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Chapter 99: Where did Nagini go?

After all, being reappointed to the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor for a second year was something that hadn't happened in decades!

"Professor Dracula seems to have had quite a bit of luck; he hasn't encountered any bizarre situations since he started," Professor Flitwick remarked, "The previous Defense Against the Dark Arts professors always seemed to face all sorts of oddities, which was quite nerve-wracking!"

"Filius, you may not know this," Dumbledore said with a smile, "but Professor Dracula has indeed encountered many strange situations. He has just handled them all very cleverly."

And this was indeed true.

The curse targeting the Defense Against the Dark Arts position seemed to have its limits; it couldn't directly kill the professor in office.

This curse subtly influenced and altered a person's fortune, amplifying their bad luck so that even drinking water could cause them to choke, tripping over their own feet, or laughing themselves to death from a joke...

The effect of this fortune-altering curse became more pronounced and harmful as it approached the end of the year.

However, Dracula didn't mind these minor inconveniences that could make someone unlucky, and no difficulty could really affect him.

For example, encountering the troublemaking twins Fred and George, being ambushed by a troll on Halloween, staring down a basilisk in the Forbidden Forest, or fighting against the infamous dark wizard...

Dracula had faced enough strange things, but none of these had any real impact on him; if anything, they just added a bit of excitement to his otherwise dull life.

In the midst of the lively atmosphere, the lunch reserved for the staff ended before anyone realized it.

Once the plates had disappeared from the table, Dumbledore called for Dracula, and the two of them left the Great Hall together, heading towards the Hogwarts Headmaster's office.

"Professor Dracula, before you leave, could you please adjust the brightness of the Great Hall ceiling back to its previous setting?" Dumbledore said with a smile. "Also, with such bright sunlight, you wouldn't want to fly directly up to the eighth floor from the entrance courtyard, would you?"

"You're right," Dracula said noncommittally, nodding as he left the Great Hall and restored the ceiling to its original brightness. "But that doesn't mean I'll have the leisure to accompany you up the stairs."

Before he could finish his sentence, Dracula vanished from his spot, using Apparition to arrive at the Headmaster's office before Dumbledore.

Dumbledore shook his head in resignation, called for Fawkes, and with a burst of phoenix fire, entered his office.

"Professor Dracula, I actually think you don't need to seek out excitement and fast-paced activities all the time. You might try finding special joys in the mundane small things," Dumbledore said as soon as he appeared in the office, addressing Dracula who was lounging on the sofa and playing with the Sorting Hat.

"As an old man of over a hundred years, I've probably lost the impatience of youth. Sometimes I think that a quiet walk up the stairs can also be a beautiful experience. Happiness is not an emotional expression but a state of living—a pleasure in feeling at ease with every little thing in the castle."

Dracula tossed the Sorting Hat aside and glanced at Dumbledore.

"You're right; as a man over a hundred years old, you can indeed find joy in small things around you," he said casually. "But as someone who's over a thousand years old, I've long grown tired of those trivial matters. So why should I accompany you up the stairs?"

Dumbledore's expression froze.

Facing such a young face and energetic personality, he instinctively overlooked the fact that Dracula was over a thousand years old. Today, he had even used age as an example in front of someone who had lived for more than a thousand years...

"Ah, Professor Dracula, I wonder if you've heard any recent secret rumors?" Dumbledore decisively changed the subject.

"Secret rumors? How secret?" Dracula asked with some interest, sitting up straight.

Dumbledore's face grew serious, and he stared deeply into Dracula's eyes.

"Voldemort has returned," he said gravely.

However, Dracula merely smirked and lay back on the sofa again. "I keep feeling like someone has been trying to tell me about Voldemort's return recently."

"You already knew about this, Professor Dracula?" Dumbledore was somewhat surprised.

"Yes, is that unusual? I've encountered quite a few people who knew about it recently. I almost thought it was common knowledge by now," Dracula said nonchalantly. "Your information comes from Snape, right?"

"Even that you know?" Dumbledore felt a bit numb. He looked at Dracula with a rare sense of helplessness.

"Yes, it's quite obvious," Dracula said. "Last year, when Snape and I had a confrontation in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, I happened to see the Dark Mark on his arm, so I looked into his background."

"Since Snape, a former Death Eater with a serious past, could gain your trust, it's clear that he must have sided with you before the last wizarding war ended, and he's definitely not a fair-weather friend who switched sides after Voldemort fell."

"Unfortunately, Voldemort is a fool. Otherwise, he should have realized that if someone as intelligent as you trusts Snape, there must be something suspicious going on!"

Dumbledore couldn't help but chuckle, suppressing his laughter. "Don't say that. Tom was actually quite clever when he was younger. Even now, his strength and intellect cannot be underestimated. We must not let our guard down."

"Tsk, using dark magic to alter one's body, tearing apart one's soul for something as meaningless as immortality." Dracula said with amusement. "I can't agree with you calling Voldemort 'clever.'"

"Let's return to the main topic, Professor Dracula," Dumbledore said with a smile, shaking his head. "After you drove Voldemort away, it seems he didn't suffer any serious injuries. Within just a few months, he managed to return to the magical world and even regained a physical form..."

"His experience is nothing short of a slap in your face, Count."

Dumbledore looked into Dracula's eyes, intentionally using a respectful title, and said with a half-smile.

Dracula's eyes twitched slightly.

When he first heard the news of Voldemort's return, he hadn't thought of it this way. But after Dumbledore made it so clear, Dracula did feel a bit embarrassed.

The fact that Voldemort could recover so quickly after his soul was obliterated was a direct affront to him!

"No, the more I think about it, the angrier I get!" Dracula said angrily, rising from the sofa. "I need to capture Voldemort and deal with him again!"

"Perhaps you should wait a moment, Professor Dracula."

Dumbledore seemed to have anticipated Dracula's reaction. He calmly took out a piece of parchment from his drawer, labeled "Plan."

"Instead of repeatedly destroying Voldemort's fragmented soul and allowing him to be resurrected under the protection of his Horcruxes, we should think about how to completely eliminate him!"

He pushed the plan towards Dracula.

Dracula looked down at the parchment, which outlined three preparatory steps:

"First, investigate the reason for Voldemort's rapid recovery of power and physical form; second, determine the actual number of Voldemort's Horcruxes and destroy them one by one; third, use spies to track Voldemort's movements and prevent any dangerous actions that could threaten the magical world."

...

Meanwhile, Voldemort himself, who was being discussed heatedly by Dracula and Dumbledore, was walking contentedly along a path in the Albanian forest.

After retreating for over a decade, Voldemort was very pleased to find that he still had many followers who responded to the Dark Mark and obeyed his commands. Moreover, many of these followers were influential figures in the magical world, including Severus Snape, who was one of Dumbledore's most trusted allies.

With an evil smile on his face, Voldemort quietly mocked Dumbledore in his heart:

Dumbledore prided himself on seeing through people, but he didn't realize that his trusted Head of Slytherin had already joined the ranks of the great Dark Lord, faithfully gathering intelligence for him while lurking at Hogwarts over the years!

Thinking of Hogwarts, Voldemort couldn't help but think of the vampire count who had chosen to become a Dark Arts professor at the school, causing his expression to turn grim.

Why did Dracula, who was born with the power of immortality, look down on his relentless efforts to achieve eternal life?

Moreover, why did Dracula, a perfectly good vampire count, choose to become a professor of Dark Arts at Hogwarts, disrupting his plans?

Voldemort ground his teeth in frustration, wishing he could cast countless curses at Dracula and end his effortless immortality with a killing curse.

But he knew he wasn't a match for Dracula at the moment.

He had to bide his time, wait until his Horcrux diary had Harry Potter's blood, and his body was fully restored, so he could reach his peak power.

At that point, Voldemort was confident he would be able to challenge Dracula!

To gain greater power to counter Dracula, Voldemort decided to accelerate an important task:

He firmly believed that the number "seven" held great magical significance in the magical world. Thus, he planned to split his soul into seven parts, believing this would grant him even greater power.

What Voldemort did not know was that twelve years ago, in Godric's Hollow, he had inadvertently left the seventh fragment of his soul in his nemesis, Harry Potter.

Therefore, his visit to the Albanian forest was to create what he considered to be his final Horcrux!

He had already chosen the target for the sixth Horcrux.

It was the large snake, Nagini, who had been by his side during his most vulnerable time, often accompanying him.

Of course, this carried risks. Even as a master of soul-splitting and Horcrux creation, Voldemort had never attempted to split his soul into a living being.

But he was very fond of Nagini.

Unlike other dumb snakes that merely followed orders, Nagini was highly intelligent. She could converse smoothly with him, understand his troubles, and share his anger.

Moreover, the name Nagini was also something Voldemort had learned from the snake itself.

Therefore, he was determined to make this magical snake his Horcrux, so she could always be by his side, becoming the only companion he could communicate with when feeling lonely at the top!

Walking through the Albanian forest with a smile, Voldemort searched for Nagini.

Hours passed as Voldemort called out loudly in Parseltongue, trying to get Nagini's response.

However, despite searching the entire forest and his voice becoming hoarse from continuous use of Parseltongue, the only responses came from various small snakes living in the forest, as if Nagini had vanished into thin air.

Voldemort's expression darkened significantly.

...

In a secret cave, two snakes, one large and one small, were hiding quietly in the dim shadows.

Though described as "large and small," this was merely a comparison.

In reality, both snakes were enormous, any one of which would cause a stir in the Muggle world.

One was a glaringly green large snake, about fifty feet long, with a red feather on its head. The other was a spotted viper, twelve feet long. Though smaller than the large snake, it was still a massive creature.

At this moment, the two snakes were hiding in the shadows, trembling as they heard the occasional hissing of Parseltongue from outside the cave, pretending not to hear.

Suddenly, Voldemort's tone changed from his previous manner to a commanding one, and he shouted:

"Nagini, come out and see me!"

Hearing the commanding tone in Parseltongue, the smaller viper lost its composure and began to slither toward the cave's entrance.

However, the giant snake used its size advantage to restrain Nagini, preventing her from going out to face Voldemort.

Once Voldemort left, Nagini finally regained her composure, looking somewhat dazed.

"I wasn't wrong, was I, Nagini?" the giant snake hissed. "Just a little while without seeing him, and he uses such a fierce tone to call you. I tell you, this Voldemort is no good!"

Nagini's snake head nodded a couple of times, looking gratefully at the giant snake beside her.

"Thank you this time, Grandpa," she hissed in response. "If it weren't for you, I might not have seen through this man's true nature for another twelve years!"