Snape Is a Good Man, Just Not Obviously So

Snape Is a Good Man, Just Not Obviously So

"Don't be silly. Professor Snape has already left." Aaron looked at Hermione, frozen where she stood, and found it somewhat amusing. "What did you need me for?"

"Right, I almost forgot." Hermione suddenly remembered. "Come with me first. This is the Quidditch pitch, not a place to talk."

"So mysterious." Aaron shrugged, picked up Abei, who was sprawled across the seat, and followed her.

The two of them began strolling through the grounds, gradually making their way to a less crowded area.

"That's far enough! Keep walking and we'll reach the lavatory. Even if you want to go on a date, pick somewhere more decent!"

Hermione's face reddened. "Who wants to go on a date with you?"

"Not a date? Then I'm even more disappointed. But that's fine. We're only eleven. Being good friends is enough."

When Hermione heard the first half, she could not help feeling a flicker of delight. But the second half extinguished it, leaving a trace of bitterness on her face.

"Fine, I was joking. If my mum found out I made a girl cry, she'd probably rush back from Loch Ness just to beat me."

"Pfft!" Hermione laughed, and the unpleasantness faded away.

"Can you tell me why you were looking for me now?" Aaron asked curiously.

Hermione composed herself, her expression turning grave as she looked around. Only after confirming that there was no one nearby, not even any ghosts, did she speak. "Aaron, you have to listen to me. From now on, stay away from Snape. He isn't a good person."

"Huh?" Aaron was a little stunned. He had never expected Hermione to call him over just to warn him about that.

Although Gryffindor students all disliked Snape's poker face, surely they would not go so far as to label him a bad person!

"That's impossible. I can still tell whether someone is good or bad. Professor Snape may be a little strict, but he absolutely cannot be a bad person."

"It's true, I'm not lying to you." Hermione explained anxiously, "Harry nearly fell off his Flying Broomstick during yesterday's Quidditch match. You know that."

"So... what does that have to do with Snape not being a good person? You don't think it was him, do you?"

"It was him. He cast a Curse on Harry—I saw it with my own eyes. He was sitting in the stands, staring fixedly at Harry's broom without blinking, chanting incredibly quickly."

"That still doesn't prove it was him!"

"Why not? Isn't that conclusive evidence? Don't you believe me?" Hermione felt deeply wronged. Only she, Harry, Ron, and Hagrid knew about Snape chanting a spell. She had made up her mind to come tell Aaron despite the risk of Snape finding out.

Seeing the redness in Hermione's eyes, Aaron panicked slightly and hurriedly said, "It's not that I don't believe you, but are you sure Snape was trying to hurt Harry? Snape isn't weak. At the very least, he's an Archmage. If an Archmage focused all his attention on casting a spell on a Flying Broomstick, how could Harry have held on for that long without falling? Skill? Don't make me laugh. I admit he has talent, but he's still just a beginner."

"What do you mean?" Hermione frowned, as though she had caught onto something important but could not quite grasp it.

"Idiot! All those books for nothing." Ling Ge shook his head speechlessly. "Since you've read about this, you should know that this kind of Curse has an opposite spell that can cancel it out. The method is similar too: keep your eyes fixed on the target and concentrate completely. In other words, at least two people were casting spells at the time. Someone was casting a Curse, while someone else was casting a Counter-Curse. If Snape was casting the Counter-Curse, then he wasn't hurting Harry—he was saving him. You don't know the full situation, yet you pinned such a huge accusation on Professor Snape. Isn't that too rash? Or did you hear Snape with your own ears casting a Curse?"

"But... I only saw Snape chanting at the time. No one else's mouth was moving that quickly."

Aaron lightly flicked Hermione on the head. "Who told you a Curse had to be spoken aloud? Some high-level wizards only need to look at the object they're casting on, then use certain tools and secret techniques, to achieve the same effect under normal circumstances. A simpler example: before you came to Hogwarts, you must have had times when you suddenly released magic without using any incantation at all, right?"

Hermione froze. The Magic World really ran deep. Even hurting someone involved so many complications.

"But that only removes half of Snape's suspicion. There's still a fifty percent chance that he was casting a Curse," Hermione said stubbornly.

"Impossible. Absolutely impossible." Aaron spoke each word distinctly. "At Hogwarts, anyone— you, me, even Dumbledore—could possibly want to hurt Harry Potter, but Snape alone never would. He..."

"He what?" Hermione looked at Aaron, the curiosity in her eyes practically overflowing.

"Nothing."

"No, you definitely know something."

"I really don't." Aaron spoke with utmost sincerity. Even if Snape beat him to death, he did not know.

"Is that so?" Hermione suddenly revealed a meaningful smile. "Aaron, if I went to Professor Snape right now and told him that Aaron had told me everything, what do you think he'd think?"

Aaron paused, then clapped his hands. "Oh! Not a bad idea. Very clever. If I didn't know better, you might actually have succeeded."

The smile on Hermione's face instantly froze. Snape Severus was the Head of Slytherin House. Aaron, a Slytherin and Snape's favorite student, could easily meet him, but she was a Gryffindor. Forget meeting him—she probably could not even get through the door.

The two of them were standing at the same starting line, but Aaron was clearly much closer to the finish. Her little trick would likely fall apart before she could even use it.

"Figured it out?" Aaron smiled smugly. "I can tell you with complete certainty that Snape would never harm Harry Potter. Now please move aside, Hermione. I still need to go back and catch up on some sleep."

"No, you can't leave." Hermione grabbed Aaron's arm. "I have to know why. If you won't tell me, I... I'll cry for you to see."

Aaron sighed helplessly and raised Abei in front of him. "Do you know what species this is?"

"A cat. Why?"

Aaron nodded. "Then you must have heard the saying, 'Curiosity killed the cat,' right?"

As soon as he said that, Abei began writhing constantly in Aaron's arms. It was a dragon, a dragon of noble blood. Being associated with such a lowly curse was simply an insult.

Aaron patted it on the back. "Don't make a fuss. I'll give you an extra chicken leg for dinner."

At the mention of delicious food, Abei instantly settled down.

A curse was just a curse. It was a Holy Dragon; curses were the thing it feared least, especially one that had nothing to do with it.

Hermione pondered for a moment. "But I still want to know."

"I really can't tell you. This might concern Professor Snape's pride, and the more you know, the greater the risk you bear."

"I'm not afraid of risks. Gryffindor never lacks a spirit of adventure."

"But I am." Aaron smiled bitterly. "If you accidentally let it slip, I'll be the one in trouble."

"All right." Hermione sounded somewhat regretful. "Since you won't tell me, I can only investigate it myself."

Aaron had just breathed a sigh of relief when her last words startled him into a jolt. He immediately said, "You stay right there."

Hermione straightened up, then revealed a victorious smile and stuck out her tongue apologetically.

"I'm really afraid of you. I can tell you, but you have to promise me you won't tell anyone, especially Harry Potter."

"I promise." Hermione raised her right hand and said solemnly, "I swear that even if I'm beaten to death, I won't tell anyone."

"Heh. Swearing is the least binding thing in the wizarding world. But I'm still willing to trust you this once, as long as you don't take my trust for granted." Aaron's expression then grew more serious. "Do you remember what Professor Snape asked Harry during the first Potions Class?"

"Yes. What would you get if you added Daffodil Powder to an infusion of wormwood?"

"Right, that one. Have you ever thought about why he asked that question? Daffodils and wormwood—in the language of flowers, the meanings of those two plants can be understood as, 'My regrets follow you to your grave,' as well as 'absence' and 'bitter sorrow.' Snape used that method to apologize during his first meeting with Harry. He feels an incomparably deep guilt toward Harry, so it is absolutely impossible for him to harm him."

"You mean... oh my God!" Hermione's mouth fell open in shock. The impact of this secret was simply too great, so great that she could barely accept it.

"Wait, that still doesn't seem right! Why does Professor Snape always make things difficult for Harry?"

"Who knows? Maybe he's angry that Harry doesn't live up to his potential! After all, Harry's Grades are completely unworthy of his reputation and talent. As long as he becomes outstanding enough, Snape will naturally have no reason to make things difficult for him, right?"

Hermione nodded blankly. "That does seem to be the case. Ever since Harry started hanging around with Ron, he hasn't taken his studies very seriously. The two of them copy their homework from me too."

The corner of Aaron's mouth twitched. He had not expected those two to go bad at the age of eleven.

But it did not matter. Whether they copied homework or handed in blank papers had nothing to do with him.