Snape, the Sunshine of Hogwarts.

Chapter 176: What Dumbledore Will Write in the Future
“This forest is very large, but Lulu and I spent two years figuring it out completely.”

In the heart of the Logara National Forest, along a river that runs through the entire forest, Andrews is leading Severus toward the fork in the river he mentioned.

They had apparated to a nearby location, but because the river itself was also changing, their exact location was not necessarily accurate.

Andrews needs to observe the current condition of the river before he can give Severus accurate advice.

"I haven't been back to this place for the past two or three years, because there's nothing to explore here. Even the magical creatures that live here are mostly XX or XXX."

At this point, Andrews seemed to suddenly remember something.

"However, I once heard a legend about this forest from a local Albanian wizard adventurer."

Severus raised an eyebrow.

"legend?"

"You must have read The Tales of Beedle the Bard, right?"

“Every European wizard is familiar with the stories in it.”

Which one is your favorite?

"The story about Babytty the rabbit is very interesting."

“Ha, I thought you were going to talk about the legend of the three brothers. Most people have fantasies about the Three Deadly Weapons.” Andrews shrugged. “I like the one about the wizard’s hairy heart, but the legend associated with this place is the Fountain of Good Fortune.”

"The Fountain of Good Fortune" is a very popular short story in "The Tales of Beedle the Bard".

The story is roughly about the legend of the "Fountain of Good Fortune" that has been passed down since ancient times. People all want to find it. Later, an unlucky knight and three witches join hands to face the trials before finding the fountain, and in these trials they get what they really want.

Finally, the Muggle knight who couldn't use magic, feeling utterly unlucky, bathed in the Fountain of Good Fortune and fell in love with one of the three witches. In the end, the four of them lived happily ever after.

With just a simple recollection, Severus remembered all the details of the story.

"This is also a very popular story. Albus Dumbledore once chatted with us at a teachers' tea party about how, when he was young and still a Transfiguration professor, the students at Hogwarts rehearsed a pantomime about this story for the Christmas celebrations, and he was in charge of the 'special effects' in it."

At this point, he couldn't help but shake his head.

"However, according to him, the performance was a complete failure, and the four student actors were ultimately unable to reach the top of the mountain where Lucky Spring exists, just like the protagonist in the story."

"Why is that?" Andrews asked curiously. "Does the story itself possess some other kind of magic?"

"No, it's that the male student who played the unlucky knight and the actress who played the witch who fell in love with him at the end of the story were originally a couple, but an hour before the show started, he fell in love with another actress who played the witch."

Andrews stared at Severus with a strange look. Although he was a British wizard, he received an acceptance letter from Durmstrang School of Witchcraft and Wizardry because his grandfather was Norwegian and his magic awakened in Northern Europe.

He knew very little about Hogwarts, especially such an absurd story.

"And then?" he asked.

"Then, according to Dumbledore, the two witch actors fought on stage on Christmas Day. They were dueling, and the magical creatures supporting the pantomime were provided by Professor Sylvanas Kettleburn. In order to create the giant earthworm in the story, he mistakenly used the Enlargement Charm on a Fire Serpent, which caused it to explode on stage."

"..." Andrews' expression became even stranger. "The explosion stopped the actors' duel, and the teachers and students started organizing firefighting together?"

"No, the witch actors are still fighting. They even dragged Professor Billy into the battle. Everyone was running for their lives in a panic. I heard the hospital was packed that day."

Severus was engrossed in recalling the events and did not notice the change in Andrews' expression.

"After this incident, the then Hogwarts headmaster, Armando Dippet, issued a school rule banning pantomime performances. This ban is still in effect at the school to this day. It seems that although Dumbledore said he thought it was an arrogant, non-dramatic tradition, he still couldn't forget what happened that day."

At this point, Severus suddenly realized that Andrews, who had been walking alongside him, had stopped moving.

He couldn't help but turn to look at the adventurer with a puzzled expression.

"Any questions?"

Andrews took a deep breath and looked intently at Severus.

"The teachers and students of Hogwarts shouldn't have any mental health issues, right?"

“Of course not!” Severus said definitively.

“If this happened at Durmstrang, the principal would expel the two students who dared to duel on stage immediately!” Andrews said definitively.

Severus simply shrugged.

"That might be because your school rules are too strict. It's normal for students to sometimes make some funny mistakes or cause some amusement in school."

"Injured students are crowding the hospital, and you call that normal?" Andrews couldn't understand. "No wonder my cousin Angelo is always so neurotic! He was much more normal before he went to Hogwarts!"

Severus coughed lightly.

To be honest, from the perspective of a time traveler, the atmosphere of the entire British magical world could very well have been corrupted by Hogwarts, especially after Dumbledore took office at Hogwarts.

But as the former headmaster of Slytherin, he naturally had to save face for the school and couldn't admit to such a thing.

"Let's get back to the story of the Fountain of Good Fortune. Anyone who likes the story understands that the Fountain of Good Fortune in the story doesn't actually have any magic power to make people lucky. The unlucky knight who bathed in the fountain just thought he was blessed by magic. In reality, the love and happiness he gained were what he and the three witches deserved after passing many trials."

"His tactic of diverting attention was very effective," Andrews replied.

"I also had my doubts about this legend. In that series of prophetic stories, the Fountain of Good Fortune was actually the least likely to exist. But after my investigation, I found that there really was such a rumor in the Albanian magical community."

"Many wizards have known since childhood that a spring will randomly appear in the forest of the land where they live. When a lucky wizard encounters it and receives its blessing, his luck will explode within three years!"

Upon hearing this, Severus couldn't help but stroke his chin.

"This sounds somewhat like the effect of FLORS, but the effect of FLORS couldn't last that long."

"Such legends attracted many wizards and adventurers from nearby Albania, Italy, Montenegro, Greece, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, and other countries to explore this place. However, this search for the Fountain of Good Fortune only lasted for about seventy or eighty years. In 1950, because no wizards ever made any real discoveries, the search was abandoned."

At this point, Andrews paused for a moment before continuing, "According to the legend, when someone is truly chosen by fate and qualified to see the Fountain of Good Fortune arrives at the place they came from, a golden-furred unicorn will appear and guide them to the location of the Fountain of Good Fortune."

Severus pondered for a moment before finally offering his comments.

"This story is somewhat like the Albanian Ministry of Magic, which created a false legend in order to generate tourism revenue."

“Perhaps,” Andrews said helplessly. “Anyway, many of the local wizards here have forgotten this story, and no one will come to these forests to explore just because of this vague legend.”

While chatting, they unknowingly arrived at their destination.

This is where the river forks. A branch, slightly thinner than the main stream, deviates from its original west-to-east direction and flows north instead.

"This is it."

Andrews pointed his finger.

"Just follow this little river northwards, and near the edge of the Magical Creatures Nature Reserve, that's where Lulu and I first discovered the banshee ghost. But it's been three years already, so she might not still be there."

Severus nodded.

"I understand, but having a clue is better than having no clue at all."

"Remember to come back for lunch after you find the place!"

After saying goodbye to Severus, they officially parted ways. Andrews used Apparition to return to the camp in the valley, while Severus began to walk north along the river.

Just as Severus was quietly moving forward alone, Snape, who had been silent all along after confirming the function of the Banshee's Teacup, suddenly spoke up.

"You know everything about him too well!"

Severus could certainly understand who "he" was when Ghost Snape spoke of.

You mean Dumbledore?

"He never told us anything about the Lucky Fountain mime performance at Christmas, but Hogwarts does have a rule against mime performances!"

Ghost Snape's face was grim. After meeting with Grindelwald and Nico, he felt even more strongly about Severus's mystery and the unknown.

He previously said that the reason he knew so much was because he was a born prophet.

But Grindelwald is also a born prophet. He clearly said that even a prophet cannot see such a precise future!

How could Severus know so much?
Is he a prophet?

Or something else?
"And now! I know what you're looking for! You're looking for Voldemort the Dark Lord!"

Severus was just saying it casually.

Even if he becomes a ghost, you still won't reveal his name?

"Don't try to change the subject with me! You know them very well, you know everything about those two wizards that no one else can understand!"

"They know nothing about you; they can't even imagine that someone like you exists in this world!"

Ghost Snape was clearly provoked by the Hogwarts anecdote Severus had told Andrews.

He could have continued to endure, refraining from expressing his confusion and doubts so soon, but after hearing Severus recount Dumbledore's past experiences so vividly and concretely, as if he had witnessed them himself, Ghost Snape simply could no longer remain silent and deceive himself.

Severus hesitated for a moment, then spoke sincerely.

"Would you believe me if I told you that I saw the story about that pantomime in Dumbledore's annotated edition of The Tales of Beedle the Bard?"

"You liar! You kept telling me to be honest at the beginning! But you've been lying to me all along! And you still are!"

Ghost Snape screamed.

"You think I don't read books? There's no such thing as Dumbledore's annotated version of The Tales of Beedle the Bard in the wizarding world!"

Severus spoke patiently.

"In a few years, he will write, and in the story of the Fountain of Good Fortune, he will complain that Lucius and his ilk have been protesting and demanding that Hogwarts remove all books related to this story, saying that the content of the story is encouraging wizards and Muggles to get together."

This time, Ghost Snape believed it.

He simply stared intently at Severus.

"You even know what books he'll review in the future and what he'll write on them!"

“I never lied to you from the beginning. What I said was that you could think of me as a prophet, right? But I never admitted that I was a prophet.”

Severus felt he had found the place Andrews had mentioned; he was nearing the edge of the Magical Creatures Sanctuary.

"As long as you always believe in my position, the more I know, the better it is for both of us, which means the greater the chance that we will ultimately achieve our goal."

He took out his wand and began to look around, searching.

This wasn't the first time he'd used such an excuse to cover it up. Although Ghost Snape remained silent, his gaze never left Severus's face.

Even if Severus is right, they do indeed share a common goal.

But Severus's words yesterday also reminded him that goals always have a day of completion or failure, and what happens after that day comes?

What kind of person will this mysterious Severus, who has completely become his soul, become?

Knowing so many secrets, whether it was Dumbledore or Voldemort, he knew them even better than they knew themselves!

After that, once everything has settled down, who will he choose to become?
It's Dumbledore.

Or Voldemort?
(End of this chapter)