The door swung open again and the headmaster's phoenix burst in and dropped a note on Dumbledore's desk.
The headmaster unfolded it and proceeded to read for a short while.
"Pomfrey says she hasn't received the boy yet."
"Of course he wouldn't willingly take himself to the nurse. He is scared of drawing too much attention with his plans not fully in place."
Dumbledore looked at his colleague in a calm way, way too calm.
There was no manner of anger at all in those eyes behind the glasses. Yet even beneath all that guise, Snape knew the headmaster was not convinced by his reasoning.
"You do not believe me?"
The headmaster was silent for a while before responding.
"It is not that I don't believe you, Severus. I'm only afraid you are letting your fear of Voldemort's return cloud your judgment."
Snape flinched slightly at the mention of the name.
"For instance," the headmaster went on, "the psychology of eleven year olds does not work like that. First of all, the boy has just been from a Ministry hearing and, according to him, that would have been a life and death situation. By summoning him the day after, you made sure that, in fact, no matter how bad the damage is, he will not seek medical help, which could be life threatening to him."
Snape was desperate.
Only he knew what he saw, and he had seen the form of Nagini, the Dark Lord's serpent.
Dumbledore's calm was beginning to water down his conviction, but he would not let it. He had seen it, and coupled with the fact that the boy had asked him whether he was a Death Eater a few nights ago, he knew his suspicion was solid.
Not to mention he had seen a lot inside that mind to try and play this down.
"If you don't trust me, then summon the gamekeeper."
"Hagrid is a teacher for Care of Magical Creatures and Pokémon. And the fact that you still see him as a mere gamekeeper until now says a lot."
"Regardless, summon him and question him. For instance, did you know that Hagrid has an illegal Pokémon? I am told that the Pokémon is so dangerous that it has maimed him not once, or twice.
If you don't believe me, ask Madame Pomfrey. The nurse should confirm it."
The headmaster smiled and took another sip of his tea.
His continued calm was agitating the Potions master even more than the fury you would have expected at having used Legilimency on a student without consent.
"It astounds me, Severus, that you think so low of me. Do you truly believe that so much goes around my school without my attention?"
"But..." Snape began, but Dumbledore had had enough of this conversation.
He raised his hand to stop the Potions master.
"As a matter of fact, I did speak to Hagrid just this evening after coming in. Hagrid indeed has a dangerous Pokémon, as you have put it.
But not to the extent you are reasoning. And we have agreed that he will find a proper home for the Pokémon. Dare I say it is one of a kind and would help us a lot in understanding these creatures, which is the Ministry resolution."
Snape was staring at the headmaster furiously. Clearly, the Potions master was withholding an outburst.
"Still," Dumbledore went on, "I also believe that it is too dangerous to be within the school. You are also right that the boy has been helping him. That makes him an even more valuable asset.
Hagrid tells me that were it not for the boy and the Weasley twins' help, the creature would have run amok by now."
Snape's dull face brightened.
"You see, my point exactly. He failed to mention also the involvement of Potter.
This kid Magnus, despite coming from Ravenclaw, has gone out of his way to befriend Potter. Can't you see the connection here? This is exactly what the Dark Lord would do. He would want to learn more about Potter. He would want to get close."
Dumbledore smiled again. "Severus, it is evident even my chamomile tea cannot do much to calm your nerves. Do you also think so low of Voldemort, the man who went an extra mile to fashion himself the title of the Dark Lord, that he would come and, instead of joining the famed house of Salazar Slytherin, he would join the house of Rowena Ravenclaw? Him, the believer of blood purity?"
"It could be a strategy," Snape insisted. "Get to know the boy's weakness, while at the same time gaining strength."
Dumbledore took another sip.
"You are also wrong in that the boy is mostly close to the twins, which makes much more sense, seeing that they were working on a good cause of understanding their Pokémon, which is why learners come to Hogwarts in the first place.
And can we just stop with any more of this speculation? for your theory to be true, all of us would have to be accomplices in his plan. For instance, I myself would have to have been put under the Imperius Curse to send him the admission letter and sanction those eggs.
Hagrid does not procure them, I do. And I make sure specifically that they are of the right size. Do you wish to say that I was also an accomplice in this? Not to mention Minerva would have to be involved. She cast the binding spell during the sorting, remember? Had there been any involvement of dark magic, surely you would trust both of us to know."
"Not if it happened after the eggs were in the hatching room," Snape countered.
The headmaster sighed softly.
"Then in that case, surely you would expect a powerful witch like Olenna Winstead, who has done the job year after year, to know a dark magic involvement within a Pokémon.
Not to mention the genealogy spell itself is so powerful that, had such a thing happened, there would be no doubt a hint of it. I suggest, Severus, that we put this matter to rest. I am not entirely refuting that your claims have some truth in it."
The headmaster sat upright, pushing his cup aside.
"For instance, it actually interests me that you say you saw the Dark Lord's serpent, Nagini. Are you certain?"
For once, Snape saw the light in the headmaster's eye. That could only mean honest curiosity.
"Plain as I am seeing you now. It was not that I saw. It happened. The boy's Pokémon became the serpent and tried to attack me to defend the boy. It was curled around the boy's shoulders just like the Dark Lord's serpent curled around him. Do you think I'm mad?"
"Not at all," Dumbledore said.
"It merely makes me even more curious. Surely there might be another angle to this matter. I mean, what was the boy's response?"
Snape's face dulled again at the memory of the humiliation.
"What do you expect? He tried to pretend that nothing had happened, that the Pokémon was merely a harmless Zorua."
"So, in other words, he knew beforehand."
"Exactly," Snape answered eagerly.
The headmaster remained silent for a while.
"So is it not right to argue then that this could be an innate ability for this Zorua, that it can mimic whatever it pleases? I would think that is a more plausible guess as compared to the boy being a reincarnation of Voldemort."
Snape pushed his seat back and stood furiously.
"I've heard enough of your insult, Dumbledore. Clearly you are not willing to listen to me objectively. Whatever I raise, you are trying to counter it with some speculation and ignoring the glaring matter here."
"Not at all, Severus," the headmaster said calmly. "Nothing could be further from the truth. I have been the most objective one here. You are raising a matter and I am trying to read all the cards on the table. You, on the other hand, are only reading with extreme bias. In any case, thank you for informing me of this matter. Be assured that I will have my eyes on the boy. I always do. That is the only way you can keep a magical school running."
The Potions master seemed to calm down a little.
"If that will be all, I shall retire to my chambers. It has been a demanding day, as I am sure you would agree," Dumbledore added.
"Tomorrow we have Mrs. Winsted and some Ministry officials coming to deliberate on this matter of the Pokémon Club."
Snape did not move, but Dumbledore stood.
"I am assuming you will retire to your chambers as well?"
The Potions master looked hesitant, but shook his head.
He made to move towards the office door.
"And Severus," Dumbledore called, "I am hoping that you will not bring up this matter at that meeting, or at any meeting at all, without my prior consent. It would be quite upsetting, after all our deliberation, if the Ministry began to suspect such a scenario. You know how paranoid the Ministry is, as far as Voldemort is involved."
Again Snape flinched at the mention of the name.
"I shall hold my silence."
"Thank you. See to it also that Draco does the same. He has been sending quite a lot of letters lately. Try to reassure him. Very soon we might have Rita Skeeter at our gates."
Snape nodded and left.
As soon as the door shut, Dumbledore turned to one of the portraits of the previous headmasters behind him.
"You have been listening?" he asked.
The man in the portrait shook his head vigorously.
"I can't believe that man is a professor in Hogwarts. He should have a ward dedicated to him in St Mungo," the man in the portrait said.
"Severus is all right," Dumbledore said.
"Sometimes our fears cloud even the best of us. Will you kindly pay a visit to your friend in Ravenclaw, see if he saw the boy's condition when he retired to the dormitories?"
"I will do that, Headmaster."