Chapter 308: Easier Said Than Done

When the Death Eater meeting actually began, Harry was not surprised to find that Draco and Pan Xi were sitting tightly together, occupying one seat at the long table—or rather, one and a half.

"Two little kids?" Sirius asked, pretending to be surprised.

"Yes, they hold the last Horcrux," Lu Xiusi said slowly. "Of course, not the one the Dark Lord created last, but it is the one we found last."

"I just want to say, the children happened to have a bit of good luck," Lu Xiusi turned to Harry and said politely, "You are still the secret backup that the Dark Lord trusts the most, Mr. Bach."

"I don't care," Harry replied muffledly, then bit the bullet and put on an expectant look. "So, should we prepare to raid the Order of the Phoenix, collect the Horcruxes, and resurrect the Dark Lord?"

"Don't be so anxious," Lu Xiusi said, glancing at Bella. Harry followed his gaze; this lady, who usually appeared exceptionally impatient, was now sitting in her chair with a serious face, looking quite calm.

"These two children, they didn't just come as themselves; they represent the students of Hogwarts," Lu Xiusi said slowly. "And the children don't seem to want to see the adults go to war."

"Children? Then you shouldn't meddle in adult affairs," Sirius said, feigning disdain.

"If you don't agree to negotiate, the students of Hogwarts won't agree to hand over the Horcrux," Draco said firmly.

"Some sacrifices are necessary." Harry felt internally that the situation was developing favorably, but in order to play Hoffa, he acted very coldly, and his tone carried a hint of anxiety and dissatisfaction.

"Mr. Bach, please put yourself in our shoes," Pan Xi said. "We hope to reach a reconciliation with the Order of the Phoenix through negotiations, which can avoid unnecessary casualties."

"Negotiations? Would they be willing to obediently hand over the Horcrux?" Harry pretended to be dissatisfied, though his heart was already pounding.

Judging by the development of events as he had previously envisioned, no matter how Lu Xiusi intended to suppress Bella, it should not have been Pan Xi's turn to speak to "Hofa" in such an equal tone, nor to bring up the matter of negotiations with such gravity.

Unless peace talks were what Lu Xiusi had been hoping for all along, then it was really hard to say who was calculating whom regarding the diary.

"I believe we have a basis for negotiations with the Order of the Phoenix. Some unverified news leaked from the Ministry of Magic... Deng Buliduo... he also created a Horcrux," Lu Xiusi squeezed out a smile. "Now that the painting is in our hands, if the result of the negotiation is that Deng Buliduo and the Dark Lord are both resurrected, then perhaps there really is something to talk about."

Harry sat down with a look of suspicion and surprise. For Hoffa, learning that Deng Buliduo might be resurrected should naturally elicit this expression. But for Harry, he had also just realized that the lie about Deng Buliduo's Horcrux not only curbed Bella's impulse to start a war but also provided a direction for peace talks between the Death Eaters and the Order of the Phoenix.

"I don't think you can reach an agreement," Sirius, playing Regulus, spoke up. "If the Order of the Phoenix were willing to accept this result, they would have handed over the ring long ago. After all, the Horcrux resurrection method doesn't require the painting; it only requires it to be destroyed."

The deeper reason was that everyone in the Order of the Phoenix knew Deng Buliduo was an upright, brave man who didn't fear death; he couldn't possibly have left Horcruxes in this world.

"The Order of the Phoenix should have just learned this news too," Lu Xiusi said. "Or they have known all along, but are not very willing to believe it, or they dare not admit it to maintain Deng Buliduo's reputation."

Harry realized belatedly that this fake news about the Horcrux also tarnished Deng Buliduo's reputation. He couldn't help but look at Snape, who was sitting indifferently on the other side of the table. Harry didn't know what he was thinking.

"In short, we have something to talk about, and negotiations always need a bridge. I believe the students will be a very good starting point," Antonin added at the end of the table, smiling obsequiously, revealing a mouth of yellow teeth.

"Lu Xiusi, you aren't in a hurry to bring your heir to the table, are you? Unless you don't have many years left to live?" Sirius mocked in an unkind tone.

"Indeed, it's a bit ugly," Snape commented objectively. "However, negotiation is indeed something that can be considered. We have been fighting openly and secretly with the Order of the Phoenix, but to be honest, since neither side has been able to make any progress, we might as well try to talk."

"But how to talk?" Harry asked with some confusion. If Draco and Harry couldn't become the bridge for negotiations, then who could take on this work?

"The Ministry of Magic," Snape raised an eyebrow. "I will propose that the Ministry of Magic send special envoys, or rather, political consultants, to both sides. We can indeed consider using a more civilized way to solve the problem."

"You're just thinking for yourself, aren't you? The Ministry of Magic hasn't given you few benefits during this time," Bellatrix said lazily.

"But the Ministry of Magic is always more reliable than a few students, isn't it?" Snape stared at Draco. "Students still have to worry about their O. W. L. s."

When the topic turned to exams, Draco's spine, which had finally been propped up by the diary, softened again. He lowered his head guiltily, not daring to look directly at his professor.

"It's ironic. I clearly remember that not long ago, you were still using the Cruciatus Curse on people from the Ministry of Magic." Hoffa expressed the dissatisfaction he should have for the Death Eaters' "inefficiency," but Harry himself was also genuinely amused by the contradictory behavior of these people.

"The Ministry of Magic is not a united whole; there are naturally factions within it," Lu Xiusi's tone was flat but lacked no pressure. "The woman last time was very unfortunate... she stood on the wrong side."

Harry could feel that Lu Xiusi was also trying to exert some pressure on Hoffa. This behavior inspired Harry, giving him a new idea: perhaps, in Lu Xiusi's eyes, Hoffa Bach and Regulus, who was close to him, were more fanatical pro-war factions than Bellatrix. Was this the main reason he didn't dare to contact the two privately?

All kinds of possibilities made sense. How could Harry dare to say he could definitely understand Lu Xiusi's mind? At this moment, he could only snort coldly as Hoffa, pretending to be dissatisfied, considering how to find a way down later and then agree to the negotiations.

After all, peace talks were definitely a good thing for Harry. As long as there was no war, he had time to think of ways, and there was plenty of room for maneuver in peace talks—even if the basis for their peace talks came from a hollow lie.

The Death Eaters exchanged some pleasantries, and Harry appropriately found a way down, expressing his agreement to try to negotiate. At this very moment, he truly noticed that Lu Xiusi was currying favor with Snape, both openly and secretly. He was no longer that confident meeting organizer; on the contrary, he was desperate for Snape's support.

After the meeting, Harry still couldn't quite figure out why Snape could gain the respect of almost all Death Eaters overnight. And what would his real purpose and plan be?

The first question wasn't actually very difficult to answer, because while Snape was keeping the diadem, he was also keeping the painting. In other words, although he couldn't resurrect Voldemort completely by himself, if he were provoked, he could choose to resurrect Deng Buliduo.

For the people at that table, Snape was the least afraid of Deng Buliduo among them. If Voldemort and Deng Buliduo were resurrected at the same time, it wouldn't be entirely a bad thing for Snape. If Voldemort saw Deng Buliduo there upon resurrection, he would naturally still need Snape to obtain information for him, but the others would inevitably face questioning.

All of this seemed well-founded and reasonable, but the logical basis was "Deng Buliduo left his Horcrux to Harry," which was a lie Snape instructed Harry to tell. So, it might as well be considered that one of the major benefits of Snape fabricating this lie was to immediately raise his status among the Death Eaters.

Combining some information noticed at the meeting just now, it wasn't difficult for Harry to summarize that this lie also caused two effects quite favorable to Snape. For example, the Ministry of Magic began to show its presence, and Snape was the person who cooperated most deeply with the Ministry of Magic, regardless of which organization he was in. At the same time, the Death Eaters' desire for war was almost completely curbed, which was quite favorable for the behind-the-scenes planner who knew the truth.

Furthermore, considering the issue of Deng Buliduo's reputation, Harry guessed that Snape's plan was not limited to eliminating the Death Eaters; he seemed to intend to weaken the Order of the Phoenix at the same time. In Snape's planning for the future, he might be more optimistic about official institutions like the Ministry of Magic that represented procedural justice.

If Harry continued to guess for granted that Snape's plan was for the Ministry of Magic to step on the brakes for the struggle between the two sides, gradually resolving the struggle between good and evil into a struggle between parties, and replacing private fighting with political debate, this was certainly a simple and effective method, and also a development that wasn't too bad. However, after the diary incident, Harry didn't dare to continue to think of others too simply, nor did he dare to believe in this kind of development that was obviously a bit wishful thinking.

Lu Xiusi also showed amazing foresight in the layout of the diary. His biggest gain was to bring up Draco, and in the school part of the plan, Draco also seemed to have received considerable training. If viewed from the perspective of a careerist, Lu Xiusi seemed to have made a bad move, but considering he was a father, it could be said that perhaps Lu Xiusi and Snape were each getting what they needed.

Bella wasn't without gains either. At least she could still keep her basic foundation, and the relationship between Draco and Pan Xi could also consolidate the way out she was looking for for Delphini.

Pondering to this point, Harry realized that Snape had accurately discovered the weaknesses of his two Death Eater colleagues: before they became careerists, they were, after all, parents. ===== CHAPTER 309 =====