Hogwarts: I am Snape

Chapter 141 The Responsibilities of the Deans
The principal's office door was flung open, and Ms. Pomfrey burst in like a gust of wind, her nurse's cap askew and carrying a bulging medical bag.

Behind her, Professor Slughorn followed, panting, his round face flushed, while Professor Flitwick nimbly jumped onto the nearest chair.

"Good heavens!" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed when she saw Dumbledore lying on the bed.

She immediately leaned over the bedside, her wand drawing intricate diagnostic runes on Dumbledore's body.

Professor Slughorn leaned forward, his round belly almost touching Pomfrey's shoulder.

"Let me see, let me see..." he muttered, pulling a crystal bottle from his vest pocket, which contained some kind of purple liquid.

Just as Professor Slughorn was about to drip the purple liquid into Dumbledore's mouth, Snape suddenly asked, "Professor, what is that?"

“Oh, this is my specially made vitality potion,” Professor Slughorn replied without looking up, “It can temporarily enhance the patient’s vitality.”

“Using stimulant drugs prematurely before confirming the cause of the illness may not be appropriate,” Snape said.

“Ah,” Professor Slughorn’s hand froze in mid-air, and he turned his head to say, “Yes, yes, I’m sorry, I overlooked that.” His beard twitched as he retrieved the crystal bottle. “Severus, come and take a look with me.”

Snape walked over to Dumbledore and carefully observed the headmaster's expression. His long, silvery-white beard had lost its former luster, and strange bluish-gray patterns were faintly visible beneath his skin, like some kind of venom spreading through his veins.

“I think it might be related to the undead,” Snape said.

“What?” Ms. Pomfrey looked up.

“The place we’re going to should theoretically have a lot of Inferi,” Snape said, pointing to the black spots that were gradually appearing on the back of Dumbledore’s hand. “These symptoms remind me of the Inferi curse described in The Poisonous Magic. A dark magic cast by dark wizards through evil mass murder and torment.”

"You've read this book?" Professor Flitwick gasped. "You mean, the mysterious man cursed Albus using the methods of creating the Infernal?"

“Not entirely,” Snape shook his head, “but I think it might be a similar principle. The dark magic described in the book slowly devours the victim’s life force, transforming it into a state between life and death.”

A burst of red sparks suddenly erupted from the tip of Madam Pomfrey's wand: "He's probably right. The headmaster's life energy is being eroded by some dark force."

“If that’s the case…” Professor Slughorn’s expression turned serious. “Conventional treatments may be ineffective.” He hesitated for a moment, “unless…”

“Unless what, Horace?” Professor McGonagall asked.

“Unless you use unicorn blood,” Professor Slughorn said hesitantly, “or some other, even more malevolent, potion.”

A deathly silence fell over the office. The fire in the fireplace crackled slightly, as if it too were shocked by the suggestion.

“Absolutely not!” Ms. Pomfrey was the first to break the silence. “That is an extremely cruel act, to try to kill a pure, weak, and helpless life in order to save one’s own!”

“This isn’t a formal suggestion!” Professor Slughorn muttered. “I’m just saying this method works…”

“The price is too high,” Professor Flitwick jumped off his chair, waving his short arms excitedly. “It is common knowledge that from the moment a unicorn’s blood touches the lips, the drinker will be cursed forever.”

“Professor Flitwick is right,” Snape nodded. “Even if the headmaster could wake up that way, he would only be half-dead.” He turned to Professor Slughorn. “We must find another way.”

“If we can’t use powerful potions,” Professor Slughorn said, “then we’ll just have to take it slow.”

“Yes,” Snape said, looking at Professor Dumbledore’s calm face. “We can try to concoct some compound potions to gradually break down the curse in his body. But this could take a long time, months, or even a year.”

"Perhaps we should try a combination of rue extract, belladonna, and dung bezoar first..."

Just as they were discussing treatment options, a faint groan came from the low bed in the corner.

The father of the Muggle father and son slowly opened his eyes. When he saw his surroundings clearly—stone walls, spinning silverware, a dozing portrait on the wall—his pupils dilated with fear, and he suddenly hugged the child lying beside him tightly.

“Don’t be afraid,” Ms. Pomfrey said immediately as she went over, her voice softening. “You are safe now.”

"Where...where is this?" the man stammered, his gaze sweeping back and forth among the wizards. "Who are you?"

“I am Bobby Pomfrey, the school nurse at Hogwarts. This is a school,” she replied gently. “Could you tell us your name?”

“Wells, Byron Wells.” The man’s voice was hoarse, and the boy in his arms stirred and opened his eyes.

"Dad?" the boy called weakly, then looked around in confusion. "Where's Mom?"

The room suddenly fell silent, and Snape and Professor McGonagall exchanged a worried glance.

“I’m sorry,” Snape said, stepping forward. “You two are the only ones left alive.”

The boy's eyes instantly filled with tears, and a heart-wrenching cry of "Mom!" pierced the air.

Ms. Pomfrey quickly waved her wand, and the boy immediately went limp in his father's arms and fell into a deep sleep.

"What did you do to him?" Mr. Wells asked in horror as he hugged his son tightly.

“It’s better for him to just fall asleep,” Ms. Pomfrey explained. “Excessive emotional fluctuations are not good for his recovery.”

Mr. Wells checked the child's breathing and, after confirming it was steady, relaxed slightly. He looked up, his eyes filled with a mixture of fear and wariness: "Who are you? And who...who are those masked people?"

“The masked man?” Snape asked. “Could you tell me more about what happened, Mr. Wells?”

“My family and I were resting at home…” Mr. Wells let out a heavy sigh. “Suddenly, several men like you burst in,” he glanced nervously at Snape, “but they were wearing terrible masks, and then we fell unconscious. When we woke up, we were in that cave.” His voice began to tremble. “We saw two men fighting there…”

“Look, is one of them him?” Snape immediately pointed to Dumbledore and asked.

“Yes,” Mr. Wells looked closely and nodded. “The other one…” he shuddered. “The other one looks terrifying.” “Does the other one have any distinctive features?” Snape pressed.

Mr. Wells thought for a moment: "He...he doesn't have a nose."

That's a good grasp of the key points, Snape thought. His lips almost twitched involuntarily, but he managed to control the muscle twitch and avoid an inappropriate smile.

McGonagall and Professor Slughorn exchanged a shocked glance. Professor Flitwick let out a small gasp: "The Mysterious Man!"

"A mysterious man?" Mr. Wells asked in bewilderment.

“Never mind that,” Snape said. “And then, what else did you see?”

“We were hiding behind the rocks…we couldn’t see very clearly.” Mr. Wells wiped the sweat from his brow. “We only saw lights of various colors…then the noseless man left through an arched opening.”

“There were a few other people like us who also went out through that archway,” he said, lowering his voice, “but they let out a scream, and we were too scared to go out, so we had to stay in the cave.”

Snape stroked his chin: It seems Professor Dumbledore wasn't following the Horcruxes, but rather followed the Death Eaters' kidnapping of Muggles to the cave. This explains why there were Muggles present.

"And then?" Professor McGonagall asked softly.

“We moved this gentleman,” Mr. Wells pointed to Dumbledore, “to the rock. But we had no food or drink, and after what seemed like an eternity, we passed out.” He looked around the strange room again, “until we came here.”

“Thank you, Mr. Wells,” Professor McGonagall said. “You need to rest.” She looked at Ms. Pomfrey. “Bobby, take them to the university hospital.” Then she turned to Mr. Wells. “We’ll take you home once you’re more stable.”

Ms. Pomfrey nodded: "No problem." She helped the Wells father and son out of the office.

After the door closed, Slughorn plopped down in the nearest armchair, pulled out an embroidered handkerchief and wiped his forehead: "Merlin... the mysterious man personally kidnapping a Muggle... this is very unusual."

“Albus tracked them down,” Professor Flitwick exclaimed. “I wonder what he found.”

“We may not know until he wakes up.” Professor McGonagall took a deep breath and turned to Slughorn and Snape. “I’ll leave the follow-up treatment to you.”

“I’ll have the house-elf Koko take care of Albus.” She rubbed her temples wearily. “At least for now, we don’t have to rush to repair that ‘Founder’s Ship’.”

“We have one more thing to deal with,” Snape said. “We can’t let the Void know that Professor Dumbledore has lost his fighting ability, or Hogwarts will no longer be safe.”

“What do you mean?” Professor McGonagall frowned. “Oh, right,” she said. “One of Albus’s long-standing important tasks has been to intercept the Mysterious Man’s movements and prevent him from personally causing widespread destruction. If he doesn’t show himself for an extended period…”

“The Mystic will realize something’s wrong,” Professor Slughorn suddenly realized, “and then launch an attack without restraint.” His face immediately turned pale. “You’re right, Severus. But what can we do?”

“The solution lies in your Potions class, Professor,” Snape said. “We need to create the illusion that Professor Dumbledore is not unconscious.”

“A compound decoction!” Professor Slughorn’s eyes suddenly lit up, and he exclaimed, “Of course! We can have someone impersonate Albus!”

“Then who will play the role?” Professor McGonagall looked around, her gaze finally settling on Snape. “Severus, why don’t you do it? We all have our own jobs.”

“I have no problem with that,” Snape shrugged, deliberately speaking in a nonchalant tone. “However, if I were to play him, I would probably be tempted to go to Austria and ask for an outside helper who could stand up to the mysterious man. In that case, I’m afraid the first thing the headmaster would do when he wakes up is to angrily point his wand at me.”

Professor Slughorn suddenly chuckled, his round belly jiggling a few times.

“He’s right, Minerva,” he said. “Whoever it is, Severus is definitely not a good choice.”

“Then I’ll do it.” Professor McGonagall also gave a weary smile. “But…” she frowned worriedly. “This won’t keep it a secret for long. I don’t have Albus’s strength. If Dumbledore doesn’t show up on the front lines against the Mystic for too long…”

“This will buy us time,” Snape said quickly. “At the same time, we still need to continue repairing the ship and be prepared to evacuate at any time, as a double insurance.”

Professor McGonagall pondered for a moment, then finally nodded. "I'll leave the student organization to you, Severus." Suddenly remembering something, she looked at Slughorn. "Horace, are you planning to leave Hogwarts with us? I intend for Pomona to stay—"

Before she could finish speaking, Professor Slughorn interjected, "I'm also planning to stay here, Minerva."

“Are you sure, Professor?” Snape looked at him. “This is too dangerous for you.”

“Someone has to stay behind to protect the remaining students, even though the Death Eaters might not harm them.” Professor Slughorn’s voice was unusually firm. “Besides…” he hesitated for a moment, “I know most of the Death Eaters quite well, so I’m the most suitable one.”

Snape narrowed his eyes and silently mouthed the word "Hornet".

Slughorn's face turned pale instantly, but he quickly regained his composure: "That's precisely why I need to stay. Severus, I believe your potions skills are sufficient to take care of Albus on your own."

“Professor,” Snape said, looking at his house’s shrewd and prudent headmaster, “you need to think this through. Staying might be far more dangerous than leaving.”

“A life of constant wandering isn’t for an old man like me.” Slughorn stroked his upturned mustache and smiled. “Besides, don’t underestimate your Dean, Severus. I’ve lived this long; it’s time for me to be brave for once. Moreover, given what I’ve done, there’s no turning back, is there?”

Professor McGonagall's eyes glistened with tears.

Professor Flitwick jumped onto a chair and patted Professor Slughorn on the shoulder: "I'll stay with you, Horace. If those little bastards dare to cause trouble in my castle, they'll taste my dueling skills!"

“You should go with them, Felius,” Professor Slughorn said with a smile. “Your youthful temper will obviously be more effective with them.”

Just as they were about to leave the principal's office temporarily, a large, silvery-white creature with horns crawled through the wooden door, leaped to the principal's bedside, and looked down at him.

Almost simultaneously, the office door was flung open again. A tall, elderly man with wire-like gray hair and beard, and bright blue eyes similar to Dumbledore's, burst in.

Aberforth strode over to Dumbledore, paused for a moment, and sighed softly, "My foolish brother."

　Thank you to Don't Touch My Cola, OJ_OZ, Yi Yun_, Pigs Can Fly, Yin Box Guard Team, Semisanctu, and Chief Sleep for your monthly tickets.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)