Snape, the Sunshine of Hogwarts

Severus said, "When Shackles finds you again, pretend to admit that you were actually covering for me before, and that you knew I brewed that medicine."

Not just anyone can take the blame for something like this, but Severus perfectly fits all the criteria.

He was also a renowned potions master in the British magical world, whose abilities were even stronger than Slughorn's, and brewing such a living hell potion was no problem for him.

However, Snape's face darkened noticeably after Severus offered to take the blame.

Slughorn had also thought of this, and he certainly knew that Severus would be the best scapegoat if he was willing!

He didn't agree immediately, but instead gave Severus a deep look.

"What are you planning to do if you want to leave Hogwarts temporarily?"

As a contemporary of Dumbledore, and having lived to such an old age, Slughorn is no fool.

He naturally realized that the main reason Severus personally invited him to return to Hogwarts was because he wanted to leave.

Perhaps letting Dumbledore take over Slytherin again was a difficult problem he set for Severus.

Slughorn had already guessed most of the facts, but Severus didn't mind that he knew.

"You can tell I'm making changes, Professor. Leaving Hogwarts for a while and traveling around is one of the changes I'm planning to make."

Severus always has a smile on his face when he talks about himself.

"Life can't always be confined to that castle, right? The world outside is vast, and I want to take advantage of my youth to see more places."

If the old Severus Snape had given such a reason, Slughorn would never have believed it.

But now, he has few doubts.

Taking a deep breath, Slughorn finally agreed.

"If you can do what you say, I can agree to return to Hogwarts and take your place."

Severus was not surprised that he would eventually agree.

The potion poisoning case caused quite a stir in the British wizarding community, as it not only harmed a Muggle but also involved the Secret Service Act.

If it is discovered that the potion came from Slughorn, regardless of whether he intentionally leaked it, it will severely damage his reputation.

However, Severus's willingness to take the blame for him does not mean he is willing to admit to the crime.

"Then tell me about what happened with that potion."

"You want to investigate this case yourself?" Slughorn asked in surprise.

“Try investigating.” Severus didn’t deny it. “If I can catch the real culprit before the Aurors come looking for me, then even if the potion is determined to be made by me, they won’t think there’s anything wrong with me, right?”

Slughorn couldn't help but sigh as he recalled the moment a week ago when he discovered the potion was missing.

"It must have been stolen on the 13th, at the dinner party the club hosted this month."

Severus listened attentively to Slughorn's story.

"That bottle of Hellish Potion was indeed an accidental discovery of mine. After improving some of the formula and appropriately increasing the amount of Sleepy Beans, it can almost put the person who takes it into a permanent sleep."

"But even so, it was just an accidental discovery. The Living Hell Soup itself is not a poison, and permanent sleep is nothing new. So after that, I put it together with the ordinary Living Hell Soup without any special labeling."

"However, it was lost right after the banquet on the 13th! I only discovered it was missing two days later, and I couldn't find it no matter how hard I looked."

"It wasn't until I saw the news in the newspaper and Shaker came to my door to ask me about it that I realized someone had stolen it to harm people!"

Severus then spoke up and asked a question.

Who attended the banquet that day?

Slughorn rocked back and forth in his recliner, reminiscing.

"There are too many people. You know I have a wide circle of friends, almost including all kinds of celebrities in the British magical world."

"Do you remember who went in and out of the room where you stored the Hellfire Elixir?"

“Those potions were all put into the cellar. When the banquet was held, the cellar was temporarily used to store wine. Many people went in and out at that time. The Living Hell Potion is not a precious potion. I did not lock the room where it was stored.”

His answers offered almost no clues, and after a moment's thought, Severus continued to ask.

"Were there any newlyweds attending the banquet that day for the first time?"

Slughorn looked at the ceiling and recalled.

"There were about seven or eight newcomers that day: Alvin Fleck, editor of the Daily Divination, Marvin Mike, the maker of the Comet series of magic brooms, and his son."

"Elder Wolper, a commercial writer who has gained fame in the last two years, along with his vampire friends, former captain of the Hellhead Happy Quidditch team, Gwenorg Jones, and Donahan Tumlett and several of his friends, are members of the quirky sister band."

As Slughorn said, his social circle was very wide. Among the newcomers who came to the club banquet for the first time that day, none of them had overlapping professions. There were editors, authors, broom makers, golfers, and band members.

Furthermore, it's not necessarily true that these people were the ones who stole the medicine.

Severus shook his head. He couldn't find any valuable clues from Slughorn. If he wanted to investigate this matter further, he would need to use other channels.

"Since you improved that potion of living hell, no one should be able to develop an antidote faster than you. If you have some free time during this period, Professor, you might as well try to brew a potion of the antidote."

Upon hearing this, Slughorn smiled wryly.

"After learning about this case, I started trying to brew an antidote. This is the only compensation I can offer to the victims."

How long will it take for the antidote to take effect?

"It will take at least two weeks. I added some special ingredients to the modified Hellfire Elixir, and it won't be easy to counteract its medicinal properties."

"Then please do it as soon as possible."

After saying that, Severus prepared to take Harry and leave.

Before seeing them out, Slughorn asked one last worried question.

Where do you plan to go next?

Severus, for Harry who was too embarrassed to eat grapes, grabbed two bunches of grapes and put them in his large pocket.

"Go to the Ministry of Magic."

What are your thoughts on Chapter 18? - Harry

"Go to the Ministry of Magic? Are you so eager to walk right into their trap?!"

On his way away from the Slughorn family home, Ghost Snape finally couldn't contain his suppressed dissatisfaction and uttered a sarcastic remark.

Severus certainly knew what he was unhappy about.

This greasy bat spirit didn't seem to heed what he said yesterday, and hasn't fully accepted the fact that the two of them are now one.

"Old Slughorn, use your never-washed brain and think it over. If I were really going to turn myself in right now, would I need to make Slughorn wait for Shackleton to come looking for him before admitting that I made the potion?"

Severus thought to himself speechlessly that Ghost Snape might not be confused, but rather asking the question on purpose to find a reason to mock him.

"Perhaps you don't care at all about the reputation I've maintained all these years!" Ghost Snape said coldly.

His words made Severus laugh.

"Hahaha! Your reputation? Don't be ridiculous, old Slytherin. You're a filthy Death Eater, a blatantly biased Slytherin headmaster. What good reputation do you think you have? Even a student like Percy is talking behind your back!"

Ghost Snape looked as terrible as a squash!

He had a bellyful of sarcastic and bitter words, but he couldn't utter a single one. He could only listen to Severus continue.

"But the old you had no reputation. From now on, I definitely can't let my reputation get so bad. Otherwise, when I travel around the magic world, everyone will gossip about me behind my back, which would be too embarrassing."

"I took the blame for that potion, but I can't just admit guilt without knowing the facts. I need to find out what actually happened first."

"We're going to the Ministry of Magic to find Shackleton. We won't find any useful clues with Slughorn, so let's go see the victim before the Aurors find out the source of the potion. Maybe we'll find something."

After saying a few more words, Severus noticed that Ghost Snape seemed so angry that he had closed his eyes and wouldn't even look at him. He stopped grumbling and stopped making a fool of himself.

In reality, while eating grapes from his pocket and following behind Severus, Harry couldn't help but ask the question that had been on his mind.

"Teacher, how did you determine that the potion belonged to that gentleman?"

Upon hearing his question, Severus gave an answer that seemed completely irrelevant.

"Because Dumbledore asked me to go and fetch him back."

Harry, who was eating grapes, was stunned.

Seeing his confusion, Severus explained further.

“Remember the letter I received yesterday at the Leaky Cauldron? It was written by Dumbledore, inviting Slughorn to take over my position at Hogwarts. He wants me to take this letter and persuade that stubborn, fame-seeking old man to return to Hogwarts.”

"If everything goes smoothly, this is basically an impossible task."

“As you just heard, Slughorn absolutely cannot accept being my replacement, as it would make him the laughingstock behind his back. But while Dumbledore does enjoy being a riddle-maker and has eccentric ideas, he would never assign someone a task that is impossible to complete. He must have known something beforehand.”

"What else could make Slughorn make a choice that damages his reputation? That potion of living hell that not just anyone can concoct is the clear answer."

Harry nodded, seemingly understanding.

He is only 9 years old after all. There are many things he has not experienced and many ideas he has not thought about. This is not a good educational case.

However, Severus, just like those annoying language arts teachers who assign reflection assignments, still asked the question.

"So, what are your thoughts on this, Harry?"

Harry hesitated for a moment, then said uncertainly.

"Teacher, are you saying that we shouldn't be discouraged when facing problems, and that as long as we face them positively, we can always find a solution?"

Severus laughed and said loudly.

"No, I want you to know that you need to be more careful when dealing with Dumbledore in the future!"

While Harry was still completely stunned, Severus laughed heartily and led him away from the town.

London, on a dirty street with a few dilapidated buildings, a pub, and a wall covered in graffiti.

Inside the dilapidated red telephone booth, Harry and Severus squeezed in, picked up the phone, and dialed "62442".

Just as the dial pad on the phone returned to its original position, a cold female voice suddenly came from above the phone booth.

"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and the purpose of your visit."

“Severus Snape and Dudley Dursley, we’re here to see Kingsley Shackleton of the Auror Office to assist with the investigation into the potion poisoning of Muggles.”

Harry looked up at the top in surprise. There was silence on the other side of the phone booth for about ten seconds, as if they were confirming and preparing something, before the voice resumed.

"Thank you, Professor Snape. Please take the badge and pin it on your clothes. Also, please keep an eye on the children."

Then, a clinking sound rang out, and two silver badges rolled out from the groove where the phone booth was originally used to return coins.

The two badges bore the names of Severus and Dudley, respectively, with the words "Cooperate with the investigation" written after each name.

They each picked up their own badge and pinned it to their clothes. Then, the phone booth suddenly began to vibrate.

Harry was startled and instinctively grabbed Severus's sleeve, watching in horror as they plummeted into the ground along with the phone booth floor!

That cold, accented female voice reminded him again, as usual.

"Guests from the Ministry of Magic, you will need to have your wands checked at the security checkpoint, located at the far end of the main hall."

The sinking lasted for more than a minute before they finally saw the light again.

The golden light first shone on their feet, then quickly expanded, eventually enveloping their entire bodies, making them realize that they were now in a magnificent golden hall!

"The Ministry of Magic wishes you a pleasant day." The woman's blessing revealed her weariness with her work.

The phone booth door suddenly opened, and Severus stepped out first. Harry, like a country bumpkin visiting the city for the first time, stared in disbelief at everything around him.

Two or three seconds later, he came to his senses again and quickly caught up with Severus.

Chapter 19 Antidote Team

Through the bustling, opulent hall, Harry stayed close behind Severus.

He looked around at everyone in surprise. Almost every wizard coming and going was in a hurry. They were moving through the lobby of the Ministry of Magic, either going to handle some business or preparing to take the elevator away.

During this time, many young wizards saw Severus, and their eyes were more or less filled with surprise. They then took the initiative to greet their professor.

They continued until they reached the other end of the hall, leaving behind the stream of wizards heading towards the golden gate, and came to a table.

A sign on the table read "Security Check," and behind the table sat a wizard in a dark green robe.

He had a copy of the Daily Prophet covering his face, and you could faintly hear him snoring.

Severus raised his hand and tapped the table.