Severus's praise made old Nott even more unable to contain his inner excitement.
He rubbed his hands together, looking at Severus and asking quietly.
"This is all for Master. When will I have the chance to see Master? Master's condition doesn't seem good. Perhaps I can be of some help. The Nott Family has many precious herbs and potions that might prove useful."
Severus just methodically stored the golden cup back into the suitcase. Sitting in the high-backed chair, he rested one arm on the suitcase, his gaze fixed on old Nott, a playful smile on his face, but he remained silent.
Being stared at like this by him, old Nott felt a chill run down his spine.
The current Severus was far different from the past. After that night, anyone could see that his future status within the Death Eaters would be completely different from before.
At the very least, he would be on equal footing with Bellatrix and the others, and it wasn't impossible he'd be second only to one.
Just as old Nott, under his gaze, began to look shifty-eyed and the awkward smile on his face became harder to maintain, Severus finally spoke lightly.
"Master's physical condition is not something to be inquired about. As for whether you have a chance to see Master, that depends on Master's will."
Severus looked at old Nott intently.
"And regarding the matter of the cup, the main credit actually lies with Lucius, we all understand that, right? He had made all the preparations, it's just because he still has to complete the unicorn task for Master that he let you pick this ripe peach."
"I can figure this out, do you think Master can't?" Severus said softly. "So, in your view, finding this golden cup is a remarkable achievement, but in Master's eyes, it's really nothing special."
Old Nott's face shifted through various expressions. He didn't quite understand why Severus was saying this; such words sounded very much like mockery.
But Severus's next sentence made him freeze.
"But right now, I happen to have a matter, a task Master assigned to me. I can let you help in the preparations. In the end, as long as it succeeds, it can become your true merit, a merit that Master will remember!"
After freezing for a few seconds and regaining his composure, old Nott didn't show an excited or thrilled expression. Instead, he remained silent, scrutinizing Severus suspiciously.
"Why would you involve me in something Master privately entrusted to you?"
Severus tapped his fingers on the suitcase.
"You should understand that within our ranks, many people look down on me. Even Lucius, who is on the best terms with me, actually maintains a rather superior attitude when dealing with me."
Old Nott neither confirmed nor denied this. He just leaned back slightly, looking at Severus with a hint of contempt in his eyes.
The pure-bloods among the Death Eaters, of course, looked down on a half-blood wizard like Severus.
Eight years ago, when Voldemort hadn't yet lost his power, even among the widely known servants of the Dark Lord in all of Britain, Snape's reputation was entirely unremarkable.
Although the Dark Lord himself thought quite highly of him, and he had a Slytherin senior-junior relationship with Lucius, due to his blood status, he never managed to integrate into the core circle of the Death Eaters.
The Death Eaters born from pure-blood families naturally looked down on Snape.
This remained true even now, when Severus had clearly become Voldemort's right-hand man, his trusted aide.
People like old Nott superficially seemed to fawn over Severus and lower their posture because of Voldemort, but in reality, they still held a deep-seated contempt for this half-blood.
Severus himself understood this, and people like old Nott certainly knew it too.
Facing his gaze, Severus's expression remained relaxed. He continued.
"So, precisely because of this, even if Master orders you to listen to me, you people, even if you dare not disobey, certainly won't have a very positive attitude."
"I need you to act as the intermediary. I won't command them directly. Instead, I'll give the instructions to you, and you will be responsible for gathering those people."
But old Nott didn't agree directly. He just looked at Severus coldly.
"Do you take me for a fool? After Master's task is completed, would you kindly tell Master that the one who actually did the work was me?"
Severus simply spread his hands.
"As long as you complete the task, you don't need to worry about me stealing your credit, because there will be someone to testify for you."
Old Nott frowned, looking at Severus.
"What did Master ask you to do?"
Severus glanced out the window. Diagon Alley was bustling with people, but no one noticed what the two wizards sitting in this small shop were discussing.
There was no one else in the shop. After old Nott arrived, the door had been closed completely, and the hired shop assistants had been sent home.
So, whatever secrets there were, Severus could speak of them here without restraint.
"Prison break."
The moment he heard that word, old Nott's pupils visibly contracted.
He instantly stood up from his chair in a panic, then looked left and right, as if unsure if anyone was around.
After reconfirming that only he and Severus were present, he sat back down, but the nervousness on his face didn't fade in the slightest.
"Break which prison? Which prison?"
"Which prison do you think is worth the Dark Lord's attention and requires us to break into?" Severus crossed his legs, speaking calmly. "Azkaban. Only that prison is our target."
This made old Nott thoroughly uneasy.
"Azkaban? Master wants you to lead us to break into the prison? To rescue the Lestranges and that lot?"
His expression shifted constantly as he tried to find reasons to dissuade him.
"But... but what's the point of that? The Lestranges have been locked up on that island for so long, even if they aren't dead, they've probably lost their minds! Even if we rescue them, they won't be much help!"
"And, and Rodolphus's vault... to get this cup, we used our Ministry connections, threatened Gringotts to let his distant nephew inherit his vault early. If he gets rescued..."
"No! No! There's simply no hope of rescuing them! That island is full of Dementors! Besides the Patronus Charm, other spells are useless against them! We have no possibility of getting them out, right? No possibility at all!"
Severus just watched calmly as old Nott blurted out all these excuses in one breath, finally replying lightly with just one sentence.
"I agree with everything you said, but do you dare say these words to Master?"
That one sentence completely shut old Nott up, leaving him speechless.
"Master will definitely rescue the Lestranges and the others." Severus picked up the suitcase from the table. "About Rodolphus's vault, don't worry. The matter of the cup was arranged by Master. After he is truly rescued, he wouldn't dare question Master about this."
"As for how to get them out of that prison... You have many connections in the Ministry, right? Leak the news that Master has returned to them, get these people to help. And those Dementors, they aren't really Ministry's employees, we all know that."
Seeing Severus stand up with the suitcase, old Nott understood that he wasn't giving him much time to consider.
This wasn't something he could choose not to do. Since it was a task the Dark Lord assigned to Severus, whether he was willing to be this leader or not, he would ultimately have to contribute to the prison break.
Now that Severus was proactively proposing that he take over as the commander, if the matter succeeded, he would certainly have rendered a great service.
But was this matter really that easy to accomplish?
To break into Azkaban, they would likely need all the currently gathered Death Eaters to mobilize, and also use all the connections their families had in the Ministry, and they had to be absolutely reliable connections at that.
Moreover, once this deed was done, it would be equivalent to announcing to the whole world that the Dark Lord had returned, and the Death Eaters were back!
Old Nott wasn't stupid at all. The fact that the Dark Lord assigned Severus to organize them for an Azkaban prison break meant that the Dark Lord would soon be able to return to his peak state.
Only then would their Master dare to make such a grand gesture, having his servants break into a prison, declaring his return to all.
Succeeding had its benefits, failing had its drawbacks, but either way, there was no escape from doing it.
Thinking this, old Nott finally gritted his teeth.
"I'll arrange for them!"
Hearing his reply, a pleased smile appeared on Severus's face. Before leaving, he patted old Nott on the shoulder.
"Master will be looking forward to your performance."
After meeting with old Nott, Severus returned the cup to Hogwarts, then went to another place to meet with the Carrow siblings as arranged.
And this meeting was, of course, also very important.
According to the task assigned to Amycus, he had gathered the ruffians originally brought together by Barty within two days and informed them that the Dark Lord had been found by Severus.
He also had them write a letter to Barty and Perkins, who were abroad, telling them the news that their Master had returned to Britain.
Now was the time for Severus to meet with them.
This wasn't Severus's first time meeting them, of course. Back at the Crouch House, they had not only met but almost came to blows.
But now, these people had completely lost the arrogant faces they had when facing Severus before. Whether it was Dolphin Travers or Bruno Selwyn, or the others, they now only wanted to beg for Severus's forgiveness.
"We were all deceived by Barty Jr.!" Dolphin lamented.
"He told us that by following him, we could find Master again, so we did those things. If it weren't for Master, we would never have listened to him!"
"That's right! We only wanted to find Master again! We never thought of betraying Master!" Bruno also shouted. "After sensing Master's call, we immediately contacted Amycus! We guessed it must be you, Severus, who found Master! You are Master's most trusted person!"
They flattered him, speaking words that were almost pleas for mercy.
Severus just sat calmly in the high-backed chair, appearing unruffled. These people certainly had to beg for mercy, as they had backed the wrong side in this struggle to find the Dark Lord. That they weren't already branded as traitors was a blessing, and they couldn't possibly hope for the same treatment as the fence-sitters now surrounding Severus.
"Why did Barty go to Albania?"
What Severus was most curious about was actually this. He could think of going to Albania to find Voldemort because he knew from the start that Voldemort was there.
So where did Barty get his information?
Faced with his question, these people didn't hesitate at all. They rushed to answer.
"A month ago, Barty Jr. took people to Little Hangleton! He seemed to have discovered something there. Then he ran all over Britain, went to many places but found nothing, until finally he took Perkins to Albania!"
"Yes! During this time, he had us attract the Aurors' attention! But he didn't produce any results!"
"He's a fraud! He actually had no idea where Master was! He just used this pretext to gather us around him!"
As these people chattered noisily, Severus's expression grew increasingly serious.
'Little Hangleton.'
He certainly knew that place. It was Voldemort's ancestral home, and also where he had hidden one of his Horcruxes, the Marvolo Gaunt's Ring.
Severus had originally planned to go to Little Hangleton after finishing today's matters to try to find Voldemort's old home and retrieve that last Horcrux besides Harry.
But now, hearing these people's words, he already had a guess.
'Barty most likely found that ring, and somehow, through that ring, went to Albania!'
"Where is Barty Crouch Jr. now?" Severus asked.
Dolphin said, as if seeking credit.
"After meeting Amycus, I wrote to him. If he doesn't want to be a traitor, he should already be on his way here."
Bruno also said.
"Barty Jr., although a bit extreme and too self-centered in his actions, his loyalty to Master is unquestionable. After receiving the letter, he will definitely return."
Severus didn't stay here. Before leaving, he just said to the Carrow siblings,
"If Barty Jr. comes to you, send me an owl immediately."