A dry cough interrupted the communication in the office. Snape turned his head and looked to his left, when a figure broke into the previously empty frame.
Phineas hurriedly returned to his portrait and reported to Snape, "Headmaster, Yaxley asked me to tell you that he will come to visit you after ten o'clock tonight."
"For Hogsmeade matters?"
"For Hogsmeade matters." Phineas said firmly, "Yaxley seems to have just received some bad news and looks very angry."
"I see."
Snape glanced at the clock next to the wall, and after confirming that there was still nearly half an hour before the agreed time, he continued to talk to Dumbledore about recent events.
When he talked about his suspicion that Professor McGonagall and others had other purposes for staying in Hogwarts, Dumbledore in the frame also fell silent for a brief period.
"Are you worried that Minerva will cause something bad to happen?" Dumbledore guessed what Snape was worried about.
"You know, I actually have no interest in being the headmaster." Snape's voice was full of resentment.
Ever since he became the Headmaster of Hogwarts, he has been in constant trouble.
Especially after Hogwarts was asked to expel Muggle students, he never enjoyed a moment of peace again.
Moreover, in order to abide by the agreement with Dumbledore, he has almost become a professional in wiping the butts of students who like to cause trouble for themselves.
Dumbledore obviously knew about Snape's difficulties and quickly reassured him, "They actually have no plan."
Seeing that Snape didn't believe it, he continued, "Mr. Anderson used prophecy a long time ago to see that the final battle of the Wizarding War would be at Hogwarts, so Minerva and the others would stay in school and wait for that day.
Come and protect the students in the school from the Death Eaters."
"Parkinson's disappearance has nothing to do with them."
"Except for the Defense Association and the Order of the Phoenix, I really can't think of anyone else who would do that." Snape looked at the clock again, then looked at Dumbledore and said, "Besides, so many weird things have happened recently."
"Oh, what's weird?" Dumbledore asked, raising his eyebrows.
"The Dark Lord has been looking for the wand maker Grigovitch abroad for several months, and he still doesn't want to give up."
"I remember we talked about this earlier," said Dumbledore.
Snape felt that Dumbledore had not told the truth. Anyone who was not a fool should have realized that this matter was very problematic.
What is Voldemort looking for?
"Parkinson's disappearance without warning is weird. The situation in Hogsmeade has also become unpredictable. Yaxley actually plans to go to war with the alien dark wizards who occupy Hogsmeade."
"I bet you know why?"
"I don't know more than you, Severus." Dumbledore reminded with a smile, "I'm dead. It's hard for a dead person to get information on his own. What should he do if he doesn't have enough intelligence to support it?
How about making an accurate judgment?"
Snape said nothing, but he obviously didn't believe it.
If things hadn't turned out to be inexplicable, he wouldn't have tried to get some useful information from Dumbledore.
"Sometimes if you change your mind, many weird things are actually very simple." Dumbledore guided.
"Change your thinking?"
"Why is Voldemort looking for the Elder Wand?"
"Because Anderson's rise made him feel threatened." Snape murmured.
"Yes, Voldemort even gave up on killing Harry himself." Dumbledore nodded and said, "I remember you told me this in person."
"Professor McGonagall's strange behavior is related to Anderson, so... Parkinson's disappearance was also his fault, but why did Anderson do that? What good would it do him to let Parkinson disappear?" Snape raised his doubts.
"I don't know, but it probably has something to do with him."
Of course Dumbledore can't know everything.
"If Anderson is going to take back control of Hogwarts by controlling the Death Eaters, I suggest you talk to him first."
"I think you take the Dark Lord for a fool," Phineas interjected.
Dumbledore ignored Phineas and continued, "As for the things in Hogsmeade, if you think about it carefully, won't you think it's very familiar?"
"very familiar?"
"Back then, Scrimgeour's Ministry of Magic caused huge casualties to the Death Eaters, and could even be said to have directly hit the Death Eaters hard," Dumbledore reminded.
"You think Anderson is secretly manipulating this dispute?" Snape couldn't believe his ears.
"He plans to make both Dark Wizards and Death Eaters suffer?"
"This is indeed very similar to what Mr. Anderson would do." Dumbledore sighed softly, "There is no such thing as coincidence in this world."
"How on earth did he do it."
"I'm afraid you have to ask him yourself."
evidence?
Sometimes no so-called evidence is needed, just suspicion is enough.
The conversation was interrupted by forest green flames rising from the fireplace.
When Yaxley came from the fireplace, Snape was behind the desk attending to the Headmaster's business.
"Good evening, I hope I didn't disturb you."
Yaxley reached out and patted the ashes off his body, took out his wand, pulled out an armchair for himself, and sat down opposite Snape.
"What do you need me to do with you?" Snape asked directly.
"According to the latest information I received, the guys in Hogsmeade plan to unite to resist us." Yaxley's face was extremely ugly, "I plan to teach them an unforgettable lesson."
"Tell me about your plan." Snape said expressionlessly.
"I have gathered our people and headed towards Hogsmeade together with the dementors..." Yaxley told Snape his next plan, but the latter frowned after listening.
Yaxley's method is nothing more than to use force to intimidate the opponent into surrendering, but can this really succeed?
Snape could see Yaxley's true mood. He didn't want to fight the Dark Wizard occupying Hogsmeade. If a lot of Death Eaters were killed and injured, the Dark Lord would not
Easy to explain.
But Hogsmeade has to deal with it, otherwise the Dark Lord may think that he is a loser who can't even do small things well.
"I understand your concerns, but is this really possible?"
Snape felt that Yaxley had been at the Ministry of Magic for so long that even his handling methods had become political.
"What's the meaning?"
"If it's the Dark Lord, it's okay to want those dark wizards to bow their heads, but I'm afraid we can't, especially when it comes to interests. They won't give in easily." Snape said meaningfully, "Don't forget, they
They are dark wizards from various European countries, not residents of the UK. If you want them to make concessions, you may have to rely on this. And don't forget, several Death Eaters have died before."
"So, you think only..."
"No, I just want to remind you to give up unrealistic fantasies and don't take any chances."
Yaxley finally realized how ridiculous his previous plan was.
Their dark wizards are Death Eaters, not those hypocritical politicians.
"If all the dark wizards in Hogsmeade turn against us."
Yaxley's expression turned even uglier. Even if he added up all the dead Death Eaters, there might not be as many as the dark wizards facing him. Many of the new Death Eaters' fighting skills were really average, just like those who were accidentally lost before.
Like those Death Eaters who took their lives.
"If there are not enough people, we can only use force to force the opponent to surrender." Snape trembled his lips.
"You can also wait until the Dark Lord comes back to deal with it. He might be happy to have another group of followers."
"No, absolutely not."
Yaxley would never allow himself to be labeled as incompetent.
"I admit that the forces on the other side are not weak, but... it is difficult for them to unite together. With just a little external pressure, they can easily collapse. No one is willing to risk their lives to fight against us."
After finally tasting the power, Yaxley was not willing to let it go easily. He decided to put all his weight on it and bet that the dark wizards in Hogsmeade were vulnerable.