Chapter 35: Snape is a good man, but his goodness is not obvious
"Don't be silly, Professor Snape has already left." Aaronlooked at Hermione, who was frozen in place, and found it a bit amusing. "Is there something you need me for?"
"Oh, right, I almost forgot." Hermione said suddenly. "Come with me first. This is the Quidditch Pitch, not a place to talk."
"So mysterious." Aaron shrugged, picked up Abey who was lying on the seat, and followed her.
The two began to stroll along the campus, gradually reaching a less crowded area.
"That's enough, isn't it? Any further and we'll be at the restrooms."
"Even if it's a date, find a more decent place!"
Hermione's face flushed. "Who said I wanted to date you?"
"It's not a date? Then I'm even more disappointed."
"But that's fine too. We're only eleven. Maintaining a good friendship is enough."
Hearing the first half of the sentence, Hermione couldn't help but feel a hint of secret joy, but that joy was extinguished by the latter half, and a touch of bitterness appeared on her face.
"Alright, I was just joking."
"If my mom knew I made a girl cry, she'd probably rush back from Loch Ness to beat me."
"Pfft!" Hermione was amused and let go of the unpleasantness.
"Can you tell me why you called me here?" Aaron asked curiously.
Hermione composed herself, her expression serious as she looked around, and only spoke after confirming there were no people or ghosts: "Aaron, you must listen to me. In the future, you must stay away from Snape. He's not a good person."
"Huh?" Aaron was a bit stunned, never expecting Hermioneto call him over just to tell him this.
Although all Gryffindor students disliked Snape's poker face, it wasn't to the extent of labeling him as a bad person!
"Impossible. I can still tell whether someone is a good person or not."
"Professor Snape might be a bit strict normally, but he absolutely cannot be a bad person."
"It's true, I'm not lying to you." Hermione explained anxiously: "You know that Harry almost fell off his broom during yesterday's Quidditch match."
"So… what does that have to do with Snape not being a good person?"
"You're not suspecting him, are you?"
"It was him who cast a dark curse on Harry. I saw it with my own eyes."
"He was sitting in the stands, staring intently at Harry's broom, without even blinking, and casting the spell incredibly fast."
"That still doesn't prove it was him!"
"Why? This is already considered conclusive evidence, isn't it?"
"Don't you believe me?" Hermione felt very wronged. Originally, only she, Harry, Ron, and Hagrid knew about Snape casting the spell.
She had made a huge decision, even risking Snape's detection, to come and tell Aaron.
Seeing Hermione's eyes redden slightly, Aaron panicked and quickly said, "I'm not saying I don't believe you, but are you sure Snape was harming Harry?"
"Snape's power is not weak; he's at least a Archmage. If a Archmage was fully focused on casting a spell on a flying broom, why do you think Harry could hold on for so long without falling?"
"By skill? Don't joke."
"I admit he has good talent, but ultimately, he's just a beginner."
"What do you mean?" Hermione frowned, as if she had discovered something important, but couldn't quite grasp it.
"Fool! You've read so many books for nothing." Ling Ge shook his head speechlessly. "Since you've read related content, you should know that such a dark curse also has an opposite spell that can counteract it."
"The method is similar: staring intently at the target of the spell, with full concentration."
"That is to say, at least two people were casting spells at the time. Someone was casting a dark curse, and someone else was casting a counter-curse."
"What if Snape was casting a counter-curse? Then he wasn't harming Harry, but saving him."
"You don't understand the specific situation, and you're just pinning such a huge blame on Professor Snape. Isn't that too rash?"
"Or did you personally hear Snape casting a dark curse?"
"But… at the time, I only saw Snape casting a spell. No one else's mouth was moving that fast."
Dong!
Aaron lightly flicked Hermione's head. "Who told you that a dark curse must be spoken aloud? Some high-level Wizards, by simply staring at the object being cursed, combined with some tools and secret methods, can achieve the same effect under normal circumstances."
"To give a simple example, before you came to Hogwarts, you must have had moments where you suddenly cast magic without using any spells, right?"
Hermione was stunned, thinking that the Magical Worldwas truly profound; even harming someone had so many intricacies.
"But that can only reduce Snape's suspicion by half. There's still a fifty percent chance that he was casting a dark curse," Hermione said stubbornly.
"Impossible, absolutely impossible." Aaron said, enunciating each word. "At Hogwarts, everyone—you, me, even Dumbledore—might be capable of harming Harry Potter, but Snape alone would not. He is…"
"He is what?" Hermione looked at Aaron, her curiosity seemingly overflowing.
"Nothing."
"No, you definitely know."
"I really don't know." Aaron said with extreme seriousness, as if he would rather die than admit he knew.
"Is that so?" Hermione suddenly showed a meaningful smile. "Aaron, what if I go to Professor Snape now and tell him that Aaron told me everything? What do you think he would think?"
Aaron paused, then clapped his hands. "Oh, that's a good idea, very clever."
"If I didn't know, you might have succeeded."
The smile on Hermione's face instantly froze. Severus Snapewas the Dean of Slytherin. Aaron, a Slytherin and Snape's favorite student, could easily see him, but she was a Gryffindor. Let alone seeing him, she probably couldn't even get through the door.
Now, both of them were at the same starting line, but the finish line was clearly much closer for Aaron. Her 'little trick' would probably be shattered before it could even be implemented.
"Understood now?" Aaron said with a triumphant smile. "I can tell you with full responsibility that Snape would absolutely not harm Harry Potter."
"Now, please, Hermione, move aside. I still need to go back and catch up on some sleep."
"No, you can't go." Hermione grabbed Aaron's arm. "I must know why."
"If you don't tell me, I… I'll cry for you."
Aaron sighed helplessly, holding Abey in front of him. "Do you know what species this is?"
"A cat, what about it?"
Aaron nodded. "Then you must have heard the saying, 'Curiosity killed the cat,' right?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Abey kept turning over in Aaron's arms. It was a dragon, a dragon of noble blood, and such a lowly curse was an insult to it.
Slap!
Aaron patted its back. "Don't make trouble. I'll add a drumstick to your dinner."
In the face of delicious food, Abey instantly calmed down.
It was just a curse, wasn't it? It was a Holy Dragon, and curses were what it feared least, let alone such a far-fetched curse.
Hermione pondered for a moment. "But I still want to know."
"I really can't tell you."
"This matter might concern Professor Snape's pride, and the more you know, the greater the risk you take."
"I'm not afraid of risk. Gryffindor has no shortage of adventurous spirit."
"But I am afraid." Aaron said with a wry smile, "If you accidentally let it slip, I'll be the one in trouble."
"Alright!" Hermione was a bit disappointed. "Since you won't tell me, I'll just have to investigate myself."
Aaron had just let out a sigh of relief when her last sentence startled him, and he immediately said, "You stand right there."
Hermione straightened up, then showed a triumphant smile, sticking out her tongue apologetically.
"You really scare me."
"I can tell you, but you have to promise me you won't tell anyone, especially Harry Potter."
"I promise." Hermione raised her right hand and solemnly said, "I swear I won't say a word, even if it kills me."
"Heh heh! In the Wizarding World, an oath is the least binding."
"But I'm willing to trust you this time, as long as you don't take my trust lightly," Aaron said, then his face grew serious. "Do you remember what question Professor Snape asked Harry in the first Potion Class?"
"I remember. 'What do you get if you add powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?'"
"Exactly, that's it."
"Have you ever wondered why he asked that question?"
"Asphodel, wormwood. In the language of flowers, the meaning of these two plants can be understood as 'my regret follows you to your grave,' and also 'absence' and 'bitter sorrow.'"
"Snape's first meeting with Harry was an apology in this way. He has immense guilt towards Harry and would absolutely never harm him."
"You mean… Oh my god!" Hermione's mouth hung open in shock. This secret was too impactful for her, so much so that she found it hard to accept.
"Wait, that's not quite right either!"
"Why does Professor Snape always make things difficult for Harry?"
"Who knows? Maybe he's angry at his lack of effort!"
"After all, Harry's grades don't match his fame and talent at all."
"If he were excellent enough, Snape would naturally have no reason to make things difficult for him, right?"
Hermione nodded blankly. "It seems that's indeed the case."
"Ever since Harry started hanging out with Ron, he hasn't been very serious about his studies."
"Both of their homework assignments are copied from mine."
Aaron's mouth twitched. He hadn't expected these two to be so mischievous at eleven years old.
But it didn't matter. Even if they plagiarized their homework, or even turned in blank papers, it had nothing to do with him.