Chapter 364

"I… I…"

"We'll give you twenty minutes to calm down," Sirius said, then walked out of the room first.

Harry followed the two adults step by step, feeling everything that had happened today had been too rushed—for instance, they had never planned to actually capture Bellatrix, so now that she was stunned, how to get her to cooperate became an open question.

"According to the original plan," Sirius said after turning into a conference room, "we deliberately let Bellatrix escape; she'll place her hopes in the election, and we need her to make a public spectacle of herself—or at least appear defeated in public—so we can smoothly transition her former Death Eaters under Harry's command."

"That's not the main part of the plan," Snape shook his head. "What matters is using our actions here to cover my control over Nagini. As long as the election succeeds, the transition we want will be achieved; how Bellatrix performs during the election doesn't matter."

"But you still need to complete the election, right?" Sirius shrugged. "If that's the case, now that you've taken control of Nagini, all we need to do is let Bellatrix go and require her to run in the election."

"No," Snape shook his head. "Although Bellatrix's participation isn't decisive, if we demand she run, we'll be throwing away our entire advantage."

"Bellatrix understands this simple truth: the more the enemy opposes, the more it proves she's right; the more the enemy wants her to do something, the less she'll do it," Harry mused. "If we let Bellatrix escape on her own, she'll think we're afraid she'll run—so she'll be even more determined to run. But if we release her and tell her to run, she won't do it at all—she'll suspect why we're so confident we'll win. What if she deduces we've already acted against Nagini? Then everything's wasted."

"So we need to come up with a plausible reason that makes it seem we always intended to capture her and make her do something," Sirius concluded. "This is to confuse her, so she won't suspect we've already set the decisive move in the election."

"That's only one thing. Another reason I want to let Bellatrix go," Snape lowered his voice, "is to send her to operate in continental Europe—to draw the attention of foreign powers away from us."

"Operate in continental Europe?" Sirius frowned. "Aren't you afraid she'll launch a counterattack on Britain?"

"Better she doesn't think of it. But if we're destined to fight her anyway, it's better to move the battlefield and the manpower to continental Europe."

Harry wanted to say this would give Yanayev an opening, but then he realized: if a fight with Yanayev was inevitable, fighting in Europe was better than fighting on home soil later.

"That's not good," Sirius shook his head—he clearly didn't approve of the idea.

"You won't find a better solution, Regulus," Snape raised an eyebrow. "We can gain the loyalty of all Death Eaters, resist foreign surveillance, and cooperate with Muggles to weaken the EU."

"There's another urgent matter: Rodolphus," Harry reminded them. "He's ready to launch war at any moment."

"And you didn't consider Delphini just now," Sirius pointed behind him. "We all know it's no good letting this child stay with Bellatrix—but if Bellatrix loses Delphini, she probably won't have the will to follow your plan."

"Then we must prepare to reveal our hand," Snape suddenly said. "We make her hand over the cup in exchange for Delphini."

"But isn't the cup already in our hands?" Harry whispered.

"Precisely because it is," Snape explained with a touch of arrogance, "Bellatrix can never produce the cup, so we can keep Delphini indefinitely."

"Right! That way, we send Bellatrix back to Rodolphus, keep Delphini, and Bellatrix still has a good chance of running," Harry's expression brightened, then froze. "Oh, but I just remembered—Elena has already confessed to robbing Gringotts…"

"It doesn't matter," Snape said coldly. "She'll find out eventually—but by then, she'll understand: the one who stole the cup was Bai Gong, the one who gave instructions was the Soviets, and the one who benefited is us. With international support, the Dark Lord's legitimacy now in Harry's hands, and Horcruxes no longer a threat, she's already defeated. If she still wants back at the table, her only option is to build the Sect of the Saint and try to confront us by force."

"So this is how you want Bellatrix to distract Yanayev?" Harry's mood was complicated. "And yes—Yanayev, who's been waiting for war, will surely push it further…"

"He hopes to force our hand with Bellatrix—but since we still hold Delphini, Bellatrix won't rush into war. She'll prioritize negotiations. And if Yanayev starts backing Bellatrix, Bai Gong will naturally back us," Snape said. "A Bellatrix backed by the Soviets is better than the Soviets stepping in themselves. We'll have plenty of room to maneuver, and our homeland, untouched by war, can continue developing."

Harry didn't object—he knew it would harm European wizards, but for Britain, this was already the optimal solution.

Sirius silently accepted Snape's decision. At the twenty-minute mark, the three of them reentered the room where Bellatrix was held.

"What do you want me to do?" Bellatrix now looked much calmer.

"Order Rodolphus to disband the Sect of the Saint and hand over the cup," Snape said.

"Impossible!" Bellatrix's first reaction, as expected, was refusal.

"Then we'll lock you in Azkaban and station agents in your cell," Sirius said, recalling the Soviets' tactics against him. "If Rodolphus tries to break you out, we can capture him then. Of course, by then, whether he succeeds or fails, you'll never see Delphini again."

Bellatrix lowered her head in silence. For a moment, the only sound in the room was Delphini's soft snores.

Perhaps it was those snores that spurred her resolve—Bellatrix lifted her head, her gaze firm. "Fine. I agree."

"Then I'm releasing you now," Sirius said grimly. "Until you've fulfilled everything we've demanded, you won't see Delphini again."

"You have no choice, Bellatrix. You've already lost," Snape added. "Everything you do from now on is just to make your defeat look dignified."

Only after escorting Bellatrix to the reception room where Apparition was permitted and watching her leave in silence did Harry finally exhale. He asked softly, "What about Delphini?"

"Find a kind Muggle couple to adopt her," Snape said casually. "Keep surveillance, but allow her a relatively free childhood in the Muggle world until Hogwarts sends her the letter."

"You'd better thoroughly vet the family that adopts her," Harry said, recalling his time with the Dursleys. "I don't want any other child to suffer the same torment."

"Before I find someone, maybe I'll have to ask Tonks—wait, Tonks is still a girl herself," Sirius scratched his head. "We'll have to let Kreacher take care of her."

After a brief silence, Snape grabbed Harry's arm. "I'll take Harry back now. So much happened tonight—I think he needs a good sleep."

Back at Hogwarts, Snape glanced at Harry again, slightly disappointed. "I thought you could intimidate her. Apparently not."

"Sorry, sir," Harry didn't know what else to say.

"I thought you could handle staying at school. Apparently not," Snape fixed him with a steady gaze. "But I won't pursue this. Dumbledore isn't always in his office—the issue is simply that you don't yet have Dumbledore's power."

"Sorry, sir, I—"

"Next year, you'll take Advanced Transfiguration, Advanced Charms, and Advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts. You can't neglect Potions either," Snape now spoke like a proper headmaster, planning Harry's curriculum. "And every Saturday, you'll come to my office under my supervision to selectively study and practice certain Dark Arts. Understood?"

"Dark Arts?"

"Try not to use them—but you must know how," Snape picked up Grindelwald's notebook. "You may not have noticed, but a significant portion of the magic in this notebook was co-developed by Dumbledore and Grindelwald."

"In short, I'll find ways to help you grow in power as quickly as possible," Snape waved his wand—the headmaster's office door opened. "Now go back to your dorm."

Harry walked out of the office with a complex mood. He saw the wall opposite the portraits was empty—he knew the Order of the Phoenix's celebration was over. He walked straight back to his dormitory.

"You're back?" Ron said uneasily. "Old Bat kept you this long—what did he mean?"

"Oh, it's fine. We talked about other things," Harry sat on his bed. His mind was a mess, and he felt a vague unease.

"Other things?" Neville asked. "Are you going to the Ministry too?"

"Yes," Harry was thinking about the election—it was scheduled to be held at the Ministry.

"Can I come with you?" Neville's tone was pleading. "I want to retrieve the thing Dumbledore left me."

"Don't disrupt the professor's plan," Harry said listlessly. "We'll find another chance."