"Severus. The seemingly kind, but in fact cunning old wizard stopped Severus from the frame behind him.

Snape stopped impatiently at the door of the Headmaster's office, glaring at the portrait that was always as verbose and troublesome as he had been when he was alive, and that always gave him headaches.

The old wizard pushed the half-moon glasses on his nose and said with a smile, "What does the name matter?"

Snape glared at him, disgusted by his misery. Normally, nothing good would happen to him if Dumbledore made such an expression.

Like a philosopher, Dumbledore slowly continued to finish the second half of the sentence, which sounded very philosophical: "...... Roses are not called roses, they are still fragrant. ”

Snape choked, glared at him angrily, exhaled, and said in an unkind tone, "...... Do you need me to call Pomona in and talk to you about all this herbalist stuff?"

"Oh, Severus, it's okay, I can visit her in her office if I wish. Dumbledore replied with a grin, as if he didn't catch the sarcasm in his tone.

Snape didn't bother to pay attention to him, and didn't want to delve into the purpose of his sudden remarks, so he opened the door of the headmaster's office and wanted to get out.

Behind him, Dumbledore raised his voice again and said, "Maybe you should improve your knowledge of Muggle literature appropriately, Severus." ”

Snape's movements froze, his right hand resting on the handle of the door to open the door, and he turned back angrily and asked viciously, "What do you mean, Albus? I have no interest in Muggle literature, and I don't want to know about it—I assume you can think of it, my time is precious right now......"

"Oh, oh, why are you so angry, Severus. Dumbledore sat down in the comfortable sofa chair in the frame, smiled at him good-naturedly, and said earnestly like a kind elder, "It might be helpful to know some Muggle literature." His blue eyes deliberately turned to the nearby shelf full of memory bottles, and he blinked deliberately.

Snape, of course, received Dumbledore's almost explicit signal. He pursed his lips as a result, his face gloomy, and his big nose looked even meaner.

"There's nothing important anymore that I have to follow your puzzling instructions. He said coldly, as if showing a look of disgust, and pursed his lips slightly.

"Oh, of course, of course. Dumbledore said with a smile, as if he was not at all frustrated by Snape's resentment and resistance.

"Now is your time, the time of the youth...... Better times. The smile on his face was still there, but his tone gradually became stern.

"That's why I hope you don't miss those ...... Good intentions, Severus. The old wizard seemed to sigh slightly, crossed his fingers in the frame, and looked at him deeply.

"As a Slytherin, you have a loyal and courageous friend from Gryffindor who believes in your righteousness at all times. That's exactly what I wanted Hogwarts to look like. It's up to you to get there, Severus. ”

……

Although the Mystic Man has been permanently defeated, Harry Potter and his friends, as the savior and hero of the defeat of him and his Death Eaters, must return to Hogwarts to complete the N.E.W.T.s exam. And the one who cares most about this is undoubtedly Gryffindor's excellent student, Hermione Granger.

Hogwarts was restored to normal order, and the prefects were re-elected by the various houses. As the Gryffindor prefect, Hermione had to report something to the headmaster's office that day. But as she was leaving, the Headmaster of Hogwarts, a Slytherin graduate, unexpectedly stopped her behind her.

“…… Miss Granger. ”

Hermione looked back, a little confused, at the current Headmaster of Hogwarts.

Oh, Merlin's hat! He looked terrible, his face as black as the sky before a storm, as if lightning and thunder were about to thunder.

Despite knowing how much the man had contributed to the fight against Voldemort, Hermione was slightly on her guard - it was a completely knee-jerk reaction. Professor Snape—oh, now Headmaster—wasn't going to change, and he wasn't going to appreciate Gryffindor any more for protecting Harry Potter for so many years. As a Gryffindor, Hermione felt the need to be alert.

“…… Professor?" she looked at him hesitantly, and cried out softly and suspiciously.

As if faced with a serious question, Snape opened and closed his mouth several times, and finally squeezed a question between his teeth as if he had finally made up his mind to die.

"What do you think about Muggle literature...... Do you understand?"

Hermione was taken aback, not understanding why Professor Snape had brought up such an unpopular field of Muggle literature. But her enthusiasm for knowledge and curiosity about the headmaster's inexplicable question ignited in an instant, causing her to forget the danger and oppression that her former Potions professor had brought to all Hogwarts students, and nodded enthusiastically, "Yes, understand something." ”

Snape was silent for a moment, the veins on his forehead twitching faintly. Just when Hermione thought he was just asking casually and that there would be no more questions about Muggle literature, he spoke again, his voice as low as a dry bow rubbing back and forth against the strings of a taut violin, making a hoarse, high-pitched hiss.

"'What does it matter if the name is called, the rose is not called a rose, it still smells the same,' the sentence...... Is it from some famous Muggle literature?"

Hermione was a little surprised this time.

She thought for a moment and quickly gave an answer. "I want to ...... This phrase was said by Shakespeare. Oh, Shakespeare was a very famous Muggle playwright about three or four hundred years ago......"

Snape sighed. To Hermione's surprise, he didn't get angry, and only had a clear expression on his face, "So that's really the case". He didn't allow her to leave immediately, but lowered his head and thought for a few minutes, as if he was remembering something. Then, he spoke again.

“…… So, what about this poem? What is it...... Is it written by famous Muggles?" he asked slowly, seemingly searching for every word in his memory, and recited with a little difficulty: "Are you okay over there? Do you feel lonely? Do the sky still turn red at sunset? Are the birds still singing on the way to the woods?......

Hermione was completely stunned.

The poem sounds like a parting love poem entirely. Moreover, it is not too much to say that it is a situation of life and death. And Hogwarts' famously gloomy, cold, stern, and ruthless professors actually ...... How would you know about such a thing?!

Hermione couldn't help but look at the wall of the headmaster's room. The old principal, whom she admired so much, was napping with her head propped on her hand in the frame, as if she had been too sleepy for a moment. The other former headmistresses also seemed to be very busy all the time, some were reading, some were making tea, the former headmistress Durwent, a well-known therapist, found a large pile of Muggle wool and long needles and began to form fluff yarn, and the not-so-popular former headmistress, Phineas Nigelles, who was also from Slytherin, suddenly became very interested in the pattern of the tablecloth and tea towel on the coffee table in the frame he was in.

Hermione sighed silently, made a very stern and solemn appearance, and continued to listen attentively to the Muggle poetry that Mr. Headmaster had recited in a rigid and stiff tone.

“…… Can you receive a letter that I didn't dare to send? Can I express a confession that I dare not admit?...... Time will pass and the roses will wither? It's time to say goodbye...... As darkness falls, will the candle light again?"

The headmaster has finally finished memorizing it. He didn't immediately raise his eyes to look at his brilliant Muggle student, waiting for her to give an answer. He just let his gaze linger on some lower corner, as if for a moment some rare potion material had grown there.

Hermione didn't dare follow his line of sight to see what he was looking at. But the answer she had to give was probably not satisfactory to him. This made her suddenly feel a little uneasy in her heart, and said weakly, "I'm sorry...... Professor, I'm afraid I don't...... Didn't hear the poem. ”

Even if it wasn't Snape's question, Hermione felt a pang of embarrassment and embarrassment. There was a question she couldn't answer!And she should have been ten times better at Muggle literature than the gloomy black-robed professor!She bowed her head in shame, wanting to apologize once again for her loneliness.

Snape didn't pursue anything, though, and he quickly said, "It's okay. As a wizard, you don't need to know that much about what Muggles write. ”

Hermione thought it was a rare comfort from the Headmaster, but there was nothing to comfort her about it. She sadly replied, "No...... It's frustrating to find a hole in your knowledge, Professor, and I'm sorry I can't help myself. ”

Snape curled his lips, as if to say something, but perhaps the repeated mention of Muggle literature, which he had always looked down upon, made him feel a little underwhelmed, and instead of taunting Hermione as usual, he just changed the subject in a low voice, asking for another sentence that struck him as strange.

"'You can doubt that the stars are flames, that the sun moves, that truth is a lie...... 'Do you know if this was also written by Muggles, Granger?'"

Hermione pulled herself together from her gloomy mood, lifted her spirits, and said cheerfully, "Of course, I know that. This quote was also written by the famous Muggle playwright Shakespeare, from one of his most famous plays, Hamlet. ”

Snape didn't seem to have much interest in Shakespeare or Hamlet. In fact, it was terrifying enough for him to ask abruptly about these inconsistent verses today. He seems to care only about one issue.

“…… Are there any other ...... in this sentence? Words?" he carefully chose a more neutral word, but his expression revealed anything far from that. In fact, he looked as if the words that followed him would bring Voldemort back to life, his expression wary, nervous, and as if he were facing a great enemy.

Hermione was startled by his tense tone, but she answered his question earnestly.

"Yes. The full text of this sentence should be 'You can doubt that the stars are flames, that the sun moves, that the truth is a lie, but never doubt that I love you.' ’——”

Her voice suddenly choked. For she saw that the current Headmaster of Hogwarts looked up sharply when he heard the last words she had recited, and his dark eyes seemed to burn with the fire she had seen in the Room of Requirement, excessively sharp and bright.

Hermione shuddered unconsciously. She thought that if her eyes could also shoot magic, then she would have been buried in the flames of dark magic like Crabbe on the day of the decisive battle with the Dark Lord.

Snape didn't seem to feel how terrible his expression was. His face was pale, his big nose was sharpened, and he asked word by word, "Are you sure?!...... Are you not mistaken?!"

Hermione shrunk her neck. I can't be mistaken, Muggle schools teach Shakespeare, he was very important, very famous—she wanted to say that, but after thinking about it, she swallowed it back and nodded heavily.

"I can't be mistaken, Professor. Swear to Merlin. ”

Then she found that the current Headmaster of Hogwarts had always been so imposing, with straight shoulders and a sense of oppression, his black robe and cold and rigid expression had always been like an indestructible disguise, but now the perfect disguise cracked, although the crack was almost imperceptible, but from that tiny gap escaped a certain gloom and deep exhaustion, for a moment almost froze the air in the room, turned into a dark cloud hovering over people's heads, and pressed down on the people in the headmaster's room。

But she didn't feel any inhibition or disgust. All she felt was a certain sadness and sadness, and at that moment she could suddenly perceive with the acumen of an adult woman that what was wafting in this room was not a powerful and threatening magic pressure, but the dazed and sentimental loss of someone very important. Especially, when they now realize that the person they have lost is actually very important and indispensable to them. But they had no chance of redress.

Hermione seemed to understand something, and the surprise in her eyes slowly turned to pity and sympathy.

She noticed that at this time, the former old headmaster, who had been closing his eyes and pretending to sleep in the frame, suddenly opened his eyes. He had rested his elbows on the armrest of his chair and supported his cheeks, while half of his face was still under the cover of his hand, and between his open fingers, he suddenly and imperceptibly winked at Hermione, his blue eyes showing appreciation, as if to say to her: You answered very well, Gryffindor plus ten.

[Special Edition Extra· Tobecontinued】