Chapter 868: Snape's Speculations
Chapter 868: Snape's Speculations
In the deserted Diagon Alley, Lucius Malfoy and Narcissa walked side by side, their moods dampened by the recent events. They trudged along in silence, each lost in their thoughts.
Rather than rushing home, they seemed content to wander aimlessly through the alley, as if seeking to delay the inevitable.
Narcissa, glancing at her silent son, tried to initiate a conversation to break the awkward silence, but couldn't think of anything to say. Finally, she looked around and asked, "Draco, would you like some ice cream?"
"Who would want that?" Lucius replied irritably.
He glanced involuntarily at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor, but his gaze soon landed on a shuttered shop with no signboard.
Through the clean windows, they could see a well-dressed house-elf tidying the shelves inside.
Lucius couldn't help but snort at the sight. It was the first time he had ever seen such a bizarrely dressed house-elf.
It was akin to seeing a troll not only taking a bath but also wearing a diaper—something unheard of.
Thinking of bizarre house-elves, he couldn't help but recall Dobby, the house-elf who had betrayed the Malfoy family, further souring his already foul mood.
"How boring. What kind of store is this?" Lucius grumbled.
"I don't know," Narcissa shook her head. "But this location is likely connected to the Black family. I recall Lady Black mentioning it."
The 'Lady Black' that Narcissa referred to was the 'Shrieking Witch' portrait in Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place—none other than Sirius Black's mother.
The nickname 'Shrieking Witch' had been coined by Ginny due to the portrait's incessant ear-piercing shrieks instead of normal speech.
"Black..." Lucius scowled. "That filthy, fugitive mutt?"
"Probably not," Narcissa mused. "This property has likely been passed on, and the ownership should belong to the Malfoys now."
To be honest, even though she was a Black by birth, she had paid little attention to the affairs of the Black family since her marriage to Lucius. Their distribution of assets was of no interest to her.
After all, while the Black family had a deep heritage, they couldn't compare to the Malfoys in terms of galleons. Especially after one of their ancestors spent a fortune on a Merlin's Honor badge to boost their image, the gap had only widened.
Draco Malfoy's expression eased slightly upon hearing that Sirius Black was not involved.
"Would you like to take a look inside?" Narcissa asked. "Though it seems they haven't opened for business yet."
"So what?" Lucius' face darkened again. "We are Death Eaters. Do we care about such trivialities?"
"Don't say that, Draco," Narcissa said, as if she had heard something terrifying, her voice trembling slightly. "You... you can't think like that. You still have a chance."
"Chance?" Lucius felt agitated. "What good will it do me? Who cares!"
Without hesitation, he turned and strode towards the shop.
"Bang!"
In his haste, Lucius collided with someone.
"Damn it, you..." He raised his head, but the curse that was about to escape his lips was abruptly cut short. Instead, he said coldly, "It's you. Were you following us... trying to earn some brownie points?"
"If I wanted to, I've had countless opportunities to do so," Severus replied expressionlessly.
"Severus!" Narcissa quickly stepped forward. "You..."
Before she could finish, she was pulled away by an angry Lucius, leaving her no choice but to turn back and look pleadingly at Severus, who was now a distant figure.
Severus stood there, saying nothing.
It wasn't until the two had completely disappeared around the corner that he slowly opened his hand.
In his palm lay an ear-shaped object and a piece of torn parchment.
The Extendable Ear had been his doing, tossed into Lucius' pocket earlier. Based on their conversation thus far, he could surmise that both Lucius and Narcissa had lost a portion of their memories.
Most likely, it was after Lucius' fit of anger.
From their conversation, it was clear that they had no recollection of their meeting being interrupted by a third party.
Undoubtedly, it was the work of a Memory Charm.
This also confirmed that the person following Lucius was not a Death Eater. To successfully cast a Memory Charm on both of them implied the ability to subdue them.
If it had been a Death Eater, they would have opted for a more typical curse, like the Cruciatus or simply stunning them and taking them to the Dark Lord.
Moreover, speaking of Memory Charms...
Severus looked at the Extendable Ear in his hand, his expression turning grim.
Coincidentally, he knew someone who was not only proficient in Memory Charms but also had connections to the Weasley brothers, the very makers of the Extendable Ears.
More importantly... Severus glanced at the half-piece of parchment and, without hesitation, turned and pushed open the door to the shop behind him.
The door banged loudly against the wall, almost shaking the nearby glass out of its frame.
"Get him out here!" Snape said coldly.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Dobby said, looking confused.
"Don't make me say it a third time!" Snape stepped forward. "Get him out here, now!"
"Professor, Dobby really doesn't know. You shouldn't be troubling him," a familiar voice called out from behind.
Even though he had expected it, Snape's blood pressure soared as he turned to face the owner of the voice.
"Kyle!" he snapped, turning around.
"What did you say? I can't understand you," Kyle waved his hand dismissively.
At Kyle's gesture, Dobby immediately scurried out and closed the door behind him.
Snape waved his hand, and a shimmering barrier seemed to envelop the room.
"This!" He slammed a piece of parchment onto the pristine counter. "I found this in Malfoy's pocket. Don't tell me you have nothing to do with it."
On the parchment was a line of text: [Sniffles' Boutique: Seeking All Valuable Treasures]
At the top was a symbol of six wands intertwined.
"This must be a piece torn from one of your store's flyers," Kyle glanced at it and said, "So, Professor Snape, is there something you wish to purchase? If you don't mind, I could help you with that."
"Do you think I know nothing?" Snape stepped forward, pointing at the symbol on the parchment. "This is your symbol, the one on all those trinkets you six sold 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 shrugged. "To give him a store flyer, or rather, a torn piece of it?"
"Emphasizing memory." Snape sneered. "There are magical traces on this, and by manipulating the memory charm, you can cause flashbacks to certain fragments when he sees the corresponding words or symbols."
Kyle narrowed his eyes.
"What, do you want to deny it? Do you think I don't know?" Snape seemed pleased with Kyle's reaction.
"If I'm not mistaken, once your store opens, this symbol will be displayed prominently. When Draco sees it, your setup will take effect, and he'll subconsciously walk in.
"His earlier actions were also due to your doing, weren't they? I don't think he's in the mood for shopping right now."
"What is your goal?" Snape stared intently at Kyle.
"Professor, are you being overly suspicious?" Kyle casually tossed the parchment aside. "I admit, I followed the Malfoys, and I did use the Forgetfulness Curse on them in Knockturn Alley, but I did so only to save them. That's all there is to it; I had no other intentions."
"Save Draco?" Snape almost laughed. "Do you take everyone for fools?"
"I never said that." Kyle shrugged. "Moreover, Professor, you should know better than anyone the threat posed by the mysterious figure. Only by knowing nothing can one avoid attracting his attention."
Snape remained silent, his cold gaze fixed on Kyle.
"And you think the same, don't you?" Kyle continued. "The reason Narcissa brought Lucius here was to have him, as a fellow parent, convince you. Unfortunately, she overlooked Lucius' personality, which led to your disagreement."
"I know you wanted to help too, Professor... you wanted them to seek out Professor Dumbledore, am I right?"
"You should mind your own business." Snape's voice was low and threatening. "It would be best if you kept this to yourself; otherwise, I will personally silence you."
"As if the mysterious figure would believe me." Kyle couldn't help but laugh. "If Harry and I were standing on either side of him, I'm sure he would point his wand at me without hesitation."
"You have an inflated opinion of yourself." Snape's lips curved in a cold smile.
Kyle smiled as well.
He didn't think highly of himself at all. Previously, Voldemort may have wanted to kill Harry, the savior who had defeated him once. But after seeing the Basilisk, he might not feel the same way anymore.
Voldemort, who had controlled the Basilisk once, now considered it a symbol of his Slytherin heritage. Yet, he never expected that right after his resurrection, the very identity he valued most would be claimed by Kyle.
Voldemort had nearly exploded with rage at that time.
It was hard to say which Voldemort valued more: the identity of the Slytherin heir or his own failure.
However, Kyle didn't explain further. He merely said calmly, "Professor, I was trying to help you too, to protect the life of your student. You may not thank me for it, but why are you here to accuse me?"
"Do you think I'll believe you?"
"I think you will." Kyle said, "And to be blunt, even if you don't, what can you do? Kill me?"
At Kyle's almost provocative words, Snape's wand hand twitched, and he sent a curse flying at Kyle.
A silver shield appeared in front of Kyle, glowing faintly, and deflected the curse onto a nearby shelf.
"Do you know what you're saying?" Snape was so angry that he wanted to laugh. "With 150 galleons, I could fill this entire room with ebony."
"The shelf is secondary, but the King Gourd Pods on it are valuable." Kyle pointed to the fruit that had been smashed on the ground. "A total of sixteen were broken, 10 galleons each. Charging you 150 is already a bargain."
Snape's veins popped out on his forehead.
Apart from Kyle's attitude, what made him even more uncomfortable was the fact that he seemed to have no leverage over the other party. Although the Disarming Charm he had just used was only a test, Kyle's Protego spell remained unmoved, and he seemed to be taking it in stride. This meant that even more powerful magic would probably be ineffective.
In addition, there was the other party's performance from a few days ago.
Even if Snape didn't want to admit it, he had to acknowledge that Kyle's strength was now on par with his own... Well, he would never admit that Kyle was stronger, absolutely not!
"Tell me your goal!" Snape calmed himself down and asked again.
"I've said it before, I just wanted to help you, that's all." Kyle said.
Snape didn't say anything else. He took a deep breath and turned to leave.
"Remember to compensate me," Kyle reminded him from behind. "Otherwise, I'll have Kona come and collect from you. In a sense, this is also her property."
Snape's footsteps paused, and a wisp of black smoke seemed to emanate from his body, as if the greasy hair on his head had ignited a small flame.
Fortunately, he was not a Silent, otherwise, he might have silently erupted right then and there.
Kyle was on high alert, ready to face the incoming Sectumsempra, but what he didn't expect was that Snape didn't stop, nor did he say anything. He simply quickened his pace and forcefully pulled open the door.
"The door is also quite expensive..." Kyle said in a timely manner: "Damaging it will cost you 10 galleons, and if you shake the glass, it will cost you 5 galleons!"
Snape forcibly stopped the motion of slamming the door, not looking back as he left, disappearing from view in just a few seconds.
Kyle watched his retreating figure, feeling delighted inside.
It was indeed entertaining to provoke Snape and watch him rage helplessly. It was even more uplifting than drinking a whole bottle of Felix Felicis.
However, this behavior had a high danger factor, and one wrong move could lead to 'hands on head'. If he hadn't learned the brand new Protego spell, he wouldn't have dared to try this so casually.
Kyle waved his wand, and the damaged shelves immediately returned to their original state, with the scattered items floating back to their original positions.
As for the King Gourd Pods that had been accidentally smashed, a simple repair spell wouldn't work, so Kyle really hadn't intended to scam Snape.
It was just that the Disarming Charm he had used earlier, if replaced with an Exploding Charm, would have resulted in even more compensation, as the King Gourd Pods were the cheapest items on that particular shelf.
Kyle looked towards the door again, and with a flick of his finger, the piece of parchment that he had thrown away earlier slowly flew back into his hand.
Looking at the content on it, Kyle fell into a daze.
Prior to this, he hadn't expected Snape to come looking for him, nor had he anticipated that the other would guess his plan in such a short time.
There must be a reason why he was able to hide by Voldemort's side for so long.
Kyle glanced at the parchment.
Snape was right. The content on it served as a sort of anchor for Malfoy's memory. Once he saw it, his brain would subconsciously flash fragments that had been erased, greatly increasing the likelihood of him coming to this place.
Kyle had deliberately made this object look like a promotional flyer. Even if it was discovered, others would only think that Malfoy had accidentally left it behind and not suspect anything else.
Who would suspect a promotional flyer to be an issue...
But now that Snape had taken it away, it was useless.
Kyle sighed and ignited the parchment with a small flame.
Malfoy had already left Diagon Alley, so it was definitely too late to put up a new one. However, it didn't matter. From Malfoy's reaction just now, it was clear that he now had an impression of this place.
It was like cultivating a Mandrake. Although one couldn't speed up the process with fertilizer, it would eventually sprout and break through the soil, it would just take a few more days.
However, Kyle didn't want to share this information with Snape, not because he was worried about him causing trouble, but because he felt that Malfoy might hold him back.
After all, Malfoy had already demonstrated his potential as a liability, and it would be safer for the two of them to act separately. This was true not only for Snape but also for Malfoy, as it would reduce the chances of him exposing himself.
Including himself, it would be safest if no one else knew about his plans.
At this moment, Dobby poked his head in from outside and cautiously asked, "Are you alright, sir?"
"Don't worry, I'm fine." Kyle said, "If you encounter someone like this in the future, don't hold back. Just kick them out."
"Dobby understands." The house-elf straightened his chest and struck a pose as if ready for a fight.
...
(End of Chapter)
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