The blue and orange flames gradually subsided, and no more Inferi crawled out of the Black Lake.
Dumbledore, who had put down the elder wand, looked at the two people in front of him with a complex expression, especially at a certain grinning little rascal.
"Why are you here?"
Hearing Dumbledore's question, Tom looked at him strangely.
"Why can't we be here? This isn't some place we can't be seen."
"Besides, Professor, if you wanted to come, you should have said so earlier. If you had just asked one more question, I would have brought you here already."
'Are you sure? Not joking?'
Dumbledore looked at Tom suspiciously. How could he not believe those words? But thinking about his actions and Gellert beside him, maybe it was true after all.
So, what was the point of him working so hard, expending so many brain cells analyzing and researching, even dragging Moody into this, and searching over mountains and rivers?!
Just as Dumbledore felt utterly bewildered, Grindelwald added a timely remark from the side.
"Because Albus, you abandoned me again. I had no choice but to seek Tom's help, and with his assistance, I found you."
"..."
Hey! Hey! Hey!
Those words were clearly ambiguous, okay? What did he mean by abandoning him again? It had only been one night since they last met, alright? And what did he mean by seeking Tom's help? Clearly, the two of them were in cahoots, and blocking him here was probably premeditated.
Dumbledore felt utterly speechless. He wondered if it was his imagination, but it felt like after Gellert and Tom had spent time together, he had started to veer in an unpredictable direction.
Moody, standing in the distance, had been unable to intervene during the fight against the Inferi because the three individuals in front of him were simply too powerful.
Now, seeing the Inferi completely annihilated, Moody gripped his wand, preparing to confront an even more formidable enemy alongside Dumbledore—the Dark Lord, Gellert Grindelwald. But he didn't expect to witness a scene he would never forget.
Dumbledore was actually having a pleasant conversation with the Dark forces.
Had he fallen under Lord Voldemort's Dark Arts and was hallucinating, or was it...?
A startling thought flashed through Moody's mind, but he quickly shook it out of his head.
Impossible! Absolutely impossible!
At this moment, Dumbledore seemed to finally remember his good companion who had come with him, and quickly called Moody over.
Moody cautiously approached Dumbledore, maintaining a constant state of readiness for attack, not daring to relax in the slightest.
Dumbledore also noticed Moody's unease and gently reassured him, "Alastor, relax, they are not enemies."
Hearing Dumbledore say this, Moody asked the biggest question on his mind: "Albus, what exactly is going on?"
Before Dumbledore could speak, Tom quickly answered, "Of course, we're here to catch an affair!"
"Huh?"
Catch an affair? What does that mean?
Moody was instantly confused by Tom's words.
"Naturally stupid Gryffindor old man."
Looking at Moody's dumbfounded expression, Tom pointed at Dumbledore impatiently.
"The main one!"
Then he pointed at Grindelwald.
"The original partner!"
Then he pointed at Moody, who was still in a daze.
"The mistress!"
Finally, he pointed at himself.
"The witness!"
"Understand?!"
Simple, clear, and without unnecessary words, he immediately pointed out the relationships between everyone present.
"Ah?!"
After all, Moody wasn't truly stupid. Tom had laid it all out, and he immediately understood.
He looked at Dumbledore in disbelief, his magical eye spinning wildly, his voice unconsciously trembling: "Albus, you, he, you two..."
Dumbledore glared fiercely at Tom, but Tom chose to ignore him, his little mouth continuing to babble: "So, you stupid Gryffindor lion, why do you want to be a mistress at such an old age? Why don't you look in the mirror and see what you look like? Do you really think you can compete with Grindelwald for favor?!"
Moody was so angry he was about to overheat.
Heavens and earth, this was probably the greatest injustice Moody had ever experienced in his life.
He was just tricked by Dumbledore into doing a job; he neither harbored any improper thoughts about this rotten old man nor ever considered being a mistress.
In the end, Dumbledore stepped forward to stop Tom's continuous rumor-mongering: "Tom, Alastor and I are not in that kind of relationship. But since you're here, I won't beat around the bush. What kind of defensive measures are set up here?"
"Then you need Professor Grindelwald to believe it!"
Tom muttered softly, then unhesitatingly explained to Dumbledore: "Anti-Apparition, Inferi, the Black Lake, Potions, that's pretty much it."
Hearing this, Dumbledore and Grindelwald showed no reaction, but Moody noticed something was wrong and couldn't help but blurt out: "Why do you, this evil Slytherin brat, know so much?"
"Actually, you can call him Mr. Lord Voldemort."
Grindelwald, who had been tricked by Tom many times, didn't mind tricking Tom once.
"Lord... Lord Voldemort?!"
Moody's gaze towards Dumbledore changed. He felt as if he had stepped into a huge trap.
"Dumbledore, what is going on here?"
Good heavens, Moody's address to Dumbledore had even changed, but deep down, he still held a glimmer of hope that this was just Grindelwald's scheme to sow discord, after all, Tom and the Lord Voldemort in his impression didn't match up in either age or handsomeness.
As for Moody's question, Dumbledore didn't know how to explain, as he hadn't even figured it out himself.
At this moment, the 'kind-hearted' Mr. Riddle needed to step forward to help Dumbledore out of his predicament.
"Stupid Mr. Moody, I didn't expect you to discover the biggest secret of the magic world this century."
As soon as Tom began to speak, Dumbledore almost instinctively flinched, wanting to stop him from continuing, but before he could act, Grindelwald laughingly pulled him back, signaling him to listen quietly.
"Since the parties involved in this secret are all present, I don't mind telling you the full story, but you must carefully consider the consequences you will have to bear after hearing it."
"After all, if you withdraw now, the price you might have to pay is just a Memory Charm. But, once you've heard everything, the price you'll have to bear...hehehe..."
"Now I'll give you three minutes to think it over. Timer starts now."
After speaking, Tom fell silent.
Moody frowned upon hearing this, beginning an internal struggle. During this time, Dumbledore tried to speak several times, but was stopped by the best assist player, Grindelwald.
As the countdown ended, Tom spoke again.
"How have you considered it, Mr. Moody?"
At this moment, Moody finally made up his mind: "Speak. I want to know the whole truth, even if the price is death."
"Excellent resolve!"
Moody felt nothing from Tom's praise, but the very first sentence Tom uttered next made Moody's heart pound.
"Then, stupid Mr. Moody, have you ever heard of the 'voldemort plan'?"