The Washed-Up First Dark Lord

Malfoy and Avery left.

Voldemort stood alone in the stone house, his red eyes narrowed, his gaze fixed on the skull.

The door opened again, and a wizard entered, kneeling humbly on the ground.

Voldemort, with his back to him, whispered:

"Gray, I was truly saddened to hear of your father Evan Rosier's death."

Evan Rosier was an early Death Eaters followed Voldemort. After Voldemort's death, Evan was also killed by the Auror.

Following in his father's footsteps... Now that Evan was dead, Voldemort recruited his son, Gray Rosier.

"My father will never regret it before he dies," Gray said fervently. "I will continue to be loyal to my master in his place."

"Good, very good." Voldemort's lipless mouth twisted into a smile.

"I remember that your family once served the first Dark Lord, Grindelwald."

In fact, not only the Rosier family, but many Pure-blood families have joined Grindelwald's Grindelwald's Acolytes.

However, the Rosier family is a special case. Vinda Rosier is Grindelwald's right-hand man and the de facto number two figure in the Grindelwald's Acolytes.

In fact, even after Grindelwald was imprisoned in Nurmengard, his family continued to help him in every way possible.

Gray, thinking Voldemort was planning to settle scores later, hurriedly explained, "Master, that happened half a century ago..."

"I know, it's alright." Voldemort raised a large, pale hand and gently helped Gray up.

"Grindelwald is a complete loser! He has disgraced the Dark Lord!"

Your Rosier family chose me, so of course you chose the right path.

He patted Rosier on the shoulder and whispered, "I need you to do something."

"What is it, Master?" Gray asked.

The firelight reflected an eerie glow in Voldemort's eyes, and he slowly said:

"I'm going to Nurmengard to release Grindelwald."

With the Stark ' sudden rise to power, and Dumbledore... Voldemort felt he might need to find help.

Dumbledore was indeed old, but Stark was only sixteen. That night's battle had already proven his formidable strength.

We need to find outside help.

Looking around, the only one qualified to join forces with him was Grindelwald, the former Dark Lord.

Although Voldemort looked down on this senior, he was, after all, the previous Dark Lord.

When he was young, that was the peak of his career.

But after being imprisoned for decades, he'd probably be half-crippled even if he didn't die.

Voldemort didn't expect Grindelwald to do too much, just enough to keep one of them occupied.

"Tell Grindelwald that I'm willing to have Berlin as the border with Germany, with the east side belonging to him and the west side to me."

"Voldemort said softly."

"Yes, I understand, Master." Gray nodded.

Voldemort walked to the table and picked up the skull.

The greatest enemies... will always be Dumbledore and Stark.

Once he dealt with those two, Voldemort believed that taking down a washed-up Dark Lord would be a piece of cake.

He picked up the skull and gently played with it in his hands, as if caressing a lover.

The International Wizarding Conference will be held in Austria? That'll give Dumbledore and Stark something to do.

It would be best to keep both of them there.

"Let's go, let's get out of here." Voldemort left first, the Runespoor following slowly behind him.

These are the secret missions; the rest are less classified. There's no need to be so cautious.

They entered the conference room, where a large table was already set up.

The candlelight was dim; a pale beam of moonlight poured down from the wide skylight in the dome, illuminating the room.

Voldemort, holding the skull, sat down in the main seat.

All the Death Eaters were arranged in hierarchical order.

"Gray? You can sit here." Voldemort pointed to the seat right next to him, Malfoy reluctantly moved over.

Death Eaters are also ranked. Many Death Eaters are not worthy of attending this meeting.

And the seating arrangement for these core members is also significant... related to their family, abilities, and their closeness to the Dark Lord.

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Wizards who were particularly close to Voldemort usually sat near him.

Clearly, this new Death Eaters named Gray had won his master's favor.

Who knows, we might have to stay overnight.

It's infuriatingly enviable.

As for Malfoy... he was definitely distanced somewhat, otherwise why would he have been relegated to the middle?

Then we'll definitely have to take the opportunity to kick them while they're down... it's a classic internal power struggle tactic.

"Nott, what did Gringotts say?" Voldemort asked, looking at a hunchbacked wizard.

"Master, those Goblin are speaking very vaguely. I don't think they'll side with us. During the last wizarding war..."

"In the last Wizarding War, we killed many of their comrades, and in the end, they did not support either side!" Voldemort sneered.

"These spineless cowards, it seems the Goblin Wars has exhausted all their courage."

"However..." Voldemort chuckled. "Tell the Goblin I can offer them even better terms, if they side with us."

"A lot of gold?" Nott probed.

"It's not gold," Voldemort scoffed. "It's the freedom that wizards have denied them for centuries that makes them unable to resist temptation."

A moment of silence fell over the table.

"Don't be afraid. Once we defeat Dumbledore, dealing with them will be a piece of cake," Voldemort said in a hoarse voice.

"At that time, I will reclaim all ownership of Gringotts."

"Yes, I understand, Master."

Voldemort then looked at the corner of the table and asked loudly:

"Carrow, I heard you have a good relationship with Igor Karkaroff?"

"Master, who told you that! That's impossible!" Amycus Carrow raised his head and argued.

"That traitor, I wish I could chop his dog's head off!"

"Yes, we don't know Karkaroff at all," Amycus's sister Alecto, chimed in.

"Don't lie to me, the great Dark Lord, you know everything..." Voldemort sneered, "I've heard that some of your family's children attend Durmstrang."

This year, he also participated in the Triwizard Tournament alongside Karkaroff...

"That's adopted!" Amycus hurriedly explained, "Not biologically related!"

"Yes, Master," Alecto exclaimed, "Actually, Malfoy and Karkaroff are on good terms."

I heard that he also plans to send his son Draco to Durmstrang University through Karkaroff.

Damn! (A tactic)

Malfoy glared at the two of them resentfully.

First it was Avery, then the Carrow siblings... they all speak ill of me, Malfoy.

What did they do to deserve this?!

Voldemort did not rebuke the Carrow siblings, nor did he scold Malfoy; instead, he said softly:

"According to my reliable sources, Karkaroff is still at Hogwarts. He has completely sided with Dumbledore."

Voldemort stood up and slowly paced around the group.

For a moment, the room felt as cold as if it were frozen solid.

Voldemort hissed, and the sound grew louder and louder, causing one or two wizards to shiver. They could hear something heavy crawling on the floor under the table.

The giant snake reached out and slowly climbed onto Voldemort's chair. It climbed higher and higher, seemingly without end, and then draped its body over Voldemort's shoulder.

"Karkaroff seemed to think he could survive safely under the hooked nose of that Mudblood- loving fool."

Voldemort gently stroked the snake's head, glanced around, and sneered:

"I am willing to forgive those servants who have changed their minds, and I don't mind giving them another chance."

The Dark Lord has always been a very benevolent master.

"But..." Voldemort suddenly shouted:

"I cannot let others think that betraying the Dark Lord will go unpunished;"

I cannot let others think that I can get away with my mistakes;

I cannot let anyone think that hiding behind Dumbledore will ensure their eternal safety.

No, impossible!

Voldemort stared at the Carrow siblings and said coldly:

"Karkaroff will return to Durmstrang, and I want you to go and kill him."

"Master, is it just the two of us?"

"A group of wizards has already gone to make contact with the Giant." Voldemort's lips curled into a smile.

"The Giant will likely return to my command; these are forces you can mobilize."

"I have only one request... bring me back a wine glass made from Karkaroff's head!"

Voldemort lowered his head and stared at the human skull in his palm.

The skull, which was empty a moment ago, now resembles a bowl filled with blood-red wine.

He raised his head and drank the wine.

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