“Bang, bang, bang!”
Late at night, on a quiet street, a figure in a black cloak stopped in front of an old house and raised his hand to knock on the wooden door in front of him.
"who?"
After about thirty seconds, there was a noise behind the door, followed by a nervous voice.
"It's me!"
The cloaked figure spoke up.
"Severus?"
The door of the room was opened a crack, and a woman looked outside through the crack. She couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief after confirming that it was someone coming.
"I have something important to tell you and Draco." Snape said to the woman inside the door.
"Come in first."
Narcissa stepped back and let Snape into the room.
A similar scene happened not long ago, but it was completely the opposite.
"Where's Draco?" Snape looked around and asked.
"Draco is resting in his room." Narcissa whispered, "The burning of the manor was a big blow to him. Do you have anything to do with him?"
"This matter is also related to Draco, so it's best for him to listen together." Snape asked Narcissa to wake him up.
Perhaps because he heard voices coming from the hall, the door next to him suddenly opened, and Draco Malfoy walked out with a pale face. He was slightly stunned when he saw Snape, probably not expecting to see him here.
"Did Bellatrix tell you about this?" Snape asked suddenly.
"What did you mention?"
"Who might be the one who attacked Malfoy Manor?" Snape turned his gaze to Narcissa, who looked confused, and raised his eyebrows slightly. "It seems that she hasn't had time to tell you this news yet."
"Who attacked Malfoy Manor?" Draco grabbed Snape's arm and asked loudly.
"Although there is no evidence, there is a high probability that Albert Anderson set the fire." Snape said calmly.
"That damned Mudblood," Draco gritted his teeth.
"Calm down, you are losing your mind." Snape looked at Draco with a ferocious face and reminded him expressionlessly: "Anger can't solve the problem, it will only make the situation worse, and you don't have time to be angry. Don't forget the task given to you by the Dark Lord."
"I know..." Draco Malfoy forced himself to calm down, staring at Snape, "You definitely didn't come here so late because of this."
"Yes, I hope you can withdraw the bounty on Albert Anderson." Snape turned his head to Narcissa and said, "That is a very stupid thing to do."
"That's impossible!" Draco blurted out.
"Nothing is impossible," Snape said calmly.
To be honest, Snape was not good at persuading others, but Dumbledore hoped that he could persuade the Malfoy family to give up the bounty for Albert, and let him provide help and guidance to Draco Malfoy to prevent him from doing anything wrong.
So, here he comes.
"Why?" Malfoy asked suddenly, "Why would you..."
"Now you don't even know who the enemy is." Snape interrupted rudely, "I promised your mother that I would help you, but..."
"Mother."
Draco Malfoy looked at his mother in disbelief.
Narcissa met her son's gaze and explained in a low voice, "Severus is more experienced in this area than you..."
"Enough, Mom, this is my job. He gave it to me, and I can do it myself..." Malfoy was interrupted again before he could finish his words.
"Draco, it's not that I don't want to believe you," Narcissa said sadly, "but we can't afford to fail again."
Draco Malfoy was silent.
"Why are you here?" A sudden voice broke the silence in the room.
Bella stood outside the door, staring at Snape warily.
"Any questions?"
Snape glanced at Bella, ignored her words, turned to Draco and said, "Remember, the bounty on Albert Anderson must be stopped."
"Why?"
"That fire was just a warning," Snape glanced at Bella, a sneer on his face, "otherwise, do you really think you can escape from the devil's fire?"
"Warning?" Narcissa looked at Snape anxiously.
"Yes, that's what Dumbledore said when I told him you were still alive," Snape recalled. "Dumbledore believed that Anderson was the one who set the fire, so he hoped I could convince you to drop the bounty on that guy."
"So, you are here to carry out Dumbledore's orders?"
"Is this important?" Snape asked back, "You never seem to get the point."
"Let Severus continue." Narcissa almost pleaded to stop Bella from saying anything else. "I believe Severus must have an important reason for coming here."
"Dumbledore didn't want Albert Anderson to be corrupted by killing," Snape said this with a strong sense of sarcasm in his tone.
"What does this have to do with a bounty?" Draco was a little confused by Snape.
"I have never understood why you would ignore the danger of that guy. Could it be that the name of the so-called mudblood has affected your normal judgment?"
"How ridiculous." Bella curled her lips in disdain. "I will be able to kill him soon and get the Dark Lord's reward."
Snape glanced at Bellatrix with contempt. He felt that with her poor brain, she would be killed by Anderson sooner or later.
"A long time ago, I reminded Lucius not to provoke Anderson before he was sure of his success." Snape sneered, "In the end, Lucius failed, and many people lost their lives because of it."
"How dare you..." Draco almost got his nose twisted with anger.
"You have never noticed that many of those people arrested by the Ministry of Magic were executed." Snape reminded expressionlessly.
"You mean..." Narcissa seemed to realize something.
"Albert Anderson did not kill anyone himself, but he used the Ministry of Magic to kill those who tried to attack his wedding." Snape said expressionlessly, "In the past two months, someone has been tried and executed almost every day."
"Once he no longer has any concerns, he won't even have a chance." Snape was also very fearful, because the fire only burned down Malfoy Manor but did not spread to the surrounding areas, which was the best evidence.
"Remember, killing Albert Anderson is Bellatrix's mission, and you'd better not get involved in this." Snape warned coldly.
"You think I will fail." Bella seemed to realize something and pointed her wand at Snape angrily.
"The probability is not high." Snape said sarcastically, "That guy is a master of prophecy and can predict the future. All your so-called traps will be discovered by him in advance, and you don't even know anything about it."
"Once the plan fails, that guy will definitely kill a group of people, and the Malfoy family who offered the reward will definitely be on the list. No one will tolerate repeated provocations."
"So, focus on your own task and don't get involved in this." Snape interrupted Malfoy coldly, "You have to remember that I am your helper and backup. Once you fail, I will take over this job. Don't think that I want to steal your credit. This is my job!"
"Remember, once Dumbledore is dead, the Dark Lord will forgive Lucius."