For the British wizarding media, this was simply the best day ever.
The fact that Severus had disappeared along with the victim of the potion-poisoning case was already newsworthy enough to be splashed across every headline.
As a former Death Eater, the current Head of Slytherin House, and a renowned Potions Master, his every move naturally drew attention.
However, ever since being hired as a professor by Dumbledore, Snape had rarely left the confines of Hogwarts Castle. Even if newspapers wanted to use him for a story, they could hardly find an angle.
But when he finally made a move, it turned out to be a massive one!
And that wasn't even the end of it.
Due to the sensitivity of Severus's identity, the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts's stance on this incident became another explosive talking point.
For instance, just as the Head of the Auror Office had obtained the highest-level arrest warrant from the Minister of Magic to apprehend Severus, news broke from Hogwarts within two hours.
In front of numerous reporters, Albus Dumbledore publicly declared that he firmly believed in Severus's innocence!
Instantly, all the newspapers rushed to print special editions, and the Wizarding Wireless Network broadcasted nonstop coverage of the incident throughout the day.
They invited political commentators onto their programs to analyze whether Severus could truly be guilty of the crime and, if so, what his possible motives might be.
These individuals, ranging from retired Ministry employees to political analysts, rambled on with all sorts of wild theories.
Nearly every one of them dismissed Dumbledore's claim of Severus's innocence.
After all, Severus had a criminal record, and he was also not punished for the crimes he committed when he was a Death Eater.
On top of that, the facts of the case were already clear: according to Slughorn's testimony, Severus had brewed the potion and was the one who took the victim away. If he was still innocent, then no one was guilty!
In their eyes, Severus might as well have been the Dark Lord's heir!
The newspapers overwhelmingly echoed this sentiment. The only exception was The Quibbler, an inherently unconventional publication, which ran a more neutral piece titled [The 5 Crimes and 5 Virtues of Severus Snape].
From major outlets like The Daily Prophet to smaller tabloids like The Daily Diviner and Witch Weekly, nearly everyone agreed that Dumbledore must have lost his grip on reality once again, blindly trusting one of the Dark Lord's followers… who had now revealed his true colors.
Ninety percent of the articles condemned Severus's atrocities while offering prayers for the poor Muggle girl, hoping she could return home safely.
The highest-level arrest warrant issued by the Ministry of Magic was also spread to all parts of the Wizarding World along alongside these newspapers.
In just one afternoon, nearly every witch and wizard in Britain had learned of the incident through various news channels.
This naturally includes the Weasley Family.
That evening, when Arthur Weasley returned to The Burrow after a day's work at the Ministry, his wife Molly had already prepared dinner, and the entire family, sons and daughter, were waiting for him.
As a result, before he could even sit down, the children bombarded him with questions about the day's shocking news.
"Is it true what the papers are saying, Dad? That Professor Snape... ran off with that Muggle?"
The eldest son, Bill, asked cautiously.
He just graduated from Hogwarts this year with outstanding grades and obtained 12 certificates in the OWLs exam.
Moreover, he had recently received an offer letter from Gringotts in Egypt, and he will be able to work as a curse-breaker there next month.
"It's unbelievable." Charlie, the second son who is still studying at Hogwarts, is still shocked, "Professor Snape was never exactly popular at school, but no one could've imagined him doing something like this! Some are saying he's still loyal to You-Know-Who and took that Muggle to torture and kill her!"
The twins, Fred and George, chimed in indignantly, "But Dumbledore trusts him, right? And we don't think he's unlikable at all… in fact, we think he's a really good man! Right, 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 quite like him."
George nudged Percy to join their side.
"Professor Snape even praised you back then! You believe he must be innocent too, that he had no choice but to do this, right, Percy?"
However, Percy chose his words carefully.
"It's too early to jump to conclusions. Besides, if Professor Snape is truly innocent, why didn't he just explain himself to the Aurors?"
When George heard what Percy said, he is furious at what he saw as two-faced behavior, but Fred pulled him back and sneered.
"We shouldn't have asked our future Head Boy for his expert opinion… us ordinary folks wouldn't understand his brilliance."
Percy was also irritated by the remark, but before the argument could escalate, Molly cut in sharply.
"Alright, alright! If you've got so much energy, you should've helped me chase the garden gnomes this afternoon instead of squabbling like this!"
Ron and Ginny, who are still too young to join in, could only listen as their older brothers loudly debated the matter.
After everyone expressed their opinions, Arthur, who had just downed half a glass of Molly's homemade mead to unwind from the day's work, shook his head with a heavy face.
"The Ministry doesn't actually have much solid evidence yet. But the fact remains that Snape took the girl and fled… This is the most disadvantageous thing for him. No one knows why he did this."
"Still, Dumbledore's trust in him is real. And in all his years teaching at Hogwarts, Snape's never stepped out of line before. For him to act so suddenly now... I think there must be some other reason, not that he wanted to harm anyone."
His answer didn't settle the debate among the children.
Even within the Weasley household, some doubted whether Severus had merely been pretending to reform all these years and had now finally shown his true colors.
Public opinion among the wider Wizarding Community was even worse.
Nearly 80% of British witches and wizards were convinced Severus was a bona fide villain. The remaining 20% were mostly Slytherin alumni defending their former Head of House.
By this time, the Ministry's wanted posters had spread to nearly every corner of the Wizarding World.
At the same time, they had also contacted the Muggle Prime Minister, and the British Muggle police also issued a wanted warrant for Severus, which was reported on TV news that evening.
A large number of Aurors were conducting Apparition searches near Badminton Estate. As long as they could find any traces of Apparition, they could use magic to reverse the process and determine the final location of the Apparition.
However, even after expanding the search radius to five miles, they found nothing.
Just when the British Wizarding World buzzed with scandal and speculation…
Severus, the kidnapped Muggle girl Patty, and the young student who followed him, seemed to have completely evaporated from the face of the earth, and no trace of them could be found.