Both Lockhart and Sirius sensed the subtle tension in the air.
Sirius handled it fine, he was naturally fearless. Lockhart, however, felt somewhat uneasy. Before coming here, it was the first time he'd learned that the current Headmaster of Durmstrang was a former Death Eater!
But given Severus's connection, he assumed the two were at least acquainted friends, if not close.
Yet the faint, hostile atmosphere that emerged upon their meeting caught Lockhart off guard.
Karkaroff glanced out of the corner of his eye at Lockhart and Sirius. He didn't recognize this man and dog, so he couldn't glean any clues from their identities.
"That depends on who you hope I represent."
Severus didn't answer directly, just shrugged.
"So, who exactly have you come here representing?"
Karkaroff finally focused his intense gaze back on Severus, who sat opposite him looking nonchalant, and spoke coldly.
"Why have you come to see me?" Karkaroff didn't think Severus would travel so far just to amuse himself. He must have a purpose.
Without intimidation or unnecessary suspense, Severus directly pulled a moving magical photograph from his robe pocket. The picture clearly showed the Fawley Family.
"You should know them. In a letter around Thanksgiving 1976, you mentioned to them that once the glorious vision of pure-blood rule was achieved, you'd be willing to recommend them to teach Magical History at Durmstrang. Among the Death Eaters, your relationship was decent, correct?"
Seeing the photograph, memories long discarded into the rubbish heap of his mind quickly resurfaced for Karkaroff.
He narrowed his eyes slightly, still unable to fully grasp Severus's intention.
"That was in the past. And honestly, there wasn't much personal affection between us. The relationship back then was primarily based on my admiration for their scholarship and research in Magical History."
Severus just chuckled.
"Is that how you explained things to Voldemort too?"
The moment that name was spoken, Karkaroff's body visibly trembled the next second. His expression was one of sheer terror.
"You...!"
"What do you still have to fear? Back then, when the Fawleys angered Voldemort by wanting to leave the Death Eaters, you used that as an excuse to distance yourself from them. Later, when Voldemort fell from power, you similarly betrayed the others, escaping the fate of being purged along with them."
Severus stared at Karkaroff.
"Regardless of whose stance I represent today, for you, there are no escape routes left. Voldemort would never accept you back. Don't you agree?"
Karkaroff swallowed hard. He was clearly being overpowered by Severus's imposing manner, but his agile mind never stopped working.
"Those reports from Britain are true... those fools really tried to break into Azkaban and got caught! Dumbledore's statements are also true! That person... that person..."
"You want to know the details, don't you? You need someone who was truly involved to tell you the whole story, to confirm your judgment, to let you relax completely, to never again fear potential future reprisals."
Severus's voice sounded like a devil's temptation in Karkaroff's ears.
"Such a need is simple, insignificant like wondering if there's steak for lunch. But it's also difficult because very few truly know what happened. And you need to find someone with a credible basis for trust."
"Coincidentally, I was fully involved in those events in Britain. And aren't we alike? You exposed your former comrades; I sided with Dumbledore. We share the same stance. So, the information I provide on this matter is trustworthy to you."
Seeing this unfold behind Severus, Lockhart couldn't help but lean down and whisper to Sirius,
"Is his tongue always this sharp? It's scarier than a Veela's natural allure magic!"
Sirius shook his dog head and muttered,
"He was never like this before... all clumsy with words..."
And Karkaroff was clearly completely persuaded by Severus's words. His gaze returned to the photograph of the Fawley Family.
"What do you want to know about them? Just tell me."
"That's not your concern. I found some letters at their house and discovered something about a person."
Severus laid the letters out in front of Karkaroff.
"Among the Death Eaters, there was someone with a particularly close relationship with their family. Did you know this?"
"Close relationship? There was more than one. The Fawleys, like the Greengrass, were quite popular among many pure-blood and even non-pure-blood wizards. The specific one you're referring to might not be so easy to identify."
Karkaroff took the letters and examined them carefully. After reading the contents, he frowned slightly.
"From their correspondence, it's clear the letter writer was the Fawleys' co-conspirator in wanting to leave the Death Eaters. Although there have been rumors all these years that many regretted it and wanted to leave, we all know the only ones who actually dared to ask that of... him... were the Fawleys..."
As he mused aloud, his gaze suddenly fixed on one particular letter.
"Wait... this handwriting style... I think I've seen it somewhere..."
Severus also looked at the letter Karkaroff was holding.
Unlike the other letters, which used fonts clearly copied and pasted from printed books, a certain word in this letter employed an extremely rare, obscure spelling.
The writer couldn't find a suitable source to copy from, so this particular word was handwritten!