harry potter book of crimes

Little Hangleton Village, Riddle House.

"...Lord, Master, this is how it is."

"That is to say, McClain did not take away the prophecy ball? Is it still in the prophecy hall?"

"Yes Master……"

"Humph, I see...you did a good job this time..."

Lucius stood beside the long table uneasily, answering Voldemort's questions with a trembling voice.

On the other side, Voldemort was still sitting at the end of the long table, his gloomy face showing that he was definitely not in a good mood right now.

Compared with the period when Maka was still there, the number of Death Eaters in Riddle House is much smaller now, because many people were captured at the last audio-visual meeting.

Azkaban has also tightened its security. Except for the small number that were previously taken under Voldemort's command, the other dementors are restricted to the small island where Azkaban's wizard prison is located.

After Maka's prison break, the Ministry of Magic also spent a lot of effort, but now it seems that the effort was well worth it.

The power gathered by Voldemort was actually not much easier to develop than the Order of the Phoenix.

At this moment, a dozen dark wizards were sparsely sitting on the long conference table, which was still as clean as new. They bowed their heads and said nothing, obviously they were also under a lot of pressure here.

Some of these pressures come from the angry Voldemort, while others come from the strong resistance of the Order of the Phoenix.

"All in all, this operation has been fruitful - from now on, McClain's strength will inevitably drop significantly, and we are one step closer to that common ideal!"

"...That's nice to say, but aren't you also injured yourself?"

In the past, whenever Voldemort was talking, no one would dare to interrupt, let alone speak rudely.

But now, there is a person who always pours cold water on this critical moment.

"..." Voldemort's eyes twitched, and the veins on his temples twitched slightly. He was obviously holding back his anger, "Mr. Blois, please don't interrupt at will, okay?"

In front of the window next to the conference table, a middle-aged man in luxurious clothes sat there with his legs crossed, his eyes always focused on the scenery outside the window.

"Since I promised to help you once, I naturally need to consider the gains and losses," he said coldly, "If possible, the easier it is, the better - the resources of the Blois family are not to be wasted.

of."

"Hmph!" Voldemort snorted coldly and said dissatisfiedly, "So what, a deal is a deal."

"If you die, won't the deal be gone?" Mr. Blois said, turning back to glance at him and said, "Let me see, your injuries are not simple..."

"...Compared with your 'borrowed' power, I am more interested in the wizard on the other side."

"Then why don't you—"

Voldemort held back his angry words halfway through.

This wizard who suddenly appeared has now become one of his important trump cards, and he does not want to push him against him because of his own impulse.

The current situation was bad enough. If he added such a powerful wizard with ancient heritage as his opponent, he might as well just admit defeat.

"Okay, Mr. Blois." Voldemort took a deep breath and said, "I will try my best to gain an advantage. This is exactly what I have been doing."

"That's good," Mr. Blois nodded slightly, "by the way, I would like to remind you: the injury you suffered is likely to be related to ancient magic."

Voldemort subconsciously touched his lower back, where cold air was constantly coming out, and even the chair he was sitting on was covered with a layer of white frost.

His current body is completely condensed from the power derived from the Bewitching Monument, but the light beam emitted by Maka can actually affect even intangible energy.

Now, other than limiting the "cold air" from spreading, he still hasn't thought of any way to get rid of it.

This sneak attack can actually be said to be a lose-lose outcome.

"At least this time, his injury must be much more serious than mine." A sneer appeared on Voldemort's handsome face, but then it became even more gloomy.

At that last moment, he was almost thrown into the strange arch.

When he was only a few inches away from the black curtain, he even vaguely heard some inexplicable whispers, which penetrated the curtain and reached his ears.

That thing is dangerous! Absolutely dangerous! If necessary, he never wants to go near that place again in his life.

"Lucius..."

"Owner?"

"I remember, your son went to Hogwarts, right? Is he also in Slytherin?"

"Uh...yes, yes, master."

"Bring him here next time. I want to have dinner with him."

"Master, this... my son is still too young, I'm afraid he won't be of much use -"

"Um?"

"No...ah, yes, yes, I understand, Master."

"As long as you understand, you can go back first! The Ministry of Magic still wants you to worry more..."

"This, this is my honor, master..."

…

In the innermost bedroom on the left side of the second floor of Blake's old house, Tia was huddled on the table by the window, leaning against the window glass and looking blankly at the square outside.

Probably because she often takes a shower in the early morning when no one is around, she looks much cleaner than a while ago.

The long, smooth black hair was tied loosely by her, and then placed casually on her shoulders.

He was wearing a set of pajamas that Mrs. Weasley had worn when she was young - they looked a little short, but as long as no one was around, they were actually fine.

Under this lazy dress, her face, which was already featureless, now looked even more ordinary, the kind of appearance that would be hard for anyone to notice if she was thrown on the street.

She has been staying in this bedroom since she was forcibly captured by the dark-skinned wizard in this house.

She was actually imprisoned here at first, but after staying here for a long time, she didn't want to leave.

For Tia, this place is better than any place she has ever stayed - she doesn't have to see anyone, she doesn't have to talk, she won't be scolded, beaten or bullied, and she can still have food to eat every day.

If some things weren't still lingering in her mind, she really wanted to live here for the rest of her life.

Thinking of this, Tia pulled out a silver pendant from her collar and pressed it lightly on the top of the pendant. With a soft "click" sound, the pendant automatically popped open the flap, revealing the small photo inside.

.

This is an ordinary Muggle photo. The man and woman on it are smiling and cuddling together, looking very happy.

Behind the man and woman was a calm river; in the distance, beside the man's head, a row of low buildings could be vaguely seen.

It is worth mentioning that there is a strange black pillar that is thick and long, which stands out among the row of buildings.

Tia stared blankly at the photo in the pendant, stretched out her finger to touch it lightly, but in the end she shrank and took her hand back.

"Tuk-tuk."

Just when Tia was stunned, there were two reserved knocks on the door of the bedroom.

Tia's hand holding the pendant trembled slightly, then she hurriedly stuffed the pendant back into her collar and looked toward the door nervously.

"Miss Tia, it's me, Lena."

It's actually very easy to get along with Lena, and even Tia thinks so - Lena doesn't like to talk much, but she can quickly understand your intentions and give a brief and appropriate response.

And most importantly, Lena is very good at keeping her distance from others.

For Tia, who would feel uneasy when meeting anyone, her existence is simply a kind of salvation.

Tia climbed out of bed lightly, hurriedly came to the door wearing slippers, and then opened the bedroom door with her lips pursed.

Lena walked into the room carrying the tray and silently placed it on the table beside her. Then she put away the finished lunch tableware and walked quietly out the door.

From beginning to end, she never said a word, or even glanced at Tia. But her behavior would not leave a rude impression, because every move she made looked like that

Peaceful and natural.

"...Thank you, thank you."

Since moving here, this is the first time Tia has taken the initiative to talk to others.

Lena turned her head slightly at the door. She did not speak, but gave a slight salute to Tia, and then silently closed the door.

Tia stared at the closed door in a daze for a while, and then walked towards the table with dinner.

"ah--"

Just when she sat down and took the fork into her hand, there was a faint scream from downstairs, which scared her so much that she almost dropped the fork into the soup bowl.

However, what is surprising is that she did not curl up and tremble with fear as usual.

In fact, this is entirely because she has lived here for a long time and has become somewhat accustomed to the terrifying screams.

No need to ask, it must be Sirius's mother and who woke her up!

This old house has always been very lively. In this regard, Tia is actually very uncomfortable with it. But even so, compared to other places, life here is enough to satisfy her.

Holding the fork steady again, Tia carefully forked a piece of baked potato and stuffed it into her mouth.

Only every time she eats, she will show a sweet smile. No matter whether the food is delicacies or shabby pieces of black bread, as long as it can fill her stomach, she will be satisfied.

People who have never experienced a life of long-term hunger will never be able to truly appreciate this supreme happiness.