HP: Embrace the Darkness

Bella and Lucius, who had not completed their mission, stayed awake all night. They got up early in the morning and came to the door of the conference hall before the other Death Eaters arrived. They stared at the closed door and thought about how to explain.

Neither of them spoke.

Other Death Eaters came one after another, and when they saw that they were not going in, they stopped as well, although they didn't understand why.

When Lucius found an excuse that could barely save his name, he looked to the side with dark circles under his eyes and was suddenly stunned.

He saw a large group of Death Eaters surrounding him and Bella. They didn't go in or talk, but glanced at them from time to time, and then continued to wait as if they were sure of something.

Lucius had a bad feeling.

"Why don't you go in?"

The other Death Eaters looked at each other, and one of them stepped forward, "Isn't that what the master meant? You and...are both standing at the door."

Lucius was silent.

In fact, people seemed to understand something and became silent.

Among the many Death Eaters, Snape and Mrs. Lovelace would usually arrive from Hogwarts a few minutes later than the others.

The misunderstanding caused by Lucius and others just wasted a few minutes.

So Snape and Mrs. Lovelace went upstairs, and were caught off guard by the sight of a large group of Death Eaters gathered at the door in the corridor, and they slowed down their pace hesitantly.

"What are you doing?" Mrs. Lovelace immediately locked onto the culprit, Lucius.

Lucius was speechless and had no way of expressing his pain. He desperately abandoned his previous excuse and prepared to face the torture that was to come.

Snape had already guessed that there was a misunderstanding here, and he took the opportunity to give Lucius a way out. "The most important thing now is to go in first and don't let the master wait too long."

Everyone seemed to have just woken up from a dream and looked at Lucius who was standing in the front. Lucius had to push open the door and walked in carefully.

Voldemort had his eyes closed and simply raised his chin towards his seat at the sound.

"Everyone sit down."

No one dared to speak. They all noticed that something was wrong with Voldemort, and they all sat back in their seats in silence.

"Severus..."

The first person to be named was again Snape.

Snape raised his head, looking into those red eyes that revealed something abnormal, "Master, what do you want me to do?"

Voldemort said nothing.

He stared at Snape closely, his eyes were like red-hot irons, and the murderous aura was as real as substance, about to burn anyone who looked at it.

"No, no."

Voldemort muttered to himself and shook his head slightly. The murderous intent around him dissipated. He looked at Snape with a better expression than before and casually changed the subject.

"There have been so many good news recently, why haven't I heard any good news about you?"

The good news he was referring to was pregnancy.

During this period of time, so many couples have been matched, and no matter whether they are suitable or not, there are always some unexpected things that may happen, such as the sudden birth of a child, but he has not yet received the news sent by Mrs. Lovelace, indicating that she is not pregnant.

Voldemort looked at Snape, his eyes suddenly narrowed, and he warned: "Severus, don't dwell on the past."

Snape lowered his eyes calmly and nodded respectfully, "Master, I will not make such a stupid mistake."

Voldemort's lipless mouth twisted slightly, "I believe in you, Severus, don't let me down."

Hearing that Voldemort let Snape go so easily, everyone relaxed and the faint breathing sounds just now returned to normal.

Voldemort looked around at them and felt that everyone he saw might betray him, especially Lucius, who had a good relationship with Athis.

"Lucius."

He suddenly called the name.

Lucius swallowed his saliva, glanced at Bella, and said in a dry and fearful voice, "Master, Master."

"Your mission..."

Voldemort deliberately dragged out his voice, his eyes scanning Lucius's expression, not missing a single detail.

Lucius' heart sank, and he used his best brain-occlusion technique, giving Voldemort a shaky smile.

"Master, please listen to my explanation! We, Bellacrites and I found the boy. It was the professors of Hogwarts and those damn centaurs who stopped us. Otherwise, we would have been able to bring Potter back to you."

"Oh, really? Bellacritus?"

Bella, whose name was called, shuddered slightly, her face flushed instantly, and then turned slightly pale because of fear.

The two colors appearing at the same time make her look funny.

"Yes, yes, Master, please believe me. I can definitely bring the boy back to see you. Please believe me."

"I have heard your promises too many times. Do you intend to use promises to maintain your position forever? Bellacritus!"

Everyone was as silent as a cicada.

The anger over the loss of the Hufflepuff gold cup raged in his chest, and Voldemort obviously did not intend to let Bella and Lucius go.

"You - and you, Lucius, you have disappointed me. So many people were against one boy, but they let him escape. How do you think I should punish you?"

Voldemort never punished anyone at a meeting except for enemies and betrayers.

For a moment, the way everyone looked at Lucius and Bella changed.

Lucius and Bella naturally noticed such changes, but they didn't have time to care about them now.

Bella's eyes were filled with tears as she shook her head frantically, "Master, I didn't betray you. It was those bastards who rescued them. We really didn't let them go on purpose."

Voldemort looked at Lucius.

"What about you? Lucius, have you ever betrayed me?"

As soon as the word "betrayal" came out, Lucius' face turned pale, and the other Death Eaters also turned pale, and a chill ran down their backs.

Snape also understood why Voldemort looked at him like that just now.

Voldemort thinks there's a traitor among them!

Lucius's face turned pale, with a look of grievance, fear, and anger after being slightly suspected, and he shook his head slowly.

"Master, I have not betrayed you. My father told me that you are the only one worth following in this world. How could I possibly betray you?"

Lucius’ acting skills were excellent, and he played the role of a loyal but suspected subordinate to perfection. Voldemort stared at him for a long time but could not find any flaws.

After a moment's silence, he turned his attention to other people again.

It was not because she believed Lucius's performance, but because Lucius and Bella were already on the death list for losing the Horcrux, so it didn't matter whether she doubted it or not.

Lucius didn't know the inside story and thought he had escaped and was relieved.

Next, Voldemort continued to test, and several more names were added to the unknown kill list.

A bell rang in the hall, signaling the end of the meeting.

Those Death Eaters who were attending the meeting with their tails between their legs, fearing that the next person to be questioned by Voldemort would be their own, secretly wiped the cold sweat from their backs and let out a sigh of relief at the same time.

Fortunately, the meeting is over.

Voldemort looked coldly at the relief shown by their bodies and said maliciously: "The meeting... continues."

Everyone's hearts, which had just been relieved, were lifted again. The fear brought by the unknown combined with the accumulated fear almost crushed their spirits.

"Master, is there any more mission? About that boy or Hogwarts."

Snape was the first to come to his senses and asked tactfully, hinting to Voldemort that he already had a troublesome task and that he should stop exploiting him alone.

Voldemort suddenly smiled, his smile was strange and twisted, "It's not a mission..."

"It is a punishment, Lucius, Bellacritus. You don't think there will be no punishment for not completing the task, do you?"

"Of course not, Master."

"No, Master."

Lucius and Bella said in unison.

They all knew very well that if the mission was not completed, Voldemort might kill them all, and this was just a punishment, which they could accept.

"Okay, who's going first?"

Voldemort glanced at the two of them, and the other Death Eaters also looked over with gloating eyes. There was a constant stream of applause, booing, and sneer.

Only Snape understood something else in Voldemort's words, and his hands under the table gradually began to sweat.

"I'll go first."

Lucius took the initiative to step forward.

He also wanted Bella to come first and let Bella bear more anger, but no, if he dared to do so, Bella, the crazy woman, would chase him for several days.

It’s too troublesome, it’s better for him to come first.

"Very good, very gentlemanly behavior."

Voldemort nodded and pointed his wand at Lucius.

As Lucius prepared himself to endure the excruciating pain, he sneered cruelly.

"But I don't like it. You have to pay a price, and that's it—Avada eats the big melon!"