"Don't look so shocked, Severus. I think you've witnessed more than enough deaths with your own eyes."
Dumbledore waved his hand as he spoke.
He looked somewhat helpless and somewhat irritated, as though he had grown tired of Snape's constant questioning and accusations.
"Those were people I couldn't save." Snape reacted even more strongly and stood up directly. "You used me!"
"What do you mean?"
"I spied for you, lied for you, put myself in danger for you. Everything I did was to protect Lily's son. And now you're telling me you raised him like a pig for slaughter!"
"Your feelings for Harry are quite moving, Severus." Dumbledore's expression was serious, but there was also some satisfaction in it. "I think you actually like Harry, don't you?"
"Are you joking? Expecto Patronum!"
Snape roared and swung his wand.
With his movement, a large mass of silver-white mist burst from the tip of his wand and quickly transformed into a silver doe.
She landed lightly on the floor, bounded around the office, and finally flew out the window.
Dumbledore, the portraits of former headmasters in the office, and even Fawkes the phoenix perched on the stand in the corner, all focused their eyes on the Patronus.
Meanwhile, on the side everyone ignored, Snape swiftly pulled out the spatial anchor and embedded it deep into the wall behind him. Then he quickly used magic to smooth over the damaged and dented wall.
By the time Dumbledore and the others turned back, Snape had already returned to normal, though his eyes were full of tears.
"A Patronus Charm! But this... how is that possible? You clearly..."
Dumbledore was unbelievably shocked, but halfway through his question, he couldn't continue.
Because he understood.
The current Snape was no longer the dark wizard he once was.
The traces left by those dark arts in his soul and mind had long been completely washed away by a force called love.
Only then could he cast a perfect corporeal Patronus.
This transformation from darkness back into light was something Dumbledore had never seen before.
It was enough to prove just how fierce the love hidden deep in Snape's heart was.
As for who that love was directed toward, there was no need to say.
The form of the Patronus alone explained everything.
Because Lily's Patronus was also a doe.
Dumbledore took a deep breath and said, "After all this time, you still love her so deeply."
"Always."
As he spoke, Snape put away his wand and left the headmaster's office without looking back.
His expression had already returned to its usual calm and profound appearance.
It was as though the person who had shouted in the office earlier had not been him.
But unlike before, this was not the effect of Occlumency.
This was Snape's true state of mind.
Snape's heart was already dead.
His reason for going to the headmaster's office had not only been to place the "spatial anchor."
It had also been to confirm the thoughts in his heart.
It was also giving himself a chance.
As long as Dumbledore could give him an answer that satisfied him even a little, even if it was only a false hope, he would continue to hide the "spatial anchor" until that so-called hope was completely destroyed.
Unfortunately, Dumbledore wasn't even willing to give him that much.
Then, in Snape's opinion, he could only save Harry in his own way.
With that thought, Snape changed direction at the next corner and headed straight toward Gryffindor Tower.
At the same time, in the headmaster's office, Dumbledore sat silently on the sofa.
The tea on the table before him had long gone cold, but Dumbledore paid it no mind.
He raised his head and looked at the portraits of former headmasters whispering among themselves on the wall.
Then he muttered, "What do you think he'll do?"
The whispering in the office instantly disappeared.
Some of the portraits hid and pretended to be asleep, while others moved their lips constantly but couldn't come up with an answer.
After a long time, Headmaster Black's portrait finally said with certainty, "He hates you, Albus. You know that? He definitely hates you to death!"
"That's obvious.", Dumbledore spoke softly.
His tone was calm and gentle, without the slightest emotion.
"Then it's simple!" Headmaster Black continued. "You don't need to know what he'll do. To eliminate any possible danger, just throw him out of Hogwarts!"
"But he still loves Lily. In that case, he's unlikely to do anything that would harm Hogwarts. After all, Lily's only son, Harry, is also at Hogwarts. And that child loves Hogwarts very much. He won't allow Severus to do anything excessive."
"None of that matters! The important thing is that he hates you! That's enough! You're too soft-hearted, Albus. If it were me or Link, the moment he showed hatred, he'd already be a corpse!"
"You might do that, but Link definitely wouldn't. Severus is Link's most respected professor, without question."
"Then Link would at least control him immediately instead of simply letting him leave like you did! Do you know how great the risk is?"
By the end, Headmaster Black's voice had turned into a harsh roar.
But Dumbledore remained silent.
He closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead hard.
Both were legendary wizards, both had recently taken the Dawn Potion, and both possessed powerful minds.
Naturally, he could also sense that some great danger seemed to be approaching.
And Dumbledore felt that sense of crisis even more deeply.
If he had to describe it, Dumbledore felt as though he were sitting on top of a huge barrel of gunpowder that could explode and send him flying at any moment.
This feeling was extremely rare.
After all, legendary wizards were the strongest beings in the world.
Ever since reaching the legendary rank, Dumbledore had never experienced a warning of danger this intense, not even on the night of his final battle with Grindelwald.
"Albus! What exactly are you planning to do?", Headmaster Black asked again excitedly.
At those words, Dumbledore finally opened his eyes.
He ignored Headmaster Black and waved his hand, letting Fawkes land on his shoulder.
"Let's notify Link first. We're allies governing Hogwarts together. I can't be the only one worrying about this."
As he spoke, Dumbledore pressed his wand against his temple. With a pulling motion, a strand of silver memory was drawn out and swallowed by Fawkes.
Then Fawkes nodded and rapidly transformed into a ball of flames.
———
Inside Gryffindor Tower on another level of Hogwarts Castle.
The Fat Lady, sitting inside her frame in her nightgown, was looking at Snape with an embarrassed expression.
Unlike many students at Hogwarts, most professors and portraits actually liked Snape, especially older unmarried women.
Because objectively speaking, Snape wasn't ugly, and he was also a recognized Potions Master.
And equally well known was the fact that Potions Masters never lacked Galleons.
He was practically the model of a rich bachelor.
Snape's only flaw was probably that he was rather sloppy and neglected his appearance.
But many people believed that was simply because he had no lady of the house to take care of him.
So many thought that perhaps they could fill that role.
The Fat Lady was clearly one of them.
Even though she was only a portrait.
"S-Severus, so late at night, you came here because...", The Fat Lady spoke shyly.
She felt that the first spring of her life as a portrait had finally arrived. Surely something good would happen tonight.
For example, Snape giving her a kiss.
In her opinion, Snape definitely had feelings for her.
Otherwise, why would Snape, a Slytherin head who hated Gryffindor so much, come to Gryffindor in the middle of the night?
The only thing bothering the Fat Lady was that she was wearing her nightgown.
Thinking of that, she couldn't help complaining about Snape.
If she had known he was coming, she could have changed into an evening dress!
If Snape knew what the Fat Lady was thinking, he might have used Sectumsempra on the portrait.
Unfortunately, Legilimency wasn't powerful enough to work on magical portraits.
So, seeing the Fat Lady's shy manner, Snape merely frowned and said coldly, "Open the door. Let me in."
"You can certainly kiss... mm! What did you say?"
"Open the door."
Snape repeated himself.
His expression had become even colder.
He had heard the Fat Lady's words clearly just now. Though she hadn't finished speaking, the meaning had come across plainly.
It disgusted him.
"Uh... you want to go inside? Then do you have the password?"
"I have something very important to do. So let me in quickly. Forget the password."
"No, Severus. Even you need the password. Those are the rules, and as a magical portrait, I can't break them.", The Fat Lady spoke awkwardly.
Though she was somewhat lovestruck and boy-crazy, as the guardian of the Gryffindor common room, she still possessed basic professional ethics.
What she didn't know was that while she was speaking, Snape had already adjusted his arm and moved his wand holster into the best position.
He had no idea what the damned password was.
But after living at Hogwarts for more than ten years, Snape knew the structure of the castle by heart. He could walk through it with his eyes closed and never get lost.
Therefore, he also knew that the password wasn't absolutely necessary for entering the Gryffindor common room.
Behind the Fat Lady's portrait was a magical wall.
Only when the Fat Lady confirmed the correct password would a passage appear.
If someone used force against her, it would simply remain a stone wall nearly one meter thick, one that even the Fat Lady herself couldn't open.
Even so, it was still just a wall.
Although numerous warning spells and protective charms had been placed on it,
as long as the spell used was powerful enough, forcing a way through wasn't impossible.
The only problem was that once the wall was breached, the warning spells inside would spread the alarm throughout the entire castle.
So his movements had to be fast.
Taking a deep breath, Snape had already opened his hand, ready to attack.
Just then, the Fat Lady suddenly said in an affected tone, "Ah, I heard you had pork knuckle tonight. I'm so jealous. Pork knuckle was my favorite thing to eat when I was alive!"
Snape froze.
He couldn't help looking at the Fat Lady, only to see her staring at him with eyes full of expectation and encouragement.
It felt strange.
Still, he tried saying, "So... the password is pork knuckle?"
The Fat Lady shook her head.
"You're asking me whether I love pork knuckle? Goodness, of course I do! But I don't like it raw. It would be best if it were cooked!"
'Cooked?'
How was he supposed to know how pork knuckle should be cooked?
Snape cursed inwardly.
Although making potions and cooking had a great deal in common, he truly wasn't good at cooking.
But... it wasn't as though he had no ideas.
Snape suddenly remembered the smell of roasted meat drifting from the kitchen into his office earlier that day.
Then he cautiously said, "Ro... roasted pork knuckle?"
"Correct password!" the Fat Lady said happily. "Wonderful! I knew you could do it, darling!"
As she spoke, the Fat Lady's portrait opened like a door, revealing the passage inside.
Snape entered expressionlessly, but there was more than a little speechlessness in his eyes.
He truly hadn't expected to enter the Gryffindor common room in this way.
It seemed those magical portraits weren't exactly good people either.
And the Fat Lady had just called him darling?
That was truly disgusting.
Still, it didn't matter.
Being able to enter silently was the best outcome.
At the very least, it gave him much more time to make use of.
Snape let out a breath and continued straight toward the boys' dormitory.
The girls' dormitory had always been the most heavily defended place in the entire castle.
The complex protective charms placed on it were enough to put even the headmaster's office to shame.
By contrast, the boys' dormitory was so lacking that it didn't even have the most basic door lock.
Because of that, after only searching for a short while, Snape entered Harry's dormitory.
The room smelled unpleasant, and the snoring was deafening.
Ron and the others lay sprawled across their beds, their terrible sleeping positions too awful to look at.
But Snape didn't care about any of that.
He walked straight to Harry's bedside.
Only at this moment, when he looked at Harry's closed eyes and that face resembling James Potter's, did a trace of disgust arise in his heart.
After standing there only briefly, Snape couldn't help slapping Harry across the face.
"Wake up. It's time for us to leave."