In a dark room, a bald young man was holding a peeled apple and bowing to a chair. On the chair was a strange creature that looked like a wrinkled baby.
In the corridor far away, Peter the Dwarf was hiding behind a cabinet and observing the interior of the house. He could not help but swallow his saliva. He did not know if it was his illusion, but in front of the blazing fire, there were not two people, but an eagle with its wings folded and a poisonous snake entrenched on the ground.
Without looking at the apple in front of him, Tom Riddle narrowed his red eyes and carefully observed his old rival in front of him. Suddenly, the wrinkled baby leaned against the chair and said with its head tilted, "Kneel."
Hoffa frowned and did not move. He just held the apple.
"I told you to kneel. Can't you hear me?"
Tom moved his head forward and repeated, "Kneel, now."
Hoffa still held the apple and did not move.
"You want to bribe me with an apple? Do you really think I'm a baby, Bach?" Tom's red eyes flashed with a playful light. "Don't you want to resurrect your little girlfriend? Show me some sincerity!"
Hoffa raised his eyebrows, put away the apple, and straightened his body. He came to the fireplace in the dark hall, took down a porcelain plate on the wall, and blew the dust off it.
"Tom, although I have a favor to ask of you, it doesn't mean I'm your subordinate or servant. Don't deny it. You need me, more than ever. "
Tom Riddle sneered. "You think too highly of yourself, Bach. I don't need you."
Hoffa put the plate on the table. His finger turned into a knife and cut the apple into eight pieces.
"Although the people from the Ministry of Magic think you're dead, Abusi and Dumbledore don't think so. The people from the Phoenix Society also don't think so. They'll find you and kill you. Your most capable subordinates are now watching and have already betrayed you. Malfoy, Kakarov, as long as there is even the slightest movement, they will swallow you whole. I believe you know this better than I do. "
The expression of the little man on the chair twisted a few times. He spat out a mouthful of saliva and sneered, "You are still the same as before. You know more than anyone else."
"Don't mind me. I just need to ask around a bit to find out. Everyone in the Magus World knows about this. Judging from the current situation, Peter Pettigrew alone will not be able to protect you. At a time like this, do you still want to push me away because of some ridiculous vanity? "
"They can't find me, no one can find me!" Lord Voldemort said fiercely.
"Really?"
Hoffa leaned against the brick wall of the fireplace and munched on an apple. "Didn't I find you?"
"You … Cough, cough, cough!" Lord Voldemort was speechless and coughed again.
Hoffa shrugged. "How many people in this world can remain neutral and objective? Perhaps no one can do that except for Ravenclaw. I am the only one who will not be biased against you, Tom."
"I don't need any bullshit about being neutral and objective. You can either submit or get lost." Lord Voldemort hissed. "I will never trust Ravenclaw easily. This is a lesson I exchanged with my soul."
The conversation seemed to have reached an impasse.
Crunch, crunch.
In front of the fireplace, Hoffa slowly ate the fruit.
Tom licked his lips mercilessly. "I will give you a minute to think. After you finish eating that damn apple, if you still don't kneel in front of me, be prepared to kill me. Hmph …"
Gulp.
Huo Fa swallowed a piece of apple and picked up another piece. "Gunter's old house," he said calmly.
Crunch, he swallowed it and picked up another piece. "Seaside cave."
Every time he swallowed a piece of apple, Tom Riddle's face turned a shade paler.
He picked up another piece and bit it off with a crunch.
"Gringotts."
"Shut up!!"
Tom's red eyes widened to the point of bursting, and his expression fell into an indescribable confusion.
Hoffa pinched half of the apple and did not move. His mouth revealed a faint smile.
"Impossible … Impossible … How is this possible …?"
He was sweating profusely. He lowered his head and his whole body was trembling. "Shut up … Shut up!"
He raised his head and looked at Hoffa. His eyes were filled with endless killing intent and hatred. "You!!"
Hoffa put down the piece of apple and said slowly. "So, don't be too sure. Tom, I hate being alone. You are afraid of death. There is still a possibility for us to work together."
"You, you dare to threaten me!?" Lord Voldemort's teeth chattered. "Threaten the greatest Black Magician in history!?"
"I did not. Your life and death has nothing to do with me. I just want to make a deal." Hoffa said calmly.
Lord Voldemort closed his eyes. His expression kept changing. After three minutes of silence, he opened his eyes and said coldly, "I don't believe in any of your words. I only believe in your actions. The Sorcerer's Stone is useless to me now. I will not accept that kind of deal. "
Hoffa shrugged. "Now we can talk."
"I need Harry Potter, the Gryffindor boy protected by Albus Dumbledore." As soon as Tom Riddle said this, the fire in the room seemed to have been blown by a gust of cold wind. It swayed and almost went out.
"Uh-huh." Hoffa snorted.
"Don't talk nonsense. We are not the young wizards from fifty years ago. Bring Harry Potter to me without attracting anyone's attention. Bring him to me successfully and help me return to my peak state. Then, I will give you the secret technique of Pévlier's human body refinement …"
Hearing Tom's words, Hoffa suddenly fell into a trance. At this moment, a strong sense of destiny surged into his heart. For some reason, he felt that he had experienced this scene before, just like when he did things in his daily life, he had a sense of déjà vu as if this scene had happened before.
The déjà vu passed as quickly as it had come, until Tom Liddell called out to him, "Hey, hey, are you listening to me?"
Hoffa raised his head and looked directly into his eyes.
Tom Riddle emphasized, "I said, I agree to your deal, but you have to bring the boy to me. In exchange, I will give you the secret of Pévlier's human body refinement, and even the spell of resurrection."
"Immediately?"
"No need. The time limit is one year. I still need to prepare the resurrection ceremony, herbs, and venue. You only need to bring him to me the moment I am ready."
After a pause, he continued, "How about it, legendary wizard? This kind of thing should be easy for you, right?"
"Yes," Hoffa's expression was somewhat serious, "but I also have a condition."
"Say it."
"I want my people to participate in your preparation process."
"Your people?" Tom shook his head and sneered as if he had heard a great joke. "Hmph, since when did the high and mighty eagle of Ravenclaw learn to recruit henchmen?"
"Nicole Lemay."
Hoffa said calmly, "I want him to come over and participate in your resurrection ceremony."
"Don't even think about it."
Tom Riddle rejected him without thinking.
"You want to plant people around me? You are too inexperienced," Tom Riddle said.
"I'm sorry, Tom. The trust between you and me isn't as strong as I thought." Hoffa's face was expressionless, "I think you will definitely make things difficult for me, so I need to find someone who knows the ropes to keep an eye on me."
"Then there is no need for us to cooperate."
Lord Voldemort laughed coldly, "How do I know that you won't secretly do something bad to me?"
The two looked at each other and could see the fear in each other's eyes.
Hoffa picked up another slice of apple and bit into it.
But this time, Lord Voldemort did not back down. He looked at Hoffa with hatred and clenched his fist tightly. Sweat dripped down from his wrinkled face.
"Nicole Lemay must participate in your resurrection ceremony."
Hoffa put down the apple and said, "This is my only condition, and it is also a necessary condition. As compensation, you can also state your own conditions."
Under the light of the fireplace, Tom Riddle's expression was as ugly as if he had just eaten shit. He looked at the plate in the fireplace, where only two pieces of apple were left, and took a deep breath.
"Okay, okay, a straightforward person does not resort to insinuations."
He narrowed his eyes and said slowly, "Since you want to plant someone around me, then you must also have my people around you."
"Your people?"
Hoffa raised his eyebrows and turned back to Tom Riddle's chair. "Wormtail?"
There was a clattering sound outside the door, as if something had rolled down the stairs.
Tom Riddle's face showed disgust. He shook his head and said, "No, it's another loyal servant of mine."
He said confidently, "That person is the son of the current director of the International Magical Exchange and Cooperation Department of the Ministry of Magic, Barty Crouch Jr., a poor guy who was locked up in Azkaban by his father.
I don't care if you have heard of him or not, but you must save him and let him participate in your operation to ensure his safety before I am successfully reincarnated. Otherwise, all your demands will be empty talk. "
"Hiss!" Hoffa did not expect to go back to the original topic. He clicked his tongue and felt a chill in his heart. There was a bitter smile on his face that only he could notice. But he gritted his teeth and quickly composed himself. He stood in front of Tom Riddle with a cold expression and took the initiative to reach out his hand.
"Okay, it's a deal."
Looking at the hand in front of him, Tom Riddle, who was sweating all over, smiled. Although his eyes were full of undisguised killing intent, at least for this second, he smiled happily.
"Hmph …"
"Hmph …"
"Hahahaha …"
He crossed his arms and laughed sarcastically. He was unmoved.
Hoffa asked, "What are you laughing at?"
"I thought of the orphanage 50 years ago." Tom Riddle said slowly, his nostrils without wings were wide open as if he was tasting something delicious. "What goes around comes around, Bach, you've changed."
Hoffa put away his hand and turned to leave the fireplace room without any reluctance. He stepped over the trembling Wormtail at the corner of the stairs and strode out.
Behind him, Lord Voldemort could not stop laughing.
"You've changed, you've really changed! Hahahaha!! "
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
