Chapter 764: Voldemort's Treatment
Chapter 764: Voldemort's Treatment
"Fools, all of you are idiots!"
In the grand hall adorned with gold and jade, along the lengthy table, witches and wizards donned in black hoods sat silently, their heads bowed low to avoid the terrifyingly indifferent red eyes.
"Why are you not speaking?" Voldemort asked, towering over a man at the table. "Antonin, is this how you assure me of your loyalty? Is this your answer to me?"
"I lost a leg and barely escaped with my life, and yet I still yearn for your forgiveness?" Antonin Dolohov pleaded, falling to his knees and attempting to kiss the hem of Voldemort's robe, only to be evaded with disdain.
This gesture struck fear into Dolohov, for as a Death Eater who had followed the Dark Lord for over a decade, he knew all too well what it meant when his master no longer tolerated flattery.
It meant that this servant no longer held any value in his eyes... much like how a broken shoe would be cast aside without a second glance.
"It was Malfoy! Draco Malfoy!" Dolohov exclaimed shrilly. "If he had killed Dumbledore sooner, we would have completed our mission by now!"
At the far end of the long table, Draco Malfoy felt a gaze upon him, sending a chill down his spine and draining the color from his face, leaving him pallid.
"Nonsense, you despicable coward!" Lucius Malfoy exclaimed, lifting his head. His eyes, laced with bloodshot veins, glared at Dolohov, once a somewhat amiable colleague.
"Draco accomplished what none of you could!"
For this moment, Lucius cast aside his fear and shouted, "Draco discovered a secret passage to Hogwarts, a feat witnessed by all! Who among you can claim the same? No one!"
The other Death Eaters sitting at the table lifted their heads to look at Lucius Malfoy.
To be honest, his indiscriminate attack could be said to have insulted everyone present, and to do so right before Voldemort was especially bold.
At this moment, the Death Eaters wanted nothing more than to end Lucius, yet they dared not act, nor even utter a rebuttal.
Because Lucius spoke the truth.
Before this, they had indeed been unable to find a way to smoothly enter Hogwarts. In fact, it had been difficult for them to even approach Hogsmeade, as the area surrounding the school was swarming with members of the Order of the Phoenix.
Thus, in a sense, Draco Malfoy's discovery of the Vanishing Cabinet was indeed beyond everyone's expectations.
Voldemort retracted his gaze at Lucius' words and turned back to Dolohov, awaiting an explanation.
At the same time, from the shadows beyond the reach of the light, a rustling sound grew louder, as if something was sliding across the floor, drawing closer.
Dolohov was truly terrified, his forehead dripping with beads of sweat.
He desperately wanted to explain that he had been following Voldemort's orders to allow Draco Malfoy to kill Dumbledore himself, which was why he had not acted.
But Dolohov dared not speak, for he was certain that if he did, death would be his immediate fate.
Thus, he could only hope that someone would speak up on his behalf, but unfortunately, there was no tradition of helping colleagues among the Death Eaters.
Voldemort slowly raised his wand.
"Please, Master, forgive me..." Dolohov begged.
"Cruciatus!"
The intense pain caused Dolohov's body to curl up tightly, his silent struggles continuing as he actually felt gladness in his heart.
Yes, Dolohov was glad, for Voldemort had used the Cruciatus Curse instead of the Killing Curse... The proud Dark Lord never bothered to punish his servants twice, and this meant that he would not die.
The sliding sound in the darkness gradually faded.
Five minutes later, Voldemort lowered his wand, and Dolohov lay on the ground, powerless and trembling as he opened his mouth.
"Thank... Thank you for your mercy... Master..."
Voldemort did not speak. If it weren't for the dwindling number of people he could rely on, he would never have let Dolohov off so easily.
The other Death Eaters reacted with varied expressions, some relieved and others disappointed.
Lucius, on the other hand, watched in terror as Voldemort pointed his wand at Draco at the end of the long table.
"Cruciatus!"
Once again, it was the Cruciatus Curse, and Draco Malfoy curled up on the ground, writhing in agony just like Dolohov.
"This is a lesson for you," Voldemort said calmly. "My command was for you to kill Dumbledore. Why did you not act?"
Draco Malfoy wanted to explain, but the pain of the Cruciatus Curse left him unable to utter a sound.
"Master..." Lucius pleaded, prostrating himself, "Draco is only sixteen, he..."
"I am not speaking to you, Lucius," Voldemort interrupted, raising a finger to silence him.
"That Kyle, at the age of sixteen, repeatedly foiled my plans. If he could do it, why can't Draco?"
However, at this moment, a sudden sound broke the silence in the room.
"Then why don't you go to Hogwarts yourself?"
Instinctively, everyone looked in the direction of the voice, curious to see who this brave soul was who no longer valued their life.
"What did you just say?" Voldemort asked, his body swaying as he appeared next to Oren, his interest piqued.
"I said, why don't you, the Dark Lord himself, go to Hogwarts?" Oren replied, unfazed by the wand pressed against his forehead.
"If you choose Hogwarts as your battleground, you could threaten to take the lives of all the students, or even hold a few hostages close. Even Dumbledore wouldn't dare to act against that," Oren continued, unfazed by the danger. "Then, you could kill him without lifting a finger."
A collective gasp filled the room, and all the Death Eaters, including Bellatrix and Bartemius Crouch Jr., gave Oren a strange look.
This guy was something else; even they, with their long list of evil deeds, wouldn't stoop to using students as human shields or hostages. Yet, here was Oren, calmly suggesting such a despicable act.
For a moment, they even felt a twinge of shame in comparison to his boldness.
Even Voldemort stared at Oren, taken aback by his suggestion. It took him a moment to regain his composure.
"Are you implying that I, the heir of Salazar Slytherin, the greatest Dark Lord to ever exist, need to resort to such tactics to defeat Dumbledore?" Voldemort's voice was icy, his serpentine gaze devoid of emotion. It was clear that any wrong move or word from Oren would result in his immediate demise.
"You misunderstand me, that's not what I meant at all." Oren maintained his calm demeanor. "But this is indeed a rare opportunity, and I just feel that it's a bit of a shame to let it pass."
"Don't presume to teach me what to do, and stop trying to be clever in my presence."
To the surprise of the Death Eaters, Voldemort lowered his wand.
"I have other, more important matters to attend to. As for Dumbledore... I can kill him whenever I please."
"As you say, Master." Oren shrugged, feigning resignation.
Despite his blatant disrespect and borderline suicidal behavior, Oren faced no repercussions.
If there was anyone Voldemort was even slightly pleased with during this entire operation against Hogwarts, it was Oren.
Not only had he returned unscathed and brought back the useless Antonin Dolohov, but he had also worked with Snape to rescue Draco Malfoy from the school hospital.
His meticulous planning, quick thinking, and most importantly, his willingness to do whatever it took to achieve his goals, had elevated his standing in Voldemort's eyes above that of ninety percent of the Death Eaters present.
When faced with a servant who brought him a little surprise, Voldemort didn't mind showing a more magnanimous side.
This special treatment caused Bellatrix, standing nearby, to seethe with jealousy, her eyes turning red with rage.
Once upon a time, she had been in a similar position, standing out among the Death Eaters and earning the Dark Lord's trust.
But sometime after her release from Azkaban, a string of failed missions had gradually eroded that trust.
Bellatrix felt like there was a wild beast raging inside her, urging her to kill Oren.
However, a shred of remaining sanity told her that she must not act, not while the Dark Lord was present.
Bellatrix closed her eyes, desperately trying to suppress the murderous impulse, and when she opened them again, Voldemort had vanished.
The mountain that had loomed over the house also disappeared, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Bellatrix glanced at Oren, who was not far away, and her fingers twitched on her wand. With quick steps, she left the room.
Lucius scrambled to his feet and rushed to Draco's side, helping him up and holding him tightly in his arms.
The surrounding Death Eaters shot them various odd looks, some feigning sympathy while others reveled in their misfortune.
But Lucius paid them no mind.
"How are you, Draco?" he asked anxiously.
However, whether it was due to the effects of the Cruciatus Curse or the sheer terror he had experienced, Draco remained silent. It wasn't until most of the people in the room had left that he finally managed to stand, his body still trembling.
"I'm fine, Father," Draco said, trying to sound calm.
He had always thought that being a Death Eater was a glorious thing, but now he deeply regretted his decision.
The feeling of having death brush so closely by had shaken him to his core, and he no longer wanted to be a Death Eater. All he wanted was to return to Hogwarts, even if it meant sharing a dormitory with Potter and the Weasley brothers.
Seeming to understand his thoughts, Lucius patted him on the shoulder helplessly, saying nothing.
After Draco had calmed down a bit, he walked over to Oren.
"Of course, it's for bringing Draco back," Lucius replied, careful not to mention anything related to Voldemort. In this case, what he said wasn't entirely untrue.
"No need," Oren said, his eyes lowered as he showed no sign of gratitude. "I just went to the designated place to pick him up. You should be thanking the one who truly saved him."
"It's all the same," Lucius insisted.
At that moment, Oren seemed to recall something and looked up, asking, "But I am curious about one thing. How much hatred does your son harbor for his classmates that he would send a werewolf to Hogwarts?"
"I didn't!" Draco exclaimed, realizing what Oren was referring to. "I didn't know he would come. I only told Aunt Bellatrix and Dolohov."
"Is that so?" Oren said, unconcerned.
"Draco truly didn't mention it, and I can vouch for that," Lucius quickly added. "When we were discussing the attack on Hogwarts, Fenrir wasn't even here. He only insisted on going later when he heard about it... He obviously didn't want to miss out on the action at Hogwarts."
"I heard you used to be the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts as well. It's a shame Draco didn't enroll a year earlier," Lucius said, trying to find some common ground.
"Are you sure about that?" Oren arched an eyebrow, his expression mocking.
For some reason, Lucius felt uncomfortable under his gaze, and he couldn't help but recall some of the legends surrounding Oren.
In the past century, Hogwarts had only ever seen one professor who attempted to kill students and actually took action to do so.
And that professor had chosen Kyle as his target. Anyone else would have surely met their end in the Forbidden Forest.
If it had been Draco...
Lucius shuddered at the thought, not daring to continue down that path.
He felt that Oren was not right in the head, and he couldn't fathom what the man was thinking. In fact, he doubted anyone normal could understand Oren's thought process.
Noticing Lucius's silence, Oren curled his lips in disdain, leaning back in his chair and yawning lazily.
"Now that I think about it, where's Fenrir? Is he still at Hogwarts and hasn't returned yet?"
"I'm not sure..." Lucius replied, perplexed by Oren's sudden interest in the werewolf.
"He won't be coming back," Draco said, his voice shaking slightly. "On my way to the school hospital, I overheard some news."
"What news?" Oren asked, his eyes narrowing.
"Fenrir Greyback and the other Death Eaters who caused chaos in the castle have all been captured," Draco explained.
"So, he's in the custody of the Ministry of Magic now?" Oren inquired, his eyes narrowing further. "Do we need to go and rescue him? Storming the Ministry sounds like fun. If you guys are up for it, count me in."
Lucius stared at Oren, surprised by his suggestion. In a group of cold-blooded Death Eaters, this man seemed to have a heart, even volunteering to break into the Ministry to save someone.
This didn't align with the indifferent persona he had been portraying.
However, such an endeavor was likely unnecessary.
Since the Dark Lord hadn't mentioned it earlier, it meant he had probably given up on the werewolf.
The Death Eaters had just attacked Hogwarts, and now was the most critical time for both the Ministry and the Order of the Phoenix, with heavy losses on both sides. Storming the Ministry to save a werewolf, especially after such a costly attack, didn't seem like a wise move.
Even if Fenrir was the leader of the werewolves.
"I think that won't be necessary," Lucius replied, shaking his head.
Before he could say more, Draco continued, "According to Professor Snape, Hogwarts doesn't plan to hand Fenrir over to the Ministry. Instead, they're going to turn him over to the families of the students he bit."
The mention of Snape caused Draco's expression to darken once more, and he couldn't help but regret not accepting the professor's help while at school.
"I guess he's been taken away by now, and no one knows where he is," Draco added, his voice filled with remorse.
"You mean we won't be seeing Fenrir again?" Oren asked quietly, his eyes fixed on Draco.
"I believe so," Lucius said. "He's managed to stay alive this long only because he hasn't been caught... until now."
Before Lucius could finish his sentence, Oren abruptly stood up and left the room without another word or even a glance back.
This sudden departure left Lucius and Draco alone in the room, both men exchanging confused glances, unsure of what had just transpired.
"What just happened? Did I say something wrong?" Draco asked, his anxiety evident.
Lucius thought about it for a moment and then shook his head. "No, not at all, at least not from my perspective."
He was now even more convinced that there was something off about Oren.
...
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
