Chapter 166: Snape's Choice

Spinner's End, No. 19.

As Ino's words dissipated into the air, the wooden house, seemingly forgotten by time, fell into an unprecedented silence.

This silence was not merely quiet but was akin to a heavy cloud pressing down, making it hard to breathe, with the atmosphere in the entire room becoming extremely oppressive.

At this moment, Snape sat there, motionless, like a cold, frozen statue.

Though he remained silent, a closer look would reveal that Snape's eyes were no longer empty; his black pupils now shot out a hawk-like sharp gaze.

Suddenly, Snape spoke, his voice as calm as water.

"Very well! This is very good! Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black!"

Although his tone was unruffled, Ino could hear the hatred in it, as well as the chilling coldness permeating the air.

Although he also believed that Pettigrew deserved to die—not just for the Potter couple, but for the twelve innocent Muggle lives—his fate was sealed.

Death was certain, but he couldn't die by Snape's hand, otherwise, the Ministry of Magic alone would be a major obstacle.

Thinking of this, Ino decided to try to dissuade him: "Professor! It's not worth it..."

However, he was cut off by Snape:

"This has nothing to do with you! But in this matter, I owe you a favor. Open the cabinet on the second floor; everything inside is yours."

The situation seemed to be spiraling out of control.

Ino suddenly realized he had underestimated Snape's hatred. Snape's current actions looked like he was willing to go all out to kill Pettigrew.

Ino had chosen to tell Snape everything, intending only to capture Pettigrew, perhaps use the Cruciatus Curse to torture him for ten days or so, and then hand him over to the Ministry of Magic.

But now, it seemed that Snape had truly lost his reason due to his hatred.

Suddenly, as if he had thought of something, Ino began speaking rapidly to himself:

"Professor, do you know? This time, thanks to Harry... Harry told me... Harry was grounded..."

Although speaking rapidly, he deliberately paused and emphasized Harry's name each time.

To be honest, this made him seem like a gossip, but the effect was surprisingly good.

Snape couldn't hold back any longer.

"Shut up! Either go upstairs and get the things or leave here and gossip elsewhere!"

Hearing this sarcastic tone, Ino instead felt relieved. He wasn't afraid of Snape talking too much; he was afraid of Snape saying nothing and silently going about his business.

Similarly, with Snape's scolding fading away.

The old room fell into a new round of silence.

...

However, as time passed, the overall atmosphere in the room gradually eased, no longer as heavy and oppressive as before.

After a while, Snape broke the silence on his own.

"I don't know where you heard certain things, whether through divination or otherwise, but it doesn't matter! On the day of the school opening, I'll take the train to verify it. If it's true, all the potions in the cabinet are yours!"

Although his tone remained unchanged, it sounded less crazy than before.

Seeing that Snape had almost regained his composure, Ino decisively shook his head and refused: "I'm repaying a favor, not seeking something in return."

"Suit yourself!" Snape retorted and fell silent again.

...

Spinner's End, No. 19.

In the old room, a sudden burst of green flames rose from the fireplace, and Ino's figure vanished within the fire.

On the other side, Snape remained quietly seated in his chair, his gaze still fixed on his arm.

He had said he would verify it personally, but in truth, he had believed it from the start.

Though his hatred remained, he had always had doubts about that night because everything had happened too coincidentally, coincidentally enough to seem meticulously planned.

Today, he had finally filled in part of the missing pieces in his mind.

Time passed silently.

Snape's eyes lost their earlier sharpness, becoming somewhat blurred and sorrowful.

After a while, he slowly closed his eyes. When he opened them again, only emptiness and numbness remained.

...

Hogsmeade.

As the green flames from the fireplace lit up, Ino returned to his small house.

Having resolved a matter weighing on his mind, he walked briskly towards the second floor, still thinking about another matter.

"Incendio!"

Before the desk on the second floor, Ino lit an old oil lamp again.

Under the warm light of the lamp, a silver-glowing book gradually appeared on the desk.

Reaching out to gently stroke the book's cover, he recalled today's experience at Flourish and Blotts.

He clearly held the book in his hand, but Harry's palm bizarrely passed through it; this scene was either not magical or too magical.

After a moment, he decided to open the book; no matter what, he had to read it first.

Flipping open the pages, under the illumination of the oil lamp, a passage slowly appeared on the title page:

"Reality is not always visible, but what is invisible often brings us closer to reality. — An anonymous Goblin."

Gazing at this passage, Ino couldn't help but fall into deep thought, as it seemed to have a peculiar flavor between the lines.

Fortunately, this was Harry Potter's story; if it were any other unknown story, he would have turned away immediately upon seeing this passage.

Without rushing to turn to the second page, Ino leaned back in his chair, carefully savoring this philosophical and mysterious sentence.

"The unseen... but does seeing it mean it exists? Invisibility spells, invisible books, invisibility cloaks... Hmm? Invisibility cloak!"

He suddenly sat up straight, thinking of a legend in the original story, recorded in "The Tales of Beedle the Bard," about the Invisibility Cloak.

Death is invisible, and so is the Grim Reaper.

However, in the story, the three brothers not only saw the Grim Reaper but also received real gifts, which even became known as the Deathly Hallows.

Thinking of this, Ino looked at the passage on the title page again, with a different perspective.

...

The night in Hogsmeade was exceptionally quiet.

So quiet that one hardly noticed the passage of time.

Before dawn, Ino extinguished the oil lamp on the desk, and along with it, the "Invisible Book of Invisibility" also disappeared.

After spending nearly an entire night, he managed to roughly finish reading the book.

Firstly, it's worth confirming that this book has nothing to do with the Deathly Hallows, nor does it touch upon them. Because it entirely focused on explaining one thing, or rather one concept:

Ancient Runes—"Concealment"

And the opening passage on the title page was probably inserted by the author to elevate the book's style.

Everything was fine, but this self-proclaimed anonymous fairy author forgot one thing: ancient runes possess magic.

Coincidentally, the author extensively quoted the rune for "concealment" in the book, explaining it thoroughly.

As time passed, the book naturally concealed itself.