Chapter 122 - 122 Voldemort is getting ready to do something.
Chapter 122: Voldemort is getting ready to do something.
The two looked at each other with cold eyes, and the air between them seemed to be solidified.
"Okay, Severus, Tom, you two can stop for now." Voldemort's voice suddenly sounded from the front of the living room of Malfoy Manor, interrupting the almost solidified atmosphere.
"Severus, don't doubt my clone anymore." He said, "I have confirmed that he has not been tampered with by Dracula and can still be fully trusted."
Snape's eyes froze for a moment, and then slowly moved his eyes back to the table in front of him.
"I understand, Master." He said softly.
Riddle tilted his mouth to Snape, revealing a provocative look, but received no response.
He curled his lips in boredom, but in his heart he was very disdainful of Voldemort's assurance in front of everyone just now-
Riddle knew that Voldemort must have quietly checked whether there was any problem with his soul fragments during the time when he and Snape looked at each other.
Voldemort was willing to believe Riddle not because of trust in him, but simply because of his confidence in himself.
Whether the soul fragments in the Horcrux were tampered with, he would not be wrong at all under close perception!
However, what Voldemort did not expect was that Dracula did not do anything to Riddle at all.
Dracula only used words to bewitch him, and Riddle, the Horcrux diary, betrayed Voldemort's camp and joined Dracula's team...
After joining Dracula's team, Riddle was terrified by Snape's report and Voldemort's inspection-
He was afraid that Voldemort would know that he had absorbed another Horcrux, and he was also afraid that Snape would expose his fact that he had joined Dracula...
Riddle spent the short meeting time in a trembling nervous mood. It was because Riddle inherited Voldemort's memory, had a strong acting talent and adaptability, that he barely coped with Snape's cold gaze and Voldemort's inspection.
In order to avoid himself from being exposed, he quickly found an excuse to leave.
"To avoid being discovered by Dracula, I can't leave Hogwarts for too long." Riddle said, "Are there any other important things? If not, I'll leave first."
"Nothing more important." Voldemort thought for a moment, and said to Riddle in a deep voice, "Your only and most important task for us is to bring me the thing I want before Halloween!"
Riddle nodded silently, and then disappeared on the spot.
After leaving Malfoy Manor, he breathed a sigh of relief and quickly returned to the office of the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts.
"You mean... Snape is definitely on Voldemort's side?" Dracula, holding a lollipop in his mouth, looked at Riddle in front of him with interest. "How did you find out in just a few minutes?"
"This Death Eater meeting just started not long ago, and Snape pointed the finger at me..." Riddle said in shock, "I thought he would at least hide something for me... As an assistant at Hogwarts, I am at least his colleague!"
"But he didn't! He exposed the fact that I was working for you right away, and encouraged Voldemort to stop believing my words. If I hadn't been a fragment of his soul and still maintained a normal state, Voldemort might have really suspected me..."
Riddle carefully recounted Snape's performance at the Death Eater meeting, and then stared closely into Dracula's eyes.
"Professor Dracula, only by getting rid of Snape, the spy, can I work for you more safely!" He said seriously.
"I see." Dracula nodded nonchalantly, took the lollipop stick out of his mouth, and threw it into the trash can next to him.
Seeing Riddle still standing there, he waved his hand casually and said, "Go back and rest first, I'll take care of it."
Dracula's nonchalant attitude made Riddle's expression stiff for a moment. He opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say, so he could only leave the office with a cold face.
"What are you going to do next?"
Watching Riddle leave, Dracula opened the window boredly and admired the Hogwarts Castle in the night.
The Defense Against the Dark Arts professor's office is located in the overall rectangular teaching area, on the east side of the third floor, and is connected to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom close to the east corridor on the second floor.
Looking from the lower third floor to the southwest side of the castle, you can see an extremely tall and magnificent cylindrical building - that is the main tower of Hogwarts Castle.
The main tower has eight floors in total, each floor is very high. The top floor is a wide spire covered with tiles, full of ancient style.
Outside the spire are three small towers that rise in sequence. That is the Hogwarts principal's office on the eighth floor of the main tower.
In the middle of the night, in the dim night, there are no stars in the sky, and the Hogwarts Castle has already turned off almost all the lights, and the world is dark.
With excellent night vision, Dracula's office is not lit, blending into the deep night.
However, the three small towers outside the main tower spire are faintly lit, adding a bit of color to the night.
"It seems that tonight is not so boring!" Dracula raised his mouth.
He stepped lightly on the windowsill and jumped into the dark night.
In this dim night, Dracula did not need to avoid the eyes of the little wizards at all. He stretched out his wide wings and flew lightly in the protective color of the night.
In this cold weather, the window of the principal's office was not closed. A candle was placed on the windowsill, swaying gently in the wind.
Dracula's figure quietly appeared beside the candle, blocking the rare light in the night.
"Ah, you are here, Professor Dracula." Dumbledore gently adjusted the glasses on his crooked nose and smiled happily, "It's cold today. Please help me close the window when you come down."
"You seem to have been waiting for me here for a long time?" Dracula frowned slightly, jumped down from the window frame lightly, and closed the window casually.
"Ah, it wasn't long. I opened the window when Severus left and waited for you to come." Dumbledore rubbed his cold and red hands, "I'm really old, I still feel warmer with the window closed."
"Mind if I light a fireplace?"
Without waiting for Dracula's consent, Dumbledore waved his wand and lit the fireplace next to the desk.
The green flame rose high from the fireplace, and the room suddenly became warm.
"Tell me, what did you stay up so late to tell me?" Dracula glanced at the fireplace burning with green flames, and lay down on the sofa next to the Sorting Hat skillfully, "If you ask me, you should really learn the work and rest schedule of that old guy Nico."
"He goes to bed at around eight o'clock every night and gets up at five in the morning. He is over six hundred years old, but he can still walk on the ground by himself." Dracula said with a chuckle.
"To be honest, I envy Nico's leisurely life." Dumbledore smiled and shook his head. "He originally had to worry about others coveting the legendary Philosopher's Stone, but now that the Philosopher's Stone is handed over to you for safekeeping, the last worry is gone."
"Now he doesn't have to worry about anything. He can live comfortably just by watching a play and studying magic every day."
"How can it be comfortable to do those repetitive things every day?" Dracula disagreed. "But his boring life does make his work and rest more regular."
"If possible, which old man is willing to stay up late? But I have no other way. If I don't solve the problem of Voldemort, I can't sleep or eat well, Professor Dracula!"
Dumbledore smiled and looked deeply at Dracula.
"If you feel sorry for me as an old man, you can promise to help me get rid of Voldemort. That way I don't have to stay up late like those energetic young people." He said with a smile.
"If I feel sorry for you, an old man, who will feel sorry for me?" Dracula shrugged. "Voldemort, that troublesome, noseless guy, may not have much brains, but he has prepared a lot of spare lives for himself... I won't make trouble for nothing and take on such a troublesome task."
"You are joking, Professor Dracula." Dumbledore smiled and yawned, "Which old man can be as energetic as you after not sleeping for a few days?"
Dracula closed his eyes, too lazy to go around in circles with Dumbledore, the old fox, and say those meaningless words.
"Tell me, what do you want to say to me?" He asked directly.
"Don't worry, we still have one person who hasn't arrived yet!" Dumbledore looked at the fireplace beside him and said with a chuckle.
...
On the other side, in the living room of Malfoy Manor.
After Riddle left, the remaining Death Eaters continued the previous meeting.
"Do you understand the next plan?" Voldemort asked coldly, scanning the Death Eaters present with his scarlet eyes.
"Understood, Master." The Death Eaters present all answered solemnly.
"Very good, then let's discuss the main tasks of each person in this operation."
Voldemort stared at everyone's eyes one by one, until they were scared to the point of sweating on their heads, and then he slowly said the next sentence.
"Start with you, Severus." Voldemort pointed his wand at Snape, who was sitting in the first seat on his right hand, "Tell me, how to accomplish your task."
Snape nodded expressionlessly.
"I will stay in Hogwarts and cast spells on the owls and magical messages coming and going to block Dracula and Dumbledore's access to information." He said in a steady tone, "If Dumbledore and Dracula have the intention to leave the castle, I will do my best to stop them and use other things to try to delay them until our action is over!"
"Severus is right!" Voldemort's hoarse voice sounded.
"Dracula and Dumbledore are the two biggest obstacles in our plan. We must delay them to succeed! Although we have two undercovers in Hogwarts, my clone has other tasks, so only you can delay these two obstacles."
"Severus, for the confidentiality of your identity, you don't have to participate in this operation on site." Voldemort said in a deep voice, "All you need to do is do your best to delay Dracula and Dumbledore, the longer the better!"
Snape nodded slowly.
"Yaxley, what about the Ministry of Magic?" Voldemort suddenly turned his head and looked to his left.
Yaxley was different from other Death Eaters who were all dressed in black. His black robe was embroidered with gorgeous and complicated patterns, as if to show his unique temperament as one of the twenty-eight holy families.
Voldemort's sudden question startled him.
Yaxley shuddered subconsciously, then reacted and began to introduce his work content.
"I have bribed the Aurors and observers stationed in Azkaban at the end of October. They thought I was just visiting the Yaxley family members in prison."
"But why would those locked-up trash be worth visiting?" He sneered, "At that time, I will destroy the communicator between Azkaban and the Ministry of Magic when they are not paying attention, and cut off the possibility of them finding reinforcements!"
"In addition, I have written the impeachment letter against Amelia Bones and Rufus Scrimgeour. As soon as we break through Azkaban, I will hand it over to Fudge."
"With Fudge is a fool. He certainly wouldn't mind weakening the influence of two political rivals. At the same time, doing so can not only please our Yaxley family, but also get rid of his responsibility for the breach of Azkaban. It can be said that it is the best of all worlds. "
"It is a foregone conclusion that I will be promoted to the first or second position in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement!"
"You have done a good job in your mission." Voldemort nodded approvingly, "When I lead the wizarding world, you will be the next Minister of Magic!"
Yaxley showed a fanatical expression at the right time, knelt on one knee on the ground, and expressed his loyalty to Voldemort.
Lucius sat in the second seat on the left, looking at this head of the family, who is also one of the twenty-eight holy families, groveling to Voldemort with great disdain, completely forgetting how he licked Voldemort's toes at that time...
"Lucius, what about you?" Voldemort's cold voice suddenly sounded in Lucius's ears.
Lucius took a deep breath and said through gritted teeth, "I have already prepared all the Malfoy family's assets, and our relationship with the Ministry of Magic has also been properly arranged... Even if I have to spend all my wealth, I will complete the task assigned to me by my master!"