Hogwarts: Starting as a Serpent Demon

Turning the Resurrection Stone into a Horcrux, Dumbledore couldn't help but admire Voldemort's ingenious thinking.

“At the Gaunt family’s ancestral home,” Kingsley stepped forward and explained. “A Muggle was killed there with a Killing Curse. We suspected it was a premeditated murder, and after searching for a long time, we unexpectedly discovered powerful protective magic at the Gaunt family’s ancestral home.”

"So we organized a team to find a way to break through the protection and found the ring."

"The ring was shrouded in an extremely powerful curse that ordinary magic could not destroy. Corito was killed by the curse while examining the ring."

"After it was brought back, a member of the Department of Mysteries, Merry, was killed by the backlash of the cursed power when he tried to destroy the ring."

"We had no other choice, so we asked you to come."

Ordinary dark magic has no effect on Horcruxes, and as for Fiendfire, the Aurors wouldn't be foolish enough to unleash it at the Ministry of Magic.

It should be noted that Fiendfire absorbs the magic power of dark magic items after consuming them, becoming even more powerful. The curse on this ring is so strong that no one can guarantee that his Fiendfire will remain under his control after consuming it.

Fiendfire is an extremely difficult magic to control. If the Ministry of Magic were to be burned down accidentally, even if only a small part of it were burned, it would be a serious offense.

With the all-powerful Dumbledore around, there's no need to take this risk.

Rather than setting fire to the temple, they chose to go to Hogwarts and ask Dumbledore for help.

Snape was the only one at Hogwarts today. After recounting the whole story to the Ministry of Magic, Snape, realizing the gravity of the matter, immediately set off to find Dumbledore and brought him to the Ministry of Magic.

“Professor Dumbledore,” Kingsley asked in a low voice, “is this ring truly that person’s Horcrux?”

“It’s not certain yet,” Dumbledore said without hesitation. “I need to take it back and study it carefully.”

Dumbledore was certain that if he dared to say that this was Voldemort's Horcrux, the Ministry of Magic would be in an uproar and would have to destroy it on the spot, at any cost.

There's a chance a bunch of people will attack this ring with Fiery Blaze.

If we can destroy Voldemort's Horcruxes and kill him completely, it would be worth it, even if it meant burning down part of the Ministry of Magic, or even the entire Ministry.

The Horcrux of an ordinary dark wizard and the Horcrux of the Dark Lord are not even in the same league.

Dumbledore could not possibly allow the Ministry of Magic to destroy the Resurrection Stone, so he chose to lie.

Upon hearing Dumbledore say he would take it back to confirm, Kingsley chose to believe him without hesitation.

The ring was carefully placed in a fairy-crafted box that could block magic, and solemnly handed to Dumbledore.

On the way back.

Snape asked coldly, "Dumbledore, this is his Horcrux, isn't it? Why don't you destroy it? What are you thinking?"

“I noticed you’ve been staring at the stone in the ring ever since I started talking about it. What is it?”

Unlike others who blindly trust Dumbledore, Snape preferred to think for himself. He would listen to Dumbledore if his words made sense, and he would also question them if they were problematic.

He did not blindly follow Dumbledore.

Clearly, Dumbledore is definitely up to something at this point, and Snape needs to know why.

“A keen eye,” Dumbledore praised. “Severus, perhaps you should have noticed that peculiar symbol on this ring.”

Snape thought about it carefully for a moment, then his expression changed drastically.

"The Deathly Hallows, the Resurrection Stone."

As if by some strange twist of fate, Snape also reached out his hand.

Fortunately, Dumbledore wasn't as vengeful as him and didn't retaliate. Instead, he chose to place the box containing the Resurrection Stone into his hands.

“Severus,” Dumbledore warned in a low voice, “The Resurrection Stone cannot truly resurrect the dead; it is, as legend says, the malice of Death.”

"Don't let death blind you."

Given that you just reached out your hand, and considering your behavior, your words now have no persuasive power whatsoever.

Snape glanced at Dumbledore speechlessly, then quickly took the box.

Horcruxes, resurrection stones—looks like I'm going to be busy for a while.

Seeing Snape's anxious look, Dumbledore gave him another instruction.

"Resist the temptation of death, do not dwell on the past, Severus."

“I know.” Snape turned and walked away.

Snape felt that Dumbledore had no right to criticize him based on his performance just now.

At the beginning of the second year, the Gryffindor sword had not yet absorbed the basilisk's venom and could not break through the Horcrux's defenses. Other methods would easily destroy the Resurrection Stone as well.

Dumbledore himself had to keep an eye on Harry and investigate the Blood Pact.

Moreover, he vaguely sensed that something was wrong. What kind of place was Gaunt's old house? It was just a dilapidated house. Although it had some sentimental value, it was obviously not enough for Voldemort to put his only Horcrux there.

Unless, Dumbledore remembered Slughorn and had some vague guesses in his mind.

He needs to verify it.

Let Snape make this ring; he'll enjoy it anyway.

***

At the same time, in a dark wizard's underground tavern in England, the Invisible Beast Tavern.

As its name suggests, this tavern is invisible, not only to Muggles but also to wizards; only those wearing special glasses can see it.

The tavern owner, Pukchi, stared in shock at the metal parts inside Rozier's box.

"You went to rob Gringotts."

“These are magic silver metals made by Daryl, and they even bear his mark.” Pukchi stroked each piece one by one, his tone filled with disbelief.

"If this thing were taken to Fandao Alley, it could fetch an astronomical price."

"How did you do that?"

Rozier grinned and said, "Of course, I whipped that old guy and forced him to forge it for me."

“I never knew you had a sense of humor. Everyone knows Daryl died twenty years ago,” Pukki teased Rozier, asking curiously.

"More than a hundred fairy silver parts crafted by Master Daryl. You probably came here for more than just to make a door key."

Even if he tries to use it as luxuriously as possible, he can only use a maximum of five keys to make one door key.

Generally speaking, three is more than enough, and two is the norm.

This box of fairy silver is worth at least 100,000 Galleons.

Moreover, there is no market for it despite its high price.

Daryl died, and his items became rare treasures, naturally driving up their prices.

“I want to pull off something big.” Rozier tapped the table and said calmly, “Someone asked me for help, to stall the Ministry of Magic for a while.”

"These are just deposits."

"I want to use this money to recruit some dark wizards, the stronger the better."

Rozier never intended for just the two of them to attack the Ministry of Magic. Even if the undead summoned by Witt were powerful, the Ministry of Magic wasn't stupid; they wouldn't mobilize all their forces for just two dark wizards.

Therefore, the more people the better, in order to attract the attention of the entire Ministry of Magic.

Buy time for Witt.

Chapter 85 No gambler loses every day.

"You're insane if you're going to go against the Ministry of Magic."

Pukch growled incredulously, "Do you know what the consequences of doing this are?"

"The Aurors are not beings that can be dealt with by simply gathering a group of dark wizards."

The Aurors, as the regular army inherited by the Ministry of Magic, are vastly different in strength from the ragtag forces like the Dark Wizards.

Unless you have an exceptionally powerful wizard on your side, like Voldemort, provoking the Ministry of Magic is simply courting death.

Pukert really couldn't understand why Rozier, at his age, was still so impulsive and irrational.

"Everyone has to take a gamble in their life," Rozier said calmly. "I've just staked the rest of my life on it."

“No gambler loses every day. My Rozier family should win at least once.”

"Even if I lose in the end, my crippled body won't be at a loss."

“What are you saying?” Pukchi didn’t understand Rozier’s words.

“That’s not important.” Rozier pushed the box in his hand forward and said in a low voice, “I pay you to do the work. We’re old friends, so I don’t need to repeat the rules, right?”

Seeing Rozier's resolute attitude, Pukchi sighed and said nothing more.

“You don’t mind using a werewolf wizard, do you?” Pukchi said in a low voice. “After all, it’s the Ministry of Magic; ordinary wizards probably wouldn’t dare to take on this kind of task.”

"If you dare to come, that's fine," Rozier said nonchalantly.

There are very few people in the entire magical world who don't care about the identity of a werewolf wizard. This has nothing to do with character or personality. Werewolf wizards are an uncontrollable and huge source of danger, and they are also highly contagious.

Most normal people would not want to work with a werewolf wizard.

Even in the dark wizarding world, werewolf wizards are at the very bottom, only able to do the dirtiest jobs.

If given a choice, no one would seek out a werewolf wizard.

Of course, compared to legitimate jobs in the legitimate world, no one would dare to withhold wages from werewolf wizards working in the underworld. Werewolf wizards in the underworld are outlaws by nature, and if you dare to withhold money, they would dare to come to your house on the night of the full moon.

So although they are equally unpopular, werewolf wizards who are mixed with the dark side are at least much better off in terms of wealth.

For example, a job like Rozier's is something that only a few reckless wizards and werewolf wizards would dare to take on, except for a few who are willing to risk their lives.

After finalizing all the details with Pukic and signing the contract, Rozier opted to pay in full.

After this job is done, Pukchi will most likely have to go to Azkaban to find him. As an old friend of many years, Rozier has no reason to renege on this small amount of money.

***

Six o'clock in the evening, at the Black family home.

Vito went to the toilet thirteen times, growing impatient.

Although he had already received the pendant and waiting a little longer wouldn't hurt, he had arrived at around 10 a.m. and had been waiting until 6 p.m., and Regulus was still dawdling.

They insisted on giving their house a thorough cleaning before they were willing to leave.

Witt strongly suspected that he might have obsessive-compulsive disorder, a very severe kind of obsessive-compulsive disorder.