Hogwarts: I am Snape

Chapter 74 Return
Seeing that Dumbledore had Bob Ogden under control, Snape did not hesitate at all. He picked up his wand and began to clean up the tea and snacks on the table. Except for the teacup in Mr. Ogden's hand, the two cups they had used disappeared.

He then wiped the table with his wand, and all their fingerprints and fabric fibers from their cuffs were wiped clean.

"What are you doing, Severus?" Dumbledore asked curiously, his tone full of doubt.

“Eliminate our evidence, Professor,” Snape said in rapid succession. “You’d better get the truth serum out right away.”

"After I'm done, you can check it too and see if there are any other flaws. By the way, when we came here on the Thestrals, no one saw us, right?"

As he spoke, Snape tapped the floor lightly with his wand, and the tiny, almost invisible footprints disappeared.

"What on earth are you thinking? I just wanted him to calm down!" Dumbledore's hair stood on end with rage. "Do you think I'm that kind of person?!"

"Isn't that so?" Snape raised an eyebrow slightly, asking in surprise.

"Sit down!" Dumbledore swung his wand sharply. An unseen force, like a pair of giant hands, slammed Snape back into his chair.

After a while, Mr. Ogden's expression gradually returned to normal.

“Bob, don’t be so nervous,” Dumbledore said gently. “I just want to know about what happened back then.”

“I…” Ogden gripped his wand tightly, his voice trembling with fear, “but…”

“I understand your concerns.” Dumbledore clasped his hands together, his blue eyes behind his half-moon spectacles revealing sincerity. “Recently, the Death Eaters have been attacking those who oppose them, and the scope of their attacks is expanding.”

“But that experience was useless…” Ogden hesitated, “I don’t understand…”

“Professor, is this what you brought me here for?” Snape shrugged and suddenly said, “I agree with Mr. Ogden; I can’t see what use that memory would be.”

“Yes, Severus,” Dumbledore said softly, glancing at the flowers outside the window. “I brought you here only to try to learn something about his past. I didn’t expect it to be of any use, but it’s always good to know more.”

“Sigh…” Ogden loosened his grip on his wand, sighed, and looked helpless. “You’ve come all this way… what do you want to know…”

“By the way, Mr. Ogden, you just mentioned that there were three people in the Gaunt family,” Snape tried to steer the conversation, “do you know what happened to them afterwards?”

“I’m not really sure,” Ogden shook his head, frowning as he took a sip of his now-cold tea. “But Morfin is probably still locked up in Azkaban.”

"Morphin is in Azkaban?" Dumbledore's tone held a hint of barely perceptible surprise, and a glint of light flashed in his eyes. "Why was he imprisoned in Azkaban?"

“That’s a rather complicated story,” Ogden said. “I didn’t handle that case. I heard that Morfin killed a family of Muggles, the Riddle family, whom I encountered during a mission years ago.”

Dumbledore gave Snape a satisfied look.

“Bob, I have another favor to ask,” Dumbledore said. “Could you show us your memories of the mission you carried out with the Gaunt family? So that we may not miss any details.”

“Is this necessary?” Ogden asked.

“I think if you retrieve that memory,” Dumbledore said, “the imprint of it in your mind will be less blurred, and wouldn’t that make it less likely to cause you trouble?”

“Sigh, even though I’m a retired old man,” Ogden said, his face full of apprehension, “Albus, I also hope I can help you, and I hope it will be useful to you. I think he has no reason to know I exist…”

Ogden was silent for a moment, then slowly stood up and walked to the cabinet.

He took a narrow-necked bottle from the cupboard and gently touched its surface with his rough fingers.

After sitting back in the armchair, Ogden trembled as he pulled out his wand and pressed it against his temple.

As a wisp of silver disappeared into the slender-necked bottle, Ogden murmured wearily, "Albus... take it, don't make me worry for nothing... I won't keep you for lunch..."

Snape and Dumbledore emerged from Mr. Ogden's cottage. Outside, the trees swayed in the breeze, casting dappled shadows in the greenery.

Snape glared at Dumbledore, his tone tinged with displeasure: "Professor, we don't need to take the Thestrals back anymore, do we?"

“I don’t think so,” Dumbledore said in a light tone.

He took a twelve-handed pocket watch from his pocket, raised his wand, and whispered, "Mentos."

The pocket watch trembled in his hand for a moment, emitting a strange blue light, before returning to stillness a few seconds later.

"Quickly, put your hand on this pocket watch," Dumbledore urged.

Snape quickly stepped forward and, together with the headmaster, grasped the strange pocket watch.

“Three…two…one…” Dumbledore said, “Let’s go.”

It seemed as if a hook was pulling hard from behind Snape's navel, and he flew up.

After a dizzying moment, he found himself standing side by side with Dumbledore in that familiar office.

After regaining his footing, Dumbledore walked to the door, took the shallow stone basin with strange runes engraved on it from the cabinet, and gently placed it on the table.

He then took out the narrow-necked bottle that Ogden had just given him from his pocket and slowly poured the swirling, floating strands of memory inside into the Pensieve.

The silver threads swirled slowly in the basin, emitting a faint glow.

“Come on,” said Dumbledore.

Without hesitation, Snape plunged headfirst into the Pensieve.

After falling and falling again, the summer sun suddenly shone high overhead, and Snape instinctively closed his eyes.

Before his eyes could adjust, Dumbledore landed beside him.

They stood on a country dirt path, flanked by tall, intertwined hedges of shrubs, with the vast summer sky overhead, as blue as the forget-me-nots.

About twenty feet in front of them stood a short, stout man dressed oddly. He wore a striped swimsuit underneath a dress coat, and shoe covers on his feet.

Mr. Ogden was not yet bald at this time, although his belly was so big that it stretched the stripes of his swimsuit wide.

Following Mr. Ogden's footsteps, a wooden signpost emerged from the brambles.

The two directional arrows on the road point to Big Hangleton (5 miles) and Little Hangleton (1 mile).

The two followed closely behind Mr. Ogden, slowly descending the steep slope. After an unknown amount of time, their view suddenly opened up, revealing a valley before them.

Nestled in the valley is a typical English village, with a church and cemetery clearly visible.

A grand mansion sits on the other side of the valley. Surrounding the mansion, vast expanses of lush lawn stretch into the distance.

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　　There's one more chapter, it'll be later.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)