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*****
"Oh, Merlin! George from the England team has spotted the Golden Snitch!"
The commentator Ludo, who had been subdued due to England trailing in score, instantly became excited upon seeing George spot the Golden Snitch first.
"Lynch from the Ireland team has also noticed it and is giving chase. Both players are flying at incredible speeds! The Golden Snitch is darting around in circles, trying to escape them."
Ludo's voice grew shrill with excitement as the match reached a fever pitch just twenty minutes after it began—a climax that usually only appeared much later in a game.
Given the current score, whichever Seeker caught the Golden Snitch would secure the championship for their team.
The 100,000 wizards in the audience collectively held their breath. No one had expected the match to progress so quickly; they hadn't even had time to prepare themselves.
"Look! George has leapt off his broom!"
"Merlin's pants! He caught it! He actually caught it in mid-air—and managed to land back on his broomstick! That's truly a master-level maneuver!"
"Congratulations to George for catching the Golden Snitch! I hereby declare the England National Team the winner!"
"George! George! George!"
The once-silent crowd exploded into thunderous cheers. Everyone rose from their seats, waving flags and clapping with all their might.
But just then, a loud incantation echoed across the entire stadium.
"Morsmordre!"
A burst of green light exploded overhead, forming a massive skull in the sky.
The skull was made up of countless glowing, emerald-green particles, and from its mouth slithered a giant serpent, like a grotesque tongue.
"The Dark Mark!"
Seeing the ominous symbol in the sky, the crowd of wizards below immediately revealed expressions of shock and horror.
"Who is that? Who are they?"
Under the eerie glow of the skull, a dark cloud formed from iron sand floated over the stadium. Atop the black cloud stood a group of wand-wielding wizards.
Leading them was a terrifying figure—his face ghastly and devoid of a nose.
"Look at what they're holding—that looks like... Dumbledore!"
"And that's Minister Fudge, Director Amelia, Director Crouch! Why are all those senior officials from the Ministry of Magic up there?!"
As the cloud drew closer, the audience was horrified to discover that these menacing wizards were holding the unconscious, bound bodies of the Ministry's top officials—
Even Albus Dumbledore, the pillar of the wizarding world, was among them.
"I, Voldemort, have returned!"
The Thought Projection of George looked down at the frightened wizards below and deliberately laughed maniacally as he made his announcement.
That's right—during the brief fifteen minutes of the match, he had already executed the first step of his plan: secretly subduing Dumbledore and all the top Ministry officials.
To rise as quickly as possible to the position of Minister for Magic and take control of the British wizarding world, he had no choice but to act.
Otherwise, even if he had used this Thought Projection to impersonate Voldemort and staged a rebellion—only to later defeat "Voldemort" himself and become a national hero—he would still have been bogged down for years by internal political squabbles.
So he decided to eliminate all obstacles in one move by capturing the entire Ministry leadership. With his existing connections in the Ministry, and by positioning himself as the only wizard capable of defeating Voldemort, his path to power would become much simpler.
As for why he also captured Dumbledore?
Partly because Dumbledore was too intelligent—he might have seen through the deception. But more importantly, it was to highlight Voldemort's overwhelming strength and thereby emphasize his own importance as the hero who would later defeat him.
"Voldemort!!!"
When George uttered that name, nearly every British wizard present was instantly gripped by fear.
Even the foreign wizards' expressions darkened.
Though Voldemort's activity had been concentrated in Britain, his name was infamous across the globe.
It was like suddenly encountering a terrorist who had once brought an entire nation to its knees—whether or not he had targeted your country, the sheer fear would still be enough to chill you to the bone.
"You don't need to be afraid. The Voldemort who stands before you now is not the same as before.
"Look—though I've captured them, I haven't harmed them. They're simply unconscious."
George pointed to the unconscious Dumbledore and the others, then gracefully descended to the commentator's platform where Ludo stood. Ludo immediately recoiled in fear, squeezing himself into the crowd behind him.
He was now the only senior Ministry official who hadn't been captured.
"Fellow wizards from across the globe! I am Tom Riddle, the bloodthirsty and murderous Voldemort, the terrifying Dark Lord.
"But all those labels are based on misunderstandings.
"Everything I've done was for the sake of the entire wizarding world—not for personal ambition.
"I have a dream. I dream that one day, we wizards will no longer have to hide. We will walk proudly in cities and corners of the world.
"I dream that one day, even if we fall in love with Muggles, we won't have to give up our wands or hide our magic because of who we are.
"I dream that one day, wizards will lead the world's development, no longer fleeing from responsibility, but embracing our rightful place as its leaders.
"The Ministry of Magic has become rotten. All they care about is stuffing their pockets with more Galleons, blind to the fact that the weapons of the Muggles have already surpassed anything we imagined.
"Have you forgotten the explosion caused by Muggle weapons in 1945? Hundreds of wizards living in that city were killed on the spot.
"Nearly fifty years have passed since then, and their weapons have only grown stronger—and more numerous.
"If we continue down this path, sooner or later we'll be discovered—and destroyed—by the Muggles and their technology.
"So, my fellow wizards, join me—join me, Voldemort—and let us build a wizard-led world together, a world where our future is secure.
"We wizards are the rightful masters of this world!"
His powerful voice echoed throughout the stadium, stunning all 100,000 wizards present.
And more than a few found themselves agreeing with Voldemort—at least in part.
This was only natural. People are selfish by nature. Wizards and Muggles are no different in this regard. When someone fights for your benefit, it's only natural to support them.
And this—this was exactly the result George had hoped for.
If the identity of Voldemort had only stirred up small troubles within Britain, even if George had "defeated" him, the most he could hope for would be the role of Minister for Magic.
But if Voldemort could trigger a global wizarding war—or even a war between wizards and Muggles—then once George ended it, he could justifiably unify the entire world under his leadership.
In truth, what he was doing now had been done before—by the first Dark Lord, Gellert Grindelwald.
If not for Dumbledore's intervention, Grindelwald would have succeeded.
And back then, Grindelwald had fanatical followers in nearly every country, proving that there were always wizards who supported such views.
(End of Chapter)