Hogwarts: Becoming the White Lord from Breathing

Chapter 163 Snape's Dissatisfaction
Valentine's Day, which captivated girls, is finally over.

In the boys' senses, everything was finally slowly getting back on track—they no longer had to worry about their every move disturbing the girls.

At the same time, they were both relieved and disappointed that, after Valentine's Day, the Duel Prince still hadn't found his partner.

This means that they still have ample opportunities to choose a partner when facing single female students at school.

But the tragedy lies precisely in this.

As long as the Duel Prince remains undecided about his partner, every girl feels she might have a chance—especially the most outstanding witches.

In a sense, while they have full opportunities to choose a partner, they have also completely lost those opportunities on another level.

Whether it's Ginny, the breathtakingly beautiful new school beauty in freshman year, the Petit sisters, who are famous in sophomore year, or Cho Chang, the Quidditch star in junior year, or Gemma Farley, the Slytherin beauty in sixth year, they all remain single, surprisingly and quite reasonably.

The male wizards who could have had a close relationship with them have now had the door closed and the windows shut by God, who is known as the 'Duel Prince'.

Fortunately, their minds were still somewhat clear—they knew it wasn't Damon's fault, but rather that they weren't good enough, nothing more.

This is why Snape's Defense Against the Dark Arts has become the most popular course at Hogwarts recently—everyone wants to learn as many as possible, not only to prepare for future final exams, but also for the more distant OWL exams.

If it was a matter of schoolwork before, it has now become a major life event concerning the right to choose a spouse and the continuation of the family line!

Amidst the students' busy studies at Hogwarts, the lotus flowers quietly bloomed in summer.

The sky, like the lake, turned a pale blue with a purplish hue, and large flowers, as big as cabbages, bloomed in the greenhouse.

Thanks to Snape's persistent efforts and the students' heartfelt hard work, the Duel Club was reopened—led by Professor Flitwick, with Snape as his deputy.

This left Snape quite unwilling, but he had no choice but to accept it, even though he felt terrible about it.

"Dumbledore has never trusted me, just as he has never trusted you."

After a Friday class, Snape looked at Damon, who had once again perfectly created a potion, and said those words out of the blue.

"Why are you suddenly saying this?" Damon was a little confused. "Oh—I know, it's about the Duel Club?"

Seeing Snape's gloomy face and silence, Damon couldn't help but laugh.

"Professor, are you just trying to show off?"

“What are you saying?” Snape glared at Damon.

“Professor Flitwick is an excellent mentor, and he was a dueling tournament champion when he was young. I think it is a convincing thing for him to lead the team.”

"What, am I not good enough? Is being a Duel Champion something to be proud of?"
In my opinion, this kind of competition is nothing more than tying people's hands and feet and putting shackles on them—what's the difference between this kind of duel and a monkey show?

"Hmm—it smells sour!"

Damon pretended to be unable to stand it and fanned his nose with his hand.

Snape's expression grew even uglier.

If it were during his first year, he would have definitely kicked Damon out of his office with the potion! But now it's not so easy. Even if Snape doesn't want to admit it, it's no use—he hopes to get Damon's approval on this matter.

If Damon acknowledged his dueling skills and believed he was no less capable than Flitwick, only serving as a second-in-command due to Dumbledore's distrust, Snape felt much better.

It's strange, when did he become so 'fragile'? He actually needs to find confidence in a child?

Snape examined his own heart and secretly mocked himself.

"Professor, of course I don't doubt your ability, but you don't need to attack other people's matches."

Damon shook his head. "Professor Flitwick is a very easy person to talk to. You can bring up any ideas you have about the club's specific policies with him, and he will definitely accept your reasonable suggestions. If you don't always side with the Slytherin students, perhaps everyone will trust you a little more."

"Are you trying to teach me how to do things?!"

Having gotten the answer he wanted, Snape felt relieved and prepared to send the others away.

"As for Professor Dumbledore—"

Damon hadn't forgotten Snape's initial question, which softened Snape's expression somewhat—although he hadn't asked, he knew Damon understood what he meant.

If Damon doesn't want to answer, he'll naturally pretend to be clueless and skip it, and Damon won't press him for an answer.

But if the other party is willing to answer, that would be excellent. Perhaps this also shows that my relationship with this kid is closer than my relationship with Dumbledore.

After all, although Dumbledore was nominally Damon's teacher, it was he who taught the kid Occlumency.

Not to mention the high-level magical potions available now.

“I believe Professor Dumbledore trusts me completely—and I also believe he doesn’t trust you completely.”

Hearing the certainty in Damon's words, Snape looked disdainful and retorted with a sneer:

"If this conclusion is based on your dulled senses—that you are willing to completely believe a teacher who clearly took you as a disciple but never taught you—then so be it, I have no objection."

“If that’s how you want to think, then think that way. Live with your prejudices and arrogance. I quite like your attitude, Professor.”

Damon smiled too, but his smile was clearly much more genuine than Snape's.

He stopped looking at Snape, waved his hand, and walked away lightly, leaving Snape alone in deep thought.

Damon's attitude made him uncontrollably overthink—had the mentor and apprentice reached some kind of consensus somewhere, without his knowledge?
Don't I know Damon well enough?!
This doesn't mean he cares about Damon or wants to understand him; rather, it means he can use this kid to get to know Dumbledore better from a different perspective. Even after working with this old man for a long time, Snape still felt he hadn't fully understood this powerful wizard.

Voldemort will return one day, and he will fulfill his promise and return to his identity as a double agent. Have I been too relaxed lately?

However, with Dumbledore and Damon around, Voldemort has been proven to be no invincible. Does he really need to be on edge all the time?

In the cold, gloomy office, the light on Snape's face flickered, constantly appearing and disappearing.

(End of this chapter)