusation. "We do not have an obsession with Professor Lockhart. We just happen to appreciate his vast knowledge."

"And if he happens to be attractive, well that's just the cherry on top," Parvati added slyly.

The twins and Hermione giggled together with maidenly blushes on their cheeks and started gossiping about how great Professor Lockhart was and all the amazing things he'd done. Michael and Anthony shook their heads, clearly knowing a hopeless cause when they saw one.

"Wow," Seth couldn't help but say in amazement, "I knew the girls had some sort of a fan crush on Lockhart but this? This is something else entirely."

Anthony and Michael both nodded solemnly in agreement.

"I also can't believe that Hermione of all people just defended Lockhart considering her love for accurate and factual knowledge is legendary," Anthony said.

Michael snorted at the understatement. "Yeah. Pretty sure she absolutely loathes bad professors. She just barely tolerates Binns on a good day."

Anthony looked to the girls in concern then to other girls in the library who were giggling, no doubt talking about Lockhart. "But it's not just her who's acting like this. Most of the girls and some of the boys in the school are fawning over Lockhart like he's the next coming of Merlin!"

"There's gotta be some form of compulsion or charm magic going on here," Seth theorized.

"More like dark magic if you ask me," Michael said, shaking his head. He turned to Draco and called out to him. "Oi! You wouldn't happen to know anything that could do," he waved at the girls still giggling over Lockhart, "This, do you?"

Draco scowled and glared sharply at him. "What makes you think I know?"

"Because you're a Slytherin," he stated, matter of fact.

Draco's scowled deepened. "So just because I'm a Slytherin, the house said to produce all of the dark wizards in history, that must mean I know all there is to know about dark magic?" He sarcastically asked.

Michael looked at him as if he were stupid. "No? It's because Slytherins' are supposed to be cunning and efficient right? That must mean you know all sorts of different magic that could be used to gain influence over someone."

"Also, whoever said Slytherin is the house that produced all the dark wizards in history is obviously a moron and also doesn't remember that Merlin, the greatest wizard of all time, was also a Slytherin," Anthony couldn't help but add.

Draco was completely taken aback by their words. "Oh…"

"So?" Michael prodded again.

Draco took a moment to gather his thoughts and think before shaking his head. "No. I don't know anything beyond cursed artifacts or love potions that could make anyone act like this."

"Well I didn't see anything that could be an artifact on Lockhart and I don't think he'd be able to sneak love potion to that many students," Seth remarked thoughtfully, "I know that there has to be something that could affect people like this since there's no way there isn't but Lockhart doesn't seem like the type of guy who can come up with something like that himself."

Draco snorted derisively. "You're right about that. That useless fool of a man is a complete and utter narcissistic waste of space."

The boys chuckled at his biting words though their laughter soon died when they realized the girls were all glaring bloody murder at them with their hands in their robe pockets, no doubt grabbing hold of their wands.

"Oh shit," Seth said, perfectly summarizing the current mood and situation.

"You take that back, Malfoy," Padma spat out venomously.

Draco scoffed "And why should I?"

"Because you're full of it, obviously," Parvati retorted.

"But I'm not," Draco rebuked.

"Yes, you are," Padma stated firmly.

Draco frowned and crossed his arms. "No, I am not!"

Then Seth, Michael, and Anthony were given front row seats to a 'yes, you are, no I'm not,' argument between Draco and the Patil twins. Imaginary popcorn was soon to be had.

"Mate, this is like something out of a comedy flick," Michael remarked in amusement.

"Right? I never thought I'd see a 'yes, you are, no I'm not' argument in real life," Anthony said, watching the proceedings with fascination.

"Well this is Hogwarts," Seth dryly remarked, "Stranger things have happened."

The Ravenclaw boys nodded wisely in agreement then their attention returned to the girls when Hermione finally stepped in.

"You take that back right now, Draco Malfoy!" She somehow managed to screech quietly enough to not draw Madam Pince's attention.

"I don't think I will," Draco haughtily stated with his nose in the air.

Instead of jinxing him like the others thought she would, Hermione merely huffed and started packing up her things. "Come on Padma, Parvati. It seems these boys are insistent on being stubborn and ignorant."

The twins immediately followed her example and started packing as well.

"You're right," Padma agreed, "If they don't want our help and want to continue to slander Professor Lockhart, I think we should leave."

Parvati glared at them. "You should consider yourselves lucky that we're in the library else we would've jinxed you for your rudeness."

Draco rolled his eyes but smartly didn't say anything in response.

Seth, Anthony, and Michael sadly put their imaginary popcorn away.

Once they were packed, the girls stormed off in a huff. As they left, Hermione's heavy book bag managed to smack the table hard enough to knock over and spill an open bottle of ink. The boys all jumped up and squawked immediately in response.

"Oh shoot! Anthony, save the books! I'll get the parchment!"

"Got it!"

"Crap, my books!"

The boys scrambled to save their stuff from meeting an inky end. Fortunately, they managed to get everything clear of the dark puddle though some ink still managed to spill down the table and into Seth's open bag.

"Oh come on," Seth whined.

Draco was at least seated far enough away from them that the smack nor the ink affected him. But he did start packing his things up with a scowl.

"Hey! Where're you going?" Seth couldn't help but ask.

"Away from here," Draco said curtly. As he left, he grumbled, "Never should've gotten involved in the first place. It's all Sorenson's fault."

Seth sighed as he watched Draco leave the library in a huff. Then he looked back mournfully at his ink stained bag. Today was just not his day.

He crouched down to check his books and saw ink staining them though he clocked how the notebook, which he'd completely forgotten about to be honest, seemed suspiciously clean tucked in between ink stained textbooks. He pulled it out and opened it, gasping quietly when he saw how the pages seemed to absorb the ink, leaving unstained blank pages behind.

He stared at the notebook in shock, wondering what he'd just witnessed. Then his attention was drawn away when Michael tapped him on the shoulder.

"If you'd like, I can show you a charm to get the ink stains out of your stuff. It works on other stains too."

Seth mentally shook his head and made a note to check on the notebook later. He smiled at Michael and nodded appreciatively.

"That'd be great. Thanks!"

XXXXXX

Late in the night, once Seth was sure everyone had gone to bed and actually fallen asleep, he carefully pulled the notebook out of his bag and examined it as thoroughly as possible.

He tilted it this way and that way, closely eyeing the surface of the cover for any hidden inscriptions. He thumbed through the pages just to make sure there wasn't anything written on them but blank parchment was the only thing that greeted him. He then carefully checked it for magical traps or charms or jinxes or just general danger but there didn't seem to be anything malevolent about it.

The only sensation he got was the same as before - dark magic that was similar to binding vows and contracts with something extra that he couldn't quite place a name on. He figured that as long as he didn't have to sign anything or give some blood, the magic of the notebook shouldn't be active or harmful.

He turned the notebook pages back to the front and briefly wondered what he should do now. The only step next for him to take was to actually start writing in it so he just shrugged and pulled out a pen because no way was he going to write with a quill and ink on his bed.

Dear Diary he began to write, pausing for a moment as he thought about what to actually write.

First off, I just want to say that I've never written in a diary before and think this is stupid. How do people believe this is actually helpful?

He paused for another moment, waiting to see what would happen next. He watched in fascinated alarm when the ink disappeared and words appeared across the page in response.

If you think this is stupid and unhelpful, why are you writing in the first place?

Seth watched as the response disappeared and waited for something else to happen. When nothing did, he inspected the book again but found no shifts in magic nor any indication to show why the notebook actually responded. He decided to try writing like he was having a conversation with a person instead.

Hello?

Hello.

He blinked in bewilderment before shrugging and deciding why the hell not? A talking notebook? Totally a thing.

New phone, who dis?

I…do not quite understand what it is you are asking. Your grammar and spelling are atrocious and what in the world is a phone?

He hummed in thought. It seemed the notebook wasn't a recent creation, or at the very least, it hasn't had an owner from the current century.

Not important. Just curious, what year is it?

Very well then? As for the year, it is 1943.

Seth whistled lowly. This notebook was old. 1940s? He was pretty sure Grandpa and Grandma were just kids back then.

Wow, you're a really old notebook. It's already the 21st century.

Really? How fascinating. Though I would hope that with the years that have passed, manners would still be something that is taught.

He chuckled at the notebook's attitude and wrote down a response.

You're pretty sarcastic for a notebook.

I am merely pointing out something that should be considered basic manners. It is common courtesy to introduce yourself when you speak, or I suppose write in this case, to someone for the first time, is it not?

Fair enough I guess. My name's Seth Sorenson, a second year at Hogwarts. Nice to meet you.

It's a pleasure to meet you Seth. I have no name but my previous owner was named Tom Marvolo Riddle.

Seth snorted and wrote his response with a grin.

Did this kid's parents hate him or something? The hell kind of name is that?

I would not know as I am merely a notebook.

Haha. Forget sarcastic. You're a sassy notebook.

I aim to please.

Well I can't just call you notebook all the time so do you mind if I call you Tom after your previous owner?

Feel free to do so.

Alright then, nice to meet you Tom.

Likewise. I have a question if you don't mind answering.

Hit me.

Excuse me?

It means go ahead.

Ah…very well then, are you American by chance?

He looked at the notebook in surprise.

Yeah actually. How'd you know?

Only a yankee would write with such atrocious grammar. Also your turn of phrases sound like something only an American would say.

Lol, is that supposed to be an insult?

No, merely an observation.

Alright then, since I answered one question from you, mind if you answer one from me?

Not at all. Go ahead.

What exactly are you? I mean I know you're an enchanted notebook and all but what kind of enchanted notebook? Why were you created? How were you created? What's your purpose?

Seth waited patiently as the notebook took a moment to formulate its response.

This notebook was originally created to be a diary where one could confide all of their secrets which would then be erased when written so one need not worry about leaving anything incriminating behind to be found and used against them by those who hold ill intent.

Okay. From what I've sensed regarding some of the spell work, I can totally buy that.

Immediately a response popped up as soon as the ink disappeared. It was as if the notebook was surprised.

You can sense the spell work that was used? How are you able to do that? How much can you sense? What-

Seth blinked in surprise at the rapid fire writing and slashed a large X across the page to get the notebook to stop. Once it did, he quickly wrote on the page before it could start up again.

Woah! Hold on there. Let's put a cap on that for a moment, yeah?

Oh! My apologies. I didn't mean to come across as rude or disruptive.

He snorted, shaking his head at how the notebook managed to sound so sheepish despite not having a voice. Its personality also reminded him of Hermione which made him feel a little bitter about her abrupt change in attitude.

It's all good. I promise I'll answer your questions but I need to know something first.

Of course. Ask away. I am an open book after all.

Haha. The notebook's got jokes does it?

It certainly tries to.

Anyways, I get that you're a secret keeping diary but what's with the questions and answers? It feels more like I'm having a conversation with someone instead of writing in a diary that'll keep my secrets.

Again, the notebook paused to formulate its response.

My creator spent much time writing on my pages but only because he never had any true companions to speak with during his tenure at Hogwarts. Thus he decided if he could not have a companion in a person, why not have it in a book? This led him to research day and night until he finally found the correct spells and combination of them in order to add a degree of sentience to his diary and thus, I was born.

So basically what you're saying is the guy who first owned you was such a loner that he literally made friends with a book.

I suppose that's one way to put it.

I hope my friend never finds out what that guy did cause then she'll really never be able to get her head out of her books.

Unless your friend is willing to search in the deepest, darkest corners of the forbidden section of the library, then I don't believe you'll have much to worry about. Especially since I'm sure that many of those books have already been pulled from the shelves and burned in the years since my creation.

Explain.

Have you not sensed it?

No, no, I have. There's a degree of darkness permeated through the spell work on your pages that tells me that the dark arts were used to create you.

How perceptive of you. Yes, many dark charms were laid upon these pages but only because it isn't as if light inclined charms can do this sort of spell work without many required workarounds and even then, it won't achieve the desired effect that my creator intended.

Seth nodded since that was a perfectly logical explanation. Dark inclined magic was usually considered dark because spells and charms messed with or went against the natural laws of the world (or so those of the light inclined would declare like their form of magic didn't also do the same just in different ways). They were also usually created with the need for control or desire for power in mind. Even he could admit that some dark inclined magic should never have been created or used. But really, quite a few of them were usually handy shortcuts that those who were heavily light inclined would never dare to use as it would offend their self-righteous sensibilities.

He bitterly thought about Kendra and how she always tried to dictate how he got his results because his methods were too "dark inclined" even though he was literally a dark inclined magical being. Plus, it was all about the intent of the user after all. Even light inclined magic in the hands of someone with malicious intent could be considered evil.

Fair enough. I don't know much about the intricacies of spell work but many wizards and magical folk seem to despise and condemn the use of dark inclined magic even if it is used for useful purposes such as this notebook. And they also conveniently forget a spell is technically dark if they're the ones who use it as is the case with jinxes.

Indeed. Now that I have hopefully satisfactorily answered your questions, would you care to explain your magic sensing capabilities?

Seth shook his head. The notebook really did remind him of Hermione. (And deep down, it also reminded him of his sister. The first person he knew who had such a thirst for knowledge. After all, Hermione did remind him of Kendra the first time they met. But he didn't want to think about her fondly like that, not while he was still so angry and she still had yet to properly apologize.)

Maybe another night. I gotta hit the hay since it's pretty late.

Ah yes. Sleep is very important for a student such as yourself. We can postpone the conversation for another time. It's not as if I will be able to go anywhere.

Haha. But for sure, I'll be writing pretty often if you don't mind me ranting and complaining about things that bother me.

Not at all, that is what I am here for. To allow you to write down your secrets and thoughts while providing comfort. Anything you write and I respond with will be privy to you and you only. Even if someone else were to get a hold of me, part of the spell work will make sure to never reveal our conversations.

Awesome! Well, have a good night then Tom.

Good night to you as well Seth.

As the ink disappeared, Seth grinned to himself. This notebook was literally everything he'd hoped for and then some. And he didn't even need to research or do anything complicated for it!

In fact, he was so grateful to finally have someone to talk to about his thoughts and feelings, he didn't even think to remember how suspicious it had been for Mr. Malfoy to drop the notebook into Ginny's cauldron in the first place.

Didn't even think to remember what Mr. Weasley told them about how Mr. Malfoy was trying to get rid of dark artifacts that could incriminate and send him to prison and how the notebook might factor into that.

Didn't even feel the truly dark and forbidden magic hidden deep within the notebook that subtly reached out to latch onto his soul with the barest hint of a touch, as if it didn't want to alert him for fear that his sensing capabilities were stronger than it assumed.

Then eventually, it wouldn't care as that connection to his soul grew stronger and stronger until he would no longer be able to tell what were his own thoughts and feelings as opposed to the thoughts and feelings it wanted him to feel.

But that would be a problem for another time. For now, Seth was simply content and ready to truly start the year off right.

And scene! Man, this chapter was a real doozy to try and write. I had no clue how I was going to go about doing it then once I outlined it, I had no motivation to make sure it was actually the direction I wanted it to go before writing.

For the scene in the library with the girls' attitude towards Lockhart and such, I honestly have no clue where I'm going with that besides using it as a scene to show how obsessive and fangirly people are acting towards Lockhart and as a vehicle to get Seth to interact with the notebook. This scene may or may not be important in setting something up later but we'll see.

For the interaction with the notebook, I wanted to try and do lengthy conversation so we can see how relatable and charismatic Tom is that he'll be able to draw in and exert his influence on Seth. I know in the books we don't get too much insight into how Ginny ended up pouring her soul (literally and metaphorically) into the diary and we also don't know much about Ginny as a character in the second book anyways so here's me trying to fill in the gaps as much as possible with what little information I have.

Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and interactions regardless. Hopefully the next chapter won't take too long but no promises. Until then!