"Why aren't you happy? Aren't you happy to kill the man who took your place? If he hadn't taken your place, you would be the Minister for magic of the French Ministry of Magic now..." The man's soft voice was bewitching.
"Stop talking!" Mr. Salong was emotional. "I didn't mean to kill him, I didn't mean to kill him... Really..." He was on the verge of collapse.
The man bent down. "Why don't you want to kill him? He ruined your career, leaving you with nothing but an idle position on the Quidditch Committee. You should be very angry. 'Teaching a student to starve the master' is truly the most fitting description of your relationship."
Mr. Salong no longer answered him, only hugging his head, hunching his back, and muttering, "I didn't mean to kill him, I didn't mean to kill him..."
At this moment, Gary's body began to tremble like a sieve.
He finally knew who the man standing in front of Mr. Salong was.
Lord Voldemort.
"And you, long time no see, Corella, why were you caught too?" Lord Voldemort, with a smile, helped Corella up.
"Get lost!" Corella's face was a mixture of fear and anger. "Don't even think about getting a single benefit from me!"
"Oh my... What a temper..." Lord Voldemort's smile didn't fade, and he pointed his wand at her. "Crucio!"
Screams echoed throughout the Great Hall. Corella's small body rolled around on the ground, and shrill screams came from her throat.
The hostages crouching on the ground couldn't help but shiver when they heard the sound.
"Quiet." Lord Voldemort waved his wand dismissively, and Corella could no longer make a sound. Large beads of sweat appeared on her forehead, whether from pain or cold, and her body was shaking uncontrollably. She opened her mouth wide, but Gary and the others couldn't hear her screams.
"You are..." Lord Voldemort walked up to Noang, hesitating.
"Master, this is Noang, the Minister for magic of the Brazilian Ministry of Magic..." The leading black-hooded figure respectfully stepped forward, bowing as he spoke.
"I told you not to call me Master. Where is your father?" Lord Voldemort was in a very good mood now. He held the other person with both hands and asked.
Gary was stunned when he heard this, then he looked up and searched among the hostages, but he didn't find anyone with striking platinum blonde hair.
Sure enough, Gary understood.
"My father..." Lucius Malfoy hesitated.
Lord Voldemort just raised his hand, and Gary and the others could no longer hear their conversation. This single gesture showed his powerful control over magic.
He couldn't hear the voices, but he could see that Lord Voldemort's expression was very pleased.
A moment later, Lord Voldemort lifted the sound restriction, and he summoned all the followers who were lying on the ground.
"My subordinates, today's plan was a great success!" Lord Voldemort spread his arms, his eyes filled with fanaticism. Lucius immediately stepped back two paces, yielding Lord Voldemort's position. "We are getting closer and closer to our ultimate goal."
The black-hooded figures murmured, echoing Lord Voldemort's words.
"It won't be long before we no longer have to consider the muggle-born's thoughts!" He raised his arm, and the black-hooded figures nodded in agreement.
"They should be ruled by us!" Lord Voldemort's eyes grew more and more insane.
"That's right, Pure-blood supremacy!" Lucius Malfoy was the first to respond to Lord Voldemort, and then the black-hooded figures also shouted.
"Now, my Death Eaters, take off your hoods and masks. We are declaring war on the muggle-born. There's no need to be timid anymore!"
Lord Voldemort's words made those people take off the items that concealed their identities.
Standing beside Lord Voldemort was indeed Lucius, but he didn't know where his father Abraxas had gone.
Lucius's wife, Narcissa, was also among the black-hooded figures. Her eyes were no longer as clear and arrogant as they were when she was studying at Hogwarts, replaced by endless madness and worship.
The people crouching on the ground trembled and dared not look up. Once the hoods were removed and their identities revealed, they felt certain they were doomed.
How could they be left alive to expose their identities?
Lord Voldemort finally remembered Corella, who was still rolling on the ground. He raised and then waved his wand, and Corella finally stopped moving. She lay on her back on the ground, her chest heaving violently, constantly inhaling and exhaling.
"Are there any muggle-born among these people?" Lord Voldemort asked Lucius kindly.
Lucius pondered for only a second. "Yes, Master, those children..." Gary's heart sank a great deal. He saw Lucius's hand pointing towards his side.
"There are children in the first-class seats, where are their parents?" Lord Voldemort looked at them with interest.
Gary felt as if he was being stared at by a snake searching for prey, and cold sweat broke out on his back.
He felt Alfrina beside him also trembling. His hand on the ground slowly moved over and grasped Alfrina's cold palm.
Alfrina looked at him, showing a desolate smile.
"Master, it's like this..." Lucius told Lord Voldemort everything they had done.
"Oh? How interesting... Although I don't like Quidditch, these children are still in school and can achieve such a degree. It seems they are quite excellent." He held both ends of his wand with both hands and slowly walked towards them.
The rustling sound of his robes dragging on the ground seemed like a countdown before an execution.
Lord Voldemort stopped in front of the group. "You said they are all muggle-born?"
"No, Master, this child is a collateral branch of the Shafik family, also Pure-blood. This girl is the child of two Squibs, and these three are all muggle-born..." Lucius followed obsequiously.
"The child of two Squibs?" Lord Voldemort was very interested in Alfrina. "Who are her parents?" He stared intently at Alfrina.
"They are Squibs from the Greengrass and Nott families..."
"Ah..." Lord Voldemort drew out his tone. "I see."
"Here, I'll give you a chance," he said to Gary with his scarlet, snake-like eyes. "You pledge allegiance to me, then choose one of your four companions and kill him, and I can let your other companions leave."
"How's this deal?" Lord Voldemort smiled. He seemed particularly keen on such experiments that challenged human nature. "One person for three, it's a very good deal."
Gary clenched his fists. He had never felt so weak, unable to even defeat that group of Death Eaters, let alone the man in front of him who was hailed as "the strongest Dark Wizard in history, no less than Dumbledore."
Could it be that he could only sacrifice one companion? The moment this thought appeared in Gary's mind, he immediately dismissed it.
What are you thinking! Gary angrily hit his own head, but once this thought arose, it took root in his heart like a sapling.