Vinda Rosier, now in her nineties, stood before them.
Age had not dimmed her striking presence; if anything, it had sharpened it. Her face, though marked with the passage of time, retained a fierce beauty. She was dressed in a high-collared and long-sleeved robe of deepest black.
"My lord," Vinda inclined her head slightly, acknowledging the Dark Lord.
"It is an honor to serve, and I shall continue to do so until the very end. Our victory is inevitable."
Voldemort returned the nod and spoke to the crowd once again, "Indeed, but this time we need to make sure we do not repeat the past mistake that had led to plan failure. Instead of focusing on the entire wizarding world, causing our forces to spread too thin, we will only concentrate on the European countries. Plus, all his ideas were made public, making it easy to counter."
"Now comes the tricky part," Voldemort continued, "why should all of you follow me when I have already failed once? What guarantee can I give that shows I will be able to win against the ones that killed me?"
Voldemort chuckled as he finished saying those words.
How funny it was that if he did not get those memories that gave him all the knowledge of what was going to happen, then he was still going to taste defeat once again.
But thankfully, this time, he was more sure of his win with all the plans he had made after his rebirth. After all, the one who would defeat him, Harry Potter, was currently in prison, and after lots of brainwashing, the boy had joined the dark side.
"You see, the fact that I'm standing in front of you should be the evident proof," Voldemort opened his arms wide, "because even death could not defeat me."
Voldemort's voice grew louder, "I'm no longer the weak Voldemort of 15 years ago; I'm much stronger and better prepared this time."
Many of the wizards present could not believe that Voldemort would refer to his past as weak. A wizard who could go head-to-head against Albus Dumbledore was in no way weak. All of them gulped at the realization behind the words of Voldemort. This time, Voldemort did not believe himself to be an equal opponent of Dumbledore but instead, someone stronger than him.
Voldemort felt himself immersed in the moment. The fear in their eyes only fueled his thirst for power.
"If there are any wizards that can stand in my way, then there are two, Albus Dumbledore and Harry Potter," Voldemort declared. The room fell into an uneasy silence as Voldemort's proclamation echoed through the chamber.
"But let me assure you," Voldemort continued, "Dumbledore's influence is waning. His precious Order of the Phoenix is broken. Soon, very soon, you will witness the downfall of that old man. And as for Harry Potter..."
A dark, twisted smile spread across his face. "That boy has become a follower just like the rest of you. On my order, he removed his Muggle family and even accepted going to Azkaban prison as a trial to show me his determination. If anyone doubts my words, you can confirm it with the British Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Madam Amelia Bones."
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
Shock was such a weak emotion to describe their emotion. How could this be true?
Dolores Umbridge turned her head sharply to stare at Amelia.
The latter gave her a sly smile. Dolores could not believe her ears. Previously, during the trial of Harry Potter, Dolores thought that Amelia was trying to defend Harry Potter. But now, as she began to analyse clearly, she felt that Amelia had played everyone at the Wizengamot and led the trial according to what Voldemort desired.
From what Dolores remembered, the first time Amelia spoke in the trial was about putting the witness Dudley Dursley under the Pensive. This resulted in everyone present in the Wizengamot witnessing how the Muggles insulted Harry and his mother for their magical ability and how they tortured Harry Potter throughout the years.
Through this, Voldemort was able to seed hatred for the Muggles via the actions of Amelia.
Secondly, Amelia also cleared Harry of the suspicion of killing Cedric and, at the same time, made everyone believe that Voldemort was still dead.
Finally, it was she who proposed the 3 options for the sentence of Harry Potter.
As if Amelia could read the thoughts of Dolores, she lifted her hand and placed it on top of that of Dolores and spoke in a warm voice, "It is as you have guessed. I led the trial based on everything my lord wanted."
With the confirmation directly from Amelia, Dolores now knew that Voldemort's plan had been happening for a long time. Dolores finally felt that she was right to join his side.
The speech continued, explaining to everyone present their roles and what Voldemort expected from each of them.
The plan of Voldemort was simple. Having these purebloods that was on his side take positions in the Ministry and begin controlling the different important positions in the wizarding community throughout Europe.
As for many businesses that were owned by purebloods, Voldemort commanded them to reach Tiberius Greengrass, where they would receive some free gold. This part was much easier for Voldemort, having the Philosopher's Stone.
When Voldemort met Dolores, he promised her that she would soon become the headmistress of Hogwarts for a certain time, and Voldemort expected her to keep order around the school. There was also one particular task for her that Voldemort needed, but that was after she would become headmistress.
Having completed his meeting, Voldemort was now going to remain in France for a little while.
For the next part of his plan to start, he needed the half-giant Hagrid to return to Hogwarts.
But he was not going to stay in France doing nothing, as he had gotten a piece of intel from Barty Crouch Jr. There was currently unrest going on in the French Muggle world, and Voldemort was going to take advantage of that to create chaos.
Voldemort also met one particular individual. A fellow Austrian wizard, namely Vienna. He was known as the crazy wizard, and after learning about his experiment, Voldemort could say for sure he deserved that name.
He was known for experimenting on wizards, muggles, creatures, and plants. The community was shaken upon discovering his crazy experiment, and he was thrown in prison. By using some connection, Voldemort was able to free him, and now Voldemort had the perfect experiment for him.
But that could also wait, because tonight, he would be staying together with Narcissa Malfoy and making the most of corrupting the woman.