Inside a gloomy little hut, dozens of hooded witches and wizards had already gathered…
At the center of them stood two figures—
"Dark Lord… please punish me!" Joseph Yaxley pleaded in a hoarse whisper, his face twisted with terror.
Fear had twisted his features into something barely human.
Kneeling on the ground, Yaxley bowed low in fervent repentance.
"I'm deeply sorry, Dark Lord… I never imagined things would turn out this way. That damned Greengrass must have deceived us… She was always extremely close to Dumbledore…"
Voldemort made no reply. He simply stood there in silence, leaving Yaxley staring at an unfathomable, ominous silhouette.
Many of the surrounding Death Eaters shuddered instinctively…
Most of them had followed the Dark Lord for many years and knew his temperament all too well—
To blunder so catastrophically, to lure the Dark Lord into a trap laid by Dumbledore and the Order of the Phoenix, and still fail to capture the boy or complete the objective… In their eyes, Yaxley was already a dead man.
"Wormtail!" Voldemort suddenly called.
"I'm here, Master…"
A short, balding man with graying hair hurried forward eagerly and handed an exquisitely crafted vial to his master.
Voldemort drained the liquid in one swallow before turning back around.
Yaxley's face was nearly pressed against the icy floor, while the other Death Eaters scarcely dared to breathe.
"No, Joseph!"
To everyone's astonishment, the Dark Lord's voice was unusually gentle.
"You have committed no mistake. Why should I punish you?"
There was no mockery in his tone—if anything, it carried a faint trace of concern.
"M–Master…"
Yaxley froze where he knelt. He had never imagined the Dark Lord would be so lenient.
"Even if there was an error, it had nothing to do with you… I trust you."
Voldemort's voice remained calm, yet an invisible, chilling pressure accompanied it.
"Greengrass could not deceive me—if she valued her daughter's life…"
After a brief pause, he continued.
"But there is no doubt that the boy and Dumbledore knew our plan, at least in part. That is why they were prepared in advance…"
Voldemort fell silent, his scarlet eyes slowly sweeping across every face in the room.
All the Death Eaters lowered their heads, just like Yaxley.
"Therefore, everyone here—everyone who knew of this plan beforehand—could be the one who passed the information to Dumbledore," Voldemort said coldly.
"Except Wormtail, of course… because he knew nothing about it!"
"Ha ha ha!"
Voldemort seemed amused by his own remark and burst into laughter.
No one else dared to join in—not even the target of the joke, Peter Pettigrew.
"Of course, that was merely a joke…"
Voldemort went on, still smiling.
"Perhaps, just as you said, Yaxley, it was that foolish woman Greengrass who leaked it to Dumbledore…"
"But I know very well…"
His tone abruptly shifted.
"You stand here, on my side—but that doesn't mean you truly believe I will win. Many of you are already preparing escape routes for yourselves, aren't you?"
"Dark Lord, my loyalty to you has never wavered!"
Joseph Yaxley protested at once.
Several voices quickly echoed their agreement.
"Loyalty is not something you prove with words alone," Voldemort said.
"You may think Dumbledore currently has the upper hand, but he is old. He has little time left… All we need to do is wait."
"Master… are you saying that, under your arrangements, Dumbledore will die?"
The Death Eater Pierce Sinclair asked, astonished.
"I promised you nothing, Pierce," Voldemort replied with a cold smile.
"The only thing I can guarantee is this—if you devote yourselves fully to me and never betray me, you will soon receive the most magnificent rewards imaginable."
...
After the short address, the Death Eaters' sagging morale seemed greatly restored. Their faces flushed with renewed confidence.
They soon began discussing more "practical matters"—
"Master, about those hostages…"
Wormtail asked quietly.
The "encounter" on the west coast had not been entirely without gain.
More than a dozen employees from the Ministry of Magic's Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures had been captured and taken back to the Death Eaters' hideout.
The Dark Lord's original objective had been to seize a boy who had concealed his identity…
Yet according to the captives' testimony, one person was missing from their group—most likely that very boy.
Although the main objective had failed, the remaining Ministry employees were still firmly in Death Eater hands.
"Hostages?"
Voldemort frowned slightly, deep in thought.
"Shall I deal with them for you, Dark Lord?"
Yaxley offered eagerly.
"Killing those Pure-blood traitors and Mudbloods might soil your hands."
"No."
Voldemort shook his head meaningfully.
"They are our hostages. How could we kill them so easily? Don't forget—we also have many of our own people in the Ministry's custody."
"You mean… exchanging hostages with the Ministry?"
Yaxley's expression immediately grew strained.
"That will be difficult. Rufus Scrimgeour currently controls the Aurors—you know him. He may be foolish, but when it comes to us, he's extremely stubborn…"
"I never said I planned to approach Scrimgeour," Voldemort sneered.
"Then… Amelia Bones?"
Yaxley ventured.
"That newly appointed female Minister. Her late brother was once Albus Dumbledore's most trusted confidant. At least ten members of her family have already died for our cause… I doubt she would compromise either…"
"No. Follow my orders, Yaxley," Voldemort said calmly.
"Take several clear photographs of the hostages—capture the fear on their faces—and send them to The Daily Prophet. That will be enough."
Realization finally crept across Yaxley's face.
"Go. Do it at once," Voldemort commanded softly.