Hogwarts: Dumbledore reigned over the wizarding world.

Chapter 288 Snape's Dissatisfaction with Dumbledore

Not having startled Vaughn, Ginny pouted unhappily, but she quickly forgot about it and snuggled up to him, complaining, "Vaughn, what are you doing? I haven't seen you in so long."

"—I'm at the library every day, and you haven't seen me. Whose fault is that?"

"Hehe!" The little girl grinned shamelessly.

As they spoke, Vaughn glanced around the Gryffindor table and, noticing few familiar figures, asked, "Where are Ron, Harry, and Hermione?"

I've been paying less attention to the trio lately. Hermione occasionally reads with him, but she rarely mentions Ron and Harry.

Ginny looked back: "They were just here—I saw them chatting with Nick, who was almost headless."

"Nick who almost lost his head?"

Vaughn was stunned.

Vaughn was stunned, not because he had forgotten who Nick, who was almost headless, was.

He just suddenly realized that all the students had to go to the Great Hall of the People tomorrow for the Halloween dinner—or rather, the Halloween Eve dinner—and the entire castle would be almost empty except for the Great Hall.

Even the ghosts who usually roam around have their Halloween parties.

In a way, tomorrow night will be the time when Hogwarts' defenses are at their weakest.

In the "original plot" of his previous life, Tom seized this opportunity, taking advantage of everyone being in the auditorium, possessing Ginny to open the secret room and release the basilisk.

Now, will the other party make the same choice?

Especially when fate is at play, constantly trying to steer "history" and the "timeline" back to what it considers the right path!

"Vaughn? What's wrong?"

Ginny's call brought Vaughn back to reality. Seeing the girl's strange look, he smiled and ruffled her hair. "Nothing, just thinking about something. Where are your friends?"

Upon hearing this, Ginny turned around, waved to the Gryffindor table, and a group of girls responded excitedly.

Ginny's class had far more students than Vaughn's class. After all, Vaughn and his generation were born during the height of the war, which was also the time when the Death Eaters were at their largest and most rampant. At that time, many wizarding families and Muggle families were wiped out by the Death Eaters.

Especially in the year Vaughn and Ron were born, because of the prophecy, first the children born around July were killed, and later, the Death Eaters who went mad with killing didn't even bother to distinguish, and all those born in 1980 became their targets.

This situation only improved after Ginny was born, when Voldemort died, the Death Eaters were captured, and the wizards who had fled due to the war gradually returned.

They can be considered the first generation of the post-war population boom.

Vaughn smiled and waved to the young wizards, then, considering the special circumstances of tomorrow, he casually asked, "Tomorrow is Halloween weekend, what are your plans with your friends?"

This is actually a question that doesn't need to be asked. For the young wizards who have only been enrolled for two months, of course they are "exploring" the castle. In any case, they have no other way to go.

Sure enough, Ginny said with a grin, "We're going to explore the third floor of the secondary tower. Fred and George said there's a hidden dollhouse there between two classrooms, supposedly created by a Ravenclaw witch. The interior is decorated like a fairy tale, and if we can solve the puzzle, we can go in—"

These are common interests for young girls.

Vaughn listened quietly, then asked, "Are you confident you can solve the Ravenclaw puzzle?"

Ginny was stunned.

Before she could react, Vaughn suggested, "I think you could bring Luna along. She's Ravenclaw and a friend of yours, but I've noticed you haven't been with her since you enrolled."

Hearing the hint of reproach in Vaughn's tone, Ginny said hesitantly, "That's because, because—"

"Because everyone calls her the crazy girl?"

,

Although Pandora survived and did not die from the development of the spell, her daughter, Luna Lovegood, did not become "normal" in personality.

To be precise, Luna's erratic behavior may not be due to her mother's death, but rather because she possesses some extraordinary talent that she herself does not understand.

Because of Pandora, Vaughn didn't examine her closely and could only speculate that Luna might be a natural Legilimency, like Newt's wife, Tina Goldstein's sister, Queenie Goldstein, who married a Muggle.

Judging from her performance, Luna is not as strong as Queenie. She cannot directly read people's thoughts and can only observe people's emotions through some strange "illusions".

For example, "harassment busy" represents annoyance, and "hook" represents malice.

Of course, not all of Luna's fantasies are meaningful; some are indeed influenced by her father, the whimsical Xenophilius Lovegood.

For example, the Snoring Horn and the Corrupted Tooth Plot (Luna believed that the Aurors belonged to a conspiracy organization that was trying to bring down the Ministry of Magic from within by using Gingivitis).

Despite being unable to read minds and having some mental issues, Vaughn believed that Luna and her talent were actually quite remarkable.

Putting everything else aside, Luna can see his troubles!

Vaughn possesses maxed-out Occlumency, which makes all his expressions and emotions appear as a facade. Not only can you not see it with the naked eye, but even a legendary wizard like Dumbledore would never be able to detect his true emotions using magic.

Only Luna can.

In a sense, her existence is the natural enemy of basilisk monsters that hide and lurk; no intelligent creature can hide itself around her.

Considering the special circumstances tomorrow, and the uncertainty about whether the other party will take action, Vaughn wanted Luna and Ginny to be together.

Luna can sense any malice in the vicinity immediately.

With her by her side, Ginny will be much safer.

This will also help alleviate Luna's problem of being ostracized and bullied by her classmates—she herself cannot speak up, otherwise Luna's situation will be even more difficult.

Seeing that Vaughn was serious, Ginny, who always listened to him, stopped resisting. She just pouted and argued, "It's not that I don't want to play with her, it's just that she always says weird things. Everyone hates her, and I'm worried that my friends will too—"

"That depends on your friendship with your friends." Vaughn patted her head. "If they're not upset about you getting close to Luna or because of Luna's nickname, then you're really friends. Otherwise, you should think about it more."

Ginny was completely confused.

Children of this age don't really know how to measure emotions, and Vaughn wouldn't have told her these things unless the circumstances were special.

After seeing Ginny off, Vaughn waited a while longer in the Great Hall, wanting to see if Harry and Ron would attend Nick's 500th anniversary celebration as originally planned.

But after waiting for more than an hour, Vaughn still hadn't seen the trio.

As dinner time passed and the Great Hall emptied, a fifth-year student who had been "engrossed in studying" in the tutoring room and was therefore late for dinner told Vaughn what she had seen: "Three poor fellows." The student said sympathetically, "For some reason, they angered Peeves. Peeves stole Professor Snape's medicine and ambushed them on their way to the Great Hall, spewing it all over them."

"You ask me how I know? Because I was in Potions class at the time, and I saw Peeves burst in yelling and clumsily telling Professor Snape that Potter had stolen his potions—Professor Snape could obviously tell Peeves was lying, but I swear, his expression was one of pure ecstasy!"

The next day, Vaughn saw Hermione in the Great Hall, looking dejected but forcing herself to be energetic as she came to have breakfast.

This little girl, who always showed great respect for the professors, unusually complained about Snape in front of Vaughn today: "—He clearly knew Peeves framed us, he even admitted he knew, but he still used it as an excuse to punish Harry, making him reflect on his mistake of stealing the medicine!"

"You know Harry's temper. He will never admit to something he didn't do. The two of them were at an impasse, neither of them willing to back down. I waited in Snape's office last night until midnight, but I was too tired to stay awake any longer. When I left, Harry was still at an impasse with Snape, and Ron was with him too."

In a hurry, Miss Know-It-All wolfed down a scone and drank a glass of milk, then asked Percy for a lunchbox, packed some breakfast, and prepared to take it with her.

"I asked Neville when I came, and Harry and Ron didn't go back all night—good heavens, I really don't know whether to admire them or despise them, why do they always use their willpower for such strange things?"

"Anyway, I have to bring them some food, otherwise I have no doubt those two idiots will starve to death!"

Perhaps angered by Harry and Ron's stubbornness, Hermione was particularly irritable today. She didn't even give Vaughn a chance to speak. She packed breakfast, picked up the lunchbox, and ran off.

Vaughn was speechless for a moment, but he wasn't in a hurry. He slowly finished his breakfast and then asked Hermione for a lunchbox to prepare some food for Snape.

At his age, he's still getting angry with his child; it's so hard on him.

When Harry and Ron arrived at Snape's underground office with their lunchboxes, a roaring fire in the fireplace couldn't dispel the cold, damp atmosphere. Harry and Ron were wolfing down their food.

""

Beside him, Snape, with a long face and dark circles under his eyes, stared longingly at Hermione, who had brought breakfast, and Harry and Ron, who were eating and smacking their lips.

My emotions were on the verge of exploding.

Vaughn chuckled, quickly shooing away the trio who were deliberately provoking Snape. Once they were gone, he closed the door, placed the lunchbox on the table, and smiled at the still-stern-faced professor, saying, "You haven't eaten all night, are you hungry?"

Snape, expressionless: "I don't understand what you're talking about—glug glug~"

The rumbling in his abdomen interrupted him.

Snape's face darkened even more.

"Hahaha!" Vaughn laughed, completely unconcerned about the professor's increasingly grim expression. But after a moment, he sighed, "Whatever your thoughts are, why don't you just tell Harry directly? Or have a proper discussion with him?"

'

Snape paused for a moment, then turned his head, his icy tone like a broken record, "I don't understand what you're talking about!"

"You've been keeping an eye on that laptop these past few days, haven't you?"

Vaughn didn't mind. As he arranged the plates, he slowly said, "You don't know what it is or what it's used for, but you know who it belongs to and that it's harmful to Harry. You want to destroy it, but Dumbledore told you not to interfere with fate, and you've suffered from the backlash of fate."

"If there's no other way, you can only do your best to protect Harry and prevent him from having any more access to the notebook—"

For example, tonight.

As he spoke, Vaughn, who had set out the meal, looked up and stared into the professor's numb, emotionless, yet utterly cold black eyes.

"Everyone's going to the Great Hall for the Halloween Eve party, except for Harry and his two friends. I'm guessing they promised Nick, who almost lost his head, they'd go to his death anniversary party?"

Snape's face was hidden in the shadows, only his greasy hair could be seen reflecting the flames shooting from the fireplace.

"Did you bribe Peeves? Or did you cast a spell on it? Oh, Professor, don't try to fool me with those excuses for a young wizard, like how no magic can affect elves. You should know that when I first enrolled last year, I was able to turn Peeves into a balloon and drag it around the castle."

"You knew Harry was going to Nick's death anniversary party, so you had Peeves throw herbs at them to frame them for theft. Then you could legitimately keep Harry by your side tonight in case he gets lost or something happens to him."

Vaughn was at a loss for words; the emotions were so awkward, it was like those romance dramas he had avoided like the plague in his past life.

On the other side, after listening to his analysis, Snape remained silent for a long while before slowly speaking: "What are you trying to say? Stop me? Like Dumbledore, just watch—watch her son surrounded by danger, and say it's all fate, and then do nothing?"

"I know you and Dumbledore may have some plans, and I don't care if you don't want to tell me. But I also hope you won't interfere with my actions!"

""

Vaughn had nothing to say.

In his mind, the professor had always been a rather rational and cautious person; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to thrive as a spy under the Socket Man.

However, this professor is the only one who can't handle anything related to Lily Evans. When he does, he gets all worked up and loses his senses. His stubbornness is a real headache.

Vaughn rubbed his temples and sighed, "Albus and I do have some ideas, but they're just ideas for now. You should know that we won't put Harry in any danger—"

"No, I don't know!"

In the shadows, Snape's eyes gleamed eerily: "I don't see any of you really caring about him. You, Vaughn, spent all your time in that little world, oblivious to everything outside. Dumbledore, on the other hand, was running around the world. One day he was in Brazil, the next day you'd see him in the newspapers, and he'd already gone to France."

"None of you have paid attention to the strange things happening in the castle. Lady Lorris was injured, and you said you were investigating, but you haven't made any progress. Hagrid secretly asked me a while ago how the investigation into the killing of his chickens by students was going. That's how I found out that this had actually happened."

"None of you have addressed these issues, Vaughn. How can I trust you?"

Well----

It seems the professor has indeed been overlooked—Vaughn blinked. Of course, he knew that with the implanted personality suit and the Marauder's Map, he could keep track of the notebook's movements.

But this is something that can't be brought up in public.

Given the existence of a rat under his control who was in a daze all day, he couldn't possibly show the Marauder's Map to Snape.

The time is not right!

Therefore, after a moment of silence, Vaughn abruptly changed the subject: "Breakfast is getting cold, Professor, eat some first, and then we'll—"

"I'm not hungry!"

Snape interrupted Vaughn abruptly, just as he was about to say something.

Glug glug~

My stomach made another strange noise.

5

'

'

""

"Are you hungry, Professor?"

"No, you misheard me!"

"I've never seen anyone more outrageous than you. Not one of you yielded or backed down an inch all night long, preferring to stay up as tired as a panda—"

What is a panda?

Of the trio, only Ron could ask such a question. He looked curiously at Harry, then at Hermione.

Hermione, already short-tempered, had veins throbbing on her forehead: "Don't interrupt, Ronald! Look at yourself in the mirror. Your face is as white as a sheet. If you suddenly slam your head on the table and pass out, I wouldn't be surprised at all!"

Ron rubbed his hair in regret. Why couldn't he control his curiosity? As a result, he attracted the tigress's firepower!

Harry couldn't bear to see his best friend get scolded, so he quickly took the blame himself: "Ron was just trying to help me. I didn't steal the herbs, so I can't back down—okay, Hermione, don't be angry. Let's think about something happy. We're going to a ghost party on Halloween Eve, isn't that cool?"

Hermione glared at her: "You still have the nerve to care about how cool it is? If I were you, I'd be sitting on pins and needles, thinking about why Professor Snape is suddenly causing trouble again, and what he's really thinking!"

"Honestly, Hermione, what can I possibly read from Snape's poker face? If he were standing motionless in the corner of the Potions classroom, I would even think he was a wax figure."

"Then you should at least be more vigilant, instead of worrying about some ghost party—"

"You didn't say that yesterday in front of Nick, who was almost headless," Harry muttered, raising his voice to mimic, "Great! I bet no living person has ever attended a party for the dead, and there are no ghosts anywhere else at Hogwarts," he added, "you said it yourself."

'

Hermione was speechless.

Of course, Harry wasn't truly heartless.

Yeah, why is Snape suddenly causing trouble again? And Peeves, Ron, Hermione, and I haven't messed with him at all lately, so what's gotten into him?

After struggling with the thought for a while, Harry finally gave up.

It's not that I'm being lazy and just letting things slide again, but I have homework to do—I wasted the whole night with Snape yesterday, and I haven't finished his Transfiguration homework yet!

And earlier, when he left the Potions office, Snape punished him by making him copy the school rules—

"I shouldn't have gone with you yesterday." Ron stared at the three-foot-long, distorted paper format, his face growing increasingly transparent. He desperately tried to figure out how to write it in a way that would reasonably increase the size and spacing of the words, so as to finish the paper in the shortest possible length without Professor McGonagall noticing.

He hated papers the most because he couldn't copy Hermione's assignments.

This annoyed him greatly, and he started to speak bluntly: "Attending a party hosted by a bunch of dead people, didn't you ever wonder why you were so happy that Nick, who almost lost his head, invited us?"

"Why?" Harry asked, still finding time to crack a joke while busy working on his paper.

"Because nobody wants to go except the three of us idiots!" Ron grumbled. "Just think about it, while everyone else is enjoying delicious fried cod, cheesy baked potatoes, roast pig—and colorful fireworks in a magnificent and warm auditorium—and what about us? We're going to the basement and have a bunch of ghosts walk through our bodies—"

Well, after hearing this, Harry was already starting to regret it.

As if God were warning him of the mistake of making promises too easily, at noon, a dark, heavy cloud loomed over Hogsmeade Valley.

After lunch, the sky was as black as ink, and strange clouds rolled into bizarrely shaped ripples, as if the ocean were suspended in the sky.

Before long, a torrential downpour began.

It felt like night had fallen early.

The festive atmosphere thus suddenly intensified.

The common room in the Gryffindor tower was brightly lit, and the flickering firelight from the fireplace bathed everything in a warm orange glow. Almost all the Gryffindors were gathered there, pulling out their Halloween costumes from their closets and excitedly dressing up.

Harry spotted the twins in the crowd. They each wore a dirty mask and equally dirty overalls, and each produced a large machete.

"Butchers? A bunch of ignorant fools! This is the most classic killer image in Muggle horror movies, Jason!"

One of Fred's or George's twins, who was unclear whether it was Fred or George, loudly argued in the crowd about their outfits: "If you don't believe me, we can show a movie after dinner—magic will certainly interfere with Muggle electronic devices, but who are the Weasley brothers?"

"Greatest inventors, we have developed anti-interference technology —"

"It's a paid service! Movie seats are limited, first come, first served. A mere 5 copper knuckles—what do you mean, 'cheap'? Who are you calling greedy? Exclusive anti-interference technology! Can you find another movie theater that can screen movies at Hogwarts? If not, just buy a ticket. You can afford it, can't you?"

In the blink of an eye, the twins had sold out all their tickets, leaving Harry speechless.

Look, they can even make money during holidays!

And this excitement and joy, born of their curiosity, will not belong to them today.

As night approached, Harry regretted his decision more and more. For a moment, he really wanted to ditch Nick, who was almost headless, and return to the social atmosphere of normal humans. Ron agreed with this decision. He went to the Great Hall in the evening and came back saying with envy that the Great Hall was decorated beautifully. The giant pumpkin lanterns made from Hagrid's plants were running around the Great Hall.