Hogwarts: I am Snape

Chapter 119 No Need for Such a Great Ceremony
These words also disappeared quickly, but only after Snape started writing on them.

"Hello, Tom. Who are you? Why are you able to communicate with me?" He didn't answer Tom's question, but instead asked out of curiosity.

Narcissa held her breath, eagerly awaiting Riddle's answer.

“No, this is not a real communication,” Riddle replied perfectly in the diary. “I am just a memory, a recollection written in a diary, no different from a portrait hanging on the wall.”

Snape stopped writing on the paper. He looked at Narcissa, who had a thoughtful expression on her face and was watching intently as Riddle's handwriting slowly faded from the diary.

Then she looked at him and silently asked with her lips, "Is Tom Riddle the Dark Lord?"

“Yes,” Snape nodded and said softly, “Wait a moment.”

He closed his diary, tucked it into his robe, picked up a blank parchment from the table, wrote down the clever connection between Riddle's and the Dark Lord's names, and showed it to Narcissa.

"Do you understand now?" Snape asked.

“I understand,” Narcissa murmured, her eyes shining brightly in the light, filled with a mixture of fear, shock, and a strange excitement. “We’ll keep it a secret.”

“That’s what I like about you,” Snape said sincerely, waving his wand and chanting an incantation that caused a blue bellflower-like flame to shoot from the tip of the wand.

The parchment burned completely in the flames.

With Snape's words, "Disappeared," even the ashes turned to nothingness.

“Hey,” Lucius couldn’t help but whisper, his silver-grey eyes filled with confusion and anxiety, “what are you talking about?”

“None of your business, Lucius,” Snape said. “Just remember to listen to Narcissa; she’ll decide what to tell you.”

Lucius glanced at Snape with displeasure, his Adam's apple bobbing. But out of respect for the wand in Snape's hand, he immediately fell silent.

“Sir,” he finally relented, his tone strained with politeness, “now that you have the notebook, could you please leave peacefully? If you have any further needs, please let me know.”

“Thank you for your cooperation. That’s all, I think,” Snape said, placing their wands on the desk and untying Narcissa’s ropes.

"Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy," he said, pointing his wand at them with one hand and reaching into his pocket with the other to pull out a parchment containing the door key. "Have a pleasant evening."

“Wait, sir.” Narcissa called out to him before he could open the parchment. “It would be better for you to leave Malfoy Manor through the proper channels, just as you came.”

Snape stopped unwrapping the parchment, put it back in his pocket, and nodded. "Alright, then I'll need your help."

After naturally tucking the two wands on the table into his robes, Snape untied Lucius from his restraints.

“Come here,” he said, “come out with me.”

In front of them, Snape hid his wand in his sleeve, had Narcissa hold his hand, and pointed the wand at her.

“Lucius, you go first,” he said.

Then, under the gaze of the portraits of Malfoy's ancestors on the wall, they left the mansion chatting and laughing.

“You don’t need to worry,” Narcissa said in the living room. “Lucius and I will go to the house-elf relocation office and apply for a better, more obedient elf.”

She lowered her voice even further and said to Snape, "I will contact Abraxas shortly afterward and learn about Dobby from him."

“Very good,” Snape said approvingly.

After leaving Malfoy Manor, Snape stood outside the wrought-iron gates and said to them, "No need to see me off. Just wait here. I'll put your wands on the ground in a bit."

He followed the country path into the distance to get out of the range of the Anti-Illusion Charm.

Unexpectedly, Narcissa whispered something to Lucius, then walked toward Snape, her footsteps sounding exceptionally clear in the quiet night.

"Is there anything else?" Snape asked, turning around when he heard footsteps behind him.

“Severus,” Narcissa asked in a low voice, her voice trembling with unease, “is what you said about the deadly danger facing Abraxas Malfoy true?”

“Of course,” Snape said, “I wouldn’t lie to you about this.”

"Specifically?" Narcissa pressed.

"The position of Defense Against the Dark Arts instructor," Snape explained, "is cursed by the Dark Lord, and no one has ever been able to teach in this position safely for more than a year."

“We’ve all heard about this,” Narcissa said, “but Lucius told me that he suggested Abraxas go to Hogwarts with the Dark Lord’s approval.”

"Do you think the Death Eaters are the Dark Lord's friends or just dispensable servants?" Snape gave a mocking smile. He knew Narcissa was more clear-headed than Lucius and better able to see the Dark Lord's true nature.

After a moment of silence, a hint of approval flashed in Narcissa's eyes, and she slowly said, "Servant."

“Severus,” she continued, “has also received approval from the department for his appointment.”

“Well,” Snape shook his head, “you bunch of politicians, really…”

“By the way,” he abruptly changed the subject, “did you know that your brother Regulus Black also became a Death Eater?”

"What?" Narcissa's voice shrilled, almost losing control of her volume. "Reg is a Death Eater?"

Snape looked at her with pity and nodded.

Narcissa's face was already shockingly pale. At this moment, her skin even seemed to glow coldly pale in the night, and her long golden hair was draped down her back, making her look like a person who had drowned.

“He’s not an adult yet.” Narcissa’s chest heaved as she spoke in a low, menacing voice, her tone laced with obvious anger. “Lucius never told me this. Isn’t Bella enough for the Black family?”

Snape shrugged. "The Dark Lord obviously doesn't think so." Although he knew from Kreacher's story that Regulus had joined the Dark Lord's ranks entirely voluntarily, with pride and joy, why should he tell Narcissa that? Keeping her angry at the Dark Lord was more in line with his plan.

Looking into Narcissa's blue eyes, which were filled with hatred, Snape understood why Narcissa had chosen to deceive Tom in the final battle.

From her perspective, even setting aside Sirius Black as a "family traitor," the Dark Lord did indeed cause the death of her own brother, put her husband in jail, and send her beloved son to a series of seemingly impossible and fatal missions due to her husband's mistakes.

Moreover, with her intelligence, it wouldn't be hard for her to figure out that by saving Harry's life, all the Malfoy family's mistakes could be overlooked.

“I’ll go find Reg and see his arm.” Narcissa’s words interrupted Snape’s thoughts. Her voice had returned to calm, but the anger in her eyes still burned.

“Okay,” he said, “that way you’ll see I wasn’t lying to you.”

“I don’t think you would lie to me, Severus,” Narcissa said. “I just wanted to confirm. Also, I’d like to remind you that Bellatrix has been looking for you, and the scars you left on her face aren’t very pretty.”

“Alas,” Snape sighed, speaking in an exaggeratedly melancholic tone, “I always seem to leave an indelible mark on girls, whether on their bodies or their souls.”

"How could you say such a strange thing?" Narcissa couldn't help but roll her eyes at him.

“Honestly,” Snape’s tone turned serious, “you’d better advise her not to come to me. I can’t guarantee that next time it won’t just be a shallow scratch. She once tried to kill your other sister and her family, including even a four-year-old girl.”

“I will,” Narcissa said. “Goodbye, Severus, keep in touch.”

“Keep in touch,” Snape said, taking a few steps back, placing Lucius and Narcissa’s wands on the ground, and rising to say, “Take good care of your wands, and don’t give them away to just anyone, especially not the Dark Lord.”

After leaving behind this strange piece of advice, Snape disappeared into the night.

The entrance to Hogwarts School is made of two wrought iron gates that are far more imposing than those of Malfoy Manor. Stone pillars flank the gates, and winged boar sculptures top the pillars.

At this moment, he felt a strange sense of relief. On this journey, he had not only successfully obtained the Horcrux diary capable of absorbing souls, but had also unexpectedly gained a potential ally—Narcissa Malfoy. This intelligent woman, who valued her family above all else, might truly become a vital force in the fight against Voldemort.

Just as Snape raised his wand to open the door, a hook shot forward with irresistible force from behind his navel, lifting him off the ground and into the air. The earth beneath his feet and the door in front of him vanished.

"Oh no," Snape realized amidst the swirling colors and whistling wind that he had been wearing a Portkey around his neck. "It's past midnight, it's just a few steps away, why bother..."

Less than half a second later, his feet slammed heavily onto the floor, his legs buckled, and he knelt on the ground.

Snape looked up; Dumbledore was still sitting behind his desk.

"Rise, Severus, there's no need for such a grand gesture," the headmaster said gently. "How did the task go?"

“Pah,” Snape spat, stood up, and pulled the black diary from his robes. “It went more smoothly than expected, Professor.”

He walked to Dumbledore's desk and handed him the diary: "Don't write anything in it yet, Professor. Let me have a good talk with Tom."

Dumbledore took the diary and examined it carefully, noticing Tom's name on the title page as well. His fingers gently traced the name, and his expression became thoughtful.

After confirming that there was no text on the inner pages, he turned the notebook to the back cover and saw the name of a newsstand on Vauxhall Road in London printed on it.

“Winstony Bookstore and Stationery Store,” the principal read aloud the source of the diary, “interesting, isn’t that next door to the Pwitt family?”

"What?" Snape curiously walked around behind the table and looked down at the words on the back cover. "Ah, what a coincidence. It seems that this is the diary that Tom bought before he came into contact with magic. I wonder if he noticed that the Prewitt family was different from others."

“I don’t think he cares about the buildings on the Muggle streets.” Dumbledore shook his head and asked slowly, “What are you planning to do with it next?”

“Oh, that’s an interesting question.” Snape moved to sit opposite the headmaster, picked up the diary on the table, stuffed it into his bag, tucked it into his pocket, and then continued, “I haven’t decided yet, Professor.”

He held up three long, slender fingers: "However, I currently have three ideas."

"The first idea is to threaten to destroy Tom's soul fragments in the diary in order to coerce him into helping me absorb Nagini's soul and keep her alive."

"The second approach is to use deception to get him to help me achieve the aforementioned goal."

"The third approach is to cooperate with Tom's split soul to achieve mutual benefit and win-win results."

"Cooperation?" Dumbledore asked.

“Yes,” Snape said, “splitting the soul weakens the stability of the body, and Tom in this diary seems to have an independent consciousness. I think he might not mind elevating his status.”

"Are you sure you want to cooperate with Tom?" Dumbledore asked, his brow furrowed.

“Of course—” Snape said, “No, I’m afraid I’ll be deceived by him. Our cooperation is destined to be a mutual deception.”

"Next, I will try to find a way to destroy Horcruxes and a way to save Nagini's life in extreme circumstances."

“Be cautious, Severus.” Dumbledore seemed relieved. “However, would you consider entrusting the diary to me for safekeeping? Perhaps that would be safer?”

“I found this for you, Professor. And I also found the Ravenclaw tiara before.” Snape sighed deeply. “Professor, actually, I am somewhat disappointed in you.”

"When I entrusted the crown to you, I hoped you could give it your all and quickly find a breakthrough. The positions of Hogwarts Headmaster, President of the International Wizarding Federation, and Chief Wizard of Wizengamor are not simply about doing your job well."

"You need to develop the ability to think systematically. What is the value of what you're doing? Why are you doing it, and why can't others? I think it's time for you to make a change—"

"Stop!" Dumbledore snapped at Snape, rubbing his forehead. "If you don't shut up, I'll make you understand why I have such a long list of titles."

“Very well, Professor. It seems we’ve reached an agreement,” Snape said cheerfully. “Since your workload isn’t enough, I’ll entrust you with the important task of preserving Nagini’s life. I hope you won’t disappoint me.”

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(End of this chapter)