Chapter 200: Job Hunting

Chapter 200: Job Hunting

When Sherlock returned from the headmaster's office, Snape was still standing alone outside the door.

His expression was calm, seemingly devoid of any emotional turmoil, but his eyes, fixed on the ceiling in a daze, betrayed his inner unrest.

"Have you thought about what you'll say when you meet her?" Sherlock asked lightly.

Snape didn't look at him but surprisingly spoke up.

"I won't see her."

Sherlock raised an eyebrow.

"Why not? You've been waiting for this moment since you returned to the past. Are you afraid she'll find out about how you treated Harry? If you explain the reasons, that you did it to protect Harry's life, she'll understand."

But Snape said nothing more, just turned his face away and prepared to leave.

As he brushed past Sherlock, he suddenly said,

"I owe you."

Sherlock watched his retreating figure down the corridor and muttered under his breath,

"Sentimental fool."

Inside the office, Lily and Harry had just met and naturally had endless things to say to each other.

Harry glossed over his time with the Dursleys, focusing instead on his experiences since entering Hogwarts.

He talked about meeting his friends Ron and Hermione, and how the professors at the castle were all kind. He recounted his three years at Hogwarts, leading up to his meeting with Sirius Black and the discovery that Peter was the true traitor. Sherlock, calculating the time, pushed open the office door and walked in.

Seeing Sherlock enter, Harry immediately introduced him to Lily with excitement.

"Mom, this is Professor Forrest. He's the best professor at Hogwarts, and he's the one who let me see you."

Lily, floating transparently in mid-air, turned to look at Sherlock, her beautiful face showing gratitude.

"Thank you for taking care of Harry all these years, and for helping me see him today."

The Lily they saw now was as she appeared at the time of her death. She looked a bit more mature than the Lily Sherlock had seen in the past, but the changes in her appearance were not significant. After all, she and Harry's father James had married right after graduation and had Harry soon after, dying at the same age as the current Sherlock.

Sherlock waved his hand, downplaying his role.

"I'm Harry's teacher, so it's my duty to take care of him. As for helping you see Harry again, you should thank Snape. If not for his persistent pleading, I wouldn't have thought of a way to help you."

Although that sentimental old fool didn't know what to say to the present Lily, they had shared hardships, and Sherlock didn't mind giving him a nod.

Lily, who was always a clever person, as evidenced by her favor with Slughorn, reacted more strongly than Harry, who gasped in surprise.

"Snape!"

"Professor Forrest, you and Snape helped me?"

Hearing her call Snape by his title, Sherlock sighed inwardly, but it was understandable. This Lily had experienced Snape's time as a Death Eater, wreaking havoc in the Wizarding World, and had likely long given up on him.

"Simply put, due to an accident, Snape and I were sent back in time. I was trying to find a way back, and he was trying to save you. I helped him, and in the process, I created a magic that allowed you to not die so completely before your time."

Sherlock summarized the situation succinctly.

Lily, hearing this, stared blankly at a spot, and soon pieced together the rest.

"Professor Slughorn was him."

"On that summer night, the one crying and begging for your forgiveness outside your window was him, too."

Sherlock said this with a smirk, seeing no reason to hide it. If Snape couldn't bring himself to say it, he had no qualms about doing so.

Lily's expression was complex, her feelings hard to read.

"Did he leave the Death Eaters later?"

"You couldn't persuade him while you were alive, but after your death, he had a change of heart—well, not exactly a change of heart, but he understood some things. After that, he came to Hogwarts and became the Potions professor and Head of Slytherin."

As he spoke, Sherlock glanced meaningfully at Harry.

Of course, due to certain circumstances, Harry’s feelings towards Snape were not very positive. The professor was indeed biased, but he was still a vast improvement over the Snape Harry had known in the past.

Sherlock spoke the truth about Snape, neither exaggerating nor belittling him.

By simply stating the facts, Sherlock had already done Snape a great favor. As for what would happen when the two met and how their relationship would develop, that was not something Sherlock needed to worry about.

Harry was both surprised and bewildered.

He was surprised to learn that Sherlock and Snape had actually traveled back in time together, and bewildered by the details surrounding Snape.

He had heard that Snape had harbored special feelings for his mother, but beyond that, he knew very little.

After saying everything he could, Sherlock earnestly warned Harry and Lily.

“I have awakened you, but your current state is still very dangerous. Since we haven’t experimented with it, we don’t know what spells can affect you, or how long you can maintain this state. So, in the future, try not to stay out of Harry’s protective magic for more than an hour or two each day. Also, keep this a secret, even from Ron and Hermione.”

Harry, of course, took Sherlock’s advice very seriously.

“Thank you, Professor Forrest,” he said with utmost sincerity.

But mere words were not enough to repay Sherlock for all he had done. Harry could only keep it in his heart and find a way to repay him when the opportunity arose.

After Harry and Lily left, Sherlock relaxed and sank into the chair.

Returning to Hogwarts had finally allowed him to unwind, at least for the moment.

However, this relaxation was only temporary.

During the trip to the Department of Mysteries, even though Voldemort hadn’t inflicted any physical harm on him, the overwhelming black fog had truly shocked Sherlock.

This was the first time he had witnessed a top-tier figure in the Wizarding World in action.

Sherlock didn’t know the exact effects of that black fog, but when it surged around him like a tidal wave, he could clearly feel that even if he could cast five hundred, a thousand, or even ten thousand spells at once, he wouldn’t be able to break through it.

This wasn’t a matter of sheer quantity; the gap in magical and spell power was too vast to bridge with numbers alone.

Thinking about the possibility of Voldemort’s return and the chaos he might cause, Sherlock’s resolve to strengthen himself became even more urgent.

There were no shortcuts in the study of magic. No matter how diligent or talented he was, he couldn’t match the decades of magical experience Voldemort and Dumbledore had accumulated.

However, the unique nature of his time travel experience provided Sherlock with a way to rapidly close this gap.

By merging the residual soul of the original owner with his own, he could strengthen his own soul, which in turn would make his magic more powerful.

Moreover, the enhanced soul control magic he had gained seemed to have far more potential than just wand casting. Sherlock felt there was much more to explore.

To achieve all this, Voldemort’s Horcruxes were essential.

In a sense, a Horcrux was like a pill that could grant fifty years of magical power, and Sherlock had already consumed one.

This alone had allowed him to master control magic without a teacher, and the spells he cast were now much more powerful.

Voldemort’s Horcruxes were not limited to just one, meaning Sherlock had many more opportunities ahead.

Moreover, he was not the only one searching for Horcruxes; Dumbledore was even more eager to find them.

One of the most significant gains from this journey back in time was discovering a clue about one of the Horcruxes.

Leaning back in his chair, Sherlock sipped his tea and stared at the ceiling, lost in thought.

Due to Lupin’s identity being exposed, he could no longer stay at Hogwarts after last night. Originally, Sherlock had only needed to grade the final exams for the sixth-year students, but now his responsibilities had increased to cover the four classes Lupin had been teaching.

Despite this, he was not in a hurry. His mind was preoccupied with various thoughts, and after a long while, he murmured to himself.

"Where has that little girl Amy gone off to?"

The day before Hogwarts was set to officially break for the holidays, Silke sat quietly in front of Dumbledore in his Headmaster's Office.

Dumbledore looked at the young woman before him, whose face was mostly hidden by the hood on her head, and did not hide the confusion in his eyes.

"Why have you suddenly decided to come to Hogwarts to teach, Miss Silke?"

Over the past dozen years, Silke had visited Hogwarts annually to pay her respects at a gravesite. Dumbledore had not interacted with her much, but he knew her character well enough to be surprised that she would ever sit before him, seeking employment.

Silke replied calmly.

"I have no particular reason. I just felt like a change of scenery."

"Did the German Ministry of Magic agree to your resignation?"

Dumbledore’s influence extended far beyond Britain, and he was well-informed about internal matters within most European Ministries of Magic. He was well aware of Silke's standing in the German Ministry of Magic.

Silke nodded lightly.

"If there are no available positions at Hogwarts, I can accept a substitute or temporary teaching role."

Hearing this, Dumbledore became even more perplexed.

She had no desire to stay in the German Ministry of Magic, and even turned down the opportunity to take over an entire Department of Mysteries. Why would she suddenly want to come to Hogwarts as a substitute professor?

Even someone as wise as Dumbledore could not fathom the reason, but he did not need to.

He was well aware of Silke’s capabilities and character and had no reservations about her teaching at Hogwarts.

Dumbledore smiled and said.

"This year, the Arithmancy professor, Sybill Trelawney, has submitted her resignation. She’s grown tired of teaching and wants to travel. I hadn’t found a suitable replacement, so I was trying to persuade her to stay for a few more years. Now that you’re interested in teaching at Hogwarts, Sybill can finally get her wish."

Arithmancy can be considered a branch of divination. Unlike the more abstract methods of divination, such as reading tea leaves, crystal balls, or astrology, Arithmancy uses numbers and patterns, making it more systematic.

However, even a divination method involving mathematics is not simple, especially for wizards, who are not typically the most rational beings.

Hermione, in particular, had a much greater interest in this subject and believed that the vague, guesswork-based methods of traditional divination were not even worthy of tying Arithmancy’s shoes.

Silke was not surprised and immediately accepted the position.

Her primary focus in the Department of Mysteries had been on prophecy and divination, and she possessed extensive knowledge in both traditional and the more recent forms of Arithmancy.

Meanwhile, as Silke was seeking employment with Dumbledore, Sherlock had also come to Diagon Alley in disguise.

He had transformed himself into a middle-aged wizard, thin and pale, with a cold, arrogant demeanor, looking like a reclusive and sinister dark wizard who had spent years locked away, researching dark magic.

After entering Diagon Alley through the Leaky Cauldron, he did not linger anywhere else but headed straight for the white building at the center of the street.

Gringotts was always bustling with activity. As the only bank in the wizarding world, the goblins there handled a wide range of services, not just vault management.

Ragnok, the goblin who had once assisted Harry Potter in his first year, had just completed a currency exchange when another goblin brought a middle-aged wizard with an arrogant air before him.

"A wizard claiming to be from the Lestrange family has come to retrieve something from Vault 18. You’re to handle it."

Ragnok put down the cup of tea he was about to lift and nodded to the goblin. Once the goblin left, he scrutinized the middle-aged wizard who claimed to be from the Lestrange family.

"Lestrange family? I seem to recall that most of them are locked up in Azkaban, aren’t they?" Ragnok said suspiciously. "Do you have the key?"

Sherlock gave a disdainful sneer.

"Just take me in."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end