Severus Snape

"The Flint boy? Ah... I know."

Half an hour later, in Gemini's room at The Leaky Cauldron, Old Tom laughed as he helped Gemini brew some mung bean soup. His hunched back and missing teeth made his laughter rather unsettling.

"Though the Flints are a pure-blood family, they're not fanatical pure-blood supremacists. That little brat Marcus was simply led astray." Old Tom shook his head.

"Will I be in any trouble?" Gemini leaned back in the room's cushioned chair and tilted his head at that.

"Oh... Mr. Fox, you're only an eleven-year-old child. You merely gave him a light kick. What ill intentions could you possibly have?"

Old Tom threw back his gap-toothed mouth in laughter. "Getting seriously injured from a single kick by an eleven-year-old who can't even use magic? He might as well snap his wand and drop out."

"For an eleven-year-old who has not even enrolled yet, I hope you can be more serious and refrain from instilling such dangerous... ideas in him, Old Tom."

All of a sudden, an indifferent voice sounded from the doorway. Gemini turned his head and saw a man in black robes standing there.

The man had long, greasy black hair and a tall frame. His cold gaze swept over Gemini.

"Ha... Professor Snape." Old Tom gave an awkward laugh, then turned and pulled Gemini up from the cushioned chair beside him. He quietly introduced him, "This is Severus Snape, Head of Slytherin House at Hogwarts."

"Gemini Fox. It's a pleasure to meet you, Professor Snape." Gemini nodded politely.

"Mr. Fox's manners truly leave me overwhelmed." Snape spoke flatly. "You kicked the captain of our Slytherin Quidditch team into serious injury. Are you a dragon hatchling?"

"I have neither horns nor wings, sir."

"Then are you a troll?" Snape narrowed his eyes, his tone unfriendly.

Gemini's neither servile nor overbearing manner, with its faintly barbed edge, irritated him greatly.

"Before you even enroll, I can already guess which House you'll be sorted into. Reckless, oblivious to your own limits—you and Gryffindor are a perfect match."

Gemini replied sincerely and gently, "Actually, I've always thought I might be sorted into Slytherin. I admire it greatly."

"Shut up!" Snape rudely interrupted Gemini. "If someone like you can be sorted into Slytherin, then I would rather resign as Head of House."

Gemini considered it and thought that was truly an excellent idea.

"Is that a promise, Professor?"

"You—had—better—shut—your—mouth!"

Snape shot Gemini a dark look. "Dumbledore sent me to handle this matter, so I have the authority to decide whether you should be expelled from Hogwarts. Would you like to try it? Expelled before you even enroll—you might be the first in Hogwarts history."

"Now, I ask, and you answer." Snape glanced at Gemini. "What caused this? Why did you strike so ruthlessly?"

Gemini blinked and looked at Snape expectantly.

That innocent gaze made Snape increasingly irritated. "Speak—"

"You told me to shut my mouth, Professor..."

"Damn it! Blast it! You may speak now!" Snape's tone gradually became more violent.

"All right." Gemini shrugged innocently. "He called me... um... a Mudblood."

"Oh—that's not a very nice word..." Old Tom's mouth fell open, his tone exaggerated.

Snape shot him a glare, and he hurriedly covered his mouth.

"So... that was... the cause of it?" Snape's expression calmed as he asked blandly.

"That's right. Then I grabbed his arm and lightly kicked him..."

Snape stared fixedly at Gemini, a trace of mockery appearing on his face. "What a... very light kick. One kick that seriously injured someone and broke five ribs. Did you add some sort of magic to it? Athlete's foot, perhaps?"

Gemini picked up the metal soup bowl beside him, rubbed it between both hands, and directly kneaded it into a lump of iron.

"I've been a bit strong since I was young..."

Snape looked at the iron lump marked with fingerprints, and his brow twitched. With that grip strength, could he really be a dragon hatchling?

Having seen Gemini's outrageous strength with his own eyes, Snape finally believed that Gemini truly had only given Flint a light kick. With that kind of strength, if he had really meant to kill him, one kick might have punched a hole through Marcus's chest. Compared to that, what were a few broken ribs?

His cold gaze swept across Gemini's face. Snape remained expressionless as he turned and left.

"Um... Professor?"

Gemini tilted his head.

Snape turned back impatiently. "What is it now?"

"Am I being punished...?" Gemini asked uncertainly.

"If you want to experience it, I don't mind." Snape left the room impatiently as he spoke, his voice drifting in from outside the door. "If there's a next time, I will definitely expel you. Stay obediently in your room until term begins, Troll Kid."

Thud, thud, thud...

The black figure disappeared around the stairway corner. Gemini leaned against the doorframe and poked his head out to watch the direction Snape had gone for a few moments, then returned to the room and looked at Old Tom uncertainly.

"So... I'm... all right?"

Old Tom grinned with his gap-toothed mouth. "That one is not easy to talk to at all. You're very lucky."

"This wasn't luck." Gemini smiled gently and shook his head.

He had read the original Harry Potter novels many times. In Gemini's view, Snape was more suited than Professor McGonagall to handle this matter.

If one had to name the word Snape hated most, it was undoubtedly "Mudblood."

Moreover, Snape lived at Spinner's End in Cokeworth, which was not far from London. That was probably why Dumbledore had sent him.

But his claim that he had the authority to expel Gemini had been pure intimidation. Even if Dumbledore gave him the authority to deal with the matter, at most he could issue a severe warning. It was impossible for Dumbledore to give him the authority to expel students.

Otherwise, Snape would have expelled every Gryffindor student long ago...

Marcus Flint being kicked into serious injury still caused quite a stir. After all, the Wizarding World did not have a large population, and no matter how they tried to conceal it, others would eventually find out.

Flint's father worked at the Ministry of Magic and had spent the past few days clamoring for severe punishment against a new student named Gemini Fox.

However, although he pulled many strings, he was ultimately stopped by the mountain that was Dumbledore. No one could bypass Dumbledore to punish a Hogwarts student—not even the Minister.

For the entire following month, Gemini finally settled down completely and caused no further commotion.

He either studied spells from the Charms textbook or continuously refined the fabricated memories he had woven. The month passed quite productively.

Ollivander had been right: the wand chose the wizard, and an excellent wand would naturally choose an excellent wizard. Whatever great achievements Gemini might or might not attain in the future, his talent for magic was undeniably exceptional.

For common everyday spells such as the Levitation Charm, Scouring Charm, and Mending Charm, Gemini could almost learn them at a glance. He had also tried defensive spells such as the Disarming Charm and Stunning Spell, and he could cast those with ease as well.

Only the Patronus Charm still left Gemini completely at a loss.