Hogwarts: I am Snape

The newcomer seemed very pleased with his breakthrough and was about to open his mouth to declare victory or issue a threat.

However, he had barely stepped through the door, before he could even see the situation inside the office or utter a single word, when a blinding green light struck him squarely in the chest.

The Death Eater's body stiffened abruptly, his eyes beneath the mask lost their light, and he fell straight backward as if all his bones had been removed, crashing onto the messy ground at the doorway with a thud, and then fell silent.

"Wand, come here!" Snape thought to himself.

After catching the wand flying towards him with his left hand, he remained vigilant, maintaining his wand-holding posture and pointing it towards the door.

Snape listened intently for a few seconds, but apart from a very faint, suppressed groan in the distance, there was no other sound.

After confirming that there were no signs of other enemies approaching, he frowned and muttered to himself, his tone tinged with surprise and wariness: "Only one person came?"

He slowly lowered his wand, turned to the side, looked at the still-shaken prime minister and his entourage, and said, "Your Excellency, let's leave here quickly."

Hark's gaze remained fixed on the motionless body clad in a black robe by the door, his body trembling slightly. He swallowed hard, his voice dry as he asked, "He...this person...what happened to him?"

“Dead.” Snape glanced at the doorway following his gaze, then turned back to Hark and said, “Your Excellency, surely I don’t need to demonstrate the power of magic to you personally again?”

Seeing Huck shake his head blankly, Snape said to the three still-shaken children, "Come on, hold on tight to me, let's go now!"

After a soft sound, the four appeared in the shadows of a secluded path, just a few steps away from the entrance to the real magic safe house.

The experience of a follower manifesting was extremely unpleasant, especially for Muggles who had never experienced it before. Fresh, cold air filled their lungs, but Huck, Humphrey, and Bernard were ashen-faced, their stomachs churning, and Huck even leaned against the wall and dry heaved.

Snape chose to ignore their discomfort and swiftly used his magic to drag the three into an ordinary brick row house hidden among the buildings on either side.

The interior furnishings are simple and comfortable, yet they carry a touch of magic.

With Snape's help, the three of them staggered and slumped onto the sofa in the living room, still looking dizzy and disoriented.

“Would you like something to drink, gentlemen?” Snape asked, walking to a low cabinet in the corner. “Tea? Coffee? Or something else? That would help ease your discomfort.”

All that answered him were heavy breathing and blank stares. Huck covered his forehead, Humphrey closed his eyes tightly as if fighting off dizziness, and Bernard stared blankly at a portrait of a snoring old wizard.

Snape waited a few seconds, and seeing no one respond, he took it upon himself to say, "Then coffee it is."

He lightly tapped the coffee grinder and cabinet behind the bar with his wand.

The lid of the sealed container opens silently, and coffee beans fly into the grinder automatically, emitting a slight hum; water is poured into the kettle, heated, and boils out of thin air; the ground coffee powder falls into the filter, hot water is poured over it, and a rich coffee aroma fills the air.

Then, three pristine white porcelain cups flew out of the cabinet in a row and landed steadily on the coffee table in front of the sofa; the coffee pot floated up, its spout aimed at each cup, and hot, dark brown liquid gushed out.

Finally, the three cups of coffee floated steadily up and hovered in front of Huck, Humphrey, and Bernard, respectively.

This incredible feat finally managed to refocus the scattered gazes of the three imperial elites.

Sir Humphrey was the first to barely regain some of his senses. He reached out a slightly trembling hand and caught the coffee cup that was floating in front of him.

The warmth of the cup seemed to calm him slightly. Sir Humphrey took a deep breath of the coffee's aroma, then glanced around the magically protected space, his expression complex. A question that had long troubled him slipped out: "Why haven't you wizards ruled the world yet?"

Snape made himself a cup of black coffee, and upon hearing this, he merely twitched the corner of his mouth.

"World domination?" He took a sip of his coffee and said, "An interesting but pointless idea, Sir Humphrey. You could say it's because magic isn't omnipotent, there's always a price to pay; you could say it's because our own internal conflicts are just as brutal."

"But the simplest and most practical reason is probably this: your population base is simply too large, while the number of wizards is pitifully small."

“Getting back to the point.” He pointed to a rather ordinary-looking vintage rotary dial telephone at the other end of the room. “You are absolutely safe here. The telephone line is usable and will not be monitored or tracked. You can maintain necessary contact with the outside world.”

"Telephone!" The word made Sir Humphrey's eyes light up. He immediately put down his coffee cup, turned to Bernard, and ordered in a rapid-fire manner, "Bernard, immediately contact the Whitehall emergency command center, report the Prime Minister's change of position and his safety, and have medical and support forces dispatched immediately to the previous hideout to treat the wounded and handle the aftermath."

“Yes, Sir Humphrey.” Bernard, suppressing his discomfort, immediately lunged at the phone and began dialing.

Seeing that Sir Humphrey had already taken efficient action to handle the aftermath, Huck seemed to have recovered a bit and asked weakly, "Mr. Snape, when can we leave here?"

“Perhaps soon,” Snape said, offering no definitive answer, “but I can’t guarantee it. It depends on the Death Eaters’ movements and the effectiveness of our actions.” He looked at Ser Humphrey and Hark, “I previously discussed cooperation with Ser Humphrey to expedite the return to normalcy.”

"Specifically, we hope to receive a batch of your new weapons, such as firearms and light artillery, as well as training for our personnel in their operation and maintenance."

“Weapons?!” Hark exclaimed instinctively, leaning back and protesting, “That’s impossible! Mr. Snape, weapons are strictly controlled, especially high-powered equipment. That’s our law and security policy, absolutely not…”

“Mr. Snape,” Sir Humphrey immediately interjected, “please forgive the Prime Minister’s agitation. We understand your urgency in seeking every means to combat the enemy. But could you please tell us, what exactly do you need these Muggle weapons for?”
"After all, as we just saw, magic is more direct and efficient. Our elite guards and their weapons seem to have had little effect on your magic."

"Naturally, it's for eliminating Death Eaters more efficiently and ending this chaos that has affected both worlds as soon as possible," Snape said frankly. "And I'm not afraid to admit that, in terms of the current absolute magical power balance between the two sides, we are at a slight disadvantage."

"Therefore, we are considering some additional, non-magical means to close the gap, increase our chances of winning, and reduce casualties."

“Muggle weapons, when used at the right time and by those who possess magical abilities, can complement magical combat and perhaps produce unexpected results. In this way, you will all be able to regain your freedom of movement sooner.”

“Even so,” Harker said, his brow still furrowed, “we cannot provide you with the latest high-powered weapons. These are matters of national security.”

Sir Humphrey sighed almost imperceptibly. He stood up and winked at Harker: "Prime Minister, may I speak to you?" He subtly gestured to the corner of the room.

Huck paused for a moment: "Huh? Oh, go ahead, Humphrey."

Sir Humphrey, exasperated, gestured again with his eyes and a subtle hand signal for Huck to rise and follow him. Huck understood, stood up somewhat awkwardly, and followed Humphrey to a corner away from Snape.

“Prime Minister,” Humphrey lowered his voice, “helping them has enormous potential benefits for us. First, they clearly don’t need to rely on our weapons against us; their own strength is sufficient. Providing them with weapons will allow them to more effectively strike our common enemy, those madmen in black robes.” “Second, if they win, order will be restored to the wizarding world, and those terrorist attacks against us will cease.”

“Third,” he leaned closer, almost whispering, “helping them is essentially giving ‘them’ weapons to fight ‘another part of them.’ This could even be described as exploiting their internal conflicts to weaken their threat to us as a whole…”

“But Humphrey,” Huck’s face still showed struggle, “we can’t give them new weapons, that’s a matter of principle. They clearly don’t want obsolete old stuff.”

“We can give them some…” Sir Humphrey said through gritted teeth, “'Scrapped' 'retired' new weapons.”

“Humphrey,” Huck’s eyes widened, “this is corruption!”

“This is strategy, Prime Minister!” Sir Humphrey replied. “Extraordinary measures for extraordinary times. Your safety, and the safety of the country you represent, is of greater importance.”

"Think about that dark figure with the silver mask at the door, think about that green light—we've reported on things like that before! Do you want to live in that kind of fear every day?"

Hark shuddered at the last sentence, the image of the black-robed man falling straight down flashing through his mind. He fell silent, his expression shifting.

“You’re right, Humphrey,” he finally said. “I think we do have a responsibility to help our righteous fellow citizens in distress.”

“Yes, Prime Minister.” Sir Humphrey bowed slightly.

The two reached an agreement and returned to the sofa area to sit down.

“Mr. Snape,” Sir Humphrey’s face regained its composure, “after careful consideration, we believe your proposal is very constructive.”

"Especially in these unprecedented times, transcending traditional boundaries and seeking cross-sectoral collaboration is a necessary means to maintain the stability and order we all strive for."

"Great Britain's interests and security are paramount, and at this moment, helping our allies is to safeguard our core interests."

He glanced at Huck, who nodded with a serious expression of agreement.

Sir Humphrey continued, “You can provide a list and a detailed list of requirements later. We will arrange a secure, confidential location where reliable personnel will provide the necessary training to your selected personnel. As for equipment, we will provide supplies that meet the ‘training requirements’ and ‘safety standards’ based on the actual situation.”

“Thank you.” Snape nodded slightly. “Thank you for your wise decision. We can arrange for some reliable wizard bodyguards to come and escort you away from here temporarily, to carry out necessary official business, or to get some fresh air, provided that safety is ensured.”

“But until it is finally safe,” he looked at Hark, “we still hope that His Excellency the Prime Minister can stay here as much as possible; this is the safest option.” He paused, then added, “In addition, if any of you have any minor ailments or need special potions to relieve the stress of this period, you can contact us through this portrait.” He pointed to the portrait of the wizard still dozing on the wall.

After the follow-up matters were quickly agreed upon in a tacit atmosphere, Snape bid farewell to everyone and returned to the Founder's Ship above the clouds.

……

Time slips away amidst the undercurrents.

Before long, the biting cold wind did not dispel the festive atmosphere that permeated the Founder's Ship; Christmas was approaching.

Inside the deck cabin, the students hung simple but heartfelt ribbons and magical snowflakes, handmade by themselves. A huge Christmas tree (brought by a member of the Order of the Phoenix on a mission) stood in the center of the restaurant, adorned with magical stars that shimmered with soft light.

The teachers prepared a small gift for each student—perhaps a small bottle of useful energizing potion, a notebook of magic, or a set of exquisite potion-making tools. Although it couldn't compare to the mountains of gifts piled up inside Hogwarts Castle in previous years, the students cherished it all during these turbulent years of exile.

To everyone's surprise, on Christmas Eve, the Prewitt brothers arrived with a huge package, bearing a label handwritten by Mrs. Weasley: "To the Champions of Hogwarts."

Inside were thick, colorful sweaters she had personally knitted for everyone on the ship, including all the students, faculty, and house-elves. Each sweater was embroidered with the wearer's initials. In addition, everyone received a small box of Molly's homemade fudge.

Besides the dark green sweater embroidered with the letters "S·S," Snape unexpectedly received a larger box containing two small, beautifully wrapped boxes of gummies, along with a Christmas card. It bore Mrs. Weasley's message:

"...Thank you for making this soothing medicine for me. During these days of worrying about my two troublesome brothers, it was your medicine that helped me get a few hours of restful sleep every night..."

"...Thank you again for the little girl in my belly (I hope so)... Also, Arthur drank some of the remedy you made a while ago, and it worked wonderfully... Merry Christmas, and may Merlin bless everyone with peace..."

The days passed in this rhythm of sometimes tense and sometimes joyful.

The core members of the Phoenix Society, as well as the selected senior students from the One Heart Society, secretly left the Founder's Ark in batches.

They were led by Sir Humphrey's men through a secret route to an abandoned coastal artillery firing range guarded by the Royal Army on a remote coast of England.

There, they received rigorous Muggle ordnance handling training from several highly qualified and forgetful retired Special Air Service (SAS) instructors.

The training process was particularly unforgettable for Pandora, Abbot, and a few other pure-blood wizards. After their first live-fire exercise, the recoil left their shoulders numb, but they were quickly captivated by this "Muggle's explosive spell."

Even the usually arrogant Barty had to abandon his contempt after witnessing a large-caliber sniper rifle blast a huge hole in a thick steel plate target from a kilometer away. Such attack power was beyond what his Ironclad Curse could withstand.

Especially when they were taken to an open area and witnessed a howitzer shell blast a charred crater several meters in diameter into the simulated position, and the shockwave tore the dummies to pieces, everyone fell silent.

A thought arose in their minds simultaneously: Was it too cruel and inhumane to use such pure destructive power in wizard battles, even against Death Eaters?

After a brief period of shock and discussion about the new power, the ship returned to its daily routine.

However, this calm did not last long.

On a gloomy afternoon with light snow falling, several members of the Order of the Phoenix led three bound figures through a barrier and landed on the cold deck.

The people they were controlling were those whom everyone thought had long since parted ways, or even those who might have met with misfortune:

James Potter, covered in dust and grime, his eyes sunken; Sirius Black, dressed in thin, tattered clothes, his former spirit replaced by weariness and gloom; and Peter Pettigrew, cowering and trembling, practically dragged off the broom, his eyes filled with fear and unease. (End of Chapter)