Snape, the Sunshine of Hogwarts.

Chapter 232 Prison Break
Severus's praise made old Nott even more excited.

He rubbed his hands together and looked at Severus, asking in a low voice.

"This is all for Master. When will I have the chance to see Master? Master's condition doesn't seem very good. Perhaps I can help. The Nott family has many precious herbs and medicines that might be of some use."

Severus simply put the gold cup back into his briefcase. He sat in his high-backed chair, one arm resting on the briefcase, his eyes fixed on old Nott, a playful smile on his face, but he didn't say a word.

Old Nott felt a chill run down his spine as he was stared at like that.

Severus is not the same person he was before. After that night, anyone could see that his status among the Death Eaters would be very different from before.

At the very least, they'd be on par with Bella and the like, and it's not impossible for them to be second only to one of them.

Just as old Nott's gaze was shifting and his awkward smile was becoming increasingly difficult to maintain, Severus finally spoke lightly.

"Don't pry into the master's health condition. As for whether you will have the chance to see the master, that depends on the master's wishes."

Severus gazed at old Nott with a deep, wistful look.

"Moreover, the credit for the Golden Cup actually goes to Lucius, we all understand that, right? He had already made all the preparations, but he only let you take the credit because he still had to complete the Unicorn mission for his master."

“If I can figure this out, do you think the master can’t?” Severus said softly. “So, what you consider a great achievement in finding this golden cup is nothing in the master’s eyes.”

Old Nott's expression was uncertain; he didn't quite understand why Severus was saying these things, as they sounded like a mockery.

But Severus's next words stunned him.

"But I happen to have something to do right now, something the master assigned to me. I can ask you to help prepare for it. Once it's done, it will become a real achievement for you, an achievement that the master will remember!"

After a few seconds of stunned silence, Old Nott regained his senses, but instead of showing any excitement, he remained silent, looking Severus up and down with suspicion.

"Why did you drag me into this task that your master entrusted to you privately?"

Severus tapped his fingers on the suitcase.

“You should understand that many people in our team actually look down on me. Even Lucius, who is closest to me, actually puts himself on a very high pedestal when he is with me.”

Old Nott neither admitted nor denied this; he simply leaned back slightly, looking at Severus with a hint of disdain in his eyes.

These pureblood Death Eaters certainly looked down on a half-blood wizard like Severus.

Eight years ago, before Voldemort lost his power, Severus was not even a big name among the well-known servants of the Dark Lord throughout Britain.

Although Voldemort himself thought highly of him, and he and Lucius shared a Slytherin bond as senior and junior classmates, he could never integrate into the core circle of Death Eaters because of his bloodline.

Those pure-blooded Death Eaters naturally looked down on Severus.

Even now, with Severus having become Voldemort's right-hand man and trusted confidant, this hasn't changed at all.

People like Old Nott may outwardly appear to be fawning over Severus and lowering their stance because of Voldemort, but in reality, they still genuinely despise this impure-blooded fellow.

Severus himself understood this, and of course, old Nott and the others also knew it.

Severus remained relaxed despite his gaze and continued speaking.

"So, that's why even if the master gives you orders to listen to me, even if you don't dare to disobey, you certainly won't be very enthusiastic."

"I need you to act as my middleman. I won't command them; I'll just tell you what to do and you'll be responsible for gathering those people."

Old Nott did not agree immediately; he simply looked at Severus with a cold smile.

"Do you take me for a fool? After the master's task is completed, will you still be kind enough to tell the master that I was the one who actually did the work?"

Severus simply shrugged.

"As long as you complete the task, you don't need to worry about me stealing your credit, because someone will vouch for you."

Old Nott frowned as he looked at Severus.

"What does Master want you to do?"

Severus glanced out the window at the bustling people in Diagon Alley, but no one noticed what the two wizards sitting in the small shop were talking about.

There was no one else in the shop. After Old Nott arrived, he closed the shop completely and sent all the employees home.

Therefore, no matter what secrets he had, Severus could speak them out without any reservations.

"Prison break."

The moment he heard that word, old Nott's pupils visibly contracted.

He jumped up from his chair in a panic, then looked around as if unsure if anyone was around.

After confirming that it was just him and Severus, he sat down again, but the tension on his face did not subside at all.

"What prison break? Which prison?"

"Which other prison do you think is worth the Dark Lord's attention, and why should we raid it?" Severus crossed his legs and said calmly, "Azkaban, only that one prison is our target."

This made old Nott completely uneasy.

"Azkaban? The master wants you to lead us on a prison break and rescue Lestrange and his gang?"

His expression kept changing as he tried to find some reasons to dissuade him.

"But what's the point of doing that? Lestrange and his men have been imprisoned on that island for so long. Even if they're not dead, they're probably already mentally unstable! Even if we rescue them, they won't be able to help us much!"

"And, moreover, Rodolphs's vault. To get this golden cup, we used our connections in the Ministry of Magic, threatening Gringotts to let his distant nephew inherit his vault ahead of schedule, should he be rescued."

"No! No! There's absolutely no hope of them being rescued! That island is teeming with Dementors, and apart from the Patronus Charm, no other spell can deal with them! We have no chance of rescuing them, right? There's no chance!"

Severus simply watched as old Nott rattled off so many excuses, finally replying with a curt, "I agree with everything you say, but would you dare say these things to your master?"

With just one sentence, old Nott was completely silenced, leaving him speechless.

“Master will definitely rescue Lestrange and the others.” Severus picked up the suitcase on the table. “As for the Rodolphs vault, you don’t need to worry about that. The matter of the Golden Cup was arranged by Master. Even if he is rescued, he won’t dare to ask Master about it.”

"As for how to get them out of that prison, you have a lot of connections in the Ministry of Magic, right? Tell them that the Master has returned and get these people to help. As for those Dementors, they can't really be considered employees of the Ministry of Magic, we all know that."

Old Nott watched as Severus picked up his suitcase and got up, and he knew that Severus was no longer giving him much time to think.

This isn't something he can simply refuse to do. Since it was entrusted to Severus by the Dark Lord, whether he wants to be the leader or not, he will ultimately have to contribute to the prison break.

Now Severus has offered to let him take over as the commander. If the task is accomplished, he will certainly have done a great job.

But is this really so easy to handle?
To break out of Azkaban, at least all the Death Eaters gathered now would need to be mobilized, and all their family connections within the Ministry of Magic would need to be utilized—and these connections must be absolutely reliable.

Moreover, once this is accomplished, it will be tantamount to announcing to the whole world that the Dark Lord has returned and the Death Eaters have returned!

Old Nott wasn't stupid at all. The fact that the Dark Lord arranged for Severus to organize them to break out of Azkaban meant that the Dark Lord would soon be back to his peak condition.

Only in this way would their master dare to send his men to break into the prison so openly, announcing his return to everyone.

If done well, it will bring benefits; if done poorly, it will bring drawbacks, but no matter what, it has to be done.

With that thought in mind, old Nott finally gritted his teeth.

"I'll make arrangements for them!"

Upon hearing his reply, Severus smiled with satisfaction and patted old Nott on the shoulder before leaving.

"Your master will be looking forward to your performance."

After meeting with old Nott, Severus returned the golden cup to Hogwarts, and then went to another place to meet with the Carol siblings.

And this meeting is, of course, very important.

As assigned to Amicus, he gathered the villains who had been gathered together by Barty the Younger within two days and informed them that the Dark Lord had been brought back by Severus.

They were also asked to write a letter to Barty and Perkins, who were far away abroad, to tell them that their master had returned to England.

Now is the time for Severus to meet with them.

This was certainly not the first time Severus had seen them. They had not only met before at Crouch's house, but had almost gotten into a fight.

Now, however, these people had completely lost the arrogant attitude they had shown when facing Severus. Whether it was Dolphin Travers, Bruno Selwyn, or anyone else, they only wanted to beg for Severus's forgiveness.

"We were all fooled by Barty Jr."

Dorfin cried out.

“He told us that as long as we followed him, we could find our master again, so we did those things. If it weren’t for our master, we would never have listened to him!”

“That’s right! We just wanted to find our master again! We never thought of betraying him!” Bruno shouted. “After sensing our master’s call, we immediately contacted Amicus. We guessed that it must have been you, Severus, who found our master! You are the one our master trusted most!”

They flattered and spoke in a manner that bordered on pleading.

Severus simply sat calmly in his high-backed chair. Of course, these people were begging for mercy. They had chosen the wrong side in this struggle to find the Dark Lord, and they were lucky not to be labeled as traitors. They couldn't possibly expect to receive the same treatment as the fence-sitters surrounding Severus.

Why did Bati go to Albania?

What Severus was most curious about was this matter; he thought of going to Albania to find Voldemort because he knew from the beginning that Voldemort was there.

Where did Little Barty get his information from?

Faced with his question, these people did not hesitate at all and rushed to answer.

“A month ago, Barty Jr. took a group to Little Hangton! He seemed to have discovered something there, and then he traveled all over England, going to many places but without any results, until finally he took Perkins to Albania!”

"Yes! During this time, he had us draw the Aurors' attention! But he didn't produce any results!"

"He's a fraud! He doesn't actually know where the master is! He's just using this as an excuse to gather us around him!"

As the group chattered on, Severus's expression grew increasingly serious.

Little Hangleton.

He knew that place, of course; it was Voldemort's old house, and also where he hid one of his Horcruxes—the Resurrection Stone ring.

Severus had planned to go to Little Hangleton after finishing his business today to try to find Voldemort's old home and retrieve the last Horcrux besides Harry's.

But after hearing what these people said, he already had a guess in his mind.

It's very likely that Little Bati found the ring and somehow got to Albania through it!
"Where is Barty Crouch Jr. now?" Severus asked.

Dolphin said, as if taking credit.

"After I met Amicus, I wrote to him. If he doesn't want to be a traitor, he should be on his way now."

Bruno also said.

"Although Little Barty is a bit extreme and acts too selfishly, his loyalty to his master is beyond doubt. He will definitely come back after receiving the letter."

Severus did not linger there; he only spoke to the Carlo siblings before leaving.

"If Little Barty comes looking for you, write to me immediately."

(End of this chapter)