The fire in the fireplace pulsated and added a touch of warmth to the cold, breezy dark night.
But all the warmth disappeared when their sight met the talking man.
Voldemort is seated directly in front of the fireplace, with the burning wood behind him, a position closest to the flames that cast a much deeper shadow than the rest, and the most conspicuous thing the Death Eaters could see besides his silhouette is the red eyes and pale skin.
"Severus?" He looked at the seat to his immediate right.
"The Longbottoms' return to the Order of the Phoenix is confirmed; they both appear to have been given separate assignments, but no specific information has been revealed. A tailing at the order of Dumbledore cannot be ruled out, and the target is someone in this room."
There was a slight commotion at the long table, with some adjusting their seating position uneasily, while others were excited.
"Master, let me go - let me find them, I will capture them." A brunette woman said excitedly. Judging from her profile, she must have been beautiful in her youth, but years of imprisonment had permanently changed her appearance and temperament, certainly to the bad side.
Her cheeks are lean, her eyes bulge out, and her black curls cling haphazardly to her head.
"Bellatrix, I don't doubt that, you did it once." Voldemort surveyed her with his scarlet eyes, "But you have more important things to do." After saying that, he stopped looking at her and turned to Snape, "Anything else?"
"The Ministry of Magic and 'Future World' Company have reached an agreement on the matter of Thief's Downfall, and I must admit, it will make a considerable impact on our cause."
The commotion was more apparent this time, as the Death Eaters exchanged uneasy glances.
"It's that man's company ..."
"We can't allow this to happen!" A Death Eater hammered on the table and shouted, "We should organize an attack immediately-" A number of people followed the clamour, and the room erupted with chaos.
"Would you like to take the lead, Selwyn?" Voldemort asked softly, his voice easily overshadowing the clamour in the room.
The Death Eaters immediately stopped talking and their eyes became dodgy. Finally, they all turned their attention to the wizard who had spoken at the beginning. Selwyn stammered, "Lord, my lord if it is your will, I, I would--"
Voldemort smiled broadly.
"No need for you to sacrifice yourself yet," Voldemort said lazily, "I am almost certain that the Ministry of Magic and Felix Hap will be on guard ... We have to adapt to the new rules of war, and Felix Hap has come up with quite a few gadgets. Some of which are surprisingly useful ... Ring of Ouroboros, is that what it's called? The Ouroboros Snake, right?" His scarlet snake eyes fixed on Snape.
"That's right," Snape whispered, "he used it as his mark in his early years, and I think a lot of people here know that," the Death Eaters either frowned or shook their heads. "Then the mark disappeared with his graduation, and only reappeared when he returned to teach at Hogwarts and started his own teaching club."
Voldemort made a notable sound.
"Teaching Club, the Ouroboros... Severus, by the sound of the name, I thought this was your present for my return."
Snape bowed his head, " Lord, I have to admit, he is the most ambitious, and methodical character I have ever taught."
"You're right, I can imagine what he was like when he was in school ..." Voldemort said in a low voice: "Before I wondered why Felix Hap had arrived so timely and suspected whether one of you betrayed me, but this newspaper gave me the answer." A newspaper floated lightly from his hand and moved slowly across the long table.
The Death Eaters looked up from their positions and leaned over to get a better look, but Voldemort apparently didn't have the patience to let them read it one by one, "It says very clearly that it was through the Ring of Ouroboros that the Potter trio managed to ask for help."
"And beyond that? I'm sure many of you have heard of or even used, the products of the 'Future World' company, and I'm interested in the Communication Mirror, although it reportedly has a limit on the distance it can contact, but predictably, the situation of the war has already changed. We were once ahead of the Order of the Phoenix and the Ministry of Magic by virtue of our unique communication through dark mark a decade ago, but now all of us are in the same starting line."
" My lord, what do you mean?"
"Crack the magic on it, it would be better if we could create a countermeasure." Voldemort said slowly, "Let's get back to Thief's Downfall, something like that would interfere with the speed at which we can expand our ranks, even though we could just knock on the doors of our targets' homes, drag them out of the warm comfort of their blankets, and threaten them with their families to do our work for us - "
A loud laugh broke out from the crowd.
"That's what I'm good at, My Lord!" A Death Eater shouted to express his loyalty.
"Thanks - Rodolphus, you'll get that chance." Voldemort said without any emotion, "But as I said, it will get in our way, can anyone come up with a way to deal with it?"
" My lord, even with the thief's downfall, we can still get all kinds of information through our families' network of connections."
Voldemort showed an expression of interest.
"I'm impressed by you, Selwyn, do you have a good choice?"
"There is one, her last name is Umbridge, in the past, she always flattered me, and bragged everywhere that she is a relative of the Selwyn family, but everyone knows that she has a janitor father, I just found out that she used to be Fudge's confidant, and just a few casual words ... I am sure that she will pass on the information to me. " Selwyn said respectfully.
"I also know one, my nephew is working for the Ministry of Magic, and also the youngest head. He has a good relationship with quite a few Aurors." Another Death Eater said.
"Very well, Avery, since we lost Yaxley, our actions against the Aurors have become a total mess." Voldemort said with satisfaction, "But even though he's dead, he's still contributing to our cause, as we are using his house for meeting right now."
Soon the Death Eaters began to discuss, irrespective of what happened, they could name several acquaintances who worked in the Ministry of Magic. It added up to almost a half dozen people. Needless to say, these people will become the target of the Death Eaters' next operation.
"Lucius."
"Yes, Lord--" Lucius Malfoy looked up, and met Voldemort's scarlet eyes, before hastily lowering his head again.
"Have you heard anything about Macnair and Rookwood?"
"I haven't inquired." He replied in a whisper.
"Haven't inquired," Voldemort repeated in a voice that didn't rise and fall, and Lucius shivered involuntarily. "Does this mean that you've lost your power on the Ministry of Magic side?"
" My lord, please give me some time! I'm trying to connect with the new minister, but that woman is slippery - she, she's always accompanied by Sirius Black, a man that must have been sent over by the Order of the Phoenix!"
"Sirius Black," Voldemort said, looking at Bellatrix, "if I remember correctly, he seems to be your cousin?"
"Yes, he is, my lord," she said excitedly, her body unable to resist leaning forward to get a closer look at Voldemort, "No, he is not my cousin, he is a disgrace to House Black, a scum, who I can't wait to kill with my own hands."
"There's a lot of people you have to deal with then." Voldemort snickered.
Bellatrix seemed confused, "How--"
"Your niece recently joined the Order of the Phoenix and also become very close to a werewolf. I guess I should expect no less from your family? She took a step further than even your sister ... When do I get to hear about their wedding, are you going to send a present?"
Bellatrix gave Snape a sharp glare, all the information about the Order of the Phoenix is provided by him.
Snape's thin lips squeezed out a sarcastic smile.
" My lord, she is not my niece, they have had nothing to do with the Black family since my sister married that mudblood." Bellatrix immediately dismissed the relationship, but her words did not satisfy Voldemort.
She obviously felt this, her face showed a panicked expression, while her body leaned forward even further, as if she is expressing her loyalty by this. " My lord, I will not stand by and let this happen - despite our falling out, I will never allow the Black family bloodline to be tainted any further, I promise you! Isn't that correct, Lucius, you wouldn't want someone who shares Narcissa's blood to be connected with a werewolf either, right?"
"That's right." Lucius said dryly.
"Then let's go at once and kill them before the next assembly." Bellatrix said excitedly.
"I have an appointment with the high-ranking official of the Ministry of Magic, Pius Thicknesse, and I can't miss this ... Since It's important for our cause." Lucius muttered, " My lord, I have two important things to report to you."
Voldemort's eyes settled back on him.
Lucius spoke stiffly, "First, I met Hap at Ollivander's wand store, and he was very hostile to me, and warned Ollivander in front of me to guard against me, and us."
"He did have reason to do so," Voldemort said calmly, but his face contorted slightly, and under the firelight, it looked like a pale snake, and a few people around him dared not look at him for a moment.
"One bad news, Lucius. I hope your second news will make everyone a little happy." Voldemort said softly.
"Wel-ll, of course," Lucius panted, "I inquired about the exact location of Bode, he was taken to St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and is currently confused, so the Ministry of Magic didn't notice anything unusual yet. But he will inevitably get better, and if he is allowed to reveal to the Ministry of Magic that we are seeking the prophecy-"
"Then make him not open his mouth." Voldemort said, "Who is willing to solve this problem for me? Antonin, what do you say?"
"It would be my pleasure, O Great Dark Lord." Antonin Dolohov, a Death Eater with a lanky face said with a twisted grin.
...
When the meeting was over, Voldemort was left alone with Severus Snape.
He stared at the dark night sky and regretted it more than ever. Maybe if he waited patiently for a few more months or even years, he would've got the most perfect resurrection - reborn with the help of Harry Potter's blood, the blood of the man who made him lose his magic, his flesh, and his power ... that the protection Potter's mother left against him would also exist in his own blood ...
Regret and frustration tormented Voldemort's heart. He had the heart to actively die, and then resurrect once again, then not only can he get rid of a strong enemy, but it will also make him more powerful. At least he won't be as passive as now.
But he really couldn't afford to wait any longer.
Christmas night, Felix Hap and Dumbledore's silent invasion of the old Crouch mansion left him a huge psychological shadow, if he did not use the fastest way to inform Barty Crouch Jr. that night, then the opportunity to resurrect after more than a decade might have been cut off. Especially when he learned Barty's plan to "clean up the Mad-Eye Moody", where he almost got caught, he became even more panicked.
Since then, he never dared to let Barty Crouch Jr. out of his sight.
He repeatedly debated, the choice for several months, and it was also his most vulnerable period of time, he was afraid that Felix and Dumbledore will suddenly appear in the next second, and his only loyal servant will be taken away; If it happened, he doesn't know how many years later he will gain another opportunity.
There is one thing he has to consider, that is, the resurrection materials - his father's bones, the flesh of his servants, the blood of his enemies, the latter two are in fact time-limited.
Perhaps in another hundred years, he could collect Dumbledore's dead body, but the Death Eaters who are loyal to him, the enemies who hate and fear him will also fade with time, and at that time his name will decay faster than Dumbledore's body. So how else can he resurrect?
Even if Voldemort believed that he had defeated death, he was still forced by time to hurry up.
Not to mention the fact that Felix Hap had already made his mark, and quite a few people believed that he would be the next Dumbledore-like figure.
Voldemort read some of the gossip magazines when he had nothing better to do, and two factions were arguing about it, one saying that Felix Hap had surpassed Dumbledore because he had solved the riot at the Quidditch World Cup single-handedly by defeating hundreds of wizards head-on - although Voldemort scoffed at this, the argument was still popular. On the other hand, the other side of the argument strongly believed that although Felix Hap is strong, he is still far behind Dumbledore, the 'greatest white wizard', after all, the people Felix Hap faced at the World Cup were drunk and rowdy wizard tourists, who were no different from unarmed muggles.
The only thing everyone agreed on was that Felix Hap is currently the most promising person to replace Dumbledore in the future, as everyone realized that he is far from thirty years old.
Less than thirty years old!
This is also Voldemort's biggest concern, even if he really survived 100 years and Dumbledore is dead, the Hap may stand in his way and hinder his way to the top.
So he chose to give up Harry Potter's blood after repeatedly weighing the choice and resurrected covertly.
But nothing has gone smoothly as planned since his resurrection, in addition, there's a ridiculous rumour about Dark Lord's destinated nemesis Harry Potter and his brave and wise companions (the Ministry of Magic's recent propaganda slogan), along with an Ancient Rune Professor spreading around. While he inwardly tried to deny his destiny of downfall, he couldn't help but half-heartedly believe it.
Especially since he had heard a prophecy about his fate, no, half of it. He looked back at Snape, his red eyes concentrated to the point of dripping blood colour, his expression looking both lofty and seemingly impatient.
"That prophecy, repeat the prophecy you heard."
"Without changing a word?"
"Without changing a word."
Snape mumbled, his voice did not sound like his own, he seemed to have once again returned to the 1980 rundown tavern, and his lips could not help but tremble. He said in a hoarse voice: "The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... ..."
The dimly lit room regained its silence. After an unknown period of time, Snape said dryly, "My Lord, that's all I heard, and then I got found and thrown out by the barman of the Hog's Head Inn."
Voldemort did not respond, seemed to be in deep thought.
What does the full prophecy sound like? Is there ... any mention of Felix Hap? Or ... the end of himself?
" My lord--?" Snape raised his volume, his tone still sounded without any trace of emotions.
"You can leave now, continue to collect information for me." Voldemort paused slightly and said, "If you got a chance, obtain the whereabouts of Amelia Bones, she already poses a threat."
"But master, I have no informants within the Ministry of Magic--"
"Use that Sirius Black, haven't you gotten close to them recently?"
Snape bowed his head, his dark eyes twinkled, "As you wish - My Lord." He said in conclusion.
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