The magical lamps on the wall emitted a soft, pale yellow light,
which made the entire basement look very warm,
but Voldemort's heart was like the dead of winter,
chilled to the bone.
"Are you saying you've already ruled the wizarding world?"
"Yes, at least the British and Ukrainian wizarding worlds."
It's not that I don't understand; the world just changes too fast!
The basement immediately fell silent.
Audrey didn't say a word. Her old father was struggling to accept reality; as his caring little daughter, she naturally had to give him time to gather his thoughts!
"Hydrus, my daughter,"
When Voldemort called out Hydrus's name, Selenis's expression froze. Then Voldemort said,
"Ruling the British wizarding world is my long-held wish. Can you hand it over to me?"
Audrey closed her eyes slightly,
"On what grounds? Why should I hand over the British wizarding world to you? Before I was five, Bellatrix raised me; Rodolphus was more of a father than you were. After I was five, I grew up alone, and the Gray family, who seemed to look after me in every way, were actually ambitious wolves! When I was eleven, they even tried to eliminate me!"
"Have you contributed a single bit of effort to my life so far? Where do you get the nerve to ask me for the 'hard-earned' empire I fought for?"
Before Voldemort could answer, Selenis shouted first:
"Master, do not believe her! This is Audrey Astley, not Hydrus Lestrange! I watched Hydrus grow up; she absolutely does not look like this!"
Audrey opened her eyes and looked coldly at Selenis Gray,
Her face changed rapidly, reverting to Hydrus's appearance.
"Selenis Gray, the reason I didn't wipe out the Gray family entirely isn't because I forgot what you did to me. It's because I was too lazy to bother. You're too insignificant, smaller than ants,"
She stood up, a cyan-green magical glow overflowing from the corners of her eyes,
"You'd better be sensible. Otherwise, even if you are currently the Dark Lord's host, I will kill you without hesitation!"
Selenis's memories flashed through her mind like snippets of a film. She suddenly covered her mouth in shock,
"It... it was you! You're the one who emptied our family vault! You're the one who caused Bode Gray's disgrace! You did all of it!"
Hydrus tilted her head. "Bode Gray brought that on himself; that has nothing to do with me. As for your vault? Isn't the money in there what the Grays stole from my family?"
"As for your family nearly being wiped out, that has even less to do with me. Perhaps you should ask your master who did it."
"Master?"
Selenis looked on in disbelief,
Voldemort had promised to grant her power and help her get revenge, which was why she had willingly become his vessel,
But hearing Hydrus's words, it seemed...
"Little Water Snake! I did that to vent your anger! To make up for my negligence toward you over these past ten years, I even let Quirrell consume a vast amount of life force! It caused my grand plan for resurrection to fail! Shouldn't you thank me?"
"Ha!"
Hydrus stood up,
"You clearly attacked the Gray family because you felt your noble bloodline had been insulted! As for your grand plan for resurrection—"
Hydrus laughed,
"Are you talking about the Sorcerer's Stone? What would you think if I told you that the stone Dumbledore brought out was a fake from the very beginning?"
"You thought that by possessing Quirrell, Dumbledore wouldn't know? Dumbledore knew you were back the moment you possessed him. When you bribed the Gringotts goblins to find out the 'stone's' location, you had already walked into Dumbledore's trap!"
Hydrus shook her head,
"With a brain like yours, you can only bully little wizards at Hogwarts. Conquer all of Britain? With your old methods of terror? Please, times have changed. Terrorism is obsolete!"
"Insolence!"
Barty Jr. jumped up,
"Even if you are the Master's daughter, if you continue to speak so disrespectfully, I will kill you regardless!"
"Noisy!"
Hydrus waved her hand. Dark tentacles immediately stretched from the basement walls and floor, binding Barty Jr. tightly. One 'little darling' even shoved itself into his mouth, making him unable to speak.
Voldemort also stopped playing the loving father; his voice was icy,
"You are unwilling to serve me?"
Hydrus shook her head: "You aren't worthy."
"Since you won't serve me, there's no need to keep you! Hydrus, I once held high hopes for you, but I never expected you to betray me!"
Selenis was in tears. She had taken her enemy for a father, and it was too late for regrets. Under Voldemort's control, her body quickly pulled out a wand,
"AVADA KEDAVRA!"
The green Killing Curse struck Hydrus directly,
But Hydrus didn't budge. She even lightly brushed the spot where the curse hit, as if it were merely water sprayed from a child's toy gun.
"Betrayal? I never acknowledged you to begin with. How can there be betrayal?"
Barty Jr. was stunned, Selenis was stunned, and Voldemort was even more stunned.
Hydrus had taken a Killing Curse head-on, yet she didn't even have a nosebleed!
Hydrus suddenly unleashed a massive burst of magical power, her aura flaring like a demon god,
A gale roared through the basement,
The magical lamps flickered wildly under the pressure of her magic,
Bound by the tentacles, Barty Jr. felt his exposed skin sting as if sliced by knives,
And Selenis was pinned against the wall, unable to move under the wind pressure.
Seeing their shocked expressions, Hydrus's lips curled slightly. "I originally thought that once you resurrected, I would give you a small country to rule so you could satisfy your desire to be a sovereign—consider it repayment for the gift of life,"
"But this Killing Curse... Heh, we're even!"
Hydrus walked toward the portal, her mood pleasant. Her voice held the lightness of a burden lifted,
"By the way, I came here to notify you: if you want to plot for Harry Potter's blood in the castle, I'm too lazy to care. But if you harm anyone in the castle other than Harry, I won't let it slide,"
Hydrus stopped before the portal and turned to give Barty Jr. a deliberate look,
"Especially the Weasleys."
Hydrus left,
The tentacles binding Barty Jr. retracted. He spat several times, his face full of disgust;
Selenis slumped to the ground, her eyes vacant. Her revenge had ended before it even began.
"Master," Barty Jr. stepped forward. "What should we do next? Should we eliminate her?"
"Eliminate her?" Voldemort murmured. "With what? She is no weaker than I was at my peak. Besides, immunity to the Killing Curse is something I have never heard of!"
The basement fell silent.
After a long while,
Voldemort spoke, "Barty, continue our plan. Be careful. Do not harm anyone."
Barty Jr. said urgently: "Master, Death Eaters are never threatened! We can even transcend death itself! Why fear a Hydrus!"
Voldemort sighed: "Yes, yes, Death Eaters can devour death, but that doesn't mean they can ignore it—sometimes, it is necessary to judge the situation wisely."
In just a year, Hydrus had actually grown to this level!
Fortunately, it seemed she hadn't sided with Dumbledore... Forget it, let her be.
He felt utterly helpless. The circumstances were simply beyond his control,
No wonder those Death Eaters hadn't responded to his summons; the root of the problem was Hydrus!
As for Malfoy... Voldemort snorted coldly. An opportunist, not to be trusted!
...
...
Returning to her dormitory, Audrey stretched,
She could finally sleep in peace!
Someone might ask: why not just kill Voldemort?
Heh, with so many Horcruxes still out there, could he really be killed?
This current balance was just right—cutting ties with Voldemort without provoking an extreme reaction,
—At least until Dumbledore and Harry Potter were 'solved,' Voldemort wouldn't go out of his way to find trouble with her!
If she had acted just now, she would undoubtedly have become a name on Voldemort's 'enemy' list. She might not be afraid, but she had so many businesses!
In the grand scheme of things, making money is the top priority!
With such a large estate, it's better to have one less problem than one more.
As the old saying goes: Harmony brings wealth, harmony brings wealth!
Why provoke a terrorist who can't be killed?
Better to leave Voldemort to the child of destiny, Harry Potter, and Dumbledore!
'I've already destroyed one Horcrux. I'm already quite unfilial!'
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]