"The school rules say we must wear uniforms and keep them clean," a nearby student chimed in.
"So we can make some small modifications elsewhere," Roger said, pulling out a loose-leaf notebook from the inner lining of his clothes.
He opened the notebook, tore out a sheet of paper, tapped it with his finger, and the blank paper transformed into a pair of glowing vampire fangs.
Handing them to the student next to him, he tore off another sheet and turned it into a hockey mask from the classic 1980 horror movie Friday the 13th.
Finally, he shook the entire notebook, turning it into a pumpkin headpiece.
Some young wizards weren't interested in these, but for Muggle-borns, it was quite appealing.
Before coming to Hogwarts, they used to dress up for holidays. Suddenly stopping felt strange.
However, people tend to follow the crowd. Since no one else dressed up, they didn't want to stand out.
But now that Roger had started it…
Immediately, the Muggle-born students who had celebrated Halloween before surrounded him.
---
Hogwarts Great Hall
A lavish feast suddenly appeared on golden plates—the Halloween banquet had begun. Harry glanced around and saw that many students had put on various accessories like masks, headpieces, and bandages. They were still wearing their wizard robes, but the Halloween spirit was much stronger than before.
"So, what exactly are you dressed as? Some kind of special vampire?" Harry turned to Roger, who was sitting beside him.
Roger casually picked up a fried chicken leg and said, "An Egyptian Pharaoh who plays cards."
"…Huh?" Harry was confused. He looked Roger up and down but saw nothing particularly Egyptian, except for a pyramid-shaped pendant on his chest.
Just as Roger was about to explain the future of fashion and the peak power of Tears of the Pharaoh—
Bang!
A loud noise echoed through the hall.
"The troll! There's a troll in the dungeon!"
"I…" Professor Quirrell had rehearsed his lines, but halfway through, he stopped abruptly.
Because he noticed Roger standing nearby.
Around Roger's neck hung a golden pyramid pendant, with a dark red gemstone embedded at its center.
…The Philosopher's Stone!
How was it here?!
---
After obtaining the Philosopher's Stone, Roger had thought carefully about how to handle it.
In Voldemort's perception, the stone was supposed to be guarded by Dumbledore on the third floor.
Following the original course of fate, Roger should have let things play out:
Let Harry suspect Snape.
Let Snape clash with Voldemort.
Have the professors set up obstacles like Devil's Snare, a locked door, wizard's chess, and potion puzzles.
Use a substitute for the Mirror of Erised to complete the spell.
As long as Harry had his mother's protective magic, Voldemort couldn't harm him. The moment Harry touched Quirrell, the deeply-corrupted professor would die instantly.
Voldemort, losing his host, would have no choice but to flee.
This would also give Harry a valuable learning experience.
But Roger didn't want to do that.
He had been on the battlefield before—taking a life was never an easy experience, especially in close combat.
Unless you no longer see the other person as human.
Letting Harry kill Quirrell? Forget it. He might have to face such situations one day, but Roger didn't want that to happen at age eleven.
Just because you've suffered doesn't mean you should take away someone else's umbrella.
So Roger came up with a different plan.
On Halloween, Quirrell would release a troll into the castle.
In the original timeline, Hermione had been crying in the girls' bathroom after being hurt by Ron's words. Feeling guilty, Harry and Ron went to find her.
That led to their confrontation with the troll, where they worked together to defeat it with a Levitation Charm, forming an unbreakable bond of friendship through shared danger.
But now, fate had already changed.
Hermione's life had taken a slightly different path, and Harry and Ron's experiences had shifted their personalities.
The bathroom battle wouldn't happen.
However, Voldemort hadn't been affected yet—his plan should still be the same.
Which meant Roger could ambush him.
And, just as expected…
When Quirrell stormed into the Great Hall and saw the Philosopher's Stone hanging openly around Roger's neck, he hesitated for half a second.
Then quickly recovered.
When in doubt, stay still.
So he rolled his eyes and pretended to faint.
At this point, everyone was familiar with his nervous demeanor—this reaction wasn't unexpected.
Dumbledore was currently away from Britain, leaving Vice-Principal McGonagall in charge.
She handled the emergency calmly.
First, she used magic to create a loud noise, grabbing the attention of the panicking students and quieting them down. Then, she instructed the Prefects to lead the younger students back to their dormitories. The banquet was over.
For a skilled wizard, a troll wasn't that dangerous. Any Prefect, or even most upper-year students, could handle it.
But for untrained children?
For them, facing a troll was terrifying.
Most of them hadn't even fought before.
Forget casting spells—if they didn't accidentally blow themselves up with a misfired spell, it would already be a miracle.
Honestly, their own wands posed a bigger threat to them than the troll.
So, evacuating was the safest option.
As the students scrambled to find their Prefects, Roger casually walked over to the "unconscious" Quirrell.
He lifted Quirrell with a Levitation Charm, making it seem like he was moving him to the faculty table for treatment.
Quirrell remained motionless.
But Roger sensed the faintest warning from his danger instincts.
A feeling he knew all too well—someone capable of harming him was extremely alert nearby.
Roger ignored it.
Instead, he adjusted his angle slightly, ensuring no one could see his face, then leaned in and whispered in the noisy hall:
"Are we just going to forget about the Philosopher's Stone?"
Quirrell's pinky twitched slightly.
"…How about you do me a favor… Voldemort?"
Quirrell: !
Voldemort: ?!
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