Snape suppressed the urge to deduct points, as if he were convincing himself, "Just for today!"
Back in his office, Dumbledore seemed to have been waiting for a long time, pacing back and forth in the room.
He held several Fizzing Whizzbees in his hand. Although they were candies, they were strangely shaped like bees, and even the colors were made to resemble bees as closely as possible.
"I was thinking of seeing you later. You probably haven't had dinner yet, right? Want a couple?"
One of the Fizzing Whizzbees flapped its wings, looking somewhat eager, as if it wanted to fly into Snape's mouth.
"No need." Snape sat down, his fingers interlaced as he looked at Dumbledore, his tone filled with disgust. "What do you want to ask?"
"What a pity, the milk flavor inside is so rich, I really recommend it." Dumbledore said with a hint of regret as he sat down opposite Snape.
Snape said with a stern face, "You previously recommended Cockroach Clusters, saying they had a wonderful peanut flavor."
"I'm not lying, you can try." Dumbledore looked Snape up and down curiously. "But it's quite rare! This is the first time you've talked to me about candy."
Snape pursed his lips and didn't reply.
"Tell me about that Patronus Charm!" Dumbledore smiled and shook his head. "I think it must be related to you and Vizette…after all, today is your private lesson time."
Snape rolled up his sleeve, revealing his left arm. "While I was lecturing, my arm suddenly started burning. At the time, I wasn't sure what was going on, so I didn't pull up my sleeve to check."
"The Dark Mark?" Dumbledore's smile faded, his expression growing serious. "Any other sensations?"
Snape said, "The Occlumency technique, which had been in a state of alert, took effect at that moment."
"I didn't realize it at the time… but judging from Vizette's expression, he probably understood something."
Dumbledore leaned forward. "Read something? Something you specifically left for Voldemort?"
Snape said nonchalantly, "The Dark Lord... enjoys the Death Eaters' praise, or rather, flattery, the kind of heartfelt flattery."
"So I incorporated some related elements into the Occlumency to avoid... having to say stupid things every day."
Dumbledore knew Voldemort better than he did, so he would always share relevant information about Voldemort to help Dumbledore make the appropriate judgments.
Dumbledore continued, "And then? Did all the sensation disappear?"
Snape nodded. "Yes! I think it… was more like some kind of instinct."
"That's really strange…" Dumbledore stroked his beard. "What did you do after that?"
"His silence was different!" Snape replied. "You couldn't feel that disorder and destruction."
"If it weren't for the fact that they still looked alike, I wouldn't have thought it was an Obscurus based on my first impression alone."
"He had some unusual experiences when he went to Sweden." Dumbledore turned his head to look at the drapes in the corner. "Aren't you going to let them out for some fresh air?"
"No need," Snape said coldly. "The Obscurial is only one aspect of the guarantee, so I decided on a whim to have him cast the Patronus Charm."
"It was indeed an effective method," Dumbledore murmured. "The fact that he could unleash such a powerful Patronus Charm at least proved one thing… he had not been affected."
Snape frowned. "Shouldn't we take some precautions?"
"No need." Dumbledore shook his head. "A Patronus Charm that affected the entire castle was enough to prove many things."
Snape stared intently at Dumbledore. "That trip to Sweden didn't seem to be as simple as it appeared."
Dumbledore blinked and gave a mysterious smile, as if to say, "You're too smart for me to talk to."
Faced with Snape's gaze, he simply changed the subject, "By the way! What about the appearance of the Patronus Charm? With Vizette's talent, he should have been able to directly summon a physical Patronus."
The Soul Maze built last academic year could provide the most direct assistance in learning the Patronus Charm.
Furthermore, Dumbledore knew that Snape possessed an absolutely unique level of expertise in the Patronus Charm.
With these two factors combined, it was quite natural that Vizette had been able to summon a physical guardian deity on his first spell.
"I couldn't make out the shape…" Snape shook his head. "He hadn't formed a true physical Patronus yet… Perhaps we should give him some more time."
"Its power was indeed astonishing... I'd already told him that he needed to cast the Patronus Charm every time he appeared before me alone."
"That was quite an accident." Dumbledore nodded, looking at Snape's left arm. "Then let's move on to the next step… your Dark Mark."
Snape raised his left arm. "I can't activate it on my own. I can only use Occlumency to take some protective measures against the Dark Mark."
Dumbledore drew his wand and pressed the tip against Snape's left arm.
"Not long ago, the Dark Mark burned you, and perhaps some magical traces remained. I can try to…feel it."
He gently turned his wand, and a strange black light slowly spread out, enveloping Snape's arm.
Like a doctor wearing a stethoscope, Dumbledore closed his eyes and tried to sense the magical traces on his wand.
Snape's left arm underwent a slight change; a grotesque skull pattern appeared, slowly opening its jaws to spit out a venomous snake.
The moment the Dark Mark appeared, Snape unconsciously furrowed his brow, and his left arm trembled slightly.
Dumbledore noticed Snape's expression, and the black light at the tip of his wand turned into a soothing white light.
After the white light appeared, the Dark Mark slowly disappeared.
Snape pressed on, "Can you see anything?"
"Some new discoveries." Dumbledore put away his wand. "Now I understand… why Voldemort could pinpoint your location using the Dark Mark."
"The Dark Mark is like a keyhole, and Voldemort himself is like a lock. When the Death Eaters press the Dark Mark, it's like the key turning the keyhole..."
He extended his thumb and forefinger, making a turning motion as if turning a key. "As long as the Death Eaters do this, Voldemort, as the 'lock,' will naturally sense it."
A long silence fell between them until Snape broke the silence, "That's all?"
"Yes," Dumbledore stood up. "Vizette is fine, so don't worry!"
Snape crossed his arms and corrected him, "I'm just worried about my own safety."
"Yes! You are safe, very safe," Dumbledore said, following Snape's words. "Let's go!"
After leaving Snape's office, he went straight back to the headmaster's office, where he sat down and thoughtfully fiddled with his wand.
"To be preserved in this way... and still be able to function... could it be..."
"If that's the case, it explains a lot of things... No wonder Voldemort grew up so fast!"
….
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