After a decade of silence, the former Dark Lord returned to Britain from distant Albania, near Greece. His primary goal was to regain his power.
He, who had once commanded Death Eaters and thrown the British magical world into chaos, knew this clearly in his heart.
While he had loyal Death Eaters, the majority were opportunistic individuals, Pure-blood families seeking to achieve their political aims through him, and dark wizards with no bottom line, looking to profit from the chaos.
If these latter three types discovered his current weakness, they would not offer him a helping hand!
After his downfall, his followers scattered. Some were captured, some died, some went into hiding, some betrayed him and went clean, and some had been spies all along… he had seen it all.
Haha, wizards were such good actors.
Even Voldemort sometimes couldn't tell who was truly loyal and who was just another hidden trap waiting to be sprung.
Voldemort couldn't be bothered to distinguish.
He knew only one thing: as long as he reclaimed his power, everything would return.
The sycophants, the scheming families, the profit-driven dark wizards—as long as his banner still stood, those who enjoyed helping predators would gather around him like hyenas, forming a formidable force, waiting for him to lead them into the next...
Hunt!
As long as he could remain strong and victorious.
Were his followers truly loyal or merely greedy individuals feigning respect… did it matter?
Heh, they were all loyal subjects.
Therefore, upon receiving news of the Philosopher's Stone, Voldemort began his actions.
If he succeeded this time, it would save him a lot of trouble.
But unfortunately, he was one step short. The opportunity with the most potential had slipped through his fingers.
Opening Gringotts' vault, it was empty; the Philosopher's Stone had already been taken.
However, he could still find traces. The Philosopher's Stone was now at Hogwarts! Voldemort also knew that the useless wizard he was possessing had already been targeted.
Severus Snape had once been his subordinate, and his unusual behavior was almost an explicit signal to Voldemort.
But it didn't matter.
People only suspected Quirrell, and even if they guessed Quirrell was after the Philosopher's Stone, it was harmless.
Because if they suspected Quirrell, the security measures would only be at the level of guarding against a professor who taught Muggle Studies at Hogwarts last year and suddenly transferred to Defense Against the Dark Arts this year.
As long as he was careful and didn't reveal any clues that he was Voldemort, it would actually facilitate his actions.
...It should have been like this.
But life was always full of unexpected events that Voldemort detested.
A Seer!
After decades, the world had produced another powerful Seer capable of accurately predicting the future multiple times! And this Seer was to enroll at Hogwarts this year, coming into close contact with him.
Merlin's beard! Although he still had many Horcruxes and numerous chances to revive, who wanted to die once if they could avoid it?
For the first few days after school started, he kept his heart in his throat, prepared for the worst.
But in the end, he realized he had scared himself.
Nothing happened.
Of course, this didn't mean he was safe. After all, who knew what the Seer might do on a whim one day?
After concluding that there wouldn't be any immediate issues, Voldemort ordered Quirrell to continue monitoring the Philosopher's Stone. He himself, however, wanted to probe the Seer's capabilities.
He wouldn't have known if he hadn't investigated, but the investigation revealed quite a few problems! Voldemort observed Roger's learning during breaks and his spellcasting, making his judgments.
This newly enrolled young wizard's Mental Power was actually a whole lot higher than that of many Death Eaters!
If not for his overly immature magical application techniques and the limited number of spells he had learned, his current casting intensity alone would have been enough to make him a formidable subordinate.
His learning ability was also outstanding.
He seemed to have already established the rudimentary form of his own magical cognitive system, with high precision in controlling his Mental Power. He quickly grasped spells.
And he was not afraid to ask questions. Anything he didn't understand, he would stop professors after class to inquire about in detail, sometimes even visiting their offices to ask about his doubts.
...According to the young Seer, most of the questions he asked were outside the scope of the textbook. Asking in class would take up his classmates' learning time, and professors had an obligation to teach, so naturally, he should seek them out for answers.
Asking after class was just right.
And most professors welcomed Roger's questions.
On one hand, their character as teachers was good; they didn't dislike eager students. On the other hand, who wouldn't want to build a good relationship with a Seer who might become a guiding light at a crucial turning point in their lives? Moving daily between numerous professors and the library, this young Seer was like a sponge, frantically absorbing Hogwarts' nourishment.
Voldemort could feel him growing at a terrifying rate every day. Voldemort believed that Roger would soon elevate his magical proficiency to the level his Mental Power deserved.
And this was by no means the end.
After all, he was only 11 years old! What was his own strength at 11? He still had a considerable growth period ahead. As long as he didn't perish midway, by the time he reached Voldemort's current age, this Seer's strength…
Was unimaginable!
And what made Voldemort even more alarmed, more so than this 'monster' residing at Hogwarts and absorbing nourishment, growing madly before his very eyes, was another matter.
As everyone knows, Roger is a young wizard who often ponders things.
For example, in classes like History of Magic, where the teacher is just a textbook reader, making it worse than self-studying, or in classes where the teacher talks about things he's already learned, Roger would immerse himself in his own world, thinking about difficult problems he hadn't yet figured out.
What exactly was he thinking about? For this question that many were curious about, Voldemort decided to have Quirrell ask. After all, it was a perfectly normal thing for a professor to ask a student who wasn't paying attention in class what they were doing, and it wouldn't arouse suspicion.
Roger's answer was: "Eternal Life."
Roger didn't elaborate, only saying he was researching related topics.
But his words stirred up a storm in Voldemort's mind.
Eternal Life?
Was this something a first-year Hogwarts student should be researching?!
If Roger was truly researching Eternal Life, then in Voldemort's understanding, it was truly outrageous.
And if he was lying…
"Is this little Seer trying to hint at something to me?" Voldemort, clinging to the back of Quirrell's head, frowned.
In modern times, who was the most famous wizard pursuing Eternal Life?
Besides Nicolas Flamel, the creator of the Philosopher's Stone, who was openly the longest-lived at over 600 years old, wasn't it himself?!
Unable to grasp Roger's intentions for a moment, Voldemort decided to delve deeper for information.
Just then, he saw Harry Potter having a minor disagreement with his friends… what a coincidence.
And in Harry Potter's eyes at this moment, the person who truly felt wrong was Snape.
When he looked in Snape's direction during the welcoming feast, Harry suddenly felt a bad premonition, and Snape had also been inexplicably targeting him fiercely in Potions class.
"Heh heh heh, Potter (emphasis) of undeserved fame…" Harry sometimes dreamt of that voice.
The animosity Snape had earned through his own actions made Harry overlook Quirrell, who had been sitting next to Snape at the welcoming feast.
Because Quirrell was still a professor Harry could trust, he naturally didn't mind confiding everything he knew about Roger to Quirrell.
"Roger, huh…" Harry pondered for a moment. While he didn't reject the idea, he thought Roger was a good person, so he decided to filter out other classmates' prejudices about Roger and only speak of the good things.
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