Severus suddenly felt a bone-chilling cold creep up his spine to the top of his head, as if he were being frozen solid—what did it mean that even if fate had changed, that child would still be born at the end of July?
Did this sentence mean that his and Lily's child was still the Wizard destined to defeat Lord Voldemort... Could it be that the key to fate was actually Lily, and any child she bore would become the Child of Prophecy?
Severus's hands began to tremble violently, and an unprecedented despair enveloped him—even if he had snatched Lily away from James, he had only changed the father of the child in the prophecy from James to himself. Lily would still die in the end!
"Mr. Snape, you're about to crush your glass."
Dumbledore, sitting across from Severus, was very calm, as if he had long known what kind of prophecy Trelawney would make.
Dumbledore lightly waved his wand, turning the glass in Severus's hand into a blob of slime, preventing Severus's hand from being cut by the glass.
"Very well, Miss Trelawney. I suggest you send the book list for the Divination Class to Hogwarts before July this year... send it directly to Minerva, she will handle your subsequent employment matters."
Coming back to her senses, Trelawney was overjoyed. To be honest, she knew she hadn't performed well and didn't expect to actually pass Dumbledore's interview.
Could she really be a master of prophecy, and it was just that others were too blind to see it, while only Dumbledore had the keen eye to recognize her talent?
Dumbledore spent a few more minutes politely dismissing Trelawney, then stood up and smiled, inviting the despondent Severus: "I'm getting older, and staying in crowded, noisy places is really a bit much for me; I feel like my head is about to explode. I wonder if Mr. Snape would do this old man the honor of accompanying me for a stroll outside?"
Faced with such a request, despite a ten-thousand-fold reluctance deep in his heart, Severus ultimately did not dare to openly defy this highly respected and powerful titan of the wizarding world.
Reluctantly, he stood up from his seat and silently followed Dumbledore out of the Leaky Cauldron.
Dumbledore took Severus on a long detour through Diagon Alley until Severus's patience was exhausted. Only then did Dumbledore take him to the Hogs Head Pub via Apparition.
Once the two of them were settled in a quiet, cramped private room on the second floor, Dumbledore finally got to the point.
"Mr. Snape, let me first offer you my most sincere congratulations on successfully winning Miss Evans's heart—so, may I ask, what was the ending in the prophecy you saw?"
Dumbledore's wise, deep eyes fixed on Severus, as if trying to see through his expressionless face to his true thoughts and intentions.
"How... how did you know!" Severus's eyes widened, his face full of disbelief.
When he first started having prophetic dreams, he hadn't even entered Hogwarts... Since starting school, he had been working hard to build a completely new image—despite being a member of Slytherin House, he never discriminated against any Muggle-born Wizard; not only that, he was especially devoted to that girl from Gryffindor House... How on earth did Dumbledore know he had seen the future?
Dumbledore saw through the confusion and shock in Severus's heart. The corners of his mouth curled into a faint smile, and he said softly, "Child, there's no need to panic. The reason I know your secret is that I, too, have foreseen the future—ever since you entered Hogwarts, everything has quietly changed, completely deviating from the established trajectory I originally saw."
"In my opinion, the reason for this deviation is most likely that you also possess the special ability to glimpse and change the future... Regarding precognition, I've only come to some conclusions after decades of pondering; the principles involved are intricate and cannot be explained in a few words."
"I will explain it to you in detail later when we have time. The priority now is to resolve the most critical issue as quickly as possible—so, Mr. Snape, when did the final ending you foresaw occur... in other words, how far into the future did you see?"
Dumbledore could also foresee the future?
And he said that ever since he entered Hogwarts, the future he foresaw had deviated. This meant Dumbledore had noticed something was wrong with him as early as ten years ago, but he had remained patient until today to reveal the news!
Severus was no fool; his mind raced, and he quickly grasped the key point—today was the day Trelawney made the prophecy!
In the prophetic dream, Dumbledore and Trelawney met at the Hogs Head Pub on this day, while Severus, as a spy sent by Lord Voldemort, overheard their conversation, which led to Lily's death through a series of accidents.
Severus frowned; he probably understood Dumbledore's implication. He hadn't expected the other man to track him to the Leaky Cauldron... "I can tell you, but before that, you'd better guarantee that you have other moves within the Death Eaters. Otherwise, just based on the fact that I was present for Trelawney's prophecy today, plus Lily's due date being at the end of July, you'll get us all killed."
This concerned Lily's life, and Severus was no longer afraid of offending Dumbledore. He directly and firmly demanded an explanation.
Dumbledore narrowed his eyes, the smile on his face widening a bit more; talking to smart people was always pleasant.
"You can rest assured on that point, Mr. Snape. Everything is currently within my plan. Since I have decided to bring the snape family into my camp, I will naturally ensure the safety of you and your wife."
Seeing Dumbledore's confident manner, Severus also breathed a sigh of relief and told Dumbledore in detail about the prophetic dream he had when he was eleven.
"So you only foresaw Lily's death and nothing after that?"
Dumbledore looked slightly disappointed. Severus raised an eyebrow and asked back, "You foresaw further than I did? Then can you tell me what happens after that?"
"There's nothing to keep secret about that. I foresaw all the way to the day Gellert died, but as for the part concerning Lord Voldemort, since you changed Miss Evans's life, the prophecy is no longer accurate."
Severus was stunned for a moment and instinctively asked, "Then what should we do next?"
Seeing Severus take the bait, Dumbledore revealed the smile of an old fox.
"I have a 'Stealing the Sky and Changing the Sun' plan. I wonder if you'd be willing to assist me... but before that, I want you to accompany me to a few places to see if the locations of Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes have changed."
"Horcruxes? Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes? Merlin's deathly pink lipstick—you mean Lord Voldemort split his soul?"
Severus was completely stunned by this massive amount of information, not noticing at all that he had already stepped into Dumbledore's plan.
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