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HOGWARTS: REGULUS LORD OF THE STARS
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American Horror: Grind Edition
Dumbledore held the glass with both hands and smiled warmly at Snape.
"Lucien must be a beginner with the Patronus Charm, so he had trouble controlling it. For some reason though, the range he produced was ridiculously large."
"From what you described, Severus, his Patronus actually stirs up the memories and emotions deep inside anyone it touches. He really needs to learn control first, or it could affect…"
Listening to Dumbledore's rambling tone, Snape immediately got a bad feeling.
This was exactly how Dumbledore sounded whenever he was about to ask someone for a favor—some buildup, a little sigh, then casually dropping what he actually wanted.
Snape knew the pattern all too well. He'd been on the receiving end of it too many times.
First sentence. Second. Third—
"Severus, you're quite skilled with the Patronus Charm," Dumbledore said, his blue eyes twinkling behind his half-moon spectacles. "I think you'd be the perfect one to guide Lucien's studies in this particular magic…"
Snape rolled his eyes.
Sure enough. Three sentences, and Dumbledore was already asking him to teach the boy.
"Why don't you teach him yourself?" Snape muttered, clearly annoyed.
Dumbledore spread his hands, his smile fading slightly as genuine tiredness showed through.
"I've been traveling quite a bit lately, as you know."
Snape went quiet.
Of course he knew. Dumbledore was hunting down Voldemort's Horcruxes. It wasn't public knowledge, but the headmaster hadn't kept it from him.
Dumbledore frequently asked Snape for help precisely because he trusted him.
Snape already knew the Dark Lord had split his soul and hidden the resulting Horcruxes in secret locations. Dumbledore was tracking them down one by one.
After a long pause, Snape spoke, his voice lower than before.
"Anything I can help with? More effective Veritaserum, for example. I'm sure you'll need it."
Dumbledore looked at him gently and nodded.
"Thank you."
The simple words carried more sincerity than any long speech.
Snape was about to reply when Dumbledore continued.
"Oh, and Severus—any chance you could tweak the flavor of that tooth-protecting potion I usually drink? It's terribly bitter and sour. Not very pleasant for an old man…"
Snape's face darkened. He let out a cold laugh.
"Find someone else. I'm not doing it."
"Old men shouldn't eat so many sweets in the first place. Cut back on those disgustingly sweet candies and you wouldn't need the potion!"
Snape was thoroughly irritated by Dumbledore's shameless pushing.
He had deliberately brewed those tooth-protecting potions to taste awful.
The goal was to make Dumbledore eat less candy.
It wasn't really about worrying for the old man's health. Snape just found it incredibly annoying to keep brewing potions to fix the side effects of all that sugar.
The problem was that with the potions as a safety net, Dumbledore now indulged even more recklessly than before.
It used to be somewhat restrained. Now it was completely out of hand.
Snape was so fed up he occasionally tweaked the formulas just to keep the headmaster properly "alive."
How could anyone willingly drink something that bitter just for a bit of sweetness?
Snape genuinely couldn't understand it.
Still, he wasn't against spending time teaching Lucien the Patronus Charm.
Teaching a bunch of dunderheads who couldn't tell Confusing Draught from Befuddlement Potion and forgot whether spider eggs were plant or animal material—students as thick as trolls—was nothing like teaching one bright, diligent, low-maintenance student.
The former made Snape want to shove their heads into cauldrons for a good scrub.
What he really disliked was Dumbledore's smug, knowing expression—the one that said he was certain Snape would agree.
Dumbledore read people far too well. He always made requests the other person couldn't refuse, or would even gladly accept.
Even after all these years, the feeling of being seen through and manipulated still grated on Snape.
Suddenly, an idea occurred to him. The corners of his previously gloomy mouth slowly curled upward.
"By the way," he said casually, as if mentioning something trivial, "shouldn't we dock some points from Lucien—and Ravenclaw this time?"
"Even though it was the Patronus Charm, it still affected far too many people, didn't it? Casting wild magic in the castle in the middle of the night, disturbing professors' rest, ruining other students' sleep…"