Chapter 1381: Scheming in Person
Chapter 1381: Scheming in Person
"It's quite a surprise to have you seek me out at this time. I assume your plan has failed."
Macnair was taken aback to see Snape seeking his help. He stepped aside to invite him in for a detailed discussion and poured him a glass of wine from the wine cabinet.
"We caught a big fish, but it tore through the net."
Snape took the wine from Macnair and explained, "The Order of the Phoenix has arrived, and I suspect it's not just them. The castle of Hogwarts is likely to be under their control soon."
"So, you ran for it?"
Macnair was truly astonished that Snape would abandon the others and flee.
"I killed Dumbledore. The Order won't let me off easily," Snape whispered, knowing Macnair's thoughts. "If I hadn't fled quickly enough, I'd probably have been surrounded and killed at the school."
Macnair clinked his glass with Snape's and asked, "How can I help you?"
"I need some help," Snape sipped his wine and stated his purpose.
"It will be difficult to gather enough people in a short time to retake Hogwarts."
Macnair frowned slightly. At this hour, everyone else was resting, and he was expected to find people there.
"Send the Aurors!" Snape reminded him. "This time, with the intrusion at Hogwarts, I think it's time for the Aurors to step up."
"Are you sure they won't defect?"
Macnair hesitated. Most of the Aurors under his command were untrustworthy, and many were willing to remain in the Ministry of Magic solely for the high salaries and benefits that came with being an Auror.
"They shouldn't. If they intended to defect, they would have done so by now. And..."
Snape briefly shared his personal thoughts on the matter.
He didn't believe that the members of the Order of the Phoenix would occupy Hogwarts for long. Their sudden appearance tonight was likely a rescue mission, and they would probably leave the school after rescuing their target.
Snape's intention in sending the Aurors to Hogwarts was to find out if their allies were still resisting and if the Order of the Phoenix and the Defense Association had already departed.
He wanted to regain control of the school as soon as possible and minimize the fallout.
"Alright, I'll have someone notify them," Macnair agreed to use the Aurors as cannon fodder.
He was aware of Snape's plan, which had been meticulously crafted, yet it had still failed. It was apparent that the problem wasn't with the plan but with the number of people who had come to rescue the hostages, which outnumbered Snape's forces. Otherwise, how could they have broken through Snape's intricate web? The enemies they faced were clearly formidable, or else Snape wouldn't have fled Hogwarts in such a disheveled state.
Macnair suspected that Snape had run straight into a brick wall in the form of that mudblood, resulting in his current miserable state.
This scenario felt familiar to Macnair. The last unlucky person, Yaxley, had suffered a similar fate...
"You owe me one," Macnair said as he finished his wine, walked to the fireplace, grabbed a handful of Floo powder, and threw it into the fireplace. He then stepped into the emerald flames, heading for the Ministry of Magic.
Upon their arrival at the Ministry, Macnair immediately located the employee on duty and instructed him to notify the Aurors of an urgent mission.
Being roused from sleep in the middle of the night was certainly unpleasant, and most Aurors grumbled as they made their way to the Ministry. Once they learned of the situation, they reluctantly traveled to Hogwarts via the Floo Network.
"It seems that the Order of the Phoenix has already left," Snape surmised upon seeing the Auror return safely.
The members of the Order of the Phoenix and the Defense Association had indeed evacuated, and the five relatives imprisoned in the Hogwarts dungeons had been rescued.
The entire castle was eerily quiet, contrary to what one would expect after an invasion.
"Are all our people missing?"
Macnair's expression turned grim as he listened to the Auror's report.
"They probably wouldn't kill them easily. Have the Aurors search more thoroughly," Snape said, confident that the Order of the Phoenix wouldn't resort to murder lightly.
Sure enough, before long, the five Aurors who had been placed under the Disillusionment Charm were found unconscious, tossed into a corner like dead dogs. The only issue was that they couldn't be awakened by any spells.
"They were probably fed the Draught of Living Death."
After examining the unconscious Aurors, Snape gave his diagnosis. "They can be awakened with a dose of Invigoration Draught."
Once the issue was addressed, the other stunned Death Eaters were found one by one by the Aurors, all exhibiting similar symptoms. It was unclear why their attackers had chosen to do so, but there was undoubtedly a reason behind it.
Upon returning to the Headmaster's office with Snape, Macnair cut straight to the point. "Now what? What's your next move?"
Snape closed the repaired door to the office before answering. "I haven't decided yet. I plan to explore other options."
"What about... threatening him with students or professors from Hogwarts?" Macnair suggested tentatively. "Surely he still has some friends there?"
As he spoke, he was unaware that the portraits around them were watching with keen eyes.
"That would be meaningless and would only serve to infuriate him," Snape rejected the idea outright.
"Why is that a bad thing?" Macnair asked, confused.
"He's not Dumbledore," Snape said, giving Macnair a pointed look. "He's a more dangerous and ruthless opponent. Don't forget that those who tried to ambush him at his wedding have all but been eliminated in retaliation."
Macnair fell silent. He knew little about Albert Anderson, the Mudblood, other than the fact that he was formidable, intelligent, and had formed the Defense Association to stand against them, earning the Dark Lord's enmity.
"The only reason he's restrained his followers from killing us is to maintain a semblance of civility. If we break that unspoken rule, the outcome may not be as favorable as it was tonight," Snape said, his lips thinning. "Tonight, every Death Eater and Dark Wizard who was taken down in the castle will likely meet their end."
"But that Mudblood has already killed plenty of Death Eaters, hasn't he?" Macnair asked, his expression one of disbelief.
"That's different," Snape explained. "Those deaths were caused by Scrimgeour and the Ministry Aurors, not him directly. If the situation spirals out of control, it will be worse than what happened in Hogsmeade. Both sides will stop at nothing to annihilate each other, and I'm not sure we'd have the upper hand."
Ultimately, their rule over the British wizarding community relied heavily on the Dark Lord's power.
While the Death Eaters were a formidable force, they seemed powerless against Albert Anderson, a monster comparable to Dumbledore. Moreover, Anderson had cultivated a group of exceptional fighters, reminiscent of the original conflict between the Death Eaters and the Order of the Phoenix.
The roles had been reversed.
However, it was evident that the Defense Association was more favored by the wizarding community.
"So, if the Dark Lord can't kill that Mudblood, are our efforts in vain?" Macnair acknowledged the problem. "What about your assignment? I doubt the Dark Lord will let you give up on that task."
He suspected the Dark Lord was counting on Snape to eliminate the Mudblood.
"The Dark Lord hasn't set a specific deadline," Snape diverted the conversation. "According to our informants, the Order of the Phoenix seems to believe that a final battle between us is inevitable, and they are preparing for it."
"A final battle? Between the Dark Lord and the Mudblood?"
"No, a final battle with Harry Potter," Snape continued. "Also, Albert Anderson now has complete control over the Order of the Phoenix..."
"Are you suggesting we should also prepare for this final battle?" Macnair interrupted, his brow furrowed.
"Yes," Snape said gravely. "It's best we refrain from causing further turmoil; otherwise, incidents like tonight's will continue to occur. Perhaps we should reconvene a Death Eater meeting to discuss this matter."
(End of Chapter)
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