Hogwarts: A little lion in the skin of the Eagle School

Malfoy Estate.

The sky was overcast, and every now and then a few Dementors would fly out from the clouds and then disappear back into the depths of the clouds.

The once magnificent manor is now a desolate gray-white landscape.

In the main hall on the second floor of the manor's main building.

Voldemort sat on the throne, looking down at Draco and Narcissa.

He spoke in a cold voice.

"Did you get the items?"

Draco's Adam's apple bobbed as he forced a smile, suppressing his fear.

"...No, no..."

"waste!"

Voldemort angrily raised his hand and grabbed at Draco in mid-air.

Draco instantly felt a chilling, suffocating sensation grip his throat, and then he was lifted up by an invisible force.

"Uh...! Cough!!"

"Draco!"

Narcissa, seeing this, immediately cried out anxiously and then quickly knelt down in front of Voldemort.

"Master! It's really not Draco's fault, it's that Mudblood Merrick! His sudden appearance disrupted our plans!"

"Please, please have mercy and release my son!"

Voldemort loosened his grip slightly, and Draco crashed heavily onto the cold marble floor. He curled up, coughing, his knuckles digging into the cracks.

"Oh... of course, Merrick, you guys were beaten to a pulp by a fourth-grader."

"So now you want me to make an exception for you?"

Voldemort looked at Narcissa with a cold smile, then suddenly raised his hand again.

An invisible force gripped Narcissa's throat, and Narcissa could not resist, only able to squeeze out broken sobs.

As Draco watched his mother being tortured by Voldemort, it felt as if a dull knife was repeatedly scraping against his chest.

He hated Merrick, he hated himself, and he also hated Voldemort.

But he dared not show it.

He could only manage to beg for mercy with great difficulty.

"Master, I've figured out how to repair that cabinet... All we need to do is get the owner of Boginburg to find another identical cabinet, and the plan will work..."

"Please, don't hurt my mother. This is a mission only I can undertake..."

Voldemort looked coldly at Draco and grinned.

Are you teaching me how to do things?

As he spoke, he tightened his grip, and Narcissa's eyes became bloodshot, on the verge of rolling back in her head.

Draco's Adam's apple bobbed violently, and he dared not speak again, only able to watch in agony as his mother was tortured by Voldemort.

Just then, a figure appeared in the shadow of the hall's archway.

"Owner."

The man slowly stepped out of the shadows and respectfully called out to Voldemort.

Voldemort looked at the newcomer, and his expression changed to a fake smile that was almost one of pleasure.

"Oh, Severus, you've come at the perfect time."

"I'm currently disciplining these two useless idiots who couldn't complete the task. What do you think I should do with them?"

The visitor was none other than Severus Snape.

A former Death Eater.

After the Dark Lord was resurrected, it returned to the Dark Lord's side.

He was a professor at Hogwarts, a member of the Order of the Phoenix, and one of Dumbledore's most trusted men.

Now, he has become the Dark Lord's most valuable double agent, lurking beside Dumbledore.

Snape's black robes gleamed coldly in the candlelight as he glanced down at Draco, curled up on the ground, and Narcissa, who was on the verge of death.

He said in a completely emotionless tone, "Failure naturally deserves severe punishment."

"However, Master, keeping them alive to continue serving you might be more valuable than executing them."

"Draco can provide us with more intelligence and assistance at the school, and Narcissa can continue to keep Malfoy Manor running, which will make it easier for us to infiltrate the Ministry of Magic more."

Voldemort smiled and nodded.

"That makes sense, Severus. You truly are my most capable assistant."

With a flick of his finger, Narcissa fell heavily back to the ground, gasping and coughing in pain, her vision blurred.

But she still struggled to her feet, filled with fear and trepidation, and bowed her head to Voldemort.

"Come, Severus, sit down."

Voldemort ignored Narcissa and Draco, and instead chuckled as he patted the empty armrest of the ebony high-backed chair beside him, speaking to Snape.

Snape did not respond, but simply walked slowly to Voldemort's side and sat down.

"Severus, I've summoned you here today because I have something to ask you."

"I heard you're getting quite close to that student named Merrick, is that right?"

Voldemort gently placed his hand on Snape's wrist and asked with a smile.

But that smile was full of coldness and scrutiny.

Snape's expression didn't react much; he simply asked a question in return.

"Who told you that, Master?"

"Of course it's Draco, right, Draco?"

Voldemort immediately turned to Draco, who was struggling to his feet, and asked with a smile.

Draco shuddered, but still nodded stiffly.

He never actually mentioned it; it was only discovered by Voldemort when he was probing his memories.

"So, Master, in your opinion, is it a good thing or a bad thing that I'm getting close to him?"

Snape continued calmly.

"Of course it's a good thing."

"That's a genius that only comes along once in a century."

"They need to be properly nurtured."

Voldemort sneered seriously, but the grip on Snape's wrist tightened.

Snape lowered his eyes and spoke slowly.

"Merrick is indeed my student, but unfortunately, Master, my relationship with him may not be as good as you imagine."

"I must confess, before your resurrection, I never imagined you were still alive."

"So I stayed at Hogwarts and diligently played the role of a professor."

"Merrick is indeed very talented, and I have also provided him with tutoring."

"But he was arrogant, rude, self-important, ungrateful, and even used Umbridge to take revenge on me."

"So I just used him as free labor to do some tedious manual labor for me."

"Of course, if you need me to cultivate a good relationship with him, I am happy to do so."

Voldemort narrowed his eyes upon hearing Snape's flawless answer.

He saw it in Draco's memories.

Merrick became Snape's student and had access to Snape's workshop.

However, he had no idea what Snape and Merrick were doing in the workshop.

On the contrary, Merrick repeatedly tricked Snape in public.

For example, when Merrick was in first grade, he publicly confronted Snape.

I also heard that he caused trouble in Snape's class, almost leading to a serious teaching accident, and was then severely punished by Snape.

And last year, she barged into his classroom to humiliate and retaliate against him, and even stole his magic potion.

It's hard to see what's so special about their relationship; they're just close friends.

With that thought in mind, Voldemort finally released Snape's wrist.

He resumed his gentle, fake smile, but his words remained icy cold.

"Alright, Severus, I'll give you a task then."

"Please speak."

Snape nodded and said.

"...After school starts, find a way to kill Merrick."

Upon hearing this task, Snape paused for only half a second before slowly looking into Voldemort's eyes and calmly speaking.

"it is good."