A deathly silence greeted Severus in the basement. Almost immediately, several dozen pairs of eyes belonging to exhausted wizards from Black Star turned in his direction. He caught them keeping watch on his house and making several attempts to infiltrate his territory.
Compared to two weeks earlier, they had grown gaunt and even more pallid. The fight and resilience had drained from their eyes. In the past month, they'd realized no one was coming to rescue them. Possibly the division leader considered the entire squad dead. But among them, there was still one person who, even after so much time, met their warden with an unwavering gaze. He was their very ray of light, giving them strength to endure these unbearable living conditions. This mage was, of course, the group leader sitting in the farthest and darkest corner of the cell. He merely observed Severus's actions in silence.
Severus didn't pay them special attention, though he had to admit these people possessed remarkable resilience. But at the same time, he wanted even more to lure them to his side. Such wizards were a rarity even in his world.
"I'm in no hurry anyway," he thought with a smirk, looking directly into a pair of cold, dark eyes. Then he continued on his way. He wasn't very worried about their lives. He had ordered restorative potions added to their food, which eliminated any risk of death from exhaustion. Gorby constantly monitored them to ensure they wouldn't die. That was the only reason they were still alive.
Ignoring the plea in the others' eyes, Severus walked past the cells and approached the door at the far end of the room. As soon as he opened it, a furious voice erupted.
"FINALLY YOU DEIGN TO VISIT ME, YOU DAMN ARISTOCRATIC SCUM! DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHO I AM?! MY BROTHER WILL LEAVE NOTHING OF YOU WHOLE AS SOON AS HE FINDS OUT ABOUT MY DISAPPEARANCE! RELEASE ME IMMEDIATELY AND BEG FORGIVENESS ON YOUR KNEES, AND ONLY THEN WILL I NOT TURN YOUR INSIGNIFICANT LIFE INTO HELL! YES I..."
In the next instant, the mouth of the man chained to the wall simply evaporated. Inarticulate but furious grunts filled the room. A pair of eyes burning with hatred bore into Severus's figure standing in the doorway. And the prisoner had good reason to hate. He was missing one hand, his arm ending at the elbow. From the blood staining his jacket, it was easy to see he had lost it right here.
"And what imbecile sends idiots like these to negotiations?" Severus sighed wearily, shaking his head and turning his gaze to the group of wizards standing in the cell, staring at the floor with a resigned expression.
"M-master, so that it would be more convenient for you to interrogate him. G-gorby chained him separately."
"He did the right thing. Well done." Severus smiled and patted the excited house-elf on the head. Then he approached the man whose face was crossed by a long scar running from his forehead, across his eye, to his chin. "Listen. Didn't anyone ever tell you that your character doesn't match your appearance at all? And why break into the house when I wasn't even there? Though, why am I asking?" He placed his palm on the prisoner's head; the man tried to dodge. A wave of magic, invisible to the naked eye, erupted from his hand. The man lost consciousness. Then Severus proceeded to study the memories of the unlucky negotiator from The Black Star, whose mark on his chest he had discovered without any trouble as soon as he entered the room.
After half an hour, having finally finished with the matter, Severus left the room, mulling over the information he'd obtained. One thing he knew for certain: Vitold had sent this screamer deliberately. Who in their right mind would send such a person to negotiations? The possibility that Vitold might not know about Lavr's true nature, Severus didn't even consider.
The prisoner hadn't lied about his brother. There really was one—deputy head of the Diamond division. But he was unlikely to drop everything and fly to save him, because they weren't on good terms. Though Lavr was still highly valued in the Gold division. It was because of him that four wolves had died, and the fifth had torn off his arm at the cost of its own life. So his skills were more than decent.
Severus didn't linger in the basement. Returning to the living room, he glanced at the kitten contentedly licking his paw, near which lay three empty plates. He collapsed onto the sofa.
Not a minute of peace, damn it. I didn't want to get dragged into this war, and now I don't even have a choice. I doubt they would've left me alone. Apparently, I'll have to deal with them once and for all. From Lavr's memories, he learned that Vitold had recently started taking an active interest in the Blacks and others he'd been in contact with. You didn't need to be a genius to understand what he intended to do if the negotiations went badly. He took out some parchment, a quill, and ink. Using magic, he quickly sketched out a letter offering to ransom this idiot and also agreeing to negotiate.
After all, Alegria was just a simple subordinate. Even if Severus killed him, it wouldn't solve the problem—only make it worse. Before getting rid of this organization, he first had to find out who the real leader was. Only then could he take such radical steps. Still, he wouldn't be opposed to resolving everything peacefully. They had suffered the most anyway. Besides losing five wolves, he himself hadn't suffered any other losses. They, on the other hand, had paid in full.
Of course, he wasn't a fool. He understood why they had started all this, and that a peaceful resolution of the conflict couldn't be achieved if he didn't hand over the recipes. So he'd have to resort to the most basic approach for dealing with such individuals: force.
After a few seconds, an owl he had obtained before the start of the school year flew through the window and landed on the armrest.
"You called, Master?" A pleasant female voice came from the bird. The kitten looked at her with surprise. He had seen owls in the forest many times but had never seen one that could talk.
"Send this letter to this address." Severus folded the parchment and wrote the address from Lavr's memory on it.
"Yes." She nodded. Then, turning to the window, she called out, "Dean!" In the next instant, another owl with a special attachment on its leg for carrying letters flew into the room.
She took the parchment from his foot, placed it with the others, and patted him on the back. He flew away. Severus, watching this, felt his eye twitch twice.
"I thought you'd fly yourself."
"Why would I, when there are subordinates who need nothing more than food and shelter?" The owl regarded him with genuine amazement. "Besides, I can continue resting and reading books." A second twitch followed the first. He couldn't argue with that logic. He himself intended to use the same reasoning once those from the dungeons surrendered.
Just a week ago she had eaten those fruits, and already such progress.
"Fine. Do what you want. But make sure letters are delivered on time. If anything goes wrong, I'll hold you responsible."
"Yes, Master." The owl nodded confidently. Then she asked with a hint of embarrassment, "And may I visit your library? I've run out of books."
"Hmm? I see nothing wrong with that. I'll tell Gorby to let you through," Severus said with a slight smile. He had nothing against it if another smart person appeared in the house. You couldn't force Nagini to read anything even under threat of death.
"Thank you, Master!" The owl flew joyfully to him and began rubbing her head against his cheek.
"All right, all right. Enough. I understand you're happy. I still have many things to do."
"Yes, Master. Good night," the owl said, excitement ringing in her voice. Then she quickly flew from the room, fearing he might change his mind.
As the bird flew off with a mocking glance, Severus shifted his gaze to the clock. He swiped his palm through the air, and a transparent screen materialized before his eyes. Beyond a sound like strong gusts of wind, nothing was visible.
Well, let's see if I notice anything interesting.
"Meow?" Jumping from the table to the sofa, the kitten stared at the black screen in bewilderment, tilting his head to the side.
"Soon we'll watch a very interesting film," Severus said, yawning widely, his voice slightly sleepy. He reached for the little one almost imperceptibly. The kitten sharply turned his gaze to him and squinted with displeasure. An embarrassed smile appeared on Severus's face. "Well, just a little."
"Meow!" The kitten shook his head.
"And what about fish?"
"Meow!" Not yielding to temptation, the little one met his gaze with determination, completely ignoring Severus's momentary hesitation.
"Two, from the best chef in the country."
"Meow!"
"So, no? What about three?" It was fascinating to watch this inner battle play out on the little beast's face. He kept looking away, wiping the drool threatening to spill, and shifting his weight from paw to paw. Quite amusing. Severus found himself wondering what would win out: pride or appetite.
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Chapters on Patreon progress: Currently at;
1. Harry Potter: Satan? Nah, Just My Family Crest = CHAPTER 260
2.Marvel: Cosmic Forger of Infinity = CHAPTER 182
3.Harry Potter: Beyond Good and Evil in the Wizarding World = CHAPTER 261
4.Harry Potter: Reborn as Draco Black = CHAPTER 109
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