Snape, the Sunshine of Hogwarts.

Chapter 229 Our Alliance is Unbreakable

Some Death Eaters felt uneasy.

Even if you, Severus, are indeed capable and talented, you can't just stand out like this and take all the credit for everyone else's good deeds.

With your relationship with Hogwarts, or rather, with Dumbledore, stealing a unicorn would certainly be easier than it is for them.

But if finding the Dark Lord was your doing, and now you're the one taking over whenever the Dark Lord needs something, then what are all these people?
If all of them are just freeloaders and useless trash, then they've wasted their time finding the Dark Lord so early. In the end, the ones who will get the biggest benefits are people like Severus, Bella, and Lestrange who put in the work and effort.
The more the Death Eaters thought about this, the more they felt that Severus absolutely could not be allowed to take over this opportunity again.

However, before anyone could speak up to take over the task from Severus, Voldemort spoke first.

"I don't need to entrust this matter to you. You have more important things to handle for me later, Lucius!"

Upon hearing Voldemort call his name, Lucius immediately jolted awake, raised his head, and looked excited.

"Master! I'm here!"

"I'm leaving the unicorn business to you. Go and get it done."

Regardless of his inner thoughts, Lucius had no room for hesitation at this moment and immediately made a loud promise.

"Within a week, I will bring you a live unicorn!"

The people around Lucius all looked at him with envy.

They all knew that the Malfoy family was one of the Hogwarts Board of Governors and had good relationships with many of them. Although it would be troublesome to get a unicorn from the Forbidden Forest of Hogwarts, bypassing Dumbledore, it would certainly be much easier than it was for them to do it.

And it is obvious why the Dark Lord specifically assigned this task to him.

Lucius's remarks at the meeting were undoubtedly the biggest plus!
After handing over the unicorn's mission, Voldemort clearly had more to say. He stared at the people kneeling before him and spoke in an unquestionable tone.

“I will take a break for a while before I get the unicorn blood, and during that time you must follow Severus’s orders.”

These words stunned almost everyone present, including the Death Eaters.

They all looked up at Severus, who stood behind Voldemort, entering with a calm expression, seemingly unsurprised by the instruction. For a moment, a few thoughts arose in everyone's mind.

There was jealousy, contemplation, vigilance, and envy.
"You must obey all his instructions as if they were my orders. If I find out later that anyone is causing trouble, I won't hesitate to let them know what happens when someone turns out to be my enemy instead of a good friend."

The Dark Lord's blatant support for Severus left the Death Eaters trembling with fear, none daring to utter a single word of dissent.

"We understand, Master!"

“We will listen to him, just as we would to your command.”

Voldemort seemed pleased with their attitude, and then said...

"You all go out for now. I need to speak with Severus alone."

No one dared to disobey. The Death Eaters present exchanged glances privately as they rose from the floor and left the drawing room, leaving only Severus and Voldemort behind.

After everyone had left, Severus bowed respectfully to Voldemort.

"Owner."

“I need you to do something more important for me, Severus.” Voldemort’s voice was soft as he stared at Severus, the only loyal servant he could trust for the time being who had brought him from Albania.

Severus said with a serious expression.

"You can entrust anything to me with complete confidence, Master! Your servant will faithfully carry out everything you assign!"

"I need you to help me find two things, one of which is in Little Hangleton."

“Little Hangleton?” Severus couldn’t help but look up.

“Yes, in Little Hangleton, in a Muggle graveyard named Tom Riddle, I need that Muggle’s bones. You have to find them for me!”

"I see!"

“There’s a second one, which is easy for you, Harry Potter! I need his blood, and you’d better find a way to get it for me!”

"Everything will be as you wish, my master!"

Severus agreed without any hesitation.

Voldemort stared at Severus with a sinister look.

“You are my most loyal servant, Severus. Of all these people, I only trust you. You will definitely help me get these things done, won’t you?”

“At least one of these things, your servants have already taken care of for you in advance,” Severus said, looking up and smiling. “Harry Potter has always been right under our noses, hasn’t he?”

Voldemort burst into laughter.

"Hahaha! Very good! You really are different from the person I used to know. This change will sweep away your last shortcomings, Severus, you will achieve great things!"

After explaining everything, Voldemort returned to the teacup, still unaware of what was wrong with it.

After Severus respectfully put the lid on the teacup, the fawning on his face gradually disappeared, and he sat down in the high-backed chair with a somewhat amused expression.

He plans to do both at the same time.

Ghost Snape was now holding his breath in tension.

What does he want you to do?

"If your father's bones are given unintentionally, your son will be reborn; if your servant's flesh is given voluntarily, your master will be reborn; if your enemy's blood is given under duress, your enemy will be resurrected."

Severus sneered.

"While he's having unicorns prepared for him, he's also planning his resurrection!"

"The flesh of a servant." Ghost Snape clearly grasped the key point; he obviously hadn't mentioned this to Severus when Voldemort gave the order.

“The servant who voluntarily offered his flesh should, of course, be me in his heart,” Severus said matter-of-factly. “Don’t be fooled by how much he praised me at the end. In fact, no matter how useful or excellent I or anyone else is to him, in his eyes we are nothing more than dispensable consumables.”

"Those who are useful can be used, and those who are not useful can also be used. Those who are loyal can be used, and those who are disloyal can also be used. As long as they can provide him with value, he doesn't care at all about what kind of people they are."

Severus spoke slowly, clearly possessing a thorough understanding of Voldemort, far more so than anyone else. Without lingering on idle chatter with Snape the Ghost, he rose from his chair, turned, and went to the door, opening it from within the drawing room.

Outside the reception room, the Death Eaters who had been sitting on the chairs outside, whispering and talking amongst themselves, all stood up instinctively when they saw the door open.

Severus looked at them and smiled.

"Gentlemen, let's start talking about how to better complete the tasks assigned to us by our master."

The Death Eaters returned to the drawing room, but Voldemort was nowhere to be found.

"Where is the master?" It was Amicus who asked this question.

“The master is resting now, but you could also assume he’s always around,” Severus shrugged. “I don’t know when he’ll appear and hear our conversation.”

This made the Death Eaters even more cautious.

They returned to their seats, and at this moment Lucius quite consciously gave up the main seat he had been sitting in to Severus.

Severus didn't hesitate at all and plopped down on it.

The atmosphere was quiet for a moment after he sat down, and all eyes were on Severus.

Regardless of how many of these people harbored doubts or dissatisfaction with Voldemort's recent instructions, no one openly expressed it at the moment, and they were truly going to follow Severus's arrangements completely, as they had promised.

The Dark Lord has truly returned.

Then the world of magic in Britain is destined to change!
"Everyone."

Severus said loudly.

"Bringing our master back is only the first step in restoring our former glory! To reclaim our lost honor, we'll have to see what we do next!"

"How are you handling the matter of that golden cup?"

Severus didn't mention Old Tom's bones at all when Voldemort asked him to find them; he simply turned to look at Lucius.

Lucius replied.

"There are basically no problems anymore. We've put enough pressure on Gringotts. All we have to do is wait for the Ministry of Magic's order, and in less than three days, the Lestrange family's treasury will be transferred to someone else!"

Severus nodded.

"The day after tomorrow, at this time, I hope to see that golden cup placed in front of me."

"I can guarantee that."

“Amicus,” Severus called out another name, “you and your sister have quite a connection with the people you’ve gathered around Barty, don’t you?”

Upon hearing Severus's words, Amycus couldn't help but appear somewhat flustered.

Of course they have connections with Barty and his group, and it's not just them. Whether it's Nott, Rozier, Crabbe, or Gore, they all have private connections with both sides.

However, Amicus and his sister had more contact with Barty and his group, since many of the people gathered around Barty were his acquaintances.

But given the current situation, Amykus is hesitant to accept such accusations lightly.

Ultimately, it was Severus who found the Dark Lord, and Barty and his friends were almost completely defined as a group of traitors who ruined the Dark Lord's plans!
"I...no, no, it's because someone on their side has been contacting me!" Amicus said hurriedly. "They want my help, but I haven't agreed to it!"

Severus's voice was gentle.

"Don't be so nervous, we're one, right? Didn't we form an alliance from the very beginning? Don't worry, our relationship is unbreakable!"

His words of comfort brought a sigh of relief to Carlo and his siblings, as well as everyone else.

They worried that once Severus gained power, he would turn his back on them and truly consider himself second only to the Dark Lord, treating them like servants.

If that's the case, then they...
There was nothing they could do but grit their teeth and listen.

Severus's attitude remains the same as before, indicating that he will not pursue the matter of their betting too much, which is of course a win-win situation.

“You’re right.” Amicus smiled. “What do you need me to do with these connections?”

Severus crossed his arms and spoke softly.

"It's very simple. Master has awakened the Dark Mark, and all those people will know that Master has returned! You just need to tell them that if they still consider themselves Master's servants, then they should immediately abandon Little Barty!"

Amicus's smile widened.

“They’re not fools. As long as I tell them that we’ve found our master and are now working for him, they won’t hesitate at all and will immediately rally around us!”

Old Nott chimed in at this point.

"Even Barty Crouch Jr., after learning about this, would certainly not dare to go out alone under the Dark Lord's name. He was just crazy, but that doesn't mean he betrayed the Dark Lord."

"Finally, there's the matter of the unicorn." Severus looked at Lucius again. "This is something the master specifically entrusted to you. I hope you won't disappoint him."

Lucius took a deep breath.

It's clear that he's under a lot of pressure, but there are obviously risks and opportunities. Things are difficult, but if he does them well, he'll be one of the closest people to the Dark Lord in the future!
The atmosphere in the reception room quickly became relaxed.

They weren't just confined to talking about the tasks Voldemort had given them; they could start dreaming about the future.

Everyone believed that with their master's return, he would be able to lead them to fulfill the vision they had failed to achieve eight years ago.

To completely change the order of the entire magical world, put purebloods in power, and eliminate all mudbloods!
It wasn't until after midnight that the Death Eaters began to leave one by one, until only Severus remained.

Lucius had refrained from asking questions earlier because there were many people around, but now that everyone else had left, he could no longer hold back.

"Where's Draco! Why didn't you bring him back!"

Severus shrugged.

“It’s not that I didn’t bring him back; he insisted on staying overnight at the Weasleys’ house, saying it was too late and he didn’t want to disturb your sleep, so he would come back tomorrow.”

(End of this chapter)