Snape was stunned when he saw Voldemort fall unconscious. He had not expected this.
Could it be that Voldemort's destruction of the Horcrux affected him more than ever?
Snape's expression was unreadable as he gently hooked his right hand around the wand at his waist, only to pull it back a moment later when Voldemort's eyes flew open.
"Master… are you all right, Master?" Snape immediately pushed those thoughts aside and hurried over to Voldemort, helping him to his feet.
"I'm fine…" Voldemort got up from the ground, clutching his forehead, confused as to why he had suffered such a backlash when attacking Harry.
Vaguely recalling his strange connection to Harry Potter, Voldemort made a quick guess.
However, he did not regret killing Harry Potter, as he had other Horcruxes, and it was only a matter of time before he dealt with his nemesis.
Voldemort patted the dust off his robes, then looked at Harry, who was lying motionless on the ground, and asked casually, "Is Harry Potter dead?"
"Dead and lifeless…" Snape said, his face expressionless, but his heart pounding. He knew there was a flaw in his statement. Normally, after the Dark Lord's sudden collapse, he would never have bothered to check on a dead man.
Fortunately, Voldemort, who was still in a daze, did not suspect anything. He was certain that his Killing Curse had hit its target, and no one else would be willing to sacrifice their life for Harry Potter to deflect his spell.
When Voldemort did not ask any more questions, Snape quickly changed the subject. "Master, shall we begin the second part of the plan now? Or are you prepared to take a break?"
Lord Voldemort waved his hand in a placating manner. "I am well, and need not rest! And do not forget, our time is limited. When you brought Potter here, you must have used a magical seal to inform Ivan Hals that we had better find the last of the Deathly Hallows as soon as possible."
"So we go to Newmengard now?" Snape asked hesitantly.
"No, I'll go alone this time!" Voldemort shook his head. In addition to trying to get the location of the Resurrection Stone out of Grindelwald, he intended to learn more about the Deathly Hallows.
Naturally, he did not want Snape to hear any of this confidential information!
"Until I return, take care of Harry Potter's body and bring back Fenrir and the others. I'd like to see how many of them make the wrong decision…" Voldemort's red eyes flashed fiercely.
Ever since his defeat at Knockturn Alley, he had been keenly aware that his fellow Death Eaters were more or less harbouring ill-intentions, which was why he and Snape had been conducting recent rallies in secret to prevent anyone from divulging their secret.
At the thought of this, Voldemort felt aggrieved. Since when did he, the Dark Lord, have to hide his meetings from his own people?
Fortunately, he had already found two Deathly Hallows. If he could find the Resurrection Stone, he would be able to completely conquer death!
At that point, he would be able to openly swear an oath to the wizarding world that the Dark Lord, who had terrorised Britain, was back!
And Harry Potter's body is proof of that!
Not daring to disobey Voldemort's orders, Snape dropped the subject of going to Newmengard and said respectfully, "Master, I will see to everything before you return!"
Voldemort nodded. Snape had always been one to put his mind at ease. After a few words, he used Disapparated and disappeared.
Snape breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the Dark Lord leave, his back wet with sweat, but he had no time to waste. He ran over to Harry and bent over him, gently testing his breath.
"Thank goodness he's still breathing, he didn't lie to me… it worked." Sensing that Harry was still breathing very faintly, Snape let go of the last of his worries and muttered to himself as memories flooded back.
… .
Snape had been summoned to the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts four months earlier.
The moment she saw Dumbledore, she could no longer contain her anger.
"I thought you'd died somewhere when I didn't see you for half a year," Snape said sarcastically.
"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Severus, but I may be able to hold out for a few more days." Dumbledore shrugged and poured a cold drink with his good left hand, offering it to Snape.
Seeing Dumbledore's calm demeanor, Snape felt both angry and helpless. Dumbledore had disappeared for half a year without a word, not even giving Snape his contact information.
He could not even be certain that Dumbledore was alive until he received Fox's message.
However, Ivan Hals, as well as Lord Voldemort, agreed that he knew everything about Dumbledore's whereabouts and had been questioning him for days, trying to get information about Dumbledore's whereabouts.
However, he really did not know anything!
After grumbling to himself for a while, Snape suppressed his urge to curse and asked directly, "You've probably heard about the Dark Lord leading the Death Eaters to attack the Ministry of Magic, haven't you? I saw Voldemort yesterday, but he had nothing to do with it. I'm afraid it was Ivan Hals."
Snape was suddenly reminded of what Dumbledore had told him during the summer holidays, and he blurted out, "You saw this coming?"
"You think too highly of me, Severus," Dumbledore replied slowly, shaking his head. "I did make some preparations, but they were not what you think they were, and in fact, Hales's actions exceeded my expectations."
"He easily defeated the Dark Lord and has now taken control of the Ministry. Even the Daily Prophet is speaking for him. I don't think there's any need for your plan to continue." Snape could see that Voldemort's downfall was only a matter of time, and that he would no longer have to be a troubled double agent.
"No, I don't think the situation is all that optimistic. There's something important that I'm afraid Hales can't solve!" Dumbledore said sternly.