After Voldemort's question, the entire bedroom fell silent.
Severus did not let his guard down because of Voldemort's seemingly mild tone.
He knew very well that this was the source of Voldemort's greatest suspicion toward him!
Before that night, Severus had not only gone to Dumbledore but had also pleaded with his master, Voldemort.
He begged him to spare Lily, arguing that his ultimate target was only Harry Potter, the boy who had just been born.
And Voldemort did value Severus highly. That night, he had actually considered sparing Lily, fulfilling his promise to Severus.
But there are few mothers in this world who would stand by and watch a murderer kill their son, doing nothing and choosing to live on ignobly.
Lily ultimately died for Harry.
This led to Voldemort failing to keep his initial promise to Severus.
If he were still as powerful and domineering as before, Voldemort certainly wouldn't care about breaking a promise to a subordinate.
But now he was so weak he was less potent than a rat, and he needed Severus's help, so he had to consider this matter.
Such a direct question was his way of testing Severus's reaction.
Whether Severus truly held resentnt or didn't care at all, Voldemort still needed him to get him out of here. But the decisions to be made after being taken out would be different.
Severus knew exactly what Voldemort was thinking.
He lowered his head, seeming to want to hide his inner hesitation and struggle, but finally raised his head again, eting the gaze of the gaseous, barely humanoid Voldemort, his face full of sincerity.
"Master! I will not lie to you. When I first learned that woman had died, I did resent you initially. But after your disappearance, when the Ministry Aurors began their purge and counterattack, I ca to my senses completely!"
"Compared to our ideals, what is one woman, especially a low-born one, worth? Our true ideal is to transform all wizards, to change this world!"
"Therefore, your servant Severus Snape remains loyal to you, forever your most faithful servant!"
His answer seed to please Voldemort quite a bit, and the face of the gaseous humanoid form clearly showed so fluctuation.
Severus's reply felt remarkably candid, and that was exactly what Voldemort wanted.
As for absolute loyalty, Voldemort never believed in that.
He never trusted anyone's so-called loyalty, trusting only the power he could personally control!
"Good, I am glad you told this, and I am glad you have thought these things through so clearly, Severus."
He was not stingy with his praise for Severus, and his tone was noticeably more relaxed compared to before.
"Tell , tell how you gained Dumbledore's trust, how you brought Potter to your side, and finally, how you found ."
Hearing him ask these questions, both Severus and Ghost Snape secretly let out a sigh of relief.
Reaching this point ant they had temporarily gained Voldemort's preliminary trust. This was by no ans easy, and only then could Severus's subsequent preparations be of use.
"Dumbledore believed at the ti also because of my relationship with that woman," Severus began narrating his journey to find his master.
"I told him I wanted to repent, and he seed to always firmly believe you hadn't died so simply, so he wanted to keep close by his side for future preparations."
"But you know, Master, no one can figure out Dumbledore's mind. After all these years at Hogwarts, whether I have completely gained his trust or not, I myself am not clear."
"Until not long ago, after failing to find you in various places, I finally learned of this location in the Albanian forest from the Ravenclaw ghost. I knew then that I had to leave Britain temporarily."
"But if I left just like that, Dumbledore would definitely see through the problem. So I thought of a perfect plan."
Severus seed to be boasting, or more like currying favor, as he said to Voldemort.
"In front of the British wizarding public, I completely changed my previous image and publicly stated my intention to repent for my past, resigning from Hogwarts to begin traveling. Then I found Harry Potter at his aunt's house, gained his trust, brought him out, and took him on as my student."
"Afterwards, I did so things in Britain to prove I had truly changed. In the midst of this, I wanted Barty Crouch Jr. to cooperate with my actions, lay low, and gather the remaining Death Eater forces in Britain covertly. But he believed I had truly betrayed you! He wanted to rally others against !"
"His actions, by a twist of fate, actually helped prove to the public that I had completely severed ties with my past. So after that, I began my operation. Regarding Potter coming with , after Dumbledore personally asked Potter for his opinion, he didn't object further, though back in Britain, he was probably observing all along."
"Then, I first went to France, where I visited the legendary alchemist, Nicolas Flal. I also did so things in Paris to attract public attention, making everyone think I would keep appearing in the public eye. However, after leaving France, I directly ca to Albania with Potter and the others under concealed identities."
"I was convinced I would find you here, and indeed, I did nothing wrong!"
Severus looked at Voldemort with excitent and exhilaration.
"Master, you will return to lead us again, won't you? Now Potter is also deceived into staying close by, you can kill him anyti! The path ahead has no more obstacles for us! Even Dumbledore cannot stop us!"
After hearing Severus's account, even Voldemort had to marvel at the planning Severus had done, starting from his goal of finding him.
From the very beginning, Voldemort had held a favorable view of this Slytherin graduate, a male wizard of similar blood status to himself.
Unlike the fanatical and crazy Bellatrix and others, or the wavering Lucius and his ilk, Severus had a brain. His allegiance wasn't based on benefit, he possessed loyalty, and he was highly talented.
But before Voldemort could properly nurture Severus, the night eight years ago rendered all previous plans void.
And eight years later, not only had Severus not lost his loyalty, but his abilities and thinking had beco even more excellent than before!
"Very good!" He praised. "Everything you have done is very good, Severus. But you must not move against Potter. You need to maintain the status quo, preserve your reputation in the outside world and Dumbledore's trust in you."
Severus looked very confused by Voldemort's words and asked in doubts.
"You want to stay close to Dumbledore and then find an opportunity to eliminate him completely?"
"If such an opportunity arises in the future, you certainly may do so," Voldemort said. "But now my power has not yet recovered, and it is even continuously weakening. You finding must not be revealed to anyone else, no matter who. I only trust you, Severus!"
Such words made Severus extrely excited.
"I will never betray your trust, Master! I will keep it secret, I will follow your instructions, help you regain your power!"
At this point, Severus's expression beca urgent again.
"What about Potter? He is the one in the prophecy who will oppose you. Why don't we kill him as soon as possible? Right now, when he trusts the most?"
Hearing this, Ghost Snape couldn't help but feel a mont of doubt in his heart.
It made him feel that what Severus was saying to Voldemort now was the truth, that all he had done before was actually in preparation for bringing Voldemort back, not to solve the trouble that needed solving.
To this, Voldemort only said coldly.
"He is mine. After I recover, I will kill him with my own hands! I'll put an end to that ridiculous prophecy!"
"I understand, Master!" Severus replied respectfully.
With that, Voldemort began to scrutinize Severus.
"Then let enter your body first, Severus. I am too weak, so I cannot leave this forest on my own. I need you to take out."
He began to approach Severus. Clearly, this was not a request but an order that brooked no refusal.
But just as he got closer and closer to Severus, about to rge into his body, Severus suddenly spoke.
"Master, if you want to continue maintaining my previous standing in the wizarding world and Dumbledore's trust, I don't think you should inhabit my body."
His words made Voldemort pause. The gaseous figure clearly silently scrutinized Severus for a few seconds, then he spoke softly.
"You are unwilling?"
"No!" Severus shook his head decisively. "I am most willing! There could be no greater honor for !"
"But right now, I have not only Harry Potter with , but also Remus Lupin and Sirius Black!"
"You know them. They are Dumbledore's lackeys, forr close friends of the Potter Family. They each have their own skills. And Nicolas Flal, he is here now too. If you and I share a body at this ti, they will most likely detect a problem!"
Severus said earnestly.
"If that happens, my exposure doesn't matter much, but your plan, Master, would be unable to continue, and we couldn't return to Britain."
"But soone must take out now!" Voldemort said coldly. "Even if they are likely to detect a problem, there is no other way! You must take away from this place!"
"Master!"
Severus seed to suddenly rember sothing. He exclaid.
"Wait! I rember sothing now!"
He scrambled up from the ground, then rummaged through a cabinet by the bookshelf, finally retrieving an old teacup as if he had found a treasure!
"This thing! This thing can help protect your currently weakening spectral form, allowing to take you out of this forest in Albania!"
Ghost Snape watched Severus's series of actions, his eyes nearly popping out!
Originally, Ghost Snape had been suspicious in his heart about which side this Severus, who was baring his heart to Voldemort and telling how he had deceived everyone to find him, was really on.
But now, when he saw Severus pull out this teacup, he had no more doubts left.
This teacup, capable of housing a spirit, was given to Severus by Nicolas Flal.
After being modified, the cup was no longer a cursed item as before. Nicholas used alchemy to fuse the curse's effect with the teacup, turning the ability for a spirit to reside within it into a feature.
Similarly, once a spirit entered it, whether it could co out later would depend entirely on whether the person controlling the teacup agreed.
If Voldemort agreed to Severus's suggestion and chose to enter this teacup, then whether he could ever co out again would depend entirely on Severus's personal will!
At this mont, Ghost Snape's heart was in his throat.
He realized that all the words Severus had said before, all the preparations he had made, were for this mont.
If Voldemort's suspicion and wariness of him were still great, he definitely would not agree to enter this cup. But if he now truly trusted Severus...
"What is this?" Voldemort asked.
"It's an alchemical work I obtained from Nicolas Flal. Previously, a Hag's ghost lived in it for over a hundred years. Later, Nicolas Flal acquired it and modified it. Given your current state, Master, it will certainly be effective for you too! It will help you maintain your current state!"
Severus sincerely held the teacup out before Voldemort, simultaneously opening the lid.
Looking at the old cup, Voldemort's gaseous form fluctuated slightly, as if inspecting the cup's function.
Then, he touched the cup. The originally human-shaped gas was quickly sucked into the cup.
Severus's other hand, holding the lid, twitched slightly. He used imnse willpower to suppress the impulse to imdiately snap the lid shut, trapping Voldemort inside forever.
Sure enough, the next second, the gaseous form, which seed to have completely entered the cup, reerged from it, appearing before Severus once more.
"Good, this is a very good item. You have done well, Severus."
"I will wait inside for you to take out, to take back to Britain!"
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