Chapter 157 – The True Prophet
Voldemort was sitting in the Headmaster's office in Hogwarts, looking at the multiple-page newspaper lying on his desk for the past three or four hours. All the paintings within the office were empty, and the army of previous headmasters was gone from their frames, leaving the Dark Lord alone with his brooding. The only telling sign that he was still alive was his occasional cold breath escaping through his nose, lingering before his face. At the same time, the snowfall, covering the land in pure white for the past three days, started to pick up in intensity, further lowering the room's temperature.
"The Elder Wand..." He whispered, hissing like a wounded snake, his eyes becoming more bloodshot than usual.
It was finally making sense. Of course, Dumbledore could stand up to him. Defying the greatest wizard to ever live! He had something that made him his equal... a legendary weapon! As for what it really was? To make sure the propaganda didn't lie, he had to look it up personally and finally find an old legend telling about it and how it appeared from time to time. After uncovering the ancient children's tale, while the other items were never mentioned neither in the 'news' nor in other codexes, the wand within it had to exist, and the information had to be authentic. It was the one missing piece he needed to finally understand everything about Dumbledore and his success! With his research within the school's library, he managed to verify everything, including the fact that the wand was used by Gellert Grindelwald before. All the evidence that after his defeat, his wand had fallen into the hands of Albus Dumbledore.
"I must make sure that the wand will be mine. To gain control over it, I will have to kill Dumbledore... I have to do it and nobody else! Yes... I will murder that old bastard, take the wand for myself, and become even more powerful! After that, I will no longer need to hold back and conquer the magical world!"
With a maniacal laugh, he couldn't help but pick up the paper from his desk, read it once again, and run his crooked fingers over the title. The True Prophet... A guerilla paper that has been popping up all over England in the past weeks. It was being delivered to every possible household and was seen to be airdropped from enchanted toy airships flying over Diagon Alley. It was provided to him by Wormtail, the sneaky bastard who managed to survive the Order's assault on Hogwarts. He even blew up multiple students around him, leaving behind a gory crater and a severed finger to sell his death to Sirius. Even many Death Eaters considered him dead until he returned as a rat, a secret that Voldemort kept as a unique weapon within his arsenal.
"At least he is more useful as a vermin. He is much better at spying than he was as a teacher. Heh! And I never thought you would survive and go this far... Young Anguine." Voldemort whispered, licking his lips and turning the paper over. "I should have killed you, but then again, I would not have learned about this vital information. As a thanks, when we meet again, I will make your death painless and quick."
At the end of the paper, after multiple stories, crying out against both the Death Eaters and the antics of the Order, Conrad and Quincy Anguine laid the signature for everyone to see. Since its appearance, there have been multiple different reactions to it, coming from all segments of life. Some were laughing at it, throwing it into the fire; others silently observed while another group whispered secrets, voicing their agreement with many points of details within it.
"It doesn't matter... They will be all singing my tune when all this ends!" Voldemort giggled like a child, for the first time since his 'death' feeling alive once again.
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