If Professor McGonagall's face showed grief sharpened by pain, along with the strength she had forced herself to gather, then the professors behind her showed unease, and a thoughtful silence.
It was obvious.
These professors might be saddened by Dumbledore's death, but weighing even more heavily on them was concern for their own safety, as well as the question of whether they should leave.
After all, everyone knew that without Dumbledore, the Dark Lord would never spare Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
And if anyone showed that feeling most clearly, it was undoubtedly Professor Horace, whose face looked rather pale at the moment.
Others might not know.
But Draco and the others knew very well that if there was anyone the Dark Lord wanted dead, then their Potions professor would definitely be among his highest priorities.
Because he knew the secret of Voldemort's Horcruxes!
"It looks like our Professor Horace would like nothing more than to hide away this very second."
"He must be extremely troubled. He agreed to become a professor because he wanted Dumbledore's protection, but he probably never imagined that in less than a year, Dumbledore would die in... Wait, did The Daily Prophet say where Dumbledore died?"
"No..."
People, events, time, place, and objects.
Although magic was wondrous and possessed many special spells that ordinary criminal investigation methods could never achieve, the five basic key elements still existed.
Among them was "place."
Naturally, that referred to the primary scene of the incident, and even the second or third scene.
What was interesting was that although The Daily Prophet reported Harry Potter's accusation that Severus Snape was the murderer, it made no effort to explain how Dumbledore had died, or where he had died...
That was what puzzled Draco. "Did they hide it on purpose? Or did they not have time to say?"
At this point, Draco suddenly looked up at Hermione as something occurred to him. "You were very concerned about what Potter said before, weren't you? So during this time, did you pay special attention to that person?"
"Hm? What Potter said... You mean watching Professor Snape... I see. I can tell you this much. Before I went to bed last night, Professor Snape was at Hogwarts the entire time. He never left."
Draco's question immediately made Hermione understand what he meant, and she quickly answered.
That answer made Draco narrow his eyes. "If that's the case, could it be... that when it happened, it actually happened inside Hogwarts?"
"Is that possible? This is Hogwarts. Even if it was Snape..."
Just as Draco and the others were discussing it in low voices, they suddenly noticed that the noise around them had stopped, as if someone had pressed pause. The air turned strangely silent.
The sudden change made Draco look up curiously.
It was because...
Severus Snape had just walked into the Great Hall!
...
A murderer.
No, more precisely, the murderer accused by Harry Potter.
But nothing could be read from Snape's face at that moment.
Aside from looking somewhat pale and even gloomier than usual, there was no hint of guilt or nerves on his face. Even under all those stares, he merely frowned slightly.
It was as if the murderer Harry Potter spoke of had nothing to do with him at all...
"Snape?!"
"Wasn't he... the one who killed the Headmaster?"
"I thought he had already been arrested."
As the young wizards whispered among themselves below, the other professors also saw Snape walking toward them.
But to everyone's surprise, those professors made no move at all. They certainly did not do what people had imagined, standing up, drawing their wands, and capturing Snape on the spot.
Professor McGonagall, as Deputy Headmistress, even nodded to Snape instead.
That bizarre scene left all the young wizards below staring blankly, their mouths hanging open.
Could it be that Harry Potter had actually been lying?
Was Professor Snape not the true murderer who killed Dumbledore after all?
Compared with everyone else's confusion, Draco, sitting below, wore an extremely serious expression.
"Something isn't right..."
"What do you mean, Draco?"
"Do you think Potter has any reason to tell that kind of lie?"
"...Could The Daily Prophet have made it up?"
Given the Ministry of Magic's attitude toward Harry Potter, Hermione's guess did make some sense.
But for some reason, Draco did not seem to think so. He kept feeling there was something wrong here. More importantly, Professor McGonagall's attitude was strange.
And just then, Snape suddenly glanced in Draco's direction.
It was a brief movement, so subtle that almost no one would have noticed it, but it made Draco straighten in his seat and grow much more serious...
Because at that moment, a sentence appeared in Draco's mind.
Hogwarts was no longer safe!!