"So, it was Snape who eavesdropped on the prophecy, and it was Snape who told Voldemort the news of the prophecy, which led to Voldemort hunting down my family." Harry muttered, his eyes wide open in shock.
Dumbledore never told him this, no, Dumbledore didn't dare, he didn't dare tell himself these things.
"Harry, are you okay?"
Harry's pale face made Hermione feel worried and scared.
"But why did Snape finally turn to Dumbledore?" Ron was even more puzzled. "This is very unusual, isn't it? I mean, Dumbledore actually believed Snape's nonsense. I don't believe that Dumbledore didn't know about this. He..."
"You can treat this as a story. After all, I can only speculate on this matter." Albert raised his wand and waved it gently, and several cups of steaming milk tea appeared out of thin air. He picked up a cup, took a sip, and began to tell the story he knew: "Snape's mother was Eileen Prince, a pure-blooded descendant of the Prince family. I remember that she left behind a book called "Advanced Potion Making". She was a very talented potion genius. Snape should have inherited this book later. His talent in potions came largely from his mother's legacy. Of course, he also inherited this talent. I remember that the book "Advanced Potion Making" should still be in Hogwarts."
"It should be your book 'Advanced Potion Making'." Hermione turned her head to look at Harry and said, "The Half-Blood Prince should be Snape."
"What a disgusting name," said Harry in disgust.
"Do you have any fancy nicknames?" Ron asked, trying to change the subject.
"Do you think I need to give myself a new name that sounds impressive?" Albert curled his lips in disdain and said, "And don't change the subject. Your time is limited."
"What does this have to do with what you're talking about?" Hermione brought the subject back to the topic.
"Snape obviously has never enjoyed the benefits of a pure-blood wizard. His father is just a Muggle, which means that Snape comes from the Muggle world, even though he should know that he is a wizard." Albert continued, "And Snape hates you because of your father. Believe me, this reason is definitely not like your relationship with Malfoy, otherwise this hatred would never spread to you."
"You're right. Maybe I hate Malfoy, but I don't hate his son so much." In fact, Harry always felt that Snape's hostility towards him was unreasonable.
"The only possibility is your mother, Lily Yin Wan Si." Albert suddenly broke out a shocking news, "Snape is likely to like your mother. They even knew each other since they were very young and had a very good relationship."
As Harry and the other two stared in astonishment, Albert said calmly, "Only because his lover was taken away would Snape develop such deep hatred for James Potter, and even affect you. Only with this possibility would Dumbledore accept Snape, because Dumbledore believes in so-called love. I think you should have heard of Dumbledore's theory of love!"
"But why did Snape tell Voldemort the prophecy?" Harry asked puzzledly: "I think he must know... the consequences of doing so!"
"Harry, you can actually change your way of thinking." Albert said meaningfully.
"Change your thinking?"
"After Snape tells the You-Know-Who of the prophecy, he will probably beg him to spare Lily. I think there is a high probability that the You-Know-Who will agree to Snape's humble plea." Albert raised his hand and spread it to the three people: "In this way, Lily Potter will lose her son and husband and become a human being again, and Snape will get what he wants."
"He makes me sick."
Harry was silent for a moment, then a look of disgust appeared on his face. He had never expected things to turn out like this from the beginning.
Albert's words seemed to make him see the truth of the whole incident. He only needed some time to get confirmation from Sirius and Lupin.
"Yeah, I think so too." Albert nodded and smiled, "But this is very Slytherin, isn't it? To achieve the goal, you can do whatever it takes."
"But my mother still died, killed by a mysterious man!"
"The You-Know-Who has never been a boss who is good at listening to his subordinates' opinions. At least he doesn't care about these issues. Otherwise, if he had only knocked out your mother, many subsequent events could have been avoided." Albert took another sip of milk tea and said self-deprecatingly, "He deserves it. This also led to Snape's side with Dumbledore."
"Snape wants revenge?" Hermione asked in surprise.
"I think that's probably the case. He is taking revenge on You-Know-Who in his own way." Albert said meaningfully, "Of course, I don't deny that Snape is a very infatuated man. As for how credible my speculation is, you can find time to find Sirius and Lupin to verify it. I think as good friends of your father, they should know the situation at that time better than most people."
"How do you know so much?" Hermione couldn't help asking. She felt that what Albert told might be more than just a story.
"It's a story pieced together from some news. As for how much of it is true, you can judge for yourself. Of course, you can just listen to it as a story and don't take it seriously. As for whether Snape is still trustworthy, I think you should make your own judgment," Albert smiled and put down his teacup, stood up from the sofa, took out his pocket watch to check the time, and reminded, "Well, I think we should go to Dumbledore's funeral."
"You haven't told me why Dumbledore wanted Snape to kill him!" Harry quickly reached out to grab Albert, fearing that the other party would disappear in the blink of an eye.
"Of course, it was to pave the way for you to defeat You-Know-Who. Saving Malfoy and Snape was just a side job." Albert stopped and turned his head and said, "However, what he did was a big loss to Scrimgeour and those who were willing to believe in him."
"How much truth do you think Albert said?"
Looking at Albert's departing back, Harry turned his head to look at Hermione and asked.
"I don't know. This is all too unbelievable." Hermione shook her head and said, "If what Albert said is true, what are you going to do?"
"What should I do? How should I know what to do!" Harry smiled helplessly, "I still think Snape is untrustworthy. Even if he killed Dumbledore at his own suggestion, I still don't want to believe him. I don't want to care what he wants to do. We just need to do our own thing."
"Let's go, the funeral is about to start, don't be late!" Ron reminded.
Dumbledore's funeral was held by the Black Lake, where hundreds of chairs had been placed, and most of them were occupied by all kinds of people, some ragged, some neat and respectable, some old, some young, all of whom were talking to each other in whispers.
As Albert passed by, almost no one noticed him.
"Scrimgeour is looking for you!" Lee Jordan appeared out of nowhere.
Albert pulled up a chair and sat down, shaking his head and saying, “I can’t give him much help anymore.”
"If the Minister heard this, he would definitely be very sad." Lee Jordan couldn't help but feel sad for Scrimgeour, as he knew that he had been abandoned by Albert.
"So what should we do next?" Shanna asked directly.
After Dumbledore's death, many things have changed, perhaps just as Albert had expected: the worst times have come.
"What?" Albert said softly, "You should first train your dueling skills to ensure your own safety. Then, help those in need to the best of your ability. From now on, the whole British wizarding world will probably have a hard time."
"Maybe you can lead the team." Lee Jordan suddenly said, "Everyone was very excited during the last operation."
"You can't expect to encounter such good things every time. War is a very cruel thing." Albert shook his head and said, "If you take it lightly, you will pay the price sooner or later."
"I think everyone needs you to lead them to move forward. Especially at times like this, it is very important to have a reliable pillar to rely on." Shanna reminded kindly. She felt that as long as Albert was there, there would be no problems with the Defense Association.
"But you can't rely on me for everything." Albert shook his head.
At this moment, there was a small commotion among the crowd, because a melodious sad song suddenly sounded around the Black Lake. When everyone looked for the source of the song, they found a choir of fishmen sticking their heads out of the lake and singing.
That was the fish people's way of expressing their commemoration and mourning for Dumbledore.
The centaurs also appeared collectively at the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest, watching this side quietly, and silently bidding farewell to Dumbledore in their own way.
After the little man on the stage finished his funeral speech, dazzling white flames burst out around Dumbledore's body and the table. Finally, the flames went out and a white marble tomb appeared, covering Dumbledore's body and the table on which the body was placed.
After the funeral, Albert was still blocked by Scrimgeour.
"You know, I need your help." Scrimgeour looked extremely annoyed at Albert's inaction.
“Is this the last struggle?”
Albert asked back, not caring about Scrimgeour's tone and attitude at all.
"Maybe!"
"In fact, you should return to the Ministry of Magic as soon as possible. I think you will soon receive news that the You-Know-Who has taken control of Azkaban and released the prisoners inside." Albert reminded kindly.
"Why are you telling me now?"
Scrimgeour stared at Albert.
"Because it's meaningless. Even if you knew it in advance, it would be meaningless. The mysterious man will not fight you head-on. He will eventually release the prisoners in Azkaban. And now, at least no one will blame you. After all, there is nothing you can do about it. Who made the mysterious man so cunning!" Albert said meaningfully.
"Then I really thank you for giving me that excuse," said Scrimgeour unhappily.
"You're welcome!"
Scrimgeour choked on Albert's words.
"This is your last chance." Albert said calmly, "If you can't make up your mind, let others choose. After all, you have tried your best!"
"Did you know this would happen from the beginning?" Scrimgeour suddenly asked, "Can Harry Potter really defeat You-Know-Who?"
"That is Potter's fate," Albert said softly.
"Damn it! I know you don't believe that." Scrimgeour looked at Albert deeply, sighed and said, "It seems that you and Dumbledore have found a way to completely resolve this war, but you are unwilling to tell us."
"You need to go to Dumbledore for this kind of problem. He is the one who tricked you."
“So, I hate that old guy.”
"He actually hates you, too. By the way, I actually quite hate politicians. Neither of us can convince the other, so in the end, whoever doesn't have enough power will be the unlucky one." Albert said calmly, "And you should be thankful that I didn't lie to you and that I left you a way out."
"Then I should really thank you**"
Scrimgeour stormed off.
"What does the Minister want you to do?" George asked.
"He was unwilling to give up and wanted to give it one last try." Albert shook his head. "Unfortunately, Dumbledore tricked him and left him with no extra time."
"So, you gave up on him?"
"It's not like I'm giving up. We've only been partners since the beginning. I'm just reminding him that his death is approaching." Albert turned his head and looked at George and said, "Run away as soon as possible if you want to live."
"I'm afraid he wouldn't do that," said George, watching Scrimgeour disappear.
"Yes, I know."