"Are you Voldemort?"
Lucas tightened his grip on his wand as though preparing to cast a Killing Curse at any moment.
"Aren't you supposed to be dead?"
"Relax, child."
Voldemort's twisted face forced out something resembling a smile.
"Since I revealed myself to you… I had no intention of attacking."
Lucas lowered his wand only slightly.
"What did you mean when you said we'd met before?"
"At Gringotts."
Voldemort's voice remained low and hoarse.
"I experienced your Fiendfyre personally that day."
Lucas's eyes narrowed immediately.
"So that was you."
Then he seemed to realise something else.
"And the person in the Forbidden Forest…"
"That was me as well."
Voldemort's red eyes stared directly into Lucas's.
"When we fought that night, I noticed something interesting."
"You've been suppressing yourself."
"Suppressing your desire to use Dark Magic."
Lucas's expression darkened instantly.
"…Professor Dumbledore."
"Exactly!"
Voldemort's voice suddenly sharpened with emotion.
"That old fool would never allow you to pursue true power!"
"What exactly are you trying to say?"
"Lucas Summers," Voldemort hissed slowly, "join me."
"What benefit is there in standing beside Dumbledore?"
"What can he possibly teach you?"
"He only wishes to chain you down and prevent you from mastering the Dark Arts you truly desire!"
Voldemort's tone gradually became more intense.
"It was exactly the same when I attended Hogwarts!"
"Dumbledore always interfered with me!"
"I understand that frustration better than anyone."
"So join me, Lucas."
"With me, you may study every branch of Dark Magic freely."
"I will never forbid you from using your gifts."
Lucas remained silent for a long moment.
But his wand slowly lowered.
Voldemort's red eyes brightened slightly.
"It's said Dumbledore personally tutors you, correct?"
"But can he teach you what you truly want?"
"If you wish…"
Voldemort's voice softened.
"I could accept you as my own disciple."
"I created countless spells myself."
"Magic that exists nowhere in the Restricted Section."
Lucas inwardly sneered.
But outwardly…
He showed visible hesitation.
"…And how exactly do you intend to make a comeback in your current state?"
"Of course I have methods."
"That," Voldemort hissed, "is precisely why I came to Hogwarts."
"As long as I recover my strength, Dumbledore will no longer be capable of stopping me."
"Then together…"
His voice became feverish.
"…we can stand above the entire world."
Behind him, Quirrell looked genuinely shocked.
He had never seen Voldemort value someone this highly before.
Normally, anyone remotely troublesome received an immediate Avada Kedavra.
Yet here Voldemort was personally negotiating for nearly half an hour.
The reason was simple.
Voldemort had already seen Lucas's terrifying potential.
Someone this dangerous would inevitably become a catastrophic threat if he remained loyal to Dumbledore.
But if recruited successfully—
He would become an extraordinary weapon instead.
More importantly…
Voldemort truly saw himself in Lucas.
A lonely orphan.
A child obsessed with power.
A gifted wizard forced to hide beneath Dumbledore's shadow.
The similarities resonated deeply with him.
And Voldemort firmly believed people like that were the easiest to tempt.
All they needed was power.
"Fine."
Lucas slowly put away his wand.
"What do you need me to do?"
Voldemort immediately laughed harshly.
"Excellent. Excellent."
Though Lucas still hadn't called him 'Master', Voldemort understood perfectly.
Talented people possessed pride.
Tom Riddle himself had once been exactly the same.
If Lucas had immediately fallen to his knees worshipping him, Voldemort would have found that suspicious instead.
"I came to Hogwarts for the item you retrieved from Gringotts."
"Dumbledore certainly never told you what it truly was."
"He does not trust people like us."
"He only used you as a test."
At that moment, Lucas suddenly sensed a faint magical pressure entering his mind.
Legilimency.
And a very crude one at that.
Unlike Dumbledore's subtle approach, Voldemort simply forced his way in openly.
Clearly, he never imagined a first-year student would notice.
Fortunately, Lucas's Occlumency had long since reached terrifying levels.
Voldemort found absolutely nothing suspicious.
In fact, Lucas's deliberately cooperative surface emotions only reinforced Voldemort's confidence.
Satisfied, Voldemort finally began explaining the Philosopher's Stone.
He even described the protections surrounding it.
"The other professors' obstacles are insignificant."
"But that stupid beast Hagrid left behind is troublesome."
"Quirrell, this idiot, still hasn't figured out how to bypass it."
"The stupid giant?" Lucas asked casually. "You mean Hagrid?"
"Yes."
Voldemort sounded irritated.
"He's been obsessed with filthy creatures since childhood."
Lucas suddenly looked thoughtful.
"If it's Hagrid… I might actually have a solution."
"Oh?"
Voldemort became interested immediately.
"Hagrid's easy to manipulate."
"He likes giant dangerous creatures far too much."
"That's correct," Voldemort sneered. "Always has."
"He's also obsessed with dragons."
Lucas smiled faintly.
"If someone offered him a dragon egg… he'd probably reveal Fluffy's weakness himself."
Voldemort's red eyes widened slightly.
Then he burst into delighted laughter.
"Excellent!"
"Excellent!"
Even Quirrell looked stunned.
He'd struggled for so long without progress.
Yet Lucas solved the problem almost instantly.
"Come here, child."
Voldemort's voice softened again.
"I shall reward you."
"I will teach you one of my personal spells."
Not long afterward, Lucas exited Quirrell's office calmly.
A new spell had already appeared within his system panel.
Voldemort's enhanced flight magic.
The spell transformed the caster into black mist capable of flight and partial spell evasion.
Rather similar to Lucas's Grimhound Step.
Though Grimhound Step lacked aerial movement.
Honestly, Lucas himself barely needed it thanks to his Silent Casting and overwhelming magical reserves.
Still…
Teaching it to others later might become amusing.
He suddenly imagined the future D.A. members all using Voldemort's signature spell openly in front of him.
That mental image nearly made him laugh.
Naturally, Lucas had never intended to truly join Voldemort.
Originally, he'd planned to expose Quirrell much earlier.
But at first, even he hadn't known whether Voldemort still hid beneath the turban.
Only after the Forbidden Forest incident had he confirmed it completely.
And now…
Since Quirrell voluntarily delivered himself like this, Lucas saw no reason to rush.
In fact, he'd already earned countless benefits from Voldemort during this process.
Those Dark Magic notebooks remained valuable teaching material for others later.
Without hesitation, Lucas headed straight toward the Headmaster's Office.
This was precisely why he'd revealed his 'gift of prophecy' to Dumbledore beforehand.
It created the perfect explanation.
"Chilled lemon juice."
The stone gargoyle leapt aside immediately.
Inside the office, Dumbledore looked up with a smile as Lucas entered unexpectedly.
"Is something wrong, Lucas?"
Lucas inhaled once dramatically.
Then he spoke with absolute seriousness.
"Professor."
"I need to report something."
"Voldemort is attached to the back of Professor Quirrell's head."
....
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