As soon as they stepped off the staircase, McGonagall immediately took her place beside Lily.
"Headmaster, I have brought him."
"Thank you, Minerva." Dumbledore nodded.
Then, with a kind smile, he looked at the nervous Severus, lowering his half-moon spectacles slightly.
"Do not worry. I only wish to ask you a few questions about the incident several days ago, the one involving you, Miss Evans, and her friends."
"Of course, Headmaster Dumbledore. Ask away."
"Good. Tell me what happened, and do not hide anything."
"Yes. that day I."
Over the next ten minutes, Severus recounted everything that had happened between him and Potter and his friends before the Potions exam.
He tried to behave as calmly as possible, laying Severus's real personality fragment over himself.
He copied Severus's manner of speech and habits perfectly.
Right now, Severus could not afford a single mistake. It could cost him his life.
After all, even defeating a Magister was still too difficult for him.
And besides Dumbledore, two Masters stood in the office, which only made Severus's position worse.
".that is how it was." he finished, lowering his eyes as if afraid to meet Dumbledore's gaze.
Dumbledore listened in silence the whole time, only nodding now and then.
"I see. So you used a nonverbal Silencio. Then why did Mr. Potter say he could not breathe at that moment?"
"I. that was the first time I used the spell nonverbally. Perhaps I made a mistake when I cast it."
"I understand. That could very well have happened. In the future, do not use such spells unless you are sure they will work as intended," Dumbledore said sternly.
Severus nodded guiltily.
"Lily, do you have any questions?"
"Yes." Swallowing, Lily shifted her gaze to Severus.
"You remember what you said to me in fourth year, that evening, the reason we fought?"
"I am sorry. I forgot," Severus replied indifferently, looking at her.
"I-I see. I am certain, Headmaster Dumbledore, this is not Severus. He is not like this."
"And perhaps you simply never knew me well? You say I am not like this, then what am I like? A dark wizard? A Death Eater? That is what you think, is it not?!"
"Mr. Snape, please calm down!" McGonagall exclaimed sternly, stepping in front of Lily.
"I.?" Slughorn's hands settled on Severus's shoulders.
Severus froze.
Then, with a sigh, he steadied himself and shook his head.
"I apologize for my outburst, Headmaster. May we speak alone, without extra ears."
"Hm. very well."
Once everyone had left, Severus raised his eyes to Dumbledore's thoughtful face.
Biting his lower lip, he tugged down his collar.
He drew his wand and pointed the tip at his own throat.
A few seconds later, purple marks began to appear there.
At the sight of them, Dumbledore frowned, rose from behind the desk, and came closer.
"This." He reached out and touched one of the purple bruises.
"Could it be that you?"
Severus nodded with a sad smile.
"I tried to end my life that day. but. it did not work. The rope snapped."
"Why did you not come to me, or speak with Professor Slughorn? Suicide is not a solution to problems. I hope you understand that," Dumbledore said sternly, looking straight into Severus's eyes.
"I do understand. You know, when I almost died, I realized how precious life is. And I decided to change completely. It opened my eyes to many things."
"I am glad to hear that, my boy."
"James, whom I always feared and who bullied me, I stood up to him. Lily, whom I loved and who ultimately betrayed me, I decided to forget her. I chose to start everything anew, and bury myself in my studies."
Touching his wand to his temple, he pulled out a thin strand of memory, slightly edited.
"This is what you wanted to see, is it not?"
Dumbledore looked a little surprised, but he nodded.
He produced a small transparent vial and placed Severus's memory inside.
"And now my dream is to finish Hogwarts and begin traveling. I want to see the beauty of this world." Severus said with a dreamy smile, tucking his wand away.
"What do you think, is that a good dream?"
"Yes, it is a wonderful dream. Once, I thought about it myself. but it did not work out."
Straightening Severus's collar and hiding the rope mark, Dumbledore returned to the desk.
Nostalgia flickered in his eyes as he touched a small steel globe.
"I see. But it is never too late to begin."
"Of course. but definitely not any time soon." Severus replied with a tired smile.
Severus merely shrugged.
"As for Lily's question, that day we fought again because of Avery and Mulciber." Severus lowered his head, embarrassed under Dumbledore's thoughtful gaze.
"I understand they are not good people, but. I simply had no other friends. Few in Slytherin were willing to befriend a half-blood like me. I think you understand why. And Lily told me to stop talking to them. To give up the only people who considered me a friend. It is unfair! Lily had girlfriends to spend time with. Was I supposed to be alone?!"
"Severus, my boy, Lily was simply worried about you. She wanted you to have good friends."
"Headmaster, you may be right. But I find her behavior hypocritical. And I no longer intend to have any relationship with her. Please, let us close this topic."
Five minutes later, Severus left the office.
Without even glancing at Lily, who was hiding behind McGonagall and watching him warily, he went up to Slughorn.
"Professor, the Headmaster asked you to come in. And Professor McGonagall, to escort Miss Evans to Gryffindor Tower."
"Are you alright?" Slughorn asked with concern.
"Yes. I spoke with the Headmaster and explained everything."
"Good, then. Good night, Mr. Snape."
"And to you, Professor."
Back in his room, Severus immediately shed the personality fragment.
A Magister. that truly surprised me. And Dumbledore is only one of the strongest wizards in the country. Which means there are others like him.
Smiling, he let the thought drift as he fell onto the bed and closed his eyes.
.And there are many countries. So there is a good chance several more Magisters exist in the world. Eh. Why did I almost never study spells that do not demand massive magical expenditure?
The weakest spells Severus knew required at least a peak Master's reserves.
And at the moment, his core was only at the initial stage of that rank.
"After returning to Hogwarts, I must obtain the basilisk's blood and heart. And over the holidays, the same ingredients from a dragon and a phoenix. Though, given the size of this world's basilisk and Dumbledore's phoenix, I probably will not reach Archmage right away. At best, early-stage Magister, or mid-stage if I am lucky. It will mostly depend on ingredient quality. And this war between wizards. I have no desire to participate. Though I am already connected to Lucius."
Severus did not know much about the war that flared stronger each day, only the bare surface.
But with his life experience, it was not difficult to read the situation.
And it was extremely unstable.
The mere fact that talk of the Dark Lord openly recruiting followers circulated freely in Slytherin House said enough.
And the very cause of the war drew only contempt from him.
If it were simply world conquest, that would be more or less acceptable.
But exterminating all non-purebloods was pure stupidity.
Even if Severus joined the dark wizards, he would almost certainly die.
After all, non-purebloods included not only Muggles, ordinary people without magic, but also Muggle-borns, wizards born to Muggle families, and half-bloods, which Severus was.
His mother, Eileen Prince, had been a witch from the pureblood Prince family.
His father, Tobias Snape, was a Muggle.
Severus was honestly a little surprised by Eileen's choice.
It was rare for a daughter from an aristocratic family to run away with a simple peasant.
So he immediately suspected something dirty, perhaps a love potion or something similar.
After all, it was nothing new to him. He had seen members of one aristocratic family fight for the head seat or privileges.
He had even once worked as a mercenary in such a matter, and witnessed a son plunge a dagger into his father's heart.
So Severus planned to investigate.
And if his suspicions proved correct, he would find the culprit and avenge Severus's mother, thereby repaying his debt for this second life.
After a brief plan, Severus created five more cubes.
He transfigured them into needles as well, and went to sleep.
The next day, right after breakfast, to waste no time, Severus headed to the library.
But the moment he crossed the threshold, he noticed a red-haired girl sitting at the very table he usually took.
Strangely, it was not Lily herself that caught his attention, but the book she was reading.
As soon as Severus saw the title, brief information about it surfaced in his head.
"Patronus. now that is interesting. We had nothing like that in my world."
Severus's eyes lit up at once. For the first time, he had run into something he did not know.
"I cannot wait to study this spell. But first, I need to finish deciphering Salazar's words. I can do that over the holidays."
Making a mental note, he turned away from Lily.
He summoned the books he had been studying yesterday, and immediately resumed deciphering those words.
At the same time, Lily watched him without looking away.
"Even though the Headmaster says it is Sev, I am certain it is not him! Someone has taken over his body, and I will prove it!" Lily thought, determination burning in her eyes.
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