Hogwarts: I am Snape

Chapter 126 Secret Mission
The morning light filtered through the deep green lake, casting ripples on the dormitory walls. Snape opened his eyes, the scent of jasmine from his dream still lingering in his nostrils.

In his dream, Nagini's human form appeared so real that he subconsciously reached out to touch the pillow, as if hoping to feel the touch of human skin.

His fingertips touched only the cool scales. Snape sat up and carefully observed her—Nagini was awake and staring at him with her vertical green pupils. The scales on her body were indeed brighter than yesterday, no longer that deep, dark green.

Even more surprisingly, when she responded by raising her head, a long-lost gleam seemed to return to her snake eyes.

"Good morning, Nagini." He cleared his throat and whispered in a Parsleyan accent, his voice a little dry from just waking up.

Nagini's forked tongue twitched rapidly in response, making a soft sound. She nuzzled his wrist affectionately, then coiled up his arm, finally resting on his shoulder.

“Are you feeling better?” he asked softly, his fingers gently stroking her head. Nagini hissed in response.

After donning the black robe, the little snake skillfully burrowed into Snape's robe and found a comfortable spot to coil up inside his sleeve.

On a weekend morning, there weren't many people eating in the auditorium.

Snape sat alone at the end of the Slytherin table, chewing on bread, his mind racing. If his guess was correct, Tom would definitely use Nagini to blackmail him, no matter what methods he used.

“This can’t go on,” he put down his knife and wiped his mouth. “Indulging in this illusory tenderness will only make me more vulnerable. Tom wants to use this to manipulate me, and I should have corresponding countermeasures. In the worst case, I’ll just have to find another way to break the blood curse.”

As Snape rose and left the Great Hall, stepping out of the castle gates, the cool breeze dispelled the irritation in his heart.

He walked along the lawn toward Hagrid's cabin, his shoes rustling on the dew-covered grass.

The tall figure of the hunting ground guard was busy in the vegetable garden behind the hut.

Hagrid had his back to him and was muttering to himself in front of several pumpkins that were half a person tall. His furtive movements were completely out of proportion to his enormous size, making him look rather comical.

"Hagrid, what are you doing?" Snape approached the vegetable patch, raising his voice slightly to get the other's attention.

"Merlin!" Hagrid was startled and almost stepped on his own foot.

He quickly hid the object behind his back. "N-nothing, Severus!" he stammered, one hand behind his back and the other pointing at the pumpkins. "I was just... taking care of them."

"What are you holding?" Snape noticed the pink umbrella tip flashing past Hagrid's back, pointed at the enormous pumpkins, and asked deliberately, "Why are they so big? Are they a special variety?"

“They…uh…they’re just that big.” Hagrid stammered.

Snape almost burst out laughing as Hagrid awkwardly spun around, trying to block his view.

“You’ve done a great job,” he praised, observing the thriving pumpkin. “Was it an expansion spell?”

Hagrid looked around to make sure no one else was nearby before he breathed a sigh of relief.

“Hehe, they look pretty good, don’t they?” he said. “I gave them a little—how should I put it—a little help.”

“For the Halloween party—it’ll be big enough by then.” He carefully took the little pink umbrella out from behind his back and winked at Snape. “But…” he added in a low voice, “don’t tell anyone, okay?”

“Of course,” Snape said with a smile, “I’m sure everyone will love your pumpkin.”

“Hey, Severus,” Hagrid suddenly leaned closer and said in a deep, gruff voice, “I heard from Dumbledore that you joined that organization too?”

“Yes, the Order of the Phoenix,” Snape replied. “From now on, we’re on the same side, Hagrid. By the way, have you had breakfast?”

“I’ve eaten,” Hagrid said happily, seemingly excited to share the secret. “I have some freshly baked rock cakes, would you like some?”

“Oh, no need, I’ve already eaten.” Snape refused decisively; the taste of the rock bread was still unforgettable to him. He quickly changed the subject, “I came to borrow a few roosters from you.”

"A rooster?" Hagrid scratched his messy hair in confusion, his thick eyebrows furrowing. "What are you going to do, cook for yourself?"

“No,” Snape said, “I’m just borrowing them, but I may not be able to return them. If I can’t, I’ll buy them.”

"Oh, okay, no problem." Hagrid's large face showed a puzzled expression, but he still nodded. "How many do you need?"

"How many do you have?" Snape countered.

"Hmm..." Hagrid counted on his fingers, "About ten or so."

"Then lend them all to me," Snape said without any politeness.

"What do you need so many roosters for?" Hagrid's eyes widened even more.

"Don't ask anymore." Snape took a deep breath, lowered his voice, and said with unquestionable authority, "Professor Dumbledore gave me this task."

Upon hearing the principal's name, Hagrid immediately straightened his back and adopted a solemn expression.

“Of course, they’re over there.” He pointed to a shed made of branches and barbed wire in the distance. “Come with me.”

Hagrid pushed open the creaking gate, and the chickens immediately stirred.

A spotted rooster strode to the front, head held high, and watched Snape warily. Hagrid happily went to the corner and picked up a few eggs—they looked pitifully small in his enormous hands.

“They’re all here,” Hagrid said. “Let me count… one, two… seven roosters in total.” He hesitated for a moment. “What are you going to do with them?”

“I’ll get Dobby the house-elf to come and help,” Snape said, already thinking about his next move.

"Can Dobby take that much?" Hagrid asked.

“Oh, I’ll have to trouble you to tie the roosters together for him then,” Snape said, adding solemnly, “Thank you, Hagrid. This…”

"I understand, I understand!" Hagrid made a closure gesture. "Secret mission!"

After waving goodbye to Hagrid, Snape did not return directly to the castle, but turned and walked towards the cast-iron gates, heading straight for Diagon Alley.

In the secondhand broom shop, Snape meticulously inspected several brooms.

The shopkeeper was an old wizard with a wrinkled face who kept boasting about which Quidditch stars these brooms had once belonged to.

“This ‘Three-Star Sweep’ shot,” the old man said in a hoarse voice, “was used by a backup seeker for the Wimbledon Hornets in 1972.”

Snape scoffed, but still bought the cheapest antique—all he needed was for it to fly.

Next, he walked through the Leaky Cauldron into London, where he bought a welding helmet at a hardware store; at a convenience store on the corner, he bought more than ten cases of Coca-Cola; and finally, he went to a pet store and bought several fancy rats…

“Money is flowing like water.” He counted his dwindling purse. “I’ll have to go to Gringotts to get more money again. I’d better think of a way to increase my income; I can’t just sit around and do nothing.” It was already afternoon when he returned to Hogwarts. Snape quickly headed towards the Room of Requirement on the eighth floor.

Pushing open the door, he saw Pandora and Lily, with Dobby's help, busily brewing a potion. The boiling liquid in the cauldron emitted strange smoke, but the two seemed completely unconcerned.

“Excuse me for interrupting,” he said, breaking their rhythm. “I need Dobby to help me out a little for now.”

“Severus?” Lily looked up, blinking in surprise. “Uh, what do you need Dobby to do?”

“It’s nothing,” Snape said. “It’ll be over in a minute.”

Dobby put down the dishes he was holding and looked at them with his big eyes full of expectation: "Dobby is willing to serve Mr. Snape!"

“I think it’s fine.” Pandora wiped her hands and nodded to Dobby. “The two of us can handle it.”

“Okay, Dobby, come with me.” Snape waved to them. “I’ll be right back.”

After arriving in the corridor with Dobby, he led the little elf all the way to the girls' restroom where Myrtle had once "lived".

The corridor was empty, with only their footsteps echoing between the stone walls.

“I need you to do a few things for me, Dobby.” Snape pushed open the door, and a musty, damp smell hit him. “It’s very important, it concerns the safety of Hogwarts.”

“Dobby is willing to do anything for you, sir!” The little elf bowed happily, his pointed ears twitching excitedly.

After Myrtle left, the girls' restroom on the second floor remained empty, unused. The dusty mirrors, leaky faucets, and mottled walls spoke volumes about its neglect.

“Alright.” Snape turned and closed the door. “First, go to the field, to Hagrid’s henhouse at the hunting grounds, and bring all the roosters here. Be careful not to let anyone other than Hagrid see you.”

Dobby nodded and immediately disappeared into thin air.

During this time, Snape checked each cubicle and confirmed that no one was there.

Less than five minutes later, the little elf reappeared with a snap, clutching a string of seven struggling roosters and a large cloth bag.

A rooster with brightly colored feathers broke free from the elf's hand and flapped its wings in the washroom, crowing loudly.

Snape quickly cast an earplugs spell on the bathroom door before letting out a sigh of relief.

Dobby put the bag on the ground with a thud.

“What is this?” Snape asked.

“Rock crust,” Dobby replied, “Mr. Hagrid said it was delicious.”

“Oh well,” Snape said helplessly. “Never mind it.”

“Listen, Dobby,” he crouched down to be at eye level with the elf, “I’ll call you in a moment. You need to bring all the roosters to me, put them down, and leave immediately, understand?”

“Dobby understands!” the little elf nodded vigorously.

“Very good.” Snape took two protective masks out of his bag and used magic to shrink one of them to a suitable size. “This is to protect your eyes,” he explained, putting the mask over Dobby’s head. The little elf curiously poked at the lenses with his finger. “When you bring me the rooster, keep your head down and don’t look around.”

He then put on another mask and adjusted its tightness.

Through the dark lenses, the world turned a dark green, which reminded him of the lake in his dormitory.

Under Dobby's watchful eye, he walked to the pool, stared at the small snake engraved on the bronze dragon head, and hissed, "Open it."

In an instant, the dragon head emitted a dazzling white light and began to spin rapidly. Then, the pool slowly moved and sank into the ground.

Snape watched as the pool slowly disappeared from sight, revealing a thick water pipe large enough for an adult to crawl into.

"What is this?!" came Dobby's surprised gasp from behind him.

“Don’t worry, Dobby,” Snape said, turning to point at the pipes. His voice, deep and distant through his mask, added, “After you’ve delivered the rooster, if I’m not back up within half an hour, go find Dumbledore and tell him everything that happened here. Got it?”

"Dobby remembers," the little elf said nervously, twisting his fingers.

“I’m going down now,” Snape said, giving his equipment one last check and looking at Dobby’s little head covered by the shield. “Remember what I said.”

Dobby nodded awkwardly.

Snape took a deep breath, took Nagini out of his robes, and gently placed her on the ground: "You stay here."

Then, holding his wand and the fairy-made dagger, he stuck his legs into the tube.

“Remember, half an hour,” he gave Dobby his final instructions, then braced himself with his elbow and slid into the dark pipe.

The descent was more unsettling than I had imagined.

Snape felt like he was rushing down a dark, sticky, endless slide.

He could see many branch pipes branching off in all directions, but none were as thick as the main pipe. The pipe beneath him twisted and turned, winding its way down a steep slope.

The pipes twisted and turned, steep and winding. Snape kept bumping into things at the bends, knowing he had slid deep beneath the castle, several times deeper than the Slytherin common room at the bottom of the lake.

Just as he began to think about how to slow down, the angle of the water pipe gradually decreased until it became horizontal. He adjusted his posture to prepare for landing.

With a muffled thud, he emerged from the pipe and fell onto the damp ground with a thud, the sound echoing in the dark tunnel.

It was a dark stone tunnel, large enough for him to stand upright inside.

Snape quickly got up, wiped the slime off his hands, raised his wand, and muttered, "Fluorescence!"

The light from the tip of the wand illuminated the surroundings.

The tunnel walls were covered with sticky secretions, the ground was slippery and littered with small animal bones, and the air was filled with a putrid, fishy smell.

Snape pattered on the damp ground, cautiously moving forward, his wand ready to cast a spell at any moment.

　感谢影魔奶窝猫、不存在的读者0号、猪也会飞、EVA孤狼、亚圣Semisanctu、薛定谔的梦喵、乐子人W、undefined_Aa、海沉舟、书友20170107223637715、书友20230114095621379、书友20170107223637715、书友20200214114556764的月票。

　　
　
(End of this chapter)