HP Midnight Light

- 1979th February 2 - Unnamed Castle, Cumbria

"I've waited long enough, and I'm tired of the little game of pranking Muggles." The Dark Lord pronounced slowly, "Now it's time to expand again."

"Master," Bellatrix leaned eagerly towards her master before anyone could answer, "I'd like to go north and retake our lost ground—"

"No, Bella, I have a more important task for you." The Dark Lord refused, "Dolohov, Mulciber, Evan...you three go to the wizard gathering place in the north, set Give clues about the Order of the Phoenix."

"Yes, Master."

Regardless of Bellatrix's disappointed and anxious expression, the Dark Lord continued to order: "Avery, I am really disappointed by the performance of your father and son."

"Master, that was a mistake I made accidentally." Old Avery explained anxiously, "It was my negligence——"

"I can give you a chance to make amends. You go to the south together and cover up the actions of Alecto and Amycus." The Dark Lord looked at the Carlo brothers and sisters, "You two, together with the Lestrange brothers, take advantage of Break through the border defenses as the Ministry of Magic and the Order move their forces north and south. If all goes well, we'll have Ireland before summer."

"Of course, master." Amicto's nose fluttered excitedly, "Trust us, your power will penetrate every inch of Ireland before Easter."

The Dark Lord ignored his declaration, he looked around the long table: "Any more questions?"

"Master." Signus called softly, with a maniacal smile very similar to Bellatrix's on his handsome face, "I have some ideas for improving the Source of Life plan."

"I was going to start your plan in March, but, Signus, what new ideas do you have?"

The Dark Lord's question made everyone on the long table focus on Signus. They were very concerned and interested in the Source of Life project.Not entirely because the Dark Lord will have an army of Death Eaters trained since childhood, but because their personal dirty ideas will also be realized.

"I think the bloodline of a pure-blood family should be used more broadly." Signus said a little excitedly, "Therefore, I am willing to sacrifice my wife to further expand the bloodline."

His words elicited an extraordinary jolt like a pebble thrown into the lake, and Signus raised his voice to finish his proposal amidst an uncanny droning.Unsurprisingly, the vast majority showed either surprise or disgust, but Signus didn't care what the others thought, he was only concerned with the Dark Lord's attitude.

"Do you really think so?"

"Yes, master." Signus confirmed with a smile, "I believe this is also a great honor for Francis and Margaret."

Lucius' face was calm, but his hands were trembling slightly under the table.

"Francis and Margaret agreed to your proposal?"

"No." Signus admitted, "their attitude is not important, what is important is our great ambitions."

"Signus, are you trying to sell us your wife?" The Dark Lord laughed emotionlessly, and there was a chilling silence around the long table.

"It's not a 'sell', master." Signus said earnestly, "Francis failed your last good intention, and you can see his vacillation. But this is not the attitude we want, he must Do something more practical to prove his loyalty to us."

The Dark Lord's scarlet eyes fixed on Signus: "You are willing to give your wife for this? The woman you swore to spend the rest of your life with?"

"I only have you and our future in my heart."

"Speaking of the Source of Life Project," Evan Rozier abruptly intervened in their conversation, "Master, Cornelia also has some small suggestions for this."

"Oh?" A gleam of light flashed across the Dark Lord's eyes, "I thought Cornelia was not interested in this project."

"I personally think her ideas are worth practicing." Evan praised unceremoniously, "Cornelia thinks that we can expand the coverage of the source of life plan, and those who are preparing for death eaters or some marginal characters— For example, people who do things for us and don’t have a brand — that’s taken into account.”

A trace of hatred flickered in Signus' eyes.

"In addition, she also proposed... sorry, Signus, we didn't mean to be against you." Evan coughed lightly, "Cornelia also proposed to use the pairing mode instead of what Signus just said She believes that this can ensure the pure bloodline in the true sense, so that those ancient families will not be tarnished for no reason."

When Evan's words fell to the ground, many people around the long table gave approving glances.Obviously, Cornelia's idea was easier to swallow than Signus' extreme scenario.These Death Eaters haven't completely lost their minds, they still have a bit of shame.

"I can't make a decision lightly." The Dark Lord's eyes drifted between Evan and Signus for a moment, "Evan, ask Cornelia to give me a draft list; Signus, at the next meeting Bring Admiral Margaret, I want to see how much you care about the cause of the Death Eaters."

Signus' hanging heart fell to the ground safely because of the Dark Lord's words. He bowed his head and said yes, but ignored the Dark Lord's movement of stroking the snake's head, and he didn't notice Lucius' slightly pale face.

"I want to remind you again," the Dark Lord declared clearly, "our goal is this world, not just a mere England."

He didn't need anyone to support him, he was already laughing with his face up.

After dismissing the rest of the Death Eaters, the Dark Lord left Bellatrix alone.

"Master," she looked longingly at the Dark Lord, "what can I do for you?"

"Bella, I have something for you, you must put it away." The Dark Lord put a box on the table, opened it in front of Bella, and the things inside were shining with a unique golden light.

"Hufflepuff's golden cup?" Bella was stunned for a moment, then looked at her master in amazement, "Master, I thought it had been lost for a long time..."

"Acquired by chance. So you know its value well?" The Dark Lord reached out a long pale finger to touch the smooth rim of the golden cup.Bella withdrew her gaze from above, and replied in a low voice:

"Yes Master."

"Keep it carefully in Lestrange's vault, and keep it to no one but you."

Bella's eyes widened suddenly: "Master!"

"I trust you, Bella."

She almost fainted happily, with an ecstatic smile on her beautiful face: "I swear I will use my life to ensure its safety, Master!"

"Mix it with other similar gold cups and throw it in the vault in a mess, cast the Fire Charm and the Copying Charm, and let the dragons of Gringotts guard." The Dark Lord raised the golden cup and threw it lightly, Bella rushed over Catch it with both hands, "Don't let anyone know, Bella."

"Trust me, master."

"One more thing." The Dark Lord didn't care about the tears of gratitude in Bella's eyes, "After your cousin leaves Hogwarts, let him act by your side."

"what do you mean--"

"Give him what you have learned from me, Bella." The Dark Lord's voice gradually turned cold, "Father Avery and his son are a pair of useless, fortunately I have father and daughter Rozier who can replace them. However, Dear Bella, I still expect Blake to be a perfect sibling, if you know what I mean."

"Master, Regulus will definitely not let you down." Bella threw herself at the Dark Lord's feet and kissed his robe cape overjoyed. "You will see how talented he is..."

"Of course I know Regulus' ability, Bella." The Dark Lord played with the empty box casually, "Actually, I once imagined that Brother Black could work for me together, but now it seems that it is probably impossible."

"Master, Sirius is a disgrace to the Black family. Together with Andromeda, we don't recognize it." Bella clarified without hesitation, but the Dark Lord laughed:

"Don't talk so badly, Bella. If it's possible, I hope Sirius will change his mind and join us. After all, objectively speaking, your rebellious cousin is actually quite remarkable..." the Dark Lord whispered.He liked to see the complex web of blood-related relationships among the Death Eaters, and it would undoubtedly be the best thing if there were brothers Black in this web.

All will see that even noble, pure, old Black is willing to follow him.

- February 2 - Watson Manor

"This is a new batch of potions." Francis opened the box and let Signus see the neatly stacked crystal vials. In addition to the pale golden Elixir of Felicity and the colorless Veritaserum, there was also Two rows of crimson potions.Noticing Signus' gaze, Francis explained, "This is some enhanced blood tonic, which has been tested and works well. I'm not sure if the Dark Lord needs it. If he doesn't need it, you might as well keep it for yourself later." Prepare for emergencies."

"The Dark Lord will like it, Francis, he never hesitates to appreciate your potions." Signus took the box and flattered him intelligently, and Francis smiled nonchalantly.If he didn't know what was going on, he would never have guessed that Signus was so daring.A week ago, Lucius came to the door with a pale face. After he finished telling what happened, Francis almost thought Lucius was crazy!

He looked at Signus' face again, but he could hardly contain the hatred surging in his heart.Francis quickly looked away: "How is Maggie?"

"Everything is fine. She's been visiting Malfoy Manor a lot lately, but otherwise she's still in her room doing her own thing as usual."

Francis couldn't believe that he could still answer his words in such a calm manner, and Signus' expression seemed to be that he spent every day with Margaret, day and night.For a moment, Francis couldn't understand why he would marry his only daughter to this beast in front of him. A few years ago, he hated Sirius who ran away from home. Now it seems that he misjudged the person. slapped him hard.

"That's good." Francis smiled. Anyway, Signus will taste the bitter fruit soon, and he must cooperate with him to finish the scene. "See you later, Signus."

- December 2th - Hogwarts Castle

Cornelia walked into the bathroom like countless times before, and the annoying female ghost was really not there.She smiled at herself in the mirror and walked to the sink.

"Cornelia."

"Who?" She raised her wand aloft.

Cornelia froze after seeing the person coming.The effect of the Disillusionment Charm was slowly disappearing, Regulus walked towards her, he also held up his wand, his eyes showed suspicion: "What are you doing here?"

"Are you following me?" Cornelia asked knowingly.Regulus didn't deny it. He looked at this bathroom that no one would normally set foot in. Cornelia raised her eyebrows, "Who told you? Ollie?"

Regulus looked back at her: "Are you questioning me?"

"That's it."

Regulus took a step closer: "I originally thought that the two of us should be the closest allies, and there should be no such flamboyant and shady secrets between us. Since when did you stop treating me as your closest partner?"

Cornelia was about to refute, but suddenly choked up the moment she touched Regulus' eyes, and she saw a disappointed look similar to Olivia's.

"You guided me and encouraged me to take this path, and you didn't mind showing me your opal necklace at all. I thought it meant trust and fighting side by side, but it seems I was thinking too much." Regulus said Turning around, "What kind of black magic is so powerful that the Room of Requirement can't bear it? The practice place you've worked so hard to find is nothing special in my opinion."

"Of course it doesn't look special to you," Cornelia smiled faintly after regaining her composure, "I'm sorry, Regu, this is my personal..."

"You know, in a few months, you and I will become new members of the Death Eaters. We should be each other's most important teammates, right?" Regulus subtly reminded her of the complicated relationship of interests between them.

Cornelia's expression froze for a moment, and she forced a smile: "Of course I know."

"Then show me how amazing this bathroom is."

Under his semi-threatening attitude, Cornelia slowly put down the wand in her hand, and gave Regulus a dull look.She turned and walked to the sink, staring at the snake-shaped faucet, and made a hissing sound.

Regulus stared at the faucet, and for a moment he thought it was moving.But as Cornelia's voice fell to the ground, the faucet was covered in a brilliant white light and started to rotate in an instant.Immediately afterwards, the washstand also began to move: the sink sank, revealing a passage wide enough for one person to pass through.

"You speak Parseltongue?"

"Parseltongue can be learned the day after tomorrow." Cornelia lowered her eyes, "If you don't mind, let's go down and talk about it." She jumped into the passage first, followed by Regulus holding a wand.

It was a very long downward passage, and they slid down the passage uncontrollably.A few minutes later, they fell one after another on a ground scattered with rubble. Regulus got up and used his wand to illuminate the surroundings. The wet water marks on the stone wall told him that they were probably under the black lake.

"This is a secret room."

"Yes." Cornelia signaled him to follow her to a hidden stone door. She stared at the twisted snake on the door, made that hissing sound again, and the stone door opened.She walked in, and with a flick of her wand lit the candles on the walls on either side.Regulus found that it was an empty and huge hall with nothing in it, and at the other end of the hall was a huge statue.

"The statue of Salazar Slytherin." The ancient legend flashed through Regulus' mind, "Slytherin really left a secret room!"

"That's right." Cornelia took a few steps forward, "This place is very solid, and there are no other people, so I use this as a place to practice magic. I even suspect that no magic can destroy this secret room."

"Where did you learn the snake language?"

"It was an accident, Regu." Cornelia sighed softly, and told the whole story, "I went to meet the Dark Lord during the summer vacation after the fourth grade, and I was waiting outside the door separated by a wall. His summons. Just then, I heard him say a phrase in Parseltongue, which I inadvertently jotted down. Later, I was searching the castle for magic practice spots and stumbled into this washroom, where I The moment I saw that snake-shaped faucet, I suddenly wanted to try the Parseltongue that the Dark Lord spoke. So I tried to imitate the hissing sound, and then—” She waved her hand, “I just found here."

Regulus' heart skipped a beat, and he knew that the Parseltongue that Cornelia heard was probably "open".His mind was spinning fast, trying to connect the fragmented clues at hand: "You hid this from everyone. Because you doubted that we—Ollie and I—would tell Signus?"

"That's up to me, Regu. Signus has bad intentions for me, and I must be on guard." Cornelia argued, "Even you have only recently become suspicious of Signus, haven't you? ?”

"I doubt that Signus happened last year, when you said he was willing to trade his marriage for his future." Regulus said coldly, "What reason do I have to continue to trust him? I Not a fool."

"Signus' blow is coming soon." Cornelia mumbled, she hesitated for a moment, "Regu, to be honest, what kind of person do you think Edmund Parkinson is?"

"I hardly talked to him." Regulus asked back, "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, I just think he's very...forget it." Cornelia shrugged, "I wonder if you're interested in seeing what I've learned?"

"of course."

Cornelia murmured a series of spells, and a purple flame shot forward from the tip of her wand, and the burnt marble floor suddenly turned black.Regulus watched her movements absently. He had always known that Cornelia had learned a lot from her father, but that was too much.

"Do you know of any transparent, colorless and odorless potions that are extremely painful to drink?" Regulus asked suddenly.

Cornelia put down her wand: "I'm not a potion expert, but there are many drugs that fit your description." She turned her head to look at Regulus curiously, who shrugged:

"Just curious."

"You don't seem to care much about learning black magic?" Cornelia blinked, "If necessary, you can come here with me to practice magic spells."

Regulus was not a simple and innocent person like Olivia, he knew very well that her retreat was not because of their friendship.

"Put it down, I won't tell anyone," he promised. "How's your necklace going?"

"No progress." Cornelia's expression turned slightly cold, "It's not just one material, but many subsequent materials that I can't find."

"You will find a way." Regulus said perfunctorily, "I'm currently researching some ancient legends, if you are interested, you may wish to join."

"You don't believe the story of the Deathly Hallows, do you?" Cornelia drew in the void with her wand, "That's false."

"No, I was thinking of something else. You know we can extract memories and store them, but is there any possibility that a person can extract a part of their soul and store them?"

Cornelia stopped, her eyebrows knit together: "As far as I know, there is no such magic."

"So I'm studying ancient legends."

"In any case, it should be a very profound... black magic." Cornelia pondered for a moment, "Even if this kind of magic really existed, it should have been lost for many years, otherwise we couldn't have heard of it. "

"Sometimes it's interesting to study these things." Regulus smiled casually, and changed the topic seamlessly, "Speaking of which, Crouch has been looking in your direction lately—"

"Oh, don't mention that." Cornelia interrupted him angrily, "I'm not interested in these things now."

"In any case, don't miss this opportunity." Regulus said jokingly.

The author has something to say:

Note:

1. Igor Karkarov: Judging from his later performance, I personally think that he must have been "coerced and lured" to join.

2. Cornelia let down her vigilance after Marauder, Signus and others left the school, so she didn't check out Regulus' Disillusionment Charm.

3. Besides friendship, there are interests between Regulus and Cornelia.

4. Cornelia can only speak Parseltongue, so she doesn't know and can't summon the Basilisk.

5. Cornelia's necklace cannot be produced in a short time.

6. Regulus doesn't yet know that the locket is a Horcrux, but he's clearly getting closer to the truth.

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