Chapter 868: Severus' Suspicions
Chapter 868: Severus' Suspicions
In the spacious Diagon Alley, Malfoy and Narcissa walked side by side, both in a foul mood due to the recent events. They remained silent, each lost in their own thoughts.
However, instead of hurrying home, they seemed to prefer aimlessly killing time in Diagon Alley.
Narcissa, noticing her silent son beside her, wanted to find a topic to break the awkward silence. But she couldn't think of anything to say, so she looked around and asked, "Draco, do you want some ice cream?"
"Who wants that stuff?" Malfoy said impatiently.
Unconsciously, he glanced at the Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour beside him, but his gaze fell on a tightly shut shop with no signboard.
Through the clean window, he could see a well-dressed house-elf busy organizing the shelves.
A well-dressed house-elf... Malfoy couldn't help but snicker. It was the first time he had seen such a bizarre situation.
It felt like seeing a giant wearing a diaper after taking a bath—something unheard of.
However, when he thought of bizarre house-elves, he subconsciously thought of Dobby, the house-elf who had betrayed the Malfoy family, which made his already bad mood even worse.
"How boring, what kind of shop is this!"
"I don't know," Narcissa shook her head. "But this location should have some connection to the Black family. I remember Lady Black mentioning it."
The Lady Black that Narcissa spoke of was the 'Screaming Witch' portrait inside Number 12, Grimmauld Place, who was also Sirius' mother.
The Screaming Witch was a nickname given by Ginny because the portrait never spoke properly, only emitting ear-piercing screams.
"Black..." Malfoy's face showed disgust. "That filthy fugitive dog?"
"Probably not," Narcissa thought for a moment. "This property has been divided, and the ownership should belong to the Merryflint family."
To be honest, although she was also from the Black family, she hadn't paid much attention to their affairs since marrying Lucius. She had no interest in their property divisions.
After all, while the Black family had a profound heritage, they couldn't compare to the Malfoy family in terms of Galleon wealth, especially after a member of the Black family spent a large sum of Galleons to acquire a Merlin's Order of Merit for show.
Hearing that it had nothing to do with Sirius, Draco Malfoy's expression finally improved.
"Do you want to take a look?" Narcissa asked. "But it seems this place hasn't opened yet."
"So what?" Malfoy's face darkened again. "We're Death Eaters; do we care about such things?"
"Don't say that, Draco." Narcissa's voice trembled as if she had heard something terrifying. "You... you can't think like that. You still have a chance."
"A chance?" Malfoy felt agitated. "What's the point of thinking about it? Who cares!"
Without hesitation, he turned and headed towards the shop.
"Bang!"
Malfoy, walking too hastily, accidentally bumped into someone else.
"Damn it, you..." He raised his head, but the curse he was about to utter stopped abruptly, and he coldly said, "It's you, you've been following us... Do you want to take us to gain favor?"
"If I wanted to, I've had countless opportunities to do so." Severus said expressionlessly.
"Severus!" Narcissa quickly walked over. "You..."
However, before she could say anything, she was pulled away by the angry Malfoy, leaving her to look back anxiously at Severus, who was getting farther away.
Severus didn't say a word, just standing in place.
Until the two completely disappeared around the corner, he slowly opened his hand.
In his palm was an ear-shaped object and a piece of torn parchment.
The Extendable Ear had been thrown into Malfoy's pocket by him, and through the conversation between the two, he had basically confirmed that Malfoy and Narcissa had both lost part of their memories.
Perhaps, it was after Malfoy's anger that it happened.
Because from their conversation, they didn't realize that their meeting with the third person had been interrupted.
Undoubtedly, it was the Memory Charm.
This also confirmed that the person who had been following Malfoy wasn't a Death Eater. Being able to successfully use the Memory Charm on them meant they could subdue them.
If it were a Death Eater, there'd be no reason to do so. They'd have replaced the Memory Charm with the Cruciatus Curse or used the Stupor Spell to take the two away to see the Dark Lord.
Moreover, speaking of the Memory Charm...
Severus looked at the Extendable Ear in his hand, his expression changing.
Coincidentally, he knew someone who not only used the Memory Charm well but also had a thousand connections to the Weasley brothers, who sold Extendable Ears.
More importantly... Severus glanced at the torn parchment in his hand and decisively turned around, pushing open the door behind him.
Bang!
The door slammed into the wall, almost shattering the nearby glass.
Dobby, busy as he was, jumped in surprise.
"Sorry, sir, we're not open yet..."
"Call him out!" Snape said coldly.
"I don't understand what you mean?" Dobby looked puzzled.
"Don't make me say it a third time!" Snape took a step forward, "Bring him out, now!"
"Professor, Dobby really doesn't know, don't make it hard for him."
Even though he had expected it, Snape's blood pressure rose as he heard the familiar voice behind him.
"Kyle!" He turned around, gritting his teeth.
"What did you say? I don't understand." Kyle waved his hand.
At his signal, Dobby immediately ran out, closing the door behind him.
Snape waved his hand, and something seemed to envelop the room.
"This!" He took out a piece of parchment and slammed it onto the brand new counter.
"I found this in Malfoy's pocket, don't tell me it has nothing to do with you."
On the parchment was a line of text: 'Sniffing Boutique: Seeking All Valuable Treasures.'
At the top was a pattern of six wands.
"This must have been torn from a shop flyer," Kyle glanced at it, "What, Professor Snape, do you have something you want to buy? If you don't mind, I can help."
"Do you think I know nothing?" Snape took a step forward, pointing at the pattern on the parchment, "This is your symbol, isn't it? It's on all the little trinkets you sell at school."
"I know, it was you who followed Malfoy, and it was you who erased his memory and put this in his pocket."
"Why would I do that?" Kyle spread his hands, "To give him a piece of a shop flyer, a small torn piece at that."
"Emphasize memory." Snape gave a cold laugh, "There's a magical trace on this, and when using the Memory Charm, some means were used to make it flash back certain fragments when seeing the corresponding words or patterns."
Kyle narrowed his eyes.
"What, do you want to deny it, do you think I don't know?" Snape seemed quite pleased with Kyle's reaction.
"If I'm not mistaken, after your shop opens, this pattern will appear on the front, and when Draco sees it, this setup will take effect, and he'll subconsciously walk in."
"His actions just now were because of you, too... I don't think he's in the mood to buy anything now."
"What are you up to!" Snape stared at Kyle intently.
"Professor, maybe you're overthinking it." Kyle casually threw the parchment to the side, "I admit, I was the one who followed Malfoy, and I used the Memory Charm on them in Knockturn Alley, but I did this only to save them, nothing more, and I had no other intentions."
"Save Draco?" Snape almost laughed, "Do you think everyone is a fool?"
"I never said that." Kyle shrugged, "And Professor, you should know better than me how terrifying the Dark Lord is, and knowing nothing is the only way to avoid detection."
Snape said nothing, just stared coldly at him.
"And you must have thought the same."
Kyle continued, "The reason Narcissa brought Malfoy here is, frankly, to have him convince you as a mentor. Unfortunately, Narcissa overlooked Malfoy's character, leading to your disagreement."
"I know, Professor, you must have wanted to help, too... to have them seek out Professor Dumbledore, right?"
"You don't need to meddle." Snape said in a low voice, "You'd better keep this to yourself, or I'll personally shut you up."
"As if the Dark Lord would believe a word I say." Kyle couldn't help but laugh, "If Harry and I were standing on both sides, I guess he'd point his wand at me without hesitation."
Read the original on the six-book bar!
"You're overestimating yourself." Snape said coldly.
Kyle laughed as well.
He really didn't overestimate himself. Before, Voldemort might have wanted to kill Harry, the savior who had defeated him once. But after controlling the Basilisk once, Voldemort might not have been so sure.
Having controlled the Basilisk once, Voldemort had already made that thing his symbol as the Slytherin Heir, but he never expected that right after his resurrection, the identity he valued most would be hijacked by Kyle.
Voldemort was so angry he almost exploded on the spot.
The identity of the Slytherin Heir and a failure, Voldemort might value either equally."
But Kyle didn't explain, he just said calmly, "Professor, I'm also trying to help you, to help you protect your mentee's life. If you don't thank me, that's fine, but why are you interrogating me?"
"Do you think I'll believe you?"
"I think you will." Kyle said, "And to be blunt, even if you don't believe me, what can you do? Kill me?"
Facing Kyle's almost provocative attitude, Snape's wand hand twitched, and he waved his wand.
In front of Kyle, a silver shield appeared, deflecting the spell to the nearby shelf.
The newly purchased ebony shelf lay shattered on the floor.
"This is an ebony shelf, Professor. Don't forget to compensate me for it later. It's worth 150 Galleons," Kyle said calmly.
Snape was amused, "150 Galleons? I could fill this entire room with ebony for that price."
"The shelf is secondary, but the King's Jellybeans on it are valuable," Kyle pointed to the broken beans on the floor, "Sixteen of them, at 10 Galleons each. Asking for 150 Galleons is already a discounted price."
Snape's temples throbbed.
Aside from Kyle's attitude, what troubled him more was his apparent helplessness against Kyle. Although he had only used a tentative Disarming Charm, Kyle's Iron Body Charm remained unaffected, as if he had it all under control. This implied that even more powerful spells might not work on him.
Additionally, there was Kyle's recent track record.
As much as Snape disliked admitting it, he had to acknowledge that Kyle's abilities were now on par with his own... He would never admit that Kyle was stronger, absolutely not!
"Tell me your purpose!" Snape calmed himself and asked again.
"I've said it before; I'm just here to help you, nothing more," Kyle replied.
Snape remained silent, took a deep breath, and turned to leave.
"Remember to pay up, Professor," Kyle reminded him from behind, "Or I'll have Cona come and collect from you. In a sense, this is also her property."
Snape paused, and a wisp of black smoke rose from his body. His greasy hair seemed to catch a flickering flame.
Fortunately, he wasn't a Mutenus; otherwise, he might have silently erupted right then and there.
Kyle braced himself, ready to face the impending Silencing Charm, but to his surprise, Snape didn't linger. He quickened his pace and forcefully opened the door.
"The door is also quite expensive..." Kyle added timely, "10 Galleons for any damage, and 5 Galleons if the glass is shattered!"
Snape forcibly stopped himself from slamming the door, walked away without looking back, and disappeared within seconds.
Kyle watched his retreating figure, feeling delighted.
It was more fun teasing Snape than drinking an entire bottle of Felix Felicis, seeing him helplessly raging was a joy.
However, the danger factor was too high. One wrong move, and he might end up 'clutching his head in despair.' If he hadn't mastered the new Iron Body Charm, he wouldn't dare take such risks.
Kyle waved his hand, and the broken shelf instantly restored itself. The scattered items floated back to their original places.
As for the accidentally shattered King's Jellybeans, a simple Reparo spell wouldn't do. So, Kyle hadn't intentionally set Snape up.
Earlier, he had used a Disarming Charm. If he had used a Blasting Charm instead, the compensation would have been even higher. After all, the King's Jellybeans were the cheapest items on that shelf.
Kyle glanced at the door again, and with a flick of his finger, the parchment he had discarded slowly floated back into his hand.
He stared at the content, slightly lost in thought.
Before this, he hadn't expected Snape to seek him out, let alone guess his plan in such a short time.
There was a reason he had managed to stay hidden by Voldemort's side for so long.
Kyle examined the parchment.
Snape was right. The content on this parchment was like an anchor point in Malfoy's memory. Once he sees it, his mind will subconsciously flash through some erased fragments, greatly increasing the chances of him coming here.
Kyle had even designed it to look like a promotional flyer. If discovered, people would assume it was something Malfoy hadn't discarded properly, an unintentional remnant, and wouldn't suspect anything else.
Who would suspect a promotional flyer to be problematic...
But with Snape taking it away, the plan was ruined.
Kyle sighed, and a flame ignited the parchment.
Malfoy had already left Diagon Alley, so it was impossible to place a new one. But it didn't matter. From Malfoy's reaction, he had already formed an impression of this place.
It was like cultivating Mandrake Root. Although you couldn't shorten the time with fertilizer, it would eventually sprout and grow. It just required a few more days.
However, Kyle didn't want to share this with Snape, not because he feared Snape would ruin things, but because he was concerned Snape might become a burden to Malfoy.
After all, Malfoy had already demonstrated his potential as a liability. It was safer for them to stay apart, not only for Snape but also to reduce Malfoy's chances of exposure.
The safest option was for everyone, including himself, to remain unaware.
At that moment, Dobby peeked in cautiously and asked, "Sir, are you alright?"
"Don't worry, I'm fine," Kyle assured him. "If you encounter someone like this again, don't hold back. Just kick them out."
"Dobby understands," the house-elf said, puffing out his chest confidently.
...
(End of Chapter)
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