"Lucius, Goyle, Crabbe, Gagson…" In his fear of someone, Voldemort turned his full wrath on the traitors, wishing he could tear them to pieces.
The Death Eaters were equally furious when they saw the list of heroes in the Daily Prophet.
This was not only because they had been implicated for no good reason, but also because Malfoy, the bastard, had defected with two idiots, Goyle and Crabbe, rather than inform him.
This was looking down on them…
Fenrir was even more annoyed. When he joined the Death Eaters last month, he thought he had found a powerful backer who would allow him to lead his werewolf wizards around the wizarding world.
However, before this wonderful dream could begin, it was shattered by the cold reality.
The Dark Lord, who seemed to be so powerful, was being restrained and plotted against, and the Wolfsbane Potion he had promised Fenrir had turned into a poor-quality version, causing Fenrir's pent-up frustration to reach a breaking point.
If not for the fact that the other party was powerful, he would have quit long ago.
"Master, what do we do now? Do we capture Lucius and the others?" Snape asked solemnly.
Unlike the other Death Eaters, Snape was not contemptuous of Voldemort's repeated defeats, and he knew that this was the Dark Lord's most dangerous hour!
If Voldemort went mad and went on a killing spree, targeting those common wizards and witches, the wizarding world would definitely face a catastrophe!
The Death Eaters' wandering minds were instantly pulled back by Snape's words, and they stared at Voldemort, hoping that the Dark Lord would not be so stupid as to lead them straight to the Ministry of Magic.
If they wanted to vent their anger, they could have grabbed a few Muggles and tortured them.
However, Voldemort's next words surprised everyone.
"No, we're not going to do anything about it at the moment," said Lord Voldemort, with a grim smile.
"Aren't you going to punish the traitors for what they did to Ivan Hals?" Snape asked, not believing that the Dark Lord would take this lying down.
Voldemort's face twitched. He wanted to, of course, and would have killed his way into the Ministry of Magic if he could, but he also knew that he was no match for Ivan Hals, and that he would only be digging his own grave if he tried to fight him!
As for Malfoy, Goyle, and the others?
This morning, he had discovered that several of his Dark Marks had been broken, which meant that Lucius Malfoy and the others were no longer under his control, and were most likely hiding in the safe house in Knockturn Alley.
However, in an attempt to boost the Death Eaters' confidence, Voldemort chose not to voice these concerns in public and instead sneered at them.
"They won't be happy for long, even if we don't do it. Ivan Hals was so arrogant that he thought he could take control of the Ministry of Magic and fool the people into believing he was safe. Unfortunately, he forgot something important—it's not the good-for-nothings who decide the outcome of the war…"
Suddenly, Voldemort turned to Snape and asked, "What is it?"
"How are you doing, Severus?"
"Master, I have told Dumbledore the true face of Ivan Hals, as per your instructions, but the Headmaster does not believe me," Snape said calmly.
"Besides, Dumbledore has rarely returned to Hogwarts in recent months, and nobody knows where he has gone, not even me."
"But you must have had a way of notifying him, didn't you? Severus…" Voldemort's eyes were fixed on Snape, his tone heavy.
Snape was an undercover spy assigned to Dumbledore, and in order to gain the white wizard's trust, he would often divulge information that was not as important as Snape's own, allowing Snape to report to Dumbledore truthfully.
It was precisely because of this that the other party must have a way to contact the strongest White Wizard.
Only then would Snape be able to deliver important messages to Dumbledore in time of emergency.
Under Lord Voldemort's scrutiny, Snape nodded hesitantly. "You are right, Master. I do have a way of contacting him, but it is a one-way communication. I cannot promise that he will respond."
"Dumbledore will not sit idly by after what has happened to the wizarding community, and I want you to truthfully report to him that Ivan Hals is behind the Ministry of Magic… I'm sure he will be very interested," Voldemort said darkly.
In his opinion, Dumbledore was a hypocritically borderline sick wizard, guardian of Mudbloods and Muggles, who, despite his superior strength, was content to curl up in his tiny Hogwarts, bound by the so-called order of the weak.
This was no different from a ferocious tiger tying its own hands and feet to please a flock of lambs. It was simply ridiculous!
However, Dumbledore's inexplicable sense of justice and responsibility also made him intolerant of Ivan Harris's use of intrigue and force to rule the wizarding community.
The bitter conflict between the two sides could hardly be quelled, and would erupt at the slightest nudge.
"But we have no evidence against Ivan Hals," Snape said cautiously. It was now widely believed that the Dark Lord was responsible for the attack on the Ministry, and that he had nothing to do with the fifth year.
"Who says we don't?" Lord Voldemort sneered. "I'll give you a solid witness to Ivan-Hals's ambitions."
Witnesses? Snape was stunned, and then a soft hissing sound came from the entrance to the hall.
Everyone turned to look, and saw a long python crawling through the front door with an unconscious wizard wrapped around its tail.
"Nort?!" Snape's eyes narrowed as he searched his memory for the identity of the stranger.
Fifteen years ago, they were colleagues, but when Nott did not return after the return of the Dark Lord, he thought Nott was dead.
"What you need to do, Severus, is to get him to Dumbledore. All the information is in his head…" Voldemort instructed, pointing to the unconscious Nott on the floor.
While a wizard's memory could be altered, the ability of a Dementor like Dumbledore to easily discern the truth of a memory, coupled with Snape's testimony, was enough to allow Dumbledore to see the true face of his beloved student…
(PS: Happy New Year to you all!)