[HP]Timepiece Countdown

A little later, Rue Montmorency, Marais.

This is a narrow shopping street, with four floors of off-white marble buildings stretching along the sidewalk.Most of them are old, and there are some mottled traces of wind and sun on the walls.In order to attract customers, many shops have painted brick red, bright yellow, dark green and other colors on the street side of the first floor, not to mention the handwritten wooden menu and the honeysuckle hanging down through the black wrought iron railings of the balcony on the second floor.

At the corner at the end of the street stands an apartment quietly.Its appearance looks no different from that of its neighbors, with neat vertical iron railings outside the windows; however, like the gate that has been impenetrable all year round, the pure wool worsted curtain mixed with gold threads hangs straight and completely. All kinds of curious prying eyes are isolated.Rumor had it that the property belonged to some low-key lord, but they never saw anyone in or out of it.

At this time, Voldemort was resting with his eyes closed on the top floor.

This is a spacious space that is almost empty: the oak floor is luminous, the floor cabinet door is composed of a large number of complicated and smooth pattern carvings, and the silver branch chandeliers and candlesticks all have a well-maintained and timeless atmosphere. color.If you look closely, you will find that the raven coat of arms of House Lestrange is everywhere.

But Voldemort's thoughts were not at all on the extravagant surrounding environment.He was thinking about Harry: rather, he was thinking about the news Harry had brought him today.

The most critical part is obviously the locket.Judging from the condition of the cave and the contents of the note, it has been more than ten years since it was dropped by Regulus Black, and he has almost no hope of getting it back.As a result, after several twists and turns, it actually fell into the hands of the savior.

Voldemort was sure it was better than falling into Dumbledore's hands.If Dumbledore found it first, the locket would probably have been destroyed; the remaining [-]% ​​might have been kept to threaten him, the real kind of threat.

But that didn't happen.Dumbledore must have conjectured about his creation of Horcruxes long ago, but he did not discover the locket before the Savior.This may indeed be accidental; but coupled with the fact that the boy walked near him unconsciously today, there is only one guess——

The soul connection between the two most likely played a role that cannot be ignored.

This was a rather dangerous signal, and Voldemort's fingers curled and tensed.If his conjecture is correct, it means that as long as the boy is given enough time, the other party may discover the hiding place of the Horcrux one by one, no matter whether it is intentional or not.

There is nothing worse than this, he must find a way to stop it.

Also, it's not like Voldemort really believed Harry's proposed deal.He still thought there was a lot of room for manipulation, since Harry didn't have the locket with him.However, compared to a mere Peter Pedro, the soul of the Dark Lord is obviously much more important; no matter how great the risk is, it is worth taking.

Second, is Harry himself.

In the past three years, the boy has grown a lot. He is only half a head shorter than him, but he is still as thin as before.He had heard that Dumbledore had been giving the boy private tuition, and he was ready to deal with a Dumbledore replica.

But that doesn't seem to be the case.

The boy's abilities have indeed improved a bit, such as Occlumency, or using a magic wand to accurately display the facts that happened in a certain period of time in the past.And the Aurors, even if he dismissed them, had to admit that they were indeed of a higher level than ordinary wizards.

However, as he had just figured out, Dumbledore was not going to trade the locket like a boy.Destruction is the best option, and the second is to force him to make more concessions; taking a step back, Dumbledore will never exchange his precious Horcrux for the freedom of a designated person.

The so-called "for the greater good", Voldemort thought ironically.Under the target, all are chess pieces.He had thought Harry had learned this, but now it seemed that he had overestimated the Savior Boy.The boy seemed to have some unrealistic and naive expectations, like solving wars without bloodshed, whether it was between the Order of the Phoenix and the Death Eaters, or between him and him.

Thinking of the latter point, Voldemort frowned.He wondered, he didn't know when Harry had changed his mind, when the boy didn't think so the last time they met - at least not so clearly.Enemy, yes; confrontation, yes; but how did Harry come to the conclusion that he didn't want to kill him to solve everything?

If the two hadn't met just now, Voldemort would have suspected that Harry was crazy.In order to fight against him, the boy is not worried that he needs to give his life; given the premise of making such a decision, taking the enemy's life is not a must?

Thinking of this, Voldemort couldn't help questioning Dumbledore's tutoring level: Is it really okay for the old bee to soften the Savior so much?

Voldemort could not come up with a reasonable answer for the time being.He turned his thoughts to the last point of the day, concerning Freya Duran.

When Harry was spotted outside the Moulin Rouge, he wasn't immediately sure if there were other wizards around.You know, he still needs Duran's identity, and he must not make people think that she is a Death Eater.So he instructed Duran to kiss him, and put on an appearance that was enough to confuse others; if anyone asked afterward, Duran would just have to insist that he was someone else.In the end, he watched her leave on the spot, also in order to better observe the situation and take the next step.

To Voldemort's surprise, Harry did come alone; to his even more surprise, he succeeded in misleading Harry, and Harry reacted greatly.This was so unbelievable that when he first noticed the side effect feedback, he suspected that he had made a mistake.

No point, really nothing.

The soul mate instinct that drives one person to be both mentally and physically possessive of the other person they connect to is not true; at least not in their case.

Voldemort felt he should be considerate of Harry.After all, the boy is still young, has a frizzy personality, and it is normal for him to lack self-control.However Harry went on to declare that he did not intend to kill him...

Things get tricky from here.If life and death wasn't the final outcome Harry was expecting, what would it be?

Voldemort could come up with other answers, but none he could imagine.Illogical, he repeated the conclusion in his mind, almost exasperated.The boy should have known the prophecy - "Only one survived" - and again, how could Harry be so idealistic?

Suddenly, there was a soft knock on the door, and then someone walked in. "Master," the two wizards, a man and a woman, said in unison, bowing their heads respectfully.

Still reclining in the armchair, Voldemort didn't bother to turn to face them. "What's the matter, Rodolphus, Bella?"

"The venue the day after tomorrow is ready, master." Rodolphs spoke first, because he was in charge of contacting the members of the Lestrange family in France, "I guarantee that our new members will definitely feel that you are so powerful that you are useless." The power of doubt."

Everyone knew about it when he appeared in the newspaper, and Voldemort nodded with interest.

Seeing his movements, Bellatrix couldn't wait to add: "The ones who should be notified have been notified. Everyone will arrive in Paris the morning after tomorrow at the latest. Including Batty, Lucius, Draco, and Avery With Carlo and them!"

Voldemort nodded again. "very good."

His tone was flat, but Bellatrix beamed with joy. "It is my honor to serve you, Master!"

Rodolphus waited by the side for a while, and after making sure that Voldemort had nothing to say, he asked cautiously: "Are you still not going to summon Snape this time, master?"

"Until he has completed his mission at Hogwarts, no." Voldemort snorted back, which could be called cold.

After getting the answer, Rodolphs fell silent.As for Bellatrix, she thought it was the right decision. "Severus really needs to prove his loyalty with practical actions!" She has always been bitter about Snape's switch to Dumbledore.

Voldemort was noncommittal.Snape had expressed several times before that he was willing to take the risk of being discovered by Dumbledore to attend the Death Eater party, but he refused.To be honest, he didn't really think Snape could kill Dumbledore, it was just that no Death Eater was better suited for the task than Snape.Furthermore, his focus in recent years has been on Horcruxes and soul mates, and he needs people who can help in this regard; the news of the Order of the Phoenix is ​​not even as worthy of his concern as the movement of the savior boy...

"Where's Wormtail?" Voldemort asked, tapping the armrest with his long fingers as if unintentionally.

Hearing this sudden question, Rodolphus and Bellatrix froze together.The two looked at each other, and Bellatrix replied hesitantly: "He should still be at Malfoy Manor, master."

Voldemort tilted his head slightly.Receiving his sight, Rodolphus retreated tactfully.When there were only two people in the room, he waved his wand lazily, and a sealed envelope appeared in Bellatrix's hand. "Call him too," he ordered softly, "and bring this to him. Wormtail must open it himself."

It's like Wormtail has a special secret mission from the Dark Lord...

Hell, shouldn't it be for her?

Bellatrix was stunned. "Master," she stared at the envelope, as if she could change the name on it to her own, "I think I can definitely complete your account better than Wormtail..."

Voldemort interrupted before she could finish. "No," he turned the armchair so that Bellatrix could see the chilling smile on his face, "that's something only he can do."

Bellatrix was silent.She paused for a while, seeing that Voldemort had no intention of explaining, she retreated in a low voice.The Dark Lord turned back to his position facing the fireplace, and began to think about the really difficult part of the whole thing—

Even if he managed to get back the locket in the end, it wouldn't change the fact that Harry was his Horcrux and his soul mate.They share the same blood, and they use twin wands.Their relationship may be the most complicated and tightest ever: even though he proclaims that it would be best for them never to see each other, he also knows it won't be as easy as he says.

What is the right thing to do if, in the worst case scenario, the connection between the two of them cannot be broken no matter what, and even grows stronger?