Chapter 951: The Phoenix Assembly's Equal Punishment for Those Who Disrespect Apparition
Chapter 951: The Phoenix Assembly's Equal Punishment for Those Who Disrespect Apparition
Dumbledore... Tch... What a good man.
Kyle couldn't help but marvel at how considerate Dumbledore was towards Snape, taking into account his future circumstances.
During the time at Hogwarts, while most people were unclear about the full details of Voldemort's escape, a few individuals closest to the scene, like Professor McGonagall and Amelia Bones, knew what had transpired.
They also knew that Snape had saved Voldemort.
If the Ministry of Magic had acted swiftly, his name would likely be displayed at the entrance of Diagon Alley by now, wanted by the entire wizarding world.
Before, Snape might not have cared about such a wanted status; all he wanted was to kill Voldemort, and nothing else mattered.
Moreover, as a master potion maker, he undoubtedly had Polyjuice Potion at his disposal. If he didn't want to be found, not even the Aurors living next door would have been able to detect him.
But now, things were different. Snape had to consider Kanna's feelings.
In a sense, he was in the same situation as Sirius Black.
Sirius, who initially didn't care, voluntarily confessed and was imprisoned in Azkaban, only to break out later and desperately seek to clear his name, all for the chance to live with Harry.
Snape faced a similar predicament, and his situation was even more complicated than Sirius's initially.
Since no one knew that Sirius was Harry's godfather at the time, even if the truth didn't come to light in the end, Harry could still secretly live at 12 Grimmauld Place.
But everyone knew that Kanna was Snape's relative, and in this situation, she might be under the surveillance of the Aurors or subjected to strange looks from others.
Of course, if this were the case, Kyle wouldn't have been able to stand idly by, but that wasn't what Snape wanted.
Dumbledore's arrangement was made to help Snape return to the light.
Kyle, who hadn't seen the contents of the memory, guessed that it might be a scene from seventeen years ago when Snape begged Dumbledore to protect Lily Evans.
Or perhaps it was a scene of Snape wanting to protect Harry after Voldemort's downfall.
If Dumbledore wanted to use this to clear Snape's name, he might also make some artistic adjustments, selectively editing parts of the memory to make it more positive.
Dumbledore often did such things, just like how he had tried to divert attention from Kyle a few days ago.
Following Dumbledore's logic, since he didn't care about his reputation anyway, it was a matter of making the most of the situation. At least it could make life more comfortable for those still alive.
One could only say that this was very Dumbledore-like.
"When are you going to stop talking?" came Grindelwald's impatient voice from the side.
"Aren't you supposed to send me back to Nurmengard? Come on, beg me, and maybe I'll consider it."
"Oh..." Kyle felt a surge of discomfort, his eyebrows furrowing together involuntarily.
He had once doubted if the person before him was truly Grindelwald, as such a terrible remark wouldn't even appear in Gilderoy Lockhart's books... though it might be found in the letters of his fanatical followers.
Just as Kyle was about to voice his thoughts, he caught Grindelwald's cold stare.
"Fine, fine..." Kyle shrank back, wisely choosing not to say what was on his mind.
Only then did Grindelwald withdraw his gaze.
A few minutes later, he and Dumbledore left the chest, without even saying goodbye or asking for Kyle's permission as a host, just as they had entered.
However, Kyle didn't mind and left with them.
He had almost forgotten; there was something he needed to confirm.
Outside the chest, it was still a forest, but the specific location was unknown.
When Kyle stepped out, Grindelwald and Dumbledore were nowhere to be seen, which relieved him.
The pressure Grindelwald had exerted on him earlier was immense, a feeling completely different from facing Voldemort.
This might have been related to their personalities.
Kyle was well aware that Voldemort would never be friendly towards him, so when he saw him, he naturally anticipated what would happen next and prepared accordingly.
There was definitely tension, but not too much.
However, Kyle didn't know Grindelwald, nor his attitude.
Although Grindelwald had been relatively friendly inside the chest, without any overt aggression, even when he got angry, he only raised his voice, giving Dumbledore enough face. Still, Kyle didn't dare to let his guard down.
Just standing there doing nothing made him break out in a cold sweat.
It was more comfortable to be like this.
Kyle looked around and soon spotted the Kneazle on a tree.
The poor Kneazle had passed out, its six legs, head, and tail all entangled in a sticky substance like glue, unable to move.
But it was still alive.
Grindelwald had kept his word; he had only trapped the Kneazle, not killed it.
Having just lost a serpent, if the Kneazle had been killed too, he might have had trouble sleeping for several days.
Kyle quickly approached and tried to remove the 'glue' from the Kneazle's body.
"He tried both the Cleaning Charm and the Vanishing Charm, but neither worked."
"It's medieval binding magic. Ordinary spells won't work," Snape's voice came from behind.
He had also come out and was looking at Kyle with a complicated expression, "If you need it, I can..."
"Avada Kedavra!"
But before he could finish his sentence, he saw Kyle thrust his wand, glowing with orange light, into the ground.
A cluster of golden flames erupted from the wand's tip, engulfing the Kneazle.
The Kneazle was unharmed, not even its softest fur was singed, 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 against Kyle's arm while making a purring sound.
"It's okay, it's okay..." Kyle reassured, "The only one who could escape right in front of Grindelwald is probably a Phoenix."
Kyle scratched the Kneazle's chin again and suddenly realized something. He turned around to look behind him.
"Professor Snape... What were you saying just now?"
"Nothing, I didn't say anything," Snape took a deep breath.
He almost forgot that Kyle could also cast the Killing Curse and didn't need his help at all.
"Alright," Kyle said.
The two of them just stood there looking 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 it, though, because Voldemort was dead, and Snape had finally done what he had always wanted to do—avenge Lily, even if he didn't kill him personally. He had still been involved.
But... during the process, Snape had almost been tricked out of his tea by Oren. Saying congratulations now would sound insincere.
And Snape was still wanted at this moment. It would be better to wait until he returned to Hogwarts and cleared things up before saying anything.
Speaking of wanted... Kyle wondered what Snape's bounty was.
He thought about it subconsciously.
Sirius Black had a bounty of ten thousand Galleons because he was a dangerous fugitive who had escaped from Azkaban, the highest bounty the Ministry of Magic had ever offered.
This time, Snape had directly rescued Voldemort, and the danger was even greater than an escape. The bounty would definitely not be less than Sirius Black's.
Kyle looked at Snape thoughtfully.
Perhaps they could work together, claim the bounty first, and then clear their names later.
Although Snape might not need the money, who wouldn't want more gold in their pockets? Splitting the bounty would still give them five thousand each, and they wouldn't have to do much, essentially getting the Galleons for free.
However, thinking about the Ministry of Magic's current financial state, Kyle changed his mind.
Forget it, the Ministry of Magic probably couldn't even come up with a thousand Galleons now, let alone ten thousand... The remaining money would have to be used for the funerals of the fallen Aurors and Hit Wizards, compensation, or maintaining the operational parts.
Even if Kyle did hand Snape over, the most he would likely get was a word of praise and an IOU.
Kyle didn't mind, as long as he got the Galleons, even if he had to wait a year or two.
But Snape might not be willing to wait that long before revealing the truth.
"It's a pity..."
Watching Kyle suddenly sigh, looking as if he had lost the Galleons, Snape felt something was amiss.
He opened his mouth, but nothing came out.
"Professor Snape... If you don't mind me calling you that," Kyle broke the silence, "You were already expelled from Hogwarts before I came here."
"Is... that so?" Snape said, his expression dimming.
He had always thought he didn't care about being a Hogwarts professor or a Slytherin Head of House.
But now it seemed that wasn't the case.
Hearing that he had been expelled, Snape felt a sense of dizziness.
"And," Kyle continued, "if you're worried about Professor Dumbledore, trust me, there's no need. He's safer now than ever."
"Instead of worrying about him, you should be thinking about how to get into the Headmaster's Office and retrieve Dumbledore's memories."
Kyle closed the chest and shouted, "Fawkes!"
The fiery phoenix flew swiftly from afar and landed skillfully on Kyle's shoulder.
"See, even Fawkes knows there's no need to protect Dumbledore right now," Kyle said, looking at the silent Snape. "How about it? I can have Fawkes take you there, but you'll need to provide at least three herbology samples as a ticket."
"A ticket?"
"It's necessary. Not everyone is entitled to be carried by a phoenix for apparition, it's a privilege reserved for Professor Dumbledore."
"No, that's fine." Snape shook his head, declining Kyle's offer.
It wasn't that he was reluctant to part with three herbology samples; he simply didn't want to continue interacting with Kyle.
To be honest, his private storage room was well-stocked with herbology samples—common, rare, and even prohibited ones. He had whatever he needed.
At this thought, Snape suddenly felt a bit dazed, unsure if his private storage room was still there or not.
It was probably moved, after all, he had become a Death Eater, and the school wouldn't continue storing his belongings.
"I think it's better if we go together," Kyle said after a moment's thought. "This is the most heavily guarded time at Hogwarts, and with Peeves on the lookout, almost everyone has a bottle of Revealing Potion. It'll be difficult for you to get to the Headmaster's Office, but I can help."
"I don't think you can help me evade McGonagall's inspection," Snape shook his head.
He knew his colleague well; the diligent Professor McGonagall wouldn't let anyone suspicious enter Hogwarts.
Even if Kyle could find a reason to distract her, there were still Filius and Pomona to consider.
"Take me to the Headmaster's Office? I don't think that's necessary," Kyle blinked. "It's just about retrieving a memory, and there's no rule stating that it only works if you personally go to the Headmaster's Office. Why can't I go instead?"
"..."
Snape suddenly fell silent.
Yes, his goal was to obtain the memory containing the truth and deliver it to McGonagall, and there was no need for him to physically enter the Headmaster's Office. He could indeed entrust this task to Kyle.
But in his heart, he didn't want to do this...
In Snape's mind, as long as there was any other way to accomplish this task, no matter how troublesome, he wouldn't seek Kyle's help.
"Kanna is also waiting for you," Kyle continued. "She has always believed in you, and even with just an unverified idea, she was 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 up to Kyle and said, "I'll go with you, but I have one request."
"What is it?"
"I absolutely won't grab your arm."
"..."
Kyle took a deep breath and blurted out, "You don't need to remind me, and I won't let you grab me either."
At the thought of Snape grabbing his arm, Kyle felt he would rather face Voldemort in battle again.
"Alright, I won't grab you," Snape said, moving closer to Kyle. "What do I need to do?"
"Nothing, just relax and stand still," Kyle instructed.
"But I must remind you, this process might not be as comfortable as you imagine, but it's all normal, no need to get too excited."
"I understand, no need to worry," Snape said indifferently.
So what if it's apparition?
He had used it before, did he need a special reminder? Kyle looked at Snape's nonchalant expression, then at Fawkes, and a smile slowly formed on his lips. He quickly suppressed it, pretending nothing had happened, and said, "Fawkes, please take us both back to Hogwarts."
The phoenix spread its wings, grasping Snape's shoulder while extending its tail towards Kyle.
Kyle reached out and held on.
The next moment, both of them vanished from the forest.
...
When they reappeared, they found themselves on the grounds near the Black Lake at Hogwarts.
This was the spot Kyle had specifically instructed Fawkes to take them to, to ensure Snape wouldn't dirty the castle floors.
Kyle rubbed his temples. They had traveled thousands of miles from the Austrian forest to Hogwarts, and even though he had experienced this before, he still felt a bit overwhelmed. It was even more challenging for Snape, who was experiencing phoenix travel for the first time.
The phoenix would equally punish anyone who underestimated apparition.
Snape was currently on the ground, trying to stand up, but his limbs seemed to have a mind of their own, each moving independently as if they had just been installed.
This made it difficult for Snape to stand up immediately, and he could only crawl, struggling to extend his head towards the Black Lake.
"Crack!"
...
(End of Chapter)
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