Whispers of a Raven by TheBlack'sResurgence

Chapter 34

Silence. Without his eyes and ears within the Ministry, the Dark Lord was blind and deaf to the goings on there. As such, he was reluctant to allow the attacks to continue, was hesitant to send out what remained of his Death Eaters to the mercy of the aurors, Dumbledore's irksome group, and Peverell.

Already, he had lost many and he could ill afford to lose more.

The Minister's sweep had been an unexpected development, no whisper from any indicating it would happen. Bagnold had proven her shrewdness and struck quite the blow to the Dark Lord.

Without his people on the inside, he knew not where the aurors would be patrolling, where would be best for his followers to strike, but most of all, what plans were being put into motion to combat him.

In only a matter of hours, his most valuable tool had been snatched away.

"How shall we proceed, my lord?" Amycus questioned. "Should we not plan an assault on Azkaban?"

Voldemort had considered it but ultimately decided there was more to lose than to gain from that venture.

The Ministry would expect him to do that, to retrieve the followers lost to him.

Pursuing that would likely lead to more losses on his part and were he to fail to liberate the imprisoned followers, he would be much worse off than he was now.

No, it was not the right time for such a course of action. There were too many variables to consider, the biggest being the undoubtable presence of Peverell were the Dark Lord to stage a breakout.

If Peverell was not a factor, perhaps it would be a fruitful endeavour. Voldemort would have been able to focus his efforts on helping the captives escape, but it would be him that had to keep the ominous lord busy.

Maybe Bellatrix could lead the charge to set the prisoners free but there were others to contend with. Dumbledore would be there as would Alastor Moody, two people who could subdue the woman.

The Dark Lord shook his head, his mind firmly made up.

"When the time is right," he answered the young Carrow. "We must be patient, prove that it does not matter what they do, that we will succeed despite their best efforts to quell us."

"How will we do that, my lord?" the man questioned.

"Soon," Bellatrix cut in irritably. "You will all know when you need to. It is not your place to question our lord on what plans he has."

"Thank you, Bella," Voldemort interjected. "You will all know soon enough what our next move will be. I can assure you, it will begin undoing the damage done by the Ministry. Whilst they are distracted, we will strike when they least expect it, and our brothers and sisters will be released from their shackles. You have my word."

The assembled Death Eaters did not appear to be convinced, but they did not voice their doubts either.

To do so would serve them no purpose.

The Dark Lord had not lied to them, noir was he trying to mislead them.

He did have a plan, and should it go off without a hitch, it would present other opportunities, or at the very least, eliminate any foolish notion any had that they were safe from him and his followers.