Hogwarts: I am Snape

Chapter 43 The Sorting Hat's Accusation
“It’s nothing, Professor.” Snape quickly put the Sorting Hat back on the shelf. “I was just looking.”

“Albus,” the Sorting Hat suddenly twisted, a wide slit appearing on the brim like a gaping mouth, from which came a huffy voice, “He touched me.”

what? !

Snape silently wondered to himself, "Does this hat of yours even need to listen to what it's saying?"
"How is Professor Slughorn?" Snape asked quickly, trying to prevent the Sorting Hat from saying anything more outrageous. "Is he alright?"

Dumbledore stepped forward, patted the Sorting Hat reassuringly, and then said gently:
"Horace has fallen asleep, and I gave him some of Ms. Pomfrey's Dreamless Sleeping Agent."

"Oh, he must be exhausted tonight," Snape sighed. Slughorn had gone through such an emotional rollercoaster tonight; at his age, it must have been quite a journey.

“You’ve worked hard too,” Dumbledore said to Snape, his eyes filled with approval. “To learn such important information from Horace.”

“But,” he changed the subject, his tone becoming serious, “it seems you’ve forgotten what I told you last time, and you’re still investigating Voldemort’s information by yourself.”

“That’s not fair, Professor,” Snape said, discontented. “If you’re not making any progress, am I not allowed to investigate myself?”

“Well, never mind,” Dumbledore said helplessly. “Tonight’s news is very important. In any case, I must thank you, Severus.”

"I'm sorry, I can't give you extra points this time; this matter needs to be kept absolutely confidential. Besides that, is there any reward you'd like?"

"Ah, no points," Snape thought to himself, who cares about those few house points? But he put on a regretful expression. "That's a pity, Professor."

"How about you give me a phoenix and let me be the president of the boys' student council next year?"

“The second half of what I said is worth considering,” Dumbledore nodded, a hint of a smile in his eyes. “As long as you don’t go to a place like Borgin-Bock after you graduate and just become an ordinary shop assistant.”

“Ha, ha, ha,” Snape chuckled dryly. “You’re quite the joker, Professor. I can’t bear to part with my face.”

“That is absolutely right,” Dumbledore said approvingly. “Young wizards should cherish their appearance as much as they cherish their talents.”

"By the way, Severus. Do you remember the McKinnon family who were attacked by Death Eaters during the summer?"

“I remember, what’s wrong?” Snape pressed. “Have they been attacked again?”

“No,” Dumbledore said, shaking his head, “but tonight’s news has given me a guess.”

He paused for a moment, then continued.

"After their attack, I've been thinking about the McKinnon family's unusual circumstances. Now it seems that if Voldemort made Horcruxes, then everything makes sense."

"The McKinnon family has always run a small potions shop in Dandy. If there's anything special about them, it's that they are very experienced in treating accidental soul damage and are quite well-known in the magical world."

"You mean, Voldemort sought them out to heal his soul damage?"

"Yes, I can't think of any other more reasonable explanation right now."

"Are they safe now?"

"You don't need to worry about that. They've temporarily closed the potion shop and found a place to hide."

Upon hearing this, Snape thought to himself: Although he didn't particularly care about their safety, these words were hardly reassuring. He continued to press, "Who is the liaison?"

“Oh, you actually know this spell.” Dumbledore was somewhat surprised. “I am the one who keeps secrets.”

"I'm not entirely confused this time," Snape thought. "Now tell me, did you tell Horace there were Horcruxes in the castle to trick him, or was it true?" Dumbledore asked.

“Hmm—” Snape hesitated for a moment, but finally decided to tell the truth, “It’s true, Professor. The Horcruxes are in the Room of Requirement.”

“Ah, the ‘Come and Go Room’,” Dumbledore sighed softly, “that is a very wonderful room.”

"One morning, I took the wrong turn when I went to the toilet and found myself in a beautifully decorated room that I had never seen before, filled with all sorts of exquisite and luxurious chamber pots."

"When I went back to investigate carefully, I found that the room had disappeared. But I guess it could only be entered at 5:30 in the morning, or only appear when the crescent moon was full—or maybe when the bladder of the person looking for the toilet was particularly full."

At this point, he couldn't help but chuckle: "Later, the little elves in the kitchen told me that the room can only be entered when someone truly needs it. The elves call it the 'Gate of Request' or the 'Gate of Requirement.'"

"However, Tom was foolish enough to put the Horcrux in the Room of Requirement. You see, Severus, this is another lesson: we should not go against nature and split our souls."

“I agree, Professor,” Snape replied. “However, I must confirm with you beforehand: do you have a way to destroy the Horcrux?”

“Although I don’t think it will be an easy thing,” Dumbledore said confidently, tilting his head slightly, “with my abilities—I’m sorry to say this—if I can’t do it, then no one else can.”

“Overconfidence isn’t always a good thing, sir.” Snape almost rolled his eyes. “Voldemort taught us that too.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have been so complacent.” Dumbledore immediately apologized sincerely. “Now, why don’t you take me to see that Horcrux?”

"Come on, Professor. I'm going to be sleep-deprived again tonight. Could you give me a sick leave note for tomorrow?" Snape said helplessly, turning to lead the way.

“No problem,” Dumbledore readily agreed.

……

Looking at the mountain of items before him, Dumbledore couldn't help but exclaim, "This must be the accumulation of generations of teachers and students. I wonder how many stories are hidden in here."

“—or an accident,” Snape added.

He led Dumbledore through high walls made of junk, past a troll specimen, and through the ruins of the Vanishing Cabinet, until they arrived at a tall pile of junk.

After clearing away the objects covering it, Snape saw his half-cut sleeve.

"Professor, don't look directly at that Horcrux later. It can bewitch people and make you want to wear it."

Seeing Dumbledore nod in agreement, Snape took a deep breath, trying to defocus his pupils, and laboriously used magic to move his sleeve aside.

“Exceptional intelligence is the greatest treasure of mankind,” Dumbledore read softly from the inscription on the tiara, a complex look flashing in his eyes, “The Tiara of Rowena Ravenclaw.”

"Professor, you—"

"Don't worry, thanks to God for bestowing upon me extraordinary intelligence, I will not be easily deceived by it."

"Oh."

　Please, everyone, take a moment to read this book this week. It didn't get a spot in the first round of recommendations last week, so the data was pretty bad.

　　For those of you who are currently reading this book, please check out the latest chapter; you can scroll to the end. This new book is very demanding to read, so please don't let it die out. Thank you!
　　

(End of this chapter)