The Party Breaks Up

It was quite late, but the summer night sky wasn't pitch black. A gentle breeze blew from the open fields and hills, then was broken into wisps by the stone carvings and tombstones scattered in the cemetery. Fallen leaves from the yew trees and blades of grass on the ground were swirled by the wind and drifted away silently.

Loren observed from a hidden corner, not overly worried.

Despite Voldemort regaining his physical form and displaying immense power before the Death Eater, showing mercy to Bellatrix and Barty Jr. Crouch., several Death Eater subjected him to the Cruciatus Curse of torture.

The combination of kindness and severity was essentially an attempt to win back hearts and minds, without harming a single Death Eater.

They were even quite lenient with Snape.

There is only one reason: Voldemort has just returned and is short-handed. Every Death Eater is his precious servant.

So leaving Snape behind alone now is not to take action, but to give Snape a chance to reaffirm his loyalty and fully express his stance.

As all the Death Eater left, Snape's heart grew calmer. If Voldemort's Legilimency could break through his Occlumency, he would see no panic or hesitation in the depths of his consciousness, only a tranquil stillness as deep as Black Lake.

Snape saw the shadow of the angel statue cast behind Voldemort, covering his original shadow. It seemed to have wings and was the shadow of Voldemort wielding a long-handled scythe. The scythe's blade was stretched long, like a god reaping lives.

He slowly met Voldemort's crimson snake eyes, his gaze utterly calm, as still as a stagnant lake. "I pledge my allegiance to you..."

Voldemort stared intently into his eyes, as if trying to see his own reflection in them. "You know what I want."

"Master, please give me some time. I will compile the intelligence on Dumbledore past thirteen years. It won't take too long..." Snape said dryly, his voice and tone flawless.

"Do you resent me?" Voldemort suddenly asked.

Snape, unable to follow his train of thought, frowned in confusion. "What?"

Voldemort's eyes narrowed to slits as he stared intently at him. "Thirteen years ago, you begged me to spare that woman's life, but I killed her, Harry Potter's mother, your beloved... Lily Evans!"

Snape opened his mouth, but no words came out. His face displayed a complex mix of emotions: the sorrow of remembering the dead, the grief of losing a loved one because of him, and a longing that no one else could know...

Voldemort circled him once, the shadow of death still looming over him, a hissing sound like a snake spitting its tongue coming from his mouth, "Look at you, Severus, a face of lovesick madness, every inch of you radiating that disgusting, Dumbledore- sounding... love."

"Or are you trying to tell me that you've abandoned that feeling, from Spinner's End to Hogwarts, and even after graduation, you couldn't let go of it, and yet this person died by my wand. How can I believe that?" Voldemort said softly, "Even before that, you were my most loyal servant..."

"After that, I was also your most loyal servant." Snape composed himself, his complex expression settling into a calm tone. "That night, I lost two of the most important people in my life: Lily and the Dark Lord, whom I had always sought and who had guided me on my path..."

"For this reason, I was depressed for a long time, choosing to lie low at Hogwarts as an ordinary Potions Master, teaching students, grading assignments, and reading Potions Master journals every day... I didn't care about McGonagall, Flitwick, and Sprout's ostracism. I had no goals, I couldn't see the road ahead, I was like a soulless shell. If there was anything that could arouse my interest, it was only Potions..."

Voldemort listened to his story in silence, and in a blind spot where Snape couldn't see him, his expression softened slightly. In a daze, he seemed to see the years he spent in the Fawley before entering Hogwarts.

"Until Quirrell stole the Sorcerer's Stone..." Snape, seemingly oblivious to Voldemort's sudden, sharp gaze, continued, "I had a pursuit, a supreme pursuit, inspired by you, and also by the warning of Lily's death..."

Voldemort's slightly hoarse voice picked up where he left off. "Conquer death, and you will live forever."

Loren slowed his breathing; he immediately understood Professor Snape's plan—to persuade Voldemort with the same ideals.

Voldemort could never have imagined that his ultimate goal was not immortality, but rather resurrection...

Snape's dark eyes gleamed slightly, and he raised his voice a little. "The Sorcerer's Stone is a crucial clue to the Elixir of Life, but Dumbledore seemed wary of me mentioning it. During the summer after Quirrell's failure, he and Nicolas Flamel personally destroyed the Sorcerer's Stone."

"I suspected this was just a hoax he was spreading, so I investigated for a while. I spent a year confirming that Nicolas Flamel and his wife were indeed dead, and there was no trace of them, neither in their place of seclusion in England nor in France ..."

"You're overthinking it, Severus. Dumbledore wouldn't lie about this; he's afraid someone else will obtain the Sorcerer's Stone's power." Voldemort, though denying his actions, unconsciously added with admiration, "He's such a timid and cautious man, claiming death is another great adventure, yet he's lived longer than most wizards, hiding in Hogwarts Castle away from all danger and strife. He's afraid someone will surpass him..."

"Later, I uncovered a new lead..." Snape looked at Voldemort, paused, and uttered the word that made his pupils shrink, "Horcrux!"

Voldemort's eyes gleamed with a dangerous, chilling red light. "What else do you know?"

"In the Library's Restricted Section, there is a book called ' Advanced Dark Magic.' The Herpo the Foul left behind the method for making Horcrux, but the most crucial page has been torn out..." Snape bowed slightly and said respectfully, "Great Dark Lord, Severus is willing to be your most loyal servant forever."

Voldemort stared at him for a long time, his lips parting into a slit. If he had any doubts about Snape before, all his suspicions about his identity and position vanished at this moment.

Dumbledore has already confiscated Ravenclaw's Diadem and Hufflepuff's Goblet, so he must have found out about the Horcrux. Therefore, the headmaster will definitely not allow anyone to have any ideas about the Horcrux.

Voldemort slowly stepped forward and stood before him. "You made the right choice. I'm entrusting you with the most important task..."

"I pledge my allegiance to you."

"I want you to return to Hogwarts and continue to be a dutiful Potions Master, Slytherin Head of House, and keep an eye on Dumbledore's every move."

Snape hesitated for a moment. "But they won't believe me anymore if I take Barty Jr. Crouch. with me and run away without permission."

"Who said you led him to escape?" Voldemort's twisted snake face revealed a meaningful smile.

"What do you mean?" Snape's gaze followed his eyes to the mangled corpse in the middle of the arena.

"The former Director of the Department of Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Magic, and the current Director of the Department of International Cooperation, our diligent Mr. Crouch, has actually been a member of the Death Eaters for many years. He hid his identity and escaped trial, but he never expected that his son would be exposed by Karkaroff. So he swapped his seriously ill wife for his son who was serving time in Azkaban..."

"Because of their reverence for the Dark Lord, they decided to take revenge on Harry Potter. So they restarted the Goblet of Fire Triwizard Tournament, intending to the Boy Who Lived the Triwizard Tournament, and in doing so, they plotted a series of secret schemes..."

Voldemort frowned slightly, seemingly lost in his own fabricated story, and sighed regretfully, "In the final of the Goblet of Fire, their plan implicated others, resulting in the death of another student. Barty Jr. Crouch Jr. was exposed by the Hogwarts professors and arrested on the spot."

"His father quickly received the news and sneaked into the Hogwarts prison to free his son from his restraints in an attempt to escape. However, he was discovered by a passing Potions Master, who chased after him until..."

Voldemort sighed smugly, "One died, one escaped."

"This..." Snape looked hesitant. "The people at Hogwarts might not fully believe this story, especially Dumbledore."

"They don't need to completely trust you. I know that Dumbledore; he's always willing to give someone another chance, even if everyone else thinks you're not trustworthy..."

Voldemort said lazily, "The pursuit of Horcrux destined Snape to be a member of the Death Eater. Severus, we have plenty of time, more than you've ever seen in history books, more than you can imagine in your mind..."

"I pledge my allegiance to you." With Snape, Snape vanished in a flash from the Graveyard of Little Hangleton.

Upon hearing Voldemort's absurd fabricated story, Loren immediately began to imagine the uproar it would cause in the Wizarding World.

The Crouch father and son and son's Death Eater story is almost flawless, and the Death Eater community will inevitably fuel its spread, while Dumbledore's group will reveal another the Dark Lord's resurrection.

The key to which message the general wizarding community will believe lies in whether Voldemort has revealed his whereabouts.

Since Voldemort fabricated this story, it means he had already made up his mind...

Just when Loren thought Voldemort would leave quickly, he saw Voldemort walk towards the withered corpse lying on the ground. After putting his wand into his black robe, Voldemort turned his head and looked up at the sky expressionlessly, as if waiting for something.

Loren soon found out what he was waiting for.

Night fell over the desolate Wild Graveyard, and a bright orange flame suddenly appeared in the air above the not-so-spacious clearing.

Even though there was nothing in the air to burn, the flames grew stronger and stronger, rapidly expanding into a fireball the size of an adult. Under Voldemort's watchful gaze, the raging flames rolled and tore through the air with a loud bang.

A figure stepped out of the flames, dressed in a gray-white robe, his hair tied up with olive branches, and his long white beard tied in front with a hair tie.

Through the gradually dying flames, Loren could see the old face filled with confusion and shock. He forced a stiff smile and silently complained to himself.

What are you pretending for? If Dumbledore hadn't been here from the beginning, he would have eaten the stone sculpture in front of him.

"Good evening, Headmaster Dumbledore," Voldemort greeted sincerely. "Unfortunately, there's nothing here to entertain you."

"Good evening, Tom ..." Dumbledore seemed to accept the fact quickly, put away all his expressions, and looked at him with a solemn face. "Perhaps we can go somewhere else and let this old man have a drink... I have already walked a long way, I don't mind walking a little further."

Hearing the pointed words, Voldemort glanced at Riddle House, nestled halfway up the mountain, and refused, "Believe me, Headmaster Dumbledore, my path is far longer and more arduous..."

"Perhaps I know a little..." Dumbledore looked at Voldemort across Crouch's corpse. "I have seen old trees covered with snake bones in the forests of Albania, and even at Hogwarts, my students have encountered many wretched Wraith with nowhere to go."

"But not everyone has Harry Potter's luck, like that Hufflepuff Champion." Voldemort looked at Dumbledore's grim face, pointed to the corpse not far away, and a twisted smile appeared on his expressionless snake face. "Perhaps poor Cedric needs a good teacher to guide him on the path of death!"

Dumbledore's lips were tightly pressed together, his ancient wand in hand, his long robes billowing without wind, a vast amount of Magic Power surging and accumulating within his aged yet still strong body, as if it were about to unleash a surging wave that would engulf Voldemort at any moment.

Voldemort, his face grim, moved slowly around Crouch's corpse, trying to evade the old man's lock on.

They had clashed several times years ago. Although there was no death match and the outcome of the battle was unclear, the Death Eater avoided Hogwarts, which had the most Muggle- Half-blood wizards, in their killing spree.

He spent thirteen years in agony as a Wraith, but this old fellow remained hidden at Hogwarts, free from the tedious daily teaching, twice refusing the nomination for Minister of Ministry of Magic, and spared no energy on complicated paperwork, thus having ample time to study magic...

Voldemort could no longer withstand the increasing pressure, and in a fleeting moment, the afterimage of his Yew Wood being violently swung out was:

"[Avada Kedavra] "

The eerie green light shot out relentlessly, the remaining glimmer of the cursed beam almost forming a thin line, and it was already close to Dumbledore before Loren could even see it clearly.

A bright orange-red flame flashed by, and the Killing Curse disappeared into the blazing flames.

As the battle officially began, golden spells and green light poured down like a torrential rain across the entire graveyard. Voldemort disappeared into the black mist that had somehow spread out, while Dumbledore's robes swirled and his figure flickered across every corner of the battlefield.