For the safety of the whole world, he would inevitably hunt Harry to the ends of the earth.
And neither Snape nor Harry could withstand pursuit from a veteran legendary wizard.
But what about Link?
After everything he planned to do, would Link hunt him down the same way Dumbledore would?
Snape didn't know.
He didn't even dare think about it.
He couldn't kill Link, nor did he want to.
That child was one of the few people who truly cared about him, even if his methods were somewhat unacceptable.
So Snape could only hope that Link would let them go for the sake of their past relationship.
The possibility was actually quite high.
After all, unlike Dumbledore, Link had never placed himself in the lofty position of "savior of the world."
He was selfish.
For Link, some things were more important than the world itself.
For example, family.
For the sake of family, Link might even be capable of destroying the world.
That wasn't meant as an insult, especially not from Snape's perspective.
In a way, Snape felt that Link treated him as family.
And that meant Link might bend the rules for him.
After thinking this through, Snape felt his whole body relax.
The feeling of finally making a real decision was wonderful.
He let out a long breath, then collapsed onto the workbench and fell asleep from mental exhaustion.
At the same time, unknown to Snape, the skull-shaped Dark Mark on his arm began twitching as if it had come alive. Streaks of red-gold holy light, as though stained with blood, flickered across it.
———
A long time later, Snape woke up again.
The nauseating smell of food, fermented through the chimneys, spread through the office once more, accurately telling him the time.
It was already evening.
"Mmm!"
Snape let out a low sound.
His long sleep hadn't fully restored the mental energy he had used up.
As a result, his head still felt like it was splitting apart.
Rubbing his temples, Snape once again considered the plan he had made earlier.
When faced with a difficult decision, sleep first.
That way, he could avoid being swept up by emotions and making a wrong choice.
It was a habit he had developed over many years.
It was very effective.
This time, however, it failed.
That terrible feeling of conflict was still there.
Fortunately, he had already made his decision.
Snape stood up and used his wand to smooth out the wrinkles in his clothes caused by sleeping, then headed for the door.
It was time to visit the Headmaster's Office.
For other professors and students, that might be quite difficult.
Especially after Hogwarts officially reformed, Dumbledore had handed most of his responsibilities over to the professors led by McGonagall and the student body now represented by John.
Unless there was something particularly important, ordinary people rarely saw him, let alone entered his office.
But for Snape, it wasn't a problem.
Because he already had a ready-made reason to enter Dumbledore's office.
No, it couldn't even be called an excuse.
Because Snape genuinely wanted to question Dumbledore.
Whoosh!
Snape strode down the corridor.
The wide hem of his robes billowed with every step, making a flapping sound and making him look like a giant bat.
When he arrived at the Great Hall, it was exactly as he expected.
Dinner was underway.
Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of students sat around their respective House tables, chatting noisily while enjoying their food.
This was normal at Hogwarts.
During mealtimes, especially dinner, professors rarely interfered with the students' behavior.
After all, this was one of the few times students could completely relax.
Because of that, Hogwarts students often did things that were hard to imagine during meals.
For example, eating competitions.
Or using food as ammunition and starting food fights.
Of course, the latter had been banned by Link after the reforms.
The former had become drinking contests instead.
The reason was that Link couldn't stand people wasting food.
Amid all the noise, Snape spotted Harry in the crowd with a single glance.
He didn't seem as tough as he had been in Snape's office yesterday.
Now he had completely returned to his usual self...timid, but somewhat stubborn.
He clearly didn't dare meet Snape's eyes and looked extremely guilty, yet he still stubbornly craned his neck to look over. He even glared, making him look as though he was ready to run over and punch Snape at any moment.
He looked exactly like that playboy James Potter.
"Hmph."
Snape let out a dissatisfied snort and continued toward the staff table at the far end of the Great Hall.
The meal was already more than halfway over.
As a result, the staff table looked somewhat empty.
Apart from Professor McGonagall and a few others, most of the staff had already left.
Naturally, Dumbledore hadn't.
At this moment, he sat in the main seat with his hands tucked away, smiling as he watched the disorderly students before him.
This was his favorite thing to do.
According to him, the sight of students laughing freely filled him with peace and happiness.
Snape couldn't understand it.
In such an environment, all he felt was noise.
Dumbledore naturally noticed Snape as well.
He even raised the goblet of fruit juice in his hand and smiled in greeting.
Perhaps he assumed Snape had come for dinner.
But Snape walked straight up to him and said expressionlessly, "Dumbledore, I need to talk to you."
"Severus, must it be now?" Dumbledore shook his head. "This is one of my rare moments of leisure."
"What I need to discuss concerns Harry."
The moment those words left Snape's mouth, the smile vanished from Dumbledore's face.
He looked up at Snape, but he couldn't read any emotion from Snape's expressionless face.
After a moment, he nodded seriously, stood up, and led Snape toward the Entrance Hall.
Behind them, the laughter and noise in the Great Hall continued.
No one thought anything of Dumbledore and Snape leaving.
It was an entirely ordinary occurrence.
Only Harry.
His eyes remained fixed on Dumbledore and Snape's backs until the two disappeared into the dark Entrance Hall.
"Mmm!"
Harry nervously pressed a hand against his chest.
He could feel his heart beating there at an incredible speed.
He knew that the most important moment of his life might be about to arrive.
He didn't know what choice Snape would make.
The only thing he could do now was pray.
"Mom, please bless me."