Thousands of years of history, the castle still exudes mysterious magic in the heavy snow, and Hogwarts is much quieter than usual during the Christmas holidays.

In the empty castle, except for the whispers of portraits and the clanging of standing armor hanging on both sides of the narrow corridors, only the shrill singing of Peeves pierced the silence of the castle from time to time.

Severus Snape's vigorous gait made his robes bulge into a fluttering cloak, and he looked like a large bat with outstretched wings but running on its feet, and the gloom and pale lips on his face showed that he was in a bad mood at the moment.

"Chilled lemon juice."

The ugly stone monster jumped to the side sharply after hearing the correct command, and even a little scrambled, as if it was also afraid of something.

Snape strode into the cracked wall, and the moment he stepped into the circular office hidden behind the wall, his mood quietly became a little worse for no apparent reason.

Albus Dumbledore, the greatest wizard of our time, was leaning back in his chair, his half-moon framed and his inaccessible blue gaze cast on the office's lofty dome, his slender fingers crossed on a slender legged desk filled with bizarre alchemy props and piles of letters waiting to be answered.

"Where have you been?"

Snape glanced at Dumbledore's purple travel cloak, which had not yet been taken off, and his tone was straightforward.

"Just going for a walk," Dumbledore smiled softly, retracting his deep gaze, "You know, Severus, it's very necessary for an old man like me to exercise in moderation. ”

"That's true," Snape sneered, the corners of his mouth hinted, "for a few days?" ”

Snape's reaction was predictable, and Dumbledore smiled disappreciatively, "How's Miss Granger doing?" ”

"It's stable, Pomfrey handled her problems the right way, and she'll be back to normal after just a few weeks of rest."

Snape's tone was stiff, but he finally answered the question truthfully, but when he saw Dumbledore's relieved face and was about to reveal the question, he finally couldn't hold back his anger,

"I think you know very well what the Gryffindor guys who are smart and showy have done, who are secretly making polyjuice potions and have the audacity to break into my office and steal materials, Dumbledore, when did this school become so tolerant that breaking school rules and stealing the professor's belongings were allowed?"

"Despicable acts are never allowed,"

Snape's reluctance seemed to make Dumbledore tired from the journey, and he took off the frame of his nose and rubbed his eyebrows,

"But we should look at people's intentions by their behavior, to judge whether their hearts are just as vile, Severus, and I don't think Harry, Mr. Weasley, or Miss Granger are despicable in trying to get to the bottom of the attack."

"So you're going to let it go, even if he's in danger for his reckless behavior?"

For some reason, Snape's face turned slightly pale in the gentle light of the fire, and although he didn't name and say who 'he' was, Snape could be sure that Dumbledore must have understood.

There was no sound in the office, save for the slight snoring of the former headmasters in a row of murals hanging on the walls around it, and the small but crisp cry of Fawkes.

"It's not laissez-faire, Severus, it's observing,"

After a moment of silence, Dumbledore spoke again, but there was no such silent confidence in his tone,

"It's true that the line between courage and recklessness is not always clear, but we should be more tolerant of young people, Severus, so that we can try not to stifle their innate virtues."

"Inclusive?"

The corners of Snape's mouth twitched, extremely reluctant, but irrepressibly recalling the past when he was a student at this school,

"Don't put gold in your face, Headmaster Dumbledore, you've always only been tolerant of students you admire."

Snape completely transferred his hatred of James Potter and Lily Evans to Harry, and the fact that he had to protect the son of the woman he loved while also enduring the child's resemblance to his father distorted Snape's emotions.

"Let's close the conversation, Severus,"

Since Harry Potter entered the school, such conversations have happened privately countless times, and even Dumbledore felt very helpless about it.

"Can you take the trouble to greet a guest at the school gate for me?"

Dumbledore stood up, the dress he was wearing was not a way to see the guests,

"Actually, this job was supposed to be for Minerva, but unfortunately, she accepted the invitation of the editorial team of "Transfiguration Today" to attend a drinking party about Transfiguration, which is a rare leisure for her, and I try not to disturb it."

Snape was not interested in Dumbledore's private appointment, and he turned and strode away, his face worse than when he first entered the office, as memories of the past pulsed in his mind.

But before leaving the office, he suddenly paused, turned to look back at Dumbledore, who was using his wand to clean the mud from the hem of his robe, and his voice was suspicious

"Who did you meet?"

"Ahh

Dumbledore smiled, and his blue eyes once again shone with an incomprehensible light,

"Amosta Blaine, one of your most admired students over the years."

................

December 31, 7:40 p.m.

Amosta, who got off at Hogsmeade Station on the express train, made his way through a long stretch of snow-covered trail and appeared just in time outside the Iron Gate of Hogwarts.

Two winged boar sculptures at the school gate have guarded the great school of magic for thousands of years, and Amosta looked through the iron fence, leaping over the playground with six tall clubs and the gloomy castle standing on the edge of the cliff, until he disappeared into the boundless Forbidden Forest.

I have to admit that it feels better to be back here again than I imagined.

"I guessed when I got on the train that it would be you who would greet me, Professor."

The rusty door creaked open, and Amosta stepped through the school gate to meet the dark shadow striding in, and as Severus Snape's expressionless face revealed in the faint light, Amosta lowered his suitcase and opened his arms to a sincere smile.

PS: Continue to collect and invest!