"You can act against anyone on this list."
Tver had taken over Joanne's working living room as if it were his own, using it to receive Marvolio, who had rushed over in high spirits.
But Tver had expected this, so the moment Marvolio finished explaining why he had come, Tver took out a sheet of paper he had prepared in advance.
Marvolio glanced at the names on it. There were not many, and their positions were not especially high, but every department was represented, and the list covered every age group.
"Voldemort is quite something. With the situation almost completely one-sided, he still managed to quietly win over this many people."
"Most of them were frightened by the three attacks he launched earlier, and that was how Voldemort quietly tempted them. I imagine some of them already regret it," Tver replied casually.
Marvolio shook the list. "Are you sure you want to hand all of them over to the Death Eaters? They won't show mercy."
"These people still haven't been judged for the crimes they committed in the last war…"
Tver's face turned serious, and he looked up at him with indifference.
"Besides, this is a war where one side lives and the other dies. Since they chose to become traitors, they have to bear the consequences of failure."
"Where in the world is there such a good thing that only has benefits and no drawbacks?"
"Understood." Marvolio immediately stopped asking. He had not expected Tver to be so sensitive about this.
Tver took a sip of Pumpkin juice, easing both his own emotions and the atmosphere in the room.
"Enough about them. What about you? Targeting Voldemort's moles like this, are you sure it won't draw his attention?"
"If he was going to notice, he would've noticed long ago. One or two more won't make a difference," Marvolio said arrogantly. "The Death Eaters have practically been led astray by me already. If you weren't insisting on keeping him around for a while longer, there wouldn't be all this trouble!"
"Oh, please. The Death Eaters are practically suffering from Stockholm syndrome when it comes to Voldemort. Unless Voldemort truly chills their hearts, you're nothing more than a backup option."
Tver rolled his eyes.
Voldemort's rule relied on benefits and the absolute strength needed to maintain high pressure. As long as the future he promised still had some chance of success, and as long as he still had the strength to maintain that possibility, the Death Eaters would keep clinging to hope and would not betray him so easily.
Otherwise, Tver would not have driven Lucius and the others out of Britain. He had been afraid those people would go back on their word.
Marvolio's arrogance took a blow. A little annoyed, he snatched the bottle from the table and poured himself a full glass of Pumpkin juice.
"Then what do you suggest? We can't just wait for Voldemort to go completely mad and kill all the Death Eaters, can we? By then, we'll probably have died of old age!"
"Let me think…"
Tver pretended to raise his wrist and check it. The curse had long since disappeared from his pale skin.
"I can still live at least another two or three hundred years, which is at least a tiny bit longer than you and Voldemort."
"…"
Marvolio was struck hard and silently took a large gulp of Pumpkin juice.
Both his and Voldemort's souls were incomplete, so their lifespans naturally could not compare to a freak like Tver, who came with his own vitality.
Seeing him like this, Tver felt it would be inappropriate to keep teasing him.
"But you don't need to rush too much. If we proceed step by step, Voldemort will lose patience sooner or later."
Marvolio did not fail to understand that. It was only after returning to the Death Eaters that he gradually came to understand what kind of environment he had once left them in.
In a place like that, even a good person would inevitably be stained by that atmosphere of brutality.
One could even say that in order to fit into such an atmosphere, some people were forced to make themselves even more brutal.
It was precisely that mindset that made them more and more reckless in their use of dark magic, pushing them deeper and deeper into darkness until it was too late to turn back.
Of course, this had to do with Voldemort deliberately creating such an atmosphere.
But Marvolio was different now.
He was still one of the earliest fragments split from Tom Riddle's soul, and he could control his own emotions.
Back then, even the Death Eaters who followed him had tended toward a kind of radicalism in pursuit of an ideal.
So when he felt the oppressive atmosphere inside the Death Eaters, sorrow rose in his heart.
"Can I ask how you plan to deal with these Death Eaters?"
He asked cautiously, afraid Tver would say he intended to have the Death Eaters kill one another and then burn them all.
That was not impossible. Once Voldemort was dealt with, Tver certainly would not leave behind these unstable elements.
Unless they were willing to stay obediently in prison and cause no trouble.
"What? Feeling sorry for your subordinates?"
Tver seemed careless on the surface, but in reality he was observing Marvolio's expression.
Even if he was a Horcrux, he had once been a Dark Lord. If the Death Eaters awakened the brutality and desire inside him, then Tver would have to.
Terminate the plan.
Rest assured, Marvolio's combat strength was much more important than this plan. How could Tver possibly bear to give him up?
Marvolio, however, knew nothing of this. He only stared silently at the cup in his hand, seemingly wondering why this Pumpkin juice tasted different from what he had drunk in Tver's office.
After a long while, he slowly spoke.
"I'm just thinking. We're both leaders, so why can you lead Aurors all over the place hunting Death Eaters…"
"While the Death Eaters I once relied on are either dead, have betrayed me, or are completely useless, as if Dementors sucked them stupid?"
"Where exactly did it go wrong?"
Tver understood that all too well.
"The guiding principle was wrong, Marvolio. The Death Eaters were ruled and guided by killing and brutality, so naturally, what they gave back was killing and brutality."
"That is the simplest method, but you have to understand that no matter where you are or what goal you want to achieve, simple methods are not enough."
Marvolio looked thoughtfully at the cup and fell into deep thought. Tver, however, felt reassured.
"Since you asked, I won't hide it from you."
"I don't want to kill those Death Eaters either, but Voldemort's current plan is still unclear."
"If he drives those people to attack Hogwarts…"
He paused. With Dumbledore still alive, if something like the Battle of Hogwarts from the story broke out, the consequences were beyond what even he could imagine.
"Then you can only pray that Dumbledore's attention is drawn away by Voldemort. Otherwise, I won't be able to help you either."
Having received the answer he wanted, even if it was not entirely satisfying, Marvolio still nodded, rose, and left with the list and his lingering questions.
"Is he gone?"
Hearing movement, Joanne came out of the room. But the moment her gaze landed on the table, her eyes widened.
"You actually drank all the Pumpkin juice I worked so hard to make?!"
"I'm a master Pumpkin juice taster. You already gained something by having me test the flavor for you, all right?" Tver shamelessly drank the last bit of Pumpkin juice in his cup.
"Not bad. Though it would suit my taste better if it were a little sweeter."
"???" Joanne was furious but did not dare say it.
I made it for myself. What use is it if it suits your taste?!
"Can't you hurry up and go back to work?!"