Faced with Voldemort's gaze, the students lowered their heads one after another, hesitation appearing on their faces as they struggled to figure out how to handle the situation.
Voldemort naturally took in every trace of hesitation on their faces.
This was Voldemort's final attempt, and an extremely important one.
He knew perfectly well that hesitation meant there was a possibility they could be swayed, which was exactly what he wanted to see.
From the very beginning, he had never intended to persuade every single Slytherin.
As long as some of the Slytherins compromised first, he was fully confident that the rest would soon follow those around them and side with him.
When he had infiltrated Hogwarts and recruited Slytherin students as Death Eaters, he had already arranged something similar.
"Reclaim the home that belongs to us..." Voldemort's gaze swept over Vincent Crabbe.
Like the other Slytherin students, Vincent Crabbe abruptly lowered his head upon feeling Voldemort's gaze.
His breathing grew heavy, and his body began to tremble involuntarily. He did not dare meet Voldemort's eyes.
Smiling, Voldemort turned his gaze to Draco Malfoy. "Isn't that only natural?"
Unlike the other Slytherin students, Draco did not avoid Voldemort's gaze. He even met Voldemort's eyes directly.
Voldemort raised his brows. In Draco's eyes, he saw neither reverence nor fear—only scrutiny and dissatisfaction.
Setting aside the expression Draco wore at the moment, Draco's features alone reminded him of the name of a servant. "You are... Lucius Malfoy's child?"
Draco raised his brows as well and slowly nodded. "That's me. I'm Draco Malfoy."
After saying this, he even shifted his posture, crossing one leg over the other and folding his arms across his chest. He tipped his chin up slightly and continued to stare Voldemort in the eye.
No matter who faced him, Draco's