Some of the Death Eaters felt a pang of dissatisfaction.
'Even if you are capable and skilled, you can't just take the lead like this and hog all the credit and good deeds.'
'The unicorns are at Hogwarts. Given your relationship with Hogwarts, or rather with Dumbledore, stealing a unicorn would naturally be easier for you than for us.'
'But if finding Master was your doing, and now you're taking on Master's needs as well, then what are the rest of us?'
'If we're all just freeloaders, useless trash, then didn't we retrieve Master too early for nothing? In the end, after success, wouldn't the biggest benefits still go to those like you, Bellatrix, and the Lestranges, who both contributed effort and got things done?'
The more they thought about it, the more the Death Eaters below felt they couldn't let Severus take this one too.
However, before anyone could speak up to take the task from Severus, Voldemort spoke first.
"This matter is not for you. You have more important tasks to handle on my behalf later. Lucius!"
Upon hearing Voldemort call his name, Lucius jolted and raised his head, his face excited.
"Master! I am here!"
"The unicorn matter is entrusted to you. Handle it well."
Regardless of his inner thoughts, Lucius had no room for hesitation at this moment. He immediately promised loudly,
"Within a week, your servant will definitely bring a live unicorn to you!"
The people around looked at Lucius with envious eyes.
They all knew the Malfoy Family was one of the Hogwarts's school governors and had good relations with many other governors. Although troublesome, getting a unicorn from the Hogwarts Forbidden Forest, bypassing Dumbledore, would certainly be much easier for him than for the rest of them.
And why the Dark Lord specifically assigned this task to him was also obvious-
Lucius's speech earlier in the meeting was undoubtedly the biggest plus point!
After assigning the unicorn task, Voldemort clearly had more to say. He stared at the people kneeling before him and said in an unquestionable tone,
"Before the unicorn blood is obtained, I will rest for a while. During this time, you must follow Severus's arrangements."
This statement shocked almost all the Death Eaters present.
They looked up together at Severus, who stood behind Voldemort, his expression as calm as usual, as if he wasn't surprised by this instruction at all. For a moment, various thoughts arose in everyone's hearts.
Jealousy, contemplation, wariness, envy...
"Any instruction he gives you, you must obey and carry out as if you heard it from me. If I later find out someone caused trouble during this process, I wouldn't mind making them understand what happens to those who choose to be my enemy instead of remaining a good friend."
The Dark Lord's straightforward endorsement of Severus made the Death Eaters tremble with fear… no one dared utter a single word of dissent.
"We understand, Master!"
"We will obey him, just as we obey your commands."
Voldemort seemed satisfied with their attitude. Then he said,
"Leave for now. I wish to speak with Severus alone."
No one dared disobey. The Death Eaters present exchanged glances privately as they rose from the floor and left the drawing room, leaving only Severus and Voldemort.
After everyone left, Severus bowed respectfully to Voldemort.
"Master."
"I need you to do something more important for me, Severus." Voldemort's voice was soft. He stared at Severus, the loyal servant who had brought him out of Albania and the only one he could tentatively trust now.
Severus immediately assumed a serious expression.
"Whatever it is, you can entrust it to me with confidence, Master! Your servant will faithfully accomplish everything you assign!"
"I need you to find two things for me. One of them is in Little Hangleton."
"Little Hangleton?" Severus couldn't help but look up.
"Yes, in Little Hangleton. In the grave of a Muggle named Tom Riddle. I need that Muggle's bone. You must retrieve his bone for me!"
"I understand!"
"And the second item, this will be easy for you. Harry Potter! I want his blood. You must find a way to obtain his blood for me!"
"Everything will be as you wish, my Master!"
Severus agreed to everything without any hesitation.
Voldemort gazed darkly at Severus.
"You are my most loyal servant, Severus. Among these people, I trust only you. You will handle these matters for me properly, won't you?"
"At least one of them, your servant has already taken care of in advance," Severus said, looking up with a smile. "Harry Potter has always been under our watchful eye, hasn't he?"
Voldemort laughed heartily.
"Hahaha! Excellent! You truly have changed from the person I knew before. This change will erase your final flaw, Severus. You will go far!"
After finishing these final instructions, Voldemort returned to the teacup. He still hadn't discovered any problem with this teacup.
And after Severus respectfully closed the teacup lid, the obsequiousness on his face gradually faded, replaced by a somewhat playful expression as he sat in the high-backed chair.
'He's preparing to proceed with both simultaneously.'
Ghost Snape was already holding his breath nervously.
[What does he want you to do?]
'Bone of the father, unknowingly given, will renew his son. Flesh of the servant, willingly given, will revive his master. Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken, will resurrect his foe.'
Severus sneered coldly.
'He's having them prepare the unicorn for him while simultaneously planning to complete his own resurrection ritual!'
[Flesh of the servant...] Ghost Snape clearly caught the key point. Voldemort hadn't mentioned this when giving the tasks to Severus just now.
'The servant who willingly offers flesh, in his mind, should of course be me,' Severus said matter-of-factly. 'Don't be fooled by how he praised me to the skies at the end. In reality, no matter how useful or excellent I or others appear to him, in his eyes, we are just expendable materials.'
'Useful ones can be used, useless ones can also be used. Loyal ones can be used, disloyal ones can also be used. As long as they provide value to him, he doesn't care about these people at all.'
Severus said leisurely, clearly understanding Voldemort more thoroughly than anyone else.
Without wasting more words with Ghost Snape, he stood up from the chair, turned, and walked to the door, then opened it from inside the drawing room.
Outside the drawing room, the Death Eaters who had been sitting on chairs, whispering amongst themselves about who knows what, all instinctively stood up when they saw the door open.
Severus looked at them, a smile appearing on his face.
"Gentlemen, let's also begin our discussion on how to better complete the tasks our Master has assigned us."
The Death Eaters returned to the drawing room but could no longer find Voldemort's figure.
"Where is Master?" The one who asked was Amycus.
"Master is resting, but you can also consider him present at all times," Severus shrugged. "I don't know when he might appear and hear our conversation."
Such words made the Death Eaters even more cautious.
They returned to their seats, and this time Lucius quite consciously yielded the head seat he had been occupying to Severus.
Severus didn't decline at all and simply sat down in it.
The atmosphere was somewhat quiet the moment he sat down. All eyes in the room were fixed on Severus.
No matter how many of them inwardly questioned or resented Voldemort's earlier instruction, at this moment, no one would openly show it. Moreover, they truly had to follow their promise and completely obey Severus's arrangements.
The Dark Lord had truly returned.
That meant the British Wizarding World was destined to change!
"Gentlemen,"
Severus declared loudly.
"Bringing Master back is only the first step in restoring our past! Next, if we want to reclaim our lost glory, it depends on our subsequent actions!"
"How is the matter of that cup progressing?"
Regarding the bone of old Tom Riddle that Voldemort asked him to retrieve, Severus didn't even mention it. He simply turned to look at Lucius.
Lucius replied,
"It's basically settled. We've applied enough pressure on Gringotts. Later, once the Ministry decree comes through, it will take less than three days for the Lestrange vault to be transferred to someone else!"
Severus nodded.
"The day after tomorrow, at this time, I hope to see that cup placed before me."
"I can guarantee that."
"Amycus." Severus called out another name loudly. "You and your sister have considerable contact with those gathered by Barty Crouch Jr., correct?"
Upon hearing Severus's words, Amycus couldn't help but look flustered.
They certainly had contact with Barty's group, and not just them. Whether it was Nott, Rosier, or Crabbe and Goyle, all of them had private connections with both sides.
It's just that the Carrow siblings had more contact with Barty's group, as many gathered around Barty were his former acquaintances.
But in the current situation, Amycus dared not easily accept such an accusation.
Since Severus was the one who ultimately found the Dark Lord, Barty and his lot were almost completely defined as traitors who had ruined the Dark Lord's plans!
"I, no, it's not that, it's that people from their side have been contacting me!" Amycus said hurriedly. "They wanted my help, but I never agreed to them!"
Severus's voice was gentle.
"Don't be so nervous. We are one, aren't we? Didn't we form an alliance from the very beginning? Rest assured, our relationship is unbreakable!"
His comforting words made both the Carrow siblings and the others breathe a sigh of relief.
They were worried that Severus, having gained power, would turn his back on them, truly seeing himself as the one below the Dark Lord and above all others, treating them like servants too.
If that were really the case, then they would... they would be able to do nothing but grit their teeth and obey for now.
Now, Severus's attitude remained the same as before, indicating he wouldn't excessively pursue their hedging of bets. That was, of course, a cause for celebration for all.
"You are right," Amycus also showed a smile on his face. "What do you need me to do with these connections?"
Severus interlaced his fingers and said softly,
"Very simple. Master has awakened the Dark Mark. Those people will all know Master has returned! You just need to tell them that if they still truly consider themselves Master's servants, they must immediately abandon Barty Crouch Jr.!"
The smile on Amycus's face widened.
"They are not fools. As long as I tell them that we found Master and are now working for him, they won't hesitate at all and will definitely rally to our side immediately!"
Old Nott interjected at this point,
"Even Barty Crouch Jr., upon learning of this, wouldn't dare to continue using the Dark Lord's banner alone outside. He's crazy, but he hasn't betrayed the Dark Lord."
"Finally, the unicorn matter." Severus looked back at Lucius. "This is a task Master specifically assigned to you. I hope you will not disappoint Master."
Lucius took a deep breath.
It was clear he was under great pressure, but obviously, risk and opportunity coexisted. The task was difficult, but if accomplished, he would become one of the Dark Lord's closest confidants in the future!
The atmosphere in the drawing room quickly relaxed.
They didn't limit themselves to discussing the tasks Voldemort had assigned them and began envisioning the future.
Everyone believed that this time, upon their Master's return, he would surely lead them to achieve the vision that had failed eight years ago.
To completely change the order of the Wizarding World, let pure-bloods hold power, and purge all Mudbloods!
It wasn't until after midnight that the Death Eaters began to leave one after another, leaving only Severus behind.
Earlier, with many people present, Lucius had restrained himself from asking. Now that everyone else was gone, he could no longer hold back.
"Where is Draco! Why didn't you bring him back!"
Severus spread his hands.
"It's not that I didn't bring him back. He insisted on staying overnight at the Weasleys', saying it was too late and he was afraid of disturbing your sleep. He'll come back tomorrow."