In the Harry Potter Without Harry Potter

Chapter 423: Voldemort's Choice

Instead, there was a look of scrutiny in Barty's gaze, as if he was patiently waiting to see what choice Voldemort would actually make regarding this condition.

Voldemort's face showed a clear look of surprise the moment he heard Dumbledore's words, obviously not expecting him to make such an offer.

But that surprise soon disappeared, and he became cold and grim again.

"Do you think I will compromise again and again? Dumbledore!"

Dumbledore looked at him quietly, the previous Voldemort would never have said such a thing if he had been in such a situation.

If he had more than a fifty percent chance of defeating Dumbledore, he would not have hesitated to lift the table and fight it out. If he felt that he did not have even a fifty percent chance of winning, he would have used some more clever tactics to offer other more tempting conditions so that Dumbledore would have to give up the demand.

Or simply put on a show so that Barty Jr. or Snape themselves would willingly make the sacrificial choice.

Faced with such a condition, Voldemort could have chosen many different solutions, but his words now were actually a threat to Dumbledore, as anyone with a discerning eye could see: he would have agreed to this condition, but he needs to make sure that this was the last condition.

"Just as you were the one who proposed the Triwizard Tournament in the first place, then inevitably you would have to give more, now since it is still you who want peace, you will likewise need to give some more in return."

"How much does some mean?" Voldemort said in a cold voice, "If you include having my hands tied, do I have to accept that too?"

Dumbledore shook his head seriously.

"I promise this is the last one, how about a promise to take your men and get out of here if you agree, and how about adding another promise of my own? As long as the British Ministry of Magic remains yours, I will not return to this castle with my students."

Jon knew that Dumbledore was actually playing a bit of a little smart game here.

Now, according to the Triwizard Tournament, after they had won, Hogwarts Castle would of course belong to them, but the castle didn't run around like a horse and wagon, it still remained in Britain, which was still under Voldemort's rule.

If they moved the whole of Hogwarts back to Hogwarts Castle, there would be too many opportunities for Voldemort to infiltrate it and too many opportunities to attack it, and Dumbledore would not be able to send too many men to Hogwarts Castle because his main power was in France, and he could not even stay at the castle for very long, as he was still needed at Witching Horizons' headquarters.

So for them at this point in time the ownership of the castle was actually highly counterproductive, having the sole claim to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was all that mattered.

The deal to coax Voldemort's heart out with the terms of a vacant castle was certainly a good deal.

Dumbledore had undoubtedly proved his bets were right, as Voldemort became less hesitant and doubtful about the condition he had added later.

He looked at both Barty and Snape as if examining and weighing up the two.

Even every molecule in the air seemed to stop moving until Voldemort's voice reverberated across everyone's ears.

"Severus."

When he said the name, the masked Death Eaters behind him all breathed a long, tense sigh of relief.

As far as Snape was concerned, he had been isolated from the forces within Voldemort from the beginning to the end.

Not only because he was the only half-blood in a high position, but also because everyone knew that Voldemort had agreed to his request of not killing the woman named Lily under any circumstances, resulting in the loss of several Death Eaters.

No one liked Snape, and even Voldemort One, who was now in control of his body, didn't like Snape because he knew something that was not known to the outside world, and he chose Barty Jr. and discarded him to his satisfaction.

After saying Snape's name, he had nothing more to say, and there was no need for him to say anything more, as the meaning was quite obvious.

Barty's face didn't show any semblance of the relief that the others had thought it would, but on the contrary, he looked at Voldemort with that strange look in his eyes, strange as if he were meeting this lord of his for the first time.

And even now, Snape's face had not changed a bit, as if he were a dead man carved out of stone.

Dumbledore, having gained no unexpected results from Voldemort, waved his hand to the wizards of the Witching Horizon, and then Kingsley and the others gave way to a passage meant for one person to pass through.

The Carrow siblings, the half-blood Dean Greengrass and a group of former Hogwarts professors walked out of the encirclement in turn, and before they left, their wands were collected from their hands, in case Voldemort had gone back on his word while their captives were being exchanged.

Voldemort's side also released the muggle students he had imprisoned as well as the Witching Horizons members he had captured in France, and ironically, many of them were on their knees when they were released, begging the Pureblood lord to not abandon them.

All they got were the relentless curses from the Death Eaters, forcibly driven to keep them close to the Witching Horizons' side of the line.

And while all the other Aurors had begun to leave in line, Lucius was left at the end.

He gave Jon a complicated look, then Dumbledore, and then laid the still unconscious Draco down slowly on the ground.

If his son was to be handed over to the others, even if it meant disobeying Voldemort's decision on the spot, Lucius was not afraid to risk his life, but if it was to be handed over to Dumbledore and the others, then not only he but also his wife Narcissa would not have much to worry about.

Staying in Britain, if the battle between Voldemort and Dumbledore was not going well, it was not impossible that Voldemort would go mad and forcibly draft students who had not yet graduated into war, but if it was on Dumbledore's side, none of them would harm the students even if the Witching Horizon died out.

"He is still just a boy and has done nothing evil, I hope you will not take it out on him because of me."

Lucius whispered these words before following Auror's group, taking one last look at Draco before leaving.

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