Chapter 523 A Foundation For Cooperation

"The monster you saw is indeed the destiny that my family and I must face, a fate from which we cannot escape," said Caresius in Moody's hoarse voice, "Against it, our end has long been condemned to death and destruction, that is certain. However, none of us are willing to surrender and die silently; everyone wants to resist, even though it may be futile. The only thing we can be grateful for is that we do not have to overcome or kill it."

"What on earth is it?"

"If you are the person mentioned in the prophecy, you will know sooner or later," said Caresius, gazing steadily at Evan, "There is no point in telling you now. You are too weak to meet the requirements; you cannot become a truly powerful wizard by relying on the Philosopher's Stone for strength. After all, it is merely an external force. Moreover, this matter is a secret that has been passed down in our clan for thousands of years, and to honor our Slytherin name, we must preserve it. It can only be revealed at the last moment; I did not even inform Voldemort of it."

"The honor of the Slytherin name?" Evan was stunned. This matter did not seem as straightforward as he had previously imagined! What other secrets were still concealed?

Even the wicked god's body that Salazar had taken should not be related to Slytherin's honor.

However, from Caresius' words, it was certain that the monster must have a significant connection to Salazar. It seemed that to obtain the Secret Treasure Key left by Slytherin, this monster was destined to be an unavoidable barrier.

Evan sighed. Slytherin was truly the most troublesome!

"Since this cannot be disclosed, let us discuss your purpose in entering the school disguised as Moody," said Evan, "How do you and Voldemort plan to extract Harry from the school? Is it through the Triwizard Tournament?"

"It seems you know quite a bit. Yes, Voldemort wants to use some dark magic to restore his strength. He has been insistent that we bring him Harry, though I see no point in it," said Caresius, tapping his fingers on the table. "That's why we attacked the Quidditch World Cup last time, but I can clearly tell you that I will not be the one going after Harry this time; I only came to assist someone else."

"Is it Barty Crouch Jr.?" Evan asked. "You rescued him!"

"You know about Barty Crouch Jr.!" Caresius looked surprised at Evan. "To be honest, I am curious to see how many secrets are hidden in your head. I have never seen a wizard like you!"

"I have my sources," Evan said vaguely. "Where is Barty Crouch Jr.? How is he going to deliver Harry to Voldemort? What kind of conspiracy have you planned?"

"I cannot answer any of your three questions," said Caresius, with a bitter smile. "After the last failure, Voldemort ceased to trust us. He has not spoken to me about those matters. I only know that Barty Crouch Jr. originally intended to use Moody's identity to carry out his plan, but now he has a better option."

"Who is it?"

"It could be anyone. Moody's identity is too conspicuous; it is unsuitable for accessing many places," said Caresius, "He might have entered Hogwarts disguised as someone else mingling among the students or staff, hidden among you. As for what his plans are, only he knows. He has not contacted me yet."

With the Polyjuice Potion, Barty Crouch Jr. could transform into anyone at will.

Regarding keeping the victim close to collect materials from their body at any time, as long as there was a chest expanded by the Undetectable Extension Charm, then there would be no issues, just as Caresius used such a chest to imprison Moody.

Barty Crouch Jr. could hide it anywhere in the school without being discovered.

Things were becoming increasingly complicated, and Barty Crouch Jr.'s secret entrance to Hogwarts was already bad enough on its own.

It was unsettling to think that one of the classmates could be a madman and a Death Eater.

In particular, Barty Crouch Jr. was paranoid to the extreme and, to achieve his goals, he could use any means necessary. In any case, he was much more dangerous than Pettigrew from the previous year.

He was a full-fledged Death Eater, the most dangerous kind of dark wizard, well, besides the likes of Voldemort, Grindelwald, and Herpo the Folly.

What concerned Evan at that moment was that, given that so many changes had taken place, he was no longer sure if Barty Crouch Jr. was following the original story and turning the trophy into a Portkey to get Harry out of Hogwarts.

"That should be planned to be done during the tournament. We already have all the information about the three tasks from Barty Crouch's father. If he wants to hide from Dumbledore, he can only use the tournament," said Caresius.

It was true. Otherwise, it would be unrealistic to randomly turn an object in the castle into a Portkey.

There was a strong magical protection here, and only when the place was prepared for the tournament would the magic be unlocked.

From this perspective, the final project of the maze was the best time for Barty Crouch Jr. to start. It was also the only and best chance he had to get Harry out of the castle.

"You have asked your questions, but before cooperating, I have some questions to ask as well," Caresius looked at Evan and said with interest. "Since you already know these things, what do you plan to do? Will you tell Dumbledore? Or will you find a way to stop Barty Crouch Jr.'s plot to get Harry out?"

Obviously, Evan's response would determine whether he could cooperate with Caresius or even leave this room safely.

Caresius placed his right hand back on his wand at his waist. If Evan's answer did not satisfy him, he would definitely use aggressive magic against him.

Compared to him, in terms of overall strength, Evan was far from being his opponent.

"No, I just said that our goals are the same," said Evan. "Although our purposes are different, we all need Voldemort to regain power. He must use Harry's blood to resurrect him, so we must let Bartemius Crouch Jr. take Harry to Voldemort."

He had no intention of telling Caresius about the fact that there was a Horcrux in Harry's body, and if the vampire asked him, he had another explanation in mind.

For a moment, Caresius stared at Evan with wide eyes, as if wondering if he was crazy. Otherwise, why would he say something like that about helping Voldemort?! That was truly incredible!

Then, suddenly, Caresius chuckled softly.

"I believe you are telling the truth, Evan. So, we have a basis for cooperation!" He said quietly and did not ask Evan why he had made that choice, though it was truly abnormal. "Very well, let's talk about how to cooperate."