Voldemort left the study with Barty Crouch Jr. and Bella, leaving only the old wizard, Demoulin, behind.
"Master, why not simply kill Demoulin?" Barty Crouch Jr. finally failed to restrain his curiosity and asked.
"Didn't I already say? I need Demoulin to write a letter home to his daughter," Voldemort said faintly.
"Please forgive my stupidity. That is precisely the part I don't understand," Barty Crouch Jr. said carefully.
"It is because of our Professor Kasen. Let us simulate the situation for a moment. If Demoulin's daughter returns here because of that letter, all I need to do is use the special connection between Harry Potter and me to let him know that I am here waiting for Demoulin's daughter."
"Then all we need to do is wait and see. Eventually, this matter will certainly reach Professor Kasen's ears. Do you think he will remain indifferent?" Voldemort let out a sinister cackle.
"But Master, this is not the first time we have used this sort of plan," Bella asked in confusion. Clearly, she did not understand what kind of person would knowingly jump into a trap right in front of them.
"But our Professor Kasen is simply that foolish. There is nothing we can do about it. That is also why we will ultimately be able to defeat him," Voldemort said quietly.
In the end, he entered his room and dismissed Bella and Barty Crouch Jr.
Once alone, he began running through the final plan in his mind.
When the time came, there would be two pieces of bait: Demoulin and Demoulin's daughter.
Professor Kasen would have only one second.
Who would he choose to save?
If he saved Demoulin, then Demoulin's daughter would undoubtedly die. That would go against Kasen's entire reason for coming. His personality was hardly the sort that would abandon a young witch in order to save an old wizard who might not even be grateful to him.
And if he saved Demoulin's daughter, then it would be completely useless. Kasen would merely gain another burden he needed to protect.
Add to that Voldemort's unexpected concept of reflection.
With all three methods layered together, as long as Kasen could not save both people and kill Voldemort instantly in the same moment, he would lose the initiative from the very beginning.
And killing Voldemort instantly was impossible.
If Kasen had any complaints, he could take them up with Reflection.
Heh heh heh!
As for the fact that Hogwarts currently had three people whose combat strength could threaten him?
Well, Dumbledore and Grindelwald would have to think carefully about that.
One of them needed to maintain Hogwarts' defensive magic, while the other patrolled inside the castle. If either one was missing, Hogwarts would have a very bad time indeed!
"Now all that remains is for that letter to fly out."
Having completed what he considered a fairly thorough plan, Voldemort slowly sat down in an armchair and stared faintly at the owl flying away into the distance.
...
[Your mother and I are travelling abroad. Do not leave Hogwarts during the Christmas holiday. Even if you do leave, you will have nowhere to go. If you truly have nowhere to stay, you can ask Dumbledore or Professor Kasen. Begging them should be useful enough.
Ray Demoulin]
In the library, Vivian stared at the strange letter in front of her, then looked at the Christmas holiday that was still three months away...
"Are they going to the moon? Three months for a holiday...?"
Feeling both helpless and annoyed, Vivian crumpled the letter into a ball.
They were going travelling, possibly even around the world, and they were not taking her!
"Am I really that... If it's such a problem, you could at least use a Silencing Charm!"
Her little face went pale with embarrassment and anger as she complained.
Then, rather pitifully, she smoothed the letter back out, folded it neatly, and carefully placed it in her pocket.
"Vivian, come eat."
Clay suddenly appeared behind her and slapped her on the shoulder, nearly frightening her badly enough to burst a blood vessel and die on the spot.
"My God... Could you make some footsteps next time?" Vivian rapidly patted her chest, then cleared some space beside her.
It was dinnertime, and there was no one else in the library apart from her and Clay.
That gave the two of them a rare chance to sit together and eat dinner.
There were actually students from different Houses sitting together in the Great Hall as well. For example, couples from two different Houses could sit at either House table, and no one would be stupid enough to stop them. In fact, it was even part of Hogwarts' school rules that couples had the right to switch dining tables.
The reason these two normally did not sit together in the Great Hall was still the same old issue of blood status.
On Vivian's side, if the other pure-bloods found out she was dating a Muggle-born wizard, they might not dare openly show her hostility, but the cold shoulder would absolutely never stop. In the eyes of those extreme pure-bloods, this was a matter of principle.
Rather than spend the rest of her time at Hogwarts being miserable, it was better to keep things secret.
When they eventually got married, those who cared could come to the wedding, and those who did not could simply stop contacting her afterward.
It was even more so on Clay's side. It was not that other Muggle-born wizards would exclude him, but that he could very easily become a target for other pure-blood wizards.
Sigh... After all, he was a little brother one year below her. Naturally, he needed his big sister to protect him...
What? You mean Clay could still use spatial magic under both the Ender restrictions and Hogwarts' restrictions?
That was because her Clay specialised in spatial magic.
As for offensive magic?
Clay didn't know shit about offensive magic!
...Probably.
Anyway, if she had never seen it, then it did not exist. Magic was all about belief, wasn't it?
Believe in yourself!
"By the way, I saw you sitting here looking completely crushed just now. What happened?" Clay asked curiously after setting the food out on the table.
Vivian sighed and began telling him about the letter.
However, she left out the second half, the part telling her to seek out Dumbledore or Kasen if she had nowhere else to go.
After all, that made her sound homeless.
A little pathetic.
"Let me see the letter after we finish eating," Clay said quietly.
"You can read it while you eat. It's right here in my pocket."
Vivian took out the neatly folded letter and handed it over.
Clay unfolded it.
After just one glance, he folded it back up and returned it to Vivian.
"Stop eating. We need to find Professor Dumbledore or Professor Kasen right now."
"Why?" Vivian asked in complete confusion.
"Your house has been raided," Clay replied simply.
...
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