Hogwarts Card System Chapter 285

Chapter 285: A Story from Ten Years Ago

Fourteen years ago, Trelawney made a prophecy in the Hog’s Head Inn, which Snape overheard and then relayed to Voldemort.

Because he only overheard the first part, Voldemort was actually misled by the prophecy, which in turn helped bring it about.

He began searching Great Britain for families that matched the prophecy: “a family who has thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies.”

Naturally, he started looking within the Order of the Phoenix, as no one else had defied him three times and still lived.

At that time, the Death Eaters, led by Voldemort, had been ravaging the British wizarding world for nearly a decade.

Voldemort had undoubtedly inherited the talents of his distant ancestor, Slytherin.

He was already exceptionally brilliant and outstanding during his student days. He had even formed a small group among his classmates called the Walpurgis Knights.

Walpurgis Night was originally an ancient festival of the Druids, the indigenous people of Britain.

Every year on April 30th and May 1st, followers would light bonfires and dance to celebrate the passing of winter and the arrival of spring.

Since Druidism was considered pagan by Christians, its gods were believed to be devils.

Furthermore, as the number of Druids dwindled, they often held secret rituals at night, offering sacrifices on sacred mountains and burning May bonfires, leading to superstitious legends of devils and witches gathering on this night.

Eventually, “Walpurgis Night” also became synonymous with a devil’s carnival.

Goethe even mentioned this in Faust.

Tom naming his small group after this showed how ambitious he was even then.

The members of the Walpurgis Knights were mostly pure-blood family members. Most of those older than Tom did not become Death Eaters, while those much younger and the next generation of the older ones became the first generation of Death Eaters.

Normally, as a half-blood, Tom would not have been able to become the spokesperson for pure-blood family interests, leading pure-blood wizards to seize power and benefits.

However, Tom’s cunning and strength were formidable enough, and he was also the Heir of Slytherin. Coupled with the influence he had cultivated since his school days, especially after ten years of travel and sacrificing his nose, he became incredibly powerful!

Thus, he ultimately became the pure-blood families’ representative.

The so-called pure-blood families and pro-Muggle wizards were merely a clash between vested interests and emerging classes.

When Muggle-born wizards were few in the past, was there truly peace within the pure-blood families themselves?

Ultimately, it was just a struggle for power and gain.

But!

But then, Voldemort went mad!

While Tom wasn’t exactly a good person—bullying, ambition, cunning, coveting power and dark magic… he was at least powerful, intelligent, and capable of leading pure-blood wizards to gain more advantages.

During his school days, everyone in the entire school, except Dumbledore, liked the handsome, charming, and excellent Tom.

But from the Basilisk killing Myrtle, to him discovering the truth about his parentage and killing his grandfather and uncle, then killing the owner of the golden cup… a series of Horcrux creations fragmented his soul.

Ted felt that his actions were definitely not just out of “fear of death” or for stronger magic (creating Horcruxes could significantly enhance magical power, and in terms of magic, Voldemort was even stronger than Dumbledore).

Tom likely had some self-destructive tendencies, or perhaps an extreme aversion to his utterly disgraceful origins and childhood, a most extreme form of severance.

His handsome appearance? He didn’t want it!

His name? He didn’t want it either!

He wanted nothing, only to kill the past Tom Riddle and become the current Voldemort.

By this time, even those in the pure-blood families noticed the problem.

Although Voldemort led their descendants to flaunt their power in the wizarding world, with even the Ministry of Magic daring not to intervene, giving off a “who else” kind of aura,

Voldemort was no longer representing the pure-blood families. His madness and ruthlessness made it impossible to fathom his thoughts; he had become a terrorist!

He brought nothing but death and destruction to the entire magical world of Great Britain.

Even more concerning was that the family members entrusted to Voldemort seemed to have been brainwashed by him.

Even if Voldemort turned his wand and commanded them to destroy their own families, they wouldn’t hesitate for a second.

It was like trying to steal a chicken but ending up breaking one’s own leg.

In fact, after ten years of Death Eater rampage, seven or eight pure-blood families in Great Britain had actually disappeared.

Those pure-blood wizards who were swept along were already, in their fear and apprehension, longing for the days before Voldemort.

Days without Voldemort were good days!

But Voldemort’s power and ruthless killings kept them from daring to get off the ride.

Then, the prophecy appeared! It was the answer to everyone’s prayers!

And then, things changed from the original story.

Neville, born at the end of July, was reported to Voldemort by a pure-blood family.

And Harry, born at the end of July, was reported to Voldemort by Peter Pettigrew.

Peter was never the brave and resolute type; he was indecisive, swept into the Order of the Phoenix by friendship and a desire to save face. He actually didn’t want to face Voldemort!

But the more he feared, the more he encountered. While visiting his ailing mother, he was cornered by Voldemort.

Then, the cowardly Peter chose to “join if you can’t beat them.”

At that time, Voldemort wasn’t targeting James Potter and his family specifically; Voldemort didn’t even consider these younger generations worth his attention.

He actually wanted to plant a spy within the Order of the Phoenix.

As for the two children who matched the prophecy, there was no question of choosing one; Voldemort originally intended to eliminate both to prevent future trouble.

However, Peter mentioned that the Potter child, Harry, was a girl, so Voldemort decided to deal with her later and first eliminate the Longbottom boy.

This “later” turned into over a decade!

After Voldemort was struck down by his own Killing Curse, the Death Eaters were left leaderless.

At that time, many non-fanatical Death Eaters were already trying to find ways to escape.

Some fled abroad, simply running away.

Others were caught and implicated former comrades to earn leniency, like Igor Karkaroff, the Durmstrang headmaster.

Some found ways—mainly through bribery—to clear their names, like Lucius Malfoy, who claimed he was under the Imperius Curse.

There were also those like Snape, who had powerful guarantors. Dumbledore vouched for Snape, claiming he was his spy within the Death Eaters.

Of course, the loyalists were all imprisoned in Azkaban, enjoying a daily Dementor’s Kiss.

Among them was Bellatrix Lestrange, Sirius’s cousin and Voldemort’s fanatical private admirer.

Voldemort likely trusted her the most, even hiding one of his Horcruxes, the golden cup, in her vault.

It was Bellatrix, who, after Voldemort’s “disappearance,” never gave up and found Voldemort’s spy, Peter.

She threatened to expose his betrayal, forcing him to lead the Potters into an ambush, hoping to interrogate him about Voldemort’s whereabouts…

Harry had heard “phantom voices” in front of the Dementors, which were actually her parents’ dying screams when she was just one year old.

It was even Peter’s sneak attack from behind that caused James Potter to fall, otherwise the couple might have held out until rescue arrived.

And it was also because Sirius and the others arrived quickly enough, otherwise Harry would certainly not have survived.

At the time, Sirius, using some magic he had acquired from the elves, had created a small distress device. It alerted them that James and Lily Potter were in danger and allowed them to pinpoint their location. This was something Peter didn’t know.

However, Peter’s cleverness became apparent. He prepared an escape plan—feigning death!

He knew his friends too well; no matter the outcome of this betrayal, they would hunt him to the ends of the earth.

He didn’t want to be pursued by his friends, nor did he want to be threatened by Death Eaters again. He just wanted to live a quiet life. He was fed up with this life of fighting and killing!

So, faking his death was a good choice.

He prepared a booby-trapped corpse for himself, which was blown to pieces and charred during the battle.

Thus, although Peter led the Potters into an ambush due to incorrect information, he was also a “victim” who paid with his life.

How could you criticize a dead man?

So, the only ones at fault were the Death Eaters!

For all these years, Sirius had spent an unknown amount of money trying to get his cousin’s group of Death Eaters in Azkaban killed. Unfortunately, he hadn’t succeeded.

Considering that Voldemort later subdued the Dementors and sent them to attack Hogwarts, Ted suspected that these core Death Eaters had been taught by Voldemort and had a way to resist the Dementors’ emotional draining.

Just as Sirius in the original story used his Animagus form to trick the Dementors.

These people had endured for over ten years without going mad.

I’ve decided to add another chapter.

I also have to go back to my hometown on the 12th for my cousin’s promotion banquet. I’m running out of leave days this month.

(End of Chapter)