A Certain Magical Hogwarts

Chapter 726 The Outdated First Dark Lord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 walked in, kneeling humbly on the ground.

Voldemort, with his back to him, whispered:

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

Evan Rozier was an early Death Eater who followed Voldemort. After his death, Evan was also killed by the Aurors.

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

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

"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 Rozier family, but many pure-blood families have joined Grindelwald's scholastic party.

However, the Rozier family is a special case. Vida Rozier is Grindelwald's right-hand man and the de facto number two figure in the UMNO party.

Moreover, 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 Grey up.

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

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

He patted Rozier 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 want you to go to Nurmengard and release Grindelwald."

With the Starks' sudden rise to power, and Dumbledore's influence... 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-dead 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 him, 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 also be held in Austria, which will give Dumbledore and Stark something to do.

It would be best to keep the two of them there.

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

These are the secret missions; the rest are less classified and don't require such caution.

Upon entering the conference room, a large table was already set up.

The candlelight was dim, and 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.

"Grey, you can sit here." Voldemort pointed to the seat right next to him, and 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 background, abilities, and their closeness to the Dark Lord.

Generally, the closer a wizard was to Voldemort, the closer he would sit.

Clearly, this new Death Eater named Grey 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 from them, 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 fairies are speaking very vaguely. I don't think they'll side with us. During the last wizard war..."

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

"These spineless creatures, it seems the fairy war has exhausted all their courage."

"However..." Voldemort chuckled. "Tell the goblins I can offer them even better terms, if they're on our side."

"A lot of gold?" Nott asked tentatively.

"It's not gold," Voldemort scoffed. "It's the freedom that wizards have refused to give them for centuries; they'll be unable to resist the 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 take back ownership of Gringotts."

"Yes, I understand, Master."

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

"Carlo, I heard you and Igor Karkarov are on good terms?"

"Master, who told you that! That's impossible!" Amicus Carlo 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,” Amicus’s sister, Alexo, 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 Karkarov…”

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

"Yes, Master," Alecto said loudly, "Actually, Malfoy and Karkaroff have a good relationship."

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

Damn! (A tactic)

Malfoy glared at the two of them with resentment.

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

What did they do to deserve this?!

Voldemort did not rebuke the Carol 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 crowd.

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

Voldemort hissed, and the sound grew louder and louder. One or two wizards couldn't help but 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.

"Kakarov seems to think that he can live safely under the hooked nose of that mud-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 doing wrong.

I cannot let anyone think that hiding behind Dumbledore will ensure my safety forever.

No, impossible!

Voldemort stared at the Carol siblings and said coldly:

"Kakalov 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 have already gone to make contact with the giants," Voldemort said with a smirk.

"The giants 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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(End of this chapter)