Chapter 951: The Order's Equal Punishment for Those Who Disrespect Side-Along Apparition
Chapter 951: The Order's Equal Punishment for Those Who Disrespect Side-Along Apparition
Dumbledore... Tch... What a good man.
Kyle couldn't help but sigh in admiration. Dumbledore had truly been considerate towards Snape, even taking into account his future circumstances.
During their time at Hogwarts, while most people were unaware of the full details of Voldemort's escape, those closest to the event, like Professor McGonagall and Amelia Bones, knew exactly what had transpired.
They knew it was Snape who had rescued Voldemort.
If the Ministry of Magic had acted swiftly, his name might already be plastered on the storefronts of Diagon Alley, wanted by the entire wizarding world.
Previously, Snape might not have cared about such a manhunt. At that time, his sole focus was on killing Voldemort, and he didn't care about anything else.
Moreover, as a master potion maker, he undoubtedly had a good supply of Polyjuice Potion, ensuring that even if he lived next to an Auror, he would remain undetected as long as he didn't want to be found.
But now, things were different. Snape had to consider Conna's feelings.
In a sense, he was in the same situation as Sirius Black.
Sirius, who had once been indifferent, willingly confessed and was sent to Azkaban, only to later break out and desperately seek to clear his name so he could live with Harry.
Snape faced a similar predicament, and his situation was even more complicated than Sirius's had been.
Since no one knew that Sirius was Harry's godfather at the time, even if the truth hadn't come to light, Harry could still secretly live at Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place.
However, everyone knew that Conna was Snape's relative, and in such a situation, she might be placed under Auror surveillance or subjected to strange looks from others.
Of course, if this were the case, Kyle would never stand idly by, but that wasn't what Snape wanted.
Dumbledore's arrangement was intended to bring Snape back into the light.
Although Kyle hadn't seen the contents of the memory, he guessed it might be from seventeen years ago, when Snape pleaded with Dumbledore to protect Lily Evans.
Or perhaps it was from after Voldemort's downfall, when Snape wanted to protect Harry.
If Dumbledore wanted to use these memories to exonerate Snape, he might further manipulate them artistically, selectively editing parts to present a more positive image.
Dumbledore often did this, just as he had tried to step forward a few days ago to divert others' attention towards Kyle.
Following Dumbledore's logic, since he didn't care about his reputation, he might as well make the most of it. At least he could make life more comfortable for those still alive.
That was so like Dumbledore.
"When are you going to stop talking?" Grindelwald's impatient voice came from the side.
"Aren't you supposed to send me back to Nurmengard? Beg me, and maybe I'll consider it."
"Oh..." Kyle's teeth clenched in discomfort, and his eyebrows furrowed involuntarily.
He had begun to doubt if the person before him was indeed Grindelwald. Such a terrible remark would never appear in Lockhart's books... though it might in the letters of his fanatical admirers.
Just as Kyle was about to voice his thoughts, he met Grindelwald's cold gaze.
"Alright, alright..." Kyle shrank back, wisely keeping the words in his mouth unspoken.
Only then did Grindelwald withdraw his stare.
A few minutes later, he and Dumbledore left the trunk without so much as a greeting or asking for the owner's opinion, just as they had entered.
However, Kyle had no objections and followed them out.
He had almost forgotten; there was something he needed to confirm.
Outside the trunk, they were still in the forest, but Kyle wasn't sure of their exact location.
When Kyle stepped out, Grindelwald and Dumbledore were nowhere to be seen, which came as a relief.
The pressure Grindelwald had exerted on him moments ago had been immense, a feeling entirely different from facing Voldemort.
Perhaps it had something to do with their personalities.
Kyle was well aware that Voldemort would never treat him amicably, so when he saw him, he naturally thought about what would happen next and prepared himself accordingly.
He was nervous, but not overly so.
However, he didn't know Grindelwald well and wasn't sure about his attitude.
Although Grindelwald had been relatively friendly inside the trunk, without any overt aggressive behavior, even when he occasionally got angry, it was only verbal, and he still gave Dumbledore face. But Kyle didn't dare to take it lightly.
After all, just standing there doing nothing made him break out in a cold sweat.
He felt more at ease now.
Kyle looked around and soon spotted the Kneazle on a tree.
The poor Kneazle had passed out, its six legs, head, and tail entangled in a sticky substance like glue, rendering it immobile.
But it was still alive.
Grindelwald had kept his word; he had only trapped the Kneazle and not killed it.
Having just lost a Basilisk, if the Kneazle had been killed as well, he might not have slept for several days.
Kyle hurried over and tried to remove the 'glue' from the Kneazle's body.
He tried both the cleaning charm and the dispelling charm, but neither worked.
"That's medieval binding magic. Ordinary spells won't work," Snape's voice came from behind.
He had also come out, looking at Kyle with a complicated expression, "If you need it, I can..."
"Finite Incantatem!"
But before he could finish his sentence, Kyle saw him insert his wand, emitting an orange glow, into the ground.
A cluster of golden flames surged from the center of the wand, covering the Kneazle.
The Kneazle was unharmed, not even the softest fur was scorched, but the binding on it gradually dissolved in the golden flames.
In just a few seconds, the Kneazle flipped over and jumped down from the tree, rubbing its big head on Kyle's arm while making a purring sound.
"It's okay, it's okay..." Kyle reassured, "The only one who could escape right under Grindelwald's nose is probably a Phoenix."
Kyle scratched the Kneazle's chin again, then suddenly realized something and turned to look behind him.
"Professor Snape, you were saying something just now."
"Nothing, I didn't say anything," Snape took a deep breath.
He almost forgot that Kyle could also cast Finite Incantatem, and he didn't need his help at all.
"Alright," Kyle said.
The two looked at each other, and the atmosphere became awkward again.
Kyle didn't know what Snape was thinking, but he genuinely didn't know what to say. He couldn't very well say congratulations.
He could say that, after all, Voldemort was dead, and Snape had finally accomplished what he had always wanted to do, avenging Lily, even though he didn't kill him personally, but he was still somewhat involved.
But... during this process, Snape almost got tricked by Oren into giving up his bitter tea beans. Saying congratulations now would sound ironic no matter how you looked at it.
Moreover, Snape was probably still wanted at this moment. It would be better to wait until he returned to Hogwarts and resolved the issue.
Speaking of being wanted... I wonder what Snape's bounty is.
Unconsciously, Kyle thought about it.
Previously, Sirius had a bounty of 10,000 Galleons because he was the first dangerous fugitive to escape from Azkaban, making it the highest bounty ever issued by the Ministry of Magic.
And this time, Snape directly rescued Voldemort, a more dangerous act than escaping from prison. His bounty would definitely not be lower than Sirius'.
Kyle looked at Snape thoughtfully.
Perhaps, they could work together, claim the bounty first, and then prove their innocence later, killing two birds with one stone.
Although Snape might not lack Galleons, who would refuse to have more in their pockets? A bounty of 10,000 Galleons split between two people is still 5,000 each, and they would hardly need to do anything, essentially getting free Galleons.
However, thinking about the current financial state of the Ministry of Magic, Kyle changed his mind.
Forget it, the Ministry of Magic can't even come up with 10,000 Galleons now, let alone 1,000... The remaining money is needed for the funerals of the fallen Aurors and Hit Wizards, to pay for compensation, or to maintain partial operations.
If Kyle really handed Snape over, the most he would get is probably a word of praise and an IOU.
Kyle didn't mind, as long as he could get the Galleons, even if he had to wait a year or more, he was willing.
But Snape might not be willing to wait a year or more before revealing the truth.
"It's really... a pity."
Seeing Kyle suddenly sighing and looking like he had lost some Galleons, Snape felt that something was off.
He opened his mouth, but nothing came out.
"Professor Snape... if you don't mind me calling you that." Kyle broke the silence first, "Before I came here, you had already been expelled from Hogwarts."
"Is... that so?" Snape said, his expression somewhat dim.
He had always thought that he didn't care about being a Hogwarts professor or the Slytherin Head of House.
But now it seemed that wasn't the case.
When he heard that he had been expelled, Snape felt a sense of dizziness.
"Of course, this is only temporary." Kyle continued, "After Professor McGonagall has seen the memory... maybe she will withdraw the expulsion notice... and you will still be a professor..."
For some reason, Kyle always felt a sense of awkwardness or strangeness when he spoke.
Thinking about it carefully, there always seemed to be some tension between him and Snape, and they had never spoken so calmly before...
No wonder it felt strange.
Kyle rubbed his arm, opened the box to let the Kneazle in, and tried to make his tone sound as normal as possible.
"I'm going back to Hogwarts."
"Now?" Snape frowned, "Dumbledore is still here, and you're leaving?"
"What else can I do?" Kyle spread his hands, "Can Professor Dumbledore die again?"
This sounded a little impolite, but it was the truth. Although Dumbledore wasn't dead, he wasn't exactly alive either.
Since he couldn't even hold his wand, how could he possibly be hit by magic?
"And," Kyle continued, "if you're concerned about Professor Dumbledore, trust me, there's no need. He's safer now than ever before."
"Instead of worrying about him, you should be thinking about how to get into the Headmaster's Office and retrieve Dumbledore's memory."
Kyle closed the box and shouted, "Phoenix!"
The fiery Phoenix swiftly flew from a distance and skillfully landed on Kyle's shoulder.
"See, even Phoenix knows that Dumbledore doesn't need protection at this time," Kyle said, looking at the silent Snape. "Do you want to come along? I can have Phoenix take you there, but you'll need to provide at least three herbs as a ticket."
"A ticket?"
"It's necessary. Not everyone is qualified to be carried by a Phoenix for Side-Along Apparition. It's a privilege reserved for Professor Dumbledore."
"No, that won't be necessary," Snape shook his head, declining Kyle's offer.
It wasn't that he couldn't spare three herbs; he simply didn't want to continue interacting with Kyle.
To be honest, the one thing his private store room had in abundance was herbs—common, rare, and even prohibited ones... he had them all.
At this thought, Snape suddenly felt a bit dazed, unsure of where his private store room was located anymore.
It must have been moved, after all, he had become a Death Eater, and the school wouldn't continue keeping his belongings.
"I think it's better if we go together," Kyle said after a moment of thought. "This is the time when Hogwarts is at its highest alert, including Peeves. Almost everyone has a bottle of Invisibility Potion. It'll be difficult for you to reach the Headmaster's Office, but I can help you."
"I don't think you can help me bypass McGonagall's inspection," Snape shook his head.
He knew his colleague well; the serious Professor McGonagall would never let anyone suspicious enter Hogwarts.
Even if Kyle could find a reason to distract her, there were still Flitwick and Sprout.
"Take me to the Headmaster's Office? I don't think that's necessary," Kyle blinked and said, "It's just a bottle of memory, and there's no rule that it has to be personally retrieved by you for it to work. Why can't I go to the Headmaster's Office?"
"..."
Snape suddenly fell silent.
Yes, his goal was simply to deliver the memory containing the truth to McGonagall, and it wasn't necessary to break into the Headmaster's Office. Indeed, he could entrust this task to Kyle.
Although he didn't want to do this in his heart...
In Snape's mind, as long as there was any other way to accomplish this task, no matter how troublesome, he didn't want to ask Kyle for help.
"Conna is also waiting for you," Kyle continued. "She has always believed in you. Even if it's just because of an unverified idea, she's willing to entrust her life-saving item to you.
Now that the truth is out, you should explain the situation to her."
"Okay..."
This time, Snape didn't hesitate. He walked over to Kyle and said, "I'll go back with you, but I have one request."
"Go ahead."
"I will absolutely not grab your arm."
"..."
Kyle took a deep breath and blurted out, "You don't need to remind me; I won't let you grab me either."
Just thinking about the scene of Snape grabbing his arm made Kyle feel like he'd rather face Voldemort in battle again.
"Then it's settled," Snape said as he walked up to Kyle. "What do I need to do?"
"Nothing, just relax and stand still," Kyle replied.
"But I must remind you that this might not be as comfortable as you imagine, but it's all normal. Don't get too excited."
"I'll be fine. You don't need to worry," Snape said calmly.
It was just Side-Along Apparition, right?
Did he really need a special reminder for something he had experienced before? Kyle looked at Snape's nonchalant expression, then at the Phoenix, and a smile slowly formed on his lips. He quickly suppressed it, pretending nothing had happened, and said, "Phoenix, please take us both back to Hogwarts."
The Phoenix spread its wings and grasped Snape's shoulder while extending its tail towards Kyle.
Kyle reached out and grabbed it.
The next moment, the two of them vanished from the forest.
...
When they reappeared, they were at the grounds near the Black Lake in Hogwarts.
This location was specifically requested by Kyle to Phoenix, to ensure...
"Ugh..." A suppressed sound of nausea came from the side.
This was to ensure that Snape wouldn't dirty the castle grounds.
Kyle rubbed his temples. From the Austrian forest to Hogwarts, they had traveled thousands of miles. Even Kyle, who had experienced this before, felt a bit uncomfortable, let alone Snape, who was flying with the Phoenix for the first time.
The Phoenix would equally punish anyone who underestimated Side-Along Apparition.
At this moment, Snape was lying on the ground, trying to stand up, but his limbs seemed to have minds of their own, each moving independently.
This made it impossible for Snape to stand up for a while, and he could only lie there, struggling to stretch his head towards the Black Lake.
"Crack!"
...
(End of Chapter)
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