Inside the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, Professor Quirrell adjusted his turban nervously before looking toward the students. After Rose finished speaking, he suddenly turned his attention toward Leo.
"So, Mr. Nicholas, who's sitting beside Miss Rose, do you have any questions for me?"
The moment Quirrell called his name, countless ideas flashed through Leo's mind. One after another, possible methods of destroying the fragment of Voldemort's soul hidden inside Quirrell surfaced before being discarded just as quickly. He could wait until nightfall, drag Quirrell somewhere isolated, and kill him. He could tell Dumbledore everything he knew about Horcruxes and let the Headmaster destroy them with Fiendfyre. He could even hunt down every remaining fragment himself and erase them one by one.
None of those options were realistic.
No matter how he looked at it, there was no way around Dumbledore. More importantly, asking Harry to kill someone was something Leo couldn't accept, even if Harry's circumstances were far from ordinary. As for doing it himself, that was even less practical. Leo might dislike Voldemort's arrogance and obsession with power, but he couldn't deny the man's terrifying ability. The Dark Lord had nearly conquered magical Britain through sheer force of will.
Outside Britain, however, Voldemort's reputation wasn't nearly as impressive. Many foreign witches and wizards barely knew his name, which explained why Rose had known almost nothing about him before arriving at Hogwarts.
"Thank you, Professor Quirrell. I don't have any further questions."
Leo rose smoothly to his feet.
Although it felt as though he had spent several minutes considering the possibilities, only a fraction of a second had actually passed. His enhanced mind processed information at frightening speed. With the soul of an adult, the body of a teenager, and magical power amplified several times over by the strange force within him, his thoughts moved faster than most people could even comprehend.
After Leo sat back down, Quirrell didn't call on either him or Rose again. Even so, the professor kept glancing toward them throughout the lesson. His twitchy, anxious stare made both Rose and Draco increasingly uncomfortable.
Leo, on the other hand, remained completely relaxed.
Whether it was because of his unusual condition or because he knew Voldemort couldn't currently do anything to him, he looked utterly uninterested from beginning to end.
And so Leo's first Defence Against the Dark Arts class came to an end beneath Quirrell's stammering lecture and the nervous tension filling the room.
The moment Quirrell hurried out of the classroom, both Draco and Rose released long sighs of relief at exactly the same time.
"Finally," Rose groaned dramatically as she collapsed across her desk. "Professor Quirrell is terrifying. He kept staring at me the entire class. I thought I was going to have a heart attack."
"Same," Draco admitted seriously. "I was more nervous than when I'm standing next to my father."
Leo rubbed his stomach as hunger finally returned.
He had been paying so much attention to Quirrell that he'd completely forgotten lunch.
"Forget him," Leo said as he stood. "I'm starving. Let's go eat."
Almost instantly, a loud growl echoed through the room.
Rose's face turned bright red.
"Let's go. Right now."
She practically sprinted from the classroom while Draco pretended he hadn't heard anything. Leo simply shook his head in amusement and followed after them.
The three reached the Great Hall quickly.
Leo immediately spotted Hermione and Harry already seated at one of the long tables.
"Hi, Hermione! Harry!"
Rose rushed over and dropped into the seat beside Hermione.
"Let's go sit there too," Leo said.
As he walked over, he failed to notice Draco briefly glance toward Ron with a conflicted expression before silently following behind.
Once everyone had settled, Draco quietly observed the hall while Leo concentrated entirely on food.
Quite a few older students were openly staring at their table.
Some looked shocked. Others looked amused. A few seemed angry, while several appeared genuinely betrayed.
The Ravenclaws mostly looked surprised. The Hufflepuffs watched with obvious curiosity, treating the entire situation like entertainment. The most hostile gazes naturally came from Gryffindor and Slytherin students.
Many upper-year students already knew that Leo, Hermione, Harry, and Ron had known each other before arriving at Hogwarts. Rose, meanwhile, had seemingly appeared out of nowhere and attached herself to the group almost immediately.
Neither Leo nor Rose cared in the slightest.
Rose simply ignored everyone, while Leo couldn't be bothered wasting energy on strangers. As long as nobody came looking for trouble, they were free to stare all day.
Harry, Ron, and Draco were far less comfortable.
Hermione, however, remained surprisingly calm.
She understood perfectly well that staying close to Harry Potter and Leo Nicholas offered a certain degree of protection. One was the most famous student in the wizarding world. The other had already established a frightening reputation during the Sorting Feast.
Even if some people disliked her because of that, Hermione didn't think it mattered very much.
A sudden rush of flapping wings interrupted the atmosphere.
Having learned from previous experience, many students immediately shielded their meals as owls flooded into the Great Hall. Others ignored the chaos completely and continued eating.
Fortunately, Leo's group had only just sat down.
Hundreds of owls swooped overhead, dropping letters and parcels beside their owners. Some became confused and delivered mail to the wrong students before correcting their mistakes with offended screeches.
Just as suddenly as they had arrived, the birds departed.
Only Draco received a letter.
He opened it quietly and read through the contents before folding it again. After glancing briefly toward Harry and Ron, he turned toward Leo.
"It's from my father," Draco said. "I wrote to him yesterday."
"And?"
Draco hesitated before continuing.
"I told him I'd become friends with you, Rose, and Harry. Father said I did well. Mother also asked me to pass along her greetings."
Leo looked at the folded letter thoughtfully.
He could tell Draco wasn't sharing everything, but he had no interest in pressing the issue. If Draco wanted to keep part of it private, there was probably a reason.
"Please send my regards back to your family," Leo replied while eating beef stew and potatoes. "I'm honored to know the heir of the Malfoy family."
"Me too," Rose added immediately through a mouthful of food. "Tell them I said hello."
Harry looked awkward for a moment before hurriedly speaking.
"Uh... yes. Please give them my regards too."
After lunch, Hermione and Rose enthusiastically suggested continuing their exploration of Hogwarts Castle. There was simply too much left to discover after only a couple of days.
Leo politely refused.
"I'm going back for a nap."
Everyone stared at him strangely.
Afternoon naps weren't exactly common among British students. After Leo calmly explained that it was a long-standing habit, however, nobody argued.
Draco quietly departed as well, saying he needed to return to the Slytherin common room.
Back in the dormitory, Leo noticed Draco seemed distracted, likely because of whatever else had been written in the letter. Still, he didn't ask.
Since Draco remained nearby, Leo also chose not to enter his hidden cave. If Draco suddenly returned and found him missing, it might create unnecessary complications.
Instead, he took a perfectly ordinary nap.
Around two o'clock, Leo slowly woke as his alarm chimed softly beside his bed.
Stretching lazily, he checked the time before asking Raven to retrieve an alchemy book from the cave library.
He spent a while reading beneath the dim dormitory lighting before growing dissatisfied. The Slytherin dormitories were excellent for sleeping but terrible for studying.
With a casual flick of his wand, Leo cast Lumos.
Additional light filled the room.
Even then, it still couldn't compare to the magical illumination inside the cave beneath Hogwarts.
Eventually, Leo gave up on reading entirely. After changing clothes, he decided to take a walk before the afternoon Transfiguration lesson.
Just as he finished dressing, the dormitory door opened.
Draco stepped inside.
The two boys stared at each other for a moment.
"Back for your textbooks?" Leo asked.
"Yes."
"Want to go for a walk?"
"Alright."
That concluded the conversation.
Draco grabbed his copy of A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration, and together they headed out.
The moment they emerged from the dormitory corridor, two massive figures approached.
"Young Master Malfoy. Young Master Nicholas."
Crabbe and Goyle stood there obediently like bodyguards awaiting orders.
"You don't need to call me 'young master,'" Leo said with a slight frown. "Just use my name."
Since Draco didn't object, the four continued through the corridors together. Leo and Draco walked in front while Crabbe and Goyle followed behind.
Autumn had fully arrived in the Scottish Highlands surrounding Hogwarts.
The difference between day and night temperatures was becoming increasingly obvious. With the afternoon already underway, cold winds swept mercilessly across the castle grounds.
Most students had begun wearing scarves.
Leo, already small for his age, curled himself tightly beneath his robes against the cold and somehow looked even smaller than usual.
The four Slytherins braved the chilly weather together before finally reaching the Transfiguration classroom.
"Much warmer," Leo sighed happily the moment he stepped inside. "This is so much better."
The classroom was already more than half full despite their early arrival.
Clearly, many students had escaped indoors to avoid the freezing wind.
"Let's sit over there," Leo said, pointing toward the mostly empty front rows.
Draco nodded and followed.
After taking their seats, Leo immediately slumped across his desk while observing the brightly lit classroom.
Candles illuminated every corner with a warm glow.
Most importantly, however, a cat sat calmly on the professor's desk, washing its face.
Leo immediately nudged Draco with his elbow.
"Draco," he whispered conspiratorially as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small green marble. "Look at the cat over there. Throw this to it so it has something to play with."
....
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