Hogwarts 1991

Chapter 32 Night Talk 2
"Maybe I know why the Sorting Hat is crazy!" Snape muttered.

He recalled everything he had seen in his memory just now, and he had never seen such a crazy and weird family.

What kind of family is this?
Besides that, Snape remembered the first time he had met MacGuffin Albert.

Snape smelled the same kind of person from this child, it was a secret smell, and Snape confirmed this situation even more in the memory just now.

……how to say?

No way!He shook his head in his heart, driving away the absurd thought in his mind.

That look, that kid's look - haughty, like they wizards look at Muggles.

It's just like……

Just like that man - the Dark Lord, in his eyes other wizards are just a handy tool.He used fear, temptation, and magic to penetrate deep into the minds of everyone he came into contact with, turning them into his own minions.

These people will never understand, how they see Muggles, how the Dark Lord sees them, in his eyes everyone is like nothing.

Although the child's eyes were not as cold-blooded and ruthless as the Dark Lord's, Snape could feel that the child thought that he was different from wizards like them, as if they viewed Muggles as superior.

Feeling something was wrong, Snape secretly used Dementia when they met for the first time. Even without a wand, Snape could squeeze enough information into the minds of ordinary wizards, but in this child's brain... it always felt uncoordinated, as if it had been carefully arranged.

As a group of people who were almost the top in Occlumency, Snape quickly discovered some clues from the memories he saw.

The memories were all real, but there were traces of concealing secrets, like some important information and memories were missing, Snape instinctively smelled it.

That's the smell of a secret being covered up.

The boy, he, the MacGuffin, could use Occlumency.

And attainments are not low.

Snape explained his feelings for MacGuffin Albert to Dumbledore in detail, and finally concluded; "Very precocious, the mental age is hardly like an 11-year-old little wizard."

"Although it's unlikely, I always feel that this boy's Occlumency is no less than mine... And in my memory, you reminded me again and again, I'm afraid you've also discovered this problem, or have you tried it--Inspiriting?"

"Occlumency?" Dumbledore tapped his index finger on the table slowly, making a bang, without answering Snape's question.

"And... I always feel that the way he looks at us is a bit strange, with a bit of scrutiny... that kind of... that condescending look - just like the way we look at Muggles, but he probably doesn't realize it, after all, he hasn't concealed this look at all."

Dumbledore remained silent.

"That's it. My opinion is consistent with Professor McGonagall. No matter whether there is a problem with the Sorting Hat - at least McGuffin Albert should be reassigned, or at least removed from Harry's side. It's not that he suspects an 11-year-old little wizard, but he can no longer be regarded as a simple freshman."

"Snape, I put this boy in the same dormitory as Harry. Don't worry about it, it's my decision. You'll know why later," said Dumbledore.

"You..." Snape noticed that Dumbledore's expression was serious, and he didn't seem to change his mind, so he changed his mind and asked, "Professor Dumbledore, what do you think of this boy?"

After Snape himself finished speaking, he stared at Dumbledore's expression, and then asked without waiting for an answer: "This boy, what kind of person is he? What kind of crazy thoughts are hidden in his head, what kind of secrets are he hiding, and it is worth his effort to learn [Occlumency]."

"Severus, the important thing is not who the boy is now, but who he will choose. I just hope that when Voldemort returns, we will need to be more prepared, or more powerful. The boy will be on our side." Dumbledore said.

"Has the Dark Lord ever returned? It's been so many years... So many years! Eleven years! And what is it about this boy that makes you pay so much attention to him?"

"Could it be some kind of ridiculous prophecy again..." Snape leaned over Dumbledore excitedly, and couldn't help but hammer the other side's table.

"You should know, you know better than anyone else, Severus! That night—Voldemort is not dead, so he must come back. When he comes back, we have to train Harry, which is not enough of course, but also have enough strength to stand on our side, to stand with Harry..."

"We'll have to wait a little while to see, I'm sure Harry will make this boy part of the force behind him..."

"That's it?" Snape was very dissatisfied with Dumbledore's answer, and two puffs of gas came out of his nose.

"That's it." Dumbledore replied lightly.

"So what did you see in that boy's head with your Legilimency?"

"Don't say you haven't used it, there will always be some secrets revealed from the brain, maybe unimportant, maybe fabricated, but it always represents a part of this boy." Snape may have thought of the past, and emphasized in a low growl.

He knew that Dumbledore's dementia was more powerful. Without using a wand, he could find out that something was wrong with the boy, and Dumbledore would discover the other half of the boy. He couldn't bear Lily's child being hurt again in his own hands.

He desperately wanted to know if Dumbledore knew anything about the boy that would endanger Harry.

"I can't see more than you. As you said, I'm afraid this child has already mastered [Occlumency], and his attainments are not low... Severus! Legilimency is not just about seeing through thoughts and memories, but more importantly, observing a person's soul and nature—McGuffin Albert can see that his soul is not what Voldemort was at that time..."

Dumbledore didn't say it in the end, and reserved what he wanted to say next.

The two were silent.

Snape seemed dissatisfied with the answer, and gritted his teeth, "You—what do you mean?"

He felt that Dumbledore seemed to be perfunctory to himself.I felt a little resentful that such a child didn't tell me the truth.

"I think you should take a look. This is a letter from Ollivander in Diagon Alley—the boy did not start learning magic until he received the letter. Although he doesn't know where he heard about [Inspiriting] and [Occlumency], it was at that time that he came into contact with Occlumency on purpose." Dumbledore did not answer directly, but took out an envelope written on parchment.

Snape took the envelope and examined it carefully.

This is a letter from Ollivander to Dumbledore, which described in detail the connection between Harry's wand and the Dark Lord's wand, and finally said that McGuffin Albert's choice of wand is a characteristic of performance (a characteristic of life and death), which caught his attention.

Later, Lester, the second-hand thrift shop that bought old wands from him, told him an amazing fact when chatting, a little Muggle wizard wanted to learn [Occlumency] beyond his control, and later he knew that this little wizard was McGuffin.

When Dumbledore was checking the letter with Snape, he continued: "Occlumency is to create lies in the brain to isolate the mind-taking, even I can only see what he makes me want to see, and I already know the performance - he is just a little Muggle-born wizard who likes curious magic, but this boy is probably the most talented student since entering school!"

"Perhaps! Is he really an 11-year-old kid? Can he learn [Occlumency] with only a few books before he has ever learned magic?" Snape questioned.

"Whether you believe in his magical gifts or not, when Voldemort returns, perhaps we will need it as part of our power."

"Talent? Him? Surpassing the Dark Lord!?" Snape vaguely sensed the meaning in Dumbledore's words, and asked directly in a surprised and mocking tone.

"Yes, his talent is very likely to surpass that of the Dark Lord. Even if it wasn't for him, he would be an important experience in Harry's life. This boy may even bring unexpected changes to our world!" Dumbledore replied seriously as if he didn't hear Snape's ridicule.

After hearing these words, the portraits of the principals on the surrounding walls expressed shock and exclamation.

Snape remained silent, staring at Dumbledore. He knew that it was impossible for him to convince the headmaster who had his own idea in front of him.

"Severus, you have to trust the experience of an old man..."

"Experience..." Snape repeated with a sneer, and then stopped pestering and asked another pointed question, "Then how can we judge that this child will not grow up to be another You-Know-Who?"

Silence fell in Dumbledore's office, and even the photos of the headmaster's office were silent for a while.

"We have no way of judging. Now we just know that this child has a good talent, and the rest is up to us teachers to guide him to the right path."

"What's more, a lot of contact with Harry is beneficial to both of them in every way... Remember, don't overestimate his talent, and don't underestimate him. He is just an 11-year-old wizard. What can he do?"

"In contrast, you need to pay more attention to Quirrell's movements! Snape!"

The two stared at each other, and all previous Hogwarts principals also stared at them. The air in the whole room kept silently freezing, only the Sorting Hat kept shaking and making noise.

Almost fell off the table.

Snape took one last deep look at Dumbledore and said, "I hope you know what you're doing is right."

He left Dumbledore's office.

After Snape left, the fire in the fireplace was blazing, and Dumbledore lay on the chair, recalling that night 11 years ago, or a more distant memory - the day he met Voldemort, Tom Riddle.

"They're not the same—"

"Maybe... this can bring about a change!"

Dumbledore said deeply alone, not knowing whether he was speaking to his past self or his present self.

The fire kept flickering in the entire office, and there was almost silence, except for the murmurs of the previous headmasters and wizards in the photos, and a constantly shaking Sorting Hat.

(End of this chapter)