Hogwarts: I am Snape

The words stopped abruptly.

The person standing outside the door had neatly combed short brown hair, and his face vaguely resembled Dumbledore's when he was young, only his features were more hardened and his eyes were completely different.

He and Dumbledore, the white-haired man in the cabin wearing a star-and-moon nightgown with a forget-me-not-colored robe, met each other across the entire captain's cabin.

This was exactly what Snape feared most: two old men, entangled for half their lives, suddenly met without any warning.

After an unknown amount of time, Grindelwald finally let out a soft breath, as if he were inhaling.

His gaze swept over Dumbledore, then over the bloodstains on the werewolf, before he strolled casually into the captain's cabin.

Dumbledore slowly shifted his gaze from Grindelwald to Professor McGonagall, who was about to slip away with James and the others, and silently inquired.

A hint of panic flashed across Professor McGonagall's face. She abruptly lowered her head, pretending to straighten her robes, unusually avoiding the headmaster's gaze.

She gave Sirius, who was still somewhat dazed, a hard shove in the back and said in a low, urgent voice, "What are you standing there for? Hurry up!" Then, with her head down, she practically half-pushed James, Sirius, and Lupin, pressed against the cabin wall, bypassed Grindelwald, and squeezed towards the open hatch.

Seeing this, Snape immediately lifted his foot, intending to follow Professor McGonagall and the others discreetly, trying to quietly leave this place of trouble together.

However, just as he approached the door and was about to step out, a silent spell struck his back.

Snape felt his legs and hands suddenly stiffen and snap together uncontrollably. His entire body, from his neck to his toes, became as stiff as wood. Except for his eyes, which could still move, he completely lost control of his body.

Before he fell straight backward, the last thing he saw was Professor McGonagall turning around and giving him a look full of pity and "good luck" to him. Then, without hesitation, she closed the door to the captain's cabin, leaving him alone inside.

"It's over." Those were the only two words that flashed through Snape's mind.

Just when he thought he was about to crash to the floor, another supple magical force grabbed his robe, lifted him up, and turned him around in mid-air: from facing away from the center of the cabin to facing Dumbledore.

Then, the effects of the full-body binding spell quietly faded away.

Snape regained control of his body, staggered, and managed to stand up.

He looked up and saw Dumbledore standing calmly by the fireplace not far away, as if the wand that had just cast the spell hadn't moved at all. Grindelwald, on the other hand, had already walked to the reception area in the corner of the room and sat down comfortably on a single sofa. He had even made himself a steaming cup of black tea and was gently skimming the foam off the surface with the lid.

Snape composed himself, straightened his robes which had been torn and deformed, and, pretending nothing had happened, said to Dumbledore:
"Professor, if there's nothing else, I have two potions classes for second-year students early tomorrow morning, and I need to go back and prepare my lesson plans. Or... should I go back and rest first?"

Seeing that Dumbledore was only staring at him with those deep blue eyes without saying a word, Snape felt a little uneasy, and then added, forcing himself to speak, "You just said that you would understand..."

Dumbledore suddenly broke into a genuinely pleasant smile. He gestured towards the reception area and said gently, "Severus, don't rush off. Come, sit down and have some tea. I think we both need some time to have a good talk."

Snape's eye twitched, and he inwardly groaned. He glanced at Grindelwald, who was sipping his tea expressionlessly, then at Dumbledore, whose smile had grown increasingly benevolent, and could only dawdle as he made his way to the reception area.

Dumbledore also came over and gently tapped the coffee table with his wand.

The teapot flew up automatically, filling the empty cup in front of Snape with deep red tea, and then poured a cup for Dumbledore as well.

Snape picked up his teacup, staring at the sloshing liquid inside, waiting for Dumbledore to speak, his mind racing as he quickly came up with various excuses.

At this moment, only three people remained in the cabin, and the crackling of the fire and the clinking of teacups were exceptionally clear.

Fortunately, Dumbledore didn't keep him waiting too long.

He set down his teacup, the bottom of which made a crisp, light sound against the saucer. Then, the principal looked up and spoke in a steady voice:

"Severus, is this what you call the 'unconventional measures' that had to be taken for the safety of everyone?"

Before Snape could figure out how to respond, Grindelwald made a move.

"Click." He calmly placed the teacup back on the coffee table. The sound was soft.

Dumbledore and Snape both turned their gazes toward Grindelwald.

Grindelwald leaned back on the sofa, his grey eyes meeting Dumbledore's gaze.

"What do you mean?" he said slowly, his tone laced with sarcasm. "Isn't it him," he gestured with his eyes toward Snape, "who sought my help in accordance with your will?"

“Cough, cough…” Snape choked on his tea and quickly continued, “Well… that’s true. When Professor Dumbledore was unconscious and in critical condition, one night, I was alone by his bedside, worrying about what to do next, when suddenly… I clearly felt his remaining will and guidance…”

“The feeling is indescribable,” he said earnestly, looking sincerely at Grindelwald, “It was the powerful subconscious call from Professor Dumbledore that drove me to risk everything to travel to Europe and seek your help. I believe it must have been the instinctive guidance of a great wizard, even in a coma, for the greater good!”

As soon as Snape finished speaking, Dumbledore asked in bewilderment, "Really? I don't recall having any information about that at all?"

Snape was getting anxious, feeling like he was caught between two tigers. "What's wrong?" he thought, "They won't take the easy way out? These two old men can't fight..." "Professor," Snape couldn't help but say to Dumbledore, "the Invisibility Cloak was found and destroyed under his leadership! And it was because of his presence that we were able to stabilize ourselves within the Death Eaters and develop our own spies."

"Because that inside man believed that even without you, we still have at least one powerful enough wizard on our side, so we wouldn't be completely defeated!"

As he spoke, to make his point, he pulled out the fragment of the locket, which had lost its magical luster, from the inner pocket of his robe and slammed it onto the coffee table:

"Professor, look at this! Look what we've got! This is what the mole gave us!"

“And this,” before Dumbledore could react, Snape reached into his robe pocket again and pulled out another diary with a large hole corroded in the middle, placing it next to the locket, “is also a Horcrux, Riddle’s diary from his student days,” he pointed at Grindelwald again, “and he destroyed it directly!”

“Professor,” he took a breath and continued, “we risked our lives to find and destroy these things, to combat an unprecedented terrorist threat… Now, do you still blame those so-called ‘unconventional measures’? Without those ‘measures,’ would we still be sitting here drinking tea and chatting, and would we have made such progress in defeating evil?”

Dumbledore did not respond to Snape's barrage of questions. His gaze was completely drawn to the two Horcrux fragments on the table, and an undisguised look of delight appeared on his face.

He cautiously reached out and picked up the locket and diary, carefully examining the remaining magical aura on them, his fingers even trembling slightly.

Seeing that Dumbledore's attention had been successfully diverted, Snape secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He calmed his breathing slightly, then turned his gaze to Grindelwald, who had remained silent as if enjoying a good show, and decided to strike while the iron was hot.

“Sir,” he softened his tone, “although it was my personal decision to come to you, why would I have risked the world’s condemnation to seek you out if you were not the only person in the world who was both willing and able to help Albus Dumbledore when he was in trouble?”
"All the world knows is that you two were rivals and enemies in the past. If Professor Dumbledore hadn't revealed some information about you to me, whether intentionally or unintentionally, such as his regret when he heard that you were locked up alone in a cell in your later years, how could I have had any confidence to approach a completely unknown and powerful being?"

Snape paused, observing Grindelwald's reaction, noticing a flicker of emotion deep within his grey eyes, before turning to Dumbledore:

“Professor, if his thoughts, desires, and aspirations have remained unchanged all these years of seclusion in the tower, and there is not the slightest difference in his heart, then why would he be sitting here now, expending his energy protecting this ship full of people who have nothing to do with him? Why would he bother to teach them in his spare time?”

Upon hearing Snape's half-truthful words, Dumbledore, who had been carefully examining the Horcrux fragments, trembled slightly in the fingers holding the diary. He didn't expose the lie, but remained silent, continuing to observe the Horcrux.

Seeing this, Snape secretly wiped away a cold sweat, and the huge weight that had been hanging over his heart was finally half lifted. The headmaster hadn't exposed him, which meant that Dumbledore at least partially acknowledged the value of Grindelwald's position and actions in this matter. He had gotten away with it this time.

After confirming that both Horcruxes had been completely destroyed, Dumbledore gently placed the diary on the table and breathed a sigh of relief.

He didn't look at Grindelwald, but spoke softly as if to thin air: "Are you going to keep wearing this face?"

Upon hearing this, Grindelwald remained silent for a few seconds, then let out a sneer.

Without him making any move, the muscles and bones on his face began to twitch, his short brown hair faded to silver-white, and his face showed the lines and looseness of time again.

A strange silence fell over the scene for a moment.

Two elderly people with white hair stood no more than half a meter apart, separated by a small tea table.

Dumbledore closed his eyes and said, "You're old."

Grindelwald's voice was a little hoarse, but it still carried that sarcasm: "What right do you have to talk to me, you old man who can't even take care of himself and almost never woke up from his sleep?"

Dumbledore did not refute, but nodded silently, looking down at his knees, his fingers stroking the ordinary wand.

The two elderly people did not speak again.

For Snape, caught in the middle, this feeling was like sitting on pins and needles, his whole body feeling uneasy as if ants were crawling all over him.

Just as he was about to take his leave again, Dumbledore looked up, seemingly forcibly bringing his thoughts back to the matter at hand, and his tone returned to calm.

“Severus,” the headmaster pointed to the wreckage on the table, “so we’ve destroyed four Horcruxes. There should be two left: Marvolo Gaunt’s Ring and the Hufflepuff’s Cup. As for the next move…”

"The ring?" Snape's heart skipped a beat. He still had the Resurrection Stone he'd pried off the ring in his pocket. However, at this moment, he didn't want to divert Dumbledore's attention to impossible hopes or unpleasant memories.

Before the other person could begin a detailed analysis, he decisively interrupted, saying, "Professor, I have some clues about the whereabouts of the other Horcruxes and I'm intensifying my investigation. However," he pointed to the magical clock on the wall, whose hands were already pointing to the early hours of the morning, "it is indeed getting late."

“As for the next course of action,” Snape quickly stood up, “we can discuss it in detail another time. I won’t bother you any longer tonight, farewell.”

This time, Dumbledore looked at him, did not stop him, and slowly nodded.

Snape felt relieved, immediately turned around, walked to the door as fast as he could, turned the doorknob, and slipped out.

Standing in the dimly lit corridor, he gently closed the door to the captain's cabin.

Just as the door was about to close completely, he took one last glimpse of the scene inside:

Bathed in the warm, golden light of the fireplace, two elderly men with white hair sat on either side of each other. (End of Chapter)