Chapter 82: Watching The Show And Mutual Understanding
Why Voldemort went to Albania, even in Vaughn’s past life, is a question that fans find difficult to understand.
Although in Vaughn’s opinion, the truth is simple.
It was hidden in Helena’s later words—it’s a lonely place!
Voldemort, who grew up in an orphanage, was accompanied by loneliness his whole life, with no family or friends. Perhaps it was precisely because Helena had once told him about the “lonely place” that he subconsciously fled there after his death.
The specific reason is not important; the events that lead to the reason are important.
Voldemort knew about Albania because Helena told him, and he also found Ravenclaw’s diadem, which Helena had hidden, there.
Vaughn had always wanted to find this Horcrux, which was thrown into the Room of Requirement, but he repeatedly returned empty-handed because there was simply too much trash in the Room of Requirement.
Since the end of last year, when he began to focus on the research and development of Wolfsbane Potion, Vaughn had completely given up searching for it.
Dumbledore must be more anxious than him anyway!
Even Snape didn’t know that Dumbledore was tracking Quirrell’s whereabouts because he wanted to find the Horcrux!
Vaughn said calmly, “Now that we’ve traced it to Albania and have this destination, I think you can try to investigate whether Tom ever went there, when he went, and then determine why he went based on the time period.”
Dumbledore pondered and nodded, “That makes some sense, but the era is too distant, and the investigation will likely be very difficult.”
Vaughn spread his hands, “Then there’s nothing we can do. If you can’t find the Horcrux, you’ll never be able to destroy Tom… Come to think of it, what’s the difficulty of finding the Horcrux? You’ll still have to arrange for Tom to be resurrected before killing him again, won’t that feel even worse?”
“…”
Dumbledore’s old face crinkled like a chrysanthemum.
In this world, those who are already dead cannot be killed again. To kill Voldemort, he must be resurrected!
After a moment of dejection, Dumbledore put his arm around Vaughn’s shoulder, “Alright, let’s not talk about these unpleasant things anymore. Come on, Vaughn, let’s go see Harry together.”
“What? What new play have you prepared for Mr. The Boy Who Lived?”
“Don’t say it like that, child. I’m just giving him a little guidance, a gentle push on his way to the stage!”
Vaughn sneered, “Be careful not to push him off the stage… Who is the villain this time?”
Dumbledore didn’t answer and left the Slytherin common room invisibly with Vaughn.
As they passed the Common Room, they saw Malfoy.
For some reason, he was staring blankly at the entrance to the common room.
So, when Dumbledore and Vaughn opened the door, they saw the door of the Common Room suddenly open, but no one was there. Malfoy’s face immediately turned pale as paper, and he screamed and ran away.
“Oh, sorry, I seemed to have scared him when I was here before.”
“Your apology has no sincerity at all. At least you should compensate him for some emotional damages, shouldn’t you? I don’t mind acting as an intermediary, Albus!”
“No money!”
Dumbledore, who had already been fleeced of over ten thousand Gold Galleons by Vaughn, put on a thick face.
This time, the stage Dumbledore had arranged was not within the castle.
The two left the castle invisibly, walked along the stone path, and bypassed the empty Quidditch Pitch.
Finally, they arrived at the Forbidden Forest.
From afar, Vaughn saw Harry dodging and hiding in mid-air on his Flying Broomstick, using the dense canopy as cover.
Below his position, next to a giant oak tree, Snape was grabbing Quirrell by the collar, saying something.
With that ferocious look, he was clearly the villain!
Vaughn felt there was no surprise at all:
“Yes, Professor Snape, you can’t find anyone more villainous than him in all of Hogwarts!”
…
“Snape… he really is that villain!”
Harry’s hands trembled with excitement.
He felt as if he had been kissed by the goddess of fortune today.
This afternoon, he had caught the Golden Snitch, helping his team defeat Hufflepuff.
This was a long-awaited victory, and Gryffindor, due to this victory, temporarily ranked second in the House Cup, with only Slytherin above them.
Because he was too excited, he stayed in the locker room for a while longer. He was regretting that he might miss dinner, but he didn’t expect that the extra time he stayed would lead him to discover Snape sneaking into the Forbidden Forest.
Harry didn’t think much of it and immediately mounted his broom and followed.
He hadn’t considered why Snape, a powerful wizard, hadn’t discovered him. He was just proud of his own cleverness and excited by the secret he had discovered.
He saw Quirrell standing under a giant oak tree, waiting for Snape.
As it got dark, Harry couldn’t see Quirrell’s and Snape’s expressions clearly. He could only judge from their conversation, and it was so clear:
“Sev, Sev-Severus, why, why did you want to see me?”
“Don’t play dumb. You know what I want to ask about, the Philosopher’s Stone…”
Hearing this familiar word from Snape’s mouth made Harry almost lose control of his broom for a moment. He quickly used Legilimency to stabilize his emotions and listened intently:
“…Did you figure out how to subdue Hagrid’s monster? Don’t even think about deceiving me, Quirrell. Your little tricks won’t work on me…”
Harry clenched his grip.
The conversation was too clear. Poor Professor Quirrell was being forced by the evil Snape!
He was so scared that he stammered and couldn’t say anything.
Just by listening to his rapid breathing, one could feel his fear!
But Harry knew that he couldn’t stand up for Professor Quirrell alone.
Recalling the near-death experience in the Fourth Floor Corridor a few months ago, Harry was both angry at Snape’s viciousness and somewhat fearful.
So he tried his best to hide himself, ensuring he wouldn’t be discovered.
Only after Snape had threatened Quirrell and left quickly, pulling on his cloak, did Harry quietly pilot his Flying Broomstick and glide silently through the soft canopy of the forest, flying around to the Quidditch Pitch.
Before leaving, he glanced once more at Professor Quirrell, trembling under the great oak tree.
His eyes were filled with respect!
What a respectable person, who didn’t succumb even under Snape’s threat!
Harry decided to quickly report this information to his friends and discuss how to deal with it.
On the other side, seeing Harry fly away on his broomstick from afar, Vaughn withdrew his gaze and looked at Quirrell under the great oak tree.
His magically imbued eyes could see that Quirrell’s life aura was weak and ethereal, like a candle flame in the wind, as if it would extinguish with the next flicker.
Vaughn declared, “He won’t live much longer.”
“Alas…”
Dumbledore sighed, “Yes, this is also why I decided to move the plan forward. It seems Tom has awakened again recently. Without Unicorn Blood, he can only feed on Quirinus’s life…”
“Speaking of which, why don’t you let Harry know that Quirrell is the one in the black robe?”
“To borrow a phrase you once used, prejudice is a poison in people’s hearts. Harry is prejudiced against Severus, and this is something I want to teach him—don’t let prejudice blind your eyes!”
“That makes sense… But honestly, Albus, I think you’d better teach the professors first. His prejudice against Harry is even more outrageous.”
“…”
The pleasant atmosphere was immediately ruined by Vaughn’s words.
Dumbledore was speechless.
When Harry rushed back to Gryffindor in a panic, the entire lion house was celebrating.
Ever since Charlie graduated, the Gryffindor Quidditch team had been declining year after year, losing more than winning. Every victory was hard-won.
Harry saw the twins darting through the crowd. To celebrate the victory, they decided to sell Canary Creams at half price.
However, Harry suspected they were clearing out inventory. Since the end of last year, after the twins had ruined many small groups with their Canary Creams, their products had become slow-moving.
It was said that the two were trying to develop something new.
After politely declining the twins’ sales pitch and perfunctorily greeting the enthusiastic little lions, Harry found Hermione and Ron.
The latter was wearing a lion’s head and competing with Seamus and Neville to see who could roar louder.
Seeing Harry, he let out a huge roar of joy, which almost blew Harry’s hair askew.
“What is this thing?”
Harry stared at Ron’s lion head and wiped the drool from his face.
Ron shook his head and changed back, “Zonko’s Joke Shop’s Lion’s Roar Sweets. Isn’t it cool? Wood went all the way to Hogsmeade to buy it.”
“Come on, Harry, accept everyone’s cheers! What a happy day, we finally won once! Did you see the expressions of those Slytherins at the end of the match? As black as the bottom of a pot! We’ll catch up to their House Cup points soon!”
“Wait, let’s go out.”
Harry had to interrupt Ron and took his two friends out of the Common Room, finding a secluded room.
Hermione asked curiously, “Harry, what’s wrong? I was just about to ask where you went. We got back to Gryffindor and found you weren’t there.”
Harry took a few deep breaths, calming his excited heartbeat, and recounted how he had stayed at the Quidditch Pitch after the game and accidentally discovered Snape and Quirrell meeting in the Forbidden Forest and Snape forcing Quirrell.
He concluded, “It’s obvious that Snape is the one in the black robe from Halloween. He wants the Philosopher’s Stone and is threatening Professor Quirrell to help him deal with Fluffy.”
“Are you sure?” Hermione’s expression was conflicted. Although she had thought about it, and it seemed like Snape was the most villainous among the professors, it didn’t quite add up: “Snape… he taught Vaughn a lot of things, how could he be the one in the black robe?”
Ron looked as if he had discovered the truth, “Maybe Snape is just pretending like this. Look, because of your misleading information, we’ve been deliberately avoiding suspecting him for months, and now the facts prove that we’ve wasted months because of it, Hermione!”
“…” Hermione puffed out her cheeks, “What have you investigated, Ronald? Just playing Wizard Chess in the common room all day is investigating?”
Seeing that his two friends were about to argue again, Harry quickly intervened:
“In any case, we need to go and report to Hagrid and Dumbledore, and not let Snape’s plot succeed.”
But to his suggestion, Ron said worriedly, “Did you forget, Harry? We mentioned Snape’s suspicion to Hagrid before, but Hagrid trusts Snape because Dumbledore also trusts Snape!”
“…That’s right!”
Harry had a bit of a headache. Why were these adults so unvigilant?
The trio discussed for a while longer and found themselves at a dead end.
Other than warning the adults, they couldn’t do anything, and the adults likely wouldn’t believe them.
After a moment of deliberation, Ron hesitantly suggested, “How about… we ask Vaughn?”
Hermione agreed, and she was quite surprised by Ron’s suggestion, “Ronald, you’re actually suggesting asking your brother for help?”
Ron’s face turned red.
Without paying attention to his embarrassment, Harry also thought it was a good idea to ask Vaughn, but the problem was…
He sighed, “Vaughn isn’t at Hogwarts. He’s still busy with werewolf affairs. Besides, it’s been a month since I last asked him to investigate Snape, and I haven’t heard back from him. I think, like Hagrid and Dumbledore, he probably thinks Snape is trustworthy!”
Hermione frowned, “Maybe Snape really is trustworthy… Honestly, Harry, I feel like what happened to you today is strange. Don’t you find it strange?”
“Hmm? What’s strange?” Harry asked confusedly.
“Everything is strange!” Hermione said, “First, after the match, none of us—myself, Ron, Percy, Fred, and George—noticed that you were still in the locker room. This would never happen normally.”
“Second, there are many ways to get to the Forbidden Forest. Why did Snape specifically choose the path near the Quidditch Pitch? Moreover, you were able to track Snape just by riding a Flying Broomstick. He’s an adult wizard, and a professor; Harry, he should have had a hundred ways to discover you.”
“Finally, the words Snape threatened Quirrell with, which you recounted, I always felt… he was deliberately saying them for you to hear?”
The little witch’s analysis left Harry dumbfounded.
Only Ron said nonchalantly, “Maybe Harry was just lucky!”
“Luck can’t explain everything, Ronald. Do you expect to rely on luck for your exams too?”
“…Merlin, why do you always manage to bring everything back to studying?”
In the corner of the room.
In a seemingly empty space, filled with the power of an invisibility charm, Vaughn and Dumbledore stood.
Vaughn glanced at Hermione, who was arguing with Ron, and smiled at Dumbledore, “See, your plan is full of loopholes. It can only fool these two silly boys, Harry and Ron.”
“Miss Granger is truly a clever witch…”
Dumbledore exaggeratedly wiped the sweat from his forehead, but immediately smiled again, “…Fortunately, she’s good friends with Harry. What’s more interesting is that she and our respected new Potions Master seem to be about to confirm a romantic relationship. Ah, such moving youth—”
Vaughn: “…”
Tsk, he felt disgusted!
Too lazy to deal with Old Dumbledore, who was starting to shed tears again, Vaughn looked at the trio who were still arguing and discussing countermeasures, shrugged, and said, “Now it seems I’m not really suitable to appear in front of Harry.”
“…Yes!” Dumbledore also had a headache, “I’m sorry, I somewhat overlooked your role in this entire affair. You are their peer and possess powerful magical abilities. They will inevitably rely on you… which is contrary to our original intention.”
“Then what about Harry’s Legilimency?”
Dumbledore rubbed his temples, “Let me think.”
Vaughn smiled, “Actually, I have a way…”
Seeing his smile, Dumbledore knew he wasn’t up to anything good, but he was still curious, “What way?”
“Harry’s current progress with Legilimency isn’t slow. The reason it hasn’t been completely finished is that he lacks a sense of urgency. Even if I used some methods, I couldn’t make him truly experience danger.”
Vaughn’s smile grew brighter, “Coincidentally, Harry has now discovered the true face of the great villain Snape. Why not let Professor teach him the final step? I believe Harry’s sense of fear will be at its peak!”
“…You’re a genius…”
The trio ultimately couldn’t come up with any conclusion.
Harry and Ron were convinced that Snape was the one in the black robe. Although Hermione had doubts, she didn’t have any strong evidence to prove that Professor Snape was a good person.
This made Harry and Ron even more convinced that Snape’s disguise was very powerful, so much so that he even fooled Hermione!
Therefore, they dared not casually tell the adults, for fear of alerting the enemy.
“We can observe for now. Hopefully, Professor Quirrell can withstand Snape’s pressure, and we will investigate in secret and gather evidence!”
In the end, that was all they could do.
Fortunately for the trio, when they saw Professor Quirrell in the Defense Against the Dark Arts class the next day, although his face was pale and he looked frail and as if he could collapse at any moment, he showed no signs of mental breakdown.
This filled Harry and Ron with respect for him.
Ron said admiringly, “What a strong person! I really can’t imagine someone being able to teach us and assign homework normally under Snape’s threat!”
Harry stared blankly at the eight-foot-long essay format, beginning to doubt life.
Even Hermione, although she thought the idea of Snape = the one in the black robe was unreasonable, didn’t suspect Professor Quirrell at all. She just felt the professor was very pitiful.
“No matter what Snape wants to do, he shouldn’t force Professor Quirrell. He looks too miserable.”
The compassionate girl stopped the twins’ prank on Professor Quirrell that night—they were trying to stuff a toad into Quirrell’s large turban.
Harry and Ron also changed their attitude towards Quirrell.
They even persuaded their Gryffindor classmates not to mock Quirrell’s stutter anymore and not to cause trouble during class, so that this respectable professor would have fewer worries.
Unfortunately, few people listened. Everyone thought Harry’s strange magical side effect had flared up again, this time turning him into a saint.
That night, Malfoy, having heard the rumors, went to the Gryffindor long table and made a face at Harry:
“Everyone, come and see, Saint Potter! Is anyone short of money? Come and borrow some, Saint Potter will surely be generous—he even pities the smelly Quirrell!”
Then Harry and Ron got into a fight with Malfoy and his cronies.
Harry and Ron were undoubtedly no match for Crabbe and Goyle, let alone Malfoy’s sneak attacks. The two were beaten black and blue.
However, they didn’t come out entirely at a disadvantage. By the end of the fight, the two endured the beating and pinned Malfoy down, giving him a good thrashing.
At night, coming out of the Hospital Wing, Ron, with two not-yet-fully-healed black eyes, said triumphantly:
“Malfoy had no strength at all. I mean, I could just sit on him. He could only shriek for his mother in a high-pitched voice. His resistance was weak and powerless… Ah, I was stunned at the time, I should have made him call me Daddy!”
Harry burst out laughing, but the bruise on his cheek sent a sharp pain, almost bringing tears to his eyes.
“Are you very pleased? Gryffindor has been docked 30 points!” Hermione, who had come to pick them up from the hospital wing, scolded them with disappointment.
Harry and Ron didn’t care at all, as Hermione would earn it back anyway!
They only knew that they were happy.
This happiness lasted until Professor McGonagall appeared before them.
The stern Deputy Headmistress had the ability to silence any student, especially when her face was ashen.
“Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, you have truly brought glory to Gryffindor tonight!”
Ron exclaimed in surprise, “Really?”
Then Professor McGonagall’s sharp gaze fixed on him, scaring him into shutting his mouth immediately. Harry also elbowed him hard.
Professor McGonagall took a few deep breaths, her thin cheeks becoming even more menacing. But to their surprise, she didn’t continue scolding. Instead, she said, “Mr. Potter, please come with me. Dumbledore wants to see you…”
She looked at the dazed Ron again, took a few more deep breaths, “…Weasley, go back and rest. You’ll come to my office for detention tomorrow… Miss Granger, you should go back too. It’s very late, and curfew is approaching.”
After bidding farewell to his two friends, Harry nervously followed Professor McGonagall to the Eighth Floor.
Along the way, he kept thinking, why did Dumbledore want to see him? Also, could he use this opportunity to report the truth about Snape to Dumbledore?
But when he actually walked into the Headmaster’s Office, Harry immediately extinguished the latter plan—
Dumbledore was not the only one in the office. There was another figure in a black robe, looking gloomy and cold.
Snape!
He seemed to be arguing with Dumbledore about something. When Harry entered, he heard Snape angrily say, “…What trick are you playing, Dumbledore!”
Seeing someone enter, he stopped speaking.
But Harry noticed that Snape was staring fixedly at him, his gaze making Harry suspect that if Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore weren’t nearby, he would have rushed up and chewed him to pieces!
“Did he find out I was following him?”
With a guilty conscience, Harry’s mind raced. He instinctively shrank behind Professor McGonagall, trying to avoid Snape’s fierce gaze.
All he wanted now was for Dumbledore to finish whatever business he had so he could leave.
It was too terrifying!
Professor McGonagall put an arm around Harry’s shoulder and led him to the desk, “Albus, Mr. Potter is here.”
“Ah, Harry—”
Dumbledore smiled, “Severus and I were just talking about you. We need to speak with you about something.”
“…”
Harry suddenly had a bad premonition. He tried to force a smile but found his cheeks were as stiff as stone, “Uh, Headmaster Dumbledore, what is it?”
“A small matter. Here, have a candy… Oh, you’re not hungry? Alright.”
After a brief exchange, amidst Harry’s growing unease and Snape’s man-eating glare, Dumbledore said with a smile:
“It’s like this, Harry. Vaughn has been very busy recently. It’s predictable that with the confirmation of the Werewolf Affairs Committee, he’ll become even busier. Therefore, he has entrusted the task of teaching you Legilimency back to me…”
Harry, who was filled with unease, suddenly felt his heart put back in place.
However, before his lips could even curve into a smile, he saw Dumbledore behind the desk, smiling brightly and saying, “…But unfortunately, I also have some personal matters to attend to recently, so I’ve decided to let Severus teach you!”
Boom!
Harry’s mind went blank. A great fear submerged him instantly. He subconsciously wanted to stop Dumbledore’s absurd decision:
“Headmaster—”
“Oh, my child, don’t worry. Your Potions professor is a master of Legilimency and is very experienced. He’ll surely teach you quickly and well.”
“I’m not worried, I’m—”
“Even better, it’s happily decided then. Minerva, take Harry back… Oh, right, the lessons will start tomorrow, at the same place, Harry!”
“Dumbledore—”
Harry, with Professor McGonagall’s arm around his shoulder, stretched his hand out to Dumbledore in despair. Then he heard Snape on the other side also grit his teeth and exclaim, “Dumbledore!”
Their shouts overlapped. Dumbledore clapped his hands and laughed:
“Wonderful! I’m already starting to look forward to your chemistry!”
Harry & Snape: “…”
Today is truly a terrible day!
