The Handsome Dark Lord[Comprehensive]

After the "Daily Prophet" published the news that Hogsmeade was attacked by dementors, it interviewed the villagers on their attitudes towards the incident.

The Ministry of Magic urgently deployed an Auror patrol team to temporarily appease the anger of the villagers, but most people still expressed concerns about the safety of the village. They believed that the fugitives from Azkaban had not been effectively controlled, and many dark wizards were making trouble everywhere. , causing panic to the people.Many people also mentioned the incompetence of Umbridge, the acting headmaster of Hogwarts, and called for Dumbledore to return again.

Umbridge quickly found Rita Skeeter to write an article, declaring eloquently that she witnessed the savior slipping out of the campus to carry out illegal activities at the same time. She tried her best to protect the students but was questioned by people who did not know the truth .The article very suggestively points the black finger behind the dementor incident to Dumbledore. His wanton brainwashing of the savior and his defense of the fugitive from Azkaban, combined with the coincidence of the appearance of the two dementors, makes people feel that the wizarding world His shadow is everywhere in the chaos.

People are arguing endlessly. Some people think that Dumbledore is powerful and can guarantee the safety of Hogwarts and its surroundings; others suspect that he himself deliberately contributed to this situation, just to promote his theory of the resurrection of the Dark Lord and control the savior. Forming a private army, suppressing the forces of the Ministry of Magic, and even exonerating the fugitives from Azkaban (they count the fugitives who fished in troubled waters as Dumbledore's head)... With the Ministry of Magic fanning the flames, the proportion of the latter is getting bigger and bigger, There were even open calls for him to quit the Wizengamot.

Regardless of how the outside world speculates, Dumbledore himself is busy investigating the dark lord's unknown past.To this end, he retrieved the long-sealed Elder Wand, interviewed countless wizards and prisoners--the suspicion of Azkaban was discovered in the process-and even dying magical creatures.He never ignores seemingly insignificant creatures, even house-elves can provide crucial details - rather, it is their insignificance that can fill in the key puzzle of many events, Voldemort's arrogance and Arrogance will never understand this.

Nevertheless, it has to be admitted that Voldemort has certain capital.

Dumbledore visited many imaginable people and information, but the secrets he got were still limited.He had to search again and again, and finally got a new breakthrough from an old acquaintance——

Borgin-Bock's shopkeeper is willing to try a potent memory-restoring potion in response to his growing amnesia.Dumbledore promised to provide him with more key memories of Voldemort's brief stint in his shop.

That kind of potion requires very fine and superb skills to brew, and only masters who have been working on the front line of potion production all year round can complete it.Dumbledore specifically asked Snape, who was about to sleep next to the cauldron, for help.

"If you had eyes, Dumbledore," said the Potions Professor, the dark circles under his eyes nearly hanging down to his nose, "you'd find me too busy to sleep."

"The highest task Voldemort has entrusted to you," Dumbledore said worriedly, "I understand, Severus. But I don't think it can be done. Even if you try so hard, there will be no results. Why don't you cut corners appropriately? .”

Snape's lips twisted slightly, trying to hold back some sarcasm, but failed.

"I thought you weren't old enough to forget how high the level of potions the Dark Lord himself is! If you can fool him by cutting corners, you won't be a lowly half-breed who can provide you with information!"

Dumbledore frowned at his statement, and said softly: "Don't say that about yourself, Severus. Since you feel that you are under suspicion, with Voldemort's character, no matter how hard you try, it will be difficult to dispel his guard. I think... Maybe it's a good thing to let him despise you for the time being."

Snape's dark eyes became lifeless, he didn't seem to be moved by Dumbledore's gentle words, and he murmured: "You don't understand, doubt is the normal state of the Dark Lord...he deliberately forced me to this place The situation, although I didn’t say it clearly, but I have to follow his will... I can get through it, I need to be very careful and safe, I have experience... It’s just that this time may be particularly difficult... But I can’t give up, it’s only me ..."

Dumbledore's blue eyes quivered slightly, but they were hidden from view by his bushy beard and hair.

He still said, "This potion is very important, Severus. It can only be done by you."

Snape sneered, and before he could sneer, Dumbledore added, "The Squib Potion will be developed by Minerva instead of you."

Snape stared at him in disbelief for a moment, then finally limped away without saying anything - he hadn't recovered from a leg he had injured in the Azkaban attack.

Based on experience, this is the attitude of yes.

Sitting alone in the conference room, Dumbledore took off his glasses, wiped them, and put them back on for a while.

Like Snape, many members of the Order of the Phoenix were seriously injured in the Azkaban attack.This is also one of the reasons why Dumbledore insisted on defending Sirius, and the manpower available is too limited.

Another reason... I have to admit, is his selfishness.

He thought Harry had been mistreated too much.Whether it was his aunt's family, the wizarding world, or... him.

He knew how much Harry wanted Sirius to be free.Especially after being treated coldly by his principal this semester.

But he had to.The connection between Harry and Voldemort is too dangerous, and Harry himself has not yet realized it, and even naively thought that he could use it in reverse.

The current investigation was so critical that Dumbledore could not take any chances and had to keep his distance from Harry.

He knew it broke Harry's heart.

Sirius was one of the few things he could do to make up for Harry, and it was nothing compared to the cruel mission he was about to give Harry.

Dumbledore took a deep breath and walked up the dilapidated path of Knockturn Alley.Wearing a dark purple cloak, he walked steadily across the potholed road, ignoring malicious prying eyes from all directions, and came to Borgin-Bock's store.

If possible, he wanted to keep those darkest truths out of Harry's world as much as possible until the final moment.

Karaktakus Bock has been running this sinful black shop for decades, buying collections from poor desperate poor wizards at low prices, and then reselling them to rich pure-blood families. What black magic items are in it? It is the most famous item trading station in Knockturn Alley.Still, compared to Voldemort, he was a greedy little guy.

So Dumbledore concealed Tom Riddle's true identity, otherwise Burke would never have revealed any information about him to him.

This time he brought Haimer's recovery potion, and Bok made an exception and allowed him to use the fine instigator to help sort out the memories of the critical period, which would help the potion to play a better role.

"Oh, the color of this bottle is amazing." Bork gently turned the crystal bottle in his hand, observing the orange liquid inside under the strong light, "As expected of the greatest white wizard of this century... I can only trust you , those dark wizards are becoming more and more unpredictable. Letting them use Soul Feedback is simply asking for their own death."

Dumbledore said, "Let's begin, then."

"Wait a minute," Bok walked to the window and looked at him for a while, and said to him, "let's go inside, I have a small room, which is convenient for building multiple layers of defense... After I finish the layout, I will ask you to add a few more layers Insurance... Knockturn Alley has been really rough recently."

"The Death Eaters who escaped prison, I suppose?" said Dumbledore, walking with him into the cabin behind the counter.

Bork's back trembled, and he looked back towards the door in horror, "Don't, don't say that...they are all dark wizards hiding their heads...I don't know..."

Dumbledore sighed: "You shouldn't be afraid of them, Mr. Burke."

At least as the former boss of their immediate boss.he thought silently.

Bork waved his hand quickly, wanting to get rid of the topic, "First apply a few layers of defensive spells, here to help."

Dumbledore took out the Elder Wand and dutifully helped to make it up - arguably the most powerful temporary defensive magic in the world.

Bork finally drank Haimo's recovery potion with peace of mind, showing a relaxed expression.Dumbledore leaned close to his greasy forehead, easily ignored those thick greasy hairs, and said carefully: "Spiritual take--"

A loud bang broke his spell.

A ball of iron on the wall of the hut suddenly crashed into the ground, and Bock jumped to his feet, shouting nervously, "Quaffle! They—they're coming—"

Intense noise erupted from the street, and people could still be heard screaming through layers of defensive spells. The bang of Apparition was louder than ever at the critical moment, and Bock's face turned pale.

"Quick, let's get out of here too—"

Dumbledore grabbed his flailing arm and said calmly, "We're safe, Mr. Burke, calm down."

"No, no—" Burke moved anxiously to the small closed window, watching the street through the crack.

The Quaffle fell to the ground and bounced back, shooting towards the ceiling, thumping against walls in all directions, making an unnerving sound.Dumbledore had to suppress it first.

The noise on the street became more intense, a creepy laughter pierced through the thick defensive magic, and Bock, who was leaning in front of the window, took a step back suddenly, pointing out with trembling fingers.

His expression seemed to have seen something extremely terrifying, and he sat down on the ground trembling.

"Black... Dark Mark..."

Dumbledore walked over, gently opened a section of the window, and saw a huge green skeleton floating in the sky.

"Shut it!" Bock screamed.Suddenly full of strength, he rushed over and closed the window firmly.

Dumbledore let him pant against the window, his eyes piercing the shutters, gazing into an unseen distance.

He raised his wand and whispered softly, "Call God to protect you."

#

The Ministry Atrium became crowded in the blink of an eye.

Many ragged wizards apparated in the Great Hall, screaming in panic about the vicious happenings in Knockturn Alley.The news quickly spread to the first and second floors, and the Auror office immediately held an emergency meeting.

"What kind of meeting is there?!" Arthur Weasley asked loudly as soon as he entered the door, "It's about this time! We have to rush out to fight the Death Eaters!"

Chillingly, none of the room full of Aurors responded to him.

Scrimgeour swung his wand and closed the door.

"There are no Death Eaters," Scrimgeour said grimly. "They were wiped out with the defeat of You-Know-Who more than ten years ago. Don't be alarmist, Weasley."

Arthur glared at him bitterly.Scrimgeour ignored it: "The various patrols are still on duty, and our manpower is limited, but the personal safety of the Ministry of Magic and the Minister is still the first priority. At least five people must be guaranteed to stay behind."

There are only seven Aurors present here, which means that at most two people will be dispatched.

"Are you kidding," said Tonks in a nonchalant tone, "this is death."

"That's Knockturn Alley." A male Auror sneered, "We did our duty by going."

"Hogsmeade and the Diagon Alley Patrol have already occupied a large number of hands." Scrimgeour's gold-rimmed glasses shone with a metallic luster, as cold and ruthless as his face, "Knockturn Alley is full of dangerous dark wizards, as long as you let It is enough for journalists to see our efforts. So, who volunteers?"

"Me." Arthur introduced himself with suppressed anger.But no one else spoke.

He looked around in disbelief, unable to believe the indifference of these people.

The corner of Scrimgeour's mouth curved into a sarcasm.

The door of the conference room was pushed open.Fudge entered, followed by Kingsley and the Daily Prophet reporter.

Scrimgeour immediately stood up: "Minister."

Fudge showed an overly enthusiastic smile: "Don't be nervous, everyone. I have received the latest news that someone witnessed the appearance of a phoenix-shaped Patronus. Obviously this is another conspiracy led by Dumbledore, and we will not be fooled again... "

The reporter behind him took a quill to record the Minister of Magic's remarks.

Arthur Weasley was panting violently, struggling to suppress an outburst of anger.Even Tonks, who had been expressionless all this time, frowned unnoticed.

Kingsley, who was following Fudge, secretly gave her a patient look.Tonks looked away.

Scrimgeour accepted this well, even saying: "A wise choice."

"You see, Farley." Fudge said to the blond reporter beside him, "Our Auror office did its best in the previous operations and suffered heavy losses, so not many people are dispatched now, but people always feel that the credit is Deng Bullido's. But actually, he's the shadow behind all this chaos..."

While he was chattering, a middle-of-the-road voice came from not far away: "Scremgeour! I heard about the Dark Mark...!"

A wizard with short chestnut hair appeared behind Fudge, and the voice stopped abruptly, "The minister... is also here."

"Mr. Crowell, what did you just say? I heard correctly, it's the Dark Demon—" the blond-haired female reporter asked excitedly.

"Bart got it wrong!" Fudge interrupted her angrily. "He's the director of the Forbidden Objects Division. He must have gone to the wrong place!"

Before Crowell could speak, Arthur couldn't help shouting: "The Dark Mark has appeared! How long are you going to lie to yourself! Wait until the Death Eaters hit the Ministry of Magic?"

"Shut up! Shut him up!" Fudge roared.Kingsley wanted to approach Arthur aggressively, but was blocked by a chair.Sitting next to him, Scrimgeour stared at Crowell, as if he didn't hear Fudge's words.The consequence of all this is that Arthur successfully shouted what he wanted to say.

The blond female reporter's eyes were shining, and she looked eagerly at Fudge, who said with a livid face, "Never! I will never allow Dumbledore's nonsense to be published in the newspaper!"

"Mr. Minister, please allow me to ask Crowell's purpose."

Scrimgeour said politely.

Fudge hesitated for a moment, gave Crowell a slight warning look, and reluctantly nodded in agreement.

Bart Crowell was an extremely thin man, with almost no flesh in his face, high cheekbones, and a startling light in his eyes. He looked both excited and thin.

But as soon as he noticed the weird atmosphere caused by Fudge's presence, he didn't say much again until now.

"I heard about the emergency in Knockturn Alley..." He spoke slowly, his eyes sweeping over everyone present.

Arthur looked at him complicatedly and with implicit expectation, and Tonks and Kingsley passed their eyes calmly.Fudge's eyes were fixed on Crowell, ready to gag him.Scrimgeour's eyes, hard as ice, betrayed no emotion, but were fixed on Crowell.

"Escaped from Azkaban—" He watched Fudge, choosing his words carefully, "Dark wizards—attacked Knockturn Alley." He paused, giving everyone a chance to interrupt, but no one In doing so, he continued, "They acted extremely arrogantly. Some people were killed on the spot, and they also spread black terror at the scene. I think that no matter what the truth is, the Auror Office should maintain order."

The corner of Fudge's mouth twitched, and for a moment he was about to say something to stop him, but Crowell dissuaded him with a look of reason.

Scrimgeour's gaze also shifted to Fudge.But he said to Crowell, "I don't see how this has anything to do with the Misuse of Muggle Substances Division."

"I'm right next door, and I know that there are not many of you now." Crowell said calmly, "So I plan to bring a few people from our department to help."

"What?" the male Auror uttered in surprise.

"You're the Director of the Contraband Division, Bart!" Fudge exclaimed.

"I am." Crowell remained calm, "but I think the actions of the dark wizards have seriously trampled on the laws of the Ministry of Magic, and every government employee has an obligation to stop them."

Fudge was surprised and suspicious, but the female reporter next to him praised: "This is really a high-spirited awareness, Mr. Crowell! I will definitely include your attitude in this report!"

Crowe said modestly: "Thank you. I just followed the teaching of Mr. Minister."

Fudge's expression seemed to have swallowed an oversized pumpkin, with mixed flavors, and finally turned into a slightly distorted and satisfied smile.

"Yes... yes. Those dark wizards should be taught a lesson... Scrimgeour, who are you going to send?"

#

The study room on the second floor of Tinta Wine Castle.

Palis is reporting his recent great discovery.

"...the owner of the Pig's Head Bar is undoubtedly Dumbledore's own brother, Aberforth Dumbledore."

His master sat in a baroque armchair behind a desk, looking down at a cluster of flames at his fingertips.

The weak light reflected the dark lord's facial features more profoundly, and when Palis raised his eyes slightly, he almost thought it was a well-painted portrait.

He recognized flames as a little magic used to decorate rooms at festivals, and the Dark Lord seemed to have taken a sudden interest in it, playing with it between his fingers.Hearing his conclusion, the corner of his mouth only slightly raised in understanding.

"I feel right," said Voldemort wearily. "He's almost another aging version of Dumbledore's youth."

Paris was secretly surprised that few people could see the physical resemblance between Aberforth and his brother Dumbledore.But his immediate boss undoubtedly has extremely keen observation skills.

He didn't miss this opportunity to flatter: "Your acuity is impressive."

Voldemort sneered, the meaning was probably somewhere between "you still need to say it" and "nothing new", successfully dispelled Palis's idea of ​​making use of the topic, and continued to report honestly.

"The reason why I chose to impersonate the Bandage Witch was simply because she was the most difficult to see through. But when I caught people, I accidentally discovered an amazing secret in her—she was actually a wizard in disguise."

Palis still remembered the shock when he pulled off the bandage, but the "surprise" brought to him by the Bandage Witch was more than that.

"I felt suspicious, so I investigated his identity and purpose in detail, and found out that he is a member of the Order of the Phoenix."

"Oh?" Voldemort's voice finally showed a hint of interest, but he was still watching the small flame kneaded and deformed between his fingers.

Palis looked at him with concern: "His name is Mundungus Fletcher, he is a habitual thief and a homeless man, but he is good at disguising and gathering intelligence. Although he works for the Order of the Phoenix, I found that he often steals Property, I guess he didn't do well in the Order of the Phoenix, maybe it can be used for us."

Voldemort gave a "hmm" and generously praised: "It's a good discovery."

Palis was encouraged, thinking of his ultimate discovery, he couldn't help showing a smile in advance.

"The greatest gain still comes from Aberforth, my master," he said softly. "I think you remember Sybill Trelawney."

The temperature in the study dropped suddenly, Voldemort squinted his eyes silently, and the flames between his fingers suddenly shrank into sparks.

But he didn't say anything, just waited calmly for the next step.

Palis maintained a firm calm. "You know, I also have the talent of some seers, so I have been paying attention to this great-great-granddaughter of Master Cassandra... This time I found an informant to imitate her behavior back then to make it convenient. So I found out It revealed the relationship between Aberforth and the portrait girl Ariana, and the hidden relationship between their siblings and Dumbledore. But the most important thing is an additional phenomenon I discovered."

He pondered for a moment, then said, "Aberforth pays close attention whenever my informant acts out the abnormal state that Trelawney predicted."

The coldness around Voldemort dissipated, and the flames burned quietly, as if lost in thought.

Soon, for the first time, he raised his eyes from the bewildering flame, and met Palis' suggestive eyes.

"I think there is reason to doubt," Palis said cautiously but boldly, "Aberforth has witnessed that prophecy back then."

Voldemort's eyes lit up with a frightening red light.

"...Amazing, Palis."

After a while, he said softly.

Palis bowed slowly.Only he knew the mixed excitement and tremor running down his spine, the Dark Lord's explicit admiration in his words.

He knew better than anyone how rare this level of praise was among the Death Eaters.The Dark Lord prefers to intimidate and destroy than to applaud and reward.

As far as he knew, today was the day when the Death Eaters would clean up disobedient dark wizards on a large scale.The Dark Lord finally squeezed out the use value of this group of cannon fodder who accompanied the Death Eaters to escape from prison, and decided to cross the river and demolish the bridge.

Everyone thought that this operation was only aimed at disobedient non-Death Eaters, only Palis, who had foreseen many Death Eater colleagues, guessed the truth——

Those outlying Death Eaters who offended the Dark Lord without knowing it will also be targeted.

Palis' thoughts were interrupted by a regular and dull noise.

He came back to his senses and looked around blankly, not understanding where the string of voices came from.In fact, if he wasn't in a quiet study room and the sound source was close enough, he might not have noticed the faint noise at all.

The flame between Voldemort's fingers had been extinguished in the news of the explosion just now. He knew the source of the noise well, but at this moment he was more interested in Paris' discovery, and it became very unpleasant for a moment.

Even so, he suppressed his impatience and took out a small black box with blinking signal lights on it, and the box body was vibrating constantly.

This is a product developed by Bart Crowell, the director of the Department of Prohibition of Misuse of Muggle Affairs. It combines Muggle mobile phones, walkie-talkies and wizards' sound transmission magic. machine.

Barty Crouch Jr. always carried out every order he gave meticulously, even when he was asked to study Muggle items.

It was this loyalty and pragmatism that made Voldemort value his contacts.He broke off a piece of black earplug embedded in the fuselage and put it in his ear. The signal light and vibration stopped, and it became the sound of the second basement of the Ministry of Magic in his ear.

Under Palis's curious gaze, a small harmless flame ignited between Voldemort's fingers, and the eyes watching it gradually softened, and even showed more pleasure as he listened to more and more content.

Finally, the pair of red eyes fell on Palis, reflecting the bright spots of the flames, making them look extraordinarily magnificent.

"It really didn't take much effort... Dumbledore..."

The smile on the Dark Lord's lips was both ferocious and brutal.

"It seems that I have to go out in person, Palis, come with me to Knockturn Alley."