Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to JK Rowling. I own nothing but the original characters I make.
Chapter 105: Exposed
---Voldemort POV---
"What? How can this be?" hissed Voldemort, his red eyes narrowing in disbelief. The air in the room grew colder, the fire in the hearth flickering weakly under the weight of his anger.
Just now he had heard something impossible to happen, someone had impersonated him and attacked the ministry. Now everyone knows he had returned and his plan to gather more follower had been interrupted.
"My Lord, five of our people have been killed," reported Crabbe nervously, his voice trembling. "We suspect a Metamorphmagus was responsible, but unfortunately, the only one identified as such are Nymphadora Tonks and she was also among the victims when the attack happen."
"Tonks?" Voldemort repeated, his tone sharp. "The Black?"
"She was Andromeda daughter," Bellatrix Lestrange said, her voice dripping with disgust.
"The one who married a Mudblood?" Voldemort sneered, his expression twisting with contempt.
"Yes, my Lord," replied Bellatrix obediently.
"Do you think she was capable of such a thing?" Voldemort asked, his voice dangerously low.
"No, my Lord. She is far too weak," said Bellatrix confidently.
Voldemort leaned back in his chair, fingers tapping slowly against the armrest. "Tell me everything you know. How did this happen? How did the impostor manage to escape?"
Crabbe stammered as he began his report, explaining every detail he knew. The room fell into a tense silence for fifteen long minutes as he spoke.
"So…" Voldemort said finally, his voice barely above a whisper but laced with venom. "He vanished, right in front of Dumbledore?"
"Yes, my Lord," replied Crabbe shakily. "Dumbledore believed his wards could prevent any form of escape, yet the perpetrator still disappeared before his very eyes."
For a moment, Voldemort said nothing suddenly another Death Eater come and reported that Snape has come to meet him.
Voldemort nodded, then with a flicker of his wand, the room door opened.
"Let him in," Voldemort commanded coldly waiting for Snape to enter, he saw Snape standing at the entrance.
"My Lord," greeted Snape. "I came because Dumbledore asked why you attacked the Ministry so suddenly."
Voldemort expression darkened instantly. The Death Eaters nearby froze, sensing the storm about to erupt.
"So… even Dumbledore believes it was I who attacked the Ministry?" Voldemort hissed.
Snape blinked, feigning surprise. "It wasn't you, my Lord?"
"You fool... Crucio!" Voldemort roared. A flash of red light filled the room as Snape collapsed to the ground, writhing in agony. The curse lasted a minutes before Voldemort released it.
Snape gasped for breath, his body trembling. "I... I am sorry, my Lord."
"It's fine," Voldemort said coldly, though his fury had not subsided. "Someone has dared to impersonate me, someone with knowledge of me. They've ruined my plans to remain in the shadows. I will find this pretender… and destroy them."
Snape, still on a floor trying to get up but the effect of the cruciatus curse still lingered, spoke between shallow breaths. "My Lord… the impostor took a prophecy orb from the Department of Mysteries. Dumbledore believed it was you, since no one else could have entered that room. The wards there are ancient and sealed by special magic that it was impossible for Dumbledore to breaking it."
Voldemort head snapped toward Crabbe, his eyes blazing. "What? Crabbe, is this true? Why did you not tell me sooner?"
"My Lord," stammered Crabbe, sweat dripping down his face. "My informant didn't see the crystal in the perpetrator hand"
"Useless!" Voldemort spat, his voice echoing off the stone walls. "You're all incompetent! Someone walks into the Ministry, kills five of my servants, steals a prophecy and pretends to be me and none of you knows who had impersonated me?"
The Death Eaters remained silent, terrified.
"Who would dare?" Voldemort muttered, his serpentine voice trembling with rage. "Who knows enough about me to pull this off?"
Suddenly, Bellatrix spoke up. "My Lord, I believe it may be someone from the Order of the Phoenix. Not a Metamorphmagus, but someone who used powerful Transfiguration to mimic your face. He must have known about the prophecy and only the Order or Dumbledore inner circle could possess such knowledge."
Voldemort eyes glowed brighter, his fury burning hotter. "Okay, if they like to reveal me on public," he hissed, his voice like ice. "I will make sure they will live in fear like before."
The sound of cheers echoed through the dimly lit room Death Eaters laughing in twisted delight. Once, before Voldemort downfall, they had spread terror across Britain, making even the bravest wizards tremble in fear. That familiar chill seemed will return soon, as the Dark Lord will once again spread the terror to those mudblood and dirty halfblood.
"Where is Lucius?" Voldemort voice sliced through the noise. His red eyes gaze turned toward Snape.
"Unfortunately, Dumbledore has captured him," Snape replied cautiously, lowering his eye. "He is most likely imprisoned in Azkaban by now."
Voldemort expression darkened, anger flickering behind his calm façade. The room grew colder, the air itself seeming to shiver. Then, after a long pause, he inhaled slowly and spoke in a chillingly measured tone.
"I am not going to save him now. Let him rot there for a time, to learn the price of failure." His lips curled into a thin, cruel smile. "A month or two will remind him of his place… and what happens to those who disappoint me."
No one dared to speak. The Death Eaters just looked their boots, didn't speak any word.
"Severus," Voldemort continued, he changed his tone and the way he called him. Before this he called Snape when he was angry, but when he wanted something from snape, he called him Severus.
"Yes, my Lord," Snape answered, standing straighter though his heart pounded beneath his robes.
"Let Dumbledore believe that I have taken the prophecy and that I was the one who attacked the Ministry," Voldemort ordered, his eyes narrowing with sinister cunning.
Snape froze briefly, understanding the hidden meaning of those words. Voldemort wanted to test him. With this command, the Dark Lord would know whether Snape was a loyal to him or a traitor. Voldemort smile widened slightly.
"Yes," he thought silently, "Fool dumbledore and make him panic, Severus."
Author Notes: To read advanced chapter you can go to my patreon.
Chapter 133: Vaelen
Chapter 134: Dark Dimension
Chapter 135: Misunderstanding The Plot
-patreon.com/zorojurown