The Dementors who had gathered were shocked by Voldemort's malevolent aura. In their knowledge, rarely did a human have such profound darkness.
"I come to grant you freedom, join me, submit to me, and I will allow you to hunt freely," Voldemort said directly.
His expression was arrogant because he believed he was offering an irresistible deal to the Dementors.
The Dementors present: ???
Voldemort's words were difficult for them to comprehend. Why should they submit to him, and what did hunting freely mean?
The Dementors looked at each other, bewildered by the communication.
Seeing the uneasy reaction of the Dementors, Voldemort thought his persuasion had succeeded.
He extended his hands, pale fingers clutching his wand. Voldemort gestured with both hands, indicating to the Dementors to calm down.
"Creatures like you shouldn't be confined to this small island. Under my rule, you can have a wider space for survival."
The Dementors only felt that the words of this individual before them were becoming increasingly incomprehensible. If it weren't for the malevolent aura that made them uneasy, they would have already approached and captured him.
Before, when they were hungry, they might have been deceived by Voldemort, but now Tom had provided them with enough food, which reduced the appeal of Voldemort's offer.
It's important to note that even in the original timeline, the Dementors didn't become loyal to Voldemort as soon as he came to seek them. Voldemort was resurrected at the end of Harry's fourth year, and the first major breakout from Azkaban happened in January 1996, almost half a year later. Even after that, the Dementors remained loyal to the Ministry of Magic until the Death Eaters took full control of the Ministry, and Scrimgeour lost internal control of the Ministry, leading to the second major breakout from Azkaban.
The issue lay here.
Even after Voldemort came to seek them, the Death Eaters didn't replace the Ministry of Magic. The structure of the Ministry of Magic remained, and even the Death Eaters placed a puppet as Minister, not making Voldemort the Minister and Bellatrix the Head of Aurors. So, did the Dementors really break their promises and betray the wizards?
They didn't; they always acted under the orders of wizards. When Voldemort and the Death Eaters controlled the Ministry of Magic, their behavior was more legitimate: they were indeed acting under the orders of the Ministry of Magic. Whether it was Minister Fudge or Scrimgeour, or even a puppet, didn't affect the Dementors much.
In the eyes of the Dementors, all of this was just an internal dispute among wizards. After considering it, they chose the more powerful side.
Were they wrong?
From Albus Dumbledore's perspective, the Dementors made a mistake, but from the Dementors' perspective, it seemed like they hadn't done anything wrong.
The Dementors were a neutral force; they would lean toward the side that offered them more power. The prerequisite was that there was no leader.
But now the Dementors had a leader!
This is why Tom appeared here.
After some contemplation, the Dementors found that this choice seemed complicated. So, they unanimously decided to let their king resolve this issue.
"We... will listen... to... the... king."
"The king... will decide."
Voldemort understood what the Dementors were saying, and a question mark floated in his mind: how did he not know that these dark creatures had a "king"?
Tom Riddle: I've devoted my entire life to studying dark magic, is there any dark magic in the wizarding world that I don't know?
Well, he certainly didn't know this information.
Voldemort silently noted in his mind that the Dementors had a leader.
He looked around, trying to find the king of the Dementors.
Having a leader was a good thing! Voldemort knew that this news, aside from being surprising, wouldn't arouse other emotions in him. He even felt a bit happy because persuading a group of creatures was obviously more difficult than persuading an individual.
But what if the king didn't cooperate? Voldemort felt like he was familiar with this; he would switch to another and solve the problem.
However, in Voldemort's eyes, all the Dementors looked the same; he couldn't distinguish who the king of the Dementors was. Until the Dementors withdrew, and one who was slightly shorter stood out.
Indeed, Tom had been unfairly judged; after transforming into a Dementor, his body became very slim. Even with the hood on, he stood over two meters tall. But sadly, the other Dementors around him were generally taller, over two and a half meters, so Tom appeared smaller in comparison.
On this point, Napoleon and Tom definitely had much in common. The impression Napoleon left on many people was that of a short man, but his height was around 170 centimeters, which created that impression because his Imperial Guard had an average height of 179.5 centimeters.
Voldemort, in front of Tom, displayed a more haughty attitude.
With his long fingers gripping his wand, he traced an arc in front of himself and said, "Submit to me, King of the Dementors."
A flash of desire crossed Voldemort's crimson eyes; he urgently needed the Dementors' support.
"I will grant the Dementors a level of freedom and power unimaginable. Across the continent, you may hunt Muggles at will, and you will retain the power to guard Azkaban, which I will not take from you."
Tom pretended to think for a moment and gave a response that left Voldemort dissatisfied.
"I refuse."
"The Dementors already have enough sources of food, and what you promise does not attract us. We will not submit to anyone."
"Nor will we betray the ancient pact; we will continue to obey the orders of the Ministry of Magic. I suggest you run for Minister of Magic instead."
Voldemort understood Tom's words, and while he admired Tom's coherent thinking, he felt a surge of anger burning in his chest.
Ingrateful, stupid beast!
Voldemort was exceptionally angry, and on impulse, he wanted to teach Tom a lesson, but Tom cleverly hid among the Dementors. It would be difficult to teach his King through the numerous creatures.
Once it started, it probably wouldn't end well.
Voldemort restrained himself and calmed down. He decided to give this group of beasts one last chance.
"We can make a deal; I need to take some people with me, in exchange, I will provide you with ten times more human beings."
For Voldemort, a one-to-ten ratio was already a quite generous offer, although a thousand Muggles wouldn't compare to one loyal servant.
Tom shook his head, "Putting someone in Azkaban or taking them out requires permission from the Ministry of Magic... If you don't have it, you better leave."
Voldemort was completely furious. He could no longer control his inner rage and realized that perhaps he had been too indulgent, making the Dementors unaware of his power and terror.
After dying once, he had become hesitant. Voldemort reflected on his actions and came to a conclusion: absolute power was what worked best! Without enough strength to intimidate, even low-level creatures like the Dementors dared to ignore his goodwill time and time again.
Once he understood this, Voldemort no longer hesitated. He waved his wand violently, quickly creating a series of residual images, and then a large black serpent appeared in front of him.
"Expecto Daemonium!" (Call of the demons)
"What is this?" Tom tried to sense the magic Voldemort was using. He realized that Voldemort's spell felt somewhat familiar but also unknown to him.
After analyzing it a bit more, he came to a conclusion that was difficult for him to accept: Voldemort had summoned a Patronus!
Could Voldemort also use a spell like the Patronus? How could he understand a spell like that? Did it have any relation to Voldemort?
Wait, that wasn't a genuine Patronus. True Patronuses summoned were warm, pleasant, filled with love and the beauty of the human world. However, the Patronus Voldemort had summoned clearly didn't have those effects. It was corrupted, dirty, and filled with negative emotions.
Tom finally understood everything.
So, that was it!
He even admired Voldemort for his ingenuity, as he had used the Patronus spell in reverse.
The Patronus was one of the most challenging spells in magic; many common wizards couldn't conjure it using the standard procedures. But Voldemort had gone against the current and, harnessing various dark emotions, had managed to summon a corrupted version of the Patronus. He truly was a unique genius.
At that moment, it became clear that Tom's plan to use Voldemort's inability to use the Patronus to get rid of him had failed. According to his original plan, only the Patronus could harm the Dementors, and dark wizards who relied too much on dark magic couldn't use the Patronus spell. Therefore, dark wizards were completely suppressed in front of the Dementors.
However, now that Voldemort had summoned a reverse Patronus, his beautiful dream had vanished.
But, upon further reflection, if Voldemort were truly controlled by the Dementors, how could he have come to Azkaban alone? At least, he would have brought two of his followers as escorts. The Patronus used positive emotions, and Voldemort used negative emotions.
Although Tom Riddle was evil and ruthless, he wasn't like a block of wood incapable of feeling happiness. In the original timeline, after killing Harry Potter, he was very happy. Tom believed that at that moment, he could feel happiness.
After completing his spell, Voldemort's expression grew even colder as he directed his snake towards the Dementors. In an instant, the Dementors who were arranged in rows scattered due to Voldemort. They emitted cries of pain and hurriedly flew away, leaving Tom exposed.
"Remember, Lord Voldemort's benevolence is not limitless," Voldemort said sinisterly as he directed his "Patronus" towards Tom.
He was going to teach this presumptuous individual a lesson.
Suddenly, a silvery phoenix flew towards Tom and clashed with Voldemort's large serpent with a loud bang. Both Patronuses engaged in a battle.
"What...?" Voldemort yelled, looking around, and then he gasped as he saw Albus Dumbledore not far away in the corridor. "Dumbledore!"
"Surprised, Riddle?" Dumbledore took long strides as he emerged from a dark hallway and stood in front of Voldemort.
Voldemort didn't respond; he raised his hand and fired a green bolt directly at Dumbledore's chest, but the latter turned like the wind and evaded Voldemort's Killing Curse. In the next instant, Dumbledore appeared to Voldemort's left, waving his wand.
Several flames formed a phoenix beside him, and the phoenix, squawking, swooped down on Voldemort. Voldemort also disappeared and then reappeared in the center of the empty space in Azkaban's prison.
Azkaban Prison rose on a small island in the middle of the sea, with a triangular outer shape and a central area that served as a resting place for prisoners in other prisons. However, in Azkaban, this area was used to store the remains of deceased prisoners.
Voldemort raised his head, looking down at Dumbledore with a mocking expression on his face.
"That crooked nose seems to be quite skilled... Dumbledore likes sticking his nose into Azkaban, doesn't he?"
Voldemort was projecting his own actions onto others; in reality, Dumbledore had not been monitoring Azkaban, at least not at that moment.
"Tom, your presence here has saved us from taking a long detour. This is Azkaban," Dumbledore said calmly, even jesting a bit.
Voldemort spat on the ground and quickly cast a Killing Curse, but since they were at a certain distance, Dumbledore didn't even move and allowed the Killing Curse to fall near his feet.
"I think this place would be perfect to bury your old bones." Voldemort wasn't willing to be left behind in the verbal battle.
As the two of them fought, Tom resumed his human form and retreated to a corner, preparing to intervene. As for the Dementors, they stayed at a safe distance. The energy released during the battle between the two wizards kept them away, not daring to approach. Meanwhile, the prisoners locked in Azkaban's cells peered anxiously through the bars, waiting to see what would happen.
Bang!
With an explosion, Dumbledore's Patronus phoenix and the large snake summoned by Voldemort exploded together, turning into mixed black and silver smoke.
Their dispersal seemed like a starting signal, and both Dumbledore and Voldemort acted simultaneously.
Dumbledore gently twirled his wand, and a spell of extraordinary power shot out from the tip. The power of this spell even made Tom, who had retreated to the side, shudder and his hair stand on end. His instincts told him that this spell could end him.
To withstand that spell, Voldemort was forced to dissipate his own attack spell and then create a silver shield to face Dumbledore's spell.