His words caught Ivan's attention. As the best Potions Master in Britain, Snape's judgement could be trusted.
And this was consistent with his earlier prediction…
"You mean Dumbledore may be long dead?" Ivan muttered to himself, but quickly dismissed this as unlikely.
If that was the case, who had dueled him before?
Not to mention, he had identified Dumbledore's body, and there was no way to disguise such a serious injury.
"No, I'm saying it's possible he used some other method to temporarily stop the injury from breaking out." Snape shook his head, dismissing Ivan's theory, and explained further. "A few months ago, Dumbledore told me he might have a way to do that."
"Like this?" Yvonne rubbed her chin, lost in thought.
If Snape was not lying to him, then Dumbledore must have done something to delay his death, and the overwhelming power he displayed in the duel may have had something to do with it…
Could it be the Deathly Hallows?
Ivan's mind raced, and he hesitated, as Dumbledore had never even used the Elder Wand in a duel.
In addition, he had never thought much of these so-called Deathly Hallows. After all, according to information from the original dimension, other than the Elder Wand, the other two Hallows performed poorly.
For example, the Invisibility Cloak's effect was to make the wearer invisible. Although it was much better than a normal Disillusionment Charm, it still ran the risk of being seen through.
Not to mention the Resurrection Stone, which allows one to see only half-real, magical illusions that contain the memories of the original body, but are not real souls, and cannot bring back the dead…
Yvonne thought about it for a while, but she had no idea how to proceed, so she turned to Snape and asked, "You haven't answered my other question, Professor Snape. Did Headmaster Dumbledore give you any special instructions?"
"He told me that if you won this duel, you'd let me play along with you as best I could, and that the British wizarding community could not afford another Wizarding War," Snape explained.
Ivan nodded. This was good news, as Dumbledore's will seemed to be in his favour, perhaps even clearing his name.
"Aside from that, Dumbledore wanted me to be in charge of teaching Potter Occlumency so that he would not be affected by the Dark Lord's magic again…" Snape said, his expression turning sour.
"Harry?"
Ivan looked blank for a moment, as if he had just thought of something, but before he could ask, Snape added, "But I'm not interested in teaching him, and I think Potter would probably rather learn from you…"
"What else?" Ivan asked casually, skipping the subject.
"That's all…" Snape confirmed, then paused before speaking again. "Dumbledore is dead, and he can't help me. I don't have to hide anything from him."
Ivan studied him for a long moment, then said flatly, "I hope it had better be…"
"I know what to do…" Snape replied coldly.
Ivan nodded, not wanting to put Snape on the spot any further, and went straight to the point. "In that case, we'll do as you suggested. I'll give you six months to find the Secret-Keeper, and you'll need to bring him to me as much as possible!"
"Or you could try to gain Voldemort's trust and become the Secret-Keeper of the place!"
"As for Harry … Headmaster Dumbledore wants you to be in charge of teaching him, so let's do it. I may not have the time, and you are the best Occlumency Master I know," Ivan added pointedly.
Snape opened his mouth as if to argue, then reluctantly agreed.
"Aren't you going to ask me why Dumbledore trusted me?" Snape asked suddenly.
"No, you don't have to do that. I have reason to trust you, and I'm sure you'll keep Harry safe…" Ivan patted Snape on the shoulder, then left Snape standing there in a daze.
Ivan didn't look away until just before he pushed the door open and left.
"By the way, Professor Snape, even though your Occlumency was very good, I should warn you that you should not underestimate Harry. If your Dementor is countered and you reveal memories that you should not reveal, you will be in trouble."
"I'm not so bad that I can't handle a brat…" Snape snapped.
"I'm glad you're confident. Just keep an eye out." Yvonne shrugged. He had just mentioned it casually.
The original Time-Space Lisnip had been too careless in his attempt to teach Harry and underestimated Harry's abilities.
Now that he had reminded Snape of this, Snape was unlikely to repeat the mistake.
"Well then, I'll see you next term, Professor!" Ivan said, nodding slightly, and then he went through the door into the dark corridor without looking back.
As soon as Ivan disappeared down the corridor, Snape's calm expression turned ugly.
He did not expect Dumbledore to tell Ivan Hals about him and Lily.
Otherwise, it is impossible to explain why Ivan Harris specifically mentioned believing that he would protect Harry.
Snape clenched his fists, feeling more or less angry.
Dumbledore promised him that he would bury this story forever, but now he has broken his promise…
What annoyed Snape even more was the fact that Dumbledore was now dead, and it didn't matter how angry he was, Dumbledore couldn't possibly rise from his grave to answer Snape's questions, and Snape couldn't just burn Dumbledore's body out of spite…
As Snape thought about this, he felt a burning sensation on his arm, and the irritation on his face subsided. He pulled his sleeve back, and the Dark Mark on his wrist turned slightly red. The snake that had slithered out of the skull seemed alive.
Immediately after, a command was transmitted into his mind.
Understanding that the Dark Lord was summoning him, Snape used his magic to lift his black robes and leapt from the top of the tower.
What he did not see, however, was Ivan emerging from the shadows once more…
(PS: End of Volume Five.)