Troubled Snape

Snape felt that the world was becoming more and more magical.

First, Voldemort said he wanted to make peace with them, and then before they could even finish their discussion, the first Dark Lord was released from prison.

What happened next was even more astonishing: Voldemort died again!

When did the Dark Lord become so easy to defeat?

It died as easily as a Billywig!

Even more surprisingly, it was Dumbledore's lover, Grindelwald, who made the move.

Moreover, Snape discovered that the new faces under Voldemort's command, the You-Know-Who hunting him, were actually his students.

For the first time, Snape wondered if he had done something wrong.

According to Slytherin's teachings, they should be sycophantic and follow the side that is currently more powerful.

And now, on his side, there's Dumbledore and another Voldemort.

Even a fool wouldn't side with that loser.

But clearly, his students believed that the theory of Pure-blood was more important than profit.

The lies that Pure-blood use to proclaim their nobility have fooled them.

However, none of this matters.

Although he himself was unwilling to admit it.

But he really cared about Harry Potter.

Recently, for some reason, this boy has started to distance himself from him.

It was a feeling of wanting to get close to him, yet for some reason not daring to look him in the eye.

This almost made him think he had been cursed by Voldemort and that his appearance had changed.

After repeatedly and secretly looking in the mirror, he mistakenly believed that Sirius had said bad things about him.

But after several physical and verbal battles with Sirius, he ruled that out.

He also wondered if Harry had a dream about him pretending to be Voldemort's spy, but not the whole dream, not the scene of him turning against Voldemort and being chased.

But Hagrid's subsequent probing and his observations of Harry proved that this guess was also wrong.

Why!

Why did Harry distance himself from him?

What frustrated him even more was that he didn't know why.

So he developed the habit of pacing outside his Potions storeroom after dinner.

This also inevitably allowed him to hear the whispers of the Slytherin and Hufflepuff students outside in the corridor.

But he didn't care at all.

But today was different; he heard something!

"Damn Ron Weasley! There's definitely something wrong with that thing of his."

"But Professor Flitwick verified that there was no danger. He's even registered with the Ministry of Magic."

"Professor Flitwick is the Head of Ravenclaw, and the Ministry of Magic —humph! We all know Ron's father is the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Do you really believe Ron Weasley can invent any magic?" A heated argument drew Snape's attention.

Ron Weasley, the name of Harry's friend, and the invention of this seemingly nonsensical combination Snape.

Could this be related to Harry distancing himself from him?!

With this hope in mind, Snape walked out of the corridor.

"Professor Snape!" It was two Hufflepuff students, one named Ernie Macmillan and the other Justin Finch-Fletchley.

"What invention are you talking about?" Snape said coldly.

The tone sent a chill down Ernie's and Justin's spine.

"It's a mist, a mist contained in a bottle."

Yes, that's it.

"Ron invented it!"

"Once you inhale it, you can experience memories from Ron's first-person perspective," the two quickly said, fearing that Snape might become impatient.

"Justin, you seem to think there's a problem with this. Did you question it in front of Weasley?"

"What was Harry's reaction?" Snape squinted.

"Harry?"

"He was completely different from usual; he was very impatient and even made sarcastic remarks to me."

"I think—" Just as Justin was about to continue, Snape's cold words interrupted him.

"Alright, you can leave now."

"Goodbye, Professor Snape." The two disappeared in a flash.

Snape stood there, his dark pupils like train tunnels, filled with a cold indifference that kept people at a distance.

Ron Weasley? Him? The inventor?

"Harry seems off?"

"There must be a secret here. This is probably why Harry is distancing himself from me." Beneath Snape's cold exterior, a storm was brewing.

It was 10 a. m., in the Headmaster's Office on the 8th floor. Dumbledore looked at Snape with a helpless expression.

"So, you think there's something wrong with Ron?"

"Of course! I know Weasley's magical abilities better than anyone, and you know why— Harry."

"There's definitely something fishy going on here!"

"I think we need to investigate this carefully!" Snape said, sounding like a child complaining to his parents.

"Severus, we all know what you're doing this for."

"It's for the same reason as your argument with Sirius a while ago."

"Filius examined that magic, and I even investigated it out of curiosity."

"That's just a simple Cloud Charm."

"That magic, which is different from the Cloud Charm, is all because of Ron himself."

"He simply discovered his talent."

"That's nothing to be surprised about, just like Tom is particularly good at the Killing Curse." Dumbledore rubbed his temples.

He was so preoccupied with his headache that he didn't notice his inappropriate analogy.

"Aha—it's Voldemort! I wonder if this is Voldemort's influence through Harry, after all, Weasley sleeps right next to Harry." Dumbledore's words made Snape think of something, and he started rambling on.

"That's impossible. Your skills may not be enough, but from my perspective, after Harry started school this year, his magic was like a rising sun. Voldemort could only temporarily connect with him through occasional accidents and his connection with Harry."

"But if Voldemort wanted to do it himself, his evil and broken soul simply couldn't do it."

"As for the oddity, there might actually be something strange about Harry."

"After the Christmas holidays, the holy, radiant magic he possessed in my eyes began to recede, but it wasn't weakening; rather, it was strengthening."

"Perhaps Ron was infected by Harry's magic and discovered his own special talent." Dumbledore's serious eyes contained a hint of relief.

This won't work on him—

"What about Harry?" Snape asked in a hoarse voice, unable to resist reaching out his hand as if to grab something.

"Harry contains Horcrux, Lily's blessing, and the mystery of the Obscurus his redemption. He is a miracle in himself."

"Even in my original plan, I just wanted him to be an ordinary Hogwarts student, without exploring his enormous potential."

"But I was wrong. The miraculous Red Spark, the magical Phoenix, and the changes now all mean one thing: everything about him has long exceeded my comprehension—the existing realm of magic." Dumbledore sighed as he said this.

"What? Obscurus!!!" A sharp roar came from Snape's mouth.