Dumbledore

Hogwarts was empty and silent in the dead of night.

Even the slightest sound in the deep corridors could carry a great distance.

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

Paired with his icy expression and that slightly harsh, sinister hooked nose, he could frighten 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 eighth floor.

Then an incomparably ugly stone gargoyle blocked his path.

Behind the gargoyle was a moving spiral staircase, at the end of which 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 swung aside. Snape climbed the stairs and pushed open the office door.

The circular, lavish, spacious office was filled with portraits of former headmasters. It was late, and they had all begun to snore. Snape's entrance woke several of them, earning him a round of curses.

"Ah, Severus." Dumbledore, seated behind an enormous desk and reading something, looked up and welcomed him warmly. "Good evening. Would you like some Cockroach Clusters? Or perhaps some Fizzing Whizzbees?"

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

His voice was almost squeezed out through gritted teeth. "What is it? Hurry up. I don't want to waste time."

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

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

"After the feast, I wrote to Mr. Ollivander to ask him a few questions. I'm glad my old friend was still willing to reply to me, though his schedule is rather unhealthy. I thought I wouldn't receive his response until tomorrow morning..."

He rambled on.

Snape had no patience for such nonsense. His eyes swiftly swept over the writing on the parchment. Ollivander was explaining the particulars of a wand to Dumbledore.

"...I must admit, it is an exceptionally powerful wand. Only the most powerful wizard could earn its favor and delight. I had never imagined it would choose a child—Vaughan Weasley. It is beyond my imagination..."

"...But Dumbledore, in response to your inquiry, I must still say that there are no people born fixed and unchanging, nor are there wands born fixed and unchanging. Wands and wizards grow together and accomplish one another. I cannot provide conclusive evidence for your concerns. I can only hope you will be more cautious—"

"Yours faithfully, Garrick Ollivander"

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

"What? Has another little Dark wizard 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 that boy named Vaughan...

"Hmph..."

The answer was no surprise to Snape. He gave an inexplicable cold laugh and mocked, "So? I have another task now? While keeping an eye on our dear savior, I also have to watch his evil classmate?"

"I did not say 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 fulfills the prophecy. This is not me shirking responsibility. None of us knows what consequences there would be if fate were twisted. Would they be better, or... worse?"

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 as immense emotion slammed against his chest, nearly making him unable to maintain his 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's nothing else, I'm going back to prepare my lessons. I'm looking forward to tomorrow. I hope your savior won't be outshone by his evil classmate."

With that, he flung his robes behind him and strode away.

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

Watching Snape leave, the office returned to silence. Dumbledore lowered his head and read the letter over and over, his thin, withered fingers brushing across every word as if he wished to imprint them upon 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..."

Early the next morning, having eaten and drunk well the day before, Vaughan woke up as usual under the influence of his body clock.

The other two little snakes sharing his dormitory were more tactful than he had expected. They had only come back briefly last night to pack their things before moving into another room.

Having an entire dormitory to himself truly felt 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 Fruit Tea.

As he passed through the common room, he didn't see the prefect who had fainted last night. His roommates had probably dragged him away.

The fire in the fireplace was still blazing, likely thanks to the house-elves.

Vaughn didn't linger. He pushed open the stone door and left the Slytherin common room.

It was too early; students who lacked self-discipline hadn't gotten up yet.

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

Bringing Fruit Tea to the shore, Vaughn patted its head. "Go play!"

Fruit Tea bounced about, pouncing around on the grassy lakeside. Vaughn sat down where he was, lazily gazing out over the mirror-still lake and breathing in the fresh morning air.

This was a great place to relax. If it stayed uncrowded, he could come here more often.

After relaxing with Fruit Tea for a while, voices gradually began to drift from the castle behind them. By the time Vaughn brought Fruit Tea back, quite a few early-rising students had already taken seats in the Great Hall.

From a distance, he spotted Hermione's messy-haired figure at the Gryffindor table. Fruit Tea recognized this two-legged creature it had seen on the Hogwarts Express as well, and headed over.

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