"Magic allergy?" The corner of Snape's mouth twisted into an intensely mocking curve.
"An allergy that lets you bend steel with your bare hands, interrupt an experienced wizard's spell, and even..."
His gaze swept over his own neck again.
"Leave marks like these? I assume you possess enough common sense to distinguish what kind of 'allergy' could grant a second-year student the strength to crush an adult wizard?"
"Exceptional talent?" Skofot blinked, trying to bluff his way through.
"Or, more likely, the product of some dangerous, forbidden magical experiment."
Snape stared at him without blinking, missing not the slightest change in his expression.
"What did you come into contact with in Knockturn Alley? Or perhaps... behind you stands some old master who is 'dead but not gone'?"
That was practically a direct reference to Voldemort.
The smile on Skofot's face faded slightly, and his eyes turned cold. "Professor, accusations require evidence. Especially accusations this... serious."
He leaned forward slightly, lowering his voice with a strange sense of pressure.
"Rather than concerning yourself with the source of my power, perhaps you should pay more attention to our new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor? I always felt that... the scent on him was somewhat familiar. Not floral perfume, but another kind of... more decayed odor."
He had successfully redirected the topic toward Lockhart.
Snape was indeed distracted for a moment. His brow furrowed tightly as though considering the implication behind those words.
Lockhart? That fool?
But Snape immediately recovered, his gaze becoming even sharper.
"Do not attempt to change the subject, Leoqi! Your problems are far more serious than that clown Lockhart!"
"Are they?" Skofot leaned back in his chair, returning to that composed posture.
"But I believe a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor hiding within Hogwarts with unclear intentions