Dumbledore was clearly playing word games-why clearly? Because the highly respected old man was not even pretending anymore. He had stressed the word "now," then smiled as though waiting for someone to expose him. It could even be called blatant.
This was a classic Dumbledore conversational hook, every bit as classic as the British saying about food, "You never know how delicious a pudding is until you eat it." Brian immediately saw that Dumbledore was doing it deliberately.
And so the seasoned professor remained silent while the young student obediently took the bait. An excited flush showed on Hermione's face, and her voice carried some of the excitement of exposing a trap. "Professor Dumbledore, you just said-now. Then... what about before?"
Harry and Ron looked gratified to hear their thoughts spoken aloud.
The three students were now positively craning forward in anticipation, and the sparks of delight in Dumbledore's eyes grew into a crackling bonfire.
"How wonderful, children. I'm so pleased you like Professor Snape so much-wanting to learn about someone's past is often a sign that you like them, isn't it?"
Tsk, tsk, tsk. Dumbledore was teasing children again. Brian knew this was another bare hook and chose not to comment, merely regretting that he had no snacks or juice on hand.
Dobby pursed his lips and shook his head slightly, expressing his disagreement with that statement. He was clearly not the only one who disagreed.
"Er..." Hermione glanced at Harry and Ron and discovered that, like her, neither had managed to hide his resistance.
Yes, after Dumbledore asked that question, most of their anticipation had vanished at once. They all looked troubled, finding it very hard to agree with what he had just said. Well, if learning about Snape's past required "admitting that they liked Snape," then perhaps