"Master, that child, Harry Potter... lives up to his reputation. He's terrifying."
Voldemort remained silent, recalling the momentary intimidation that had flickered in the opponent's eyes.
That sense of unity with his environment—wherever he stood became sovereign territory. The shabby pub transformed into a palace, the weathered bar into a throne. What should have been a simple greeting became something far grander—each word carried the weight of royal decree, every gesture commanding absolute reverence. The very atmosphere bent to his will.
And that final departure—a kingly aura like divine authority, utterly inviolable... exactly what Voldemort envisioned himself to be.
What kind of charisma was this? He even suspected his own perception was flawed.
Why would he feel that mere Potter possessed such a terrifying presence?
Even he himself, the famous second-generation Dark Lord, lacked such bearing.
The opponent seemed to see through something but wasn't yet certain. It was just a fleeting moment before quickly returning to normal, not really doing anything to Quirrell... but it made no sense either. Why would he have a special attitude toward harmless Quirrell?
Perhaps he was simply testing how capable Hogwarts professors were? Not specifically targeting anyone?
Just like when he first entered school—young Voldemort, already mastering some magic through exceptional talent and self-teaching, also had thoughts of testing Hogwarts.
But the person who came for his enrolment was named Albus Dumbledore.
Now Harry faced someone named Quirinus Quirrell.
Both were Hogwarts professors, but calling them equals would be like saying heaven and earth were the same.
Young Tom had faced such a difficult situation then. Half a century later, young Tom became old Tom—if he faced the Dumbledore of those days again, he still couldn't win.
Years ago, Tom grew up in a Muggle orphanage, initially unaware of his wizard heritage. But when he could control innate magic—telekinesis, speaking with snakes—he began stealing and taking revenge, making the orphanage children fear and shun him.
That summer, Albus Dumbledore, then a Transfiguration professor but already one of the world's strongest wizards, came to the orphanage.
He'd heard of young Tom's misdeeds—hanging a child's rabbit, taking others' belongings.
So, hoping to lead Tom toward redemption, he used burning wardrobes to force Tom's confession.
This taught young Tom a truth Harry also understood after crossing over to the A Song of Ice and Fire World:
Strength was the reason for kingship.
The weak must submit to the stronger.
And for a century, Britain's strongest had undoubtedly been Dumbledore.
This left Voldemort with permanent psychological trauma—he could never forget the White Wizard's unfathomable fire magic.
Returning to the present, this child from the prophecy—his destined enemy who ten years ago had somehow reflected the Killing Curse, reducing him to his current state—was clearly also making his first contact with the magical world.
But his performance, compared to his own under Dumbledore's guidance when learning restraint, showed more confidence, more... excellence.
Many wizards in the Leaky Cauldron, just from their first meeting, showed tendencies to kneel and serve as his followers.
Voldemort had earned such allegiance often during his Hogwarts years, but only as he advanced through the upper levels of school hierarchy.
As an orphan with nothing but raw magical talent to establish his dominance in Slytherin, Voldemort had learned early that strength commanded respect. He'd sworn to become the most terrifying Dark Lord in history.
His combination of ruthless ambition and devastating power proved intoxicating to certain pureblood students, who began following him with fanatic devotion.
Together, they formed the Knights of Walpurgis—the organization that would eventually evolve into the Death Eaters."
But selfish Tom only used followers as useful servants.
These people were complex—"the weak seeking protection, ambitious ones wanting reflected glory, and naturally cruel ones attracted to a leader who could teach higher forms of cruelty."
But those pub people seemed different—long-held worship and fantasy becoming reality, conquered because the real person had more charisma than imagined, appearing purer.
Still incomprehensible—that child was only eleven? No matter how he thought about it, how had he trained? Where did his strength, charisma, and bearing come from? Was someone born to be king?
Voldemort recalled the prophecy his faithful servant Snape had told him:
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches—born to those who have thrice defied him—born as the seventh month dies—the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal—but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not—and either must die at the hand of the other, for neither can live while the other survives—the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies."
This prophecy was indeed true—this child was more special than imagined.
Voldemort grew more anxious.
According to the prophecy, only one could survive... He had already died, his body destroyed by his own powerful Killing Curse—before Harry's appearance, Tom had firmly believed his Avada Kedavra was the strongest in history.
No one understood the Killing Curse better than him!
No one could resist it, including himself.
After taking the death curse head-on, only Horcrux power had prevented complete death, leaving him between life and death.
The other had survived. If the prophecy was correct, if he couldn't kill him, he couldn't truly live.
Already so powerful now—when this child grows up, what chance would he have?
"Master, the moment our hands touched, I felt death hovering at my shoulder. That child's grip—deceptively small, yet it held the strength to crush me utterly. The instant his fingers closed around mine, I knew with absolute certainty that escape was impossible. I was completely at his mercy... as if our roles had been reversed, and I was the helpless eleven-year-old."
Now Quirrell wasn't stammering.
When talking with Voldemort, he didn't need to pretend to be foolish.
Unlike Harry's imagination, Voldemort was braver—or rather, more reckless—than expected.
Previously weaker, only able to possess extremely weak creatures like rats, after ten years' recovery and some magical power restoration, he could control Quirrell.
Most of the time he hid in Quirrell's turban, staying with Quirrell undercover, including going to Hogwarts alongside Dumbledore.
If Harry knew, he'd marvel—when there was trouble, he really did go personally! The boss is personally going undercover.
Perhaps lacking a body, with Horcruxes as backup and conditions unable to worsen, he wasn't as cautious as when alive, taking risks carelessly—Dumbledore couldn't kill him again anyway.