Hogwarts: My name is the Unforgivable Curse...

Chapter 134 The Binding Force of Oaths...

Boom boom boom!

"Professor Snape, may I come in?"

Snape, who was leisurely rocking back and forth in his chair, frowned slightly in annoyance, turned his head to look at the door of his office, and then raised his hand to push the hair that was in the way aside.

"Come in."

He waved his hand, dispelling the magical seal on the door and letting in the guy outside, who was plotting some wicked scheme and was practically in cahoots with Dumbledore: "Mr. Ken?"

He glanced at Avada: "What's the matter?"

"professor,"

Avada carefully observed Snape's arm and facial expression, and only after confirming that there was nothing unusual did she cautiously speak, "I saw the list of Muggle-born students that was just released..."

Get to the point.

"...My name isn't on it."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

Snape raised an eyebrow, speaking in a lazy tone: "Someone who always thought he was Muggle-born suddenly discovers he actually has wizarding blood, making him immune to the castle's will, a miraculous escape from a desperate situation, a glimmer of hope in the darkness..."

"Or are you actually looking forward to being petrified or leaving Hogwarts?"

"...No, Professor."

Avada scoffed – it seemed Snape hadn't had any problems lately; his tone was still as infuriating as ever.

"What I want to ask is, I remember that my file states I was a Muggle-born student, and the Department of Mysteries has also confirmed this..."

"Do you really want to be petrified?"

Snape's tone revealed a hint of impatience: "To ensure the accuracy of bloodlines and prevent students from suffering losses due to misjudgment of their lineage, the Board of Governors has specifically re-verified the family background of every student. Therefore, some ancestors may have Squibs and thus have wizarding blood, but those who were mistakenly identified as Muggle-born wizards will be reclassified as wizarding descendants. What happened to you is very likely such a situation."

"Have I explained it clearly enough, Mr. Ken?"

"...That's clear enough, Professor."

Avada could barely hide his heavy breathing—he finally knew who was behind the whole thing.

The Board of Trustees would never do something so impractical and meaningless, because Squibs are descendants of wizards and have wizarding blood in them, so Squib descendants would naturally be considered descendants of wizards—of course, if they still do not show magical talent, they will still be classified as Squibs, but they are not ordinary Muggles.

Therefore, he would be classified as a descendant of wizards not because of any duds in his ancestors, but for some other reason...

And within the school board, there happens to be someone who firmly believes that a student named "Ken" is actually a descendant of wizards, that his Muggle origins in his file are merely a facade, and that he is actually the descendant of a powerful figure...

"That person's identity is really hard to guess, don't you think...?"

Lucius Malfoy?!

Avada had long noticed that from the moment of his coma to Snape's official announcement of the expulsion of Muggle-born students, throughout the turbulent times at Hogwarts, Lucius Malfoy, as a member of the Board of Governors, never once visited the school, even as other members of the Board of Governors appeared one after another.

At first, he thought Lucius had realized that the diary he had sent out was the cause of the trouble, and therefore dared not show himself for fear of being caught red-handed by the pro-Dumbledore school board members. But now, his will could actually influence students' files directly without him ever showing his face!

Before Dumbledore was ousted, the Board of Governors had no right to access student records. Hogwarts student records are kept extremely secure, making it virtually impossible for them to be taken out of the school. Therefore, the fact that Lucius has never been to the school highly likely means that he still doesn't know his real name and will therefore retain his initial assessment of himself!

And let's not forget, the Horcrux diary was initially in Lucius's possession. If they truly wanted to cooperate with the diary's operation, he was undoubtedly the best candidate, and his current influence fully proves this…

That's outrageous...

Avada couldn't help but feel absurd—Mr. Shafik's scheme back then had actually helped him confirm the identity of the mastermind more than a year later...

He was now 70-80% certain that the initial coma that led to Dumbledore's expulsion was orchestrated by Lucius in secret, while Flint, Parkinson, and other board members were merely drawing attention on the surface!

He intently scanned his surroundings with his magical senses, and after confirming that there were no surveillance devices or eavesdroppers, he looked up, deliberately fixing his gaze on Snape's arm, and asked in a low voice, "Professor, I have another question... Do you have the former headmaster's contact information here?"

"What?"

Snape's pupils contracted.

"I suddenly remembered that the former principal borrowed something quite valuable from me, but he was dismissed before he could return it, and I haven't been able to contact him since..."

"...What did you discover?"

Snape stared blankly at the student in front of him, who was making mysterious winks and gestures for a long time, before suddenly asking directly.

"Huh?"

Avada paused for a moment, then said, "What do you mean by 'discovered'? I just wanted to send a message to the former principal and ask him to return that thing to me. That's all..."

As he spoke, he slowly rolled up his sleeves, revealing his forearms—this was practically an explicit indication.

"Just tell me the clues you've found, and I'll pass them on to Dumbledore."

Snape frowned, lowering his voice slightly: "Dumbledore told me before he left that you might find something crucial sometime in the future. His progress isn't promising... and I myself need your intelligence to deal with more unknown possibilities."

"But your vow..."

"I think I care more about my own life than you do, Mr. Ken. The fact that I'm willing to listen to you means that I'm at least still alive and able to use the information you provide. I'm not planning to treat my life as a disposable item."

Snape said coldly, then pulled a crimson quill from his robes: "So, tell me the clues you have, Mr. Ken, and I will pass them on to Dumbledore."

"..."

Avada couldn't help but wonder—what exactly was the content of Snape's oath that allowed him to so openly pass information to Dumbledore without suffering any backlash?

If it weren't for Dumbledore's assurance, his understanding of Snape, and Snape's open and honest mental strength, he would have suspected that Snape's oath might include the clause "to pass on the wrong message to Dumbledore"...

"Damn it, if the Unbreakable Oath hadn't been so well hidden, preventing me from finding it and studying it..."

He sighed inwardly, then finally spoke with relief: "I suspect that Lucius Malfoy was the mastermind behind the whole thing..."

(End of this chapter)