Of course, Lucas wasn't naïve enough to believe events would continue following the original plot perfectly.
That became impossible the moment he fought Quirrell inside Gringotts.
From that point onwards—
He officially stepped onto the stage himself.
Which meant the future had already begun changing.
Voldemort now knew Lucas existed.
And more importantly—
He already understood Lucas represented a threat.
After all, Lucas openly displayed his strength directly before Quirrell's eyes.
There was no way Voldemort would ignore someone like that.
Especially now that newspapers everywhere claimed Lucas was Dumbledore's personal disciple.
Whether true or not hardly mattered anymore.
At least in Voldemort's eyes—
Lucas already belonged firmly within Dumbledore's camp.
Meaning future conflict between them had become inevitable.
Meanwhile, inside the Great Hall, the feast finally came to an end.
Dumbledore rose cheerfully once more.
"Before bedtime," he announced happily, "let us sing the school song together!"
Instantly—
Several professors looked pained.
Many older students also developed expressions resembling emotional death.
Dumbledore, however, remained delighted.
With a flourish of his wand, glowing lyrics appeared suspended above the Great Hall.
"You may sing using any tune you prefer," Dumbledore announced grandly while conducting enthusiastically.
Then he looked expectantly towards the students.
Lucas immediately decided that scheming against Voldemort could wait temporarily.
Old Dumbledore deserved some face.
So without hesitation—
Lucas began singing the Hogwarts school song to the melody of a funeral march.
"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts…"
The moment Fred and George heard the melody—
Their eyes lit up simultaneously.
Both twins instantly wrapped arms around Lucas's shoulders from either side.
Then together, the three of them loudly continued singing in perfect funeral procession style.
Meanwhile, countless completely different melodies erupted chaotically throughout the Great Hall.
Some students sang quickly.
Others painfully slowly.
A few appeared completely tone-deaf.
The result sounded catastrophic.
By the time most people finally stopped singing, Lucas and the twins still dramatically dragged out the final section in mournful harmony.
Dumbledore enthusiastically conducted them the entire time.
Harry laughed so hard he nearly fell off the bench.
Finally, when silence returned, Dumbledore sighed emotionally.
"Ah… music."
His eyes looked misty.
"A magic beyond all we do here."
Fred immediately slapped Lucas's shoulder excitedly.
"Singing the Hogwarts anthem like a funeral procession—"
"Brilliant idea!" George finished instantly.
"We knew you were interesting!"
"At first you sounded suspiciously like Percy," Fred admitted.
"But now we've changed our minds."
Percy, sitting nearby, frowned immediately.
"Lucas is a good student," he said sternly. "Don't encourage him into trouble."
George looked around dramatically.
"Who's Percy?"
Fred gasped theatrically.
"Oh! You mean the Prefect!"
George nodded seriously.
"Right. Only complete idiots become Prefects."
Percy looked moments away from exploding.
"Lucas," he said earnestly, "you absolutely mustn't learn from these two. They violate school rules constantly."
Internally, Lucas thought:
Isn't breaking rules basically Gryffindor tradition?
Still, he nodded politely outwardly.
Naturally, Lucas deliberately chose the funeral march earlier for a reason.
He specifically wanted Fred and George's attention.
The twins possessed exceptional creativity, courage, and intelligence.
More importantly—
Lucas already planned to recruit them into D.A eventually.
And the easiest way to recruit people…
Was becoming their friend first.
Conveniently, Fred and George were extremely easy people to befriend.
Lucas casually leaned closer towards them while lowering his voice mysteriously.
"I heard something interesting."
The twins immediately leaned in too.
Lucas looked curious deliberately.
"They say you two know Hogwarts Castle better than anyone else."
He paused dramatically.
"Even better than Filch."
Fred and George exchanged excited glances instantly.
"Oh?"
"We're famous already?"
Lucas nodded seriously.
Then he lowered his voice even further.
"So I was wondering…"
The twins interrupted together instantly.
"You want to sneak around Hogwarts at night?"
Lucas nodded immediately while deliberately putting on an eager expression.
Naturally, this served multiple purposes.
First—
Building friendship with the twins.
Second—
The Marauder's Map.
Lucas knew Fred and George already possessed it after stealing it from Filch during earlier years.
And Lucas desperately wanted to test something.
Would the map reveal Tom Riddle standing beside Quirrell?
Canon never clarified that detail.
But logically—
It should.
And if it did…
Then Lucas would possess concrete evidence exposing Quirrell directly.
Far more convincing than suspicious "prophetic instincts."
The twins grinned simultaneously.
"Of course!"
"We'd never reject a proper Gryffindor adventure!"
Fred looked delighted.
"There are loads of interesting places hidden around Hogwarts."
George nodded eagerly.
"You'll love them."
Lucas immediately smiled.
"Perfect."
Then he reached into his pocket and produced several sweets wrapped carefully in paper.
"In exchange, I made these personally."
George picked one up curiously.
"What are they?"
Lucas grinned proudly.
"Inflating Toffees."
Fred blinked.
"…What?"
Lucas looked extremely enthusiastic now.
"Once someone eats one, their entire body swells up like a balloon."
Then he added thoughtfully:
"They also float into the air afterwards."
George's eyes widened.
Fred looked genuinely shocked.
Lucas continued casually:
"Though I haven't tested exactly how long they stay airborne yet."
The twins froze for several seconds.
Then suddenly—
"Lucas…"
Fred looked emotionally overwhelmed.
"You're a genius."
George nodded furiously.
"We actually invented tongue-swelling toffees already!"
"But why didn't we think of full-body inflation?!"
Fred grabbed Lucas dramatically.
"Oh no."
George sighed deeply.
"We might actually fall in love with you."
....
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