Snape, the Sunshine of Hogwarts

If we don't agree, and he really brings back the Dark Lord, then we're doomed!

Now, if Severus really does know the whereabouts of the Dark Lord...

Especially if the Dark Lord is in a very weak period and desperately needs help from others, then they...

They're about to become incredibly wealthy!

Crouch, Lestrange!

They are all a bunch of fools who do unwise things for the sake of so-called blind loyalty.

These are the truly loyal and reliable servants of the Dark Lord!

Of course, this is on the premise that the Dark Lord is still alive. If the Dark Lord is really dead, and Severus can prove it, then they can also refuse Barty Jr. and continue to enjoy their privileged life.

The key question is whether Severus can actually produce any evidence!

What proof do you have?

Lucius spoke on behalf of everyone else.

Words alone are not enough; even memories can be altered with magic. Severus must produce some concrete evidence that can convince everyone here!

However, Severus did not answer the question directly, but instead asked it in return.

"Lucius, the Dark Lord once gave you a blank diary, didn't he?"

Lucius certainly wouldn't forget this; the diary was given to him by the Dark Lord himself for safekeeping.

He never dared to touch the diary, but he could sense that it was an extremely powerful dark magic item.

So many years have passed, and the Dark Lord has yet to return to the magical world. Lucius is increasingly inclined to believe that the Dark Lord is actually dead.

In recent years, the Aurors have been scrutinizing dark magic items more and more strictly, and Lucius felt that it wouldn't be long before he would have to find a way to deal with this diary.

And this matter was known to absolutely no one except Lucius himself and the Dark Lord!

Even his wife Narcissa and son Draco didn't know where the diary came from!

Upon hearing Severus mention this, Lucius instinctively clenched his fists, a look of astonishment flashing in his eyes.

"The Dark Lord really did speak with you privately!"

From his reaction, the other pure-blood wizards also noticed something.

This is clearly true, and it was originally a secret that only Lucius and the Dark Lord knew!

Severus simply smiled.

"Go and get that diary; it's the key to finding the Dark Lord."

Lucius left in a hurry.

He wouldn't let his house-elves touch something like that.

Lucius didn't keep the people in the reception room waiting for long; in less than ten minutes, he returned carrying a black-covered diary.

"This is something my former master entrusted to me for safekeeping. He said that only I knew of its existence and that I should take good care of it."

Lucius took a deep breath and placed the diary on the long table in the middle.

The pure-blood wizards sat on either side of the long table, their eyes fixed on the diary. From the outside, it looked nothing out of the ordinary; it resembled a Muggle artifact.

At this moment, Severus had already arrived at the diary.

"Could you bring me another quill pen, Lucius?"

His request was quickly fulfilled, and a bottle of ink and a quill pen were presented to him.

So, in front of all the pure-blood wizards present, Severus turned to a page in his diary.

The page was blank, with no words on it, until Severus picked up his quill pen, which was full of ink, and wrote a line on it.

Mr. Tom Riddle, we've finally found you!

After the dark green ink was written, it was slowly absorbed by the pages until all the letters disappeared.

About four or five seconds later, a new piece of text appeared out of thin air on it!

Who are you?

The person who reacted the most after seeing this line was Nott!

He was one of the earliest Slytherin students to follow Voldemort, a veteran of the Death Eaters, and a Hogwarts student of the same era as Voldemort!

Therefore, he was extremely familiar with the line of text that appeared out of nowhere; it was the Dark Lord's handwriting from his student days!

“Master! It’s me! I am your most loyal servant, Stuart Nott!”

Nott suddenly knelt on the ground, prostrate, his whole body trembling.

His actions startled the other pure-blood wizards as well.

Besides Nott, other people who had entered Hogwarts around the same time as Voldemort also recognized the handwriting and knelt down.

Some of the others were still at a loss, while others had doubts about the diary and were not sure if the person who replied was really Voldemort himself!

Even according to Lucius, no one outside the family knew of the diary's existence before he took it out.

But is it possible that this was all a staged performance by Lucius and Severus?

They were in cahoots from the start!

While the pure-blood wizards reacted differently, Severus simply looked at Nott, who had spoken first, and said calmly.

"This diary contains the owner's memories before the age of 16. As long as it exists and the memories inside haven't disappeared, it means the owner is truly still alive! But to communicate with the owner in the diary, the only way for now is by writing things down. The diary can't hear or see what we say or what we're doing!"

Clearly, Severus only revealed half the truth of the diary.

At the same time, Severus gestured for the kneeling pure-blood wizards to stand up.

“You were among the first to follow our master, and you recognize his handwriting. He will surely recognize you when he was 16. Come, greet him and let him know that his loyal servants have found him!”

Without hesitation, Nott was the first to get up from the ground.

As a former classmate of Voldemort, he was indeed one of the people who followed Voldemort the longest and the earliest. When Voldemort returned to Hogwarts after graduation to apply for a position in the Defense Against the Dark Arts, he was by Voldemort's side!

He took the quill from Severus, his hand trembling uncontrollably as he wrote on the blank paper.

[Master! It's me! Can you still recognize my handwriting?]

The words were quickly absorbed by the diary, and the next second, a name with a questioning tone appeared.

Are you Stuart Nott?

Nott was extremely excited. Holding the quill, he wanted to write to the diary about his years of loyalty, how he had endured the accusations from the Ministry of Magic, and how he had silently endured hardship while waiting for the Ministry's return.

However, other impatient people had already snatched the quill pen from his hand!

【And me! And my master! Do you still remember me?】

Julius Rozier?

Looking at the consciousness in the newspaper, they could really recognize all of their former elders just by the handwriting. The pure-blood wizards who had now consciously reverted to their Death Eater identities were even more excited and thrilled!

They rushed to grab the quill pen, hoping that the Riddle in the diary would recognize them, thus demonstrating their loyalty in bringing the Dark Lord back first!

But as Severus said, this diary only contains the Dark Lord's memories up to the age of 16.

Only those Death Eaters who were his classmates and close friends could be recognized; the diary indicated that he did not recognize those who joined later, such as Lucius, Goyle, and Crabbe.

After these people had completed their verification and were almost convinced of what Severus had said, they wanted to continue communicating with Riddle in the diary.

Severus suddenly slammed the diary shut, stopping the others from doing anything.

"Everyone, this diary can certainly serve as proof of the Dark Lord's loyalty to us, but it only contains the Dark Lord's memories before he was 16 years old. It can only show that the Dark Lord is not dead and is still alive, but it cannot completely replace the Dark Lord himself!"

The Death Eaters looked at Severus, who was holding the diary in his hand, and their breathing became rapid.

"What do you want to say?"

someone asked.

Severus announced loudly.

"We can use this diary to find the real Dark Lord!"

Chapter 108 They've contributed both money and effort! We are their most loyal subjects!

Clearly, at this point, Severus had completely seized control of the discourse among everyone present.

He proved that he did know many secrets that others did not, and he also successfully used the diary to prove that he had an intimate relationship with the Dark Lord that no one else knew about!

This is so much better than Batistuta!

When Barty the Younger came to them, he had absolutely no evidence to prove that the Dark Lord was not dead.

They couldn't even come up with convincing clues about where the Dark Lord was.

But Severus was different.

Before this diary was brought out, his so-called "we are the true loyal servants of the Dark Lord" was nothing but self-deception.

However, once they confirmed that the diary contained a part of the Dark Lord's will, they had a legitimate reason to act!

Their compromise and feigned obedience to the Ministry of Magic meant that escaping punishment was no longer an act of betrayal, but rather an act of following the will of the Dark Lord's diary, preserving their strength, and demonstrating loyalty!

They made a strong claim!

And this was something Severus brought to them.

Now that Severus claims he can use this diary to find the missing Dark Lord, his words are undoubtedly more credible!

The Death Eaters' faces revealed barely concealed excitement.

Just as Lucius was suppressing his excitement and preparing to ask Severus for more details...

A sobbing sound suddenly came from upstairs.

His son, Draco Malfoy, ran down the stairs with a bruised and swollen face!

"That damn mudblood! He hit me! He hit my dad!"

All eyes in the reception room turned toward Draco.

Everyone looked displeased; they were discussing a crucial matter, and no one should disturb them!

Severus glanced at Harry, who was following behind Draco, and after making eye contact with him to make sure he hadn't been taken advantage of, he calmly sat down in his chair and said with a cold smile.

"Lucius, it seems your upbringing is rather poor. I'm certain Dudley's parents were both wizards, yet he's subjected to such insults for no reason!"

Lucius's face was also gloomy.

He was heartbroken that his son had been beaten, but he was also unhappy that Draco had caused trouble at this time.

"Go back to your room! Get along well with Dudley! If you think you're right, then fight back with your fists instead of running over here crying and embarrassing me!"

Draco stared at Lucius in astonishment.

He had been pampered since childhood and had never heard his father reprimand him so harshly.

Draco felt even more aggrieved. He gritted his teeth and didn't say anything more. Instead, he turned and ran to the master bedroom on the third floor, obviously to complain to his mother, Narcissa.

"It's alright, Dudley. We don't need to take his words to heart. He's just a child who doesn't understand things. Go to the garden and find Lupin. Ask him to get you some dry bread. You can try feeding the peacocks."

Severus spoke calmly to Harry.

Harry nodded, noticing only a few claw marks on his hands from Draco's struggles, with no other injuries.

"Of course I won't take his words to heart, teacher."

After saying that, he came down the stairs and went out to the garden to find Lupin.

The atmosphere became somewhat quiet after the children's matter was interrupted, but soon the Carlo siblings took the initiative to resume what Severus had not finished saying.

"How do you plan to find the Dark Lord?"

Severus didn't speak directly this time; he just spoke slowly.

"I can't tell you this now. I can only ask you why you went through so much trouble and squandered your fortune to escape being imprisoned in Azkaban, while I was simply saved by Dumbledore?"

His words successfully silenced the reception room once again.

Because Severus was telling the truth.

Everyone was trying to escape punishment, but they had to find someone to pay for it, while Severus seemed to have paid nothing and was saved by Dumbledore, even becoming a professor and headmaster at Hogwarts!