Chapter 399 Ginny: I Will Stay With You Even If I Have to Kill Someone!
Borgin and Burke are a smart man, but this time he did not take the initiative to come to Tom to please him. Instead, after the Wizarding Guild was established, Tom came to him in person and had a cordial and friendly conversation with old Borgin and Burke, which is why he became so well-behaved.
In his opinion, he is now Tom Riddle's ally, but now Tom is Borgin and Burke are not worthy of being his ally. At best, he is an informant and a spy.
When new forces come to the table, they will inevitably touch upon the cake of old players.
Even if new players can make the cake and the table bigger, they will distribute it proportionally and will not give up their share easily.
Win-win is a difficult thing, everyone just wants to have everything.
There are too few people as reasonable as Tom.
The emergence of the Wizards Guild has undoubtedly touched upon the core interests of Knockturn Alley. From the suppliers who opened shops to the low-level thugs who robbed people, their business has plummeted recently.
So he had long anticipated that someone would come to cause trouble and had made preparations, but he still decided to go there alone, just to relax.
[Tom: Don't be so general. Tell me everything you know.]
[Temporary Warehouse: Mr. Riddle, I don't know much, but the general participants are... The specific time of action should be tomorrow night in the early morning to avoid any more trouble.
Bock listed a bunch of names, and Tom said he had never heard of them before and didn't know what kind of rotten fish and shrimp they were. Bock could only patiently give him a general introduction to these people.
A potion seller, a contraband material collector, a loan shark, and a few werewolves.
Among them, the two small families that contributed the most and hated Tom the most were those that sold sensitive potions and banned materials.
Tom dug out a lot of good things from Newt's little world and put them in the guild, causing their business to get worse day by day.
It would be strange if they didn't hate him.
Tomorrow.
Tom looked disappointed, as he had thought he could relax tonight.
Tom: Old Burke, if I don't see anyone tomorrow night, I'm going to tear your store down.
In Knockturn Alley, Bogin Bo wiped the cold sweat from his face and closed the address book.
This young master is really hard to please. From the sound of his voice, he seems to be hoping someone will raid his property?
Thinking of Tom's "passionate" approach during the conversation that day, Bock's dissatisfaction with being treated so casually instantly disappeared.
Can't afford to offend, can't afford to offend...
On Saturday morning, after breakfast, all the students rushed to the Quidditch field to gather.
Don't get me wrong, today is not Quidditch day, but the dueling competition will be held there.
Tom and Daphne walked side by side, with people surging behind them.
The long line stretched all the way to the oak door.
The students walked down the stairs, passed through the greenhouse, and stepped on the soft grass.
A pleasant breeze blew, and many people couldn't help but show a comfortable look.
"Ginny can win today, right?" Daphne looked at the boy, wanting a positive answer.
Ginny really has a bit of a social butterfly vibe. She already has a good relationship with Astoria, so her relationship with Daphne is getting better and better. And because she defended Luna, she won the favor of Qiu and Penelope. Not to mention Hermione, as they are from the same college.
Just like Daphne, she and Furong just don't see eye to eye.
Tom nodded as a matter of course. "If Ginny can't win today, it's not her fault. There must be something fishy going on in the competition."
Tom didn't lower his voice deliberately, and several students from other schools heard it. They all showed indignant expressions on their faces, thinking that Tom's tone was too loud.
The students who can come here are the most outstanding talents in their grade in the school. How can they admit that they are not as good as others?
But after all, there were only a few people here, and they were alone and powerless, so no one stood up to directly refute Tom.
"Everyone line up and go on stage in order.
Don't crowd and don't stand too close! Malfoy, Potter! Don't stand too close to each other, it's easy to fall!"
Professor Flitwick stood on a tall chair and directed traffic to the students.
Malfoy and Harry, who were called out, blushed, glared at each other, and quickly separated.
The spectator stands at the Quidditch pitch had been modified somewhat, as the match was no longer held in the sky and the open space on the pitch was much too large.
Although sitting too high allows one to have a panoramic view, one cannot see the details clearly, so several rows of closer stands were temporarily constructed under the platform using transfiguration.
The game started at nine o'clock, and all the teachers and students of the school had arrived at half past eight.
The stands were crowded with people.
Tom felt that if someone came out to sell snacks and candies at this time, they would definitely make a lot of money.
Unfortunately, none of the students at Hogwarts had such economic acumen, not even the twins had thought of this.
The two brothers were helping Ginny modify the cheering banner, trying to make it more conspicuous and distract the opponent's attention.
At exactly nine o'clock, cheers broke out. Led by Professor McGonagall, the five contestants lined up and followed her out of the player's lounge. Thunderous applause was given to the contestants to send blessings.
The rules of this competition are very simple. There are five contestants in total. Each contestant must duel with other contestants. The winner gets one point and the loser gets zero points [mediocre results are not accepted.
If there is a tie at the end, an extra game will be held until the player with the highest score is selected and becomes the final winner.
There was no need to worry about getting hurt, as Snape had already made sufficient preparations and could quickly eliminate the aftereffects of the spell.
There are three referees: Dumbledore, Crouch, and Grindelwald.
The original rules of the competition did not allow the use of dark magic, but under Grindelwald's insistence, Dumbledore finally had no choice but to compromise and allowed students to use some dark magic with less serious consequences.
Dumbledore compromised not only because of Grindelwald's tough attitude, but also because he wanted to take this opportunity to make the young wizards at Hogwarts aware of the dangers of dark magic and enhance their awareness of prevention.
As for whether some people will go astray and become obsessed with the power of the king's black magic?
This is not important.
They are not Tom, nor are they Voldemort. Even if mediocre people learn more black magic, it will not cause any waves. The upper limit is always determined by the person himself, and spells can only serve as icing on the cake.
After the rules and the battle lineups were announced, students from Ilvermorny and Durmstrang came to the center of the field one after another. After Dumbledore shouted "start," the two blue lights quickly collided with each other.
.......0
The second-grade competition wasn't really anything to watch; most people just came to join in the fun and feel the atmosphere.
However, after the competition started, many people changed their views.
The spells used by the contestants were not difficult, but they were mastered very skillfully.
They had also undergone special duel training, and their steps were very methodical.
Coupled with their similar strength, the competition was unexpectedly exciting.
After three minutes of fierce fighting, the Durmstrang students finally won. Krum took the lead in standing up and applauding his fellow students, and many Hogwarts students followed suit.
Next, it was Ginny's turn to play. This match was not as exciting as the previous one because it was a complete crushing victory. The students of Beauxbatons were easily defeated by him. The little girl came to Madame Maxime crying and cried even louder.
This time, there is only one male among the six contestants from Beauxbatons, so there are really more females than males.
There was no suspense in the following competition. With her excellent talent, training from Tom, taking strengthening potions, and a large number of tonics, Ginny was far ahead of her peers.
After four battles, no one could break her iron armor spell. Instead, her bat spell was invincible, and she used the freezing spell on the field very cleverly and skillfully, making her opponents miserable.
Professor McGonagall's face was full of smiles, and she kept clapping for Ginny.
After so many years, Gryffindor finally showed its true face.
It's not easy!
It was just past eleven o'clock when all the games were over.
Hogwarts was first, Durmstrang was second, Ilvermorny was third, and Castellobus was fourth. The little girl from Beauxbatons was defeated in the first game, and she lost none of the next three games, falling to the bottom of the table.
Madame Maxime wanted to scold her, but seeing the little girl crying so hard, she could only suppress her anger and wait until the little girl recovered a little before scolding her.
Not winning a single match brought disgrace to her and Beauxbatons. If there really was a gap in strength, it would be fine, but it was the school's poor teaching level.
But it was obvious that except for Ginny, the strength of the other students was similar, and winning or losing was entirely a matter of on-the-spot performance and some luck. This kind of loss made Maxim even more angry.
On the other side, Tom was reasoning with Ginny.
Tom had promised the little witch in advance that if she won today, he would accompany her tonight.
But plans cannot keep up with changes. He is in a hurry to kill someone, so he can only change the time.
But Ginny refused to agree and kept throwing a tantrum. Finally, she became desperate and said, "Even if you go kill someone tonight, I will watch you kill, and then come back to stay with me!"
Tom was startled, and his smile became playful, with a hint of danger.
"What if I really kill someone?"
Now it was Ginny's turn to be dumbfounded, but seeing that Tom didn't look like he was joking, she knew that Tom was really going to do something big today. She gritted her teeth and said:
"Go, whatever you do, I'll accompany you!"
Chapter 400: A Song of Ice and Fire, A Bloody Slaughterhouse!
Tom looked at the girl in surprise. He didn't expect to hear such an answer.
Ginny looked at him stubbornly, her eyes a little red, and Tom could clearly feel her determination.
A second-grade little witch can say something like "I'll accompany you even if it means killing someone."
Ginny, you are so good at it
Tom gave Ginny a lot of points in his heart and couldn't help but rub her little head. Ginny also understood what he meant and smiled brightly.
"Now tell me what you're going to do?"
Tom shrugged and said, "I've already said it. I'm going to kill someone."
Ginny was so bold, so he didn't hide anything and told her everything about the conflict between the Wizarding Guild and Knockturn Alley.
After hearing this, the girl became even more excited and waved her fists: "We should kill them! How dare they come and steal our things!"
"Tom, when are we leaving?"
"Let's finish our meal. Don't worry, the other shops in Diagon Alley are still open, and those people won't dare to attack us in broad daylight."
Late at night.
The bustling wizard alley gradually returned to tranquility. Most of the shops had closed at around eight or nine o'clock. Only Ollivander's wand shop was still lit with a faint candlelight. The old craftsman was still studying the materials for the wands.
"Oh... I hope I can pull through."
As it approached twelve o'clock, Ollivander sighed, and with a light sweep of his wand, all the lights went out. Song Liujian's ten points of light guided him back to the temple.
As a local tyrant who had been entrenched here for thousands of years, he might not be able to match up to a madman like Voldemort, but here, Ollivander was undoubtedly a big shot, and he also received information about the small movements in Knockturn Alley through his own channels.
At the same time, an email was sent to Tom. The old craftsman was innovative in the materials of the wand, but was extremely stubborn in other aspects. He refused to accept any new things and still used owl to communicate.
However, he really liked the Wizards Guild's task distribution system.
He only needed to pay Galleons to get the materials he wanted from all over the world.
He didn't have to go out to collect them every year like before.
The Guild would be responsible for supervising the entire process to ensure fairness.
As for the person who helps him find materials? He doesn't care whether it's a werewolf or a vampire, as long as he gets the stuff.
Out of the desire to establish a good relationship and to facilitate his own motives, Ollivander gave Tom a reminder, and naturally Tom received it today. Although it was of no use, it at least showed the attitude of the old craftsman.
The streets were quiet. On the other side of Diagon Alley, Tom had already brought Ginny to the main floor.
It was the first time the girl had seen Catherine. She curiously circled around the two Catherines to confirm whether they were real dolls. After confirming that these dolls were not much different from real people and even had flesh and blood, alarm bells began to ring in her heart.
Oh no, Tom is so skilled, so he can do whatever he wants.
What's the use of them then?
A bunch of stupid women are fighting with each other in school. The biggest danger is Tom himself!
At this time, Tom was busy making some arrangements. If he had used Legilimency to see what Ginny was thinking at this moment, he would definitely give her a slap in the face.
He wasn't the type of person who liked to attack dolls, so he wasn't as perverted as Ginny thought.
But...never mind, there is no but!
"Just watch from here for a while. It's too bloody to stand next to me."
Tom brought Ginny to a window room on the second floor, settled her down and gave her some instructions. Ginny nodded obediently, knowing that if she insisted on following Tom, it would only cause trouble.
But she still made a small request, "...could you please leave one person for me to handle?"
Tom: "…"
"Are you sure?"
Ginny nodded firmly. "Everything has to have a first time. You'll definitely have more enemies in the future. Didn't you say you wanted to train me to be your top thug? If I can't even kill the bad guys, how can I help you in the future?"
"Then I'll help you keep him alive." Tom nodded. Even if Ginny couldn't bring herself to kill him in the end, some blood would be good.
Killing wizards will certainly leave marks on the soul, especially at Ginny's age, it is easy to be affected by her character, but he has mastered the method of using the fire of Nirvana to purify
Just purify it when you get back.
Half an hour later, a stream of dark figures emerged from Knockturn Alley and arrived at Diagon Alley. Counting them carefully, there were a total of twenty-six people.
The leader lowered his voice and said, "Our mission is to destroy everything in the Wizards Guild that can be destroyed and take away all the valuable treasures. We must act quickly, especially those puppets. We must blow them to pieces and make Lawrence heartbroken. Do you understand?"
"Basque, you're too long-winded. How could we not know this?" another strong man said in a rough voice.
Basque snorted coldly and did not retort.
These two people are the leaders of this operation. Basque is the owner of a potion shop in Knockturn Alley, and Hagrid bought the insecticide from him.
The strong man who mocked him was called Ragnar, a professional smuggler.
He is also a werewolf wizard.
The two people's businesses were hit the hardest, so naturally they were the first to lose control.
Especially Ragnar, who relied on his foothold in Knockturn Alley and his identity as a werewolf to find many werewolves to work for him, and exploited them madly.
But now with the Mercenary Guild, only two of the original ten werewolf subordinates have escaped.
The other two did not want to run away, but they had their legs broken by him and thrown into cages.
Even the people we hired to help this time were hired from Knockturn Alley.
At this time, Ragnar hated the Wizard Guild and the Riddle kid so much that he wanted to bite him and turn him into a werewolf.
The group advanced silently, casting a soundproofing spell at every store they passed, which seemed quite professional.
Finally arriving at the entrance of the Wizards Guild Building, Basque's eyes flashed with a fierce light. He pointed his wand at the door and whispered, "Open the door."
The lock on the door opened with a sound, and a group of people had joy in their eyes.
They rushed in without even checking the surrounding situation.
They had already observed the rules of the Wizarding Guild.
They got off work at 7 o'clock in the evening, and Sirius Black would not stay here overnight.
And when the last person rushed in, the ground suddenly lit up with a magic pattern of light, and a huge force threw all the people who were caught off guard away...
Snap! Snap! Snap!
After everyone stood up in a panic, they heard the sound of applause.
"With so many guests coming to your house so late at night, why didn't you notify me, the host?"
"Riddle?!"
Basque's face changed drastically, and he looked in disbelief at the boy who moved a chair and sat at the door, smiling at them.
Why is he here!
"What are you surprised about?" Tom smiled. "You don't think your actions are very secret, do you? Many people have tipped me off.
The young man waved his hand, and a gust of wind blew by. The strong wind took away their hoods and black robes, and the attackers revealed their true faces.
"Let me see... Dark wizards, small families, werewolves, vampires, eh? And goblins?"
Seeing the two ugly figures trying hard to hide behind the crowd, Tom was finally a little surprised. Neither Bock, Ollivander, nor other informants mentioned that there would be goblins involved this time.
"Very well, I will go find Gringotts and get some sleep."
Tom soon found the reason. It was probably because he withdrew a large number of Galleons from Gringotts, which made the greedy goblins unhappy.
These fairies are really... How can they be so considerate?
He was just worried about finding an excuse to attack the goblins, and then they came to him. What a nice guy!
"Riddle, we were reckless this time." Basque took a deep breath and then gave in. "Someone tricked us into thinking the guild had a large amount of gold and rare materials hidden away. I was so fooled that I agreed to this operation."
"I am willing to pay half my worth as compensation, hoping to gain your forgiveness."
They have a lot of people, but don't they see what kind of rotten fish and shrimp they are? Even a large pure-blood family couldn't stop Tom's rampage, and ended up with their family destroyed. Just relying on them?
There is no possibility of winning at all.
The others also began to retreat, and the two goblins at the back even ran away.
call out----!
The sound of breaking air was heard, and two ice spears condensed from the void, accurately piercing the goblin's throat. The goblin died instantly without even making a scream.
The ice spear turned, picked up the two people and flew back, nailing them to the huge stone pillar at the entrance of the guild.
"Don't be anxious now that you're here." Tom slowly stood up, and with a slight movement of his ten fingers, countless ice spears and flaming spears were densely packed in the air [the spear heads aimed at him who was surrounded and attacked the butcher.
Basque was shocked and angry. "Mr. Riddle, are you really going to do this? We have people behind us too. If you dare to kill us, the entire British wizarding world will not tolerate you the next day. This is not North America!"
"That's none of your business. To me, there's no difference between North America and the UK."
Tom snapped his fingers, and the ice and fire spear shot out. The powerful magic and will had distorted the entire space, making it impossible to escape by teleporting.
The defensive magic was penetrated one after another, but the number of ice and fire spears increased instead of decreasing.
When the first unlucky guy was penetrated, everyone felt despair in their hearts, knowing that their fate for the day was determined, but their resistance became more and more crazy.
Even if they died, they would drag Tom down with them.
On the second-floor balcony, Ginny lowered her head, her thin body trembling, but her eyes were firm as she stared unblinking at the blood-splattered slaughterhouse.
Chapter 401: Crouch: You Are a Better Father to My Son Than Voldemort
The massacre did not last long.
The twenty-odd attackers looked intimidating, but in reality... they were mostly useless. Only a few Basque tribesmen and hired thugs had some strength.
But compared with ordinary wizards, they are just a little more ruthless and master a few black magics.
Tom only used this one magic the whole time. He didn't move, but stood there admiring the hell scene he created. Some people were burned by flames, and some were frozen into ice sculptures, their white faces turning blue and purple under the flames.
The boy even had time to think about the shortcomings of his magic.
"Although they can wield the contradictory extreme powers of ice and fire simultaneously, not only do they fail to synergize, but they actually weaken each other. The magic runes are so diametrically opposed, is there no possibility of fusion?"
After thinking about it for a long time, Tom had already vaguely realized that how to solve this problem would become the key to his huge improvement.
Use your own will to suppress the laws of the world locally, forcing the two opposite forces to merge first, and then restore their original state, erupting with extreme power.
While he was thinking, the battle was nearing its end. Tom had to stop thinking and raised his right hand. All the spears hovered in front of Basque and Ragnar. If they moved forward one centimeter more, they would be able to pierce more than ten vital points of the two men.
These two people were the 'trials' that Tom had specially prepared for Ginny.
"Have mercy on me... Riddle, please have mercy on me." Basque's body was covered with burns, and he was almost unrecognizable as a human. Tom listened carefully to hear his words of begging for mercy, and then nodded.
"Stop dreaming. Look at your friend, Mr. Werewolf. He's so smart. He's already accepted his fate."
Because of his werewolf constitution, Ragnar was in much better condition than Basque. He stared at Tom with bloodshot eyes and hissed, "Riddle, I'm doomed, but Fenrir won't let you go, nor will he let your Wizards Guild go. Wait for our werewolf revenge!"
"Oh, I'm so scared." Tom exaggerated his fear. "Fenrir Greyback, that idiot who even the Ministry of Magic chased like a dog? How about I put you back and you call him over?"
Fenrir Greyback, the most brutal werewolf leader in Britain, is different from most werewolves in that he takes the initiative to transform into a werewolf to spread the werewolf virus.
This has been written into stories and used by many parents to scare their children.
Disobedient children will be targeted by Fenrir, who will come and bite them on the night of the full moon.
Lupin was bitten by him and turned into a werewolf. Lupin's father was once an Auror and had a grudge against Fenrir, and he was the target of his revenge.
Even a fool could tell that Tom's words were a mockery, but Ragnar believed them seriously, his eyes gleaming with life: "Riddle! You keep your word... Ugh!"
???
Puff——!
An ice spear pierced Ragnar's throat. He looked at Tom in disbelief, not understanding why he attacked so suddenly.
"It's such a waste of time talking to an idiot like you." Tom held his forehead helplessly. Forget it, just leave one for Ginny. It should be enough for her to deal with.
The young man moved his fingers, and the corpses on the ground were impaled by ice spears and nailed to the stone pillars in an orderly manner. The temperature was still very low, and with the help of ice magic, it would be no problem to preserve the corpses for ten days or half a month.
Using these people's lives as a warning is also a temptation.
As he dragged the half-dead Basque into the guild, Ginny had already come forward and threw herself into Tom's arms, "Tom, you're amazing."
"That's nothing, just a bunch of rotten fish and shrimp." Tom smiled and stroked her little head: "Study hard, and when you are in fifth grade, I promise you can do what I did today.
"Yeah." Ginny looked at Basque, who was still breathing, "Leave him to me."
"You can do whatever you want."
After staring at Basque for a long time, Ginny finally decided on the first spell. She pointed her wand at him and said sternly:
"Crucio!"
The next second, red light filled the entire space.
Meanwhile, at Hogwarts.
Grindelwald had not slept either.
Boom boom boom———!
There were rhythmic knocks on the door of the room. Grindelwald smiled and stretched out his hand to pull the door open.
Crouch, dressed in a suit, walked in, his face still showing surprise. He obviously didn't expect Grindelwald to open the door so quickly, but he quickly adjusted his mood and greeted politely, "Mr. Grindelwald, I'm sorry to bother you so late."
"That's hardly an interruption." Grindelwald regarded him with amusement. "I was just waiting for you, Mr. Crouch. Your audacity truly exceeded my expectations. Don't you realize that this is Dumbledore's territory, and that he has spies everywhere?"
Crouch shook his head, showing no sign of panic in the face of Grindelwald's intimidation. "It's true that Hogwarts is under Dumbledore's control, but he has a certain respect for me and won't pay attention to my whereabouts."
"And your residence, out of fear of the Dark Lord, I imagine is the place with the least surveillance, right?"
"laugh--!"
Grindelwald suddenly laughed, "You're wrong, then. On the day you came, I was out for only a minute when Minerva stopped me.
Now, a hint of panic finally appeared on Crouch's face.
Oh no, he wouldn't really be discovered by Dumbledore, would he?
At this point, Grindelwald changed the subject, "But since then, I've cast a Confounding Charm over this area. Even if they wanted to monitor us, they wouldn't be able to do so unless they completely break off relations with me."
Crouch: "...
How could this Dark Lord have such a strong sense of evil? Is it really fun to be played with by others?
Grindelwald had completely taken control of the negotiation.
He no longer bothered to try to provoke Crouch.
He gestured for him to sit down and asked directly, "You Crouchs are one of the twenty-eight pure-blood families of Britain, and have been high officials for generations.
I'm truly confused as to why you chose to tip me off."
Tom had already told him about the current situation of the Crouch family, and he also guessed the reason why Crouch had defected, but he had to hear it from Crouch himself, otherwise... it would be a conspiracy.
"A glorious past cannot offer any hope for a better present."
Crouch sighed, his forced elitist demeanor vanishing at that moment. Sitting there was only a frail old man in his seventies. He said:
"I have a son, Barty Crouch Jr., and I once placed great hopes on him, hoping that he could continue my glory and complete the great cause of both father and son as ministers."
"During his school years, he performed very well, passing all 12 OWLs with distinction, and graduating with top grades in all his courses. But... "
"He was bewitched by Voldemort."
Having said this, Crouch looked even more tired and full of guilt.
"I was busy with work and didn't know how to get along with my child.
Every time we were at home, we would always quarrel after a few words.
He used Voldemort to fill the vacancy of his father and committed many evil deeds after becoming a Death Eater.
At the final trial, it was me...I personally sent him to Azkaban.
"Tracy... My wife became seriously ill because of this. Before she died, she begged me to save the child and not let Barty suffer and die in Azkaban. I agreed and sent her seriously ill to Azkaban. I secretly took Barty out and took him out. Not long after, she died there.
Crouch was now in tears and sobbing until he was out of breath.
He had never said these words to anyone else. It was like a huge mountain weighing on his heart. Now that he had spoken it all out, most of the depression had dissipated, and it was inevitable that his emotions would get out of control.
Grindelwald did not urge or comfort him, but just waited quietly.
It was unknown how long it took for Crouch to regain his composure.
"Sorry, Mr. 070."
"It's alright," Grindelwald smiled. "That's human nature. I welcome wizards with strong emotions to join my ranks. Only those who understand love will have the courage to fight for Ideal House."
Crouch's eyes also softened a lot.
This is what we call pattern, the mysterious man is just a piece of trash!
He felt more confident about his choice.
"Barty has been imprisoned at home. I will cast the Imperius Curse regularly to control his movements, and he will be taken care of by the house elves."
Crouch said sincerely, "Mr.
Grindelwald, rather than letting Faith follow You-Know-Who, a demon who only relies on killing to scare people, it is better to let Barty follow you.
You are far superior to You-Know-Who in both strength and vision.
I don't ask him to become outstanding, just to be normal and live a good life as a normal person."
"I am willing to pay any price to act as your spy in the British Ministry of Magic, or even for Dumbledore."
Grindelwald's smile grew even wider. "To try and steal Voldemort's favor? That's an interesting idea."
"But I can't guarantee success. Your child has been following him for many years, right? The worship of him is already deeply ingrained in him.
"This is my only choice." Crouch took a deep breath: "No matter what, I can't let him spend his life in a daze. Now I can use the Imperius Curse to control him.
What will happen when I die?"
"If even you can't change him, then please kill him!"
Grindelwald looked at Crouch with admiration. He was indeed one of the only two capable people in the British Ministry of Magic according to Tom. His decisiveness alone surpassed that useless minister by many times.
"Very good. After the exchange competition is over, I will take your son away."
Seeing Grindelwald agree, Crouch's heart finally returned to its original position and he nodded heavily.
From now on, he is also a saint!
Chapter 402: Little Snakes, It's Time to Make Friends!
After adding the "I Chat" friend, Crouch left the office contentedly.
Grindelwald was lost in thought, thinking about how to arrange Crouch, or rather... how to use him.
There was really no need to be a spy. Even without monitoring the insects in the British Ministry of Magic, he knew exactly what people like Fudge and Scrimgeour were thinking and what they were busy with every day.
Besides, Tom has finished exercising today and will probably have to deal with the Ministry of Magic later, so just let him play by himself then.
As for Dumbledore
He was operating under Tom's nose every day. This old man was not worth monitoring. He was already pitiful enough. Grindelwald didn't want Dumbledore to get angry when he found out that he was surrounded by undercover agents and a big boss in the future.
"Forget it, let's just leave the problem to that guy."
Grindelwald laughed and suddenly found that he was becoming more and more lazy. In the past, he would not trust others to solve problems, and his decisions were always based on his own.
But now, seeing that Tom was giving up on everything except for his own strength, he felt that he should learn something and not let trivial matters divide his energy.
With a slight movement of his mind, Grindelwald contacted Tom through the learning space.
"Are you done over there?"
In Diagon Alley, Tom received a message from Grindelwald. He opened his vision and said uncertainly, "Is this... the end?"
Grindelwald was silent. He looked at Ginny, the little witch who had just won the second-year championship and smiled sweetly during the day, and was torturing her enemies with the Guillotines and Vasodilators. He felt that this world was too abnormal.
Killing is killing, is it necessary to make it so disgusting?
Grindelwald couldn't help but say, "You don't care?"
"Why should I care?" Tom said nonchalantly, "My little maid isn't a pervert. She's just using this method to acclimate herself to the blood and grow faster. I'm overjoyed. How could I possibly stop her?"
It's not easy... Finally, a little witch who can take on the important task appears around me. Although she is a little crazy, as long as she is ruthless enough, it will be fine.
"Has Crouch come to see you too?" Tom asked casually.
Grindelwald nodded, "He was very honest and told me everything. As long as his son could escape Voldemort's clutches, everything else would be irrelevant."
"I came to you because I want to know how you plan to use Crouch."
What Old Ge said was very clever. He didn't shift the blame, but directly defined Crouch's arrangement as Tom's task. Even Tom didn't realize it.
After thinking for a while, he smiled and said: "It's time to tell Crouch that this time I am going to have a clash with Fudge and let him know who is the porcelain and who is the tile."
He saw Bones's reminder and knew that the honeymoon period with Fudge was over. In the past, he might have thought of giving some money and making some gimmicks to keep Fudge on board.
But now?
He hasn't eaten beef in a long time. How could he change his mind just because of Fudge? What kind of roundabout tactics would that be?
Grindelwald nodded. "Then let's test Mr. Crouch's resolve and ability. Don't let your girlfriend go too far. If her heart becomes truly twisted, it could be very troublesome."
Grindelwald was about to leave when Tom stopped him. "Finding a way to get rid of Dumbledore... well... it'll probably take all day."
Grindelwald was stunned. "What are you going to do?"
The boy smiled and said, "Purification."
In the early morning, when the first scream was heard in Diagon Alley, the whole street was in an uproar in a short time.
People gathered at the gate of the Wizards Guild, their eyes filled with fear. More than 20 corpses were nailed to stone pillars. The left row was burned to charcoal, while the right row was frozen into ice sculptures.
The strong visual impact caused many people to start retching, and those who did not vomit turned pale.
"Then...is that a goblin?" the bookstore clerk said uncertainly.
"What on earth happened last night?"
"I know him. The Basque family, and these guys, they're all from Knockturn Alley... Merlin's sleeping bag. Did they just die like that?"
For the British wizards, the loss of more than twenty lives was definitely a massacre that would go down in history. Even Voldemort back then had never been so crazy.
"Riddle...what a lunatic." Ollivander, who was standing behind the crowd, felt a pang of fear in his heart. This method of revenge was too cruel. Even if he was passively defending, he would definitely be regarded as a devil-like figure, and the Ministry of Magic might even want to arrest him.
Is another Dark Lord about to emerge?
Thinking of this, Ollivander staggered back and turned to leave. No, he couldn't stay in England anymore. He had to find a place to hide first and come back after everything settled down.
"Make way, make way, what are you all doing crowding at the door? It's not even business hours yet."
Sirius, who came to work yawning, finally squeezed through the crowd and didn't look up until he reached the door. He was stunned where he stood.
"Oh shit!"
At the Ministry of Magic, Fudge paced back and forth excitedly in his office. Suddenly, he slammed his desk excitedly, "Great, great!"
After saying this, he realized there were other people in the office and quickly added, "No, I mean, what a cruel heart! What does Riddle think of human life? He is lawless, absolutely lawless!"
Although there is no direct evidence that Tom was the one who did it, it doesn't matter. What matters is that people died and were nailed to the door of the Masters' Guild as a demonstration.
Even if it wasn't him, it was definitely related to him.
"Yes, Minister," Umbridge echoed in a sweet voice, "I've said it before. Riddle doesn't care about the Ministry of Magic or the law. He acts recklessly under Dumbledore's protection. He's so cruel at such a young age. In a few years, won't he be another..."
Umbridge paused at the right moment, his hesitation to speak just right making Fudge's heart skip a beat.
Another Dark Lord?
He had long felt that Tom had no respect for him as the Minister of Magic, just like Dumbledore. In the past, it was because there was no conflict of interest, and some of Tom's actions could even bring him benefits.
But now the two sides have already torn their relations apart, and this guy still doesn't know how to restrain himself.
"Scrimgeour, you... forget it." Fudge originally wanted to let Scrimgeour take the Aurors directly to Hogwarts to get the person, but after thinking about it, he decided to play it safe.
Now he was about to break up with Tom, and going directly to the school to arrest people would be a slap in Dumbledore's face, and there might even be a conflict. It would be better to communicate first.
"I will contact Dumbledore personally, please wait for my news."
Scrimgeour frowned unwillingly, but nodded and walked out of the office.
"Minister, I think the most important thing right now is to understand the whole story."
Bones didn't leave, but advised, "Riddle wouldn't kill people at random.
Besides, there are many wanted fugitives among these people, the scum of Knockturn Alley.
Why did they die in front of the Wizards Guild? We need to understand these things.
Arresting them rashly will only intensify the conflict."
Fudge tightened his collar and said anxiously, "Of course we'll find out, but the person must be caught.
Do you know how big of an impact this has caused? That's Diagon Alley, the busiest place! I guarantee that by this afternoon, all the doctors in Britain will know that such a terrible thing has happened!"
Bones wanted to say something, but Fudge had already sat down and picked up the address book to contact Dumbledore. Umbridge, with a disgusting smile, "invited" Bones out in a seemingly friendly manner.
Bones sighed helplessly, walked out of the office and went straight to the public fireplace, took out a handful of special Floo powder and sprinkled it into the fireplace, then headed to Greengrass Manor.
Hogwarts, Crawdling Common Room.
All the little snakes were blocked at the door by their respective prefects, the invisible prefects, and then brought to Tom together.
This kind of thing had only happened once before, when Tom ordered all students to target a Ravenclaw girl. By now, that person had become socially dead and had no friends around her.
Who are you targeting today?
Some old students showed gloating smiles on their faces, wondering which unlucky guy had offended Tom again.
"I killed some people last night."
Tom was stroking Crookshanks, who had somehow gotten here, and his casual words made the little snakes' faces change drastically, and they felt very nervous.
The lounge was completely silent, everyone was waiting for the boy's next words.
"Someone coveted the gold or other treasures I kept in the Wizards Guild. These were minor matters, and I've already dealt with them. However, there will be some trouble later. I'm tired of it, so I'll let you handle it."
Tom glanced around the room. "Although not many Slytherins have parents working at the Ministry, I believe... based on your family's heritage. You always say that the wizarding world belongs to pure-bloods. Now is your time to prove it."
"In three days, I hope to see Mr. Fudge support my actions in the newspaper and apologize to me on behalf of the Ministry of Magic."
"Anyone who contributed to this is Tom Riddle's classmate. As for the others... from now on, we won't even be acquaintances. Do you understand?"
"Understood!"
The little snakes were all panicking, and Malfoy even took out the "I Chat" app to contact Lucius.
Not even an acquaintance?
Wouldn't that mean he'd be pinned against the wall again?!
No, absolutely not, Song!
Chapter 403: Pureblood Riot, Dumbledore's Unexpected Determination
When you're out there, identity and background are what matter.
What's the use of being able to fight? Being able to fight... is actually quite useful.
In the wizarding world, those who are generally good at fighting, such as those at the level of Aurors, are just little punks in the eyes of pure-bloods, and no one is inferior to them.
But you can fight ten Aurors, a hundred Aurors, one...you won't need them later, a hundred will be enough.
At this point, you can use pure force to turn other people's power into your own power.
Voldemort did a great job in this regard.
Last night I was still thinking about how to deal with Fudge, but when I woke up, I suddenly felt that everything was boring. The thought of having to use my brain to deal with a pig in a high position was just a disgusting feeling.
Tom was also going to follow Fufu's example today. Some Slytherins were loyal to him, while others were just pretending to be submissive, but that didn't matter. What mattered was being obedient.
You do whatever he says. Obedient children are good children. Disobedient children... then there is no need for children in the family.
This remark not only frightened Malfoy, but also silenced the other snakes.
Ever since Tom entered school, no matter what he did in school or outside of school, one word stood out - cruel.
While they were still chanting "Lumos" here, others were outside harvesting lives.
No one would be afraid of such a threat.
At that moment, everyone jumped out to express their loyalty, no matter if it was true or false, no one dared to delay, even without eating, and one by one picked up the address book and started crying.
Among them, Tom's roommates were the most active. Shabini not only contacted his mother, but also contacted several of his stepfather's relatives and friends.
A sixth-grade student let out a strange cry.
"Zabini! That's my dad, you don't have to tell me!"
Tom's mouth twitched when he heard this. He felt that Zabini must be the one with the widest network of contacts among the purebloods.
A large number of parents were confused when they received their children's incoherent requests for help, and gasped after finding out the situation.
The well-informed people immediately got more detailed information and their scalps tingled.
It's too cruel... Not only did they kill people, but they also hung them on pillars for people to "admire". This is simply challenging the existing order of the wizarding world and the authority of the Ministry of Magic.
To be honest, the people in Knockturn Alley are dead and that's it. Every year there are wizards who disappear there, sometimes a few a year, sometimes dozens [both domestic and foreign].
But the only person they could think of who killed people so openly and announced it to the world was the mysterious man from that year.
Could it be that the name Tom Riddle is really poisonous?
The more they knew, the more worried and frightened they became. In addition, since Tom held their descendants in his hands, most people made their choice without much hesitation.
Fudge might be able to make them decline for a while, but Riddle can make sure they don't even have a chance to decline!
Just how terrifying is the influence of a group of pure-bloods?
In the face of the general trend, such as when Voldemort fell and faced a reckoning, it might not be obvious, because at that time they were facing Dumbledore and the elites of other major colleges.
But now it doesn't involve camps and survival, it's just a personal struggle between Riddle and Fudge, which is a bit scary.
About 10% of the population controls more than 60% of the wealth and resources of the wizarding world. Even if only a part of these people take action, the storm that can be set off will make Fudge panic.
After discussing with Narcissa, Lucius Malfoy left the manor quickly to visit his old friends in the Wizengamot.
The Rozier family immediately contacted the newspaper and began to guide public opinion.
Some other families have begun to tamper with their donations to the Ministry of Magic this year in order to put pressure on them.
Principal's office.
Dumbledore had already received Fudge's complaint, and his brows were almost twisted into a knot.
After Tom makes a scene, Grindelwald makes a scene. After Grindelwald makes a scene, Tom makes a scene. You two have a plan, right? Can't you just let me be in peace for a while?
If you want to kill someone, then so be it. Why don't you just bury him and pretend nothing happened?
But even though he complained, he couldn't just ignore it.
"Connelly, there must be some misunderstanding here. Neither you nor I know the specifics. I hope you will remain impartial. Please give me some time. I will consult Mr. Riddle to understand the situation."
Fudge was so angry when he saw this. What did he mean by "please be fair"? Was he being unfair now?
Dumbledore actually warned him?
"Lawless, lawless! Riddle deserves death, Dumbledore deserves death too!" Fudge threw the notebook away with a bang. His furious and crazy appearance made Umbridge dare not approach him.
How could he understand that Dumbledore was not warning him, but protecting him.
If the conflict continued to escalate and the Ministry of Magic sent Aurors to arrest people, Tom would definitely give them a head-on blow. Dumbledore was extremely convinced of this.
There is no magic in the wizarding world that can see through strength. If Tom does not take action, Dumbledore will not know how far the child has reached in his research on magic.
But he believed that Tom was not much weaker than him now.
Because not long ago, there was no more awe in Tom's eyes when he looked at him. Instead, he looked at him as an equal, and the respect in that was because of his status as an elder and the principal.
"..."
The situation was urgent, and Dumbledore wanted to ask Fawkes to call Tom over. But when he saw the empty sycamore branches, he remembered that Fawkes had not been home for a long time.
"Phineas, please ask Mr. Riddle to come over." Dumbledore said tiredly.
But Phineas was not tired. When he saw Dumbledore like this, he knew that there was a new melon to eat. After receiving the order, he disappeared from his own frame in an instant.
When he arrived at the Slytherin common room, Tom was still there and called out, "Riddle boy, Dumbledore is looking for you."
Tom was not surprised at this and nodded to Phineas: "I'll go now and ask the principal to prepare breakfast for me."
Phineas was amused. He hated the boy's arrogance and domineering attitude. He didn't take the former principal seriously at all and wanted to send his picture frame to the bathroom many times. But if this arrogance was directed at others, he would be happy.
Half an hour later.
Dumbledore watched Tom finish the last of his scrambled eggs before asking helplessly, "Tom, can you tell me the details now?"
"Principal, it's actually very simple."
The young man wiped his mouth elegantly with a handkerchief. "A bunch of thugs are trying to break into my territory. If I don't kill them, how can I keep them for Christmas?"
Dumbledore tried to teach the child some normal thinking, "You can catch them and hand them over to the Ministry of Magic."
Tom stopped what he was doing and winked at Old Dumbledore: "Professor, you are not kidding, are you?"
"You don't understand how efficient the Ministry of Magic is. Even if the Ministry of Magic handles these people, they will probably just be thrown into Azkaban for a while, and then what?"
Dumbledore was a little confused: "What then?"
"Then even more people will come to covet my treasure."
The young man sighed helplessly, a hint of pity for those fools. "Solving the problem through normal means won't have any deterrent effect.
They'll just think they have a chance of success, and the same thing will happen once, twice, or even countless times."
"Unlike you, I don't have a lot of time to waste on these small things."
Dumbledore's eyes flashed. He admitted that what Tom said was very likely to happen. Greed is endless, and only the most severe measures can scare away most people.
"You have your tolerance, and I have my way of doing things."
Tom didn't use magic, but instead filled their teacups to 70% with his own hands. He said slowly, "I followed the rules last time, so the Graves family didn't suffer any major casualties. What's the point of answering you?"
"Werewolves, vampires, these lowly creatures dare to attack my property. Oh, and goblins too. I have to go talk to Gringotts soon, so I'm asking for your leave. I won't be going to class today.
"If I hadn't killed anyone last night and had just waited patiently for the Ministry of Magic to resolve the matter, do you believe I would have killed even more people in the future?"
"Don't think I'll become the next Voldemort. He kills just for pleasure, to satisfy his twisted mind. I actually don't like killing. I only resort to it as a last resort in order to reduce the number of deaths and save trouble."
Tom has finally revealed his cards today, and now he has the confidence to do so.
He didn't want to be an enemy of Dumbledore, not because he was afraid of him, but simply because the old man was at least kind to him, regardless of other aspects.
Dumbledore picked up the teacup and drank it slowly. When he put it down, he seemed to have made some kind of decision.
"You are right, but I once said that killing is a very unpleasant experience for a wizard. It will have unpredictable effects on your soul and personality. I have been avoiding this change all my life."
"I implore you, child, if something like this happens again, please notify me in advance and I will clear the way for you.
Although you have a bright future, it's difficult to change people's inherent perceptions.
In the eyes of those greedy hyenas, an old man like me is still more intimidating than you."
Tom looked at Dumbledore in surprise. He had imagined that today's conversation could develop in many ways, but this was not what he had expected. Dumbledore was willing to personally clear the way for him and try to stop him from committing murder.
At the same time, Crouch closed the MyChat address book with a look of shock on his face.
After a few minutes of daze, he left his residence with a determined step and went to Professor McGonagall's office to borrow the fireplace.
Chapter 404: Misunderstanding? I'm Here to Cause Trouble for Gringotts!
By noon, an emergency supplement to the Daily Prophet presented the specific details to everyone.
The cover photo depicts the scene in front of the Wizarding Guild, exuding a murderous aura. The corpses nailed to stone pillars serve as a reminder to anyone with ill intentions that this is the consequence of opposing Riddle.
The Ministry of Magic did send people to remove the corpses, but the magic Tom used was more effective than the Permanent Adhesion Charm. Unless the corpses were directly blown up, they couldn't be touched in the slightest.
Sirius even sent a message complaining that Tom's actions have made the guild deserted today, with no one daring to come and accept or post quests.
Sirius had only one complaint about the boy's ruthless methods—why didn't he call on him?
He seems to have the air of a chivalrous knight, quick to avenge wrongs and never hesitant to kill anyone who deserves it. Since they've come to his doorstep, if he continues to feign compliance, Sirius will think Tom is too soft.
Similarly, he also has a tendency to thrive on chaos.
The once bustling hall was now eerily quiet. The young wizards didn't dare to breathe, their hands trembling as they held their newspapers. Occasionally, they would look up at the empty seats next to Daphne and Astoria, their eyes filled with fear.
The little snakes fared a bit better, since they received the message in advance.
After the initial panic subsided, a strange sense of satisfaction welled up inside them. The other academies feared Tom, which was tantamount to them fearing him.
After this incident, they and Tom were now completely bound together, and the task of reviving Slytherin fell on the young man's shoulders. They were now in a relationship where they would rise and fall together.
Of course, all of this is on the premise that Voldemort is not resurrected and does not return. At that time, some people may still choose to jump ship, but at least for now, their interests are aligned.
The professors in the main seat also had complex expressions.
Grindelwald, as if he had just learned of it, looked at the newspaper with great interest, reading it word by word.
Having received countless requests, and with Rita Skeeter as the author, the bias of this press release is self-evident. It viciously criticizes the Ministry of Magic's inaction, questioning why so many criminals are brazenly appearing in Diagon Alley.
As for the actions of the Magic Guild, they perfectly conformed to the ironclad rule of the inviolability of personal property, without any illegal or inappropriate behavior, Rita Skeeter wrote sarcastically:
"I suggest the Ministry of Magic outsource the Auror duties and functions to the Wizarding Guild. They catch more criminals in a single day than the Ministry does in several years. Think of Gilderoy Lockhart, think of Bellatrix Lestrange, where are they now?"
Grindelwald's lips curled up slightly. This reporter was quite something; he had a sharp tongue and, it was said, had written quite a few sarcastic articles about Dumbledore. He was a real talent.
I'll have to borrow Tom's sometime and commission some news articles.
But now... of course, it's time to quickly start mocking them.
"Dumbledore, is this true?" Grindelwald looked at the calm-faced old man with a surprised expression. "Has the living environment in Britain become this chaotic? That's Diagon Alley, the country's busiest commercial street, and yet more than twenty people stormed into a shop…"
"Such an important place, don't your magic training grounds have any resident Aurors patrolling nearby?"
This time, it wasn't just a joke about Dumbledore; Grindelwald essentially slapped the entire British wizarding community in the face.
What does it feel like to be mocked by a dark wizard leader for having poor public safety?
The professors had never imagined such a thing would happen before, but now that they had experienced it, all they could say was... it was exhilarating. Their expressions were quite interesting, except for Snape, who didn't care about these trivial matters and had no sense of national honor.
Snape was pondering Tom's thoughts and speculating about Dumbledore's unusual behavior.
Throughout the entire school, he was probably the person who understood his student the most. What Dumbledore saw was only what Tom wanted him to see. Snape knew that Tom, though seemingly arrogant, was actually quite cunning.
Riddle never provokes those stronger than himself, which is why he behaves so obediently in front of Dumbledore. [Doesn't he know that killing so many people this time will make Dumbledore dislike him?]
Why would they do that?
Could it be
Considering Dumbledore's unusual calm, Fenbingcuo became even more curious.
These two...could they have already fought, and Tom even won?
"Mr. Grindelwald, I, as a school principal, am not aware of the Ministry of Magic's arrangements."
Dumbledore shook his head slightly, showing no change in expression despite the mockery, while the title of "Mr. Ten" made Grindelwald's face appear somewhat unnatural.
"If you want to know more, you can go to the Ministry of Magic and ask."
"Ha, there's no need for that," Grindelwald retorted. "I just think that this kind of environment will only hinder Riddle's development. It would be better to have him transfer to Durmstrang. The union headquarters is in Berlin, and I guarantee no one will dare to cause him any trouble."
"Actually, Paris is not bad either."
To make matters worse, Mrs. Maxime also joined in the fray, and in her efforts to poach Mr. Riddle, she didn't hesitate to side with Grindelwald and belittle Dumbledore: "Minister Kress often expresses his admiration for Mr. Riddle to me, and this time he asked me to convey his greetings as well."
Currently, the two most recognized wizards of this caliber are Grindelwald and Dumbledore, and besides them, many believe that the most likely candidate to reach this level is...
Tom's rise to fame was partly due to Usage's efforts.
France desperately wanted to have a great mage to avoid the fate of quickly surrendering.
Maxim didn't care how many insignificant vagrants and robbers Tom killed; he only wanted Beauxbatons to completely surpass other magic schools and become the strongest in the world.
"Riddle has his own choices, but he doesn't seem to want to leave Hogwarts right now. You two are probably going to be disappointed." Dumbledore smiled but didn't respond.
Having had that conversation that morning, he felt much more at ease and was no longer afraid of anyone trying to poach his girlfriend.
Tom had already left the school by then. Instead of going to Gringotts immediately, he went back to Nicolas Flamel's house first.
Tina, Newt, and Nico all received the news and urged him to go back... They shared gossip on the spot...
What could Tom say? He could only go back first.
"That's all there is to it, it's really nothing serious."
Tom extracted fragments of memory and used Nico's opera room to replay them live.
......…Requesting flowers…0
The entire room is like a giant Pensieve, allowing people to immerse themselves in fragments of memory. Tom has been here to see operas several times, and the performers are all famous actors from hundreds of years ago, which is truly impressive.
Of course, Tom wouldn't show anyone the scenes of Ginny training herself later; the scene abruptly ends when he drags Basque into the guild building.
"D..."
Newt sighed. These people died unjustly, even unfairly. There was nothing wrong with doing small, illegal business—they were just trying to make a living—but why did they have to provoke Tom?
"D€..."
Tina sighed. "If you're going to kill someone, you have to do it in such a bloody and violent way. No, I need to give the child some psychological counseling in the future. I can't let him become a psychopath."
"OF"
Nico sighed and looked at the boy reproachfully, "What a waste, what a waste! We finally got the materials delivered to our door, and you don't want their spiritual essence? You don't want their nourishment? You insist on making it so sloppy. What good is it except causing trouble?"
Tom:
"....
He often felt that he was too kind and that this created a generation gap between him and his teacher.
0....
He didn't say anything about establishing his authority, but Nicole would definitely blame him for not sending any materials after he established his authority, which was incredibly stupid.
Anyway, that old geezer is really bad.
"Alright, if you need materials, don't try to get them from me. If I don't establish my authority, I'll be driven crazy by all the trouble I'm dealing with. If I keep dealing with those worthless nobody, how am I supposed to continue my research?"
Nico glanced at him sideways. "Are you sure you're not just juggling several girlfriends? You don't even know how to charm a woman. Don't go out and say you're my apprentice."
"They didn't say that in the first place," Tom muttered. "You're practically a dead man to everyone else. If I said I was your apprentice, would anyone believe me?"
This made the old man furious, and Tom, seeing the situation was not good, slipped away, leaving Newt and Tina with wry smiles as they tried to coax the old man, who was like a child.
Diagon Alley.
Tom walked step by step toward Gringotts. Diagon Alley was unusually deserted today. Not only was the Wizarding Guild nearly empty, but the entire street was desolate.
The boy walked along without anyone recognizing him, the protagonist at the center of the storm. Everyone hurriedly finished their own business and left this unlucky place as quickly as possible.
I bet the other merchants are cursing under their breath, right?
Tom muttered to himself, he hadn't expected that British wizards were so easily frightened by the deaths of so many people.
No wonder Voldemort's second comeback, which didn't kill many people, terrified the people, and the Ministry of Justice surrendered immediately.
There are no bones left...
Or rather, has it never existed?
The passersby didn't recognize Tom, but the two goblins guarding the Gringotts gate recognized him as soon as he approached, their expressions changing as they fawned over him with obsequious smiles.
"Young Master Riddle, your arrival is a great honor for Gringotts. Manager Dug has been waiting for your arrival since this morning to personally explain this misunderstanding to you."
"Misunderstand?"
Tom pondered the word for a moment, his eyes narrowing slightly. The two fairies were struck as if by lightning and blasted away, crashing heavily into the magnificent golden gate, their eyes rolling back as they "fainted."
"This is no misunderstanding; I'm here today to cause you trouble."