An hour later, Alan "climbed out" of the pipe into the women's restroom with a weak groan, under Myrtle's shocked gaze, since he still hadn't changed his clothes covered in basilisk blood.
"S-Severus, y-you're alive...?"
"Huh? Of course, why?" Finally getting to his feet, he looked down, a little embarrassed when he noticed the "disarray" his suit was in. He quickly waved his finger, and with a slight gust of wind, all the dried blood and dirt disappeared. "It's not mine, don't worry, okay, let's talk tomorrow. I'm tired today, I'll go sleep until nine." At that moment, Nagini's head popped out, blocking the doorway.
"OK..."
And together they left the restroom, not forgetting to transform their "battle suit" into a school uniform.
At the same time, the ghost watching them felt relieved that he was still alive, but at the same time, there was another unpleasant feeling inside her, and that was disappointment.
If he had died, he would have stayed in this place with me forever... But she shook her head sharply and slapped her cheeks a couple of times with her palms. No, he is my friend and I shouldn't wish something like that on him!
Finally finding himself in his room, Alan, in an instant, threw off his clothes, fell onto the soft bed and smiled contentedly, and next to him landed Nagini with an equally contented face.
"It's a pity, of course, that he destroyed all his wealth..."
"Come on, it's just gold and all sorts of useless trinkets. The main thing is that the books are intact, and the rest isn't that important. But still, he'll pay for this. Do you think I saved this portrait for nothing?" Alan drawled with a devilish grin, remembering the rolled-up living portrait of Salazar kept in his wallet.
"He's a portrait... how are you going to get revenge on him?" she looked at him in bewilderment.
"There are things that are better left unseen..."
"He can close his eyes."
"I will solve this problem, he will pay for each of my three hundred thousand and nine Galleons."
Already yours, and how do you know the exact number...? she thought, but still did not say it out loud, because he had already closed his eyes.
But Alan only had time to lie there for a minute when there was already a knock on the door...
"Severus, get up, it's time for breakfast. We have to be at the Ministry by nine!" Slughorn's cheerful voice rang out, and Alan nearly fell out of bed upon hearing it.
"Why so early?!"
"It's already seven fifty, so I'll expect you in ten minutes in the Great Hall and after breakfast we'll leave immediately."
"Got it... I'll be there soon..." He sighed wearily, looking at Nagini, who was already snoring contentedly. "Okay, you've been through a lot today, you can rest a little." He sat up and stroked her head with a warm smile. "I even envy you a little... yeah, I've become too sentimental in this short time, or maybe this is the real me, when I'm not preoccupied with just revenge and survival?" He ruffled his hair, shook his head, and rose from the bed.
After breakfast, leaving the castle, together with Slughorn, they reached a village located near Hogwarts.
"...you may not know this, but every major Muggle town has at least one entrance for visitors, and Hogsmeade Village is an exception to the rule simply because it's a wizarding village, and the school itself plays a significant role in this," the professor explained calmly, nodding with a smile to a passing couple. "The most common ones are telephone booths, those red boxes..."
"Professor, I lived in the Muggle world for eleven years and up until this time, from the day I entered Hogwarts."
"Oh... it completely slipped my mind, please forgive my forgetfulness," Slughorn sheepishly scratched his nose with his finger and looked up at the small shop. "That's where the entrance is," he quickly changed the subject, but Alan didn't emphasize it.
Hogsmeade itself was a truly ideal village: wooden, presentable-looking houses, roads paved with bricks and there were no slanted fences or abandoned buildings, also there were lampposts almost every ten meters, and not far from the entrance there was a train station.
"It's quite peaceful here," Alan said with a smile, looking at the happy faces of the townspeople strolling along the well-kept streets of the village.
"I agree, I'm thinking about moving here when I retire..."
Finally entering the shop, the shelves of which were almost completely empty, the old man behind the counter immediately noticed them and smiled happily at the guests.
"Horace, I rarely see you here. Are you here for a chat or on business?" Then, turning his attention to Snape, he added, "Your ward?"
"That's right, we're here on business, we need to get into the Ministry."
"On what business?"
"Regarding obtaining a patent."
"As always, you stick to your habits, creating a new potion every year," he said, smacking his lips contentedly as he headed into the room behind him. "Follow me..."
Going down to the basement, he opened an empty room two by two meters in front of them.
"Come in."
"Thank you Mark, I'll definitely drop by this evening."
"My doors are always open for you, old man, and in honor of this, I'll even open that very thing," he winked at him, which made Slughorn lick his lips, and Alan even became interested in what kind of miracle potion the old man was hiding.
"I'll take you at your word..."
In a long hall dominated by green tones, with a gleaming parquet floor and walls decorated with dark green tiles, Alan and Slughorn emerged from one of the dozen fireplaces flanking the walls, from which wizards in business suits emerged every second. They quickly stepped aside to let the hurrying people pass.
"Is this your first time here?" he asked with a smile, looking at the huge stream of wizards moving in different directions.
"No, I was already here a year ago."
"Were you?" He looked at the gloomy Alan in surprise.
"That day my mother died, and I was 'invited' to testify about how it happened."
"Oh... Severus, I apologize and offer my condolences for your loss."
Seeing Slughorn's sad face, he shook his head with a smile.
"Thank you, let's not talk about this anymore."
"Of course! I..."
But Slughorn didn't have time to finish speaking when a young-looking man in a business suit approached them.
"Professor, it's good to see you again..." But sensing a strange atmosphere hanging in the air, he raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Did something happen?"
"Andrew, I'm glad too. It's been seven years since you graduated..." Slughorn greeted him, quickly pulling himself together.
"I'm surprised that you still remember me."
"It would be very hard to forget you, I still remember how in sixth year, you, together with Mr. Warren and..."
"Please, let's not bring up that incident!" the man almost exclaimed, raising his hands in a defensive gesture with a crooked smile on his lips.
Slughorn himself only laughed cheerfully at this reaction, which embarrassed the former member of the Slug Club even more.
"Okay, by the way, this is the very same young talent I was talking about yesterday," he said with a proud smile, placing his palms on Alan's shoulders.
"Of course," he said, turning his gaze to Snape and extending his hand. "Professor Slughorn was praising you all evening yesterday."
"He exaggerated too much, my skills are rather modest," Alan answered, shaking his hand.
"We'll see about that now, follow me, the 'Master' rank assessment is on the second floor."
Alan looked at Slughorn in surprise.
"Professor...?"
"I believe your skills are already at the level to be recognized as a 'Master.' You're still a long way from me, of course, but you'll definitely catch up in a couple of decades. And do you think I don't understand why you're so reluctant to advertise your potion recipes?" He winked at Alan. "And once you become a Master, you'll be able to officially sell them without patenting the recipes, as well as buy and store those very ingredients..."
"Professor... you see right through me..." Alan muttered with a tired smile, and deep down, his respect for the man standing in front of him grew even more. "Thank you."
"No need to thank me, just when you start earning hundreds of thousands of Galleons a month, don't forget about this old man."
"Don't joke like that, Professor..."
A few minutes later, they finally reached the office with a sign that read: "Examination Committee."
"I've already made arrangements, and as soon as you come in, your exam will begin right away. The main thing is not to worry, since Professor Slughorn has recognized you, you will definitely pass," Andrew tried to encourage Alan.
"Good luck to you, Severus, I'm sure you'll pass," Slughorn added.
"Thank you for your support, I will try."
Knocking on the door, Alan heard a faint "come in" and opening the door, he entered the office where he was met by two middle-aged men and one old man of about seventy.
"So young, and he already wants to pass the 'master' exam," the youngest of them chuckled and shook his head.
"And how do you want to surprise us, young man?" the older man spoke up, abruptly silencing the previous speaker.
"To be honest, I didn't prepare for this exam..."
"Then why did you even come here?" the second one remarked sarcastically.
"To patent some potions, but my teacher signed me up for an exam instead," Alan replied with a smile, not paying any attention to him at all, focusing his attention on the old man. "But then let me give a lecture, and also share some of my ideas and developments, and then you can decide whether I'm worthy of the title or not..."