[HP] Seven Nights Talk

Chapter 104 Common ground

Voldemort walked to a place not far from his desk, and then stood still. "How about your hospitality, Dumbledore," he said calmly, without any particular emotion.

Dumbledore looked at him deeply.Tom said the way of hospitality, the guest, in their standpoint, can such a polite word really be used, what exactly Tom wants to say, these thoughts are spinning in his mind, but no word comes out Come. "It's my negligence." He picked up the elder wand that was on hand, and noticed the other person's eyes gliding over it inadvertently. "Butterbeer,"

"No." Voldemort sat down on a chair that appeared out of nowhere without hesitation.He leaned slightly, his fingers were not clasped like Dumbledore's, but rested naturally on the armrests on both sides. "I don't think it will help our conversation going forward."

Although Dumbledore had a sweet tooth, he certainly wouldn't think of lust at this time.He saw that the other party came back straight to the point - just like the emergency notice just now - so he didn't go around the corner. "You know I suspect you, but there's no proof. Well, you can go on hiding it—haven't you always done a good job at that?"

The portraits on the wall murmured their agreement.They must know how this man became a Hogwarts professor step by step, and also know what happened in the past year-Can Voldemort really stay safely in the school?Can you really control those Death Eaters from killing innocent people indiscriminately?

"That's because I didn't want to tell you then," said Voldemort simply.

Dumbledore still didn't blink.This tone sounded very arrogant, but the other party did it.To suppress all knowledge of Death Eater activity, and to pierce it when an opponent sees fit. "So, you've been planning to tell me yourself?" He blinked. "It's an honor, I have to say."

Of course Voldemort could hear no sense of honor in his tone.Not to mention Dumbledore, if it was anyone, it would be impossible to believe every word the enemy said when the enemy ran to the door. "It's better than knowing it from that little tail of yours, isn't it?" He gave a short, mocking smile.He's not proud of the fact that he killed Lily (in fact, that murder, which didn't quite fit the bill of success, was a blemish on his life), and he doesn't need a double-talking traitor.

Dumbledore's breath caught imperceptibly.He once analyzed the situation that Snape still couldn't get any news after the Death Eaters escaped from prison. The most likely reason is that he was under Voldemort's suspicion.And judging from the current situation, this is true.To some extent, I am afraid that Voldemort even knows the specific reasons.

But now is not a good time to speculate on how Voldemort knew about Snape's defection from the Death Eaters.Dumbledore cleared his throat, "Is that why you came here today?"

"Of course not. But a traitor, here you go." The corner of Voldemort's mouth curled into a cold and sharp arc. "But again, I have something I want."

Dumbledore thought he had vaguely guessed what it was.He didn't answer directly, but asked: "Is it because I am too old to remember the past, or have you suddenly become merciful? In my knowledge, there is no word 'forgiveness' in your dictionary." .”

"Don't use that nasty Barra adjective, you know I don't like to hear it, Dumbledore," said Voldemort coldly. "It's just a deal."

A sharp blue light flashed in Dumbledore's eyes. "Oh, is it? Just a deal, Tom?" he asked, drawing out his voice slightly. "A deal worth taking off your mask and doing it yourself?" As he said this, a series of images churned through his mind, It's all about how Harry and Voldemort get along - eye contact, more than once; intimacy, more than once.And then they finally freeze in the moment, the disbelief on Sirius' face as he sees someone jumping into the Black Lake before him.

Voldemort curled his lips inwardly.Of course he knew what Dumbledore was going to think, his boy had come up with a high-profile affair, and Dumbledore didn't really believe in that kind of excuse at the time.But the fact is that he would never admit where his bottom line was in front of Dumbledore, that would be tantamount to sending his head under the tip of the opponent's wand. "As far as I know, Snape is pretty good? And it's not going to do you any harm."

Dumbledore began to shake his head. "But what do you want Harry to do?" he said bluntly, ignoring the gasp that was only understood in the first few frames. "It's not going to do you any good."

Voldemort looked at him coldly.Dumbledore, an old slicker, must have guessed that his relationship with Harry was not that simple, and tried to get more news. "If you want to hear my certainty, I can give you a generous offer." He smirked. "Harry is my lover-I think you can see it? By the way, don't mention yours to me again." 'Love' cliche."

The sound of the chair overturning was one after another.But Dumbledore still didn't move, his movements showed that he was paying attention. "But you have many other choices. Why is it Harry?" What he didn't say was that many choices were discarded by Tom himself, why did he choose Harry?To throw it away again?

As expected of Dumbledore, hit the nail on the head.To explain this matter, Death must be explained, and Voldemort did not want to tell the other party, whether it was due to limitations or his own perspective. "Just tell me, yes or no."

"You know my answer." Dumbledore began to shake his head again.How could he agree?Trading Harry for Snape's safety?Leaving aside whether the deal was fair or not, he had no way to make a decision on this matter - the control over whether to kill Snape or not was in Voldemort's hands, and the control over whether to be with Voldemort was in Harry's hands ——So what exactly did the other party do here today?Show off?

Now Voldemort smiled. "Of course I do," he tapped a finger on the armrest, showing no sign of frustration at Dumbledore's refusal. "I'm just telling you about it."

Dumbledore sighed. "Tom, you are still the same." Arbitrary, leaving no room for others to choose.But I have to say that this time the incident is different. "Don't tell me that you summoned the old department to make them even more devoted to you, just for this purpose?"

Both of them knew it was a complete joke.Voldemort wouldn't be Voldemort if his ambitions had stopped so easily. "You're starting to talk nonsense too, huh?" Voldemort sneered.

"Because I know you won't tell me the truth." Dumbledore pushed his clasped hands away and stood up. "You want something more, but you feel like I can't stop you—or that everyone else can't stop you. You don't have any need to come to me, but something forces you to." He Slightly squinting his eyes, "I don't know who else can do this."

Voldemort sat still in his chair.In the past, it was impossible for him to accept that kind of top-down gaze, but if he became angry just because of this simple height difference, then he had been killed several times in vain.Things are never determined by these factors. "Maybe," he said lazily. "Compared to this, I think I'd be more happy to tell you how to make a world-shattering event under the noses of those dementors in Azkaban."

Dumbledore looked at him researchingly.Of course he knew that Voldemort couldn't possibly reveal the secret, but this undoubtedly admitted that he did it.Then Dumbledore thought of his previous conjectures, an important part of which was two completely different methods.Regardless of whether what Voldemort said to him today is true or not, his behavior is more in line with the guess of one of the hidden leaders; while the other...

"So the one at the Quidditch World Cup wasn't you," Dumbledore assured.He was tracking down the culprit of the mummy case at that time, and countless witnesses proved that Voldemort was in the top box all the time at that time, and he saw it with his own eyes the only time he went out.If it was the same man he hadn't caught who shot old Crouch, the whole thing would make sense, and his suspicions would be fully confirmed.

But if the real Voldemort is trying to conquer the world in another way, who is in the middle?Dumbledore frowned slightly.

"I didn't say that." As if hearing a ridiculous conclusion, the corners of Voldemort's mouth hooked up again. "On this road, I have gone farther than you, much farther."

This sounds difficult to understand.Dumbledore continued to stare at that face, thinking rapidly about the situation.Is Voldemort implying that he wrote, directed, and acted the whole thing?But it didn't make sense, doing so was asking for trouble... Or, was Voldemort saying this just to lower their vigilance, so that he or the Death Eaters could catch that person for a purpose unknown to him?Like, using things like this to project a positive image of the Death Eaters?

Judging from the current policy adopted by Voldemort, this is indeed quite possible.Dumbledore suddenly thought of the Auror chief of staff who had obeyed Voldemort's orders, and the latter had received the only positive comment during the final event of the Triwizard Tournament in the summer.There was no doubt that it was a Death Eater, it was just not known who was under that pseudonym.Calculating based on time, he was not any of the Azkaban escapees, so he might be one of the many escaped fish back then?Ah, by the way, at least it's definitely not Malfoy.

Regardless, a few things are certain.First, Harry must have known Voldemort before, regardless of his identity; second, according to the time when the Hogwarts strange incident occurred, it might be the beginning of Harry's first year; third, according to the recent abnormal situation of Sirius , maybe already knew all about it; fourthly, reversely, Harry knew that Roald was Voldemort a long time ago, and probably knew it quite early.In this way, it was quite normal for him to feel that Harry was hiding a big secret - it was indeed a big thing, something that couldn't be talked about casually.

But in this way, the problem came again.Even if Voldemort said he had reformed himself, and Harry believed him (the technical difficulty is quite high, especially if they haven't figured out Avada Kedavra before), it still can't explain why Voldemort would Been close to Harry years ago.Obviously before that, the last time Voldemort appeared was trying to kill Harry, but the death curse was rebounded by Lily's protection, and then he hid; in this case, why did Voldemort risk being very weak and easily killed The possibility of death lurking around Harry?Was he sure Harry wouldn't do anything to him?Are you sure it won't be discovered by others, including himself?

Dumbledore was lost in thought, and Voldemort said nothing.For a moment, there was a suffocating and terrible silence in the principal's office.The portraits were all awake, and many people crowded into the bottom few photo frames recently, looking between the two with their eyes, and lowered their voices to discuss with their ears.

Finally, Dumbledore broke the freeze. "Nice Transfiguration," he said.He reorganized the timeline as quickly as possible just now, and then remembered where he had seen the handwriting in Harry's diary—it was clear, neat and beautiful in the Transfiguration homework Tom gave him.

Of course Voldemort would not explain to him that he was not the one who cast the Transfiguration at that time. "Sounds like you're praising yourself," he said deliberately paradoxically.

This was undoubtedly an admission, and Dumbledore's heart sank.Neither he nor Moody actually broke through this disguise... Knowing this and looking at Harry's reaction at the time, it was obvious that the insider was protecting Voldemort.But why?There was no reason for Harry to do that, he wasn't a black man.Is there any unavoidable reason...

Dumbledore yelled to himself to stop.In this case, there is not much value in trying to figure out the antecedents of the details, and he can think about it later.Things have become like this, then it is time to face reality.The recent reality is that Voldemort took the initiative to expose himself and admitted his relationship with Harry. "Rats, diaries, rings, snake sloughs..." he said slowly, with a more serious expression on his face. "Is it all related to you?"

Voldemort spread his hands at him. "What do you think?" He had no obligation to answer Dumbledore's questions.It's fine if the other party can figure it out by himself, it's absolutely impossible for him to reveal the truth by himself.

Dumbledore was silent again.Even if these were all done by Voldemort, it still couldn't explain why the other party picked this time to come to his office.

Just as he said before, Voldemort can rise secretly.As long as Voldemort changes his previous style, the false identity will definitely not be exposed, and it is very likely that he will be able to get along well.The simplest example is Chester. According to his ability, he will definitely defeat Fudge when the Minister of Magic is re-elected in a few years. Not to mention that his ability to handle affairs is inferior to Chester.

And since there was such a Chester, other Death Eaters might have been secretly arranged in every corner of the wizarding world to work for Voldemort.He must have purged the Death Eaters who were suspected of disloyalty, re-established the party rules, and improved the communication methods between Death Eaters, so that a new organization that was much stricter than before could be established to ensure that the spread of news could be effectively controlled. .This group is much smaller than the previous Death Eaters, but far more effective.

This arrangement is perfectly in line with Voldemort's character, because then he only needs to control the overall situation from behind the scenes.No one thought that the past two years seemed to be peaceful, but Voldemort had extended his tentacles of power to the entire wizarding world.So they can't find Death Eaters, because they don't think it's going to happen, and they've drawn a line between "prison-breaking Death Eaters" and "a new magical war", or at least Sufficient condition.If it were another person, he might have guessed this, but this is too inconsistent with Voldemort's previous performance.

And no matter why Voldemort changed, his self-disclosure of identity now is completely superfluous.Dumbledore mused, and asked bluntly, "You're different. What are you trying to do?" Demonstration was such a childish thing that Tom was only so rash when they first met.

Voldemort let out a chuckle.He felt that he hadn't changed anything, but had made different choices under different circumstances, but there was no need to say this. "Don't you always know what I want to do?"

"I used to know, or I thought I used to know," said Dumbledore, for the first time with some seriousness in his tone. "But maybe the facts now are not what I thought they were." He stared at the other person, as if trying to find a plausible difference from the previous one.

Voldemort let out a snort from the depths of his throat, and his black jade-like eyes rolled, revealing a disdainful and cold light.This may be a show of favor, or it may be a temptation, but no matter what it is, he is not interested.

He remembered that when he first came to apply for the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor (snake face state), Dumbledore said in a sad tone, "The time when I can scare you with fire is over."He sneered at that, because he never felt that anyone could stop him from doing what he wanted to do, at least Dumbledore not at all.And that sad tone, as if Dumbledore felt that he had not taken responsibility, as if he really needed this kind of responsibility——

Haha, who needs it?

In fact, he didn't listen at all at the time, full of anger at being rejected; and looking back now, that mournful tone sounded more like a disguised pity in his ears, unlike those of Muggles and other orphans. Same as being afraid of hate.He doesn't need that kind of cheap thing - he will be successful, he will stand out, and everyone will kneel at his feet!

Voldemort closed his eyes slightly, refraining from showing such strong emotion.He still does not deny that he is ambitious, but the way he used to do it was wrong.He was stronger than anyone, including Dumbledore - the Headmaster was old - and he was convinced of it.If he had to admit that the other party had something better than him, then he must have raised a savior who regarded death as home, but knew nothing about the death curse.

Thinking of this, Voldemort took a deep breath. "If you're looking for something shiny and precious in common with me, I have to tell you honestly, it's impossible to replace your glasses with a magnifying glass." He said sarcastically, and stood up from his chair. "Or not none, but at most one."

Dumbledore's eyes flickered.Voldemort was saying... Harry?But he knew it would be useless to ask Voldemort, what the other party wanted to say had already said it himself.

"I think I've stayed long enough." Voldemort let out another fake smirk. "Good night then, Principal." With that, he turned and walked towards the door.

"Aren't you going to explain what's going on with your face?" Dumbledore looked at his back and asked abruptly. "The diary and the ring are fine, but I'm sure most people won't transform their faces into burnt paste."

Voldemort choked for a moment.Dumbledore's words instantly reminded him of one thing, Harry once laughed at him that his magical ability was inversely proportional to his aesthetic level. "The thing I don't like about you the most is that you control too much, Dumbledore." He said coldly, walked to the door, helped the doorknob, and turned back: "Oh, yes, since you If you care so much about my face, then you should be more concerned about your little tail, right? He will come to you later. As a hundred-year-old old man, you must not fall asleep soon." He opened the The door, took a step, and added the last sentence with a smile: "I guarantee that these two sentences must be true."

The door is closed.There was silence in the office for two seconds, and the next moment, the human voice exploded like an open-air fruit and vegetable market.The conversation was only a few 10 minutes long, but the amount of information contained in it was too great.

"Why! Roald is really a mysterious person? I thought Hogwarts black magic... No, then he must not be cursed!"

"When he said 'Harry and I were lovers', was he referring to a one-night stand or a boyfriend or something else?"

"He's got a big plan! And he's done casting his net!"

"It seems to work better than he did before... because he seems to be normal? Is that so? Is it possible?"

"Then Harry's magical abilities would be explained - if Voldemort had taught him by his side, an invisibility spell wouldn't be a surprise at all."

"But how did Harry end up with Voldemort? He's under the Imperius Curse?"

At last the voice of Armando Dippet ended the quarrel.Because he said: "You-Know-Who has never had a boyfriend or girlfriend, at least during his seven years at Hogwarts. I have never seen him or heard of him expressing interest or intentions in this regard to anyone. "He was Voldemort's headmaster when he was at school, and his tone was heavy - he has been unwilling to believe that Tom became Voldemort later, and now he doesn't know whether things are good or bad.

The portraits looked at each other.They couldn't guess the news at all, so they were all silent.If Voldemort was playing or using Harry, he wouldn't need to lurk for such a long time at all, and he certainly wouldn't be so bored as to play a growing game with the Savior.And if they remember correctly, Voldemort even saved Harry, at least twice, once with the broom and once from the bottom of the Black Lake.Judging from this premise, Harry may have helped Voldemort in the water monster incident.Is it, maybe, really...

No one dared to speak out what they thought, because it was too scary.Dumbledore sat back behind the table, closed his eyes, and put one hand to his temple.

The emergence of Voldemort seemed to solve one problem, but it created more problems.Countless balls of thread are tied together and need to be combed carefully.The new trends of the Death Eaters...the identity and intentions of the criminals in the mummy case...what the Order of the Phoenix should do...the reaction of the Ministry of Magic...the direction of public opinion between the school and the public...the real reason for changing the relationship between Harry and Voldemort …everything has to be cared for, and nothing is easy.Moreover, judging from Voldemort's last words, it is estimated that there will be a bloodbath soon.

The thing that marked the beginning of the bloody storm happened soon - the sound of the spiral stone staircase sounded again, hurried and chaotic footsteps, and then someone almost knocked open the door: "The Dark Lord is..."

"Our new good professor," Dumbledore whispered as Snape said his name.Then he looked at the surprised face of the other party, and admitted: "Yes, I already knew, although it was just now."

"Got it? Just now?" Snape repeated, in disbelief.He reached the table by running, with his hands resting on it.He came out in such a hurry that the collar of his pajamas was exposed from the collar of his black robe.

He had spent a lot of time inquiring about the Death Eaters before, but he couldn't get in.But just now, his mark was burning with pain, which woke him up from his sleep.The Dark Lord, who has been seeing the beginning and end, finally appeared and summoned the Death Eaters.He also received word from Lucius Malfoy, who told him that the Dark Lord was his colleague.He didn't think he was wasting any time, but Dumbledore certainly didn't look surprised.

"Actually, Tom just left," Dumbledore answered him.The candlelight danced, reflecting the shadows of the wrinkles on his face.

Snape didn't realize for a moment that it was Voldemort's name, and was taken aback, then even more surprised. "Did the Dark Lord do it on purpose?" Dumbledore was told on the front foot, and the assembly order was issued on the back foot?No matter how you look at it, it's not a coincidence, is it?

Dumbledore nodded.

"...Then should I go?" Snape realized that his situation was definitely not good.The Dark Lord had been at Hogwarts for a year as the new professor, and it would be fooling himself to say he didn't know he had turned traitor.No, since the Death Eaters escaped two years ago, his pawn has not played any role.

Dumbledore looked up at him, not surprised to find that there was no emotion of fear on that thin, sallow face. "I think, you can go or not." He said slowly, thinking about the terms of the transaction that Voldemort just said.Although he didn't understand why Voldemort seemed to want to let Snape go, but there were too many things he didn't understand, and this was a good addition.

Snape heard the implication of these words, and was even more confused.He must have been exposed, and according to the Dark Lord's consistent attitude towards traitors, feeding snakes is light.He asked Dumbledore if he wanted him to go, which was actually equivalent to asking if he needed to risk his life to get some clues.But it's the same thing if you're going or not... Did Dumbledore think that the Dark Lord would not kill him, and at the same time it was impossible to get him any useful information? "What happened?" He couldn't help asking.