This perch is so beautiful. It is obviously made of top-quality mountain pear wood, and there are circles of golden lines wrapped around it. It seems to be anti-slip, or it may be a decoration, but Kyle is sure that it is all real gold... Dumbledore is really worthy of his name, he is rich.

But he probably won't need these now. After all, even the phoenix has run into his box, so there's no point leaving a roosting branch here. Why don't he take the trouble to help deal with it himself, so as not to take up Professor McGonagall's place here?

Kyle thought to himself, ignoring the voices of the portraits around him.

Something about Minerva McGonagall using the Imperius Curse... He must have heard it wrong, or Headmaster Armando Dippet was pretending to be drunk and talking nonsense.

He remembered that the Fat Lady's good friend, Violet, loved to drink and brew wine. A wooden barrel filled with wine could often be seen in her portraits. The two of them would occasionally get drunk in the middle of the night, making those Gryffindor students who were out at night miserable.

Sometimes I would just go to the kitchen to get some midnight snacks, but when I came back I would find the Fat Lady lying there unconscious and I couldn’t wake her up no matter what I did.

Since the Fat Lady was awake, they couldn't enter the common room. They could only squat at the door of the common room, shivering, holding the food they brought from the kitchen.

If they were lucky, the Fat Lady would wake up drowsily after an hour or two, and the people outside would be able to go in, but in most cases they would have to risk being discovered by Filch and squat at the door until the early morning.

This shows that the wine Violet makes is quite strong.

But the problem is, how can she make any decent wine with just a portrait? It must be fake.

Dumbledore and Headmaster Dippet probably drank her fake wine and started talking nonsense with their eyes open.

How could the headmaster of Hogwarts use an unforgivable curse in the headmaster's office? Absolutely impossible.

Kyle continued to stare at Qizhi, his neck seemed to be made of steel, with no intention of turning it at all.

Until there was no more sound coming from the ceiling above.

"Kyle, you..."

"Oh, I just remembered that I haven't watered the vegetable patch in the garden yet."

Kyle slapped his forehead and spoke first without waiting for Professor McGonagall to continue speaking: "If there is nothing else, I will go back first. Goodbye, Headmaster McGonagall!"

He walked forward without looking back, put it in his pocket when passing by Qizhi, then opened the door and strode out of the principal's office.

As for what Professor McGonagall wanted to do, Kyle didn't ask much, because he would know sooner or later anyway.

After walking through the castle and grounds, Kyle made his way back to the garden of the cabin.

He subconsciously glanced at a small stool by the door. When Dumbledore hid here before, he always liked to sit on this stool.

But now the stool is empty. Dumbledore still hasn't come back. Since the funeral, he has also cooperated and disappeared completely.

Kyle didn't know where he had gone or what he was doing now, but he thought it should be related to Voldemort.

However, after such a long time, Hagrid was much more energetic and his figure appeared in the garden again.

“Boom!”

With a dull thud, Hagrid, who was trying to seek comfort from the Hungarian Horntail, was hit by its tail and fell back several steps, hitting a tree heavily.

"Oh... it's so naughty." Hagrid groaned and limped towards Kyle. "I seem to see Grawp two years ago in it."

"Hagrid, I think there is a difference between dragons and giants...at least giants don't have spikes on their fists." Kyle glanced at Hagrid's thigh that was dripping with blood, "I suggest you apply some distilled white essence quickly."

"Ah, that's all right," said Hagrid, tearing off a strip of cloth from his clothes and tying it over the wound. "It must have known that I needed a little pain. That's very thoughtful, isn't it?"

Kyle laughed dryly twice and did not comment on Hagrid's behavior of licking the dragon.

So be it, as long as he is happy.

…

The next day, an unexpected notice appeared in the entrance hall of Hogwarts.

The principal has been replaced again.

Professor McGonagall, who had just taken office as the headmaster not long ago, became the deputy headmaster again, and Severus Snape, professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, officially took office as the headmaster.

This... Principal, what's the fun of changing it back and forth? Everyone looked at each other, wondering if this was a prank deliberately posted by a bored student.

It was not until Professor McGonagall announced the matter again in public during dinner that everyone was forced to believe it.

It was as if a second Christmas had been celebrated at the Slytherin table, it was extremely lively and everyone was celebrating.

But Snape himself, like most students, was confused and had no idea what was going on.

Even Snape didn't go to the hall to eat in the morning or at noon, which meant that he never saw the notice and found out about it later than others.

From Snape's perspective, he was just attending classes as usual, so how did he suddenly become the headmaster?

No wonder those people looked at him with such strange expressions in class before, and some people always said some inexplicable words to congratulate him.

Snape thought the other party was talking nonsense and lost a lot of points.

Now that I think about it, he seemed a bit arbitrary.

No, that's not right. How did he become the headmaster...Did the Dark Lord break into Hogwarts? Definitely not. If it was really the Dark Lord, the school wouldn't be so peaceful.

If that's the case, then why? Snape's expression kept changing... It was this out-of-control feeling again, so uncomfortable.

"Principal McGonagall, what is going on?" He looked at Minerva McGonagall who had returned and quickly stood up and asked.

"Oh, you should call me professor, after all, you are the headmaster now." Professor McGonagall glanced at him indifferently, "As for why, didn't your colleagues tell you?

"He came to me today and threatened me on behalf of the Ministry of Magic to give you the position of headmaster, otherwise all the teachers and students in the school would be in trouble."

Although Professor McGonagall tried to control her voice, her tone was very rude.

She already knew the identity of the short director, who was a real Death Eater.

Professor McGonagall would be a fool if she didn't guess what this meant when a Death Eater wanted Severus Snape to be Headmaster.

Apparently, Snape was also a Death Eater, and was trusted by Voldemort to help him take control of Hogwarts.

To be honest, she did doubt Snape's identity. She had started to doubt it more than ten years ago. After all, they had seen Snape appear in Voldemort's camp with their own eyes.

But Dumbledore trusted him, and always hinted that he had irrefutable reasons to trust Snape.

So Professor McGonagall also chose to believe it.

Unexpectedly, he actually let Dumbledore down.

In the memory of the short Death Eater, it was the order of the mysterious man himself to appoint Snape as the headmaster, and it was also the first order issued by the Death Eaters after they took control of half of the Ministry of Magic.

It couldn't be that Voldemort liked Snape, so he must also be a Death Eater.

Professor McGonagall even suspected that Dumbledore's murder might have something to do with him. After all, it was too incredible if Malfoy was the only one involved... Under normal circumstances, after realizing Malfoy's intention, Dumbledore would never give him the chance to raise his wand.

There must be someone helping them for their plan to go so smoothly.

Moreover, when Malfoy was rescued by an unknown wizard, Snape was the only professor missing in the entire Hogwarts.

Professor McGonagall pursed her lips.

Unfortunately, she had no evidence. After hearing the voice of the Phoenix, Snape had been following her, so he had a perfect alibi.

Moreover, there were two people who attacked Filius, but there was only one Snape, so the number did not match.

Snape looked at Professor McGonagall's increasingly cold eyes and suddenly felt a little guilty.

When Professor McGonagall mentioned her colleagues just now, he thought of the Death Eaters in the Ministry of Magic, but he didn't expect that they would want to attack Hogwarts so soon.

Snape had always thought that they would wait until they had the Ministry of Magic under their control before targeting Hogwarts.

What's even more incredible is that Professor McGonagall actually agreed to cooperate with them... No, she will definitely cooperate.

Snape walked forward and glanced at the students who filled half of the hall...they were the reason why Professor McGonagall agreed to the Death Eaters' request.

After understanding this, Snape calmed down and quickly accepted this fact.

Yes, his plan Snape...

Dumbledore was unreliable. Before he died, he didn't even leave him a greeting, let alone a plan. Moreover, he was the only one who knew his identity.

Ever since that day's funeral, his identity as a Death Eater could never be cleared.

So Snape had to find a way on his own to defeat Voldemort, but he hadn't figured it out yet, or he had only figured it out halfway.

The Malfoys should be the key, and also, Potter.

He had heard Dumbledore say countless times before that Potter was the key to defeating the Dark Lord, and that he must protect him.

That cocky, reckless idiot?

Snape quickly found the disgusting face in the Great Hall.

But it was obvious that Harry, who found it difficult to accept Snape as the headmaster, had an equally aggressive look in his eyes, and he was almost writing curse words on his face.

After looking at each other briefly, both felt insulted.

"Look at him." Harry couldn't help but said in a voice that was not disguised at all: "I don't know how he became the headmaster of Hogwarts. I guess he must be very proud of himself."

Seeing more and more eyes around them, Ron and Hermione looked terrified and kept stepping on Harry with their feet to remind him to pay attention to the situation.

"Don't do this, Harry, you'll be expelled!" Hermione's voice trembled, "If he hears you, you will definitely be expelled!"

"I don't care!" Harry sneered, not holding back at all, his voice even louder, "So what if I'm expelled? If Snape is the headmaster, I'd rather never have been to Hogwarts!"

Snape's eyes flashed dangerously, but he surprisingly said nothing, as if he didn't hear Harry's declaration.

This made Hermione nervous until the dinner was over, then she breathed a sigh of relief.

"I almost thought you were going to be expelled on the spot," she whispered to Harry on the way back to the Gryffindor common room.

"I don't care," said Harry. "Do you think I'm kidding? If Snape really became headmaster, I would definitely leave school even if he didn't expel me.

"If you had looked carefully at the teacher's seat just now, you would have noticed that someone had already left."

"Ah?" Ron was stunned for a moment, "Is there someone missing from the teacher's seat?"

"It's Kyle." Hermione said softly, "He didn't come to this dinner, but Professor McGonagall... Professor McGonagall asked everyone to be present in advance."

"He must have sensed the danger in advance." Harry said firmly: "You should know that Kyle is a phoenix..."

"Hello, Harry Potter."

Suddenly, a thin figure interrupted their conversation.

"Potter, the new headmaster wants you to go to his office." The person who came was a Slytherin student, who looked to be a second year student.

"Don't go," Hermione blurted out.

Ron nodded as well. "Thinking about what you just said in the auditorium, I don't think he wants to talk to you."

"No, I'll go," said Harry.

"Are you crazy?"

"I've never been so sober." Harry looked at the person who came. "Go back and tell Snape that I will definitely go. Tell him to wait for me."

The man frowned, "You should learn to respect the headmaster, Potter."

"I'm telling you this, little one. You should learn to respect seventh graders, or you'll get beaten." Ron walked up to him and pushed him angrily, "Get out of the way!"

The man staggered and almost fell to the ground. He looked at Ron with a vicious look and turned away.

But Ron didn't take him seriously at all. He was just a little second-year kid who could beat three with one hand.

"Are you really going to Snape's office, Harry?" Ron said worriedly. "He must have bad intentions."

"Don't be silly, Ron." Harry suddenly laughed, "There's no way I could go see Snape by myself."

"Then you just..."

"I lied to him so that he wouldn't follow us all the time." Harry lowered his voice, "Listen to me, after Snape, a Death Eater, became the headmaster, more Death Eaters will surely follow him. I think I can't stay in the school any longer. I have to leave immediately."

"But this is just our guess, isn't it?" Hermione was a little entangled, "There is no direct evidence that Professor Snape is a Death Eater."

"Don't be silly, Hermione." Harry glanced at her. "Didn't you hear what Professor McGonagall said just now? She said to Snape, 'your colleague'. I heard it.

"And the way she looked at Snape changed, too. It became very cold. Isn't this enough to reveal Snape's identity?"

Hermione didn't say anything, her expression a little conflicted.

"I'll go with you." Ron patted his chest loyally, "Let's escape sometime."

"No, Ron, I'm enough on my own." Harry shook his head. "You're a pure blood, why would you run? Even if the Death Eaters come, they won't make things difficult for you."

"You mean the pure-blood shame?" Ron shrugged and said self-deprecatingly.

The Weasley family was called a disgrace to pure-bloods and was even artificially expelled from the list of pure-blood families. This was no secret in the wizarding world.

"You go, I'll stay." Hermione raised her head, her eyes gradually firmed: "Someone has to stay to find out the news. In this way, even if the Death Eaters take control of Hogwarts, we will not know nothing."

"Well, I'll stay too." Ron said suddenly, "Like you said, I'm a pure blood. They won't kill me no matter what."

"You guys..." Harry wanted to say something, but was pushed by Hermione.

"Hurry up, but after leaving Hogwarts, have you decided where you are going?"

"Of course, we'll go find Sirius," Harry said without hesitation, "or maybe we'll go find Kyle. He must know more than we do."

"Oh, right." Harry ran forward two steps, then turned back and said, "Be careful, if you want to escape from here one day, the secret passage under the Whomping Willow is a good choice.

"I'll leave the Invisibility Cloak at the Shrieking Shack... Oh, no, that place is now a soda fountain. I heard Sirius lost a lot of money there."

After making the decision to leave school, Harry suddenly felt a lot more relaxed and even felt like joking.

"No, Harry, you need the Invisibility Cloak more than we do."

"I have a Firebolt," said Harry. "They can't catch me, but you can...you really won't come with me?"

"Don't be silly." Hermione smiled casually, "I've been preparing for seven years, and I don't want to give up this NEWT exam just like that."

"Well, you must be careful."

Harry didn't insist any longer. He turned around, put on his invisibility cloak, blended into the crowd, and walked out of Hogwarts Castle.

So far, these were just his guesses. He left Hogwarts more because he was resentful of Snape being the headmaster. Anyway, he had savings, and his godfather only had Galleons left, so he could live a good life even without a diploma.

But Hermione and Ron were different. There was no need to force them to leave with her just for a guess.

And even if Hogwarts was really occupied by Death Eaters later, he believed that with Hermione's wisdom, she would be able to successfully take Ron to hide in the Whomping Willow secret tunnel before the danger came.

Coupled with the invisibility cloak they left behind, there was a high chance that they would be able to escape successfully.

After realizing this, Harry didn't hesitate any longer and quickly ran out of the castle before Snape could react.

But Harry didn't notice at all that a pair of eyes on the castle tower behind him were watching the empty field.

The other party may have seen through the invisibility cloak, or may not have, but in any case, someone seemed to have the same idea as Harry.

…

(End of this chapter)