"That's all?" Bellatrix looked at Snape in disbelief. "Don't you think these doubts are enough?"
"Evidently not," said Snape in a tone of extreme sarcasm. "Before I answer you - yes, Bellatrix, I can answer your question without hesitation."
"Not only that, you can tell my words to those who are talking 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's mouth curled up in a contemptuous arc and stared into Bellatrix's eyes.
"Do you really think... that the Dark Lord didn't ask me every one of these questions?" he said dryly. "Do you really think that I would be standing here talking to you if I didn't have a satisfactory answer?"
Bellatrix visibly hesitated.
"I know he believes you, but..."
"You think he was mistaken? Or that I have managed to trick him? To trick the Dark Lord, the greatest wizard the wizarding world has ever known, the greatest Legilimency master the world has ever seen?"
Snape put compliments on Voldemort one by one, but in Bellatrix's eyes, her Dark Lord was indeed as great, excellent and powerful as Snape described.
Bellatrix said nothing, but for the first time she looked a little confused.
Snape laughed a little smugly, but didn't hold on to it.
"You asked where I was when the Dark Lord fell, didn't you?" He straightened his sleeves and continued, "I was where he ordered me to be... at Hogwarts, because he wanted me to be there to keep an eye on Albus Dumbledore."
"I suppose you are aware that I accepted the position at the behest of the Dark Lord?"
She nodded almost imperceptibly and opened her mouth to speak, but Snape stopped her before she could.
"You also asked why I didn't try to find him when he disappeared." His face darkened slightly. "The fact is, I didn't look for him for the same reason 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 full of self-blame, without any pretense.
In Bella's eyes, this was Snape's regret for the Dark Lord's departure, and his remorse for not going to look for him... Her eyes softened a little.
"I'm not proud of it, I did wrong, but that's the way it is... 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, "I spent many years in Azkaban for him!"
"Yes, yes, that's admirable," Snape said in a dry voice, "but don't you think that you staying in prison won't be of much use to him, but this gesture is undoubtedly a good one..."
"Posture!" Bella screamed. She looked crazy in her rage. "While I was being tortured by the Dementors, you were hiding in Hogwarts, comfortably playing the role of Dumbledore's favorite!"
"Not really," Snape said calmly. "Dumbledore refused to give me the Defense Against the Dark Arts post. You know, he seemed to think that would lead me back to depravity... to tempt me back to my old ways."
"Is that your sacrifice for the Dark Lord? Not being able to teach your favorite subject?" Bella sneered. "Why did you stay there, Snape? Still spying on Dumbledore, for a master you believed to be dead?"
"Perhaps not," Snape said noncommittally, "but the Dark Lord is very happy that I did not give up my teaching position: when he returns, I can provide him with sixteen years of information about Dumbledore, which is a more valuable gift than endlessly recalling the miserable situation in Azkaban..."
"But you stayed—"
"Yes, Bellatrix, I stayed." Snape continued, his eyes showing a bit of impatience, "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 imprisonment. It would be a waste if I didn't use such a convenient opportunity."
"I repeat: the Dark Lord didn't blame me for staying, I don't understand what rights you have to say!"
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 is," 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 changed from a loyal Death Eater to Dumbledore's lackey..."
"He was in a pitiful situation, very weak, sharing the body of a mediocre wizard. He didn't dare expose himself to a former subordinate, what if that subordinate informed on him to Dumbledore?"
"He finally chose to trust me when he was on the verge of failure, but was ruined 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 at that time 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 had believed me earlier, perhaps this matter would not have been ruined by Dracula... Of course, the theft of the Philosopher's Stone 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. When you felt the Dark Mark burning, you didn't return to him the first time—" Bella was still not convinced and picked out loopholes.
"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 had to maintain my undercover identity with Dumbledore and not let him see any flaws..."
"Bellatrix, you don't think it's easy to keep your identity under a great wizard without being suspected, do you?"
It is indeed not easy to maintain your identity under a great wizard, but in fact, in Snape's opinion, it is much easier to hide from Voldemort than from Dumbledore.
Voldemort relied too much on his Legilimency, not knowing that Snape was also a master of Legilimency who was not much worse than him. He could completely control his thoughts and let Voldemort see only the side he wanted to present.
But Dumbledore was different.
Although the old headmaster has Legilimency ability that is even greater than Voldemort's, he rarely uses this skill easily.
His many years of teaching career have made him prefer to observe with his own eyes and discover details that many people fail to notice...
Snape's thoughts returned to the past. Looking at Bellatrix's still unconvinced expression and thinking of Voldemort's self-righteous arrogance, he suddenly felt that they were still far from reaching Dumbledore's level.
"And you did nothing!" Bellatrix was still shouting angrily. "The rest of us risked our lives for the Dark Lord, and yet you were not there once again. How can you deny that, Snape?"
"My orders were to stay behind." Snape shook his head and said impatiently, "Don't you agree with the Dark Lord's ideas? Do you think that if I join the Death Eaters to fight the Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore will not notice it?"
"Besides, with all due respect, what you mean by risking your life... you are actually facing only seven children who are only in the fourth or fifth grade, right?"
"You know full well 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?"
"You could have killed him at any time in the past five years. But you didn't. 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 if I killed his favorite student, he would not turn against me?"
"And I soon discovered that Potter had no ability to fight the Dark Lord at all. He only relied on luck and the help of his many friends and professors to barely get out of many predicaments..."
"He's utterly mediocre, yet just as smug and annoying as his father! He's no threat to the Dark Lord at all, do you understand me?"
After saying this, Snape seemed to have no patience to continue making meaningless excuses. He threw his cloak heavily behind him, then walked away from Bellatrix.
…
Not long after, Snape, who was fully trusted by Voldemort, appeared in the headmaster's office at 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 am well aware of that." Dumbledore said softly, gently stroking the old wand in his hand.
"But you made me do it anyway." Snape's voice was very stiff.
"Believe me, Severus, it is necessary for Voldemort to 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 very eager to find a new wand."
"But he has recently acquired a brand new wand, which he forced Ollivander to make for him on the spur of the moment," Snape said. "He may not necessarily be interested in the old wand."
"No, I know Tom. He will not miss anything that can enhance his strength." Dumbledore chuckled. "He will definitely be eager to get this wand."
"Forgive me for not understanding. What is the point of you going to so much trouble to get the Elder Wand into his hands?" Snape said in a mocking tone, "To find yourself a more powerful opponent?"
"Don't worry, Severus." Dumbledore shook his head and motioned for Snape to sit on the sofa opposite. "I think... it's time to tell you something."
"Hmph, after being your spy for so long, have I finally gained the trust of the great Professor Dumbledore?"
Snape sneered and turned to sit on the sofa.
"What are you going 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..."
"Through the joint research of Professor Dracula and I, we have restored the truth of fifteen years ago - on the night when Voldemort tried to kill Harry, when Lily used her life to stand between them, the killing curse rebounded on Voldemort himself."
"A fragment 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 hole slowly shrank.
"As I think you have guessed, a part of Voldemort's soul lives in Harry. Therefore, Harry has the ability to talk to snakes and can connect with Voldemort's mind... Harry has formed an alternative Horcrux."
"As long as the fragment of his soul that Voldemort has not yet discovered is still attached to Harry, Voldemort will never be truly dead."
The sofa that Snape was leaning 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 made a distant echo in his ears.
"Then the boy... the boy must die?" Snape asked with forced calmness.
"Yes, Severus." Dumbledore nodded heavily, "And it must be done by Voldemort himself. It is very important."
There was another long silence.
"I thought... all these 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 said with difficulty, still keeping his eyes tightly closed. "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 which you said was to ensure the safety of Lily Potter's son. And now you tell me that you're raising him like a pig to be slaughtered—"
"How touching, Severus," Dumbledore whispered. "Are you really beginning to like that boy?"
"Do you think I like him?"
Snape stood up emotionally, drew out his wand, and waved it heavily -
"Expe!"
…
…