Hearing Herpo sigh, Voldemort raised an eyebrow. "So... why didn't you get rid of him from the beginning?"
"And you, Voldemort..." Herpo asked calmly. "What did you do to end up in that state before?"
"Oh?" Voldemort seemed to realize something, his eyes narrowing slightly. "You know about what happened to me?"
"Voldemort, this time was merely an accident..." Herpo began explaining the matter of the "werewolf wizard" again. "The key was that I misjudged the Ministry of Magic's ability to act."
"If it had been a hundred years ago... no! Even sixty years ago, I would have known far more about the Ministry of Magic's movements. But that Wizarding World War weakened my intelligence network."
"Once, countless pure-blood wizarding families followed the orders of the Isaiah Society. That was until the rise of Gellert Grindelwald, who wiped out far too many pure-blood wizarding families."
There was a hint of nostalgia in his voice. "If not for him, speaking with the Minister for Magic and directly ordering them to carry out certain commands would not have been difficult."
"Of course! That is not the point. The point is..." He abruptly changed tack. "I know very well about your affairs—for example, that prophecy concerning you."
"How much do you know about that prophecy?" Voldemort frowned slightly. "Born as the seventh month dies..."
For some reason, he murmured part of it under his breath, then fixed Herpo with an intense stare. "Herpo, is there more after that?"
"You only obtained that much?" Herpo's tone held undisguised mockery.
Voldemort heard the ridicule in Herpo's words, but had no mind to concern himself with it. What he cared about now was the part of the prophecy he did not know.
"Herpo, tell me!" he commanded in a tone that allowed no doubt. "What comes