Snape's Concerns

After hurriedly saying goodbye to Hagrid, Silvan grabbed the package and eagerly headed back.

As he passed the open grounds in front of the castle, he spotted Harry and the others.

Hermione was making blue flames that could fit inside a bottle to keep them warm.

Bluebell Flames, a special kind of magical fire. You could put your hand in it without getting burned; it would only feel warm. It was one of the most commonly used warming charms among wizards.

But "commonly used" here meant by adult wizards. Few people could learn this charm in their first year. If Professor Flitwick saw Hermione pull this off, he'd probably award Gryffindor five points at the very least.

Well... a professor did see her, all right. Unfortunately, it wasn't Professor Flitwick. It was Snape—and he wasn't looking at her, either.

"What have you got there, Potter?"

"It's Quidditch Through the Ages." Harry showed it to him.

"Confiscated. Books from the library aren't allowed out of the castle." Snape snatched the book away. He seemed to be in a pretty good mood today; he didn't even take any points.

Silvan walked past them. He hadn't wanted to get involved, but Snape was on a rampage.

"Stop, Ollivander. What are you carrying?" Snape said, gliding over to Silvan like a giant bat.

"I bought a few things. The owl just delivered them." Silvan showed him the brown paper bag in his hand.

Snape pressed his lips together and said nothing. He didn't make up some rule on the spot and confiscate Silvan's things the way he had with Harry.

He was only targeting Harry, not every Gryffindor. It was a shame he couldn't take a few points from Gryffindor for fun.

He really was in a good mood today.

But just as Snape was about to leave, he suddenly caught a familiar scent... the smell of blood.

As a Potions Master, he knew that smell all too well.

In an instant, his gaze locked onto the brown paper bag in Silvan's hand.

"Open it!" Snape said, his expression stern. "Now. Immediately. Don't make me say it twice!"

Silvan cooperated, opening the bag in just a few quick movements.

Snape immediately leaned over to peer inside.

Harry and the other two, whose book had just been confiscated, quietly edged closer as well, their faces full of curiosity.

Then they saw several blood-soaked hearts, each about the size of an egg.

"Ugh!" Hermione was the first to cry out. She pressed her lips together, her face deathly pale. The other two didn't fare much better. Ron was even worse off than Hermione; he nearly threw up.

Snape looked no better, but not because he'd seen the bloody things.

As a potioneer, handling things like these was basic work. The rat spleens and toad livers students used in Potions Class were measured out by the barrel. This was nothing to him.

Snape was thinking about something else.

Hearts were rarely used in potions. They were often associated with Dark Magic, including many famous curses that required a heart as their medium.

There was precedent at Hogwarts for students studying Dark Magic. He couldn't help but be on edge.

"What is this?" Snape demanded.

"Red Cap hearts," Silvan said.

"Why did you buy something like this?"

"Because I need it, obviously." Silvan glanced at him. "There's nothing in the Hogwarts rules forbidding students from buying Red Cap hearts."

Snape's expression stiffened. Then he said coldly, "There is now. You'd better tell me the truth!"

"Fine. I'm using them to make a wand," Silvan said.

"Liar!" Snape's gaze bore into him. "No one has ever used a Red Cap's heart to make a wand."

"Sorry, Professor Snape, but I think you're wrong..."

Before Silvan could say anything, Harry stepped forward.

"We saw Silvan make a wand with a Red Cap heartstring for its core."

"That's right." Ron stepped forward too. "I saw it as well, and so did Neville and Seamus."

They sounded completely certain. They didn't look like they were lying at all.

That gave Snape pause.

He suddenly looked into Harry's eyes.

Since he was telling the truth, Harry wasn't afraid of Snape at all. He met his gaze with complete confidence.

But the next second, Harry instinctively lowered his head...

He didn't know why, but he'd suddenly felt something was wrong. It was as if Snape could see right into his mind.

Snape's expression changed too. He stared at Silvan as if he were some rare creature, muttering something under his breath.

His voice was too quiet for anyone to make out. They could only just hear him say, "It's actually true..."

Silvan's mouth twitched... Snape had definitely used Legilimency on Harry just now. There was no doubt about it.

It was a strange feeling.

Silvan was the main reason this had happened, and he was the one who had brought up the wand in the first place. Yet Snape had used Legilimency on Harry to verify his testimony.

Of course, it wasn't that Silvan wanted to be subjected to Legilimency. No one would like that. It was just that this blatant "favoritism" was hard to miss.

That said, even if Snape really did use Legilimency on him, he wouldn't see a thing.

The Ollivanders were a wizarding family with a history stretching back two thousand years, and the only wandmaking family in the United Kingdom. They were involved in far too many secrets for them not to have some way of protecting their memories.

In fact, when Silvan first opened the ancient, timeworn Wands and Wizards as a child, his memories had been protected by the complex, dizzying magical array engraved on the book's flyleaf.

The array was something even older than Runes, a relic from Merlin's era. Wands and Wizards had come from that same era.

Its effect was like being given Occlumency for free—and an enhanced version at that.

Not only was he immune to Legilimency, but the Imperius Curse didn't work on him either... provided it was cast by an ordinary wizard. People like Dumbledore, Tom Riddle, or Grindelwald were another matter.

After all, it was over a thousand years old, and no one had maintained it. A few flaws were only to be expected. At least when it came to facing the other ninety-nine percent of wizards, Silvan felt pretty confident.

Meanwhile, once he learned the "truth" of the matter, Snape quickly accepted the fact that Silvan could make a wand using a Red Cap heart.

As the saying went, wizards who dealt with wands were all a bit odd. You could accept them inventing all kinds of bizarre things.

But accepting it or not, Snape was still going to confiscate the hearts. What was a first-year student doing messing around with bloody hearts in his dormitory?

"Don't let it happen again." Snape snatched the bag away. "From now on, you're not allowed to buy things like this on your own while you're at school."

"What am I supposed to do if I need them in the future?" Silvan was obviously unhappy, and a little sorry to see them go.

Red Cap hearts weren't expensive, but for the Knockturn Alley wizard delivering them to Hogwarts, it was a risky transaction. He had to charge extra.

The whole bag had cost Silvan one Galleon. That was enough snacks to feed an entire dormitory for three days.

"I'm a wandmaker registered with the Ministry of Magic. I have the right to create things." Silvan argued his case.

"That's no reason for you to do business with Dark wizards," Snape said coldly. "You can go to a professor."

"Go to you?"

Silvan swore he'd only been arguing with Snape, trying to get under his skin. He hadn't expected Snape to think for a moment, then nod.

"That's fine."