Betrayal Among the Death Eaters

"At first, we thought it was Dolfin who was after the House of Lestrange's wealth, after all, we all know the Werewolf have a close relationship with him," Yaxley explained, "but Dolfin vehemently denied it—"

"We didn't believe it at first either, but after some investigation, we discovered that an unknown third-party force had infiltrated the Werewolf. Because right after the fall of the House of Rowle, the Werewolf in Knockturn Alley quickly split apart. Some followed Fenrir and joined the House of Selwyn," he paused, glancing at one of the masked Death Eaters present. After the man nodded, he continued, "The other group broke away from Fenrir's command and left Knockturn Alley to start their own."

"Ah—" Voldemort narrowed his eyes slightly, his shrewdness quickly grasping the key point in Yaxley's information, "Where did those Werewolf who left Knockturn Alley go afterward?"

"After losing Fenrir's authority and discipline, most of them scattered and caused chaos throughout Britain, and most were killed on the spot by the Auror who came to enforce the law," Yaxley lowered his head slightly, his voice growing even deeper, "The strangest thing is that a small group—mostly those who initially clamored to establish their own independent group, those who could be considered the driving force behind the Werewolf split—were not killed by the Auror, but mysteriously disappeared without a trace, their whereabouts unknown ever since..."

Voldemort snorted coldly. He understood what Yaxley meant—the so-called Werewolf attack on Lestrange, the subsequent arrest of Dolfin Rowle, the destruction of the House of Rowle, and the subsequent split of the Werewolf group—it was all premeditated, as if a mastermind was manipulating everything behind the scenes.

"It was only then that we realized we'd been tricked—" Yaxley's voice trembled, clearly terrified of Voldemort's punishment, but also filled with rage. "From the very beginning, the Werewolf attack on Lestrange was a ploy to sow discord among us, to make us misunderstand Dolfin, and to create animosity between us and the House of Rowle..."

"Just when we were all focused on the House of Rowle," Yaxley said through gritted teeth, "the Werewolf were infiltrated Silencio, and the events at Knockturn Alley and Black Sin Square were exposed at the same time. Before we could even react, the House of Rowle had already been wiped out..."

"As if you didn't give them a push behind the scenes..." Voldemort clicked his tongue in disdain and said coldly, "After Dolfin was arrested, the House of Rowle was wiped out. Didn't you guys get a share of the blame?"

At that moment, the Death Eaters who had just locked eyes with Yaxley stepped forward.

Look at his figure. Although Yaxley is short, he can draw everyone's attention when he stands next to Yaxley. His presence makes Yaxley seem stronger.

"Master, both Corban and I can swear the most vicious magical oath that the destruction of the House of Rowle has absolutely nothing to do with us," said the masked Death Eaters.

"Me too! Master! Me too! I swear, it really has nothing to do with me!" Avery, kneeling on the ground, suddenly shouted loudly, as if afraid that others would not notice his presence.

"Quiet, Avery. How have you been all these years? Have you ever thought that your master is still waiting for his servant's help in the dark, sunless jungle..." Voldemort sneered, raising his wand. "Cruciatus Curse!"

"Aaaaaah--" Avery writhed and screamed in agony on the ground. The Death Eaters circle shuddered; everyone seemed to want to back away, but dared not move.

Harry, bound to the tombstone, instantly turned pale, cold sweat soaking his wizard robes. This Harry in this world didn't have the same courage as his counterpart in the original story. Although he had faced Voldemort in his first year, he hadn't experienced the feat of personally killing the Basilisk under the encouragement of the Phoenix and the Sorting Hat, nor had he awakened his Patronus Heart to protect Sirius Black and cast a powerful Patronus Charm to repel the Dementor.

At this moment, he--

I was terrified.

His teeth chattered uncontrollably. His whole body trembled violently; he struggled to stay conscious, desperately trying to keep himself from fainting. He prayed incessantly, hoping the sound would reach the surrounding houses... Call the police, he thought desperately... Whoever it is... whatever...

"Selwyn," Voldemort said coldly, "Continue with your explanation... If it doesn't satisfy me, you should know the consequences..."

Voldemort dared to deliver a Cruciatus Curse to Avery, the patriarch of a mid-ranking family, but he wouldn't dare treat Selwyn and Yaxley in the same way.

Although he was arrogant and cruel, he wasn't really mentally unstable. He knew perfectly well how important the loyalty of these Death Eaters was to him at this moment.

Everyone knows that the Death Eaters are ranked in his mind, which can be seen from their positions. The closer they are to the inner circle, the more they are valued by him and the higher their status within the Death Eaters. Lucius Malfoy, Selwyn, and Corban Yaxley, with their powerful family backgrounds and influence, are clearly among his most valuable and valued subordinates.

(Note: In the seventh book of the original novel, Voldemort's arrangement of the Death Eaters' seats was significant. The fact that Snape was able to sit next to him at that time indicated that Snape's status was second only to Voldemort, and even above the loyal Bellatrix.)

Without the support of these Pure-blood families, he, a lone commander, could accomplish nothing and at best could only become a terrifying serial killer.

The fact that the House of Malfoy's attitude is unclear, and even Lucius didn't show up tonight, says a lot. Having lost the support of the most powerful House of Malfoy, the support of the House of Selwyn and House of Yaxley, whose power is close behind, has become increasingly important.

Now, if he can win their support and once his forces have expanded and been fully established, enabling the Death Eaters to make a comeback, he has plenty of ways to control these two families.

The reason he chose to publicly torture Avery as punishment was actually one of his methods of controlling his subordinates. His purpose was to make an example of him to deter the other Death Eaters and give everyone a warning. (Chapter Summary)

Selwyn lowered his head slightly and whispered, "My esteemed master, how could we dare to deceive you in the face of your wise and discerning eyes?"

"To be honest, after the House of Rowle fell, Yaxley and I did have designs on House of Rowle assets..." Selwyn visibly shuddered upon hearing Voldemort's cold snort, then continued, "However, when the two of us, along with Avery, arrived at the Rowle home, we witnessed something completely unexpected..."

Voldemort stared intently at Selwyn, the red light in his pupils flashing ever more sinister and sharp, like a demon from hell. Even though the wizards didn't believe in the existence of demons, it was enough to terrify them.

"We discovered..." Selwyn said calmly, "That the House of Rowle's treasure, deeds, books... have already been divided up by... the House of Malfoy... the Nott Family... Greengrass Family..."

"Malfoy! Nott!" Voldemort knew exactly what was going on. Just by looking at who the biggest beneficiary of this turmoil was, it was clear who the mastermind was.

Voldemort's voice was chillingly cold. "So it seems..." The red light in his pupils had faded, but the astonishing aura he exuded allowed everyone present to truly feel the rage within him. He said coldly, "Our old friends, Lucius, Nott... they have dared to betray me..."