Lucas Summers had absolutely no idea Voldemort was already planning to recruit him personally.
And even if he did know, he wouldn't be afraid.
His strength had increased dramatically over the past few days, and after obtaining soul magic, Voldemort's current fragmented-soul state practically made him the perfect target.
Now that Lucas no longer needed to sneak into the Restricted Section every night, his constant exhaustion finally disappeared as well.
For the next several days, life at Hogwarts became unusually peaceful.
Nothing major happened.
Well—
Aside from Harry repeatedly trying to drag Lucas into investigating the mysterious package Hagrid had removed from Gringotts earlier.
Lucas firmly refused every time.
He had only just finished an exhausting system mission. At this point, all he wanted was sleep, relaxation, and recovery from the damage caused by a week of nonstop Dark Arts studying.
The Chosen One's adventures could continue without him for now.
Unfortunately, once Lucas stopped sleeping through classes constantly, he made a terrible discovery.
History of Magic was genuinely horrifying.
Previously, he'd considered it one of his favourite subjects because Professor Binns's lectures made excellent sleeping background noise.
Now that he was actually awake?
Lucas finally understood the true nightmare.
Professor Binns's voice possessed hypnotic properties more terrifying than Dark Magic. Listening to him speak felt eerily similar to enduring one of those ancient schoolteachers from Lucas's previous life who could drain the soul out of an entire classroom within minutes.
Out of sheer desperation, Lucas pulled out parchment and started writing random ideas instead.
Ever since his Transfiguration mastery reached ten points, strange flashes of inspiration kept appearing in his mind constantly.
New theories.
New methods.
New possibilities.
Lucas began recording everything rapidly onto parchment before he forgot any of it.
Then suddenly, another idea struck him.
His Universal Animagus Talent.
Could ordinary wizards learn a modified version of it somehow?
Lucas immediately grabbed fresh parchment and began writing furiously again. The ideas came faster and faster, causing him to become completely absorbed in his own thoughts.
Eventually, he decided he'd show the theories to Professor McGonagall later and ask whether any of them were actually feasible.
Beside him, Kassandra had long since fallen asleep against the desk.
Hermione, meanwhile, was still struggling heroically to continue taking notes.
Then she glanced sideways.
And saw Lucas still writing energetically with bright, focused eyes.
Hermione instantly felt deep admiration.
As expected of Lucas Summers.
Even History of Magic couldn't stop him from learning.
Inspired immediately, Hermione forced herself awake and resumed note-taking with renewed determination.
Which made her utterly confused later when Lucas casually asked to borrow her notes after class.
Her stunned expression genuinely puzzled him.
The next Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson arrived soon afterward.
Quirrell once again stumbled his way painfully through the textbook while the entire classroom endured the overwhelming smell of garlic surrounding him.
Meanwhile, Lucas ignored the lecture entirely and continued refining his Transfiguration theories quietly on parchment.
What he failed to notice, however, was Quirrell repeatedly glancing toward him throughout the class.
Finally, the lesson ended.
Lucas quickly packed away his parchment and prepared to drag Kassandra outside for fresh air before he suffocated from garlic poisoning.
Ever since attending Quirrell's classes, he'd almost completely stopped eating garlic voluntarily.
Then Quirrell's stuttering voice suddenly called out behind him.
"M-Mr. Summers… c-could you… perhaps… come t-to my office for a moment?"
Lucas paused immediately.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
Quirrell had approached him personally?
Was this Quirrell's own decision?
Or Voldemort's?
Had Voldemort finally decided to act against him directly?
Lucas calmly told Kassandra to leave first before turning politely toward Quirrell.
"Of course, Professor," he replied with a pleasant smile. "Actually, there are several things I'd love to ask you about."
Then he followed Quirrell through the corridors.
Outwardly, Lucas looked completely relaxed.
Internally, however, his right hand had already slipped inside his robes and closed tightly around his wand.
The moment Quirrell tried anything suspicious, Lucas fully intended to retaliate immediately.
Quirrell's office smelled even worse than the classroom.
The concentrated garlic odour nearly made Lucas's eyes water.
Still, he endured it calmly while keeping all his attention focused on Quirrell himself.
To Lucas's surprise, however, Quirrell showed no signs of attacking.
Instead, the professor nervously poured tea and even offered snacks politely.
Naturally, Lucas had absolutely no intention of touching either of them.
Interesting.
So this really was meant to be a conversation.
But why?
Was Voldemort planning a showdown?
Testing him?
Fishing for information?
Quirrell sat stiffly behind his desk.
"I-I've heard quite a lot about you… from other professors, Mr. Summers."
His stutter remained exactly as painful as ever.
Lucas relaxed slightly.
If Voldemort were truly speaking directly right now, Quirrell wouldn't still sound like a malfunctioning broomstick.
"I heard," Quirrell continued nervously, "that you defeated a dark wizard alone… and even escaped from an entire Auror squad."
"I've honestly never seen such an outstanding young wizard before."
Lucas smiled modestly.
"The Aurors were just going easy on a child," he said casually. "As for that dark wizard… honestly, he was pretty weak."
The moment those words left his mouth, Quirrell's expression twitched violently.
Lucas nearly laughed.
He clearly noticed the split-second crack in Quirrell's composure before the professor forced himself calm again.
Wonderful.
Lucas deeply enjoyed watching Voldemort suffer emotionally in silence.
"I'm curious," Lucas said directly, "why did you ask me here today?"
"Oh… y-yes…"
Quirrell awkwardly opened a drawer and removed a thin notebook.
"During my travels abroad… I acquired some rather interesting magical notes by accident."
"There's quite a bit of useful knowledge recorded inside."
He carefully pushed the notebook toward Lucas.
"I noticed that you're an exceptionally talented wizard… so I thought it might help you."
Lucas's thoughts immediately accelerated.
A magical notebook?
What exactly was Voldemort trying to do?
Shouldn't he still be afraid of getting close to Lucas?
Still, none of these thoughts appeared on Lucas's face.
Instead, perfectly timed surprise appeared naturally in his expression.
"You're giving this to me?" he asked softly. "Professor… this is an incredibly valuable gift."
Quirrell smiled weakly.
"No need t-to thank me… Mr. Summers. If you encounter any problems understanding the material…"
"You're always welcome to visit me again."
A few minutes later, Lucas walked out of Quirrell's office completely unharmed.
Honestly, he'd expected to face Voldemort directly today.
Instead, Voldemort had apparently tried recruiting him.
Lucas casually opened the notebook while walking through the corridor.
Several pages later, a strange smile slowly appeared on his face.
So that was it.
Voldemort had recognised his talent and decided to pull him toward the Dark Arts deliberately.
The notebook contained powerful dark magic almost exclusively. Near the end, there were even advanced notes discussing Fiendfyre in detail.
And not ordinary Fiendfyre either.
An improved version.
Incomplete, but still impressive.
Judging from the style and magical theory, Lucas immediately recognised that the notes were almost certainly written by Voldemort personally.
If an ordinary ambitious young wizard received something like this, they would probably worship it like treasure.
Especially someone obsessed with power.
Someone like the young Tom Riddle once was.
Unfortunately for Voldemort, this strategy completely failed against Lucas.
To him, the notebook felt laughably basic.
Interesting, yes.
But tempting?
Not even slightly.
Lucas almost wanted to laugh.
Voldemort's attempt at corruption felt like trying to seduce a university mathematics professor using an elementary school textbook.
Still, Lucas couldn't entirely blame Voldemort for misunderstanding him.
After investigating Lucas's background through Quirrell, Voldemort had become convinced they were practically identical.
Both had grown up in Wool's Orphanage.
Both lacked real friends during childhood.
And according to the information Quirrell gathered, Lucas had rampaged through the Albanian forests using Dark Magic powerful enough to slaughter enemies repeatedly.
Voldemort had practically become ecstatic after learning that.
In his eyes, Lucas was a naturally born dark wizard.
An eleven-year-old capable of wielding Unforgivable Curses without hesitation.
Even Voldemort himself hadn't been that terrifying at the same age.
The similarities felt almost perfect.
Naturally, Voldemort became convinced recruitment was inevitable.
Still, for safety reasons, he chose to test Lucas first using the notebook.
If Lucas treated the Dark Magic notes like treasure, then he was exactly the successor Voldemort wanted.
And if Lucas reported the notebook to Dumbledore instead?
Simple.
Quirrell could just claim he'd handed over the wrong book accidentally.
Still, Voldemort remained ninety percent certain Lucas would never betray him.
After all, Voldemort understood ambitious, power-hungry children extremely well.
As for the possibility Lucas might rebel someday?
Ridiculous.
In Voldemort's mind, once resurrected, he would naturally become invincible again.
A mere student like Lucas Summers could only kneel eventually.
After leaving Quirrell's office, Lucas casually stored the notebook inside his ring.
Then, over the following days, he deliberately played along.
Whenever he saw Quirrell, Lucas smiled gratefully.
He even visited the professor several times afterward to ask questions about the notebook's contents.
As a result, both Quirrell and Voldemort gradually became increasingly convinced that Lucas truly was exactly the kind of person they imagined.
Which meant Voldemort had finally started preparing his next move.
Thursday soon arrived.
First-year flying lessons.
Lucas was genuinely interested in this class.
After all, he couldn't rely on magically transforming himself for flight every single time. That ability was something he absolutely did not want exposed casually.
Besides…
He was honestly a little curious whether riding broomsticks was as uncomfortable as it looked.
Harry, however, looked deeply unhappy.
Because Gryffindor and Slytherin shared flying lessons together.
And Harry currently hated Draco Malfoy more than ever.
Earlier that morning, Malfoy had tried stealing Neville's Remembrall—the glass sphere Neville's grandmother had sent him.
Fortunately, Professor McGonagall appeared in time and forced Malfoy to back off awkwardly.
Lucas arrived slightly late and happened to witness Draco retreating while McGonagall stood nearby with tightly pursed lips.
Lucas recognised that expression immediately.
It meant she was annoyed.
Fortunately, Lucas happened to possess something that would probably improve Professor McGonagall's mood considerably.
Smiling happily, he pulled out his stack of Transfiguration theory papers and walked directly toward her.
....
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