"Only the ring!"
Cyrus's voice reached Voldemort's ears.
The former Dark Lord couldn't help but scrutinize Cyrus once more. In the darkness, those captivating golden eyes shone brilliantly, almost divine!
Voldemort's heart was filled with a mix of emotions.
This was his past, but also a future that he never existed in!
He had to admit that Cyrus was more remarkable than he had been. Cyrus had only resurrected last year, and if counted by physical age, he hadn't even reached graduation age, yet the power he wielded was already immeasurable!
Given time, it wasn't impossible that Cyrus could surpass Voldemort at his peak.
But that was only given time.
At this moment, Cyrus was still not on par with Voldemort at his strongest.
It's important to remember that at his peak, Voldemort was an entity that even Dumbledore, armed with the Elder Wand, couldn't kill!
The Elder Wand, one of the Deathly Hallows, granted its possessor invincibility. Throughout history, those who wielded the Elder Wand rarely lost in direct confrontations; its ownership usually changed hands through assassination, ambush...
Even with such a powerful artifact at his disposal, Dumbledore couldn't completely defeat Voldemort. Despite Voldemort's long disappearance, the terror he invoked remained unforgettable.
Therefore, Voldemort thought that even if he let go of the magic book for now, it didn't matter. As long as he could resurrect, everything would eventually return to his grasp.
And that day was not far away!
Reflected in Voldemort's eyes was the image of a shabby, yellow rat.
Driven by fear of death, one of his disloyal servants had voluntarily found him. Now, he just needed to wait for that servant to bring him Harry Potter's blood. Then, he would once again return to this world in his full form!
No—
He glanced down at the grotesque body he currently occupied.
When that time came, he would return in an even more powerful form!
"Fine, I'll do as you say!"
....
Cyrus took the book left behind by the Four guardians and returned to Hogwarts.
By this time, the Quidditch match seemed to have ended, and the young wizards were gradually making their way back from the pitch. The sky was pouring cold rain.
Without the interference of Dementors, it appeared that Harry had won the match this time. Cedric was also an excellent Seeker, but his broomstick wasn't quite as good as Harry's.
With so many people around, Cyrus decided not to return to the Room of Requirement. Instead, he transformed into an eagle and left Hogwarts.
Now he needed a place to settle.
Cyrus had previously disguised himself as Delis for a long time, but after the battle at Gringotts, he returned Deliss's body and made a small adjustment to his memory.
Therefore, going to Delis's home now wasn't very appropriate.
However, there was still one place he could go.
....
Malfoy Manor.
This was a historic mansion, grand and luxurious.
Recently, Lucius had been extremely busy.
Since Cyrus wrote to him, suggesting some measures against Gringotts, Lucius had been working tirelessly. But the results were significant: under the influence of public opinion, Gringotts' reputation had greatly diminished.
He seized the opportunity to establish a new wizarding bank. Of course, the bank was currently quite small.
While Gringotts' reputation had taken a hit, Lucius Malfoy's wasn't much better.
However, despite the Malfoy family's less-than-stellar reputation, their influence remained significant. Many half-bloods and pure-blood wizards from families outside the Sacred Twenty-Eight, eager to curry favor with Lucius, entrusted their Galleons to him.
How much they deposited varied, but at least outwardly, they claimed to have opened vaults with the Malfoys, emphasizing their support!
In addition, Lucius personally financed a large sum of money to Cornelius Fudge, the current Minister of Magic, to get his endorsement and promote the new bank.
Thus, the reputation of Malfoy Bank grew even larger.
Lucius boldly renamed the bank "Wizard Bank" and heavily promoted it in the Daily Prophet, claiming it would replace or even take over Gringotts.
Naturally, this incited the goblins' displeasure. However, after the Gringotts battle, the goblins had been left in a weakened state.
Bodrick became a notorious figure in goblin history, second only to Ranrok.
While Ranrok only took the goblin armor, Bodrick's actions nearly wiped out all combat-capable goblins in Britain.
Without the ability to resist, the goblins lost their voice.
Even if they protested in front of the Ministry of Magic, no one paid attention.
During this time, Lucius made another bold move.
He announced that opening a vault at Wizard Bank wouldn't cost a Knut, and deposits beyond a certain amount would earn interest.
This news caused an uproar among the wizards.
Gringotts had never mentioned interest.
The goblins, who were notoriously tight-fisted, found it painful to part with even a single Galleon. Not only did Gringotts not offer interest, but they also charged an annual storage fee.
Many wizards couldn't stay indifferent, and even the Weasley family, who were always at odds with the Malfoys, felt tempted.
Of course, even if they emptied their savings, the Weasleys wouldn't come up with much.
If the Weasleys were tempted, others certainly were too.
As a result, more and more wizards began withdrawing money from Gringotts.
Watching their wealth deplete, even if it wasn't originally theirs, the goblins found it unbearable.
In a desperate move, they decided to refuse service to those withdrawing money.
This decision caused Gringotts' reputation to plummet further.
Lucius could hardly contain his glee when he heard about the goblins' ridiculous move.
He was all smiles, already envisioning the Malfoy family at the pinnacle of wealth in the British wizarding world.
At that moment, a chilling voice suddenly sounded from behind him.
"You seem to be in a good mood, Lucius?"
Lucius felt as if a bucket of icy water had been dumped over his head, causing him to shiver violently.
He turned around stiffly and saw Cyrus leaning against the door frame, looking at him with a faint smile.
"Master..."
His lips turned pale instantly.
Lucius realized he might have been too carried away.
No matter how successful his wizard bank became, the real owner would never be him, but the young man in front of him, who still looked like a student.
In reality, Cyrus didn't care much about the bank itself.
What mattered was controlling the economic lifeblood of the wizarding community.
Who owned the bank was irrelevant; what mattered was controlling the person who owned the bank.
Cyrus casually walked over to Lucius, who felt as if he were standing naked in the snow, completely frozen.
"No need to be tense, Lucius. I just want to stay here for a few days. You wouldn't mind, would you?"
"It is my honor, sir..."
Faced with Cyrus's request, Lucius naturally didn't dare to utter any words of refusal.
In fact, he was already quite accustomed to this.
The former Voldemort often liked to hold meetings at Lucius's house.
In the wizarding world, Voldemort was like a rootless weed, constantly on the move with no fixed abode.
The Riddle family's mansion, though luxurious, made Voldemort uncomfortable due to his Muggle heritage.
The Gaunt family's bloodline, though noble, was impoverished to the extreme—the old house was scarcely better than a pigsty in the countryside.
It felt somewhat odd to Lucius that Cyrus, after escaping from Azkaban, chose to come here. But matters concerning the "Dark Lord" were never for him to question. All he needed to do was follow Cyrus's orders and hope that the "Dark Lord" would not be as unpredictable as before.
And, of course, protect his family...
As Lucius was lost in these thoughts, a woman dressed in black with pale skin walked in.
Narcissa's blonde hair was neatly pinned up at the back of her head. Usually somewhat melancholic and stern, she couldn't help but show a hint of a smile today.
The establishment of the wizarding bank was crucial for the future development of the Malfoy family.
Draco was currently just the young pure-blood heir of the Malfoy family, but in the future, his status would become even more prestigious!
"Lucius, today—"
However, as soon as she stepped into the doorway of the living room, the slight smile on her face froze, and her words got stuck in her throat. Fear replaced her joy.
"M-Master..."
"Hello, Narcissa," Cyrus greeted warmly.
Narcissa wasn't technically a Death Eater; she didn't even have the mark. But being Lucius's wife, she was well aware of Voldemort's cruelty and power.
Seeing Cyrus's figure now, she immediately panicked.
Though Cyrus looked nothing like the Voldemort she remembered—if anything, his current appearance was far from intimidating—the name "Voldemort" alone was enough to incite fear.
Cyrus had no interest in exploring the inner thoughts of Narcissa or Lucius.
He was solely focused on finding a safe place to digest the fragment of Voldemort's soul and to study the book he had obtained from the Room of Requirement.
But contrary to his expectations, the book didn't seem to contain any records of ancient magic.
Cyrus frowned.
"Voldemort won't lie to me, will he?"
....
"How dare he lie to me!"
Voldemort pinched the ring in his hand into a small piece of iron, and in a rage he twisted the head of a goblin off!
The ring was indeed the same ring from that year, but the soul inside the ring had disappeared without a trace!
Voldemort, who had never heard of the Deathly Hallows, didn't care about the disappearance of the prismatic black stone, but the destruction of the Horcrux still sounded a wake-up call for him.
"Will he destroy all my Horcruxes? Just to destroy me?" Voldemort's eyes flickered.
Indeed, there only needs to be one Voldemort in this world!
"But the only one who stays is me!"
______
Oh dear god. The chapters have became longer. The weather is changing like crazy. I think I've cought a cold. Doctor said I was drinking too much coffee and it affected my immune system...sigh
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