A day at Hogwarts.

Chapter 663 Focus on Key Tasks

On a gloomy morning, the abundance of food laid out on the long tables in Hogwarts' dining hall dispelled the chill, and the students' chatter mingled with the sounds of chewing.

As usual, Snape walked to his seat with a gloomy face, whispering a few words in Dumbledore's ear as he passed by.

As he spoke, Dumbledore glanced at Charles casually and simply nodded silently.

Snape sat down in his seat, and when breakfast was served, he habitually reached for the toast, but his movement suddenly froze in mid-air.

Something lay quietly on his plate, something that was definitely not on the regular breakfast menu for Hogwarts house-elves.

It was an exquisitely crafted and lifelike cake, shaped like a plump mandrake. Its round body was made of light brown cream, and the leaves on top were made by gluing together strands of coconut shreds dyed green. Even its open mouth, which seemed to be screaming silently, had a tongue made of small pieces of red cherry.

Every detail of this cake is almost identical to the pattern on his bathrobe from last night.

Snape's face, at a speed visible to the naked eye, changed from its usual waxy white to a deep black, almost like charcoal, just as it had when his house was bombed.

"Oh, how lovely!" came a surprised voice from the side. Professor Sprout turned his head and leaned closer, his face beaming with genuine admiration. "Severus, did you book this at the Dancing Grass Restaurant? It's so unique!"

"This craftsmanship and this design perfectly capture the unique vitality of the mandrake!"

"Oh, I want to buy one too."

Even Professor Flitwick leaned over and exclaimed repeatedly, "Truly extraordinary!"

"Look at the texture of this leaf, Severus, it's exactly the same as the real thing. You can tell that a lot of care was put into making it."

The other professors turned around and praised the mandrake cake.

Umbridge, in particular, had eyes that seemed to shoot out pink light.

Dumbledore glanced at the cake, then at the whole-wheat bread, boiled eggs, and zucchini salad in front of him, and sighed helplessly.

At this moment, Snape's knuckles, which were gripping the knife, began to turn white, and he could feel his temples throbbing.

He stared intently at the smiling mandrake cake, as if he could annihilate it with his gaze.

The temperature around him at the long teacher's table seemed to drop several degrees.

Soon after, the sound of owls flapping their wings filled the cafeteria; the Daily Prophet had arrived, and many students and professors unfolded the new newspaper.

Immediately afterwards, a collective gasp and suppressed exclamations rang out from all around, and many people looked toward Charles.

Today's front-page headline, in Rita Skeeter's flamboyant font, is strikingly eye-catching: "Shocking Inside Story! Identification of Victim in Farbatton Castle Robbery Confirmed—Former Silent Man, Death Eater August Lukwood!"

The article goes to great lengths to embellish the story, detailing how Lukewood disguised himself and infiltrated the enemy, how he attempted to steal secrets, how he ultimately triggered a deadly security system, and how he met a tragic end with only a few bone fragments remaining. It also hints that this was related to a sensitive collaboration between the Ministry of Magic and Phoenix Logistics.

Meanwhile, in the opulent yet cold dining room of Malfoy Manor, the atmosphere around the long table was equally somber.

The Death Eaters, who were enjoying their unpalatable breakfast, also saw this report in the Daily Prophet.

Whispers immediately began to swirl around the dining table like the buzzing of wasps.

“Lukewood? How could he…”

"He was hiding perfectly well, how did he get exposed?"

"Hiss... and he was killed down to nothing but bone fragments?" Selwyn's voice carried a hint of fear. "This is not something an ordinary wizard could do."

"He's the Silent One, one of the most outstanding wizards in the Ministry of Magic!"

Travers said with some doubt, "Could it be... that Dumbledore himself intervened?"

But this guess was quickly rejected.

“Impossible,” McNeil retorted. “Dumbledore preferred to tie people up and send them to Azkaban rather than blast them to pieces.”

"This technique is too..."

He was speechless for a moment. They had blown people to bits, leaving only bone fragments. None of the Death Eaters present seemed to have ever done anything like that.

Just as the murmurs grew louder, the figure who had been silent at the end of the long table moved.

Voldemort didn't look up, but said in a cold, hissing voice that could freeze everyone's blood: "It was Charles Smith who did it."

A deathly silence fell over the dining table.

Shock and disbelief were written on everyone's faces. Lucius, who always ate with elegance, stood there dumbfounded, half a slice of toast in his mouth, looking like a dazed koala. "Charles?"

Why did he kill Lukwood?

What grudge do they have against each other?

Confusion and a barely perceptible sense of fear spread among the Death Eaters.

Since Karkaroff died at the hands of the goblins last time, everyone now believes that Lukewood was Voldemort's bodyguard sent to protect Charles, and may even be a private tutor who teaches dark magic.

Now that Charles has killed Lukwood, there are probably some big questions behind this. Could it be related to the Dark Lord?

Voldemort did not answer their questions; his scarlet eyes swept across the room, and the murmurs immediately subsided.

Breakfast ended in an eerie silence.

At lunchtime, Snape arrived at Malfoy Manor.

He straightened his robe and headed towards the dining room.

Voldemort and the Death Eaters had been waiting for a long time.

“Master,” Snape bowed.

“Severus,” Voldemort gestured to the empty seat beside him, “did he come looking for you?”

“Yes.” Snape’s voice was calm and even as he sat down. “Last night, Charles Smith came to see me.”

Voldemort slowly turned his head. His face, which resembled a double-switch socket, was expressionless, but his scarlet pupils shrank to two thin lines.

“What else did he say?” he asked hoarsely.

Snape replied, "Charles said Lukwood crossed his line."

Although Charles did not explicitly state what Lukwood had done, none of the Death Eaters present were fools.

Considering that Lukewood was once a silencing agent planted in the Ministry of Magic with access to top-secret information, and that he was lurking in Farbatton Castle, and given that today's newspapers reported on theft and the cooperation between Farbatton Castle and the Ministry of Magic, several speculations were made: Lukewood was likely trying to steal Charles's trade secrets, or had touched upon areas that outsiders were strictly forbidden to touch, and it was possible that he had sabotaged the cooperation with the Ministry of Magic.

Putting yourself in Charles's shoes, many Death Eaters would also find it unacceptable if this happened to them.

Voldemort fell silent, recalling what Charles had said by the Thames the previous night. It was clear from this that he was not a righteous person like Dumbledore; he killed people without hesitation.

"How did he become like this?" Voldemort muttered angrily. "Who did he learn it from?"

Voldemort thought that a kind-hearted man like Jack couldn't raise a child like Charles who would kill at the drop of a hat; he must have been corrupted by someone.

For example, Grindelwald.

The key point is that Charles's strength is unfathomable, and he doesn't want to add another enemy before dealing with Dumbledore.

The Death Eaters exchanged glances, then lowered their heads and ate in silence, realizing that this matter was no longer their concern.

For a moment, only the sound of chewing filled the restaurant.

Voldemort slowly ate his lunch, weighing his options in his mind.

Is it worth it to confront Charles head-on, who has just demonstrated his terrifying decisiveness and strength, for the sake of a dead Lukwood?

Snape seemed to want to say something, but was stopped by a subtle gesture from Voldemort.

After a quiet lunch, Narcissa cleared away the dishes.

When she returned to the restaurant, Voldemort spoke, his voice even deeper than before, carrying an undeniable final decision: "The matter of Charles Smith is temporarily put on hold."

He paused, his crimson gaze sweeping over each Death Eater, and said, "Right now, infiltrating the Department of Mysteries is the top priority, and I don't want any unnecessary complications."

“Lucius, have Draco convey my apologies to Charles.”

Voldemort did not explain why Lukwood was killed by Charles, but continued with the orders he had already given.

He received a "hint" from Charles last night that Dumbledore had received another prophecy in order to defeat him.

The most important thing now is to get our hands on all the prophecies from over a decade ago and the most recent ones, and figure out what they were about. Everything else should stop.

(End of this chapter)