Lucien waved his wand lightly.
The iron basin instantly twisted and reshaped itself before returning to its original form as a wooden table.
Then he reopened Voldemort's notebook.
Earlier inside Quirrell's office, he had only skimmed through several pages, yet even that brief look had nearly made his heart shake.
"Unfortunately," Lucien murmured softly, "your intentions are far too obvious."
A faint smile appeared on his lips as he quietly activated Occlumency once more.
Voldemort's notebook was undeniably precious.
Every piece of knowledge written inside was genuine dark magic theory gathered over many years.
And that was precisely why it was dangerous.
For an ordinary eleven-year-old wizard, this level of dark magic was simply too advanced. Even reading carelessly could easily allow violent and twisted thoughts to corrupt the mind.
What Voldemort didn't know, however, was that Lucien's Occlumency had already reached an absurd level.
As long as he avoided emotionally immersing himself in the material, studying the theories themselves posed little danger.
Besides, even if certain parts proved difficult to understand personally, he still had Grindelwald, Vinda Rosier, and the Saints behind him.
The notebook's value remained enormous regardless.
Lucien gradually became immersed within the pages. By the time he finally recovered from his concentration, darkness had already swallowed the sky outside.
His eyes brimmed with admiration.
As expected of Voldemort.
The Dark Lord's understanding of dark magic was truly extraordinary.
Lucien hadn't even mastered many new spells yet, but the afternoon spent reading had already broadened his understanding tremendously.
Most importantly, Voldemort had overturned one of Lucien's previous misconceptions.
Originally, Lucien believed curses, hexes, and jinxes were entirely separate branches of dark magic.
But according to Voldemort's theories, all dark magic originated from the same source.
Malice.
The only difference between spells was the intensity of malicious intent behind them.
Even seemingly harmless spells like Densaugeo or the Tickling Charm could become components of far more dangerous dark magic after sufficient modification.
Many completely unrelated spells actually formed the foundations of highly advanced curses once combined properly.
"It's getting late."
Lucien closed the notebook slowly.
"Better eat first."
"And detention in the Forbidden Forest starts again tonight."
Before leaving, he quietly used Occlumency to suppress the lingering darkness attempting to influence his thoughts.
At the same time, he reflected on his earlier conversation with Voldemort.
From Voldemort's questions, Lucien could already infer that the Dark Lord had most likely guessed where the Philosopher's Stone was hidden.
The only reason he hadn't acted yet was fear of exposure.
If Dumbledore realised someone was targeting the Stone directly, the entire trap would tighten instantly.
That was why Voldemort needed intelligence first.
Unfortunately for him, Lucien already knew exactly what waited on the third floor.
And he had absolutely no intention of risking his own life there.
At most, next week he would casually mention Fluffy's existence.
Then perhaps sell the method for bypassing Fluffy separately afterward.
One piece of information.
Sold three times.
An excellent deal.
As for Voldemort's resurrection?
That was Dumbledore's problem.
Even in the original timeline, Dumbledore had already known Voldemort was planning something. Revealing information now would merely accelerate events slightly.
A fragmented soul in its current state wasn't truly dangerous yet.
After dinner, Lucien followed Hagrid into the Forbidden Forest once again for patrol duty.
Nothing unusual happened during the night.
The next several days passed peacefully, allowing Lucien to relax more than he had since arriving at Hogwarts.
On the final evening of detention, however, he received a letter from Vinda Rosier.
The contents were brief.
Several excellent shop locations in Diagon Alley had already been secured.
They could begin operating immediately.
Nothing else was mentioned.
Owls were terrible for carrying sensitive information. Important matters could easily leak during delivery, and Vinda clearly understood Lucien's current situation at Hogwarts.
She intentionally avoided discussing the Saints directly in writing.
Lucien planned to meet her privately later to discuss future arrangements properly.
After learning the shops were ready, he immediately decided to speak with Hagrid about purchasing magical creature materials from the Forbidden Forest.
That same night, after patrol ended, Lucien casually raised the subject while they walked toward the castle.
"Hagrid, if you have time over the next few days, organise the materials you plan to sell."
Hagrid blinked in surprise.
"When the time comes, I'll use an Undetectable Extension Charm to transport everything directly. That'll save you the trouble of making deliveries yourself."
Hagrid immediately looked stunned.
"Wait… yeh really meant it?"
His expression became awkward.
"I thought yeh were joking before…"
Lucien sighed helplessly.
"Did you honestly think I was joking?"
"Well…"
Hagrid scratched his beard sheepishly.
"The reason I haven't mentioned it these past few days," Lucien continued, "is because the shop arrangements still weren't finished."
Then he smiled slightly.
"Besides, instead of forcing you to waste half a day delivering things around Diagon Alley, it's better to leave the materials in the hands of Hogwarts' greatest magical creature expert."
The flattery worked instantly.
Originally, Lucien simply wanted a convenient scapegoat if any problems appeared with future materials.
But the way he phrased everything made it sound like complete trust.
Even through the giant beard, Hagrid's embarrassed expression remained obvious.
"Sorry, Lucien. I shouldn't've doubted a friend…"
"It's fine."
Lucien waved casually.
"I'm only eleven. It's normal to hesitate when discussing business with a child."
Hagrid suddenly sighed.
"Sometimes I forget yer only eleven."
He shook his head slowly.
"Honestly, sometimes talkin' ter yeh feels like talkin' ter a grown wizard."
Then his expression grew unexpectedly serious.
"Yeh should spend more time with Harry and kids yer own age."
Lucien raised an eyebrow slightly.
"Children who grow up too fast usually miss out on childhood."
"I'll think about it."
The following morning, despite returning late once again, Lucien still woke up early out of habit.
Back in Austria, Vinda had forced him to train every morning without exception.
At first, Lucien thought physical exercise was pointless for wizards.
Then Vinda had repeatedly beaten him flat without using a single spell.
Only afterward did he finally understand.
For wizards, the body was just as important as magical power.
Even Dumbledore himself remained limited by age and physical condition.
Since then, unless circumstances physically prevented him from moving, Lucien maintained daily training almost without fail.
After another full day of classes, Lucien finally noticed a serious issue.
The Slytherin dormitories were too cramped.
Reading quietly was fine.
Practising magic was not.
Sooner or later, someone would notice.
"Looks like it's finally time to visit the Room of Requirement."
Lucien immediately recalled Hogwarts' legendary hidden room.
The Room of Requirement.
Also known as the Come and Go Room.
A magical room that only appeared when someone genuinely needed it.
It could transform entirely according to the user's desires, and even the Marauder's Map couldn't reveal its existence.
"If I practise there, nobody should discover me."
Decision made, Lucien tucked Voldemort's notebook into his robes before heading toward the eighth floor.
Soon, he arrived before the tapestry depicting Barnabas the Barmy attempting to teach trolls ballet.
After confirming nobody was nearby, Lucien slowly paced before the blank wall.
"I need a place to practise magic."
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
A smooth door appeared silently within the wall itself.
No warning.
No sound.
As though it had always existed.
"Hogwarts really does hide countless secrets…"
Lucien smiled faintly before pushing open the door and stepping inside.
The moment he entered, Lucien discovered an enormous room filled with unmistakably magical architecture.
Training dummies stood neatly along the walls.
Shelves overflowed with strange magical tools and objects he had never seen before.
The entire place immediately sparked his curiosity.
Lucien wandered through the room slowly, examining everything around him.
After following Grindelwald for years, he had already seen countless magical wonders.
Yet even he could only vaguely sense one thing about the Room of Requirement.
The entire room seemed constructed through some incomprehensibly advanced form of extension magic.
Far deeper than the Undetectable Extension Charms commonly used by modern wizards.
"Interesting…"
In the past, Lucien hadn't thought much about ancient magic.
His reasoning had been simple.
If ancient magic were truly superior, why had it been replaced?
But now, standing inside the Room of Requirement, he finally realised ancient magic was far more complicated than he originally believed.
Still, he didn't dwell on it too deeply.
Lucien understood his own limits perfectly.
Compared to monsters like Dumbledore or Voldemort, he was still merely a talented child.
If even Dumbledore couldn't fully understand Hogwarts' mysteries after decades inside the castle, Lucien certainly wouldn't solve them after one afternoon.
By the time he finally left the Room of Requirement, torches throughout the castle had already been lit.
Back in the Slytherin common room, Draco was talking excitedly with Crabbe and Goyle.
The moment he spotted Lucien entering, Draco's eyes lit up immediately.
"Lucien! Where'd you go today?"
He hurried over quickly.
"I checked the library and dormitories ages ago and couldn't find you anywhere."
Recently, Lucien's schedule had been extremely regular.
Classes.
Great Hall.
Library.
That was basically his entire life.
Naturally, Draco found today's disappearance unusual.
"I found a quiet place to practise some spells," Lucien replied casually. "By the way, congratulations on becoming Slytherin's youngest Seeker."
The moment Quidditch was mentioned, Draco instantly became smug again.
"Just wait and see! I'm going to lead Slytherin to the championship this year!"
Then Lucien glanced toward Crabbe and Goyle.
"If that's true, why are all of you still awake instead of sleeping?"
Draco's expression darkened immediately.
"It's that Weasley again!"
"Ron?"
Lucien nearly forgot the boy existed during the recent peaceful days.
"That's him!"
Draco looked furious.
"This afternoon my father rewarded me with a Nimbus Two Thousand for making the team."
His voice became increasingly irritated.
"Right when Weasley left the hospital wing, he saw the broom and immediately started shouting that Slytherin only accepted me because of expensive equipment!"
Lucien became interested.
"So you started fighting?"
If he remembered correctly, Harry originally became Gryffindor's Seeker after impressing Professor McGonagall during flying lessons.
But things had changed now.
Without Neville's accident, Ron had become the troublemaker instead. Harry still joined Gryffindor eventually due to his talent, but only as a reserve Seeker after Wood reluctantly agreed.
Meanwhile, Draco's earlier performance had impressed Marcus Flint directly.
Compared to the original story, the gap between them had become enormous.
Draco quickly shook his head.
"No. I'm not stupid enough to start a fight publicly."
Then his expression turned proud again.
"I challenged Weasley to a wizard's duel tonight."
Originally, Draco had planned to ask Lucien to act as his second but couldn't find him earlier, forcing him to consider bringing Crabbe instead.
Now that Lucien had returned, Draco's confidence exploded immediately.
"With you there, Weasley won't stand a chance!"
Honestly, Lucien wasn't particularly interested in childish midnight duels.
Still…
Draco had helped him sincerely during flying lessons before.
And Draco rarely asked him for favours.
Refusing outright now would probably hurt his feelings.
More importantly, Lucien needed an excuse later if Voldemort questioned how he discovered information about Hogwarts' third floor.
If he magically learned everything without taking any risks himself, Voldemort would become suspicious rather than impressed.
At the very least, Lucien needed to appear involved.
"What time?"
"Eleven thirty tonight!"
Draco rubbed his hands excitedly.
"In the trophy room!"
Lucien sighed inwardly.
Another ruined sleep schedule.
For an eleven-year-old body, proper rest was genuinely important.
Soon enough, it was nearly eleven thirty.
Among old pure-blood families, wizard duelling was considered a noble tradition.
And Draco, unfortunately, took it far too seriously.
What should've remained secret somehow became common knowledge throughout Slytherin House.
By the time Lucien accompanied Draco out, several younger students were already quietly cheering for them.
"Draco," Lucien muttered darkly, "if your brain weren't stuffed with straw, you'd understand exactly what happens if we get caught wandering around at midnight."
He genuinely wanted to slap Draco twice.
Lucien had only just finished detention.
Was Draco trying to send him straight back into the Forbidden Forest again?
Draco instantly looked guilty and didn't dare respond.
Lucien merely sighed.
Draco had improved enormously recently, but his pride and desire to show off remained impossible to fix quickly.
That would require time.
Inside the trophy room, Ron's loud voice echoed before Lucien and Draco even entered.
"I knew that evil Malfoy was all talk!"
Ron sneered loudly.
"He's probably too scared to come now!"
Harry stood beside him looking nervous.
"Don't worry, Ron," he said quickly. "I'll help you."
In only a few days, Ron had already successfully infected Harry with Gryffindor recklessness.
"Mr Weasley," Lucien's cold voice suddenly interrupted, "speaking badly about others behind their backs is an incredibly poor habit."
He stepped into the room together with Draco.
"Have you already forgotten Madam Hooch escorting you personally to the Slytherin common room to apologise several days ago?"
Lucien had expected Ron's behaviour already.
Still, seeing Harry standing beside him left an unpleasant feeling.
When two friends argued, Harry didn't even attempt mediation.
Instead, he immediately chose sides.
As expected of the future saviour.
Lucien could at least understand Harry remaining distant toward him personally.
After all, Lucien did have hidden motives.
But Draco?
From the beginning, Draco genuinely considered Harry his first real friend.
And now Harry was willing to oppose him publicly over Ron.
Even after Ron had provoked everything repeatedly.
The thought alone made Lucien feel slightly chilled.
Noticing Draco's disappointed expression, Harry lowered his head guiltily.
"Draco, let me explain. Ron just—"
"Mr Potter," Lucien interrupted coldly, "your actions have already made your choice perfectly clear."
His sky-blue eyes looked detached and icy.
"You should understand that by standing here tonight… you've chosen to stand against Draco."
Harry opened his mouth helplessly, completely unsure how to respond.
Ron, however, had already exploded with rage.
Ever since leaving the hospital wing, he had accumulated enormous resentment toward Lucien.
Now, seeing Lucien speaking calmly in front of him again, Ron finally lost control entirely.
He drew his wand immediately without even bothering with proper duelling etiquette.
"Densaugeo!"