After pointing out five Death Eaters in a row, Voldemort finally walked slowly up to the very last gray-robed Death Eater.
This fellow could be said to be the most sly and craven one among the later-joined Death Eaters.
During Voldemort's entire round of questioning earlier, he had been hiding in the farthest corner of the group, trying to erase his presence. And he had actually managed to avoid several rounds of punishment that way.
But now, he couldn't escape.
Voldemort had clearly noticed his little tricks just now. This time, Voldemort didn't immediately start scolding. Instead, he just looked at him with that half-smile, half-sneer.
Under that gaze, the Death Eater simply gave up waiting. He pulled back his hood, revealing his long platinum-blond hair.
After all, there was no point in hiding anymore.
Judging from the identities of the Death Eaters Voldemort had already named, anyone with a normal brain could easily guess who he was.
"Master, your most loyal servant, Lucius Malfoy, greets you."
Lucius spoke as he pressed his head humbly all the way down to the floor.
Unfortunately, Voldemort wasn't buying it. He sneered coldly and said, "Loyal? I don't think you and that word have anything in common."
He crouched down and lifted Lucius's face with his hand. "Lucius, my cunning friend. As for why you didn't respond to my signal last time, Macnair explained to me that the signal was too weak, and he didn't think it was really my power. Now, I'd very much like to hear your explanation."
At those words, cold sweat instantly drenched Lucius.
Even though he knew Voldemort wasn't planning to kill them, the pain of the Cruciatus Curse was no joke.
Luckily, Lucius had already been preparing an answer from the start. Now, spurred by Voldemort's question, he immediately blurted out, "It was the Ministry of Magic, Master!"
"The Ministry has been watching me like a hawk these past weeks. They even sent that red-headed Weasley dog into my home to snoop and extort me!"
"And not only that, they sent people to incite Harry Potter and Link Flamel to harm my son! I, I was trapped so tightly by them I couldn't move, Master!"
Lucius grew more and more agitated as he spoke, until at last his eyes reddened and he even reached out, trying to grab Voldemort's leg.
Naturally, Voldemort kicked him away.
"Oh? Being watched by the Ministry? Now that's a fine excuse. If Macnair had even half your cunning, perhaps he wouldn't have ended up so pathetically." Voldemort drawled slowly.
"Enough. No need to explain anymore. You've disappointed me too much… I expect you to serve me more loyally in the future."
"Of course, Master! Of course… You are merciful and generous, thank you…"
Voldemort ignored Lucius after that. He spread his arms wide and called out loudly to everyone, "Well then, Death Eaters, I trust you won't betray me again… Or rather, you won't dare. Not that it matters anymore! Now, follow me!"
With a sweep of his robes, Voldemort strode off toward Link's side.
The rest of the Death Eaters trembled as they rose and followed him.
Naturally, Lucius, being Snape's good friend and senior, didn't forget about Snape, who was still lying there "unconscious." He even jogged over to prop him up from beside the big cauldron.
This infuriated Snape.
He had been planning to stay hidden until the moment turned bad, then jump in and switch sides to save the day.
Now, thanks to Lucius, Voldemort's attention had been dragged right back to him.
And the worst part was, it was good intentions.
But what really crushed Snape's mood was what came next.
The moment Voldemort noticed him, his face, which had been improving, instantly sank back into gloom.
Without hesitation, Voldemort cast a Stupefy.
And this was a powered-up version, Snape's fake faint turned into a real one. He was blasted through the air, limbs twisting as he hit the ground.
Seeing this, Lucius's face went pale. He dared not say another word, and meekly followed behind Voldemort.
The group quickly arrived in front of Link.
At this moment, Link was still pinned hard to the ground under crushing gravity. And as time dragged on, several of his internal organs had already suffered damage under the unbearable pressure, leaving him coughing up blood in ragged bursts.
Seeing this, Voldemort, in a show of "kindness," tossed Link's wand aside and lessened the gravity on him.
Then he even personally helped Link up, grinning wickedly as he asked, "Link, I've given you more than enough time to consider. So, what is your answer?"
Link didn't reply immediately. Instead, he turned his head, spat out the blood in his mouth, then gave a cold smile.
Voldemort's little ploy was all too easy to read.
The reason he had left Link to summon the Death Eaters was so that, in front of someone from Dumbledore's camp, he could openly expose their identities. That way, these men would be completely cut off from retreat, forced to follow him obediently.
The threats and bribes along the way? Just icing on the cake.
What Link found funniest, though, was that Voldemort even chose to scold them over that recent gathering signal.
Even if those Death Eaters had shown up, would Voldemort have dared use them?
These ex-Death Eaters, with all their notorious deeds, had already built themselves prominent places in Britain's Ministry-led magical world. And Voldemort, a feeble remnant soul too weak to care for himself, where would he find the strength to truly command them?
Knowing Lucius and the others' nature, the likely outcome would have been them happily selling him out to the Ministry in exchange for real benefits.
And Voldemort's other main purpose was to use Lucius and the rest's identities to display to Link their powerful influence over Britain's magical society, trying to make him believe Voldemort was not just raw strength but also power in politics, and thereby lure him into submission.
As if that would ever happen.
The reason Link had chosen Dumbledore's side wasn't only because Dumbledore would be the ultimate victor in this war. More importantly, Dumbledore wasn't as tyrannical as Voldemort.
His relationship with Dumbledore wasn't simply subordinate and superior, it was cooperative, mutually beneficial.
Voldemort's style, wanting to immediately brand you with a slave mark like the Dark Mark the moment you joined, was something Link could never accept.
Still, Link wasn't about to reject him outright either. That would be suicide.
For now, the top priority was to stall for time.
The fact that Lucius and the other Death Eaters had been summoned here meant Voldemort had already lifted the Anti-Apparition wards in this area. Old Klee and the others weren't much help, they'd just get killed if they came.
That's why, when Voldemort first appeared, Link had switched his signal coordinates. He sent them the pre-agreed "don't come" signal.
But for Dumbledore and the Hogwarts professors, Link not only didn't cancel the signal, he strengthened it.
He trusted Dumbledore would understand what he meant.
If, after Link bought as much time as possible, they still didn't arrive, then it could only mean that old man Dumbledore had betrayed him.
After all, in this world, Link couldn't believe there was anyone who could so thoroughly entangle Dumbledore that he couldn't even summon Fawkes to escape.
Resolving himself, Link still didn't answer. Instead, his eyes roamed slowly across the Death Eaters, finally coming to rest on Lucius.
Lucius was mortified.
As a fellow pure-blood family with Death Eater ties, the Flamels and the Malfoys were closely connected. When Link had still been "sick," Lucius had stroked his head countless times, lecturing him with grand principles.
And after thousands of years of intermarriage among European pure-bloods, they were practically relatives anyway.
So Lucius had always seen himself as Link's elder.
And now, that very elder was groveling so shamelessly in front of him.
The shame was unbearable. It even drove Lucius to try hiding behind the others, just to escape Link's eyes.
But there was no escape.
After Voldemort finished speaking, Link had become the center of everyone's attention. As someone Link cared about, Lucius had nowhere to run. The moment he moved, Barty Jr. yanked him back out, forcing him to face Link's stare.
"I almost forgot, you and Lucius are old acquaintances." Voldemort smiled slyly.
"That's even better. Your father was a Death Eater, your elder Lucius is a Death Eater too. Ha! That proves you were born to be a Death Eater! Isn't that right, Lucius?"
Lucius forced a dry smile and said stiffly, "Yes, Master, Link was born to be a Death Eater!"
Then he turned his head toward Link. "Link, hurry and agree! To be Master's servant is the greatest honor you could have!"
Link laughed too.
Of course, what he laughed at was Voldemort taking the bait and letting the subject drift.
Ignoring Lucius, Link instead looked darkly at Voldemort and said, "There's something you've gotten wrong. My relationship with Mr. Malfoy isn't as good as you think. On the contrary, I even have a grudge with his son, Draco."
"Oh, really~"
Voldemort raised his tone and squinted his eyes at Lucius.
That single look made Lucius panic. He waved his hands desperately,
"A misunderstanding, it's absolutely a misunderstanding! My Draco did clash with you a few times at Hogwarts, but wasn't he always the one who suffered in the end? And besides, children's squabbles, how can that be called a grudge?"
"Children? Children are the most petty! Don't you know that?" Link shouted angrily, feigning rage.
"If you want my forgiveness, you must apologize! And then spin around in circles while singing the entire Hogwarts anthem as rewritten by the Weasley twins!"
"Pfft!"
Another Death Eater nearby couldn't help but laugh.
He had a child at Hogwarts too, and that child had complained more than once about how stupid the Weasley twins' version of the school song was. He could hardly imagine Lucius turning in circles while singing it.
But what Link really wanted was the time.
Because the Weasley twins' Hogwarts anthem wasn't just stupid, it was long. At least half an hour to sing the whole thing.
If Lucius actually started singing, it would buy him a lot of time.
Lucius's face was already so dark it looked like ink might drip from it.
Link's demand was maximum humiliation.
Worst of all, he knew his Master far too well.
Voldemort would absolutely make him do it if it served his purpose.
For a moment, everyone's eyes turned to Voldemort, waiting for his response.
Some even held a faint hope in their gaze, after all, Voldemort had just tormented them so cruelly. Why should Lucius get off scot-free?
But to everyone's surprise, Voldemort only shook his head slowly and said with disdain, "Link, do you really take me for a fool? Stop trying to stall. Dumbledore and the others will never make it here to save you!"
Link's eyes narrowed. He opened his mouth to argue, but Voldemort cut him off, "No need to speak. I already know your answer, you've chosen the road to death!"
"Avada Kedavra!"
An ominous green light flared at Voldemort's wandtip.
Link didn't hesitate. The magic he had secretly been gathering erupted, forming a wall of ice that shot up from the ground to block in front of him.
The next instant, the green light smashed into it. With a violent explosion, the ice wall shattered into powder.
But in that opening, Link, wreathed in the power of curses, broke free of the crushing gravity. He stomped the ground hard with his right foot, the force cracking the crystallized floor beneath him as it launched him into the air.
At the same time, the German wizards who had been pinned down nearby suddenly sprang up. Most of them swung their wands and hurled volleys of Fiendfyre toward Voldemort, the towering flames and blasts engulfing his side of the field.
Meanwhile, the two wizards left unarmed conjured black fire that streaked toward Link, flanking him on both sides as they sped north, carrying him with them!
"Quick! The Anti-Apparition ward here only covers about five kilometers. Once we break through, we'll live!" shouted the tall, leading wizard.
But hearing that, a bitter smile crept onto Link's face.
He had already said, if escape were possible, he would have done it long ago.
As things stood, without Dumbledore arriving, they were just struggling on the edge of death.
Sure enough, the tall wizard's words had barely fallen when Voldemort's terrifying, piercing laugh echoed from behind them.
And then, as if in answer to a summons, the enormous Dark Mark blazing in the sky suddenly flared bright.
The next moment, a scarlet blood-thunderbolt crashed down.
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