Hogwarts: The Wizard's Eternal Life

From Voldemort's perspective, the relationship between Roger and him was one of absolute hostility.

Voldemort desired ultimate, eternal power, and a "monster" like Roger, who posed such a significant threat, had to be eliminated.

As for Roger, Voldemort had a blood feud with his partner, and his very existence threatened Dumbledore, to whom Roger owed a great debt.

Furthermore, Voldemort was hardly an innocent babe.

So, while Roger didn't consider Voldemort an enemy, he wouldn't hesitate to erase him from existence if the opportunity arose.

However, both Voldemort and Roger were remarkably pragmatic individuals.

Even if the other was an enemy, they wouldn't mind interacting and learning from them, gaining knowledge that would make them stronger.

It wasn't a case of dismissing others' achievements out of some misguided sense of political correctness just because their enemy's weapons were useful.

"Learn the barbarians' advanced techniques to defeat the barbarians" was a perfectly ordinary concept in their eyes.

Thus, after Roger only knew about five of Voldemort's Horcruxes, and Voldemort was temporarily unable to act against him within the school due to a vow and other restrictions, they found themselves in a state of occasional interaction, neither able to overcome the other.

December 24th, Christmas Eve.

Voldemort and Quirrell arrived as usual, continuing their nearly unwinnable game with Roger.

"Don't you find it ironic?"

"Hmm?" Roger, who was circling back and forth to open the Room of Requirement, turned to look at Voldemort.

Voldemort, using Quirrell's body, flicked a small plastic ball hanging next to the tapestry of Barnaby the Bold, who had been stunned by a troll's club.

It was a Christmas decoration already set up for Christmas Eve.

"We're wizards, yet we're celebrating the birthday of that person."

"The wizarding and Muggle worlds are too deeply intertwined; you're in me, and I'm in you, tangled in every aspect..." Voldemort's gaze shifted from the plastic ball to the window, looking down from the eighth floor at Hagrid, who was dragging a Christmas tree in the courtyard.

Generations of Muggle-born wizards were continuously bringing aspects of Muggle society into the wizarding world, and it was difficult to stop.

He established the Death Eaters under the banner of blood purity, wanting a 'pure' team, but...

Could they truly distinguish? He always remembered Roger's theory of "if you can't beat them, join them." Voldemort thought it was feasible, but his pride and convictions wouldn't allow him to do so.

It was already difficult for ordinary people to do things that violated their principles. For someone like Voldemort, whose thoughts were deeply influenced by dark magic, making his ideas even more extreme, it was more than ten times harder.

"Correctness" and "conviction" battled in his mind, tormenting him ceaselessly.

"It's not just wizards and Muggles; look at the Muggle world's nations. Aren't they also intertwined, you in me, me in you, all tangled up? Many strange events and global trends, if you apply this phrase, you can clear away much of the fog in your vision."

Roger said this casually, having come from the era of comprehensive globalization.

"This is also a kind of trend of the times. Unless you have the strength to completely overturn the table, you'd best join in and become an indispensable part of others."

"The era of isolation is over." With that, Roger walked into the opened Room of Requirement without looking back.

Voldemort watched Roger's retreating back, a thought flashing through his mind.

...Do I really have to research how Muggles became wizards and then carry out that plan? "Are you also going to go along with this trend, Roger!"

"The strong don't complain about their environment because the strong turn the environment into what they want... just like I made Slytherin and Gryffindor coexist peacefully before me with my fists and wand." Roger didn't answer directly, but the answer was obvious.

He was choosing a different path.

Voldemort: "..."

...

...

...

At the beginning of their battles, Quirrell could still put up a decent fight against Roger, appearing to be evenly matched. But now, after nearly two months, Quirrell was no longer a match for Roger, being defeated in a single encounter.

After the uninteresting, routine battle, Voldemort intended to leave.

But Roger stopped him and asked the question: "Voldemort, why did you choose the path of magic you're on now?"

"I've been contemplating which path to take recently. Can you give me some advice for reference?" Roger asked directly, without any pretense, with a sincere smile.

Hearing Roger's words, Voldemort couldn't help but freeze: "You're asking me this? Are you serious?!"

Although they had discussed sensitive topics before, this question was clearly beyond the pale.

For a moment, Voldemort suspected Roger was joking or teasing him, but seeing Roger's sincere expression... he was really serious? "I'm not trying to delve into your core magical secrets; I'm just curious about the reasons you chose this path."

"Reasons..." Voldemort and Roger stared at each other in silence for over ten seconds.

After much thought, he felt that saying a few simple words about it wouldn't hurt.

Voldemort wasn't usually so taciturn with those who could converse normally with him: "There's no special reason. It's simply because only the path of magic I chose can give me the strength and ability to achieve my ambitions."

Voldemort didn't specify what kind of path he had chosen, nor did he lie to Roger. He simply described his thought process at the time in vague terms.

Compared to Minerva McGonagall and Severus Snape, Voldemort and Roger were in more similar circumstances. Both were so talented that they excelled in many branches of magic and had multiple paths to choose from. His answer held significant reference value for Roger.

Lying?

To others, Voldemort might not have minded weaving a trap with honeyed words, watching them fall into it, and ultimately becoming his pawn.

But Roger was different.

Roger's ability to observe fate had become so strong that even Voldemort found it somewhat incomprehensible. To use lies to scheme against a Seer? One doesn't act like a clown in such a manner!

Regarding Roger, Voldemort always either said nothing or told the truth, never doing anything ridiculous.

"So that's how it is." A flash of inspiration struck Roger's mind.

Professor McGonagall's 'specialty'.

Professor Snape's 'true love'.

Voldemort's 'power'.

A multitude of words intertwined in his thoughts, and Roger had already perceived the commonality among them.

"Thank you for sharing. I think I know what to do now." Roger's smile became brilliant.

Seeing Roger's demeanor, Voldemort nodded without much concern and then turned to leave.

The path of magic, once you find the threshold to enter it, unless you're one of the rare fools who stumble in by luck, you can basically find the path you should take.

Voldemort believed that whether he answered this question or not would not significantly impact Roger's ultimate achievements.

Even if he didn't answer, it would at most delay Roger's development by a month or two. Besides making himself appear narrow-minded and embarrassing himself in front of a Seer, it served no other purpose.

Compared to the Seer, Voldemort was more concerned about another issue at the moment.

Voldemort, having left the Room of Requirement, did not head towards the library.

Instead, he took out an envelope from his pocket and played with it with great interest.

He went down the stairs.

He arrived at a familiar door.

Before Halloween, he had tried every means to get inside.

To get past the Three-Headed Dog's guard without causing a major disturbance, he had even gone to some trouble to obtain a Boggart and trick Hagrid for information.

But after Halloween, his actions became a joke; the Philosopher's Stone was not there.

The Three-Headed Dog had also been transferred away at some point.

In the empty room, Voldemort lifted the trapdoor.

He leaped down.

It was a room greatly expanded by the Undetectable Extension Charm.

A boy wearing glasses seemed to have been waiting for a long time.

"Voldemort." The boy wearing glasses whispered the name, which was like a nightmare.

"...Harry Potter." Looking at the figure, Voldemort showed an expression of great interest and tossed the 'invitation letter' that had been delivered to his office by an owl that morning.

The letter was lodged askew in the ground.

"I didn't expect that, after I didn't go looking for trouble with you, you would actually have the courage to come to me."

"Who gave you the courage?"

"Is it... that Death Eater behind you?!" Voldemort's gaze shifted past Harry Potter's body, focusing on Severus Snape behind him.

Severus Snape's hidden identity was revealed with a single utterance.

However, neither Snape nor Harry reacted at all.

"I asked you here because I want to settle accounts with you from 11 years ago," Harry said calmly.

Seeing that their reactions were not quite as he expected, Voldemort narrowed his eyes and said in a mocking tone, "Settle accounts from 11 years ago?"

"About how I tortured and killed your pathetic parents?"

"Hahahaha, if you want to settle that score, I think you'd better settle it with the guy behind you first."

"Severus, what did you do 11 years ago? Should I shout it out for him to hear, or... will you tell him yourself?!"

Voldemort decided to add some spice.

It wasn't that he felt there was any need to sow discord between the two.

It was simply that watching the two of them suffer would make his entire day pleasant!

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