"Gellert, long time no see."

Newmongaard, inside the highest cell.

Dumbledore slowly pushed open the door of his cell, and saw the old man with shaggy hair and a thin body in the dim and cramped room.

It seemed that he had not been in contact with the outside world for too long, and the old man's reaction was a little sluggish, so he moved for a long time, raised his head, and looked at the backlit figure.

"Ho-"

There was a sound of air coming out of his throat, and it was a long time before he could say a word.

"Albus—"

"For a long time. It's been a long time since you've been here."

"You don't look very good." Dumbledore walked forward slowly, "Is it too windy in Newmengard?" ”

"Ho-ahem-" The old man tried to laugh, but was quickly interrupted by his own cough, and he breathed like a bellows for a moment before he said, "You know. I stayed a bit high"

He looked at Dumbledore.

"Albus, you look great."

Dumbledore lifted his charred hand, "I don't think so. ”

"No, Albus." The old man said, "Maybe your body is going to die, but after many years, I see the same eyes as before."

"Godric's Hollow."

The old man said slowly: "At that time, we were still very young, fantasizing about overturning the International Wizarding Secrecy Law, do you remember the program you created for me? ”

Dumbledore was silent for a moment, then said, "For the greater good." ”

"Few people know that this phrase came from Dumbledore's mouth, do they?" The old man stood up, he looked very weak, in the faint light, his eyes cloudy, and his body was clumsy.

"What made you get back to your old state of mind, or rather, what reminded you of me. Friends? ”

The old man's tone became brisk, even with a hint of ridicule: "I believe that it will never be because of such a boring thing as death. ”

"Not really." Dumbledore sighed slightly, "We are all old, old enough to enter the age of death. ”

"I'm waiting for you to die first." The old man said.

"I will."

Dumbledore shifted the conversation to the point, "I have some questions for your help, Gellert. I believe that you are the best person in the world to answer these questions. ”

"Doesn't seem to be because of such a trivial matter as your student named Tom." The old man slowly walked to the window, looked at the bright world outside the window, and muttered:

"Albus, not long ago, I saw some pictures of the future."

"I saw my death, your student broke into Newmengard, demanded the whereabouts of my Elder Wand, and killed me."

"So you told him?" Dumbledore asked, following the other's conversation.

"Of course, without hesitation." The old man and Dumbledore looked at each other.

The two suddenly looked at each other and smiled.

"Actually, after that time, I saw a very different picture."

The old man continued: "I see me standing on English soil, and I see incredible dragons spreading their wings in the sky—"

"Albus, the future has been changed."

"So I've been waiting, I know you're here to take me out, but I'm curious, why?"

He stared into Dumbledore's eyes.

"Why, after all these years, you have changed your mind and even planned to use me, who in your opinion has brought great disaster to the wizarding world."

"And how did you convince me to get out of here?"

Dumbledore was silent.

Of course, he knew that the old man in front of him had never been imprisoned by this tower, never by the wizards, and that he had countless ways to get out of here, but after decades, he had never taken a step beyond Nürmungard.

Both know why.

"Because a man, Gellert no, may not be able to be called a man."

"I'm not sure if I should stop him."

The old man looked at him in surprise.

"I thought there was nothing other than that that would affect your decision." He said, "When you stopped me, you weren't so entangled. This made me curious. ”

"He also has a program." Dumbledore said slowly, "For a more brilliant civilization." ”

"A more brilliant civilization?" The old man's body straightened slightly.

"So, what is he going to do?"

Malfoy Manor.

Umbridge stood in front of the manor's tall doorway, trying to show a haughty and fearless posture.

But the fingers behind her back were trembling slightly.

It wasn't the first time she had come to this manor, but apparently this time, the atmosphere was a little different, and the whole manor was enveloped in a cold and dark atmosphere, even if it was still daytime, it made people feel chills in their hearts.

It may all have something to do with the death of Lucius Malfoy, but perhaps the bigger reason is the new owner of the estate.

Umbridge's mission is to deliver a letter to the new owner.

She was terrified, but she couldn't refuse, because she was sure that she would not be able to escape from a soothsayer, and even more so that if she messed up, the other party would never let her go.

She didn't have to wait long for Mrs. Malfoy to greet her, who, like Lucius, was pale and haggard with dark circles under her eyes.

"I wonder what is the matter with Deputy Minister Umbridge?" She didn't act too polite, and the Malfoy family's lineage and status meant that members of the family didn't need to be too flattering even when facing the Minister of Magic.

"Send a message." Umbridge raised his chin and said in a high-pitched voice: "Send a letter to the owner of this house." ”

"I thought it was usually left to owls." Mrs. Malfoy held out her hand: "Who gave me the letter?" ”

"It's not for you." Umbridge emphasized: "It is to the owner of this house, the current owner, to give it to him with his own hands." ”

Mrs. Malfoy jerked her head up and stared at Umbridge in disbelief.

She quietly touched her hand behind her waist and said, "I'm afraid Professor Umbridge is so busy that he forgot that my husband, Lucius Malfoy, has tragically died at the hands of a magician." ”

"You know who I'm talking about." Umbridge said, "Lucius's master—"

"All petrochemicals!"

Before she could finish her sentence, a spell of light struck her directly, causing her to freeze in place.

Several figures came out of the shadows, wands in hand, pointing at Umbridge, and one of them said coldly, "How do you know where your master is?" Who commanded you to come? ”

"Dumbledore?"

"No!" Umbridge hurriedly said, "How could I be with Dumbledore, a professor of divination at Hogwarts. Professor Tang, he has a letter that I need to hand over to Black. The Dark Lord. ”

"Divination Professor" a Death Eater sneered, "How could you follow a professor's orders?" You think I don't know you? ”

"Kill her, search her!"

Umbridge's face turned pale with fright, and she was about to argue, when she suddenly saw the Death Eaters facing behind her, and bowed their heads respectfully.

"Master."

Umbridge wanted to turn around, but she couldn't move under the spell, she listened to the figure behind her, but there was no footsteps, only an extremely cold and evil aura pierced her back, making her hairs stand on end.

"The Prophet Was Taught in Divination Lessons"

A snake-like voice sounded behind her, and Umbridge saw a pale, dead man's hand on her shoulder.

"Give me the letter."

She suddenly felt that her body could finally move, her body went limp, and then reflexively dodged a few steps forward and turned around.

Finally, she saw the Dark Lord's appearance.

She didn't know how to describe the distorted countenance, but she realized that she had made another mistake, even if it was at the risk of disobeying Professor Tang, she shouldn't have come here, how could she be stupid enough to stand in front of this person whose name no one even dared to mention?

Is it because of the only remaining luck in my heart, thinking that the mysterious man cannot be resurrected?

But there was no way back for Umbridge, and she shuddered and pulled a letter from her bosom.

Voldemort didn't take it, but said, "Take it apart and read it." ”

"I shouldn't have read the letter." Umbridge instinctively realized this.

A letter sent to the Dark Lord by a dark wizard hidden in Hogwarts must contain a huge conspiracy, and she wonders if she will survive reading it.

"Read—out—come—"

Voldemort said word for word.

Umbridge shuddered violently, and she was almost about to pee again.

With trembling fingers trying several times, she finally opened the letter and began to stammer.

"Hello, Mr. Tom Riddle."

She was old enough to hear the name, and Voldemort's expression changed slightly, which made her stop talking in fright, but then she felt something hard against her back.

"The master told you to keep reading."

Umbridge swallowed his fear and continued reading.

"I write this letter with regret, hoping that the arrival of this letter does not disturb your feelings of paying tribute to your little pet—I mean, the snake you brought out of the Albanian jungle, she has a special meaning for you, doesn't she?"

"By the way, I haven't introduced myself yet, I'm a soothsayer, I'm sure you've heard my name, actually, there was some small unpleasant friction between us, which made you lose two loyal subordinates and make me deeply sorry again."

"But I'm sure this little friction won't affect our communication, Mr. Riddle, I've heard of your situation, and I'm sure if you still have your sanity and don't go completely insane, you know your situation."

"You're in danger."

"Professor Dumbledore is trying to kill you completely, and in fact, he's halfway there—he's destroyed the Gaunt ring, he's destroyed the Hufflepuff's Gold Cup, and he's even found your location and killed Nagini."

"And, of course, your teenage diary, which was destroyed by Harry Potter."

"Oh, Mr. Riddle, yes, of course I knew about the existence of Horcruxes—"

Rumble!

The entire hall exploded, and Umbridge let out a scream of terror as she saw Voldemort's body exude a substantial, rich black aura that almost suffocated her.

"Horcruxes?" She could sense that Professor Tang had said something very important and dangerous in his letter.

But before she could continue to think, Voldemort had already raised his wand and aimed it at her.

"Go on!"

(End of chapter)