Chapter 329: Election Proposal

"You really intend to use a qilin?" Dorothy's expression turned peculiar. "I just mean—it's hard to find a qilin these days, unless you're suggesting involving the Celestial Court."

"No, it's merely a metaphor. What I mean is, we Death Eaters possess a magical creature that understands human hearts—and coincidentally, it can be used to select the Dark Lord." Lucius smiled confidently. "That creature is Nagini."

"What do you mean?" Bellatrix demanded irritably. "Everyone knows Nagini is your pet—she'll naturally favor you."

"No, Lucius is correct. Nagini shares the Dark Lord's will; she understands his intentions better than any of us." Snape appeared more receptive to the proposal. "If she comprehends our current necessity to choose a successor, perhaps she can, according to the Dark Lord's will, select a suitable one."

"You've hit the nail on the head." Sirius smirked. "According to the Dark Lord's will, he'd naturally hope you revive him as soon as possible."

"In fact, just as the qilin doesn't understand our choice of a wizard leader, Nagini may not grasp the complexity of the current situation." Bellatrix's eyes gleamed again. "Let her choose the person the Dark Lord most loves and trusts—that should be enough."

"For all of you here, this is a remarkably clever solution," Dorothy sincerely praised. "After all, you only treat the Dark Lord as a banner—anyone could fill the role. But with this method, you can truly keep the Dark Lord as a trump card."

Only then did Harry realize Lucius had already devised a way to avoid Voldemort's wrath. If Nagini chose Lucius as the successor, Voldemort would not rage against him—or if he did, he wouldn't want to kill Lucius; indeed, to win favor, Voldemort might even have to grant him special treatment.

But as Harry recognized this, he felt powerless once more: emotionally and logically, Hua Fa should not—and could not—oppose Lucius. In terms of the agenda, Lucius had proposed a reasonable suggestion; Hua Fa's character and position gave him no grounds to refute it. In terms of personal ties, Hua Fa had just struck a deal with Lucius, and Lucius's proposal was highly appealing to both Hua Fa and Harry.

Even Bellatrix, who had always opposed Lucius, seemed tempted by the proposal. Perhaps she had some undisclosed method to win Nagini's favor.

As Harry considered how to respond, Snape's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"For now, we all nearly agree to select the successor through Nagini," Snape said calmly. "But obviously, for most of the time, it has been you, Lucius, who has been Nagini's caretaker. This may be… unfair for our upcoming election."

"Exactly," Bellatrix immediately followed. "I propose each of us take turns caring for Nagini for a period, so we can better demonstrate ourselves to her."

"Of course. How about one week?" Lucius remained composed.

"It's a fair proposal, but how do we determine the order?" Snape raised an eyebrow.

Harry realized this was an intriguing question.

On the surface, everyone present was eligible to succeed the Dark Lord, and thus all had the right to care for Nagini for a time. This created a dilemma: logically, each person wanted the election to happen soon, so they could claim the Dark Lord's power as quickly as possible; yet each also wanted more time with Nagini to increase their chances of winning.

In truth, only Lucius and Bellatrix truly desired the Dark Lord's position. But in drafting the procedure, Sirius and Snape would not immediately withdraw—they had to appear undecided to extract greater concessions from the two.

Thus, even if each person cared for Nagini for only a week, three people together would require nearly a month. For an election, a month of preparation wasn't long—but for Bellatrix, a week of contact was far too short. She would have to pay a price, negotiating privately with Sirius and Snape to gain more time with Nagini.

"Determining the order will also be a major problem," Lucius mused. "The last person to care for Nagini will undoubtedly gain an advantage…"

"Then I have another suggestion," Dorothy suddenly spoke. "After each of you has taken turns caring for the creature, send her to the Ministry. We can act as a relatively impartial third party and keep her for one or two weeks—this would make the election fairer."

"It's a decent idea, but how can we guarantee the Ministry itself is truly neutral?" Lucius's face was filled with distrust. "Remember, when the qilin was used for selection, there were terrible scandals."

"I think the election back then had no issues," Dorothy shrugged. "Isn't Dumbledore precisely that 'impartial third party'?"

"We don't have Dumbledore now, and we can't possibly ask him to oversee the Dark Lord's election," Lucius replied seriously. "That's absurd."

"Perhaps we aren't without Dumbledore," Sirius said, barely suppressing a grin. "Have you forgotten Albus Dumbledore's brother?"

"No, no, let's stop joking," Lucius waved a hand. "We must establish a proper protocol. I'm not saying I distrust the Ministry entirely—I just instinctively feel we should find someone closer to us."

"Yes, he must carefully nurture Nagini, protect her from harm; and he must have no vested interest in us, so he won't favor anyone…" Lucius concluded, when Bellatrix suddenly interjected, "We must also guard against the Order—so we need someone they don't know."

Four pairs of eyes gradually focused on Harry; then the others' gazes followed.

"Are you talking about William?" Harry assumed they were seeking Hua Fa's opinion and replied casually.

A brief silence followed.

"You mean William, right?" Harry whispered. "Or someone else?"

"It seems Mr. Hua Fa is unwilling to oversee this," Snape said coolly. "We can find another third party—or leave her with the Ministry."

"Actually, the Ministry is a good idea," Bellatrix glanced at Snape. "But I think one week is too short."

Harry was certain he saw Lucius wink at him—but he pretended not to notice.

"Then let's make it one month," Snape proposed with apparent fairness. "The final month will be handled by the Ministry."

"Those participating are Mr. Snape, Mrs. Lestrange, and Mr. Black," Dorothy noted in her notebook. "You three will take turns with Nagini; then she will be sent to the Ministry for a month-long care period to eliminate bias from order. This will take approximately four months, and by July, we will determine the new leader of the Death Eaters through the animal's choice."

"Agreed." "I have no objection." "Fair enough."

With all three in agreement, Lucius could only force a faint smile and reluctantly accept the decision.

Immediately after, Dorothy proposed another seemingly fair suggestion: that Hua Fa, who was not running, draw lots to randomly determine the care order. This resolution harmed no one, and thus they settled on the sequence: Black–Lestrange–Snape.

After the Death Eater meeting ended, Harry scratched his head in belated realization—he didn't understand how they'd arrived here. From initially discussing seizing the Horcruxes, to now the Death Eaters competing to elect a Dark Lord.

"I feel something's off," Sirius said. "The Ministry created a false premise: we don't actually need to elect a Dark Lord at all."

"But we needed a way to intimidate Lucius, to stir his ambition and make him attempt to run for Dark Lord," Harry frowned. "I didn't expect him to have a way to avoid Voldemort's wrath."

"I think," Sirius shook his head, "even the act of 'intimidating Lucius' was probably anticipated by the Ministry."

"Yes, they fully understand the fake Horcrux trick," Harry felt uneasy. "Perhaps this was all meant to get us to propose electing a Dark Lord."

"This election… it feels like we've been led by the nose by Dorothy all day," Sirius recalled. "She's perfectly controlled Bellatrix's thoughts too."

At that moment, a knock interrupted their private talk. It was one of Sirius's men.

"Report, Brother: Headmaster Snape has come to visit and wishes to speak with you in secret," the man said.

"Oh?" Sirius looked genuinely surprised. "Bring him in."

"Ha! Bigwigs keep coming one after another—clearly seeking your favor. Brother, your prestige is unmatched!" The man chuckled as he left.

Harry suddenly realized: ever since Snape took the headmaster's position, he had already been aligned with the Ministry.