Hogwarts Advanced Guide

Chapter 457 "Heralest Range - The Man in the Mist"

At the end of the straight driveway, a very decent mansion loomed in the darkness, the prismatic glass of the ground floor windows reflected very bright lights.Somewhere in the dark garden behind the hedge a fountain was blowing water.Snape and Yaxley creaked on the gravel road towards the main entrance, and just as they got there, no one opened the door, but the door opened automatically.

The foyer was large, dimly lit, and luxuriously furnished, with a rich carpet covering almost the entire stone floor.The pale portraits on the walls followed Snape and Yaxley with their eyes as they strode past.The two stopped before a heavy wooden door leading into another room, hesitated, and Snape turned the bronze handle.

The living room was full of silent people, all seated at a long, well-decorated table.The usual furniture in the room was shoved haphazardly against the walls.The room was illuminated by a roaring fire in an ornate marble fireplace, surmounted by a gilt mirror.Snape and Yaxley stayed at the door for a while, and after they got used to the dim light, their eyes were attracted by the strangest scene above the long table: a delirious human body was hanging head-down over the table, as if suspended by an invisible rope, spinning slowly, and its figure was reflected in the mirror and on the empty, polished tabletop.None of those present looked at this strange sight, except a pale young man who lay almost directly below it.He couldn't seem to restrain himself from glancing upwards from time to time.

"Yaxley, Snape," said a high-pitched, clear voice from the head of the table, "you were almost late."

The speaker sat directly in front of the fireplace, and Yaxley and Snape could only make out his outline at first.As they got closer, the man's face emerged from the shadows: hairless, snake-like, with long thin nostrils, and shining red eyes with vertical pupils.His complexion was very pale and seemed to emit a pearly light.

"Severus, sit here," Voldemort pointed to the seat immediately to his right. "Yaxley - sit next to Dolohov."

The two sat down at the designated positions.The eyes of most people around the table followed Snape, and Voldemort spoke to him first: "How is it?"

"Master, we succeeded."

The people around the table were obviously interested, or maybe they were afraid. Some straightened up, and some seemed unable to sit still. They all stared at Snape and Voldemort. In short, they all listened attentively.

"He's dead," Voldemort whispered, his red eyes fixed on Snape's black spectacles so piercingly that the people around him hurriedly looked away, as if they were worried that they would be burned by the murderous gaze.Snape watched Voldemort's face impassively, and a moment later Voldemort's lipless mouth twisted into an odd smile.

"Okay, fine, you and Bella deserve to be my most—"

"We will always be your most faithful servants," said Snape, "Master."

"Very good, very good." Voldemort stood up and clapped vigorously, "As expected of my most capable subordinate, Severus, you will be rewarded for being faithful to Voldemort."

"That's what I should do," Snape whispered.

Voldemort's scarlet eyes flickered, as if admiring Snape.

"That's right, then, next, I need you to figure out for me how Harry Potter will leave his home in the Muggle world. There is a very old spell there, very old, very old, that requires one's life." Voldemort slowly sat back on the chair, "As long as he lives with his blood relatives for more than a period of time every year, I can't hurt him, and there are quite a lot of guards around him."

"Snape, I need you to find out when Harry Potter will leave." Voldemort said in a low voice, "I think you must have left behind, my cunning friend."

Snape smiled slightly.

"That's right, Master. I used the Imperius Curse to control a student before, and disguised him as me. The Order of the Phoenix will definitely not suspect me." Snape said confidently, "Although Potter accused me, I have completely cleared the suspicion."

"Yes, this kind of life won't be too long, Severus, you just need to be wronged for a while, and soon you won't have to live like this again." Voldemort said. "You will get the power you want, as long as you always follow Lord Voldemort's side."

"Thank you, Master." Snape bowed again and said humbly.

The party didn't take too long to end, as Voldemort allowed Snape and others to celebrate the killing of Hera Lestrange - torturing Muggles.And he returned to the bedroom to continue his evil black magic research.

He felt that something was always aching in his heart, which was by no means a good sign, but he couldn't find the reason.Moreover, the successive losses of Horcruxes also caused him quite a headache.

Of course Voldemort believed that he was invincible, the most powerful wizard in the world - after Dumbledore's death, there was always something entangled in his heart, which made him disappear for a year, almost never showing his face.

"There must be something I've forgotten," murmured Voldemort. "I need a more powerful weapon, more powerful."

Voldemort never doubted his own strength, but he still couldn't forget the scene of fighting Harry when he was just resurrected, flashing back to the previous curse
"If I want to kill Harry Potter, I have to change a wand." Voldemort took out a slender wand from his pocket, and stroked it gently, "but Lucius' wand is too weak, just like his master." He broke the wand with both hands, and threw it behind the sofa.

If Lucius knew what happened in the bedroom, he would definitely cry. This is the most important thing to him besides his family, but it was ruthlessly broken by Voldemort.

The time soon came to mid-August, and Hera was almost subduing Grindelwald's former subordinates. Most of them were still obedient. With the endorsement of Fast Rozier, they were all willing to submit to Hera's command, but there were always a few thorns, and they refused to work for Hera.

This made the old man Fast nearly die of anger. He was so angry that he knocked on the floor with his cane, and at the same time shouted loudly: "They have betrayed Grindelwald, they have betrayed glory!"

"It's human nature, Fast." Sitting on the chief seat, Hera said softly, "I will let them know who they really should submit to."

"It's you, of course it's you, it can only be you." Fast almost lost his breath, "You inherited Grindelwald's wand, and you are the one who can lead us to glory."

"I'm glad you said that." Hera nodded irrefutably, "But we must first deal with the situation in front of us. The waters of the European continent have been completely muddied by Voldemort, and we need to seek power from it. All of this requires the concerted efforts of all of us."

"Yes, that's what you said." Fast said respectfully, "Children of many families work in the Ministry of Magic, and they have access to quite a lot of news."

"Then let them run, I have to receive a report every morning." Hera said seriously. "I want to know everything that happened in the wizarding world and the Muggle world."

"As you wish."

Number four, Privet Drive, Harry got out of bed, stretched himself, and walked towards the desk. The owl had already delivered this morning's newspaper—in fact, there was one every day for this summer vacation, because his uncle and aunt were planning to go to the United States for asylum.Harry told them everything: they were in danger, Dudley, Petunia, Vernon, everyone was in danger, and the danger came from the wizarding world.This took them by surprise, and they didn't care about Harry at all. They avoided him as if he had some kind of contagious disease.

But it made Harry very comfortable, and he enjoyed the quiet life, not having to be ordered to drink, woken from the cupboard, and forced to make breakfast every day, which was a rare relaxing day.

But Harry's happy mood quickly dissipated, because he opened the newspaper. On the lower half of the front page of the newspaper, there was a picture of Hera in a purple robe.
The Life of Hera Lestrange - Shocked, He Turns Out to Be
A stunning biography is due out next week about the much-maligned boy who many considered an evil man simply because of his last name.Rita Skeeter strips away the man of mixed reviews to reveal Hera Lestrange's untold and chaotic childhood, his killers, and the secrets he took to his grave.Why did this man with the Lestrange surname die at the hands of Death Eaters?Why did Dumbledore trust him so much?Did Dumbledore really die at the hands of a mysterious man?

The answers to these questions, and more, are explored in Rita Skeeter's explosive new biography, Hera Lestrange—The Man of the Fog, with an exclusive interview with Betty Braithwaite, page 13 of this newspaper.

Harry ripped open the paper and found page 13.There was a photograph above the article, another familiar face: a woman with bejeweled eyes, blond hair pulled into delicate curls, bared teeth, and a smile that she obviously thought she was charming, her fingers splayed toward Harry.Harry tried not to look at the disgusting photo, and read on:

Rita Skeeter is famously sharp in her writing, but she is much more warm and easy-going in person.In the warmth and comfort of her home, she received me in the foyer and led me straight into the kitchen for tea, a slice of cake heavy with sugar and oil, and of course, a hot, fresh-baked conversation.

"Needless to say, he was definitely not a cheerful person," Skeeter said. "In his short life, the only known friend of his, I think, was the Hogwarts potion—Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor Snape. His life was so short that I'm afraid I only need a book to cover it, at least at the moment I think so."

Rita is unintentionally a quick shooter.The 500-page biography was written just five weeks after Hera's mysterious death in June.I asked her how she could do it so fast.

"Oh, if you've been a reporter for so many years like I have, it's second nature to rush for time. I know wizards are hungry for a full biography, and I want to be the first to satisfy that need."

I refer to the most widely circulated comment of Ephias Dorge, special advisor to the Wizengamot, who for years publicly satirized Skeeter, who kept saying that "Skeeter's book contains more truth than a Chocolate Frog card."

Skeeter laughed.

"Lovely old slick! I remember interviewing him a few years ago about mermaid rights, God bless him! Whole fool, seems to think we're sitting at the bottom of Lake Windermere, and keeps telling me to beware of salmon."

However, many media once again turned up Effias Dorje's accusation that the biography is full of mistakes, especially for the book "Dumbledore's Life and Lies", in which Skeeter once described Dumbledore and Grindelwald's lush and chaotic boyhood, which made many people dissatisfied. They did not want to believe that Dumbledore would be as described in the book.

"Oh dear," Skeeter said with a big smile, patting my hand affectionately, "you know as well as I do how much information can be gleaned from a heavy bag of Galleons, an inquisitive mind, and a nice, sharp shorthand quill! I can assure you that what I write in the book is told to me, and I'm just passing it on. And people are always lining up to gossip about Dumbledore. You know, not everyone thinks He's so good - he's offended so many people - ahem, we're talking about Hera Lestrange today, aren't we?"

Skeeter tried to turn the topic back to Hera Lestrange, who responded positively to the wizards who attacked her with "Dumbledore's Life and Lies", but as she said, today we are talking about Hera Lestrange, so we are very curious, what is the most shocking secret she discovered?

"Okay, stop talking, Betty, I won't reveal the most exciting content until everyone buys the book!" Skeeter laughed and said, "But I can guarantee that everyone's understanding of Hera Lestrange is definitely far from the real him, and it will definitely destroy everyone's impression of him."

(End of this chapter)