A Surprise for Stark!

Was Voldemort a competent leader?

He is definitely not.

A qualified boss must be thick-skinned and ruthless, and on the surface, exude a strong personal charisma.

You also need to be able to paint a rosy picture so that your subordinates can see it:

Although I'm the boss and you're the employee, we both have a bright future ahead of us.

This is how you can fool everyone into working hard, so that the boss really has a "bright future."

Being sarcastic and unsettling is definitely not going to work; relying on terrifying methods is utterly despicable.

Voldemort was such an incompetent boss.

Of course, in his youth, he was a near-perfect leader.

But as he got older, he became moody and liked to mess with his subordinates' mentality.

He has run the Death Eaters brand from scratch for over half a century, and at this point, it can truly be described as:

When morale is low, it's difficult to lead a team.

Is there any hope?

Voldemort at seventy is definitely beyond saving. It's not his fault; it's a consequence of his split soul. Most of his intelligence remains from that cool summer when he was sixteen.

So, back to the meeting, after a round of sarcastic remarks, Voldemort's sadistic urges kicked in again.

As usual, he began a series of Cruciatus Curse to vent his dissatisfaction with the servants.

As he tortured himself, he thought:

"They're all useless idiots. If I had a helper like Stark, would I be in this predicament now?!"

Voldemort, who was getting angrier the more he thought about it, suddenly turned his head and stared at the woman on the corner of the table.

Narcissa.

Narcissa looked up, and in the firelight, her face appeared sallow, her eyes were sunken, her expression was melancholy, and her voice was hoarse.

"Owner?"

"Will your son, Draco, be back this Christmas?"

"He..." Narcissa's voice trembled, "Draco wrote back, but he's not coming back this time."

"Does he not want to see me? What about the task I gave him?"

"His master is trying to finish it, that's why he hasn't come back," Narcissa stammered.

"You may have heard the rumors that a lot has happened at Hogwarts recently, and some students have almost died."

And last time, at the party in Slughorn ...

"Yes, I heard." Voldemort's red eyes glanced at Snape out of the corner of his eye. "The Weasley family ' youngest son almost died of poisoning."

But it's far from my goal!

Narcissa bit her lip so hard that blood seeped out without her realizing it.

"Master, I will urge him... He will surely send you satisfactory news soon..."

Everyone listened as the two men spoke in tacit terms, reciting the words of an old riddle teller.

But none of them dared to show the slightest curiosity; at least, their faces remained expressionless.

After inquiring about Malfoy's mission, Voldemort raised his gaze again, looking at the slowly rotating human body, and continued:

"Thorfinn, have you found Old Burke?"

"Master, he ran away immediately, and there's no one left in the shop," Thorfinn Rowle said hurriedly.

"I will continue to send people..."

The Dark Lord waved his hand and said in a hoarse voice, "I know Old Burke. He's a mercenary, cunning wizard, but also very cautious."

If he were so easy to catch, he wouldn't have been able to work in Knockturn Alley for seventy years.

You can't catch him, but he won't talk nonsense with that woman Rita Skeeter either!

So, have you found that woman?

Rita's current biography touches on many things, but much of it is nonsense.

For example, Voldemort's origins and the backgrounds of his parents are basically true.

For example, it was indeed he who killed Hepzibah Smith.

However, the real purpose was to take Hufflepuff's Cup and Slytherin's Locket.

It's not some rich woman's property.

Furthermore, Voldemort framed Hepzba Smith's House-elf, and the Ministry of Magic has closed the case.

How did Rita know he had killed him?

Did they actually uncover something, or is this just a deliberate conspiracy theory?

Voldemort was very concerned about these things.

Of course, most importantly, the Dark Lord must not be insulted!

He must punish Rita!

Thorfinn Rowle panicked:

"Not yet, Master. There's word that she's hiding in France."

Seeing that the Dark Lord was about to raise his wand, he quickly said:

"Master, I have other good news. I overcame numerous difficulties and made every effort to finally find a publisher willing to publish Rita's biography."

"That's surprising," Voldemort said, putting down his wand with interest.

"Even the Daily Prophet doesn't dare to publish this. I'm very curious who's so bold."

"Xenoflius Lovegood!"

When this name came out, many people started whispering among themselves, as if they had heard of him before.

Voldemort rested his chin on his hand, pondering who this person was.

Oh, he remembered!

These are the people who have been tirelessly promoting the idea that he is not dead all these years.

He also said in "The Quibbler": The You-Know-Who is hiding in Antarctica and has established a base.

Goodness, is this guy really capable, or is he just talking nonsense?

"Master, we can raid his house," said Thorfinn Rowle, seemingly determined to earn some praise.

"We've been watching his house for a long time; he lives in the Ottery St Catchpole!"

He'll be back this Christmas. Because his daughter, Luna, will be coming home from school.

"Very good." Voldemort nodded and said, "I want to see that man this Christmas."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a long, drawn-out, and utterly miserable wail rang out.

Many people around the table looked up at the man floating in mid-air.

"Do you recognize our guest?" Voldemort asked softly.

All the Death Eaters looked up at the captured man, as if they had been granted permission to express their curiosity.

"This is Betty Braithwaite, a reporter for the Daily Prophet; she's the one who recently conducted an online interview with Rita."

Voldemort, seeing the tense faces of his followers, continued:

"I said... the Dark Lord cannot be insulted, and those who dare to disrespect him must pay the price!"

Voldemort suddenly hissed, and the sound grew louder and louder.

One or two wizards couldn't help but shudder, as they heard something heavy crawling on the floor under the table.

The Runespoor emerged and slowly climbed onto Voldemort's chair. It climbed higher and higher, seemingly without end, and then draped its body over Voldemort's shoulder.

Avada Kedavra!

A green light illuminated every corner of the room.

With a loud thud, the person landed on the table without any struggle, causing the table to tremble and creak.

The Death Eaters were so frightened that they shrank back into their chairs.

"Let's eat," Voldemort said softly. The giant snake swayed off his shoulder and slowly crawled toward the smooth wooden tabletop.

He stood up, looked at the servants, and said coldly:

"I remember Stark's cabin, also in Ottery St Catchpole."

Seize Lovegood, and as for his daughter Luna, cut off her head and throw it at the door of his hut!

I hope that his classmate's death will be a surprise for him this Christmas.

Consider this my Christmas present to William!