Saturday afternoons were always the freest time at Hogwarts.
Older students usually travelled to Hogsmeade to shop, drink Butterbeer, or fool around with friends.
Meanwhile, younger students who weren't allowed to leave the castle could only wander aimlessly around the grounds.
After adjusting his mindset carefully, Lucien headed toward Quirrell's office.
"Mr Grindelwald."
The moment he entered, Voldemort's voice echoed through the room.
"You are very punctual."
Bang.
The office door slammed shut behind him automatically.
Lucien immediately bowed respectfully.
"It is only proper, Teacher."
"Hahaha…"
Voldemort was clearly extremely pleased by the title.
With a casual wave of his hand, the notebook Lucien carried flew directly into his grasp.
The room fell silent except for the soft rustling of pages turning.
After several minutes, Voldemort finally looked up again.
"Excellent, Lucien."
Approval shone clearly within his eyes.
"It seems you truly studied the material seriously."
The notebook contained countless annotations, theories, and personal insights Lucien had added himself.
Any teacher would naturally appreciate a hardworking and talented student.
"Tell me," Voldemort continued calmly, "has your understanding of dark magic changed?"
"Yes."
Lucien nodded slowly.
"In the past, I believed malice itself was the standard for judging dark magic."
Then his eyes sharpened thoughtfully.
"But after studying your notes, I realised something."
"The essence of dark magic and ordinary magic appears fundamentally different."
He paused briefly.
"Even highly advanced defensive or light magic often lacks the raw lethality naturally possessed by dark magic."
Voldemort placed the notebook down calmly.
"The fact that you noticed this proves you've already grasped the essence of magic itself."
"The essence?"
A trace of confusion appeared in Lucien's expression.
"That's correct."
Voldemort's tone remained calm and patient.
"Put simply, it refers to the original purpose behind a spell's creation."
He raised his wand lightly.
"For example, the Killing Curse was created solely for murder."
"And Lumos exists for illumination."
The crimson eyes beneath Quirrell's turban locked onto Lucien.
"The beliefs and intent embedded within those spells are fundamentally different."
Then Voldemort's voice lowered slightly.
"To a certain extent, dark magic is not necessarily stronger than ordinary magic."
"But its destructive nature is incomparable."
Although Voldemort was feared as the Dark Lord, his understanding of ordinary magic remained extraordinary as well.
In truth, his mastery of magic as a whole far surpassed most wizards entirely.
Lucien bowed respectfully again.
"Thank you for your guidance, Teacher."
Then he immediately began asking about the questions that had accumulated during the past week.
"While experimenting recently, I discovered many jinxes resemble weakened forms of more dangerous curses."
He frowned thoughtfully.
"But whenever I attempt combining certain malicious spell structures together, the final result never behaves as expected."
Voldemort waved his wand casually.
An owl suddenly appeared atop the empty desk.
"Lucien," Voldemort said calmly, "I must admit your observational skills are excellent."
He gestured toward the owl.
"Take this creature as an example."
With another flick of his wand, the owl let out a loud shriek.
Voldemort frowned slightly before waving his hand again.
Instantly, the sound vanished.
The owl opened its beak desperately, but no noise emerged.
"An owl's body consists of flesh, blood, bones, feathers, organs…"
Then Voldemort's voice suddenly became colder.
"But what happens if those parts are separated individually?"
The next second—
The owl exploded apart instantly.
Blood.
Bones.
Organs.
Feathers.
Everything separated violently across the desk.
Even Lucien's eyes twitched slightly at the gruesome sight.
Yet his expression remained calm.
If anything, it carried curiosity instead of fear.
Voldemort became increasingly satisfied.
He casually pointed toward the scattered remains.
"A complete living creature is formed from all these components."
"But simply piling those components together again does not recreate life."
Lucien's eyes immediately brightened.
"I understand now."
His thoughts connected instantly.
"A spell may consist of multiple magical structures combined together…"
"But unless they are arranged in the correct order, under the correct conditions, and within the correct framework…"
"…the final spell cannot truly exist."
"Exactly."
For the remainder of the afternoon, Lucien continued asking questions one after another.
Putting aside morality entirely, Voldemort was genuinely an exceptional teacher.
His magical knowledge was terrifyingly broad.
More importantly, he explained complex concepts through simple and familiar examples, making advanced theories astonishingly easy to understand.
Lucien gained enormous benefits from only a single afternoon.
"Any further questions?" Voldemort finally asked.
He was clearly very satisfied with his intelligent disciple.
Lucien's ability to infer broader concepts from small examples saved tremendous amounts of teaching time.
"That's all for today."
Lucien bowed respectfully again.
"Thank you for your guidance, Teacher."
This time, the sincerity within the title was unmistakable.
Then Voldemort's expression shifted slightly.
"Do you remember the information I requested previously?"
Lucien nodded.
"There is a three-headed dog hidden within the restricted corridor on the third floor."
"It appears to be guarding something important, though I still haven't discovered exactly what."
"Cerberus…"
Voldemort murmured quietly.
He fell silent for a long time before speaking again.
"And Harry Potter?"
"What would you like to know specifically?"
"Everything."
Voldemort's current condition severely limited both his mobility and intelligence gathering.
Quirrell's deteriorating body prevented frequent magic use, making information extremely difficult to obtain.
Even after becoming suspicious about Harry during class earlier, they had only learned basic details.
Lucien answered calmly.
"Then I'll begin from before Harry enrolled at Hogwarts."
He carefully omitted several critical secrets.
Harry being Voldemort's accidental Horcrux.
The blood protection around Privet Drive.
And other key future plot points.
Everything else, however, Lucien described in detail.
Harry's miserable childhood.
His ignorance regarding the magical world.
His reckless personality.
His dependence on Ron.
By the time Lucien finished speaking, Voldemort had fallen silent once more.
Several minutes later, he finally looked up.
"Well done."
With a flick of his wand, a new notebook flew together with the old one directly into Lucien's arms.
"This is your reward."
Then Voldemort's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Continue gathering information regarding Harry Potter."
"There are certain future plans which will require your cooperation."
"I'll contact you beforehand."
"Yes, Teacher."
By the time Lucien finally left Quirrell's office, darkness had already swallowed the castle entirely.
"As expected of Britain…"
Lucien sighed softly.
"It's barely past four o'clock and already pitch-black."
He rubbed his forehead.
"Better return and prepare. Aunt Vinda should arrive in Hogsmeade soon."
Back inside the dormitory, Lucien immediately pulled out the Marauder's Map.
After carefully avoiding several students and professors, he slipped through one of Hogwarts' hidden underground passages before finally arriving in Hogsmeade Village.
Unfortunately, the moment he emerged, Lucien realised something important.
Hogsmeade was enormous.
And he had never agreed on a meeting location with Vinda.
For the first time in quite a while, Lucien genuinely didn't know where to go.
After wandering through the snowy village for some time, he finally decided to head toward the busiest-looking building nearby.
At least crowds usually meant information.
Unfortunately…
His judgment appeared slightly flawed.
Lucien originally thought he had arrived at the Three Broomsticks.
Instead—
A gigantic severed pig's head hung creaking above the doorway.