Chapter 3
Lord Voldemort POV
It had been 8 hours since he had kept foot in the Castle of the Gryffindors. Their King Harry Potter had met him, but the distrust in the man's eyes was plain to see. Still, he and his soldiers had been housed in well furnished rooms.
"We'll talk later tonight, Lord Voldemort," King Potter had told him.
He was eagerly awaiting news from Rosier now. He had him to work upon setting foot here. A knock roused him from his thoughts.
"Come in."
His chief-spy, Rosier stepped in and bowed to him. Rosier had fairly ordinary looks, and a talent of blending in the background, making him a reliable spy.
"What have you gathered on the royal family?" he asked Rosier.
"My Lord, the House of Potter joined hands in matrimony with the Weasleys for their military help. While Sir Ronald Weasley is at best average, his elder brothers, Bill and Charlie are most competent. The third brother Percy is not militarily equipped, but is a decent accounts-man, while the next brothers Fred and George have excused themselves from any royal duties—they have their own shop of amusements and manage a circus troupe. As for the Queen...she is generous, but prone to a temper, and like King Potter, she has some affinity to magic—I've heard she can control fire. Her powers are kept quiet though."
He walked around the room as he listened to Rosier. It was information that they had more or less known. But he didn't have any point of weakness in his hands. Going into negotiations, having the opponent's weaknesses in one's knowledge was always a game-changer. It made one the controller, from a mere pawn.
"This information...Rosier, this is not going to help us much. Go again, find everything you can, any hidden skeletons of the Potter family, or even the Weasley family, you must find. I negotiate with the King tonight. Report to me by 7 in the evening, if you find anything else."
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The serving lady who put the plate in front of him, trembled, almost sloshing the wine, but she placed the plate down. He knew his agitation was affecting people around him, but he couldn't care less. The full moon was in a week, and before that time, he had to conclude everything here and head back to Silverhaven.
His mood improved significantly when Rosier came to meet him at 3 in the afternoon.
And the news that he had got was, while not really a weakness, it was promising.
"My Lord, the House of Potter were not the only successors to the throne. Distant cousins of the previous King, also would have had a claim. They could still have a claim to the throne if they have a son. But the couple is past child-bearing age, and they only have a daughter."
"Why is it that I'm hearing for the first time about this contending line?"
"My Lord, the family had stopped living in the palace after the death of King James, and they have been living like commoners in the village. I can get more information to you, if you command."
He thought for some time. There was nothing to explore with the Houses of Potter and Weasley, no big secret to unearth. But this contending line to the throne...that should be explored.
"Rosier, find everything you can about this contending line." Pulling loose a pouch of gold from his belt, he handed it to Rosier.
"Use any means possible, Rosier. But get me complete information on this contending line before I meet Potter."
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He was sitting near Potter's throne, a welcome dance was being performed in front of him. Briarwood, renowned for its medicines, had a love-hate relationship with pixies—pixies ate many of their useful plants, but they pollinated a lot of other plants, as well as their magic created some of the springiest woods, which was exported to Silverhaven for wand-making. The dancers were enacting a song on Pixie Rain, trying to depict the graceful moves of the pixies who fluttered in the rain, adding magic to plants, wilfully plucking away some others. The dancers were talented, but his mind churned with the thought that despite it being 8 o'clock, Rosier had not come to him. In another hour, Potter would convene with him in his meeting chamber, and he would not have any inside-information on him.
Just then his dark mark twinged, alerting him that one of his Knights had called, and glancing around the room, he spotted the figure of Rosier blending in with the maids at the far-corner of the room. The signal caught, he told Potter that he wished to change his clothes before dinner. It was rude, getting up from a State performance, but the information Rosier might have for him was worth more than the show of the twirling dancers.
He went back to his room, Rosier joining him there. Casting an anti-spy spell, and a muffliato spell, he got Rosier talking.
"The contending family line is the House of Granger, My Lord. They live a mere 6 hours away from the Castle. The family is known for its healing ability. All three are herbologists and potioneers."
When Rosier paused, as if to relay something, but he wasn't sure of the veracity of the claim, Voldemort prompted him to continue, "Don't worry Rosier, tell me everything. It can be checked later how much is true, but tell me what you've found."
Rosier bowed his head in acquiescence, and said, "The girl who had been near the forest when we came here, is Miss Granger, the sole heir to the House of Granger. She would have been a contender to the throne had she been a man. And, this information is not verified, but Miss Granger is engaged to be married to Sir Ronald Weasley. There has been no official engagement, but it seems Sir Ronald is fixed on getting Miss Granger as his wife."
"I see. You have done good work Rosier. You can rest, I won't be needing you for anything else. Inform the others that they must remain calm, no matter they provocation they receive from anybody, especially Abraxas. He wishes to go after Ronald for their altercation yesterday. Inform Abraxas that I do not want any fights from him."
'Yes, my Lord, I shall do so."
With Rosier gone, Voldemort couldn't help recalling the girl who had stopped his horse. She was pretty, and powerful. Of all the members of the royal family, even though he had not interacted with her, he knew she was the most capable. Now, Ronald Weasley was not a capable man. It seemed that he could ask Potter about his capable cousin to rattle him during the talks. Potter was mostly under the thumb of his wife and her family.
A dark chuckle escaped him. Oh, he so looked forward to rattling Potter now.