Professor Vampire.

Chapter 304: Snape's Undercover Life

"That's all?" Bellatrix looked at Snape in disbelief, "Do you think these doubts are not enough?"

"Obviously not." Snape said in a very sarcastic tone, "Before I answer you-oh, yes, Bellatrix, I can answer your questions without hesitation."

"Not only that, you can tell my words to those who talk about me behind my back, and you can also report the false words about my betrayal to the Dark Lord..."

"But before I answer you, let me ask you a question-"

Snape curled up a contemptuous arc at the corner of his mouth and stared into Bellatrix's eyes.

"Do you really think... the Dark Lord didn't ask me every question?" He said indifferently, "Do you really think that if I didn't give a satisfactory answer, I could still stand here and talk to you?"

Bellatrix obviously hesitated.

"I know he believes you, but..."

"Do you think he's wrong? Or did I actually trick him? I actually tricked the Dark Lord, the greatest wizard in the history of the wizarding world, the best Legilimency master in the world?"

Snape put his hat on Voldemort one by one, but in Bellatrix's eyes, his Dark Lord was indeed as great, excellent, and powerful as Snape described.

Bellatrix didn't say anything, but her expression seemed a little confused for the first time.

Snape laughed a little smugly, but didn't hold on to it.

"You asked just now where I was when the Dark Lord fell from power, right?" He adjusted his sleeves and continued, "I was where he ordered me to go... in Hogwarts, because he wanted me to secretly monitor Albus Dumbledore there."

"I guess you must know that I accepted the teaching position at the Dark Lord's command, right?"

She nodded almost imperceptibly and opened her mouth to speak, but Snape stopped her first.

"You also asked why I didn't try to find him when he disappeared." His face darkened slightly. "In fact, the reason I didn't look for him was the same as Everly, Yaxley, the Carrows, and many others... I thought he was dead."

When Snape said this, he forced himself to recall the night when Lily was killed by Voldemort. His expression was extremely sad and self-blaming, without any falsehood.

In Bella's eyes, this was Snape's regret for the Dark Lord's departure and his confession for not looking for him... Her eyes softened a little.

"I'm not proud of it, I did something wrong, but that's the situation... If he can't forgive us for losing our faith, then he won't have many followers left."

"He still has me!" Bellatrix said excitedly, "For him, I spent many years in Azkaban!"

"Yes, yes, it's commendable." Snape said in a dry voice, "But don't you think? You staying in prison is not of much use to him, but this gesture is undoubtedly a good..."

"Gesture!" Bella screamed, and she looked very crazy in her rage, "While I was tortured by the Dementors, you hid in Hogwarts, comfortably playing the role of Dumbledore's favorite!"

"Not entirely," Snape said calmly, "Dumbledore refused to give me the teaching position of Defense Against the Dark Arts. You know, he seemed to think that it would make me fall again...seduce me to go back to my old ways."

"Is that the sacrifice you made for the Dark Lord? Can't teach your favorite subject?" Bella sneered, "Why do you always... Stayed there, Snape? Still spying on Dumbledore for a master you believed dead?"

"Perhaps not," Snape said noncommittally, "but the Dark Lord is glad that I did not give up my teaching post: when he returns, I can provide him with sixteen years of information on Dumbledore, which is a more valuable gift than endlessly recalling the miserable conditions in Azkaban..."

"But you stayed -"

"Yes, Bellatrix, I stayed." Snape continued "I have a comfortable job, why should I go to Azkaban?"

"The Ministry of Magic was hunting down Death Eaters at the time, and Dumbledore's protection saved me from prison. I should have used such a convenient condition."

"I repeat again: the Dark Lord didn't blame me for staying, I don't understand why you say anything!"

Bellatrix opened her mouth, but it seemed that saying anything at this time would be disrespectful to the Dark Lord, so she closed her mouth again in frustration.

"I think what you want to know next," Snape pressed on, raising his voice slightly, "why I didn't help the Dark Lord get the Philosopher's Stone four years ago..."

Bella nodded subconsciously.

"This question is also easy to answer." Snape said calmly, "The Dark Lord didn't know whether he could trust me at that time. He thought, like you, that I had turned from a loyal Death Eater into Dumbledore's lackey..."

"He was in a pitiful situation at the time, very weak, and shared a body with a mediocre wizard. He didn't dare to expose himself to a former subordinate, what if that subordinate reported him to Dumbledore?"

"He finally chose to trust me until he was on the verge of failure, but was destroyed by Dracula." Snape shook his head and said, "I feel very sorry about this, otherwise, he could have made a comeback three years earlier."

"You mean... he already believed you four years ago?" Bellatrix's lips moved, as if she had swallowed a particularly unpalatable medicine.

"That's right." Snape nodded and said, "But if he could have believed me earlier, perhaps this matter would not have been destroyed by Dracula... Of course, the incident of stealing the Philosopher's Stone at that time was also one of the reasons why he was willing to let me stay in Hogwarts."

"But when he came back, you didn't come back immediately, and when you felt the Dark Mark burning, you didn't return to him immediately-" Bella still picked holes unconvinced.

"I don't deny that I didn't come back immediately, because I couldn't expose the fact that I was still working for the Dark Lord." Snape said as a matter of course, "I must maintain my undercover identity with Dumbledore and not let him see any flaws..."

"Bellatrix, you don't think it's easy to maintain your identity under a great wizard without being suspected, right?"

It's indeed not easy to maintain your identity under a great wizard, but in fact, in Snape's view, it's much easier to hide from Voldemort than from Dumbledore.

Voldemort relied too much on his Legilimency, but he didn't know that Snape was also a Legilimency master who was not much worse than him. He could completely control his thoughts and let Voldemort see only the side he wanted to show.

But Dumbledore was different.

Although the old headmaster had Legilimency ability that was even better than Voldemort's, he rarely used this skill easily.

Years of teaching career made him prefer to observe with his own eyes and discover details that many people could not notice...

Snape's thoughts returned to the past, looking at Bellatrix's still unconvinced expression, thinking of Voldemort's self-righteous arrogance, he suddenly felt that they were still far from Dumbledore's realm.

"But you didn't do anything!" Bellatrix was still shouting angrily, "The rest of us are risking our lives for the Dark Lord, but you are not there again. How can you deny this, Snape?"

"My order was to stay behind." Snape shook his head and said impatiently, "Don't you agree with the Dark Lord's idea? Do you think that if I join the Death Eaters to fight the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore will not notice it?"

"In addition, with all due respect, the risk you mentioned... In fact, you are facing only seven children who are only in the fourth and fifth grades, right?"

"You know that half of the Order of the Phoenix will soon join in!" Bellatrix growled, "And you are still avoiding my most important question-why is Harry Potter still alive?"

"In the past five years, You can kill him at any time. But you didn't do it. Tell me why!"

"Don't you understand what I mean?" Snape's voice gradually turned cold. "Thanks to Dumbledore's protection, I was not imprisoned in Azkaban! Do you think that I killed his favorite student, and he would not turn against me?"

"And I soon found out that Potter had no ability to fight against the Dark Lord at all. He just relied on luck and the help of his many friends and professors to barely get out of many difficulties..."

"He is extremely mediocre, but he is as smug and annoying as his father! He is no threat to the Dark Lord at all, do you understand what I mean?"

After saying this, Snape seemed to have no patience to continue making meaningless excuses. He threw his cloak heavily behind him, then took a step and left Bellatrix.

...

Soon after, Snape, who was fully trusted by Voldemort, appeared in the principal's office of Hogwarts, quietly looking at Dumbledore behind the desk.

"I don't understand why you revealed the news of the Deathly Hallows to the Dark Lord." Snape asked, "If he gets this wand, it will be difficult for anyone to stop him from becoming more powerful."

"Yes, I know this very well." Dumbledore gently stroked the old wand in his hand and said softly.

"But you still let me do it." Snape's voice was very stiff.

"Believe me, Severus, it is necessary to let Voldemort get this wand." Dumbledore said, "The wand he used when he was in school broke a year ago, destroyed by the flashback spell between Harry's wand... He should be eager to find a new wand."

"But he has recently got a brand new wand, which was forced to be made for him by Ollivander." Snape said, "He may not necessarily be interested in this old wand."

"No, I know Tom, he will not let go of anything that can enhance his strength." Dumbledore chuckled, "He will definitely be eager "I'm sorry I don't understand, what's the point of you trying so hard to get the old wand into his hands?" Snape said in a mocking tone, "To find yourself a stronger opponent?" "Don't worry, Severus." Dumbledore shook his head and motioned Snape to sit down on the sofa opposite, "I think... it's time to tell you something." "Huh, after being a spy for you for so long, have I finally gained the trust of the great Professor Dumbledore?" Snape sneered and turned to sit on the sofa. "What do you want to tell me?" he asked. Dumbledore took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "I want to tell you something very important, Severus, I hope you can control your mood for the time being..."

"Under the joint research of Professor Dracula and I, the truth of fifteen years ago was restored - on the night when Voldemort tried to kill Harry, when Lily used her life to stand between them, the killing curse rebounded to Voldemort himself."

"A piece of Voldemort's soul was blown away and attached to the only living soul in the house..."

Hearing this, Snape's mocking expression gradually changed, and his child's hole slowly shrank.

"I think you have guessed that part of Voldemort's soul lives in Harry. Therefore, Harry has the ability to talk to snakes and can connect with Voldemort's thoughts... Harry has formed an alternative Horcrux."

"As long as the soul fragment that has not been discovered by Voldemort is still attached to Harry, Voldemort can never really die."

The sofa that Snape leaned on was very close to Dumbledore, but in his eyes, Dumbledore's figure seemed to be getting farther and farther away, and Dumbledore's voice echoed far away in his ears.

"Then the boy... the boy must die?" Snape asked calmly.

"Yes, Severus." Dumbledore nodded heavily, "and it must be done by Voldemort himself, that is very important."

Another long silence.

"I thought... for so many years... I thought we were protecting him." Snape's voice became a little trembling, "For her... for Lily..."

"We protect him because we must train him, cultivate him, and let him hone his abilities and will," Dumbledore still closed his eyes and said with difficulty, "When he chooses to die resolutely, it means the complete end of Voldemort."

Dumbledore slowly opened his eyes and looked at Snape quietly.

"You let him live just so that he can die at the right time?" Snape's expression became very ugly.

"I went undercover for you, made up lies for you, took mortal risks for you... All of this was to ensure the safety of Lily Potter's son. Now you tell me that you raised him like a pig to be slaughtered-"

"How touching, Severus," Dumbledore said softly, "Are you really starting to like that boy?"

"Do you think I like him?"

Snape stood up uncontrollably, pulled out his wand, and waved it heavily-

"Expe!"