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Chapter 1185: Unraveling Voldemort's Plot
Chapter 1185: Unraveling Voldemort's Plot
"Good afternoon, Professor."
Albert knocked on the door of the headmaster's office and greeted the elderly wizard sitting behind the desk with a smile. He was a little surprised that Dumbledore knew of his arrival at Hogwarts.
However, upon further thought, it wasn't strange at all. This was, after all, the man's long-established stronghold, and there had been the recent incident with Sirius Black's intrusion. It was only natural to have some form of defensive measures in place.
If he were in Dumbledore's position, he would have done the same to prevent anyone from infiltrating Hogwarts without his knowledge.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Anderson. How is Mr. Diggory doing?"
Dumbledore set down the copy of the Prophet he had been reading and looked up at Albert, offering a gentle smile befitting an old friend.
"He's awake. Madam Pomfrey said Cedric will be fine after a few days of rest." Albert walked over to the chair beside the desk and sat down. "I hope you can allow him to recuperate here. St. Mungo's isn't exactly safe at the moment."
"Of course, that's no problem at all." Dumbledore's eyes glanced at the newspaper headline beside him, and he smiled as he asked, "Care for something to drink?"
"Some tea would be lovely."
"I just heard about what happened from Scrimgeour. You did the right thing; it's not yet time to confront the mysterious one."
With a gentle wave of his wand, a steaming cup of tea appeared before Albert. The headmaster then passed the newspaper he had been reading to Albert. The latest headline read:
'The author of Unfogging the Future, the renowned seer Cassandra Vablatsky, has mysteriously disappeared from St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.' "I suspect Lady Vablatsky has been captured by Voldemort." Dumbledore added a generous spoonful of honey to his tea, stirring it gently before taking a sip and murmuring, "There's no need for suspicion; she was indeed taken by the mysterious one."
Albert took a sip of his tea as well, meeting Dumbledore's inquisitive gaze. He calmly explained, "He attempted to use Cassandra Vablatsky to divine my whereabouts. I must say, the mysterious one has become smarter than before. This is not good news."
"Indeed, it is a troublesome development." Dumbledore fixed his gaze on the man before him, feeling no worry for Albert, as he knew Voldemort had no power over him. Nonetheless, he felt compelled to offer a word of caution, "Nonetheless, do be extra vigilant in the coming days."
"As long as I remain within the protection of the Fidelius Charm, he can't touch me." Albert expressed his gratitude for Dumbledore's reminder before steering the conversation back to the main topic, "Now, Professor, I assume you didn't call me here just to discuss this matter?"
Dumbledore seemed equally eager to get to the heart of the matter. He raised his charred hand and said softly, "I have a rather important plan to share with you."
Albert already had a good idea what the plan entailed, but he remained silent, prompting Dumbledore to continue.
"Severus Snape is one of ours."
The statement came out of nowhere, yet Albert kept quiet, his expression one of attentive listening.
"I suspect you may have already divined that in the near future, Severus will be the one to kill me." There was an unusual gleam in Dumbledore's eyes as he watched Albert's impassive face, and he continued, "It's all part of the plan. I intend to let him kill me; after all, my time is almost up, so I might as well make the most of what little time I have left."
"That's certainly surprising." Albert feigned confusion and asked, "But why tell me all this?"
"Because this plan is of utmost importance, and it will unfold after my death."
Dumbledore spoke of his demise with such nonchalance that one might think he was discussing his dinner plans for later! "This plan is crucial, and I know you don't trust Severus, but he is trustworthy, at least..."
"To be frank, I don't find Snape particularly reliable either," Albert interjected, indicating that he understood, "but I assume you wanted to speak to me to ensure that I don't interfere with your plan. If you wish, do go on and share the details with me."
"Well, I don't have long to live anyway, and it just so happens that Voldemort sent someone to assassinate me?" Dumbledore's expression was rather amusing as he spoke of this.
"Mr. Malfoy, perhaps?" Albert interjected.
"It seems you know a thing or two."
"Not really, it's just a simple inference. Lucius Malfoy caused the death of so many Death Eaters; the mysterious one must be furious and eager to punish him. So, he chose to make Lucius suffer by targeting his son. Of course, I have no doubt that Voldemort will eventually kill Malfoy as well." After finishing his tea, Albert looked at Dumbledore and asked, "So, you intend to use this opportunity to save Malfoy and, at the same time, utilize his assassination attempt to execute your important plan?"
"Yes." Dumbledore smiled, "Mr. Malfoy's assassination plan is entirely under my control, and Severus will guide him."
"Most people would want to prove themselves," Albert cautioned, "and children are even more so. They won't give up easily."
"To be honest, I'm not very optimistic about Severus' ability to convince Mr. Malfoy. Perhaps Mr. Malfoy would rather try out his new ideas, and that could very likely result in harm or even the death of a Hogwarts student."
"Thank you for the reminder. I'll be sure to instruct Severus to pay extra attention to this." Dumbledore narrowed his eyes, considering the possibility that Albert had raised. He felt it necessary to have another chat with Severus about this matter.
"According to the original plan, Mr. Malfoy will gather a group of people and come to Hogwarts to kill me."
"That plan is downright foolish. If I didn't hear it from you, I would suspect he had his brain squeezed by a door!" Albert didn't hold back his criticism, "Running into someone's stronghold to assassinate their leader is practically asking to die, especially in a place like Hogwarts where apparition isn't even possible. It's like signing up for a group suicide mission."
"Isn't that wonderful?" Dumbledore said calmly, "It's a perfect opportunity to strike a blow to the Death Eaters."
"Are you certain they'll fall for it?" Albert asked skeptically.
"They will." Dumbledore asserted confidently.
"It seems you've also noticed the Death Eaters' weakness." Albert remarked suddenly.
"Weakness?" Dumbledore seemed intrigued.
"Foolishness and arrogance, compounded by the negative effects of inbreeding common among them." Albert didn't hide his disdain and malice towards the Death Eaters, "Now, how do you plan to die? Will you let them surround and kill you, or do you intend to have Severus stab you from the back during a duel with the Death Eaters?"
"To be honest, I think you're giving the mysterious one too much credit. The saying, 'your enemy knows you best' rings true, and I believe he certainly won't be foolish enough to think that you're only capable of this. He won't buy that you could be killed by a group of mediocre Death Eaters."
"No, you're overestimating Voldemort. He doesn't really care about such things. All he wants is to kill me, by any means necessary. I think compared to killing me, nothing else matters, because it means the removal of an obstacle in his path. His wariness towards you doesn't even come close to his wariness of me."
"He doesn't dare to face you directly, but he dares to come after me." Albert didn't deny this; he didn't think he had anything that would make Voldemort wary.
He believed that Voldemort would likely think the same, and this was good news for Albert—it meant that Voldemort underestimated him, and there was nothing more deadly than underestimating one's enemy.
"I've found a cave, well, most likely the cave where Voldemort hides his Horcruxes." Dumbledore spoke of the script he had laid out for himself.
"You've found the last Horcrux?" Albert narrowed his eyes and asked.
"I don't know, but I will take Harry there. While deciphering the cave, we will encounter some troubles, and I will become very weak. That's when Snape can kill me in my weakened state and thus gain Voldemort's trust."
"Are you sure it won't be Mr. Malfoy who kills you?" Albert asked in return, "He's the one who hates you enough to want to kill you to gain the mysterious one's forgiveness."
"I believe he hasn't fallen that far yet." Dumbledore said calmly.
"I'm quite curious about your standards for 'falling,'" Albert asked, intrigued. "Taking someone's life?"
"To be honest, I think death is not that scary. What's truly terrifying is a life worse than death, like the old Azkaban prison."
Dumbledore remained silent, not intending to discuss this topic further.
"I think you should know about the secret of my wand!" He changed the subject.
"The eldest of the three brothers' wand?"
"Yes, that one. This wand possesses extraordinary power, and it's because I possess it that I, with my weakened magic, can still have the power to contend with Voldemort." Dumbledore asserted, "Voldemort, in his pursuit of immortality and power, will definitely start searching for this wand."
"Actually, you can just destroy that wand, and then he'll never be able to get his hands on it, and there won't be any risk at all." Albert suggested with a smile, "You won't need to go through so much trouble planning around this wand, unless you intend to give it to Harry so he can defeat the mysterious one with it."
"I intend for the mysterious one to obtain this wand." Dumbledore surprised him, "But he will never be able to bring out the full potential of this wand. You should know that wands have owners, and some wands change allegiance when their owners are defeated. The Elder Wand has this feature quite prominently."
"So, you intend for Mr. Malfoy to defeat you, and then for Snape to kill you." Albert looked at Dumbledore with a peculiar expression, "Even if the mysterious one gets his hands on the wand, and he kills Snape upon realizing that the wand is not functioning as expected, he still won't be able to gain ownership of the wand because he won't know that the ownership lies with Malfoy?"
Dumbledore didn't answer, but he tacitly acknowledged this.
"If Snape knew, he'd be heartbroken, wouldn't he?"
"Some things are worth sacrificing for, even one's life." Dumbledore said peacefully.
"You've lived for a century, so even if you die now, you've had a full life. But don't expect me to make the same sacrifice." Albert shrugged, "I'm still young and want to live a few more years."
"I know, you don't really trust anyone, be it Harry or me. You never rely on others." Dumbledore raised his hand, signaling for Albert to let him finish, "I know you have your own backup plan. If Harry fails, I hope you can kill Voldemort."
"You don't have confidence in your heir?" Albert raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised.
"I'm just keeping a backup plan in case something unexpected happens, to prevent Voldemort from turning the entire wizarding world upside down." Dumbledore whispered, "Isn't that something you like to do as well?"
"Aren't you afraid I'll become another Dark Lord?" Albert asked in return, "After all, many dark wizards have lost their lives because of me."
"They received a fair trial, and while I do think your methods are a bit radical, even I can't please everyone all the time. Sometimes sacrifices have to be made. If it weren't for you, the Ministry would probably be in chaos." Dumbledore wasn't really worried about Albert becoming the next Dark Lord, as Albert wasn't cruel in his actions.
Albert looked at Dumbledore in surprise but didn't say much else. He just nodded, "I also think it's better if the mysterious one is gone for good, and it would be best to take care of the Death Eaters at the same time."
"Clean them up?" Dumbledore repeated.
"What's the problem?" Albert said, "I think as long as we use Veritaserum to interrogate them, most Death Eaters will be sentenced to death over and over again. After all, there won't be Dementors in Azkaban anymore, and without that living hell, the real hell will be a more suitable place for the Death Eaters."
Dumbledore didn't dwell on this matter anymore. After his death, most of these things would no longer concern him.
"I think I should go now, or Isabelle will worry." Albert stood up, ready to leave.
"Mr. Anderson, I assume you know how to sneak into Hogwarts without a trace." Dumbledore suddenly stopped Albert, asking about this matter.
He actually knew a few ways, but perhaps Albert knew even more methods.
"You mean, helping the Death Eaters enter Hogwarts?" Albert raised an eyebrow.
"Yes."
"You can use the secret passages. There are several passages leading into the school." Albert turned his head to look at the fireplace and continued, "You can use Floo Powder to come out of Snape's fireplace, and house-elves can also ignore Hogwarts' anti-Apparition enchantments. The keys to the doors aren't a problem either, although they can be a bit loud, but that wouldn't be strange for Death Eaters. If you're not satisfied with those options, you can try the Vanishing Cabinet. I remember there used to be a Vanishing Cabinet in Hogwarts that could connect to the one in Borgin and Burkes' shop. However, that thing was broken, but if you fix it, it should still work."
(End of Chapter)
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