In the Harry Potter Without Harry Potter

Chapter 414: You can try it now

Having heard this far, Jon would have a real problem if he couldn't guess.

All the guesses he had made about Voldemort's possession of Draco had not been much more than a feeling.

The kind of intuition that had saved Jon so many times in battle, something that Grindelwald had commended as having the gift of prophecy.

Voldemort's set-up for this task went deeper than anyone could have imagined and made use of unknown information that Jon and Dumbledore would never have guessed.

For example, although they had guessed from the start that the hosting of the Triwizard Tournament would most likely have something to do with his need to restore his own soul, which had been split by Jon's tearing up of the pact; so that he could regain his strength, they had never imagined that Voldemort had actually intended to achieve his goal in such a way.

And then there was the castle itself, and it was because of the lack of guessing what Voldemort actually had up his sleeve that until he said so himself, Jon and Dumbledore could never have imagined, even if they thought about it, that he had made so many preparations within the castle to actually try to devour the ancient castle that had been passed down for thousands of years.

But once all these things had become public and the clues had become coherent, the trajectory of everything became obvious.

"You can't devour the consciousness of this castle by normal means."

Jon tightened his grip on the hilt of the Gryffindor sword.

"The Chamber of Secrets, the Headmaster's Office and the Slytherin common room, you've tried all of these setups and couldn't do anything to it, so you came up with another way. To have someone who could be acknowledged by this castle come over and first have him inherit the castle and be recognized by the consciousness of the castle itself, and then use his identity to gain the consciousness of the castle in its entirety."

Voldemort turned his head to look at the Triwizard Cup.

"So, you should have guessed by now what kind of end you are going to face today on your own, right? Jon Green, you should be thankful for that portrait of Salazar Slytherin that you brought out of the North Pole, it is because of the ancient magic he taught me about how to re-fuse Horcruxes that I am where I am today. It is also because of that I have researched more about magic on the soul!"

He regained his gaze and looked at Jon.

"The script I set up after that was simple, you get the Triwizard Cup, get this castle, I kill you and become you, and live on in the future as a stronger, wiser, and more respectable Jon Green than you'll ever be! There are many ways to gain power in this world, and since it is a mistake to tread on the path of united purebloods, then it is better to take a different route."

His smile was as unnerving as it could be.

"Many people know very well that I actually don't care about the so-called pureblood, half-blood and mudblood races, as long as it allows me to become the master and lord of all, then no matter what kind of person I lead, isn't it the same? Everything would go in a good direction after that, I would be the first in the line of succession after Dumbledore, and I would even have Dumbledore lamenting his old age to let me take the throne early because of my brilliant role in defeating Voldemort and counter-attacking Britain later on. I would have a young and energetic body like yours, everyone would be loyal to me from the bottom of their hearts, I would be the new Lord of Britain, and then things would be even easier later on, the muggle-born have been oppressed so much that with the slightest provocation, they would explode with even more powerful hatred and desire."

"Liquidation! I will lead them to purge purebloods throughout Europe and the world! Perhaps with their help, I will even have an easier time controlling the Muggle world, what a wonderful future, you will not fall out of grace, Jon, I will help you so that your name will live on in history and all will never forget the title of Lord of the World!"

There was a shivering terror in his words that one could not help but shudder at.

But the fire that danced in Jon's eyes showed not a hint of fear.

"So there are now two of you in this world."

"Since that fool wants that original body so badly, what's wrong with just giving it to him and letting him give me the last bit of residual value as a target for my new identity?"

Voldemort chuckled contemptuously.

"He watched me out there calling the shots and thought he could do all that I could, and now he's only looking at the immediate benefits and is impatient when he sees that France is about to be taken over in its entirety by Dumbledore. I did it on purpose, this fight was destined to be Dumbledore's to win from the start, and then the cut out of France and Hogwarts castle would be a huge loss for him and the first step in my new life. See, not only you but even the other me as well, you are all being played by me."

"All of which was in response to me answering you, now, I have one last question and I wonder if you can answer me, Mr. Riddle."

Jon gazed into the eyes that should have belonged to Draco.

"Two people don't just appear in this world for no reason, who are you really? Are you the one from the Horcrux? Was it the original soul that you split off from yourself? Or have you actually been lying all along?"

There was a rare period of silence in the room.

After that, Voldemort burst out laughing!

He was clearly not putting on a show or mocking Jon about something, but an inexplicable smile of emotion, delight, and joy.

"Let's keep this mystery to ourselves, there's no point in exploring this anymore Jon. I know what you're suspecting, you're thinking I'm deliberately baiting and deceiving you with those words, when in fact I'm not me at all, and neither Riddle is a Riddle, what person in the world would call themselves stupid, what person would count themselves dead, right?"

His smile didn't narrow, but his gaze turned cold again.

To the side of the library, the window that had been blown open by Jon's escape was blowing in a whistling cold breeze that ruffled the hem of both his and Voldemort's robes.

Without getting the answer that had been bothering him for so long, Jon was not much discouraged or frustrated.

He could see that Voldemort had flaunted all of his plans and he lost the idea of continuing to keep this conversation going and instead was ready to start reaping the fruits of the rich harvest which he had been planning for so long.

Jon flexed the ten fingers that held the sword and wand respectively, a striking light radiating from those golden eyes within the shadowy library.

"I admire your intelligence as a person, Mr Riddle, but if you really want this body and name of mine, then I suppose now is the time for you to try."

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