Hogwarts: My name is the Unforgivable Curse...

Chapter 367 Death Eaters, Assemble!

After Grindelwald's Elder Wand activated Barty's Dark Mark, an eerie silence fell over the scene. Apart from Karkaroff continuing to prepare potions for Voldemort's resurrection ritual, neither Barty nor Grindelwald uttered a sound, simply watching Karkaroff's work silently, as if waiting for something.

And so the wait lasted a full five or six minutes—during which time Karkaroff had prepared everything needed for the resurrection ritual, only lacking the task of casting Voldemort's soul into it. Meanwhile, Durmstrang Castle, shrouded in a massive shield, remained silent and still, as if those inside had utterly lost the will to resist, forced to cower within the sturdy shield and helplessly watch the Dark Lord return, unable to do anything about it…

"Snapped!"

Suddenly, a crisp sound broke the silence—a figure draped in a black robe appeared not far from Grindelwald.

"Who are you……"

Upon seeing the suddenly appearing figure, Grindelwald merely glanced at him and then looked away, while Barty Jr. carefully examined the figure, his eyes gradually narrowing: "You are... Avery?"

"it's me."

The Death Eater named Avery, sweat still beading on his forehead, first bowed deeply to Grindelwald, panting, though he received no response. After catching his breath, he turned to Barty Jr.: "Ludo Bagman...you're Crouch, right?"

"Sorry, the distance from England to here is a bit farther than I thought... I guess this must be the northernmost part of Europe, right? But it seems I'm already the fastest one here; the others should be behind me..."

"Snapped!"

Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by another loud explosion from nearby, and yet another figure in a black robe appeared out of thin air. This person seemed to be some kind of harbinger; the instant after his appearance, the explosions from apparitions crackled and popped in the air, and more and more figures gradually appeared on Durmstrang's lawn…

"Nott, McNeil, Crabbe, Goyle, Malfoy, Labastan, Carol, Yaxley..."

Little Barty watched them, murmuring the names of those who had arrived—those arriving now, like himself, had all been branded with the mark of honor, and were therefore among the first to sense the call of the Dark Mark and come. But he knew in his heart that most of these people were merely opportunists, who had escaped imprisonment after their master's downfall by distancing themselves from him or betraying their comrades, while they themselves lived a life of luxury while their master suffered. Even those who had participated in the planning mostly provided only meager amounts of Galleons and resources…

Conversely, among those who truly contributed greatly to the resurrection of their master, only Wormtail possessed the Dark Mark. The rest—such as Shafik and Rozier—were not the master's former servants more than a decade ago.

"It's fortunate that Dumbledore, that senile old fool, openly violated the collective interests of the pure-blood families, forcing so many forces to side with their master and greatly accelerating his resurrection... Those Death Eaters who weren't imprisoned in Azkaban should feel ashamed!"

Little Barty thought bitterly, "When my master is in danger, he actually needs these people who only care about their own interests to help him... But thankfully, there are still truly loyal people like me, Karkaroff, and Wormtail..."

"But don't think that betraying so many of your comrades is over, Karkaroff. Even though you orchestrated the master's resurrection ritual, you'd better think about what the master will do to you when he wakes up and sees so many servants in Azkaban..."

He glanced again at Karkaroff standing beside the resurrection altar, cursing silently. It was unclear whether he was resentful of Karkaroff's betrayal years ago, or jealous that it was him, and not himself, who was chosen to conduct the resurrection ritual for Voldemort…

After a while, the explosions from Apparition gradually subsided, and dozens of wizards dressed in black robes appeared on the previously empty Durmstrang Fields—some were former Death Eaters, others were pure-blood wizards who had participated in Voldemort's resurrection plan but were not Death Eaters. There were even quite a few Death Eaters who hadn't participated or even heard of the plan, who rushed over in panic after sensing the change in the Dark Mark, anxiously asking those around them about the situation… and there were quite a few of them.

"Is everyone here?"

After the Apparition sounds completely faded away, Barty Jr. took stock of everyone present: "Bella, Rodolphus, and Dolokhov aren't here because they're in Azkaban. Severus Snape isn't here either; he wasn't involved in designing the plan, so it seems he's completely betrayed us..."

"Wait, where are Bugtail and Shafik?"

Little Barty suddenly paused, "Where did those two guys who did the most credit go?"

Wormtail, needless to say, accumulated a massive amount of crucial intelligence during his twelve years of infiltration, including the very circumstances of his own imprisonment. The plans to organize the Triwizard Tournament and replace Moody and Bagman with Compound Elixir were also his ideas; and he himself was responsible for the final insurance of the entire operation… It's no exaggeration to say that he deserves at least half the credit for the success of this operation.

And it was Jason Shafik, the head of House Shafik who was not originally a Death Eater, who helped contact Gellert Grindelwald and ultimately persuaded him to lend a hand.

The mere fact that Grindelwald was brought in was enough to overshadow all the other participants except for Wormtail. Moreover, Grindelwald's involvement brought another unforeseen surprise, a surprise that even the master himself might not have noticed. This surprise became the final insurance against complete failure and was entrusted to Wormtail, the master of infiltration, to carry it out personally…

"……Um?"

Not far away, Grindelwald, who had been quietly observing the group, couldn't help but frown, a barely perceptible hint of doubt flashing in his eyes—

Jason Shafik won't be coming at this stage; this was planned from the beginning. But...

Why didn't Peter Pettigrew appear?

This wasn't part of the plan!

"never mind."

He shook his head, not dwelling on it any longer: 'They probably encountered some unexpected situation. Anyway, with the Unbreakable Oath and Minerva's supervision, the most important things definitely won't go wrong...'

"Then, prepare for the final match."

(End of this chapter)