(Voldemort)
Just like Lucius, the news of Dumbledore's announcement had thrown the entire Wizarding Britain into a whirlwind of chaos. Dumbledore announcing that he would actively try and kill the Death Eaters was news of that magnitude. It was a completely unprecedented and unexpected thing.
In an extremely isolated and well hidden house, a man was sitting on a wooden chair. Voldemort.
He too was holding a newspaper in his hands, clenching it tightly. It was only because of his extreme Occlumency that Voldemort had not shredded apart the newspaper into pieces.
Voldemort was livid. Angry. A bit tense. And a bit frightened.
The death of the Death Eaters who had been sent to kill Edmund Bones had thrown his plans into the backseat. It was the first defeat, the first setback Voldemort had suffered since he had begun implementing his grand plan to take over the Wizarding Britain and that single failure was enough to throw many of his plans into disarray. Especially if it was such a significant plan of the attack on the Bones Manor.
That attack should have been his moment of glory. The Lord of a House as influential as Bones being killed in his own manor would have unleashed an unimaginable wave of terror across Wizarding Britain. His reputation would have soared and it would have accomplished a great thing for the dark lord. There were a lot of people and families who were sitting on the fence and were not able to make up their mind to join his side. They had been concerned and a bit doubtful of his powers. But a successful attack on the Bones manor would have cleared all these doubts. All those families and people sitting on the fence would have joined his side and they would have only been subservient out of fear and would not have demanded anything.
But the attack had failed and so had his plans.
The news that followed, the way Edmund Bones had been speaking to the press, the tone of the articles being published in the newspapers, it all made it look as if the entire Wizarding Britain was ready to rise against him. That he was losing his reputation and his terror.
Everything that was happening was exactly the opposite of what he had planned. His terror should have increased, but it was being challenged. The invincibility of the Death Eaters, his glorified servants, should have been established but that too was being challenged. It was being shown that they were nothing more than ordinary wizards, and just as easily killable as any other witch or wizard.
But that setback had made Voldemort realise a few things. He understood that his initial success had made him complacent, and that he had placed all his eggs in a single basket.
The attack on the Bones Manor had been planned out in that very complacency. He had simply delegated the task to Reinhart Lestrange and paid no attention to the details. He had underestimated Edmund Bones. He should have understood that attacking Bones in his own manor, his own den would not be so easy. That perhaps eight Death Eaters would not be enough. He had failed to consider that possibility.
He had taken it for granted that, just like everyone else, Edmund Bones would be terrified by the mere presence of the Death Eaters. But that man had fought and come out on top. Voldemort had grown complacent, and he had not even entertained the thought that his plan could fail.
And since he had been complacent, this single failure had shaken him. He had not planned for defeat. But that was fine. He had been given a reality check, a warning before his plans and his movement reached their critical point.
But that situation needed to be salvaged. His reputation and the terror that had been going downhill needed to be stopped. And thus, Voldemort came up with a two pronged plan.
The first, and the major one, was a long term plan. One that he himself would oversee and execute. As said, it was a long term plan, and he needed suitable time to make his move.
The second was a short term plan, immediate actions to stop the downward spiral of his reputation. And that was why he had called for that gathering at Malfoy Manor.
He had announced and granted freedom to his servants to go wild. He knew that while many of his Death Eaters would hardly do anything, there was no shortage of those insane enough to commit some truly deranged acts. Voldemort did not care what they did. His only concern was that they do something that would once again plunge Wizarding Britain into terror. That the fear of his name would be reestablished.
And thus, he had issued that command.
And it seemed that a few of his Death Eaters had taken that command to heart. They had attacked a place even Voldemort himself would never have dared to strike. A place directly under Albus Dumbledore's protection.
True, it had achieved the result Voldemort desired. The entire Wizarding Britain had been terrorised and to a very, very great degree. Probably, only attacking the Ministry of Magic or Hogwarts itself could have achieved a similar or greater impact.
But Voldemort was livid. The moment he learned about the attack, his rage had been uncontrollable.
The Death Eaters did not truly know Dumbledore. They only knew what the old man showed in public, the calm, forgiving, almost naïve figure. But Voldemort knew better. It had been a strike on Dumbledore's reputation and he knew that there would be a response from Dumbledore.
He had held a lingering hope that perhaps Dumbledore would continue his inaction that he would keep trying to reason, forgive, or persuade. That even if he reacted, it would not be out of the top.
But that hope had come crashing down. Contrary to his usual nature, Dumbledore had declared war. An unprecedented move.
And if he was serious, it was going to be very difficult for Voldemort. Dumbledore was not a man Voldemort would dare face in a duel.
But Voldemort could not show his feelings to the death eaters. He could not show weakness. He was the most powerful wizard on earth and he could not show his nervousness about Albus Dumbledore.
He needed to appreciate and applaud his death eaters. But he also needed to prepare for Dumbledore.
Voldemort took a deep breath as he calmed his nerves and prepared himself for the upcoming gathering of the death eaters.
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