The Headquarters (2)

Narrator's POV:

Remus Lupin waited. He had been waiting for several hours in the Surrey headquarters, which he knew was only called that and were not really the headquarters. Not much had happened while he waited. Draco left after about an hour to later make his way to Morthus's apartment. Occasionally, some Death Eaters passed by, paying no attention to Remus whatsoever. The youth who had been sitting behind the counter the whole time, either taking calls or typing something on the computer, was the only one who occasionally spoke with Lupin. During these conversations, the werewolf learned the boy's name and his role. He was an 18-year-old werewolf named Neil Flicker, describing his role as a kind of law enforcement officer, although he was often referred to as a secretary. Neil Flicker was responsible for organizing documents, such as those for new recruits, resolving disputes between different departments, and much more. Basically, everything went through him. He maintained balance in the Order, a task that had been assigned to him not too long ago. Of course, he couldn't do it alone, after all, he was also just subordinate to the so-called Dark Prince.

Nevertheless, it was a very demanding job that focused on coordinating various departments. He had to ensure the fair distribution of various tasks from the Dark Lord or Prince. When Death Eaters argued among themselves, especially vampires and werewolves, he either had to intervene himself or inform the respective department heads or pack leaders. With new recruits, he made sure that each person was assigned to a suitable department.

Of these departments, there were ten noteworthy ones. The leadership, consisting of Lord Voldemort, Morthus Eurale, and Neil Flicker. The Elite Groups, four groups directly subordinate to the Dark Prince, no one else. Attack, this department is self-explanatory. Defensive, a group that always worked with Attack to set up or break shields or to equip Death Eaters' residences with shields. There were so-called specialists who, in turn, could be divided into smaller groups such as Healing, Torture, etc. The most annoying department was that of the Shadows, better known as Spies. No one except the leadership knew who was in this group, and even the Shadows didn't know each other. Then there were people like Malfoy or Thickness, who dealt with politics and propaganda. But there were also trainers who taught Death Eaters basic combat and the handling of Dark curses, this group probably had the most to do, as every Death Eater had to pass the average three-month basic training, including special courses. People who took specializations, like Healing, had to be more advanced and received extra hours. One of the smaller groups, but challenging, was the Collectors or Recruiters, who, as the name suggests, recruited new members. There was also the department of magical beings, the only one of which the entire magical world now knew about and the one with maybe the most branches.

Through conversations with Neil, Remus could learn more about the structure of the Dark Order and how complicated it really was. He would hardly get in touch with different departments and get to know other Death Eaters, as he had hoped. The only place where he could really come into contact with other departments was during training. But once he was assigned to a group, his only comrades would be group members. What he didn't understand, however, was why he had to wait. As he understood it, as soon as you submitted your documents, you were picked up by a trainer and taken to the training ground. Remus couldn't know that he had been waiting for Morthus the whole time, who was still in his apartment spending time with Percy.

After a long wait, two people apparated directly into the waiting area of the headquarters, which was only possible for the two people in the whole Order. Thus, Neil immediately knew who had arrived and did not hesitate to kneel and lower his head. Remus, on the other hand, was significantly slower, he did not know who had just arrived and initially thought it was a trainer to pick him up. Only when the two silhouettes solidified did he first see light blond hair. Next to Draco Malfoy stood the Dark Prince, Morthus Eurale, the person who had apparated with the Malfoy boy. "Stand up," a deep, slightly distorted voice sounded from behind the dark blue mask. Neil quickly stood up and rattled off a summary of the day before being asked anything. The son of Voldemort listened to the whole thing, occasionally nodding but not interrupting the one-year-older boy. After reporting, Neil was sent back behind the counter with a wave of Morthus's hand, and Morthus finally turned to the older werewolf. But before he could exchange a word with Remus, the previously inactive blond approached the Prince and whispered something to him.

Both Remus and Neil were confused to see this, but the latter was clearly more surprised since he had known both for much longer. While Draco might be cheeky when the Dark Prince or Lord weren't around and had no fear even in the presence of staff officers like Neil. Still, especially in the presence of the Dark Prince, he faded into the background. That was one of the reasons why Neil could joke around with Draco. He remained silent, always keeping a distance of at least 1 meter and often trembling if too much attention was paid to him. If Draco started to show no fear in the face of his superior, it could lead to unimaginable consequences.

Draco could not be insulted or even touched by any Death Eater, even a wrong look could have consequences. Draco had never been one to personally tell the Dark Prince or Lord when he was beaten or insulted, but there was one case where the young Eurale had found out, and the subsequent punishment for the unknowing Death Eater was a slow and painful death. One that every Death Eater, except Draco himself, had heard of. That's why he was practically untouchable. The only exception was, of course, Morthus himself.

And now Draco reported an offense against him for the first time because recently, during his conversation with Morthus in the apartment, he had found out what a twisted and obsessive personality his master had. He stared at Remus Lupin, his eyes flashing dangerously for a brief moment.

But Morthus was no fool, he wouldn't ruin his plans because Malfoy suddenly became brave and wanted to teach Remus a lesson. Instead he just ignored the report. "You had to wait because you owe me two things, and one is due now."