Hogwarts Castle.
Tap, tap, tap!
On this beautiful afternoon, which should have been peaceful and leisurely, a black figure was moving swiftly through Hogwarts Castle.
In the corridor, his jet-black robes billowed up from time to time, occasionally revealing the pale skin beneath.
Gloomy, severe, cold, sharp-tongued, and unfathomable.
All of those qualities stood out clearly in this wizard...
Beyond that, however, the wizard seemed somewhat distracted.
He remained silent the entire way, focusing only on the path ahead as he moved quickly forward.
Even when the occasional professor or student greeted him as they passed, the wizard showed no intention of responding.
He simply ignored them.
It was enough to make one suspect that if Hogwarts had not forbidden Apparition, he would have drawn his wand and used it in the very next second.
And this figure, dressed in black robes and resembling a black bat, was none other than our Hogwarts Headmaster... Severus Snape!
Speaking of our newly appointed Headmaster, it had to be said that Snape had been having a truly awful time lately.
The pressure coming from Voldemort, together with the Carrows' coercion and suspicion, had left Snape physically and mentally exhausted as he dealt with all of it.
Interestingly, all of this was the result of Draco's actions.
More importantly, Snape had no idea.
And that was what infuriated Snape the most...
At that moment, Snape had just come out of the Headmaster's office. His eyes flickered in their sunken sockets, and his hands, hidden inside his robes, were clenched tightly.
"Very good... truly very good... I should have thought of it sooner... Albus."
Although Snape's temper had long been known to be terrible, this was the first time anyone had seen those pitch-black eyes filled with such suppressed, raging fury, as if he wanted to burn someone to ash.
And from the broken words he muttered, it was easy to tell exactly who he was cursing.
It was also the first time anyone had seen Snape's emotions fluctuate this violently...
Albus... Dumbledore.
It had to be said that Dumbledore was practically Snape's nemesis, always able to provoke him with ease.
Even after being dead for some time, he still would not let our Professor Snape off.
Just then...
Ahead of Snape, around the corner at the end of the corridor, a large group of wizards came walking toward him.
To be precise, they were Death Eaters led by Amycus Carrow!
Snape narrowed his eyes.
Sensing that something was wrong, he slowly gripped the wand hidden inside his robes.
"What is this? Are they passing by, or were they waiting here for me?"
To say this was merely a coincidence was clearly not the case.
Because Snape noticed that the instant they saw him, Amycus Carrow's cold expression suddenly split into a huge grin that nearly stretched to his ears.
It was as if he had just seen an old friend after many years.
But obviously, that was not a friendly smile. And Snape was certainly no friend of his.
Not to mention, Amycus Carrow's smile was the kind of cold, cruel grin that could make a child cry on the spot and have nightmares that night.
In short, they had not come with good intentions.
Once he arrived in front of Snape, Amycus Carrow, who had also been having a rather unpleasant time lately, waved the wand in his hand arrogantly in front of Snape's face.
"So here you are, dear Severus!"
"...Amycus."
Although Snape did not yet know why the other man had come, he could sense something was wrong from the undisguised malice radiating from him and the wand that seemed to be aimed at his body, whether intentionally or not.
Snape was no fool. Naturally, he could feel the man's desire to strike.
It seemed these Death Eaters had already lost their patience...
Counting the days, it had been a little over a week since Draco and the others disappeared from Hogwarts.
And during this chaotic period, Amycus Carrow and the other Death Eaters had turned the entire Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry upside down.
Aside from directly suspending all magic classes, they had even begun enforcing military-style management.
They conducted roll calls three times a day at mealtimes, carried out surprise inspections of everyone's rooms without warning, and broke into restricted areas that they normally could not enter.
Because of these actions, Amycus Carrow had clashed countless times with Professor McGonagall and the others. If Snape had not been maintaining the fragile balance between them, there would have been a battle inside Hogwarts before Voldemort even launched his attack.
It could be said that in order to find Draco and the others, these Death Eaters had already resorted to every possible method...
But in their madness, they seemed to have nearly run out of patience.
"Is there something you need, Amycus?"
"You ask if there's something I need... Haha, how relaxed you sound, Severus!"
"If you have something to say, say it. I don't have time to waste on you, especially not on fools too stupid to hold a conversation."
"....."
It had to be said.
Even these Death Eaters found it hard not to be enraged by Snape's mouth.
Amycus Carrow's twisted expression and the magic that suddenly erupted around him made that perfectly clear. If he had not retained a shred of reason, he might have shown Snape exactly what an attack in violation of school rules looked like...
He studied Snape, whose expression did not change at all.
In the end, Amycus Carrow barely managed to suppress the anger in his heart and finally moved the wand in his hand away with force.
"Don't forget why you were able to sit in the Headmaster's position."
"....."
"And I need to remind you. The Master's plan has been moved forward."
"You say the plan has been moved forward?"
"You heard me correctly. We received the notice last night. Also, you haven't forgotten the task you carry, have you?"
"...Of course I haven't forgotten. I don't need you to remind me."
"Hehehe. If you haven't forgotten, then naturally that's best. But I am very curious. When the time comes, will you make the correct decision? I look forward to seeing your choice. Ahahaha!"
He seemed to have remembered something amusing.
Amycus Carrow, who had looked as if he wanted to kill Snape just moments ago, suddenly clutched his face and burst into laughter in the next second.
It had to be said that this erratic swing between joy and anger really did resemble Voldemort's style.
This was probably the perfect example of subordinates imitating their superior...
Just as Amycus Carrow was laughing as if no one else were present, Alecto Carrow, unable to endure it any longer, stepped forward and stopped his fit.
"Shut your mouth. Now is not the time for you to go mad. I still have many things to discuss with Severus."
"Oh?"
"Since you also know the plan is about to begin, Severus, you surely won't refuse to cooperate with our actions, will you?"
Compared to Amycus Carrow, who seemed almost insane, Alecto Carrow was even more difficult to deal with.
At the very least, Snape could not tell what she was thinking from her expression at all...
Facing the silent Snape, Alecto Carrow gave a cold laugh.
"Don't even think about stopping us. In a few days, those filthy scavengers will enter Hogwarts first as the vanguard."
"...Those Werewolves?"
"That's right. So tell your professors and students that they had best stay obediently where we can see them. Otherwise, we cannot guarantee their safety. You don't want to see those students become Werewolves, do you?"
"....."
"This should be the deal between you and the Master, shouldn't it?"
"....."
Faced with Snape's silence, Alecto Carrow sneered, then followed after Amycus Carrow, who was still laughing wildly.
Although their Master had not explained that much, they had already guessed from the current situation why Snape had been able to sit in the position of Hogwarts Headmaster, and why their Master had not touched the wizards and professors inside Hogwarts.
Because they were both hostages and a means of keeping Snape in check...