At Malfoy Manor, Lucius came out of a small building in a corner of the grounds and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
Under the circumstances, suspicion had naturally fallen on Will and Snape.
That was the last thing Lucius wanted. He was far too close to both of them; under the Dark Lord, the three of them were allies.
The news left Lucius both relieved and worried. The relief was that suspicion of Severus was slight:
For one thing, Severus had joined the Death Eaters of his own accord before the First Wizarding War and risen through the ranks with blood on his hands.
For another, Severus had known nothing about many of the failed operations. How could he have leaked information about them?
What worried Lucius was Will...
Will couldn't be a spy! If he was, the Dark Lord might decide that Lucius or Draco had leaked the information, given how close they were to him.
What would happen to them then?
Wiping away cold sweat, Lucius trudged toward another part of the manor. All the way to the Hidden Chamber, his legs felt as though they were filled with lead.
Lucius had no idea how long it took him to reach the door. The pressure was crushing. He raised his hand, then lowered it, unable to decide whether to knock.
"Lucius, come in. Don't just stand there." Voldemort's voice sounded beside his ear.
Lucius gritted his teeth, pushed the door open, and immediately dropped to his knees. "My great Master."
"You're nervous, Lucius." Voldemort's voice was quiet but clear.
Voldemort had shown no anger, yet more cold sweat broke out on Lucius's forehead. "Master, our Fake Operation... it has produced results."
"Go on."
"The entire Fake Operation proceeded without incident. None of the bait was taken..."