Chapter 1392: A Spy Among Us
Chapter 1392: A Spy Among Us
After the temporary meeting concluded, Snape, having caught Yaxley's eye, lingered along with several veteran Death Eaters.
The small group eyed each other warily, taking stock of the handful of old comrades remaining. A brief silence fell as they reflected on the losses they had endured.
When the Dark Lord had first resurrected, including those still imprisoned, there had been at least four to fifty Death Eaters active. Yet, before the end of the second year, half of their original number had perished or been captured.
"I know you are all curious. Follow me."
Yaxley stood and left the conference room, heading toward the outer parlor.
They exchanged glances, unsure of Yaxley's intentions, but they followed nonetheless.
Once the Death Eaters were seated, Yaxley revealed why he had asked them to remain:
"I suspect there is a spy among the Death Eaters."
At the mention of a spy, all eyes turned to Snape, the most renowned spy in the magical world.
However, the latter shook his head expressionlessly, indicating that this matter had nothing to do with him.
"If it's not him, then who is the spy?"
"It's hard to say at the moment, but all signs point to that Mudblood successfully planting a spy among us."
Yaxley's tone turned adamant, "That's why she always seems to have accurate information at the earliest moments."
And he was right; Albert had indeed been receiving firsthand information from his spy.
Alecto Carrow, her sharp instincts kicking in, narrowed her eyes at Yaxley, demanding, "Are you suspecting us?"
Yaxley, who had just poured himself half a glass of red wine, paused, then glanced up at Alecto, his tone indifferent, "Until we prove our innocence, everyone here, including me, is a suspect."
"Do you intend to use Veritaserum?"
One of the Death Eaters seemed to guess what might be about to happen.
"That would be the simplest and most effective way, wouldn't it?"
Snape pulled out a vial from his robe pocket and placed it on the table.
"You actually carry Veritaserum with you. Are you implying...?"
"We need to confirm that none of us are spies first," Yaxley interrupted.
"This is absurd!"
The parlor erupted in an uproar.
While using Veritaserum would be the quickest way to identify the spy, the very suggestion caused a visceral reaction among the Death Eaters, and some even shifted restlessly in their seats.
Yaxley picked up the vial and added three drops to his wine before raising the glass high.
"I'll drink first."
"Even if you drink first, it won't work. Believe me, no one wants to use Veritaserum to prove their innocence, and no Death Eater would allow such a thing."
Yaxley's "absurd" proposal was clearly unwelcome.
After all, everyone had their secrets, and they would never willingly risk exposing them.
"I understand your concerns, but we must find that blasted spy."
Macnair, on the other hand, could empathize with their worries, as he was well aware of the nature of Death Eaters.
"We'll only ask one question, so there's no need to worry."
After downing a mouthful of the spiked wine, Yaxley slumped in his chair, his expression dazed.
Snape asked directly, "Are you a spy planted by Albert Anderson?"
"No," Yaxley replied.
"That's it?"
As Snape administered the antidote to bring Yaxley back to his senses, one of the Death Eaters couldn't help but ask.
"That's it."
They exchanged glances, but in the end, they agreed.
As they had expected, there was no spy among them planted by Albert Anderson.
Not even Alecto Carrow, the "spy," considered herself one.
This test result was indeed unexpected.
"That's a lousy idea if I've ever heard one."
Macnair watched the departing Death Eaters and turned back to the silent Yaxley. "This plan was flawed from the start."
"At the very least, we can confirm that they're reliable. As for the spy, they're hiding..."
"...among us? If the other Death Eaters find out, they'll surely plot some nasty surprise for you." Macnair couldn't help but question the existence of Yaxley's alleged spy.
"We must root out the hidden spy," Yaxley reiterated, "or we may never have secrets again."
"That's just a hunch of yours."
"Not everyone is willing to carry out missions, and many are reaching their limits."
"What?" Macnair's expression turned to one of bewilderment as he struggled to keep up with Yaxley's train of thought.
"The Inferi affair. We suspect the spy leaked the location of the Inferi."
"Why are we talking about Inferi again? Weren't we discussing the spy?" Macnair shot a worried glance at Snape, wondering if the Veritaserum had muddled Yaxley's thinking.
"If we resort to other means, we'll still run into trouble. We all know the Dark Lord isn't in Britain, and no one can do anything about that Mudblood."
"Do you already have a suspect in mind? What's your next move?"
"You..." Macnair felt like he could barely keep up with the conversation.
If there truly was a spy among them, the Death Eaters' actions would be in the hands of that Mudblood, which would spell disaster.
In fact, the current state of the Death Eaters wasn't far from that, which was why Yaxley suspected a spy in their midst.
"I have a hunch, but no evidence, and..."
"...sometimes evidence isn't necessary."
"Who do you suspect?"
"Ludo Bagman."
"Alecto Carrow."
An eerie silence fell upon the parlor once more.
"Alecto Carrow?"
"But she passed the Veritaserum test."
Both turned to Snape.
"Don't forget, Avery was once controlled and used as a spy." Snape suddenly spoke up. "My instincts tell me she might be compromised."
"I'll keep an eye on her."
"What about Ludo Bagman? If he's the spy, shouldn't we just dispose of him? I recall you're adept at Legilimency, Severus."
"And the Inferi? Do you plan to continue creating them?"
"Yes, we need something to draw their attention. However, I think we should scatter those Inferi far and wide. Since they're keen on cleaning up the Inferi, let's give them some trouble." Yaxley chuckled bitterly, "After all, there are plenty of remote locations in Britain."
"It's too tedious to hunt down lone Muggles. We might as well target isolated Muggle villages; there are still plenty of those in Britain." Macnair suggested, as he had long wanted to slaughter Muggles.
"Won't that be too loud?" Snape frowned.
"If we want to create Inferi quickly, Muggle villages are our best bet." Macnair shrugged, "By the way, there's one more thing. The werewolves have a new leader, a man named Lucien. I've heard he's like Fenrir Greyback, taking it upon himself to bite and infect as many people as possible. As far as I know, they've already assembled a werewolf army of several hundred strong."
"Do you intend to use them? I recall you detest werewolves."
"No, I just thought those idiots might find werewolves interesting. We could even leak some information to them around the full moon."
"They're not fools. They won't fall for it that easily."
"Who knows, maybe they'll find werewolves intriguing."
(End of Chapter)
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