Late at night, Hogwarts was quiet and deserted.
Any sound in the deep corridors would echo far.
Severus Snape’s teaching robes trailed long behind him, his leather shoes clicking on the stone floor with a hollow echo.
Combined with his icy expression and prominent, sinister hooked nose, he could easily scare any young wizard caught out of bed past curfew to tears.
Today, however, he was not on patrol.
He climbed the winding spiral staircase, crossed a corridor lined with portraits and suits of armor, and went all the way up to the eighth-floor tower.
There, an incredibly ugly stone gargoyle blocked his path.
Behind the gargoyle was a moving spiral staircase, at the end of which lay his destination: the Headmaster’s office.
Snape stood expressionless, his dark eyes staring at the gargoyle as if looking at a piece of garbage.
“Password, Cockroach Cluster!”
The gargoyle leaped aside.
Snape stepped onto the stairs and pushed open the office door.
The circular, spacious, and luxurious office was hung with portraits of former headmasters.
It was very late, and most of them were already snoring.
Snape’s entrance woke a few, drawing a barrage of sleepy complaints.
“Ah, Severus.” Looking up from behind his massive desk where he had been reading, Albus Dumbledore welcomed him warmly.
“Good evening.
Would you care for a Cockroach Cluster?
Or perhaps some Fizzing Whizbees?”
A plate piled high with sweets floated toward Snape, only to be impatiently brushed aside.
His voice was practically squeezed through his teeth.
“What is it?
Make it quick.
I don’t want to waste my time.”
Dumbledore remained smiling.
He summoned the plate back, picked up a squirming Cockroach Cluster, popped it into his mouth, and waved Snape over.
“Come and take a look then, Severus.”
Snape walked over to the desk and saw a letter spread out in front of Dumbledore, signed by Ollivander.
“After the feast, I wrote a letter to Mr.
Ollivander to ask him a few questions.
I am glad my old friend still humors me, though his sleeping habits are quite unhealthy.
I expected to receive his reply tomorrow morning…”
He rambled on.
Snape had no patience for this idle chatter.
His eyes swept rapidly across the parchment.
Ollivander was explaining the details of a specific wand to Dumbledore.
“…I must admit, that is an exceptionally powerful wand.
Only the most powerful wizards can earn its favor and devotion.
I never imagined it would belong to a child.
Vaughn Weasley…
it is beyond my comprehension…”
“…But Dumbledore, in response to your inquiry, I must still say: there is no person in this world who is fixed from birth, nor is there any wand that is static.
Wand and wizard grow together and shape each other.
I cannot provide concrete evidence for your concerns; I only hope you will be more cautious—”
“Yours sincerely, Garrick Ollivander”
Snape’s eyes locked onto Vaughn Weasley’s name.
He looked up at Dumbledore, a mocking sneer crossing his otherwise cold expression.
“What is this?
Another little dark wizard on your blacklist?”
The smile faded from Dumbledore’s face.
He fell into contemplation, then said after a moment, “I trust Arthur and Molly.”
To Snape, this implied that he only trusted Arthur and Molly.
As for the boy named Vaughn…
“Hmph…”
This reply was not unexpected.
Snape let out a dry, mocking sneer.
“So?
Do I have a new task?
Along with watching over our precious Savior, I must also keep an eye on his ‘evil’ classmate?”
“I did not say he was evil, Severus.”
“Heh…”
Dumbledore sighed.
“The timing is delicate, Severus.
We must focus on Harry’s growth and ensure things unfold as the prophecy foretold.
This is not me dodging responsibility, but rather, none of us know what would happen if destiny were altered.
Would it be for the better, or…
for the worse?”
He gazed into Snape’s dark, bottomless eyes.
He wouldn’t perform Legilimency on Snape, of course; he merely wanted to ensure his colleague saw his sincerity.
“Help me.
Have you seen Harry’s eyes?
They are just like Lily’s—”
“Enough!”
Snape lost his composure, his voice snapping sharply.
His nostrils flared, and a massive wave of emotion surged in his chest, making it nearly impossible to maintain his Occlumency.
It felt like pure poison.
It had tortured him for ten long years.
The office fell silent for a long moment.
When Snape spoke again, his voice had regained its icy calm.
“If there is nothing else, I shall return to prepare my lesson plans.
I am looking forward to tomorrow.
Let us hope your Savior isn’t outshone by his evil classmate.”
With that, he swept his robes around him and strode out of the room.
“Thank you, Severus.
Sleep well…”
Watching Snape leave, the office returned to silence.
Dumbledore looked down at the letter, reading it over and over, his thin, withered fingers tracing each word as if trying to engrave them onto his mind.
After an indefinite amount of time, he spoke again.
“Armando, have you ever wondered what Tom might have become if we had shown him more care at the very beginning?”
An old wizard pretending to sleep in one of the portraits rolled over and muttered, “Who knows!”
“Yes, indeed…
who knows…”
…
The next morning, Vaughn, who had eaten and slept well the day before, woke up at his usual time thanks to his internal clock.
His two Slytherin roommates were far more sensible than he had expected.
They had only returned briefly last night to pack up their belongings and move to other rooms.
Having the entire dormitory to himself was exceptionally comfortable.
When he climbed out of bed, it was just past five o’clock.
Dawn had not yet broken.
Vaughn washed up, changed into his robes, and left the dormitory with Fruit Tea.
Passing through the common room, he didn’t see the prefect who had fainted last night.
He had probably been dragged away by his roommates.
However, the fireplace was still burning brightly, likely thanks to the house-elves.
Vaughn didn’t linger.
He pushed open the stone door and walked out of the Slytherin common room.
It was too early; the less disciplined students hadn’t even woken up yet.
Vaughn wandered through the empty corridors and courtyards for a while before finally finding a path leading to the Black Lake.
Arriving at the lakeside with Fruit Tea, Vaughn patted its head.
“Go on, go play!”
Fruit Tea bounced and pounced around the lakeside grass.
Vaughn sat down on the spot, gazing lazily at the glass-like surface of the lake while breathing in the fresh morning air.
This was a wonderful place to relax.
If it remained uncrowded, he would definitely visit more often.
After relaxing with Fruit Tea for a bit, the sounds of life began to echo from the castle behind him.
When Vaughn headed back with Fruit Tea, the Great Hall was already occupied by quite a few early-rising students.
From a distance, he spotted Hermione’s bushy-haired figure at the Gryffindor table.
Fruit Tea also recognized the two-legged creature they had met on the Hogwarts Express and trotted over.
The girl startled, then seemed to recognize Fruit Tea.
She quickly turned her head, and when she saw Vaughn, her eyes lit up.