Ginny picked up a random notepad she found in the kitchen drawer and grabbed a self-inking quill. It was time to make the grocery list for the week once again. She sat down at the table and began writing out what they needed, placing them under their correct categories. The first thing she wanted to tackle was the Sunday dinner. It was the first time Harry and her were hosting the Weasley Sunday Dinner since they moved into their new house. It wasn’t spacious by any means, but it was much bigger than their previous flat, which could barely hold all of her siblings in the main area.
Still, it had to be good. Ginny managed to convince her mum to let her make almost everything. Her parents were coming with the bread and dessert. It was up to Harry and her to make everything else. She wrote down what she needed to make enough pot roast for at least 20 people. She was only expecting 15 to show up, but there was always a straggler or a last minute guest. It was better to be over prepared than under. Besides, any leftovers would take care of their lunches for at least part of the week.
Ginny continued writing down what she needed from the top of her head, jumping around from section to section. When she took a break to think about what else she needed to add to the list, something peculiar happened. In writing that appeared vaguely familiar was a question: Do you need bananas, strawberries, or apples this week? It appeared under her list for produce, which currently only had vegetables listed.
Ginny pushed back away from the table and stepped backwards until she hit the wall. She remembered what her dad said all those years ago, “Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can’t see where it keeps its brain!”
That was after the dreadful diary incident that almost killed her her first year at Hogwarts. She didn’t remember much from that year, whether it was due to her being possessed or because her mind was trying to protect her was up for debate. But she still remembered how nice Tom was at first, listening to her struggles of starting somewhere new and offering advice on how to fit in. The diary had felt like a friend at first, until it wasn’t.
And her notepad was now acting in a similar manner! She refused to be tricked again. Ginny breathed heavily; it was hard to get enough oxygen into her lungs. She had to do something about the notepad! It could hurt someone! But part of her was stuck in the past, half of a lifetime ago for her. She didn’t remember killing the rooster, but she could feel the rough stone wall through her slick fingers as she wrote the first message for her fellow classmates and professors.
But she couldn’t possibly be there! She wasn’t a school girl anymore. She couldn’t be at Hogwarts. She patted the wall behind her and it was smooth plaster. She was safe, at her new home. Ginny sucked in a deep breath through her teeth, feeling her lungs stop burning as they finally took in enough oxygen to function properly. She opened her eyes and wiped at her cheeks. She idly wondered when she started crying.
The damn notepad swam into view, still innocently sitting on the table. Ginny wanted to burn it; an Incendo danced along her lips as she pulled her wand from its holster, but something stopped her. As much as she wanted the entire thing gone, she knew she should save it. It was evidence after all of a Dark object. Harry should be home soon. He could run spells on it when he returned. For now, she would cast a few preservation and protection spells.
She did just that, and then suddenly felt tired. All that adrenaline must be leaving her system. Ginny decided to take a nap. She deserved it after the restraint she showed with the cursed notepad. She walked into her bedroom and slipped under the covers. Hopefully Harry would be back by the time she woke up.
“Ginny,” a voice from above called out to her. “Are you okay?’
She opened her eyes and was staring at Harry’s concerned face. “What?”
“There’s a notepad covered in protection charms on the table.”
Ginny sat up like someone poured ice water over her head and grabbed Harry’s hands. “You didn’t touch it, right? It’s dangerous!”
“I promise you I didn’t!” he said gently, rubbing comforting circles onto the back of her hands with his thumbs.
“I want you to look it over. I think it’s a Dark object.”
“Honey, we have wards that would have detected if it were something sinister.”
“Harry, it’s like Riddle’s diary. It talks back.”
Various emotions flashed across his face: confusion, horror, dread, and then surprisingly, understanding. “I don’t think you have anything to worry about, but let me double-check.” He let go of her hands and stood up.
“How can you say that it’s nothing to worry about?” Ginny asked after him, getting out of bed to follow him to the kitchen. Her voice grew in decibel, the anger steeping through. “It doesn’t have a brain yet it wrote to me! How do you explain that?”
Harry had dismantled the protection spells she had casted and was studying the notepad. He picked it up, to Ginny’s horrified gasp, and turned it over before nodding to himself. “You have nothing to worry about. The notepad is completely harmless” He flipped it over to the back and pointed at the bottom. Stamped there was the Weasley Wizard Wheezes Product Testing logo.
The notepad wasn’t a Dark artifact, but a potential new item from her brothers’ store. She was going to kill George the next time she saw him. Since he wasn’t here, she directed her ire at Harry instead. “How could you bring this into our house?” She hated how her voice cracked on the last word. The diary was 11 years ago. She should be over it by now.
“Ginny, I am so sorry. I wasn’t thinking when I put the notepad there.” Harry wrapped her up in a hug. “You know that George gives me all their new products before they are released to the general public.” She nodded into his shoulder. “Well, I was using the notepad to make some measurements for the new couch and I must have left it out here instead of bringing it back into my office. I’m so sorry that you thought it was another diary situation.” He gave her a gentle kiss on the temple and she ended their embrace.
“So, if this isn’t meant to possess someone,” Ginny began, pointing towards the notepad, “what is the point of it?”
“Well, George said he was inspired by psychic paper, which is used by the Doctor on this old tv show called Doctor Who . Basically, it looks like a blank sheet of paper, but to whatever authority figure is viewing it, it becomes whatever the Doctor says it is, such as someone who works for MI6, or a house inspector.
“The notepad works similarly. It remembers,” Harry used air quotes, “what you’ve written before and provides suggestions based on what you’ve written before. For example, you were working on the grocery list. You obviously wrote down a list before and wrote apples, bananas, and strawberries on the list. Since you listed them before, the notepad was trying to help you to remember to buy them, hence the suggestion. Does that make sense? I can firecall George if you want a more thorough explanation.”
Ginny shook her head. “No, I don’t really want to see him right now. I understand what he was trying to achieve, but I don’t support it.”
“I can get rid of the notepad right now. I’ll chuck it in the bin for you.”
Ginny pulled out her wand and twirled it in her hand. “Don’t bother, Harry. I have a better idea.”