Chapter 764: Voldemort's Favor
Chapter 764: Voldemort's Favor
"Fools, all of you!"
In the grand hall, adorned with gold and splendor, the long table was flanked by black-robed witches and wizards, all silent and heads bowed, fearing the sight of those cold, terrifying eyes.
"Why are you silent?" Voldemort approached one of them, towering over him. "Antonin, this is how you assure me? This is your response?"
"You lost a leg and crawled back like a pathetic bug, and now you dare seek my forgiveness?"
"Master, I swear I did my best, Master!" Antonin Dolohov fell to the ground, attempting to kiss Voldemort's robe, but Voldemort disdainfully evaded him.
This gesture terrified Dolohov even more. As an old Death Eater who had followed Voldemort for over a decade, he knew what it meant when the Dark Lord no longer tolerated flattery from his servants.
It meant that this servant had lost all value in his eyes, much like a broken shoe that no one would give a second glance.
"It's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy," Dolohov squeaked. "If he had killed Dumbledore sooner, we would have completed our mission!"
At the far end of the long table, Draco Malfoy felt a gaze upon him, causing him to shiver and turn pale, his face devoid of any blood.
"Nonsense, you despicable coward!" Lucius Malfoy raised his head, his eyes bloodshot with rage, directed at Dolohov, who had once been on good terms with him... or at least, a fellow Death Eater.
"Draco accomplished what none of you could!"
In this moment, Lucius' fear dissipated as he roared, "Draco found a secret passage to Hogwarts, a feat witnessed by all! Who among you can claim the same? No one!"
The other Death Eaters lifted their heads, private space to look at Lucius Malfoy.
To be honest, his indiscriminate attack could be seen as an insult to everyone present, berating them for their incompetence right in front of Voldemort.
At this moment, the Death Eaters wanted to do something, more than ever, but they dared not even argue.
Because Lucius spoke the truth.
Before this, they indeed had no means to enter Hogwarts smoothly, no, they struggled even to reach Hogsmeade. The area surrounding the school was teeming with members of the Order of the Phoenix.
So, in a sense, Draco Malfoy's discovery of the Vanishing Cabinet exceeded everyone's imagination.
Hearing Lucius' words, Voldemort retracted his gaze, turning back to Dolohov on the ground, seemingly awaiting an explanation.
Meanwhile, from the shadows untouched by the light, a rustling sound emerged, as if something was sliding forward, the noise becoming increasingly distinct.
Dolohov was genuinely terrified, beads of sweat forming on his forehead and dropping to the ground.
He desperately wanted to explain that he had followed Voldemort's orders, waiting for Draco Malfoy to kill Dumbledore personally, which was why he hadn't acted.
But Dolohov dared not speak, certain that doing so would lead to his death.
Now, he could only hope that someone would intercede on his behalf, but unfortunately, there was no tradition of aiding fellow Death Eaters.
Voldemort slowly raised his wand.
"Please, Master, forgive me..."
"Crucio!"
The intense pain caused Dolohov's body to curl up, writhing silently, yet he felt a sense of relief.
Yes, Dolohov was relieved because Voldemort had used the Cruciatus Curse instead of the Killing Curse... The proud Dark Lord never bothered to punish his servants twice, indicating that Dolohov would not die.
The sliding sound in the darkness gradually faded.
Five minutes later, Voldemort lowered his wand, and Dolohov lay on the ground, trembling as he opened his mouth.
"Th-thank you for your mercy, Master..."
Voldemort remained silent. If not for the dwindling number of usable servants, he would never have spared Antonin Dolohov so easily.
The other Death Eaters, upon seeing this, lowered their heads with varied expressions, some relieved, others disappointed.
Lucius, on the other hand, watched in horror as Voldemort pointed his wand at Draco at the end of the long table.
"Crucio!"
The Cruciatus Curse again, and Draco Malfoy, like Dolohov, curled up on the ground, writhing in agony.
"This is your lesson," Voldemort said calmly. "My order was to kill Dumbledore. Why did you not act?"
Draco Malfoy wanted to explain, but the pain from the Cruciatus Curse prevented him from uttering a sound.
"Master..." Lucius prostrated himself on the ground, pleading, "Draco is only sixteen, he..."
"I am not addressing you, Lucius," Voldemort said, raising a finger to silence him. "That Kyle, at sixteen, repeatedly ruined my plans. If he could do it, why not Draco?"
"Do you believe that the Dark Lord's servants are inferior to Dumbledore's students?"
Lucius Malfoy immediately closed his mouth, and even the surrounding Death Eaters lowered their heads, not daring to breathe.
However, at that moment, an unexpected voice echoed through the room.
"Then why don't you go to Hogwarts yourself?"
Instinctively, everyone turned to look in the direction of the voice, curious to see who the brave soul was.
"What did you just say?" Voldemort appeared beside Morris Orean, his interest piqued.
"I'm saying, as the Dark Lord, why haven't you gone to Hogwarts?" Orean continued, seemingly oblivious to the wand pressed against his forehead.
"If you choose Hogwarts as the battleground, threatening the lives of all the students or randomly capturing a few and binding them to yourself, even Dumbledore wouldn't dare to resist."
"At that moment, you could defeat him without breaking a sweat."
A collective gasp filled the room, and even Bellatrix and Barty Crouch Jr., along with the other Death Eaters, stared at the newcomer with peculiar looks.
Orean's suggestion was outrageous—using students as hostages and fighting Dumbledore with them as shields, even if they considered themselves beyond redemption, they wouldn't dare to cross such a line. Yet, Orean had calmly proposed it.
For a moment, they felt a twinge of shame.
Even Voldemort stared at Orean, taken aback. After a while, he regained his composure.
"Are you implying that I, the heir of Salazar Slytherin and the greatest Dark Lord to date, need to resort to such methods to defeat Dumbledore?" Voldemort's voice was icy, his snake-like gaze devoid of emotion, as if he would kill Orean without hesitation if he said one wrong word.
"You worry too much, that's not what I meant," Orean replied, his face still calm. "But this time, it's indeed a rare opportunity, and I just find it a bit regrettable."
"I don't need your advice on what to do, and don't try to be clever in front of me."
To the surprise of the Death Eaters, Voldemort put away his wand.
"I have more important matters to attend to. As for Dumbledore... I can kill him whenever I please."
"As you wish," Orean shrugged, feigning helplessness.
Despite Orean's near-suicidal insolence, he faced no punishment.
If there was one person Voldemort was slightly satisfied with during this operation, it was Orean.
Not only did he escape unscathed, but he also brought back the useless Antonin Dolohov and helped Snape rescue Draco Malfoy from the hospital wing.
His meticulous planning, quick reactions, and most importantly, his willingness to go to any lengths to achieve his goals, made Orean stand out among the Death Eaters, surpassing ninety percent of them in Voldemort's estimation.
Voldemort didn't mind showing his magnanimity towards a servant who brought him a bit of surprise.
This special treatment made Bellatrix, standing nearby, seethe with jealousy.
She had once been in Orean's position, standing out among the Death Eaters and earning the Dark Lord's trust.
But at some point, perhaps after the escape from Azkaban, her repeated failures in critical missions gradually eroded that trust.
A beast seemed to stir within Bellatrix's heart, urging her to kill Orean.
However, her remaining sanity told her not to act on this impulse, at least not in front of the Dark Lord.
Bellatrix closed her eyes, suppressing the thought, and when she opened them again, Voldemort was gone.
The mountain that had loomed over the house also disappeared, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Bellatrix glanced at Orean, who was not far away, and her fingers caressed her wand twice before she quickly left the room.
Lucius hurriedly got up from the ground, rushed to Draco's side, and helped him up, hugging him tightly.
Strange gazes were cast in their direction, some filled with false sympathy and others with genuine schadenfreude.
But Lucius paid no heed to them.
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"How are you, Draco?" he asked anxiously.
But whether due to the effects of the Cruciatus Curse or the shock, Draco remained silent, only managing to stand unsteadily after most others had left the room.
"I'm fine, Dad," Draco forced himself to sound calm.
He had always thought that being a Death Eater was glorious, but now he realized it wasn't at all. The brush with death made him regret his choices, and he wanted to return to Hogwarts, even if it meant sharing a dormitory with Potter and Weasley.
Seeming to understand Draco's thoughts, Lucius patted his shoulder helplessly, saying nothing.
After Draco had calmed down a bit, he stood up and walked over to Orean.
"Thank you," Lucius said. He was well aware that if it weren't for Morris suddenly speaking up and drawing the Dark Lord's attention, he wouldn't have let Draco off so easily.
"What for?" Morris gave him a casual glance, unappreciative of the gratitude.
"Of course, you helped bring Draco back," Lucius replied.
Lucius dared not mention anything related to Voldemort, but since Draco was indeed brought back by Morris, he wasn't wrong in saying so.
"No need," Morris said, lowering his eyes without looking at him. "I just went to the designated place and brought him back. You should be thanking the person who truly saved him."
"It's the same, it's the same," Lucius said.
At that moment, Morris seemed to have thought of something and asked, "But I'm curious about one thing. How much does your son hate his classmates that he sent a werewolf to Hogwarts?"
"I didn't!" Draco Malfoy exclaimed, snapping out of his daze. "I didn't know he would come. I only told Alecto and Dolohov."
"Is that so?" Morris said nonchalantly.
"Draco didn't mention it, and I can vouch for that," Lucius quickly added. "When we were discussing the attack on Hogwarts, Greyback wasn't even there. He only insisted on going after hearing about it... He obviously didn't want to miss out on the opportunity to go to Hogwarts."
"I heard you were also a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts before. It's a pity that Draco didn't enroll a year earlier."
Lucius was fully utilizing his social skills, trying to find a common topic.
"Are you sure?" Morris looked at him, his expression mocking as he raised an eyebrow.
For some reason, Lucius felt a bit uneasy under Morris' gaze, and he also recalled some of the legends surrounding Morris.
In the past century at Hogwarts, Morris was the only professor who wanted to kill a student and actually took action.
It was only because he chose Kyle; if it had been anyone else, they would have surely died in the Forbidden Forest.
If it had been Draco...
Lucius shuddered at the thought, not daring to continue.
He felt that Morris' mind was definitely not normal. He couldn't guess what Morris was thinking, and no normal person could either.
Seeing that Lucius had fallen silent, Morris smirked and leaned back in his chair, yawning lazily.
"That's strange, I didn't see Greyback just now. Is he still at Hogwarts and hasn't returned?"
"I don't know..."
"He won't be coming back," Draco Malfoy said. "On my way to the school hospital, I heard some news."
"What news?"
"Fenrir Greyback and the other Death Eaters causing trouble in the castle were all captured."
"So, he's also being held at the Ministry of Magic now?" Morris asked, narrowing his eyes. "Do we need to rescue him? Storming the Ministry sounds like a great idea. If you're going, count me in."
Lucius looked at him in surprise, never expecting to find someone so enthusiastic about rescuing others in the midst of the cold and ruthless Death Eaters.
This didn't fit the persona he had been showing.
But there was probably no need for that.
Since the Dark Lord didn't mention it just now, it proved that he had given up on Greyback, the werewolf.
The Death Eaters had just attacked Hogwarts, and it was a critical time for both the Ministry of Magic and the Order of the Phoenix, with heavy losses on their side. It wouldn't be worth it to storm the Ministry for a werewolf, even if he was the werewolf leader.
"I think it's not necessary," Lucius said.
Before Lucius could say more, Draco continued, "Professor Snape told me that Hogwarts doesn't plan to hand Greyback over to the Ministry of Magic. Instead, they're giving him to the families of the children he bit."
Hearing Snape's name, Malfoy's expression became more dejected. He couldn't help but regret not accepting Snape's help when he was at school.
"I guess he's already been taken away by now, and no one knows where he is," Malfoy whispered, lost in his regrets.
Morris noticed a slight change in Morris' expression, but Malfoy didn't seem to notice.
"Do you mean we won't see Greyback again?" Morris asked softly.
"I think so," Lucius said, standing nearby. "He's survived this long only because no one took revenge for the people he bit..."
Before Lucius could finish his sentence, Morris suddenly stood up and left the room without a word or even a glance back.
Now, only the Malfoy father and son remained in the room, both looking at each other in confusion, unsure of what had just happened.
"What's going on with him?" Draco Malfoy asked anxiously.
Lucius thought for a moment and shook his head. "No, at least not that I can see."
He was now even more certain that Morris was not quite right in the head.
...
(End of Chapter)
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