Snape's Discovery, Two Kyles?

Seventh Floor, Headmaster's Office.

After seeing Harry off, Dumbledore reached out and stroked Fawkes, who had just risen from the ashes.

He wasn't telling the truth.

Snape approached. "I can tell he's hiding a lot... and he's known all along that he has Parseltongue, but he hasn't told anyone."

When Harry arrived, he was also in the Headmaster's Office.

"Severus, that child knew nothing about the Wizarding World before."

Dumbledore placed the crumpled Fawkes on the perch and turned to say, "Perhaps Harry thinks that being able to talk to snakes is nothing special; many wizards can do it."

If he wanted to deliberately hide this, he wouldn't have shown it at the Duelling Club.

"As for other things..." Dumbledore glanced at him, "Everyone has secrets they don't want others to know, Severus ...including you and me."

Snape turned his head away, avoiding Dumbledore's eyes.

Tell me what you know.

Dumbledore stepped aside to the table, picked up his tea, took a sip, and said, "About the Chamber of Secrets of Secrets."

"I have no idea."

Snape walked to where Dumbledore had been. "The Dark Lord never said that. You should know that. He never discusses the past."

As he spoke, Snape bent down and casually collected the ashes from under the perch into a bottle, his expression as calm as if he were cleaning his own shelf.

Dumbledore's eye twitched slightly.

Whether for alchemy or Potions, the Phoenix's Rebirth Ashes are among the rarest materials.

He had originally planned to use these ashes to upgrade the Mirror of Erised, but before he knew it, Snape had taken half of them.

Moreover, if Fawkes hadn't pecked him, he probably wouldn't have even kept the other half.

"Severus, you..."

Dumbledore was about to say something, but Snape had already deftly stuffed the bottle into his pocket, dusted off his robes, and looked up as if nothing had happened.

"Principal, what did you just say?"

"It's nothing..." Dumbledore sighed. "Would you like to try some black tea? It was a gift from Madame Maxime of Beauxbatons; it's quite delicious."

"Then I'll have a drink." Snape walked over.

A fresh cup of black tea and a dish of sugar cubes appeared on the table.

Snape casually picked up the cup and took a sip.

"You could try adding some sugar," Dumbledore said. "It will taste better that way."

"No, I never add those things."

Snape put down his cup and said, "There's something else..."

"What."

"I need to use the Pensieve," Snape said. "I saw someone in that hallway the day Charity Burbage was attacked."

"Who is it?" Dumbledore asked.

"Too little time," Snape said. "I didn't see it clearly."

"Alright then..." Dumbledore pointed to a cabinet in the corner, "You know how to use it."

Snape got up, walked over, and opened the cabinet door.

Inside the cabinet was a shallow stone basin with strange letters and symbols on its rim.

Snape held his wand to his head and drew out a stream of flowing silver substance... like light turned into liquid, or like wind solidified.

"I thought I wouldn't do it again."

With a complicated expression, Snape placed his memories into the Pensieve.

"Why don't you come and take a look? I know you can..."

After saying that, he put his head into the Pensieve.

The next second, Snape appeared in a corridor... and then Dumbledore appeared as well.

Their gaze kept moving forward, as if they were walking.

When they reached the end of the corridor, their gaze suddenly shifted... They saw a figure flash by around the corner ahead.

But the time was too short; by the time their gaze turned, the other person had almost left the passage, and they only caught a blurry profile.

Dumbledore's expression shifted slightly, and he turned to look at a door not far away.

"This is the room where Charity was attacked."

"The House-elf found her while cleaning."

Snape nodded.

The two then returned to the Headmaster's Office.

"What are you trying to say..." Dumbledore asked.

Snape snapped out of his reverie, closed the cabinet door containing the Pensieve again, and then asked pointedly, "Don't you think that profile looks a lot like someone?"

"I think I understand what you mean, Severus."

Dumbledore paused for a moment before continuing, "But that's impossible. The time you remember is in the morning, and almost everyone can testify that Kyle was watching the game at the Quidditch Pitch at that time, and he never left... It's impossible for him to be there."

Is it possible... for Time-Turner?

"No."

Dumbledore shook his head. "The more you know, the more you realize how terrible the consequences of fooling time can be... She won't allow Kyle to touch the Time-Turner, even if the effect is negligible."

Dumbledore didn't say the name, but Snape knew who he was talking about.

"So, those two applications before..."

"That's right, it was Diana who refused," Dumbledore joked. "After being turned down twice, I thought I was looking for a new Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts."

Dumbledore thought he had told a good joke, but Snape clearly didn't.

Instead of laughing, his expression became even more serious.

"That's what I don't understand either."

"Since there's no Time-Turner, why is he appearing in two places at the same time... Polyjuice Potion?"

Snape frowned.

Some time ago, someone broke into his private storage room and stole a lot of Potions ingredients, including Boomslang Skin and Bicorn Horn, which are key to brewing Polyjuice Potion.

But the timing doesn't add up... His private storage room was burgled a few days ago, while Charity Burbage was attacked a month ago.

"Don't think about it too much, Severus."

Dumbledore poured him another cup of fresh black tea.

"It's just a profile view; it doesn't prove anything. Maybe it's someone else, and you're just prejudiced."

"So Dumbledore, is that what you think? That you and I have both mistaken someone for someone else?" Snape looked up. "Don't forget, I didn't say who that profile looked like."

"I believe in Kyle," Dumbledore, looking out the window, "Just as I believe in Harry and you."

"Ha, I am truly honored," Snape sneered, "To be compared to the great the Chosen One, and the youngest recipient of the Order of Merlin..."

"The Chosen One is just a shackle, not an honor, but the Order of Merlin..." Dumbledore suddenly shook his head, "You certainly don't have it, Severus."

Snape was taken aback at first, then his face instantly darkened. "You think I would care about something like that?"

"If you cared, you would have earned a First Class medal long ago," Dumbledore said with a smile. "But others clearly don't think so. When it comes to personal honors, people think you're inferior to Kyle."

"Just because of a gold-plated plaque?" Snape's face darkened further.

"Level two is pure gold..."

"Is that what I meant?" Snape said, exasperated.

The thought of Dumbledore's words made him feel a surge of anger, so much so that he didn't even notice the topic had changed.

Snape never cared about anything other than Potions, nor did he value fame or honor.

He can accept that Lockhart is better than him, and he can accept that Harry Potter is more famous than him... It doesn't matter to him, he doesn't care about any of that.

But for some reason, he felt uneasy when he heard Dumbledore say that he was not as good as Kyle.

I've never felt this way before; it's like someone has just taken away the Potions I painstakingly brewed.

"Severus, if you're willing to share your Potions- brewing tips, I could be your nominee."

Dumbledore, seeing his expression, couldn't help but laugh and said, "I guarantee you'll receive the Order of the Knights of the Order of the Knights next time."

"Level One?" Snape was somewhat tempted.

"No, level three... at most level two..." Dumbledore shook his head. "It depends on the specific function of those techniques."

A third-class medal... what's the use of that?

"No, thank you. I'm not interested in this, and I don't want to waste my time on it," Snape said decisively.

"That's a shame." Dumbledore blinked. "If you change your mind, you can come to me anytime."