Chapter 330: Path Selection

"You look a bit surprised?" Snape said with a cold sneer after sitting down.

"What are you trying to do?" Sirius said vigilantly, "What kind of trick is Nagini?"

Snape tilted his head slightly, looking at Harry, "I thought you would be a bit smarter than your godfather, Potter."

"I guess you mean that if we can trick Nagini into our hands, then the only Horcrux left for the Death Eaters would be the golden cup." Harry's first thought was the Horcruxes, "Have you already located the golden cup?"

"Indeed, Bella put it in the most conspicuous place, so conspicuous that almost no one would think to look there." Snape chuckled, "Right in Gringotts, in the Lestrange family vault."

"Ah! That's your plan!" Sirius clapped his hands together, "While Nagini is here with us, we raid Gringotts to seize the golden cup, and then we can destroy all the Horcruxes."

"Brilliant, Harry, you've successfully led Sirius around in circles." Snape mocked, "Horcruxes, hehehe."

"Right, right..." Sirius quieted down.

For some reason, Harry felt that his godfather was always a bit agitated and prone to losing his cool in front of Snape.

"Regardless, if we can destroy all the Horcruxes, the Death Eaters will naturally lose their greatest reliance." Harry said objectively, "We can have the Order of the Phoenix raid Gringotts, while we take the opportunity at the election venue to arrest all the Death Eaters."

"So this is your choice?" Snape's tone seemed to carry a hint of disappointment, "Is that what you're planning?"

Harry sensed there was more to Snape's words, realizing he might have oversimplified things. In fact, from the moment Voldemort fell into a state of stasis, the Death Eaters had already reached a dead end. The reason the Death Eaters were left until now was that Harry needed to prove Voldemort could revive at any time, using this to deter the Soviets.

So, at such a critical juncture, even if no Aurors were injured while taking down the Death Eaters, within a few days, East Berlin wizards would likely head to West Berlin to seize his lost magical creatures; and if the Order of the Phoenix didn't immediately revive Deng Buliduo at such a time, then in a few more days, perhaps even Diagon Alley wouldn't be able to hold out.

"I think this matter isn't that simple." Harry scratched his head, "I need to think about it."

"No matter, you have plenty of time." Snape glanced sideways at Sirius, "At worst, it will take the White House a year to help you build the Focusing Rainbow. Currently, at least six months can be dragged out; you just need to think about how to spend the latter six months."

"No need to be so pessimistic." Sirius shifted his position, "Before we get the blueprints for the Focusing Rainbow, we have other considerations."

"For example, waiting for the day Harry grows to rival Deng Buliduo? Given his current state, I doubt that day will ever come." Snape's tone was flippant.

"In fact, we discussed it from the beginning: the most optimistic scenario is that we can control both the Order of the Phoenix and the Death Eaters." Harry felt belittled, so he couldn't help but speak more boldly, "This way, we can promote the improvement of magical standards through healthy competition, and incidentally, provide supervision and assistance to the Ministry of Magic."

"Excellent, go on." Snape's tone softened.

"Currently, the Order of the Phoenix is already on the right track, and the Death Eaters..."

Harry suddenly realized that being on the right track didn't mean establishing any system or finding any direction; the most important thing was the emergence of a leader—and given Doge's age, he could retire at any time.

Who would the next leader be? Would it be someone closer to them? Or—as Harry had always felt, did the members of the Order of the Phoenix hope for Harry to serve as their leader? Was the reason Doge hadn't retired at his age to wait for Harry's growth?

"... the Death Eaters are almost there too." Harry breathed a sigh of relief.

Snape's maneuvering seemed to have indeed brought the situation closer to the ideal: he had facilitated the emergence of the next Dark Lord.

If they continued to operate in the form of meetings, even with Huo Fa, the influence they could exert was limited: Regulus couldn't bypass Bellatrix to command the Death Eaters under her. But if a Dark Lord were elected, then Lu Xiusi and Bellatrix would no longer be indispensable figures.

"We cannot let either Bellatrix or Lu Xiusi become the Dark Lord, but conversely, the Professor or my godfather could." Harry said, "This is the best ending."

"I think not." Snape said slowly, "Deng Buliduo was once lost in power, so he feared power, which conversely led to some of his weaknesses."

"Sometimes, you need to take that step... if you are willing, I think four months is enough for you to learn Occlumency."

"You want Harry to pose as Saruman to be the Dark Lord?" Sirius frowned, "First of all, I disagree, and secondly, even if you convinced me, how can you guarantee Nagini would choose him?"

"Harry has an incomparable advantage." Snape said blandly, "He speaks Parseltongue."

"You did that on purpose?" Harry's eyes widened suddenly; he really hadn't noticed this point before.

"Yes, I've considered it seriously. What advantage do you have to become the Dark Lord? The answer is... almost none." Snape said seriously, "If you want to find an opportunity, you can only rely on the snake."

"Did you plan this a long time ago?" Harry's tone trembled, "Did you single-handedly facilitate the election of the Dark Lord?"

"To be precise, I just happened to be in the right place at the right time, a flash of inspiration," Snape's tone was somewhat high-spirited, "I also have to thank the Inspiration Charm left by Ravenclaw."

"Don't get cocky yet!" Sirius said dissatisfiedly, "We're just talking, but really let Harry be the Dark Lord? That's too dangerous!"

"If he doesn't do it, I will." Snape snorted coldly, "You have four months to decide."

"If we don't go for this Dark Lord election," Sirius instinctively wanted to refute, but at this point, the arrow was already on the string and had to be fired, "No, unless we stick to the original plan and round up all the Death Eaters."

"That assumes you work overtime to build the Focusing Rainbow within four months, or immediately revive Deng Buliduo, if you can really revive him." Snape looked at Harry meaningfully.

"Why four months, why can't we drag the time out longer?" Sirius said dissatisfiedly, "I feel like you're forcing Harry."

"Drag it out longer? That's simple, just let Lu Xiusi be elected." Snape closed his eyes and said, "He has plenty of ways to stall, he could drag it out for two or three years."

"No, Godfather, I think Professor Snape is right." Harry took a deep breath, "We have many ways to deal with the Death Eaters, and many ways to maintain deterrence. But for me, this is a very risky plan, yet it is also a very rare opportunity."

"If I don't choose this path, if I don't become that Dark Lord, it's actually very hard for me to develop any world-shaking wisdom." Harry recalled Zhang Qiu's description, "I would forever be a mediocre person who can only react to the cards in my hand. I have no confidence in surpassing Yanayev, let alone Ge Xuan, because the cards in Britain are not as good as theirs. Unless I choose to abandon this responsibility of the era, ignore the future of the country and the nation, and return to my own comfortable life."

"No one is born owing the country anything, you just need to live happily." Sirius shook his head, "No one will force you to do anything, I won't allow anyone to do so."

"I was the Savior for fifteen years, relying on my parents' sacrifice and a little bit of luck." Harry took another deep breath, "I want to try to truly shoulder this responsibility, relying on my own ability."

"I never thought about those foreign enemies." Snape looked somewhat moved, "But I really see Deng Buliduo's shadow in you."

"The lie of the painting... I think you have already demonstrated wisdom not inferior to Deng Buliduo's in this matter; all we need to do is wait for your magical level to grow." Snape asserted, "But someone who doesn't understand Dark Magic cannot become a Master of Magic. Even Deng Buliduo was proficient in all kinds of Dark Magic; he just didn't use them."

"Just as you thought, the position of Dark Lord is an opportunity, an opportunity to help you grow rapidly. Not just wisdom, but also magical power, and some..." Snape seemed to resist the term, "means."

"I don't think Harry has to be put in that position to grow." Sirius countered, "He can study and research on his own. And I'll say it again, Harry, we don't owe the British Empire anything; we can live a comfortable life in the Wizarding World, there's nothing wrong with that."

"The Wizarding World may not be comfortable." Harry recalled the things Barty Jr. had mentioned, "Once we show a flaw, or even if we maintain the lie, Yanayev is always progressing. By the day he feels confident he can surpass Voldemort, it will be too late for us to do anything."

"I hope I can be worthy of the identity the era has bestowed upon me." Harry said sincerely.

"This isn't fair, seriously, how old are you." Sirius said dissatisfiedly, "I still think it's inappropriate, even if Snivellus were to be the Dark Lord, he's always seemed very powerful, hasn't he?"

"I said, Harry has four months to consider this matter." Snape shook his head, and he got up to leave, "I think Harry is the most likely to become the next leader of the wizards. If you want to persuade him to give up this opportunity, then you also have four months." ===== CHAPTER 331 =====