Chapter 994: Snape's Calm Reaction
Chapter 994: Snape's Calm Reaction
"What did you say?"
In the Longbottom's garden, Fred and Cedric were stunned, looking at Kyle and Conna in disbelief.
And it wasn't just them; even Professor McGonagall and Professor Saxia, who were nearby, wore similar expressions.
They racked their brains but couldn't fathom how they could hear such surprising news just by attending a Christmas dinner.
Kyle had proposed to Conna...
Well, it wasn't entirely unexpected.
Within Hogwarts, except for a certain emotionless ghost professor, almost everyone knew about their relationship, and even Hagrid was aware that they would eventually get married.
But no one expected Kyle to be so... brave, or decisive.
During their casual conversations, the professors often mentioned the outstanding students at the school, and Kyle and Harry were the most frequently mentioned.
When Kyle was brought up, it was impossible to avoid mentioning the group of six, including himself, just as mentioning Harry would inevitably lead to Hermione and Ron.
Within that group, Kyle and Conna, Cedric and Qiu, were the acknowledged couples.
So, the professors often discussed who among them would get married first.
Most people, including Professor McGonagall, believed it would be Cedric.
Apart from Cedric being older than Kyle, there was also Kyle's identity as a genius wizard.
Magic was ever-changing, and the more one understood, the more one would be captivated by it. When one's magical energy increased, it was natural to unintentionally neglect personal emotions.
They had seen too many young wizards like this, including some of the professors themselves.
Of course, this wasn't absolute.
For example, James Potter and Lily Evans got married soon after graduation.
But strictly speaking, they couldn't be considered the most dazzling genius wizards... at least they couldn't defeat Voldemort.
But Kyle could, and he did.
So, the magic he could perceive was broader than James's.
And Conna, the youngest member of the Extraordinary Potioneers Association, had broken the association's record of nearly two hundred years.
Yet, they didn't immerse themselves in the insights of their respective fields; instead, they maintained their most primitive personal emotions.
What, was magic not captivating enough? Or was the taste of potions not enough to make one lose themselves?
It was at this moment that Miller McGonagall suddenly understood a sentence Dumbledore had said back then.
When Kyle had just graduated, Dumbledore, uncharacteristically, was even willing to take on the role of a school director, spending a large amount of Galleons to set up an alchemy class, just to keep Kyle at Hogwarts.
At the time, McGonagall subconsciously thought of Voldemort, or young Tom Riddle.
They were both talented students, but Dumbledore's attitude towards them was vastly different...
One was repeatedly rejected from job applications, while the other was willing to pay to keep him at the school.
She had asked Dumbledore about it, but only received an ambiguous answer.
At the time, Dumbledore had only said that Kyle and Voldemort had an essential difference, and he found it difficult to be attracted to the allure of power.
McGonagall didn't quite understand it back then, but now she suddenly realized that this might be the primary distinction.
By the time Professor McGonagall snapped out of her thoughts, Kyle and Conna were already surrounded by a crowd.
Qi, Mrs. Weasley, and Tonks led the group of witches surrounding Conna, asking various questions with excitement and curiosity.
Cedric and Fred had a firm grip on Kyle's collar, their faces stern, as if interrogating him about something...
"Sorry to interrupt, but I must ask, do your parents know about this?" She asked, "Chris, Diana, and... Severus." As she spoke the last name, she paused for a moment.
She wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but she thought she heard Professor Snape's furious roar in her ear.
The lively atmosphere suddenly froze at that moment.
"Well, I understand."
Without needing to say more, the lady headmaster of Hogwarts, with her wealth of experience, knew what was going on.
Some people, including Miller McGonagall and Professor Saxia, no longer felt like continuing the ball and returned to Hogwarts with Conna. Kyle, along with the Weasleys and Cedric, headed to Hogsmeade.
...
"It's too much! I wanted to do that too!" Fred grumbled on the way back, casting a resentful glance at Kyle from time to time.
In fact, he had planned to propose to Angelina today, and he even had special fireworks prepared, hidden under the table where he was sitting.
When the time came, he could ignite the fireworks and seize the opportunity to propose to Angelina.
Unexpectedly, Fred beat him to it.
The fireworks were still untouched in their original spot.
What's more, to his dismay, he was so excited that he completely forgot about his plan.
Now that Angelina had returned, if he wanted to propose, he would have to wait for the next opportunity...
"It's all because of you..." Fred muttered again.
Kyle looked at him, perplexed.
Although he didn't understand what Fred was talking about, Kyle's intuition told him that it was best not to argue at this moment, or else there was a high chance he would ignite a powder keg.
So, Kyle wisely kept his mouth shut.
...
Meanwhile, at Hogwarts.
Just as Miller McGonagall had anticipated, another powder keg, Severus Snape, exploded as expected!
A furious roar echoed from the Headmaster's Office, as revealed by the Talking Gargoyle that served as the key to the office. It said that it only felt a gust of wind blowing past it, and when it came to its senses, it realized it had almost been beheaded by something.
Additionally, it was said that on that night, all the portraits in Hogwarts witnessed a dark figure wandering through the castle corridors, like a homeless ghost.
The figure was muttering something, and an incomprehensible buzzing sound spread throughout Hogwarts.
McGonagall was a bit concerned and decided to talk to Snape the next day.
At least, she was pleased with the couple, Kyle and Conna, who were very familiar with each other's thoughts, and no one could be more suitable for each other than them.
In her opinion, Snape's behavior was too childish.
But to her surprise, Snape returned to normal the next day.
He no longer had a sullen face, didn't shout or scream, and didn't vent his emotions on the armor statue. He even made a rare appearance in the Great Hall for breakfast.
"Severus, I know what you're thinking," Snape said after elegantly wiping his mouth, having finished the roasted potatoes on his plate.
"To be honest, if Kyle hadn't proposed to Conna, I might have resigned by now."
"Resign?"
"Because I couldn't possibly try to kill a former student as a professor at Hogwarts." Snape's voice was calm.
And he used the word 'try,' indicating that he was currently lucid and had a clear understanding.
"Very well, he's braver than I am." Snape suddenly laughed.
McGonagall felt a chill run down her spine, and her hairs stood on end. She reached under the table and pointed her wand at Snape, giving it a slight twist.
"Disperse!"
A flash of light passed through Snape and exploded violently.
Snape, with his back to McGonagall, didn't seem to notice anything and only felt a gust of wind blowing past him.
Although he didn't understand why there would be wind in the Great Hall, Snape wasn't in the mood to ponder such minor details at the moment.
"No reaction..." McGonagall furrowed her brows.
She had just used the Dispersing Charm, and the lack of reaction meant that Snape wasn't possessed by any special ghost, and it also ruled out the possibility of Kyle secretly using the Cruciatus Curse on him.
It wasn't surprising that she had such thoughts, mainly because Snape's behavior was so out of character.
Snape, who had always disliked Kyle and was trying his best to expel him, had just praised Kyle.
This was a huge shock to McGonagall.
It was as if one morning, Snape had dyed his hair.
However, the lack of reaction to the Dispersing Charm seemed to indicate that she was overthinking...
As she was still dazed, Snape had already left the Great Hall.
And this incident didn't seem to cause much of a stir.
After the eventful Christmas filled with surprises, everything seemed to return to normal, as if nothing had happened.
Conna continued to follow Professor Saxia, who was teaching her how to brew a love potion.
It was said that this potion could bless a loving couple, enhancing their magical powers and perception abilities to varying degrees, similar to the effects of Felix Felicis.
The effects are powerful, but so are the conditions.
This potion is more complex than Felix Felicis, requiring at least a month to brew and needing to be personally brewed by one person. Moreover, during the process, emotions must not fluctuate in any way.
Or to put it another way, they can only deepen, not lessen...
More importantly, if both parties are not in mutual love, then this blessing will turn into a curse.
The conditions are too harsh, so several hundred years ago, this potion had already disappeared.
The reason Saisia knew about it was also thanks to St. Mungo's rich potion reserves.
Upon learning of Kyle's proposal to Conna, she immediately thought of this.
Enhancing magic and perception, a rather cliche effect, sounded like using Galleons as gifts, far less intriguing than the mysterious luck of Felix Felicis.
But this is also one of the most sought-after effects in the wizarding world.
At least Saisia hadn't heard of any other substance that could increase a wizard's magic...
Oh, and an Elder Wand.
But that's more like a fairy tale; most wizards have never even seen one.
So during the Christmas holiday, she and Conna had been preparing for this potion.
Saisia went out several times and later brought along Snape, finally managing to gather all the necessary ingredients.
Kyle came by once and offered to help, but before he could finish his sentence, Snape kicked him out.
Literally, he kicked him out.
He couldn't even retaliate, as after the successful proposal, there was a subtle change in their relationship.
This was the first time Kyle saw a look of...disdain on Snape's face,
A challenging expression with a hint of disdain.
Overall, he looked quite punchable.
But aside from that, Snape didn't do anything else.
After that, everything seemed to return to normal.
Snape's Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Saisia's Potions class, and Kyle's Alchemy class all proceeded as usual.
The only difference was that Kyle took over the second-year Potions class to prevent Conna from being too rushed.
McGonagall organized a meeting with the professors.
Snape was the first to agree, almost without hesitation, and the other professors didn't object.
Although Kyle's Potions skills were far inferior to his Charms, it was only because his Charms were too strong.
Just look at Kyle's title in the Daily Prophet.
Before he graduated, whenever the Daily Prophet and the Ministry of Magic praised him, they would say he was the "Young Dumbledore" or the "Successor to the Hogwarts Headmaster."
But now, after some of Snape's memories from the trial were made public, Dumbledore has become "Old Kyle."
Although this nickname was mostly in jest and mixed with a certain journalist's thoughts, it was undeniable that most wizards didn't mind this nickname.
This also meant that Kyle no longer needed to use the name 'Dumbledore' to emphasize his strength.
Under the shadow of such achievements, any other talent would pale in comparison.
Moreover, he had a true Potions genius by his side, making the contrast even more evident.
Nevertheless, Kyle had consistently achieved full marks in Potions for several years during his school days, and he possessed an N.E.W.T. Potions certificate filled with O's.
Teaching a few first and second-year witches and wizards was more than enough for him.
Then Kyle brewed a batch of Euphoria Potion on the spot, and that settled it without any twists or turns.
There wasn't even the imagined scene of Snape making things difficult for Kyle.
Initially, McGonagall thought that Kyle and Snape might be acting, and they had already fought behind the scenes several times.
But later, she realized that she might have overthought it.
After the Christmas holiday, for a long time, Kyle didn't have much interaction with Snape.
Especially after the Easter holiday, Snape suddenly became busy.
The exams were approaching, but Snape didn't spend more time preparing for them as he usually did.
Moreover, he didn't seem to care much about Slytherin winning the House Cup.
In previous years, this was always Snape's golden time for deducting points... After all, as long as the other three houses' scores decreased, Slytherin's score would naturally increase.
But this year... According to McGonagall's observations, Snape would rush to his office as soon as class ended, not bothering to find excuses to deduct points elsewhere.
...
(End of Chapter)
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