A certain Hogwarts rune professor

Chapter 667
Harry stared blankly at the thing.

"The stag? That's your Patronus?" Ron exclaimed in astonishment. He looked around, then took a small breath as if thinking of something, and said, "Could—could someone have used a Time-Turner? We Using a time-turner!?"

"No, I don't think so," said Harry, half sure, half doubtful. "It's not a stag, it's...it's some other horned creature."

At this moment, Hermione tugged at his sleeve and said in surprise, "Harry! Ron! Look over there, that, that's—"

They looked away from the castle and saw a small, vague gray figure in the gap between the cast iron gates.

"... Dumbledore?" Ron's eyes puffed up.

"No," Harry said excitedly, though he didn't know why. "It's Aberforth. Come on, let's go!" He jumped off the half-climbed slope, flying fast.

While running, some vague thoughts formed in his mind, maybe Aberforth knew something, Voldemort's wand... If Principal Dumbledore really planned to give it to Snape, it must have something to do with him.

Harry thought eagerly that until now he had no idea how to remove the Soul Fragment from his body.

At the gate of the cast iron gate, Harry and Aberforth faced each other, "Boy, is it you?" Aberforth yelled violently, he suspected that his Patronus had passed the news to the wrong person.

"It's me," gasped Harry, with a mixed feeling that he knew what the old man had been through.

"What's wrong?" Aberforth said impatiently.At this moment, Ron and Hermione came running out of breath.

"Well," Harry racked his brains, "we just saw you... your Patronus, that big horned guy..."

"Goats, yes, goats," said Aberforth absently, looking out towards the castle with Dumbledore's blue eyes.

"You're looking for Headmaster Dumbledore, aren't you?" Harry suddenly understood Aberforth's purpose, "Unfortunately, I don't know how to open the door, there are protective spells cast around Hogwarts..." As a result, his words sound like Poked a hornet's nest.

"I don't want to go in, not at all, understand!" Aberforth suddenly growled, and the three of Harry were taken aback. "This place disgusts me, I can't believe he did this! After what happened!"

"Mr. Dumbledore? You—" said Hermione nervously.

"Don't call me that!" Aberforth yelled, "I—Ariana—" He gasped violently, his eyes widened horribly, and his wand spewed out clusters of flames, as if he might kill at any moment.

The three people who were separated by only one door were petrified.

After a moment, Aberforth calmed himself down.

"Mind your own business, you guys."

"But," Harry braved, "if you don't like it here, why are you here? And you're spending the holidays with... Headmaster Dumbledore."

Muscles in Aberforth's face trembled.

"You want to know? Because my mean and shameless brother threatened me and forced me to make a choice... Look, here he comes." He said viciously, Harry turned his head sharply, and headmaster Dumbledore suddenly appeared Not far away, he was striding towards them.

"Headmaster Dumbledore," Harry whispered, feeling ashamed that he might have strayed into the conflict between the Dumbledore brothers, or that he hadn't defended him decisively.

Dumbledore just nodded slightly and said, "Go back first."

So the three of Harry hurried away without daring to breathe.They walked a distance, and Harry glanced back. Headmaster Dumbledore had his back to them, unable to make out his expression; but every wrinkle on Aberforth's face was filled with disgust, and he yelled:

"You won, Albus. I promise you, the memory is yours, for, for Aryan..."

"Where do you think Dumbledore's brother is so angry? He looks like his lungs are going to explode—" Harry and the three climbed up the white stone steps all the way through the auditorium. When the spiral staircase appeared in sight, Luo En said impatiently.

"Hush." ​​Harry was about to answer when Hermione interrupted, pointing cautiously into the distance.

Mafalda stood under the huge bulletin board, holding a piece of cardboard in her hand, and she was talking to Peeves with her head up, as if she was interviewing him. "Mr. Peeves, can you tell me about the prank you are most proud of?"

"You've found the right person!" Peeves said with a smile on his face. He was floating in the air, trying to put on a thoughtful expression, twirling a clown hat with his fingers.

"Don't disturb them," Harry whispered immediately, leading Ron and Hermione to slow down and up the spiral staircase.

"Her business branched out into ghosts?" said Ron incredulously. "Peves is not a ghost." Hermione retorted subconsciously, but Harry didn't say a word. He was not interested in Peeves and the business scope of the "Mystery Wall" tabloid. He just wanted to go back to the common room and clear his mind.

Harry quickened his pace and stepped up two steps at a time. When he saw the second floor, there was a commotion downstairs.

"...The most proud prank is of course this time!" Peeves excitedly cried from below, followed by a "crackling" sound like raindrops.

"Chalkhead," Ron said firmly, stopping, "Mafalda is in trouble."

But then there was a rapid mantra chanting from downstairs—"Wadi Vasi! Lock tongue and throat!" Peeves' voice followed closely, "Mr. Peeves, I am prepared Come..." The three of Harry walked up another floor, and Mafalda's triumphant voice became weaker and finally disappeared.

"I'm going to look at Mafalda with admiration," said Ron admiringly.

"Harry, did you think of anything?" Hermione asked, they slowed down now, and she looked up and down the corridors to the left and right for a while, but saw no one else.

"Kindly," said Harry, sitting on the stairs, "Snape's gift, Headmaster Dumbledore's strange behavior, and Aberforth's anger... Oh, and they mentioned Ali Anna, these must be related, and—” He paused, “I think it has something to do with me.”

Ron glanced uneasily at the portraits on the wall, several of which quietly opened their eyes, and he waved his wand threateningly. "Don't try to eavesdrop, get out of here." The portrait figure left the frame cursing.

"You - are - a prefect," said Hermione to Ron angrily.

"Yeah, I'm a prefect," said Ron. "It's a nice place, we can hear footsteps when people come by."

Hermione paid no attention to him, cast a whispered curse towards the vicinity, turned her head and said to Harry angrily: "You said that, I also noticed the abnormality, although we have long known that Principal Dumbledore and his brother are different. It's a harmonious relationship, but since Aberforth is a member of the Order of the Phoenix, it means that the relationship between the two has eased, but now they..."

"Like an enemy," said Harry, nodding.

"Could it be that our headmaster did something?" Ron said: "You have also heard that Aberforth is quite repulsed by the surname 'Dumbledore', and it must have something to do with the headmaster."

Harry thought Ron was on to something.

"He even developed a loathing for school."

"Wait, Harry, listen to this:" Hermione said slowly, "I can't believe he's doing this, after what happened... that's what Aberforth said, remember? "

"Hermione, you're just repeating my point. This again proves that Aberforth's attitude has something to do with Headmaster Dumbledore," Ron pointed out.

"No, no, there's a nuance." Hermione mused, "What do you think you're referring to after 'those things' happened?" She didn't leave time for an answer, but went on, "I think it was the tragedy, Harry, that you told us about..."

Ariana's death - an accident caused by the duel between Dumbledore, Grindelwald and Aberforth.

"Think about it, nearly a century has passed since the tragedy, but now Aberforth has uncovered it again. There must be something that stimulated him, and it has something to do with the tragedy itself."

"Memories," said Harry breathlessly, "Aberforth mentioned memories at the end, and I guess Dumbledore wanted his brother's memories."

Hermione froze.

"But why?"

"Because of the Resurrection Stone," said Harry, sitting on the steps, very weakly, thinking he had guessed the truth. "Dumbledore owns the Resurrection Stone. Yes, it is one of the Deathly Hallows in your impression. Its function is to recall the projection of the deceased in the memory of the living. Dumbledore should want to get his brother's precious Memory, after all, there are only these two people left in the Dumbledore family."

"How do you know?" Ron asked in surprise, he carefully observed Harry's expression, "You knew this a long time ago? Then you followed us to the secret room to find the resurrection stone—"

"I guess Headmaster Dumbledore asked Harry to keep it a secret, didn't he?" Hermione asked, staring at Harry, who nodded silently.Hermione continued: "So it's not surprising that Dumbledore asked for the memory. After all, Arianna and Aberforth are closer and their memory is more accurate, but this should be a good thing for Aberforth. Why is he angry?"

"Wait, I don't know yet," Ron protested, "You skipped a crucial step. What's the use of these memories?"

Harry opened his mouth, but Hermione said it first, "Room seven."

Harry stared at her in astonishment.

"What? Don't you think so?" Hermione asked in surprise.

"I thought... Dumbledore was trying to resurrect his sister..." Harry muttered.

"That's impossible, Harry," said Hermione hotly, "how many times do I have to say that? Magic doesn't bring people back from the dead, at least not in the way you'd hope. Because the conditions simply can't be met. Dead wizards either become Ghosts, or spirits step into the world of the dead, keep going."

"Oh, so you think Dumbledore wants to extract the memories of two people, and then use the power of the resurrection stone to make Ariana live in Room [-] in a certain way, just like those memories?" Ron understood.

"That's what I think," said Hermione. "This should be the method with the highest success rate, but I don't think Dumbledore should do it. He should be wise enough to tell the difference between real and fake."

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked sensitively.

"Do you think ghosts are living people? And there are magical portraits?" Hermione asked back like a cannonball: "They do have the wisdom of living people in some aspects, but if you really treat them as living people, absolutely You will be disappointed, and even the closer you get, the more desperate you will be."

Harry felt uncomfortable for a while.

He thought of the second child in "The Legend of the Three Brothers". In the story, the second child got the resurrection stone from the god of death to recall the projection of his lover, but he was not happy, did he realize this? Question, the projection of the memory is different from the person after all, so in the end, all thoughts were lost and he chose to commit suicide?

"What you're talking about is just speculation," he said stiffly.

"We're talking speculation," said Hermione.

"Okay, stop arguing, someone is coming up." Ron glanced down and said.

They stood up and continued upstairs.At this time, Hermione was still thinking about Aberforth's strange attitude: "Is it because he recognized the truth that he refused to hand over the memory? He thinks that Principal Dumbledore did something wrong, and even blasphemed the dead? I always I feel something is wrong, maybe something has been overlooked..."

"Aberforth finally gave in. That's why he's here today," said Ron.

"Oh--"

Hermione screamed suddenly, and Harry and Ron followed their gazes as Snape glided toward him like a huge black bat.

"Why are you here?" Harry asked in a daze.

Snape looked at them coldly.

"I don't need to report to you where I appear, Potter. Five points will be deducted from Gryffindor for contradicting the teacher." He dragged his long robes and looked down at Ron and Hermione, "Two more points will be deducted." , but as a prefect, he didn't stop it."

"Unlucky. It's as if he's been waiting here to take points off us," Ron muttered disapprovingly as Snape left.

"I think he just came out of Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom," whispered Hermione.

"What? Oh, yes." Harry suddenly realized, "I always thought he was still in class in the basement. But he should be sharing a classroom with Professor Bagshot now, no wonder I saw him in the corridor on the fourth floor several times... "

"He's one of the Defense Against the Dark Arts professors now." Ron said with a sigh, "But we can look forward to it a little bit, and make a bet on whether we'll see him next year. Well, to be fair, I think Snape has the upper hand, Professor Bagshot is a newcomer, and he made it clear that he will only teach for one year..."

"Wait, what did you just say?" Hermione asked suddenly.

Ron looked at her strangely.

"...Only for one year?"

"You just said that Professor Bagshot is a newcomer." Hermione said slowly: "If what Aberforth objects to is a certain practice of Dumbledore, and this practice is clearly related to their younger sister who died young, then apart from memory , what else could it be?"

……

Late at night, in the principal's office, the light was very dim.

"You should have thought it over, Severus, you are the most suitable candidate." Dumbledore said softly, using the faint moonlight to identify the figure not far away.

Snape stood in front of the window with a stiff expression, like a statue.

"Are you sure, Dumbledore?"

"I'm quite sure that my physical condition is not as good as yours, and now is the best time." Dumbledore smiled in the dark, "I have to say, I am very lucky, Severus. When I need, With you by my side."

Snape shook his head irritably, walking up and down the spacious circular room.

"You want me to go undercover again, huh? Dumbledore!" he growled.

"Not undercover. You know what I'm talking about, just some necessary preparations." Dumbledore said lightly, "You are a good man, Severus, even though you have done wrong things."

long silence.

"I may not do what you want. Maybe I'll turn around and betray you," Snape said threateningly.

"It's a choice, Severus, but I'm sure you'll make the right judgment." Dumbledore said confidently with a spark of joy in his eyes.

Snape stared at Dumbledore, and the two stared at each other, one frowning and the other smiling.After an unknown amount of time, Snape compromised. He raised his wand and pointed at Dumbledore:
"Except your weapons!"

The Elder Wand came out of his hand in an instant.

(End of this chapter)