Chapter 45 Greengrass Breakfast

Witch families typically rise early, a habit rooted in their ancestral heritage. They lead their lives guided by the sun, sleeping early and waking at dawn. To prepare for the day ahead, they indulge in meals with a solid calorie base, providing them with ample energy throughout the day. For example, they may have an English breakfast with sausages or other meats, eggs, and some vegetables or grains like beans, accompanied by tea or coffee. Like non-magical families, they also commonly catch up on the day's news.

Owls bring a copy of the "Daily Prophet." News of public interest, gossip, politics, or anything irrelevant accompanies curious witch families. However, they also have a competitor: the "Ragged Rant," focused on biology, magical life, and a bit of politics and significant events in an unusual way, something conspiracy theorists would love.

One of these owls carrying the newspaper invaded the room where the members of Vincent's new family were, delivering the newspaper to Seraphine Greengrass. She accepted the paper with one hand while stroking one of her daughters, Artoria, sitting on her lap, with the other. Her husband was nearby, feeding Daphne, who showed dissatisfaction with the porridge offered by her father, occasionally looking upset at Vincent, alone in the special seat.

Rose took care of Elise, displaying the experience and patience worthy of an experienced caregiver from the orphanage. Elise Rigel was sulking for not being able to eat on her own, like Vince, and actively complained about it. Vincent was the only one of the children allowed to use a special seat without much fuss, an advantage of being almost three years old.

They were sitting in the Greengrass family's large dining room, while Vincent humorously observed his sisters' tantrums, though it was much less chaotic than the orphanage. He savored a piece of traditional sausage with potato soup; with each bite, the fat danced on his tongue with the smoothness of the potato, creating a contrast of flavors, and combined with the Greengrass family's spices, made it very appetizing.

Seraphine finally got a moment to glance at the day's news, without much expectation. "Extra, Biggest Azkaban Breakout of the Millennium. Do you know who was responsible for the Azkaban breakout? Check below. It is our knowledge that a mass breakout from Azkaban took place last night, and reports of sightings of the Dark Lord's mark and Death Eaters were seen during the invasion. The Ministry of Magic..."

She took a small sip, surprised by the news, and her face didn't hide her astonishment, making everyone look at her with anticipation, as if asking, "What happened?"

The first to take the initiative was her husband, asking curiously, "Love, what happened? You seem, well, quite surprised." (A/N: Any suggestions for his name?)

"Something intriguing indeed. There's news of an Azkaban invasion, and rumors suggest it was You-Know-Who," she replied without much drama.

He blinked a few times to grasp what was said, "Oh, that's undoubtedly interesting. Can I see the newspaper when you're done, dear?"

"Sure, but this is more efficient," she took out her wand and made discreet movements over the newspaper, creating a copy. She finally handed it to her husband but noticed Rose equally curious, doing the same for her.

Rose responded with a smile, "Very kind of you," while her husband simply nodded in gratitude.

Vincent, while observing people reading the news, sensed in the air that Azkaban had been invaded but didn't know many details. This would certainly require a more detailed investigation, starting with acquiring a newspaper.

He got off his chair and, with short and silent steps, approached Rose, pretending childish innocence. He was welcomed by her but couldn't find space on her lap, territory already dominated by Elise Rigel, who reacted with little hands pulling his hair and pushes.

But Vincent was persistent, responding with a feigned tantrum, grumbling, "Rose, Leesa is hurting me." Growing up in the orphanage gave him a lot of practice in acting like a stubborn boy; the things people do when bored can be surprising.

"Settle down, both of you," Rose said with a stern voice, which had an effect on Elise, who reduced her territorial attacks. Of course, she knew Vincent's intentions or his performance, but it was better to keep up appearances in public.

"Thanks, Rose, love you!" he said, finally positioning himself next to Elise, who accepted the temporary truce. He began reading the news, feeling "victorious."

But, unsurprisingly for Vincent, the news was superficial, mentioning the events in a censored way and hiding any truly relevant details. They only highlighted the Ministry's successes heroically facing the terrible invasion. The text described a massive invasion of Death Eaters and how they ruthlessly attacked the auror guards, who fought bravely but, due to the enemies' cruel means, were unable to contain the breakout. The Ministry, however, was working on recapture. That's politicians, always tap-dancing.

He needed to know more about this and didn't take long to start moving his legion of shadow spies, his illusory crows, to find out in detail how this happened. This was not foreseen by him, and he also needed to decide whether to get directly involved in the matter.

The entire wizarding world was stirred by the news. Members of the Order of the Phoenix were not happy; having their enemies back on the streets raised a dark outlook and left a bitter taste in their mouths. Many friends died to contain such criminals, and now they roamed free, an injustice weighing on their hearts. It was as if their sacrifice had served for nothing.

Dumbledore was thoughtful; things had been getting increasingly complicated since the interference of the Wolf Shepherd. He foresaw that Voldemort might become desperate and act unpredictably, but what really bothered him was knowing nothing about the Wolf Shepherd. Besides a few scarce appearances, nothing was known about him, neither appearance nor purposes; he was an enigma.

.......

Somewhere secluded and noble, Severus, Lucius, and the Dark Lord himself were present. The fireplace's warmth couldn't dissipate the metaphorical cold permeating the environment, and not even the comfortable furnishings with soft seat pillows made sitting there more pleasant. Voldemort picked up the newspaper, savoring the news of the events caused by his servant, a useful political result for his plans, as everything should be.

"Severus, your performance in Azkaban was brilliant. Recovering our members, especially Lucius, for more answers and still sending a message to the fools who felt safe due to the events that delayed us, was excellent."

Snape breathed a sigh of relief as his action pleased his master. Then, he said calmly, "All for the cause, my lord."

"Good, very good. I am offering you a reward, anything."

Severus pondered Voldemort's words. There was only one thing he lived for, one thing he had yearned for since his school days: "Lord, I want Lily Evans. I want you to spare her, I want to be with her in the end. Her husband or any other family doesn't matter; I would say if they died, it would leave me even more satisfied."

Listening to Severus's confusing request, Voldemort thought of the red-haired witch who showed some grit and skills, enough to respect her as long as she didn't interfere with his plans. Such a promise meant nothing. He replied, "Fine, I won't do anything against her, as long as it doesn't interfere with my plans."

Severus was satisfied. The things he did because of his love for her... Life would be simpler without this heart.

"Now, tell me how Lucius Malfoy's situation is," Voldemort asked.

Severus turned his attention to the subject. "Lucius is in a lamentable state. Not even a trace of magic was found in him; he's no better than an abortion, and his memories are damaged. I am working on methods to recover something, my lord."

The Dark Lord sighed, disappointed. He wanted answers. "Come up with it. Keep looking for Narcissa."

"Yes, my lord."

Voldemort gestured for him to step away.

.......

A/N: Hello everyone, I hope you are well. This fanfic recently hit 1 million views here on the webnovel, which made me very happy. One million is always an intriguing number, like 73 or 69 or 666 or 77 or 13. I'm rambling, but thank you very much for following my fanfic so far. It's my pleasure to share with you a story that I imagined and that has grown to this point.