Snape, the Sunshine of Hogwarts.

Chapter 12 Auror
Just when Severus thought that by temporarily handing Harry over to Percy, the matter was temporarily over.

The twins, George and Fred, who had been hiding behind Percy, suddenly asked loudly.

"Professor Snape? Are you Professor Snape, the Headmaster of Slytherin at Hogwarts?"

Upon hearing them speak, Percy's expression changed, even though his attention had been focused on Harry.

He immediately glared at his two younger brothers with an extremely stern look, trying to stop them from talking nonsense.

But clearly, if they were truly afraid of him, then George and Fred wouldn't deserve to be called by those names.

Severus didn't shy away from this at all; instead, he looked at the Weasley twins with great interest.

"Yes, I am Severus Snape."

George looked at Severus, his eyes darting back and forth between excitement and curiosity.

“But you look nothing like Bill Charlie and Percy, who describe you at home!”

Severus was intrigued by his words.

What do they say about me at home?

Percy suddenly went berserk and tried to cover his brother's mouth, but George and Fred were not afraid of him at all, dodging left and right while shouting.

"Bill says he's never seen you wash your hair!"

Charlie said you definitely only have one robe in your closet!

"Percy told Mum that you're a biased monster! You're always harsh on Gryffindor and reward Slytherin!"

Percy was so ashamed he wanted to disappear into the ground.

Harry stared wide-eyed, glancing between the twins and Severus.

Snape the Ghost's face, which had already darkened because of Severus's comment, "He has everything but money," turned even darker.

He's so dark-skinned that if he were to stand up and speak at this moment, he would definitely yell on the spot that he'd lose 200 points from Gryffindor when school starts!
Severus burst into laughter, looking particularly pleased, especially after seeing Snape's discomfiture.

"Hahahaha! They're right! They're all right. In the eyes of students outside of Slytherin, that's exactly who I should be!"

Seeing Severus's reaction and his genuine smile, George and Fred exchanged bewildered glances.

Fred asked in surprise.

"But if you really are as they say, shouldn't you be angry now after hearing these comments?"

"Angry? It should be more like being embarrassed and furious."

Severus appeared to be answering Fred's question, but was actually mocking the ghost Snape inside him. However, he then answered the question directly.

"If I were still the same person I was before, I would definitely be furious."

"But people can't stay the same forever. Some things are prompting me to change myself and face my past flaws. When I'm truly willing to accept my imperfect self from before, I'll only find it interesting when I hear others talking about their past selves."

At this point, Severus patted Percy, whose face was full of shame.

"So there's no need to feel embarrassed, Percy. Your previous assessment of me wasn't wrong. The one who should feel embarrassed is not you."

Even after Severus said that, Percy didn't dare to look him in the eye again.

George and Fred, however, had a very good impression of Severus at this point; they found the legendary Headmaster of Slytherin to be quite an interesting person. So Fred, rubbing his hands together, asked...

"Professor Snape, we're going to Hogwarts this year, but neither Mom and Dad nor Percy will tell us what the Sorting Ceremony is like. Could you tell us about it?"

Severus immediately understood why they were bothering Percy so much.

He looked at George and Fred, who were looking expectant, and pondered for a moment before speaking.

"Perhaps I do know some inside information about this year's freshman orientation and college selection ceremony."

Upon hearing this answer, both George and Fred showed excitement and anticipation in their eyes. However, Severus quickly changed the subject.

"Why don't you take good care of Dudley for me first? If he has a good time in Diagon Alley later, I might tell him something."

Before Severus could finish speaking, George Fred had already put his arms around Harry's shoulders on either side, patting his chest as he assured him.

"Then you've come to the right person!"

"Percy has no idea how to play with kids! Even our little brother Ron doesn't like him!"

"You'll have to stay with us. Don't worry about Dudley, Professor!"

As they spoke, they escorted the flustered Harry down the Gringotts gates, and Percy hurriedly bowed to Severus before following his two brothers.

Watching their noisy departure, Severus couldn't help but smile, and he turned and walked into Gringotts.

As a celebrity in the magical world and a major client of Gringotts, the goblins guarding this wizarding bank would naturally not neglect him.

Soon, a goblin greeted him and led him to Snape's private vault.

Severus wasn't lying to Harry. As a Potions Master, how could he possibly be short of money in the wizarding world?
Under the cold gaze of the ghost Snape, Severus marveled at the various rare potions, materials, and alchemical artifacts in the vault, and casually grabbed two handfuls of Galleons from the pile of gold nearby and stuffed them into his robe pocket.

"Potions and ingredients aside, how come you have so many alchemical artifacts?"

Severus curiously picked up a glass ball from it. This ball was similar to the Pensieve in Dumbledore's office, with the function of storing memories, only the storage capacity was not large enough.

Snape the Ghost didn't speak, but Severus found the answer himself from his memories.

"So he was a penniless wretch who could only use his family's treasured heirloom as a bargaining chip for making potions."

He was very interested in the various alchemical artifacts, but he didn't stay in the vault for long. After taking enough money, he returned the way he came.

However, before he could even return to Gringotts' main hall, two wizards dressed in Ministry of Magic Auror uniforms appeared to be waiting there and walked straight toward him upon seeing him.

Severus remembered the tall, bald, dark-skinned Auror.

He was one of Dumbledore's admirers—Kingsley Shackle.

It was Kingsley who took the initiative to speak, extending his hand in greeting.

"We went to Hogwarts first, then to the Leaky Cauldron, and finally found this place. Professor Snape, it's been a long time."

Severus looked puzzled, but he also extended his hand and shook hands with him.

"It's been a long time. It's rare for an Auror to reach out to me since that trial eight years ago."

“I’m sorry to bother you, but there is indeed a case that requires your cooperation in the investigation.” Kingsley’s expression was serious as he cut to the chase, “Have you read today’s newspaper? Especially the report on the potion poisoning case?”

(End of this chapter)