Lucius took a step back, keeping his head down, not daring to say a word under Voldemort's gaze.
He wanted to Apparate but dared not.
He just hoped that Dumbledore would draw Voldemort's attention away from him.
Likewise, he just wanted nothing more than to stay quiet and be a little transparent.
His heart was dying in fear, but Lucius' mind was already brainstorming.
He had delivered Voldemort's dark magic item to Dumbledore, and according to Snape, that dark magic item was about the secret of Voldemort's immortality.
It was supposed to be proof of Voldemort's trust in the Malfoys, but now it had become his death warrant.
And this time, he had screwed up Voldemort's resurrection plan.
No matter how he thought about it, Lucius didn't think Voldemort would let him off the hook.
A Killing Curse or a Cruciatus Curse?
No matter which one, Lucius didn't want to try it.
What's more, after losing this one chance, could Voldemort really be resurrected?
As long as he betrayed Snape, Voldemort wouldn't have any help.
He had seen Voldemort and understood just how weak the current Voldemort really was - without help, Voldemort couldn't do anything, and he would always have to survive in a state of a wandering spirit.
That was worse than death!
With that thought, Dumbledore's figure instantly became much friendlier in Lucius' eyes.
There was no denying that he hated Dumbledore.
But he had to get rid of Snape!
"Tom!"
Dumbledore said slowly, "It's time for you to go!"
After saying this, Dumbledore raised his wand, thought about it, but then put it back down.
"I knew that you wouldn't do something so cruel!"
Voldemort's voice hissed, "You will always be such a hypocrite ... Dumbledore!"
"With you being the exception, Tom!" Dumbledore said in a deep voice.
It is just that the magic world does not have sealing spells, and Voldemort's current state is also very special, otherwise Dumbledore would have already dealt with him.
Of course, Voldemort deserved to die, but the one who was possessed by Voldemort was innocent. So, of course, Dumbledore wanted to save him if it was possible.
Voldemort glanced at the exploded cauldron.
Since Dumbledore had shown up, it meant that his plan to resurrect had failed completely.
It didn't matter, though.
Lucius was useless, but Snape was still somewhat loyal to him, and he could make a comeback sooner or later.
Next time, he was going to do it a little more stealthily.
Thinking about this, Voldemort was no longer interested in continuing the conversation with Dumbledore - Dumbledore's hypocrisy made him sick.
"Ah-"
A mournful scream was heard, not from Voldemort, but from the man he had possessed.
"Tom!" Dumbledore exclaimed sharply.
"Hahaha! Dumbledore, what are you going to do? Raise your wand and attack me?" Voldemort laughed maniacally.
His current state was very special, he was between life and death, although he had lost his body, his soul could not be killed.
Dumbledore could of course attack him, but Dumbledore's attack would only kill the one possessed by him.
But if Dumbledore didn't attack, then he would have to watch him drain the man's life force. He would use it to regain some of his power, and the person would still die.
The difference is simply ...
Whether Dumbledore would kill the man by his own hand or watch as the man was killed by him.
This gave Voldemort a great deal of pleasure!
What are you going to do now, Dumbledore?
"Aaaaahhhh!!!"
Hearing the sharp, piercing scream, Dumbledore's face was grave, he was indeed caught in a dilemma.
But Dumbledore only hesitated for a moment before raising his wand at Voldemort.
Voldemort shrieked in pleasure at the sight, "Dumbledore, are you going to kill this man?"
Boom -
The body shattered and the remnants of Voldemort's soul swept away and fled, his rampant laughter with a hint of mockery fading.
Dumbledore's entire body appeared as if he had aged ten years!
Snap!
Lucius instantly Apparated and fled.
He did intend to collude with Dumbledore, but not here and not at this time.
Dumbledore looked around to make sure there were no other problems and then waved his wand to clean up the traces in this place.
It was over!
***
Early the next morning, Dumbledore met Snape in his office.
"Severus, how did last night go?" Dumbledore asked, somewhat wearily.
Snape gave Dumbledore a look, "You're looking a bit under the weather."
Dumbledore gave Snape a somewhat surprised look, "Voldemort's spell failed?"
"It will fail after a certain distance."
Snape said lightly, "He should have left the British magic world by now."
Dumbledore nodded and asked again, "How did it go last night?"
"See for yourself!" Snape suddenly felt that it was really quite convenient to deliver information with an Occlumency and Legilimency, as it could cut down on a lot of nonsense.
Dumbledore used the Legilimency!
"This way, Voldemort will finally stop for a while."
Dumbledore's tone relaxed slightly as he said, "After Voldemort graduated, he worked at the Borgin and Burkes shop, and I got some information there."
"Horcruxes?" Snape's spirits perked up at the words.
Dumbledore nodded and said, "It's a bit tricky to get those memories, though, some of them are dead and the ones that are alive have had their memories modified by Voldemort."
Snape's expression was a little less pleasant, "That means that even if you find the clues, you'll only know what the Horcruxes are, and not exactly where they are?"
What's the difference between that and not finding them?
"The Horcruxes were collected by Voldemort himself."
Dumbledore explained, "Since Malfoy has one in his possession, we can't rule out a Horcrux in the possession of another Death Eater."
"Bellatrix Lestrange!" Snape pronounced the name slowly.
She was the craziest Death Eater of them all, and at the same time came from the Sacred Twenty-Eight Family, and was deeply trusted by Voldemort.
Dumbledore nodded and said, "We've already destroyed two Horcruxes, and there's probably one left in Lestrange's possession, as for the rest ..."
"I still need to get another memory."
After all was said and done, there were still only so many clues in their hands.
Snape asked lightly, "Is there anything else?"
Dumbledore nodded as he looked at Snape and said in a sincere tone, "Hold out for another year, Severus. I'll speed up the investigation and have some things arranged ... I'll need some time."
Snape nodded, "A year ... I can guarantee. But after a year, either you kill him or I will be exposed!"
----
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