Lucas was guiding Harry's thoughts step by step.
After all, directly forcing ideas onto someone rarely worked as well as allowing them to reach conclusions themselves.
Only thoughts born from personal reflection truly rooted themselves deeply.
And Harry really did begin thinking seriously.
Did he hate Voldemort?
The answer slowly surfaced inside his heart.
Of course he did.
Harry should have grown up with loving parents.
He should have had birthdays.
A proper home.
Friends.
Warm meals.
Instead, he grew up inside a dark cupboard beneath the stairs beside spiders and dust.
He wore Dudley's oversized old clothes.
He suffered bullying almost every single day.
The Dursleys constantly insulted his parents.
His entire childhood had been miserable.
And why?
Because Voldemort murdered his mother and father.
Because Voldemort destroyed everything before Harry could even remember it.
The more Harry thought about it, the tighter his fists became.
Finally, he raised his head.
"Yes," Harry said quietly.
Then his voice gradually became firmer.
"I hate them."
His green eyes burned with anger.
"If Voldemort hadn't disappeared already…" Harry clenched his teeth. "I would've hunted him down myself."
Lucas watched him silently for several seconds.
Then he spoke in a low voice.
"Do you really think he's dead?"
Harry froze.
Beside him, Hermione immediately frowned.
"But all the books say he vanished after his curse rebounded," she argued uncertainly. "He hasn't appeared in years."
Lucas shook his head calmly.
"Disappearing doesn't necessarily mean dying, Hermione."
Then his gaze darkened slightly.
"It could simply mean he was injured badly enough that recovery takes time."
Harry suddenly remembered something.
"The Dark wizard from Gringotts…"
Lucas nodded slowly.
"You remember him?"
"Of course!" Harry's breathing quickened immediately. "I still remember his eyes. He genuinely wanted to kill me."
Harry unconsciously gripped the edge of the bed tighter.
"If you hadn't pushed me into the cart…"
He didn't finish the sentence.
Lucas leaned back slightly.
"After I injured him, he transformed into black mist and escaped."
Then his expression became unusually serious.
"And within that black mist… I felt something."
Harry and Hermione stared at him silently.
"Pure evil."
Lucas's voice remained steady and calm.
"The kind of evil I don't believe exists anywhere else except in one person."
He paused deliberately.
"Voldemort."
Hermione's face instantly turned pale.
"You mean—"
"I believe Voldemort attached himself to that Dark wizard somehow," Lucas continued quietly. "And honestly, if Voldemort had been in better condition…"
He smiled faintly.
"I might not be sitting here right now."
Harry's eyes widened.
"So he's alive?"
Excitement and anger mixed together in his voice.
"Then he'll definitely come back someday!"
Hermione looked horrified.
"Oh my God…"
Over the past month, Lucas had told them countless stories about Voldemort's first rise to power. Murders. Torture. Entire families wiped out.
Hermione had become deeply terrified of that dark era.
The idea of Voldemort returning made her stomach twist painfully.
"Did you tell Professor Dumbledore?" she asked nervously.
Lucas nodded.
"I think Professor Dumbledore already suspected the truth long ago."
Then he added carefully, "That's probably why he wanted the object inside Vault 713 protected so badly."
Naturally, Lucas never directly mentioned the Philosopher's Stone.
Harry's expression slowly hardened.
"So Voldemort's already preparing for his return…"
"That's right."
Lucas's voice became softer.
"He's weak right now. But nobody can guarantee he'll stay weak forever."
Then he looked directly into Harry's eyes.
"And Voldemort still has followers everywhere."
Harry stayed silent.
Lucas continued steadily.
"People like the Dark wizard at Gringotts. Loyal servants hiding quietly inside the wizarding world."
A faint breeze drifted through the open window.
"The world isn't nearly as peaceful as it looks."
Harry lowered his head slightly.
"So I was never actually safe," he murmured.
Lucas didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he asked quietly:
"Are you afraid, Harry?"
Harry instantly looked up.
"I'm not afraid!"
The anger in his voice exploded outwards immediately.
"Let them come! I'll make them regret it!"
Lucas watched him calmly.
"But right now, you're still weak."
Harry froze slightly.
"You still rely on others to protect you."
The room fell silent.
Then Harry spoke again.
"I want to become stronger, Lucas."
His expression was unbelievably serious.
"You're almost the same age as me. So why are you already this strong?"
Harry hesitated briefly before asking the real question.
"Is it because you're a genius?"
"Of course not."
Lucas answered immediately without even blinking.
"I became stronger because of hatred."
Hermione frowned.
"Hate?"
Lucas slowly looked towards the ceiling.
"Human potential is limitless," he said quietly. "But most people never push themselves far enough to discover that."
Then his eyes darkened faintly.
"Hatred forces people forward."
"It drags strength out of places you never knew existed."
Harry listened carefully.
Meanwhile, Hermione looked increasingly uneasy.
Harry suddenly remembered something.
"Actually…" he began hesitantly. "I've always wanted to ask…"
Lucas glanced towards him.
"Hagrid told me never to ask about your past," Harry admitted quickly. "But… what happened to you?"
His voice carried genuine confusion.
Because nothing about Lucas made sense.
An eleven-year-old who could duel Dark wizards.
An eleven-year-old capable of defeating Aurors.
An eleven-year-old whom even Dumbledore personally trained.
What kind of childhood produced someone like that?
Hermione clearly wanted to know too.
Ever since witnessing Lucas casually perform Transfiguration beyond anything she could even imagine, she had realised how terrifying his talent truly was.
Lucas suddenly fell silent.
He slowly turned his head and stared out the window.
Hermione noticed immediately that his eyes had lost focus slightly.
Harry instantly regretted asking.
"I'm sorry," he said hurriedly. "You don't have to tell us."
Lucas remained quiet for several moments.
Then suddenly—
He smiled.
"There's nothing I can't tell my friends."
Harry and Hermione both froze slightly.
Friends.
The word warmed their hearts immediately.
At the same time, guilt struck Harry even harder.
Especially because Lucas was still willing to trust them despite the painful question.
"It's fine," Lucas said softly. "Honestly, it happened a long time ago."
Then he paused briefly.
"Almost two months ago."
Harry blinked.
Hermione blinked.
"…What?"
Lucas slowly stood up from his chair.
"Harry," he said quietly, "two months ago, I didn't even know magic existed."
Silence.
Absolute silence filled the room.
Harry's mind practically stopped functioning.
Two months?
Lucas had only learned about the wizarding world two months ago?
Then how—
How could someone become this monstrously powerful in such a short time?
Harry's heart suddenly filled with excitement.
If he could discover Lucas's secret…
Could he also become strong enough to fight Voldemort one day?
Meanwhile, Lucas quietly reached for the hem of his shirt.
Then—
He pulled it off.
Harry and Hermione both froze completely.
Lucas's body was horrifying.
Scars covered nearly every inch of skin.
Some looked like deep claw wounds.
Others resembled burns.
Several were so twisted and vicious that they barely looked survivable.
The scars layered over one another densely across his thin body like evidence of endless suffering.
Harry felt his throat tighten instantly.
Hermione's face turned white.
Neither of them could speak at all.
....
Join my P@treon get free advanced chapters.
Paid members can get upto 60+ chapters ahead of the public release.
Link : [email protected]/KittyLovesMilk