Snape, though despicable, insidious, and detestable, was a good person

At the fork in the path, Charlie and the three of them parted ways. As they said goodbye, Harry walked at the back, brow furrowed, his mind still churning over what he'd just seen.

Suddenly, he stopped.

"Wait!" Harry called out to the three ahead.

"What's wrong, Harry?" Ron turned back to ask.

"Did you notice Professor Snape's leg?" Harry's voice was urgent.

Hermione looked at him, puzzled.

"What do you mean?"

"I saw his calf was bitten!" Harry grew more excited as he spoke.

"And the wound was huge, like something big had mauled him."

Ron gasped.

"You mean..."

"The three-headed dog!" Harry nodded firmly.

"Only a monster like that could leave such a wound."

Charlie frowned. "Are you sure you saw it clearly?"

"Absolutely sure." Harry adjusted his glasses.

"My eyesight's bad, but I'm dead certain about this."

Ron was taken aback.

"So that means Snape's trying to steal whatever's under the Trapdoor?"

"And the troll today." The more Harry thought, the more it made sense.

"How could a troll just show up at Hogwarts for no reason? Someone must have let it in on purpose."

"You mean..." Hermione's eyes went wide.

"Exactly." Harry gritted his teeth.

"Snape let the troll in to distract everyone, so he could sneak off and steal that thing."

"And got bitten by the three-headed dog," Ron added.

"That bloody old bat."

Charlie listened, a bit exasperated, and couldn't help but speak up.

"Hold on, hold on. Isn't your reasoning a bit of a leap?"

"It's all speculation, with no evidence at all."

"Isn't Snape getting bitten the evidence?" Harry argued.

Charlie shook his head.

"It sounds plausible at first, but Snape getting bitten doesn't prove he had anything to do with the troll."

"Sure, Snape's a bit of a jerk, a bit disgusting, a bit unhygienic, a bit insufferable, and not a great teacher..."

"See, even you admit he's not a good guy," Ron cut in.

"But," Charlie stressed, "letting in a troll is completely out of character for him."

"Why do you say that?" Hermione asked curiously.

Charlie thought for a moment, then said, "With Snape's personality, the troll probably wouldn't even make it into the school before he killed it out of sheer annoyance at its stupidity."

"With that troll's intelligence, it wouldn't last three seconds in front of Snape."

Ron couldn't help but laugh.

"That explanation fits Snape's character perfectly."

"And besides," Charlie continued analyzing, "if Snape really wanted to steal something, would he choose such a clumsy method?"

"If he was serious about stealing, even if he used poison, he wouldn't cause such a commotion."

Hermione nodded thoughtfully.

"Charlie has a point."

"The bite might have another reason."

"Then why did the three-headed dog bite him?" Ron still wasn't convinced.

Charlie shrugged.

"Who knows, maybe he went to check the security measures? After all, there's something important hidden there."

"As a teacher, it's his responsibility to ensure the school's safety," Hermione agreed.

"With a troll invasion tonight, it's normal to check other defenses."

Harry wanted to insist, but he was also convinced by their reasoning and nodded gloomily.

Damn it. He'd thought he could finally get Snape in trouble.

"Fine, maybe I'm overthinking it."

"Harry, you're just too nosy."

"Not everything is a conspiracy."

Hermione looked at Harry and Ron sternly.

"And you shouldn't talk about professors like that."

"No matter how Professor Snape treats us normally, he's still a teacher at Hogwarts."

"As students, we should maintain basic respect."

Harry and Ron rolled their eyes. It was still Hermione, that same old flavor.