Hogwarts doesn't need a savior

“It would be better,” Voldemort said each word slowly.

He had no feelings for old Riddle and wished he didn't have this biological father, but that didn't mean he would be indifferent to the theft of the bones.

This is not only a failure of resurrection, but also a loss of dignity.

He doubted everything, and the look he gave the man in black robe became intriguing.

"If I wanted to hide it, you wouldn't have such a guess." The black-robed man said calmly, "But I don't intend to do so, for a simple reason. We are looking for collaborators, not enemies or stupid burdens."

"That makes sense." Voldemort nodded slightly and leaned towards Bella. "Continue with your plan."

"Find a replacement for the bone, and then draw the boy's blood again when the time is right."

"Tsk!" Bella said disdainfully, "I thought it was some great plan. Who doesn't know this?"

"Simplicity is effective," said the man in black robe, "because I will find a substitute and it won't arouse suspicion." He deliberately added emphasis here, strong and confident.

“Not enough.” Voldemort pointed his finger, and the unconscious old Barty Crouch floated into the air. “I want you to pry open his mouth and get the information I need.”

He has tried many methods in the past half month, but none of them worked on old Batty. He is a veteran and torture does not work on him.

“That won’t do.” The man in black robes refused decisively. “I only care about resurrection.” He stared at Voldemort. “Everything has its price.”

“…Make an offer.”

"It's easy, just join us."

"Join you?" Voldemort sneered. "Do you think the great Voldemort is also a rat in the gutter?"

"We never hide, Riddle." The black-robed man's voice became chilling. "It's just that most of the time we don't need to show up."

"Oh?"

"Although you are a fragile human being, you have ideals that match ours, which is why we are willing to make an exception and allow you to join as a true partner."

"Fragile humans..." Voldemort said in a bad tone, "Then what are you?"

"We are gods, immortal gods."

His calm tone carried an undisguised arrogance, and as he spoke, his hood opened, revealing a hairy wolf head.

Voldemort instinctively showed disgust and rejection.

"Human life is but a moment, but we are different," the wolf-headed man said, "because we are unique gods. You can call me Nox, or you can use the name humans call me, Anubis."

Voldemort said nothing, but gave him a scrutinizing look.

Being well versed in the history of magic, he naturally knew about the Jackal God, but he had no respect for him at all, even though he did feel quite powerful magic.

Although not as powerful as he was at his peak, he still had a strange fluctuation and his strength was definitely not bad - just like that damn Mudblood brat.

And it's not like he had never heard of these monsters, those stories were passed down by word of mouth among a few dark wizards.

"It seems that those idiots back then were not just talking nonsense because they were drunk." He said slowly.

The wolf-headed man who called himself Nox chuckled and said, "I believe that you who pursue immortality will make a wise choice."

“How do you prove it?” asked Voldemort.

"Proof... That's a problem." Knox seemed to be stumped by the question, and his ferocious wolf head showed human confusion. "But do I really need to prove anything?"

This answer made Voldemort feel angry.

"If you think there's no need for proof, then I'm going to use my own method to verify whether you're truly unkillable."

"You can try, but with all due respect, if you do, the result will not make any difference, and your path to resurrection will be blocked forever." Knox said wisely, "Don't think I don't know your original plan."

This is a complete threat rather than a deal, and it also serves as a wake-up call to Voldemort's inner thoughts.

"What can I gain by joining you?"

Forced by the situation, Voldemort relented.

"A wise choice," Knox said. "You can be reborn and learn the secret of eternal life. As long as you are valuable and your strength can help - we respect the strong and our friends."

This short sentence expresses two completely opposite attitudes, but it does not seem abrupt at all. Instead, every word and sentence reveals a natural sense of self-consistency.

Voldemort held his breath and stared at the animal head that looked like a cross between a wolf and a dog, which he instinctively hated.

"Damn it, Master, let us...!"

Bella angrily tried to attack, but was held down forcefully.

The scarlet eyes revealed crazy anger, but it was forcibly suppressed by reason.

By chance, Voldemort knew that what Dumbledore said about destroying his Horcruxes was not false, and that more than one of his Horcruxes had been destroyed - he had been to a place that made him feel desperate.

If the resurrection is successful, he can still fight back, but it is impossible with his current weak body.

He knew very well that these aliens must have disgusting conspiracies in their heads, the kind that would make even the most morally-free dark wizards feel sick.

But he had no choice, because he couldn't find a new solution.

"If you can restore my soul and help me create new Horcruxes, I can consider joining."

"That's right." Knox's wolf head showed a bright smile, "I hope we can have a pleasant cooperation, Mr. Riddle. I will bring you good news and come to you when I need you. See you next time. Keep it safe."

Before he finished speaking, the person disappeared. It was not an apparition, but rather some innate instinct.

The black onyx ring fell to the ground and rolled forward, and the ancient symbols engraved on it could be vaguely seen.

Voldemort's face turned frighteningly dark.

As the self-proclaimed greatest wizard, he never thought that he would be threatened like this. His opponents were not even humans, but monsters.

This was the greatest humiliation he had ever experienced, and it was also a heavy blow to him as he had hoped to rob his fellow criminals after his successful resurrection.

But he could only grit his teeth and accept it in order to get rid of this weak body and regain his peak strength.

"Bati," he said, trying to control his broken body, "bring me the unicorn's blood."

He knew how terrible the curse was, but he couldn't care less about it now.

Only strength is the greatest capital, even if it is just a temporary solution to quench thirst.

He wouldn't believe these monsters who were not of my kind.

What’s more, they are some bastards who claim to be gods.

Barty lowered his head respectfully, dug out a glass bottle from the corner of the cave, and trotted to Voldemort.

When passing by his unconscious father, he didn't even look at him twice, but his eyes were a little deep and empty.

He drank large gulps of bright red blood, the magic and the curse interacted with each other - Voldemort regained some strength, but also paid a price that he would regret in the long run.

He broke free from Bella's support and straightened his back with force, as if he had temporarily added some bones in his body.

"We must remember today," he said hoarsely, "Remember the day when these beasts took advantage of us and Dumbledore drove us around like a stray dog." He completely forgot that he had wanted to burn his bridges from the beginning.

"Master..." Bella choked.

"There is no time to waste. We must find those servants who are still useful and take action."

Chapter 419 Malfoy's Choice

The night of August 8 was clear and cloudless.

The cold moonlight poured down from the window, falling on the pale faces of Lucius Malfoy, his wife and children.

They were awakened from their sleep near dawn. The first thing they saw when they opened their eyes was Voldemort in a black robe. They were so scared that they almost fainted.

Lucius, in particular, was almost scared to death as he thought Voldemort would never make a real comeback.

But in front of his wife and son, he still forced himself to muster up the courage, took the initiative to walk up to Voldemort, prostrated himself on the ground respectfully, and called out "Master".

"Lucius," Voldemort's voice was still hoarse, without any emotion, no joy or anger could be heard, "You have lived a very good life these years, a guest of honor at the Ministry of Magic, and even Dumbledore is wary of your influence. Have you completely forgotten that I am still waiting for you in the distant mountains and forests?"

"Master... I don't know, I don't know where you are, otherwise I would be the first one to rush over!" Lucius said tremblingly, "But I haven't been idle all these years. I have been dormant, and so have Crabbe and Goyle! We are all waiting for your return, waiting for your order!"

As he spoke, he recounted with tears and snot how he had been oppressed and bullied over the years, completely devoid of his usual arrogance and indifference.

But in order to save the lives of his family, he did not care about anything else and spoke with tears streaming down his face, full of true feelings.

It’s a pity that Voldemort was completely unmoved.

"This is different from what I heard." The scarlet eyes exuded icy warmth. "Maybe it was a few years ago, that Mudblood boy and that stupid woman Barnold were in partnership. But after Fudge took over, your life couldn't get any better. You even felt that it was good for me not to come back."

"We never dared to think so, Master!" Narcissa gritted her teeth and knelt on the ground sadly. While speaking, she did not forget to secretly glance at Bella who was standing next to Voldemort.

The sisters' appearance made her feel indescribably weird, and Draco was trembling even more.

But Bella seemed very satisfied with her appearance at the moment, which was a symbol of loyalty.

“It is better that you don’t,” said Voldemort.

"Master, I don't think they dare." After all, they were her own sisters. Seeing that they were almost scared, Bella took the initiative to speak, "Even if they really want to betray the master, Dumbledore and that damn mudblood will not let them go."

"That's right, that's right! We are irreconcilable with Eric! It's just that we are no match for him."

Lucius immediately hugged Voldemort's thighs, feeling the soft and greasy touch, his heart was shocked, but on the surface he pretended to be very lifelike, with a face full of fear and trepidation.

“When you say you are irreconcilable with him, do you mean you want to send the thing I gave you to keep to Hogwarts and let them destroy it completely?” Voldemort glared with murderous eyes.

"That was...that was an accident, Master!" Lucius was about to cry. This was the hardest thing for him to explain. He could find excuses for everything else, but not this one.

At the critical moment, it was his son who was quick-witted, squeezed past his mother, and said tremblingly: "Great...great Dark Lord, we didn't give it to them on our own initiative. It was Arthur Weasley who took the initiative to fight with my father and lost it in the chaos!"

"Arthur Weasley?" Voldemort narrowed his eyes and turned to look at Bella and Barty. "Is that true?"

He couldn't use Legilimency on Draco in front of Lucius. After all, he still needed the Malfoy family, and he knew very well how much Lucius valued his family.

Barty remained noncommittal, but Bellatrix said seriously, "That Potter boy is very close to the Weasley family of pure-blood traitors, just like the Mudblood and Longbottom were very close back then!"

Barty still stood there with his hands in his sleeves, not saying a word, but looking at the Malfoy father and son with a somewhat intriguing look.

Seeing that his most loyal subordinate was speaking with such conviction, Voldemort nodded and said to Lucius, "Even if it was an unintentional mistake, it is still a great sin. What are you going to do next, my friend?"

"As long as it is a task assigned by the master, the Malfoy family will give everything they have!" Lucius did not dare to be vague and was even about to swear.

“Maybe… but it doesn’t matter.” Voldemort stretched out his unusually long fingers towards Lucius’ arm, where the Dark Mark was located. He was so scared that he trembled all over, but stopped at the moment before touching him.

"Tell me, if I really activate it, how many people would dare to come to me now?" Voldemort asked lazily, "Or, who would not come because of fear of Dumbledore and that mudblood boy?"

The pale snake face looked down at the Malfoy family, its scarlet eyes revealing cruelty and indifference.

"Those fools betrayed their master back then, and I'm afraid they won't serve their master sincerely now." Batty said in a deep voice, looking much more rational than Bella. "But we should give them some time to let these opportunists have a chance to reflect on their behavior."

"Well said, Barty." Voldemort showed a grim smile, "Although they are not loyal at all, unlike you and Bella, but after all, they are useful, right? I will look forward to their return to our family."

"Lucius, do you know what you should do?" Bellatrix asked coldly.

"I...of course! I will contact everyone you wish to meet for the Master!"

"Very good, Lucius, my friend." Voldemort said lazily, his red eyes fixed on him, "Tell everyone who swore to be loyal to me forever that I am not dead, and I have returned. Do you understand?"

"Understood, my Lord." Lucius remained motionless in his prostrate position. "I believe their loyalty will not waver."

"It would be better if this were the case - especially before they pay off their debts of thirteen years." Voldemort said softly, "Until then, there will be no forgiveness or pardon, but Voldemort will never wrong anyone who has helped him. Go ahead."

He stood up from his seat and walked away, escorted by Batty and Bella.

He walked very slowly, so slowly that it seemed as if every step was stepping on the hearts of the Malfoy family, and seemed to be knocking on Lucius's head, which was quite active.

When he reached the door, he stopped and turned to look at the family of three who dared not move or speak.

"Bella will contact you in the future when I think it's necessary."

"Yes, Master." Bella looked happy.

Batty shook his head: "Master, Bella's appearance is too conspicuous. It is difficult to change it with permanent transformation. But if we cover it up, there will be a risk of attracting attention."

"Barti, you!" Bella glared. Even though she knew that Barty was a Death Eater as loyal as herself, she was still very unhappy with this behavior of stealing the credit.

But Voldemort liked his subordinates competing for his favor, so after a moment's thought and a look at Bella and Narcissa, he made a decision.

"What Barty said makes sense, but we can make some adjustments. From now on, I'll let you contact Lucius. Bella is hiding with the Disillusionment Charm. You two can act together so that you can look after each other."

Together, they would benefit equally. This was his decision.

"Yes, Master!"

Barty's face was filled with joy, and he looked at Bella provocatively, earning a round of gnashing glares in return.

Lucius was confused by this - he didn't understand why Crouch, who had hardly any dealings with his family, was determined to take on this job and was wary of him.