Hogwarts Raven's Claw

Chapter 343: Secret Talk at the Manor
Foley Manor, Mike hasn't been there since the last Christmas dinner.

But it is obvious that Uncle Mario is an extremely nostalgic person. Compared with the last time, there is no change in Foley Manor except that there are fewer Christmas decorations.

Just as Mike followed Uncle Mario out of the fireplace room, a pink figure flashed before Mike's eyes and threw himself into Uncle Mario's arms.

Mike looked closely and realized that it was a girl in a pink dress.

The girl had dark hair and her face looked very similar to Abbott. She was hugging Uncle Mario's waist, rubbing her head against his chest and saying in a coquettish voice:
"Dad (papa)! You are finally back! Did you bring me what I needed?"

Mario, who was held by his daughter, looked a little embarrassed. He looked at Mike, who had no expression on his face, smiled awkwardly, patted the girl on the back and said:

"Alisa, please let me go first. There are guests here."

Hearing this, the girl named Alisa suddenly turned her head and looked at Mike. After discovering that Mike indeed had a face that was completely unfamiliar to her, a blush quickly spread from her face, spreading to her neck before slowing down a little.

Then, Alisa jumped off Mario's body as if she had been electrocuted, and disappeared into the next room.

"Um, that's my daughter, Alisa Foley." Mario said with his hand covering his face in embarrassment.

"Well, I heard from Abbott that she is a lively girl."

Uncle Mario seemed a little anxious. He did not continue talking about Mike's topic, but pointed to another room and said:
"It's probably still a while before lunch time, why don't we go have some tea first?"

Mike frowned when he heard this. He knew what Mario was so anxious to talk to him about, but Mario's condition at the moment was too abnormal.

Logically speaking, even if the patriarch of a family has a very hot temper, he should not show such an anxious expression.

But at this point, Mike didn't pursue it any further.

Then, with the help of servants, the two of them took off their thin outer coats and entered a slightly dark study.

As the servant left, Mario, who was sitting on the sofa, could no longer suppress his anxiety and asked impatiently:
"Mike, tell me, I'm very interested in your ideas."

"I think I've made it very clear before, Uncle Foley." Mike crossed his legs. "All we need to do next is preserve our strength. There's no need to flee the Kingdom of Ying. Dumbledore is no pushover. I believe he will get rid of Voldemort, but Voldemort will definitely make him pay a heavy price. And by that time..."

Mike snapped his fingers.
"It's time for us to come out and reap the fruits of victory!"

Mike's voice, which had become a little strange due to his voice change period, echoed in the study, and when Uncle Mario heard it, a look of disappointment appeared on his face.

He just sighed softly, then shook his head and said:
"Mike, your idea is still too naive."

As if he was afraid that what he said was too sharp and would offend Mike, Uncle Mario continued:
"I'm not saying that your idea is bad. In fact, if your plan goes smoothly, we can indeed reap the greatest benefits. But... you underestimate Voldemort."

After saying this, Mario stopped and looked at Mike.

It wasn't until Mike raised his hand to signal him to continue that he continued:

"You haven't experienced that special period, so you don't have a clear understanding of how terrible Voldemort is. But I can tell you that the reason why people fear him is largely not because of his strength, but because of his cruelty and his ability to manipulate people's hearts! (Mario sighed)

To be honest, even when Voldemort was rampant, I was not too afraid of him, because he was still a human! Although he turned himself into something that was neither human nor ghost through various vicious biological experiments, he was still a human. As long as he was a human, he would have a limited lifespan. Once his lifespan was up, he would die no matter how powerful he was! "

"But it's different now," Mario fell back on the sofa, staring at the ceiling, "He actually came back to life! This breaks my cognition, you know? If he really has some ability to defeat death, then..."

"So, the reason you are afraid is because you are worried that Voldemort can't be killed at all, right? But, do you know why Voldemort can be resurrected?"

Mike's cold words stunned Mario. He looked at Mike again, only to see that Mike had already waved his wand.

As the blackthorn wand was waved, large pieces of light dust suddenly appeared and formed four Horcruxes including the Hufflepuff Gold Cup in mid-air.

"This is……"

"Horcruxes."

"Horcruxes? You mean these are all his Horcruxes? How is it possible for one person to own so many Horcruxes!" Mike's words made Mario sit up from the sofa. As the patriarch of a large pure-blood family, he naturally studied the black magic in depth and was exposed to relevant knowledge about Horcruxes.

However, the news Mike told him still shocked him.

But Mario was the patriarch of the Free family after all, and after the initial shock he quickly reacted.

The reason why he was afraid of Voldemort before was because he was afraid of Voldemort's mysterious method of resurrection.

After all, who wouldn’t be afraid of an unkillable enemy?

But now it’s different. If the facts are really as Mike said, Voldemort’s resurrection actually relies on something like the Horcrux.

Then things will be much simpler. As long as we find these Horcruxes and destroy them all, Voldemort will be dead even if he doesn't die!
Mario rubbed his hands excitedly and paced back and forth in the room, while Mike drank his tea silently with a smile on his face.

After a long while, Mario finally stopped in front of Mike and said:

"Is that all?"

"Of course not. We presume there should be three more besides the four here."

"why?"

"Because 7 is a magical number, according to our investigation, Voldemort believes in it very much." Mike stood up and said, "So far, I have destroyed three Horcruxes, and I am confident that I can find and destroy the remaining four Horcruxes. (Mike looked at Mario) Now, do you still think Voldemort is invincible?"

Mario on the other side had regained his composure at this moment. He lowered his head and thought for a long time before he smiled and said:
"Mike, I have to say that you have convinced me. We can work together to do this, but at the same time, I have to prepare to immigrate to the coal-producing countries. Please don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't trust you, it's just..."

"No need to explain, Uncle Fuli. I understand your approach. At the same time, I will actively prepare a retreat. Who knows, maybe we will meet again in Coal Country by then."

"That's great! Happy cooperation!"

The two hands were clasped together in mid-air, and Mike and Mario smiled at each other.

The originally serious atmosphere in the study disappeared. Uncle Mario, with a smile on his face, lay on the sofa without any image and said:
"You've said so much to me and spent so much effort to get me to join you. There must be something you need me to do. Tell me. You're welcome. As long as it's within my ability, I will do it for you."

"As expected of Uncle Fly, he is so straightforward." Mike smiled, "I need you to help us find a Horcrux (Mike pointed to the locket). We have been looking for Slytherin's locket for a long time, but there is still no news." "I understand, I will send someone to look for it. Anything else?"

"Of course," Mike said, "Secondly, I need you to help me keep an eye out for news about the other holy pure-blood nobles and Chris's family."

Mario looked at Mike in confusion, waiting for his explanation, and Mike continued:

“On the night when Voldemort was resurrected, there was a third group of people besides Voldemort and I. They all wore masks with concealing magic, so I didn’t know what they looked like.

But the strange thing is that their initial target seemed to be Voldemort, but when they found out that I was also there, they immediately changed their target and attacked me. "

"Do you suspect they were sent by the families whose chiefs you killed?"

"That's right. It's better to be cautious. It's better to keep a close eye on them."

"I see. I'll send someone to check it out. Now..." Uncle Mario clapped his hands and said, "Now that we've finished our business, let's go eat!"

After that, Mario took Mike out of the study.

The lunch was held in the same restaurant that Mike had visited last time. When Mike and Mario arrived, the long table was already filled with dishes.

The long table used for dining today is a banquet table that is 5 meters long and 2 meters wide. Mike doesn't really like to dine at this kind of table. In comparison, he prefers to sit on the sofa and eat a cheeseburger.

But Mike also knew that this kind of long table was originally used for formal banquets and social events, and Uncle Mario chose to dine here because he valued him, so he did not refuse and sat down directly below Mario.

It is worth mentioning that Alyssa, who was hiding in the room and refused to come out, was forcibly called out by her father and arranged to sit opposite Mike.

The girl obviously hadn't recovered from the embarrassment just now. She kept her head down and focused on eating, not even daring to look at Mike.

Mario seemed to want to bring the two together, and during the party he kept turning the topic to his daughter.

It's a pity that Mike is not interested in Alyssa. Apart from the polite conversation, the two of them hardly have any communication at the normal banquet.

It wasn't until the end of the party that Mike remembered another thing.

"By the way, where's Abbott?"

Mike asked, looking at the somewhat empty restaurant.

When the girl opposite heard Abbott's name, she suddenly raised her head and looked at Mike, then quickly lowered her head.

"That brat Abbott went on a mission." Mario said angrily.

"He's still an Auror?"

"That's right!" Mario slammed the table. "I asked him to quit his job at the Ministry with me a long time ago, but he just wouldn't listen!"

"This is indeed not good. It would have been fine if it was before, but now - Auror is not a good job. Uncle Foley, you need to hurry up and get Abbott to resign."

"Of course I know that, but that brat..."

Mike's words seemed to touch Mario's heart, and he then pulled Mike aside and complained for a long time about Abbott's rebellious behavior, until Mike began to look down at his watch.

This lunch lasted quite a bit longer. When Mike left Foley Manor, the sun had moved from the east to the west.

At the same time, in a spooky cemetery, Voldemort, dressed in a silk robe, was looking expressionlessly at a newly dug grave. Behind him were a dozen wizards wearing masks and black robes.

Barty Crouch Jr. - a true Death Eater.

This is engraved on the tombstone of the new grave.

Taking a deep breath, Voldemort took out a wand, bent down, and gently placed it in the pit.

This is Barty Jr.'s wand. In order to resurrect Voldemort, he made the extreme choice to sacrifice everything he had, and this wand is his only relic.

The tomb closed automatically, and Voldemort's expressionless face slowly became hideous.

An invisible chill emanated from Voldemort. The Death Eaters behind him felt the chilling aura and covered their left wrists, where the Dark Mark was engraved.

Slowly, Voldemort turned his head.

That cold, emotionless look swept over the Death Eaters.

Everyone whose eyes caught his eye trembled.

"In my opinion, all of you combined are not as good as one of his fingers!" Voldemort's unique hoarse voice echoed, "Oh, look at you, trembling like scared chickens..."

"You are afraid (volume suddenly rises)! That's right (volume drops again)! For you fence-sitters, all I need is your fear! Only fear can make you stand in awe of me!"

"Go, you rubbish! Go and release my most loyal servants from Azkaban, go and catch that traitor Wormtail who has deserted the battlefield! Go and bring those two damn boys to me! Go and find out who those damn masked men are! Go! Go quickly!"

Accompanied by Voldemort's hysterical roar, the Death Eaters panicked and turned into black mist and disappeared in the cemetery.

Suddenly, Voldemort was the only one left in the cemetery that was originally crowded with people.

"Swish!"

A friction sound was heard, and a giant python was seen slowly crawling out of the bushes in the distance to Voldemort's feet, rubbing its big head against his legs affectionately.

Voldemort touched the giant python's smooth scales, turned around expressionlessly, lowered his head, and continued to look silently at the cenotaph belonging to little Barty.

If other people saw this scene, they would be shocked.

Because Voldemort, who was known for his cruelty and ruthlessness, actually looked like he was observing a moment of silence.

(End of this chapter)