The young wizards crowded around eagerly, all talking at once:
"Zhang! What happened to Snape in there?"
"Was he crying? I didn't see that wrong, did I? The professor actually cried?"
"Zhang, tell me! I'm dying to know!"
"Did Harry hit Professor Snape with a Crying Charm in a fit of anger?"
Harry was surrounded too, with young wizards desperate to know "how he'd done it."
Faced with the barrage of questions and their eager, gossip-hungry eyes, Harry could only look bewildered. I'd like to know why Snape ended up like that too!
But remembering what Zhang had once said about Snape having a grudge against his dad, he instinctively felt that Snape's loss of composure had something to do with his parents.
Still, not even in his wildest dreams would he have imagined that his mum had any sort of history with Snape.
How could that be possible? With Snape's vicious sneering and greasy long hair, how could my beautiful mum ever have liked that horrible old bat?
Impossible! Absolutely impossible!
Zhang Xiao spread his hands at the young wizards, then mimed zipping his lips shut.
"Sorry, I don't know either, and the professor told me not to talk about what happened inside."
The young wizards immediately let out deeply disappointed sighs.
"Oh, don't spoil the fun, Zhang!"
"Just tell us a little! A tiny bit is all we need!"
"If you don't tell me, I won't be able to sleep tonight!"
Touching as their dedication to gossip was, Zhang Xiao held firm. He couldn't bring himself to turn someone else's private affairs into conversation fodder.
Seeing that they really couldn't get anything out of Zhang Xiao, the young wizards could only shake their heads and leave with sighs. Soon, however, their eyes lit up as they began discussing