Hogwarts: I'm Harry's older cousin

Chapter 376, Section 370: The Death Eaters' Movements

In a mansion somewhere in England, Death Eaters wearing black hoods gathered in a circle, but Voldemort was nowhere to be seen.

A short while later, another Death Eater wearing a hood pushed open the door and entered.

"Lucius, how's the task your master assigned you going?"

The new Death Eater was Avery. As soon as he entered, he spoke first, his eyes fixed on Lucius as he spoke.

"Did your master send you to ask me this?"

Lucius glanced at the other man indifferently; he was the only Death Eater present who wasn't wearing a hood.

"No, I just..."

"That's none of your business, Avery. Just mind your own business."

Lucius said coldly, tapping his cane rhythmically on the ground: "If you've come to me today just for this, then I don't see anything to talk about."

Avery was rebuffed by Lucius, and his face turned slightly ugly. He wanted to get angry, but he held back because of what was to come.

After a moment of silence, it was Avery who couldn't hold back any longer and spoke.

"Lucius, I don't think we're enemies. You know, it won't be long before the master releases 'them,' and then our lives will definitely not be as easy as they are now."

The "them" Avery was referring to were the Death Eaters in Azkaban. Currently, the Death Eaters are divided into two factions, represented by Lucius and Avery respectively. However, this situation will be disrupted once the madmen in Azkaban are released.

This is also why Avery came to see Lucius today.

He came to reconcile, and also to seek allies.

The Death Eaters in Azkaban were all die-hard Voldemort followers, and their personalities were inherently extreme and stubborn. Otherwise, they wouldn't have shouted "Long live the Dark Lord!" when they were captured. In addition, they had been imprisoned in Azkaban for more than ten years, and only God knows how extreme they have become now.

Cruelty is their defining characteristic; killing is commonplace for them.

Most of the wizards who rebelled against Voldemort were dealt with by these people, such as the Longbottoms, Mrs. Weasley's two brothers Fabian and Gideon Prewitt, and Professor McGonagall's brother Robert McGonagall Jr. (who was an innocent victim).

These people can be considered Voldemort's dirty gloves.

Voldemort may not know much about what happened back then, but how could the Death Eaters imprisoned in Azkaban not know how Lucius and his group took advantage of the situation?

To absolve themselves of all responsibility, they poured as much filth as possible onto these people, even going so far as to accuse the sorcerers who died of natural causes of death.

They thought these people would be imprisoned until they died, but unexpectedly, the dead Dark Lord returned and wanted to liberate his servants.

The first thing those lunatics did after they came out was definitely to cause trouble for Avery and his group of former officials.

Of course, Lucius and his ilk who kicked them while they were down wouldn't fare much better off, which is why Lucius came here today.

If it has absolutely nothing to do with him, why would he come here?

"We were never enemies, Avery."

Upon hearing Avery's words, Lucius immediately declared, "I have never considered you an enemy. Our goals are the same: to better serve our master."

"That's right, it's all for Master."

Avery said this aloud, but inwardly he was cursing.

Lucius truly lives up to his reputation as a "master of eloquence"; he can make even the dead sound righteous and righteous.

You don't consider me an enemy? Even a dog wouldn't believe that. This isn't the first time you've tried to make things difficult for me in front of my owner.

Almost every time it was a case of "I messed things up, you fix them." If it weren't for the fact that it was actually a mistake on his side, Avery would have suspected that the other side had set him up.

Fortunately, if the other party sides with me in the future...

"Well then, Lucius, what do you think?"

"No rush, no rush."

"If you're willing to follow my instructions, leave this matter to me. I can assure you that even if those people return, you will all be safe and sound."

Lucius doesn't want allies; he has a big appetite and wants them all.

Actually, Lucius was one of the top Death Eaters when he first appeared; otherwise, he wouldn't have been one of only two Death Eaters to have the right to keep Horcruxes.

Avery's expression clearly showed his reluctance.

He wanted to be a leader, not a lackey standing behind others and cheering them on.

"Avery, you need to think this through. Once those lunatics come back, once they want to settle scores with you, you won't be able to stop them. The master won't stop you."

Normally, they could simply ignore those lunatics in Azkaban. Even if they came out, they couldn't do anything to them because Voldemort needed them and the Ministry of Magic's power. But now it's completely different.

Because of Voldemort's gathering, these former Ministry of Magic officials were either arrested or lost power, and now they even need Lucius's connections to arrange manpower within the Ministry of Magic.

All they possess is a thin layer of skin to maintain that superficial gloss.

However, they dared not seek an explanation from Voldemort for these matters. Voldemort would not care about the life or death of wizards who had no use to him.

If they are given more time, they can slowly climb back.

But just at this critical juncture, Azkaban's thugs are returning.

The thought sent a chill down Avery's spine.

"Lucius, we agree to your demands, but can you really protect all of us? You know what those people are capable of; I'm worried."

"You don't need to worry about the rest. You just need to answer whether I accept or refuse. You should know that only I, Lucius, have the ability and the right to say this."

Lucius looked up at the sky: "It's getting late, I still have to complete the task my master gave me."

He added at the end, "Don't forget, we are all one."

The Death Eaters were originally divided into radical (military) and conservative factions. With Voldemort's downfall, the radicals were arrested, and the conservatives collectively chose to protect themselves. Over time, some disappeared, and the remaining ones split into many different groups. Now, even if they unite, it's just a return to their original state.

There are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests.

"I agree to your request."

Upon hearing Avery's words, Lucius smiled for the first time and extended his right hand toward him.

"Welcome back, my friend."

Their hands were clasped tightly together.

(End of this chapter)