"That student is a natural-born Dark wizard."
Voldemort spoke with admiration to Quirrell. "Without exceptional talent in the Dark Arts, outstanding intelligence, and a desire—born from the depths of one's heart—to dominate others, it would be impossible to arrive at such a line of thought… When he graduates, perhaps I could recruit him. No—once I am resurrected and take control of this castle, I can guide him personally…"
"What is his background?" Voldemort asked. "Which House? Pure-blood or half-blood?"
"He—he's from Hufflepuff…"
"Hufflepuff?" Voldemort frowned. That was not quite what he had envisioned. Among his followers, there had never been anyone from that so-called 'soft-hearted' House.
"As for— as for his bloodline, he comes from an orphanage. No one knows his exact lineage. But I heard that it was Dumbledore himself who handled his admission. If blood is a factor at all, then his heritage may not be so simple," Quirrell continued, answering Voldemort's questions.
"Raised in an orphanage, brought in by Dumbledore, powerful talent… very much like me in my youth."
Voldemort asked softly, "What is his name?"
"Th-that's where the problem lies, my Lord."
Quirrell replied with some confusion. "According to the student registry, his name is the incantation of the Killing Curse—Avada Kendavia…"
"What?"
Voldemort froze for a moment, then burst into an uncontrollable, shrill peal of laughter.
"Hahahaha—hahahahaha… Interesting. Truly interesting…"
Seeing that his master was growing more and more intrigued by the student, Quirrell couldn't help but warn him, "My Lord, could this be Dumbledore testing us? After all, he's a Hufflepuff—and he was personally brought in by Dumbledore…"
"You don't understand Dumbledore."
Voldemort was in an excellent mood and thus magnanimously forgave his foolish servant's doubts, explaining, "If that old man had truly discovered anything, he would never allow his student to walk into danger so easily… Besides, he has always been far too trusting. The fact that he recruited you means he never truly suspected you."
"B-but what if he later realizes this is actually Dark magic and goes to Dumbledore to report it?"
"If he doesn't want to be expelled, he won't do that," Voldemort chuckled. "After all, it's magic he researched himself. I merely offered a bit of insignificant assistance. And besides… how could someone capable of conceiving such ideas possibly reject the Dark Arts?"
"Still… why Hufflepuff? Next time I see him, I'll have to test him properly."
…
Avada currently had one piece of good news, one piece of bad news, and yet another piece of good news.
The good news was that, based on his preliminary diagnosis, the methods he possessed were very likely capable of affecting Voldemort's wraith-like remnant—though this was only an early judgment made with limited data, far from a definitive conclusion.
The bad news was that Voldemort had begun paying personal attention to him… Who would have thought that a single paper of his could spark such intense interest from Voldemort?
Aren't you supposed to be extremely weak right now? Lying low in the shadows? Was it really worth risking exposure just for an ordinary student like him?!
Avada knew that Voldemort had always harbored a desire to experience being a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor—but he hadn't expected that desire to be this intense…
And if, in the future, every encounter with Quirrell meant Voldemort personally "logging in," Avada would be forced to devote most of his attention to maintaining Occlumency, drastically slowing his progress in analyzing Voldemort's mental power.
However, this led to the third piece of good news: the perfect excuse to bring Dumbledore into the fold had delivered itself right to his doorstep.
Once he finished analyzing Voldemort's mental power, he could rush to the Headmaster's office in a "state of panic," tell Dumbledore that the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor had a face like a double-hole socket on the back of his head and had tried to teach him an Unforgivable Curse. Then he could conveniently suspect that it was Voldemort himself, and casually produce his method of controlling Voldemort's wraith as "evidence" (using the Shafiq family or Professor Baker as an excuse)… At that point, he could proudly declare the Harry Potter series complete, with flowers and applause.
As for matters like the Basilisk, Sirius, Peter, or Barty Crouch Jr., once Voldemort himself had been completely suppressed, they would all be trivial to resolve.
When I get back, I can try practicing Professor Baker's "Dual Casting." That way I can multitask—dealing with Voldemort while continuing the analysis…
Lost in his wildly unrealistic fantasies, Avada headed toward the Restricted Section with the newly acquired permission slip in hand. He intended to see exactly what Voldemort had recommended to him. According to Voldemort, the book was deeply connected to the Imperius Curse and the Confundus Charm—mental magic. It might just be of real help.
"Madam Pince, I'd like to borrow this book."
Silently passing through the library, he stopped before the librarian and gently handed over the slip.
"Professor Quirrell's authorization… borrowing Psychodynamics…" Madam Pince muttered under her breath with a frown. "Why would he recommend something this abstruse to a second-year student?"
She waved her wand over the slip for quite some time, then finally nodded and put it away. "Wait here."
Moments later, she emerged from the Restricted Section carrying a book that looked stiff and proper, nothing like the other forbidden tomes whose covers alone screamed danger. She handed it to Avada. "The borrowing period is three months. Be sure to return it on time."
"Understood. Thank you."
After thanking her softly, Avada left the Restricted Section—but not the library. He wandered among the shelves, pulled out several other books, skimmed through them briefly, and only then departed.
Among all the books on dangerous magical creatures, not a single one mentions that a three-headed dog's weakness is music—even though many describe it in great detail…
What's going on? Did Dumbledore remove the relevant books, or is 'music' a weakness newly discovered by the magical-creatures expert Hagrid? After all, aside from him, who would have the leisure to play music for a three-headed dog…
Passing straight through the common room and returning to his temporarily empty dormitory, Avada opened Psychodynamics and began reading.
"Preface…"
"Since the phenomenon known as 'magic' was first discovered by humankind, the exploration of its principles and applications has never ceased. As research deepened, the concepts of 'magical power' and 'mental power' gradually took shape: the former being the essence and source of magic itself, the latter serving as the medium that triggers magic and occupying a crucial role in the structure of life…"
"From ancient times to the present, magical research has focused primarily on magical power. Wizards devised experiments and proposed hypotheses to explain, express, and apply it, summarizing its natural laws. From Ancient Runes, to sigil arrays born in the Middle Ages, to modern semiotics and 'magical functions' inspired by arithmancy and Muggle science, all have attempted to interpret the mysterious phenomenon of magical power through symbols and language comprehensible to humans…"
"However, in this process, research into mental power itself has gradually been diminished and forgotten. Mental magic is generally regarded as the most dangerous form of magic, resulting in strict regulation of related knowledge. As a result, the study of mental power remains at a rudimentary level. Though it is but a drop in the ocean compared to vast and enigmatic magical power, it is of paramount importance to wizards—for it is the source of thought itself, and the qualification by which one explores nature and magic…"
"It is much like speech: everyone can speak, yet people tend to focus only on what is said, rarely on how the tongue and mouth move during speech. Though such research may currently seem detached from reality, I believe that as exploration deepens, we will eventually encounter 'unutterable words'—magic that exists only in theory and cannot be cast. When that day comes, we will have no choice but to turn our attention back to mental power…"
"As this book is titled Psychodynamics, its purpose is naturally to explore the structure of mental power, how it is affected by various forms of magic, and how it functions during spellcasting…"
(End of Chapter)