Voldemort and Harry's first meeting

"Argus, why are you sitting in the back?"

"Isn't it obvious? Professor Quirrell only reads from the textbook, and he can't even do that without stumbling. Who would want to listen?"

"I really don't know what Dumbledore was thinking, hiring a good-for-nothing to teach us Defence Against the Dark Arts."

"..."

Argus listened to the comments from the students around him without explaining anything.

He sat quietly in the back, holding a book up in front of himself.

He knew Quirrell was certainly not as simple as he appeared in class.

An outstanding Ravenclaw student, he had a strong desire to explore magic and dared to wander into the Dark Forest alone.

If he really were completely useless, Voldemort could not possibly have chosen him as his Parasite.

His cowardly behaviour at Hogwarts was merely a disguise, compounded by Voldemort weighing him down.

In the classroom, without Argus taking the lead, and with Quirrell's poor reputation among the students, things were different.

The front few rows were like those in a university general education class: not a soul in sight.

The students squeezed as far back as they could, while latecomers could only curse as they sat down in the middle.

A strong smell of garlic heralded Quirrell's arrival.

Coughs immediately filled the classroom.

Quirrell gave an awkward smile and walked up to the lectern.

"S-students, please take out m... our textbook, the Dark Magic Self-Protection Guide."

"T-turn to the first page."

"Today, we will be discussing... P-Puffskeins."

He stumbled through those few short sentences, wasting dozens of seconds of class time.

As for the explanation that followed, it was even more boring.

Puffskeins were clearly just harmless Fantastic Beasts, rated XX by the Ministry of Magic, and posed virtually no danger to wizards.

Driving them away did not even require magic.

Some wizarding families even kept them as pets.

Yet Quirrell's explanation of such simple material jumped all over the place.

Not only did everything come straight from the textbook, but he also explained it in a way that left everyone baffled.

Argus had initially wondered why not a single person listened, even if Quirrell was merely reading from the book.

Now he finally understood!

It wasn't that they didn't want to listen. They couldn't fucking find which part of the book he was reading!

While reading from the textbook, Quirrell tried asking the students a few questions, only to discover that nobody paid him any attention.

A trace of embarrassment appeared on his face.

"Give me control of your body!"

A hoarse voice rang out in Quirrell's mind, followed immediately by a force he could hardly resist.

The look in Quirrell's eyes changed.

Instead of standing blankly at the centre of the platform and reading the textbook as before, he wandered among the students with interest.

Argus, who had been watching discreetly, felt his heart tighten!

He lowered his head even further, afraid of drawing Quirrell's attention.

Just then, Voldemort snapped the book in his hands shut.

Clack!

The sound was not loud, but it drew everyone's attention.

"If you all find studying the textbook too boring, why don't we try a new way of learning?"

Voldemort took out his wand, thoroughly enjoying the feeling of having so many students watching him.

He had wanted to teach Defence Against the Dark Arts for a long time, but Dumbledore had always refused him.

That had continued until he started the wizarding war.

He had thought he would never have another chance, yet unexpectedly, he had achieved it through Quirrell.

"Please put down your textbooks and take out your wands."

With a mere wave of Voldemort's wand, everyone's textbooks instantly snapped shut and gathered to one side.

The magical sight drew a chorus of gasps from the young wizards.

Voldemort was very satisfied with their reaction, and his constant movement made him look less like he was teaching a class.

He looked more like he was giving a speech onstage.

"To study Defence Against the Dark Arts, you must first understand what dark magic is!"

Several students, drawn in by his earlier magic, immediately raised their hands at the question.

Voldemort smiled. "There is no need to raise your hands in my classroom. Whatever you wish to say, you may speak freely."

"Dark magic is magic that can hurt people!"

"Magic without a counter-curse is dark magic!"

"Whatever dark wizards use is dark magic!"

"..."

Most of the young wizards had no precise understanding of dark magic and simply answered according to their own thoughts.

"Mr. Grindelwald, what is your view?"

After commenting on the young wizards' answers one by one, Voldemort suddenly directed the question at Argus.

Argus narrowed his eyes slightly and was just about to give some casual answer.

But then Voldemort continued speaking.

"With Mr. Grindelwald's knowledge, I am sure he can give us a perfect answer."

"I imagine you would not refuse an opportunity to earn points for your house?"

Facing Voldemort's faintly smiling expression, Argus cursed inwardly!

You old fox!

Using my house to pressure me!

That simple provocation put Argus directly over the fire.

In previous classes, Argus had displayed his extensive knowledge more than once. If he gave a careless answer, the other Slytherin students would clearly feel he was brushing it off and did not care about his house's honour.

That would deal a fatal blow to his image!

He stood up and thought for a moment.

"Whether magic is dark should be judged by whether the wizard casting it harbours strong malice."

"For example..."

Argus picked up his wand and pointed it towards the platform.

"Aguamenti!"

Several streams of water sprang forth at his words, landing right at Voldemort's feet.

"Many people see Aguamenti as nothing more than a household spell, but if you keep expanding the flow until the water rises high enough to submerge someone's body, it can kill a wizard just the same."

"Therefore, I believe any magic cast with strong malice can be called dark magic."

"A unique perspective!"

A flicker of approval crossed Voldemort's eyes.

He had expected Argus's answer to summarise the previous students' responses, supplemented by some textbook knowledge.

He had not expected Argus to give him such a surprise.

Even he had only reached that understanding in his third year.

"Mr. Grindelwald, please sit down."

"For your perfect answer, five points to Slytherin!"

He flicked his sleeve, and the water on the floor vanished without a trace.

The masterful display of silent, wandless magic once again set the young wizards talking.

"As Mr. Grindelwald said, dark magic is not limited to magic that can harm people or has no counter-curse."

"With strong malice, any magic can be used to kill."

"Of course, in most people's eyes, dark magic is primarily divided into three categories. Mr. Grindelwald?"

"The three main categories of dark magic are jinxes, hexes, and curses. Curses are the most evil, jinxes the least, and hexes fall between the two," Argus answered calmly.

"Very good!" Voldemort nodded, his tone suddenly turning chilling.

"But you left out one category, and that is... the Unforgivable Curses!"

He turned his head and abruptly looked at Harry.

"Mr. Potter!"

"Please tell me, which spells are known as the Unforgivable Curses?"