Hogwarts: Starting with full Unforgivable Curses

Voldemort stood beside the stone table, holding a transparent glass bottle in his hand. Inside the bottle were two silver threads intertwined, gleaming softly in the dim light.

Barty Crouch Jr.'s eyes were immediately drawn to the glass bottle. He recognized at a glance that the silver threads were the carriers of wizards' memories—memory threads.

A thought flashed through his mind, and he vaguely guessed what was going on, but he dared not speak rashly. He simply remained bowed, waiting for Voldemort's instructions.

But the other party didn't say a word.

“Master…” After a few seconds, Barty Crouch Jr. could only slowly straighten up, take a few steps forward, and ask respectfully, “Has there been another message from over there? Is there any new progress?”

“That’s right.” Voldemort’s gaze fell on the glass bottle, his voice still icy. “He has already contacted Snape as I ordered. I think you should be interested in what they talked about.”

“Snape?” Barty Crouch Jr. raised an eyebrow, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes, which was then replaced by excitement. “Master wants to test Snape’s loyalty through Karkaroff?”

“You’re right.” Voldemort didn’t deny it. He stretched out his finger, gently unscrewed the cap of the glass bottle, and a red light emanated from the tip of his wand as he carefully picked out one of the memory threads.

With a flick of his wrist, the silver thread floated lightly into the meditation basin, instantly merging into the halo and disappearing.

Barty Crouch Jr. immediately understood. He quickly stepped forward, placed his hands on the stone table, took a deep breath, and slowly buried his head in the halo of the Pensieve.

A cool sensation enveloped his consciousness, and the next second, the scene of Karkaroff and Snape's conversation outside the castle appeared clearly in his mind. From Karkaroff mentioning the Dark Mark, to his attempt to persuade Snape to escape Hogwarts, to Snape's refusal of the suggestion and insistence on staying at the school, every word was displayed before his eyes.

After a long while, Barty Crouch Jr. slowly raised his head, his face filled with obvious excitement, his tone full of praise: "Master, as expected, your judgment was the most accurate! Karkaroff had already mentioned the Dark Mark, even implying that you had returned, trying to lure Snape into defecting, but Snape remained unmoved, saying he would stay at Hogwarts to continue 'lying in.' It seems that Snape has no intention of betraying you; he remains loyal to you!"

"I had already conducted a survey of him a few years ago when I tried to sneak into Hogwarts to find something."

Voldemort fell into his memories, his voice tinged with complexity. "Back then, I learned through my spies that he had been secretly inquiring about me. To test his loyalty, I gave him a task—to prepare some rare potion ingredients and place them in a secret location I specified."

He paused, his gaze falling on the Pensieve, and continued calmly, "There are some things I can't deny. I was able to obtain a barely usable body in a short time, and later successfully find your trail and reorganize my old troops. All of this is thanks to what he provided. If he had really betrayed me, there would have been no need for him to go to so much trouble to help me."

“Master, you are always so righteous! You are a god! You have both keen insight and impartiality, and you will never easily wrong any loyal follower!” Barty Crouch Jr. immediately praised, his tone full of admiration. “Now that we have confirmed Snape’s loyalty, should we immediately bring him into our plans? With him inside Hogwarts to provide support, our operation will be much smoother.”

“There’s no need for that for now.” Voldemort spoke slowly, his fingertips lightly tracing the edge of the glass bottle, his eyes deep, clearly weighing the overall situation. “Snape’s actions so far have precisely implemented my previous instructions without the slightest deviation.”

"His core value lies in being like an invisible thorn, deeply embedded between Slytherin and the other houses, constantly creating conflict and exacerbating the division. This situation of mutual checks and balances and mutual suspicion is exactly what I want to see—only when Hogwarts is not united can our subsequent plans proceed more smoothly."

“Master, your strategies are always so unfathomable!” Little Barty Crouch immediately bowed, his tone full of sincere admiration. “I was too focused on immediate interests and failed to think of such a profound plan. I am truly ashamed.”

“What Snape should do now is continue to lie low in Hogwarts and patiently wait for the most opportune moment.” Voldemort raised his head, his sharp gaze fixed on Barty Crouch Jr., his tone carrying an unquestionable authority. “Barty, remember, we will have a steady stream of manpower in the future, there is no need to rush.”

He changed the subject, his tone now tinged with a rare感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a deep sense of emotion or reflection): "Speaking of which, I'm starting to understand why Dumbledore was willing to spend his entire life at Hogwarts. I must admit, the school is indeed a special place; it has an atmosphere that can calm people down and encourage deep thinking, something that's not found outside."

"While Durmstrang's library may not be as vast as Hogwarts', it's certainly not small. More importantly, it contains many books directly related to Gellert Grindelwald, detailing his actions and philosophies. Have you seen these in Hogwarts' library?"

Voldemort was well aware of Barty Crouch Jr.'s level of education.

Barty Crouch Jr. closed his eyes, searching his memory for relevant information. After a moment, he opened his eyes and said with certainty, "Master, in the Hogwarts library, the information about Gellert Grindelwald is mostly just mentioned in passing, scattered in different history books. There has never been a biography written specifically for him, let alone any documents that record his ideas in detail."

"This is my biggest takeaway from this trip to Durmstrang's library." Voldemort exhaled softly, his tone tinged with complex emotions. "I must say, the things Gellert Grindelwald did and the principles he upheld have given me a completely new perspective."

“I was so narrow-minded back then. There was no need to limit all my energy to this small land of England.” His gaze turned into the depths of the secret room, as if he could already see a wider world. “This world is so vast, with countless wizards and resources. I should have realized this much sooner.”

“The magical knowledge I possess originates from ancient traditions around the world, integrating the essence of different systems, yet I have wasted more than ten years merely wandering around England. It’s truly a loss.” “Great master! Your vision and perspective are unparalleled!” Little Barty Crouch chimed in at the opportune moment, his tone filled with fervent admiration. “Even temporary silence is only for a more glorious rise in the future.”

Voldemort smiled with satisfaction, clearly pleased by the praise.

He continued, "Gellert Grindelwald chose the perfect time to rise to power, just in time for a massive war to break out in the Muggle world, plunging the entire world into chaos."

"At that time, not only the pure-blood families of England, but also wizarding families around the world who were eager to expand their own power and change the wizarding world were secretly looking forward to Gellert Grindelwald's success, hoping that he could break the existing order."

"If we had just taken one more step forward, if we had just removed Dumbledore, that biggest obstacle, the entire wizarding world and even the world order would have been completely changed. Unfortunately, Dumbledore ultimately prevented all of this, causing his ambitions to fall short." Voldemort's tone was tinged with regret, but even more so with resentment.

He abruptly changed the subject, his gaze sharpening as he looked at Barty Crouch Jr.: "Barty, have you ever thought about this carefully? Back then, our Death Eaters, and those so-called allies, weren't actually just a part of England's domestic forces?"

Upon hearing this, Barty Crouch Jr. frowned deeply and fell into deep thought.

He recalled the details of those years, the occasional appearances of wizards with strange accents, the support from unknown sources—fragments of these memories strung together in his mind.

After a long pause, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, and he said uncertainly, "Master, do you mean... that there were other pure-blooded families from other magical worlds secretly supporting us back then?"

“Yes.” Voldemort nodded slowly, his tone grave. “Now that I have some free time, I’ve come to a complete understanding of this: those pure-blood families scattered around the world are actually using the magical world of England as a testing ground, an experiment to test the feasibility of a new order.”

“The war that Gellert Grindelwald started back then has exhausted these pure-blood families, so when they support us, they always hold back and dare not make a big bet. They only invest a small amount of insignificant resources and observe how things develop. If things go wrong, they can withdraw immediately without any loss.”

“These pure-blood families are not so simple-minded.” Voldemort tapped his fingertips lightly on the stone table, making a rhythmic sound, his eyes full of insight. “At that time, the English magical world, because it was not affected by the Wizarding World War, could be considered the strongest magical force at the time in terms of the number of wizards, magical resources, and overall strength.”

"So they had already made their plans, with two clear intentions. Even if I ultimately failed to overthrow the existing order, as long as they could severely damage the English wizarding world and cause Dumbledore to suffer a crushing defeat, their goal would be achieved."

He paused, a hint of sarcasm in his voice, "Judging from the results, they did achieve that. Although Dumbledore saved Hogwarts, he also paid a considerable price, and the strength of the English wizarding world was also damaged as a result."

Barty Crouch Jr. frowned deeply, a hint of confusion on his face. He asked hesitantly, "Master, since these pure-blood families are only using us as pawns, and even plotting against us behind our backs, do we still need to unite with them? Won't that leave hidden dangers?"

"Why not unite them?" Voldemort retorted, his tone carrying an undeniable force. "Dumbledore's so-called 'pyrrhic victory' has completely pushed him to the opposite side of the pure-blood families. You should know that the pure-blood families hate people like Dumbledore the most—he always sabotages their plans, prevents them from upholding their so-called 'pure-blood honor,' yet he possesses such great strength that they cannot easily shake him."

He took two steps forward, his gaze falling on Barty Jr., and slowly said, "Dumbledore is destined to be rejected by all the pure-blood families; that's an unchangeable fact. And we can take advantage of that—as long as we raise the banner of opposing Dumbledore and protecting the interests of the pure-bloods, those pure-blood families, even if they had schemed against us before, will have no choice but to cooperate with us because of a common enemy. Do you understand the key to this?"

Barty Crouch Jr. immediately knelt down, his voice trembling with guilt: "Master, I... I still haven't fully grasped the intricacies of this matter, and I have failed your expectations."

“Barty, you haven’t let me down.” Voldemort shook his head gently, his tone softening somewhat. “You’ve lost ten years, and you need to readjust and relearn many things. There’s still time; there’s no need to rush.”

Barty Crouch Jr. immediately stood up, straightened his back, and asked respectfully and firmly, "Master, what should I do next? Please give me your instructions, and I will do my best."

Voldemort pointed to a drawer in the corner of the secret chamber, filled with various ancient books, most of which had yellowed covers: "Barty, take those books from the drawer and study them carefully when you get back. They contain a lot of information about the history and practices of pure-blood families around the world, as well as an analysis of Grindelwald's strategies when he rose to power. They will be helpful for your work."

He then pointed to the stack of parchment that Barty was clutching tightly in his arms and added, "After you finish reading those books, continue to refine the plan on them—integrate the situation of the pure-blood families, formulate a more detailed cooperation plan, and ensure that we can firmly control the initiative in the cooperation."

Meanwhile, in another corner of Hogwarts Castle, the atmosphere of the Triwizard Tournament was quietly heating up.

"Forget about electives for now, the most important thing right now is the second project." Harry rubbed his slightly messy hair, his tone tinged with anxiety. "When Ron and Hermione discussed it before, we only thought about the difficulties of the underwater challenge—like how to breathe underwater, how to deal with potential underwater dangers—we didn't consider the possibility of losing our wands at all. If we really can't use our wands, won't the challenge become even more difficult?" (End of Chapter)