"As I said, they have extraordinarily vivid imaginations," Snape said, materialising on one side of the Headmaster's office, his dark expression sour.
Snape, who had watched the whole thing with the Disillusionment Charm, had, of course, heard Harry's diatribe about him, and felt that he must have deducted too few points and not been intimidating enough.
"It's more than imagination, it's more likely reality," Dumbledore reminded him, giving Snape a look of mild exasperation, as Snape would not have been considered a prime suspect if not for his frequent attacks on Harry.
However, Dumbledore was well aware of Snape's special feelings for Harry and was unable to convince Snape to change his mind.
"So?" Snape said flatly, fixing Dumbledore with his blank stare. "It's clear now about Chino. He must be connected to Lord Voldemort. What will you do with him?"
Dumbledore did not reply, but fell silent again.
"You don't think any of those lame traps under the trapdoor could stop Chino, or the Dark Lord, do you?" Snape asked, puzzled, then realizing something.
"Or were those tests meant for Potter and the others?"
Snape looked at Dumbledore mockingly.
"To send a few first-year wizards through the gates to face the Dark Lord? Ah… what a great adventure…"
Snape's anger grew, and he wondered if Dumbledore had been reading too many biographies lately, or if he was suffering from Alzheimer's.
"Severus!" Dumbledore interrupted Snape.
"You should know that I can't protect Harry all the time, and that some proper growth is necessary. At least now I have the ability to keep the danger under control."
Dumbledore paused for a moment, his face becoming more ancient.
"I'm old, and I can feel my strength ebbing away. Tom, on the other hand, is weak, but as long as he doesn't die, he will one day regain his strength, perhaps even become stronger…
If we don't find a way to protect him from death, there's nothing we can do…"
"Within control? That's the Dark Lord!" Snape demanded. He knew that Dumbledore was telling the truth, but he could not accept it.
True, Harry's body was protected by Lily's protective spell, which prevented Voldemort from touching him or even directly harming him.
However, this magic was not invincible, and Voldemort could have used other means to circumvent the restrictions and indirectly kill the rest of them.
Apart from anything else, Harry would be burned to a crisp by a single Fire-Biting Charm…
"Nothing is perfectly safe… Severus, you should know exactly what the prophecy says, and we must prepare for the worst!" Dumbledore insisted.
"You don't think you'll live to see the day, so you're pinning your hopes on that crazy bitch Trelawney's fable? With the help of the Philosopher's Stone… you could have lived forever."
Snape looked at Dumbledore with disappointment, unable to understand why the greatest white wizard of the century would place his hopes on an eleven-year-old child, when the Philosopher's Stone was right there, within easy reach of eternal life, and Dumbledore had all the time in the world to deal with it.
"Sometimes being alive is not necessarily a good thing," said Dumbledore, looking away from the Mirror of Eris to Snape.
"And I said it would be in the worst case scenario, so it might go well." Dumbledore's tone was light, but his frown did not relax.
After all, what happened eleven years ago was the best evidence of the prophecy, and he had to believe it, which was why he was so anxious to train Harry.
"I only hope you remember our agreement," Snape said, then left the Headmaster's office without another word.
Even if Dumbledore was reluctant to act, he would do what he could.
For example, warn Chino…
…
Ivan came out of the Headmaster's office unaware that there was another conversation going on.
Ivan, who was not going to waste his student status, took advantage of the remaining time to send Harry and the others away to brew a Bloodline Fusion Potion.
Despite the lack of the most important ingredient, brewing the potion took some time, so Ivan had to make preparations.
Dried nettles, black reeds, rat Lee, black bat horn…
From the cupboard in the storeroom, Ivan took out the potion ingredients that he had prepared in advance and placed them into the cauldron one by one, then brewed them according to the instructions given by the system.
Grinding, mixing, mixing…
With his brain working a hundred times faster than normal, Ivan's movements were precise and precise, unlike the first time he had done it.
Ivan finally understood why one only needed to be in Grade 4 Potions to brew a high-level potion that originally required Grade 6 Potions.
A large number of precious herbs were added to Ivan's cauldron, and the resulting mixture was a mess, grey and vaguely pungent.
This, however, was within Ivan's expectations. All that was needed was to wait for the potion in the cauldron to turn as clear as water.
All you need to do is add the dragon's blood and you're done…
[Remaining time: 00:11:09…]
"It took about thirty minutes." Yvonne glanced at the remaining time on the experience card in the system.
The brewing of the potion was much faster than he had expected, and he was prepared to spend a hundred GPA on it.
Ivan spent the remaining eleven minutes practising non-restrictive spells, such as the Transfiguration Charm and the Levitation Charm, before leaving the Room of Requirement satisfied.
As they walked down the Hogwarts corridor, Ivan wondered if he should go to the library or go back to the dormitory, and was surprised to see two familiar figures, both with tongues several times larger than normal.
"George Fred?" Yvonne wanted to laugh at their antics, but then remembered that he had given them two toffees for Christmas.
'So it can't be my fault?'
Should he run first?