Tywin's Story

Half an hour had passed in the blink of an eye during their conversation.

William couldn't help but ask the question that had been bothering him.

"Professor, if Tywin was to save James Potter, why would he impersonate Death Eaters?"

"Wrong, William. Tywin isn't trying to save James; he really wants to save Voldemort, who is also a true Death Eaters."

"But didn't he have special feelings for James? In those memories..."

"People change, William. Tywin changed after James and Lily got together." Dumbledore's eyes sharpened.

"Remember that memory? Tywin once tried to cast a curse on Lily, just because she was dating James."

"Remember."

"That's just the beginning. Love can sometimes drive a person crazy, making them less like themselves," Dumbledore said with great experience.

"Come on, this is a memory I've been searching for for a long time."

Dumbledore stirred the Pensieve, and the two entered another memory.

A peculiar scene unfolded.

William's pupils contracted in shock. What the hell was that?!

The surroundings were blurry and dark when a man appeared. He wore a black robe, his blond hair was dirty and messy, and his face showed fear.

A group of men wearing black hoods surrounded him, their wands pointed at his head.

"Don't kill me! I'm here to see the Dark Lord!!" The man knelt on the ground and raised his wand.

"Oh, you came to see me? Did Dumbledore send you to deliver a message, Tywin?"

A figure appeared, but it was blurry, because the source of this memory lowered its head in fear.

"I have important intelligence; I know the location of members of the Order of the Phoenix... You can lead the way..."

"Huh, do you know whose location?" The deep, hoarse voice rang out again.

"Several of them: Lily Potter, Frank Longbottom, and Ellie Longbottom..."

"Not bad," the man chuckled lazily. "The Longbottoms escaped from me once, and Lily Potter escaped twice."

I remember these are all your classmates, right? What do you want? Merciful Lord Voldemort will grant it to you.

"I... I want to become... Death Eaters!"

Soon, the scene changed, and new memories appeared.

A small, square room, dimly lit. The black marble floor looked alarming. A low wooden altar surrounded a shrine with three pillars, and candlelight flickered on the altar.

A figure appeared. This person was tall, and his blond hair looked familiar. It was Tywin, who was in his twenties.

At this moment, he was no longer the timid and ordinary Tywin; he had become confident, handsome, and smiling.

Soon, more people gathered, and four wizards came into view, all observing the newcomers taking their oaths of allegiance.

Judging from their clothing, they were all Death Eaters. The lighting was dim, and they were wearing hoods, so William couldn't recognize their faces.

"Death Eaters." A deep, hoarse voice suddenly rang out, and a figure appeared on the altar.

"In the name of the great Voldemort, I open this assembly hall to my new servants!"

The words had barely left his mouth when a rapid hammer blow rang out.

William stared in astonishment at the scene before him.

Various books have been very secretive about the rituals of the Death Eaters, but today he finally witnessed them with his own eyes.

The entire ceremony proceeded smoothly, the surrounding scene resembling a cult, with sparkling wands held against the bare chest of the oath-taker... This signified that if the oath-taker "betrayed Voldemort," they would be punished with magic piercing their heart.

Tywin knelt at Voldemort's feet... swearing "eternal loyalty to my master"... and vowing that if he betrayed him, he would be punished by having his belly ripped open, his heart taken alive, and left to be trampled on.

Voldemort bent down, took Tywin's left arm, rolled up his sleeve to his elbow, and gently tapped it with his wand.

Tywin wore a pained expression, but the psychological satisfaction quickly overwhelmed the pain, and an excited flush rose on his face.

After an unknown amount of time, something appeared on Tywin's skin—a bright red tattoo pattern: a snake emerging from the mouth of a skull.

--Black Dark Mark.

The ceremony ended, Tywin knelt down, crawled to Voldemort, and kissed the hem of his black robes.

"Master... Master..." Tywin whispered.

The Death Eaters who witnessed it all did the same; each of them crawled on their knees to Voldemort's side, kissed his robes, then stepped aside, stood up, and silently formed a circle.

"Let's go, William," Dumbledore said.

The two returned to their office.

After a moment, Dumbledore spoke.

"During his time at Hogwarts as a child, Voldemort amassed a group of devoted followers."

I say this because there is no better word to describe it; he felt no affection for them. This group formed a dark force within the castle, a diverse mix of people: the weak seeking refuge, the ambitious seeking prestige, and the inherently cruel, drawn to a leader who could teach them a higher form of cruelty.

In other words, they were the precursors to the Death Eaters. Some of them actually became the first Death Eaters after leaving Hogwarts.

"The young Voldemort, in order to win people's hearts and show his specialness, designed this ritual at the suggestion of this group."

The true core Death Eaters mostly underwent this ritual, signifying that they were now Voldemort's servants.

William pondered for a moment, then asked, "Professor, where does this memory come from?"

"Rodolphus Lestrange, and his wife Bellatrix, were Voldemort's top Death Eaters leaders and his most fanatical followers, so the memory is reliable," Dumbledore said.

"So why did Tywin join the Death Eaters?"

"William, I can only guess." Dumbledore crossed his arms. "Human hearts are fickle. Tywin always had special feelings for James, but after James and Lily got married, those feelings turned into hatred."

This hatred drove him to leak Lily's information to Voldemort so that he could kill her.

"Did the Potters die around that time?"

"No." Dumbledore shook his head. "Lily escaped that attack; that was the third time she had escaped Voldemort's pursuit."

However, after that incident, I suspected that someone on our side had betrayed us, so I suggested that Potter and the Longbottoms go into hiding.

"But at that time, Voldemort had to find the Potters for some reason."

"Tywin was James's childhood friend, and he was also there to investigate in secret. However, before he could even make a move, Voldemort found James and Lily through someone else."

Sirius Black?

"Yes, Sirius," Dumbledore repeated in a sad, incomprehensible, and complex tone.

"Tywin failed to make a difference, and Voldemort fell from power. Few witnessed him becoming Death Eaters, and he remained hidden until now."

"Then why does he hate Professor Snape?" William asked.

He remembered Tywin saying in the Hospital Wing that Snape was a despicable traitor who killed James and the Dark Lord.

"William, I can't go into too much detail with you, but I can tell you that Voldemort made up his mind to kill the Potter family because of some information that Snape accidentally leaked."

In the end, Voldemort died, Tywin believed that Snape had deceived Voldemort and caused his death, which was why he hated him.

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