"So, you just stood there and watched them slip away right under your nose?"
In Hogwarts' Headmaster's office, Yaxley stared expressionlessly at Snape, seemingly deeply dissatisfied that his old friend had wasted such a good opportunity.
"Maybe you shouldn't have set up that damned trap at all. You should've just handed them over to me."
"They did their best. Even if the Ministry of Magic had handled it, the outcome would probably have been the same, if not worse." Snape remained calm, as though none of this had anything to do with him.
"You..."
McNeil's face twitched with anger, but he had no way to pursue the matter further. Other than making their relationship even more strained, there was no point.
They ought to stand united.
"It wasn't entirely fruitless."
Alecto pulled a notebook from her pocket and slapped it onto the table with a bang.
"We used Veritaserum to pry open those little brats' mouths and got quite a lot of useful information. We even found out how to enter the Room of Requirement."
"Then why aren't you going there now and rounding up the rest of those little rats?" McNeil could not understand why they were still sitting here chatting.
Snape glanced at the others present, his meaning perfectly clear.
That had been his original plan, but Yaxley and McNeil's arrival had not only delayed him, but also disrupted his plans.
The two were somewhat embarrassed, because that did seem to be exactly what had happened.
When they arrived, Snape had indeed seemed about to do something.
"The Dementors and the others probably haven't withdrawn yet. I'll call them back." McNeil turned and fled at once.
"Once we drag out those annoying rats, no one at Hogwarts will dare defy us again."
Alecto seemed to be in a