Chapter 347: Testing on Both Sides
Maggie invited Dumbledore to go with her to negotiate with the newspaper staff. Dumbledore's deep blue eyes looked into the deep black eyes hidden behind the silver mask and he calmly agreed.
So while Aryan was talking to the other headmasters, Maggie and Dumbledore walked out of the tent side by side.
As for the negotiation process, if Dumbledore had done it alone, perhaps his wisdom and humor could have been recorded, but the addition of Riddle used his coldness and deterrence to prevent that admirable talent from being displayed.
There are so many cold-blooded descriptions, and there will probably be no less in the future, so we will just skip them here. In short, after making the media personnel tremble with fear through overt threats and covert interests, Maggie took off her mask, smiled and invited Dumbledore to have a cup of tea.
"Having tea so late?" Dumbledore stared at Maggie's familiar face, which was not unpleasant at first glance. His long white beard trembled as his lips curved up. He adopted the same calm and friendly attitude as he treated his students. "Why not drink butterbeer instead? It's just right to warm you up."
"Okay." Maggie didn't dwell on such small details. He raised his hand politely, motioning Dumbledore to go first. "I believe that a conversation with you will enhance any tea."
So the two of them, maintaining their outward demeanor, walked into Maggie's private reception room, and two glasses of butterbeer in rough wooden cups were placed on the grand mahogany table that did not match the style.
Maggie stared at the foamy wine and the rugged wooden wine glass that matched it, with a look of satisfaction on her face. He was now extremely wealthy and powerful, but after all, he had been exposed to elegance and had extensive travels, so he was somewhat resistant to the nouveau riche style of piling up things randomly. He preferred the combination that suited the occasion.
He owns countless exquisite cups, but in Maggie's eyes, butterbeer looks better in a large wooden barrel cup.
Expensive and rare have never been the criteria; with proper matching, the simplest country cottage can also be a romantic work of art.
Dumbledore noticed the subtle satisfaction and appreciation, and a trace of doubt flashed through his mind.
Tom, even when he was in school, only cared about being clean and tidy. He never showed any expression or behavior that cared about such small matters. After all, strength was his first pursuit.
"The professor seems to be a lot gentler than last time." Maggie didn't touch the beer that had left him with a foamy beard. He looked at Dumbledore with a smile, "Are you more satisfied with me today?"
"You are not a disgusting person," Dumbledore paused. He hesitated for a second and finally called another name, "Tom."
"I cannot ignore your misunderstanding of my identity, but I also don't want to argue with you on this point. Since you are a respectable elder, I can accept whatever you want to call me," Maggie said in his disclaimer, with a smile on her face. "I asked the professor to come here today, firstly, to apologize for my rude behavior last time, and secondly, to hear what you, a highly respected wizard, think of me."
As Maggie made his excuses, a dark light flashed in her eyes. He and Della had known about the Horcruxes for a long time, but he himself was a 99% alchemical aggregate, and Della was also resurrected from alchemy. He had Voldemort's soul in his body, and Della came from Voldemort's blood, which made them both conform to the old tacit rule that "alchemical creations cannot harm the creator", so they dared not act rashly with the Horcruxes.
He had already guided young Barty to test Voldemort. The ugly old man had probably been in a state of neither life nor death for too long and did not feel the disappearance of the diary at all. Perhaps he did not feel any discomfort related to the Horcruxes at all. This made Maggie slightly restless, and she only hated that she could not do anything in this good opportunity.
The reason why we invited Dumbledore today is to test his progress. Even if little Harry Potter is asked to be the savior again, he won't do nothing, right? Destroying one or two Horcruxes is at least possible, right?
"Opinion?" Dumbledore watched the foam of the butterbeer gradually disappear. "I know you will listen to my advice, Tom, but I always worry that you will become too arrogant when you no longer need advice."
Dumbledore also wanted to test Maggie in this conversation. On the night when Maggie strangled Cynthia's neck, he touched Harry, which was something Voldemort could not do under the protection of love. He wanted to confirm whether this person was the diary that was thought to be lost.
According to Harry's description, the diary opened automatically. The ritual that made Della unconscious at that time was related to the soul. It is possible that some agreement was reached between Tom and Della, leading to the current situation of two Riddles.
"..." Maggie sensed Dumbledore's temptation and thought that this temptation at the level of identity was too superficial. If Dumbledore was working on the Horcrux, he should at least say more about the past and the places where Voldemort might have hidden things.
Dumbledore had not put much effort into the Horcrux issue, and Maggie immediately had the answer. She did not think that Dumbledore could not guess Voldemort's arrogant mind, but rather that Dumbledore's conservative behavior was related to Harry.
Even if Harry had a soul, Maggie, who had already seen this, began to question in her heart that Dumbledore was still too obsessed with making Harry a strong rival of Voldemort.
Perhaps there was something about Harry Potter that Voldemort knew but he didn't...
"Always stay humble, that's a good piece of advice." Having achieved her original goal, Maggie gave up on further probing Harry. She decided that this was not a question that needed an answer from Dumbledore right now, so she began to give another hint about achieving her ultimate goal. "If you think about it, my past is actually warning me of this."
Maggie, who only got Voldemort's memories before he was 16 years old, didn't know the location of the Horcruxes, nor did she know the number of Horcruxes. However, she was proactive and able to analyze Voldemort's arrogant personality, as he thought he was invincible just by finding the Room of Requirement. Therefore, she already had several answers in her mind that were very likely.
The so-called Room of Requirement, the deepest secret of Hogwarts. Voldemort should have hidden something in Hogwarts, the place where he had the most special feelings.
Combining Della's description of Voldemort's memory, he combined Slytherin and Voldemort's middle name, Marvolo, which was said to come from his grandfather, and the Gaunt family surfaced.
And that cave, the cave by the sea that gave Voldemort the greatest pleasure of all the bad things he did as a child.
"I lived in poverty when I was young. It was rare for me to go out for a few days. Going abroad like I do now is simply unthinkable," Maggie deliberately blurred the distinction between Tom and him during the conversation. "Fortunately, I still have the magic that can take me to school."
"Magic is far more important than the powerful wizards who exist in my last name. I am really grateful to magic for saving me from my ordinary life," Maggie raised her eyes and said meaningfully, "I also regard the magic school that accepted me as my real home. It is the place that truly gives me a sense of security."
"You——" Dumbledore narrowed his eyes slightly, "Tom, are you......"
Dumbledore understood Maggie's hint and confirmed his guess, while also realizing Tom's hostility towards Voldemort.
Both of them knew that the Tom just now was purely referring to the 16-year-old Tom Riddle.
Before Maggie could avoid the conversation, a knock on the door interrupted the conversation. The news that Cynthia had been found and the news that Della had caught a cold and had a fever came back.
Upon hearing that Della was sick again, Maggie stood up immediately. He barely maintained the proper courtesy in entertaining guests, and left in a hurry after saying "I'm sorry for the poor hospitality".