Chapter 947: The Reason for Dumbledore's Favor
Chapter 947: The Reason for Dumbledore's Favor
"Hmm... Where am I..."
Snape finally regained consciousness after an unknown period, but he wasn't fully awake yet. He lay there, staring at the sky, which was so clean that only a hint of blue remained, and he was slightly dazed.
It wasn't until something stepped on his arm that Snape finally recalled what had happened before.
That's not right. He should be in Nurmengard. But where is this place?
Nurmengard couldn't possibly have such a clear sky, nor could there be snow-capped mountains...
Wait, Merlin's beard! Why is he seeing snow-capped mountains next to a forest...
Snape thought he must be mistaken, struggling to sit up, but at that moment, he felt a sharp pain all over his body, and his neck, which he had just managed to lift, quickly fell back down.
His movement also startled the small creature that was lying on his arm.
Snuffles nervously raised his head, and his gaze met Snape's as he turned.
The two stared at each other.
Although caught in the act, the audacious Snuffles didn't stop there; instead, he continued to scratch at Snape's wrist with force.
"Don't bother, it's no use. You won't be able to get that off," another voice said from the side.
Snape instinctively turned his head and saw Kyle skillfully grabbing Snuffles by the neck, then making a standard throwing motion and tossing him away like a Bludger.
"Don't worry, Professor Snape," Kyle walked over and said to himself, "The item Kanna gave you is still intact. The little guy didn't steal it, and in fact, he couldn't have."
Snape's expression turned grave. The moment he saw Kyle, he instinctively stood up, but the intense pain made it impossible for him to hear what Kyle was saying.
"How did you get here, and... where is this place... What happened to me..."
"You do have a lot of questions, Professor Snape," Kyle glanced at him and waved his hand, creating a chair behind Snape, which he even thoughtfully padded with a cushion.
But Snape didn't appreciate the gesture; he didn't even look at the chair, let alone sit on it.
Kyle didn't mind; he just looked at Snape and asked, "First of all... Do you really not remember what happened before?"
"What happened before..." Snape frowned subconsciously and let out a muffled hum.
He felt as if his consciousness had been forcefully kneaded and torn, and his memories were in disarray.
Fortunately, it was just disarray.
Snape tried to calm himself and slowly pieced together the jumbled memories.
During this process, his expression grew increasingly serious.
"Where are we?" Snape's voice was low, with a hint of uncontrollable anxiety.
"This is my chest, which you can think of as a spacious tent," Kyle explained.
"Why are you here?" Snape continued, "And where is the Dark Lord?"
"I was brought here by the Phoenix, and it should be Professor Dumbledore who wanted me to help," Kyle thought for a moment and said, "As for the Dark Lord, he's dead..."
"Impossible!" Snape's pupils contracted sharply.
"Nothing is impossible, and I have no reason to lie about this," Kyle shrugged.
Since he had some free time, Kyle decided to tell Snape everything that had happened since he was brought here.
Snape didn't interrupt him and listened quietly, occasionally furrowing his brow slightly.
However, when he heard that Voldemort had transferred his consciousness into Snape's body before dying, Snape's breathing became noticeably heavier.
This particular experience was still fresh in his memory.
In fact, Snape had already been awake at that time, but his consciousness was locked within a circle formed by a red-eyed monster, trapping him with no escape.
But he could still sense everything.
In his agony, he felt his chin move as he provoked Kyle and even mentioned Kanna's name.
He had deliberately hidden Kanna's existence from Voldemort, even risking exposure by casting the Obliviation Charm on some Death Eaters.
But Voldemort had found out.
Snape's heart tightened, but soon, the memories came rushing back like a tidal wave.
He heard Kyle's solution and felt fear from the red-eyed monster.
Voldemort was afraid because Kyle's plan was correct: using the Killing Curse to destroy both consciousnesses within Snape's body.
Even Snape had to admit that this decision was the most correct and effective one.
Then he saw a flash of green light, which must have been the Killing Curse, and the red-eyed monster... Voldemort abandoned him and fled.
The memory ended there, and after being abandoned by Voldemort, Snape fell back into a coma. The events that just transpired were the next thing he remembered.
Snape extended his hand and tried to move it... How strange that he was still alive.
The angle and direction of the Killing Curse in his memory were such that Snape couldn't imagine how he could have possibly dodged it.
Not only could he not imagine it, but Voldemort couldn't either, or else the monster wouldn't have fled in panic.
But...
Snape clenched his fist tightly, and that piercing pain returned, a pain that came from the depths of his soul, a 'wound' left by Voldemort forcibly tearing his consciousness away.
This pain was even harder to bear than the physical pain, and Snape had to bite his teeth to keep from crying out.
But this action also involved his face, which hurt even more.
Snape still forced himself to endure, his lips almost pursing into a straight line... Even if he broke his teeth, he wouldn't show it in front of Kyle.
Snape's whole body trembled, and it took a while for him to calm down.
"You didn't seem surprised just now, Professor," Kyle said with some disappointment as he put down the camera in his hand, "It seems like you already knew that what I said was true, right?"
After a few minutes of silence, Snape finally opened his mouth and asked in a hoarse voice, "I remember, you had that witch cast the Killing Curse on me..." He looked at his body, "What exactly am I now...?"
"Oh, you're still alive." Kyle interrupted before he could finish.
"Congratulations, Professor. You've achieved the same feat as the Savior, surviving after facing the Killing Curse."
"That's impossible," Snape said firmly. "No one can survive the Killing Curse. The so-called Savior, that's just because of a special protective charm used on him by Lily..."
"You mean Lily Evans, right?"
Kyle continued as if he didn't notice Snape's increasingly cold face, "Is it possible that, like Harry, you survived the Killing Curse due to a special magical protection?"
"That's impossible..." Snape's voice suddenly paused, and he looked at Kyle with a complex expression.
"Don't get the wrong idea, it's not me, and it couldn't be me." Before Snape could speak, Kyle quickly waved his hand.
"Kanna saved you."
"Kanna..." Snape's whole body tensed up, and he anxiously looked around.
"She's still at Hogwarts right now, safe and sound." Kyle explained first, then continued, "Do you remember when you met her in that corridor at Hogwarts?"
"What are you trying to say?" Snape frowned.
Of course, he knew what corridor Kyle was referring to, but he didn't want to recall what happened at that time, or more accurately... the look of disbelief in Kanna's eyes when she saw him.
"Actually, at that time, Kanna already knew that you weren't a true Death Eater." Kyle extended his hand and pointed at Snape's wrist.
"So, before she fainted, she gave you that thing."
Snape subconsciously raised his head and looked at his arm, noticing several obvious scratch marks and a few short black hairs.
"Well... you know, it's Snuffles' nature, can't help it." Kyle felt a bit embarrassed.
Snape remained silent because he had already seen the Phoenix-shaped silver amulet on his wrist.
He could be certain that he definitely didn't have such an amulet, and even if he did, he wouldn't wear it.
"This is the alchemical artifact Kanna gave you, capable of blocking the Killing Curse."
"What did you say?" Snape exclaimed, "Blocking the Killing Curse..."
"I think she probably felt that you were in greater danger within the Death Eaters, so she gave you this item to save your life at a critical moment."
"Are you sure you're not lying to me?" Snape still couldn't believe it, "But, how could Kanna have something so valuable?"
"It's related to you too, Professor." Kyle spread his hands, "Do you remember the year we agreed to go find Newt Scamander together?"
That was already a thing of the past.
"Yes." Kyle said, "At that time, you gave her a bottle of Phoenix Elixir to give to Newt as a Christmas gift. I guess you wanted to use this gift to make Newt remember Kanna."
"After all, Phoenix Elixir is something that even Newt, who has lived for over six hundred years, rarely sees."
Snape didn't speak, implicitly acknowledging it.
There was nothing wrong with admitting it. Almost every wizard in the magical world wanted to meet Newt Scamander, and it was natural to want to leave a good impression with such a rare opportunity.
Especially with his unique identity, he would have even more considerations.
"If you ask me, you still don't understand Newt." Kyle sighed, "He's seen all sorts of good things, so how could he accept such a valuable gift from a child?"
Snape's eyes twitched.
What was Kyle talking about... He didn't understand Newt Scamander, and he had never even met the man.
In the entire magical world, aside from Dumbledore, the number of times all the wizards had met Newt combined might not even surpass Kyle's encounters.
Snape couldn't understand why, whether it was Dumbledore or Newt, they both seemed to favor Kyle.
Especially Dumbledore.
Long ago, his gaze was always on Harry, and the secret chamber where he hid the Philosopher's Stone in Snape's first year was a training ground tailored by Dumbledore for Harry.
But from some point on, Dumbledore's attention gradually shifted to Kyle, and recently, even Harry was being left to fend for himself.
It seems that Snape was trying to divert the conversation, and Kyle had caught on. Kyle was more interested in knowing why Snape and Voldemort were there, and why Grindelwald had left Nurmengard.
Just then, Dumbledore's voice came from behind, "Actually, I'm quite curious too."
Dumbledore appeared, looking at Kyle, "You're really something, letting a Kneazle carry a box in the forest... "
Kyle explained, "It's safer this way, not many things can catch up to a Kneazle. Even if you were defeated, Grindelwald wouldn't be able to..."
Kyle stopped abruptly as he saw Grindelwald walking out from behind Dumbledore.
"Continue," Grindelwald said with a sly smile, "what were you saying about me?"
Kyle forced a smile, "You're doing well, I suppose."
Kyle looked at Dumbledore in confusion. What was going on? Had they made amends? It didn't seem like Dumbledore's style, unless... unless it was because Ariana was still alive?
Dumbledore raised his hand, and it passed through Kyle's arm. "I can no longer hold my wand, so there's no need to continue."
Kyle took a step back, "I see."
Grindelwald said, "Don't be tense, put your wand away. I don't intend to harm you, at least not for now."
Kyle hesitated for a moment before putting his wand back in his sleeve. He wasn't afraid of Grindelwald, but he was giving the old man some face.
"Why, Professor?" Kyle asked Dumbledore, "You could have just sent a message through Fawkes. Why come all the way here?"
Dumbledore shook his head, "It wasn't me. Grindelwald found the Kneazle and opened the box. He knows Newt, so he's familiar with this kind of magical artifact."
Kyle's eyes widened in alarm, "What about my Kneazle?"
Dumbledore reassured him, "Don't worry, it's fine."
Before Kyle could breathe a sigh of relief, Grindelwald's face appeared in front of him. He looked like he had taken care to groom himself, and his previously gaunt face now looked more robust.
"I have a question," Grindelwald said, eyeing Kyle up and down. "Aberforth Dumbledore has never told anyone the address of Nurmengard, and yet you're the first person to find it. What is it about you that earned his trust?"
(End of Chapter)
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