Month 28

The construction speed of the Maple Training Grounds increased significantly after Professor McGonagall joined.

As a master of Transfiguration, she played a far greater role in the construction of the walls than anyone else.

Amidst the busyness, time passed until the evening of July 27th.

"I'm leaving tonight and will arrive before dawn to give Harry a birthday surprise," Hagrid said, busy in his hut making a cake, as he asked Voldemort, "Are you coming with me?"

"No."

Voldemort refused without hesitation. He didn't want too much interaction with Harry to prevent unnecessary trouble.

"Alright, where will you wait for me then?" Hagrid asked.

"The Leaky Cauldron. I'll follow you from a distance after that," Voldemort replied.

"Okay, then I won't ask you to stay for dinner." The first cake had turned out badly, which put him in a terrible mood.

"Alright, see you tomorrow."

Voldemort turned and bid farewell, then made his way through Hogsmeade back to the Leaky Cauldron.

The Leaky Cauldron.

Upon waking up, the first thing Voldemort did was organize his equipment:

A silver vial containing Polyjuice Potion, three wands, firearms and ammunition, and some healing Potions.

"The brewing of Felix Felicis needs to be put on the agenda as soon as possible."

If he had Felix Felicis, Voldemort wouldn't hesitate to drink a drop or two, but it was too precious. He scoured the black market, but found many fakes and no genuine ones.

As one of the few master Potions brewers of this era, Voldemort could naturally distinguish between real and fake Felix Felicis. If he had enough time and ingredients, he could even make some himself.

It was just a shame that time was precisely what he lacked.

"I hope everything goes smoothly," Voldemort encouraged himself and went downstairs for breakfast.

"Quirrell, you haven't been back much lately," Old Tom said to him.

"I've been busy at Hogwarts. I'll probably move there tomorrow or the day after," Voldemort replied.

"So soon?" Old Tom seemed surprised. It was still a long way until the start of term.

"I need to establish a training ground. I want to increase the students' combat effectiveness," Voldemort said, accepting the breakfast Old Tom handed him.

"That's a great idea. When my granddaughter goes to Hogwarts, she can practice there too."

As Old Tom was speaking, he suddenly saw Hagrid and excitedly called out, asking him what he wanted to drink.

"No thanks, Tom. I'm working for Hogwarts right now," Hagrid said, patting Old Tom's shoulder with his giant palm, nearly crushing him.

"My goodness," Old Tom, who had bent down, saw Harry and exclaimed. He then stammered, "Is this... is this perhaps—"

The entire pub fell silent, except for Voldemort, who continued to eat his breakfast as if nothing had happened. He had seen Harry Potter before, albeit through a monitor, so the novelty had long since worn off.

Moreover, he was a little nervous, fearing the curse might affect him.

What followed was a bit of chaos in the Leaky Cauldron. Old Tom scurried out to greet Harry, and everyone else rushed forward like madmen.

Cordelia was the most excited, shaking Harry's hand no less than five times. Diggory also couldn't quite control himself, tearfully saluting with his hat off.

Voldemort watched the two, wondering if their memories had been damaged.

"Harry, this is your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Quirinus Quirrell," Hagrid said, rescuing Harry from the crowd and bringing him to Voldemort. "As I told you, I'm his assistant professor."

"Hello, Harry," Voldemort said, putting down his sandwich and looking at the Harry being dragged over. "What happened to your leg? It doesn't look too good."

"Professor Quirrell, I... I got a rabies vaccine, and it hurt a lot, so..." Harry said shyly.

Voldemort blinked. He had forgotten about that. Feeling guilty, he picked up a napkin to wipe his mouth and quickly changed the subject.

"Hagrid, when are you planning to go to Gringotts? I was thinking I might go down with you."

"We'll go to Gringotts first. Harry needs to withdraw some money," Hagrid said, pushing back the surging crowd and shielding Harry as they walked back. "You should come along; I'm not entirely comfortable going alone."

Voldemort nodded, picked up his sandwich, and followed them.

In the back courtyard, the three finally had some peace. Hagrid began to teach Harry how to enter Diagon Alley, and Harry watched with curiosity.

"You just tap it three times? I thought you'd have to conjure a door, like when you turned Dudley into a pig..." Harry's voice suddenly stopped as he stared in shock at the parting of the alley.

"You turned someone into a pig?" Voldemort asked in surprise.

He wasn't surprised that Hagrid could use magic, but rather that Hagrid had turned Dudley into a pig. According to the books, it should have only resulted in a pig's tail.

"And thank you for your wand, it's great," Hagrid said, raising his umbrella, which now held his new wand.

Voldemort nodded and said nothing more.

The three walked forward in silence. Hagrid looked worried about the upcoming journey, Harry was filled with curiosity about everything, and Voldemort...

A bad premonition arose in his heart, as if the curse was awakening.

"Quirrell, are you coming down with us?" Hagrid asked as they arrived at the entrance to Gringotts.

Voldemort wanted to refuse. Even if he went in, he would have to drink the Polyjuice Potion first. But at that very moment, the curse suddenly descended.

He shivered, as if jolted by the morning chill, then his soul automatically retreated into the Blood Curse. Quirrell's soul took over the body—the curse had descended, but not upon Voldemort's soul; instead, it found Quirrell.

"Master, in the chaos, I will snatch the Philosopher's Stone for you, kill Harry, and then resurrect you," Quirrell's soul said maniacally.

"No, stop, Quirrell, you're cursed, don't get involved, leave here," Voldemort shouted from within the Blood Curse, but Quirrell acted as if he heard nothing.

"Of course," the Quirrell controlling the body said to Hagrid. "I'll go down with you. If there's danger, I'll protect you."

Voldemort's soul roared within the Blood Curse, but it was useless. Quirrell's soul seemed cut off from him; the guy's mind was completely broken.

The three entered Gringotts. The bizarre, dazzling world had already captivated Harry, while Hagrid nervously clutched his umbrella. As for Quirrell...

He scanned his surroundings with a dark expression. Upon seeing Malfoy's figure, the corner of his mouth actually curved up slightly—at the same moment, Malfoy saw him too.

At this instant, an identical thought miraculously arose in both their minds: It's you.

Quirrell thought that by relying on the chaos Malfoy would create, he could obtain the Philosopher's Stone and kill Harry.

Malfoy's intention was literal; he had already deduced who the "troublemaker" the master had spoken of was.

Their gazes met and passed, and they each began to prepare their actions.

Only the nervous Hagrid, unaware if there were any enemies, was regretting his big mouth while also being anxious.

But he truly didn't need to regret it so much; his big mouth was instinctual and wouldn't change because of one mistake.

Perhaps he should try to accept this flaw, as it couldn't be changed anyway.