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Chapter 727: Snape's Reminder
Chapter 727: Snape's Reminder
Katie Bell was sent to St. Mungo's that afternoon.
Even though Kyle had dispelled the Dark Magic on the opal necklace in time, preventing her from suffering significant harm, she had undeniably been hit by the Killing Curse.
St. Mungo's was more equipped to deal with the injuries caused by Unforgivable Curses such as these. Additionally, the school hospital was not an ideal place for her to rest and recover peacefully.
As Katie left the school, news of what had transpired in Hogsmeade spread throughout Hogwarts, although the details remained unclear to most. Aside from those who were present at the scene, no one knew that the intended target of the opal necklace's attack had been someone else.
Furthermore, Draco Malfoy's involvement, or at least the connection to it, had become a topic of speculation, especially with the sudden influx of points awarded to Slytherin and Hufflepuff.
Coincidentally, around this time, it was revealed that the points had been given to Draco Malfoy.
However, despite being at the center of all this, Malfoy himself did not seem particularly pleased.
"I've said it countless times; I have no idea what happened!" Malfoy snapped at Crabbe during dinner. "I only went to Hogsmeade to send an owl. I had no knowledge of any ridiculous attack taking place there."
"But everyone is saying—"
"People also say that you're a brainless idiot, and are you?" Malfoy interrupted impatiently.
"And think about it, even if I had been there, do you really think I would voluntarily help a Gryffindor?"
"Definitely not," Crabbe blurted out.
The Malfoy he knew would have applauded from the sidelines if he had seen a Gryffindor student fall victim to Dark Magic.
"That's right," Malfoy said. "I wouldn't lift a finger to help those Gryffindor fools."
He seemed to still be angry, sawing vigorously at his steak, the knife making a squeaking sound against the plate as if he were trying to cut through it as well.
"Then why did Professor McGonagall give you the points?" Pansy asked, still perplexed.
"It wasn't given to me, I tell you!" Malfoy shouted, then abruptly stood up and stormed out of the Great Hall.
"Wait for me, Draco. I'm sorry," Pansy said, startled by his outburst, and hurried after him in a fluster.
"Look at him," Ron muttered as he glanced at the irritated Malfoy leaving the hall. "He acts as if getting points is a punishment. What a hypocrite. I bet he's actually thrilled inside."
"You're absolutely right," Harry agreed, nodding.
In his opinion, Malfoy was the type to revel in showing off... When his mother had sent him a package of high-quality sweets, he had wanted the entire school to know about it, let alone this time when he had received twenty points all at once.
Given Malfoy's nature, even if the points hadn't been awarded to him, he would have found a way to take credit for it.
"There's definitely something odd going on," Harry mused.
"Do you think Malfoy gave Katie that opal necklace?" Ron whispered.
"I don't think so," Harry said after a moment's thought. "That necklace was initially meant for me. If Malfoy was behind all this, why would he go to such lengths? Don't forget, it was because of Malfoy that I didn't come into contact with it."
"Maybe he didn't intend to do that," Ron suggested. "Perhaps he wanted to celebrate prematurely and ended up ruining his own plan."
"That's impossible," Hermione interjected. "No one could be that foolish. Moreover, I feel like he's deliberately trying to implicate me."
"You mean, Malfoy is doing this on purpose?" Harry frowned.
"It's just a hunch," Hermione said. "I can't be certain, but it's a feeling I have."
As the three of them discussed the potential connection between Malfoy and the opal necklace, Kyle received an owl from the Fat Friar.
Dumbledore had returned and wanted to see him in the headmaster's office.
"I knew it," Kyle said after finishing his steak and bidding Connie farewell. "With such a significant incident at the school, he wouldn't stay away for long." And so, he made his way to the headmaster's office alone.
He knocked on the door, and a voice invited him in.
Dumbledore looked especially weary as he sat there, with Snape by his side. On the table between them lay the familiar opal necklace.
"Oh, here comes our lucky boy," Snape drawled as Kyle entered.
From his tone, it seemed he regretted that Kyle hadn't touched the necklace himself.
However, Kyle merely offered him a standard fake smile, pretending not to catch the underlying meaning in Snape's words.
"Thanks to you, Professor," Kyle said.
Snape let out a cold huff but didn't say anything further.
"Severus cares about you, Kyle. He's just not good at expressing it," Dumbledore said, attempting to smooth things over.
"If I have given you that impression through my actions, rest assured that I will strive to correct it," Snape said expressionlessly.
This time, both Dumbledore and Kyle tacitly ignored him.
"It seems that you've repeatedly foiled Tom's plans, pushing him to the point of desperation," Dumbledore said, his eyes on the opal necklace. "His desire to get rid of you seems to surpass even that of Harry."
"Obviously," Kyle shrugged.
Back in Hogsmeade, with only Hermione between them, Katie had handed the package to him without a moment's hesitation, not even sparing Harry a glance.
Kyle couldn't help but feel a little overwhelmed by such treatment... What had he done to deserve this preferential treatment over the renowned savior?
"Share your thoughts with us.
"Everyone knows that if you want to get rid of someone, you go to Knockturn Alley. Cursed necklaces, books that drive you insane, and swords that stab your heart automatically... they have everything there."
"As far as I know..." Snape narrowed his eyes, "Minors are not allowed in Knockturn Alley, are they?"
"Sorry, Professor," Kyle said casually, "But the Ministry of Magic doesn't actually have such a law. It's just that parents don't allow their children to go to such places. Besides, Harry only stumbled into Knockturn Alley because it was his first time using Floo Powder and he wasn't familiar with the process."
Snape fell silent.
"So, who do you think bought it?" Dumbledore continued.
"I don't know," Kyle shrugged helplessly, "Greedy old Borgin never reveals his clients' information. That's how his shop has managed to stay in business in Knockturn Alley.
"After all, no one wants to be tracked down by the Aurors right after making a purchase, so even if we ask, he won't tell.
"Moreover, I suspect Mr. Borgin also has ways to counter Legilimency and Veritaserum."
"You're right," Dumbledore said calmly, "As the owner of a long-established Dark Arts shop, Mr. Borgin indeed has some tricks up his sleeve that are not common knowledge."
"What a pity." Kyle sighed, "But I do have another idea that might make him cooperate."
"No, Kyle," Dumbledore said in a low voice, "I can tell you upfront that no legitimate means will make Mr. Borgin succumb."
"What a shame," Kyle said again.
Dumbledore's meaning was clear... any legitimate means.
This implied that he did not allow Kyle to inquire about Borgin in his own way.
"A pity?" Snape, standing beside him, glanced at Kyle, "What do you plan to do to the owner of Borgin and Burkes?"
"Don't misunderstand, Professor," Kyle said, "I just wanted to introduce him to a friend... someone I met during the holidays who coincidentally has the same name, Borgin."
"Oh? What a coincidence," Snape raised an eyebrow, clearly not believing a word of it.
"I gave it that name," Kyle said with a smile.
Now Snape was even more convinced that if Kyle carried out what he was thinking, it would be worth sending a team of Hit Wizards or even Aurors to arrest him.
"Anyway, Borgin is not important," Dumbledore suddenly said at that moment, "What's important is that this kind of attack won't happen again. So, Kyle, do you have any other clues you can provide?"
"No," Kyle said, "I don't recall seeing any Death Eaters in Hogsmeade."
Seeing Kyle insist that this was the work of Death Eaters, Snape, who was standing beside him, seemed a little surprised, but he didn't say anything and just stood there quietly.
Dumbledore also remained silent, and the Headmaster's office fell into a strange silence.
They all knew that Kyle was pretending.
True Death Eaters would not dare to go against Voldemort's orders, and Voldemort would not risk sending Death Eaters near Hogwarts unless he was ready for war.
Given Kyle's past performance, it was unlikely that he didn't know this, yet he still insisted on this narrative, making it obvious that he didn't want to reveal his true thoughts.
However, even with this knowledge, neither Dumbledore nor Snape could say anything, as they, too, knew the truth but couldn't directly voice it, resorting to indirect questioning of Kyle instead.
Just as the atmosphere in the Headmaster's office became strained, a sudden knock on the door broke the awkward silence.
"I believe it must be Mr. Potter," Dumbledore said, "I have an arrangement with him to teach him during the weekends at 8 p.m., and it's about that time now."
"Teaching? What subject?" Kyle asked curiously.
"Neither," Dumbledore shook his head, "If I had to say, it would be Magical History.
"I will be guiding him through some past memories, which will help him understand certain matters better."
"If you're interested, Kyle," Dumbledore looked at him, "You can stay and join the lesson as well. The Pensieve can accommodate three people at once."
After a moment's thought, Kyle shook his head. "Sorry, Professor, I'll pass."
He could probably guess what kind of memories Dumbledore wanted Harry to see... most likely memories about Voldemort's life. He wasn't interested in knowing about Voldemort's childhood or what he had done in the past.
"If the lesson was about the applications of Transfiguration, I would be more than willing to stay and learn, but Magical History... to be honest, it's not my favorite subject."
"I could teach you Transfiguration as well..." Dumbledore smiled, "After all, I used to be the Transfiguration professor, and even though it's been a long time, I believe my teaching skills are not much worse than Professor McGonagall's."
"But..." Dumbledore's tone changed, "To be frank, I find it hard to ensure that both you and Harry will learn something useful at the same time."
Snape snorted derisively beside them.
He understood what Dumbledore meant... the gap between Kyle and Harry in terms of academic ability was quite significant.
What Kyle could understand, Harry would likely be clueless about, and what Harry could comprehend would be a waste of time for Kyle.
Perhaps the only subject they could study together was Magical History.
"Then I'll take my leave.
"Why didn't you greet me, Potter, and what's with that look on your face?" Snape said coldly, giving Harry a piercing glance. "Being rude to a professor... five points from Gryffindor."
Harry's face twisted in anger; he never expected Snape to be so brazen as to come up with such a ridiculous reason for deducting points.
But Snape didn't care about his thoughts and quickened his pace away.
"Then, Professor Dumbledore, I..."
In the Headmaster's office, Kyle, who also wanted to leave, was interrupted before he could finish his sentence.
"You might have to wait a little longer, Kyle," said Dumbledore. "I personally find some memories quite interesting. How about killing time with them?"
Kyle looked at Dumbledore, feeling that he was a bit odd... But since he had said so, Kyle didn't insist on leaving.
"Kyle, you're here too?" Harry, who had been sulking, immediately brightened up when he noticed a familiar face in the Headmaster's office.
"Professor, what are we going to see today?" he asked, looking at Dumbledore.
"What a coincidence," said Dumbledore, taking out his Pensieve. There was already a memory inside, and silvery-white light swam around like fish.
"What we're going to see this time includes an experience of Voldemort's mother, Merope Gaunt, and the one providing this memory is Caractacus Burke, who founded a shop and sold that opal necklace a few days ago."
"Borgin and Burke's?"
"Yes," said Dumbledore, shaking the Pensieve so that the silvery-white substance inside swirled, just like a gold panner sifting for gold. A figure of a small old man appeared within the swirling mist.
...
Meanwhile, in the castle, Snape, who had left the Headmaster's office, strode into the Slytherin common room and, without explanation, dragged Malfoy away from the fireplace where he had been lost in thought.
The two of them arrived at an empty corridor.
"Let go of me..." Malfoy struggled to break free from Snape's grip. "What do you want?"
"I should be the one asking that question," Snape said, his face grim. "You put a curse on a Gryffindor and made her deliver something with Dark Magic on it to Kyle... Do you know what you're doing?
"Don't lie to me. I know you bought that opal necklace from Borgin!"
"It wasn't me!" Malfoy insisted, his neck stiff. "Fine, even if it was me, so what? Was I the one who cursed Bell? What does that have to do with you?"
"I swore to your mother that I would protect you." Snape pushed Malfoy against the corridor wall. "I made an unbreakable vow, Draco..."
"It looks like you'll have to break that curse, because I don't need your protection." Malfoy looked at Snape without flinching. "This is my job, and he assigned it to me!"
"Then you should have come up with a more comprehensive plan instead of acting rashly." Snape lowered his voice. "This was extremely foolish, and Kyle has already guessed that it was you!"
"Impossible," Malfoy scoffed. "That idiot probably thinks I helped him, and that's why McGonagall gave me those points."
"You're the real idiot. Can't you see what he's trying to do?" Snape said, his tone laced with disappointment. "Think about what will happen when this reaches the Dark Lord's ears. How do you think he'll react? A heartwarming story of Hufflepuff and Slytherin helping each other, isn't it?"
Malfoy fell silent, cold sweat soaking his back.
...
"I'll help you with this," Snape said after a while. "But remember, no matter what your plan is, don't do anything stupid for a while... especially don't target Kyle again. To some extent, I'd rather you shift your focus to Dumbledore."
"But I almost succeeded!"
"You could never have succeeded!" Snape said coldly, looking straight at Malfoy. "Or perhaps you're unaware that Kyle knows Nicolas Flamel, whose achievements in alchemy far exceed your imagination."
"Nicolas Flamel? That wizard who lived for over six hundred years?" Malfoy blinked in confusion. "That's impossible... How could he possibly know such a legendary wizard?"
"Do you think I'm joking about this?" Snape took a deep breath. "In any case, he most likely knew what was in the package from the beginning and how dangerous it was. Do you think he would foolishly reach out and touch it?"
Malfoy remained silent.
"Fortunately, you came to your senses and stopped that clumsy and foolish plan before Kyle actually touched the necklace."
"That way, at least on the surface, it looks like you helped him." Snape paced in the corridor. "Listen to me, Draco. In the coming days, you must try to stay away from Kyle, especially avoid being alone with him. This is important."
Malfoy still didn't say anything.
"Also, what is your plan...?"
"I know what you're up to. You're trying to steal my glory!" Malfoy suddenly exclaimed.
"Steal your glory... You sound like a child." Snape said coldly. "I'm trying to help you!"
"I don't need your help!" Malfoy shrugged off Snape's hand. "I'll figure it out myself."
Snape watched Malfoy's retreating figure, his expression shifting, before finally turning and leaving from the other end of the corridor.
...
(End of Chapter)
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