war and peace

Harry could hear Voldemort's calm breathing behind him.He stood there silently waiting.A Death Eater fell to his knees, passed Harry, and crawled up to Voldemort.Harry thought he must be kissing the hem of Voldemort's black robe, he'd seen them do that before.

"Master...Master..." he whispered.

The Death Eaters behind him did the same, each crawling up to Voldemort on their knees, kissing his robes, then stepping aside, rising to their feet, forming a silent circle between Voldemort and Harry.Harry could feel those gleaming eyes under the hood looking at him, a Death Eater who stood beside Voldemort without showing respect or obedience to their Master.

Harry believed they were standing far enough from the circle of Death Eaters that they couldn't see Voldemort's eyes clearly, but there was still a faint rustling sound, and everyone below seemed to be shivering.There was some space left in the circle, and Voldemort was probably looking around at the hooded faces.

"Welcome, Death Eaters," he said quietly. "Ten years... It's been ten years since we last met. But you still answer my call, as you have done many times before. Does that mean I can Understood this way, we are still united under the Dark Mark, and is it true that I am not self-indulgent?"

He stepped in front of Harry.The sky in the east has been dyed a faint orange, and the morning light illuminates his face.Harry heard a well-coordinated gasp from the circle of Death Eaters, their black cloaks billowing outward.He thought he knew why: they had seen their master grow younger...

"You are all healthy and full of magic power. Even if you had to cross the strait, you arrived so quickly! Within the time I set aside for you... I ask myself, since these wizards were not killed by the dementors of Azkaban The guards are not missing arms or legs in the battle, nor are they hiding at home due to pressure and dare not go out (he sneered)... Then why hasn't anyone come to help their master in the past ten years? "

No one spoke, no one dared to move.

"I had to find out for them," said Voldemort softly. "They must have believed that I was dead, that I was finished and never coming back... so they slipped back among my enemies and said they didn't know." Yes, I was deceived, and I cast a magic spell..."

There was another shudder in the Death Eater circle.Many people buried their heads, not daring to meet Voldemort's eyes.

"I asked myself again, why don't they believe that I can make a comeback? Didn't I tell them once, 'I am on the road to immortality, and I have gone farther than anyone else?'" Voldemort paused, his eyes flicked Harry, "Didn't they see me prove my power countless times when I was stronger than any wizard? Like now..." He looked around the circle, "It's like they saw As promised, I'm back, intact and even more magical than ever..."

"It's unexpected, isn't it? An idiot who was already thought to have rebounded from his death curse, is back?" Voldemort's tone was very contemptuous, and the Death Eaters were even more disturbed. "Maybe they believed there was a greater power to defeat Voldemort, or maybe they've actually turned to my enemies now... maybe it's the bastard bosses, the hypocritical Muggle protectors, Albus Dumbledore? "

Harry was keenly aware that Voldemort seemed to know something.He said that Dumbledore was "hypocritical". Did he know about Dumbledore and Greenwald when they were young?

Dumbledore's name caused a commotion in the circle.Some were shaking their heads and muttering something.Voldemort watched them carefully, and waited until everyone had quieted down before saying, "I must admit that I am disappointed... terribly disappointed..."

A man in the circle suddenly fell to the ground, crawled over, and lay at Voldemort's feet, shaking from head to toe.

"Master!" he screamed. "Master, forgive me! Forgive us!"

Voldemort sneered.Harry closed his eyes tightly, but the expected scream did not come.He heard Voldemort say, "Get up, Avery, and get back to your own place... Voldemort knows which of you is true and who is false, so there is no need to talk about unnecessary nonsense..."

No Cruciatus?It was quite an accident... Harry opened his eyes to see Voldemort approaching the circle of Death Eaters again. "Forgive me? I will not forgive. I will not forget, the long ten years... Voldemort remembers all those who betrayed him, and those people must die," he narrowed his eyes, "Voldemort will never treat any help Those who passed him..."

He walked somewhere in the circle. "Bellatrix, Rodolphus," he said softly, "you've proved your loyalty, haven't you? I know you'll be back..."

Two figures quickly crawled to his feet. "Master, we will, no matter what you tell us to do, we will faithfully follow your instructions..." Harry recognized Bellatrix's voice.

Voldemort smiled. "Get up," he said, "I'm glad...you're doing well..."

The Lestranges stood up, and they could see that they had grown more confident in the restored Voldemort, and Harry thought he even saw the frenzied gleam in Bellatrix's eyes.He was very suspicious. Judging by Bellatrix's blind obedience to Voldemort, she ignored the snake face at that time. Now that Voldemort has become so handsome, why should she not fall in love with him deeply?

Voldemort took two more steps. "Lucius, my cunning friend," he paused, whispering, "I've heard you haven't given up on your past deeds, even though you're a bumbling noble Malfoy in front of the world. Torturing Muggles and the like Yes, has always been your favorite...but you never went looking for me, Lucius..."

"Master, I have been very careful," Lucius Malfoy's voice quickly came from under the hood, "I have 12 confidences that Mr. and Mrs. Lestrange know where you are..." He glanced resentfully Bellatrix next to him, "But they don't say anything!"

"They don't know...but I did leak a little information to them...they won't tell anyone without my order...and they faithfully did as I said, no more, no less," said Voldemort casually. said, "Is there anything else you can say, Lucius?"

Does this mean that Voldemort only confessed to the Lestranges ten years ago?There was another high and low gasping sound from that circle.Harry figured that if he hadn't been under the Body Binding Charm, he would have reacted in the same way as the Death Eaters.He noticed that the masked men were secretly exchanging glances, and Bellatrix puffed out her chest triumphantly in various envious or jealous glances.

Lucius Malfoy looked very reconciled. "Master," he pleaded hastily, "I think I'm just as worthy of your trust (Bellatrix sneered, and Malfoy ignored her) . . . as long as there's any signal from you, any sign about you Any rumors of whereabouts, I will rush to your side immediately, nothing can stop me—"

"Really?" said Voldemort lazily, "Lucius, then I have a piece of advice for you..."

Lucius Malfoy looked puzzled: "What?"

"Go back and look at the thing I asked you to keep. I'm afraid you don't know it's been taken away?" Voldemort glanced at him seemingly casually.

Mr. Malfoy's face paled instantly. "No, that's impossible," he trembled, as if a bolt of lightning had struck him, "it's in the most hidden and safest place in Malfoy's house..."

"I really want to believe so." Voldemort twisted the corners of his mouth, showing a smile: "Why don't you make sure first, and then show your loyalty to me, okay?"

Lucius Malfoy stepped back, shaking.Some of the Death Eaters chuckled secretly.Voldemort ignored them, walking straight in circles, passing some Death Eaters without making a sound, and stopping before others.

In the end he stood in front of one of the biggest gaps. "Here are six Death Eaters missing...Three died for me, and one, I think, left me forever...Two are still my most loyal servants, and one of them, I will rescue him Yes, from the cage; the last one, he's back, one of us..." He turned his head, looking in Harry's direction.

Someone jumped over Harry in response.He was behind Harry and remained silent until he came out and Harry didn't notice him.This figure was tall and thin, wearing the same black robe and hood.He walked up to Voldemort, knelt down and kissed his robes, and stood silently in one of the empty seats.The Death Eaters swished around for a while, looking very surprised at the presence of the person in that seat.

Harry had no idea who this returning Death Eater was.Certainly not Barty Crouch Jr. Voldemort himself said just now that there is a loyal Death Eater who is being imprisoned, and it is obviously him.

He actually knew about little Barty... Harry's heart gradually sank, and his increasingly serious sense of crisis was confirmed.

Everything is clear.Voldemort went back 17 years with him.

The missing diadem...the fake locket in Kreacher's hand...the diary he received...a restored Voldemort...it all makes sense.When Voldemort returned, he felt that the Horcruxes hadn't done what they should in preventing his death, so he took them all back himself.Harry thought of the bed in his dream with the green and gold curtains and the manacles, and what Voldemort was doing at that time was obviously the reintegration of the soul piece...

So Voldemort also knew that he was one of his Horcruxes?Harry thought about those strange auras again, obviously he knew it, and took some precautions...but it didn't have the desired effect, he was still bounced by the spell...but his precautions worked, At least Voldemort didn't use his blood to regain his body this time, did he?

Harry's head was spinning wildly.He didn't notice that the Death Eater circle had quieted down and that Voldemort had walked back to him. "This time," he said word for word, "I only want the best. You have some time to prove yourself, useful or trustworthy," he glanced across the circle of Death Eaters, "You know, Voldemort's Kindness has its limits."

A person stood up tremblingly. "Master," he asked, "what proof do you want?"

"All you can do for me," said Voldemort simply, "if it makes me feel that you can't live up to my expectations," he raised his wand slightly, "you know what the result will be."

Everyone seems to be nervous.The exceptions were the Lestranges, who were the only ones whom Voldemort admired.After a while of silence, Bellatrix stood up and asked everyone their doubts: "Master, is that our new companion?"

Is he still a child in terms of height?Had the standards of the Death Eaters been unknowingly lowered?All the Death Eaters held these two sentences in their hearts and did not dare to say them.

Of course she was referring to Harry who hadn't moved yet.Harry came back to his senses, just in time to see Voldemort showing a smile: "This is my special guest, I spent a lot of effort to invite him to come..."

Harry felt the eyes of all the Death Eaters on him. "Trying to give him presents...to make sure he can come here without a hitch..." Voldemort said softly.He walked slowly over, bent over Harry, and added in a low, soft voice Harry had never heard before, "Did you say so, my little friend?"

Bellatrix's eyes quickly turned into sharp knives.Voldemort stretched out a long, pale finger with a cold tip, and ran it slowly across his neck.Harry thought for a moment that he saw confusion or something flash in Voldemort's eyes, but the next moment that feeling was that his carotid artery was in danger of being punctured at any moment.

Voldemort quickly withdrew his hand.He straightened up and announced to his Death Eaters, "No one will touch him without my permission." There was an uproar.Only Harry heard Voldemort whisper: "He's only my prey."