The Return to Hogwarts

However, they did not have any personal relationship with Professor Moody.

Hermione was hesitating when she noticed out of the corner of her eye that Harry was looking at her anxiously.

Sirius Black believed Moody was trustworthy.

Hermione understood the message Harry was conveying through his eyes.

“Actually—” Hermione took a deep breath, finally making up her mind, and said to Moody, “We didn’t hear Professor Snape and Headmaster Durmstrang plotting anything. Actually, it’s like this—Professor Snape said that in his office, cough cough, the storeroom—”

Hermione blushed slightly as she recalled that she had once secretly visited Snape's storeroom.

"--On the night Beauxbatons and Durmstrang arrived at Hogwarts, they encountered thieves and lost the powder of a two-horned beast horn and the skin of an African tree snake. Based on your and Professor Blaine's speculation in the room behind the Great Hall on Halloween night, Professor Snape suspected Professor Karkaroff—"

Just as Moody had said before, Hermione remembered the conversation word for word, and she quickly recounted what they had said, right up until Karkaroff tried to persuade Snape to help him find out the details of the first event of the Triwizard Tournament, before Snape had a chance to reply.

After explaining these things, Hermione, like Harry, stared at Professor Moody, both eager to know what insights Professor Moody, an experienced Auror, had to offer.

To be honest, from Hermione's perspective, Snape didn't reveal any flaws tonight. Perhaps the biggest problem was the fact that he invited Principal Durmstrang out. But Professor Moody didn't seem to think so. His expression was very serious, and his blue magic eye remained motionless in its socket as if it were stuck.

"You mean, Snape guessed that someone was brewing Polyjuice Potion, and he's already told Dumbledore and Blaine about it?"

Hermione nodded at first, but then immediately shook her head.

"That's what Karkaroff questioned, but Professor Snape didn't answer."

Hermione hesitated, looking at Professor Moody. For some reason, she felt that Professor Moody seemed a little afraid, but she quickly dismissed the thought. What was there for Professor Moody to be afraid of? Perhaps it was just her imagination.

Harry's eyes were eager; he hoped Professor Moody could analyze something that could really get Snape into trouble.

"Karkaroff thinks Dumbledore or Blaine sent him to investigate him—oh, what a foolish idea. If they really suspected Karkaroff of using Polyjuice Potion, they wouldn't have bothered Snape to come and ask."

Did Snape tell Dumbledore and Blaine that someone was secretly brewing Polyjuice Potion in the castle? If so, why didn't they make a sound?

Moody fell into a long silence until Harry and Hermione, uneasy about his preoccupied state, finally spoke up to remind him, bringing him back to his senses.

“Oh, I’m alright, Miss Granger, and Mr. Potter, thank you.”

Professor Moody regained his spirits.

"The intelligence you provided is very valuable, extremely valuable—now, hurry back to your dorms, I'll be keeping a close eye on Snape and Karkaroff—"

Chapter 603 Intervention

2023-11-19

The dimly lit common room was empty. The smoldering pine in the fireplace offered the last bit of warmth to the room, but only now, back here, could Harry and Hermione truly relax. Quite a few things had happened that day, but perhaps they were too exhausted to have any desire to discuss them.

After saying goodnight to each other, Hermione hurried up the spiral staircase to the girls' dormitory, while Harry slowly made his way to his own room.

Harry quietly opened the door, and a sliver of candlelight immediately slipped through the crack, casting a blurred, wedge-shaped shadow on the floor. Staring at the shadow, Harry had never felt that returning to his dormitory was such an agonizing experience. But no matter what, he couldn't just stand there all night. Taking a deep breath, Harry lifted his foot and carefully squeezed through the crack in the door.

Ron was already in bed—which relieved Harry greatly. Otherwise, he really wouldn't know how to face Ron now. As far as he knew, there was no precedent for the members of this dormitory throwing punches at each other. Unexpectedly, he and Ron had become the first to do so.

The one awake was Seamus, who was leaning against the soft pillows reading a book—certainly not a respectable one; Harry couldn't imagine what textbook could make Seamus chuckle. Upon seeing Harry, Seamus looked a little awkward, but he still greeted him with an eyebrow before putting the book on the bedside table and burrowing into the covers.

Harry stood there, his face blank.

To be honest, he wanted to quietly thank Seamus. If Seamus and Dean hadn't called Hagrid today, who knows how things would have turned out!

Ron was facing the wall with his back to him; it was unclear whether he was asleep.

When the conflict started today, Harry couldn't remember exactly where his fists landed on Ron, but he regretted it nonetheless. He hoped that at least Ron's face hadn't been hurt, so that neither of them would feel too embarrassed.

What would Ron say if he knew what just happened?

The thought suddenly popped into Harry's mind. With a heavy heart, he turned off the last light in the dormitory and went to bed without washing up.

A wave of exhaustion washed over Harry, and for him, this terrible day was finally over.

Nothing happened for the next few days. The scene that Harry had expected, where he and Ron would quarrel as soon as they met, did not occur. Neither of them spoke to the other. In class, they kept their distance from each other, and in the dormitory, they pretended not to see each other when they met.

The atmosphere affected everyone else in the dormitory, and laughter almost disappeared.

There was another thing that made Harry unhappy.

He had assumed that after Hermione told Professor Moody about Snape's conversation with Karkaroff, Snape would be questioned by Professor Dumbledore or Professor Blaine, who would accuse him of maintaining private contact with his rival, or, to prevent Snape from actually finding out some inside information about the competition and leaking it to Karkaroff, they would simply lock Snape in the basement.

Best of all, Professors Dumbledore and Blaine saw through Snape and Karkaroff's true nature as Death Eaters and directly notified the Dementors to come and pick them up, letting them experience the taste of Azkaban as well.

Unfortunately, Snape still shamelessly showed up in the Great Hall for meals every day, and Professors Blaine and Dumbledore continued to chat and laugh with him.

In Potions class, Harry sat there staring at Snape writing on the blackboard, his mind filled with all sorts of unfortunate misfortunes that would befall Snape. Unable to talk to Ron, this seemed to be his only solace. He sincerely hoped that Professor Moody would burst through the door right now, shouting, "The Ministry of Magic has approved your arrest, Severus Snape! You'd better surrender and spend the rest of your life in Azkaban!" That would be the best possible outcome.

"What are you laughing at, Harry?"

Hermione nudged Harry's ankle, still scribbling away at her notes, but a glimpse of Harry's unusual expression caught her eye, which worried her. In her opinion, Harry couldn't possibly be smiling right now.

"You've ruined my good mood, Hermione—"

Harry said plaintively, and he sighed.

"Tell me, why is Snape still here—"

“I’ve explained this many times, Harry—” Hermione said quietly, without looking at him, “Snape was probably ordered by Professor Dumbledore or Professor Blaine to investigate Karkaroff. If that’s the case, then they can’t blame Snape.”

"But at least they should keep an eye on him."

Harry stared at Hermione's profile and said angrily,

"Aren't they at all worried that Snape might become Durmstrang's spy?"

Hermione's face immediately tensed up, which puzzled Harry. He didn't know what was so scary about his question, but the next second, Harry knew what Hermione was nervous about.

"Porter--"

Snape's voice suddenly rang out, and Harry quickly turned around to find that Snape had turned around at some point and was now staring at him coldly. His heart skipped a beat, and he had a premonition that Gryffindor's scoring hourglass would probably be missing a few more gems.

But Harry underestimated Snape's despicable nature. Under the eager gaze of the Slytherins, Snape slowly walked to his desk. Snape glanced at the bubbling potion in Harry's cauldron, a mocking smile spreading across his face.

"Tell me, Potter, what's cooking in your pot?"

“The antidote—” Harry stared defiantly into Snape’s eyes and said stiffly, “I followed the steps.”

In this lesson, Snape taught them how to brew poison and antidote. They worked in pairs, with Hermione brewing the poison and Harry preparing the corresponding antidote.

"is it?"

Snape's mocking smile deepened. Instead of deducting points for Harry's disrespectful attitude, he turned to the nervous Hermione and said in a casual voice,

"Then let everyone see. Granger, I'm going to make you drink the poison you've brewed, and let us see if Mr. Harry Potter's antidote can save you."

Hahaha!

The Slytherin students immediately burst into laughter. Pansy Parkinson even stood up on her stool, ready to witness the amusing scene. In contrast, Ron, who was sitting a row away from Harry, had a change of expression and stared nervously at Harry and Hermione.

Hermione was pale and her body trembled slightly with fear. Perhaps for the first time, she defied a professor's direct order and did not reach for her poison.

“You can’t do that!” Harry roared.

“Ten points deducted from Gryffindor, Potter—” Snape said coldly, “because you disrupted the class and failed to follow the normal teaching procedures. Now, Granger, you may drink your poison—”

Just then, there was a knock on the door of the underground classroom, interrupting Harry's plan to force Hermione's poison into Snape's mouth first.

It was Colin Crevey who brought news that finally saved Hermione from being poisoned.

Harry breathed a sigh of relief as he watched Hermione and Colin walk out of the classroom, but before he could even feel relieved, Snape's sinister voice rang out again.

"Unfortunately, Potter, now you'll have to taste your masterpiece yourself."

"You've already decided to do this, haven't you, Amosta?"

Student Safety Office.

Dumbledore and Amosta stood by the window, gazing down at the field where the first-year wizards were learning flying skills from Madam Hooch.

The open window let in a chilly breeze, suggesting that the first snowfall of the year was just around the corner.

"if not?"

Amosta countered calmly, "If I don't personally intervene in the game, I can't ensure everyone's safety, can I? I have to bring these kids back."

"I originally intended to arrange for Severus."

"Dumbledore said, but noticing Amostella's cold gaze, he paused, cutting himself off mid-sentence. He remained silent for a moment before slowly saying..."

"Do you know that this means you'll have to face Tom in person, and he certainly won't be the same person he is at the Quidditch World Cup?"

"hehe--"

Amosta chuckled, stretched, and prepared to end the conversation.

"You should have more faith in me than anyone else, shouldn't you, Headmaster Dumbledore? Let's go, the testing ceremony is about to begin—"

Chapter 604 The Magic Wand

2023-11-19

“Oh yes, it feels like it happened just yesterday. You followed Severus Snape into my shop, and the moment I saw you, I knew I had a very special customer—”

Amos Tower's office welcomed another guest, none other than Garrick Ollivander, a wand maker of great importance in the British magical world.

"It's not hard to tell you're Muggle-born. However, unlike those kids who grew up in Muggle society, when you walked into my shop, your eyes told me that you were more cautious than curious and fearful. Generally, this wouldn't happen; very few kids can maintain that level of composure. So, I immediately knew you had an extraordinary past—"

Ollivander, despite his advanced age, kept talking, while Amostella listened quietly with a polite smile. Even Dumbledore seemed quite interested in the matter, listening patiently and with great interest.