Chapter 142. Forbidden Forest. Part 5. Forest Centre.
London. Black Star.
A thoughtful man with short green hair stepped out of the passage in the brick wall, which quickly closed behind him. He paid it little attention and sat at the table, lost in thought.
"After that attack, he's unlikely to want to talk with us. But try to establish contact. Strengthen surveillance on him and find weak spots. And by any means, you must plant a spy in the Department of Mysteries. You have three months for this. Don't disappoint me." He ground his teeth, recalling his leader's order after submitting this week's report. It was one thing dealing with that damned Severus. But how was he supposed to shove a spy into one of the most protected departments of the Ministry of Magic when only one of their people had managed to break through to the position of assistant to the Chief Accountant, and even that had required a huge bribe?
"With extreme difficulty, we managed to push three into the Auror department, and you damn well order me to miraculously stuff one of our people in there. You should try it yourself, you unfinished ghoul." He struck the table hard, cursing his 'beloved superiors' under his breath.
Still, something had to be done. Vitold had spent years building his position and had no intention of losing it to his younger brother. "Summon Robert and Lavr to me."
"Yes, Leader!" An excited voice came from behind the door, followed by the sound of retreating footsteps.
The head of the Steel Division picked up the folder lying on the table with the name 'Severus.' It had doubled in thickness since Nestor's betrayal. Beneath it lay another folder with the name 'Ihiros,' but in thickness it was no bigger than an advertising pamphlet. They had managed to collect almost nothing on him except particularly 'bright' cases like the destruction of the mansion where Voldemort and Ihiros's meeting had taken place, and the incident with the gangs in Diagon Alley.
If not for these new potions. The man sighed wearily. It was precisely because of them that the organization's leader had taken a renewed interest in the 'boy' and demanded they establish contact.
He opened the folder and flipped through several pages, stopping at a row of names with photographs:
Regulus and Bellatrix Black. They'd be difficult. One is the heir, and the other is one of Voldemort's main pawns. Shafiq almost never leaves the shop. I doubt he knows anything about the recipes. Manipulating him through her is unlikely to work. Bellatrix Black would be better suited for that. And the last ones, the Macmillans. He also contacted them. He clicked his tongue irritably and closed the file, folding his hands before his face. If not for his huge influence in the Ministry, we could detain the boy, accuse him of his father's murder, and have our people interrogate him there. Another weary sigh escaped his lips. Only the option with this woman remains. But in that case, peaceful cooperation will be impossible. It's worth trying to negotiate first. If nothing works out, then we'll have to use this method.
After a few minutes, there was a knock at the office door. Two men entered. The first was middle-aged with round glasses and a bald patch, looking quite nervous. The second had short black hair and a long scar running from his forehead over his eye to his chin. He was as calm as a boa constrictor and ignored the "boss's" irritated look.
"Robert, you have a new task. By any means, plant our person in the Department of Mysteries. You have two months for this." When he heard this order, the bespectacled wizard's eye twitched. He began cursing his boss in his mind, just as Vitold had several minutes earlier.
"Yes," he drawled, not very cheerfully. Even his nervousness had vanished.
"Lavr." The leader shifted his gaze to the second subordinate, who met his eyes with indifference. "Your task is to establish contact with Severus Snape and invite him to join us." Though Vitold was irritated by the behavior of the third group commander of the Gold division, who barely acknowledged him, he had to admit the man before him was a professional in surveillance and intelligence gathering. In terms of strength, he was only slightly inferior. So Vitold tried to overlook these mannerisms. "But INVITE, not bring him here by force. Did I make myself clear?"
"Yes." He chuckled. Vitold decided to let it go, though he really wanted to ram his fist into the face of his overly cocky, albeit temporary, subordinate. He couldn't, because Black Star had its own division rankings, issued by the leader himself. As he put it, "by degree of importance." The Diamond division held first rank, followed by Gold, then Bronze, then Steel, and finally Copper.
The Diamond division handled protection, maintenance of the main headquarters, recruitment into the ranks of Black Star, and squad assignments. Gold handled intelligence gathering, espionage, and assassinations. Bronze and Steel mainly carried out global missions. Copper was a large group primarily engaged in research and medicine, consisting of alchemists, potion-makers, artificers, healers, mediwizards, and so on.
According to the organization's hierarchy rules, a lower-ranked group was required to obey a group one rank above it, though there were additional nuances. For example, this rule didn't apply to leaders and their direct subordinates. If the deputy of one division was suddenly transferred to another, he would have the same rank as the leader and had the right to refuse an order if it didn't suit him. So Vitold had to restrain his impulses and endure all this.
"Both of you are dismissed." Robert bowed slightly and, continuing to curse a certain bastard with the initials "V.A.," left the room. The other man didn't even look in his direction and simply followed him out.
When the door closed and footsteps faded, another dull thud echoed through the room, stronger than before. The guards behind the doors exchanged tired glances, smiling ruefully at each other. They both hoped to finish their shift peacefully without any incidents.
Forbidden Forest.
An hour after successfully concluding the deal with the Sunlight Bee Queen, Severus finally reached the forest's center. It was the only patch of light in the entire forest. There were no trees within the clearing or for thirty meters around it. This was an almost perfectly round clearing, illuminated by the full moon. Strangely, it was completely empty. Not a single magical creature, not even an insect, was visible. That naturally made him wary. But no matter how thoroughly he scanned the area, he detected nothing. Severus assumed that a very dangerous creature most likely lived there, one everyone avoided and whose territory no one dared to enter. He wasn't easily frightened by such things. Out of curiosity, he decided to wait for whatever monster might live there and spend the rest of the night.
"Maybe we should leave?" Nagini asked, looking warily toward the dark forest, whose foliage hid almost everything from view. She felt very uneasy. The pig wholeheartedly agreed with her and kept looking around. At almost every rustle from beyond the clearing, he jumped in place. The wizard lying on the deck chair, meanwhile, remained completely calm. As soon as the owner of this place entered the clearing, he would know about it immediately. Severus didn't let his guard down for even a second. His serene appearance was only meant to dispel some of the tension and wariness of the magical creatures, assuming this place indeed belonged to a powerful creature.
"Oink." The pig nodded in support, settling closer to him.
"Don't worry. I have everything under control. Relax and sleep until morning. Tomorrow we'll circle around this area all day. By Monday morning, we should manage to go around the whole forest." He smiled warmly and stroked the snake's head, which was sticking out from under his robe. She let out a sad sigh. "And when you return to your human form, we'll definitely come back here. Agreed? Not a bad place to end the evening?"
"As a human... if only it would happen sooner."
"Wait just a little longer. Two years, maximum." He ran his palm tenderly over her head and added softly, yet confidently and firmly. A sea of positive emotions flooded through their bond.
"Mm-hmm." She rubbed against his cheek, laid her chin on his shoulder, and closed her eyes. "Thank you."
I should be thanking you.
By morning, no one had come to the clearing. That was strange, but it didn't concern Severus much. After all, this was the magical world. In this place, there might be something that frightened the beasts, and that something affected only them. Such things existed in his world too. For example, monster hunters used a certain mixture of herbs that even monsters at the peak of the seventh rank would turn up their noses at. There was even a flower whose aura made even eighth-rank magical creatures flee, and those creatures were as powerful as a Grand Archimagus. So he assumed something similar grew here too.
As for the White Lotus, it still wasn't here. That disappointed him a bit, but the honey completely dispelled that unpleasant feeling.
After a hearty breakfast, they were already preparing to leave the clearing and continue on their way. But Severus felt someone's intent gaze on him. When he turned around, he encountered a pair of familiar eyes watching them from behind the bushes.
"And here, apparently, is the owner of this spot," he drawled with a smile, watching the bush rustle as a small grey paw extended out.
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