Not long ago, after leaving the Magical Injuries and Sickness Hospital, he returned to Dawlish's home for a short time, but he always felt a little uncomfortable staying there.
So he decided to come to Godric's Hollow, where the Potter family once lived, to look for traces of the ancient magic that Lily mastered.
This was his first time in Godric's Hollow, but unfortunately, perhaps because it had been so long, the traces of magic had dissipated. He was still thinking about going into the house to see if he could find anything, when Snape appeared.
Cyrus never thought that he would see Snape here. Today was obviously not a day off and classes were still in progress at Hogwarts.
and--
"This kid is so reckless, does he really think he can kill me with a sneak attack?" He hovered in the air, and the night could not block his sight.
Cyrus wondered whether he should go down and show his face. He was not afraid of Snape. On the other hand, Dumbledore seemed to have guessed his identity now, so he didn't have to worry too much.
So he flew a circle in the air and landed behind Snape.
This poor man seemed to be still immersed in the pain of being unable to take revenge, as if all the bones in his body were pulled out. He had just held the wand so tightly, but now his fingers seemed unable to bear the weight and let it slip.
Cyrus turned his palm upward and summoned Snape's wand before it hit the ground.
"Severus, you should hold your wand tightly at all times, otherwise you will miss the good opportunity for revenge." Cyrus chuckled and handed the wand to Snape from behind him.
Snape suddenly felt as if he was in an ice cellar. He looked at the wand held between the slender fingers, but dared not move.
His lips trembled: "Master..."
"Take it!" Cyrus ordered.
Snape quickly calmed down. He was ready to die, and there was nothing to be afraid of anymore.
He took the wand, turned around and took a step back, putting some distance between himself and Cyrus.
He looked at Cyrus with his black eyes, and he couldn't help feeling nervous as he looked at this Dark Lord who was completely different from the one he had imagined.
Neither side spoke for a long time.
Snape was waiting for his upcoming punishment, and Cyrus simply hadn't thought of what to say. He and Snape were naturally not friends, not even acquaintances, and meeting him was just a whim.
After a moment, Cyrus took the initiative to break the silence.
"Come in with me, Severus, come in and sit down." He walked into the Potter's old house with Snape, who was full of surprise, as if he had returned to his own home.
He walked in front, with his back facing Snape.
Snape looked at Cyrus' back, subconsciously tightened his wand, and then loosened it.
He already knew that he had missed the opportunity, or rather, he had never had any opportunity from the beginning. His blood ran cold again, and he followed Cyrus into the house without saying a word.
Cyrus grasped the badly rusted iron gate at the front of the yard, and then a wooden sign rose up before his eyes, emerging from the tangled nettles and weeds like some strange, fast-growing flower.
Written on the board: Lily and James Potter died here on 31 October 1981. Their son Harry was the only wizard to survive the Killing Curse. The house, invisible to Muggles, has been preserved as a ruin to commemorate the Potters and to serve as a warning to the violence that tore his family apart.
In addition, many wizards who came here to see the escape place of the "Boy Who Lived" left their traces here.
Cyrus shook his head.
"I never noticed before that they died on Halloween night."
Snape seemed to have been hit by another sword, but at this moment he had enough wounds on his body, so not only did he not show any pain, but he also sneered contemptuously.
"Haven't you noticed?" He seemed to have heard the funniest joke in the world. And, when he said this, Snape was ready to die.
He was laughing at the day when the Dark Lord would die.
He was even sneering at his own past stupidity and powerlessness.
Of course, he did not intend to surrender, even if it was futile, he had to let the Dark Lord know that his once trusted subordinates had betrayed him long ago, not because of a woman, but because of "love".
But Snape did not wait for his punishment, Cyrus just glanced at Snape lightly, he had already noticed Snape's little action, but he didn't care at all.
"Put down your wand, Severus. You can't kill me, and there's no need to taint your soul for it. Not to mention, if you really want revenge against an enemy you can't defeat, you should be more rational and calm. Even if it means enduring humiliation." Cyrus pushed open the iron door and walked into the house.
“It is braver to live than to die.”
The house was old and had a strong smell of mold, dust, and rotting wood.
"Please clean the house, Severus," Cyrus said casually.
Snape didn't know what he was thinking, but he picked up his wand like a machine and waved it: "Whirlwind sweep away."
A whirlwind immediately blew up in the room, blowing away all the dust.
Cyrus was very satisfied, and thought that Snape could actually use a similar spell on himself to make him cleaner, but Cyrus didn't say it out loud because the atmosphere was not so appropriate.
He conjured up several chairs and tables - the original ones were so rotten that they were almost unusable - and invited Snape to sit down.
"Please sit down. How about something to drink? Tea, coffee?" Cyrus greeted Snape like the master of the house.
Snape didn't know what Cyrus was thinking, but now he had no choice but to obey. He sat down obediently, without showing any dissatisfaction, and was more obedient and calm than ever before in his life.
"Tea is fine."
Cyrus immediately summoned two cups of tea, which was a summoning spell.
"How's Harry doing lately?" Cyrus took a sip of tea and asked a question that caught Snape off guard.
He was stunned for a long time, with a confused expression on his face.
"You mean—Harry—Potter?"
Snape felt how ridiculous everything that happened today was.
The Dark Lord, whose name could not even be mentioned, invited himself into the home of the woman he loved most, and then, like the master of the house and the parent of the child, asked himself about the child's recent situation.
What did he think today was? Hogwarts Home Visit Day? Cyrus didn't know what Snape was thinking. He looked a little sad, as if he felt sorry for Harry. "I mean, Harry, maybe he doesn't know yet? Both his parents died on Halloween."
absurd!
It can even be said to be absurd!
An indescribable rage rose in Snape's heart. Did he forget who took away the boy's family? Did he forget who cast the killing curse on the woman who begged desperately? The flame seemed to light up the entire night, as if it was going to set the house on fire!
However, it eventually died out in his long-silent heart, turning into remaining hot ashes.
Perhaps it will reignite again, but now only the residual heat remains.
"He knows nothing, Master..." Snape sat upright, with only his face moving, or even his mouth opening and closing. His voice sounded gloomy, like a person wearing wet clothes.
"He knows nothing and cares nothing. He only cares about whether he can go to Hogsmeade on Halloween. Of course, he is not allowed." Snape said half sarcastically and half as a warning.
It was as if he was deliberately trying to make it clear to Cyrus that Harry would not leave the safety of the castle, and to remind him not to go after Harry.
"Maybe no one is willing to tell him." Cyrus excused Harry.
"I don't understand what you mean, Master..." Snape slowly expressed his inner doubts.
"You thought I would hate him more, didn't you, Severus?" Cyrus chuckled. "In a sense, you are right. Voldemort hated him to the core. But I also believe that Dumbledore must have told you that I am different from Voldemort, right?"
Snape was silent for a moment before answering, "Yes, he did."
"I'm glad he found this out, because we have a common enemy." Cyrus sipped his tea slowly. A little dessert was in order at this time, so he summoned a few more cakes. "Have some, Severus, don't be shy."
One of the pieces was placed in front of Snape, but he didn't touch it at all.
"I do not understand."
"Voldemort." Cyrus uttered the terrifying name again.
"But Master, you yourself are——"
"I am certainly different from him, and he will not let me do whatever I want unless I am willing to submit to him," said Cyrus calmly.
He was not actually saying these words to Snape, but to Dumbledore, because he knew Snape would pass the news to the old man.
"But how could I be willing to bow down to a man without a nose? Not to mention, he might be more willing to do a little research on me to see what kind of accident I had that caused me to escape his control." Cyrus said with a relaxed look on his face.
Snape was silent.
His problem was that he didn't know what the relationship between Cyrus and Voldemort was. He didn't know about the Horcruxes, and Dumbledore kept this secret and didn't tell anyone.
"It seems you haven't figured it out yet. But it doesn't matter, Severus, I know you are protecting Lily's child, and coincidentally, I am his friend." Cyrus said.
"Are you his friend?" Snape's emotions were stirred again. He didn't know that someone could say such a thing.
But Cyrus actually likes Harry very much.
Harry is a good boy. Although his emotions often outweigh his rationality, he is kind and upright.
"It's understandable that you don't believe it, but Severus, let me tell you, maybe I care about Harry more than Dumbledore does." Cyrus said slowly, "He has hidden too many things from you."
In Cyrus's eyes, Dumbledore is a great and terrible man. He is like a machine that calculates everything clearly. Perhaps the world is a game of wizard chess in his eyes.
Whenever a chess piece should be sacrificed - as long as it is necessary to sacrifice it - he will ruthlessly arrange for it to die.
He always mentioned the power of "love", but Cyrus couldn't tell who he loved. Or, he loved everyone equally, so he could make choices with absolute rationality.
This is also why Cyrus is not so willing to contact the other party.
"Let's stop here, Severus." Cyrus stood up naturally to see the guest off. "By the way, if I need a little help from you in the future, I believe you will still be willing to stand by my side, right?"
Snape didn't know how to respond. He walked to the door in a daze, and then realized that this was not Cyrus's home. But he didn't turn back. He had the courage to fight for his life, but that didn't mean he wouldn't feel scared.
Moreover, some of Cyrus' words also planted seeds in his heart.
Snape is different from others. Although he also works for Dumbledore, he does not believe in Dumbledore. Lupin and others trust Dumbledore even more than they trust themselves.
And Snape just did it out of hatred.
He quietly enjoyed the cool night breeze for more than ten minutes, then left Godric's Hollow.
There were things he needed to tell Dumbledore, things he needed to confront Dumbledore about.
He broke into the headmaster's office. The white-haired old man was bent over his desk. When he saw Snape come in, he greeted him:
"Good evening, Severus. What can I do for you so late at night?"
"I met the Dark Lord, in Godric's Hollow, at Lily's house—"
"Oh, so he has been there. Since--" Dumbledore said, with a look of complete predictability. "If you don't mind, could you elaborate on that?"
Snape did not speak, but directly pulled out his memory. After Dumbledore finished reading his memory, he slowly said in a dragging voice:
"Tell me - what did he mean when he said he cared more about Harry than you did?"
He was almost questioning Dumbledore.
But Dumbledore was not too flustered. He was very calm and even looked a little surprised.
"It seems that he has told you a lot of things. I am thinking about how to tell you." Dumbledore paused immediately after he finished speaking. During this time, he and Snape did not speak. The atmosphere was so tense that even the portraits in the headmaster's office did not dare to make a sound.
Dumbledore pondered for a long time.
He didn't know how to answer Snape's question.
Doesn't he care about Harry? Obviously not. He also wants Harry to grow up healthy and happy, and wants Harry to know what love, friendship, and family are. But all this has its limits.
In other words, all of this is based on the premise that Harry is destined to sacrifice.
Even the happiness Harry has now is the result of his willingness to sacrifice for Harry. Only if he cherishes something, he will be willing to fight for it with his life.
From this point of view, Dumbledore can be said to be almost cold-blooded.
Both Harry and Snape were like his tools, the blades that killed Voldemort, and even he himself was just a force that pushed the blade into Voldemort's body.
But in his opinion, it should all be worth it.
Because sacrifice is for the greater good! "You can't tell?" Snape suddenly felt very ironic.
The Dark Lord said to his face that he cared about Lily's child more than Dumbledore did, and Dumbledore couldn't find the words to refute him.
He felt like he was betrayed by something in his heart.
"There are things I just don't know if it's appropriate to tell you now," Dumbledore said hesitantly.
"You don't believe me?"
"This is not a question of trust or not. There are some things that Harry must do on his own. I don't want to put all the secrets in one basket."
"You told me that the Dark Lord would come back one day, and you asked me to protect Lily's child because he has Lily's eyes."
His soulless, empty pupils stared into Dumbledore's blue eyes, and for a moment Dumbledore wanted to escape his sight.
"You told me, if I really loved Lily Evans, then the path ahead for me was clear! But now - tell me, Dumbledore, why did you ask me to protect him if you didn't care about him?"
"Why, don't tell me you like that kid now?" Dumbledore could only fight back.
"Like him?" Snape sneered absurdly. He could never like James Potter's child, especially when he looked so much like James Potter.
Except the eyes.
He drew out his wand and waved his arm vigorously in the air. Silver light gushed out from the front of his wand and slowly took shape in the small space of the principal's office.
"Expect God to Guard!"
As the silver light surged, a silver doe slowly took shape.
Dumbledore stared at Snape's Patronus as it fell to the floor and leaped out of the window until it disappeared into the darkness. Then he turned to Snape.
The poor man's eyes were already filled with tears.
"It's still like this after all this time?"
“It has always been like this.”
You must say that I am lazy, but I am not lazy! The two chapters add up to almost 10,000 words, brothers, why don’t you give me some monthly votes? (End of this chapter)