Chapter 258: Hofa

"You must have thought of some bad idea, that's too wicked," Lupin said. "I don't recommend doing that."

"I think that's not bad at all. The main thing is, I have four organizations to hold meetings for, from east to west," Sirius stretched out his hand, extending his fingers one by one, "the Death Eaters, the Order of the Phoenix, my own gang, and Lupin's Gilneas."

"But what do you discuss in your meetings?" Harry asked curiously.

"The Death Eaters had a row when they gathered last time; they all seem a bit lost," Sirius summarized. "The Order of the Phoenix also had a row. Moody and Doge insist that all Horcruxes must be destroyed, but Snape and some of the younger faction believe that dealing with the Death Eaters should be the priority."

"Even if the Horcruxes are destroyed, the Death Eaters can still continue to do evil," Harry expressed his opinion. "But conversely, even if most of the Death Eaters are dealt with, as long as one fish slips through the net and secretly resurrects Voldemort, his destructive power alone would be greater than everyone else's."

"Good, Harry. You went to the Ministry of Magic and actually learned how to muddle through," Sirius couldn't help but laugh.

"Alright. Then you still need to think about your own positioning based on the decisions of both sides, convey it to the gang members, and then request Gilneas's cooperation. Is that it?" Harry summarized.

"Not at all. We discuss economic development, infrastructure, and livelihood issues in our meetings," Lupin said. "Padfoot only comes here to sponge a meal."

"What I mean is, I think Harry could totally help me come up with some ideas," Sirius said. "I lack a decent advisor—I'm certainly not saying that a certain Moony isn't decent; I mean, I want someone who knows the truth, can be trusted, and also has the time to help me plan things out properly."

"But I don't even know... oh, so," Harry's eyes widened in surprise, "you intend to take me to the Death Eaters' meeting venue? Aren't you afraid that as soon as I get there, I'll be hit by a dozen curses?"

"One option is to tell them you are Harry, and that the location of the painting's concealment is only known to you," Sirius mused. "But in that case, indeed, it might not be safe."

"Another option is to just say you are my successor, but that would be a bit conspicuous, and you might not be able to get into the main meeting hall..." Sirius mused.

"You could just say he is the mysterious seventh Horcrux holder, a close friend of Voldemort's from his orphanage days, a spare move the Dark Lord made in his busy schedule," Lupin offered a very feasible suggestion, then immediately covered his mouth in regret.

"Fantastic! I just love how you say something is too wicked and then help come up with an idea right after," Sirius laughed and slapped his thigh, then said seriously: "The main thing is, the Death Eaters all consider themselves nobles. Even when they were arguing until they were at an impasse last time, they didn't cast curses at each other. I believe your safety is guaranteed, and besides, we can add another layer of insurance."

"You need to drink Polyjuice Potion," he said.

Harry hesitated. He was, of course, very curious about the Death Eaters' meeting. In fact, ever since he first put on his Invisibility Cloak to eavesdrop on Ma Erfu's self-inspection meeting, he had grown fond of this feeling.

"Alright, but I have to call Ivy so she doesn't worry."

"Then I'll move the TARDIS into the barn to hide it," Tonks clapped the breadcrumbs off her hands.

"I'll go find a kind-hearted middle-aged person," Lupin said helplessly. "I'll try to make the Polyjuice Potion taste a bit better."

Before setting off, Sirius brought over a bottle of brownish liquid. Harry took a sip; it tasted a bit like coffee, with a hint of fragrance amidst the bitterness. Perhaps this was the taste of kindness, he thought for no reason.

Then, what appeared in the mirror was a slightly weathered face, eyelids drooping, corners of the mouth slightly curled, with graying stubble and wrinkles at the corners of the eyes showing his age. Perhaps because this hair came from a werewolf, Harry could easily make a fierce and cruel expression.

"Remember, your name is Hofa Bach, Voldemort's sidekick from his orphanage days, who has been living on the Continent since growing up," Sirius said, setting the persona. "You should be able to understand, right? Just like the relationship between Deng Buliduo and Doge."

"Doge?"

"Elphias Doge, Deng Buliduo's close friend from his student days. Although his ability wasn't enough to help Deng Buliduo, he was indeed the most loyal and trustworthy, and is now one of the elders of the Order of the Phoenix," Sirius said. "I went to check the list from that orphanage and only found this one name whose whereabouts were unknown. Now, you are him."

"That is to say, I should have taken over the task of guarding the Horcrux after graduation and then lived incognito in France all this time. Now, in order to gather the Horcruxes to resurrect Voldemort, I had to return here?" Harry helped flesh out the story.

"Great, even I believe it now. Let's do it," Sirius said. "Get ready, we're leaving."

They didn't Apparate directly to the venue, but first went to Sirius's office in Northern Ireland, and then used the fireplace there to go to Ma Erfu Manor.

"After you returned here, the first thing you thought of was to go to the orphanage to find a contact, then you found the person I had stationed there, and then you've been staying with me ever since, until Voldemort is successfully resurrected," Sirius carefully perfected the details. "So you will come with me."

"Understood." Harry pulled up the hood of his black robe and then stood in the fireplace.

Amidst the rising flames, Harry arrived at Ma Erfu Manor in a flash. The decor here leaned more toward the medieval, and Ma Erfu seemed to have deliberately kept the curtains drawn, leaving the room feeling somewhat cold and dim, unlike the bright and airy atmosphere at Tang Dun's.

"Welcome, Regulus," a voice from the side said. "Who is behind you?"

Sirius didn't even look at him and walked straight ahead.

Harry discovered that the person responsible for receiving guests here was the large Gao Er. He revealed a friendly smile, then immediately followed Sirius with long strides. The large Gao Er didn't try to stop him either.

Sirius lightly pushed open the doors to the meeting hall, casually pulled out a chair, and sat down gracefully. Harry noticed that two or three people were already sitting around the table.

"Sit wherever, Hofa," he said.

"This friend, please forgive my ignorance, would you mind introducing yourself?" Lu Xiusi said in a measured tone.

"Hello, I am Hofa Bach, the holder of the seventh Horcrux," Harry said flatly.

"Oh? But according to the information we have obtained so far, there should only be six Horcruxes," Lu Xiusi stared at him with burning eyes.

"You are mistaken," Harry said confidently. According to the persona, he should be the person who understands Voldemort best, just as Ron understands Harry. "Tom told me when he graduated that he intended to make seven Horcruxes."

"You are not allowed to call him by that name!" Bellatrix suddenly shrieked. "Only I can call him Tom, only I!"

Harry frowned. In his imagination, Hofa should have lived a quiet life in France, so he shouldn't be starting an argument just like this. So he said: "I don't know why you have such thoughts, but I have followed Tom since I was a child. I was right there when he took the name Voldemort for himself."

"You are not allowed to call him that either!" Bellatrix shouted discontentedly. "You can only refer to him as the Dark Lord, you can only say it like that!"

"Shut up, you shrew." Harry patted the table; he felt it necessary to be a bit tougher. "Now I see it, you are just greedy for power; no one truly wants to resurrect Tom."

"He told me that he would only come to France to find me in the most desperate of circumstances," Harry added to the persona while feigning anger. "Now it seems this is the most desperate of circumstances. I must tell you, I came here to resurrect him, I have no interest in your boring interests!"

"Hofa is the purest of Death Eaters," Sirius said while feigning mediation, adding to the persona. "He doesn't care about blood purity or noble groups; he is simply loyal to the Dark Lord himself."

"I came here to do only three things: collect the Horcruxes, destroy the painting, and resurrect Tom," Harry emphasized the collection of Horcruxes. "Then I will return to Annecy."

"By the way, do you all really believe in that theory?" Antonin, who was to the side, smiled crookedly, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth. "Can gathering the Horcruxes really resurrect the Dark Lord?"

"Speak less," Sirius looked at him coldly. "The Dark Lord doesn't trust you, to the point that he wasn't willing to give you a single Horcrux."

"According to some of my investigations, the function of a Horcrux is not resurrection, but to ensure the main soul does not perish. In this situation, naturally, the more Horcruxes there are, the better, and the more concealed, the better," Lu Xiusi spoke up. "But nowadays, the Dark Lord's main soul has not been destroyed, only sealed within the painting. The disadvantage of the Horcruxes being scattered has become apparent. I believe you, Bella, must have secretly tried the resurrection ritual, but it had no effect, right?"

Bellatrix's complexion turned very ugly all of a sudden.

"Everyone has heard the suggestion from Grindelwald through their own channels: gather the Horcruxes together, then destroy the painting, and the Dark Lord can be resurrected," Lu Xiusi continued. "Perhaps he meant that destroying the painting is destroying the main soul, and then gathering the scattered Horcruxes will form a new main soul."

Sirius and Harry nodded in deep agreement; they only wanted to gather the Horcruxes, they didn't want to resurrect the Dark Lord.

"Perhaps there are other ways, it's just that Grindelwald wants to use our hands to take revenge on Deng Buliduo, which is why he suggested destroying the painting," Lu Xiusi said, then suddenly stared intensely at everyone present. "If we use other methods, we inevitably run into a problem: who will resurrect the Dark Lord?"

"I believe this is a very sensitive issue that no one wants to discuss. Why don't we just do as Grindelwald suggested," Lu Xiusi summarized calmly. ===== CHAPTER 259 =====