Luckily, this time Tom had directly destroyed two of Voldemort's Horcruxes this time.
"We have a few more days of peace and quiet." said Tom. With Riddle's diary destroyed, there would be a period of peace at Hogwarts, and he was just in time to set about sorting things out.
"I'm pretty sure the crisis is not over, Voldemort is not dead, according to my sources, he is currently hiding in the forests of Albania." said Dumbledore calmly, as if he was talking about his cat running into the courtyard next door.
"Professor, I am willing to go to Albania and eradicate the root of the problem if you want, I just need your help..." Tom had some urgent things he wanted to do, he wanted to get some support from Dumbledore in exchange for hunting down Voldemort.
Dumbledore shook his head, "Voldemort is in no condition to be killed by a magic spell."
It wasn't good news, but Dumbledore didn't seem worried, "And we've had a good year, haven't we."
"Professor Dumbledore..."
"Well, that's enough of that. You should go get some rest." Dumbledore interrupted Tom.
Tom could only get up reluctantly, but Dumbledore stopped him on his way out, "Gilderoy, please invite Severus here, I want to ask him about the anti-theft measures in his office. I hear he's made a batch of Verisateum, and that needs to be guarded well, or it could cause serious problems."
As he said this, Tom was suddenly under the illusion that the kind and gentle old man had disappeared, that his smile and the sparkle in his eyes had almost vanished, that there was a cold anger in every wrinkle of his face and a strange aura about him, as if he were on fire.
But only for a moment, and then he was back to his old self.
Tom nodded gravely, "I'll be informed."
Dumbledore looked into his eyes, as if he could see right through him, "Go in peace, I'll watch the puppet for you." It was clear that Dumbledore had regained his composure and was pleased with Tom's reaction.
After leaving the office, Tom noticed a series of notifications pop up on his system.
[Completed Hidden Quest: The Fall of the Dark Lord (I), The Fall of the Dark Lord (III).
[Automatically collects a series of quests: The Fall of the Dark Lord.]
[Quest reward: Dark Lord's Diary, Crown of Ravenclaw].
[Acquired: Remains of the Dark Lord's Diary (?) A blank diary that looks like a normal diary, but is actually the diary left by the Dark Lord Tom Riddle when he was a sixth year at Hogwarts. One of the Dark Lord's Horcruxes that he used to reopen the school's Chamber of Secrets after graduating and attacking Muggle-born students. It's so damaged that it's lost all its power, and it's not even as good as a normal notebook, as it absorbs ink! Writing in it more often can make a difference].
[Acquired: Broken Ravenclaw Crown (?) Rowena Ravenclaw's only relic that increases the wisdom of its wearer. It has been tainted by a fragment of Tom Riddle's soul and has undergone unpredictable changes. It is currently damaged and unusable, and it is possible that Hogwarts may find a way to repair it].
[Relic of the Four Founders: Crown of Ravenclaw]
[Progress (1/4)]
[Mission Unleashed: No thoughts, no obsessions]
[Description: Peggy (ruthless) has escaped, you need to find out where she is and deal with her without causing harm]
[Mission Reward: Unknown]
Tom had completed a number of missions and triggered other missions. But for now he didn't even think about that, and headed for the Hogwarts lawn.
Yes, Peggy (ruthless) had no human emotions, would not seek revenge against him, was useless and redundant, and was absolutely sane after completely isolating herself from her other self, and would do nothing redundant. So one should do nothing,
So one could do nothing, and the mission [no thoughts, no obsessions] would be done. Dumbledore had also promised that he would help find [Sister].
But Tom had decided to take matters into his own hands, not to let it go. There was Peggy in the hospital, and Tom was feeling sorry for her, and he couldn't do anything about it, not to say it didn't seem to be any of his business. The Peggy he had possessed [Sister] and escaped, Tom decided to send her to the afterlife.
Didn't you put me in Trance? Then I'll send you too, and you'll come back from the realm of the dead as I did, cleanly.
Naturally, Peggy could not return, since a wizard who turns his soul into a Horcrux is permanently trapped in the realm of Trance after death, and cannot be reborn, nor can he become a ghost and suffer eternal torment.
Although Tom has Nirvana, so he can sacrifice himself to be the bait, there's still a lot to be said for Peggy's (merciless) Killing Curse. Whether she was able to defeat it or not, that's another story.
In fact, with the spells loaded in [Sister], there is a high probability that Tom will die in human form. Only by changing to the form of a magical animal will he have a chance to win. But in a real fight, Tom could win, because [Sister]'s magic is limited, and after two more battles today, she is probably half exhausted.
Using his memory and instincts, Tom ran wildly across the lawn and into the Forbidden Forest, looking closely at the ground and bushes, trying to find traces. But he soon abandoned the idea, both because it was dark and because he had no experience in this field, and he found it difficult to find tracks and crooked plants in the darkness of the forest.
Tom didn't care about anything else and ran quickly based on his intuition. Finally, his intuition led him to the shore of Black Lake. In the moonlight, Tom saw a series of footprints stretching out into the lake.
"I can't believe he jumped into the lake..." Tom's face twitched, Peggy was diving with [Sister], he really couldn't do anything about it, after all she couldn't breathe underwater, and the Black Lake was so tricky, how could he find her if she dived!
Tom looked up at Hogwarts Castle, his eyes gradually deepening.
...
Snape decided that the Lockhart in front of him must be fake, conjured up some ropes and tied him up.
"Maybe I should get some Veritaserum, so you can tell the truth." Snape grimaced, but it was clear he didn't need Veritaserum to know the truth.
The Lockhart before him suddenly contracted, his face contorted and his body bent like a shrimp. His hair grew, his color had changed: from black to brown, his figure shrank a little, his robe loosened and gaps appeared between the ropes and his body.
As a Potions master, Snape knew this was a reaction to the expiration of the Multijuice Potion, "Come on, let me see your true face..."
He paused, stunned. Snape had never expected the person impersonating Lockhart to be Hermione Granger. Almost immediately he thought of Hermione Granger, as Lockhart's assistant, adopting his form and fighting him, and then Lockhart himself....
"Please let go of my assistant, Professor Snape." A voice came from the other side of the Great Dining Hall door, causing the young wizards to turn their heads to look. Lockhart stepped through the door.
"Thanks to Miss Granger, I've had the opportunity to 'get' that clown," he announced as he walked up to the stage and looked at the young wizards. "You no longer have to worry about the one responsible for the series of attack, he has been eliminated."
The crowd of wizards erupted. Cassandra from Slytherin rushed to the front of the stage, pleading loudly with Professor Lockhart for more details: her sister was still in the school hospital recovering! Riddle's attack had taken so much of her life force that it had caused a flashback. If Madam Pomfrey hadn't been professional enough to spot the problem, intensify her treatment, and get a few tears from the Phoenix, Cassandra would have died.
"I'll tell you more about this exciting adventure in my new book, 'I'll Behead the Demon at Hogwarts'..." Tom couldn't tell the story in public, so he pulled out a plausible excuse and made it happen.
The young wizards thought it was too reasonable...to write about their own adventures instead of telling them. Isn't that what Professor Lockhart has always done? He travels all over the world and then writes his fantastic adventures in a book for wizards everywhere to see.
"Thank you," Cassandra said with tears in her eyes, "For avenging my sister's death, you will always be a friend of the Wray family..." she was so emotional she could barely breathe. She tried to kiss Tom on the cheek, but he was quick enough to fend her off.
"Well, don't be nervous, it's the right thing to do." Tom calmed the agitated Cassandra down a bit, "Professor Snape, Professor Dumbledore wants you to come to his office."
Tom turned his head and handed Dumbledore's message to Snape.
Snape grimaced, shook out his robes, and turned to leave. His back looked like a giant bat.
Tom stayed behind and announced the end of the Dueling Club, ordering the Prefects to lead the students back to the common room, while he ran as fast as he could to Snape's office.
He has to hurry and have Professor Snape prepare the Veritaserum potion. He doesn't know how long Dumbledore can hold Snape off, and if he ran head-on into Snape after getting the potion, he would be in for a severe beating.
Fortunately, the operation went very well, Tom made it to Snape's office with ease and found the potion in the glass bottle easily after entering.
He slipped into a deserted corner, turned into a phoenix and flew away from Hogwarts. Hermione, who was looking around anxiously to see Tom, was deliberately left behind by Tom.
What happened tonight is not suitable for young girls.
...
Yuri Orlov's business was booming. After the fall of the Soviet Union, the huge quantity of weapons was as cheap as potatoes by the roadside, and there was plenty to go around.
AK47s by the ton, armored vehicles by the platoon, and even armed helicopters: you could sell them as rescue helicopters if you took off their warheads....
Yuri Orlov was a better alchemist than Nicolas Flamel. He used blood from conflict areas to refine tons of US dollars. His company grew tenfold in just one year, and he has contacts with "powerful people" from all walks of life.
Today, he had a nice chat about life with some young Slavic girls to celebrate his new deal. They were in the middle of a frank meeting when there was a soft pop in the air.
"Obliviate! Desmaius!" The Slavic girls fell asleep.
Yuri was about to pull the miniature submachine gun out from under the pillow when he saw the man in front of him change face and figure.
"It's been a long time, Yuri, there's something I need to ask you."
Chris was a difficult man to spot, being a celebrity, his movements were always erratic to the casual observer. Tom had too much trouble finding him, so he turned to his former partner, Yuri Orlov.
He figured that the arms dealer, who had made a name for himself a year ago, would be better off now if he hadn't been shot.
Yuri was relieved to see the identity of his visitor, but at the same time a different emotion arose in his heart.
"Next time you can call first."
Tom shrugged, "Sorry, I just learned a new skill, it itches."
Naturally, Tom had come to "flex his muscles", it would have been too mundane to just knock on the door. It would be quite shocking to teleport to the other side.
"What was that, a teleport?" Yuri's attention was definitely diverted from Tom's phantom shift.
"It was an 'Apparition'." Tom answered her question and disappeared with a pop. When he returned with a pop, he was holding two steaming mugs of cinnamon.
Yuri recognized them as a specialty drink from a stand near his house. They boiled together red wine and cinnamon, the latter with some pepper and honey, sweet and spicy.
"It's more convenient than takeout, isn't it?" Tom handed her the cinnamon wine.
The two chatted over the cinnamon.
"What's wrong with you?" Yuri was well aware that his companion was a "scoundrel," but just as well for him, as he feared he couldn't help Tom!
As he grew in status, he was exposed to strange rumors. Some powerful people seemed to hold some kind of ancestral secret, and he supposed it most likely had something to do with "magic", and that his little friend would turn out to be a wizard by trade.
"Help me find someone." Tom cracked a smile.
...
It was going to be a sleepless night.
Chris was lying in bed, the girl next to him was unconscious and the hotel sheets were stained with blood.
He is very satisfied, he likes to play with children, and those virgins, his eccentricity, after all, is due to the fact that he is too small.
After all, plugs don't get bigger, but sockets can get smaller.
"Two minutes and forty-seven seconds...," he glanced at the bedside alarm clock, counting from the top, as was his wont, "Damn drug dealers!"
Suddenly, a figure appeared in front of him, Chris startled, unconsciously looked up and saw the pupil of a yellow-orange snake.
Immediately afterwards, there was a sharp pain, and the poor little thing under his belly was pulled out with roots.