Snape, the Sunshine of Hogwarts

The Daily Prophet, The Witch Weekly, The Quibbler, The Daily Diviner, and Wizard Radio.

Regardless of whether they primarily report on social news, almost all the reporters from newspapers and radio stations rushed to the scene upon hearing the news.

If it weren't for the fact that a television program launched by the British Wizarding Broadcasting in 1980 was banned for allegedly violating the Secret Service Act, there might even have been people from the television station coming.

"Mr. Scrimgeour! Mr. Scrimgeour! What is the Auror's opinion on this matter? Does Severus Snape's crime represent the remaining influence of the Man of Void, which has not yet been completely eradicated?"

"What steps will the Aurors take next? Will Snape's situation affect those former Death Eaters who were deemed harmless by the Ministry of Magic?"

"How does Minister Barnold view this matter? Such a heinous crime occurred in the last year of her term. Will it affect her formal retirement a year from now?"

"Professor Albus Dumbledore knows nothing about this! The Slytherin Headmaster of Hogwarts has committed a crime and fled. As the Headmaster of Hogwarts, will he step forward to make a statement?"

"Mr. Scrimgeour! Scrimgeour!"

Scrimgeour, who was leaving the main hall of the Ministry of Magic with the Aurors, was surrounded by a group of reporters with shorthand quills and parchment floating around them.

The Aurors tried to disperse the reporters who had come running, to clear a path for Scrimgeour.

However, upon hearing Dumbledore's name, the Auror office director, who resembled an old lion, suddenly turned and shouted.

"The Mystic left no trace of his influence! Snape's crimes will not affect any other innocent people! Minister Barnard will not have her retirement plans delayed because of this! As for Dumbledore's attitude, why don't you go to Hogwarts and ask him directly?"

After saying that, he ignored the commotion of the reporters and turned to leave with his men.

He left, but the reporters were in an uproar!

Everyone was incredibly excited!

If Scrimgeour had only answered the questions mentioned earlier, that would have been fine, but the key point is that his last sentence and his attitude towards Dumbledore were clearly unusual!

The Auror Office Director questions the Hogwarts Headmaster?

The Ministry of Magic accused Dumbledore of misjudging people and protecting dark wizards.

Did Dumbledore secretly instruct Severus Snape to commit his crimes?

After realizing what had happened, some reporters rushed to follow Scrinker's trail, hoping to get even bigger scoops.

Others immediately used the Ministry of Magic's fireplaces to return to the newspaper office, eager to publish the news they had obtained as soon as possible.

Some even chose to go to Hogwarts immediately.

Scrimgeour is right. Compared to the Ministry of Magic, what is Hogwarts' attitude at this moment is more worthy of these people's investigation!

at the same time.

In the principal's office of an old bee.

Minerva McGonagall, Felius Flitwick, and Pomona Sprout, the other three Hogwarts Headmasters besides Severus, were gathered here.

Whether it was an older catgirl, a short old man, or a kind witch, everyone had a furrowed brow at this moment.

News of Severus's affair had reached Hogwarts, and everyone knew what had happened.

Even the portraits of past principals hanging on the wall seemed to be whispering amongst themselves.

Only Dumbledore remained seated behind his desk, a box of cockroaches in his hand, which he was eating with relish.

"Dumbledore, what is Snape trying to do?!"

Finally, McGonagall couldn't hold back any longer and asked.

Compared to Flitwick and Sprout, she obviously knew more, especially about Severus taking Harry away, which she had witnessed firsthand.

That's precisely why McGonagall is the most anxious and restless.

Dumbledore winked under McGonagall's gaze and smiled as he spoke.

"I'm not omniscient yet. My professor, I think only Snape himself knows what he wants to do."

“But what do we do now?” Ravenclaw Dean and Charms Professor Flitwick asked. “There are already a lot of reporters blocking the school gates, and Filch is trying to stop them!”

“They want big news, so why don’t we give them what they want?” Dumbledore put down the box of candy in his hand and said softly, “Phineas, go and tell Filch to let them in. I can give them an interview.”

In the portrait on the wall, there is an old wizard with a goatee, muttering sarcastic words, but his body honestly disappears from the frame that originally belonged to him.

Soon, reporters swarmed into the principal's office.

They argued and made a ruckus, not only pointing all sorts of sharp questions at Dumbledore, but also making the other three heads of the house look extremely unpleasant.

Dumbledore's expression turned serious. He stood up and gestured for everyone to be quiet, and the chaotic scene gradually began to quiet down.

He looked at the reporters, countless camera lenses pointed at him, flashes going off constantly.

"No matter what kind of arrest warrant or suspicion the Ministry of Magic may have against Professor Snape."

"Hogwarts will always believe in his innocence!"

The reporters and the deans all stared in astonishment at Dumbledore, who had made the declaration, as if someone had cast a mass petrification spell, turning them into clay statues and leaving them frozen in place.

But very quickly, just two or three seconds later, it was like boiling water overturning the kettle lid.

A gasp erupted from the Hogwarts headmaster's office!

The name "Slick-haired Man" is so popular with core fans that many people don't know it refers to Snape.

Backend data shows that out of 1000 people who saw the book title, only 21 clicked on it, and of the 100 who clicked on it, 43 stayed, proving that the book title couldn't fool people.

How about changing it to "Harry, Be My Son" or "Hogwarts' Sunny Snape"?

Chapter 37 Snape is the successor to Mystic!

For the British magical media, this was simply the best day ever.

The fact that Snape disappeared along with the victim of the poisoning case is news in itself that deserves to be widely reported.

As a former Death Eater, now the Headmaster of Slytherin, and a renowned Potions Master, his every move naturally attracts attention.

However, since being recruited as a professor by Dumbledore, Snape rarely left the Hogwarts castle, and even if newspapers wanted to make a story about him, they couldn't find any angle.

Instead of making a move, he made a huge one!

But it's not over.

Because of Snape's sensitive status, the attitude of the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts towards his actions became another major turning point.

Just now, the Auror's Office Chief has just obtained the highest arrest warrant from the Minister of Magic, issuing a warrant for Snape's arrest.

Less than two hours later, news came from Hogwarts.

In front of numerous reporters, Albus Dumbledore openly declared that he firmly believed in Snape's innocence!

Immediately, all newspapers were printing extra editions, and Wizard Radio broadcast news reports about the event for an entire day.

They repeatedly invited political commentators to the show to analyze whether Snape could actually have committed a crime, and if he did, what his motives would have been.

Those people, whether retired Ministry of Magic employees or political commentators, rambled on and on.

Almost none of them agreed with Dumbledore's claim of innocence.

Because Snape had a criminal record, the crimes he committed while he was a Death Eater went unpunished.

Furthermore, now that everything is clear, according to Slughorn's testimony, Snape brewed the medicine and took the person away. If he is innocent, then no one is guilty!

Among these people, Snape almost became the successor to Mystic!

The newspapers almost all held the same view, except for The Quibbler, a non-mainstream publication, which published a more neutral article titled "Severus Snape's Five Sins and Five Virtues".

From major publications like the Daily Prophet to smaller ones like the Daily Odds and the Weekly Witches, everyone thought Dumbledore had definitely made another senile mistake, blindly trusting a follower of a mysterious man, and that he had now revealed his true colors.

Ninety percent of the articles condemned Snape's evil deeds while praying for the poor Muggle girl's safe return home.

The Ministry of Magic's most wanted poster was also disseminated throughout the wizarding world along with the increased circulation of these newspapers.

Within just one afternoon, almost all the wizards in Britain knew about it through various news channels.

This naturally includes the Weasley family.

In the evening, when Arthur Weasley returned to the Burrow from the Ministry of Magic after a day's work, his wife Molly had already prepared dinner and was waiting for him with their sons and daughters.

Before he even sat down at the table, the Weasley children were already chattering about the day's big news.

"Is what the newspapers are saying true, Dad? Professor Snape ran away with that Muggle?"

The eldest son, Bill, asked cautiously.

He just graduated from Hogwarts this year with excellent grades, earning 12 certificates in the OWLs exams.

Furthermore, I have already received an offer of employment from Gringotts in Egypt in the past two days, and I will be able to go there next month to work as a spellbreaker.

“This is unbelievable.” Charlie, the second son who was still attending Hogwarts, was still in shock. “Professor Snape wasn’t popular at school, but no one would have thought he would do something like that! Some people say he’s still loyal to Vanderbilt! He took that Muggle away to torture and kill her!”

At this moment, George Fred's twins interrupted, expressing their dissatisfaction.

"But Dumbledore trusts him, doesn't he? And we don't find him unlikable at all; on the contrary, we all think he's a very good person! Don't you agree, George?"

"He even had his student treat us to ice cream! And he secretly told us what this year's Sorting Ceremony would be like! We really like him."

George encouraged Percy to join their side.

"Professor Snape praised you highly back then, and you believed he was innocent and had a reason to do it, right, Percy!"

However, Percy carefully chose his words.

"It's too early to draw conclusions. Besides, if Professor Snape is truly innocent, why doesn't he just tell the Aurors directly?"

Upon hearing his words, George thought his behavior was too two-faced and glared at him angrily, but Fred pulled him aside and mocked him.

"You shouldn't have asked our future male student council president; his insights are beyond the comprehension of most of us."

Percy was also angered by his words, but before they could start arguing, Molly interrupted them loudly.

"Alright, alright! If you two had enough energy, you should be helping me catch goblins in the garden during the day! Instead of arguing here!"

Young Ron and Ginny could only listen to their older brothers talking loudly about it, unable to get a word in edgewise.

After they had all expressed their opinions, and Arthur had just drunk half a glass of mead that Molly had prepared for him, he shook his head heavily, looking exhausted from a day's work.

"The Ministry of Magic doesn't actually have much substantial evidence right now, but Snape did escape with his men, which is the worst thing for him. Nobody knows why he did it."

"However, it is true that Dumbledore trusted him very much. During his years as a professor at Hogwarts, he never did anything out of line. I think there must be some other reason for this sudden change, rather than a subjective intention to harm someone."

His answer did not end the differing opinions among the children.

Even within the Weasley family, some people expressed doubts about whether Snape had been pretending to change his ways all along, and was now finally revealing his true nature.

Needless to say, public opinion among the general wizards was also negative.

Nearly 80% of British wizards believe Snape is a true villain, and the remaining 20% ​​are mostly Slytherin graduates who speak well of their headmaster.

By this time, the Ministry of Magic's wanted posters had spread to almost every place a wizard had ever been to.

They also contacted the Muggle Prime Minister, and the British Muggle Police issued an arrest warrant for Snape, which was featured on television news that evening.

A large number of Aurors were conducting Apparition searches near Bardington Manor. As long as they could find traces of Apparition, they could use magic to reverse the process and determine the final location of Apparition.

However, even after expanding their search area to five miles, they still found nothing.

Just as the British wizards were making a huge fuss about this matter.

Snape, Patty the Muggle girl he kidnapped, and the little student who was with him, all vanished without a trace, as if they had completely disappeared into thin air.

Chapter 38 The Fugitive's Journey Begins

Leighton is a parking attendant for a car rental company in Bristol.

His job was tedious and boring, at least that's what he thought.

Every day, he was responsible for handing over the car keys to all sorts of different people, and then listening to their grand travel plans. He could only stay in the parking lot watching cars come and go, and had to offer praise against his will.

The sky was gradually darkening. Layton glanced at the time on his watch. If the company's salespeople didn't attract any new customers to pick up their cars, he could wait another five minutes at most before he could switch shifts with the old drunkard on night duty and end this monotonous day.

However, just when he concluded that no one would plan to rent a car so late, he started packing his things in advance, preparing to leave work.

Outside the guard post, someone suddenly knocked gently on the glass window.

Layton stopped what he was doing, looked up, and saw that five people had appeared outside the pavilion at some point.

The leader was a tall man wearing a dark blue T-shirt, black shorts, and black hair tied in a short ponytail. He looked somewhat like a TV star.

Beside the man was a child who looked no more than 10 years old. The child also had messy black hair and was wearing a brand-new children's outfit with the tags still on. He was excitedly looking at his new clothes, like a child from the countryside.

Two more people were following behind them.