17, Tsundere, Nep

Evening, eight o'clock sharp.

Severus Snape's office was in the dungeons, adjacent to the Potions classroom—an exceedingly gloomy place, lined with various specimens and glass jars.

A classic Slytherin style.

"Good. Better than I expected."

Looking at Klein standing before him, Snape crossed his arms, a flicker of satisfaction passing through his dull eyes.

Punctuality had always been a fine quality.

"Good evening, Head of House."

Klein gave a slight bow, textbook-perfect in his humility and obedience.

"Grindelwald, your task tonight is to dust the specimens."

Lifting his chin slightly, Snape's expression remained as cold as ever.

Having said that, he paid Klein no further attention, frowning as he scribbled away on parchment, as if no one else were in the room.

Klein shrugged, pulling out his wand from his sleeve pocket on his own, but before he could cast a spell, Snape's uniquely sinister voice reached his ears again.

"No magic, Grindelwald. My collection is very precious."

No magic?

Klein paused, then smiled in understanding.

Glancing at Snape, who was hunched over his desk writing furiously, he rolled up his robe sleeves, picked up the feather duster from the corner, and obediently began his work.

"Swish, swish, swish."

As he examined the bizarre specimens and brushed away the dust, Klein's movements were light—aside from the faint rustle of the duster, there was hardly any extra sound.

Time passed, minute by minute.

"That's enough, Grindelwald. Your work for tonight is done."

The moment the short hand of the Magic Clock pointed to "nine," Snape looked up, set down his quill, and spoke without any emotion.

"Then, good night."

Klein bowed in farewell, put down the duster, and turned to leave.

But just then, several sheets of parchment suddenly floated down from above, hovering in midair, blocking his path!

"Hm?"

Klein caught the parchment, looking back with slight surprise.

"I thought I'd have to dust specimens for a whole month before I earned any extra guidance from you."

"Knowledge is valuable, Grindelwald. You and I both know that."

Behind the desk, Snape had resumed his arms-crossed posture, staring coldly at Klein.

"So you'll have to pay a price."

"Fine. That's perfectly fair."

Klein tucked away the parchment and nodded in agreement.

In this world, there might be hatred without reason, but there was absolutely no love without cause. He didn't think there was anything about him that could make Snape treat him specially.

"Good. You're a clever man. I like dealing with clever people."

Studying Klein, who stood with his hands respectfully at his sides, Snape drawled out his words.

"From now on, I'll assign you extra work—spells, potions, whatever it may be. But no matter what, your results must satisfy me."

"Uh... I don't quite follow. What exactly is the price I have to pay?"

Klein rarely found himself confused, but he truly couldn't pinpoint the key point in Snape's words.

"That is the price, Grindelwald. Your leisure time will be drastically reduced. And if you fail to satisfy me, you won't even get to rest!"

Snape frowned, his tone still icy.

"This..."

Klein's expression froze for a moment, then turned strange. He held back, held back again, but in the end, he couldn't help it—he burst out laughing.

Sounded pretty intimidating, and that's all it was?

Klein silently warned himself never to use "conspiracy theories" to guess the thoughts of a tsundere again.

"Sorry, Head of House. I'm just too happy."

Seeing Snape's expression grow increasingly hostile, Klein quickly wiped the smile off his face and apologized with utmost obedience.

"Hmph."

Snape let out a cold snort, his face full of gloom.

But for some reason, to Klein's ears, that snort sounded a little off.

"Now take your homework and get out of my office."

Sharply aware that his authority seemed unable to intimidate that damned Bear Kid across from him, Snape stiffened his face and flicked his wand to open the office door. This was a dismissal.

"Alright, Head of House."

Klein wasn't about to push his luck after getting an advantage. He obediently nodded and walked out without a second thought.

"And get a good rest tonight. The Ministry of Magic's moths will definitely ask you plenty of questions tomorrow. I don't care if you embarrass yourself, but I won't allow you to tarnish Slytherin's reputation."

Just as Klein's foot crossed the threshold, Snape's gloomy voice rang out again.

"Alright, good night."

Klein wasn't surprised. From the Bloody Baron's few words that afternoon, he had already guessed some clues. Five days had passed since he improved the Healing Spell, and counting the time, the Ministry of Magic people should be showing up.

"How utterly unpleasant."

Once Klein left the office, Snape silently lowered his arms and looked up at the rough stone ceiling.

"Klein's situation is very special, Severus."

Dumbledore's words echoed through his mind again, and he gently closed his eyes.

Nine hours ago, the Headmaster's office.

"Klein's situation is very special, Severus. A person who wanders the world with Half a Spellbook and a Broken Wand—even if he's only Eleven Years Old, you can't treat him like an ordinary child."

When Dumbledore said this, his expression remained gentle, but beneath that gentleness lay a solemnity Snape couldn't quite read.

"Aside from you, almost every professor has privately asked me whether this 'Grindelwald' is that 'Grindelwald.' Every time, I've told them with certainty—yes, it's that Grindelwald. Klein is the last direct descendant of that family."

"That's none of my concern."

Snape sat across from Dumbledore, a trace of impatience showing on his sullen face. Whether it was or wasn't, what did it have to do with him?

"He's in your Slytherin Academy."

The old man raised his voice slightly.

"And he's very ambitious!"

"With all due respect, 'ambition' isn't a derogatory term. It's an excellent quality every Slytherin person possesses."

Even if he didn't care much about outside matters, Snape still had a strong sense of identity and pride in the academy he came from.

"Severus, I am the headmaster of this school. Of course I know Slytherin's traditions. But Klein is different."

A flash of those pure blue Eyes crossed his mind, and Dumbledore let out a soft sigh.

"People like that can't be bound by worldly rules. They only do what they want to do."

"Just like you."

Snape suddenly spoke, cutting Dumbledore off.

"Hehe, that's right. Much like when I was young."

Caught off guard, Dumbledore laughed heartily and nodded lightly.

"So, when he grows up, I want him to become the headmaster of this school!"

"What? Have you gone mad?"

Hearing this, Snape's expression finally shifted significantly. What was this, a dark joke?

"You don't understand, Severus. You don't understand."

Meeting that shocked gaze, Dumbledore smiled mysteriously.

"He said he's very interested in Potions, so I'd like you to teach him some potion knowledge."

"No."

Rejecting the proposal without a second thought, Snape's face was grim. He wasn't Dumbledore's echo; the knowledge that belonged to him, he had the right to decide whether to pass on.

"I knew you'd say that."

Dumbledore wasn't surprised. With a wave of the Elder Wand, a piece of parchment on his desk floated over to Snape.

"Take a look at this. You'll change your mind."

"Hmph."

With a cold snort, Snape lowered his head and scanned the contents of the parchment. Second by second, time passed, and he fell into a Long Silence.

"Alright, I agree."

After who knows how long, Snape nodded with a complicated expression.

James Potter?

No.

He saw his own shadow in Klein Grindelwald.