Snape, the Sunshine of Hogwarts.

Chapter 145 Nurmengard
Before midnight, at 10 p.m., in the headmaster's office at Hogwarts.

"Why don't you go to Austria?"

Severus was taken aback by Dumbledore's sudden words and pointed to himself.

"I go?"

Dumbledore stretched out a hand toward the golden branch by the door, and Fawkes the phoenix fluttered its crimson wings and flew to his shoulder.

“Yes, go to him and tell him what’s happening in France. He’ll tell you what to do.”

Severus was somewhat puzzled by this.

Why don't you go yourself?

Dumbledore simply picked up the soda on the table and blinked.

“We haven’t seen each other for a long time. Since he was sentenced by the International Wizarding Federation and imprisoned in that tower, I’ve only looked for him a handful of times.”

"If it's just his former subordinates trying to do something on their own whim, well, you should understand."

Severus tentatively followed his lead.

"Isn't it worth the trip?"

"It's not worth it for me to see him again."

Dumbledore shrugged.

"Many people in the magical world do not want us to have any more contact. Although I defeated him and stopped his schemes, they may want me to provoke him as little as possible in front of him, so as not to let him regain his former ambitions."

"Okay, if you think it's okay, I'm willing to go see him in your place."

Severus, of course, didn't believe Dumbledore's nonsense. He must have some other reason for not going, but it would be best to resolve this matter as soon as possible.

He had already spent enough time in Paris. The main purpose of this trip was to reach the forest in Albania, and before that, he needed to find Nicolas Flamel as soon as possible and find a way to resolve the issue of spellcasting.

"Fox will take you there. It's a place where you can't be Apparated and there's no Floo Network. You'll need his help if you want to get there as quickly as possible."

As soon as Dumbledore finished speaking, Fawkes jumped onto Severus's shoulder.

The phoenix looked very proud; it preened its feathers with its sharp beak and didn't even glance at Severus.

However, Severus obviously wouldn't hold it against it, but before leaving, he suddenly remembered something.

"You should have already studied the crown I left you before I left that day, right?"

When Severus brought it up, Dumbledore narrowed his eyes slightly. Just as he was about to share his discovery with Severus, Severus waved him away.

"Don't rush to say anything, I've brought you something good again."

He then placed the black-covered diary on Dumbledore's desk.

After putting down his diary, Severus patted Fox's bird on the head.

"let's go!"

Phoenix glared at him with displeasure, then spread its wings, and golden-red light shone from its body, enveloping Severus, before finally disappearing into the principal's office.

After he left, the headmaster's office became quiet, with only Dumbledore staring blankly at the black-covered diary for a long while.

This old wizard, who has lived for over a hundred years, has certainly never played any games like "Travel Frog".

At this moment, Severus felt to him like a traveling frog at Hogwarts.

You never know what kind of surprise he'll bring you when he comes back next time!
Neumungard, Austria.

This gloomy prison stands deep in this deserted forest.

Under a star-studded night sky, Fox led Severus to the gates of Nurmengard.

The tower stands out starkly in this quiet, deserted place, where the ground is covered with withered leaves and weeds, and it seems that no one is usually responsible for cleaning or tidying it up.

After bringing Severus to the location, Fox disappeared.

At the entrance to this prison, a slogan, now somewhat faded and illegible, is inscribed—

For the Greater Good

The gate beneath the slogan was tightly shut, but when Severus walked up to it and tried to push it open, it opened so easily!
The prison looked deserted; almost all the cell doors on the ground floor were wide open, and no one was inside.

Severus began climbing the only upward spiral stone staircase towards the top of the tower, and soon he arrived at the only cell at the very top of the prison.

This place is extremely rudimentary.

The room was empty, except for a wooden bed placed in the corner.

On the wooden plank bed sat a gaunt old man. He looked unremarkable, his body so thin it seemed he had hardly any flesh on him. When he saw Severus approach, he gave a strange smile.

"Mr. Grindelwald?"

Severus called out tentatively.

“Since Albus sent you to find me, you should know that I am the only one here.”

The gaunt old man spoke, his voice strangely hoarse, yet it sounded completely devoid of the resentment and depression that came with decades of life in prison.

On the contrary, it felt rather light and cheerful.

Upon hearing his words, Severus glanced at the small stone window without glass. From there, one could see almost half of the forest and clearly see the scene in front of the prison entrance.

Ghost Snape stared silently at the old man who showed no trace of the arrogant and unrestrained nature that had been wanted by dozens of Ministry of Magic departments.

Grindelwald seemed to have guessed what Severus was thinking as he looked out the window.

He stretched out his withered, slender fingers and shook them.

"No, no, Professor Snape, you must be mistaken. I didn't guess that Albus sent you because I saw the phoenix named Fawkes. Rather, I saw something that never happened from the very beginning."

He stared into Severus's eyes and pointed to his own.

"I was born with the ability to see things that ordinary wizards might not be able to see even if they tried their best."

"However, it's clear that I haven't continued to work hard to develop this innate talent, otherwise, I wouldn't be locked up here now, would I?"

Grindelwald talked and laughed to himself, seemingly oblivious to Severus's purpose in coming, simply talking about what he wanted to talk about.

Compared to himself, the false prophet who claimed to be Snape the Ghost, Severus was more curious about the real prophet.

He didn't avoid Grindelwald's gaze and didn't mind chatting with him before getting down to business.

"So the future you're looking at is uncertain?"

The Ghost Snape was very sensitive to this question; inside his body, the cold-faced ghost quietly pricked up his ears.

"Predicting the future is very difficult because the causal relationships of people's behavior are always complex and ever-changing."

"Grindelwald said softly."

"Even natural prophets can only see a fragment of the future that might happen. As for why such a thing would happen and the consequences of such a thing, it is quite vague."

"And even the foreseeable future can be changed."

"It's like I've never seen anyone come to see me in this prison before the day I die."

This answer made Ghost Snape's gaze turn somewhat strange.

Grindelwald's description of the prophet's prophecy is completely different from what Severus did and said!
Every prophecy of Severus is extremely detailed and precise; there is not a trace of ambiguity in them.
Severus clearly noticed the strange look in Snape's eyes, and he coughed lightly to cover his embarrassment.

Then he spoke.

"Then you probably didn't see beforehand what your former subordinates did to rescue you from here, did you?"

Grindelwald was still clutching his thin, bony legs, and upon hearing Severus's words, his expression clearly underwent a subtle change.

“A long time ago, about eight years ago, the future I saw was that Vida and the others abandoned their original unrealistic plans in a state of confusion.”

He stared at Severus.

"But if you've come here to find me, as Albus suggests, because of their business, then it means that an unwanted cause and effect has interfered with the predetermined future. What have they done?"

Hearing this, Severus also began to have doubts.

Surely he can't be the one interfering with the future?

He only stirred up two minor issues in the UK last month, how could that possibly affect those old folks in France?
But though he had these thoughts, since Grindelwald had asked, he naturally had to tell him what had happened in France.

"They kidnapped Nicolas Flamel and his wife, and collected all the data and materials about the Nurmengard prison, in preparation for rescuing you from here."

When Grindelwald heard Severus's reply, he showed no surprise or nervousness; instead, he laughed heartily.

"Are they going to succeed?"

Severus looked at him with some puzzlement. Grindelwald's current behavior was nothing like what Dumbledore had said, that he had stayed here voluntarily and was actually happy to hear that someone was coming to rescue him.

"They deliberately misled the French Aurors into suspecting the Death Eaters. The Aurors fell for it, but after I found evidence that their real target was this prison and handed it over to the head of the Auror command, they wouldn't let me continue the investigation."

Severus shrugged.

"So I went to Dumbledore, and Dumbledore sent his phoenix to bring me to you, saying that if I tell you about this, you will understand."

(End of this chapter)