"What if I say... Dracula didn't do anything to me?" Under Snape's sharp gaze, Riddle glared back coldly.
"That's just your one-sided statement." Snape was unmoved. His eyes were very cold and empty, like two dark tunnels.
The two looked at each other with cold eyes, and the air between them seemed to freeze.
"Okay, Severus, Tom, you two can stop for now." Voldemort's voice suddenly rang out from the front of the living room of Malfoy Manor, interrupting the almost frozen atmosphere.
"Severus, don't doubt my clone anymore," he said. "I have confirmed that he has not been tampered with by Dracula and can still be fully trusted."
Snape's eyes froze for a moment, then slowly moved his gaze back to the table in front of him.
"I understand, Master," he said softly.
Riddle curled his lips at Snape and gave him a provocative look, but received no response.
He curled his lips in annoyance, but in his heart he was very disdainful of Voldemort's promise in front of everyone.
Riddle knew that Voldemort must have quietly checked whether there was any problem with his soul fragment during the time when he and Snape looked at each other.
Voldemort was willing to believe Riddle not because of his trust in him, but simply because of his confidence in himself.
He could not make any mistakes when sensing at close range whether the soul fragments in the Horcrux had been tampered with!
However, what Voldemort did not expect was that Dracula did not do anything to Riddle at all.
Dracula simply bewitched him with words, causing Riddle, the Horcrux diary, to betray Voldemort's camp and join Dracula's team...
After joining Dracula's team, Riddle was terrified by both Snape's report and Voldemort's inspection.
He was afraid that Voldemort would know that he had absorbed another Horcrux, and he was also afraid that Snape would find out that he had joined Dracula...
Riddle spent the short meeting in a state of nervousness. It was because Riddle inherited Voldemort's memory, had a strong acting talent and adaptability that he was able to barely cope with Snape's cold gaze and Voldemort's inspection.
In order to avoid being exposed, he quickly found an excuse to leave.
"In order to avoid being discovered by Dracula, I cannot leave Hogwarts for too long." Riddle said, "Is there anything else important? If not, I will leave first."
"There is nothing more important." Voldemort thought for a moment, and said to Riddle in a deep voice, "Your only and most important task for us is to bring me the thing I want before Halloween!"
Riddle nodded silently, then disappeared from the spot.
After leaving Malfoy Manor, he breathed a sigh of relief and quickly returned to the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor's office at Hogwarts.
"You mean... Snape is definitely on Voldemort's side?" Dracula held a lollipop in his mouth and looked at Riddle, who still looked a little scared, with interest. "How did you find out in just a few minutes?"
"This Death Eater meeting just started not long ago, and Snape pointed the finger at me..." Riddle said in shock, "I thought he would at least hide something for me... As an assistant professor at Hogwarts, I am at least his colleague!"
"But he didn't! He immediately exposed the fact that I was working for you and encouraged Voldemort to stop believing my words. If I hadn't been a fragment of his soul and still remained normal, Voldemort might have really suspected me..."
Riddle recounted Snape's performance at the Death Eater meeting in detail, then stared closely into Dracula's eyes.
"Professor Dracula, only by getting rid of Snape, the spy, can I work for you more safely!" he said seriously.
"I understand." Dracula nodded casually, took the lollipop stick out of his mouth and threw it into the trash can next to him.
Seeing Riddle still standing there, he waved his hand casually and responded, "You go back and rest first, I will take care of this matter."
Dracula's nonchalant attitude froze Riddle's expression for a moment. He opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say, so he could only leave the office with a cold face.
"What are we going to do next?"
Watching Riddle leave, Dracula opened the window boredly and admired the Hogwarts Castle in the night.
The Defense Against the Dark Arts professor's office is located in the overall rectangular teaching area, on the east side of the third floor, and is connected to the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom adjacent to the eastern corridor on the second floor.
Looking towards the southwest side of the castle from the lower third floor, you can see an extremely tall and magnificent cylindrical building - that is the main tower of Hogwarts Castle.
The main tower has a total of eight floors, each of which is very high. The top floor is a wide spire covered with tiles, full of ancient and elegant style.
Outside the spire are three small towers that rise one after another. That is the Hogwarts principal's office on the eighth floor of the main tower.
At this late hour, in the dim darkness, no stars were visible in the sky, and almost all the lights in Hogwarts Castle had already been turned off, and the world was dark.
With his excellent night vision, Dracula's office did not turn on the lights, blending into the deep night.
However, the three small towers outside the main tower spire were faintly lit with a little light, adding a bit of color to the night.
"It seems that tonight is not so boring after all!" Dracula curled his lips.
He stepped lightly onto the windowsill and leapt into the dark night.
In this dim night, Dracula did not need to avoid the gazes of the little wizards at all. He spread out his broad wings and flew lightly in the protective color of the night.
In this cold weather, the window of the principal's office was not closed. A candle was placed on the windowsill, swaying gently in the wind.
Dracula's figure quietly appeared beside the candle, blocking out the rare light in the night.
"Ah, you're here, Professor Dracula." Dumbledore gently adjusted the glasses on his crooked nose and smiled happily, "It's cold today. Please help me close the window when you come down."
"You seem to have been waiting for me here for a long time?" Dracula frowned slightly, jumped lightly from the window frame, and closed the window casually.
"Ah, not for long. I opened the window when Severus left and waited for you to come over." Dumbledore rubbed his hands, which were red from the cold. "I am really old. I still feel warmer with the window closed."
"Mind if I light a fireplace?"
Without waiting for Dracula's consent, Dumbledore waved his wand and lit the fireplace next to his desk.
Green flames rose high from the fireplace, and the room suddenly became warm.
"Tell me, what did you stay up so late to tell me?" Dracula glanced at the fireplace burning with green flames, and lay down on the sofa next to the Sorting Hat skillfully. "If you ask me, you really should learn the work and rest schedule of that old guy Nico."
"He goes to bed at around eight o'clock every night and gets up at five in the morning. Even though he is over 600 years old, he can still walk on the ground by himself." Dracula said with a chuckle.
"To be honest, I envy Nico's leisurely life." Dumbledore smiled and shook his head. "Originally, he still had to worry about others coveting the legendary Philosopher's Stone, but now that the Philosopher's Stone is handed over to you for safekeeping, the last worry is gone."
"Now he doesn't have to worry about anything. He can live comfortably by watching some dramas and studying magic every day."
"How can it be comfortable to do the same repetitive things every day?" Dracula disagreed, "But his boring life does make his daily routine more regular."
"If it's possible, which old man would be willing to stay up all night? But I don't have any other solution. If I don't solve Voldemort's problem, I won't be able to sleep or eat well, Professor Dracula!"
Dumbledore smiled and looked at Dracula deeply.
"If you feel sorry for an old man like me, you can promise to help me get rid of Voldemort. That way I won't have to stay up late like those energetic young people." He said with a smile.
"If I feel sorry for you, an old man, who will feel sorry for me, an old man?" Dracula shrugged. "Voldemort, that troublesome noseless guy, may not have much brains, but he has prepared a lot of spare lives for himself... I won't look for trouble and take on such a troublesome task for myself."
"You are joking, Professor Dracula." Dumbledore smiled and yawned, "Which old man can be as energetic as you after not sleeping for several days?"
Dracula closed his eyes. He was too lazy to go around in circles with the old fox Dumbledore and talk meaningless words.
"Tell me, what do you want to tell me?" he asked straight to the point.
"Don't be in a hurry, one of us hasn't arrived yet!" Dumbledore said with a chuckle, looking at the fireplace beside him.
…
On the other side, in the living room of Malfoy Manor.
After Riddle left, the remaining Death Eaters continued with their previous meeting.
"Do you understand the next plan?" Voldemort asked coldly, his scarlet eyes sweeping around the Death Eaters present.
"Understood, Master." The Death Eaters present all answered solemnly.
"Very good, then let's discuss everyone's main tasks for this operation."
Voldemort stared into everyone's eyes one by one, until they were frightened to the point of cold sweat on their heads, and then he slowly spoke the next sentence.
"Let's start with you, Severus." Voldemort pointed his wand at Snape, who was sitting in the first position on his right hand side. "Tell me how to accomplish your mission."
Snape nodded expressionlessly.
"I will stay in Hogwarts and cast spells on the owls and magical messages coming in and out to block Dracula and Dumbledore's access to information." He said in a steady tone, "If Dumbledore and Dracula intend to leave the castle, I will do my best to stop them and use other things to delay them until our action is completed!"
"Severus is right!" Voldemort's hoarse voice rang out.
"Dracula and Dumbledore are the two biggest obstacles in our plan. We must hold them back to succeed! Although we have two undercover agents in Hogwarts, my clone has other tasks, so only you can hold back these two obstacles."
"Severus, for the sake of keeping your identity confidential, you don't have to participate in this operation." Voldemort said in a deep voice, "All you need to do is do your best to delay Dracula and Dumbledore, the longer the better!"
Snape nodded slowly.
"Yaxley, what about the Ministry of Magic?" Voldemort suddenly turned his head and looked to the left.
Yaxley was different from the other Death Eaters who wore all black. His black robe was embroidered with gorgeous and intricate patterns, as if to highlight his unique temperament as one of the twenty-eight saints.
Voldemort's sudden question startled him.
Yaxley shuddered subconsciously, then reacted and began to introduce his work content.
"I have bribed the Aurors and observers stationed in Azkaban at the end of October. They thought I was only visiting the Yaxleys in prison."
"But why would I want to visit those locked-up rubbish?" He sneered. "When the time comes, I will destroy the communication device between Azkaban and the Ministry of Magic while they are not paying attention, thus cutting off their possibility of getting reinforcements!"
"Also, I have written the impeachment papers against Amelia Bones and Rufus Scrimgeour. I will hand them over to Fudge once we break into Azkaban."
"Given the character of that idiot Fudge, he certainly wouldn't mind weakening the influence of his two political rivals. At the same time, doing so would not only please our Yaxley family, but also help him get rid of his responsibility for the breach of Azkaban. It can be said to be the best of all worlds."
"My promotion to the position of the first or second in command of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement is a foregone conclusion!"
"You have done a good job in your mission." Voldemort nodded approvingly. "When I take over the wizarding world, you will be the next Minister of Magic!"
Yaxley showed a fanatical expression at the right time, knelt on one knee on the ground, and expressed his loyalty to Voldemort.
Lucius sat in the second seat on the left, looking at this patriarch of one of the twenty-eight holy families groveling before Voldemort with great disdain, completely forgetting how he licked Voldemort's toes at that time...
"Lucius, what about you?" Voldemort's cold voice suddenly sounded in Lucius' ears.
Lucius took a deep breath and said through gritted teeth, "I have already prepared all the Malfoy family's assets, and our relationship with the Ministry of Magic has already been properly arranged... Even if I have to spend all my wealth, I will complete the task assigned to me by my master!"
…
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