Confrontation

The Death Eater nearby unconsciously slowed their pace, following behind the two, watching them cautiously from behind their bone masks, as if they couldn't believe their eyes.

Voldemort waited there silently, watching Snape, who stood a few steps away, with great interest.

Barty Jr. Crouch., unable to contain his excitement, almost wept as he knelt down. He kissed the hem of Voldemort's black robes and whispered:

"Master... Master..."

He stood up, stepped back behind Voldemort, and stood beside Bellatrix, his eyes filled with envy as he looked at her new arms, which resembled those forged from silver.

Snape glanced at Harry, who was bound by the angelic stone sculpture with a long-handled scythe, and stood there motionless, seemingly out of place with the Death Eater around him. One by one, they crawled to Voldemort's side, kissed his robes, and then stood up and stepped aside, silently forming a circle around Tom Riddle's grave, Harry, Voldemort, and Snape.

There were still a few empty seats in the circle, seemingly waiting for others to join.

Voldemort's gaze fell on Snape, and he could see that those scarlet snake eyes were very interested in him, but he did not ask any questions immediately. Instead, he turned his head and looked around at the faces wearing hoods.

To be fair, the headmaster's arrangement was quite clear when Snape and Barty Jr. Crouch Jr. appeared together.

But whether the unpredictable Voldemort would believe it was uncertain. Looking at the tense situation before Loren, he felt a little nervous for his professor. He could rescue Cedric from Bellatrix, but he wasn't so sure he could rescue Snape from Voldemort.

The silent hillside Wild Graveyard was windless, yet a faint rustling sound swept through the crowd, as if everyone whose gaze swept over them shivered.

"Welcome, Death Eater."

Voldemort was as calm as a frozen lake in the depths of winter, but everyone knew that beneath the ice lay a turbulent undercurrent that had been suppressed for over a decade. "Thirteen years. It's been thirteen years since our last gathering. It feels like just yesterday. You answered my call as before... which means we are still united under the Dark Mark! Is that so?"

He raised his ferocious face, opened his slit-like nostrils and sniffed. "I smell guilt, the air here is filled with the stench of guilt..."

Loren saw the circle of Death Eater tremble in unison, as if everyone wanted to retreat but dared not move.

He couldn't smell the scent of guilt from a distance, but the fear was clearly visible to the naked eye.

"Thirteen years have passed, and now I see you standing before me again, healthy and unharmed, your Magic Power as powerful as ever... I must admit, I am disappointed. None of you ever tried to find me!"

He walked past Snape without looking to either side, then stood next to one of the members of the circle, crushing his mask with his right hand. "Avery!"

The chosen Death Eater instantly collapsed to the ground, trembling from head to toe as he knelt at Voldemort's feet. He screamed, "Master! Master, forgive me! Forgive us!"

His response was a chilling curse, "[Bone-Crushing Cruciatus Curse]"

"Ah! Ah..."

The Death Eater writhed in agony on the ground, but Voldemort ignored his cries and screams, continuing to walk to the right as if he hadn't heard a thing. He stopped in front of a slightly trembling figure and whispered, "Not even you... Lucius!"

The mask shattered with a crack, Lucius Malfoy immediately knelt down. "My master, as soon as I detect your signal or any news about you, I will immediately—"

"There were signals, my cunning friend, and it's not just a rumor, yet you never acted," Voldemort coldly interrupted. "I've heard you haven't abandoned your past ways, and despite the virtuous facade you put on for the world, I believe you're still willing to lead the torment of Muggle ..."

"I am willing to serve you forever..." Lucius said devoutly, bowing his head.

"But you never went looking for me, I know. You thought I was finished, you thought I wouldn't rise again, you thought I couldn't defeat that vile leader of the filthy, the protector of Mudblood and Muggle, Albus Dumbledore." Voldemort spoke slowly and deliberately, but his words sent chills down one's spine. "Some have even slipped back into the midst of my enemies and pledged allegiance to him."

Upon hearing this, the Death Eater around him instinctively looked at Snape, who stood alone in the middle. Some gloated, while others looked on with pity.

Lucius lowered his head even further, almost touching Voldemort's shoes.

Voldemort said lazily, "Lucius, you have disappointed me... I hope you will serve me more loyally from now on."

"Of course, Master, of course... You are so kind, thank you..."

"Crabbe!"

The Death Eater Crabbe was a tall man whose cloak and hood bulged out of place. He awkwardly knelt down, prostrated himself on the ground, and gently kissed Voldemort's robes. "Master, forgive me, Crabbe has always remained loyal, you know, you know..."

"Indeed, you have provided me with some useful assistance, but not out of loyalty..." Voldemort looked down at his trembling fat, "Your son is more capable than you, and will be more loyal."

"It is my honor, Master..."

Crabbe muttered stupidly, his fat cheeks brushing against the wild grass on the ground, the leaves glistening with moisture, indistinguishable whether it was summer night dew, cold sweat, or some other liquid.

He walked to the side and crushed one Death Eater mask after another.

"Nott!"

"Master, I prostrate myself before you, I am your most loyal servant..."

"Oh, and you too, Goyle... You'll do better this time, won't you?"

"Yes, Master."

"McNair, I heard you're exterminating dangerous beasts for the Ministry of Magic? Soon there will be something even better for you to exterminate, McNair, Voldemort will provide..."

"Thank you, Master... thank you."

"Get up, all of you stand up..." Voldemort strolled past the Death Eater, his gaze no longer lingering on them.

"Despite your disappointment, there are still some who have never wavered! Bellatrix, Barty Jr. ..." He approached the two men with an approving smile, "You would rather be sent to Azkaban than betray me, and you would risk your lives to help me gain a physical body... I promise you, when we are strong again, you will receive a reward you never dreamed of."

"I am willing to give everything for my master..." Bellatrix said, looking down at the novice who looked like he was wearing silver gloves.

Voldemort stretched out his pale hand and stroked Barty Jr. Crouch.'s hair, a diamond-like brilliance emanating from his palm, and said in a voice only Harry and Bellatrix could hear:

"I know, I know, we are very similar. We both had extremely disappointing fathers, we both shamefully inherited our fathers' names, and we both happily killed our fathers..."

Barty Jr. Crouch Jr.'s wounds healed rapidly, leaving only dried blood in just a few seconds. He had unconsciously knelt down, looking up at Voldemort with a mad and strange light in his eyes.

"And what about you, Severus?"

Voldemort turned around and scrutinized him with his empty, scarlet snake eyes, his cold gaze seeming to pierce into Snape's brain.

Snape lowered his eyelids, bent his right leg and knelt down, his tone still calm. "I pledge my allegiance to you."

Voldemort looked down at him, remaining silent for a long time. He then turned to the two men with a smile, "Do you still think he's trustworthy?"

Loren's heart pounded; the crucial confrontation was about to begin.

Barty Jr. Crouch. licked his lips and slowly began to recount what had happened not long ago.

Their limbs were stiff and aching from being petrified by the Binding Charm, and their eyes were completely dark with a cloth covering them. After the door opened, there was a moment of silence, followed only by the rustling sound of rummaging...

The Lockhart on the hidden box clicked seven times, followed by two old men exchanging seemingly casual pleasantries...

Moody's methods of torture are truly ingenious, but physical pain can't compare to the torture inflicted by the Dementor in Azkaban... He probably ran out of tricks and resorted to using that old guy to deceive himself.

Even if they never Veritaserum, Dumbledore was senile, and the other Hogwarts professors were incredibly pedantic and stupid. Had Snape also caught it and forgotten how to brew the Veritaserum?

"..."

The door slammed shut, and the pitch-black space fell into complete silence.

The Binding Charm was on him again, leaving him with a few minor wounds. His wrists and ankles were fastened with Moody's specially made chains. Barty Crouch Barty Jr.. sat in his familiar chair, feeling relatively at ease.

A familiar space always makes people feel more relaxed; after all, he had been using this office for a year.

It's unclear how his identity was exposed; perhaps it was detected by the Castle's defensive magic, since he was spotted by the Enchanted Ceiling the first time he entered the Great Hall.

What a bunch of idiots! He destroyed the dome in front of everyone, and no one noticed anything was wrong. They all thought the dome was simulating bad weather.

What good would it do to catch him now? Would the game continue?

Will you witness the great Dark Lord's victory...?

"Laugh!"

It's a bit of a shame that we probably won't be able to witness Voldemort's return...

Barty Jr. Crouch. sat quietly in his chair, his mind wandering in a jumble of thoughts, when he suddenly heard the door open again.

"Squeak..."

"... Severus escaped with me, and when we felt the call of the Dark Mark, we came here together."

Barty Jr. Crouch Jr. finished his account impartially without offering any opinion, as if he wanted Voldemort to judge it.

"Don't trust him!" Bellatrix shouted.

"Oh." Voldemort seemed quite intrigued. "Why?"

"There are a hundred reasons!" Bellatrix's silver prosthetic hand clenched into a fist. "From the very beginning, where were you when the Dark Lord lost power? After he disappeared, why didn't you make any effort to find him?"

Snape laughed, "Of course I can answer, Bellatrix, I can answer all your questions! But before I answer you, I must say something! For the past ten years or so, many people here have talked about me behind my back, thinking that I betrayed the Dark Lord and sided with that senile old Dumbledore!"

Snape took a breath and said calmly and frankly, "But I must ask you, have I ever betrayed anyone? Have I used your names or your actions to earn rewards from the Ministry of Magic and Dumbledore?"

Bellatrix hesitated for a moment, Death Eater began to stir; some were still trembling with unease, while others were muttering something under their breath.

Snape didn't dwell on it, but instead answered Bellatrix's question seriously, "That heavy night, I was at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and I pretended to be looking for a teaching position so that I could better keep an eye on Albus Dumbledore."

Voldemort nodded slightly, signaling him to continue.

"You still ask why I didn't try to find him after the great Dark Lord disappeared..." Snape lowered his head in shame. "I must apologize to you, Master... The reason I didn't try to find him is the same as Avery, Yaxley, the Carrow siblings, Greyback, Lucius: I thought you had failed."

Lucius and Avery, the only two people present, caught their breath. Their hearts, which had just calmed down, were in suspense again. They stared intently at the person who had dragged them into this mess once more. If looks could be magic, they would have loved to use Shattering Curse to blow him into hundreds of pieces!

The atmosphere, which had eased, stiffened again, and Loren immediately became wary.

"Please forgive me..."

Voldemort merely raised an eyebrow and said softly, "Get up, Severus, stand up... You beg for my forgiveness? I will not forgive you. I will not forget the long thirteen years. I will make you, and all of you, pay back the debt of those thirteen years before I will forgive you."

"I pledge my allegiance to you," Snape said again.

"Is this your loyalty?" Bellatrix shrieked, looking almost insane in her rage. "While I was suffering at the hands of the Dementor in Azkaban, you were hiding in Hogwarts, comfortably playing the role of Dumbledore's favorite!"

She stopped, her chest heaving, her cheeks flushed red. "All these years, what have you been doing, eking out a living under Dumbledore's thumb? Why have you stayed there all this time? Are you suggesting you were secretly spying on Dumbledore? Why did you stop the Dark Lord from getting the Sorcerer's Stone three years ago?"

"There are many reasons to stay there..." Snape paused for a moment, "A comfortable teaching job, and incidentally, to observe what Dumbledore was doing and investigate what exactly happened that night. My master understands my thoughts..."

Voldemort narrowed his eyes slightly, remembering the woman he had once begged to spare his life, and did not interrupt him.

"Three years ago, all I saw was the greedy and incompetent Quirrell trying to steal the Sorcerer's Stone. I admit I did my part in stopping him, but I must say, if I had known your scheme, you would have been resurrected three years earlier..."