Hogwarts: I am Snape

Chapter 56 So Young
"Alastor, please keep watch at the door," Dumbledore said softly to Moody.

Moody nodded, leaning on his cane, and stood in the aisle, cautiously surveying his surroundings.

Dumbledore stood in front of the cell door, gently waved his wand, and the iron door opened silently.

As soon as he and Snape crossed the threshold, the door closed gently behind them as if pushed by an invisible hand, shutting out all sounds from outside.

The entire cell was silent, with only the faint sound of breathing coming from the corner of the wall.

A small figure huddled in a dimly lit corner. Hao Qi lay there lifelessly.

The little elf was so small that she could easily slip through the gaps between the prison bars. But clearly, she didn't have the motivation or will to do so now.

Dumbledore walked over to Hao Qi, squatted down, and looked at her carefully for a while.

He raised his wand and gently tapped it towards Hao Qi. A light green mist drifted from the tip of the wand, gently enveloping Hao Qi.

Within this layer of mist, Hao Qi's shriveled body seemed to swell up a little, regaining some vitality.

Her thin fingers twitched slightly, and her long eyelashes trembled as if she were struggling to open her eyes.

Before the elf opened her eyes, Dumbledore cast another spell on her. A faint golden light merged into the green mist.

Hao Qi slowly opened her eyes, revealing a pair of brown eyes the size of tennis balls.

Her eyes were filled with turbidity, and two lines of tears welled up and streamed down her dirty cheeks, leaving two clear marks on her face.

"Madam..." Hao Qi called out weakly, "I'm sorry... Madam... Hao Qi didn't mean it..."

She struggled to crawl toward Dumbledore, but she was too weak and had no strength left to do so.

“Stay there, Hawthorne,” Dumbledore said gently, gesturing for Snape to be quiet. “I don’t blame you. I know you didn’t mean it.”

"It's been so long since I've seen you. Without your care, my life has been a mess, so I wanted to come and see you."

“I know you’ve had a hard time here,” Dumbledore said in a low, gentle voice. “I still miss the days when you were there to take care of me.”

"Madam..." Hao Qi's thin chest heaved violently, as if she were about to suffocate, "Hao Qi misses you too..."

A mist brimming with the essence of life enveloped the little elf once again, and her breathing finally began to calm down.

“Haoqi,” Dumbledore said, looking into the elf’s eyes, “do you remember the day Tom Riddle came to visit us?”

“I remember, madam,” Hao Qi replied softly. “He brought you a bouquet of roses. He’s still as handsome and polite as ever, which makes you happy.”

"And then?" Dumbledore asked.

"Later..." Hao Qi's voice was filled with self-reproach and fear, and her body trembled slightly, "I'm sorry, Madam! Hao Qi thought it was candy! Hao Qi didn't mean to..."

“Oh, it’s alright, Hawthorne,” Dumbledore comforted her in a gentle voice. “I forgive you. Now, I need to see your memories. Can you look me in the eye and open your heart to me?”

“Yes, madam,” the little elf whispered. “Haoqi is at your service.”

As she spoke, Hao Qi strained to lift her head, her tear-filled eyes fixed longingly on Dumbledore's.

Dumbledore's deep blue eyes peered intently through his half-moon lenses at the little elf. After a moment, he pressed his wand against the elf's temple and carefully pulled out a silvery-blue substance that was neither gas nor liquid.

Then, Dumbledore took a slender-necked crystal bottle from his cloak and used his wand to put the strand of memory extracted from Hao Qi's mind into the bottle.

After doing all this, the little elf slowly closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep. The expression on her face seemed much calmer.

Dumbledore straightened up, carefully put the crystal bottle into the inner pocket of his cloak, and turned to leave.

Snape glanced at Dumbledore, then turned back to look at the sleeping Haze: "Professor, since she didn't do it, shouldn't we try to get Haze out of Azkaban?"

Dumbledore turned to Snape with a strange look in his eyes: "Severus, although you are so young, I never thought you would be so naive and childish as to ask such a question. Are you serious?"

Although seemingly dissatisfied with Snape's question, Dumbledore patiently explained, "If the number of departed beings doesn't match up, the Dementors will notice. Besides, at a time like this, overturning her case might alert Tom."

"At least, Hao Qi will feel that she has been forgiven by her master, don't you think?"

Oh, indeed, what Dumbledore said to himself was completely different from what he would say to Harry in the future.

Although his suspicions had been confirmed, Snape still couldn't help but retort to Dumbledore's assessment that he was young, naive, and childish.

"Yes, I understand, Professor. Some sacrifices are inevitable for the sake of the long-term benefit."

Dumbledore seemed to pause slightly as he walked out of the cell before resuming his normal pace, crossing the threshold, and leaving the cell.

Snape felt much better now. He thought to himself, "At least for his students, as long as they don't make any serious mistakes, the headmaster is pretty good-natured."

However, Snape still planned to find a time to let the headmaster know that he was "Dumbledore's man through and through." Otherwise, he was still a little worried about playing with fire.

The three walked towards the prison gate.

Along the way, Moody kept waving his wand to erase their traces, so that the Ministry of Magic staff who came to inspect later would not notice anything amiss.

Before boarding the small boat, Snape remembered the Dementor he had defeated.

"Professor, is that Dementor that my Guardian Angel destroyed before alright?"

“Dementors are non-existent,” Moody answered Snape’s question for Dumbledore. “They are constantly multiplying, and no one knows exactly how many there are, not even the Dementors themselves.”

"Alright, it's time to go back. If we dawdle any longer, the Aurors who deliver the food will be here soon."

The small boat slowly left Azkaban and sailed into the distance.

Back on shore, Moody carried a string of dazed attackers deeper into the land.

Dumbledore, along with Snape, Apparated to the gates of Hogwarts.

Back in the principal's office, the churning Pensieve was already waiting for them on the table.

　Thank you Yexiang and Yizhen Qingfeng Chui Mingyue for the monthly tickets.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)