Chapter 983: No Choice
Chapter 983: No Choice
"It seems like Fudge is about to blow a gasket."
Albert flipped through the latest issue of the Prophet, sneaking glances at Isabelle, who was reading the Witch Weekly. He sighed inwardly. Ever since they returned from Spain, Isabelle had been giving him the cold shoulder, and Albert had been sleeping on the couch for several nights in a row.
"Still angry?"
"How dare I be angry at you, my champion," Isabelle muttered without looking up.
Albert shot a pleading glance at Katrina, who shrugged helplessly, indicating her powerlessness in the situation.
"Alright, don't be mad anymore."
Albert walked around the couch and stood behind Isabelle. He put his arms around her from behind and lowered his head close to hers, speaking softly, "I know I was a bit reckless before, but the situation wasn't as dangerous as you thought, and I took Felix Felicis. Dumbledore even lent a hand."
"You're becoming just like my good-for-nothing father." Isabelle said, her face stony, "Do you know how hard my mother's life has been? I don't want to end up like that."
"Sorry, I was impulsive."
Held in Isabelle's gaze for a moment, Albert apologized sincerely and raised his hand in a pledge, "From now on, I'll protect myself. Even if I want to stir up trouble, I'll get someone else to do it."
"Hearing you say that, it sounds like you often hide in the shadows and pull the strings," Katrina looked up at Albert, her expression strange.
"No, I'm a good person."
Noticing Isabelle was still staring at him, Albert cleared his throat and explained, "In a situation like last time, if you had stayed in the stadium, I wouldn't have been able to fight with my all, and I didn't know if the fight with the mysterious wizard would destroy the stadium. In fact, it almost did."
"Let's forget about this time, but don't let there be a next time." Isabelle said expressionlessly, "Do you know how worried I was?"
"Was that guy really the mysterious wizard?" Katrina picked up the Prophet from the table and hid behind it as she asked casually.
"Yes, it was him," Albert sat down next to Isabelle, "Cara noticed him first. She told me through the communication ring, and then I asked her to find Professor Dumbledore."
"What if Professor Dumbledore hadn't come to watch the match?"
"If he wasn't there, I would have forfeited," Albert said calmly, "Although I can probably hold my own against the mysterious wizard for now, it's not easy to completely defeat or drive him away. He doesn't give up easily, and time is on his side in a prolonged battle."
"So you're already that powerful," Katrina eyed Albert up and down, even though they had already witnessed the thrilling duel through his memories.
"Well, the biggest gap between me and the mysterious wizard is experience. After taking Felix Felicis, that gap narrowed significantly..."
"Wait, you used Felix Felicis?" Katrina looked at Albert in surprise, "Don't the organizers check for cheating?"
"They do, but... there are always ways to cheat. Besides, if they cheat first, why should I play by the rules?" Albert countered.
Katrina suddenly felt that this made sense.
Albert glanced at Isabelle and continued, "The mysterious wizard doesn't know my true strength, so... at the beginning of the fight, I had the upper hand. Well, I should say I had the upper hand for most of it, which is why I dared to duel him."
"Also, I have to show my strength sooner or later. Otherwise, a lot of Death Eaters will come after me." Albert said to Isabelle, "That's actually one of the reasons Mr. Bard arranged for me to participate in the Dueling Tournament. As long as I show that I'm strong enough, a lot of troubles will disappear. Well, even though the result was a bit unexpected, it's still within the controllable range."
"You're not telling the truth, or at least, you're not telling the whole truth," Isabelle saw through Albert's little trick.
"Okay, even though I've always thought that defeating the mysterious wizard should be Harry Potter's job, anything can happen. If Harry Potter fails, someone has to step up and solve the problem, and that's when I would take the stage. It's necessary to safely and proactively understand the opponent's strength."
"Defeating the mysterious wizard should be Professor Dumbledore's job." Isabelle frowned at Albert's words, her eyes fixed on him as she asked, "So, did you ever intend to leave Britain?"
"Of course, I considered it. If that day ever comes..." Albert shrugged, "I'll wait until I'm certain of victory before challenging the mysterious wizard."
"You can learn about him, and he can learn about you," Katrina felt that Albert was boasting a bit, as the mysterious wizard was one of the top wizards in the magical world, and only Dumbledore stood a chance against him at the moment.
"I'm still young and have a long way to go in my rapid growth phase." Albert was confident in his strength, "The mysterious wizard is different. It's hard for him to improve significantly anymore."
There was one more thing Albert didn't mention—he had the system, a cheat, while Voldemort didn't, so the longer the time, the more advantageous it was for Albert.
This time, Voldemort had contributed the Dark Arts Mastery skill, even though Albert didn't often use dark magic. However, to understand how to counter dark magic, one must first have a deep understanding of it.
Who among the so-called Dark Arts Defense Masters didn't excel in dark magic?
Dumbledore?
The fact that Dumbledore didn't use dark magic didn't mean he didn't understand it. If he didn't, how could he deal with those evil dark arts?
"If possible, it's still better for Harry Potter to defeat the mysterious wizard!" Isabelle whispered, not wanting her man to take such risks.
"Actually, I think the same," Albert smiled, "After all, Harry Potter is the savior."
"Harry Potter is really unlucky," Katrina muttered, "Just because of that so-called savior title, he has to risk his life against the mysterious wizard?"
Albert glanced at Katrina and said quietly, "That's his destiny."
"That's so like something you would say."
"The mysterious wizard chose Harry Potter as his arch-enemy," Albert explained.
"What does that mean?"
"It means Harry Potter has no choice, but this may also be an opportunity for him. At least, Dumbledore chose him. As long as Harry Potter stays alive, his future will definitely be better than most people's. If he wants to, he might even become the Minister of Magic or a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Magic in a decade or two. Moreover..." Albert said meaningfully, "Haven't you noticed that Harry Potter is the 'boy who lived'?"
"What do you mean?" Katrina often felt that Albert liked to spout incomprehensible nonsense.
"Even if I encounter danger, it's not easy to kick the bucket." Albert explained, "The only problem is that it's easy to affect those around me, and if my luck is bad, they could easily die. Take the maze in the Triwizard Tournament, for example; if my strength wasn't enough, who knows what would have happened. So, staying away from him is the best option."
"Does this have something to do with Dumbledore?" Isabelle suddenly asked, "Do you think Professor Dumbledore wants to use Harry Potter to kill Voldemort?"
"Dumbledore? While he also hopes that Harry Potter can defeat the mysterious wizard, I wouldn't say he's exploiting him." Albert thought about it and said, "He's just trying to help Harry Potter go further in any way he can, guiding him to become a hero who dares to face his destiny."
"What if Harry Potter doesn't want to?" Katrina asked, "Not everyone likes a life arranged by others, I certainly don't."
"Harry Potter has no choice. Unless he wants to be killed by the mysterious wizard, defeating him is his only option." Albert said softly, "That's why I believe he will defeat the mysterious wizard. By the way, some things can't be said casually, or it might bring death."
"Is it that serious?"
"I dare say that the mysterious wizard doesn't fully understand his connection with Potter yet." Albert looked at the newspaper on the table and said, "If he knew this news, he might even pay you a personal visit, or have someone invite you over."
"He doesn't know?"
"Of course not, but he will try to figure it out, from the common prophecy he shares with Harry Potter." Albert said meaningfully.
However, Albert was wrong.
At this moment, Voldemort was not preoccupied with plotting in the Chamber of Secrets; instead, he was pondering the entire course of events.
After personally getting involved, he had still been forced to flee in the end, which almost made Voldemort's nose twist—oh, sorry, he seemed to not have a nose.
After analyzing and filling in the gaps, Voldemort placed the blame squarely on Dumbledore.
There was no other choice; Dumbledore had suddenly appeared and acted as a judge, which seemed highly suspicious. That place might have even been a trap specifically set up for him, and Albert Anderson was just the bait to lure him in, with the purpose of exposing the news of his resurrection to the public, letting everyone know that he had returned, and thus reducing the pressure from the Ministry of Magic.
What made Voldemort uncomfortable was that this bait was not only unappetizing but also hard to chew.
Albert Anderson's strength was far greater than expected, and he suddenly understood why Barty Crouch Jr.'s schemes had ultimately failed against him.
That guy was very abnormal, extremely abnormal; a Muggle-born should not possess such powerful magic.
Voldemort was well aware that a large part of his own magical power came from his pure-blood status as a descendant of Salazar Slytherin.
The only wizard Voldemort had met who was more powerful than him was Dumbledore.
Then, what was the source of that Muggle-born's power?
Was he a descendant of some famous magical family? However, what concerned Voldemort was Anderson's strength; both his combat skills and his mastery over the Dark Arts proved that Albert Anderson was a highly skilled wizard, something that could only be known by actually fighting him.
The only difference was that the other was still young and lacked experience in certain aspects, and as long as he didn't completely grow into his power, Voldemort was confident he could kill him as long as there were no other meddling fools around.
"Master, Goyle and the others have been released." Lucius knocked and entered, respectfully reporting the good news to Voldemort.
In exchange, they had paid a price, such as pulling some strings and donating a large sum of Galleons to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.
"Have Severus come and see me." Voldemort didn't pay attention to Malfoy's words.
Lucius left with his head lowered and went to look for his old friend, Snape, who didn't dare to keep the Dark Lord waiting and hurried over.
"I need more information about this Muggle-born, Albert Anderson." Voldemort said without preamble: "Also, if the opportunity arises, kill him."
"That may be difficult." Snape's expression almost gave him away, and he had no choice but to remind Voldemort, "Albert Anderson has always been on his guard against me, and he can sense danger, especially after what happened in Spain. Trying to murder him is almost impossible."
Voldemort glanced at Snape, who quickly lowered his head and remained silent.
Snape did know a thing or two about what had happened in Spain, but he never expected Voldemort to ask him to assassinate Albert.
Fortunately, Voldemort didn't force him to carry out the task, otherwise, he really wouldn't know how to handle it.
Could he succeed if he tried?
Snape wasn't sure.
If he went all out, perhaps he could, but even if he succeeded, his identity would undoubtedly be exposed, which would be a huge loss.
When did Albert Anderson become so important to Voldemort that he was willing to expose himself just to kill him?
"If you allow me to expose my identity, I can try to kill him, but I can't guarantee success. If that happens, please allow me to return to your side and serve you." Snape knew exactly what to say to avoid raising Voldemort's suspicions.
"I still need you to stay by Dumbledore's side and continue to gather intelligence for me." Voldemort ultimately didn't let Snape take the risk.
"I heard that... Cornelius Fudge intends to send someone to Hogwarts to take up the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, perhaps we can use this opportunity to have the Ministry remove Dumbledore from the school. I think they would like to do that as well." Snape proposed, "If we succeed, perhaps our opportunity will come."
"Then go ahead, it doesn't matter if you fail." Voldemort agreed, "Just don't expose yourself."
"I won't let you down."
Although Snape said this, the first thing he did after leaving was to find Dumbledore and report the matter to him.
"Don't worry, Anderson once prophesied that I would be expelled by Fudge." Dumbledore said calmly.
"Aren't you worried about something unexpected happening while you're away from the school?" Snape couldn't understand how Dumbledore could remain so calm.
"The situation isn't as bad as you think, they won't succeed. Trust me." Dumbledore recalled Albert asking him if he wanted candy and shook his head, "Also, don't try it, it's a hard candy, it will break your teeth."
(End of Chapter)
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