Quirrell lay curled on the floor of his office in agony.
Every nerve in his body screamed with pain.
Tonight's battle with Lucas had nearly destroyed him completely.
Or more accurately—
Voldemort's battle using his body.
Even after drinking unicorn blood, Quirrell's already overdrawn vitality had been pushed far beyond its limits.
The weak professor trembled violently while clutching his chest.
"That boy…" Voldemort hissed furiously from the back of Quirrell's head. "I must bring him to my side."
"Yes… my Lord…"
Quirrell's voice shook painfully.
"He hides his talent for Dark Magic," Voldemort continued. "Exactly as I once did."
Bitterness filled his voice.
"Back then, I also had to lower my head before Dumbledore."
"We are the same kind of people."
A dangerous obsession entered his tone.
"He will join me eventually."
Meanwhile, inside the Headmaster's office, the Hogwarts professors listened silently while Hagrid recounted everything that happened inside the Forbidden Forest.
"…and then that curse nearly hit me right in the face," Hagrid said with lingering fear. "If Lucas hadn't pushed me away, I'd probably be dead."
The office remained silent afterward.
After several moments, Dumbledore finally spoke quietly.
"Severus."
Snape looked up immediately.
"Someone is sustaining themselves with unicorn blood."
Dumbledore's blue eyes carried deep meaning.
Snape gave a slight nod.
Then he silently turned and left the office.
Dumbledore looked toward the remaining professors calmly.
"That will be all for tonight."
Then he turned toward Hagrid.
"Hagrid, could you please speak with the centaurs tomorrow? I imagine tonight's events have disturbed them greatly."
Hagrid nodded immediately.
Meanwhile, Lucas lay peacefully asleep inside the Hospital Wing.
Originally, he'd only intended to pretend to faint.
But after closing his eyes…
He'd somehow genuinely fallen asleep.
In his dream, he stood upon an endless silver prairie beneath a moonlit sky.
A beautiful unicorn stood quietly beside him.
Its pure white mane shimmered softly in the wind.
The unicorn lowered its head gently and rubbed against his hand affectionately.
Lucas reached out instinctively.
The moment his fingers touched the unicorn's neck—
He woke up.
Blinking slowly, Lucas discovered several anxious faces standing around his bed.
Kassandra.
Hermione.
Harry.
Ron.
The instant they saw his eyes open, everyone visibly relaxed.
Lucas yawned lazily.
"…I only fainted from magical exhaustion," he muttered. "You're all acting like I nearly died."
"You almost DID die!"
Kassandra's eyes looked slightly red.
"Why do dangerous things keep happening to you every single time?"
Lucas sighed helplessly.
Honestly, he hadn't planned on encountering Voldemort personally either.
Originally, he just wanted a relaxing stroll through the Forbidden Forest with Hagrid.
Instead, he'd ended up fighting Britain's most dangerous Dark Lord beside a dead unicorn.
Very inconvenient.
Ron, meanwhile, looked overwhelmingly excited.
"That was brilliant!" he burst out. "You fought a Dark wizard alone!"
His eyes practically sparkled.
"I heard you completely overwhelmed him!"
Hermione sighed deeply nearby.
"I knew the Forbidden Forest was dangerous," she said. "That's why I wanted your detention changed."
Harry looked carefully at Lucas's pale face.
Honestly, Lucas currently looked almost as unhealthy as Professor Quirrell.
"Are you alright now?" Harry asked quietly.
Lucas nodded casually.
"I'm fine. That wizard actually wasn't very impressive."
Then he added regretfully:
"I almost caught him too."
Eventually Madam Pomfrey forcefully chased everyone else out of the Hospital Wing.
Lucas was ordered to remain overnight for observation.
In reality, he felt perfectly fine.
By tomorrow morning, he could probably sprint around the castle without issue.
Then suddenly—
"Ding! Congratulations, host. You have obtained a new talent: Shadow of the Unicorn."
Lucas blinked.
"What's that?"
The system answered immediately.
"Ding! With this talent, the host may summon the soul phantom of a unicorn to attack enemies."
Lucas sat up slightly.
"…A summon?"
"Ding! This ability was not granted by the system."
"The system has detected that the deceased unicorn blessed the host."
"It wishes for the host to avenge it."
Lucas immediately remembered the unicorn from his dream.
The system continued:
"Current Shadow of the Unicorn talent remains incomplete. The summoned phantom possesses only fifty percent of its full power."
"To fully awaken the talent, the host must fulfill the unicorn's dying wish."
Lucas smiled faintly.
"Well," he murmured softly, "that's easy enough."
After all, Quirrell was responsible for the unicorn's death.
As long as Quirrell eventually died because of him, that absolutely counted as revenge.
The moment Lucas made that promise internally, he thought he heard the distant cry of a unicorn echo softly through his mind.
A thoughtful smile slowly appeared on his face.
A unicorn phantom combined with soul magic…
Wouldn't that basically turn soul spells into tracking attacks?
Interesting.
Very interesting.
Several days later, Halloween finally arrived.
The moment Lucas woke up that morning, the delicious scent of roasted pumpkin already drifted through Hogwarts.
The entire castle looked festive.
Even Professor Flitwick appeared unusually energetic during Charms class.
Today, the first-years would finally practice the Levitation Charm properly.
Naturally, Lucas and Kassandra succeeded immediately.
Harry and Hermione also performed perfectly after Lucas's earlier tutoring.
Feathers floated elegantly into the air beside them.
Professor Flitwick looked delighted.
"Excellent! Excellent!"
He happily awarded Gryffindor twenty points on the spot.
Unfortunately, Ron still failed repeatedly.
After class ended, his frustration finally exploded.
Especially after comparing himself yet again to Hermione.
"That's why nobody can stand her," Ron muttered bitterly while packing his bag. "She's a nightmare."
Unfortunately for him—
Hermione heard every word.
Her face turned white instantly.
Then she fled the classroom in tears before anyone could stop her.
Lucas watched her leave thoughtfully.
Even though Hermione had changed significantly compared to before, conflict still happened eventually.
Honestly, Lucas understood Ron better than most people probably did.
Ron had grown up constantly overshadowed by his brothers.
Old robes.
Old books.
Old pets.
Even his wand originally belonged to someone else.
Living like that naturally created insecurity.
And insecure people often lashed out most harshly at whoever accidentally touched their sore spots.
Unfortunately, Hermione Granger possessed a remarkable talent for stepping directly onto emotional landmines while trying to help.
Watching Hermione disappear down the corridor crying, Lucas suddenly grabbed Harry's shoulder.
"Harry."
Harry blinked.
"What?"
Lucas looked at him seriously.
"Remember what I taught you."
Harry became confused immediately.
"…About what?"
"Tonight," Lucas said calmly, "don't hold back."
Harry stared blankly.
"What exactly is happening tonight?"
Lucas didn't answer directly.
Instead, he slowly looked upward toward the sky outside the castle windows.
"Mars burns unusually bright tonight."
Harry glanced outside too.
"…Lucas, it's still daytime."
But by the time he looked back, Lucas had already walked away.
Of course, Lucas knew perfectly well what would happen tonight.
Quirrell would release the mountain troll into Hogwarts.
Hermione would end up trapped inside the girls' bathroom.
And Harry would encounter his first truly dangerous battle.
Lucas had absolutely no intention of stopping it.
After all—
He'd trained Harry long enough.
Now it was time for a proper field test.
At minimum, Lucas hoped Harry and Hermione would actually draw their wands and fight properly this time.
Instead of one person hiding in terror while the other shoved a wand into a troll's nostril again.
....
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