Should one say this was only to be expected of Voldemort?
Wherever he appeared, he always carried an aura that made people afraid to speak too loudly.
Even the wizards from various factions watching from afar did not dare breathe too heavily, fearing they might be discovered by the Dark Lord.
Little did they know.
With Voldemort's strength and his judgment of the situation, how could he possibly be unaware of the little mice watching his every move?
The main reason he had not acted against them was simply because Voldemort did not want to.
More precisely, he did not care about ants he could crush at any time.
In any case.
Leaving aside Voldemort's earlier declaration that he would move against Hogwarts, the Death Eaters kneeling before him could clearly feel that when those narrow scarlet pupils looked at them, it was as if a hand had tightened around their hearts.
Their heads lowered even further.
That was fear born from instinct.
Although Voldemort's words had filled them with excitement and confusion, they still controlled themselves well.
Even Barty Crouch Jr., who was also kneeling on the ground, did not lose control and let out a fanatical roar. Instead, his eyes were wide open, and he panted heavily, as if he had fallen into some kind of frenzy.
In short, including Barty Crouch Jr., Voldemort's right hand, every Death Eater present was quietly listening to Voldemort's unfinished words.
But if they had dared to secretly raise their heads at this moment, they would certainly have noticed that Voldemort, standing before all the dark wizards, was turning a wand between his fingers while sweeping his gaze over each Death Eater prostrated before him.
Throughout the process.
Not a trace of emotion could be seen in his eyes. That unmoving madness appeared in one person in an extraordinarily contradictory way.
No one knew how much time had passed.
Only then did Voldemort's dark, hoarse voice reach everyone's ears.
It was like the sound of fingernails scraping across glass.
"I am pleased to see that none of us are missing."
"That means there is no traitor among you like Lucius."
Voldemort's words caused cold sweat to soak everyone's backs.
And although Voldemort said that.
Judging from his expression, he did not seem to care much about the Death Eaters under him at all.
Presumably, even if all the Death Eaters below betrayed him, our Dark Lord would not care too much.
The increasingly mad Voldemort trusted only himself, and the wand in his hand.
Not to mention, Dumbledore, whom he had once considered important, was gone, and the Chosen One had not truly grown up yet. In today's magical world, there was no one who could stop him.
However.
As if he had thought of something, the magic around Voldemort stirred faintly.
His eyes turned toward Barty Crouch Jr. beside him. "Have you found him? The little mice who disappeared inside Hogwarts."
It seemed like a question without context, but Barty Crouch Jr., who regarded Voldemort as a god, could not possibly fail to understand what his master was asking.
Without rising, Barty Crouch Jr. replied with a fierce expression, "My deepest apologies, Master! Please forgive me. I will personally drag those useless fools before you!"
"Oh?"
"But Master, while those two really are useless, I suspect Snape's loyalty to you. If possible, please leave this matter to me."
Voldemort did not immediately respond. He simply fixed his gaze on the wand in his hand.
A trace of confusion seemed to flash through those narrow eyes.
"Go call Snape here."
"Snape? M-Master?"
"I said, I need him!"
"Yes!"
Although he did not quite understand, Barty Crouch Jr. still ordered one of the Death Eaters behind him to complete the task Voldemort had just given as quickly as possible.
After that Death Eater Disapparated, the air fell silent once more.
As for Voldemort, the only one present who could break this atmosphere, he simply stood there, turning the wand between his fingers and studying it.
As if there were something special about that wand.
...
No one knew what Voldemort was thinking, and no one had the courage to interrupt his thoughts.
At this moment, the only one able to approach Voldemort was probably the great snake that had elegantly slithered out from the villa behind him and come to his feet.
In fact, the magical world had made many guesses about this great snake that could appear by Voldemort's side.
Because this was one of the few creatures toward which Voldemort showed concern.
One could even say that this great snake was very likely Voldemort's favorite thing.
Just as could be seen now, the great snake that had come to Voldemort's feet slowly wound itself around his body.
Its tongue-flicking head rested on Voldemort's shoulder, and it observed the Death Eaters before it with an unusually human gaze.
Throughout the process, Voldemort showed no sign of anger. Instead, he reached out and stroked the great snake's head. Judging by the practiced motion, this clearly was not the first time he had done this.
It was also at this moment.
Voldemort suddenly spoke to the great snake in a low voice. "This is the only way, Nagini. That little Malfoy's talent makes me feel danger."
So this great snake was called Nagini.
Interestingly, the great snake named Nagini seemed to truly understand what Voldemort was saying.
Even though Voldemort had clearly not used Parseltongue just now.
In fact.
This was not because Voldemort and Nagini truly shared some connection of the mind.
It was because Nagini was not an ordinary snake, nor was she merely a simple Magical Creature.
To put it plainly.
Nagini was not actually a snake at all, but... a witch.
And a witch afflicted by a Blood Curse.
Very few people knew this.
Or rather, because of the Blood Curse, Nagini had gained the ability to switch between human and snake forms.
But the final result would be permanent transformation into an animal, and that was irreversible.
In the end, the cursed Nagini completely became a snake. Then, through a certain turn of events, she became Voldemort's pet and...
One of his Horcruxes.