"Immortality, agelessness, undying, indestructible..."
After finishing his conversation with Harry, Roger returned to the familiar Hogwarts library. Now that the Quidditch match was over, more students had gathered in the library.
Roger was sketching out his plans for the future on paper—a step-by-step path toward eternal life.
He had already embarked on the road to longevity. With the help of alchemy, he might see progress within the next year or two.
As for agelessness, he was still working on the concept. Longevity involved the body and soul, while agelessness was more about the mind. No matter how long one's lifespan was, if the mind couldn't withstand the erosion of time and became numb with weariness, it wouldn't be true agelessness.
There was no rush for this part. Besides, since it involved the realm of "self," no one else could really help. He could afford to focus on it later, once his path to longevity was more solid.
The real issue lay in the paths beyond that—how to be undying and indestructible.
Physical immortality might be achievable if his transfiguration-based bodily modifications reached perfection. Even if his body were reduced to ashes, he could still regenerate. But how could his soul achieve the same?
Drawing from his knowledge from his past life, Roger considered the possibilities of using "time," "concepts," and "existence" as potential paths.
If his existence permeated time and space, then as long as time and space endured, he would remain. Or, he could become a meme-like entity, living within the collective subconscious of all beings—so long as they existed, he would too. Another possibility was becoming a conceptual being; as long as the universe retained that concept, he could resurrect indefinitely...
For now, just researching longevity had already consumed all his effort. He couldn't spare the energy to explore these paths, which were exponentially more difficult.
So, just as he had outsourced a part of his longevity research to Hagrid, Roger planned to outsource the research into undying and indestructibility as well.
He didn't expect immediate breakthroughs. It was enough if someone laid the groundwork so that when he eventually delved into the subject, he wouldn't have to start from scratch.
In fact, they wouldn't even need to study immortality directly. Researching "time" alone could save him significant time and effort.
Roger had thought about this ever since his arrangement with Hagrid, but he had never found the right opportunity to put it into practice.
Magic and scientific research were vastly different.
In scientific research, as long as you threw enough money at a project, even if the scientists weren't particularly passionate about it, repeated experimentation could still yield results.
Magic, however, was deeply tied to one's mind and willpower. Without a strong connection, obsession, or passion for a field, achieving great results was nearly impossible.
That was why, even though Roger wanted to plant seeds and let time bring him the harvest, he hadn't found a suitable candidate.
Until now.
After his conversation with Harry, Roger realized that the boy's mindset might be compatible with this path.
Still, Roger didn't dwell on it too much. Harry was only eleven—naïve, full of emotions, and prone to change. Right now, he had the determination to alter time for his parents, but that didn't mean he would still have it a few years later when he entered adolescence.
Once a person lost a single-minded drive, it was almost impossible to regain it.
So, his arrangement with Harry was merely a casual move in his game. If Harry succeeded, Roger would be pleased.
If Harry gave up halfway, Roger wouldn't lose anything. After all, all he had done was point him in the right direction at key moments.
—
On the other side of the library, Voldemort, currently inhabiting Quirrell's body, was flipping through books about prophets, unaware that while he was absorbed in his research, Roger had subtly altered Harry's fate.
Right now, Voldemort was filled with frustration.
After nearly a day of searching, he found that while the library contained detailed records of famous prophets throughout history, the books only provided limited strategies on how to counter them.
For example, The Noise of Fate described how a prophet could use prophecy to interfere with another prophet's visions, making it harder to observe the future.
However, this method required the user to also be a powerful prophet capable of making prophecies at will.
Another book, Man Triumphs Over Fate, proposed a theory: if someone harbored an extreme hatred for fate, to the point of madness, they might be able to use their magical outbursts to render themselves invisible within the fabric of destiny.
It was an interesting concept, but turning it into a practical spell would require Quirrell to reach an extremely high level in fate magic…
Voldemort estimated his own talent in fate magic. Even if he devoted himself to it for the next twenty years, he wasn't confident he could master it.
Most other methods were similarly impractical—they either required Quirrell to have immense talent in fate magic or involved legendary prophecy-related artifacts.
High-level fate magic without riddles was already rare, and Voldemort quickly exhausted his search.
Summing up his findings, there were only two viable options: either fight prophecy with prophecy, or possess a power so overwhelming that it could break fate's hold by sheer force.
There were no shortcuts.
Did this mean he had to accept defeat?
With no solutions through Quirrell, Voldemort shifted his focus to Roger, looking for another way to break the stalemate.
For example…
"If Professor Quirrell defeats me in a fair duel, I will give up the Philosopher's Stone. Until our game is concluded, you cannot attempt to obtain the stone by any other means."
…Tch, so even that was within your calculations, Prophet.
Recalling the conditions of their Unbreakable Vow, Voldemort abandoned that train of thought.
In that moment, Voldemort began reflecting.
Just this small game with the prophet had put him in such a difficult position.
Could he really break the prophecy of the Dark Lord and the Chosen One as easily as he had assumed?
Could that bespectacled boy truly become his downfall?
But he had so many Horcruxes—surely not, right?
As Voldemort realized that the power of fate and prophecy was even greater than he had previously thought, a thought flashed through his mind:
"Should I also prepare a backup plan… for Harry Potter?"
His wager with the young prophet was on a tight schedule, and victory seemed unlikely.
But Harry Potter was different. He still needed years to grow, giving Voldemort enough time to set up countermeasures against the so-called "Savior's Prophecy."
—
The next morning, before Roger could see Harry, an unexpected visitor arrived first—Hagrid.
"What? Your miniature magical creature project actually succeeded?!"
"Not exactly… Uh, it's complicated. Just come and see for yourself."
Hagrid looked utterly exhausted, as if he had stayed up for days. Scratching his head, he seemed completely at a loss.
Seeing Hagrid struggling to put his thoughts into words, Roger didn't ask further and simply followed him to the small hut near the Forbidden Forest.
And then…
Inside the hut, Roger looked at Hagrid's "creation" with an expression of pure disbelief, his frown deeper than Hagrid's.
"This… thing…"
The bizarre creature gave Roger an eerie sense of déjà vu, like the daemons under the Four Great "Benefactors" of the Warp—Khorne, Tzeentch, and the rest.
A Warhammer 40K wizard world? That's not the timeline I signed up for!
"Hagrid… Can you tell me how exactly you managed to create this?"
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