"Is that it?" Ian breathed a sigh of relief while also remembering the spell Snape had used, planning to look up this practical magic later.
"Why didn't you act so naive when you used Fiery Fire to kill?" Snape sneered through gritted teeth, then looked at Ian with a stern expression.
"I only asked you to watch him! Not to kill him! No! You shouldn't have followed him here in the first place!" Snape still shivered at the thought.
At this, Ian sighed helplessly, "You said you were ordered to play dead, and the professors were too busy. He seemed like he was planning to sneak out and do some nasty stuff."
"I was indeed only watching him as you instructed. If it weren't for him trying to set the entire school on fire, I wouldn't have been willing to stand up and stop his completely insane behavior."
As he spoke, Ian pointed to armor he'd manipulated with the Transformation Technique, "Can you believe it? That lunatic hit me with two Unforgivable Curses right when we met. We couldn't even have a proper conversation. He's like this in seventh year, who knows what he might do after he's graduated."
A tone filled with amazement and sentiment.
Making the veins on Snape's forehead start to throb.
"How can Carlo compare to you? Tsk tsk, Fiery Fire, learning this kind of magic in first year, what are you trying to do? Want to use it to make everyone bow to you?"
Snape stared unwaveringly at Ian.
"This is the kind of romance that only existed in the Middle Ages. Remember that year when I had two friends die in friendly duels. Today's scene makes me feel much younger again."
On the wall, Silly Barnabas took the opportunity to reflect, only for Snape to flick his magic wand, sealing Barnabas' entire painting so no sound could escape.
Poor ballet teacher.
"Wasn't I using Fiery Fire to protect everyone? Evil lies with wizards, not magic. You're a professor—how can you not understand such a simple truth?"
Ian's eyes widened.
"You killed someone! And the key point is, you used such vicious Dark Arts!" Snape's voice suddenly rose, his gritted teeth tone becoming a bit more intense.
"Do you think Dumbledore is your forgiving headmaster? Special Contribution Award? Regardless of how justified you think your actions are, Dumbledore won't allow you to continue living at Hogwarts!"
There was an almost indelible trace of worry on his angry face.
"You don't understand how sensitive Dumbledore is towards Dark Arts. To prevent him from sending you to Azkaban, I might even have to plead on your behalf!"
Clearly.
The murder wasn't the issue for Snape; it was Ian using Fiery Fire to kill that was the real trouble, and his current anger and unease stemmed more from concern for Ian.
In his eyes.
Ian's actions must have already crossed Dumbledore's line.
"Haven't you already handled it?"
Ian looked in surprise at the painting enveloped in a layer of protective bubbles.
"This can be hidden from other professors, but certainly not from Dumbledore. He always knows what he shouldn't know, and that's our current headmaster of Hogwarts!"
"The most powerful wizard of the twentieth century! If you've looked into your friend's family, you should understand, Dumbledore's strength and fearsome nature far exceed people's praises!"
"Prince, he is not the Savior, he is the Victor!"
Under normal circumstances.
Snape would never say such things to others.
But Dumbledore's extreme actions today chilled him to the bone. He could no longer fathom Dumbledore's thinking, so he had to make this talented and audacious kin aware of the world's harshness.
"Hiss~"
Ian felt Snape's seriousness, but he didn't feel he'd done anything wrong. Could he really just watch Aflisson Carlo burn down the whole school?
When the professors were dealing with the Fire Ash Snake, Dumbledore didn't appear. At this time Dumbledore probably wasn't at school, which made Hogwarts most defenseless.
Sure.
There might be some defenses in Hogwarts, but this is obviously not something to gamble with. If you lose the gamble, at the very least, large areas would be destroyed. Ian made a promise to Hogwarts when he took those Golden Galleons and the Crown from the Room of Requirement not far away.
If not for this.
He wouldn't have listened to Snape's word and actually followed Aflisson Carlo up a staircase. Of course, daring to use Fiery Fire, Ian had anticipated the current situation.
"I might need to find a friend to write a letter to plead for me."
If Snape's evaluation wasn't exaggerated and Dumbledore really could always figure out things he shouldn't know, then some matters probably were no longer secrets.
This was entirely outside Ian's predictions, helping a friend gather information before, how could he have foreseen this would involve the school headmaster?
Ariana was so delicate... how could she have such a fierce brother! Ian's heart wasn't calm for a moment when he got the news from Penelope. It was clear Penelope and Dumbledore had already revealed everything, and that phrase "Dumbledore hopes I tell you" definitely counts as an interesting response.