Chapter 416: Voldemort and the vampire Caresius

As Ivan and Sirius entered the Centaur ruins, a bright orange light flickered in the darkness in a hidden stone chamber in the deepest part of the temple.

"Last night, my people met Sirius Black in that bar, and there was a boy beside him, about twelve or thirteen years old!" One man said, in a deep and powerful voice, "That boy has a strong sense of magic, beyond imagination..."

"It's really interesting!" said another voice.

This one was also a man, but his voice was strange, cold and piercing like the cold wind.

"Black and a boy, he should be a Hogwarts student, maybe that's why Dumbledore suddenly appeared in this forest!" The cold voice paused for a while, "Let me think about it. Surely, our goals must be the same... all the powerful forces hidden in this desolate Temple of the Centaurs."

"I don't understand, since you have chosen that magic, why do you come here to seek other powers? You should know what kind of evil lurks in this place!"

"You don't understand, Caresius, although we have a common ancestor, our quest for power is not the same." The voice said coldly, "No matter what is here, I will get the Philosopher's Stone left by the ancient centaurs, which will make me stronger."

"The magic that leads to the end zone takes a lot of flesh and blood to break." Caresius said, with a hint of anxiety in his voice. "I suspect the magic itself is an ancient sacrificial ceremony. We are summoning a monster that does not belong in this world."

"I can feel the voice speaking to me. But it is bluffing. It is weak now and even weaker than me. It cannot stop us." The cold voice now sounded menacing, "Do as I say, Caresius, and order your people to lure more fools here. We need more sacrifices of flesh and blood to open the gate. We must get into the core before Dumbledore sees everything and comes back here."

There was a moment of silence, and the atmosphere in the chamber was very depressing.

"Should you remember our agreement, Voldemort?!" whispered Caresius. "For Slytherin's sake, I have to remind you once again that we are only working together, and that I and my people are not your men."

"Naturally, I remember that our goals are the same, Caresius!" Voldemort now spoke in a different tone and said quietly, "I will help you deal with that problem after I have fully regained my strength. I also want to see what our great ancestor, Salazar Slytherin, left behind."

"If you really want to help us, then hurry up and regain your strength." With a hint of anger in his voice, Caresius said, "You can do without Harry Potter!"

The chamber was silent again, longer than before.

"Without Harry Potter?" Voldemort seemed to be thinking. He said quietly, "I understand..."

"That boy is under Dumbledore's protection. We have no chance of getting close to him. I don't want my people to die because of his foolish perseverance." Caresius raised his voice. "If we use another wizard, male or female, things can be decided quickly, and we can always bring him a suitable person. I think the boy with Black is good. He has a lot of magic."

"Use another wizard?!" Voldemort's voice grew colder and colder. "You don't understand, it has nothing to do with the strength of the magic."

"I see no difference in this. My opinion is obviously more reasonable." Caresius continued. "As long as you give up that mindless persistence, you can get stronger quickly, instead of hiding here like a bug."

"I know all about it, Caresius!" Voldemort said hoarsely, his blood red eyes fixed on the vampire in front of him. "This is not meaningless!"

For a time, he seemed to want to cast a killing curse in response to the offense.

A huge snake, at least twelve feet long, also slithered smoothly from the corner, leaving a sinuous, wide track in the thick dust on the floor.

It hissed at Caresius showing its icy tongue.

The tension reached its zenith, and Caresius put his hand on his wand at his waist.

But nothing happened. Voldemort began to speak again, his voice cold enough to give her goosebumps.

"I have my own reasons for using that boy. I explained that as far as strictly protecting the boy, I think my plan will work."

"But your plan will take a few months to succeed." Caresius was not convinced. He looked with disgust at the large snake on the floor, holding his wand tightly in his right hand. "You should know that during this time, any accident can happen."

"I won't use anyone else. I've been waiting for thirteen years. It will be fine to wait a few more months." Voldemort said in a whisper, "I have my own plan, if you want to continue cooperating, don't keep bringing that up."

"All right, I noticed that you killed the woman named Bertha Jorkins!" Caresio said angrily. "If this is your plan, it's stupid! I remember reminding you that the woman was an official of the Ministry of Magic."

"I killed Bertha Jorkins because I had to. After I finished my interrogation, she was useless, completely useless." Voldemort said diplomatically, "If she were to return to the Ministry of Magic with the news of meeting me during the vacations, it would really destroy our next plans."

"We could have dealt with this in many ways besides killing her..." Caresius said, "We have a lot of special magic that could alter her memory."

"I have to admit that vampires have a lot of magic tricks that ordinary wizards don't have, but they aren't fail-safe." Voldemort said, "Any magic, no matter how strong, would fail before a strong enough wizard, which I confirmed when I questioned her."

Caresius did not speak, apparently disagreeing with Voldemort.

"In short, it is also an insult to her memory not to use the information I obtained from her." Voldemort said quietly, "As long as you do as I say and find my most loyal servant, he will do the rest for me."