Hogwarts: My name is the Unforgivable Curse...

Chapter 121 The Halloween Banquet Arrives

"Why Snape?"

Someone asked blankly.

"Yeah, why Snape...?"

Avada also kept his head down. Although he knew slightly more than the others, that didn't stop him from sharing the same doubts as everyone else—

How did this guy, who had been by Dumbledore's side for over a decade and was deeply trusted by him, manage to regain the trust of those stubborn pure-blood families?

Based on those years of camaraderie? Or on the Dark Mark on his hand? Even Voldemort himself has been completely defeated, so what use are those? Besides, many of them were in the same year as Snape and knew about Snape and Lily!

In the original books, Snape gained Voldemort and the trust of all the Death Eaters by personally killing Dumbledore. This was an immense achievement, enough to quell any dissent. But what about this time?

Moreover, logically speaking, after eliminating Dumbledore, a threat, their goal should have been achieved. Even if they really wanted to go further, as Dumbledore said, and transform the school into a factory for instilling extreme pure-blood ideology, they should have done so slowly and gradually, otherwise it would definitely cause a strong backlash—just like the situation Umbridge faced in the original books.

Even if the school board has completely lost their minds and insists on reforming the school right now, why not just parachute in a new headmaster they can trust, instead of re-employing Snape, who has been by Dumbledore's side for over ten years and whose loyalty is seriously questionable?

This question lingered until Avada returned to his dormitory that evening and found a note with a bright red feather tucked inside his pillow:

Voldemort is still in my hands, no need to worry.

Professor Snape will do everything in his power to ensure the students' safety, but there are always things he can't see—the rest is up to you.

You can trust Professor Snape in crucial moments, but try not to show it.

This is not over yet; please be careful.

"..."

Despite the doubts people had, Snape eventually took the seat of headmaster under the absolute authority of the Board of Governors, and temporarily served as head of Slytherin and professor of Potions. Since this year's recruitment had ended, it would probably be next year before a new potions professor could be found, allowing Snape to become a full-time headmaster.

During this period, everyone, including Avada Kedavra, noticed something unusual: Snape wasn't moving into the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts, but instead continued living in his Slytherin Headmaster's office. This led many to suspect that Snape wasn't actually recognized as Headmaster—most believed that Hogwarts Castle had its own will and could choose who would serve as Headmaster and lead the school, rather than simply relying on the orders of the Board of Governors.

Fortunately, Snape didn't make any sweeping changes to Hogwarts' existing facilities and rules. Instead, he continued to use the rules established during Dumbledore's time, and the students' lessons and other activities like Quidditch remained unchanged. Apart from the Slytherin hourglasses showing a dramatic increase in grades and the disappearance of those annoying rooster crows, everything seemed to remain the same.

But this didn't prevent a gloomy atmosphere from hanging over the entire school—the professors rarely smiled, and Hagrid, the gamekeeper, had been weeping for days on end. The students, too, felt downcast every time they looked up at mealtimes to find an old bat sitting in Dumbledore's former seat…

Therefore, in this atmosphere, this year's Halloween party became especially important. Everyone hoped to have a good time during this holiday to wash away the gloom caused by Dumbledore's departure.

And this time, even the ghosts have come to join the fun—according to them, this year's Halloween happens to be the 500th anniversary of the death of the Gryffindor ghost "Nearly Headless Nick," who has recently been having some bad luck (apparently, his application to join the Headless Horsemen was rejected). So he plans to invite his ghost friends from all over to a grand feast on Halloween to celebrate with everyone.

Snape, probably to secure his position, followed Dumbledore's example and allowed the ghosts to enjoy the feast with the students in the sky above the Great Hall on Halloween, as long as they didn't wander across the long tables and make the food cold...

So at the Halloween dinner, the entire auditorium was suddenly divided into two parts – the lower part still had four long tables illuminated by warm yellow candles, where students happily ate and chatted, with bats and pumpkins decorating everything, and this time even the principal's seat had an extra large bat... but if you looked up, you would see a completely different scene.

Countless tiny, dark candles floated at the top of the auditorium, their bluish glow casting an eerie light on the faces of the white ghosts. A vast number, at least a hundred, of ghosts hovered above the auditorium, a spectacular sight like a huge cloud, but the chill they brought also made the entire auditorium feel noticeably colder. Some even floated down to chat with the students, creating a scene as if it were snowing…

"Wow, I remember you, the boy who came up to me and asked about my death!"

At that moment, at the long table in Hufflepuff, the fat monk was chatting animatedly with a large group of ghosts, and even quite a few students had joined in. And whether it was lucky or unlucky, Avada's seat was just a short distance away…

Unsurprisingly, he was discovered by the ghost of the abandoned bathroom, the weeping Myrtle.

"Happy Halloween, Myrtle...Would you like a pumpkin pie? I heard you can taste things when you pass through food?"

"Who told you that?"

Myrtle raised an eyebrow: "What would it be like if I lived in a toilet all day?"

"..."

Avada silently put down the golden pumpkin pie in his hand and pushed the bowl of mashed potatoes, smeared with pepper sauce and full of texture, further away.

"Wait a minute, Ken, you approached Myrtle on your own initiative?"

Hannah, sitting opposite Avada, noticed something amiss. She took the mashed potatoes Avada was pushing towards her and looked at him suspiciously. "But I remember, Myrtle never seems to leave that women's restroom?"

"Sigh, I had no choice, I had no choice, it was to investigate some things..."

Avada coughed lightly and then pushed his pumpkin pie towards Hannah: "Eat, eat."

"oh."

Faced with this mysterious, nameless, and legendary senior who had personally sealed Voldemort, Hannah didn't think much of it and lowered her head to focus on eating the pumpkin pie she had just acquired.

"Hey, you guys are chatting?"

At this moment, the fat monk floated down as well, looking at Avada with a surprised expression: "Are you interested in the causes of death of ghosts? Want to hear about my death? I guarantee it'll be more exciting than Nick's. He's been showing off his neck to everyone he meets today. If ghosts could drink, I'd suspect he was drunk..."

"etc!"

Avada suddenly stood up, startling those around him: "Myrtle Lady, could you please stand next to the fat monk?"

I have a bit of a fever today and am not feeling well, so I'm sorry for the long delay in updating...orz

(End of this chapter)