13 January 1991, Hogwarts
The young Slytherin shivered at the man's cold tone, and implied threat. He returned to his dormitory and stayed in his bed, realizing that he almost became the apprentice of the fucking Dark Lord in his first year at Hogwarts. He only hoped that the man wouldn't kill him for his refusal.
It was the following day and Harry was still shaking at what happened with Quirrell. There was just too much of a risk to spending a large amount of time with the Defense against the dark arts professor. The topics that the man spoke of were far beyond the cowardly academic he pretended to be, and the passion in his voice did not fit his carefully mastered persona.
Yeah, Quirrell was probably possessed and spending any extra time with him was dangerous, let alone becoming his private pupil. This posed a substantial risk, especially with the knowledge locked deep in Harry's mind. His protection came from his anonymity. No one cared about the Slytherin quiet bookworm when Malfoy and Longbottom look all the spotlight and it suited him perfectly.
However, Quirrell had noticed, Voldemort had noticed him. And while having one of the strongest wizards in existence teach him was a very attractive idea, it was simply foolish to spend time near a master of Legilimency while having secret knowledge in his head. The fact that the castle was still standing and that things are continuing somewhat similarly to the stories in Harry's mind, was proof that no one was able to breach inside, but Harry was gaining attention and he couldn't let his knowledge into the hands of anyone but him. He didn't trust anyone to give them something that could shake the very foundations of magical society, and perhaps, he never will trust anyone for that.
Harry didn't know if his past life was automatically protected from intrusion, but Harry rarely ever thought about it, and definitely not during class, which made him somewhat safe. Plus, Legilimency was a spell, and Harry could hear spells that are malicious in nature thanks to his Arcane Hearing. It wasn't foolproof since Dumbledore accidentally got past it by getting an enchantment without negative intent affecting him. But direct spells like Legilimency were like loud bangs for Harry. Oh, he was actively blocking his ability to not be overwhelmed by the castle's magic, but it was still proof that he wasn't infallible. Harry never turned off his ability when he was in Quirrell's presence, or Snape's for that matter. It was for self-preservation purposes, but he hadn't felt anyone attempt to breach his mind. Not that he was even looking them in the eyes in the first place.
Still, having someone become your mentor without looking them in the eye was just optimistic. That's not mentioning whatever Quirrell's real plan was. Yeah, getting away from that shit show was for the best. Nevertheless, Harry really needed to step up his occlumency training to avoid causing any trouble.
To make sure that the offer is off the table entirely, Harry decided to speed up his joining of a school club so that Quirrell wouldn't try to sneak something past him. First-years were only allowed one extracurricular activity, and if he joined a club, the possibly possessed professor would need to get him to quit before getting him to accept his offer.
And so, after his charms lesson, Harry walked up to Professor Flitwick and spoke up, "Professor, is it possible for me to join the duelling club?"
The half-goblin grinned, "Oho, Mr Potter, I have been waiting for a week for you to bring up the issue. I normally don't accept first-years as they are liable to get hurt and often get left behind. I also need a whole year to train my students and prepare them for the dueling tournaments in the summer, and first years are only allowed to join a club in their second semester. However, Minerva did bend the rule to admit Longbottom to the Quidditch team, which sets a precedent for admitting you into the club, so it's only a question to if you can catch up to the other members, and if you can handle the extra workload. It will not be an easy task, Potter. Are you willing to put the effort in?"
"I promise to do my best, Professor," Harry replied.
"Alright, I will admit you as a probationary member of the club. In a month, I will personally review your membership based on your performance in the dueling ring, and your performance in your academia. If you prove to me, and the rest of the club that you can handle it, then you'll be a full member. You'll probably be the youngest member in almost a century, an impressive feat, all things considered. Do you agree with my terms, young Potter?"
The Potter scion had an intense look on his face, "Yes, I can do it."
.....
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