The castle, which has been passed down for thousands of years and has gone through many vicissitudes of history, still exudes mysterious magic amidst the heavy snow. During the Christmas holidays, Hogwarts is much quieter than in the past.
In the empty castle, except for the whispers of the figures in the portraits hanging on both sides of the long and narrow corridors and the clanking sounds of the standing armors, only Peeves' shrill singing pierced the silence of the castle from time to time.
Severus Snape's vigorous steps caused his robes to bulge into a fluttering cloak. The whole person looked like a big bat with wings spread but running on its feet, and the look on his face It could be seen from his sinister look and pale lips that he was in a bad mood at the moment.
"Ice lemon juice."
After hearing the correct command, the ugly stone monster jumped aside quickly, even a little hurriedly, and seemed to be afraid of something.
Snape strode into the cracked wall, and the moment he entered the circular office hidden behind the wall, his mood quietly became a little worse for no reason.
Albus Dumbledore, the greatest wizard of our time, is leaning on the back of his chair. Behind the half-moon-shaped mirror frame, his unreachable blue gaze is projected on the high dome of the office. His slender fingers are interlaced on a table filled with strange alchemy tools and equipment. There are piles of letters waiting to be answered on a spindly-legged desk.
"Where have you been?"
Snape glanced at Dumbledore's purple traveling cloak that had not yet been taken off, and his tone was straightforward.
"Just going for a walk," Dumbledore withdrew his deep gaze and said with a gentle smile, "You know, Severus, for an old man like me, it is very useful to maintain a moderate amount of exercise. necessary."
"Indeed," Snape said with a hint of sarcasm, "How many days have you been walking around?"
Snape's reaction could be said to be expected. Dumbledore smiled nonchalantly and asked, "How is Miss Granger's situation?"
"It's relatively stable. Pomfrey is dealing with her problem in the right way. As long as she rests for a few weeks, she will return to normal."
Snape's tone was stiff, but he finally answered the question truthfully. But when he saw Dumbledore's expression of relief and was about to reveal the question, he finally couldn't hold back his anger.
"I think you should know very well what those smart and pushy Gryffindor guys did. They were secretly brewing Polyjuice Potion and had the audacity to break into my office and steal the materials. Dumbledore, what? This school has become so tolerant at that time, and breaking school rules and stealing professors’ property are actually allowed?”
"Despicable behavior is never allowed,"
Snape's reluctance seemed to make Dumbledore tired from the long journey. He took off the glasses frame from his nose and rubbed his eyebrows.
"But we should observe people's intentions through their behavior to judge whether they are equally despicable at heart. Severus, I don't think Harry, Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger want to investigate. The conduct of the attack was despicable."
"So you're going to keep letting him go, even if he's in danger because of your reckless behavior?"
For some reason, Snape's face looked slightly pale under the gentle firelight. Although he did not name him by name in his words, Snape could be sure that Dumbledore would understand.
There was no sound in the office all of a sudden, except for the slight snores of the previous principals in a row of murals hanging on the walls, and Fox's subtle but crisp cry.
"Not indulging, Severus, but observing."
After a long silence, Dumbledore spoke again, but his tone lacked the silent confidence.
"It is true that the boundary between courage and recklessness is sometimes not so clear, but when we treat young people, we should be more tolerant, Severus, so as to avoid stifling their innate advantages as much as possible."
"tolerate?"
The corner of Snape's mouth twitched. He was extremely reluctant, but couldn't help but recall the past when he was studying in this school.
"Don't put gold on your face, Principal Dumbledore, you have always been tolerant of students you admire."
Snape completely transferred his hatred of James Potter and love for Lily Evans to Harry. On the one hand, he had to protect the son of the woman he loved, and at the same time, he had to endure that the child was so similar to his father. , which made Snape's emotions extremely distorted.
"Let's get this over with, Severus."
Since Harry Potter entered this school, such conversations have happened countless times in private, and even Dumbledore felt very helpless about it.
"Can you please go to the school gate to greet a guest for me?"
Dumbledore stood up. He couldn't see guests in the clothes he was wearing.
"Actually, this job should have been left to Minerva. Unfortunately, she accepted the invitation from the editorial team of "Transfiguration Today" to attend a cocktail party about transfiguration. This was a rare leisure for her. I Try not to disturb."
Snape was not interested in Dumbledore's private appointment. He turned around and strode away. Because of the memories of the past dancing in his mind, his face was even worse than when he entered the office.
But something went wrong. Before leaving the office, he suddenly stopped, turned around and looked back at Dumbledore, who was cleaning the dirt on the hem of his robe with his wand, his voice suspicious.
"Who did you meet?"
"Ah - actually I originally planned to let you know about this surprise at the school gate, but since you asked,"
Dumbledore smiled, and an unreadable light bloomed in his blue eyes again.
"Amosta Brain, one of the students you have admired most over the years."
............
December 31 at 7:40 pm.
Amosta, who took the express train and got off at Hogsmeade Station, walked through a long section of snow-covered path and appeared outside the big iron gate of Hogwarts on time.
The two wild boar sculptures with wings on their backs at the school gate have been guarding this great magic school for thousands of years. Amosta’s sighing eyes passed through the iron gate and fence, and flew over the playground with six tall clubs and the cliff. The dark castle on the shore disappears into the boundless forbidden forest.
I have to admit, it feels better to be here again than I imagined.
"I already guessed when I got on the train that it would be you, Professor, who would greet me."
The rusty door slowly opened with a creaking sound. Amosta stepped into the school gate and faced the black figure striding towards him. When Severus Snape's expressionless face Face silhouetted in the dim light, Amosta put down her suitcase, opened her arms and smiled sincerely.
ps: Keep asking for collection and investment!
