Chapter 374: Broken Trust

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Harry Potter and all its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.

I own nothing but the original characters I create.

"Dialogue"

'Thoughts'

-Author notes-

Chapter 374: Broken Trust

Snape recounted a carefully prepared story, ensuring to tell mostly the truth and only altering details where absolutely necessary.

The Dark Lord had always been skilled at detecting lies, so Snape minimized the risks, even though he was technically only speaking to a puppet being controlled from afar and not the real man.

"You say Dumbledore found him in the Dark Forest and killed him? The Dumbledore I remember wouldn't kill so easily," Rookwood questioned, clearly skeptical.

"I can only tell you what I heard from him, but… I don't think he intended to kill Rabastan. It seems he had no other choice," Snape replied.

"Mmm… but why didn't he escape?" Rookwood pondered. Rabastan hadn't even crossed the wards, and he had a portkey for escape.

"What about the other vampires who accompanied him?"

"They were caught by the centaurs protecting the forest. They showed no mercy."

"My vampires, killed by those beasts?! Ridiculous!" Rookwood snapped.

"It's true, my Lord. Look… I brought you something else. Something I believe you wanted." Snape pulled out a small bag.

At first, the bag seemed small, but it continued to grow until it was about the size of a person.

"You brought me a corpse?" Rookwood had no doubt what was inside the bag; the shape was unmistakable.

Snape said nothing and simply opened it.

"Karkaroff…" Rookwood recognized the man on the floor. He looked remarkably fresh, indicating some preservation spell had been used on him. "Why would I have any interest in the corpse of a traitor?"

"I was told Rabastan put great effort into taking this body with him. I wouldn't presume to guess at my Lord's plans, but it seemed of some importance, so I went through the trouble of securing it for you. " Snape replied.

"I did have plans for him…" Rookwood glanced at Karkaroff. "But now it's too late for that." It was likely Karkaroff had already been declared dead, making him useless as a puppet. This will make taking over Durmstrang a bit more difficult, but is not like that would stop him.

"I see…I did something unnecessary then. " Snape looked at the corpse. "Shall I dispose of it?"

"No… leave it. It may still serve some minor purpose," Rookwood smiled...a smile so sinister it sent chills down Snape's spine. He didn't want to imagine what dark uses Voldemort might have for Karkaroff's remains.

"Mmm…" Rookwood seemed to be considering something. His eyes went to pieces of jewelry that used to belong to Rabastan. "Those must have also been dificult to obtain." He could not imagine that Dumbledore would just leave them lying around.

"It was..." Snape answered.

"I see..." Rookwood became silent after that.

Snape waited patiently. He knew his old master's habit of pondering in silence and that any interruption could lead to unpleasant consequences.

"Severus…" Rookwood's red eyes locked onto the Potions professor.

"Yes, My Lord?"

"North of London, in the countryside, there is a small village called Little Hangleton. On the outskirts of that village, there's a cemetery. Be there tomorrow at midnight. Then we can discuss your loyalty… in person."

Rookwood noticed Snape's hesitation. "Unless, of course, everything you've told me tonight is nothing but lies. In that case..."

"No, my Lord!" Snape said quickly. "I'll be there. I swear."

Rookwood nodded and waved his hand dismissively. "You may go now… I have other matters to attend to."

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It was a cool, moonless night when Snape arrived at the appointed location.

He looked around but couldn't see anyone.

He knew Harry was hiding nearby, and he could only hope he stayed well hidden, for if he was discovered, his death would likely be anything but swift. Harry had insisted on coming, just in case Voldemort appeared in person, but Snape had no idea what the boy planned to do if that happened.

Suddenly, he heard footsteps approaching. The fact that he only heard them now meant the person was purposely revealing their presence.

He turned to face the newcomer, expecting to see a familiar face among the Dark Lord's followers. He never imagined that Voldemort himself would come to meet him.

Instead, a young blonde woman he had never seen before emerged from the shadows.

However, her pale skin and yellow eyes were enough to tell him what she was.

"The Dark Lord sends a vampire to meet me?" Snape tried to maintain a tough demeanor.

He remembered well the days when showing weakness among Death Eaters could easily lead to death if one was deemed unworthy.

"Do you have something against vampires?" the woman asked.

"No… I just expected an old acquaintance, that's all," Snape replied.

The woman grinned. "The old Inner Circle? There aren't many of them left. We are the ones who currently hold most of the Dark Lord's trust, so be mindful of what you say."

"I'll keep that in mind," Snape replied, trying to appear unbothered.

She pulled something from her pocket and tossed it to him. "Catch."

Snape caught it and realized it was a small stone sphere.

"Oh…" He felt it activate immediately and had no way to react to it.

The vampire chuckled. "Good luck… you'll need it."

Snape was whisked away as the portkey activated.

Harry watched from afar, thinking, 'He will indeed need luck…'

This wasn't an entirely unexpected outcome, but it was certainly a risky one.

Voldemort was being cautious. Instead of meeting Snape directly, he'd sent a disposable minion to deliver a portkey that would bring Snape straight to him.

Now, the only chance Snape had of returning was to truly convince Voldemort of his loyalty.

'Let's hope our preparations have been enough.' Harry thought.

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