Hogwarts: I am Snape

Chapter 51 Next Stop: Azkaban
Dumbledore placed the silvery memories into the slightly glowing Pensieve in front of him.

The silvery-white substance in the meditation basin began to rotate continuously, and the blurry figure of a little old man slowly emerged with the rotation, becoming clearer and clearer in the surging silvery-white light.

Karaktakus Burk spun slowly in the Pensieve, pale as a ghost, yet more substantial than a ghost. His thick hair hung loosely over his forehead like a heavy curtain, completely obscuring his eyes.

"Yes, we got it under very special and lucky circumstances. I was in the shop when a young witch rushed over to get it on Christmas Eve. It was many years ago."

Bok's voice came from the Pensieve and echoed hollowly in the room.

"She said she urgently needed money, and yes, that couldn't be clearer. She was dressed in rags, looked haggard, and had no vitality at all. Moreover, she looked pregnant."

"She told me that the locket used to belong to Slytherin. Ugh, we hear this nonsense all the time, like, 'Oh, this is Merlin's, no doubt about it, his most prized teapot.'"

"However, when I looked closely at the locket, I actually saw the Slytherin mark on it. After reciting a few simple spells, I easily figured out the truth, which was unbelievable."

As Boke spoke, perhaps it was just my imagination, but his tone seemed to carry a hint of pride.

"Of course, that thing was priceless. The woman seemed to have no idea how valuable it was. I gave her ten Galleons, and she left satisfied."

"Later, we successfully sold it to Hepzba Smith for a very high price. That was the best deal we ever made!"

Dumbledore shook the Pensieve with extra force, and Mr. Burke returned to where he had just appeared, slowly sinking into the ever-spinning memories.

“I think,” Dumbledore said calmly, “we understand why Tom went to work as a clerk at Borgin-Bock.”

"From Burke's words, we can know that Tom's mother, Merope, was alone and destitute in London during the later stages of her pregnancy and desperately needed money. In desperation, she had to sell the only valuable thing she owned—her Slytherin locket."

“How did Tom know that Merope sold the locket to Borgin-Bock?” Snape asked.

“Oh, well, we can only speculate,” Dumbledore said. “Perhaps Borgin or Burke couldn’t resist showing off this particularly good deal to others, and Tom just happened to find out?”

“That makes sense.” Snape nodded slightly. “Considering that Burke only gave Melop ten Galleons, sir, I think it’s a bit too comfortable for him to stay at St. Mungo’s.”

“Don’t go to extremes, Severus,” Dumbledore said gently. “We should all think carefully about the potential consequences before we do anything.”

"Mr. Burke has always been in good health. If he were to die suddenly, don't you think it would arouse Borkin's suspicion?"

Dumbledore paused briefly before continuing, "The Death Eaters have quite a few connections with Borgin-Bock, and it wouldn't be good if Tom found out that someone was investigating his past."

“I understand, sir.” Snape nodded thoughtfully. “I’ve heard about this from the Three Broomsticks; Borgin might have even helped erase Burke’s memory. So, what do you plan to do next?”

Dumbledore did not answer the question directly. Instead, he gently pulled open a drawer in his desk and took out a copy of The Daily Prophet.

“Severus, please don’t tell Ms. Pince that I took the newspaper out of the library like you did,” Dumbledore said with a smile. “If she finds out, she’ll forbid me from entering the library.”

Upon hearing this, Snape immediately pictured Lady Pince's vulture-like face—her sunken cheeks, parchment-like skin, and long, hooked nose—all vividly illuminated by the lamp she carried.

“It was also inspired by you that I went to the library and looked for newspapers from decades ago.” Dumbledore said, spreading the newspapers out on the table. “I must admit that, although they are vulgar, you can occasionally find something of value in the Daily Prophet, even if it is unintentional.”

Dumbledore tapped the first page of the newspaper with his finger: "Take a look at this."

[Front Page Headline] "Hufflepuff Descendant Murdered by House-Elves—Accident or Conspiracy?"
Hepzba Smith, a renowned collector of magical antiquities and a descendant of the Hufflepuffs, recently died after drinking poison. Her house-elf, Hodge, was devastated and confessed that she had "poisoned her."

The Ministry of Magic determined that the house-elf Hodge accidentally poisoned her mistress's evening cocoa tea, leading to the accident. The Ministry stated that Hodge did not intend to murder, but was simply suffering from poor eyesight—"The house-elf has confessed, and her confession is completely consistent with the physical evidence."

In response, the house-elf Haoqi tearfully confessed. She said she remembered putting something in her owner's cocoa tea, only to later discover it wasn't sugar, but a rare and deadly poison.

However, Hepzba's relatives disagreed, discovering that some of Hepzba's most valuable treasures had disappeared. Therefore, they firmly believed there must be a conspiracy and strongly urged the Ministry of Magic to conduct a more in-depth investigation.

[Front Page Illustration] A dimly lit room with no windows, only torches on wall supports. Rows of wizards sit on tiered benches around the room, their faces solemn. In the center of the room stands a chair with chains wrapped around its armrests. A thin, old house-elf, hugging his knees, trembles and curls up in the chair.

“Sir,” Snape slowly raised his head to look at Dumbledore after finishing the newspaper, “do you believe that Tom murdered Madam Hepzba and framed the house-elf Hawthorne?”

“Well, I think Tom probably did all this to get his mother’s locket back,” Dumbledore nodded. “We’ll have a chance to verify that for ourselves. Hodge should still be in jail.”

"So, Severus, next stop, we're going to Azkaban."

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(End of this chapter)