Chapter 49

Severus spent the next two weeks mostly preparing potions, as well as training house elves, and Nelli helped him a lot with the first one.

She learned the recipes for potions of beauty and strength, thereby reducing the production time from a month to two weeks, and the Archmage could finally breathe a sigh of relief on the whole next year, because, thanks to the house elf, the young man could now didn't even have to focus on the potion.Nellie was well-versed in her work.

Though he still did not cancel any of his classes with Slughorn.

Slughorn really tried to teach Snape everything, and in just two weeks they finished the school curriculum, moving to a higher level, to more complex potions that require not only accurate knowledge of recipes, but also certain manipulations with magic.

Nevertheless, the school from the very beginning did not strive to make real geniuses out of students, but only gave out basic knowledge in each of the subjects, so that in the end the wizard could survive in the world of magic, and later chose his own path. 

That is why, even in the sixth year, students themselves had the right to enrol in those subjects that they liked the most and that would help them get a job in the future. 

And even in the Auror department, where only those Hogwarts graduates who have the highest scores in exams aspire to go, they conduct additional training that lasts as much as two or even three years, and only after that they can become real fighters against dark wizards. 

Moreover, not everyone is taken, but only a few, which is already proof of the "quality" of the majority of school graduates. 

Certainly, no one forbade the students from studying extra - the library is always open to those who really want to learn - and devote their lives to one thing, like the original Severus, who spent most of his time studying Potions, and by the fifth year he had completely studied the material for sixth year.

This is not to mention teachers who are ready to help the student at any time, suggest additional literature and answer any questions, because most of them were masters of their craft. 

This was also the main reason why Slughorn allowed the Archmage not to attend his classes, because he understood that Severus would not be able to learn anything and would only waste his time. 

Also, Severus did not forget about the door found on the seventh floor that caught his attention. But how it can be opened, he could not understand. 

The Archmage did not use brute force, because he did not know if the director and teachers knew about this place, so he did not want to destroy the spell and the door, and it is not known what was behind it and whether the risks would pay off. 

But still, after a more detailed study of the runes on the door, he was able to understand something: to open it, you need to think about something, the rest was encrypted and required more detailed analysis. 

As for the sword of Gryffindor, no matter how much he racked his brains, the young man could not figure out how to get into the headmaster's office unnoticed, and after two visits to Dumbledore's abode, Severus was able to find about twenty different signal charms attached to various places, but these were only the ones he could feel without drawing the old man's attention, but how many there were, Albus alone knows.

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[Diagon Alley. Potion shop]

Sitting on a chair, Severus read the newspaper headline aloud "The first defeat of the Death Eaters! Victory is not far off!" 

"Some giants were defeated, and already such big words," he chuckled contemptuously, and turned the page.

"Giants are very strong but they are huge targets for wizards, nothing more, if they were werewolves, then I would agree with these words, otherwise…" Waving his hand languidly, he folded the newspaper several times and burned it. 

"Eh ... nothing interesting in it, and when will they come, I'm already tired of waiting." Taking a deep breath, he left the room and, going down to the first floor, began to lazily watch the bustling Karner and the customers who came in every minute, although the crowd which was two weeks ago, was no longer there, but people still came in quite often and bought other potions, because the main four potions were completely sold out in the first half hour. 

But it was Shafiki who played a big role in the sale of other potions, having invented a "membership card", according to which, when buying ten of any potions, a person will receive a twenty percent discount on one of the four main ones, and he could buy it at any time. 

Therefore, Severus had to work hard for these two weeks. 

Noticing the Archmage descending, Karner nodded to him, but did not become distracted, continuing to work with clients. 

"Not bad…" Looking up at his watch, Severus tilted his head to the side, puzzled. "He said at seven, but half an hour has already passed, have they changed their minds…?" And, as if hearing Snape's thoughts, ten men in slightly shabby three-piece suits with the insignia of the Ministry on their chests and dark cloaks burst into the room. And, pushing aside the ordinary wizards, they approached Shafiqi. 

"Where is your boss?" One of them asked in a rough voice, with notes of threat, while others began to drive the surprised wizards out of the store. 

"There is no need to scare my worker," Severus put on a smile and stepped forward, instantly focusing on himself. 

"What did my friends from the Ministry want from me?" With a quick glance at each other, two wizards covered the entrance, while the others surrounded the mage. 

"You are accused of aiding the Death Eaters, do you have anything to say in your defence?"

"Hmm… Of course, I can tell you that I don't do such things, but I doubt that you will let me go so easily." 

"Get him, the rest of you, search the building." 

"If you want to find my potions here, then I'll disappoint you: they were left in another place, like all my other things," the Archmage did not resist when they took away his wand and put a handcuff on his hands, but the smile did not disappeared from his face, and after his words, when two of the ten Aurors flinched, it became even wider. 

When three of the wizards went upstairs, the archmage's face didn't even show a bit of concern.

At the same time, watching all this, Shafiqi felt a real shock in the depths of his soul, because in the morning, as soon as Severus returned, he immediately took most of the potions, leaving the goods only for two days, as if anticipating something like this would happen. 

After finishing the search, those with sour faces came back and shook their heads. "I see, take him away," the commander muttered sullenly. 

"Yes!" grabbing the Archmage by the hands, they led him to the exit. 

"Karner, you have the next two days off, take a good rest and send a letter to the school that I won't be able to come to class." As he said this, the two ministry wizards realised with shock that they couldn't even budge Snape no matter how hard they tried 

"Or maybe don't: Since I already wrote to the Headmaster, he will be at the Ministry of Magic soon, so just rest, but don't relax too much!" In the end, Severus added sternly, to which Shafiki, who was a little shocked from such an event, could only nod silently, and at last the ministry wizards with Severus left the shop. 

They didn't touch Karner, because they understood that he was just a hired worker and, most likely, didn't know anything, but they still left two Aurors in civilian clothes to follow him.

******** 

After a little while, they finally got to the Ministry of Magic where the Archmage was immediately taken to a separate rather gloomy room, while covering his eyes with a cloth, and upon arrival they chained him to a chair and immediately left the room, leaving him completely alone.

"They want to scare me like that… idiots…" Sighing wearily, he shook his head. "Well, if you want to play, then let's play…" Severus chuckled in his mind, yawned rather loudly and lowered his head, and after a few seconds, a moderate sniffing began to spread around the room. 

And at the same time, the observers in the next room, who had brought Severus earlier, trembled, and their faces appeared very tired, because this simple task - to bring Severus Snape to the interrogation department - dragged on for three hours. 

They expected anything, even a meeting with the Death Eaters right in the store, but not twenty unsuccessful apparitions. 

After all, as soon as they used the apparition, attuning to the Ministry of Magic, they were transferred to the pool, into which eight out of ten wizards fell. 

For the second time they were apparated into the men's bath, where they were stared at by naked Muggles, where they had to urgently wipe the muggle's memory. 

The third time also they ended up in a bathhouse, but a women's one this time, where old ladies were steaming and, to their surprise, Severus's group was outside again. 

At first, of course, they thought that all of this was done by Archmage, but he simply did not have a wand for this, and at his age, it was simply impossible to master wandless magic, so they began to think that someone among them decided to joke. 

And in the next apparition they found themselves in a toilet cubicle, all eight in one, and again Snape and the two Aurors with him were left alone outside.

This same thing happened again 16 more times, each time in a different place and even when they finally reached the ministry, they appeared in the toilet of the ministry. Only the archmage was left standing outside the toilet, awaiting his escorts with a smile.