Hogwarts: I am Snape

Chapter 9 The Wind Rises
Despite this sudden appearance, the person had ordinary eyes and a perfectly intact nose.

But Snape recognized him immediately from the long cane and the thumping sound of his footsteps.

Alastor Moody.

"I am a student of Hogwarts!"

Snape quickly shouted at him.

He raised his hands, slowly got up, and walked out from behind the armchair.

Moody did not lower his wand; instead, he commanded in a gruff voice:

"Throw your wand over here yourself, or I'll help you."

After hesitating for a few seconds, under Moody's sharp gaze, Snape slowly turned his wand upside down and threw it at Moody's feet.

"Tie them up immediately!"

A rope, as thick as a snake, flew down from mid-air and tightly bound Snape's body, rendering his arms immobile.

"Hey, I've already put down my wand!"

Snape stood there, complaining helplessly.

Of course, he had no intention of taking any action.

He didn't think he could possibly compete with Moody when he was without a wand and bound.

Moody ignored Snape's objections.

Seeing that Snape made no further move, he shifted his feet, turned around, and used magic to untie the ropes binding the McKinnon family.

He raised his wand, pointed it at Mr. McKinnon's chest, and whispered:
"Resuscitate quickly!"

As the spell took effect, Mr. McKinnon moved weakly a few times.

Mrs. McKinnon and Marlene covered their mouths in excitement.

Mr. McKinnon's slightly puffy eyelids opened.

He blinked hard, his expression blank, then widened in horror as he looked around.

He breathed a long sigh of relief when he saw Mrs. McKinnon and Marlene squatting safely in front of him.

Mrs. McKinnon carefully helped Mr. McKinnon to sit on a crooked bed.

“McKinnon, what happened?” Moody asked. “I came over as soon as I got your signal.”

“Someone stopped the car and said they needed my help,” Mr. McKinnon said, still shaken. “Mrs. Coppert—no, McNeil—he disguised himself as an old woman with a polysaccharide.”

“I saw McNeil’s long gray hair getting shorter and he getting taller and taller. Then, he knocked me unconscious with a spell.”

"What do they need your help with?" Moody continued, "and who are the people who stopped the car?"

Mr. McKinnon murmured in reply, "I don't know."

“The man who stopped the car was Avery, and he’s a Death Eater too,” Snape added. “He wanted me to kill Marlene.”

“Severus!” Meryl seemed to have just noticed Snape’s predicament, and she screamed, “He saved me!”

“Well… I just didn’t kill you…” Snape said slowly.

"Uh—you mean him?"

Upon hearing Marlene's words, Moody pointed at Snape and asked.

Seeing Marlene nod, Moody, leaning on his cane, limped forward a few steps, came to Avery, bent down, and removed his mask.

Moody coldly surveyed the wound on Avery's neck.

He then frowned as he looked Snape up and down, before turning to Marlene and asking, "Did he save you?"

“Yes, that Death Eater forced him to kill me, but he didn’t!” Marlene hurriedly explained.

Moody picked up Snape's wand, dragged his heavy steps to Snape, and stared into his eyes for a long time.

After a while, he released the binding spell from Snape's body.

"Here, here you go."

Moody's expression seemed to soften slightly as he reached out and handed the wand to Snape.

"Sorry, I have to stay vigilant at all times."

"Yes, I know, I must always be vigilant."

Snape took the wand and tucked it into his robes.

He rubbed his arm, which was a little sore from being constricted, and mumbled as he asked:
"What do we do next?"

"Let's get out of here first."

Moody glanced at the darkness outside the window and replied. As he spoke, he reached into his bulging travel cloak, pulled out a curved bottle, popped the cap, and took a large gulp.

Noticing Moody's actions, Snape squinted at him a few times and couldn't help but ask:
"Could I have a sip?"

"Don't drink it straight from your mouth!"

Moody glared at Snape and rudely shoved the bottle into his hand.

"Kid, that's a really disgusting request of yours."

"what……"

Moody's actions caught Snape off guard, so he quickly pretended to be careless and shook the bottle.

A few drops of clear, colorless liquid spilled onto the back of his hand.

"Oh... thank you, but no need. I was just kidding."

"okay."

Moody took the bottle, tapped it twice on the carriage floor with his cane, and asked gruffly:
"Is the driver still alive? We need to get to Hogsmeade."

“Ern was attacked at the very beginning and was thrown out of the car,” Snape said.

"I gonna go see."

Moody got out of the car with a limp.

As Moody walked into the storm, a crazy idea suddenly flashed through Snape's mind.

McNeil saw his face and knew his name.

He might be imprisoned in Azkaban, but who knows, one day Voldemort might release all his servants.

What will they do when that day comes? What will happen to me and Eileen...?

Snape quietly pulled his wand out of his robes again.

He looked down at McNeil, who was lying motionless in the carriage.

Finally, he whispered, "Divine Edge Without a Shadow—"

"puff--"

Mr. McKinnon heard the soft sound.

"What are you doing?! Everyone freeze!"

Snape's wand fell to the ground with a "thud".

He fell heavily to the ground like a statue, unable to move.

"How is this going?"

Moody helped Ern back to the Knight Bus, his voice full of surprise.

"What happened again?"

“This kid…he…he attacked McNeil.”

Mr. McKinnon knelt beside McNeil and pointed his wand at his wound.

"Healed completely! Healed completely... Curse Stop... nothing works..."

"let me see."

Moody pushed Mr. McKinnon away. However, his healing magic had no effect either.

He walked up to Snape, looked down into his eyes, and said:
"This wound was caused by dark magic, let him stay here for now."

Moody then turned to look at Ern.

Are you alright? Can you still drive?

Ern did not answer.

He was soaked to the bone, his clothes clung to his skin, and his breathing was trembling uncontrollably.

"Todd..."

Ern called out softly, his voice trembling with tears.

"Todd... Waaah... Waaah..."

He was already sobbing uncontrollably.

“Todd… what should we do… today is Stan’s birthday… he’s only one year old…”

The howling wind swept into the carriage, and Ern burst into tears.

(End of this chapter)