This time, Snape finally could not stop a flicker of astonishment from showing. Fortunately, Voldemort seemed immersed in his own thoughts and did not notice.
He lowered his head slightly and said, "My Lord, if I remain at Hogwarts, I may not be able to attend to matters at the Joint Operations Office."
The reason they had decided to leak the Office's action plans to the Death Eaters was to make sure those Death Eaters would not simply hide away.
Only once the Death Eaters started moving could Tver and the others follow the threads and work out Voldemort's ultimate plan.
But if the Death Eaters remained such a scattered mess, then they could only passively wait to deal with whatever long-planned, unknown scheme Voldemort had prepared.
"And…" Snape thought for a moment.
"Dumbledore seems to have found a Potions professor to replace me…"
"Then do both," Voldemort said lightly.
"Hasn't Hogwarts had two Defence Against the Dark Arts professors for years now? Having one more Potions professor is perfectly normal."
His tone was relaxed, as if he were talking about having a second pie at dinner.
But the problem was that one position was outside the school, while the other was inside it.
How was Snape supposed to openly build ties with the Death Eaters and draw out Voldemort's plans, while also handling Potions classes at school?
It was not as if he could be like Tver Fawley, spending all day thinking about how to slack off while still being able to Apparate at Hogwarts.
Wait…
Snape paused, as if he had actually found a solution.
Seeing Snape fall into thought, however, Voldemort also seemed to realize that his demand was somewhat unreasonable, even irrational.
"If those fools die, then they die. It would be best if you could help, but I won't blame you if you cannot. Hogwarts is where your attention should be."
Snape bit the tip of his tongue to keep his will clear and his mind sharper.
"Because of Dumbledore?" he asked, sounding casual while carefully probing.
Voldemort did not notice his thoughts, but merely shook his head noncommittally.
"That is not something you need concern yourself with. You only need to stay at the school and watch every movement there."
"If that Tver Fawley returns to the school, all the better."
For some reason, Snape heard a trace of gritted hatred in Voldemort's voice.
"But if he does not, you need not worry about it."
"But what exactly am I supposed to observe at Hogwarts? I can hardly report every single thing that happens at the school to you, can I?" Snape asked in confusion. The old Voldemort would never have given such a vague assignment.
"That is exactly what I want. I want you to pay attention to everything happening at the school." A faint smile curved Voldemort's lips.
"Of course, Harry Potter and Dumbledore are the most important. But the other professors, as well as any students with notable results, must also be recorded."
"I may ask you for this information at any time, so do not tell me you have nothing when the time comes…"
He said the final words with a wide grin, but his eyes were filled with murderous coldness.
"I understand, my Lord." A muscle twitched in Snape's cheek. Fortunately, his bowed head concealed the brief fluctuation in his expression.
"Good. You have always been the most useful among them. I hope you will not disappoint me."
Voldemort withdrew his gaze, but Bellatrix, beside him, could not bear to hear such words.
"My Lord, then what are we to do? Since Snape can deal with that damned hunting plan, we can help you as well, can't we?" Bellatrix asked eagerly.
Part of it was because she had truly been stifled for too long, and part of it seemed to be that she feared Snape was stealing her place in front of Voldemort.
The other Death Eaters present did not think that way.
They were indeed suffering from being cooped up, so when they heard that Snape could leak the hunting plan's actions to them, they were overjoyed.
But the Dark Lord clearly wanted Snape to focus on Hogwarts. Naturally, his attention to the hunting plan would decrease.
What if they went out on some mission, and Snape happened to overlook one of those Aurors now being spoken of as if they were divine, leading to their arrest?
They had finally escaped Azkaban. They had no desire to end up miserably locked in a new prison.
"There is no need to be so impatient, Bella."
Voldemort was clearly more patient with Bellatrix than with the others. Of course, the mocking smile at the corner of his mouth also told everyone that he had seen through their thoughts. This was his way of reassuring them.
"Now is not the time to act. You are not the pile of useless trash outside, to be thrown away for nothing."
That much was true. The subordinates Voldemort could rely on now were the people in this room.
As for the Vampires, Werewolves, and Dementors causing trouble outside, he had never truly looked at those creatures squarely from beginning to end.
"Just a little longer," he murmured to himself. "Wait patiently a little longer, and our plan will truly succeed…"
"My Lord?"
Voldemort's voice was too quiet. Even Bellatrix and Snape, sitting closest to him, had not heard clearly and could not help asking.
"Nothing." Voldemort composed his expression and returned to his usual coldness, slowly sweeping his gaze over the varied faces before him.
"I still have matters to handle. Remember, do not provoke anything you cannot bear."
Those words were both a warning not to think of betraying him simply because he was currently weakened and his attention was elsewhere, and a reminder that the hunting plan under Tver's command was not something they could afford to provoke.
With that, Voldemort stood without hesitation and vanished from the room without looking back.
"What a joke. We finally managed to escape, and now we can only hide here again…"
The moment Voldemort left, a Death Eater muttered a complaint under his breath. He had not expected it to immediately resonate with the others.
There was no question of these people's loyalty to Voldemort, but his recent movements had been unclear, and his constant suppression of them had inevitably bred resentment.
They had risked their lives to follow the Dark Lord because they wanted him to lead them into great deeds, not to skulk around in hiding.
"Severus clearly has a way to deal with the hunting plan now. We could even ambush those Aurors. Why is the Dark Lord so focused on one tiny school?"
"There's no shame in being unable to defeat Dumbledore. It's understandable that the Dark Lord might be at a temporary disadvantage. But we can target other people!"
"In my view, the Dark Lord sees us as fools who can be sacrificed too. Otherwise, he wouldn't restrict Severus like this… Of course, I'm not complaining about you, Severus. I'm grateful you found a way into the Joint Operations Office!"
The last Death Eater to speak looked at Snape with considerable gratitude, and the other Death Eaters nodded in agreement.
After all, compared with the Dark Lord, who ignored their lives completely, Snape seemed to be considering them far more.
But Bellatrix was not pleased.
Complaining about the Dark Lord, and now even elevating Snape. Wasn't this clearly undermining the Dark Lord's authority?
"Rookwood, I will not allow you to speak of the Dark Lord this way!" She suddenly raised her wand. "Cruc…"
But before the spell could be cast, a sharp black light forced her to dodge at once.
"Bella," Snape said calmly, putting away his wand, "we are all the Dark Lord's followers. Everyone is merely discussing how to deal with the current situation."
"You…!"
Bellatrix angrily flicked the wand in her hand, but it only spat out a few furious sparks.
It was already difficult for her to deal with Snape alone, let alone the other Death Eaters who clearly disliked her.
Snape, however, paid no attention to her. Instead, he looked with interest at the complicated expressions on their faces.
It seemed Tver's hunting plan had already begun to show its power.