Chapter 328: Camping?

At the ball there were no special rules—those who wanted to dance danced, those who wanted to chat chatted, and those who wanted to enjoy the food went to the long table to help themselves.

"Oh, a rare guest, Professor—I thought you wouldn't attend such a 'waste of time' event."

John spotted Professor Snape standing like a sculpture in a corner of the banquet.

Those who didn't know might have thought he was a security guard hired by Professor Slughorn.

Snape slowly turned his head and gave John a faint glance.

"You look quite relaxed, Mr. Merik."

"I'm here at the banquet—how could I not be relaxed?"

John retorted naturally.

"Good, then I hope you stay that relaxed."

After saying that lightly, Snape left John behind and walked away.

In reality, it was just standing punishment in another corner.

He was probably arranged by Dumbledore to watch the banquet and prevent any further accidents.

After all, many outsiders had come this time; even after checking, nothing could be guaranteed.

John didn't continue to follow and bother him; he just shrugged and walked toward Hermione.

Hermione was chatting with Harry and Ginny at the moment.

They both arrived early at the banquet.

Since there was nothing else to do, they just chatted on the side.

"You talking about dancing?"

"We don't have great dance skills, so there's no need to embarrass ourselves on stage."

Neville and Luna, meanwhile, were happily dancing on the floor.

Seeing John return, Harry finally had a companion.

He quickly grabbed John and pulled him aside.

Because Hermione and Ginny kept whispering, he couldn't get a word in edgewise.

Not wanting to wander off, he had no choice but to sit idly nearby.

"John, don't leave—sit down and we'll chat to kill some time."

After Harry pulled John down to sit, he said to John:

"Why would you come to an event just to sit there doing nothing?"

John replied speechlessly.

"If you really have nothing to do, why not stand guard like Professor Snape and see if any suspicious characters have slipped in?"

It was meant as a joke, but Harry responded seriously.

"Don't say it—you really shouldn't."

"Before coming, I ran into Malfoy at the stairwell; he looked shady—should we tail him?"

"No." John outright rejected the suggestion.

"Why not? What if he does something bad while everyone's at the dance?"

Harry said anxiously.

"Better to worry about the Horcruxes than him."

"By the way, I haven't heard you mention nightmares lately."

John said while suddenly remembering something and quickly asked.

"Um, if you don't say it, I really hadn't noticed..."

Harry also blinked, then touched his forehead scar and said.

"This scar hasn't hurt for a while..."

Hearing that, John frowned.

"What is Voldemort plotting now?"

Last time, Voldemort and the Death Eaters also went quiet for a period.

Then they suddenly unleashed a big move, launching a massive attack on the Ministry of Magic and the Muggle community.

Could this be the same again?

Just that, unlike last time, only Voldemort has stayed quiet while the Death Eaters still occasionally stir up trouble.

"No way—we need to give Voldemort something to do."

John suddenly muttered to himself.

"What?" Harry didn't catch it at first.

"I'm saying Voldemort's been too quiet lately—we need to find him something to do."

John repeated it, then continued.

"When Voldemort quiets down, nothing good comes of it—we can't let him stay idle."

That reminded Harry of the last time Voldemort stayed quiet and then suddenly attacked the Ministry.

He nodded in agreement and then kept asking.

"But how are we supposed to find something for Voldemort to do?"

John glanced at Harry's forehead scar, smirked slightly, and said.

"We've always talked about destroying Horcruxes—see if we can use your connection to him to gather intel from his mind."

"But since Voldemort hasn't shown himself, there's been no suitable chance."

"Now we might as well just destroy one and see if the link between Voldemort and the Horcrux still exists."

Upon hearing this, Harry's eyes lit up—finally, is it the part he's been most looking forward to?

He's always wanted to try destroying another Horcrux.

"However, this also needs the Headmaster's agreement first."

"If it really doesn't work, I'll go steal one from the Headmaster's Office."

John muttered to himself again.

Harry broke into a sweat; John is fine in every way, except his hands aren't clean.

Moreover, he only does this to people he's close with.

Being friends with him is both a blessing and a curse.

Fortunately, I don't have anything he'd covet.

"I think we should still discuss this with the Headmaster first..."

Harry hesitated a moment, then advised.

"hesitantly"

John nodded readily, then spoke again.

"He doesn't agree to me stealing again."

Harry: "......"

Do you absolutely have to steal this Horcrux...?

"If it really doesn't work..."

John suddenly thought of something, his mouth breaking into a sunny smile as he looked at Harry.

Harry felt his scalp tingle under John's stare, always sensing he had no good intentions.

"Camping?"

Voldemort sat in the high-backed chair, his fingertips lightly tapping the armrest, speaking with a hint of doubt.

Kneeling on the ground, Narcissa clutched a wrinkled piece of parchment and continued speaking.

"Yes, the letter Draco sent back says..."

"When Meilik shared his holiday plans with Bo Te, he mentioned that during the Christmas break he would go traveling and camping with his family and that Gelanjie."

"Furthermore, he invited Bo Te to come along, but Bo Te didn't give an immediate reply."

"By then, whether Bo Te goes or not, this is a good opportunity for you, Master, to strike against Meilik."

Upon hearing this, Voldemort let out a cold laugh.

"Are you commanding me to act?"

"I wouldn't dare!"

Narcissa immediately buried her face in the ground, speaking fearfully.

Voldemort didn't feel pleased by this information; instead, he spoke mockingly.

"That worthless Draco, even such an obvious bait dares to be called intelligence?"

Listening to Voldemort insult her son, Narcissa clenched the parchment but dared not move.

"However..."

Voldemort then shifted his tone.

"Since they want to lure us into acting, let's just go along with their plan."

Upon hearing this, Narcissa couldn't help but lift her head in confusion, not understanding Voldemort's meaning.

All that could be seen was Voldemort's mouth curling into a cruel smile.

"The intelligence was brought by Draco, so let Draco follow them."

"As long as Draco can kill any one of them, I will restore your Malfoy family's status among the Death Eaters and help you rescue that worthless Lucius."

Narcissa's breath caught, and she trembled as she spoke to confirm.

"Is it... letting Draco go alone...?"

"Otherwise, do you still want to send a squad of Death Eaters to be his babysitter?"

Voldemort said it as a matter of course, then added further.

"Oh right."

"If he comes up empty-handed, then you all can prepare to say goodbye."