Harry Potter: From Little Wizard to White Lord

"Merlin's beard… look at all this stuff!"

Ron stood gaping at the towering piles of junk stretching endlessly into the distance. After a moment, his expression shifted, and he blushed with sudden excitement.

"There might be antiques here from a thousand years ago!"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Seriously? That's your first thought when faced with a magical room that literally gives you whatever you need?"

Ron scratched his cheek, muttering under his breath, "I mean, that is a normal person's reaction…"

Vaughn stood nearby, watching them with an easy smile. Once the trio had gotten over the initial shock and were starting to explore, he turned to Harry and asked casually, "So… how do you feel?"

Harry blinked. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"Just curious," Vaughn said lightly, eyes unreadable. "Impressed?"

"Yeah… it's kind of overwhelming," Harry admitted, glancing around.

"And? Anything else?" Vaughn prompted.

Harry looked confused. "Should I be feeling something else?"

Ron and Hermione, now equally intrigued, turned to Vaughn as well.

Vaughn waved it off. "Nah. Just asking. You can look around if you want. Maybe Ron's right, you might actually find something ancient."

Ron, thrilled at the prospect, immediately grabbed Harry and dashed off into the maze of clutter. Hermione was soon drawn away by the sparkle of enchanted baubles piled on a nearby shelf.

Watching their retreating backs, Vaughn's smile faded. His eyes narrowed, expression turning sharp and calculating.

"So… Horcruxes don't always resonate with each other right away," he murmured to himself.

He had discovered the Room of Requirement during the third day of term, not because he needed a private space, but because he knew something invaluable was hidden here.

Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem.

An artifact of legendary alchemical craftsmanship, the diadem was said to grant wisdom to whoever wore it. Vaughn didn't know if that part was true, but there was no doubt it was a powerful magical item. After all, it had once belonged to one of the four founders of Hogwarts.

And Voldemort had turned it into a Horcrux.

Vaughn's expression darkened as he recalled that particular detail. He had never expected to reach a point in life where he might have to kneel before Voldemort and kiss the hem of his robes.

That madman, with his fractured soul, was beyond reason. Not worth following, and barely worth cooperating with.

But even so, there was no denying Voldemort's strength.

Some people in Vaughn's previous life had scoffed, saying Voldemort was overrated and couldn't even defeat a hundred-year-old man like Dumbledore. But they failed to consider the facts, Dumbledore wielded the Elder Wand, was a master of Transfiguration, and had decades of experience on his side.

The Killing Curse, as the books had shown, wasn't unstoppable. Transfigured objects, temporary living constructs, could intercept it and be destroyed in place of the caster.

Voldemort, for all his mastery of the Unforgivable Curses, was countered hard by someone like Dumbledore.

Even so, Dumbledore had never truly defeated him.

"I need more time to grow. And I need to weaken Tom," Vaughn muttered, twirling his wand between his fingers. "At least enough to make sure he stays quiet for the next few years, just like in the original timeline."

He didn't plan to destroy Horcruxes himself, of course. But finding them? That was a different matter. He'd happily hand them off to Dumbledore. The old man was already puzzled by Voldemort's immortality, why not lend him a hand?

Vaughn figured the old wizard might even thank him.

He had hoped Harry might help locate the diadem by sensing its presence as a fellow Horcrux-bearer, but apparently it wasn't time yet.

Which meant Vaughn would have to do things the hard way, digging through mountains of junk, piece by piece.

The Room of Requirement had left Ron, Hermione, and Harry too excited to leave. They were planning to return the next day to keep exploring.

Unfortunately, those plans were quickly derailed.

The very next morning, it was all over Hogwarts: Harry Potter had joined the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

Wood, the team captain, was devastated. He had explicitly told Harry to keep it secret, hoping to unleash him as their "secret weapon" during the first match.

But Harry, ever the open book, had told his friends… and the Weasley twins. Which meant that by lunchtime, Fred and George were skipping down corridors shouting:

"Harry's our new Seeker! This year's Cup is ours!"

That night, Oliver Wood sat in the Quidditch pitch in silent despair, wondering how to survive the season with a team full of loudmouths.

Harry wasn't thrilled either. He had completely forgotten that his week-long detention with Malfoy was still going.

Compared to what came next, dusting trophy cases was practically a vacation. He was now assigned to help Professor Snape prepare potion ingredients.

The trio's exploration of the Room of Requirement would have to wait.

Vaughn returned on his own, digging through piles of forgotten objects for two more fruitless days. By the weekend, he found himself once again standing outside Snape's office.

The moment he opened the door, Snape's sharp voice sliced through the air.

"Tsk, tsk… Potter, I would dearly love to crack open your skull and see whether it's stuffed with flobberworm mucus, or if that's just how your mind works naturally."

Draco snorted with laughter, hunched over the worktable.

Snape finally noticed Vaughn, gave him a brief glance, and pulled open a drawer.

Without ceremony, he handed Vaughn a slip of parchment.

"Book's in the library. This is your note. Read it first."

"Thank you, Professor," Vaughn replied politely. He gave Harry a helpless shrug as the boy looked at him with watery eyes, clearly pleading for rescue.

Sorry, Harry. That's Snape's idea of affection. Not something an outsider should interfere with.

At the library, Vaughn handed the note to Madam Pince, the gaunt and hawk-eyed witch who made even the bravest students nervous. She was third only to Snape and Filch in the rankings of "Hogwarts Staff Most Likely to Haunt Your Dreams."

She squinted at the note, then at Vaughn.

"The Restricted Section?" she snapped. "What is Professor Snape thinking? These books are not appropriate for a first-year!"

"Professor Snape believes I'm ready, ma'am," Vaughn said with a charming smile.

"Hmph." Madam Pince snorted like an angry hippogriff, but ultimately said nothing more.

"Follow me. And be quiet."

She led him through the shadowy shelves to the back of the library and unlocked the magical barrier that sealed off the Restricted Section. Vaughn waited patiently outside while she ducked in. Moments later, she returned with a small stack of heavy tomes.

"Advanced Potion-Making, Potent Draughts and Elixirs, The Great Compendium of Advanced Magic… and this one," she said, handing over a dark-bound volume. "A Primer on the Dark Arts. These are the books Professor Snape approved."

"Thank you, Madam," Vaughn said, taking the books carefully.

She studied him one last time, then added, "These books contain dangerous information. If anything seems unclear or risky, speak to Professor Snape immediately. Or come to me. Understood?"

"Absolutely."

Only when he gave a firm nod did Madam Pince step aside and let him leave.