Hogwarts: A Chinese-Style Professor

Chapter 15 Beware of Dumbledore
The moonlight, like water, shone inside Hogwarts Castle.

Barton sat on the low stool, quietly guarding the door key in front of him, without moving.

Suddenly, the domed hat in front of me trembled a few times, its bright light shining through!

Barton quickly stood up, picked up his wand, tapped it against the black hat, and then gripped it firmly with both hands.

In the blink of an eye, Li Wei and his group squeezed out of the miniature hat and rapidly expanded along some kind of illusory passage.

"Clap."

After landing lightly, Li Wei let out a soft breath.

"Nothing went wrong, right, Patton?"

"No, Master."

No sooner had he finished speaking than there was a knock on the door.

"Tattoo."

It has the texture of a magic wand tapping on a door.

This is very unusual—Li Wei had already cast a silencing spell, so no sound from outside the door should have reached the room.

Unless, the magic above has been broken.

Levi glanced at Barton—it immediately understood, and with the door key, it Apparated away.

"Relax, put your wand away. This is Hogwarts."

Li Wei reassured his two assistants to go about their business, while he, wand in hand, went outside, ready to use the spell—Dragon Scale Protection.

The door opened, and standing behind it was Snape, also holding a wand.

"Snape?"

Li Wei frowned, somewhat displeased—to dispel the protective magic of the master's house without permission was rather offensive.

Seeing that Li Wei was alright, Snape put away his wand, a crease appearing on each side of his slightly plump chin, and said with a leisurely mockery:
“I noticed several extremely strong magical fluctuations in your room—Livi, if I were you, I would be more careful.”

"What do you mean?"

Snape turned to look down the corridor—the Great Hall disappeared at the end of his sight, dark and chaotic, as if it were about to devour everything.

"Wouldn't you like me to come in and sit down?"

"Come in."

Snape entered Levi's office, discreetly surveying his surroundings—the air still lingered with magical energy, clearly trying to conceal something; two assistants were pretending to read, but Snape could sense their subtle gazes.

Sure enough, they must have left to do something important.

"It's getting late, so get to the point quickly, Snape."

Seeing that Li Wei was about to kick him out, Snape was not unhappy at all; on the contrary, he felt a sense of pleasure—was he really that afraid of exposing his secret?
"Aren't you going to offer me a cup of tea?"

Snape's gaze lingered on the enormous floor-to-ceiling window—in front of it stood a small round table with three chairs, bathed in moonlight, creating a serene and beautiful scene.

Attracted, Snape took the seat on the left and, as if he were the host, extended an invitation to Levi.

At this moment, he vaguely resembled some of his former charm.

"Drinking tea under the moonlight with a middle-aged, overweight man? How could you even think of that?"

Li Wei shook his head, but still sat down opposite Snape without hesitation.

"."

Seeing that Levi hadn't even sat down before attacking his physique and age, Snape's lips twitched slightly, but he still insisted on remaining silent.

After a brief silence, Levi's gaze toward Snape changed slightly.

"Are you sure you want to drink it? Drinking tea so late at night will affect your sleep."

"Why are you fussing over something that could be solved with a small bottle of tranquilizer?"
"To be so stingy with even a cup of tea to a kind person who offered you advice—is this your way of treating guests?"

Li Wei sighed, unsure of Snape's motives, but to maintain a professional relationship, he still gave the order:

"Barton, get him an iced lemon tea."

The house-elf Barton has quietly appeared, but this time he hasn't added a lethal amount of sugar.

Snape nodded slightly, somewhat satisfied, and finally spoke: "You've been studying dark magic lately, haven't you? You were forced to come to the school to teach; you have absolutely no interest in teaching students."

Li Wei looked out the window, where a night raven had just landed in the woods and disappeared from sight.

"Dumbledore told you that?"

“That’s not important. What’s important is that I want to know why—weren’t you extremely opposed to black magic back then? How come you’ve embarked on this path now?”

"That happened more than ten years ago, do we still need to talk about it now? I find you're quite nostalgic."

Snape pursed his lips and remained silent.

The moonlight shone on his profile, faintly revealing his former melancholy.

Perhaps it's because of the series of events that happened today that my tense nerves are a bit tired.

Or perhaps it's because of the perfect silence that permeates the air at this moment.

Li Wei suddenly felt a deep weariness.

That's it.

Now that I'm teaching at Hogwarts, there are some things I can't avoid.

Thinking of this, he spoke calmly:

"I've never been against black magic, but I feel there's no need to get involved with it before laying a solid foundation."

Moreover, I am not very talented; just trying to understand the mysteries of spells and transfiguration has already taken up all my energy.

My decision not to study black magic wasn't due to any prejudice; it was simply because I didn't want to be distracted—that's all.

"Not enough energy? Is that your reason for rejecting me back then?" Snape seemed to recall some unpleasant memories. "With my teaching, you'll easily master those simple magical spells! Even learning dark magic won't be a problem—"

“That’s different.” Li Wei shook his head. “If it’s not something I learn on my own, but rather a result derived from my own ideas, it not only won’t do me any good, but it will also pollute my knowledge system.”

Seeing that Snape seemed unable to be persuaded, Levi continued:

"Furthermore, you've been fighting so fiercely with James Potter and his group that collaborating with you on research into dark magic is essentially tantamount to taking sides—"

"So you're scared?"

"—Are you scared? Have you forgotten who helped you out when you were at your most vulnerable?"

And you, you couldn't even fulfill your benefactor's only request—to stop bothering me."

"."

Snape felt he was about to lose control.

He had never experienced such intense emotional turmoil since Lily's death.

His gaze unconsciously shifted to the iced tea in front of him, which he grabbed and gulped down.

"So, that's why you rejected me and refused to join Potter and his group? You're afraid that if you join them, you'll inevitably have to oppose me?"

"No, I'm not afraid of that."

Snape took a deep breath.

"I just find James and the others too noisy and childish. They bully a withdrawn, gloomy little brat every day, and instead of learning magic, they just wander around aimlessly. I really don't have time to waste on them."

Whether it was the ice or not, although Snape didn't think he was satisfied with Levi's statement, the feeling in his chest at this moment was incredibly refreshing and comfortable!

"Li Wei, you left school today, right? I don't care what methods you used, I just want to tell you one thing."

If I can sense this magical fluctuation, Dumbledore certainly can too.

If you left school secretly to study the three unforgivable curses without his knowledge…

Snape rose to take his leave, and before opening the door to go, he added:

"Nothing that happens in this school can be kept from Dumbledore. Whether it's the ghosts, professors, students, or even the portraits that are everywhere, they can all become his eyes and ears."

If you're doing something dangerous, then as I said at the beginning, you should be more careful.

"This is my last piece of advice to you!"

(End of this chapter)