Volume 5: The Burning Golden Flame Chapter 422 Voldemort's Choice
There was a sense of scrutiny in Barty Jr. 's eyes, as if he was patiently waiting to see what choice Voldemort would make in response to this condition.
There was a hint of surprise on Voldemort's face when he heard Dumbledore's words. He obviously had not expected that he would put forward such a condition.
But soon the surprise disappeared and he became cold and gloomy again.
"Do you think I will just give in again and again, Dumbledore?"
Dumbledore looked at him quietly. The previous Voldemort would never say such words if he encountered such a situation.
If he has more than a 50% chance of defeating Dumbledore, he will overturn the table without hesitation and talk about it after the fight. If he feels that he does not even have a 50% chance of winning, he will use more sophisticated means to propose other more tempting conditions so that Dumbledore will have to give up this request.
Or just put on a show and let Barty Jr. and Snape make the choice to sacrifice willingly.
Faced with such conditions, Voldemort originally had many options to choose from, but anyone with a discerning eye could see that his words now were actually a threat to Dumbledore: This was enough, and he would agree to this condition, but this was the only one.
"Just like it was you who took the initiative to propose the Triwizard Tournament, so you had to give more. Now that you still want peace, you also need to make more sacrifices."
“How much do you mean by some?” Voldemort said coldly, “If you also ask me to surrender, should I accept it?”
Dumbledore shook his head seriously.
"I promise this is the last one. As long as you agree, you can take your people away from here. How about I make another promise myself? As long as the British Ministry of Magic belongs to you, I will not bring my students back to this castle."
Jon knew that Dumbledore was actually playing a little trick here.
Now according to the bet of the Triwizard Tournament, after they win, Hogwarts Castle will of course belong to them, but the castle is not like a carriage that can move around, it still belongs to the United Kingdom, and today's Britain is still ruled by Voldemort.
If the entire Hogwarts were to be moved back to Hogwarts Castle directly, Voldemort would have many opportunities to infiltrate it, and would also have many opportunities to attack the castle. However, since the main forces were in France, Dumbledore could not send too many people to Hogwarts Castle, and even he himself could not stay in the castle for a long time, as he was still needed to preside over the overall situation on the Wizarding World Front.
Therefore, for them at this time, the ownership of the castle is actually very useless, and the most important thing is to have the sole claim to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
Using the condition of an empty castle to pry into Voldemort's heart, this deal is undoubtedly a very cost-effective one.
Facts proved that Dumbledore's guess was undoubtedly correct, and Voldemort no longer hesitated or hesitated about the condition he added later.
He looked at Barty Jr. and Snape, as if he was examining and measuring them.
Every molecule in the air seemed to stop moving until Voldemort's voice reached everyone's ears again.
"Severus."
When he said this name, all the masked Death Eaters behind him seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, and the tense atmosphere eased.
According to the standpoints of these pure-bloods, they would of course stand on the side of Barty the Younger without any suspense. As for Snape, he was isolated from the beginning to the end within Voldemort's power.
It's not just because he is the only half-blood in a high position. Another reason is that everyone knows that it was because Voldemort agreed to his request that he could not kill the woman named Lily under any circumstances, which led to the loss of many Death Eaters.
Therefore, no one likes Snape. Even Voldemort No. 1, who now controls the body, has no good feelings towards Snape because he knows some inside stories that were unknown to outsiders back then. Choosing Barty Jr. and abandoning him just suits his wishes.
After saying Snape's name, he didn't have any more words to say, and there was no need for him to say anything more. The meaning of this expression was already quite clear.
Little Barty's face did not show the kind of relief that others had imagined. On the contrary, when he looked at Voldemort, the look in his eyes became even weirder , as weird as if he was seeing his master for the first time.
Even now, Snape's expression did not change at all, as if he was a dead man carved out of stone.
After getting no unexpected results from Voldemort, Dumbledore waved to the wizards on the wizarding horizon, and Kingsley and the others made way for a passage that was only wide enough for one person to pass through.
The Carrow siblings, Half-Blood Dean Greengrass and a group of former Hogwarts professors walked out of the encirclement one by one. Before leaving, their wands were also confiscated to prevent Voldemort from going back on his word during the exchange of prisoners.
Voldemort also released the Muggle-born students he had detained and the members of the Wizarding World captured in France. Ironically, when those Muggle-born students were released, many of them knelt on the ground and begged their pure-blood master not to abandon them.
All they received were the Death Eaters' merciless spells, which forced them to move closer to the people of the Wizarding Horizon.
The other Aurors had already started lining up to leave, but Lucius was the last one to leave.
He looked at John with a complicated look, then at Dumbledore, and then slowly put the still unconscious Draco on the ground.
If Lucius handed his son over to other people, even if it would be disobeying Voldemort's decision, he was not afraid to do it. But if he handed his son over to Dumbledore and others, not only he but also his wife Narcissa would not have too much to worry about.
If they stay in the UK, and the war between Voldemort and Dumbledore goes badly, it is possible that Voldemort will go crazy and force students who have not yet graduated to go to the battlefield. But if it is Dumbledore's side, even if all the people on the wizarding horizon are killed, they will not harm these students.
"He is just a child and has not done anything bad. I hope you will not be angry with him because of me."
Lucius whispered this before following the large group of Aurors and taking one last look at Draco before leaving.
