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Chapter 1322: Apprehension
Chapter 1322: Apprehension
With a piercing creak, the tightly closed auditorium door was suddenly pushed open a crack. Following Filch, Dursley entered the Great Hall and immediately sensed the strange atmosphere of the welcoming feast.
Snape, seated at the professors' table, furrowed his brow as he looked towards the newcomers, unsure why an Auror would be at Hogwarts.
Nonetheless, as the students whispered among themselves, Snape stood and gestured for Dursley to follow him towards a small room adjacent to the Great Hall.
Dursley hurried to keep up, feeling extremely uncomfortable under the strange gazes of the students in the hall.
"The Prophet wants to interview Hogwarts students?" Snape repeated flatly, fixing his gaze on the Auror before him.
"Since when does an interview with the Prophet require permission from the Ministry?" Professor McGonagall, who had entered the room with them, sharply mocked.
She was in a foul mood. Hagrid had informed her that a young lady had been forcibly taken by a Death Eater as soon as the train arrived.
She couldn't understand why that foolish girl had refused to leave with 'Harry Potter' and instead insisted on coming to Hogwarts, only to be captured by Death Eaters again?
"I see," Snape said. "I will arrange for a few students to be interviewed by the Prophet reporter." Guessing their intentions, he agreed readily.
"I'll take care of this," Professor McGonagall volunteered, stepping forward to take on the task. Usually, such minor matters were handled by the deputy headmistress.
"That won't be necessary, Professor. Alektor can handle this," Snape replied, not giving her a chance as he turned and left the room to return to the unfinished feast, leaving a rather annoyed Professor McGonagall behind.
Shortly after the welcoming feast concluded, Snape, who had just returned to the Headmaster's office, received an urgent notification to attend an emergency meeting.
Such occurrences were rare, and as he was mainly responsible for Hogwarts, he couldn't understand why a simple attack would warrant an emergency meeting.
Hurrying to the meeting, Snape did not see the Dark Lord, only a group of loudly conversing Death Eaters around the conference table.
"Severus, take a seat for now. The Dark Lord will be here shortly," Yaxley said, indicating a chair as he noticed Snape standing at the door of the hall.
"What are you lot up to?" Snape asked, his brow furrowed.
"It was just an accident," Yaxley said, suddenly standing up as he spoke and bowing slightly to acknowledge a figure that had appeared behind Snape.
The once noisy hall immediately fell silent, and all the Death Eaters stood up from their seats.
Sensing the change in atmosphere, Snape stepped aside and bowed slightly to acknowledge Voldemort.
After taking his seat at the head of the table, Voldemort turned to Snape and asked, "How are things at Hogwarts?"
"As you wished, most of the students are already under our control. However, a small number of children from wizarding families have chosen to drop out," Snape replied, deliberately averting his gaze from Voldemort's crimson eyes and suggesting, "I believe that small group is likely a stubborn bunch, and it would be best to teach them a lesson."
"Pierce," Voldemort said, turning to the current Minister of Magic.
"My Lord, I will handle this matter as soon as I return," Pierce Sinkinesis replied, looking more like a sycophant than a Minister of Magic.
"I heard that Harry Potter attacked those searching the train this afternoon," Voldemort said, turning to Yaxley. This was the main reason he had rushed back to Britain from abroad that evening.
"Yes, my Lord. They said they saw at least ten Harry Potters in total. They came very suddenly, and the ones in charge of searching the train..." Yaxley trailed off, not daring to look directly at the Dark Lord's eyes as he lowered his head anxiously.
"You know that's not what I'm asking about," Voldemort interrupted, displeased.
"We can't rule out the possibility that Harry Potter is trying to expand his influence in order to..." Yaxley glanced at Voldemort and lowered his voice, "...lead everyone to rebel against you, my Lord."
Voldemort neither confirmed nor denied this, instead turning to his other trusted aide, "Severus, you seem to have a unique insight into this matter."
"My Lord, I believe those Harry Potters were most likely imposters," Snape said expressionlessly, having sensed Voldemort's gaze upon him.
"Imposters?" A fleeting trace of annoyance flashed across Yaxley's face. Snape's words were essentially refuting his own guess, making him look like a fool in front of everyone.
"The Order of the Phoenix has no specific mark, and if they did, it would be a phoenix, not a griffin," Snape said, glancing at Yaxley with a dark look on his face. "As far as I know, that is Albert Anderson's Patronus. Furthermore, I've heard that this is the emblem of the Defense Association, which suggests that the attackers are members of the DA. Recently, I also learned that the Defense Association has been rather inactive, which is most likely one of Albert Anderson's schemes."
Snape paused slightly after sensing Voldemort's displeasure, continuing only when he was certain the Dark Lord was not angry, revealing what else he knew.
"As I understand it, that Mudblood formed the Defense Association back when Dumbledore was still alive. He seemed to have anticipated a day like this and intended to use it to rebel against you."
After hearing Snape's analysis, Voldemort, who had not been paying much attention to Britain lately, quickly grasped the situation in the country.
That cunning Mudblood had pushed the Ministry into the spotlight last time, and now he wanted to do the same with Harry Potter? It was indeed something he would do, but the one thing that confused Voldemort was that Harry Potter was not Scrimgeour, nor did he have the power that the Ministry had back then. Could that Mudblood be planning to use the Order of the Phoenix?
Voldemort denied this possibility. Ever since they had lost Dumbledore, the Order of the Phoenix had become a mediocre organization with no real power to oppose them.
Even Voldemort himself could not immediately figure out what Albert was trying to accomplish.
However, the more unclear it was, the more Voldemort felt apprehensive. He believed that Albert would not waste his efforts, and he must be brewing some terrible scheme, which instinctively made Voldemort feel that things were not boding well.
"Find Harry Potter as soon as possible, and if necessary, I permit you to dispose of him on the spot." Voldemort's words caused quite a stir among the Death Eaters, as they never expected the Dark Lord to allow them to kill Harry Potter so readily.
"Compared to Harry Potter, that damned Mudblood is more troublesome. I must admit that I have indeed underestimated him before." Voldemort's eyes flashed with a dangerous light.
Especially after the battle with Albert off the coast of Azkaban, Voldemort's desire to eliminate Albert had grown stronger, and unconsciously, it had even surpassed his desire to deal with Harry Potter.
Deep down, Voldemort would never allow another figure akin to Dumbledore to rise again, especially since this Mudblood before him was even more terrifying than Dumbledore. He could not forget that Albert was barely twenty years old and far from his peak, with infinite potential yet to be unlocked.
This made Voldemort all the more eager to obtain the legendary unbeatable wand. With that wand in his possession, he would have the confidence to face that Mudblood again and annihilate him completely.
It was not that Voldemort feared Albert Anderson, but the fact that the Death Eaters truly could not withstand his mischief.
Voldemort could afford to disregard the lives of the Death Eaters, but if they suffered heavy losses, even he would have a headache, as he would still need people to help him control the Ministry.
"My Lord, perhaps I have a way to locate that Mudblood's position or find the headquarters of the Defense Association."
Yaxley continued after receiving Voldemort's permission, explaining a series of arrangements he had made recently.
"Ever since I discovered that the members of the Defense Association like to raid our people, I've had them carry items enchanted with a Tracking Charm. That way, if those shameless fools steal our possessions, we can trace them back to their location through the enchanted items."
"Well done."
Voldemort looked at Yaxley, rather satisfied with his right-hand man.
"There's one more thing, my Lord." Yaxley straightened his chest and reported, "We have captured Hopkin's entire family, and I believe he will surrender soon. If we can dismantle the safe haven left by Scrimgeour and control the families of those Aurors, I believe they will truly bow down to you, my Lord, and dare not continue their disloyalty."
The Death Eaters were all surprised as they looked at Yaxley, unaware that he had been making such meticulous plans without their knowledge.
"Severus, do you have anything to add?" Yaxley asked with a smug smile, turning to Snape.
"I suggest that we greatly overestimate that Mudblood," Snape said after a moment of hesitation. "If he were easy to kill, he would have been dead by now. Yet, he's still alive..."
(End of Chapter)
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