Lucien sat upright in the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom.
On the surface, he appeared to be listening attentively to Quirrell's lecture, but in his mind, he was already planning how to kill Quirrell's master.
Primarily because during Harry's second and third years, Lord Voldemort had not truly resurrected. His ability to stir up trouble had not yet returned to its peak, and each time he could only cause disturbances within Hogwarts Castle.
However, starting from the year of the Triwizard Tournament, Lord Voldemort would achieve his goal and finally resurrect himself, plunging the entire wizarding Britain into chaos. At that point, it would become difficult to remain peacefully at Hogwarts.
Lucien's primary objective was to acquire knowledge, so he naturally did not want to be disturbed.
Although in a few years his strength would likely become extremely formidable, enough to kill Lord Voldemort's subordinates with just a few spells and then face Lord Voldemort in a one-on-one battle..
Why the fuck wait until the enemy had fully recovered?
A decisive battle at the height of Hogwarts might sound impressive, but he had no interest in that. Protecting the peaceful and beautiful campus environment and focusing on his studies was the correct course of action.
As for how to completely eliminate Lord Voldemort… Horcruxes.
The issue of Horcruxes had to be dealt with first.
Separating a fragment of one's soul from the body and sealing it within an object—that was a Horcrux.
As long as a Horcrux was not destroyed, no matter how grievous the damage its creator suffered, he could not truly die.
Because a portion of the soul remained intact, even if the physical body was destroyed, he would not become a so-called wraith and would still have a chance to form a new body.
In other words, unless all the Horcruxes were found and destroyed first, beating Lord Voldemort to a pulp would be meaningless.
Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes, if Lucien remembered correctly, numbered seven.
No—at the present point in time, there should only be six.
The great snake, the Maledictus Nagini, should not yet have been made into a Horcrux.
To be safe, he should first find a way to locate that snake.
As for the other Horcruxes… Lucien searched his memory and quickly identified his targets. The six Horcruxes were:
Tom Riddle's diary, Gaunt's ring, Ravenclaw's diadem, Hufflepuff's cup, Slytherin's locket, and...
Lucien glanced at Harry, who was sitting diagonally in front of him.
The Horcrux that even Lord Voldemort himself did not know about—Harry Potter.
If possible, he would begin collecting these Horcruxes during the summer holidays.
He would try to destroy all of these "respawn points" before Lord Voldemort's resurrection, striking while the enemy was still weak.
To destroy Horcruxes, there were only a few viable methods: basilisk venom, Fiendfyre, and the Killing Curse.
Hmm. The Sword of Gryffindor, empowered after absorbing basilisk venom, would also work.
Fiendfyre and the Killing Curse likely required a certain level of power from the caster, but basilisk venom was far more convenient. A single touch was enough to destroy a Horcrux.
Destroying the other Horcruxes would be relatively straightforward, but what about Harry?
How could the fragment of soul within him be destroyed without harming him?
Should Harry be allowed to die once and then be resurrected?
But resurrection…
As Lucien pondered, time passed quickly.
As soon as the class bell rang, Quirrell hurried out of the classroom, moving far faster than before.
He looked almost like a student rushing to the Great Hall to grab food.
...
Back in his office, Quirrell collapsed into his chair, utterly exhausted.
After a while, he slowly removed the glove from his left hand, wincing in pain throughout the process.
The skin on his left hand was eerily translucent, revealing the writhing muscles and blood vessels beneath.
This arm had been recreated using Dark Arts taught by Lord Voldemort. The process was indeed painful and sinister, but Quirrell had endured it.
"It's just a minor ailment. Once I regain my physical body, I can easily cure you with my great power."
"Quirinus, serve me well. Go and find out what the protections around the Philosopher's Stone are."
"Devil's Snare, Wizard's Chess, the flying keys—those are all already known."
"Once we know how to get past that foolish big dog, we'll be one step closer to our goal…...."
Listening to Lord Voldemort's whispers in his mind, Quirrell felt nothing but irritation and resentment.
But what could he do?
He had already drunk unicorn blood, becoming a cursed "sinner," barely clinging to life.
He could not defy Lord Voldemort's commands. A single thought from him could end Quirrell's life.
After a few seconds of silence, Quirrell replied in a weak voice,
"Yes, Master."
…
Inside the library.
Hagrid was a rare sight here, his tall, broad figure moving between rows of bookshelves.
He could easily see the titles on the highest shelves, though bending down to check the lower ones was a bit troublesome.
Carefully pinching a copy of From Dragon Egg to Inferno between two fingers, Hagrid smiled with delight, though he kept himself from making any sound.
Not far away, Madam Pince was holding a feather duster, watching Hagrid intently, as if afraid the half-giant might tear a book or knock over a nearby shelf.
Clutching several books, Hagrid cautiously turned around and made his way towards the circulation desk.
"Hagrid! What are you doing in the library?"
Hearing the familiar voice, Hagrid quickly hid the books behind his moleskin overcoat and looked nervously at Harry and the others.
"Just lookin' around."
"What are you doing here?"
Ron said triumphantly, "We figured out who Nicolas Flamel is, and we also know about the Philosopher's Stone—"
"Shhh!"
Hagrid hurriedly interrupted him, glancing around. He saw that Madam Pince, who was closest to them, had already walked back to the circulation desk and sat down, and that no one else had heard their conversation.
After giving them a stern warning, Hagrid checked out the books with Madam Pince and then left the library in a hurry.
Hagrid did not hear Harry and the others whispering behind him.
"What was Hagrid hiding behind his back?"
"I didn't see it, but I can go have a look—"
Hagrid strode quickly out of the castle and headed back to his hut.
Entering the warm, dry room, Hagrid saw the dark-haired young man poking at the fire.
"Oh, thank you, Lucien. Sorry to trouble you with watching it for me."
"No problem. It was no trouble at all."
Hagrid took off his overcoat, spread the books out on the small round table, and eagerly glanced at the pitch-black egg resting in the fireplace.
"I wonder when the little one will hatch. I'm so excited!"
Hagrid rubbed his hands together, staring without blinking at the murky dragon egg, completely unaware of a trace of fiery gold flame flickering within the orange and yellow firewood.
________
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