Dumbledore

Hogwarts was empty and quiet in the dead of night.

Any sound in the deep corridors carried a long way.

Snape's professor's robes trailed behind him, his leather shoes striking the floor with hollow echoes.

Combined with his cold face and slightly harsh, sinister hooked nose, he could scare any Young Wizard caught wandering the halls at night to tears.

But he was not on patrol today. He climbed the twisting staircase, passed through a corridor lined with portraits and suits of armor, and made his way to the tower on the Seventh Floor.

Then an incomparably ugly stone gargoyle blocked his path.

Behind the gargoyle was a moving spiral staircase, and at its end lay his destination: the Headmaster's Office.

Snape stared blankly at the gargoyle, his dark eyes fixed on it as though it were a pile of rubbish. "Password. Cockroach cluster!"

The gargoyle turned aside. Snape climbed the steps and pushed open the office door.

The circular, luxurious, spacious office was filled with portraits of former headmasters. It was late, and they had all begun snoring. Snape's entrance woke several of them, earning him a round of furious scolding.

"Ah, Severus." Dumbledore, seated behind a massive Table and reading something, looked up and greeted him warmly. "Good evening. Would you like some Cockroach cluster? Or perhaps Fizzing Whizbees?"

A plate piled with sweets floated before Snape, only for him to impatiently brush it aside.

His voice seemed to squeeze out through clenched teeth. "What is it? Hurry up. I don't want to waste time."

Dumbledore remained smiling as he summoned the plate back, picked up a lively, wriggling cockroach, and tossed it into his mouth. He beckoned. "Then come and have a look, Severus."

Snape walked over to the huge Table and saw a letter spread out before Dumbledore, signed by Ollivander.

"After the Banquet, I wrote to Mr. Ollivander and asked him a few questions. I'm glad my Old Friend was still willing to respond to me, though his schedule certainly isn't healthy. I had thought his reply wouldn't arrive until tomorrow morning..."

He rambled on.

Snape had no interest in listening to that nonsense. His gaze swiftly swept across the writing on the Parchment. Ollivander was explaining the specifics of a Wand to Dumbledore.

"...I must admit, it is an extraordinarily powerful Wand. Only the most powerful Wizard could earn its favor and affection. I had never imagined it would belong to a child. Vaughn Weasley has exceeded my expectations..."

"...But Dumbledore, in answer to your question, I must still say that there are no people born forever unchanging, nor are there Wands born forever unchanging. Wands and Wizards grow together and shape one another. I cannot offer any conclusive basis for your concerns. I can only hope that you will be more cautious—"

"Yours sincerely, Garrick Ollivander"

Snape immediately spotted Vaughn Weasley's name. He looked at Dumbledore, and a trace of mockery crossed his cold face.

"What, another little Dark Wizard has made it onto your blacklist?"

The smile faded from Dumbledore's face. He pondered for a moment before saying, "I trust Arthur and Molly."

To Snape, that meant Dumbledore trusted only Arthur and Molly. As for the boy called Vaughn...

"Hmph..."

The answer did not surprise Snape. He gave a cold, meaningless laugh and sneered, "So? I have another task now? While keeping an eye on our dear Savior, I am also supposed to watch his evil classmate?"

"I never said he was evil, Severus."

"Hmph, hmph..."

Dumbledore Sighed. "The timing is wrong, Severus. We need to focus on Harry's growth and ensure that he becomes as the prophecy foretold. This is not me shirking responsibility. It is simply that none of us know what consequences there might be if Destiny is twisted. Better ones, or... worse ones?"

He gazed into Snape's pitch-black eyes. Of course, he would not use Legilimency on Snape. He only wanted to make sure the other man could see his sincerity.

"Help me. Have you seen them? Harry's eyes, just like Lily's..."

"Enough!"

Snape raised his voice in a rare loss of composure.

His nostrils flared, overwhelming emotions battering his chest and nearly making him unable to maintain Occlumency.

It felt like poison!

It had tormented him for ten whole years.

The office fell silent for a time. After a long while, Snape's voice regained its coldness as he slowly said, "If there is nothing else, I am going back to prepare my lesson plans. I'm looking forward to tomorrow. I hope your Savior will not be overshadowed by his evil classmate."

With that, he swept his robes around and strode away.

"Thank you, Severus. Sweet dreams..."

Watching Snape leave, the office returned to silence. Dumbledore lowered his head and reread the letter over and over, his thin, withered fingers brushing across every word as if he wanted to imprint them on his heart.

After an unknown amount of time, he spoke again. "Armando, have you ever wondered what Tom might have become if we had cared for him more from the beginning?"

An Old Wizard in one of the portraits, pretending to sleep, turned over and muttered, "Who knows?"

"Yes, who knows..."

The next morning, after eating and drinking well the day before, Vaughn woke up at his usual time thanks to his body clock.

The other two Little Snakes in his dormitory were even more sensible than he had expected. They had only returned last night to pack their things before moving to another room.

Having an entire dormitory to himself really did feel wonderful.

He climbed out of bed. It was only five o'clock, and the sky had not yet begun to brighten.

Vaughn washed up, changed into his robes, and left the dormitory with Guoguo Tea.

As he passed through the Common Room, he did not see the Prefect who had fainted last night. His roommates had probably dragged him away.

The Fireplace, on the other hand, was still blazing fiercely. That was probably the work of the House-elves.

Vaughn did not linger. He pushed open the stone door and left the Slytherin Common Room.

It was too early. Students who lacked self-discipline had not gotten up at all.

Vaughn wandered through the empty corridors and courtyards for a while before finally finding a path leading to the Black Lake.

He brought Guoguo Tea to the shore and patted its head. "Go play."

Guoguo Tea hopped around, pouncing here and there across the grassy lakeside. Vaughn sat down where he was, lazily gazing at the mirror-smooth lake while breathing in the fresh morning air.

This was a good place to relax. If there were Not Many people in the future, he could come here more often.

After relaxing with Guoguo Tea for a while, voices gradually began to drift from the castle behind him. By the time Vaughn returned with Guoguo Tea, quite a few early-rising students were already seated in the Great Hall.

From afar, he spotted Hermione's bushy-haired figure at the Gryffindor Table. Guoguo Tea also recognized this two-legged creature it had seen on the Hogwarts Express, so it walked over.

The girl froze for a moment, then seemed to recognize Guoguo Tea. She quickly turned her head, and when she saw Vaughn, her eyes lit up.