A drawing of an intertwined snake and skull.
It was, without a doubt, the symbol of the 'Death Eaters,' the followers of Voldemort.
The moment I recognized that black-dyed symbol, I couldn't help but come to a realization.
Not bad, Albus.
The hiring authority for all Hogwarts professors rests, in principle, with the Headmaster.
Which meant that Severus Snape over there was, without a doubt, a wizard hired by Albus.
And there was no way a wizard of Albus's caliber would have failed to notice that Snape was a Dark Wizard.
That leads to one conclusion. Albus hired Snape knowing his background.
And then, Albus brought me to Hogwarts.
What could that possibly mean?
Doesn't it mean that he has gathered all sorts of Dark Wizards at Hogwarts, so all I have to do is come and enjoy the banquet... no, the battle!
Albus, that fellow's schemes were quite impressive. To think he would create an event like this just to entertain his senior.
I leisurely approached the professor, a Dark Wizard of a kind I hadn't seen in a long time.
And then, as I was about to check the memories of Snape, whose Occlumency had been broken by my trap... huh.
I saw some strange things.
—Keep... Lily... safe.
—I'll do anything.
—It's over! Lily is already!
—...There is no need to protect Lily's son.
—Dumbledore, this must be a matter between the two of us! Never tell!
I skimmed through Snape's memories that rushed in, and then, returning to reality, I blinked.
...A good Dark Wizard? Really?
As I was floating a question mark above my head, Snape staggered, clutched his head, and stood up.
And then, he glared at me with eyes mixed with all sorts of emotions—anger, bewilderment, fear.
"A first-year using Legilimency. What on earth are you!"
"Didn't Albus tell you? I'm sure you can just ask him later."
But, good Dark Wizard or not, after looking into Snape's memories, I looked at him with pitying eyes and muttered.
"By the way. The way you looked at Harry was strange, but I never imagined you were still in love with his mother."
His single-minded devotion was truly pure, but the fact that the object of his affection was a married woman was... strange.
As expected, Dark Wizards have a creepy side to them somewhere.
As if he had understood the meaning of my gaze, Snape's face twisted hideously and he shouted.
"You brat, did you read my memories! How dare you!"
And then, Snape reflexively tried to aim his wand at me.
But when I snatched his wand away with a Disarming Charm without even using my own wand, Snape's expression turned to one of bewilderment.
He was far from Dumbledore's level, but he prided himself on being stronger than most Aurors, and yet he had been subdued by a first-year who hadn't even drawn a wand. He couldn't believe it.
I twirled Snape's wand with one finger and said.
"Tut, tut, where do you think you're pointing that wand? Were you planning on using some dark magic?"
Snape shouted with a contorted face.
"I no longer use dark magic!"
Faced with the shouting Snape, I fell into thought for a moment. Hmm, what should I do with this person?
To just take care of him as a Dark Wizard was something that bothered me, as he had, for some reason, reformed.
Also, he seemed to be a person who played a rather large role in Albus's plan.
After thinking for a moment, it occurred to me that Snape's skill in potion-making was far superior to my own.
In exchange for sparing his life, maybe I can milk him for his potion knowledge.
"Alright, Professor. Then let's do this."
"What do you mean?"
"If you give me special lessons on potion-making from now on, I'll specially let you live."
"...Let me live?"
"You're a former Dark Wizard, aren't you? Normally, you'd be executed on the spot."
Snape felt a chill run down his spine at the sight of me talking about execution without any change in expression.
In that moment, what flashed through Snape's mind was the sight of the Headmaster, who had returned one day in a hideous state. Oh, Dumbledore.
What in the world did you bring to this school, and at what cost?
Regardless of what Snape was thinking, I nodded and said.
"If you're curious about my identity, you can ask Albus. However, it would be best for you to keep quiet about what happened here today. For my sake, and for yours, Professor."
After saying that, I left Snape behind and walked out of the Potions classroom.
I heard the sound of something collapsing behind me, but I didn't look back and just left.
With that level of skill, there will be much to learn.
My mood improved at the thought of learning about the potions that had been developed over the last hundred years.
Thud.
Only after the door had closed did Snape gasp for breath.
Snape looked down at his own clammy hands. His entire body was drenched in a cold sweat.
Remembering the golden eyes that had looked down on him just a moment ago, a chill ran down Snape's spine again.
He had never felt such pressure, not even when standing before the Dark Lord.
Before that indifferent gaze, he had felt the terrifying sensation of having become an inanimate object.
And what was more frightening was that Aisen seemed like a completely different person from the one he had seen in class.
The Aisen who had been listening to the Potions class had a brilliant and extraordinary side to him, but he was not much different from a playful child of his age.
But, if something went against his 'standards,' he would, in an instant, become a person more terrifying than the Dark Lord.
Snape simply could not get his mind around the sight of him becoming a completely different person.
Snape, as soon as he had come to his senses, grabbed his wand, which had been left on the desk, and hurriedly ran off somewhere.
"Oh my, Professor Snape? Where are you going in such a—oh my?"
He ignored the other professors who were calling out to him and hurried his steps.
Finally arriving in front of the gargoyle statue, Snape shouted as if screaming.
"Chocolate Fudge."
The gargoyle, having heard the password, seemed to look at Snape for a moment, and then, with a grinding sound, it turned to create a staircase.
Snape ran up the stairs and shouted at the owner of the room.
"Professor Dumbledore, what is the meaning of this?!"
Dumbledore, who was stroking Fawkes's feathers, tilted his head for a moment, not understanding his abrupt shout.
Then, as if he had realized what might have brought Snape to him, Dumbledore smiled bitterly and said.
"Now, now, Severus. Excessive excitement is not good for the body. How about you sit down and calm your excited heart first? After all, sweets are the best for calming the mind and body."
But Snape shook his head and shouted.
"What is that Potter, no, that Aisen? Dumbledore, you would know, wouldn't you!"
Dumbledore narrowed his eyes with a troubled expression and said.
"...Dear me. Didn't I tell you, Severus? Not to get on his bad side."
But Snape also had something to say. He had, he swore, done nothing to him but ask a single question!
With glaring eyes, Snape protested.
"Headmaster. I swear, I did nothing to that child, no, that thing. And yet, do you know what he did to me?"
Throwing off the robes he was wearing, he pointed to the ugly black tattoo that remained on his arm and looked Dumbledore in the eye.
"This tattoo. That thing saw right through it. And then he cast Legilimency on me and read all my memories!"
As he said this, a faint but clear emotion of fear was present on Snape's face.
The fear of having his shame, which he had never let even Voldemort read, read by another.
Dumbledore sighed and said.
"Ah, dear me. This incident is undoubtedly my mistake. I never imagined he would be able to see through that tattoo. It seems his eyes have gotten better."
"In a way, it's a relief," Dumbledore said. A relief? Snape simply could not understand.
"A relief? What on earth is a relief about this?"
"The fact that he read all your memories with Legilimency. That is a truly fortunate thing."
"How is having all my shame exposed a fortunate thing?"
At Snape's angry shout, Dumbledore answered with serious eyes.
"Because, if he hadn't read your shame, you might have died on the spot."
It was a good thing he had found out about Snape's change of heart through Legilimency.
That senior of his, who despised Dark Wizards. It would not have been strange at all if he had just seen that Snape was a former Death Eater and 'cleaned him up' on the spot.
Seeing Dumbledore shake his head, a chill ran down Snape's spine.
"For now, have some of this. Sweets always restore our body and mind."
After drinking two cups of the hot chocolate Dumbledore had offered him, Snape was finally able to calm his excited mind.
Snape, who had let out a sigh, asked Dumbledore.
"Headmaster. So, why on earth did you call him to Hogwarts?"
After a brief sigh, Dumbledore said.
"Because not even Voldemort could break through his protection. And most importantly, I couldn't imagine what would happen if I didn't call him here."
Sadly, Snape could not deny Dumbledore's words.
Dumbledore wondered for a moment what his senior might be doing right now.
Defence Against the Dark Arts.
The time all students look forward to the most. Needless to say, Defence Against the Dark Arts was one of the classes I also liked the most.
That is why I can now declare with certainty.
"Harry, as soon as this class is over, let's go straight to the Headmaster's office."
"The Headmaster's office? Are we going to see Professor Dumbledore?"
"Yes, we're going to see Albus."
It seems I need to discipline Albus a bit.
The hiring authority for professors all rests with the Headmaster, after all. Why on earth did he hire a person like that as the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor?
Quirrell's first class was, in a word, terrible.
"H-h-hello, e-everyone."
His stuttering, which made him hard to understand, aside.
His teaching skills were, in a word, atrocious.
He spent the entire class lecturing uselessly on theory.
It was certain that we wouldn't even learn the most basic defense spell, Protego, in his class.
And there was always a strange smell in the classroom, making it impossible to concentrate on the lesson.
It smelled like garlic, and also like other spices, and it had the effect of distracting the mind.
But all of these points could be overlooked.
The biggest problem was Professor Quirrell himself.
I habitually used my 'Eyes' on Quirrell, and I couldn't help but be surprised by the result.
Beyond that turban, I couldn't see anything at all.
During class, a joke was going around that Quirrell had garlic in his turban to ward off vampires.
At least one thing was certain: the magic on that turban was not for warding off a mere vampire.
The fact that it couldn't be penetrated by my 'Eyes' meant that the spell on that turban was an extremely high-level one.
And a faint, dark scent was wafting from it.
At the very least, that was not a scent that should be coming from a Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. In some ways, he was more malicious than Severus Snape.
So. Albus hired a person like that as the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor. I thought for a moment and said to Harry.
"Um, Harry. It seems I'll have to go to the Headmaster's office alone."
"Why is that?"
"It's not going to be a sight I can show you, Harry."
Of the professors I've seen so far, there have been more abnormal ones than normal ones. Why is this school in such a mess?
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Sorry for not uploading yesterday, I was a bit sick.
thankfully I am all fine now