Chapter 17: Dumbledore
Late at night at Hogwarts, it was empty and quiet.
Any sound in the deep corridors could travel a long way.
Snape’s professor’s robes trailed long behind him, his leather shoes tapping out hollow echoes on the floor.
Coupled with his cold face and slightly cruel, sinister aquiline nose, it could scare any young wizard caught out after curfew into crying.
However, he wasn’t here to patrol today; he walked up the winding, spiraling staircase, through a corridor lined with portraits and armor, all the way to the tower on the eighth floor.
Then an incredibly ugly gargoyle blocked his path.
Behind the gargoyle was a moving spiral staircase, and at its end was his destination, the Headmaster’s Office.
Snape’s face was impassive, his dark eyes staring at the gargoyle as if it were trash: “Password, Cockroach Cluster!”
The gargoyle rotated open, and Snape ascended the steps, pushing open the office door.
In the circular, luxurious, and spacious office, portraits of past headmasters hung on the walls. It was very late, and they were all snoring. The noise Snape made when he entered woke a few, who berated him.
“Ah, Severus,” Dumbledore said, looking up from behind a huge desk where he was examining something. “Good evening, would you like some Cockroach Cluster? Or Fizzing Whizbees?”
A plate full of candy floated in front of Snape, who impatiently pushed it away.
His voice was almost a growl: “What is it? Say it quickly, I don’t want to waste time.”
Dumbledore, still smiling, beckoned the candy plate over, plucked a lively cockroach, popped it into his mouth, and gestured, “Then come and take a look, Severus.”
Snape walked to the large desk and saw a letter spread out in front of Dumbledore, signed by Ollivander.
“After the banquet, I wrote a letter to Mr. Ollivander, asking him some questions. I’m glad my old friend is still willing to humor me, but his schedule is not healthy. I thought I wouldn’t receive his reply until tomorrow morning…”
He spoke in a rambling fashion.
Snape wasn’t in the mood to listen to this nonsense. His gaze quickly scanned the handwriting on the parchment. Ollivander was explaining the specifics of a wand to Dumbledore.
“…I must admit, it was an extremely powerful wand, only the most powerful wizards could win its favor and affection. I never thought it would belong to a child before, Vaughn Weasley, it’s beyond my imagination…”
“…But Dumbledore, in response to your inquiry, I must still say that no one is born fixed, nor is any wand born fixed. Wands and wizards grow and achieve with each other. Regarding your concerns, I cannot provide concrete evidence, only hope you will be more cautious—”
“Your faithful, Garrick Ollivander.”
Snape accurately saw the name Vaughn Weasley. He looked at Dumbledore, a trace of mockery flashing across his cold face.
“What, another little dark wizard on your blacklist?”
Dumbledore’s smile faded. He pondered for a moment, then said, “I trust Arthur and Molly.”
In Snape’s understanding, this meant he only trusted Arthur and Molly, and as for the one named Vaughn…
“Hmph…”
This answer was not unexpected by Snape. He let out a cold laugh of indeterminate meaning, mocking, “So what? I have new tasks? In addition to keeping an eye on our dear Savior, I also have to keep an eye on his evil classmates?”
“I did not say he was evil, Severus.”
“Hmph hmph…”
Dumbledore sighed, “The timing is wrong, Severus. We need to focus on Harry’s growth, to ensure he fulfills the prophecy. This is not me shirking responsibility, but rather that neither of us knows what kind of results, better, or… worse, would occur if destiny were to be twisted?”
He gazed into Snape’s dark eyes. He certainly wouldn’t use Legilimency on Snape; he just wanted to ensure Snape saw his sincerity.
“Help me. Do you see it? Harry’s eyes, and Lily’s…”
“Enough!”
Snape’s voice rose uncontrollably.
His nostrils flared, and a great emotional impact struck his chest, making it difficult for him to maintain Occlumency.
It was a poisonous feeling!
It had tormented him for 10 whole years.
The office fell silent for a moment. After a long pause, Snape, his voice regaining its coldness, slowly said, “There’s nothing else. I need to go back and prepare my lesson plans. I’m looking forward to tomorrow. I hope your Savior isn’t outshone by his evil classmate.”
With that, he swished his robes and quickly left.
“Thank you, Severus, good night…”
Watching Snape leave, the office fell silent again. Dumbledore lowered his head, looking back and forth at the letter, his thin fingers stroking every word as if to imprint them in his heart.
After an unknown amount of time, he spoke again: “Armando, have you ever wondered what Tom would have become if we had paid more attention to him from the start?”
An old wizard in a portrait, pretending to sleep, turned over and mumbled, “Who knows!”
“Yes, who knows…”
…
The next morning, Vaughn, who had eaten well the previous day, woke up at his usual time due to his biological clock.
The other two Slytherins in his dormitory were more sensible than he expected. They had only returned last night to pack their belongings and move to other rooms.
It felt really good to occupy the entire dormitory by himself.
He climbed out of bed; it was just 5 o’clock, and it wasn’t even light yet.
Vaughn washed up, changed into his robes, and left the dormitory with Guo Guo Cha.
Passing the Common Room, he didn’t see the Prefect who had fainted last night. He probably got dragged away by his roommates!
However, the fireplace was still burning fiercely, likely thanks to the house-elves.
Vaughn didn’t linger, pushing open the stone door and exiting the Slytherin Common Room.
It was too early, and the undisciplined students hadn’t woken up yet.
Vaughn wandered through the empty corridors and courtyard for a while, finally finding a path leading to the Black Lake.
He took Guo Guo Cha to the edge of the Black Lake and patted its head: “Go play!”
Guo Guo Cha bounced happily, frolicking on the grass by the lake. Vaughn sat down, gazing lazily at the calm, mirror-like lake, breathing in the fresh morning air.
This was a good place to relax. If there weren’t too many people, he could come here more often.
After spending some time relaxing with Guo Guo Cha, sounds from the castle gradually began to emerge. When Vaughn took Guo Guo Cha back, the Great Hall already had quite a few early-rising students.
From afar, he saw Hermione’s disheveled figure at the Gryffindor long table. Guo Guo Cha also recognized the two-legged creature it had seen on the Hogwarts Express and walked over.
The girl was startled for a moment, then seemed to recognize Guo Guo Cha, and quickly turned her head. When she saw Vaughn, her eyes lit up.
