"The duties of a Hogwarts professor are indeed demanding. You could certainly use an assistant. I recall recommending one to you once before."
Dumbledore said with a smile.
"He needs to attend the Potions Championship."
Snape was sparing with his words.
"Ah, yes... Forgive me, how could I forget? You plan to take him with you?"
Dumbledore asked.
"...He signed up for it himself."
Snape acted as if it had nothing to do with him.
"Oh, very well. Let's say he signed up himself."
Dumbledore chuckled.
Snape glared at him until the Headmaster slowly reined in his smile.
"An excellent reason. The Board of Governors will agree."
Dumbledore took the parchment, then suddenly paused mid-step.
Thunder boomed on the horizon, and rain pattered against the ground.
"You have changed so much, Severus."
Dumbledore spoke slowly.
Snape remained silent. The extinguished fireplace slowly roared back to life.
It seemed the house-elves had finally noticed the damp hearth.
The rain outside the window never ceased, but it could not dampen the wizards within the castle. What dampened a wizard was the dampness of their own heart.
"Then you are mistaken."
Snape sneered.
"I have grown old, yes, that is something I must admit... but my eyes have not yet gone dim."
Dumbledore ignored Snape's sarcasm.
"Our conversation... tell no one. It stays between you and me. I want you to swear it."
Snape said suddenly.
"You don't want him to know, but I think he should know. Even if you don't intend to tell him, he will find out eventually.
"Severus, he is just like you."
Dumbledore said, sounding like a sigh.
"Like me? I would never place my life in a position where it could be ended at any moment."
Snape mocked.
"You would, Severus. You have always done so. Up to now, you have been braver than anyone. You know, I sometimes think we Sort too soon..."
Dumbledore said.
Snape fell silent again. After an indeterminate amount of time, he spoke:
"I want you to swear."
"You ask me to swear again, Severus? To never reveal the best of you?"
Dumbledore looked down at Snape's expressionless face and sighed.
"If you insist..."
The rain fell too heavily, shrouding Hogwarts in a misty haze.
The castle turrets rang under the assault, and every window was shut tight.
The rain from the sky was torrential, like the tears of the world.
But the tears of the world were never as muddied as the rain from the sky; sometimes, there were umbrellas of sunlight to ward off the dirty rain.
The old wizard walked quietly down a silent corridor of Hogwarts, gazing at the misty horizon. And so he knew.
In this spring, there would be someone who, cleansed by the rain, would become clear and bright.
...
Exams were over.
Even the rain couldn't dampen the young wizards' joy, except for Hermione, who still seemed nervous about the exams.
"It wasn't too bad, was it?"
Hermione asked worriedly in the Entrance Hall, still clutching her wand.
"I can't say my dueling was up to standard; I just ran out the clock. Did you all manage to deal with that Dark magic? I don't know if I got the incantation right, I think I said too much—and—"
"Hermione," Justin said with a smile, "it's over..."
"Yeah," Ron said with a grimace, "we don't want to take the exam all over again after every subject. Taking it once was bad enough."
"I don't know about that," Harry was still excited, "but my magic was fantastic."
"Of course, you blasted me flying, Harry. Why didn't anyone tell me Expelliarmus had the effect of knocking people into the air?"
Ron complained incessantly.
When Sean walked into the Great Hall, Ron was still complaining about Harry's heavy-handedness, Justin was still discussing the steps of the Herbology exam with Neville, and Hermione didn't dare look at Sean at all.
She could predict that she wouldn't get top marks in Defense Against the Dark Arts.
And facing Sean, who practiced with Professor Snape, she could only pray that Professor Snape would show his usual bias—just a little, enough so the gap between her and a certain young wizard wouldn't be too vast.
The days after the exams melted away like butter, and Hogwarts Castle slowly welcomed a glorious summer.
However, even for a Sunday, the castle seemed overly quiet.
Everyone was out on the sun-drenched grounds, enjoying the relief of finished exams and the last few days of term free from the burden of revision and tests.
Sean walked slowly down the empty corridor, gazing out the window.
He saw people strolling on the open-air Quidditch pitch, and two students swimming in the lake accompanied by the Giant Squid.
He withdrew his gaze and looked silently at his notes again.
The days when Professor Snape taught him the Unforgivable Curses felt like a phantom.
After he returned to the dungeon yesterday, the professor was unwilling to teach him any more techniques.
However, regarding how to prevent the Unforgivable Curses—specifically, resisting the Cruciatus and Imperius Curses—Professor Snape remained strict and serious.
Although Sean had no intention of using the Unforgivable Curses, he didn't mind learning the theory behind them.
Just as Professor Snape had said:
"If you face something you know absolutely nothing about, how can you defend against it?"
So, Sean still dedicated his full attention to learning Defense Against the Dark Arts knowledge. This afternoon, he was heading to the dungeons again.
The dungeons.
Here, it was damper and colder than the main castle upstairs. Glass jars lined the walls, filled with pickled animal specimens that always made the young wizards shiver.
"Potions class... requires an assistant... as it has always been..."
Snape stood just where the light could reach him, speaking bluntly.
Sean held his notebook, somewhat at a loss.
"I do not need fools to desecrate the rigorous and elegant art of potion-making..."
Snape continued, fixing his gaze firmly on Sean.
"Professor, I can..."
Sean understood. He "volunteered."
Not too stupid...
Snape thought, though his mouth curled into a sneer:
"It seems I can only pick the one who isn't quite as stupid from a bunch of idiots."
Sean fell silent.
He understood Professor Snape just as the professor understood him.
"The Potions Championship is soon. You'd best perform well for me..."
Snape said, turning around, satisfaction nearly spilling from his face.
"Today, you will learn a dangerous spell..."
"What is it?"
Sean asked.
"Fiendfyre," Snape said coldly.