Chapter 32: Change
Pro had thoroughly prepared for his second year at school. He had already clearly decided not to fight the basilisk in any way. However, Pro still wanted to reduce the risk as much as possible. If possible, Pro wanted to turn the chances of encountering the basilisk to zero.
As for how to change this probability to zero, Pro had long decided on a solution to the problem, by solving it at the root cause. Although Pro didn't want to interfere with the plot too much because he wanted more quests, Pro was willing to change it if it it meant that he could have a safer school life. During the first year, it was nigh impossible for him to get rid of the philosopher's stone in any way, but there was a clear and easy target for his second year.
So, Pro made the secret decision to get rid of the main cause of danger for the second school year, Tom Riddle's diary. It was stupid to come into contact with a Horcrux, but it's better than letting it run wild.
Squeezing through the large crowd that was blocking the way into the bookstore, the four children barely managed to make it into the book store. Quickly grabbing a copy of their book, they scanned the long, winding line of people and located the Weasleys waiting with mommy Beatrice.
Of course, the most logical choice was made. Throw ethics out the window and use the power of family bonds to cut in line.
"Oh, there you are, good. We'll be able to see him in a minute..." the excited Mrs. Weasley said as she patted her hair in an attempt to make herself more prim and proper.
"My precious darling Pro, you're finally here. Mommy has saved you a spot. Mommy will go wait outside now, it's a bit too crowded in here and my precious baby Sarah may cry again," mommy Beatrice told Pro before squeezing her way out as she comforted the cute little Sarah.
"Well, glad my mother is not a fan of Lockhart," Pro mumbled softy as he glanced at all the winking and smiling photos of Lockhart that were decorating the signing area.
"What's that honey?" Mrs. Weasley's head snapped to look at Pro with a smile that made Pro's skin crawl.
"N-Nothing," Pro replied, "Just thinking about what a wonderful wizard Lockhart is."
"Right, right you are!" Mrs. Weasley nodded before turning her attention to stare back at the front.
Pro breathed a sigh of relief and glanced at the others. It seems that only Mrs. Weasley had the sharp senses to hear him. Even Hermione, who was next to him, didn't seem to hear him. Instead, her attention was fully focused on searching the crowd.
It didn't take long for the crowd's hype to boil because Lockhart finally took the stage. With a smile, the blue eyed, curly hair handsome man seated himself at the signing table. Flashes of a camera accompanied Lockhart's entrance, and it didn't take long for the cameraman to bump into poor Ron. No, why did it seemed that Ron was standing there to be bumped into on purpose?
However, Pro didn't have time to think further because Lockhart had already dived forward and held onto the thick thighs of Harry Potter. Pro quickly pulled Hermione back to join the crowd that had backed away to form a circle.
In the midst of the wafting smoke coming from the camera, Hermione frowned as she leaned over and whispered into Pro's ear, "I'm starting to believe what you said even more. He is clearly after Harry's fame."
"Well, that's who he is," Pro whispered back.
"I still can't believe that Dumbledore would make him our Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Quirrel was just brilliant last year. Now, with him, I guess it will be self study again this year," Hermione complained with a pout.
"Well, it's self study for you regardless of who teaches anyways," Pro replied with a chuckle.
"Brilliant. Self studying is good, I mean, I can simply learn what I want to learn. I guess I won't have to focus so much on Lockhart's book this year because they were simply adventure novels. I mean, they were interesting and there were some points for reference, but I can probably learn more from doing some light reading rather than reading those book."
"No, Hermione. You should read and remember his books. I bet all his tests will be based on his books, so you should know them to ace his tests. Well, this is a good thing. Look at it from a different perspective. If you do well and pretend to admire him, maybe we can easily get a free pass for the restricted section of the library," Pro suggested with a grin.
Blinking her eyes in silence for a moment, Hermione stared back at Pro before she muttered, "Right. Perspective. How come you didn't get sorted into Slytherin?"
"So, that I can be with you."
A blush arose on Hermione's face as she gave Pro a pinch with her hand, "Charming, Pro."
The duo's attention that turned back to Lockhart who presented Harry with a full set of his books. Then, they watched the disgusted Harry dump the books into Ginny's cauldron. Seeing a certain person, Hermione's eyes suddenly sharpened as she tightened her grip Pro's hand. She then pulled him and made their way over.
Pro clearly saw Draco Malfoy trying his best to get Harry's attention as always. The little Ginny's fierce fan-girl face also showed up as she defended Harry because she wanted Harry all to herself. As Pro and Hermione approached, Ron also jumped forward with an angry, red face.
Seeing Harry struggling to hold him back, Pro hurried forward and offered a helping hand. Mrs. Weasley also squeezed over with the twins as she hollered, "Ron! What are you doing? It's too crowded in here, let's go outside."
"Well, well, well ... Arthur Weasley."
Turning his attention towards the obnoxious voice, Pro was able to see the father of Draco Malfoy, Lucius Malfoy. Pro could also hear the progress sound for his quest in the background.
Pro ignored it for now and focused his attention of Lucius Malfoy's movements. However, before he could see Lucius do anything sneaky, Ron's father, Arthur Weasley, had already jumped forward to attack Lucius. Then, the crowd went crazy as the bookstore became a mess. Pro held on tightly to Hermione and pulled her into his embrace to prevent them from separating due to the stampeding crowd.
Hagrid surprisingly showed up just at the right moment to break up the fight. If he had stopped it moments earlier, then none of this mess would happen, but his timing was perfect.
Here, girl. Take your book ... it's the best your father can give you," Lucius growled as he tossed Ginny's book over.
Pro's eyes glinted. Even though he still didn't catch any clues, but he had the feeling that book was the key. He wasn't the only one with that feeling.
"Pro! That book! I think I saw Malfoy slip something in there," Hermione exclaimed in a soft voice as she gripped his hand.
Before Pro could respond, he could already see Hermione rushing forward.
"Here, let me help you," Hermione offered as she jumped in to help Ginny pick up her scattered books.
Hermione only got a glare in return from Ginny, who seemed to want Harry to help her pick up her books. Ignoring this, Hermione swiftly helped her and quickly got her hands on her goal.
Opening the book that Lucius Malfoy tossed back, Hermione pulled out a small, black book that was embedded in between. Turning to Ginny, she asked, "Ginny, is this yours?"
Seeing the black book, Ginny tilted her head before she shook her head, "No."
"It seems that someone must have dropped it during the mess earlier. I'll go hand it over to the bookstore so they can return it to its owner if they come looking for it," Hermione smoothly answered as she kept the black book and returned Ginny's book to her cauldron.
Under Ginny's confused gaze, Hermione hurriedly made her way back to Pro. She then reached out her hand and grabbed Pro's hand. Pro was then tugged by her out of the book store.
As soon as they left the crowded bookstore, Hermione pulled out the booklet and exclaimed in excitement, "Pro! I got it!"
Pro frowned as he stared at the book. Without hesitation, Pro reached into his bag and pulled out a wooden box he had prepared in his inventory. Opening the box, Pro quickly snatched the suspected Tom Riddle's diary from Hermione's hand and roughly threw it into the wooden box. Ignoring the quest completion prompt and slamming the lid on, Pro reached into his bag to pull out a hammer plus some nails from his inventory.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Bam! With swift movements, Pro nailed the wooden box shut as Hermione stared at him with her mouth gaping open.
"Done," Pro stated with a smile as he stared at the sealed wooden box.
Hermione stared back at Pro before she whispered, "Pro, is it really necessary to treat a book like this?"
"Yes. That's a dangerous dark magic item, it's much safer to seal it up," Pro replied.
Hermione glanced at the box before muttering, "Is it really? It looked like a normal diary of some sort to me. Perhaps we can read it, and maybe we can find out more?"
"No. It's dangerous," Pro firmly replied.
"What's dangerous?" a familiar voice came from behind Pro, causing him to jump.
Turning around, Pro found mommy Beatrice standing behind him as little Sarah stared at him and made a cute baby noise.
"Nothing Auntie Beatrice. We were just talking about how dangerous it was in the store when crowds were stampeding. Mr. Weasley and Mr. Malfoy had a fight," Hermione smoothly lied with a calm face as she stepped forward to hide the box under her.
Blinking his eyes, Pro stared at Hermione with queer eyes before he responded, "Yes, mother. That's right."
"What?! I was wondering why the crowds got messy in there. I thought they were excited over Lockhart and you tell me that there was a fight?! And Mr. Weasley? How can an adult be so impulsive? I honestly thought he was a polite gentleman besides the fact that he was overly enthusiastic," mommy Beatrice said with a frown.
"Well, the Malfoys provoked him. Just pure-blood conflicts, so you can't blame him when Malfoy is jumping all over his head," Pro replied with a wry smile.
"Well! The Malfoys are truly no good things. I remember that they were part of the death- never mind. It's good that you two are safe," mommy Beatrice stated with a sigh of relief before asking, "Did you two get all your books?"
"Oh! No," Hermione exclaimed before she tugged on Pro's hand, "We were too busy escaping from the stampede to get our books. Auntie Beatrice, will you wait for us for a bit longer?"
"It's alright, Hermione darling. Auntie Beatrice can wait. Take your time to get your books, and stay safe," mommy Beatrice nodded before she walked away while talking to little Sarah, "My baby Sarah, let's go wait over there. Your older brother wants to spend more time with his little girlfriend. We shouldn't disturb them ..."
With a faint blush, Hermione breathed a sigh of relief and turned to see Pro looking at her with weird eyes, "What? Why are you staring at me like that?"
"My Hermione's lying skills are getting better and better," Pro replied with a chuckle.
"What an idiot! Isn't it all for you? If Auntie Beatrice found out, who knows what she would do," Hermione grumbled and gave Pro a pinch.
"Yes, yes. It's all for me. My Hermione did a good job," Pro replied and rewarded her with pets on her head.
After he stored the diary inside the wooden box, he was no longer able to store the box inside his inventory. So, Pro bent down and stashed away the box inside his book bag.
"What are you going to do with that book?" Hermione asked with curiosity.
"Seal it up and hide it somewhere. I don't want to come into contact with it because it might be dangerous," Pro stated.
"Mmm. Just remember to tell me if you ever do plan to read the book. I'm always ready for reading a new book," Hermione replied.
Pro frowned as he glanced at Hermione. Did she get affected already with the short moment of contact? Gripping her hand, Pro solemnly stated, "No. Neither of us will read it. Stop thinking about it. Let's get our books. Then, we can bid farewell to Harry and the Weasleys before heading back."
"Mmm."
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