My Hogwarts has a serious problem.

Chapter 352, page 349: A Disgraceful End.

Snape was a Death Eater, but he was more than just an ordinary Death Eater.

He held an extremely high position among Voldemort's allies, almost on par with Bellatrix Lestrange, No-Nose's true confidant. This was not only due to his superb potion-making skills, but also because of his unparalleled loyalty to No-Nose, a loyalty that ordinary Death Eaters lacked.

The prophecy that Voldemort would die at the hands of a child was overheard by Snape, who then told his master, which led to the deaths of his first love, Lily, and her family.

The murder of his first love led Snape to repent, and he found Dumbledore and returned to the right path. Later, in order to atone for his sins, he became a double agent and finally died for Dumbledore's plan.

Because Snape was once Voldemort's most trusted lieutenant, he understood best what it would mean if Voldemort were to be resurrected.

This filled Snape, who had always been as hard-hearted as a stone, with deep fear.

"Sit down, Severus. Calm down, please sit down."

Dumbledore spoke softly to the agitated Snape.

"I can't calm down, Dumbledore." Snape sat down opposite Dumbledore, staring intently into his eyes. "Don't tell me you didn't find out. Knowing him as you do, you should have known even before I did!"

Dumbledore did not answer Snape's question directly. Instead, he picked up the teacup in front of him and took a small sip.

"This isn't necessarily a bad thing, Snape."

"You already knew!"

"I knew a little earlier than you did."

"Do you know where he is now, and what he's planning?" Snape glared angrily at Dumbledore, as if trying to see something in Dumbledore's eyes.

Dumbledore did not avoid his gaze, but met his eyes and gently shook his head.

No, I don't know.

Snape observed Dumbledore's expression, as if trying to discern from his face whether he was lying.

In the end, he chose to believe Dumbledore's words.

"So what do we do now? He's alive, and he's right here at Hogwarts. He's definitely going to do something to Harry Potter! Otherwise, there's no explanation for why he would come back to this castle!"

Dumbledore pondered for a moment, then spoke.

"I have a different opinion, Severus. He does seem to have been resurrected, but he is clearly still very weak, or rather, his resurrection is not complete."

Snape stared at Dumbledore.

"What do you mean?"

"Let's think about it from his perspective. If he had truly regained all his power from his peak, and if he really wanted to kill Harry, why would he be hiding in Hogwarts like this?"

Snape followed Dumbledore's train of thought and suddenly realized that he was absolutely right.

Dumbledore still had that serious face, the demeanor of an honest and reliable old man.

"Since he hasn't regained his power, he won't be thinking about how to kill Harry Potter first. After all, for someone like him, he only feels at ease when he has power in his own hands. So it's very likely that he came to Hogwarts not for Harry Potter, but out of necessity."

"You mean his condition is very poor?" Snape pondered Dumbledore's words. "His power is indeed terrifying, but death is something no wizard can defy. Even if he wanted to rise from the dead, he would certainly pay a great price, which is quite reasonable."

Dumbledore nodded with satisfaction and patiently explained.

"Moreover, after his defeat and death, so many of his Death Eaters, whom he thought were utterly loyal to him, betrayed him and defected to the Ministry of Magic. Do you think, given his personality, he would still trust those subordinates? Or rather, would he still trust you, who is now a Potions professor at Hogwarts? If he has lost trust in you, why would he use the Dark Mark to announce his return to you?"

Snape answered Dumbledore's question without hesitation.

"Because he's in a difficult situation and needs my help. So why doesn't he just give me obvious clues so I can go find him and help him?"

Snape quickly figured out the answer himself.

"Because he began to doubt my loyalty to him, he announced his return to me and wanted me to find him to prove my loyalty!"

Snape seemed to have guessed all the answers, and stood up from his chair with a hint of excitement, pacing around the headmaster's office again.

"He is very weak now and needs help from others at Hogwarts. I am the only Death Eater in Hogwarts, so he can only rely on me. We can take this opportunity to kill him again."

Dumbledore nodded solemnly.

"You're right, Severus. He's not dead yet. We must seize this opportunity to defeat him once more. This time, we can only rely on you. You must find him, gain his trust, and then this time we must eradicate him completely!"

Snape's expression returned to its original somber and calm state, and he nodded solemnly.

"I understand. As long as he is still at Hogwarts, I will find him and gain his trust."

"Be careful in everything you do, and take care of your own safety," Dumbledore warned as if it were a serious matter.

"I see."

After Snape left the headmaster's office, Dumbledore took his glasses off his nose, wiped them with a cloth, and sighed.

Of course, not a single word he said to Snape was true; it was all stuff Lynn and he had discussed beforehand about how to deal with Snape after he discovered the problem.

There was no other way to deceive Snape. Lynn had confirmed that Hogwarts had more than just Snape as a Death Eater. If they wanted to lure another Death Eater, they had to deceive Snape as well.

So what I just said was just a "white lie".

Otherwise, how could we tell Snape the truth?

Your former master has now become a blonde little girl, and you even gave her a sullen look and deducted ten points from her score a while ago.

If Snape were told the truth just like that, he would either think Dumbledore had gone mad or that the world had gone mad.

Dumbledore shook his head, waved his wand to take the Pensieve from the cabinet, and then slowly hooked a silver thread from his temple with his wand, guiding the memory and placing it into the Pensieve.

After storing the memories, he put the Pensieve back in the cabinet, shaking his head and sighing.

"His reputation is ruined in his later years! His reputation is ruined in his later years!"

(End of this chapter)